INTERACTION BETWEEN HTLV-1 BASIC LEUCINE ZIPPER FACTOR (HBZ) AND HOST CELL PROTEINS PROMOTES CELLULAR TRANSFORMATION

Amanda Rushing served as the co-mentor for this thesis project.Human T-cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 (HTLV-1) is a complex retrovirus which preferentially infects CD4+ T-cells. Endemic to Japan, regions of South America, Africa, and the Caribbean, HTLV-1 is transmitted through breastfeeding, sexual contact, and contact with infected blood or blood products. In 5% of cases, HTLV-1 infection leads to Adult T-cell Leukemia (ATL) after a 40 to 60 year period of low viral activity. Diagnosis of ATL is equivalent to a death sentence as currently available treatments only serve to extend the life of patients by a few months. HTLV-1 encodes unique regulatory and accessory proteins which are important for viral replication as well as modulating host cell activities. One of these proteins includes the HTLV-1 basic leucine zipper factor (HBZ). Clinical research reveals that HBZ is the only viral protein consistently expressed in patients with ATL, and in vitro transformation assays support that HBZ is important for cellular transformation. The exact mechanisms by which HBZ promotes cellular transformation are not known; therefore, understanding the molecular biology of HBZ and other proteins is important for developing effective treatments for ATL. HBZ is a nuclear protein that has been shown to interact with cellular transcription factors in the CREB/ATF and AP-1 families, as well as with coactivators including p300/CBP. These interactions regulate or deregulate expression of host cell and proviral genes. One focus in our laboratory is to identify and characterize novel interactions between HBZ and cellular proteins. HBZ interactome studies performed in our laboratory reveal that HBZ interacts with the small Maf family of basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcriptional regulators. Leucine zipper dimerization between small Mafs and other compatible bZIP proteins allows them to be recruited to Maf Responsive Elements (MAREs) on the genomic DNA as transcriptionally repressive homodimers, or as transcriptionally active heterodimers. We found that interaction between HBZ and small Mafs occurs directly through a dimerization of each protein’s leucine zipper using in vitro GST pulldown assays.B.S

Discovering Uniformly Accelerated Motion [11th-12th grades]

Discovering Uniformly Accelerated motion is intended as a three week uniform acceleration unit taught weeks 4-6 in the context of a larger 9 week study on kinematics and Newton’s Laws in a regular level physics I course. Students are expected to have completed a unit on constant velocity motion and vectors prior to this unit. In addition, students are expected to have 8th grade level familiarity with forces (i.e. a force is a push or a pull). The unit is structured to allow students to uncover known relationships in a discovery fashion in an effort to keep this unit physics rather than algebra focused. Because students experience motion in their everyday lives, through this experience, they often form misconceptions about motion that persist even after Physics I. Misconceptions such as “heavy objects fall faster than light objects,” “motion only occurs with an applied force,” and “gravity slows you down” are particularly persistent among my students. Thus, I elected to begin this unit by having students discuss and experience the difference between casual, everyday observation and careful experimentation when doing scientific discovery. Students begin the unit from the historical context of Galileo’s experiments with the acceleration of gravity. First discussing why scientists argue that Galileo never dropped items off of the tower of Pisa, and then reproducing his inclined plane experiments and using graphical analysis to discover that: 1. In the absence of a force, relatively constant speed is maintained. 2. Distance traveled due to gravitational pull depends on a quadratic time function (acceleration) 3. This quadratic function (acceleration) is independent of mass Having exhausted Galilean technology, we will introduce the term acceleration and use real time technology to then directly measure the acceleration of gravity and to gain further experience with motion graphs. After ensuring that students understand the graphical representations of distance, velocity, and acceleration, students will revisit graphs to develop graphically based kinematics equation. After a few days of practice with using kinematics equations, students will be tasked to develop a plan, including calculations, to accurately time the drop of a water balloon to intersect with an approaching constant velocity object (me). This performance task checks student ability to use constant velocity and uniform acceleration kinematics equations in a predictive manner as done in real world scenarios. The unit ends with students learning further applications of kinematics in a 2 day series of projectile discovery activities focused on behavior and application of existing knowledge. Unit goals include students: 1. Developing an understanding of the predictive nature of kinematics 2. Recognizing, testing, and then reconfiguring existing misconceptions about motion 3. Refining their understanding of the need for controlled experimentation in scientific discover

Energy Transformations in the Real World

This energy unit is intended as part three of a three part series where students use launchers to explore how scientists combine theory and measured data to build and use predictive models. The launchers will be used during projectiles, forces, and work/energy and students will measure and use data adjusted theoretical models to endeavor to complete two hands-on performance tasks. Historically, our students have struggled to understand why “physics breaks” in the lab, and we intend to use these launchers throughout our Newtonian mechanics units to open an ongoing dialogue about how modeling is used to bridge the gap between theory and real world behavior. The three parts work as follows: In the projectile unit, students will work in groups to build a spring loaded launcher and use real time technology to form a predictive equation relating exit velocity to spring displacement. They will then use this model to launch their ball into a cup from a horizontal position and an angled position as the performance task in this unit. In the forces unit, students will perform a laboratory analysis on their spring(s) to observe the relationship between force and spring displacement for the launcher spring and to determine where Hooke’s Law is an appropriate model for finding th

An Introduction to Inquiry Labs in Physics

AP Physics 1 is a new course for the 2014-2015 school year and the emphasis on inquiry-based laboratory experience will be new for our students, primarily juniors. Historically, our juniors have taken PreAP physics where they learn to use mathematics and graphs to model data and then learn a method to communicate their findings in a lab report format. Inquiry labs have been introduced primarily in AP Physics B, or senior level classes. Feedback from our AP Physics B classes indicates a need for more guidance on writing procedures, developing analysis methods, and ultimately posing questions that can be tested in the lab. Thus, we plan to begin the year in AP Physics 1 with two weeks dedicated to helping students develop procedure writing and data analysis skills that we will build throughout the year. By the end of the unit, we expect students to author procedures that can be followed by peers within the same class, and we expect them to increase their facility with the use of multiple modes for communicating and analyzing motion including observations, diagrams, verbal descriptions, graphs, and mathematical models

Condoms are more effective when applied by males: a study of young black males in the United States

PurposeTo determine, among a sample of young black male (YBM), whether female application of male condoms for penile–vaginal intercourse would be associated with higher or lower rates of breakage or slippage. A secondary aim was to investigate if higher rates of breakage or slippage were associated with increased odds of acquiring chlamydia and/or gonorrhea.MethodsA cross-sectional study of 412 YBM, aged 15 to 23 years, was conducted in three US cities located in the Southern United States.ResultsAmong YBM reporting frequent female application of condoms, 43.5% reported one or more instance of breakage or slippage, compared with those reporting less frequent female application (27.2%, P = .003). Among YBM reporting one or more event of breakage or slippage, 25.4% tested positive for chlamydia and/or gonorrhea. In contrast, among those not reporting breakage or slippage, 17.2% tested positive (P = .047).ConclusionsFindings suggest that educational and behavioral interventions should seek to improve young women's skills relative to condom application and use. Further studies could also investigate whether intervention efforts should encourage some YBM to be responsible for their own condom application

Participants’ Perceptions Following Disaster Response

Academy and University students responded and provided disaster relief following hurricanes Florence and Michael. Students gave of their time, energy, and talents to provide food, water, and debris removal to hurricane victims. Learn how participants perceptions changed following hurricane disaster relief efforts

Collecting and using always-on location data in surveys

As survey costs increase and response rates decrease, researchers are looking for alternative methods to collect data from study subjects. Passively collected data may offer a way to reduce the burden on research subjects while also collecting high-quality data needed for social science research. Examples of passive data collection tools are applications installed on mobile devices and sensors in subjects’ homes or worn on the body. In this study, we focus on always-on location data collected from subjects’ iPhones. To explore the promise of passively collected data to augment and improve survey data, we conducted a 2-week pilot study with 24 subjects. We discuss the utility of always-on location data and the challenges researchers may encounter when they incorporate location data in their analyses

Vertical transport and dynamic size distribution of New Bedford Harbor sediments

Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to [email protected], referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references.Not availabl

Role of zooplankton in determining the efficiency of the biological carbon pump

The efficiency of the ocean’s biological carbon pump (BCPeff – here the product of particle export and transfer efficiencies) plays a key role in the air-sea partitioning of CO2. Despite its importance in the global carbon cycle, the biological processes that control BCPeff are poorly known. We investigate the potential role that zooplankton play in the biological carbon pump using both in situ observations and model output. Observed and modelled estimates of fast, slow and total sinking fluxes are presented from three oceanic sites: the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, the temperate North Atlantic and the equatorial Pacific oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). We find that observed particle export efficiency is inversely related to primary production likely due to zooplankton grazing, in direct contrast to the model estimates. The model and observations show strongest agreement in remineralization coefficients and BCPeff at the OMZ site where zooplankton processing of particles in the mesopelagic zone is thought to be low. As the model has limited representation of zooplankton-mediated remineralization processes, we suggest that these results point to the importance of zooplankton in setting BCPeff, including particle grazing and fragmentation, and the effect of diel vertical migration. We suggest that improving parameterizations of zooplankton processes may increase the fidelity of biogeochemical model estimates of the biological carbon pump. Future changes in climate such as the expansion of OMZs may decrease the role of zooplankton in the biological carbon pump globally, hence increasing its efficiency