The role of merchandise exports to Mexico in the pattern of Texas employment

In 1987, Texas exported $25 billion worth of merchandise to foreign countries. Twenty-six percent, or$6.5 billion, of those exports went south to Mexico. By 1994, Texas merchandise exports to Mexico had grown to more than $18.5 billion per year (in 1987 constant dollars). Texas merchandise exports to Mexico (in real terms) have grown more than 10 percent a year for six of the last seven years. ; Using input-output analysis, Kelly George and Lori Taylor find that merchandise exports to Mexico, while representing only about 5 percent of Texas output, have grown in ways that have substantially influenced the composition of the state's economy. The authors attribute a small portion of the state's overall job gains since 1987 to rising merchandise exports to Mexico but find that almost all Texas employment growth in high-tech manufacturing sectors stems from trade with Mexico.Employment (Economic theory) ; Exports ; Mexico ; Texas

LSF small molecule inhibitors phenocopy LSF-targeted siRNAs causing mitotic defects and senescence in cancer cells

The oncogene LSF has been proposed as a novel target with therapeutic potential for multiple cancers. LSF overexpression correlates with poor prognosis for both liver and colorectal cancers, for which there are currently limited therapeutic treatment options. In particular, molecularly targeted therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma targeting cellular receptors and kinases have yielded disappointing clinical results, providing an urgency for targeting distinct mechanisms. LSF small molecule inhibitors, Factor Quinolinone Inhibitors (FQIs), have exhibited robust anti-tumor activity in multiple pre-clinical models of hepatocellular carcinoma, with no observable toxicity. To understand how the inhibitors impact cancer cell proliferation, we characterized the cellular phenotypes that result from loss of LSF activity. Phenotypically, inhibition of LSF activity induced a mitotic delay with condensed, but unaligned, chromosomes. This mitotic disruption resulted in improper cellular division leading to multiple outcomes: multi-nucleation, apoptosis, and cellular senescence. The cellular phenotypes observed upon FQI1 treatment were due specifically to the loss of LSF activity, as siRNA specifically targeting LSF produced nearly identical phenotypes. Taken together, these findings confirm that LSF is a promising therapeutic target for cancer treatment.First author draf

Tragic trade-offs accompany carnivore coexistence in the modern world

Two vital policy aims—biodiversity conservation and food production—are increasingly in conflict. Efforts to evaluate trade-offs between agriculture and conservation have shaped scholarly discourse around two broad strategies to agricultural production that seek to either “share” land with biodiversity or “spare” land from agriculture. However, efforts to negotiate these trade-offs are challenged by rising concern for the welfare of individual animals, both wild and domestic. We use recent efforts to “coexist” with large carnivores to illustrate how sharing and sparing strategies both create tragic, and often unacknowledged trade-offs between livestock production and carnivore conservation. We conclude the best means of conserving carnivores while feeding the world\u27s growing population requires explicitly confronting and adjudicating ethical trade-offs associated with sharing and sparing approaches. To accomplish this, we recommend engaging scholars trained in ethics and social justice and use of deliberative processes to synthesize disparate facts and competing values when evaluating trade-offs

IR observations of MS 1054-03: Star Formation and its Evolution in Rich Galaxy Clusters

We study the infrared (IR) properties of galaxies in the cluster MS 1054-03 at z=0.83 by combining MIPS 24 micron data with spectra of more than 400 galaxies and a very deep K-band selected catalog. 19 IR cluster members are selected spectroscopically, and an additional 15 are selected by their photometric redshifts. We derive the IR luminosity function of the cluster and find strong evolution compared to the similar-mass Coma cluster. The best fitting Schechter function gives L*_{IR}=11.49 +0.30/-0.29 L_sun with a fixed faint end slope, about one order of magnitude larger than that in Coma. The rate of evolution of the IR luminosity from Coma to MS 1054-03 is consistent with that found in field galaxies, and it suggests that some internal mechanism, e.g., the consumption of the gas fuel, is responsible for the general decline of the cosmic star formation rate (SFR) in different environments. The mass-normalized integrated SFR within 0.5R_200 in MS 1054-03 also shows evolution compared with other rich clusters at lower redshifts, but the trend is less conclusive if the mass selection effect is considered. A nonnegligible fraction (13%) of cluster members, are forming stars actively and the overdensity of IR galaxies is about 20 compared to the field. It is unlikely that clusters only passively accrete star forming galaxies from the surrounding fields and have their star formation quenched quickly afterward; instead, many cluster galaxies still have large amounts of gas, and their star formation may be enhanced by the interaction with the cluster.Comment: 49 pages, 9 figures, accepted by Ap

Preliminary Evaluation of the AFWA-NASA (ANSA) Blended Snow-Cover Product over the Lower Great Lakes Region

The Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) - NASA (ANSA) blended-snow product utilizes EOS standard snow products from the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) to map daily snow cover and snow-water equivalent (SWE) globally. We have compared ANSA-derived SWE. with SWE values calculated from snow depths reported at approx.1500 National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) coop stations in the Lower Great Lakes basin. Our preliminary results show that conversion of snow depth to SWE is very sensitive to the choice of snow density (we used either 0.2 or 03 as conversion factors). We found overall better agreement between the ANSA-derived SWE and the co-op station data when we use a snow density of 0.3 to convert the snow depths to SWE. In addition, we show that the ANSA underestimates SWE in densely-forested areas, using January and February 2008 ANSA and co-op data. Furthermore, apparent large SWE changes from one day to the next may be caused by thaw-re-freeze events, and do not always represent a real change in SWE. In the near future we will continue the analysis in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 snow seasons

In-vivo photoacoustic microscopy of nanoshell extravasation from solid tumor vasculature

In this study, high resolution backward-mode photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) is used to noninvasively image progressive extravasation and accumulation of nanoshells within a solid tumor in vivo. PAM takes advantage of the strong near-infrared absorption of nanoshells and their extravasation tendency from leaky tumor vasculatures for imaging. Subcutaneous tumors are grown on immunocompetent BALB/c mice. Polyethylene glycol (PEGylated) nanoshells with a peak optical absorption at ∼800nm are intravenously administered. With an 800-nm laser source, a prescan prior to nanoshell injection is taken to determine the background that is free of nanoshell accumulation. After injection, the 3-D nanoshell distribution at the tumor foci is monitored by PAM for 6h. Experimental results show that accumulated nanoshells delineate the tumor position. Nanoshell accumulation is heterogeneous in tumors: more concentrated within the tumor cortex and largely absent from the tumor core. Because nanoshells have been recently demonstrated to enhance thermal therapy of subcutaneous tumors, we anticipate that PAM will be an important aid before, during, and after nanoshell thermal therapy

Contrasting Metacognitive, Social Cognitive and Alexithymia Profiles in Adults with Borderline Personality Disorder, Schizophrenia and Substance Use Disorder

Deficits in the ability to recognize and think about mental states are broadly understood to be a root cause of dysfunction in Borderline Personality Disorder (PD). This study compared the magnitude of those deficits relative to other forms of serious mental illness or psychiatric conditions. Assessments were performed using the metacognition assessment scale-abbreviated (MAS-A), emotion recognition using the Bell Lysaker Emotion Recognition Test and alexithymia using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale among adults with schizophrenia (n = 65), Borderline PD (n = 34) and Substance Use disorder without psychosis or significant Borderline traits (n = 32). ANCOVA controlling for age revealed the Borderline PD group had significantly greater levels of metacognitive capacity on the MAS-A than the schizophrenia group and significantly lower levels of metacognitive capacity than the Substance Use group. Multiple comparisons revealed the Borderline PD group had significantly higher self-reflectivity and awareness of the other's mind than the schizophrenia group but lesser mastery and decentration on the MAS-A than substance use group, after controlling for self-report of psychopathology and overall number of PD traits. The Borderline PD and Schizophrenia group had significantly higher levels of alexithymia than the substance use group. No differences were found for emotion recognition. Results suggest metacognitive functioning is differentially affected in different mental disorders

α-Adrenergic inhibition of proliferation in HepG2 cells stably transfected with the α1B-adrenergic receptor through a p42MAP kinase/p21Cip1/WAF1-dependent pathway

AbstractActivation of α1B adrenergic receptors (α1BAR) promotes DNA synthesis in primary cultures of hepatocytes, yet expression of α1BAR in hepatocytes rapidly declines during proliferative events. HepG2 human hepatoma cells, which do not express α1BAR, were stably transfected with a rat α1BAR cDNA (TFG2 cells), in order to study the effects of maintained α1BAR expression on hepatoma cell proliferation. TFG2 cells had a decreased rate of growth compared to mock transfected HepG2 cells as revealed by a decrease in [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA. Stimulation of α1BAR with phenylephrine caused a further large reduction in TFG2 cell growth, whereas no effect on growth was observed in mock transfected cells. Reduced cell growth correlated with increased percentages of cells found in G0/G1 and G2/M phases of the cell cycle. In TFG2 cells, phenylephrine increased p42MAP kinase activity by 1.5- to 2.0-fold for up to 24 h and increased expression of the cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor protein p21Cip1/WAF1. Treatment of TFG2 cells with the specific MEK1 inhibitor PD98059, or infection with a −/− MEK1 recombinant adenovirus permitted phenylephrine to increase rather than decrease [3H]thymidine incorporation. In addition, inhibition of MAP kinase signaling by PD98059 or MEK1 −/− blunted the ability of phenylephrine to increase p21Cip1/WAF1 expression. In agreement with a role for increased p21Cip1/WAF1 expression in causing growth arrest, infection of TFG2 cells with a recombinant adenovirus to express antisense p21Cip1/WAF1 mRNA blocked the ability of phenylephrine to increase p21Cip1/WAF1 expression and to inhibit DNA synthesis. Antisense p21Cip1/WAF1 permitted phenylephrine to stimulate DNA synthesis in TFG2 cells, and abrogated growth arrest. These results suggest that transformed hepatocytes may turn off the expression of α1BARs in order to prevent the activation of a growth inhibitory pathway. Activation of this inhibitory pathway via α1BAR appears to be p42MAP kinase and p21Cip1/WAF1 dependent

A Pilot Study of total Personal Exposure to Volatile organic Compounds among Hispanic Female Domestic Cleaners

Cleaners have an elevated risk for the development or exacerbation of asthma and other respiratory conditions, possibly due to exposure to cleaning products containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) leading to inflammation and oxidative stress. This pilot study aimed to quantify total personal exposure to VOCs and to assess biomarkers of inflammation and pulmonary oxidative stress in 15 predominantly Hispanic women working as domestic cleaners in San Antonio, Texas, between November 2019 and July 2020. In partnership with a community organization, Domésticas Unidas, recruited women were invited to attend a training session where they were provided 3M 3500 passive organic vapor monitors (badges) and began a 72-hr sampling period during which they were instructed to wear one badge during the entire period ( AT, fo