Physiological Effects of Chronic Copper Exposure to Rainbow Trout (\u3cem\u3eOncorhynchus Mykiss\u3c/em\u3e) in Hard and Soft Water: Evaluation of Chronic Indicators

Effects of chronic copper exposure on a suite of indicators were examined: acute toxicity, acclimation, growth, sprint performance, whole-body electrolytes, tissue residues, and gill copper binding characteristics. Juvenile rainbow trout were exposed for 30 d to waterborne copper in hard water (hardness = 120 μg/L as CaCO3, pH = 8.0, Cu = 20 and 60 μg/L) and soft water (hardness = 20 μg/L as CaCO3, pH = 7.2, Cu = 1 and 2 μg/L). Significant acclimation to the metal occurred only in fish exposed to 60 mg/L, as seen by an approx. twofold increase in 96-h LC50 (153 vs 91 μg Cu/L). Chronic copper exposure had little or no effect on survival, growth, or swimming performance in either water hardness, nor was there any initial whole-body electrolyte loss (Na+ and Cl-). The present data suggest that the availability of food (3% wet body weight/day, distributed as three 1% meals) prevented growth inhibition and initial ion losses that usually result from Cu exposure. Elevated metal burdens in the gills and livers of exposed fish were measures of chronic copper exposure but not of effect. Initial gill binding experiments revealed the necessity of using radiolabeled Cu (64Cu) to detect newly accumulated Cu against gill background levels. Using this method, we verified the presence of saturable Cu-binding sites in the gills of juvenile rainbow trout and were able to make estimates of copperbinding affinity (log Kgill=Cu) and capacity (Bmax). Furthermore, we showed that both chronic exposure to Cu and to low water calcium had important effects on the Cu-binding characteristics of the gills

Agricultural Scientists’ Perceptions of Working with Reporters

Mass media is the main source of scientific information for most Americans, but inaccuracy of reporting has threatened the public’s understanding of science. Perceived media bias and fake news has also made the public skeptical of the media, and scientists’ perceptions are no different. Because scientists are the most trusted source for scientific information in America, it is important they remain willing to work with the media. This study used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to explore scientists’ perceptions of working with reporters, including their attitude, subjective norms, behavioral control, and intent to engage with the media in the future. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 tenure-track faculty at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) in spring 2018. These participants represented low, moderate, and high communicators. The findings from this study indicated mostly negative attitudes toward reporters due to skepticism in their ability to accurately report science. Behavioral control was also limited due to time and ability constraints, but participants recommended trainings as ways to increase behavioral control. Subjective norms were somewhat mixed, with some positive norms from mentors but perceived negative norms from the public. Despite negative attitudes toward reporters, intent to engage with the media was mixed. However, subjective norms and behavioral control were often discussed as reasons to not engage with reporters. The findings from this study offered recommendations for both practice and research to help foster positive relationships between scientists and reporters

Three-Dimensional Engineered Bone from Bone Marrow Stromal Cells and Their Autogenous Extracellular Matrix

Most bone tissue engineering research uses porous three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds for cell seeding. In this work, scaffold-less 3D bone-like tissues were engineered from rat bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) and their autogenous extracellular matrix (ECM). The BMSCs were cultured on a 2D substrate in medium that induced osteogenic differentiation. After reaching confluence and producing a sufficient amount of their own ECM, the cells contracted their tissue monolayer around two constraint points, forming scaffold-less cylindrical engineered bone-like constructs (EBCs). The EBCs exhibited alizarin red staining for mineralization and alkaline phosphatase activity and contained type I collagen. The EBCs developed a periosteum characterized by fibroblasts and unmineralized collagen on the periphery of the construct. Tensile tests revealed that the EBCs in culture had a tangent modulus of 7.5+/-0.5MPa at 7 days post-3D construct formation and 29+/-9MPa at 6 weeks after construct formation. Implantation of the EBCs into rats 7 days after construct formation resulted in further bone development and vascularization. Tissue explants collected at 4 weeks contained all three cell types found in native bone: osteoblasts, osteocytes, and osteoclasts. The resulting engineered tissues are the first 3D bone tissues developed without the use of exogenous scaffolding.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78137/1/ten.tea.2007.0140.pd

Can Anyone Hear Us? An Exploration of Echo Chambers at a Land-Grant University

Faculty at land-grant universities are expected to engage in some form of Extension, or science communication, as part of the land-grant mission. However, critics have claimed these institutions are out of touch with their stakeholders’ needs and faculty mainly communicate with others in academia. This engagement with a homogenous group reflects the concepts of echo chambers, where people are only exposed to information that aligns with their beliefs and current knowledge and discredit opposing information. An explanatory mixed-methods design was used to understand land-grant faculty’s engagement in echo chambers. A survey was distributed to a census of tenure-track faculty in the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences to understand respondents’ engagement in echo chambers. Follow-up interviews were conducted with 13 of the survey respondents to further explore their audiences and channels used in science communication to understand their engagement in echo chambers. Survey results indicated faculty did not necessarily participate in echo chambers, but they also did not contribute to an open communication network. However, the interviews found participants were interested in reaching new audiences yet struggled to communicate with stakeholders. The participants also reported wanting to find alternative channels to peer reviewed journals to help disseminate their work. The findings from this study indicated faculty contributed to a type of echo chamber, but rather than viewing their stakeholders’ opinions as false, they simply did not hear the opinions. Agricultural communicators should work with land-grant faculty administrators to identify appropriate audiences and channels for science communication

Activation of matrix metalloproteinases following anti-Aβ immunotherapy; implications for microhemorrhage occurrence

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anti-Aβ immunotherapy is a promising approach to the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) currently in clinical trials. There is extensive evidence, both in mice and humans that a significant adverse event is the occurrence of microhemorrhages. Also, vasogenic edema was reported in phase 2 of a passive immunization clinical trial. In order to overcome these vascular adverse effects it is critical that we understand the mechanism(s) by which they occur.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We have examined the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) protein degradation system in two previously published anti-Aβ immunotherapy studies. The first was a passive immunization study in which we examined 22 month old APPSw mice that had received anti-Aβ antibodies for 1, 2 or 3 months. The second is an active vaccination study in which we examined 16 month old APPSw/NOS2-/- mice treated with Aβ vaccination for 4 months.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There is a significant activation of the MMP2 and MMP9 proteinase degradation systems by anti-Aβ immunotherapy, regardless of whether this is delivered through active vaccination or passive immunization. We have characterized this activation by gene expression, protein expression and zymography assessment of MMP activity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Since the MMP2 and MMP9 systems are heavily implicated in the pathophysiology of intracerbral hemorrhage, these data may provide a potential mechanism of microhemorrhage due to immunotherapy. Increased activity of the MMP system, therefore, is likely to be a major factor in increased microhemorrhage occurrence.</p

The role of gender constancy in early gender development.

Kohlberg&apos;s (1966) hypothesis that the attainment of gender constancy motivates children to attend to gender norms was reevaluated by examining these links in relation to age. Ninety-four 3-to 7-year-old children were interviewed to assess whether and how constancy mediates age-related changes in gender-related beliefs. As expected, results indicated a general pattern of an increase in stereotype knowledge, the importance and positive evaluation of one&apos;s own gender category, and rigidity of beliefs between the ages of 3 and 5. Moreover, the stability phase, rather than full constancy, mediated some of these relations. After age 5, rigidity generally decreased with age, with relations primarily mediated by consistency. One of the most compelling yet controversial ideas in the gender literature is &apos;&apos;gender constancy.&apos;&apos; As proposed by Indeed, as reviewed recently Inconsistencies across studies may occur for various reasons. First, relations in very young children may sometimes be misleading because many young children appear to show a phase of &apos;&apos;pseudoconstancy&apos;&apos; (Emmerich, Goldman, Kirsh, &amp; Sharabany, 1977; A second problem is that it remains unclear which stage of gender constancy drives children&apos;s reactions. In a recent review of the literature on relations between stage of gender constancy and responsiveness to gender-related information, gender consistency did not emerge as the crucial component A third problem is that gender development does not change in a linear fashion. For example, children&apos;s gender stereotypes appear to be held rigidly at approximately 5 years and then become more flexible Indeed, there has been theoretical debate about whether full constancy understanding should be associated with relatively high or low levels of rigidity. These alternative predictions are interesting in light of the literature on essentialistic thought (e.g., Gelman, 2003). Children&apos;s attempts to understand the implications of different essences are particularly important for social categories because individuals can belong to the categories and identify with them, and thus they have implications for ingroup and outgroup attitudes and behaviors. That is, it matters which features of categories are critically linked to such essences. For example, if children think that wearing pink, frilly dresses result from &apos;&apos;girlness,&apos;&apos; boys should avoid them and girls should love them. Once children learn that such features are not fundamental to being a boy or a girl (i.e., the gender consistency stage), however, adherence to these more superficial aspects of the category can be relinquished. Bem (1989) made this argument for why it makes sense to teach young children that genitals, not appearance or activities, are the critical distinctions between males and females. If this is true, higher levels of consistency understanding should be associated with less rigidity, supporting These observations suggest that a closer look at the effects of gender constancy is needed. This is important not only because of inconsistencies in prior research. Recent analyses of gender development have described a close connection between cognitive-developmental theory and other theories that emphasize the importance of children&apos;s emerging understanding of gender categories, namely, gender schema theories (e.g., The present study also examined whether different levels of gender constancy understanding might be related to different kinds of beliefs. To this end, multiple measures of stability, consistency, and gender-related beliefs were included. Children as young as 3 years of age were interviewed to provide us with the opportunity to capture the processes that occur at an early stage of gender constancy. Moreover, children representing a full span of 4 years, from early 3-yearolds to early 7-year-olds, were included in the sample so that possible curvilinear patterns of gender-related beliefs, posited earlier, could be examined. This age range was of particular interest because it has been identified as a period of rapid change in gender beliefs. The gender-belief measures used in this study examined knowledge of gender stereotypes and several types of attitudes about norm adherence, specifically, the degree of belief that violations are wrong, feelings about interacting with norm violators, degree of fear of turning into the other sex if one violates gender norms, and expectations about parents&apos; and peers&apos; attitudes toward norm violations. In addition, based on the recent convergence of categorization theories discussed earlier, an additional type of belief was examined. Many studies have documented how identification with a particular social category can promote a sense of belonging, connectedness, and increased positive evaluation of the group (see It was expected that children would show agerelated increases in knowledge of gender stereotypes and gender category identification (centrality and evaluation), as well as increasingly rigid attitudes about adhering to gender norms, at least until 5 years of age. It was further expected that increasing understanding of some aspects of gender constancy would mediate these beliefs (see Method Participants Participants were recruited from public and private schools in a large eastern city, as well as through university faculty and staff willing to have their children participate. More than 90% of the children were White, with a small number of Asian, Latino, and African American children participating as well. Based on the demographic characteristics of the schools from which most of the children in this study were recruited, the majority of children were from middle-to upper-middle-class backgrounds. Ninetyfour children ranging in age from 3.13 to 7.30 years (M 5 5.14) were interviewed (48 girls, 46 boys). For most of the analyses, children were split into a younger (22 boys, 20 girls; M 5 4.08) and older (24 boys, 28 girls; M 5 6.00) cohort. Procedures Children were interviewed in two sessions at the university or in their schools, depending on the arrangements of the individual teachers and parents. Questionnaires were administered to participants in a set order designed to minimize possible effects of reactivity across measures. Interviewers-five female and one male-were all trained in the standardized administration of all measures (see Gender-Constancy Measures An interview derived from previously validated measures was the primary way we assessed level of gender constancy attainment Stability. Children&apos;s attainment of the stability stage was evaluated using two methods. The first part of the measure consisted of seven forced-choice questions based on prior gender constancy measures, as described previously. Of the seven forced-choice questions, three referred to the participant (e.g., &apos;&apos;When you grow up, will you be a man or a woman?&apos;&apos;) and four referred to a male or female target (e.g., &apos;&apos;When this grown-up was little, was this grown-up really a girl or really a boy?&apos;&apos;). The second part of this measure was based on a procedure originally developed by Children&apos;s responses to the open-ended consistency probes were recorded verbatim. Correct responses were then scored according to the coding scheme developed by The coding of open-ended rationales was completed by two judges who were blind to the age of the child, and interjudge reliability was high (average kappa 5 .96 for five questions collapsed, omitting the &apos;&apos;no response/unscorable&apos;&apos; code). Items were scored as correct only if the initial forced-choice question was answered correctly and the open-ended response was scored as indicating true constancy. In addition to these five items, a supplementary set of six forced-choice consistency questions was administered to all children. These questions were worded differently from those included in the standard interview measure, focusing explicitly on the act of transformation. Specifically, these questions focused on transformations involving the following: others&apos; and personal appearance (e.g., &apos;&apos;If a boy wore nail polish, would he become a girl?&apos;&apos;), and others&apos; and personal activity choice (e.g., &apos;&apos;If you played with baby dolls right now, would you be a boy or girl?&apos;&apos;). To score these items, 1 point was awarded for each correct answer. Preliminary analyses indicated that this subscale did not demonstrate the problematic relationship with age found with the standard forced-choice interview method scale, suggesting that an explicit emphasis on gender transformation is another way to avoid the effects of pseudoconstancy. In addition, this scale correlated significantly with the standard interview scale when the open-ended responses were taken into account (r 5 .35. p , .01). Therefore, the 11 total questions were combined into a single scale with a possible range of scores from 0 to 11 (alpha 5 .85, M 5 4.53, SD 5 2.88). Belief Variables Children were asked a series of questions assessing their knowledge and feelings about gender, as well as how important it was that they and others adhere to Gender Constancy 1125 gender norms. Several of these were part of a series of related questions based on the prior literature (e.g., Knowledge: Who usually wears nail polish, boys or girls? Rule-based rigidity: Is it wrong for boys to wear nail polish?; Would it be OK for a boy to wear nail polish if he didn&apos;t get into trouble and nobody laughed? Self-rigidity: Would you like to be friends with a boy who wears nail polish?; Would you like to go to a school where boys were allowed to wear nail polish? Fear of changing sex: [lead-in question: Do you wear nail polish?] Are you afraid you would become a girl if you wore nail polish? (for boys only) Knowledge. Children were asked which sex usually participates in each of five highly gender-typed behaviors: wears barrettes, wears nail polish, is strong, plays with dolls, and plays with trucks. Although more items about stereotyped knowledge were originally included in the interview, some had to be dropped because virtually all the children already knew them (e.g., shaves head) or they were not stereotyped as male or female typical (e.g., cooks). Responses to the five items were scored as number correct and converted to proportions. This was done to compare results across dependent variables, which were all transformed to a 0 to 1 scale. Thus, knowledge had a possible range of 0 to 1, indicating the proportion of the five items correct (alpha 5 .53). Centrality/evaluation. A measure of identification with one&apos;s gender group was developed based on prior research with adults (e.g., Rule-based rigidity. This scale, adapted from prior research (e.g., Self-rigidity. Children&apos;s attitudes about others who participate in or condone gender-atypical behavior were measured by their responses to eight questions. Two questions were asked in reference to the four target behaviors described earlier: Would the child want to be friends with someone who performed the particular cross-sex transgression? Would the child want to go to a school where the particular cross-sex transgression was allowed?&apos;&apos; Each response indicating a rigid approach to gender norms was given 1 point, and each response indicating a flexible approach was given 0 points. Scores across all questions were then averaged and transformed to a scale ranging from 0 to 1 (alpha 5 .89, M 5 .65, SD 5 .36). Fear of changing sex. Fear of physical repercussions for cross-sex transgressions was assessed with two forced-choice questions regarding children&apos;s fear of turning into the other sex if they were to engage in a sex-atypical behavior. Children were asked one 1126 Ruble et al. question for each of two other-sex stimuli (wearing nail polish and playing with baby dolls for boys; shaving one&apos;s head and playing with trucks for girls). The total score for each child was an average of the scores for their two responses, transformed to a scale from 0 to 1 (M 5 .42, SD 5 .42). As boys and girls were asked about different sets of stimuli, separate alphas were calculated (boys: alpha 5 .61; girls: alpha 5 .59). Peer and parent rigidity. These measures were based on prior research on children&apos;s fear of being sanctioned for norm violations (e.g., Children were shown each pair of toys and asked what would happen if they chose one of the crossgender toys placed in front of them and what their parents and friends might say in response. Two forced-choice questions were asked next, and they constitute the measures used in the present study: &apos;&apos;Would your friends (parents) be angry? Would they make fun of you?&apos;&apos; These questions were asked about two toys [dolls and tea sets for boys; trucks and dinosaurs for girls]. Thus, there were four scores for each participant, which were averaged, resulting in a score from 0 to 1 that represented the overall percentage of rigid responses, with a higher score indicating higher rigidity (peer measure: M 5 .35, SD 5 .35; parent measure: M 5 .15, SD 5 .28). Alphas for girls were: peers 5 .82 and parents 5 .73. Alphas for boys were: peers 5 .60 and parents 5 .74. Results The major purpose of this study was to examine agerelated changes in gender-related beliefs and their relations to the stages of gender constancy in children. First, we investigated how each variable related to age, both graphically and in zero-order correlations. Next, we focused on mediation and moderation analyses of the effects of constancy on gender beliefs using regression analyses

FAK activity sustains intrinsic and acquired ovarian cancer resistance to platinum chemotherapy.

Gene copy number alterations, tumor cell stemness, and the development of platinum chemotherapy resistance contribute to high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) recurrence. Stem phenotypes involving Wnt-β-catenin, aldehyde dehydrogenase activities, intrinsic platinum resistance, and tumorsphere formation are here associated with spontaneous gains in Kras, Myc and FAK (KMF) genes in a new aggressive murine model of ovarian cancer. Adhesion-independent FAK signaling sustained KMF and human tumorsphere proliferation as well as resistance to cisplatin cytotoxicity. Platinum-resistant tumorspheres can acquire a dependence on FAK for growth. Accordingly, increased FAK tyrosine phosphorylation was observed within HGSOC patient tumors surviving neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Combining a FAK inhibitor with platinum overcame chemoresistance and triggered cell apoptosis. FAK transcriptomic analyses across knockout and reconstituted cells identified 135 targets, elevated in HGSOC, that were regulated by FAK activity and β-catenin including Myc, pluripotency and DNA repair genes. These studies reveal an oncogenic FAK signaling role supporting chemoresistance

Risk-Sensitive Resource Defense in a Territorial Reef Fish

As coral reefs are home to dense aggregations of a variety of species, aggressive territoriality is often a critical component of individual behavior. Identification and assessment of the risk posed by intruders is crucial to defending a territory, and fishes on coral reefs have been found to attend to body shape, body size, and coloration when responding to intruders. We examined the extent to which dusky damselfish (Stegastes adustus) discriminate among distinct categories of intruders by measuring the distance at which a fish attacks an intruder and the relative intensity and frequency of those attacks. We found that S. adustus discriminated among perceived threats, attacking conspecifics more intensely and more often than egg-predators and herbivores, and showing a trend of attacking those groups more often than invertebrate-feeders, which do not compete with damselfish for resources. Furthermore, territory holders attacked initial-phase wrasses from a farther distance than terminal-phase wrasses, suggesting that they can discriminate among classes of individuals within a species other than their own. Dusky damselfish thus exhibit the ability to make fine distinctions among intruders in a diverse ecosystem

Hospitalization-Associated Change in Gait Speed and Risk of Functional Limitations for Older Adults

BACKGROUND: Hospitalization-associated functional decline is a common problem for older adults, but it is unclear how hospitalizations affect physical performance measures such as gait speed. We sought to determine hospitalization-associated change in gait speed and likelihood of new limitations in mobility and activities of daily living (ADLs). METHODS: We used longitudinal data over 5 years from the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study, a prospective cohort of black and white community-dwelling men and women, aged 70-79 years, who had no limitations in mobility (difficulty walking 1/4 mile or climbing 10 steps) or ADLs (transferring, bathing, dressing, and eating) at baseline. Gait speed, and new self-reported limitations in mobility and ADLs were assessed annually. Selected participants (n = 2,963) had no limitations at the beginning of each 1-year interval. Hospitalizations were self-reported every 6 months and verified with medical record data. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine hospitalization-associated change in gait speed and odds of new limitations over each 1-year interval. Fully adjusted models included demographics, hospitalization within the past year, health conditions, symptoms, body mass index, and health-related behaviors. RESULTS: In fully adjusted models, any hospitalization was associated with decrease in gait speed (-0.04 m/s; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.05 to -0.03) and higher odds of new limitations in mobility or ADLs (odds ratio = 1.97, 95% CI: 1.70-2.28), and separately with increased odds of new mobility limitation (odds ratio = 2.22, 95% CI: 1.90-2.60) and new ADL limitations (odds ratio = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.53-2.21). Multiple hospitalizations within a year were associated with gait speed decline (-0.06 m/s; 95% CI: -0.08 to -0.04) and greater odds of new limitations in mobility or ADLs (odds ratio = 2.96, 95% CI: 2.23-3.95). CONCLUSIONS: Functionally independent older adults experienced hospitalization-associated declines in gait speed and new limitations in mobility and ADLs