SDSU Cow-Calf Teaching and Research Unit

The SDSU Cow/Calf Teaching and Research Unit serves as a resource for teaching, research, extension and student organizations. In addition to use in the classroom, cattle are used for the annual SDSU Little International, Block & Bridle activities, field days, and numerous 4-H, FFA, and other educational events. Recent research projects at the Unit include studies on estrus synchronization, winter supplementation, and absorption of colostrum. For teaching purposes, cattle that vary in calving ease, growth rate, mature size, and maternal value are maintained. It is not feasible to maintain all of the breeds that are important in this region. The herd consists of 100 purebred Angus and Simmental x Angus cows and their calves. Tables 1 and 2 show the average expected progeny differences for the current sires, replacement heifers and the 2002 calf cro

Crying in Psychotherapy: The Perspective of Therapists and Clients

Eighteen U.S.-based doctoral students in counseling or clinical psychology were interviewed by phone regarding experiences of crying in therapy. Specifically, they described crying as therapists with their clients, as clients with their therapists, and experiences when their therapists cried in the participants’ therapy. Data were analyzed using consensual qualitative research. When crying with their clients, therapists expressed concern about the appropriateness/impact of crying, cried only briefly and because they felt an empathic connection with their clients, thought that the crying strengthened the relationship, discussed the event with their supervisor, and wished they had discussed the event more fully with clients. Crying as clients was triggered by discussing distressing personal events, was accompanied by a mixture of emotions regarding the tears, consisted of substantial crying to express pain or sadness, and led to multiple benefits (enhanced therapy relationship, deeper therapy, and insight). When their therapists cried, the crying was brief, was triggered by discussions of termination, arose from therapists’ empathic connection with participants, and strengthened the therapy relationship. Implications for research, training, and practice are presented

Increasing β-catenin/Wnt3A activity levels drive mechanical strain-induced cell cycle progression through mitosis.

Mechanical force and Wnt signaling activate β-catenin-mediated transcription to promote proliferation and tissue expansion. However, it is unknown whether mechanical force and Wnt signaling act independently or synergize to activate β-catenin signaling and cell division. We show that mechanical strain induced Src-dependent phosphorylation of Y654 β-catenin and increased β-catenin-mediated transcription in mammalian MDCK epithelial cells. Under these conditions, cells accumulated in S/G2 (independent of DNA damage) but did not divide. Activating β-catenin through Casein Kinase I inhibition or Wnt3A addition increased β-catenin-mediated transcription and strain-induced accumulation of cells in S/G2. Significantly, only the combination of mechanical strain and Wnt/β-catenin activation triggered cells in S/G2 to divide. These results indicate that strain-induced Src phosphorylation of β-catenin and Wnt-dependent β-catenin stabilization synergize to increase β-catenin-mediated transcription to levels required for mitosis. Thus, local Wnt signaling may fine-tune the effects of global mechanical strain to restrict cell divisions during tissue development and homeostasis

Exploring the Utility of Small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) Products in Remote Visual Stream Ecological Assessment

Many restoration projects’ success is not evaluated (Roni & Beechie 2013; Nilsson et al. 2016), despite available conventional ecological assessment methods. There is a need for more flexible, affordable, and efficient methods for evaluation, particularly those that take advantage of new remote sensing and geospatial technologies (Hubbart et al. 2017). This study explores the use of illustrative small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) products, made using a simple structure-from-motion photogrammetry workflow, coupled with a visual assessment protocol as a remote evaluation and ecological condition archive approach. Three streams were assessed in the field (“surface assessments”) using the Stream Visual Assessment Protocol Version 2 (SVAP2) and later illustrated in sUAS products. A survey of 10 stream experts was conducted to 1) assess the general utility of the sUAS products (high resolution video, orthomosaics, and 3D models), and 2) test whether the experts could interpret the products and apply the 16 SVAP2 elements remotely. The channel condition, bank condition, riparian area quantity, and canopy cover elements were deemed appropriate for remote assessment, while the riparian area quality, water appearance, fish habitat complexity, and aquatic invertebrate complexity elements were deemed appropriate for remote assessment but with some potential limitations due to the quality of the products and varying site conditions. In general, the survey participants agreed that the illustrative products would be useful in stream ecological assessment and restoration evaluation. Although not a replacement for more quantitative surface assessments when required, this remote visual approach is suitable when more general monitoring is satisfactory. Note: This is an Author’s Original Manuscript of an article to be published by Wiley in Restoration Ecology, the Accepted Manuscript is currently available online: https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.1322

The histone deacetylase inhibitor cambinol prevents acidic pHe-induced anterograde lysosome trafficking independently of sirtuin activity

AbstractCommon features of the solid tumor microenvironment, such as acidic extracellular pH and growth factors, are known to induce the redistribution of lysosomes from a perinuclear region to a position near the plasma membrane. Lysosome/plasma membrane juxtaposition facilitates invasion by allowing for the release of lysosomal proteases, including cathepsin B, which contribute to matrix degradation. In this study we identified the sirtuin 1/sirtuin 2 (SIRT1/2) inhibitor cambinol acts as a drug that inhibits lysosome redistribution and tumor invasion. Treatment of cells with cambinol resulted in a juxtanuclear lysosome aggregation (JLA) similar to that seen upon treatment with the PPARγ agonist, troglitazone (Tro). Like Tro, cambinol required the activity of ERK1/2 in order to induce this lysosome clustering phenotype. However, cambinol did not require the activity of Rab7, suggesting that this drug causes JLA by a mechanism different from what is known for Tro. Additionally, cambinol-induced JLA was not a result of autophagy induction. Further investigation revealed that cambinol triggered JLA independently of its activity as a SIRT1/2 inhibitor, suggesting that this drug could have effects in addition to SIRT1/2 inhibition that could be developed into a novel anti-cancer therapy

Spatial distribution of cell-cell and cell-ECM adhesions regulates force balance while main-taining E-cadherin molecular tension in cell pairs.

Mechanical linkage between cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesions regulates cell shape changes during embryonic development and tissue homoeostasis. We examined how the force balance between cell-cell and cell-ECM adhesions changes with cell spread area and aspect ratio in pairs of MDCK cells. We used ECM micropatterning to drive different cytoskeleton strain energy states and cell-generated traction forces and used a Förster resonance energy transfer tension biosensor to ask whether changes in forces across cell-cell junctions correlated with E-cadherin molecular tension. We found that continuous peripheral ECM adhesions resulted in increased cell-cell and cell-ECM forces with increasing spread area. In contrast, confining ECM adhesions to the distal ends of cell-cell pairs resulted in shorter junction lengths and constant cell-cell forces. Of interest, each cell within a cell pair generated higher strain energies than isolated single cells of the same spread area. Surprisingly, E-cadherin molecular tension remained constant regardless of changes in cell-cell forces and was evenly distributed along cell-cell junctions independent of cell spread area and total traction forces. Taken together, our results showed that cell pairs maintained constant E-cadherin molecular tension and regulated total forces relative to cell spread area and shape but independently of total focal adhesion area

SDSU Cow/Calf Teaching and Research Unit

The SDSU Cow/Calf Unit (CCU) provides cattle and facilities for numerous Animal Science and Range Science classes and a variety of research projects. The CCU also provides cattle for the SDSU Little International, Block & Bridle Club activities, numerous judging team workouts, and other activities that bring potential students to the SDSU campus. Kevin VanderWal and Anna Drew along with part-time student employees, manage the herd, collect research data, and assist with numerous beef cattle activities throughout the year

Upgrades to the International Space Station Water Recovery System

The International Space Station (ISS) Water Recovery System (WRS) includes the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) and the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). The WRS produces potable water from a combination of crew urine (first processed through the UPA), crew latent, and Sabatier product water. Though the WRS has performed well since operations began in November 2008, several modifications have been identified to improve the overall system performance. These modifications aim to reduce resupply and improve overall system reliability, which is beneficial for the ongoing ISS mission as well as for future NASA manned missions. The following paper details efforts to improve the WPA through the use of reverse osmosis membrane technology to reduce the resupply mass of the WPA Multi-filtration Bed and improved catalyst for the WPA Catalytic Reactor to reduce the operational temperature and pressure. For the UPA, this paper discusses progress on various concepts for improving the reliability of the system, including the implementation of a more reliable drive belt, improved methods for managing condensate in the stationary bowl of the Distillation Assembly, and evaluating upgrades to the UPA vacuum pump

Raf-independent Deregulation of p38 and JNK Mitogen-activated Protein Kinases Are Critical for Ras Transformation

Activated Ras, but not Raf, causes transformation of RIE-1 epithelial cells, supporting the importance of Raf-independent pathways in mediating Ras transformation. The p38 and JNK mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades are activated by Ras via Raf-independent effector function. Therefore, we determined whether p38 and JNK activation are involved in Ras transformation of RIE-1 epithelial cells. Rather surprisingly, we found that pharmacologic inhibition of p38, together with Raf activation of ERK, was sufficient to mimic the morphologic and growth transformation caused by oncogenic Ras. p38 inhibition together with ERK activation also caused the same alterations in cyclin D1 and p21(CIP1) expression caused by Ras and induced an autocrine growth factor loop important for transformation. Finally, in contrast to p38, we found that JNK activation promoted Ras transformation, and that Ras deregulation of p38 and JNK was not mediated by activation of the Rac small GTPase. We conclude that a key action of Raf-independent effector pathways important for Ras transformation may involve inhibition of p38 and activation of JNK

Ras Inactivation of the Retinoblastoma Pathway by Distinct Mechanisms in NIH 3T3 Fibroblast and RIE-1 Epithelial Cells

Although Ras and Raf cause transformation of NIH 3T3 fibroblasts, only Ras causes transformation of RIE-1 intestinal epithelial cells. To determine if the inability of Raf to transform RIE-1 cells is due to a failure to deregulate cell cycle progression, we evaluated the consequences of sustained Ras and Raf activation on steady state levels of cyclin D1, p21(CIP/WAF), and p27(KIP1). Both Ras- and Raf-transformed NIH 3T3 cells showed up-regulated expression of cyclin D1, p21, and p27 protein, increased retinoblastoma (Rb) hyperphosphorylation, and increased activation of E2F-mediated transcription. Similarly, Ras-transformed RIE-1 cells also showed up-regulation of cyclin D1, p21, and hyperphosphorylated Rb. In contrast, Ras-mediated down-regulation of p27 was seen in RIE-1 cells. Conversely, stable expression of activated Raf alone caused only a partial up-regulation of p21 and Rb hyperphosphorylation but no activation of E2F-responsive transcription or down-regulation of p27 in RIE-1 cells. Moreover, we found that the AP-1 site was dispensable for Ras-mediated stimulation of the cyclin-D1 promoter in NIH 3T3 cells but was essential for Ras-mediated stimulation in RIE-1 cells. Thus, up-regulation of p21, rather than the down-regulation seen in previous transient expression studies, is seen with sustained Ras activation. Additionally, p27 may serve a positive (NIH 3T3) or negative (RIE-1) regulatory role in Ras transformation that is cell type-dependent. The involvement of Raf and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in mediating Ras changes in cyclin D1, p21, and p27 was also very distinct in NIH 3T3 and RIE-1 cells. Taken together, these results demonstrate the importance of Raf-independent pathways in mediating oncogenic Ras deregulation of cell cycle progression in epithelial cells