Exploration of underlying patterns among conflict, socioeconomic and political factors.

The emergence of conflict is a complex issue with numerous drivers and interactions playing a role. Exploratory dimension-reduction techniques can reveal patterns of association in such complex data. In this study, an existing dataset was reanalyzed using factor analysis for mixed data to visualize the data in two-dimensional space to explore the conditions associated with high levels of conflict. The first dimension was strongly associated with resilience index, control of corruption, income, income inequality, and regime type, while the second dimension was strongly associated with oil production, regime type, conflict level, political terror level, and water stress. Hierarchical clustering from principal components was used to group the observations into five clusters. Country trajectories through the two-dimensional space provided examples of how movement in the first two dimensions reflected changes in conflict, political terror, regime type, and resilience index. These trajectories correspond to the evolution of themes in research on conflict, particularly in terms of considering the importance of climate or environmental variables in stimulating or sustaining conflict. Understanding conditions associated with high conflict can be helpful in guiding the development of future models for prediction and risk assessment.

Triadic signatures of global human mobility networks.

Global refugee and migrant flows form complex networks with serious consequences for both sending and receiving countries as well as those in between. While several basic network properties of these networks have been documented, their finer structural character remains under-studied. One such structure is the triad significance profile (TSP). In this study, the TSPs of global refugee and migrant flow networks are assessed. Results indicate that the migrant flow network's size and TSP remain stable over the years; its TSP shares patterns with social networks such as trade networks. In contrast, the refugee network has been more dynamic and structurally unstable; its TSP shares patterns with networks in the information-processing superfamily, which includes many biological networks. Our findings demonstrate commonality between migrant and social networks as well as between refugee and biological networks, pointing to possible interdisciplinary collaboration-e.g., application of biological network theories to refugee network dynamics-, potentially furthering theoretical development with respect to both network theory and theories on human mobility.

How inter-state amity and animosity complement migration networks to drive refugee flows: A multi-layer network analysis, 1991-2016.

What drives the formation and evolution of the global refugee flow network over time? Refugee flows in particular are widely explained as the result of pursuits for physical security, with recent research adding geopolitical considerations for why states accept refugees. We refine these arguments and classify them into explanations of people following existing migration networks and networks of inter-state amity and animosity. We also observe that structural network interdependencies may bias models of migration flows generally and refugee flows specifically. To account for these dependencies, we use a dyadic hypothesis testing method-Multiple Regression- Quadratic Assignment Procedure (MR-QAP). We estimate MR-QAP models for each year during the 1991-2016 time period. K-means clustering analysis with visualization supported by multi-dimensional scaling allows us to identify categories of variables and years. We find support for the categorization of drivers of refugee flows into migration networks and inter-state amity and animosity. This includes key nuance that, while contiguity has maintained a positive influence on refugee flows, the magnitude of that influence has declined over time. Strategic rivalry also has a positive influence on refugee flows via dyad-level correlations and its effect on the structure of the global refugee flow network. In addition, we find clear support for the global refugee flow network shifting after the Arab Spring in 2011, and drivers of refugee flows shifting after 2012. Our findings contribute to the study of refugee flows, international migration, alliance and rivalry relationships, and the application of social network analysis to international relations.

Social dynamics in an isolated, confined, and extreme workplace.

There can be few indoor workplaces that are more subject to the meteorological and atmospheric conditions of their locations than permanent stations on the high, inland polar plateau of Antarctica. The US Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is such a workplace, totally isolated during the 8-9 months of the austral winter, more than 800 miles (1287 km) from the nearest other human habitation. The wintering party at the South Pole must deal with all the demands and stressors of an isolated, confined, and extreme environment without the prospect of relief from the outside world. In 1975, the seventeen men chosen to winter at the South Pole had an additional challenge. In February, as the austral winter was about to begin, a new geodesic-domed research station had just been completed. The station was the first of its kind, and the vagaries of its design and construction would be significant factors in the health and well-being of station residents as winter progressed. Potential physical and psychological problems from isolation literature are commented upon, and some significant events from this noteworthy winter are described. In addition, supporting quantitative data from current research at South Pole are used to better understand these events.

Low concentrations of cadmium chloride promotes protein translation and improve cell line productivity.

Protein translation has emerged as a critical bottleneck for overall productivity of biological molecules. An augmentation of protein translation can be achieved by cell line engineering or by sophisticated vector design. However, for industrial process development purposes, identification of media additives that promote translation will be of great value, obviating the generation of new host platforms. Here, we examined the effect of low cadmium chloride concentrations on protein synthesis and cell line productivity. At low micromolar concentrations, cadmium chloride induced the mTOR pathway and promoted total protein synthesis in HEK 293T and CHO-K1 cells with minimal toxicity. In a parallel screening of kinase inhibitors for promoting protein expression, we identified the RSK1 inhibitor, BI-D1870, as having a transcription promoting activity on cytomegalovirus promoter-driven transgenes. Fed-batch analyses of CHO-K1 cells producing the anticoagulant factor tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) demonstrated that inclusion of cadmium chloride alone and particularly in combination with BI-D1870 improved overall yields of tPA by more than two-fold with minimal effect on cell growth. We, therefore, underscore the use of cadmium alone and in combination with BI-D1870 for improving bioproduction yields.

Open-ended interview questions and saturation.

Sample size determination for open-ended questions or qualitative interviews relies primarily on custom and finding the point where little new information is obtained (thematic saturation). Here, we propose and test a refined definition of saturation as obtaining the most salient items in a set of qualitative interviews (where items can be material things or concepts, depending on the topic of study) rather than attempting to obtain all the items. Salient items have higher prevalence and are more culturally important. To do this, we explore saturation, salience, sample size, and domain size in 28 sets of interviews in which respondents were asked to list all the things they could think of in one of 18 topical domains. The domains-like kinds of fruits (highly bounded) and things that mothers do (unbounded)-varied greatly in size. The datasets comprise 20-99 interviews each (1,147 total interviews). When saturation was defined as the point where less than one new item per person would be expected, the median sample size for reaching saturation was 75 (range = 15-194). Thematic saturation was, as expected, related to domain size. It was also related to the amount of information contributed by each respondent but, unexpectedly, was reached more quickly when respondents contributed less information. In contrast, a greater amount of information per person increased the retrieval of salient items. Even small samples (n = 10) produced 95% of the most salient ideas with exhaustive listing, but only 53% of those items were captured with limited responses per person (three). For most domains, item salience appeared to be a more useful concept for thinking about sample size adequacy than finding the point of thematic saturation. Thus, we advance the concept of saturation in salience and emphasize probing to increase the amount of information collected per respondent to increase sample efficiency.

The consequences of landscape change on fishing strategies.

We show how land-use change can affect fisher-harvesting behavior. We test whether fisher harvesting behavior can be predicted by landscape change patterns at local (~200km) and regional (~1200km) levels. Our data suggest that fishers harvesting in areas near tree plantations reduced benthic-invertebrate harvests in favor of demersal and pelagic finfish that are usually located further offshore. Fishers' management areas, which were near tree plantations, had higher chlorophyll-a values, and contained shellfish with more endobionts. Technology (owning a boat) and experience (age, years fishing, and alternative livelihoods) explained little in fisher-harvesting behavior. The flagship Chilean fisheries management program and seafood companies sourcing from these areas will need to respond to these new challenges. Despite complexities in designing cross-scale, social-ecological studies, we can no longer ignore the interconnectedness of commodities in the biosphere.

Volumetric measurement of rock movement using photogrammetry.

NIOSH ground control safety research program at Spokane, Washington, is exploring applications of photogrammetry to rock mass and support monitoring. This paper describes two ways photogrammetric techniques are being used. First, photogrammetric data of laboratory testing is being used to correlate energy input and support deformation. This information can be used to infer remaining support toughness after ground deformation events. This technique is also demonstrated in a field application. Second, field photogrammetric data is compared to crackmeter data from a deep underground mine. Accuracies were found to average 8 mm, but have produced results within 0.2 mm of true displacement, as measured by crackmeters. Application of these techniques consists of monitoring overall fault activity by monitoring multiple points around the crackmeter. A case study is provided in which a crackmeter is clearly shown to have provided insufficient information regarding overall fault ground deformation. Photogrammetry is proving to be a useful ground monitoring tool due to its unobtrusiveness and ease of use.

Characterization of a proapoptotic antiganglioside GM2 monoclonal antibody and evaluation of its therapeutic effect on melanoma and small cell lung carcinoma xenografts.

Monoclonal antibodies have begun to show great clinical promise for the treatment of cancer. Antibodies that can directly affect a tumor cell's growth and/or survival are of particular interest for immunotherapy. Previously, we described monoclonal antibody DMF10.62.3 that had antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects when it bound an antigen of unknown identity on tumor cells in vitro. In this report, we determined that DMF10.62.3 and a clonally related antibody DMF10.167.4 recognize the ganglioside GM2. These antibodies react with a GM2 epitope that is expressed on a large number of tumor cell lines, including human melanoma and small cell lung carcinoma, but not on normal primary lines or most normal tissues. Interestingly, this pattern of cellular reactivity is distinct from that reported for other previously described GM2 antibodies, a difference that is presumably due to DMF10.167.4's binding to a unique GM2-associated epitope. Additional characterization of DMF10.167.4 revealed that this antibody was able to induce apoptosis and/or block cellular proliferation when cultured in vitro with the human Jurkat T lymphoma, CHL-1 melanoma, and SBC-3 small cell lung carcinoma lines. In vivo, DMF10.167.4 antibody was well tolerated in mice and did not detectably bind to or damage normal tissues. However, this antibody was able to prevent murine E710.2.3 lymphoma, human CHL-1 melanoma, and SBC-3 small cell lung carcinoma lines from establishing tumors in vivo and blocked progression of established CHL-1 and SBC-3 tumors in vivo. Therefore, monoclonal antibody DMF10.167.4 has immunotherapeutic potential.

Cross-cultural differences in psychosocial adaptation to isolated and confined environments.

INTRODUCTION: Differences in patterns of psychosocial adaptation under conditions of prolonged isolation and confinement in Antarctica were examined to determine the extent to which they were influenced by national culture in general and the individualist-collectivist orientation of national cultures in particular. METHODS: The Profile of Mood States and measures of structural and functional social support were administered over an 8-mo period (March through October) to 13 winter-over crews from 5 nations operating research stations in the Antarctic: United States (3 crews, n = 77), Poland (3 crews, n = 40), Russia (3 crews, n = 34), China (3 crews, n = 40), and India (1 crew, n = 26). RESULTS: Americans at South Pole Station reported significant increases in fatigue and anxiety and a significant decrease in vigor over the winter. During the same period, Russians at Vostok Station reported significant decreases in depression, anxiety, and confusion, and Indians at Maitri Station reported a significant decrease in anger. A significant decrease in social interaction with fellow crewmembers occurred at South Pole Station, Vostok Station, and Poland's Arctowski Station. Several differences were also observed between the five stations in correlations between mood scores and measures of structural and functional social support. An individualistic cultural orientation was significantly associated with low social support and low negative mood. CONCLUSION: Cultural background is associated with mood and social support as well as changes in these measures during the austral winter. Cultural differences in patterns of psychosocial adaptation must be considered in the formation and training of multinational crews for long duration missions in space.

Identification and characterization of L985P, a CD20 related family member over-expressed in small cell lung carcinoma.

We recently reported on the use of cDNA subtraction combined with microarray based expression analysis for identifying genes that are differentially over-expressed in small cell lung carcinoma. One of the several hundred genes identified using this approach was termed L985P and its molecular characterization is described in this report. The differential over-expression of L985P mRNA in SCLC, as determined by microarray analysis, was confirmed by real-time RT-PCR and Northern blot analysis. Immunohistochemical analyses show that L985P protein is highly expressed in SCLC with very restricted expression observed in normal lung, which was confined to the apical region of the ciliated bronchiolar epithelium. Flow cytometric and immunohistochemical analysis showed that L985P was localized to the cell surface. Sequence homology comparison indicated that L985P is identical to MS4A8B, a member of the recently described membrane-spanning 4-domain family, subfamily A (MS4A) gene family. The MS4A gene family currently consists of greater than 20 distinct human and mouse proteins that include CD20 and FcepsilonRIbeta. Both CD20 and FcepsilonRIbeta are involved in signaling events that regulate diverse cellular functions including cell growth regulation and differentiation. Collectively, the results presented herein demonstrate that L985P is differentially over-expressed in SCLC and may have potential clinical utility as an immunotherapeutic target for the treatment of SCLC.

Social support and depressed mood in isolated and confined environments.

The influence of isolation and confinement on social support and depressed mood was examined in a study of 235 men and women who spent a year at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, and a study of 77 men and women who spent a year at the Amundson-Scott South Pole Station. Although availability of support remained unchanged, there was a significant decrease in reported satisfaction with support obtained, as well as a significant increase in depressed mood. Satisfaction with support was inversely associated with depressed mood at the beginning and end of isolation and confinement. At the end of winter, this association varied by source of support. High levels of tension-anxiety, depression and anger preceded an increase in advice seeking, but high levels of advice seeking also preceded an increase in tension-anxiety and depression. Results suggest a significant erosion of social support under conditions of prolonged isolation and confinement, leading to an increase in depressed mood.

Defining and measuring trophic role similarity in food webs using regular equivalence.

We present a graph theoretic model of analysing food web structure called regular equivalence. Regular equivalence is a method for partitioning the species in a food web into "isotrophic classes" that play the same structural roles, even if they are not directly consuming the same prey or if they do not share the same predators. We contrast regular equivalence models, in which two species are members of the same trophic group if they have trophic links to the same set of other trophic groups, with structural equivalence models, in which species are equivalent if they are connected to the exact same other species. Here, the regular equivalence approach is applied to two published food webs: (1) a topological web (Malaysian pitcher plant insect food web) and (2) a carbon-flow web (St. Marks, Florida seagrass ecosystem food web). Regular equivalence produced a more satisfactory set of classes than did the structural approach, grouping basal taxa with other basal taxa and not with top predators. Regular equivalence models provide a way to mathematically formalize trophic position, trophic group and trophic niche. These models are part of a family of models that includes structural models used extensively by ecologists now. Regular equivalence models uncover similarities in trophic roles at a higher level of organization than do the structural models. The approach outlined is useful for measuring the trophic roles of species in food web models, measuring similarity in trophic relations of two or more species, comparing food webs over time and across geographic regions, and aggregating taxa into trophic groups that reduce the complexity of ecosystem feeding relations without obscuring network relationships. In addition, we hope the approach will prove useful in predicting the outcome of predator-prey interactions in experimental studies.

Social roles and the evolution of networks in extreme and isolated environments.

This article reports on the evolution of network structure as it relates to formal and informal social roles in well-bounded, isolated groups. Research was conducted at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Data were collected on crewmembers' networks of social interaction over each of three winter-over periods, when the station is completely isolated. In addition, data were collected on the informal roles played by crewmembers (e.g., instrumental leadership, expressive leadership). The study found that globally coherent networks in winter-over groups were associated with group consensus on the presence of critically important informal social roles (e.g., expressive leadership) where global coherence is the extent to which a network forms a single group composed of a unitary core and periphery as opposed to being factionalized into two or more subgroups. Conversely, the evolution of multiple subgroups was associated with the absence of consensus on critical informal social roles, above all the critically important role of instrumental leader.

Purification and characterization of the mammaglobin/lipophilin B complex, a promising diagnostic marker for breast cancer.

Mammaglobin, a promising diagnostic marker for breast cancer, forms a covalent complex with lipophilin B. mRNA levels for each component of the complex were determined for a number of breast tumors and normal tissues, and correlation of message expression was highly significant between mammaglobin and lipophilin B (p < 0.0001). The complex was purified by both standard biochemical techniques and immunoaffinity chromatography. N-Terminal sequencing revealed that mammaglobin and lipophilin B are processed as predicted by cleavage of their signal sequence after amino acids 19 and 21, respectively. Three molecular masses-representing the fully glycosylated form, the complex without one of the carbohydrate chains, and the deglycosylated proteins-are detected by ProteinChip array SELDI-TOF mass spectrometry after partial enzymatic deglycosylation. This is consistent with the two predicted N-linked glycosylation sites in the primary sequence of mammaglobin and each site having an attached sugar of approximately 3500 Da. Reducing agents release lipophilin B from mammaglobin, and the free peptides are seen at their predicted molecular masses in the deglycosylated complex. Molecular modeling, secondary structure prediction, and circular dichroism indicate that the complex is a small alpha-helical globule that has three disulfide bridges and a carbohydrate chain at each pole. LC-ESI-MS shows that mammaglobin and lipophilin B are bonded in a head to tail orientation. This work describes the biochemistry of the mammaglobin/lipophilin B complex and lays the framework for use of this complex as a novel protein-based serological marker for breast cancer.

Beliefs about and responses to childhood ear infections: a study of parents in eastern North Carolina.

Middle ear infection, also known as otitis media (OM), is a major public health problem among American children. Although clinical and epidemiological aspects of OM have been intensely studied, cultural factors that may be contributing to the problem of OM have received less attention. This article presents findings from an ethnographic study exploring beliefs about OM and responses to the illness among parents from eastern North Carolina. In-depth interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of nine mothers in order to learn more about parents' explanatory models of OM, the source of their beliefs, and how they respond to the illness. A survey instrument based on their statements was then constructed and administered to a convenience sample of 79 parents. The survey consisted of belief statements about OM, as well as questions pertaining to sources of beliefs, the home management of the disease, and the effects of the illness on families. A cultural consensus analysis of responses to belief statements indicates that parents shared a common model of OM. Beliefs about risks, symptoms, and causes of OM were similar to the current biomedical model of the illness, but their divergent beliefs about the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of OM could lead to unnecessary use of health care services. Clinicians, family, and friends were reported to be important sources of information about OM. Parents also reported using similar home management strategies and care seeking behaviors to minimize the impact of the illness on their children and families. While these findings need to be replicated in studies with larger, more representative samples, this study suggest that ethnographic approaches may provide new insights into the cultural dimension of the problem of OM.