RELATIVE ABUNDANCE OF NORTHERN FLYING SQUIRRELS AND RED SQUIRRELS IN DIFFERENT FOREST TYPES, BLACK HILLS, SOUTH DAKOTA

Northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) and red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in the Black Hills National Forest (BHNF) of South Dakota represent isolated populations. Because data on both species in the region are limited, and because the northern flying squirrel in South Dakota and the Black Hills National Forest has species of concern status, we trapped throughout BHNF to determine relative abundance in different forest types for both populations. For northern flying squirrels, capture rate was higher in the northern and western hills compared to the southern and eastern hills, whereas for red squirrels, capture rate was higher in the western hills, followed by the southern and eastern hills. The northern hills are classified as mesic coniferous forest transitioning to a dry coniferous forest in the southern hills. In addition, the northern hills is characterized by a mixed coniferous-deciduous forest, whereas the southern and eastern hills are characterized by even-aged managed coniferous stands. Understanding the abundance of these two isolated squirrel populations in the different forest types of the BHNF is important in intensively managed forests, because management decisions can impact isolated populations

Scaffolding: A Promising Approach to Fostering Critical Thinking

Many undergraduate students struggle when asked to engage in critical thinking. One approach we have found useful in fostering critical thinking is scaffolding, a process that involves the use of prompts, supports, and modeling to build a removable structure from which students can learn complex thinking skills. Through the development of these critical thinking skills, students are better able to analyze and formulate recommendations for real world applications. This paper discusses how to incorporate a critical thinking scaffold to guide the design and facilitation of a case-based learningdiscussed

Street Crime in London: Deterrence, Disruption and Displacement

In early 2002 the Government implemented the Street Crime Initiative (SCI) in response to a rapid rise in street crime and growing public and media concern. The report examines the nature of street crime in the capital during 2001/02 and the early stages of the government initiative designed to tackle it. The study takes an innovative approach combining offence statistics, information gathered from interviews with offenders and those involved in the Street Crime Initiative (SCI) and crime mapping techniques to assess the impact of the SCI. It pays particular attention to how these offences can displace into other forms of crime or shift across time or place. It was precisely these issues which led the Government Office for London ultimately to commission this study in order to understand the nature of street crime across the London region

Street crime in London: deterrence, disruption and displacement

In early 2002 the Government implemented the Street Crime Initiative (SCI) in response to a rapid rise in street crime and growing public and media concern. The report examines the nature of street crime in the capital during 2001/02 and the early stages of the government initiative designed to tackle it. The study takes an innovative approach combining offence statistics, information gathered from interviews with offenders and those involved in the Street Crime Initiative (SCI) and crime mapping techniques to assess the impact of the SCI. It pays particular attention to how these offences can displace into other forms of crime or shift across time or place. It was precisely these issues which led the Government Office for London ultimately to commission this study in order to understand the nature of street crime across the London region

Expression profiling identifies genes involved in neoplastic transformation of serous ovarian cancer

Background: The malignant potential of serous ovarian tumors, the most common ovarian tumor subtype, varies from benign to low malignant potential (LMP) tumors to frankly invasive cancers. Given the uncertainty about the relationship between these different forms, we compared their patterns of gene expression. Methods: Expression profiling was carried out on samples of 7 benign, 7 LMP and 28 invasive (moderate and poorly differentiated) serous tumors and four whole normal ovaries using oligonucleotide microarrays representing over 21,000 genes. Results: We identified 311 transcripts that distinguished invasive from benign tumors, and 20 transcripts that were significantly differentially expressed between invasive and LMP tumors at p < 0.01 (with multiple testing correction). Five genes that were differentially expressed between invasive and either benign or normal tissues were validated by real time PCR in an independent panel of 46 serous tumors (4 benign, 7 LMP, 35 invasive). Overexpression of SLPI and WNT7A and down-regulation of C6orf31, PDGFRA and GLTSCR2 were measured in invasive and LMP compared with benign and normal tissues. Over-expression of WNT7A in an ovarian cancer cell line led to increased migration and invasive capacity. Conclusion: These results highlight several genes that may play an important role across the spectrum of serous ovarian tumorigenesis

Claudin 4 Is Differentially Expressed between Ovarian Cancer Subtypes and Plays a Role in Spheroid Formation

Claudin 4 is a cellular adhesion molecule that is frequently overexpressed in ovarian cancer and other epithelial cancers. In this study, we sought to determine whether the expression of claudin 4 is associated with outcome in ovarian cancer patients and may be involved in tumor progression. We examined claudin 4 expression in ovarian cancer tissues and cell lines, as well as by immunohistochemical staining of tissue microarrays (TMAs; n = 500), spheroids present in patients’ ascites, and spheroids formed in vitro. Claudin 4 was expressed in nearly 70% of the ovarian cancer tissues examined and was differentially expressed across ovarian cancer subtypes, with the lowest expression in clear cell subtype. No association was found between claudin 4 expression and disease-specific survival in any subtype. Claudin 4 expression was also observed in multicellular spheroids obtained from patients’ ascites. Using an in vitro spheroid formation assay, we found that NIH:OVCAR5 cells treated with shRNA against claudin 4 required a longer time to form compact spheroids compared to control NIH:OVCAR5 cells that expressed high levels of claudin 4. The inability of the NIH:OVCAR5 cells treated with claudin 4 shRNA to form compact spheroids was verified by FITC-dextran exclusion. These results demonstrate a role for claudin 4 and tight junctions in spheroid formation and integrity

Normal Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines Exhibit Pervasive Mosaic Aneuploidy

Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) lines have been considered to be homogeneously euploid. Here we report that normal hPSC – including induced pluripotent - lines are karyotypic mosaics of euploid cells intermixed with many cells showing non-clonal aneuploidies as identified by chromosome counting, spectral karyotyping (SKY) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) of interphase/non-mitotic cells. This mosaic aneuploidy resembles that observed in progenitor cells of the developing brain and preimplantation embryos, suggesting that it is a normal, rather than pathological, feature of stem cell lines. The karyotypic heterogeneity generated by mosaic aneuploidy may contribute to the reported functional and phenotypic heterogeneity of hPSCs lines, as well as their therapeutic efficacy and safety following transplantation

Cytochrome P450 2C24: expression, tissue distribution, high-throughput assay, and pharmacological inhibition

Cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated epoxidation of arachidonic acid (AA) contributes to important biological functions, including the pain-relieving responses produced by analgesic drugs. However, the relevant epoxygenase(s) remain unidentified. Presently, we describe the tissue distribution, high-throughput assay, and pharmacological characteristics of the rat epoxygenase CYP2C24. Following cloning from male rat liver, recombinant baculovirus containing the C-terminal His-tagged cDNA was constructed and used to express the protein in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells. Enzymatic activity was detected with membranes, NADPH regenerating system and CYP reductase, and optimized for high throughput screening by use of the Vivid Blue© BOMCC fluorescence substrate. Quantitative real-time PCR identified CYP2C24 m-RNA in liver, kidney, heart, lung, gonad and brain. Screening of CYP2C24 activity against a panel of inhibitors showed a very strong correlation with activity against the human homologue CYP2C19. In agreement with recent findings on CYP2C19, the epoxygenase blockers PPOH and MS-PPOH inhibited CYP2C24 only weakly, confirming that these drugs are not universal epoxygenase inhibitors. Finally, comparisons of the CYP2C24 inhibitor profile with anti-analgesic activity suggests that this isoform does not contribute to brain analgesic drug action. The present methods and pharmacological data will aid in study of the biological significance of this CYP isoform