Beyond community characteristics: a leader\u27s gender and local government adoption of energy conservation practices and redistributive programs

Most research examining factors associated with local government adoption of sustainability practices focuses on the impact of community characteristics. Little is known about whether adoption is also related to the characteristics of the leaders in these jurisdictions. To address this gap in the literature, this exploratory study uses data from a national survey of U.S. local governments (n = 1,672) to examine the potential correlation between adoption of certain sustainability practices and the gender of a jurisdiction’s highest elected official. Our regression models find that jurisdictions led by women were more likely to have adopted redistributive programmes and practices encouraging community-based energy conservation. But, there is no correlation between a local government’s adoption of measures promoting government energy conservation and its leader’s gender. Future research should explore whether female leaders’ greater openness to citizen involvement in the policymaking process and women’s socialisation to focus on communal rather than individual interests help account for our findings

Sorting of EGF and transferrin at the plasma membrane and by cargo-specific signaling to EEA1-enriched endosomes

The biological function of receptors is determined by their appropriate trafficking through the endosomal pathway. Following internalization, the transferrin (Tf) receptor quantitatively recycles to the plasma membrane, whereas the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor undergoes degradation. To determine how Tf and EGF engage these two different pathways we imaged their binding and early endocytic pathway in live cells using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRF-M). We find that EGF and Tf bind to distinct plasma membrane regions and are incorporated into different endocytic vesicles. After internalization, both EGF-enriched and Tf-enriched vesicles interact with endosomes containing early endosome antigen 1 (EEA1). EGF is incorporated and retained in these endosomes, while Tf-containing vesicles rapidly dissociate and move to a juxtanuclear compartment. Endocytic vesicles carrying EGF recruit more Rab5 GTPase than those carrying Tf, which, by strengthening their association with EEA1-enriched endosomes, may provide a mechanism for the observed cargo-specific sorting. These results reveal pre-endocytic sorting of Tf and EGF, a specialized role for EEA1-enriched endosomes in EGF trafficking, and a potential mechanism for cargo-specified sorting of endocytic vesicles by these endosomes

Thoracic Operations for Pulmonary Nodules Are Frequently Not Futile in Patients with Benign Disease

IntroductionPulmonary nodules often require operative resection to obtain a diagnosis. However, 10 to 30% of operations result in a benign diagnosis. Our purpose was to determine whether negative thoracic operations are futile by describing the pathological diagnoses; determining new diagnoses and treatment changes initiated based on operative findings; and assessing morbidity, mortality, and cost of the procedure.MethodsAt our academic medical center, 278 thoracic operations were performed for known or suspected cancer between January 1, 2005, and April 1, 2009. We collected and summarized data pertaining to preoperative patient and nodule characteristics, pathologic diagnosis, postoperative treatment changes resulting from surgical resection, perioperative morbidity and mortality, and hospital charges for patients with benign pathology.ResultsTwenty-three percent (65/278) of patients who underwent surgical resection for a suspicious nodule had benign pathology. We report granulomatous disease in 57%, benign tumors in 15%, fibrosis in 12%, and autoimmune and vascular diseases in 9%. Definitive diagnosis or treatment changes occurred in 85% of cases. Surgical intervention led to a new diagnosis in 69%, treatment course changes in 68% of benign cases, medication changes in 38%, new consultation in 31%, definitive treatment in 9%, and underlying disease management in 34%. There was no intraoperative, in-hospital, or 30-day mortality. Postoperative in-hospital events occurred in seven patients. The mean total cost was $25,515 with a mean cost per day of$7618.ConclusionsPatients with a benign diagnosis after surgical resection for a pulmonary nodule received a new diagnosis or had a treatment course change in 85% of the cases

Structural Organization and Dynamics of Homodimeric Cytohesin Family Arf GTPase Exchange Factors in Solution and on Membranes

Membrane dynamic processes require Arf GTPase activation by guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) with a Sec7 domain. Cytohesin family Arf GEFs function in signaling and cell migration through Arf GTPase activation on the plasma membrane and endosomes. In this study, the structural organization of two cytohesins (Grp1 and ARNO) was investigated in solution by size exclusion-small angle X-ray scattering and negative stain-electron microscopy and on membranes by dynamic light scattering, hydrogen-deuterium exchange-mass spectrometry and guanosine diphosphate (GDP)/guanosine triphosphate (GTP) exchange assays. The results suggest that cytohesins form elongated dimers with a central coiled coil and membrane-binding pleckstrin-homology (PH) domains at opposite ends. The dimers display significant conformational heterogeneity, with a preference for compact to intermediate conformations. Phosphoinositide-dependent membrane recruitment is mediated by one PH domain at a time and alters the conformational dynamics to prime allosteric activation by Arf-GTP. A structural model for membrane targeting and allosteric activation of full-length cytohesin dimers is discussed

Identification of Metabolites of Trenbolone Acetate in Androgenic Runoff from a Beef Feedlot

Little is known concerning the potential ecological effects of hormonally active substances associated with discharges from animal feeding operations. Trenbolone acetate is a synthetic anabolic steroid that is widely used in the United States to promote growth of beef cattle. Metabolites of trenbolone acetate include the stereoisomers 17α- and 17β-trenbolone, both of which are stable in animal wastes and are relatively potent androgens in fish and mammals. Our purpose in this study was to evaluate the occurrence of 17α- and 17β-trenbolone in a beef cattle feedlot discharge and in river water upstream and downstream from the discharge. In conjunction with that effort, we measured in vitro androgenic activity of the discharge using CV-1 cells that had been transiently cotransfected with human androgen receptor and reporter gene constructs. Samples were collected on nine different occasions during 2002 and 2003. Whole-water samples from the discharge caused a significant androgenic response in the CV-1 cells and contained detectable concentrations of 17α- and 17β-trenbolone. Further work is needed to ascertain the degree to which synthetic androgens such as trenbolone contribute to androgenic activity of feedlot discharges

Anti-androgens act jointly in suppressing spiggin concentrations in androgen-primed female three-spined sticklebacks - Prediction of combined effects by concentration addition

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Aquatic Toxicology. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2013 Elsevier B.V.Increasing attention is being directed at the role played by anti-androgenic chemicals in endocrine disruption of wildlife within the aquatic environment. The co-occurrence of multiple contaminants with anti-androgenic activity highlights a need for the predictive assessment of combined effects, but information about anti-androgen mixture effects on wildlife is lacking. This study evaluated the suitability of the androgenised female stickleback screen (AFSS), in which inhibition of androgen-induced spiggin production provides a quantitative assessment of anti-androgenic activity, for predicting the effect of a four component mixture of anti-androgens. The anti-androgenic activity of four known anti-androgens (vinclozolin, fenitrothion, flutamide, linuron) was evaluated from individual concentration-response data and used to design a mixture containing each chemical at equipotent concentrations. Across a 100-fold concentration range, a concentration addition approach was used to predict the response of fish to the mixture. Two studies were conducted independently at each of two laboratories. By using a novel method to adjust for differences between nominal and measured concentrations, good agreement was obtained between the actual outcome of the mixture exposure and the predicted outcome. This demonstrated for the first time that androgen receptor antagonists act in concert in an additive fashion in fish and that existing mixture methodology is effective in predicting the outcome, based on concentration-response data for individual chemicals. The sensitivity range of the AFSS assay lies within the range of anti-androgenicity reported in rivers across many locations internationally. The approach taken in our study lays the foundations for understanding how androgen receptor antagonists work together in fish and is essential in informing risk assessment methods for complex anti-androgenic mixtures in the aquatic environment.European Commission and Natural Environment Research Council

ARF GTPases and their GEFs and GAPs: concepts and challenges

Detailed structural, biochemical, cell biological, and genetic studies of any gene/protein are required to develop models of its actions in cells. Studying a protein family in the aggregate yields additional information, as one can include analyses of their coevolution, acquisition or loss of functionalities, structural pliability, and the emergence of shared or variations in molecular mechanisms. An even richer understanding of cell biology can be achieved through evaluating functionally linked protein families. In this review, we summarize current knowledge of three protein families: the ARF GTPases, the guanine nucleotide exchange factors (ARF GEFs) that activate them, and the GTPase-activating proteins (ARF GAPs) that have the ability to both propagate and terminate signaling. However, despite decades of scrutiny, our understanding of how these essential proteins function in cells remains fragmentary. We believe that the inherent complexity of ARF signaling and its regulation by GEFs and GAPs will require the concerted effort of many laboratories working together, ideally within a consortium to optimally pool information and resources. The collaborative study of these three functionally connected families ( \u3e /=70 mammalian genes) will yield transformative insights into regulation of cell signaling

Measuring Organizational Power: Resources and Autonomy of Government Agencies

Although power is a major concern of organization theory, little research has focused on the horizontal dimension of power between organizations at relatively equal hierarchical levels. This study attempts to fill that void by operationalizing organizational power for 127 federal government agencies. The derived measure is subjected to tests for internal and external validity by empirically testing one promising theory of agency power.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Neoadjuvant in situ gene-mediated cytotoxic immunotherapy improves postoperative outcomes in novel syngeneic esophageal carcinoma models

Esophageal carcinoma is the most rapidly increasing tumor in the United States and has a dismal 15% 5-year survival. Immunotherapy has been proposed to improve patient outcomes; however, no immunocompetent esophageal carcinoma model exists to date to test this approach. We developed two mouse models of esophageal cancer by inoculating immunocompetent mice with syngeneic esophageal cell lines transformed by cyclin-D1 or mutant HRASG12V and loss of p53. Similar to humans, surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy (cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil) demonstrated limited efficacy. Gene-mediated cyototoxic immunotherapy (adenoviral vector carrying the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene in combination with the prodrug ganciclovir; AdV-tk/GCV) demonstrated high levels of in vitro transduction and efficacy. Using in vivo syngeneic esophageal carcinoma models, combining surgery, chemotherapy and AdV-tk/GCV improved survival (P=0.007) and decreased disease recurrence (P<0.001). Mechanistic studies suggested that AdV-tk/GCV mediated a direct cytotoxic effect and an increased intra-tumoral trafficking of CD8 T cells (8.15% vs 14.89%, P=0.02). These data provide the first preclinical evidence that augmenting standard of care with immunotherapy may improve outcomes in the management of esophageal carcinoma

Near-infrared photoluminescence enhancement in Ge/CdS and Ge/ZnS core/shell nanocrystals: Utilizing IV/II-VI semiconductor epitaxy

Ge nanocrystals have a large Bohr radius and a small, size-tunable band gap that may engender direct character via strain or doping. Colloidal Ge nanocrystals are particularly interesting in the development of near-infrared materials for applications in bioimaging, telecommunications and energy conversion. Epitaxial growth of a passivating shell is a common strategy employed in the synthesis of highly luminescent II-VI, III-V and IV-VI semiconductor quantum dots. Here, we use relatively unexplored IV/II-VI epitaxy as a way to enhance the photoluminescence and improve the optical stability of colloidal Ge nanocrystals. Selected on the basis of their relatively small lattice mismatch compared with crystalline Ge, we explore the growth of epitaxial CdS and ZnS shells using the successive ion layer adsorption and reaction method. Powder X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy techniques, including energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and selected area electron diffraction, clearly show the controllable growth of as many as 20 epitaxial monolayers of CdS atop Ge cores. In contrast, Ge etching and/or replacement by ZnS result in relatively small Ge/ZnS nanocrystals. The presence of an epitaxial II-VI shell greatly enhances the near-infrared photoluminescence and improves the photoluminescence stability of Ge. Ge/II-VI nanocrystals are reproducibly 1-3 orders of magnitude brighter than the brightest Ge cores. Ge/4.9CdS core/shells show the highest photoluminescence quantum yield and longest radiative recombination lifetime. Thiol ligand exchange easily results in near-infrared active, water-soluble Ge/II-VI nanocrystals. We expect this synthetic IV/II-VI epitaxial approach will lead to further studies into the optoelectronic behavior and practical applications of Si and Ge-based nanomaterials