Density and Dichotomous Family History Measures of Alcohol Use Disorder as Predictors of Behavioral and Neural Phenotypes: A Comparative Study Across Gender and Race/Ethnicity.

Background: Family history (FH) is an important risk factor for the development of alcohol use disorder (AUD). A variety of dichotomous and density measures of FH have been used to predict alcohol outcomes; yet, a systematic comparison of these FH measures is lacking. We compared 4 density and 4 commonly used dichotomous FH measures and examined variations by gender and race/ethnicity in their associations with age of onset of regular drinking, parietal P3 amplitude to visual target, and likelihood of developing AUD.

The influence of protein adsorption on nanoparticle association with cultured endothelial cells.

As materials are produced at smaller scales, the properties that make them especially useful for biological applications such as drug delivery, imaging or sensing applications also render them potentially harmful. There has been a reasonable amount of work addressing the interactions of biological fluids at material surfaces that demonstrates the high affinity of protein for particle surfaces and some looking at the role of particle surface chemistry in cellular associations, but mechanisms have been too little addressed outside the context of intended, specific interactions. Here, using cultured endothelium as a model for vascular transport, we demonstrate that the capacity of nanoparticle surfaces to adsorb protein is indicative of their tendency to associate with cells.

Binding between particles and proteins in extracts: implications for microrheology and toxicity.

Understanding and controlling the interactions between foreign materials and cytoplasmic proteins is key for the design of intracellular probes, and for uncovering mechanisms of micro and nanoparticle toxicity. Here we examine these interactions by characterizing protein adsorption from cell extracts to a range of micron and sub-micron particles, and by measuring the Brownian motions of particles in live cells and reconstituted networks as an in situ measure of association. Testing SiO2, TiO2 and polystyrene particles with varying surface carboxylation, together with protein and polyethylene glycol surface coatings, we find that cellular associations and protein binding both strongly depend on particle surface chemistry.

Actin motility: staying on track takes a little more effort.

The pigment cells of amphibians and fish have provided excellent models for understanding how actin and microtubule motors move organelles along the complex trailway of filaments in the cytoplasm. Recent work provides more evidence that these motors are engaged in a continuous tug-of-war.

The role of substrate curvature in actin-based pushing forces.

The extension of the plasma membrane during cell crawling or spreading is known to require actin polymerization; however, the question of how pushing forces derive from actin polymerization remains open. A leading theory (herein referred to as elastic propulsion) illustrates how elastic stresses in networks growing on curved surfaces can result in forces that push particles. To date all examples of reconstituted motility have used curved surfaces, raising the possibility that such squeezing forces are essential for actin-based pushing.