Influence of the substrate lattice structure on the formation of quantum well states in thin In and Pb films on silicon.

The substrate lattice structure may have a considerable influence on the formation of quantum well states in a metal overlayer material. Here we study three model systems using angle resolved photoemission and low energy electron diffraction: indium films on Si(111) and indium and lead on Si(100). Data are compared with theoretical predictions based on density functional theory.

Association of active and passive smoking with risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women: a prospective cohort study.

Objective: To examine the association between smoking and risk of invasive breast cancer using quantitative measures of lifetime passive and active smoking exposure among postmenopausal women.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: 40 clinical centres in the United States.

Racial and ethnic differences in current use of cigarettes, cigars, and hookahs among lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults.

Introduction: Research demonstrates that lesbians, gays, and bisexuals (i.e., LGBs or sexual minorities) smoke more than their heterosexual peers, but relatively less is known about the heterogeneity within LGB populations, namely racial/ethnic differences.

Multipotent adult progenitor cells prevent macrophage-mediated axonal dieback and promote regrowth after spinal cord injury.

Macrophage-mediated axonal dieback presents an additional challenge to regenerating axons after spinal cord injury. Adult adherent stem cells are known to have immunomodulatory capabilities, but their potential to ameliorate this detrimental inflammation-related process has not been investigated. Using an in vitro model of axonal dieback as well as an adult rat dorsal column crush model of spinal cord injury, we found that multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPCs) can affect both macrophages and dystrophic neurons simultaneously.

Cultural differences in asymmetric beliefs of interpersonal knowledge in vertical and horizontal relationships.

Previous studies have reported that our interpersonal knowledge shows an asymmetry; that is, we tend to believe that we know and understand other people's thoughts and feelings better than other people know and understand our own thoughts and feelings. In the present study, the authors compared American (114 men, 192 women) and Korean (99 men and 98 women) students to examine whether the asymmetry is greater in collectivistic than in individualistic culture in two types of relationships: horizontal (with best friends) and vertical (with parents). On all three items--Know, Understand, and Visibility--asymmetry was found for both horizontal and vertical relationships.

Early production of IL-22 but not IL-17 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells exposed to live Borrelia burgdorferi: the role of monocytes and interleukin-1.

If insufficiently treated, Lyme borreliosis can evolve into an inflammatory disorder affecting skin, joints, and the CNS. Early innate immunity may determine host responses targeting infection. Thus, we sought to characterize the immediate cytokine storm associated with exposure of PBMC to moderate levels of live Borrelia burgdorferi.

Functional relations of cerebellar modules of the cat.

The cerebellum consists of parasagittal zones that define fundamental modules of neural processing. Each zone receives input from a distinct subdivision of the inferior olive (IO)-activity in one olivary subdivision will affect activity in one cerebellar module. To define functions of the cerebellar modules, we inactivated specific olivary subdivisions in six male cats with a glutamate receptor blocker.

Immature astrocytes promote CNS axonal regeneration when combined with chondroitinase ABC.

Regeneration of injured adult CNS axons is inhibited by formation of a glial scar. Immature astrocytes are able to support robust neurite outgrowth and reduce scarring, therefore, we tested whether these cells would have this effect if transplanted into brain injuries. Utilizing an in vitro spot gradient model that recreates the strongly inhibitory proteoglycan environment of the glial scar we found that, alone, immature, but not mature, astrocytes had a limited ability to form bridges across the most inhibitory outer rim.

Disparities in smoking and acute respiratory illnesses among sexual minority young adults.

Morbidity and mortality from cigarette smoking remain major public health issues. Particularly, smoking has been associated with increased risk of acute respiratory illnesses (ARIs). Literature indicates that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (i.

Observation of plasmarons in quasi-freestanding doped graphene.

A hallmark of graphene is its unusual conical band structure that leads to a zero-energy band gap at a single Dirac crossing point. By measuring the spectral function of charge carriers in quasi-freestanding graphene with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we showed that at finite doping, this well-known linear Dirac spectrum does not provide a full description of the charge-carrying excitations. We observed composite "plasmaron" particles, which are bound states of charge carriers with plasmons, the density oscillations of the graphene electron gas.

Extended van Hove singularity and superconducting instability in doped graphene.

We have investigated the effects of doping on a single layer of graphene using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We show that many-body interactions severely warp the Fermi surface, leading to an extended van Hove singularity (EVHS) at the graphene M point. The ground state properties of graphene with such an EVHS are calculated, analyzing the competition between a magnetic instability and the tendency towards superconductivity.

A combination immunomodulatory treatment promotes neuroprotection and locomotor recovery after contusion SCI.

The present study assessed the ability of a combined immunomodulatory treatment using (1) selective depletion of peripheral macrophages with liposomal-encapsulated clodronate, and (2) rolipram, a type 4 phosphodiesterase (PDE4) inhibitor, to promote neuroprotection and improve locomotor recovery following experimental contusion SCI. We demonstrate that delivery of either liposomal clodronate or rolipram alone promotes neuroprotection, enhances myelinated tissue sparing, and improves hindlimb functional recovery. Combined treatment with liposomal clodronate and rolipram produced the greatest improvement in locomotor recovery (inter-limb coordination, paw placement, and toe clearance), at 4 weeks post-injury (2.

Timing of Hospice Referral: Assessing Satisfaction While the Patient Receives Hospice Services.

Generally, satisfaction with timing of hospice referral was measured in mortality follow back surveys of patients who died in hospice. In contrast in this study, investigators assessed timing of the hospice referral in patients/families enrolled in hospice for a minimum of two weeks. About 1/3 of patients/families identified it would have been easier if they started hospice earlier.

EphA4 is localized in clathrin-coated and synaptic vesicles in adult mouse brain.

EphA4, a receptor tyrosine kinase, is expressed in various pre-, post- and peri-synaptic organelles and implicated in the regulation of morphological and physiological properties of synapses. It regulates synaptic plasticity by acting as a binding partner for glial ephrin-A3 and possibly other pre- or post-synaptic ephrins. Now, its trafficking mechanisms remain unknown.

Adult NG2+ cells are permissive to neurite outgrowth and stabilize sensory axons during macrophage-induced axonal dieback after spinal cord injury.

We previously demonstrated that activated ED1+ macrophages induce extensive axonal dieback of dystrophic sensory axons in vivo and in vitro. Interestingly, after spinal cord injury, the regenerating front of axons is typically found in areas rich in ED1+ cells, but devoid of reactive astrocyte processes. These observations suggested that another cell type must be present in these areas to counteract deleterious effects of macrophages.

Smoking and breast cancer screening in West Virginia: opportunities for intervention.

Smoking has been increasingly identified as a risk factor for breast cancer among women. West Virginia has high rates of smoking, which can be further examined in relation to breast cancer screening and smoking related variables. This study used 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data to examine the relationship between smoking related variables and breast cancer screening behaviors among women in West Virginia age 40 and older.

Prenatal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke alters gene expression in the developing murine hippocampus.

Background: Little is known about the effects of passive smoke exposures on the developing brain.

Objective: The purpose of the current study was to identify changes in gene expression in the murine hippocampus as a consequence of in utero exposure to sidestream cigarette smoke (an experimental equivalent of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)) at exposure levels that do not result in fetal growth inhibition.

Methods: A whole body smoke inhalation exposure system was utilized to deliver ETS to pregnant C57BL/6J mice for 6 h/day from gestational days 6-17 (gd 6-17) [for microarray] or gd 6-18.

PTPsigma is a receptor for chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, an inhibitor of neural regeneration.

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) present a barrier to axon regeneration. However, no specific receptor for the inhibitory effect of CSPGs has been identified. We showed that a transmembrane protein tyrosine phosphatase, PTPsigma, binds with high affinity to neural CSPGs.

Potential effects of active parental consent: Enrolling teen smokers into a school-based cessation program.

Introduction: Research on effective teen smoking cessation interventions is critical to reducing the tobacco-related disease burden and risk of lifetime negative health outcomes for youth. However, informed consent procedures requiring active parental consent may restrict or influence teen participation in critical teen cessation programs.

Methods: Not On Tobacco (N-O-T) is a teen smoking cessation intervention that has been implemented under both active parental consent and passive parental consent conditions.

Manganese adlayers on i-Al-Pd-Mn quasicrystal: growth and electronic structure.

Pseudomorphic growth of thin elemental metal films is often observed on a variety of crystalline solids. On quasicrystalline surfaces with their complex structure and the absence of translational periodicity, the situation is different since elemental metals do not exhibit quasicrystalline order, and hence the specific interaction between overlayer and substrate is decisive. Here we study the growth of manganese films on an icosahedral i-Al-Pd-Mn alloy with a view to establishing the growth mode and electronic structure.

Quasiparticle transformation during a metal-insulator transition in graphene.

Here we show, with simultaneous transport and photoemission measurements, that the graphene-terminated SiC(0001) surface undergoes a metal-insulator transition upon dosing with small amounts of atomic hydrogen. We find the room temperature resistance increases by about 4 orders of magnitude, a transition accompanied by anomalies in the momentum-resolved spectral function including a non-Fermi-liquid behavior and a breakdown of the quasiparticle picture. These effects are discussed in terms of a possible transition to a strongly (Anderson) localized ground state.

Genome sequence and analysis of the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans.

Phytophthora infestans is the most destructive pathogen of potato and a model organism for the oomycetes, a distinct lineage of fungus-like eukaryotes that are related to organisms such as brown algae and diatoms. As the agent of the Irish potato famine in the mid-nineteenth century, P. infestans has had a tremendous effect on human history, resulting in famine and population displacement.

Overcoming macrophage-mediated axonal dieback following CNS injury.

Trauma to the adult CNS initiates multiple processes including primary and secondary axotomy, inflammation, and glial scar formation that have devastating effects on neuronal regeneration. After spinal cord injury, the infiltration of phagocytic macrophages coincides with long-distance axonal retraction from the initial site of injury, a deleterious phenomenon known as axonal dieback. We have previously shown that activated macrophages directly induce long-distance retraction of dystrophic axons in an in vitro model of the glial scar.