Creating a Culture of Mentoring @ Your Library

The need to find and retain high quality leadership for libraries is one of the top seven issues for academic libraries. With a significant percentage of librarians planning to retire in the next decade, retaining professionals is imperative. Librarians must not only be retained, but mentored and developed for future leadership roles in the academic library community (Hisle, 2002). Creating a “culture of mentoring” helps the organization, individuals in the organization, and those with whom they interact. This culture provides integrity (accountability) throughout the organization, and opportunities for learning, for feedback and for improvement of performance throughout the organization. Libraries are using mentoring to orient new librarians, to assist them through the promotion and tenure process, and to provide information to librarians interested in advancement

Downward continued multichannel seismic refraction analysis of Atlantis Massif oceanic core complex, 30°N, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 13 (2012): Q0AG07, doi:10.1029/2012GC004059.Detailed seismic refraction results show striking lateral and vertical variability of velocity structure within the Atlantis Massif oceanic core complex (OCC), contrasting notably with its conjugate ridge flank. Multichannel seismic (MCS) data are downward continued using the Synthetic On Bottom Experiment (SOBE) method, providing unprecedented detail in tomographic models of the P-wave velocity structure to subseafloor depths of up to 1.5 km. Velocities can vary up to 3 km/s over several hundred meters and unusually high velocities (~5 km/s) are found immediately beneath the seafloor in key regions. Correlation with in situ and dredged rock samples, video and records from submersible dives, and a 1.415 km drill core, allow us to infer dominant lithologies. A high velocity body(ies) found to shoal near to the seafloor in multiple locations is interpreted as gabbro and is displaced along isochrons within the OCC, indicating a propagating magmatic source as the origin for this pluton(s). The western two-thirds of the Southern Ridge is capped in serpentinite that may extend nearly to the base of our ray coverage. The distribution of inferred serpentinite indicates that the gabbroic pluton(s) was emplaced into a dominantly peridotitic host rock. Presumably the mantle host rock was later altered via seawater penetration along the detachment zone, which controlled development of the OCC. The asymmetric distribution of seismic velocities and morphology of Atlantis Massif are consistent with a detachment fault with a component of dip to the southeast. The lowest velocities observed atop the eastern Central Dome and conjugate crust are most likely volcanics. Here, an updated model of the magmatic and extensional faulting processes at Atlantis Massif is deduced from the seismic results, contributing more generally to understanding the processes controlling the formation of heterogeneous lithosphere at slow-rate spreading centers.NSF support was provided via grant OCE-0927442.2012-11-1

The serum proteome of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, during pancreas disease (PD) following infection with salmonid alphavirus subtype 3 (SAV3)

Salmonid alphavirus is the aetological agent of pancreas disease (PD) in marine Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, and rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, with most outbreaks in Norway caused by SAV subtype 3 (SAV3). This atypical alphavirus is transmitted horizontally causing a significant economic impact on the aquaculture industry. This histopathological and proteomic study, using an established cohabitational experimental model, investigated the correlation between tissue damage during PD and a number of serum proteins associated with these pathologies in Atlantic salmon. The proteins were identified by two-dimensional electrophoresis, trypsin digest and peptide MS/MS fingerprinting. A number of humoral components of immunity which may act as biomarkers of the disease were also identified. For example, creatine kinase, enolase and malate dehydrogenase serum concentrations were shown to correlate with pathology during PD. In contrast, hemopexin, transferrin, and apolipoprotein, amongst others, altered during later stages of the disease and did not correlate with tissue pathologies. This approach has given new insight into not only PD but also fish disease as a whole, by characterisation of the protein response to infection, through pathological processes to tissue recovery. Biological significance: Salmonid alphavirus causes pancreas disease (PD) in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, and has a major economic impact on the aquaculture industry. A proteomic investigation of the change to the serum proteome during PD has been made with an established experimental model of the disease. Serum proteins were identified by two-dimensional electrophoresis, trypsin digest and peptide MS/MS fingerprinting with 72 protein spots being shown to alter significantly over the 12 week period of the infection. The concentrations of certain proteins in serum such as creatine kinase, enolase and malate dehydrogenase were shown to correlate with tissue pathology while other proteins such as hemopexin, transferrin, and apolipoprotein, altered in concentration during later stages of the disease and did not correlate with tissue pathologies. The protein response to infection may be used to monitor disease progression and enhance understanding of the pathology of PD

Analysis of phosphatases in ER-negative breast cancers identifies DUSP4 as a critical regulator of growth and invasion.

Estrogen receptor (ER)-negative cancers have a poor prognosis, and few targeted therapies are available for their treatment. Our previous analyses have identified potential kinase targets critical for the growth of ER-negative, progesterone receptor (PR)-negative and HER2-negative, or "triple-negative" breast cancer (TNBC). Because phosphatases regulate the function of kinase signaling pathways, in this study, we investigated whether phosphatases are also differentially expressed in ER-negative compared to those in ER-positive breast cancers. We compared RNA expression in 98 human breast cancers (56 ER-positive and 42 ER-negative) to identify phosphatases differentially expressed in ER-negative compared to those in ER-positive breast cancers. We then examined the effects of one selected phosphatase, dual specificity phosphatase 4 (DUSP4), on proliferation, cell growth, migration and invasion, and on signaling pathways using protein microarray analyses of 172 proteins, including phosphoproteins. We identified 48 phosphatase genes are significantly differentially expressed in ER-negative compared to those in ER-positive breast tumors. We discovered that 31 phosphatases were more highly expressed, while 11 were underexpressed specifically in ER-negative breast cancers. The DUSP4 gene is underexpressed in ER-negative breast cancer and is deleted in approximately 50 % of breast cancers. Induced DUSP4 expression suppresses both in vitro and in vivo growths of breast cancer cells. Our studies show that induced DUSP4 expression blocks the cell cycle at the G1/S checkpoint; inhibits ERK1/2, p38, JNK1, RB, and NFkB p65 phosphorylation; and inhibits invasiveness of TNBC cells. These results suggest that that DUSP4 is a critical regulator of the growth and invasion of triple-negative breast cancer cells

On Zurek's derivation of the Born rule

Recently, W. H. Zurek presented a novel derivation of the Born rule based on a mechanism termed environment-assisted invariance, or "envariance" [W. H. Zurek, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90(2), 120404 (2003)]. We review this approach and identify fundamental assumptions that have implicitly entered into it, emphasizing issues that any such derivation is likely to face.Comment: 8 pages; v2: minor clarifications added; v3: reference to Zurek's quant-ph/0405161 added. To appear in Foundations of Physics (Cushing Volume

Rho GTPase Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Oncogenic Roles for Rho GTPase-Activating Proteins in Basal-like Breast Cancers

The basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) subtype accounts for a disproportionately high percentage of overall breast cancer mortality. The current therapeutic options for BLBC need improvement; hence, elucidating signaling pathways that drive BLBC growth may identify novel targets for the development of effective therapies. Rho GTPases have previously been implicated in promoting tumor cell proliferation and metastasis. These proteins are inactivated by Rho-selective GTPase-activating proteins (RhoGAPs), which have generally been presumed to act as tumor suppressors. Surprisingly, RNA-Seq analysis of the Rho GTPase signaling transcriptome revealed high expression of several RhoGAP genes in BLBC tumors, raising the possibility that these genes may be oncogenic. To evaluate this, we examined the roles of two of these RhoGAPs, ArhGAP11A (also known as MP-GAP) and RacGAP1 (also known as MgcRacGAP), in promoting BLBC. Both proteins were highly expressed in human BLBC cell lines, and knockdown of either gene resulted in significant defects in the proliferation of these cells. Knockdown of ArhGAP11A caused CDKN1B/p27-mediated arrest in the G1 phase of the cell cycle, whereas depletion of RacGAP1 inhibited growth through the combined effects of cytokinesis failure, CDKN1A/p21-mediated RB1 inhibition, and the onset of senescence. Random migration was suppressed or enhanced by the knockdown of ArhGAP11A or RacGAP1, respectively. Cell spreading and levels of GTP-bound RhoA were increased upon depletion of either GAP. We have established that, via the suppression of RhoA, ArhGAP11A and RacGAP1 are both critical drivers of BLBC growth, and propose that RhoGAPs can act as oncogenes in cancer

Late Quaternary Faulting History of the Carrizal and Related Faults, La Paz Region, Baja California Sur, Mexico

The southwest margin of the Gulf of California has an array of active normal faults despite this being an oblique-divergent plate boundary with spreading centers that localized deformation along the plate boundary 2–3 million years ago. The Carrizal and Centenario faults form the western border fault of the Gulf of California marginal fault system within and south of La Paz Bay, and ∼20–30 km west of the capital city of La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Geologic and geomorphic mapping, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) geochronology, and paleoseismic investigations onshore, compressed high-intensity radar pulse (CHIRP) profiling offshore, and analysis of uplifted marine terraces in the footwall of the offshore Carrizal fault provide some of the first numerical and geometrical constraints on late Pleistocene–Holocene faulting along the Carrizal fault. The onshore Carrizal fault has ruptured with up to ∼1–2 m of vertical displacement per event, likely producing ∼M 6.3–6.9 earthquakes, and at least two to three surface rupturing earthquakes have occurred since 22 ka. Onshore paleoseismic excavations and uplifted marine terraces on the western side of La Paz Bay both suggest offset rates of 0.1–0.2 mm/yr, with a footwall uplift rate of 0.13 mm/yr since 128 ka, and an approximately constant rate since marine oxygen-isotope stage (MIS) 11 terraces (420 ka). A CHIRP survey identified underwater fault scarps with heights ranging from 21 to 86 m on the Carrizal fault in La Paz Bay and from 3 to 5 m along the Centenario fault. The offshore Carrizal fault lies 8–10 km east of the western edge of La Paz Bay, forming a right step from the onshore Carrizal fault. The offshore Carrizal fault is the oldest fault of the fault system, and the fault likely grew in the latest Miocene to Pliocene in a complex way to the south toward the onshore Centenario and Carrizal faults. When the Alarcon spreading center started its modern rates at 2.4 Ma, the Carrizal fault likely slowed to the 0.1–0.2 mm/yr rates of the late Quaternary determined in this study

Continental rupture and the creation of new crust in the Salton Trough rift, Southern California and northern Mexico: Results from the Salton Seismic Imaging Project

A refraction and wide-angle reflection seismic profile along the axis of the Salton Trough, California and Mexico, was analyzed to constrain crustal and upper mantle seismic velocity structure during active continental rifting. From the northern Salton Sea to the southern Imperial Valley, the crust is 17–18 km thick and approximately one-dimensional. The transition at depth from Colorado River sediment to underlying crystalline rock is gradual and is not a depositional surface. The crystalline rock from ~3 to ~8 km depth is interpreted as sediment metamorphosed by high heat flow. Deeper felsic crystalline rock could be stretched preexisting crust or higher-grade metamorphosed sediment. The lower crust below ~12 km depth is interpreted to be gabbro emplaced by rift-related magmatic intrusion by underplating. Low upper mantle velocity indicates high temperature and partial melting. Under the Coachella Valley, sediment thins to the north and the underlying crystalline rock is interpreted as granitic basement. Mafic rock does not exist at 12–18 km depth as it does to the south, and a weak reflection suggests Moho at ~28 km depth. Structure in adjacent Mexico has slower midcrustal velocity, and rocks with mantle velocity must be much deeper than in the Imperial Valley. Slower velocity and thicker crust in the Coachella and Mexicali valleys define the rift zone between them to be >100 km wide in the direction of plate motion. North American lithosphere in the central Salton Trough has been rifted apart and is being replaced by new crust created by magmatism, sedimentation, and metamorphism

Morphologies of AGN host galaxies using HST/ACS in the CDFS-GOODS field

Using HST/ACS images in four bands F435W, F606W, F775W and F850LP, we identify optical counterparts to the X-ray sources in the Chandra Deep Field South in the GOODS South field. A detailed study has been made of these sources to study their morphological types. We use methods like decomposition of galaxy luminosity profiles, color maps and visual inspection of 192 galaxies which are identified as possible optical counterparts of Chandra X-ray sources in the CDFS-GOODS field. We find that most moderate luminosity AGN hosts are bulge dominated in the redshift range (z \approx 0.4-1.3), but not merging/interacting galaxies. This implies probable fueling of the moderate luminosity AGN by mechanisms other than those merger driven.Comment: pdflatex, accepted in ApSS. revisions in tex