Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Socioeconomic Status On The Neural Substrates Associated With Pleasure, Michael E. Silverman, Peter Muennig, Xun Liu, Zohn Rosen, Martin A. Goldstein

Publications and Research

Low socio-economic status (SES) is associated with increased morbidity and premature mortality. Because tonic adversity relates to a diminished ability to experience pleasure, we hypothesized that subjects living in poverty would show diminished neural responsivity to positive stimuli in regions associated with positive experience and reward. Visual images were presented to twenty-two subjects in the context of a EPI-BOLD fMRI paradigm. Significant differences in neural responses between SES groups to poverty vs. neutral images were assessed, examining group, condition, and interaction effects. The data suggest that persons living in low-SES have neural experiences consistent with diminished interest in things generally …

Molecular Plasticity Of E-Cadherin And Sialyl Lewis X Expression, In Two Comparative Models Of Mammary Tumorigenesis, Salomé S. Pinho, Celso A. Reis, Fátima Gärtner, Mary L. Alpaugh

Publications and Research

Background The process of metastasis involves a series of steps and interactions between the tumor embolus and the microenvironment. Key alterations in adhesion molecules are known to dictate progression from the invasive to malignant phenotype followed by colonization at a distant site. The invasive phenotype results from the loss of expression of the E-cadherin adhesion molecule, whereas the malignant phenotype is associated with an increased expression of the carbohydrate ligand-binding epitopes, (e.g. Sialyl Lewis x/a) that bind endothelial E-selectin of the lymphatics and vasculature. Methodology Our study analyzed the expression of two adhesion molecules, E-cadherin and Sialyl Lewis x (sLex), …

Review Of The Book The Great Patriotic War Of The Soviet Union, 1941-45: A Documentary Reader, John A. Drobnicki

Publications and Research

Review of the book The great patriotic war of the Soviet Union, 1941-45: A documentary reader.

Subchronic Infusion Of The Product Of Inflammation Prostaglandin J2 Models Sporadic Parkinson's Disease In Mice, Sha-Ron Pierre, Marijke Am Lemmens, Maria E. Figueiredo-Pereira

Publications and Research

Background Chronic neuroinflammation is implicated in Parkinson's disease (PD). Inflammation involves the activation of microglia and astrocytes that release high levels of prostaglandins. There is a profound gap in our understanding of how cyclooxygenases and their prostaglandin products redirect cellular events to promote PD neurodegeneration. The major prostaglandin in the mammalian brain is prostaglandin D2, which readily undergoes spontaneous dehydration to generate the bioactive cyclopentenone prostaglandins of the J2 series. These J2 prostaglandins are highly reactive and neurotoxic products of inflammation shown in cellular models to impair the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway and cause the accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins. PD is a …

Growth And Differentiation Of The Larval Mosquito Midgut, Kathryn Ray, Maria Mercedes, Doris Chan, Chi Yan Choi, James T. Nishiura

Publications and Research

Factors affecting larval growth and nutrition have consequences on adult fecundity. Since the mosquito larval midgut is the primary organ of digestion and nutrient absorption, factors that affect the growth and development of the midgut may have potential consequences on the reproductive potential of the adult. To gain a better understanding of mosquito midgut development the growth and metamorphic remodeling of the Aedes aegypti L. and Culex pipiens L. (Diptera: Culicidae) midguts were investigated. Cytological evidence was obtained suggesting that, in both the anterior and posterior Ae. aegypti larval midgut, diploid regenerative cells give rise to new endoreplicating cells that …

In Vivo Colocalisation Of Oskar Mrna And Trans-Acting Proteins Revealed By Quantitative Imaging Of The Drosophila Oocyte, Musa M. Mhlanga, Diana P. Bratu, Auguste Genovesio, Agata Rybarska, Nicolas Chenouard, Ulf Nehrbass, Jean-Christophe Olivo-Marin

Publications and Research

Efficient mRNA transport in eukaryotes requires highly orchestrated relationships between nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins. For oskar mRNA, the Drosophila posterior determinant, these spatio-temporal requirements remain opaque during its multi-step transport process. By in vivo covisualization of oskar mRNA with Staufen, its putative trafficking protein, we find oskar mRNA to be present in particles distinct from Staufen for part of its transport. oskar mRNA stably associated with Staufen near the posterior pole. We observe oskar mRNA to oligomerize as hundreds of copies forming large particles which are necessary for its long range transport and localization. We show the formation of these …

Securing An Effective Voice For Citizens In Intergovernmental Administrative Decision Making, Maria J. D'Agostino

Publications and Research

Intergovernmental administrative arrangements, often obscured from public view, are responsible for public decisions and their consequences. After European Union citizens expressed dissatisfaction with the disconnected administrative decision-making process by rejecting the European Constitution, the European Commission called for a period of reflection to develop tools and processes in order to involve citizens in the decision-making process.

This article examines collaborative efforts by the European Union to involve citizens in the shaping of national priorities. In-depth interviews were conducted with the heads of nonprofit organizations and staffers at nonprofits involved with organizing the European Citizens’ Consultations (ECC). All the organizations are …

Genomic And Systems Evolution In Vibrionaceae Species, Jianying Gu, Jennifer Neary, Hong Cai, Audrey Moshfeghian, Stephen A. Rodriguez, Timothy G. Lilburn, Yufeng Wang

Publications and Research

Background The steadily increasing number of prokaryotic genomes has accelerated the study of genome evolution; in particular, the availability of sets of genomes from closely related bacteria has facilitated the exploration of the mechanisms underlying genome plasticity. The family Vibrionaceae is found in the Gammaproteobacteria and is abundant in aquatic environments. Taxa from the family Vibrionaceae are diversified in their life styles; some species are free living, others are symbiotic, and others are human pathogens. This diversity makes this family a useful set of model organisms for studying bacterial evolution. This evolution is driven by several forces, among them gene …

Teaching Mathematics For Social Justice: Reflections On A Community Of Practice For Urban High School Mathematics Teacher, Lidia Gonzalez

Publications and Research

In this article, the author reports on a study that explored, in part, the developing identities of seven New York City public high school mathematics teachers as teachers of mathematics and agents of change. Meeting regularly as a community of practice, the teachers and author/researcher discussed issues of teaching mathematics for social justice; explored activities and lessons around social justice; and created a unit of study that attempted to meet high school level mathematics standards, while addressing a social justice issue affecting the lives of urban students. The author reports on the mathematics teachers, growing awareness of and concerns about …

Journals Not Included In Biosis Have A Notable Impact In Biology, Philip Barnett, Claudia Lascar

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Cloaked Websites: Propaganda, Cyber-Racism And Epistemology In The Digital Era, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

This article analyzes cloaked websites, which are sites published by individuals or groups who conceal authorship in order to disguise deliberately a hidden political agenda. Drawing on the insights of critical theory and the Frankfurt School, this article examines the way in which cloaked websites conceal a variety of political agendas from a range of perspectives. Of particular interest here are cloaked white supremacist sites that disguise cyber-racism. The use of cloaked websites to further political ends raises important questions about knowledge production and epistemology in the digital era. These cloaked sites emerge within a social and political context in …

A Concept For Implementation Of Lessons Learned Capability For Presidentially-Declared Disasters, Charles R. Jennings

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Review Of "The Globalisation Of Addiction: A Study In Poverty Of The Spirit" By Bruce K. Alexander, Harry G. Levine

Publications and Research

Book review of "The Globalisation Of Addiction: A Study In Poverty Of The Spirit" by Bruce K. Alexander

The Complexities Of Measuring Access To Parks And Physical Activity Sites In New York City: A Quantitative And Qualitative Approach, Andrew R. Maroko, Juliana A. Maantay, Nancy L. Sohler, Kristen L. Grady, Peter S. Arno

Publications and Research

Background Proximity to parks and physical activity sites has been linked to an increase in active behaviors, and positive impacts on health outcomes such as lower rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. Since populations with a low socio-economic status as well as racial and ethnic minorities tend to experience worse health outcomes in the USA, access to parks and physical activity sites may be an environmental justice issue. Geographic Information systems were used to conduct quantitative and qualitative analyses of park accessibility in New York City, which included kernel density estimation, ordinary least squares (global) regression, geographically weighted (local) …

Direct Intra-Tumoral Injection Of Zinc-Acetate Halts Tumor Growth In A Xenograft Model Of Prostate Cancer, Maulik R. Shah, Christopher L. Kriedt, Nathan H. Lents, Mary K. Hoyer, Nimah Jamaluddin, Claudette Klein, Joseph Baldassare

Publications and Research

Intracellular levels of zinc have shown a strong inverse correlation to growth and malignancy of prostate cancer. To date, studies of zinc supplementation in prostate cancer have been equivocal and have not accounted for bioavailability of zinc. Therefore, we hypothesized that direct intra-tumoral injection of zinc could impact prostate cancer growth. In this study, we evaluated the cytotoxic properties of the pH neutral salt zinc acetate on the prostate cancer cell lines PC3, DU145 and LNCaP. Zinc acetate killed prostate cancer cell lines in vitro, independent of androgen sensitivity, in a dose-dependent manner in a range between 200 and 600 …

The Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom Hierarchy And Its Antithesis, Jay H. Bernstein

Publications and Research

The now taken-for-granted notion that data lead to information, which leads to knowledge, which in turnleads to wisdom was first specified in detail by R. L. Ackoff in 1988. The Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom hierarchy is based on filtration, reduction, and transformation. Besides being causal and hierarchical,the scheme is pyramidal, in that data are plentiful while wisdom is almost nonexistent. Ackoff’s formulalinking these terms together this way permits us to ask what the opposite of knowledge is and whether analogous principles of hierarchy, process, and pyramiding apply to it. The inversion of the Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom hierarchy produces a series of opposing terms (including misinformation,error, …

Conformational Changes In A Pore-Forming Region Underlie Voltage-Dependent “Loop Gating” Of An Unapposed Connexin Hemichannel, Qingxiu Tang, Terry L. Dowd, Vytas K. Verselis, Thaddeus A. Bargiello

Publications and Research

The structure of the pore is critical to understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying selective permeation and voltage-dependent gating of channels formed by the connexin gene family. Here, we describe a portion of the pore structure of unapposed hemichannels formed by a Cx32 chimera, Cx32*Cx43E1, in which the first extracellular loop (E1) of Cx32 is replaced with the E1 of Cx43. Cysteine substitutions of two residues, V38 and G45, located in the vicinity of the border of the first transmembrane (TM) domain (TM1) and E1 are shown to react with the thiol modification reagent, MTSEA–biotin-X, when the channel resides in the …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Widely Available 3-D Visualization Tools In Support Of Public Participation, Laxmi Ramasubramanian, Jennifer L. Weeks, Tim Case

Publications and Research

There is a persistent need for improved tools and techniques to facilitate public involvement in transportation decision making. Despite continuous improvements in increasing public involvement at all phases of transportation decision making, transportation agencies are still seeking more affordable, accessible, and effective means of communicating with a wide range of stakeholders. The report documents a survey of a wide variety of transportation agencies on their use of interactive 3-D visualization for public involvement using an electronic survey. Supplemental qualitative data was generated through telephone interviews with selected survey participants. It concludes with three case studies illustrating applications of interactive 3-D …

Latin America Translated (Again): Roberto BolañO'S The Savage Detectives In The United States, Sarah S. Pollack

Publications and Research

This essay addresses the cultural and political agendas that influence the selection of Latin American novels to be translated by U.S. publishers and the reception of these novels by U.S. readers. Focusing on two Latin American writers who have had enormous success in the U.S., the author traces the shift from the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, to the gritty realism of Roberto Bolaño, and asks what these different paradigms can tell us about stereotypical U.S. notions of Latin American cultural and political realities. Although Bolaño's work ostensibly realigns the coordinates of the …

Las Ensaladas (Praga, 1581): Con Un Suplemento De Obras Del Género [Music Review], Antoni Pizà

Publications and Research

This new publication consists of three parts: volume 1 comprises a critical study of the music and its composers; volume 2 is a modern transcription of the Prague publication with a supplement including works by Flecha and other composers; and volume 3 is a box set that includes facsimiles of the extant four partbooks (the newly-discovered tiple, alto, tenor, as well as the already-known baxo; the quintus, still missing, had to be reconstructed for the edition).

Molecular Signatures Of Prostate Stem Cells Reveal Novel Signaling Pathways And Provide Insights Into Prostate Cancer, Roy Blum, Rashmi Gupta, Patricia E. Burger, Christopher S. Ontiveros, Sarah N. Salm, Xiaozhong Xiong, Alexander Kamb, Holger Wesche, Lisa Marshall, Gene Cutler, Xiangyun Wang, Jiri Zavadil, David Moscatelli, E. Lynette Wilson

Publications and Research

Background The global gene expression profiles of adult and fetal murine prostate stem cells were determined to define common and unique regulators whose misexpression might play a role in the development of prostate cancer. Methodology/Principal Findings A distinctive core of transcriptional regulators common to both fetal and adult primitive prostate cells was identified as well as molecules that are exclusive to each population. Elements common to fetal and adult prostate stem cells include expression profiles of Wnt, Shh and other pathways identified in stem cells of other organs, signatures of the aryl-hydrocarbon receptor, and up-regulation of components of the aldehyde …

Dpr Acts As A Molecular Switch, Inhibiting Wnt Signaling When Unphosphorylated, But Promoting Wnt Signaling When Phosphorylated By Casein Kinase Iδ/Ε, Evelyn Teran, Aron D. Branscomb, Joni M. Seeling

Publications and Research

The Wnt pathway is a key regulator of development and tumorigenesis. Dpr (Dact/Frodo) influences Wnt signaling in part through the interaction of its PDZ-B domain with Dsh's PDZ domain. Studies have shown that XDpr1a and its close relative, Frodo, are involved in multiple steps of the Wnt pathway in either inhibitory or activating roles. We found that XDpr1a is phosphorylated by casein kinase Iδ/ε (CKIδ/ε), an activator of Wnt signaling, in the presence of XDsh. Abrogating XDpr1a's ability to bind XDsh through mutation of XDpr1a's PDZ-B domain blocks CK1δ/ε's phosphorylation of XDpr1a. Conversely, XDsh possessing a mutation in its PDZ …

Pivotal Role Of The A2a-Adrenoceptor In Producing Inflammation And Organ Injury In A Rat Model Of Sepsis, Michael Miksa, Padmalaya Des, Mian Zhou, Rongqian Wu, Weifeng Dong, Youxin Ji, Sanna M. Goyert, Thanjavur S. Ravikumar, Ping Wang

Publications and Research

Background: Norepinephrine (NE) modulates the responsiveness of macrophages to proinflammatory stimuli through the activation of adrenergic receptors (ARs). Being part of the stress response, early increases of NE in sepsis sustain adverse systemic inflammatory responses. The intestine is an important source of NE release in the early stage of cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis in rats, which then stimulates TNF-a production in Kupffer cells (KCs) through the activation of the a2-AR. It is important to know which of the three a2-AR subtypes (i.e., a2A, a2B or a2C) is responsible for the upregulation of TNF-a production. The aim of this …

Nowhere To Go: How Stigma Limits The Options Of Female Drug Users After Release From Jail, Juliana Van Olphen, Michele J. Eliason, Nicholas Freudenberg, Nicholas Freudenberg

Publications and Research

Background Drug and alcohol using women leaving prison or jail face many challenges to successful re-integration in the community and are severely hampered in their efforts by the stigma of drug or alcohol use compounded by the stigma of incarceration. Methods This qualitative study is based on individual semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 17 women who had recently left jail about the challenges they faced on reentry. Results Our analysis identified three major themes, which are related by the overarching influence of stigma: survival (jobs and housing), access to treatment services, and family and community reintegration. Conclusion Stigma based …

Testis-Expressed Profilins 3 And 4 Show Distinct Functional Characteristics And Localize In The Acroplaxome-Manchette Complex In Spermatids, Martina Behnen, Kai Murk, Petri Kursula, Heike Cappallo-Obermann, Martin Rothkegel, Abraham L. Kierszenbaum, Christiane Kirchhoff

Publications and Research

Background Multiple profilin isoforms exist in mammals; at least four are expressed in the mammalian testis. The testis-specific isoforms profilin-3 (PFN3) and profilin-4 (PFN4) may have specialized roles in spermatogenic cells which are distinct from known functions fulfilled by the "somatic" profilins, profilin-1 (PFN1) and profilin-2 (PFN2). Results Ligand interactions and spatial distributions of PFN3 and PFN4 were compared by biochemical, molecular and immunological methods; PFN1 and PFN2 were employed as controls. β-actin, phosphoinositides, poly-L-proline and mDia3, but not VASP, were confirmed as in vitro interaction partners of PFN3. In parallel experiments, PFN4 bound to selected phosphoinositides but not to …

Follower Is The New Leader, Or Leading From Anywhere, Jean Amaral

Publications and Research

This invited lecture calls on librarians and others to explore and embrace servant leadership and leading from anywhere in the organization as a model for contributing to the success of communities. "I am a follower, therefore I must lead. It’s up to all of us to make our libraries and communities better places, just places . . . ."

A Statewide Intervention Reduces Bmi In Adults: Shape Up Rhode Island Results, Rena R. Wing, Angela Marinilli Pinto, Melissa M. Crane, Rajiv Kumar, Brad Weinberg, Amy A. Gorin

Publications and Research

Given the epidemic of obesity, approaches to weight loss that can be applied on a community, state, or national level are needed. We report results from Shape Up Rhode Island 2007 (SURI), a state-wide Internet based program involving team-based competition to increase physical activity and achieve weight loss. A total of 4,717 adults (84% female; mean BMI = 29.6 kg/m2 ) enrolled in the 16 week weight loss competition of SURI and 3311 completed at least 12 weeks. Completers reported losing 3.2 ± 3.4 kg, and 30% achieved a clinically significant weight loss of 5% or more. Although modest, these …

Are Librarians Really Teachers? Reflections And Analysis, Mark Aaron Polger, Karen Okamoto

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Academic Library Services For Users With Developmental Disabilities: Partnership Of Access And Syracuse University Libraries, Adina Mulliken, Ann Atkins

Publications and Research

Syracuse University Library and Access partnered to provide library orientations to six Syracuse University students who have developmental disabilities. Access is a service that supports college course attendance for students who have developmental or cognitive disabilities. Students with developmental disabilities are being included in college life more and more. As this occurs, academic libraries will be providing more services to this population. We hope Syracuse University’s experience will be useful for other libraries to build on as they develop services. Additionally, we discuss opportunities to improve services for all students by focusing on students with developmental disabilities.

Suicide Associated With Military Service, Margo R. Genderson, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Mark S. Kaplan, Michael J. Lyons

Publications and Research

Suicide rates among soldiers and veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) have been steadily growing since 2004, with sharp increases observed more recently. Suicides in the Army are a growing concern on Capitol Hill and in the media. Last month, the Senate Armed Services Committee held hearings on the growing incidence of suicides across the armed forces (Federal city digest, 2009, March 18). The Associated Press (AP) underlined the increasing suicide rates among Army personnel (Army reports sharp rise in suicides in January, 2009, Feb. 5). According to the AP, there were 64 suicides in 2004, and …