The impact of race, gender and other selected variables on the participation of college and university faculty in professional associations

The purpose of this research was to: (1) identify factors which affect the decisions of higher education social science faculty to affiliate or not to affiliate with professional organizations; (2) identify the efforts of selected professional organizations to recruit, retain, and reclaim minority and female higher education faculty; and (3) make recommendations to professional associations, university administrators, and other interested parties about the professional affiliations of minority and/or female higher education social science faculty. Instruments to address the specific research questions of this study did not exist. Therefore, three separate instruments were devised to gather data from the following three sources: (1) selected professional associations; (2) twenty-two four-year North Carolina institutions; and (3) social science faculty members employed at the institutions in item (2)

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Regiodirected Substitution of [2.2]Paracyclophanedienes and [2.2]Paracyclophanes through Tricarbonylchromium Complexation

4,7-dialkoxy[2.2]paracyclophanes and the corresponding 1,9-dienes are shown to undergo selective conplexation with Cr(CO)₃L₃-reagent on their less substituted benzene moiety. Lithiation/silytion of these complexes leads to arene- or bridge-substitution, respectively. An analagous behaviour is observed for the tricarbonylchromium[2.2]paracyclophane and its 1,9-diene

The relationship between frontal plane gait variability and ankle range of motion in middle-aged and older persons with neuropathy

Objective: To explore the relationship between frontal plane ankle range of motion (ROM) and frontal plane control during gait, as determined by step-width variability and step-width range, among middle-aged and older persons with peripheral neuropathy (PN). Design: Observational study of 39 adults (mean age � standard deviation � 64.7 � 9.5 yrs) with PN. Demographic and clinical data, including measures of ankle ROM and PN severity, and spatiotemporal gait measures were obtained. Correlation and multivariate analyses were used to identify relationships between measures of ankle ROM and frontal plane gait variability. Results: Significant negative correlations were identified between frontal plane ankle ROM (inversion � eversion), and step-width variability (r ��0.344; P � 0.032) and step-width range (r � �0.386, P � 0.015). Multivariate analyses showed that the relationship between ankle ROM and step-width variability weakened in the presence of PN severity, with ROM and PN severity both demonstrating trends toward independent associations with step-width variability (P � 0.086 and 0.083, respectively; adjusted r2 � 0.145). However, ankle ROM demonstrated a stronger association with step-width range than did PN severity (P �0.043 and 0.098, respectively; adjusted r2 � 0.169). Conclusions: Increased frontal plane ankle ROM is associated with decreased variability in frontal plane foot placement during gait among middle-aged and older persons with PN, a population at high risk for falls

DOG1 overexpression is associated with mismatch repair deficiency and BRAF mutations but unrelated to cancer progression in colorectal cancer

Introduction. The transmembrane channel protein DOG1 (Discovered on GIST1) is normally expressed in the gastrointestinal interstitial cells of Cajal and also in gastrointestinal stroma tumors arising from these cells. However, there is also evidence for a relevant role of DOG1 expression in colorectal cancers. This study was undertaken to search for associations between DOG1 expression and colon cancer phenotype and key molecular alterations. Methods. A tissue microarray containing samples from more than 1,800 colorectal cancer patients was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Results. DOG1 immunostaining was detected in 503 (30.2%) of 1,666 analyzable colorectal cancers and considered weak in 360 (21.6%), moderate in 78 (4.7%), and strong in 65 (3.9%). Strong DOG1 immunostaining was associated with advanced pT stage (p=0.0367) and nodal metastases (p=0.0145) but these associations were not retained in subgroups of 1,135 mismatch repair proficient and 86 mismatch repair deficient tumors. DOG1 positivity was significantly linked to several molecular tumor features including mismatch repair deficiency (p=0.0034), BRAF mutations (p<0.0001), nuclear p53 accumulation (p=0.0157), and PD-L1 expression (p=0.0199) but unrelated to KRAS mutations and the density of tumor infiltrating CD8 positive lymphocytes. Conclusion. Elevated DOG1 expression is frequent in colorectal cancer and significantly linked to important molecular alterations. However, DOG1 overexpression is largely unrelated to histopathological parameters of cancer aggressiveness and may thus not serve as a prognostic parameter for this tumor entity

Elevated MUC5AC expression is associated with mismatch repair deficiency and proximal tumor location but not with cancer progression in colon cancer

Mucin 5AC (MUC5AC) is a secreted gel-forming mucin expressed by several epithelia. In the colon, MUC5AC is expressed in scattered normal epithelial cells but can be abundant in colorectal cancers. To clarify the relationship of MUC5AC expression with parameters of tumor aggressiveness and mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR) in colorectal cancer, a tissue microarray containing 1812 colorectal cancers was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. MUC5AC expression was found in 261 (15.7%) of 1,667 analyzable colorectal cancers. MUC5AC expression strongly depended on the tumor location and gradually decreased from proximal (27.4% of cecum cancers) to distal (10.6% of rectal cancers; p &amp;lt; 0.0001). MUC5AC expression was also strongly linked to dMMR. dMMR was found in 21.3% of 169 cancers with MUC5AC positivity but in only 4.6% of 1051 cancers without detectable MUC5AC expression (p &amp;lt; 0.0001). A multivariate analysis showed that dMMR status and tumor localization predicted MUC5AC expression independently (p &amp;lt; 0.0001 each). MUC5AC expression was unrelated to pT and pN status. This also applied to the subgroups of 1136 proficient MMR (pMMR) and of 84 dMMR cancers. The results of our study show a strong association of MUC5AC expression with proximal and dMMR colorectal cancers. However, MUC5AC expression is unrelated to colon cancer aggressiveness

Tumor Cell Plasticity in Uveal Melanoma : Microenvironment Directed Dampening of the Invasive and Metastatic Genotype and Phenotype Accompanies the Generation of Vasculogenic Mimicry Patterns

The histological detection of laminin-rich vasculogenic mimicry patterns in human primary uveal melanomas is associated with death from metastases. We therefore hypothesized that highly invasive uveal melanoma cells forming vasculogenic mimicry patterns after exposure to a laminin-rich three-dimensional microenvironment would differentially express genes associated with invasive and metastatic behavior. However, we discovered that genes associated with differentiation (GDF15 and ATF3) and suppression of proliferation (CDKNa1/p21) were up-regulated in highly invasive uveal melanoma cells forming vasculogenic mimicry patterns, and genes associated with promotion of invasive and metastatic behavior such as CD44, CCNE2 (cyclin E2), THBS1 (thrombospondin 1), and CSPG2 (chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan; versican) were down-regulated. After forming vasculogenic mimicry patterns, uveal melanoma cells invaded only short distances, failed to replicate, and changed morphologically from the invasive epithelioid to the indolent spindle A phenotype. In human tissue samples, uveal melanoma cells within vasculogenic mimicry patterns assumed the spindle A morphology, and the expression of Ki67 was significantly reduced in adjacent melanoma cells. Thus, the generation of vasculogenic mimicry patterns is accompanied by dampening of the invasive and metastatic uveal melanoma genotype and phenotype and underscores the plasticity of these cells in response to cues from the microenvironment