Radiation-induced photoconductivity of silicon

Photoconductivity method for measuring effects of radiation induced defects in n-type silico

Regional-scale hydrological modelling using multiple-parameter landscape zones and a quasi-distributed water balance model

Regional-scale catchments are characterised typically by natural variability in climatic and land-surface features. This paper addresses the important question regarding the appropriate level of spatial disaggregation necessary to guarantee a hydrologically sound consideration of this variability. Using a simple hydrologic model along with physical catchment data, the problem is reconsidered as a model parameter identification problem. With this manner of thinking the subjective nature as to what to include in the disaggregation scheme is removed and the problem reconsidered in terms of what can be supported by the available data. With such an approach the relative merit of different catchment disaggregation schemes is viewed in terms of their ability to provide constrained parameterisations that can be explained in terms of the physical processes deemed active within a catchment. The outlined methodology was tested for a regional-scale catchment, located in eastern Australia, and involved using the quasi-distributed VIC catchment model to recover the characteristic responses resulting from the disaggregation of the catchment into combinations of climate, soil and vegetation characteristics. A land-surface classification based on a combination of soil depth and land cover type was found to provide the most accurate streamflow predictions during a 10-year validation period. Investigation of the uncertainty associated with the predictions due to weakly identified parameters however, revealed that a simpler classification based solely on land cover actually provided a more robust parameterisation of streamflow response. The result alludes to the hydrological importance of distinguishing between forested and non-forested land cover types at the regional-scale, and suggests that given additional information soil-depth / storage considerations may also have proved significant. Improvements to the outlined method are discussed in terms of increasing the informative content available to differentiate between competing catchment responses.</p> <p style='line-height: 20px;'><b>Keywords:</b> regional-scale, spatial variability, disaggregation, hydrotype, quasi-distributed, parameterisation, uncertaint

Regional-scale hydrological modelling using multiple-parameter landscape zones and a quasi-distributed water balance model

International audienceRegional-scale catchments are characterised typically by natural variability in climatic and land-surface features. This paper addresses the important question regarding the appropriate level of spatial disaggregation necessary to guarantee a hydrologically sound consideration of this variability. Using a simple hydrologic model along with physical catchment data, the problem is reconsidered as a model parameter identification problem. With this manner of thinking the subjective nature as to what to include in the disaggregation scheme is removed and the problem reconsidered in terms of what can be supported by the available data. With such an approach the relative merit of different catchment disaggregation schemes is viewed in terms of their ability to provide constrained parameterisations that can be explained in terms of the physical processes deemed active within a catchment. The outlined methodology was tested for a regional-scale catchment, located in eastern Australia, and involved using the quasi-distributed VIC catchment model to recover the characteristic responses resulting from the disaggregation of the catchment into combinations of climate, soil and vegetation characteristics. A land-surface classification based on a combination of soil depth and land cover type was found to provide the most accurate streamflow predictions during a 10-year validation period. Investigation of the uncertainty associated with the predictions due to weakly identified parameters however, revealed that a simpler classification based solely on land cover actually provided a more robust parameterisation of streamflow response. The result alludes to the hydrological importance of distinguishing between forested and non-forested land cover types at the regional-scale, and suggests that given additional information soil-depth / storage considerations may also have proved significant. Improvements to the outlined method are discussed in terms of increasing the informative content available to differentiate between competing catchment responses. Keywords: regional-scale, spatial variability, disaggregation, hydrotype, quasi-distributed, parameterisation, uncertaint

ICBP90 belongs to a new family of proteins with an expression that is deregulated in cancer cells

International audienceICBP90 (Inverted CCAAT box Binding Protein of 90 kDa) is a recently identified nuclear protein that binds to one of the inverted CCAAT boxes of the topoisomerase IIalpha (TopoIIalpha) gene promoter. Here, we show that ICBP90 shares structural homology with several other proteins, including Np95, the human and mouse NIRF, suggesting the emergence of a new family of nuclear proteins. Towards elucidating the functions of this family, we analysed the expression of ICBP90 in various cancer or noncancer cell lines and in normal or breast carcinoma tissues. We found that cancer cell lines express higher levels of ICBP90 and TopoIIalpha than noncancer cell lines. By using cell-cycle phase-blocking drugs, we show that in primary cultured human lung fibroblasts, ICBP90 expression peaks at late G1 and during G2/M phases. In contrast, cancer cell lines such as HeLa, Jurkat and A549 show constant ICBP90 expression throughout the entire cell cycle. The effect of overexpression of E2F-1 is more efficient on ICBP90 and TopoIIalpha expression in noncancer cells (IMR90, WI38) than in cancer cells (U2OS, SaOs). Together, these results show that ICBP90 expression is altered in cancer cell lines and is upregulated by E2F-1 overexpression with an efficiency depending on the cancer status of the cell line

Psychologists’ Authenticity: Implications for Work in Professional and Therapeutic Settings

Derek J. Burks, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and postdoctoral psychology fellow at the Pacific Northwest Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), located within the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. He obtained his PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Oklahoma. His current research focuses on health disparities, posttraumatic stress disorder among sexual-minority U.S. military veterans, and culturally appropriate mental health treatment for American Indians.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Novel roles of the chemorepellent axon guidance molecule RGMa in cell migration and adhesion

The repulsive guidance molecule A (RGMa) is a contact-mediated axon guidance molecule that has significant roles in central nervous system (CNS) development. Here we have examined whether RGMa has novel roles in cell migration and cell adhesion outside the nervous system. RGMa was found to stimulate cell migration from Xenopus animal cap explants in a neogenin-dependent and BMP-independent manner. RGMa also stimulated the adhesion of Xenopus animal cap cells, and this adhesion was dependent on neogenin and independent of calcium. To begin to functionally characterize the role of specific domains in RGMa, we assessed the migratory and adhesive activities of deletion mutants. RGMa lacking the partial von Willebrand factor type D (vWF) domain preferentially perturbed cell adhesion, while mutants lacking the RGD motif affected cell migration. We also revealed that manipulating the levels of RGMa in vivo caused major migration defects during Xenopus gastrulation. We have revealed here novel roles of RGMa in cell migration and adhesion and demonstrated that perturbations to the homeostasis of RGMa expression can severely disrupt major morphogenetic events. These results have implications for understanding the role of RGMa in both health and disease

Ectopic Pregnancy as a Model to Identify Endometrial Genes and Signaling Pathways Important in Decidualization and Regulated by Local Trophoblast

The endometrium in early pregnancy undergoes decidualization and functional changes induced by local trophoblast, which are not fully understood. We hypothesized that endometrium from tubal ectopic pregnancy (EP) could be interrogated to identify novel genes and pathways involved in these processes. Gestation-matched endometrium was collected from women with EP (n = 11) and intrauterine pregnancies (IUP) (n = 13). RNA was extracted from the tissue. In addition, tissues were prepared for histological analysis for degree of decidualization. We compared a) the samples from EP that were decidualized (n = 6) with non-decidualized samples (n = 5), and b) the decidualized EP (n = 6) with decidualization-matched IUP (n = 6) samples using an Affymetrix gene array platform, with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis, combined with quantitative RT-PCR. Expression of PRL and IGFBP1 was used to confirm the degree of decidualization in each group. There were no differences in PRL or IGFBP1 expression in the decidualization-matched samples but a marked reduction (P<0.001) in the non-decidualized samples. Decidualization was associated with increased expression of 428 genes including SCARA5 (181-fold), DKK1 (71-fold) and PROK1 (32-fold), and decreased expression of 230 genes including MMP-7 (35-fold) and SFRP4 (21-fold). The top canonical pathways associated with these differentially expressed genes were Natural Killer Cell and Wnt/b-Catenin signaling. Local trophoblast was associated with much less alteration of endometrial gene expression with an increase in 56 genes, including CSH1 (8-fold), and a reduction in 29 genes including CRISP3 (8-fold). The top associated canonical pathway was Antigen Presentation. The study of endometrium from tubal EP may promote novel insights into genes involved in decidualization and those influenced by factors from neighboring trophoblast. This has afforded unique information not highlighted by previous studies and adds to our understanding of the endometrium in early pregnancy

Oncogenic Pathway Combinations Predict Clinical Prognosis in Gastric Cancer

Many solid cancers are known to exhibit a high degree of heterogeneity in their deregulation of different oncogenic pathways. We sought to identify major oncogenic pathways in gastric cancer (GC) with significant relationships to patient survival. Using gene expression signatures, we devised an in silico strategy to map patterns of oncogenic pathway activation in 301 primary gastric cancers, the second highest cause of global cancer mortality. We identified three oncogenic pathways (proliferation/stem cell, NF-κB, and Wnt/β-catenin) deregulated in the majority (>70%) of gastric cancers. We functionally validated these pathway predictions in a panel of gastric cancer cell lines. Patient stratification by oncogenic pathway combinations showed reproducible and significant survival differences in multiple cohorts, suggesting that pathway interactions may play an important role in influencing disease behavior. Individual GCs can be successfully taxonomized by oncogenic pathway activity into biologically and clinically relevant subgroups. Predicting pathway activity by expression signatures thus permits the study of multiple cancer-related pathways interacting simultaneously in primary cancers, at a scale not currently achievable by other platforms