Reviews

J.R.R. Tolkien: This Far Land. Robert Giddings. Reviewed by Jessica Yates. The Book of Lost Tales Part II. J.R.R. TOlkien. Reviewed by Sarah Beach. The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays. J.R.R. Tolkien. Reviewed by Thomas M. Egan. The Restitution of Man: C.S. Lewis and the Case Against Scientism. Michael D. Aeschliman. Reviewed by Nancy-Lou Patterson. The High Kings: Arthur\u27s Celtic Ancestors. Joy Chant. Reviewed by Nancy-Lou Patterson

Fiber-Based Seismic Damage and Collapse Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Single Column Pier-Supported Bridges Using Damage Indices [Research Brief]

Near-fault earthquakes can have major effects on transportation systems due to the structural damage they impose on bridges. Therefore, it is imperative to assess the seismic damage of bridges appropriately. This research focuses on reinforced concrete (RC) bridges. An improved understanding of the deterioration on the RC bridge column\u2019s structural performance lends itself to better assessment procedures and retrofitting methods. This research advances the seismic assessment of RC single-column pier-supported bridges with flexural failure under near-fault ground motion by using ductility coefficient and damage indices

Monitoring Tumorigenesis and Senescence In Vivo with a p16INK4a-Luciferase Model

Monitoring cancer and aging in vivo remains experimentally challenging. Here, we describe a luciferase knockin mouse (p16LUC), which faithfully reports expression of p16INK4a, a tumor suppressor and aging biomarker. Lifelong assessment of luminescence in p16+/LUC mice revealed an exponential increase with aging, which was highly variable in a cohort of contemporaneously housed, syngeneic mice. Expression of p16INK4a with aging did not predict cancer development, suggesting that the accumulation of senescent cells is not a principal determinant of cancer-related death. In 14 of 14 tested tumor models, expression of p16LUC was focally activated by early neoplastic events, enabling visualization of tumors with sensitivity exceeding other imaging modalities. Activation of p16INK4a was noted in the emerging neoplasm and surrounding stromal cells. This work suggests that p16INK4a activation is a characteristic of all emerging cancers, making the p16LUC allele a sensitive, unbiased reporter of neoplastic transformation

Monitoring Tumorigenesis and Senescence In Vivo with a p16INK4a-Luciferase Model

Monitoring cancer and aging in vivo remains experimentally challenging. Here, we describe a luciferase knockin mouse (p16LUC), which faithfully reports expression of p16INK4a, a tumor suppressor and aging biomarker. Lifelong assessment of luminescence in p16+/LUC mice revealed an exponential increase with aging, which was highly variable in a cohort of contemporaneously housed, syngeneic mice. Expression of p16INK4a with aging did not predict cancer development, suggesting that the accumulation of senescent cells is not a principal determinant of cancer-related death. In 14 of 14 tested tumor models, expression of p16LUC was focally activated by early neoplastic events, enabling visualization of tumors with sensitivity exceeding other imaging modalities. Activation of p16INK4a was noted in the emerging neoplasm and surrounding stromal cells. This work suggests that p16INK4a activation is a characteristic of all emerging cancers, making the p16LUC allele a sensitive, unbiased reporter of neoplastic transformation

Citizen science reveals widespread negative effects of roads on amphibian distributions

Landscape structure is important for shaping the abundance and distribution of amphibians, but prior studies of landscape effects have been species or ecosystem-specific. Using a large-scale, citizen science-generated database, we examined the effects of habitat composition, road disturbance, and habitat split (i.e. the isolation of wetland from forest by intervening land use) on the distribution and richness of frogs and toads in the eastern and central United States. Undergraduates from nine biology and environmental science courses collated occupancy data and characterized landscape structure at 1617 sampling locations from the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program. Our analysis revealed that anuran species richness and individual species distributions were consistently constrained by both road density and traffic volume. In contrast, developed land around wetlands had small, or even positive effects on anuran species richness and distributions after controlling for road effects. Effects of upland habitat composition varied among species, and habitat split had only weak effects on species richness or individual species distributions. Mechanisms underlying road effects on amphibians involve direct mortality, behavioral barriers to movement, and reduction in the quality of roadside habitats. Our results suggest that the negative effects of roads on amphibians occur across broad geographic regions, affecting even common species, and they underscore the importance of developing effective strategies to mitigate the impacts of roads on amphibian populations

Changing digital media environments and youth audiovisual productions: A comparison of two collaborative research experiences with south Madrid adolescents

SAGE: David Poveda, Marta Morgade, Changing Digital Media Environments and Youth Audiovisual Productions: A Comparison of Two Collaborative Research Experiences with South Madrid Adolescents, Young 26.4 (2018): 34-55 Copyright © 2018SAGE. Reprinted by permission of SAGE PublicationsThis article compares two studies conducted in Madrid in a seven–eight years span in which secondary school students (14–15 years of age) were asked to collaboratively create digital audiovisual narratives. In the first project, adolescents seemed to consider their audiovisual materials as transparent and with self-evident meanings. In the second project, adolescents problematized meaning and reflexively examined the design of audiovisual media. We explore two distinct but complementary factors that might help interpret the differences: (a) rapid historical changes in the digital narratives adolescents are exposed to and engage with and (b) methodological differences in the way adolescents were supported and guided during the creation of their audiovisual narratives. Through this analysis, we draw on an ethnographically grounded notion of ‘mediatization’ that helps unpack both rapid transformations in adolescent’s digital mediascape and how digital practices are socially co-constructed in collaborative projects with youth

CD4+ Regulatory and Effector/Memory T Cell Subsets Profile Motor Dysfunction in Parkinson’s Disease

Animal models and clinical studies have linked the innate and adaptive immune system to the pathology of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Despite such progress, the specific immune responses that influence disease progression have eluded investigators. Herein, we assessed relationships between T cell phenotype and function with PD progression. Peripheral blood lymphocytes from two separate cohorts, a discovery cohort and a validation cohort, totaling 113 PD patients and 96 age- and environment-matched caregivers were examined by flow cytometric analysis and T cell proliferation assays. Increased effector/memory T cells (Tem), defined as CD45RO+ and FAS+ CD4+ T cells and decreased CD31+ and α4β7+ CD4+ T cells were associated with progressive Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale III scores. However, no associations were seen between immune biomarkers and increased age or disease duration. Impaired abilities of regulatory T cells (Treg) from PD patients to suppress effector T cell function was observed. These data support the concept that chronic immune stimulation, notably Tem activation and Treg dysfunction is linked to PD pathobiology and disease severity, but not disease duration. The association of T cell phenotypes with motor symptoms provides fresh avenues for novel biomarkers and therapeutic designs