Paper Session II-B - Performance Status of the Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment Electrometer

The Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment electrometer is an instrument intended to fly on a future Mars lander mission. The electrometer was designed primarily to investigate (1) the electrostatic interaction between the Martian soil and five different types of insulators attached to the electrometer, which are to be rubbed over the Martian soil. The MECA Electrometer is also capable of measuring (2) the presence of charged particles in the Martian atmosphere, (3) the local electric field strength, and (4) the local temperature. We have tested and evaluated the measurement capabilities of the MECA Electrometer under simulated Martian surface conditions using facilities located in the Electromagnetic Physics Testbed at KSC. The results of the study have demonstrated that rubbing an insulator over the Martian soil simulant does triboelectrically charge up the insulator\u27s surface. However, the charge buildup on an insulator was found to be as low as 1% of the current maximum range of the electrometer when it is rubbed through Martian soil. This indicates that the overall gain of the MECA Electrometer could be increased by a factor of 50, if measurements at the 50% level of full-range sensitivity are desired. The ion gauge, which detects the presence of charged particles, was also evaluated over the pressure range 13 - 533 mbar, and results will be presented

Complexity of the self-schema and responses to disconfirming feedback

This study focused on complexity of the self-schema as one factor that influences people's responses to social feedback that challenges their established view of self. Complexity refers to the number of independent attributes included in the schema. A card-sorting task (Zajonc, 1960) was used to identify the high- and low-complexity groups. Subjects were given bogus feedback relevant to the targeted domain of self-knowledge, and changes in self-descriptiveness ratings and response latency times were monitored. Results suggest that high-complexity subjects were able to attend to and encode the disconfirming feedback, while low-complexity subjects responded by rejecting the feedback and reasserting positive aspects of the self. The implications of these findings for clarifying the process of self-schema updating, revision, and change are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44337/1/10608_2006_Article_BF02357222.pd

Pleasure in decision-making situations

BACKGROUND: This study explores the role of pleasure in decision making. RESULTS: In Experiment 1, 12 subjects were presented with a questionnaire containing 46 items taken from the literature. Twenty-three items described a situation where a decision should be made and ended with a suggested solution. The other items served as filler items. The subjects were requested not to make a decision but to rate the pleasure or displeasure they experienced when reading the situation described in the item. The subjects' ratings were then compared to the decisions on the same situations made by the other subjects of the studies published by other workers. The ratings of pleasure/displeasure given by our subjects correlated significantly with the choices published by other authors. This result satisfies a necessary condition for pleasure to be the key of the decision making process in theoretical situations. In Experiment 2, a new group of 12 subjects rated their experience of pleasure/displeasure when reading various versions of 50 situations taken from daily life where an ethical decision had to be made (Questionnaire I) including 200 items. This was followed by a multiple-choice test with the 50 situations (Questionnaire II) using the same 200 items and offering the various behaviors. Subjects tended to choose ethical and unethical responses corresponding to their highest pleasure rating within each problem. In all cases the subjects' behavior was higher than chance level, and thus, followed the trend to maximize pleasure. In Experiment 3, 12 subjects reading 50 mathematical short problems followed by correct and incorrect versions of the answer to the problem (Questionnaire III), including 200 items. This was followed by a multiple-choice mathematical test with the 50 problems (Questionnaire IV) using the same 200 items and offering the correct and incorrect answers. In questionnaire IV, subjects tended to choose correct as well as incorrect responses corresponding to their highest hedonic rating within each problem. In all cases the subjects' behavior was higher than chance level, and thus, followed the trend to maximize pleasure. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the three experiments support the hypothesis according to which decisions are made in the hedonic dimension of conscious experience

Ages at menarche- and menopause-related genetic variants in relation to terminal duct lobular unit involution in normal breast tissue

PURPOSE: Reduced levels of terminal duct lobular unit (TDLU) involution, as reflected by higher numbers of TDLUs and acini per TDLU, have been associated with higher breast cancer risk. Younger age at menarche and older age at menopause have been previously related to lower levels of TDLU involution. To determine a possible genetic link, we examined whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously established in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for ages at menarche and menopause are associated with TDLU involution. METHODS: We conducted a pooled analysis of 862 women from two studies. H&E tissue sections were assessed for numbers of TDLUs and acini/TDLU. Poisson regression models were used to estimate associations of 36 menarche- and 21 menopause-SNPs with TDLU counts, acini counts/TDLU, and the product of these two measures, adjusting for age and study site. RESULTS: Fourteen percent of evaluated SNPs (8 SNPs) were associated with TDLU counts at p<0.05, suggesting an enrichment of associations with TDLU counts. However, only menopause-SNPs had >50% that were either significantly or nonsignficantly associated with TDLU measures in the directions consistent with their relationships shown in GWAS. Among 10 SNPs that were statistically significantly associated with at least one TDLU involution measure (p<0.05), seven SNPs (rs466639: RXRG; rs2243803: SLC14A2; rs2292573: GAB2; rs6438424: 3q13.32; rs7606918: METAP1D; rs11668344: TMEM150B; rs1635501: EXO1) were associated in the consistent directions. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the loci associated with ages at menarche and menopause may influence TDLU involution, suggesting some shared genetic mechanisms. However, larger studies are needed to confirm the results

What’s retinoic acid got to do with it? Retinoic acid regulation of the neural crest in craniofacial and ocular development

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151310/1/dvg23308.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151310/2/dvg23308_am.pd

Circulating insulin-like growth factor-I, insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 and terminal duct lobular unit involution of the breast:a cross-sectional study of women with benign breast disease

BACKGROUND: Terminal duct lobular units (TDLUs) are the primary structures from which breast cancers and their precursors arise. Decreased age-related TDLU involution and elevated mammographic density are both correlated and independently associated with increased breast cancer risk, suggesting that these characteristics of breast parenchyma might be linked to a common factor. Given data suggesting that increased circulating levels of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) factors are related to reduced TDLU involution and increased mammographic density, we assessed these relationships using validated quantitative methods in a cross-sectional study of women with benign breast disease. METHODS: Serum IGF-I, IGFBP-3 and IGF-I:IGFBP-3 molar ratios were measured in 228 women, ages 40-64, who underwent diagnostic breast biopsies yielding benign diagnoses at University of Vermont affiliated centers. Biopsies were assessed for three separate measures inversely related to TDLU involution: numbers of TDLUs per unit of tissue area (“TDLU count”), median TDLU diameter (“TDLU span”), and number of acini per TDLU (“acini count”). Regression models, stratified by menopausal status and adjusted for potential confounders, were used to assess the associations of TDLU count, median TDLU span and median acini count per TDLU with tertiles of circulating IGFs. Given that mammographic density is associated with both IGF levels and breast cancer risk, we also stratified these associations by mammographic density. RESULTS: Higher IGF-I levels among postmenopausal women and an elevated IGF-I:IGFBP-3 ratio among all women were associated with higher TDLU counts, a marker of decreased lobular involution (P-trend = 0.009 and <0.0001, respectively); these associations were strongest among women with elevated mammographic density (P-interaction <0.01). Circulating IGF levels were not significantly associated with TDLU span or acini count per TDLU. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that elevated IGF levels may define a sub-group of women with high mammographic density and limited TDLU involution, two markers that have been related to increased breast cancer risk. If confirmed in prospective studies with cancer endpoints, these data may suggest that evaluation of IGF signaling and its downstream effects may have value for risk prediction and suggest strategies for breast cancer chemoprevention through inhibition of the IGF system. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13058-016-0678-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users