Scientists as Audience: Science Communicators as Mediators of Wicked Problems

Important intersections of science and public policy are often wicked problems that require bringing together information from multiple stakeholders with different worldviews. Taming wicked problems is facilitated by fostering trust and collaboration. To better tame these problems, we suggest conceptualizing scientists as an underserved audience for public-originating information, and propose a role for science communicators to speak to scientists. We offer some potential considerations for understanding scientists as audience for science communicators in such a role

Oligoamine analogues in combination with 2-difluoromethylornithine synergistically induce re-expression of aberrantly silenced tumour-suppressor genes

Epigenetic gene silencing is an important mechanism in the initiation and progression of cancer. Abnormal DNA CpG island hypermethylation and histone modifications are involved in aberrant silencing of tumour-suppressor genes. LSD1 (lysine-specific demethylase 1) was the first enzyme identified to specifically demethylate H3K4 (Lys4 of histone H3). Methylated H3K4 is an important mark associated with transcriptional activation. The flavin adenine dinucleotide-binding amine oxidase domain of LSD1 is homologous with two polyamine oxidases, SMO (spermine oxidase) and APAO (N1-acetylpolyamine oxidase). We have demonstrated previously that long-chain polyamine analogues, the oligoamines, are inhibitors of LSD1. In the present paper we report the synergistic effects of specific oligoamines in combination with DFMO (2-difluoromethylornithine), an inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase, in human colorectal cancer cells. DFMO treatment depletes natural polyamines and increases the uptake of exogenous polyamines. The combination of oligoamines and DFMO results in a synergistic re-expression of aberrantly silenced tumour-suppressor genes, including SFRP2 (secreted frizzled-related protein 2), which encodes a Wnt signalling pathway antagonist and plays an anti-tumorigenic role in colorectal cancer. The treatment-induced re-expression of SFRP2 is associated with increased H3K4me2 (di-methyl H3K4) in the gene promoter. The combination of LSD1-inhibiting oligoamines and DFMO represents a novel approach to epigenetic therapy of cancer

The source of hydrogen sulfide in anoxic sediment

Putrefactive hydrogen sulfide production in the upper 4 cm of sediment in two small freshwater and eutrophic Southeast Michigan, U.S.A., lakes ranged from 0.13 to 1.51 with an average of 0.46 mg S l-1 day-1. Sulfate reductive production of hydrogen sulfide at the same sites ranged from 0.7 to 3.2 with an average of 1.54 mg S l-1 day-1. Putrefactive hydrogen sulfide production represented 5.1-53% (average of 18.3-27.6%) of the total hydrogen sulfide produced at the two lakes over an April-October study period. 35S labeled substrates were used to estimate hydrogen sulfide production rates.Proteolytic bacteria averaged 2.2 x 104 cells ml-1 sediment whereas sulfate reducers averaged 4.8 x 102 cells ml-1 sediment. Putrefactive hydrogen sulfide production correlated highly with numbers of proteolytic bacteria (r2 = 0.84) but the correlation between sulfate reduction and sulfate reducing bacteria was low (r2 = 0.13).Interstitial soluble inorganic sulfate, protein and organic carbon were not closely correlated with hydrogen sulfide production rates or bacteria enumeration results. Natural substrate concentrations (Sn) used to estimate hydrogen sulfide production were supported by kinetic bioassay results.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25926/1/0000489.pd

Measurement of the tt̄W and tt̄Z production cross sections in pp collisions at √s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The production cross sections of top-quark pairs in association with massive vector bosons have been measured using data from pp collisions at s√ = 8 TeV. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−¹ collected by the ATLAS detector in 2012 at the LHC. Final states with two, three or four leptons are considered. A fit to the data considering the tt̄W and tt̄Z processes simultaneously yields a significance of 5.0σ (4.2σ) over the background-only hypothesis for tt¯Wtt¯W (tt̄Z) production. The measured cross sections are σtt̄W = 369 + 100−91 fb and σtt̄Z = 176 + 58−52 fb. The background-only hypothesis with neither tt̄W nor tt̄Z production is excluded at 7.1σ. All measurements are consistent with next-to-leading-order calculations for the tt̄W and tt̄Z processes

Some Problems Concerning the Origin of the Latvian Broken Tone

published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe

Laryngealization and the phonological repertoire of a deaf Mexican adolescent : comparisons to deaf speech and the phonation of socially isolated children

This thesis is a discussion of universal and innate features of phonology. Specifically, it looks at the speech of a deaf teenage Mexican immigrant who had no formal education and no access to a language which he could use as his first language. His speech, though difficult to analyze or understand, contained strong laryngeal features which could not be explained through language-specific rules. -- First, the thesis reviews Mexican Spanish phonology and compares it to the phonology of the subject's speech. It then compares his speech to that of deaf speakers who normally learn language upon entering a school system. The opportunity to learn a language i.e., sign language or speech, was not available to him, and so he grew up in a form of linguistic isolation. The laryngeal characteristics of his speech could not be accounted for using the literature on deaf speech; however, similar laryngeal characteristics are discussed in the literature on infant speech sounds. Thus, these qualities in his speech can be found in the first sounds produced by humans, before they develop language-specific phonological systems. The unique case of "Genie", an isolated, traumatized child who is eventually taught to speak, reveals that her initial vocalizations were also very laryngeal, but that this feature was quickly lost as her speech improved. -- Finally the thesis hypothesizes on the innate quality of laryngealization in speech, and the natural occurrence of laryngeals in terms of physiology, as well as the justification of their appearance through feature geometry. The proposal propounded in this thesis is that the use of laryngeals is universal and constant until they are replaced with subsequent language-specific phonological features. If this does not occur during "normal" language acquisition stages, then the features remain in speech until such a time as they are finally supplanted

Antivielas - antigena mijiedarbibas petijumi izmantojot sintetiskus peptidus

Summary in Latvian, English, SwedishAvailable from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLELVLatvi