6,345 research outputs found
HOXA10 controls osteoblastogenesis by directly activating bone regulatory and phenotypic genes
HOXA10 is necessary for embryonic patterning of skeletal elements, but its function in bone formation beyond this early developmental stage is unknown. Here we show that HOXA10 contributes to osteogenic lineage determination through activation of Runx2 and directly regulates osteoblastic phenotypic genes. In response to bone morphogenic protein BMP2, Hoxa10 is rapidly induced and functions to activate the Runx2 transcription factor essential for bone formation. A functional element with the Hox core motif was characterized for the bone-related Runx2 P1 promoter. HOXA10 also activates other osteogenic genes, including the alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and bone sialoprotein genes, and temporally associates with these target gene promoters during stages of osteoblast differentiation prior to the recruitment of RUNX2. Exogenous expression and small interfering RNA knockdown studies establish that HOXA10 mediates chromatin hyperacetylation and trimethyl histone K4 (H3K4) methylation of these genes, correlating to active transcription. HOXA10 therefore contributes to early expression of osteogenic genes through chromatin remodeling. Importantly, HOXA10 can induce osteoblast genes in Runx2 null cells, providing evidence for a direct role in mediating osteoblast differentiation independent of RUNX2. We propose that HOXA10 activates RUNX2 in mesenchymal cells, contributing to the onset of osteogenesis, and that HOXA10 subsequently supports bone formation by direct regulation of osteoblast phenotypic genes. <br/
What Determines the Incidence and Extent of MgII Absorbing Gas Around Galaxies?
We study the connections between on-going star formation, galaxy mass, and
extended halo gas, in order to distinguish between starburst-driven outflows
and infalling clouds that produce the majority of observed MgII absorbers at
large galactic radii (>~ 10 h^{-1} kpc) and to gain insights into halo gas
contents around galaxies. We present new measurements of total stellar mass
(M_star), H-alpha emission line strength (EW(H-alpha)), and specific star
formation rate (sSFR) for the 94 galaxies published in H.-W. Chen et al.
(2010). We find that the extent of MgII absorbing gas, R_MgII, scales with
M_star and sSFR, following R_MgII \propto M_star^{0.28}\times sSFR^{0.11}. The
strong dependence of R_MgII on M_star is most naturally explained, if more
massive galaxies possess more extended halos of cool gas and the observed MgII
absorbers arise in infalling clouds which will subsequently fuel star formation
in the galaxies. The additional scaling relation of R_MgII with sSFR can be
understood either as accounting for extra gas supplies due to starburst
outflows or as correcting for suppressed cool gas content in high-mass halos.
The latter is motivated by the well-known sSFR--M_star} inverse correlation in
field galaxies. Our analysis shows that a joint study of galaxies and MgII
absorbers along common sightlines provides an empirical characterization of
halo gaseous radius versus halo mass. A comparison study of R_MgII around red-
and blue-sequence galaxies may provide the first empirical constraint for
resolving the physical origin of the observed sSFR--M_star} relation in
galaxies.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; ApJL in pres
Uncovering middle managers' role in healthcare innovation implementation
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Middle managers have received little attention in extant health services research, yet they may have a key role in healthcare innovation implementation. The gap between evidence of effective care and practice may be attributed in part to poor healthcare innovation implementation. Investigating middle managers' role in healthcare innovation implementation may reveal an opportunity for improvement. In this paper, we present a theory of middle managers' role in healthcare innovation implementation to fill the gap in the literature and to stimulate research that empirically examines middle managers' influence on innovation implementation in healthcare organizations.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Extant healthcare innovation implementation research has primarily focused on the roles of physicians and top managers. Largely overlooked is the role of middle managers. We suggest that middle managers influence healthcare innovation implementation by diffusing information, synthesizing information, mediating between strategy and day-to-day activities, and selling innovation implementation.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>Teamwork designs have become popular in healthcare organizations. Because middle managers oversee these team initiatives, their potential to influence innovation implementation has grown. Future research should investigate middle managers' role in healthcare innovation implementation. Findings may aid top managers in leveraging middle managers' influence to improve the effectiveness of healthcare innovation implementation.</p
Statistical mechanics of columnar DNA assemblies
Many physical systems can be mapped onto solved or "solvable" models of
magnetism. In this work, we have mapped the statistical mechanics of columnar
phases of ideally helical rigid DNA -- subject to the earlier found unusual,
frustrated pair potential [A. A. Kornyshev and S. Leikin, J. Chem. Phys. 107,
3656 (1997)] -- onto an exotic, unknown variant of the XY model on a fixed or
restructurable lattice. Here the role of the 'spin' is played by the azimuthal
orientation of the molecules. We have solved this model using a Hartree-Fock
approximation, ground state calculations, and finite temperature Monte Carlo
simulations. We have found peculiar spin order transitions, which may also be
accompanied by positional restructuring, from hexagonal to rhombohedric
lattices. Some of these have been experimentally observed in dense columnar
aggregates. Note that DNA columnar phases are of great interest in biophysical
research, not only because they are a useful in vitro tool for the study of DNA
condensation, but also since these structures have been detected in living
matter. Within the approximations made, our study provides insight into the
statistical mechanics of these systems.Comment: 19 pages, 18 figure
How to Embed a Librarian
Librarians were embedded in two Vanderbilt University courses in 2006. The largest undergraduate program is Human and Organization Development at the Peabody College of Education and Human Development. As part of an integrated approach, the librarians proposed an “embedded librarian” for a freshmen course of 107 students. A librarian audited a course. As a member of the class, she was informed about the assignments. She scheduled optional workshops that were tailored to the students needs.
At the Owen Graduate School of Management, an embedded librarian worked with 65 undergraduate students from a variety of non-business majors at Vanderbilt. They participated in the intensive 4-week “Accelerator” summer program. The purpose of embedding a librarian was to instill business information fluency and to stress the value of information in academic and real-world situations.
Highlighting their experiences, the embedded librarians and a course professor will present their observations and discuss expected outcomes. They will give advice for those who want to institute this program in their own institutions
Variations of the ISM Compactness Across the Main Sequence of Star-Forming Galaxies: Observations and Simulations
(abridged) The majority of star-forming galaxies follow a simple empirical
correlation in the star formation rate (SFR) versus stellar mass () plane,
usually referred to as the star formation Main Sequence (MS). Here we combine a
set of hydro-dynamical simulations of interacting galactic disks with
state-of-the-art radiative transfer codes to analyze how the evolution of
mergers is reflected upon the properties of the MS. We present
\textsc{Chiburst}, a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) Spectral Energy
Distribution (SED) code that fits the multi-wavelength, broad-band photometry
of galaxies and derives stellar masses, star formation rates, and geometrical
properties of the dust distribution. We apply this tool to the SEDs of
simulated mergers and compare the derived results with the reference output
from the simulations. Our results indicate that changes in the SEDs of mergers
as they approach coalescence and depart from the MS are related to an evolution
of dust geometry in scales larger than a few hundred parsecs. This is reflected
in a correlation between the specific star formation rate (sSFR), and the
compactness parameter , that parametrizes this geometry and hence
the evolution of dust temperature () with time. As mergers
approach coalescence, they depart from the MS and increase their compactness,
which implies that moderate outliers of the MS are consistent with late-type
mergers. By further applying our method to real observations of Luminous
Infrared Galaxies (LIRGs), we show that the merger scenario is unable to
explain these extreme outliers of the MS. Only by significantly increasing the
gas fraction in the simulations are we able to reproduce the SEDs of LIRGs.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted in Ap
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