Prospectus, November 11, 1981

CHARTER BOARD MEMBER DIES; News In Brief; John Mathews: November 9, 1981; Board members elected; Plan for shopping trip; 19 cities offer classes; Artists featured; Students helping students; Workshop on telling stories; Movie deals with social turmoil; America\u27s going cold turkey; P.C. Happ\u27nin\u27s: Counseling meetings set, Performances begin Nov. 12; Christian group tells topics; Farm Health Day is December 4. Workshop plans told at Parkland, Nutrition to be topic; Foreign foods to be served at language students\u27 dinner; Grad student finds out cartoons turn into cash; Walt Disney goes adult; See French Lieutenant\u27s Woman; \u27Bohemia\u27 better live than recorded; An inside look at federal agent; Holiday season opens; Annie reviewed; Johansen makes history; Prepare your car for approaching winter; Classifieds; Celebrate International Day; Game playoffs continue; Ski club has sale; Parkland wins v-ball sectional; Lewis wins Fast Freddy, Illini shafted; BB starts Mon.; Sports Notes; Fast Freddy Contest; Photo Newshttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1981/1005/thumbnail.jp

The Secreted Metalloprotease ADAMTS20 Is Required for Melanoblast Survival

ADAMTS20 (A disintegrin-like and metalloprotease domain with thrombospondin type-1 motifs) is a member of a family of secreted metalloproteases that can process a variety of extracellular matrix (ECM) components and secreted molecules. Adamts20 mutations in belted (bt) mice cause white spotting of the dorsal and ventral torso, indicative of defective neural crest (NC)-derived melanoblast development. The expression pattern of Adamts20 in dermal mesenchymal cells adjacent to migrating melanoblasts led us to initially propose that Adamts20 regulated melanoblast migration. However, using a Dct-LacZ transgene to track melanoblast development, we determined that melanoblasts were distributed normally in whole mount E12.5 bt/bt embryos, but were specifically reduced in the trunk of E13.5 bt/bt embryos due to a seven-fold higher rate of apoptosis. The melanoblast defect was exacerbated in newborn skin and embryos from bt/bt animals that were also haploinsufficient for Adamts9, a close homolog of Adamts20, indicating that these metalloproteases functionally overlap in melanoblast development. We identified two potential mechanisms by which Adamts20 may regulate melanoblast survival. First, skin explant cultures demonstrated that Adamts20 was required for melanoblasts to respond to soluble Kit ligand (sKitl). In support of this requirement, bt/bt;Kittm1Alf/+ and bt/bt;KitlSl/+ mice exhibited synergistically increased spotting. Second, ADAMTS20 cleaved the aggregating proteoglycan versican in vitro and was necessary for versican processing in vivo, raising the possibility that versican can participate in melanoblast development. These findings reveal previously unrecognized roles for Adamts proteases in cell survival and in mediating Kit signaling during melanoblast colonization of the skin. Our results have implications not only for understanding mechanisms of NC-derived melanoblast development but also provide insights on novel biological functions of secreted metalloproteases

Multidimensional signals and analytic flexibility: Estimating degrees of freedom in human speech analyses

Recent empirical studies have highlighted the large degree of analytic flexibility in data analysis which can lead to substantially different conclusions based on the same data set. Thus, researchers have expressed their concerns that these researcher degrees of freedom might facilitate bias and can lead to claims that do not stand the test of time. Even greater flexibility is to be expected in fields in which the primary data lend themselves to a variety of possible operationalizations. The multidimensional, temporally extended nature of speech constitutes an ideal testing ground for assessing the variability in analytic approaches, which derives not only from aspects of statistical modeling, but also from decisions regarding the quantification of the measured behavior. In the present study, we gave the same speech production data set to 46 teams of researchers and asked them to answer the same research question, resulting insubstantial variability in reported effect sizes and their interpretation. Using Bayesian meta-analytic tools, we further find little to no evidence that the observed variability can be explained by analysts’ prior beliefs, expertise or the perceived quality of their analyses. In light of this idiosyncratic variability, we recommend that researchers more transparently share details of their analysis, strengthen the link between theoretical construct and quantitative system and calibrate their (un)certainty in their conclusions

Legal, Ethical and Clinical Implications of Doing Field Work with Youth Gang Members Who Engage in Serious Violence

Abstract This paper reports on dilemmas encountered when doing ethnographic research with youth gang members involved in serious crime. These acts often endanger the lives of others. 1 It is based upon a qualitative study of how 30 gang members aged 12 -17 years accounted for their physical, sexual and emotional violence against girlfriends, gays, and racial minorities. These types of dilemmas were successfully dealt with, to the benefit of participants and victims. Instead of avoiding this kind of field work, researchers must continue to explore these issues and get proper training prior to commencing research.