University of Nevada, Reno

About: University of Nevada, Reno is a education organization based out in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 13561 authors who have published 28217 publications receiving 882002 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Nevada & Nevada State University.

ERα signaling through slug regulates E-cadherin and EMT

Abstract: The ERα signaling pathway is one of the most important and most studied pathways in human breast cancer, yet numerous questions still exist such as how hormonally responsive cancers progress to a more aggressive and hormonally independent phenotype. We have noted that human breast cancers exhibit a strong direct correlation between ERα and E-cadherin expression by immunohistochemistry, suggesting that ERα signaling might regulate E-cadherin and implying that this regulation might influence epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and tumor progression. To investigate this hypothesis and the mechanisms behind it, we studied the effects of ERα signaling in ERα-transfected ERα-negative breast carcinoma cell lines, the MDA-MB-468 and the MDA-MB-231 and the effects of ERα knockdown in naturally expressing ERα-positive lines, MCF-7 and T47D. When ERα was overexpressed in the ERα-negative lines, 17β-estradiol (E2) decreased slug and increased E-cadherin. Clones maximally exhibiting these changes grew more in clumps and became less invasive in Matrigel. When ERα was knocked down in the ERα-positive lines, slug increased, E-cadherin decreased, cells became spindly and exhibited increased Matrigel invasion. ERα signaling decreased slug expression by two different mechanisms: directly, by repression of slug transcription by the formation of a corepressor complex of ligand-activated ERα, HDAC inhibitor (HDAC1), and nuclear receptor corepressor (N-CoR) that bound the slug promoter in three half-site estrogen response elements (EREs); indirectly by phosphorylation and inactivation of GSK-3β through phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt). The GSK-3β inactivation, in turn, repressed slug expression and increased E-cadherin. In human breast cancer cases, there was a strong inverse correlation between slug and ERα and E-cadherin immunoreactivity. Our findings indicate that ERα signaling through slug regulates E-cadherin and EMT.

Pavement Strain from Moving Dynamic 3D Load Distribution

Abstract: This paper presents the formulation and the application of a continuum-based finite-layer approach to evaluate pavement strain response under actual traffic loading. The model incorporates important pavement response parameters such as the dynamic tire-pavement load variations and corresponding complex contact stress distributions (normal and shear), vehicle speed, and viscoelastic material characterization. Results of a parametric study in which two typical thin and thick pavement sections were subjected to traffic loading moving at different speeds are included. As an important application of the proposed method, pavement strain responses generated by wide-base and dual tires have been presented. This study reveals that contradictory to the past studies, the impact of tire-pavement contact shear stress on tensile strain at the bottom of asphalt concrete is insignificant.

Quantifying environmental DNA signals for aquatic invasive species across multiple detection platforms.

Abstract: The use of molecular surveillance techniques has become popular among aquatic researchers and managers due to the improved sensitivity and efficiency compared to traditional sampling methods. Rapid expansion in the use of environmental DNA (eDNA), paired with the advancement of molecular technologies, has resulted in new detection platforms and techniques. In this study we present a comparison of three eDNA surveillance platforms: traditional polymerase chain reaction (PCR), quantitative PCR (qPCR), and digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) in which water samples were collected over a 24 h time period from mesocosm experiments containing a population gradient of invasive species densities. All platforms reliably detected the presence of DNA, even at low target organism densities within the first hour. The two quantitative platforms (qPCR and ddPCR) produced similar estimates of DNA concentrations. The analyses completed with ddPCR was faster from sample collection through analyses and cost approximately half the ex...