Parabens Promote Protumorigenic Effects in Luminal Breast Cancer Cell Lines With Diverse Genetic Ancestry

Context One in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Yet, the burden of disease is greater in Black women. Black women have a 40% higher mortality rate than White women, and a higher incidence of breast cancer at age 40 and younger. While the underlying cause of this disparity is multifactorial, exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in hair and other personal care products has been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Parabens are known EDCs that are commonly used as preservatives in hair and other personal care products, and Black women are disproportionately exposed to products containing parabens. Objective Studies have shown that parabens impact breast cancer cell proliferation, death, migration/invasion, and metabolism, as well as gene expression in vitro. However, these studies were conducted using cell lines of European ancestry; to date, no studies have utilized breast cancer cell lines of West African ancestry to examine the effects of parabens on breast cancer progression. Like breast cancer cell lines with European ancestry, we hypothesize that parabens promote protumorigenic effects in breast cancer cell lines of West African ancestry. Methods Luminal breast cancer cell lines with West African ancestry (HCC1500) and European ancestry (MCF-7) were treated with biologically relevant doses of methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben. Results Following treatment, estrogen receptor target gene expression and cell viability were examined. We observed altered estrogen receptor target gene expression and cell viability that was paraben and cell line specific. Conclusion This study provides greater insight into the tumorigenic role of parabens in the progression of breast cancer in Black women

Let’s sculpt it! Experiencing the role of context in coaching

This exercise aims to familiarize students with the under-discussed topic of the role of context in coaching through a physical activity. It consists of a Group Sculpture – a combination of Socio-drama, Systemic Constellation, Social Presencing Theater – drawing from a coaching case of an ethical dilemma, using the placement and arrangement of participants to represent the stakeholders and context (economic, legal, sociological, etc.). The visual and embodied representation aims to raise awareness and develop understanding of the invisible, but often felt contextual factors at play in coaching, to generate reflection about their influence, and to offer insights on how to identify and embrace them. This activity is primarily aimed for coaching educators and supervisors, but a slightly adapted version could expand its benefits to a more general audience of managers and leaders

\u3cem\u3eThe Bench to Community Initiative\u3c/em\u3e: Community-based Participatory Research Model for Translating Research Discoveries into Community Solutions

Methods: Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an effective methodology for translating research findings from academia to community interventions. The Bench to Community Initiative (BCI), a CBPR program, builds on prior research to engage stakeholders across multiple disciplines with the goal of disseminating interventions to reduce breast cancer disparities and improve quality of life of Black communities. The BCI program was established to understand sociocultural determinants of personal care product use, evaluate the biological impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals, and develop community interventions. The three pillars of the program include research, outreach and engagement as well as advocacy activities. The research pillar of the BCI includes development of multidisciplinary partnerships to understand the sociocultural and biological determinants of harmful chemical (e.g., endocrine disrupting chemicals) exposures from personal care products and to implement community interventions. The outreach and engagement pillar includes education and translation of research into behavioral practice. The research conducted through the initiative provides the foundation for advocacy engagement with applicable community-based organizations. Essential to the mission of the BCI is the participation of community members and trainees from underrepresented backgrounds who are affected by breast cancer disparities. Results: Two behavioral interventions will be developed building on prior research on environmental exposures with the focus on personal care products including findings from the BCI. In person and virtual education activities include tabling at community events with do-it-yourself product demonstrations, Salon Conversations—a virtual platform used to bring awareness, education, and pilot behavior change interventions, biennial symposiums, and social media engagement. BCI’s community advisory board members support activities across the three pillars, while trainees participate in personal and professional activities that enhance their skills in research translation. Discussion: This paper highlights the three pillars of the BCI, lessons learned, testimonies from community advisory board members and trainees on the impact of the initiative, as well as BCI’s mission driven approaches to achieving health equity

Agentes infecciosos de Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone, 1931) y su relación con parámetros físicoquímicos de tres diferentes sistemas de cultivo en el golfo de México.

La producción de camarón aumentó de 33.480 toneladas por año en 2000-2001 a 128 000 t en el período 2008-2009, lo que representa el 69% de la producción total en México. Se colectaron muestras de L. vannamei desde 2008 hasta 2009, durante dos ciclos de producción de tres granjas de camarón en el estado de Tamaulipas. Durante el ciclo 2009, se analizaron un total de 600 organismos; 180 de Reynosa, 180 de La Pesca, y 240 de Morón. Se midio el oxígeno disuelto (OD, mg/L) y la temperatura (°C) dos veces al día (mañana y noche). La salinidad, el pH y la turbidez del agua se midieron diariamente. Durante el ciclo de cultivo del 2008, un total de 660 organismos fueron muestreados. Este estudio representa el primer registro geográfico de la presencia de L. mucor, Zoothamnium sp, Epistylis sp, Acineta sp y Nematopsis sp en L. vannamei de piscifactorías en Tamaulipas

Descripción de la microbiota de los cipríndos (Cyprinus carpio) de la laguna de Salinillas, Anáhuac, Nuevo León, México.

La carpa por su volumen se encuentra posicionada en el lugar 11 de la producción pesquera en México; la tasa media de crecimiento anual en los últimos 10 años es de -1.78%. Se han reportado diversos microorganismos patógenos de carpas, por lo que el presente estudio se centra en describir la microbiota de los ciprínidos de la región. Las muestras de piel, aletas, branquias y órganos internos (riñones, hígado e intestino), se inocularon agar soya tripticasa, agar McConkey y medio Rimler-Shotts. Los aislados se identificaron con API 20E y NFT. La patogenicidad se determinó en lotes de 10 carpas asintomáticos en el laboratorio, como controles se usaron peces no inoculados y peces inoculados con cultivo estéril. La microbiota aislada correspondió a enterobacterias (100%), Pseudomonas sp. (100%), Aeromonas sp. (100%), Alcaligenes sp. (25%), Moraxella sp. (21.4%), Plesiomonas sp. (17.8%), Xanthomonas sp. (39.28%), Acinetobacter calcoaceticus (17.85%) y Achromobacterium anitratus (3.57%). De las cepas analizadas Aeromonas sobria, A. caviae, A. hydrophila, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Alcaligenes sp y Plesiomonas sp presentaron un 100% de mortalidad en los bioensayos

Symmetry breaking perturbations and strange attractors

The asymmetrically forced, damped Duffing oscillator is introduced as a prototype model for analyzing the homoclinic tangle of symmetric dissipative systems with \textit{symmetry breaking} disturbances. Even a slight fixed asymmetry in the perturbation may cause a substantial change in the asymptotic behavior of the system, e.g. transitions from two sided to one sided strange attractors as the other parameters are varied. Moreover, slight asymmetries may cause substantial asymmetries in the relative size of the basins of attraction of the unforced nearly symmetric attracting regions. These changes seems to be associated with homoclinic bifurcations. Numerical evidence indicates that \textit{strange attractors} appear near curves corresponding to specific secondary homoclinic bifurcations. These curves are found using analytical perturbational tools

Far-infrared observations of a massive cluster forming in the Monoceros R2 filament hub

We present far-infrared observations of Monoceros R2 (a giant molecular cloud at approximately 830 pc distance, containing several sites of active star formation), as observed at 70 μm, 160 μm, 250 μm, 350 μm, and 500 μm by the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) and Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) instruments on the Herschel Space Observatory as part of the Herschel imaging survey of OB young stellar objects (HOBYS) Key programme. The Herschel data are complemented by SCUBA-2 data in the submillimetre range, and WISE and Spitzer data in the mid-infrared. In addition, C18O data from the IRAM 30-m Telescope are presented, and used for kinematic information. Sources were extracted from the maps with getsources, and from the fluxes measured, spectral energy distributions were constructed, allowing measurements of source mass and dust temperature. Of 177 Herschel sources robustly detected in the region (a detection with high signal-to-noise and low axis ratio at multiple wavelengths), including protostars and starless cores, 29 are found in a filamentary hub at the centre of the region (a little over 1% of the observed area). These objects are on average smaller, more massive, and more luminous than those in the surrounding regions (which together suggest that they are at a later stage of evolution), a result that cannot be explained entirely by selection effects. These results suggest a picture in which the hub may have begun star formation at a point significantly earlier than the outer regions, possibly forming as a result of feedback from earlier star formation. Furthermore, the hub may be sustaining its star formation by accreting material from the surrounding filaments

Empowering Latino parents to transform the education of their children

This article emphasizes the role of parental involvement in the college preparation of Latino elementary and secondary school students. Although literature shows that education is highly valued in Latino families, actual college enrollment rates for Latino youth are below average. This has been attributed to barriers including lack of financial resources, problems in communication with schools, and low familiarity with the college planning process. The American Dream Academy is a university outreach program that is designed to help Latino families overcome these barriers. We conducted a qualitative analysis of speeches that were prepared and delivered by parents at graduation ceremonies of the program from 2007 to 2009. Our analysis revealed six themes: facing challenges, envisioning success, understanding the school system, taking ownership, community raising a child, and creating a supportive home environment. The findings enrich existing literature and help understand the complex systems that are at play with parental involvement in Latino families

Sum of Lyapunov exponents of the Hodge bundle with respect to the Teichmuller geodesic flow

We compute the sum of the positive Lyapunov exponents of the Hodge bundle with respect to the Teichmuller geodesic flow. The computation is based on the analytic Riemann-Roch Theorem and uses a comparison of determinants of flat and hyperbolic Laplacians when the underlying Riemann surface degenerates.Comment: Minor corrections. To appear in Publications mathematiques de l'IHE