Expert Report of Claude M. Steele

Report based on 25-year period of research in the areas of social psychology, the social psychology of race and race relations, and the effects of race on standardized test performance

Hayes-Steele Family History - Accession 1515

The Hayes-Steele Genealogical Collection consists of genealogical records and research pertaining to the Hayes and Steele family authored by former Rock Hill and Lancaster, SC resident Claude R. Smith (ca1924-2015). There is also information related to following allied families: Anderson; Baker; Barron; Barry; Bigger; Boyd; Brandon; Brewer; Carothers; Drennan; Eakle; Edwards; Fee; Gladden; Henderson; Matthews; McCleland; McCreight; McFadden; Miller; Shillinglaw; Simril; Thomasson; Wherry; White; Williams;. The family records consists of genealogy lists and charts, maps, photographs, property and house plans, death announcements, newspapers articles, marriage licenses, and family anecdotes.https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/manuscriptcollection_findingaids/2329/thumbnail.jp

The role of drinking restraint success in subsequent alcohol consumption

Intentional self-restraint may play an important role in the control of potentially addictive behavior. Unfortunately, for some individuals, efforts to reduce substance use may prove not only temporary but to increase the likelihood of a later "binge." An experimental study examined the relationship between prior self-restraint efforts and drinking. Results indicated that successfully restrained drinkers (i.e., those individuals who reported exerting considerable effort toward drinking self-control, and who were normatively successful, that is, light drinkers) responded to the sudden availability of alcohol with increased levels of consumption, relative to unrestrained drinkers at a similar level of habitual drinking. There was no such effect among unsuccessfully restraining (i.e., heavy) drinkers. These results suggest that a period of successful drinking restraint which is initiated by the individual, may lead to heightened subsequent alcohol consumption.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28891/1/0000727.pd

Consumption of ultra-processed foods and obesity in Brazilian adolescents and adults.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and obesity indicators among Brazilian adults and adolescents. METHODS: We used cross-sectional data on 30,243 individuals aged ≥10 years from the 2008-2009 Brazilian Dietary Survey. Food consumption data were collected through 24-h food records. We classified food items according to characteristics of food processing. Ultra-processed foods were defined as formulations made by the food industry mostly from substances extracted from foods or obtained with the further processing of constituents of foods or through chemical synthesis, with little if any whole food. Examples included candies, cookies, sugar-sweetened beverages, and ready-to-eat dishes. Regression models were fitted to evaluate the association of the consumption of ultra-processed foods (% of energy intake) with body-mass-index, excess weight, and obesity status, controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, smoking, and physical activity. RESULTS: Ultra-processed foods represented 30% of the total energy intake. Those in the highest quintile of consumption of ultra-processed foods had significantly higher body-mass-index (0.94 kg/m(2); 95% CI: 0.42,1.47) and higher odds of being obese (OR=1.98; 95% CI: 1.26,3.12) and excess weight (OR=1.26; 95% CI: 0.95,1.69) compared with those in the lowest quintile of consumption. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the role of ultra-processed foods in the obesity epidemic in Brazil.M.L.C. Louzada was funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (2013/08260-1). J-C. Moubarac was funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (2011/08425-5). F. Imamura was supported by Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit Core Support (MC_UU_12015/5).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.07.01

The ethics of characterizing difference: guiding principles on using racial categories in human genetics

We are a multidisciplinary group of Stanford faculty who propose ten principles to guide the use of racial and ethnic categories when characterizing group differences in research into human genetic variation

The integrin αvβ6 drives pancreatic cancer through diverse mechanisms and represents an effective target for therapy

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a five‐year survival rate of <4% and desperately needs novel effective therapeutics. Integrin αvβ6 has been linked with poor prognosis in cancer but its potential as a target in PDAC remains unclear. We report that transcriptional expression analysis revealed high levels of β6 mRNA correlated strongly with significantly poorer survival (n=491 cases, p= 3.17x10‐8). In two separate cohorts we showed that over 80% of PDAC expressed αvβ6 protein and that paired metastases retained αvβ6 expression. In vitro, integrin αvβ6 promoted PDAC cell growth, survival, migration and invasion. Treatment of both αvβ6‐positive human PDAC xenografts and transgenic mice bearing αvβ6‐positive PDAC with the αvβ6 blocking antibody 264RAD, combined with gemcitabine, significantly reduced tumour growth (p<0.0001) and increased survival (Log‐rank test, p<0.05). Antibody therapy was associated with suppression of both tumour cell activity (suppression of pErk growth signals, increased apoptosis seen as activated Caspase 3) and suppression of the pro‐tumourigenic microenvironment (suppression of TGFβ signalling, fewer αSMA‐positive myofibroblasts, decreased blood vessel density). These data show that αvβ6 promotes PDAC growth through both tumour cell and tumour microenvironment mechanisms and represents a valuable target for PDAC therapy

The Ninth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) presents the first spectroscopic data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This ninth data release (DR9) of the SDSS project includes 535,995 new galaxy spectra (median z=0.52), 102,100 new quasar spectra (median z=2.32), and 90,897 new stellar spectra, along with the data presented in previous data releases. These spectra were obtained with the new BOSS spectrograph and were taken between 2009 December and 2011 July. In addition, the stellar parameters pipeline, which determines radial velocities, surface temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities of stars, has been updated and refined with improvements in temperature estimates for stars with T_eff<5000 K and in metallicity estimates for stars with [Fe/H]>-0.5. DR9 includes new stellar parameters for all stars presented in DR8, including stars from SDSS-I and II, as well as those observed as part of the SDSS-III Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration-2 (SEGUE-2). The astrometry error introduced in the DR8 imaging catalogs has been corrected in the DR9 data products. The next data release for SDSS-III will be in Summer 2013, which will present the first data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) along with another year of data from BOSS, followed by the final SDSS-III data release in December 2014.Comment: 9 figures; 2 tables. Submitted to ApJS. DR9 is available at http://www.sdss3.org/dr