The Blackstone Series: Evidence for an Avalonian Plate Margin in Northern Rhode Island

Guidebook to geologic field studies in Rhode Island and adjacent areas: The 73rd annual meeting of the New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference, October 16-18, 1981: Trip B-

Анализ и способы повышения конкурентоспсособности предприятия

Dysregulation of growth factor receptors such as the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and of its truncated form EGFRvIII is frequently found in human tumors. EGFRvIII is a promising target for selective molecular tumor therapy because it is exclusively expressed by tumor cells. Cetuximab/Erbitux is a monoclonal antibody which targets EGFR and EGFRvIII. The effects of cetuximab on EGFRvIII but still the exact function and mechanism of cetuximab in relation to EGFR and EGFRvIII are incompletely understood. Therefore, we investigated the influence of cetuximab on EGFRvIII signaling and cellular survival. We found that cetuximab leads to increased internalization of EGFRvIII in NR6M cells but is unable to inhibit neither the activation of EGFRvIII nor its downstream signaling pathways. Incubation with cetuximab also did not alter the survival and proliferation of EGFRvIII-expressing cells. However, it caused increased mitochondrial activity and an increase in co-localization of EGFRvIII with mitochondria. These results demonstrate that interaction of EGFRvIII with mitochondria could play a role in survival of cetuximab-treated NR6M cells. Thus, a role of mitochondria in resistance to cetuximab has to be considered

Smartphone-Based Prenatal Education for Parents with Preterm Birth Risk Factors

Objective To develop an educational mobile application (app) for expectant parents diagnosed with risk factors for premature birth. Methods Parent and medical advisory panels delineated the vision for the app. The app helps prepare for preterm birth. For pilot testing, obstetricians offered the app between 18–22 weeks gestational age to English speaking parents with risk factors for preterm birth. After 4 weeks of use, each participant completed a questionnaire. The software tracked topics accessed and duration of use. Results For pilot testing, 31 participants were recruited and 28 completed the questionnaire. After app utilization, participants reported heightened awareness of preterm birth (93%), more discussion of pregnancy or prematurity issues with partner (86%), increased questions at clinic visits (43%), and increased anxiety (21%). Participants reported receiving more prematurity information from the app than from their healthcare providers. The 15 participants for whom tracking data was available accessed the app for an average of 8 h. Conclusion Parents with increased risk for preterm birth may benefit from this mobile app educational program. Practice implications If the pregnancy results in preterm birth hospitalization, parents would have built a foundation of knowledge to make informed medical care choices

Ubiquitin and AP180 Regulate the Abundance of GLR-1 Glutamate Receptors at Postsynaptic Elements in C. elegans

AbstractRegulated delivery and removal of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) glutamate receptors (GluRs) from postsynaptic elements has been proposed as a mechanism for regulating synaptic strength. Here we test the role of ubiquitin in regulating synapses that contain a C. elegans GluR, GLR-1. GLR-1 receptors were ubiquitinated in vivo. Mutations that decreased ubiquitination of GLR-1 increased the abundance of GLR-1 at synapses and altered locomotion behavior in a manner that is consistent with increased synaptic strength. By contrast, overexpression of ubiquitin decreased the abundance of GLR-1 at synapses and decreased the density of GLR-1-containing synapses, and these effects were prevented by mutations in the unc-11 gene, which encodes a clathrin adaptin protein (AP180). These results suggest that ubiquitination of GLR-1 receptors regulates synaptic strength and the formation or stability of GLR-1-containing synapses

Effects of habitat composition and landscape structure on worker foraging distances of five bumblebee species

Bumblebees (Bombus spp.) are important pollinators of both crops and wild flowers. Their contribution to this essential ecosystem service has been threatened over recent decades by changes in land use, which have led to declines in their populations. In order to design effective conservation measures it is important to understand the effects of variation in landscape composition and structure on the foraging activities of worker bumblebees. This is because the viability of individual colonies is likely to be affected by the trade-off between the energetic costs of foraging over greater distances and the potential gains from access to additional resources. We used field surveys, molecular genetics and fine resolution remote sensing to estimate the locations of wild bumblebee nests and to infer foraging distances across a 20 km2 agricultural landscape in southern England. We investigated five species, including the rare B. ruderatus and ecologically similar but widespread B. hortorum. We compared worker foraging distances between species and examined how variation in landscape composition and structure affected foraging distances at the colony level. Mean worker foraging distances differed significantly between species. Bombus terrestris, B. lapidarius and B. ruderatus exhibited significantly greater mean foraging distances (551 m, 536 m, 501 m, respectively) than B. hortorum and B. pascuorum (336 m, 272 m, respectively). There was wide variation in worker foraging distances between colonies of the same species, which was in turn strongly influenced by the amount and spatial configuration of available foraging habitats. Shorter foraging distances were found for colonies where the local landscape had high coverage and low fragmentation of semi-natural vegetation, including managed agri-environmental field margins. The strength of relationships between different landscape variables and foraging distance varied between species, for example the strongest relationship for B. ruderatus being with floral cover of preferred forage plants. Our findings suggest that favourable landscape composition and configuration has the potential to minimise foraging distances across a range of bumblebee species. There is thus potential for improvements in the design and implementation of landscape management options, such as agri-environment schemes, aimed at providing foraging habitat for bumblebees and enhancing crop pollination services

A Study of the Change in Intelligence Distribution

A statistical study was conducted which indicates that significant changes in mean and variance of IQ scores for an Iowa farm group have changed significantly over a twenty year period. Factors accounting for this change are suggested