Tissue-Specific stem cell differentiation in an in vitro airway model

The respiratory tract is the primary site of exposure to airborne compounds, with the bronchial epithelium providing one of the first lines of defence. A growing need exists for an accurate in vitro model of the bronchial epithelium. Here, normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells cultured at an air/liquid interface create a fully differentiated, in-vivo-like model of the human bronchial epithelium. Developmental characterisation includes (i) trans-epithelial electrical resistance, (ii) morphology and (iii) bronchial cell specific stains/markers. It is concluded that the basal/progenitor cells create a pseudo-stratified, mucociliary NHBE model containing basal, serous, Clara, goblet and ciliated cells, reflective of the normal human bronchial epithelium (days 24-33 ALI culture).     

Polymorphisms in genes involved in innate immunity and susceptibility to benzene-induced hematotoxicity

Benzene, a recognized hematotoxicant and carcinogen, can damage the human immune system. We studied the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes involved in innate immunity and benzene hematotoxicity in a cross-sectional study of workers exposed to benzene (250 workers and 140 controls). A total of 1,236 tag SNPs in 149 gene regions of six pathways were included in the analysis. Six gene regions were significant for their association with white blood cell (WBC) counts (MBP, VCAM1, ALOX5, MPO, RAC2, and CRP) based on gene-region (P<0.05) and SNP analyses (FDR<0.05). VCAM1 rs3176867, ALOX5 rs7099684, and MPO rs2071409 were the three most significant SNPs. They showed similar effects on WBC subtypes, especially granulocytes, lymphocytes, and monocytes. A 3-SNP block in ALOXE3 (rs7215658, rs9892383, and rs3027208) showed a global association (omnibus P = 0.0008) with WBCs even though the three SNPs were not significant individually. Our study suggests that polymorphisms in innate immunity genes may play a role in benzene-induced hematotoxicity; however, independent replication is necessary.     

Graphs with only caterpillars as spanning trees

A connected graph G is caterpillar-pure if each spanning tree of G is a caterpillar. The caterpillar-pure graphs are fully characterized. Loosely speaking they are strings or necklaces of so-called pearls, except for a number of small exceptional cases. An upper bound for the number of edges in terms of the order is given for caterpillar-pure graphs, and those which attain the upper bound are characterized.     

K0 production in e+e− annihilations at 30 GeV center of mass energy

Inclusive K⁰-production has been measured in e⁺e^- annihilation at a center of mass energy of about W = 30 GeV. The ratio of K⁰ + K⁰ production to μ⁺μ^- production is R_K0 = 5.6 ± 1.1 (statist. error) ± 0.8 (system.error) This value is about a factor of three higher than R_K0 at W = 7 GeV. The cross sections (s/β) dσ/dx is consistent with a scaling behaviour.     

Inclusive hadron production by e+e− annihilation for s between 13 and 25 GeV2

Charged hadron production via $\text{e}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{e}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{→}\text{h}{}^{\mathrm{\pm }}\text{X where h}{}^{\mathrm{\pm }}\text{= π}{}^{\mathrm{\pm }}\text{,}\text{K}{}^{\mathrm{\pm }}\text{,}\text{p}\text{?}$ has been measured for s values between 13 and 25 GeV². Inclusive cross sections and the evidence for scaling are presented.     

Radiative decays of the Jψ and evidence for a new heavy resonance

The three photon final state produced in e⁺e^? collisions has been measured at the mass of the $\text{J}\text{ψ}$ resonance using the nonmagnetic part of the double arm spectrometer DASP. The decays $\text{J}\text{ψ}\text{→ ηγ, η'γ}$ and π^oγ were observed and their branching ratios are given. A four standard deviation signal was observed in the γγ mass spectrum at a mass of (2.83 ± 0.03) GeV. An upper limit is given for the direct decay $\text{J}\text{ψ}\text{→ 3γ}$.     

Observation of the two photon cascade 3.7 → 3.1 + γγ via an intermediate state Pc

The two photon cascade decay of the 3.7 GeV resonance into the 3.1 GeV resonance has been observed in two nearly independent experiments. The clustering of the photon energies around 160 MeV and 420 MeV observed in the channel 3.7 → (3.1 → μ⁺μ^?) + γγ indicates the existence of at least one intermediate state with even charge conjugation at a mass around 3.52 GeV or 3.26 GeV.