On Poverty: a call for an economic and theological remedy

This article was originally published in The Prophet -- a journal created by and for the students at the Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) to amplify the voices of STH students by promoting and sharing a range of perspectives on matters of concern including, but not limited to, spiritual practices, faith communities and society, the nature of theology, and current affairs. It serves as a platform for STH students to share their academic work, theological reflections, and life experiences with one another and the wider community."In understanding how the prevailing mode of capitalism benefits a select number of institutions and their stakeholders, more and more Americans ought to be inclined to identify as economically oppressed. If a successful attempt is to be made at solving the problem of poverty in the United States, “deep solidarity” must be established among those on the margins of economic prosperity... " [EXCERPT

Rate of Manipulative Learning as a Function of Goal-Setting Techniques

Although most studies involving the use of goals as motivators in learning have been concerned with which types of goals produce the greatest improvement, there have been some indications that the method of presenting a given type of goal may determine its effectiveness

Short-term diabetic hyperglycemia suppresses celiac ganglia neurotransmission, thereby impairing sympathetically mediated glucagon responses.

Short-term hyperglycemia suppresses superior cervical ganglia neurotransmission. If this ganglionic dysfunction also occurs in the islet sympathetic pathway, sympathetically mediated glucagon responses could be impaired. Our objectives were 1) to test for a suppressive effect of 7 days of streptozotocin (STZ) diabetes on celiac ganglia (CG) activation and on neurotransmitter and glucagon responses to preganglionic nerve stimulation, 2) to isolate the defect in the islet sympathetic pathway to the CG itself, and 3) to test for a protective effect of the WLD(S) mutation. We injected saline or nicotine in nondiabetic and STZ-diabetic rats and measured fos mRNA levels in whole CG. We electrically stimulated the preganglionic or postganglionic nerve trunk of the CG in nondiabetic and STZ-diabetic rats and measured portal venous norepinephrine and glucagon responses. We repeated the nicotine and preganglionic nerve stimulation studies in nondiabetic and STZ-diabetic WLD(S) rats. In STZ-diabetic rats, the CG fos response to nicotine was suppressed, and the norepinephrine and glucagon responses to preganglionic nerve stimulation were impaired. In contrast, the norepinephrine and glucagon responses to postganglionic nerve stimulation were normal. The CG fos response to nicotine, and the norepinephrine and glucagon responses to preganglionic nerve stimulation, were normal in STZ-diabetic WLD(S) rats. In conclusion, short-term hyperglycemia's suppressive effect on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors of the CG impairs sympathetically mediated glucagon responses. WLD(S) rats are protected from this dysfunction. The implication is that this CG dysfunction may contribute to the impaired glucagon response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia seen early in type 1 diabetes

String Cosmology: A Review

The second string revolution, which begin around 1995, has led to a drastic alteration in our perception of the universe, perhaps even more so then did the first string revolution of 1984. That is, extending 10-dimensional string theory to 11-dimensional M-theory has had more profound implications than did the original extension of 4-dimensional quantum mechanics and relativity to 10-dimensional string theory. After a brief review of M-theory, I discuss some implications of large extra dimensions. I then consider astronomical evidence for, and constraints on, large compactified dimensions. I conclude with a possible resolution to the apparent inconsistency between the MSSM scale and string scale in the weak coupling limit. Talk presented at COSPAR '02, Houston, Texas, October 2002.Comment: 10 pages. Standard Latex. Changes to match retitled published versio

Mechanisms of cadmium toxicity and tolerance in Populus

Abstract ID#: 26642
Background and Methods:

Cadmium (Cd), ranked the 7th most hazardous substance, is one of the most widespread pollutants of soil and water in industrialized nations. Its increased movement in soil-plant systems is posing a serious threat to human health. Cd, without any known functions in plants, was found to be toxic even at minute concentrations, leading to the development of symptoms such as leaf roll, chlorosis and root and shoot growth reduction. Phytoremediation is an emerging cost-effective and environment friendly technology that utilizes high biomass producing plants including Populus plants to remove, transform or stabilize contaminants in soils. The objectives of our study were to record phenotypic variation in a Populus pedigree to Cd exposure, to identify Cd tolerant and susceptible genotypes of Populus, to map QTLs (Quantitative Trait Loci - genomic regions responsible) for Cd tolerance and accumulation in Populus and to predict a mechanism for Cd toxicity and tolerance in susceptible and tolerant Populus genotypes.

QTL mapping was accomplished by conducting a greenhouse hydroponic study in which 252 genotypes of a Populus pseudo-backcross progeny were grown for 40 days and treated with 25 µM Cd. Phenotypic variation in total dry weight was recorded on these genotypes and was used for identifying QTL for Cd tolerance. We identified genotypes with contrasting responses to the Cd treatment and conducted a microarray study to identify potential Cd tolerance mechanisms based on gene expression patterns.

 

Results/Conclusions:

Significant variation was observed among genotypes in response to Cd treatment based on changes in total dry weight. Cd tolerant and susceptible genotypes were identified based on the least square mean differences (Control-Cd treated for each genotype) among all the genotypes. Three QTLs were identified for Cd tolerance and they accounted for approximately 25% of the phenotypic variation in Cd tolerance measured as total dry weights.

In the microarray study, the Cd-susceptible genotype had higher expression of Fe-transporters compared to the tolerant genotypes, and Cd and Fe levels were significantly different in foliage. Even the susceptible genotype controls had higher, though not significant, Fe levels than tolerant genotype controls. We therefore hypothesize that part of the mechanism for Cd tolerance is determined by the differences in the activity of Fe transporters in genotypes with differential Fe homeostasis

Chondrocytes Utilize a Cholesterol-Dependent Lipid Translocator to Externalize Phosphatidylserine

During endochondral ossification, growth plate chondrocytes release plasma membrane (PM) derived matrix vesicles (MV), which are the site of initial hydroxyapatite crystal formation. MV constituents which facilitate the mineralization process include the integral membrane ectoenzymes alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) and nucleotide pyrophosphatase phosphodiesterase (NPP1/PC-1), along with a phosphatidylserine-(PS-) rich membrane surface that binds annexins and calcium, resulting in enhanced calcium entry into MV. In this study, we determined that chick growth plate MV were highly enriched in membrane raft microdomains containing high levels of cholesterol, glycophosphatidylinositol- (GPI-) anchored ALPase, and phosphatidylserine (PS) localized to the external leaflet of the bilayer. To determine how such membrane microdomains arise during chondrocyte maturation, we explored the role of PM cholesterol-dependent lipid assemblies in regulating the activities of lipid translocators involved in the externalization of PS. We first isolated and determined the composition of detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs) from chondrocyte PM. DRMs isolated from chondrocyte PM were enhanced in ganglioside 1 (GM1) and cholesterol as well as GPI-anchored ALPase. Furthermore, these membrane domains were enriched in PS (localized to the external leaflet of the bilayer) and had significantly higher ALPase activity than non-cholesterol- enriched domains. To understand the role of cholesterol-dependent lipid assemblies in the externalization of PS, we measured the activities of two lipid transporters involved in PS externalization, aminophospholipid translocase (APLT) and phospholipid scramblase (PLSCR1), during maturation of a murine chondrocytic cell line, N1511. In this report, we provide the first evidence that maturing chondrocytes express PLSCR1 and have scramblase activity. We propose that redistribution of PS is dependent on an increase in phospholipid scramblase activity and a decrease in APLT activity. Lastly, we show that translocator activity is most likely to be modulated by membrane cholesterol levels through a membrane raft microdomain. © 2006 American Chemical Society

Modelling reassurances of clinicians with Hidden Markov models

Generous support was received from the charity Breast Cancer Now (grant number: 6873)Background: A key element in the interaction between clinicians and patients with cancer is reassurance giving. Learning about the stochastic nature of reassurances as well as making inferential statements about the influence of covariates such as patient response and time spent on previous reassurances are of particular importance. Methods: We fit Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) to reassurance type from multiple time series of clinicians' reassurances, decoded from audio files of review consultations between patients with breast cancer and their therapeutic radiographer. Assuming a latent state process driving the observations process, HMMs naturally accommodate serial dependence in the data. Extensions to the baseline model such as including covariates as well as allowing for fixed effects for the different clinicians are straightforward to implement. Results: We found that clinicians undergo different states, in which they are more or less inclined to provide a particular type of reassurance. The states are very persistent, however switches occasionally occur. The lengthier the previous reassurance, the more likely the clinician is to stay in the current state. Conclusions: HMMs prove to be a valuable tool and provide important insights for practitioners. Trial registration: Trial Registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02599506. Prospectively registered on 11th March 2015.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Advances in Old-Fashioned Heterotic String Model Building

I review findings of various research groups regarding perturbative heterotic string model building in the last 12 months. Attention is given to recent studies of extra U(1)'s and local discrete symmetries (LDS's) in generic string models. Issues covered include the role of U(1)'s and LDS's in limiting proton decay, developments in classification of models containing anomalous U(1), and possible complications resulting from kinetic mixing between observable and hidden sector U(1)'s. Additionally, recent string-derived and string-inspired models are briefly reviewed. Talk Presented at SUSY '97.Comment: Talk presented at SUSY'97. Latex w/ espcrc2.sty, 10 pages, reference corrections and update