An Inventory and Assessment of Silver City\u27s Arts and Cultural Assets

Despite a high level of organization and integration, the economic impact of arts and cultural (A & C) industries is yet to be fully realized in Silver City, New Mexico. During the period October 2008-April 2009, UNM-BBER conducted an investigation of the A & C economy of Silver City, with a focus on an inventory and assessment of the community\u27s cultural assets. The study was done in three parts: an extensive inventory of the assets of the area\u27s creative economy; a community-based survey of artists, preservationists, retailers, and others engaged in creative industries in Silver City and neighboring communities; and an analysis of the impact and trends of the creative economy. The findings are presented in two main parts; first, an analysis of the social assets of the local creative economy, followed by an analysis of the economic market for A & C industries in the area, including a review of trends during the 1989-2006 period. The report includes tables, graphs, and a sample survey

The Phase Space and Stellar Populations of Cluster Galaxies at z ~ 1: Simultaneous Constraints on the Location and Timescale of Satellite Quenching

We investigate the velocity vs. position phase space of z ~ 1 cluster galaxies using a set of 424 spectroscopic redshifts in 9 clusters drawn from the GCLASS survey. Dividing the galaxy population into three categories: quiescent, star-forming, and poststarburst, we find that these populations have distinct distributions in phase space. Most striking are the poststarburst galaxies, which are commonly found at small clustercentric radii with high clustercentric velocities, and appear to trace a coherent ``ring" in phase space. Using several zoom simulations of clusters we show that the coherent distribution of the poststarbursts can be reasonably well-reproduced using a simple quenching scenario. Specifically, the phase space is best reproduced if satellite quenching occurs on a rapid timescale (0.1 < tau_{Q} < 0.5 Gyr) after galaxies make their first passage of R ~ 0.5R_{200}, a process that takes a total time of ~ 1 Gyr after first infall. We compare this quenching timescale to the timescale implied by the stellar populations of the poststarburst galaxies and find that the poststarburst spectra are well-fit by a rapid quenching (tau_{Q} = 0.4^{+0.3}_{-0.4} Gyr) of a typical star-forming galaxy. The similarity between the quenching timescales derived from these independent indicators is a strong consistency check of the quenching model. Given that the model implies satellite quenching is rapid, and occurs well within R_{200}, this would suggest that ram-pressure stripping of either the hot or cold gas component of galaxies are the most plausible candidates for the physical mechanism. The high cold gas consumption rates at z ~ 1 make it difficult to determine if hot or cold gas stripping is dominant; however, measurements of the redshift evolution of the satellite quenching timescale and location may be capable of distinguishing between the two.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, submitted to the Ap

Exploring the prevalence and diversity of pollen carried by four species of migratory Old World warbler (Sylvioidea) on arrival in the UK

Capsule Pollen encrusted around the bill of migrating warblers can reveal marked differences in foraging ecology between bird species. Aims To examine patterns of the prevalence and diversity of pollen in four species of warbler, and explore the potential of pollen to act as an indicator of recent foraging behaviour. Methods By isolating pollen from bill encrustations using laboratory palynological techniques and identification by light microscopy, we examined variation in the prevalence of the five most common pollen taxa, and variation in pollen assemblages in four species of warbler arriving on the south coast of England. Results All samples contained abundant pollen, with 19 floral taxa identified. Sylvia warblers tended to carry Prunus and Citrus pollen, while Phylloscopus warblers mainly carried Eucalyptus pollen. Pollen assemblages varied markedly between bird species. Conclusion Commercial and garden flowering trees are an important resource for migrating warblers. Pollen may be such a valuable resource that flowering plants might be included in the conservation management of stopover sites. The use of pollen to resolve migratory routes may be problematic however, requiring detailed knowledge of both the distribution and flowering phenology of plants en route

Treatment time and circadian genotype interact to influence radiotherapy side-effects. A prospective European validation study using the REQUITE cohort

Breast cancer; Circadian rhythm; RadiotherapyCáncer de mama; Ritmo circadiano; RadioterapiaCàncer de mama; Ritme circadià; RadioteràpiaBackground Circadian rhythm impacts broad biological processes, including response to cancer treatment. Evidence conflicts on whether treatment time affects risk of radiotherapy side-effects, likely because of differing time analyses and target tissues. We previously showed interactive effects of time and genotypes of circadian genes on late toxicity after breast radiotherapy and aimed to validate those results in a multi-centre cohort. Methods Clinical and genotype data from 1690 REQUITE breast cancer patients were used with erythema (acute; n=340) and breast atrophy (two years post-radiotherapy; n=514) as primary endpoints. Local datetimes per fraction were converted into solar times as predictors. Genetic chronotype markers were included in logistic regressions to identify primary endpoint predictors. Findings Significant predictors for erythema included BMI, radiation dose and PER3 genotype (OR 1.27(95%CI 1.03-1.56); P < 0.03). Effect of treatment time effect on acute toxicity was inconclusive, with no interaction between time and genotype. For late toxicity (breast atrophy), predictors included BMI, radiation dose, surgery type, treatment time and SNPs in CLOCK (OR 0.62 (95%CI 0.4-0.9); P < 0.01), PER3 (OR 0.65 (95%CI 0.44-0.97); P < 0.04) and RASD1 (OR 0.56 (95%CI 0.35-0.89); P < 0.02). There was a statistically significant interaction between time and genotypes of circadian rhythm genes (CLOCK OR 1.13 (95%CI 1.03-1.23), P < 0.01; PER3 OR 1.1 (95%CI 1.01-1.2), P < 0.04; RASD1 OR 1.15 (95%CI 1.04-1.28), P < 0.008), with peak time for toxicity determined by genotype. Interpretation Late atrophy can be mitigated by selecting optimal treatment time according to circadian genotypes (e.g. treat PER3 rs2087947C/C genotypes in mornings; T/T in afternoons). We predict triple-homozygous patients (14%) reduce chance of atrophy from 70% to 33% by treating in mornings as opposed to mid-afternoon. Future clinical trials could stratify patients treated at optimal times compared to those scheduled normally.EU-FP7

Phenotypic heterogeneity and genetic modification of P102L inherited prion disease in an international series

The largest kindred with inherited prion disease P102L, historically Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome, originates from central England, with émigrés now resident in various parts of the English-speaking world. We have collected data from 84 patients in the large UK kindred and numerous small unrelated pedigrees to investigate phenotypic heterogeneity and modifying factors. This collection represents by far the largest series of P102L patients so far reported. Microsatellite and genealogical analyses of eight separate European kindreds support multiple distinct mutational events at a cytosine-phosphate diester-guanidine dinucleotide mutation hot spot. All of the smaller P102L kindreds were linked to polymorphic human prion protein gene codon 129M and were not connected by genealogy or microsatellite haplotype background to the large kindred or each other. While many present with classical Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome, a slowly progressive cerebellar ataxia with later onset cognitive impairment, there is remarkable heterogeneity. A subset of patients present with prominent cognitive and psychiatric features and some have met diagnostic criteria for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. We show that polymorphic human prion protein gene codon 129 modifies age at onset: the earliest eight clinical onsets were all MM homozygotes and overall age at onset was 7 years earlier for MM compared with MV heterozygotes (P = 0.02). Unexpectedly, apolipoprotein E4 carriers have a delayed age of onset by 10 years (P = 0.02). We found a preponderance of female patients compared with males (54 females versus 30 males, P = 0.01), which probably relates to ascertainment bias. However, these modifiers had no impact on a semi-quantitative pathological phenotype in 10 autopsied patients. These data allow an appreciation of the range of clinical phenotype, modern imaging and molecular investigation and should inform genetic counselling of at-risk individuals, with the identification of two genetic modifiers

A Widely-Separated, Highly-Occluded Companion to the Nearby Low-Mass T Tauri Star TWA 30

We report the discovery of TWA 30B, a wide (~3400 AU), co-moving M dwarf companion to the nearby (~42 pc) young star TWA 30. Companionship is confirmed from their statistically consistent proper motions and radial velocities, as well as a chance alignment probability of only 0.08%. Like TWA 30A, the spectrum of TWA 30B shows signatures of an actively accreting disk (H I and alkali line emission) and forbidden emission lines tracing outflowing material ([O I], [O II], [O III], [S II], and [N II]). We have also detected [C I] emission in the optical data, marking the first such detection of this line in a pre-main sequence star. Negligible radial velocity shifts in the emission lines relative to the stellar frame of rest (Delta V < 30 km/s) indicate that the outflows are viewed in the plane of the sky and that the corresponding circumstellar disk is viewed edge-on. Indeed, TWA 30B appears to be heavily obscured by its disk, given that it is 5 magnitudes fainter than TWA 30A at K-band despite having a slightly earlier spectral type (M4 versus M5). The near-infrared spectrum of TWA 30B also evinces an excess that varies on day timescales, with colors that follow classical T Tauri tracks as opposed to variable reddening (as is the case for TWA 30A). Multi-epoch data show this excess to be well-modeled by a blackbody component with temperatures ranging from 630 to 880 K and emitting areas that scale inversely with the temperature. The variable excess may arise from disk structure such as a rim or a warp at the inner disk edge located at a radial distance of ~3-5 R_sun. As the second and third closest actively accreting and outflowing stars to the Sun (after TWA 3), TWA 30AB presents an ideal system for detailed study of star and planetary formation processes at the low-mass end of the hydrogen-burning spectrum.Comment: 34 pages, 6 figures, AJ in press; Replaced Figure 4 with a better color version, added 3 references and slightly amended Section 3.2.

A TMEFF2-regulated cell cycle derived gene signature is prognostic of recurrence risk in prostate cancer

Background: The clinical behavior of prostate cancer (PCa) is variable, and while the majority of cases remain indolent, 10% of patients progress to deadly forms of the disease. Current clinical predictors used at the time of diagnosis have limitations to accurately establish progression risk. Here we describe the development of a tumor suppressor regulated, cell-cycle gene expression based prognostic signature for PCa, and validate its independent contribution to risk stratification in several radical prostatectomy (RP) patient cohorts. Methods: We used RNA interference experiments in PCa cell lines to identify a gene expression based gene signature associated with Tmeff2, an androgen regulated, tumor suppressor gene whose expression shows remarkable heterogeneity in PCa. Gene expression was confirmed by qRT-PCR. Correlation of the signature with disease outcome (time to recurrence) was retrospectively evaluated in four geographically different cohorts of patients that underwent RP (834 samples), using multivariate logistical regression analysis. Multivariate analyses were adjusted for standard clinicopathological variables. Performance of the signature was compared to previously described gene expression based signatures using the SigCheck software. Results: Low levels of TMEFF2 mRNA significantly (p \u3c 0.0001) correlated with reduced disease-free survival (DFS) in patients from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) dataset. We identified a panel of 11 TMEFF2 regulated cell cycle related genes (TMCC11), with strong prognostic value. TMCC11 expression was significantly associated with time to recurrence after prostatectomy in four geographically different patient cohorts (2.9 ≤ HR ≥ 4.1; p ≤ 0.002), served as an independent indicator of poor prognosis in the four RP cohorts (1.96 ≤ HR ≥ 4.28; p ≤ 0.032) and improved the prognostic value of standard clinicopathological markers. The prognostic ability of TMCC11 panel exceeded previously published oncogenic gene signatures (p = 0.00017). Conclusions: This study provides evidence that the TMCC11 gene signature is a robust independent prognostic marker for PCa, reveals the value of using highly heterogeneously expressed genes, like Tmeff2, as guides to discover prognostic indicators, and suggests the possibility that low Tmeff2 expression marks a distinct subclass of PCa