Browsing by Subject "RCC"
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Item Case-based drilling curricula using integrated HIL simulator and remote collaboration center(2016-12) Hoss, Ashton Ashkan; Van Oort, Eric; Pryor, Mitchell WayneThe university educational system has raised many concerns in recent years regarding the effectiveness of its curricula and implementation. The focus on course-based training in engineering programs does not provide students sufficient opportunities to apply the attained knowledge and skills to demonstrate their competency. To address this deficiency of academia, industry spends millions of dollars building development programs and on-the-job training. This creates an opportunity for the universities to address this deficiency and increase their students’ marketability, while also addressing problem solving in their curricula. Inspired by a successful program developed and offered at Harvard Business School, the advantages and disadvantages of the case-based method was investigated. It was concluded that the students can benefit the most from a combination of existing educational and case-based curricula elements. Further research expressed the engineering students’ interest and positive feedbacks towards utilization of this method supported by statistical analysis. The aviation industry experienced a great training cost reduction and eliminated the on-the-training accidents after adopting simulators to train their workforce. This encouraged the Drilling & Automation team at University of Texas at Austin to develop the existing surface simulator further and utilize it as a tool to train the next generation of engineers to carry out the appropriate performance at the time of failure and emergencies. By considering various effective skills development methods such as Triadic method and Kolb’s Four-Stage Learning Cycle, ten case-based laboratories were designed and proposed. These open-ended student-led laboratories provide the opportunity for students to experience life-like challenges associated with drilling operations using a realistic up-to-date virtual drilling simulator. Students are divided in teams and assigned to different roles (drilling engineer, remote supervising engineer, etc.) where they are required to make decisions and communicate with one another. This creates a realistic work environment where depending on difficulty of each case, different amounts of stress are experienced. To implement the proposed laboratories, down-hole physics models were identified and developed. These mathematical models were then simulated in MATLAB programing language and integrated with one another to form the down-hole simulator. An Application Program Interface, API, was developed to access the surface simulator data and to connect the surface and the down-hole simulators. The integrated developed simulator has potential for future research including automated rig design.Item Induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in renal carcinoma cells by phenethyl isothiocyanate and the mechanisms involved(2011-05) Khan, Maruf; DeGraffenried, Linda; Ciolino, Henry P.; Sanders, Bob G.; Nunez, Nomeli P.; Fischer, Susan M.Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) has low 5 year survival rate and is resistant to radiation and chemotherapy. Phenethyl Isothiocyanate (PEITC) is a naturally occurring phytochemical that has a variety of anti-cancer properties. Here we explore two anti-cancer properties of PEITC: induction of apoptosis and induction of cell cycle arrest in RCC cells and the underlying mechanisms. We used two human RCC cell lines Caki-1 and Caki-2. Survival and cell proliferation was assayed using Calcein AM. Annexin V staining was used to measure apoptosis. Caspase-3/7 induction was measured using a fluorescent substrate. Cell cycle was studied using Propidium Iodide staining. DNA damage was determined using phospho [gamma]-H2AX antibody. Protein expression and phosphorylation was determined using immunoblotting. PEITC significantly reduced survival of Caki-1 and Caki-2 cells and inhibited their proliferation as determined by Calcein AM. 15 and 20 [mu]M PEITC induced apoptosis in both cell lines and induced caspase-3/7 activity. Western blot analysis revealed caspase-8, caspase-9 and Bid cleavage as well as upregulation of the death receptors Fas and DR5. Lower doses (up to 10 [mu]M) arrested Caki-1 cells in G2/M phase, and this was associated with increased p38 and MK2 (Thr334) phosphorylation. The p38 inhibitor SB203850 inhibited this G2 arrest induced by PEITC. 15 and 20 [mu]M PEITC treatment resulted in increased [gamma]-H2AX phosphorylation suggesting DNA damage, but this was completely blocked by caspase inhibitor. In summary, our study shows that PEITC induces apoptosis in Caki-1 and Caki-2 cells by upregulating Fas and DR5 and activating the downstream apoptosis cascade. PEITC does not cause direct DNA damage to the cells; the observed DNA damage is a result of the apoptotic process and is blocked by caspase inhibitor. PEITC induces G2/M arrest in Caki-1 cells and the mechanism involves p38 phosphorylation which activates MK2. Inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis may play an important role in the anti-cancer properties of PEITC. Fully understanding the mechanism by which PEITC induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in RCC cells may lead to development of novel chemotherapeutic drugs against RCC.