The USA Patriot Act: An Analysis of Student Reaction toward Governmental Access to Library Records

The USA Patriot Act has created a furor of opinion among the library community. Many oppose the Act\u27s affect on First Amendment rights and governmental access to library records. To investigate the opinion of Utah State University students, a survey was conducted among a random sample of 100 students. The results indicated that student opinion conforms to conservative Utah as most of the respondents believe the government can access library records if they have a court issued search warrant. Students felt it important that the suspect be informed of the investigation. Only 22% of respondents had heard of the Patriot Act, a significant number of who were less likely to believe in an equal balance between national security and civil liberties. Librarians at USU can use the results of this survey to continue to better serve their patrons

Amplified erosion above waterfalls and oversteepened bedrock reaches

None of the conventional bedrock erosion laws can predict incision immediately upslope of a waterfall lip where the flow is accelerating toward a freefall. Considering the expected increase in flow velocity and shear stress at the lip of a waterfall, we determine erosion amplification at a waterfall lip as [equation], where [equation] is the erosion rate at the upstream end of the flow acceleration zone above a waterfall, Fr is the Froude number at this setting, and n ranges between 0.5–1.7. This amplification expression suggests that erosion at the lip could be as much as 2–5 times higher relative to erosion at a normal setting with identical hydraulic geometry. Utilizing this erosion amplification expression in numerical simulations, we demonstrate its impact on reach-scale morphology above waterfalls. Amplified erosion at the lip of a waterfall can trigger the formation of an oversteepened reach whose length is longer than the flow acceleration zone, provided incision wave velocity (Vi) at the upstream edge of the flow acceleration zone is higher than the retreat velocity of the waterfall face. Such an oversteepened reach is expected to be more pronounced when Vi increases with increasing slope. The simulations also suggest that oversteepening can eventually lead to steady state gradients adjacent to a waterfall lip provided Vi decreases with increasing slope. Flow acceleration above waterfalls can thus account, at least partially, for prevalent oversteepened bedrock reaches above waterfalls. Using the cosmogenic isotope Cl-36, we demonstrate that incision wave velocity upstream of a waterfall at the Dead Sea western escarpment is probably high enough for freefall-induced oversteepening to be feasible

Assessment of the radiological impact of a decommissioning nuclear power plant in Italy

The assessment of the radiological impact of a decommissioning Nuclear Power Plant is presented here through the results of an environmental monitoring survey carried out in the area surrounding the Garigliano Power Plant. The levels of radioactivity in soil, water, air and other environmental matrices are shown, in which {\alpha}, {\beta} and {\gamma} activity and {\gamma} equivalent dose rate are measured. Radioactivity levels of the samples from the Garigliano area are analyzed and then compared to those from a control zone situated more than 100 km away. Moreover, a comparison is made with a previous survey held in 2001. The analyses and comparisons show no significant alteration in the radiological characteristics of the area surroundings the plant, with an overall radioactivity depending mainly from the global fallout and natural sources.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, 2 table

Assessment of the radiological impact of a decommissioning nuclear power plant in Italy

The assessment of the radiological impact of a decommissioning Nuclear Power Plant is presented here through the results of an environmental monitoring survey carried out in the area surrounding the Garigliano Power Plant. The levels of radioactivity in soil, water, air and other environmental matrices are shown, in which {\alpha}, {\beta} and {\gamma} activity and {\gamma} equivalent dose rate are measured. Radioactivity levels of the samples from the Garigliano area are analyzed and then compared to those from a control zone situated more than 100 km away. Moreover, a comparison is made with a previous survey held in 2001. The analyses and comparisons show no significant alteration in the radiological characteristics of the area surroundings the plant, with an overall radioactivity depending mainly from the global fallout and natural sources

The Essentiality of Spy1 in Cooperation with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Drivers to Promote Tumour Formation

Liver cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, standing at an estimation of 800,000 deaths annually. Among the various subtypes, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver malignancy. HCC is known to develop through a series of genetic and epigenetic alterations of proto-oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes in the liver environment. These changes ultimately lead to the malignant transformation of hepatocytes, the primary cells of the liver. Various HCC drivers are known to cause disruption of cellular pathways and promote tumour formation. Importantly, several cell cycle mediators cause misregulation, thereby stimulating tumour formation and progression. The cyclin-like protein Spy1, promotes cell cycle progression and overrides apoptosis. Recent reports have detected increased levels of Spy1 in human HCC, which directly correlates to severity of the disease and poor prognosis. We hypothesize that Spy1 plays a critical role along with hepatocellular carcinoma drivers to advance tumour development.  We will test the essentiality of Spy1 on HCC development by first investigating potential gRNAs to use for Spy1 knockout in vivo in the liver, for hydrodynamic tail vein injections in wildtype mice. Simultaneously, in vitro testing of HCC cells (HepG2) will study the importance of Spy1 in HCC cell characteristics in combination with HCC drivers such as c-myc, p53, and -catenin. This project will assist in understanding the essentiality of Spy1 in HCC, which may reveal insight into the molecular mechanism of the tumour suppressors and proto-oncogenes connected with this subset of liver cancer

Determining the Dependency of Spy1 based on Rb Status

Determining the Dependency of Spy1 based on Rb Status Visconti, T., Philbin, N, Fifield, B, Porter L.A. University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario. N9B 3P4 Porter Lab, Department of Integrative Biology/Biomedical Sciences Breast cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide and the most common cancer among women. Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer with many subtypes based on gene expression profiles. There are currently no targeted treatments for TNBC due to its molecular characteristics, urging the discovery of new therapeutic targets. Potential therapeutic avenues are the cell cycle and its mediators which play an important role in cancer formation and progression. Spy1, a cyclin-like protein, promotes cell proliferation through the G1/S and G2/M checkpoints. Spy1 promotes proliferation even in the presence of DNA damage, overriding checkpoints and increasing cancer susceptibility. While Spy1 has been found to be elevated in breast cancer, its unique binding structure makes for an ideal candidate for cell cycle inhibition therapy. The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (Rb) is known to regulate the DNA damage response system and is key in regulating the cell cycle. However, studies have shown that Rb is often mutated in TNBC inducing deregulated cell cycle progression potentially leading to tumor development. For some breast cancer subtypes the presence or absence of Rb (Rb status) can dictate response to treatment by cell cycle inhibitor drugs. Using in vitroTNBC models (MDA-MB-231 & Bt549 cell lines), this study aims to determine if Spy1 can override checkpoints independently of Rb status, and if elevated levels of Spy1 alter this response. These results could provide further guidance in developing cell cycle inhibition targeted therapies and potentially better TNBC patient outcomes

Potential of lichens for monitoring iodine-129 and chlorine-36

Chlorine-36 (half life 3.01 × 105 year), a beta emitter, is produced naturally but its presence has been enhanced by atmospheric weapons testing and other nuclear activities. Iodine-129 has a half life of 1.57 × 107 years and is also produced by nuclea

AMS measurements of cosmogenic and supernova-ejected radionuclides in deep-sea sediment cores

Samples of two deep-sea sediment cores from the Indian Ocean are analyzed with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) to search for traces of recent supernova activity around 2 Myr ago. Here, long-lived radionuclides, which are synthesized in massive stars and ejected in supernova explosions, namely 26Al, 53Mn and 60Fe, are extracted from the sediment samples. The cosmogenic isotope 10Be, which is mainly produced in the Earths atmosphere, is analyzed for dating purposes of the marine sediment cores. The first AMS measurement results for 10Be and 26Al are presented, which represent for the first time a detailed study in the time period of 1.7-3.1 Myr with high time resolution. Our first results do not support a significant extraterrestrial signal of 26Al above terrestrial background. However, there is evidence that, like 10Be, 26Al might be a valuable isotope for dating of deep-sea sediment cores for the past few million years.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of the Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium on Fundamental and Applied Science, 2013, will be published by the EPJ Web of conference