Joyce Wong

Bio: Joyce Wong is an academic researcher from Harefield Hospital. The author has contributed to research in topics: Cancer & Pancreatic cancer. The author has an hindex of 55, co-authored 243 publications receiving 10945 citations. Previous affiliations of Joyce Wong include Humboldt University of Berlin & Boston University.

Electrically conducting polymers can noninvasively control the shape and growth of mammalian cells.

Abstract: Electrically conducting polymers are novel in that their surface properties, including charge density and wettability, can be reversibly changed with an applied electrical potential. Such properties might render conducting polymers unique for biological applications. However, the majority of research on conducting polymers has been carried out under nonbiological conditions. We synthesized optically transparent polypyrrole thin films and studied them in environments suitable for protein adsorption and mammalian cell culture. In vitro studies demonstrated that extracellular matrix molecules, such as fibronectin, adsorb efficiently onto polypyrrole thin films and support cell attachment under serum-free conditions. When aortic endothelial cells were cultured on fibronectin-coated polypyrrole (oxidized) in either chemically defined medium or the presence of serum, cells spread normally and synthesized DNA. In contrast, when the polymer was switched to its neutral state by applying an electrical potential, both cell extension and DNA synthesis were inhibited without affecting cell viability. Application of a similar electrical potential to cells cultured on indium tin oxide surfaces had no effect on cell shape or function. These data suggest that electrically conducting polymers may represent a type of culture substrate which could provide a noninvasive means to control the shape and function of adherent cells, independent of any medium alteration.

Directed Movement of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells on Gradient-Compliant Hydrogels†

Abstract: Current solutions in the treatment of cardiovascular disease include angioplasty and the insertion of stents, but a large number of these cases result in restenosis. Biomaterial coatings that control vascular smooth muscle cell migration are therefore desirable. In this study, we describe a novel method to create substrata with defined gradients in mechanical compliance using photopolymerization and patterning. Cell speed was found to be 53 ± 2.6 μm/h on a substrate with a Young's modulus of 15 kPa compared to 40 ± 3.1 μm/h for a 28 kPa substratum (P < 0.005). We demonstrate that vascular smooth muscle cells undergo direct migration on radial-gradient-compliant substrata from soft to stiff regions of the substrate and that cells accumulate in the stiff regions after 24 h. Our results show that the pattern of the compliance gradient is important and that substrate compliance may be a key design parameter for modulation of cell migration for vascular tissue engineering applications.

Fast parallel algorithms for short-range molecular dynamics

Abstract: Three parallel algorithms for classical molecular dynamics are presented. The first assigns each processor a fixed subset of atoms; the second assigns each a fixed subset of inter-atomic forces to compute; the third assigns each a fixed spatial region. The algorithms are suitable for molecular dynamics models which can be difficult to parallelize efficiently—those with short-range forces where the neighbors of each atom change rapidly. They can be implemented on any distributed-memory parallel machine which allows for message-passing of data between independently executing processors. The algorithms are tested on a standard Lennard-Jones benchmark problem for system sizes ranging from 500 to 100,000,000 atoms on several parallel supercomputers--the nCUBE 2, Intel iPSC/860 and Paragon, and Cray T3D. Comparing the results to the fastest reported vectorized Cray Y-MP and C90 algorithm shows that the current generation of parallel machines is competitive with conventional vector supercomputers even for small problems. For large problems, the spatial algorithm achieves parallel efficiencies of 90% and a 1840-node Intel Paragon performs up to 165 faster than a single Cray C9O processor. Trade-offs between the three algorithms and guidelines for adapting them to more complex molecular dynamics simulations are also discussed.

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Abstract: 抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

The Design and Analysis of Experiments

Abstract: THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTS. By Oscar Kempthorne. New York, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1952. 631 pp. $8.50. This book by a teacher of statistics (as well as a consultant for \"experimenters\") is a comprehensive study of the philosophical background for the statistical design of experiment. It is necessary to have some facility with algebraic notation and manipulation to be able to use the volume intelligently. The problems are presented from the theoretical point of view, without such practical examples as would be helpful for those not acquainted with mathematics. The mathematical justification for the techniques is given. As a somewhat advanced treatment of the design and analysis of experiments, this volume will be interesting and helpful for many who approach statistics theoretically as well as practically. With emphasis on the \"why,\" and with description given broadly, the author relates the subject matter to the general theory of statistics and to the general problem of experimental inference. MARGARET J. ROBERTSON

Tissue Cells Feel and Respond to the Stiffness of Their Substrate

Abstract: Normal tissue cells are generally not viable when suspended in a fluid and are therefore said to be anchorage dependent. Such cells must adhere to a solid, but a solid can be as rigid as glass or softer than a baby's skin. The behavior of some cells on soft materials is characteristic of important phenotypes; for example, cell growth on soft agar gels is used to identify cancer cells. However, an understanding of how tissue cells-including fibroblasts, myocytes, neurons, and other cell types-sense matrix stiffness is just emerging with quantitative studies of cells adhering to gels (or to other cells) with which elasticity can be tuned to approximate that of tissues. Key roles in molecular pathways are played by adhesion complexes and the actinmyosin cytoskeleton, whose contractile forces are transmitted through transcellular structures. The feedback of local matrix stiffness on cell state likely has important implications for development, differentiation, disease, and regeneration.