Attitudes Toward Interracial Marriage in the United States Military: Black-White Contrasts

In the midst of increasing multiracial identification and diversity in the United States, I examine whether White and Black military veterans hold different attitudes toward interracial marriage than those held by their coethnics in the general population. Using the General Social Survey, I examine the likelihood of military members opposing marriage between a close relative and a partner of a race different from the respondent’s own, and whether their views are significantly different from their non-military coethnic counterparts. I use binary logistic regressions to assess whether opposition toward interracial marriage varies by military status and race. Results indicate that Whites are more opposed to interracial marriage than Blacks, and Whites with military service are more likely to oppose than their non-military counterparts. However, there was no difference among Blacks. In addition, age mediates the relationship between veteran status and attitudes among Whites, with younger people showing less opposition

The Role of MicroRNAs in Cyclooxygenase-2 Mediated Breast Cancer Progression

We had shown that overexpression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 in human, as well as murine breast cancer cells promotes tumor progression and metastasis by multiple mechanisms: host immune cell inactivation and stimulation of cancer cell migration, invasion, tumor-associated angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, which support blood- borne and lymph-borne metastasis. Most of these events resulted from the activation of the prostanoid receptor EP4 by endogenous PGE2. Recently, by stable transfection of COX-2 cDNA into a non-metastatic COX-2 negative human breast cancer cell line, MCF-7, we showed that COX-2 induces all the phenotypic properties of stem-like or “tumor initiating cells” (TICs) in MCF-7-COX-2 cells, as defined by in vitro studies and validated in vivo. Through combined gene expression and microRNA (miRNA) micro array analysis, we identified two miRNAs (miR-526b and miR-655) that are up-regulated in MCF-7-COX-2 cells that are associated with a down-regulation of 14 target genes linked with tumor-suppressor functions. We hypothesize that these miRNAs are important for COX-2 mediated TIC associated functions in human breast cancer. As a first step, we validated their expression in several COX-2 disparate human breast cancer cell lines: MCF-7, MCF-7-COX-2, SKBR-3 (HER-2 over-expressing but COX-2 negative) and SKBR-3-COX-2. The expression levels of miR-655 were strongly correlated with COX-2 mRNA expression in these cell lines. Furthermore, the migratory and invasive capacities of the cell lines went hand in hand with miR-655 expression. Expression of miR-655 was markedly inhibited by treating MCF-7-COX-2 cells with a COX-2 inhibitor (NS398) or an EP4 antagonist (ONO-AE3-208), indicating that the expression depended on both COX-2 and EP4 activity. derived from tumorspheres exhibited a dramatic increase in COX-2 expression in comparison to the cells grown as monolayer. We also found that the tumorspheres derived from MCF-7, MCF-7-COX-2 and SKBR-3 overexpressed miR-655. These findings, taken together, fortify the notion that COX-2, EP4 and COX-2 induced miR- 655 expression play important roles in promoting and maintaining the TIC phenotype in breast cancer cells

Beyond Elementary: Examining Conceptual Demands of Division of Fractions in Current US Curricula

The Common Core State Standards of Mathematics (CCSSM), a set of US educational standards which has recently been adopted by 45 states, creates a more rigorous and coherent set of standards for American students, making elementary math anything but elementary. The adoption of these new standards formulates the research questions for this study: How well do current curricula match the CCSSM and how well do current curricula support teacher knowledge to implement the standards? In this study, three diverse curricula used in the United States, Prentice Hall, Singapore Math, and CK-12, are examined with three evaluation tools. These tools measure (a) the cognitive demands of the mathematical tasks in each curricula, (b) the mathematical coherency of an instructional unit, and (c) the resources in each curricula that support teachers’ understanding of mathematics. Division of fractions is the topic of analysis because of its frequent occurrence in algebra which is the foundation for higher-level math. I find that Singapore Math’s problems reach higher-level cognitive demands more often than Prentice Hall and CK-12. Prentice Hall and CK-12’s reliance on using the standard division algorithm inhibits conceptual thinking for both students and teachers. From a Curriculum Review Tool, which focuses on teacher knowledge, I find that Singapore Math is the closest to reach the division of fraction CCSSM when compared to Prentice Hall and CK-12. Resource tools for teachers can be developed that better support students’ learning by combining characteristics from each curriculum such as word problems, manipulatives/pictures, and samples of students’ work

An investigation on photoneutron production from medical linear accelerators

The photoneutron production from three Varian linear accelerators ranging in energies from 6 MV to 23 MV has been investigated. Photoneutrons are produced during (γ, n) interactions with materials located within the treatment head. These unwanted neutrons not only increase patient dose, but may also lead to the requirement of additional shielding for the treatment room. All neutron measurements were made using BD-PND dosimeters manufactured by Bubble Technology Industries. A series of neutron measurements were completed for various geometries and for three IMRT prostate plans. The IMRT plans revealed neutron dose equivalents of 8.92±0.62 uSv/cGy for a 23 MV beam. IMRT was also found to increase the neutron dose to patients by a factor of 1.8 when compared to more conventional radiation therapy plans

Faculty Perceptions of Using Synchronous Video-Based Communication Technology

Online learning has traditionally relied on asynchronous text-based communication. The COVID-19 pandemic, though, has provided many faculty members with new and/or additional experience using synchronous video-based communication. Questions remain, though, about how this experience will shape online teaching and learning in the future. We conducted a mixed method study to investigate faculty perceptions of using synchronous video-based communication technology. In this paper, we present the results of our inquiry and implications for future research and practice

Segmental Motions, Not a Two-State Concerted Switch, Underlie Allostery in CheY

The switch between an inactive and active conformation is an important transition for signaling proteins, yet the mechanisms underlying such switches are not clearly understood. Escherichia coli CheY, a response regulator protein from the two-component signal transduction system that regulates bacterial chemotaxis, is an ideal protein for the study of allosteric mechanisms. By utilizing 15N CPMG relaxation dispersion experiments, we monitored the inherent dynamic switching of unphosphorylated CheY. We show that CheY does not undergo a two-state concerted switch between the inactive and active conformations. Interestingly, partial saturation of Mg2+ enhances the intrinsic allosteric motions. Taken together with chemical shift perturbations, these data indicate that the µs-ms timescale motions underlying CheY allostery are segmental in nature. We propose an expanded allosteric network of residues, including W58, that undergo asynchronous, local switching between inactive and active-like conformations as the primary basis for the allosteric mechanism

Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Trametes versicolor in Women with Breast Cancer

Introduction. Orally administered preparations from the Trametes versicolor (Tv) mushroom have been hypothesized to improve immune response in women with breast cancer after standard chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Methods. A phase I, two-center, dose escalation study was done to determine the maximum tolerated dose of a Tv preparation when taken daily in divided doses for 6 weeks after recent completion of radiotherapy. Eleven participants were recruited and nine women completed the study. Each cohort was comprised of three participants given one of three doses of Tv (3, 6, or 9 grams). Immune data was collected pre- and postradiation, at 3 on-treatment time points and after a 3-week washout. Results. Nine adverse events were reported (7 mild, 1 moderate, and 1 severe), suggesting that Tv was well tolerated. Immunological results indicated trends in (1) increased lymphocyte counts at 6 and 9 grams/day; (2) increased natural killer cell functional activity at 6 grams/day; (3) dose-related increases in CD8+ T cells and CD19+ B cells , but not CD4+ T cells or CD16+56+ NK cells. Conclusion. These findings show that up to 9 grams/day of a Tv preparation is safe and tolerable in women with breast cancer in the postprimary treatment setting. This Tv preparation may improve immune status in immunocompromised breast cancer patients following standard primary oncologic treatment

Cycling exercise classes may be bad for your (hearing) health

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: 1) Determine feasibility of smartphone-based mobile technology to measure noise exposure; and 2) measure noise exposure in exercise spin classes. STUDY DESIGN: Observational Study. METHODS: The SoundMeter Pro app (Faber Acoustical, Salt Lake City, UT) was installed and calibrated on iPhone and iPod devices in an audiology chamber using an external sound level meter to within 2 dBA of accuracy. Recording devices were placed in the bike cupholders of participants attending spin classes in Boston, Massachusetts (n = 17) and used to measure sound level (A-weighted) and noise dosimetry during exercise according to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) guidelines. RESULTS: The average length of exposure was 48.9 ± 1.2 (standard error of the mean) minutes per class. Maximum sound recorded among 17 random classes was 116.7 dBA, which was below the NIOSH instantaneous exposure guideline of 140 dBA. An average of 31.6 ± 3.8 minutes were spent at >100 dBA. This exceeds NIOSH recommendations of 15 minutes of exposure or less at 100 dBA per day. Average noise exposure for one 45-minute class was 8.95 ± 1.2 times the recommended noise exposure dose for an 8-hour workday. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary data shows that randomly sampled cycling classes may have high noise levels with a potential for noise-induced hearing loss. Mobile dosimetry technology may enable users to self-monitor risk to their hearing and actively engage in noise protection measures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: NA Laryngoscope, 127:1873-1877, 2017.Accepted manuscrip

Colocalization of Fast and Slow Timescale Dynamics in the Allosteric Signaling Protein CheY

It is now widely recognized that dynamics are important to consider for understanding allosteric protein function. However, dynamics occur over a wide range of timescales, and how these different motions relate to one another is not well understood. Here, we report an NMR relaxation study of dynamics over multiple timescales at both backbone and side-chain sites upon an allosteric response to phosphorylation. The response regulator, Escherichia coli CheY, allosterically responds to phosphorylation with a change in dynamics on both the μs-ms timescale and ps-ns timescale. We observe an apparent decrease and redistribution of μs-ms dynamics upon phosphorylation (and accompanying Mg2+ saturation) of CheY. Additionally, methyl groups with the largest changes in ps-ns dynamics localize to the regions of conformational change measured by μs-ms dynamics. The limited spread of changes in ps-ns dynamics suggests a distinct relationship between motions on the μs-ms and ps-ns timescales in CheY. The allosteric mechanism utilized by CheY highlights the diversity of roles dynamics play in protein function