Rum Tum Tiddle

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/6156/thumbnail.jp

Alumnus extraordinary

"Richard Chamier, who has a variety of interests and talents, is named recipient of Distinguished Service Award."--Table of contents for issue

To bring good cheer

Includes photographs by John Flanagan."The University Singers went to Washington in December and hushed the talkative town for a time."--Table of contents for issue

The man behind the window

"Though the usual life of an athletic ticket manager at many major institutions is a short unhappy one. Missouri's Virgil Spurling has been doing business at the same old stand for forty years."--Page 1

Dielectric response of a polar fluid trapped in a spherical nanocavity

We present extensive Molecular Dynamics simulation results for the structure, static and dynamical response of a droplet of 1000 soft spheres carrying extended dipoles and confined to spherical cavities of radii $R=2.5$, 3, and 4 nm embedded in a dielectric continuum of permittivity $\epsilon' \geq 1$. The polarisation of the external medium by the charge distribution inside the cavity is accounted for by appropriate image charges. We focus on the influence of the external permittivity $\epsilon'$ on the static and dynamic properties of the confined fluid. The density profile and local orientational order parameter of the dipoles turn out to be remarkably insensitive to $\epsilon'$. Permittivity profiles $\epsilon(r)$ inside the spherical cavity are calculated from a generalised Kirkwood formula. These profiles oscillate in phase with the density profiles and go to a ``bulk'' value $\epsilon_b$ away from the confining surface; $\epsilon_b$ is only weakly dependent on $\epsilon'$, except for $\epsilon' = 1$ (vacuum), and is strongly reduced compared to the permittivity of a uniform (bulk) fluid under comparable thermodynamic conditions. The dynamic relaxation of the total dipole moment of the sample is found to be strongly dependent on $\epsilon'$, and to exhibit oscillatory behaviour when $\epsilon'=1$; the relaxation is an order of magnitude faster than in the bulk. The complex frequency-dependent permittivity $\epsilon(\omega)$ is sensitive to $\epsilon'$ at low frequencies, and the zero frequency limit $\epsilon(\omega=0)$ is systematically lower than the ``bulk'' value $\epsilon_b$ of the static primitivity.Comment: 12 pages including 17 figure

'For this I was made': conflict and calling in the role of a woman priest

There has been an increasing focus on ‘work as calling’ in recent years, but relatively few empirical sociological accounts that shed light on the experience of performing calling work. Although callings have generally been referred to as positive and fulfilling to the individual and as beneficial to society, researchers have also suggested there is a ‘dark side’ to calling, and have drawn attention to the potential conflicts and tensions inherent in the pursuit of calling, especially for women. This article explores these themes through the first-hand experiences of one woman who felt called to work as a priest. Her narrative illustrates how callings draw the individual irresistibly towards a particular line of work. It also shows how calling work can be both satisfying individually and beneficial to the wider community but, at the same time, involves sacrifice, compromise and a willingness to defer personal rewards

Taking Control of What Counts in Accountability: The Context Enriched Report Card

During the last two decades concerns about the quality of education have resulted in widespread calls for educational improvement and reform in many nations

Statistical study of dust properties in LMC molecular clouds

The objective of this paper is to construct a catalog providing the dust properties and the star formation efficiency (SFE) of the molecular clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We use the infrared (IR) data obtained with the Spitzer telescope as part of the ``Surveying the Agents of a Galaxy's Evolution'' (SAGE) Legacy survey as well as the IRAS data. We also work with extinction (Av) maps of the LMC. A total of 272 molecular clouds have been detected in the LMC in a previous molecular survey, accounting for 230 giant molecular clouds and 42 smaller clouds. We perform correlations between the IR emission/extinction, and atomic and molecular gas tracers. We compare the atomic gas that surrounds the molecular cloud with the molecular gas in the cloud. Using a dust emission model, we derive the physical properties of dust in and outside the clouds: equilibrium temperature, emissivity and extinction. We also determine the luminosity of the interstellar radiation field intercepted by the cloud, and the total IR luminosity. Statistically, we do not find any significant difference in the dust properties between the atomic and the molecular phases. In particular we do not find evidence for a systematic decrease of the dust temperature in the molecular phase, with respect to the surrounding, presumably atomic gas. This is probably because giant molecular clouds are the sites of star formation, which heat the dust, while the smallest clouds are unresolved. The ratio between the IR luminosity and the cloud mass (LDust/Mgas) does not seem to correlate with Mgas. The highest value of the ratio we derived is 18.1 Lsol/Msol in the 30 Doradus region, which is known to be the most prominent star formation region of the LMC, while the most likely value is 0.5 and is representative of quiescent clouds. We provide a prescription to associate the various stages of star formation with its LDust/Mgas.Comment: Accepted for publication in A

Molecular hydrogen emission in the interstellar medium of the Large Magellanic Cloud

We present the detection and analysis of molecular hydrogen emission toward ten interstellar regions in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We examined low-resolution infrared spectral maps of twelve regions obtained with the Spitzer infrared spectrograph (IRS). The pure rotational 0--0 transitions of H$_2$ at 28.2 and 17.1${\,\rm \mu m}$ are detected in the IRS spectra for ten regions. The higher level transitions are mostly upper limit measurements except for three regions, where a 3$\sigma$ detection threshold is achieved for lines at 12.2 and 8.6${\,\rm \mu m}$. The excitation diagrams of the detected H$_2$ transitions are used to determine the warm H$_2$ gas column density and temperature. The single-temperature fits through the lower transition lines give temperatures in the range $86-137\,{\rm K}$. The bulk of the excited H$_2$ gas is found at these temperatures and contributes $\sim$5-17% to the total gas mass. We find a tight correlation of the H$_2$ surface brightness with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and total infrared emission, which is a clear indication of photo-electric heating in photodissociation regions. We find the excitation of H$_2$ by this process is equally efficient in both atomic and molecular dominated regions. We also present the correlation of the warm H$_2$ physical conditions with dust properties. The warm H$_2$ mass fraction and excitation temperature show positive correlations with the average starlight intensity, again supporting H$_2$ excitation in photodissociation regions.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Bidirectional KCNQ1:β-catenin interaction drives colorectal cancer cell differentiation.

The K+ channel KCNQ1 has been proposed as a tumor suppressor in colorectal cancer (CRC). We investigated the molecular mechanisms regulating KCNQ1:β-catenin bidirectional interactions and their effects on CRC differentiation, proliferation, and invasion. Molecular and pharmacologic approaches were used to determine the influence of KCNQ1 expression on the Wnt/β-catenin signaling and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human CRC cell lines of varying stages of differentiation. The expression of KCNQ1 was lost with increasing mesenchymal phenotype in poorly differentiated CRC cell lines as a consequence of repression of the KCNQ1 promoter by β-catenin:T-cell factor (TCF)-4. In welldifferentiated epithelial CRC cell lines, KCNQ1 was localized to the plasma membrane in a complex with β-catenin and E-cadherin. The colocalization of KCNQ1 with adherens junction proteins was lost with increasing EMT phenotype. ShRNA knock-down of KCNQ1 caused a relocalization of β-catenin from the plasma membrane and a loss of epithelial phenotype in CRC spheroids. Overexpression of KCNQ1 trapped β-catenin at the plasma membrane, induced a patent lumen in CRC spheroids, and slowed CRC cell invasion. The KCNQ1 ion channel inhibitor chromanol 293B caused membrane depolarization, redistribution of β-catenin into the cytosol, and a reduced transepithelial electrical resistance, and stimulated CRC cell proliferation. Analysis of human primary CRC tumor patient databases showed a positive correlation between KCNQ1:KCNE3 channel complex expression and disease-free survival. We conclude that the KCNQ1 ion channel is a target gene and regulator of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, and its repression leads to CRC cell proliferation, EMT, and tumorigenesis