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A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of walking with her elder sister towards the drugstore chain Rite Aid at the corner of Montgomery Street.

The article provides information on the work of priest William Joseph Chaminde for bringing mass to the people. It states that Chaminde searched the Catholic families for offering them Eucharist. It further discusses the significant works done by Chaminde for the Marianist community for spiritual transformation. Information on the rites and ceremonies of the Marianist community is also presented.

Microbes as well as immune complexes and other continuously generated inflammatory particles are efficiently removed from the human circulation by red blood cells (RBCs) through a process called immune-adherence clearance. During this process, RBCs use complement receptor 1 (CR1, CD35) to bind circulating complement-opsonized particles and transfer them to resident macrophages in the liver and spleen for removal. We here show that ligation of RBC CR1 by antibody and complement-opsonized particles induces a transient Ca++ influx that is proportional to the RBC CR1 levels and is inhibited by T1E3 pAb, a specific inhibitor of TRPC1 channels. The CR1-elicited RBC Ca++ influx is accompanied by an increase in RBC membrane deformability that positively correlates with the number of preexisting CR1 molecules on RBC membranes. Biochemically, ligation of RBC CR1 causes a significant increase in phosphorylation levels of β-spectrin that is inhibited by preincubation of RBCs with DMAT, a specific casein kinase II inhibitor. We hypothesize that the CR1-dependent increase in membrane deformability could be relevant for facilitating the transfer of CR1-bound particles from the RBCs to the hepatic and splenic phagocytes.

The article highlights three examples of programs used by the religious communities in the U.S. which illustrate some of the best practices in vocation ministry. The programs include mentoring, team approach, and culture of vocations. The culture of vocations begins in the daily prayer of the community involving young people to experience the mission of the congregation, and the team approach offers a chance to work together and discuss projects.

The primary identified function of complement receptor 1 (CR1/CD35) on primate erythrocytes is to bind complement-tagged inflammatory particles including microbes and immune complexes. When erythrocytes circulate through liver and spleen, sinusoidal phagocytes remove CR1-adherent particles and erythrocytes return to the circulation. This process of immune adherence clearance is important for host defense and prevention of autoimmunity. CR1 was previously described as clustered in the human erythrocyte membrane, which was thought to be necessary for binding complement-opsonized particles. In contrast, we demonstrate that on erythrocytes CR1 is not clustered, but dispersed, and able to bind complement-tagged particles. When fresh erythrocytes are solubilized by nonionic detergent, CR1 partitions to the cytoskeleton fraction. Using a PDZ-peptide array, CR1's cytoplasmic tail, which contains 2 PDZ-motifs, binds PDZ domains 2, 3, and 5 of Fas-associated phosphatase 1 (FAP-1), a scaffolding protein. We show that FAP-1, not previously recognized as an erythroid protein, is expressed on circulating erythrocytes. CR1 and FAP-1 coimmunoprecipitate, which confirms their molecular association. Disperse CR1 on erythrocytes may be advantageous for capturing immune-complexes, while ligation-induced CR1 clustering may prevent ingestion of the erythrocyte during the immune-complex transfer to the macrophages by keeping the opsonic stimulus localized thus preventing phagocyosis.

Stromal cells isolated from bone marrow (BMSCs), often referred to as mesenchymal stem cells, are currently under investigation for a variety of therapeutic applications. However, limited data are available regarding receptors that can influence their homing to and positioning within the bone marrow. In the present study, we found that second passage BMSCs express a unique set of chemokine receptors: three CC chemokine receptors (CCR1, CCR7, and CCR9) and three CXC chemokine receptors (CXCR4, CXCR5, and CXCR6). BMSCs cultured in serum‐free medium secrete several chemokine ligands (CCL2, CCL4, CCL5, CCL20, CXCL12, CXCL8, and CX3CL1). The surface‐expressed chemokine receptors were functional by several criteria. Stimulation of BMSCs with chemokine ligands triggers phosphorylation of the mitogen‐activated protein kinase (e.g., extracellular signal–related kinase [ERK]‐1 and ERK‐2) and focal adhesion kinase signaling pathways. In addition, CXCL12 selectively activates signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)‐5 whereas CCL5 activates STAT‐1. In cell biologic assays, all of the chemokines tested stimulate chemotaxis of BMSCs, and CXCL12 induces cytoskeleton F‐actin polymerization. Studies of culture‐expanded BMSCs, for example, 12–16 passages, indicate loss of surface expression of all chemokine receptors and lack of chemotactic response to chemokines. The loss in chemokine receptor expression is accompanied by a decrease in expression of adhesion molecules (ICAM‐1, ICAM‐2, and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1) and CD157, while expression of CD90 and CD105 is maintained. The change in BMSC phenotype is associated with slowing of cell growth and increased spontaneous apoptosis. These findings suggest that several chemokine axes may operate in BMSC biology and may be important parameters in the validation of cultured BMSCs intended for cell therapy.

Complement has recently been implicated in developmental pathways and noninflammatory processes. The expression of various complement components and receptors has been shown in a wide range of circulating myeloid and lymphoid cells, but their role in normal hematopoiesis and stem cell homing has not yet been investigated. We report that normal human CD34+cells and lineage-differentiated hematopoietic progenitors express the complement anaphylatoxin C3a receptor (C3aR) and respond to C3a. Moreover, C3a, but not the biologically inactive desArg-C3a, induces calcium flux in these cells. Furthermore, we found that C3 is secreted by bone marrow stroma and that, although C3a does not influence directly the proliferation/survival of hematopoietic progenitors, it (1) potentiates the stromal cell–derived factor 1 (SDF-1)–dependent chemotaxis of human CD34+cells and lineage-committed myeloid, erythroid, and megakaryocytic progenitors; (2) primes SDF-1–dependent trans-Matrigel migration; and (3) stimulates matrix metalloproteinase-9 secretion and very late antigen 4 (VLA-4)–mediated adhesion to vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1). Furthermore, we found that murine Sca-1+cells primed by C3a engrafted faster in lethally irradiated animals. These results indicate that normal human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells express functional C3aR and that the C3aR-C3a axis sensitizes the responses of these cells to SDF-1 and thus may be involved in promoting their homing into the bone marrow via cross talk with the SDF–CXC chemokine receptor-4 (CXCR4) signaling axis. C3a is the first positive regulator of this axis to be identified.

It is largely unknown how hematopoietic progenitors are positioned within specialized niches of the bone marrow microenvironment during development. Chemokines such as CXCL12, previously called stromal cell–derived factor 1, are known to activate cell integrins of circulating leukocytes resulting in transient adhesion before extravasation into tissues. However, this short-term effect does not explain the mechanism by which progenitor cells are retained for prolonged periods in the bone marrow. Here we show that in human bone marrow CXCL12 triggers a sustained adhesion response specifically in progenitor (pro- and pre-) B cells. This sustained adhesion diminishes during B cell maturation in the bone marrow and, strikingly, is absent in circulating mature B cells, which exhibit only transient CXCL12-induced adhesion. The duration of adhesion is tightly correlated with CXCL12-induced activation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a known molecule involved in integrin-mediated signaling. Sustained adhesion of progenitor B cells is associated with prolonged FAK activation, whereas transient adhesion in circulating B cells is associated with short-lived FAK activation. Moreover, sustained and transient adhesion responses are differentially affected by pharmacological inhibitors of protein kinase C and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. These results provide a developmental cell stage–specific mechanism by which chemokines orchestrate hematopoiesis through sustained rather than transient activation of adhesion and cell survival pathways.

Although the SDF-1 (CXCL12)/CXCR4 axis is important for B-cell development, it is not yet clear to what extent CC chemokines might influence B lymphopoiesis. In the current study, we characterized CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) expression and function of primary progenitor B-cell populations in human bone marrow. CCR5 was expressed on all bone marrow B cells at levels between 150 and 200 molecules per cell. Stimulation of bone marrow B cells with the CCR5-binding chemokine macrophage inflammatory protein 1β (MIP-1β; CCL4) did not cause chemotaxis, but CCL4 was able to trigger potent calcium mobilization responses and activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway in developing B cells. We also determined that CCR5-binding chemokines MIP-1α (CCL3), CCL4, and RANTES (CCL5), specifically by signaling through CCR5, could affect all progenitor B-cell populations through a novel mechanism involving heterologous desensitization of CXCR4. This cross-desensitization of CXCR4 was manifested by the inhibition of CXCL12-induced calcium mobilization, MAPK activation, and chemotaxis. These findings indicate that CCR5 can indeed mediate biologic responses of bone marrow B cells, even though these cell populations express low levels of CCR5 on their cell surface. Thus, by modulation of CXCR4 function, signaling through CCR5 may influence B lymphopoiesis by affecting the migration and maturation of B-cell progenitors in the bone marrow microenvironment.

Membranes and powders prepared from PTFE (polytetrafluorethylene) were investigated for their potential use as multifunctional supports for enzymes. The obtained bioactive materials are valuable for the construction of biosensors and enzyme reactors. To allow covalent coupling of enzymes to PTFE, the surface of the material was treated with elementary sodium followed by oxidation with ozone or hydrogen peroxide.%Derivatization steps were optimized in order to achieve highest enzyme loading and short reaction times. Alliinase (EC 4.4.1.4) and L-lactic dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27) were chosen as model enzymes and were either immobilized by covalent coupling or fixed indirectly by a sugar-lectin binding. For the latter method, the sugar mannan was bound to the membrane surface as an anchor for layers of the lectin concanavalin A and the alliinase. Highest alliinase loading was achieved at 0.2 μg×cm⁻². Immobilization of alliinase via the lectin concanavalin A and a bifunctional epoxide gave the best long-term stability.%L-Lactic dehydrogenase was most sufficiently immobilized by using benzoquinone as spacer. These procedures show several advantages: 1) enzymes can be immobilized under physiological conditions, 2) an enzyme-multilayer can be achieved, and 3) protein layers are renewable. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 72: 530–540, 2001.

The generation of large numbers of partial cDNA sequences, or expressed sequence tags (ESTs), has provided a method with which to sample a large number of genes from an organism. More than 25,000 Arabidopsis thaliana ESTs have been deposited in public databases, producing the largest collection of ESTs for any plant species. We describe here the application of a method of reducing redundancy and increasing information content in this collection by grouping overlapping ESTs representing the same gene into a "contig" or assembly. The increased information content of these assemblies allows more putative identifications to be assigned based on the results of similarity searches with nucleotide and protein databases. The results of this analysis indicate that sequence information is available for approximately 12,600 nonoverlapping ESTs from Arabidopsis. Comparison of the assemblies with 953 Arabidopsis coding sequences indicates that up to 57% of all Arabidopsis genes are represented by an EST. Clustering analysis of these sequences suggests that between 300 and 700 gene families are represented by between 700 and 2000 sequences in the EST database. A database of the assembled sequences, their putative identifications, and cellular roles is available through the World Wide Web.

Nerve growth factor-induced differentiation of adrenal chromaffin PC-12 cells to a neuronal phenotype involves alterations in gene expression and represents a model system to study neuronal differentiation. We have used the expressed-sequence-tag approach to identify approximately 600 differentially expressed mRNAs in untreated and nerve growth factor-treated PC-12 cells that encode proteins with diverse structural and biochemical functions. Many of these mRNAs encode proteins belonging to cellular pathways not previously known to be regulated by nerve growth factor. Comparative expressed-sequence-tag analysis provides a basis for surveying global changes in gene-expression patterns in response to biological signals at an unprecedented scale, is a powerful tool for identifying potential interactions between different cellular pathways, and allows the gene-expression profiles of individual genes belonging to a particular pathway to be followed.

The poem "Offer It Up for the Poor Souls in Purgatory" by Liz Glodek is presented. First Line: I'm out and about and nothing much is happening. Last Line: Street crossed.

The poem "River" by Liz Glodek is presented. First Line: Washed up along the grey, smooth stones of the river, a wish charms its way; Last Line: at the loss.

The poem "Survival" by Liz Glodek is presented. First Line: In the remote places of my heart; Last Line: It's how I have become.

Unisys Corp. is an information giant with a presence in over 100 countries across the global and 37,000 employees. In October 2002, the company launched a set of seven operating principles in a huge campaign aimed at all of its employees. The intention was to unify behavior to improve the corporation's performance. In this article, Adriane Glodek and Denise Baron recount how they raised awareness and understanding, and embedded the principles in the firm's culture.

The chemokine CXCL12 (SDF-1) and its receptor CXCR4 play a critical role in hematopoietic progenitor cell migration and positioning within the bone marrow (BM). However, CXCL12/CXCR4-induced signaling pathways in blood cell migration are poorly characterized. Based on previous studies of BM progenitor B cells indicating a strong correlation between FAK signaling and CXCL12 induced adhesion to VCAM-1, we speculated that FAK might be an important signaling component in CXCL12-induced chemotaxis and integrin-mediated adhesion. Here, we used two approaches to reduce FAK expression in (human and mouse) progenitor B cells and mouse Sca-1+, Kit+, Lin− stem/progenitor cells. FAK specific siRNAs reduced FAK expression by 80% and abolished both CXCL12-induced chemotaxis and adhesion to VCAM-1 in the pro-B cell line, REH. FAK knock-down did not change expression levels of CXCR4 and VLA-4 integrin. FAK expression was rescued by transfection with wild type, chicken FAK, which also restored both CXCL12-induced chemotaxis and adhesion. Furthermore, we found that in FAK deficient cells CXCL12-induced activation of the GTP-ase Rap1 was reduced, suggesting the importance of FAK in CXCL12-mediated inside-out integrin activation. CXCL12-mediated chemotaxis was also impaired in primary progenitor B cells and hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSC/P) isolated from FAK floxed mice, in which FAK was deleted by Cre-mediated excision of FAK floxed alleles. Cre-mediated FAK deletion did not affect cell viability or induce apoptosis. These studies suggest that FAK may function as a key intermediary in signaling pathways controlling hematopoietic cell migration and lineage development.