The Environmental Condition of Tan Brook and Campus Pond, A Community and University Concern

Small streams have the unfortunate ability to be greatly impacted by human intervention. Civilizations for centuries have attempted to alter the natural state of their environment, and Amherst\u27s own Tan Brook is a local example of the consequences of human alterations on a stream. The brook flows over and under what many local citizens call home, and where many UMass students go to learn. A healthier Tan Brook would be expected to provide for improvement of ecosystem services such as flood control and nutrient processing, resulting in a cleaner campus pond and a better connection between the stream and the local community. The purpose of this study is to examine and compare previously recorded biochemical characteristics with current conditions in the Tan Brook and campus pond to determine if the health of this system has changed. Additional parameters related to the geomorphology and biology of the Tan Brook will also be characterized. Community concern in concurrence with the fact that the majority of the stream is piped underground through culverts indicates that the Tan Brook is currently impacted. The data collected can provide clues about levels of ecological impairment in Tan Brook and the source of these impairments. With interpretation, the information gathered could eventually lead to the development of infrastructure to remediate the sources of impairment, consequently leading to a cleaner Tan Brook. This is an optimistic transformation that would aid both the town of Amherst and the University

Understanding strategic road network users’experiences and needs - Wave 1

In 2011, the Government called for an independent review to assess whether they were taking the right approach to managing, operating and enhancing the Strategic Road Network (SRN), which resulted in the Cook Report ‘A Fresh Start for the Strategic Road Network’. Since then, there has been further need to inform the development of policy in this area. This qualitative research, commissioned by the Department for Transport and conducted by TNS BMRB and the Centre for Transport & Society at UWE Bristol, responds to this need by exploring individuals’ and businesses’ use, experience, perceptions, expectations and understanding of the SRN. This report arises from the first wave of research

Analysis of Marker-Defined HNSCC Subpopulations Reveals a Dynamic Regulation of Tumor Initiating Properties

Head and neck squamous carcinoma (HNSCC) tumors carry dismal long-term prognosis and the role of tumor initiating cells (TICs) in this cancer is unclear. We investigated in HNSCC xenografts whether specific tumor subpopulations contributed to tumor growth. We used a CFSE-based label retentions assay, CD49f (α6-integrin) surface levels and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity to profile HNSCC subpopulations. The tumorigenic potential of marker-positive and -negative subpopulations was tested in nude (Balb/c nu/nu) and NSG (NOD.Cg-Prkdcscid Il2rgtm1Wjl/SzJ) mice and chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assays. Here we identified in HEp3, SQ20b and FaDu HNSCC xenografts a subpopulation of G0/G1-arrested slow-cycling CD49fhigh/ALDH1A1high/H3K4/K27me3low subpopulation (CD49f+) of tumor cells. A strikingly similar CD49fhigh/H3K27me3low subpopulation is also present in primary human HNSCC tumors and metastases. While only sorted CD49fhigh/ALDHhigh, label retaining cells (LRC) proliferated immediately in vivo, with time the CD49flow/ALDHlow, non-LRC (NLRC) tumor cell subpopulations were also able to regain tumorigenic capacity; this was linked to restoration of CD49fhigh/ALDHhigh, label retaining cells. In addition, CD49f is required for HEp3 cell tumorigenicity and to maintain low levels of H3K4/K27me3. CD49f+ cells also displayed reduced expression of the histone-lysine N-methyltransferase EZH2 and ERK1/2phosphorylation. This suggests that although transiently quiescent, their unique chromatin structure is poised for rapid transcriptional activation. CD49f− cells can “reprogram” and also achieve this state eventually. We propose that in HNSCC tumors, epigenetic mechanisms likely driven by CD49f signaling dynamically regulate HNSCC xenograft phenotypic heterogeneity. This allows multiple tumor cell subpopulations to drive tumor growth suggesting that their dynamic nature renders them a “moving target” and their eradication might require more persistent strategies

Does body satisfaction influence self-esteem in adolescents\u27 daily lives? An experience sampling study

This study examined, within the context of the Contingencies of Self-Worth model, state-based associations between self-esteem and body satisfaction using the experience sampling method. One hundred and forty-four adolescent girls (mean age = 14.28 years) completed up to 6 assessments per day for one week using Palm Digital Assistants, in addition to baseline measures of trait body satisfaction and self-esteem. Results showed considerable variation in both state-based constructs within days, and evidence of effects of body satisfaction on self-esteem, but not vice versa. Although these state-based associations were small in size and weakened as the time lag between assessments increased for the sample as a whole, individual differences in the magnitude of these effects were observed and predicted by trait self-esteem and body satisfaction. Collectively, these findings offer support for key tenets of the Contingencies of Self-Worth model