Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes an estimated 600,000 deaths annually, largely due to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HBx, a promiscuous transactivator, is a viral oncoprotein, but its exact functions are poorly understood. Many studies have suggested that NF-κB signaling mediates HBx functions, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain yet to be elucidated. Here, we provide evidence that HBx-mediated NF-κB activation depends on the physical interaction between HBx and a transcription factor, p65. In the cytoplasm, HBx-p65 interaction may promote IκBα phosphorylation and subsequent p65 nuclear localization. A cytokine assay using qPCR and RT-PCR indicates that HBx is associated with a unique profile of cytokine mRNA expression. As shown by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), HBx in the nuclues can be recruited to the gene promoter by p65. These findings support the importance of HBx-p65 interaction and suggest that it is potentially a promising target of novel therapeutics for HBV-associated liver diseases, including HCC.

Cardiac fibroblasts are capable of a phenotype shift to myofibroblasts and the latter contribute to wound healing and interstitial fibrosis. TGF-β1 signals through R-Smads and Co-Smad proteins and modulates fibrillar collagen deposition. It also influences myofibroblast cells contractility, which they confer torsional forces on the surrounding matrix. c-Ski plays an inhibitory role in TGF-β1 signaling. C184M is a 27 kDa protein that is a novel cytosolic partner of c-Ski. c-Ski-C184M complexes may negatively regulate TGF-β1 signaling via sequestering R-Smad in the cytosol, however, the role of C184M in cardiac fibrosis is unknown. Herein we characterize the expression of C184M and explore its role in TGF-β1 signaling. We found that C184M is expressed in P0 primary fibroblasts, P1 and P2 cardiac myofibroblasts and as well in NIH 3T3 cells. Western blot analysis revealed that the C184M is not responsive to TGF-β1 treatment (10ng/ml, 12, 24 and 48hr treatment) and that Smad3 overexpression does not influence expression of C184M protein in P1 cardiac myofibroblasts. In the presence of overexpressed C184M, immunofluorescence studies indicated a shift in localization of Smad3 from a diffuse cytosolic pattern to a distinctly punctuate cytosolic pattern. C184M overexpression abrogates the effects of TGF-β1 mediated increased collagen synthesis in NIH 3T3 cells. Further, C184M is involved in reduction of contractility of NIH 3T3 cells.

This thesis has examined the moon and sun imagery of Yeats's Last Poems (1936-1939), contrasting the diminution and transmutations of astronomical imagery with its rich symbolic development from 1889 to 1936. Using lyric poetry of The Collected Works of W. B. Yeats and selected prose works of William Butler Yeats, the study has traced the multiple antinomial forces embodied in moon and sun and the change in imagery that marked Yeat's poetic growth. The thesis has discussed vestiges of overt moon and sun imagery in Last Poems, Yeats's reasons for the changes that characterize his career, and the substitutes that replaced moon and sun.

This thesis has been a study of strategies employed in the poetry of W. B. Yeats. Specifically, it has treated five poems important in Yeats' development as a poet: "The Song of Wandering Aengus"; "The Wild Swans at Coole"; "Leda and the Swan"; "Lapis Lazuli"; "Long-Legged Fly." It has demonstrated certain devices used in the composition of the poems. In short, it has been an explication of the poems.Further, this thesis has revealed Yeats' concern for art as a subject for poetry. It has revealed that early in his development, Yeats was concerned with art and the individual, and that later in his development, he was concerned with art and civilization.

Background: There has been a concern regarding the masking of vitamin B-12 deficiency in the post-fortification period (after January 1, 1998). Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the potential masking of vitamin B-12 deficiency by comparing the proportion of individuals with low serum B-12 without macrocytosis between pre- and post-fortification periods using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Methods: The study included 7242 individuals from NHANES III (pre-fortification group) and combined NHANES 1999-2000, 2001-2002, 2003-2004, 2005-2006 (post-fortification group). Vitamin B-12 deficiency and macrocytosis were defined as having <148 pmol/L of serum vitamin B-12 and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) of>98 fL, respectively. A multivariate logistic regression was performed to estimate the likelihood of being low serum B-12 without macrocytosis in the post-fortification period in relation to the pre-fortification period. Results: Between pre- and post-fortification periods, there was no significant difference in the proportion of individuals with low serum vitamin B-12 without macrocytosis. However, odds of having low serum vitamin B-12 without macrocytosis in the post fortification era increased in men (OR=2.65, 1.24-5.65), non-Hispanic blacks (OR=3.12, 1.04-9.35), Non-smokers (OR=4.63, 1.90-11.27), and those aged 55 and older (OR=2.183, 1.01-4.74) compared their respective counterparts in the pre-fortification period. Conclusions: No significant difference in the proportion of individuals with vitamin B-12 deficiency without macrocytosiss was seen between the pre and post-fortification periods suggesting no making of vitamin B-12 deficiency. In the post-fortification period, serum folate was found to be a predictor of the masking effect. The impact of increased folic acid intake in the post-fortification period needs to be evaluated on a periodic basis especially, in non-target population.

In addition to being a respected poet, dramatist, essayist, and statesman, William Butler Yeats was a dedicated student of the occult and practicing magician for most of his adult life. In spite of his dedication, Yeats’ commitment to occultism has often been ridiculed as “bughouse” (as Ezra Pound put it), shunted to the margins of academic discourse, or ignored altogether. Yeats’ occult-focused prose fiction—the occult trilogy of stories “Rosa Alchemica,” “The Tables of the Law,” and “The Adoration of the Magi” and the unfinished novel The Speckled Bird—has often received similarly dismissive treatment. Some critics have accused Yeats of being an escapist or of being out of touch with the intellectual currents of his time. However, Yeats was in touch with the intellectual currents of his time, one of which was the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century occult revival. This was not a fringe movement; it was one which intersected with some of the most pressing social and cultural issues of the time. These include the dissatisfaction with mainstream religions, the renegotiation of women’s roles, the backlash against science, and nationalism and the colonial enterprise. This intersection is what I have termed occulture. The central purpose of this dissertation is twofold. First, I demonstrate the cultural and academic relevance of the occult revival by analyzing its connections to these critical issues. Second, I situate the occult trilogy and The Speckled Bird as artifacts of the occult revival and its associated facets. Through its main characters, the occult trilogy illustrates a fragmented self associated with literary modernism and with scientific challenges to individual identity from Darwin, Freud, and others. In addition, these three stories exemplify a sacralization of the domestic sphere which conflicts with the officially-sanctioned sacred spaces of mainstream religions. The Speckled Bird also reconfigures the sacred space as Michael Hearne contemplates a magical order with Irish nationalist implications. In examining these works within this historical context, I present them as texts which engage with the social and cultural landscape of the time. / Occulture : occultism and the occult revival -- The occult trilogy : self and space in an occult context -- The speckled bird : sacralizing Ireland. / Department of English

Šio darbo tikslas – išanalizuoti meilės kognityvinį modelį, kuris egzistuoja asmeniniuose B. Sruogos laiškuose. Iškeliami šie uždaviniai: 1) susipažinti su B. Sruogos biografija; 2) aptarti analizei reikalingas kognityvinės lingvistikos sąvokas (konceptas, kognityvinis modelis, geštaltas, konceptualioji metafora ir kt.); 3) surinkti konteksto pavyzdžius, kuriuose vartojami tiesiogiai meilę įvardijantys žodžiai; 4) surinkti konteksto pavyzdžius, kuriuose vartojami netiesiogiai meilę įvardijantys žodžiai; 5) suklasifikuoti surinktuosius pavydžius pagal bendrąsias ir potencialiąsias semas; 6) sudaryti B. Sruogos laiškuose aktualizuojamą meilės kognityvinį modelį. Darbe analizuojami 142 asmeninai laiškai, kurie buvo renkami Balio Sruogos memorialiniame muziejuje. Surinkta medžiaga nagrinėjama remiantis deskriptyviniu, leksinės semantinės, komponentinės analizės metodais. Žmonės bendraudami vieni su kitais savo kalbinėje sąmonėje sukuria įvairius kognityvinius modelius. Šie modeliai veikiami asmeninės bei kultūrinės patirties. Laikantis prielaidos, kad kognityvinis modelis – tai individo žinių apie tam tikrą konceptą ir su juo susijusios patirties visuma galima būtų skirti tokį B. Sruogos meilės kognityvinį modelį. Meilė – tai MEILĖ, MYLIU, NUMYLĖTAS, NUMYLĖTA, MYLIMAS, MYLIMA, VARDAS, SAULĖ, PASAKA, DAINA, SESUO, MERGUŽĖLĖ, KARALAITĖ, LELIJA, SNAIGĖS, DŪŠIA / SIELA, SVAJONĖ / VIZIJA, MINTIS, VILTIS, PALAIMA, MALDA, AUKA, RŪPINTOJĖLIS, SAPNAS, LAUKIMAS, GĖLA, BUČINYS, ŠIRDIS /... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of this paper work is to analyse the cognitive model of love which exists in B. Sruoga’s personal letters. The objectives to achieve the aim of the paper work are: 1) to introduce the B. Sruoga’s biography; 2) to write about the terms of cognitive linguistic (concept, cognitive model, gestalt, conceptual metaphor and others); 3) to pick the context examples in which there are directly named words of love; 4) to pick the context examples in which there are indirectly named words of love; 5) to make the groups by common and potential significances; 6) to compose the cognitive model of love. The analysis is based on 142 letters taken from The Memorial Museum of Balys Sruoga. The work is based on the method of descriptive, lexical semantics and component analysis. People when they socialize with each other, they create various meaningful models. Those cognitve models are influenced by personal and native experience. So, the conceptual analysis formalizes what exists in collective subconcciousness and is expresses in speech. Having analysed a number of ways of representing the cognitive model of love which exists in B. Sruoga’s personal letters, we can point out the basic tendencies of realizing the concept: LOVE as a NAME, LOVE as a SUN, LOVE as a FAIRY-TAIL, LOVE as a SONG, LOVE as a SISTER, LOVE as a GIRL, LOVE as a QUEEN, LOVE as a LILY, LOVE as a SNOWFLAKE, LOVE as a SPIRIT, LOVE as a DESIRE, LOVE as a MIND, LOVE as a HOPE, LOVE as a BLESSING, LOVE as a PRAYER, LOVE... [to full text]

Cardiac fibroblasts are capable of a phenotype shift to myofibroblasts and the latter contribute to wound healing and interstitial fibrosis. TGF-β1 signals through R-Smads and Co-Smad proteins and modulates fibrillar collagen deposition. It also influences myofibroblast cells contractility, which they confer torsional forces on the surrounding matrix. c-Ski plays an inhibitory role in TGF-β1 signaling. C184M is a 27 kDa protein that is a novel cytosolic partner of c-Ski. c-Ski-C184M complexes may negatively regulate TGF-β1 signaling via sequestering R-Smad in the cytosol, however, the role of C184M in cardiac fibrosis is unknown. Herein we characterize the expression of C184M and explore its role in TGF-β1 signaling. We found that C184M is expressed in P0 primary fibroblasts, P1 and P2 cardiac myofibroblasts and as well in NIH 3T3 cells. Western blot analysis revealed that the C184M is not responsive to TGF-β1 treatment (10ng/ml, 12, 24 and 48hr treatment) and that Smad3 overexpression does not influence expression of C184M protein in P1 cardiac myofibroblasts. In the presence of overexpressed C184M, immunofluorescence studies indicated a shift in localization of Smad3 from a diffuse cytosolic pattern to a distinctly punctuate cytosolic pattern. C184M overexpression abrogates the effects of TGF-β1 mediated increased collagen synthesis in NIH 3T3 cells. Further, C184M is involved in reduction of contractility of NIH 3T3 cells.

No description available.

The USP4 is a deubiquitinating enzyme found elevated in certain human lung and adrenal tumours. USP4 has a very close relative, USP15, which has caused great difficulty in studying only one or the other. We have had generated two antibodies specific to USP4 and USP15, and have confirmed that the two do not cross react. Although there have been previous findings of interacting partners, possible substrates and pathways in which it is involved, the biological role of USP4 is mostly unknown. We have used these antibodies to determine that USP4 and USP15 expression differs across tissue and cell types, and that expression changes as the organism ages. We have shown that USP4 plays a role in canonical Wnt signaling, perhaps by stabilizing Beta-catenin, and identified GRK2 as a kinase, phosphorylating USP4. These data have provided enough information to form a hypothesis, implicating USP4 with the destruction complex in the Wnt signaling pathway.