Liver Kinase B1 isoform expression as a regulator of T cell phenotypic stability

Following activation, CD4 T cells undergo extensive metabolic and transcriptional changes to respond to external cues and differentiate into T helper (Th) cell subsets. This differentiation process was originally perceived to be terminal. However, it has been shown that T cells exhibit plasticity between subsets in the context of highly inflammatory environments. This phenomenon is especially prevalent in autoimmune conditions such as colitis and multiple sclerosis in which high levels of IL-6 promote considerable plasticity between regulatory T (Treg) cells and Th17 cells. Herein we show that Liver Kinase B1 (LKB1), a metabolic sensor that enforces energy-preserving mechanisms such as fatty acid oxidation (FAO), is spliced into its short isoform in Th17 cells but not in induced (i)Tregs. We demonstrate that, in Th17 cells, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein L-like (hnRNPLL) binds to transcripts of Stk11, which encodes LKB1, and this correlates with alternative splicing into its short splice variant (Stk11S).When we neutralize hnRNPLL function using a cell-penetrating antibody, we observe diminished Stk11S expression. We further show that hnRNPLL and Stk11S, both, are regulated by the T cell-specific kinase, Protein Kinase C theta (PKCq) in Th17 cells. We provide additional evidence that, in iTregs exposed to IL-6, Prkcq, Stk11S, and Rorc are all upregulated, suggesting iTreg-Th17 plasticity is induced in response to IL-6 and culminates in Stk11 splicing downstream of PKCq. Finally, we demonstrate a link between Stk11 splicing and Th17 metabolism, showing that functionally inhibiting hnRNPLL modulates expression of the key glycolytic enzyme, Hexokinase 2, and inhibiting glycolysis, in turn, modulates the expression of Stk11S. Our data reveal an as-yet- undescribed outside-in signaling pathway downstream of IL-6 that acts through PKCq and hnRNPLL to regulate splice variants of Stk11 in Th17 cells. Furthermore, we show for the first time that this pathway can also be initiated in iTregs exposed to IL-6, providing mechanistic insight into iTreg-Th17 plasticity

Examining the Relationships Among Categorization, Stereotype Activation, and Stereotype Application.

Increased category salience is associated with increased stereotyping. Prior research has not examined the processes that may account for this relationship. That is, it is unclear whether category salience leads to increased stereotyping by increasing stereotype activation (i.e., increased accessibility of stereotypic information), application (i.e., increasing the tendency to apply activated stereotypes), or both processes simultaneously. We examined this question across three studies by manipulating category salience in an implicit stereotyping measure and by applying a process model that provides independent estimates of stereotype activation and application. Our results replicated past findings that category salience increases stereotyping. Modeling results showed that category salience consistently increased the extent of stereotype application but increased stereotype activation in more limited contexts. Implications for models of social categorization and stereotyping are discussed

Implementation Intentions Reduce Implicit Stereotype Activation and Application.

Research has found that implementation intentions, if-then action plans (e.g., "if I see a Black face, I will think safe"), reduce stereotyping on implicit measures. However, it is unknown by what process(es) implementation intentions reduce implicit stereotyping. The present research examines the effects of implementation intentions on stereotype activation (e.g., extent to which stereotypic information is accessible) and stereotype application (e.g., extent to which accessible stereotypes are applied in judgment). In addition, we assessed the efficiency of implementation intentions by manipulating cognitive resources (e.g., digit-span, restricted response window) while participants made judgments on an implicit stereotyping measure. Across four studies, implementation intentions reduced implicit stereotyping. This decrease in stereotyping was associated with reductions in both stereotype activation and application. In addition, these effects of implementation intentions were highly efficient and associated with reduced stereotyping even for groups for which people may have little practice inhibiting stereotypes (e.g., gender)

Restorative Justice: The Evidence

This 2007 report reviews a wealth of restorative justice evidence from the UK and abroad

The morality of evidence: the second annual lecture for<i>Restorative Justice: An International Journal</i>

In the past two decades restorative justice (RJ) has been the subject of more rigorous criminological research than perhaps any other strategy for crime prevention and victim support. A misalignment between practice and research, however, has resulted in much confusion about what practices are, or are not, supported by the existing research base. This confusion raises the moral problem of doing things to people without evidence those things do no harm. In what has become a wide array of justice practices called ‘restorative,’ there are serious risks of both direct and indirect harm in promoting--or even condoning-- untested practices: 1) Many practices remain untested, despite claims that tests of some RJ practices support all RJ practices, so that the untested practices may be causing harm directly; 2) Practices that have been rigorously tested and found to be effective are not widely used, while untested RJ practices have arguably caused harm indirectly by diverting resources from practices known to be effective; 3) Victims of violent crime are indirectly harmed by the diversion of RJ resources to property crime, where evidence shows RJ is less effective. We therefore assert a moral obligation for RJ practitioners to assure that their work does no harm by promoting rigorous evaluations of what they are doing, and encouraging investment in tested strategies for the kinds of victims and offenders with whom RJ is known to have the strongest effects.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20504721.2015.104986

Minding the Gap: Connecting Students to Academic Support Resources

Delivering academic support to the students who need it the most is a constant challenge for the Student Learning Center. Although, we know students tend to be more successful in a course if they participate in some type of academic support (tutoring, workshop, etc.), we still see a large number of students who never seek out any type of assistance even when they are struggling. Knowing this information, the question then becomes how do we to “Mind the Gap” or connect students who need additional assistance to the academic support resources. In order to gain a better understanding the who, what, when and how often student are or are not utilizing academic support services, we analyzed information collected in the 2013 Math survey, grade reports data, and SLC academic support utilization data for the past academic year and compared it to our current marketing/publicity practices in order to identify ‘The Gap.’https://fuse.franklin.edu/ss2014/1056/thumbnail.jp

An examination of the processes by which construal level affects the implicit evaluation of goal relevant stimuli.

Previous research has found that construal level—how abstractly or concretely people represent events—can impact implicit evaluations. Abstract high-level construal (vs. concrete low-level construal) promotes evaluative responses consistent with global (strongly held, long-term) rather than local (short-term, situational) goals. It remains unclear by what cognitive process(es) this occurs. In this paper, we examine two possibilities. High-level construal might enhance the unintended influence of activated evaluative associations or facilitate the detection and implementation of intentional responses. To examine these possibilities, the current study applies a multinomial processing tree model to data from Fujita and Han (2009). Results suggest that high-level construal facilitates goal-consistent evaluations by increasing both the unintentional influence of activated goal-consistent positive associations and the intentional detection of and implementation of accurate responding to goal-relevant stimuli. These findings extend our understanding of how construal level promotes goal consistent evaluations

Impact of Flower Harvesting on the Salt Marsh Plant \u3cem\u3eLimonium carolinianum\u3c/em\u3e

Because of the potentially detrimental effects of seed production on adult survivorship and growth, moderate flower harvesting may have little negative impact on population growth of long-lived perennial plants such as Limonium carolinianum (Walter) Britton. We examined this by collecting data on survivorship, growth, and fecundity of an unharvested population over a period of 5 years and conducted a controlled experiment to examine the effect of harvesting on adult survivorship and growth over a 3-year period. Data were summarized in the form of a stage structured matrix population model with a stochastic element that incorporated year-to-year variation in transition probabilities. Contrary to our original hypothesis, we found that preventing seed set through removal of flowers did not increase adult survivorship or growth. By determining the harvest level that reduced population growth rate to 1.0, we estimated the maximum sustainable harvest level to be 16%, a value that is approximately half that of reported harvest levels on accessible marshes in the study area. In spite of this, the reported harvest levels are unlikely to drive local populations to extinction in the foreseeable future. Providing the adult population size is \u3e100 and harvest levels are \u3c90%, time to local extinction will exceed 100 years. This is a function of the very high survivorship of adults in this species and the fact that harvesting has no negative impact on adult survivorship or growth. However, because of the long preadult phase in this species (8–9 years) and the fact that fecundity of young adults is low, recovery from overharvesting is extremely slow. Adult population size can be reduced to 25% of its original value in 7 years at high harvest levels, but it will take 34 years on average to recover once harvesting is terminated

2015-2016 Data Management Strategic Agenda - Final Report

Between January 2015 - December 2016, the Albertsons Library’s Core Data Management Team, consisting of Michelle Armstrong, Megan Davis, Heather Grevatt (2016 - present), Margie Ruppel (2015 - 2016), and Amber Sherman, established a 2 year Strategic Agenda and engaged in a variety of activities to ensure the proactive management of Boise State’s data sets. During this period, the Team accomplished several key goals: Increased the library’s capacity to support Boise State researchers in managing and making publicly available data sets, and deliver services at key points throughout the research lifecycle including data management planning, data description, research dissemination, and researcher education. Developed relationships with faculty, research groups, and other university support services to identify and deliver needed services. Began the development of a technical and workflow infrastructure to ensure the permanent curation and accessibility of Boise State’s research data sets

Albertsons Library Data Management Strategic Agenda Summer 2017 - Spring 2019

Boise State University identifies research and creative activity as a Core Theme of its institutional mission. This concept is clarified through several objectives which outline the importance of transferring knowledge for “societal, economic, and cultural benefits”. The university expects to produce work that has “substantial disciplinary impact and contributes to the overall reputation of the university,” so that, “community members can connect with and benefit from our researchers, artists, and students.” This core theme of scholarly contribution is further confirmed in the university’s Goals and Strategies which detail specific activities Boise State will undertake. For example in goals 3 and 5, Boise State establishes its commitment to effective research and creative efforts by developing key competencies, building necessary infrastructures, and encouraging external funding and philanthropic support. In consideration of these university goals, Albertsons Library is actively advocating for Boise State’s research and creative activities through its own Strategic Plan. In Library Strategic Objective 4, Albertsons Library has committed to identifying “critical areas of needed Research Support then build expertise, capacity and services to meet these needs.” Over the past several years, the library has pursued this goal through the development of research data management services detailed in the 2015-2016 Data Management Strategic Agenda - Final Report. These services have been built upon four principles: Research data is an asset Data management is an ongoing activity that happens throughout the life of the research project Researchers need “Point-of-Need” services The library strives to serve the whole university The following Data Management Strategic Agenda continues this work by outlining activities Albertsons Library’s Research Data Management Group will engage in over the next two years