Fall 2007

Dynamic instability

ovprea — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 08:00:00 -0700

These time-lapse images show microtubules labeled with green fluorescence protein in a living wild-type cell of the fungus Neurospora crassa. The images were obtained by total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy.

Microtubules typically have one end attached to a microtubule-organizing center, the centrosome. The other end extends into the cytoplasm, which undergoes a balanced stochastic cycling between self-assembly and disassembly at the cell cortex.

The image is part of a collection created by ASU cell biologist Robert Roberson. The collection has appeared in multiple galleries throughout the Phoenix area. Read more about Roberson's microscope art in "The art of life."

Spindles on strings

ovprea — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 10:18:37 -0700

Spindles on strings : by Robert Roberson

The cytoskeleton is the structural framework for cell connectivity. Here, nuclei appear like spindles along the filaments of the microtubule cytoskeleton during the early stage of mitosis, or cell division. The image was created using epifluorescence microscopy.

This image is part of a collection created by ASU cell biologist Robert Roberson. The collection has appeared in multiple galleries throughout the Phoenix area. Read more about Roberson's microscope art in "The art of life."

Fear of cooties can cut into profits

ovprea — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 10:33:33 -0700

by Carrie Barnett

Women need maxi-pads. Cat people need cat litter. And parents with babies buy diapers. Just because we need these items doesn't change the fact that we can be repulsed by them. But if retailers were smart, says Andrea Morales, they would be sure to keep these undesirable items away from other, less "icky" products—or else.

Morales is an assistant professor of marketing at Arizona State University's W. P. Carey School of Business. According to her latest research, any number of cringe-worthy items can have a seriously negative effect on the way consumers view other items with which they happen to come in contact.

Morales says this "product contagion" effect can turn the stomachs of even the most rational buyers. It can make usually attractive products unappealing. Ultimately, it cuts directly into retailers profits.

"People often don't believe, or don't know, that they are affected by this contagion," says Morales. "But it's real."

Morales found that consumers seem to believe, either consciously or subconsciously, that a disgusting product—even something brand-new and still wrapped its original packaging—can somehow taint the non-disgusting products it touches. As a result, they will avoid buying the "contaminated" products.

Morales worked with Gavan Fitzsimons, a professor of marketing and psychology at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. They compiled a list of "disgusting" products then set up experiments. The pair arranged the disgusting and non-disgusting items in shopping carts or on shelves, just as they would appear in an actual store.

Morales says they found "strong evidence" supporting the existence of product contagion—stronger evidence, in fact, than she expected.

"In one case, we put a container of lard touching a package rice cakes. This actually made the rice cakes seem less appealing, but also more fattening," Morales says. "It's almost as if people believe the lard will ooze its fat onto the rice cakes."

For more information about this and other studies at the W. P. Carey School of Business, visit Knowledge @ W. P. Carey.

Read more about Andrea Morales' research in "Picky Picky: How 'product contamination' costs retailers.'"

The fungal body

ovprea — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 13:53:54 -0700

The Fungal Body : by Robert Roberson

Most fungi are made up of tube-like cells called hyphae. Hyphae grow, branch, and divide, giving rise to a complex network of cells–i.e., the fungal body or mycelium.

This image shows cells of the common mold Neurospora crassa, viewed in a frozen-hydrated state with a cryo-scanning electron microscope.

Sensing in tune

ovprea — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:34:31 -0700

by Linley Erin Hall

NJ Tao and colleagues have developed two different sensors based on the tiny quartz tuning forks used in wristwatches. When struck, the two prongs of the fork vibrate, moving closer together and further apart.

A benchtop test of tuning fork array.

In the first sensor, the researchers cover the surface of the tuning fork with a polymer to which the target molecule will bind. When binding occurs, the fork increases in mass, which changes its vibration. This mechanical signal indicates that binding has occurred.

The ASU researchers have also created a sensor that uses a polymer wire strung between the two prongs of the tuning fork rather than the polymer coating. When a molecule binds to the wire, it becomes either stiffer or softer, which also changes the vibration of the tuning fork.

Read more about Tao's research in "Tiny tasty tunes: Sensing the world one molecule at a time."

Mars update: An ancient lake in Melas Chasma?

ovprea — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:57:53 -0700

by Robert Burnham

Melas Chasma, part of Valles Marineris, the "Grand Canyon of Mars." The site tucks into a small basin below the south rim of Valles Marineris. Researchers say the basin, at center, likely contains deposits left when it was once filled with a lake.

Spirit and Opportunity are still making new discoveries. NASA's two Mars rovers have been working for more than 1,300 days on the planet's surface. Their original missions were designed to last for 90 days.

Earlier this summer, Spirit was working in the geologically complex Columbia Hills within Gusev Crater. The rover found a deposit of virtually pure silica. Mini-TES (Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer) made the discovery. The instrument was designed by Philip Christensen of ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration.

On Earth, silica typically forms in hot springs and volcanic environments. It can be found in the geyser pools in Yellowstone National Park. The material commonly preserves traces of microbial life. No one knows if Mars ever had life–and neither rover is equipped to detect it anyway–but the silica discovery is intriguing and suggestive.

NASA is now planning where to send its next-generation rover. The Mars Science Laboratory is dicate areas where gravel, fine sand, and dust particles predominate.

The ultimate supply chain test

ovprea — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 12:42:28 -0700

by Carrie Barnett

Bioterrorist attack or massive disease outbreak is a nightmare scenario for public health officials. If it becomes reality, they must make decisions about how to allocate finite medical resourcesÃ¢â‚¬Â¦quickly. Their decisions will mean lives lost or saved.

Ajay Vinze and Raghu Santanam are information systems professors at Arizona State University's W. P. Carey School of Business. They considered the best ways to manage critical resources in such scenarios. The ASU researchers realized that, from a business perspective, the public health system is a very large and complex supply chain–in many ways even more intricate than that of an enterprise like Wal-Mart.

In 2003, Vinze and colleagues began to study how state and local public health organizations could better prepare for biological terrorism. The work was funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Santanam and Vinze created a computer model that allows officials to simulate public health crises. The stakes were much higher in the ASU researchers' life-or-death calculations, but the model was similar to the planning that businesses do to ensure proper levels of inventory.

"Our simulation allows policy makers to experiment. 'Is that the best way of doing this? What is the implication of this? Are there other regional cooperation policies that work better?'" Vinze explains.

The ASU simulations showed results that are not necessarily intuitive.
For example, the CDC plans to stockpile antiviral medication in a central location to deal with bioterrorism or epidemics. Results indicated the central stockpile is not as efficient in saving lives as dispersing resources before they are needed. Vinze and Santanam found that localities could respond faster by pooling among themselves.

The hidden patient

ovprea — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:02:51 -0700

by Adelheid Fischer

Coal mines are dangerous places to work. So are the decks of commercial fishing boats. But the average American home is a dangerous work site as well, especially if you are one of the more than 15 million people who care for a sick or disabled relative.

During the 1990s, a landmark study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh confirmed what healthcare workers had long suspected. The chronic stress of looking after a loved one exacts a heavy toll.

Researchers Richard Schulz and Scott Beach found that the caregivers were at far greater risk for an array of psychological maladies such as depression and anxiety. Worse yet, 63 percent of them also were more likely to die within the study's four-year period than their noncaregiving counterparts. Among the most challenging patients are those who suffer from dementia. Alzheimer's disease is the most well known.

David Coon

"Finding better ways to support family caregivers is a major public health challenge facing this country," David W. Coon says. Coon is an associate professor of psychology in the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University's West campus. He joined Schulz and a group of 16 researchers from around the country in the second phase of the continuing study. Their findings offer Alzheimer's caregivers and their charges real hope.

The study results appeared in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine in November 2006. The scientists tested a multipronged strategy for easing the distress of Alzheimer's caretakers. Participants in the study were racially and ethnically diverse.

More than 4.5 million Americans currently suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Of that total, 75 percent live at home and are cared for by family members. These unsung heroes perform a valuable service for their relatives. They also save the healthcare system billions of dollars annually.

But "they do so at considerable cost to themselves," Schulz points out. Caregivers are often aged spouses and older children. Their own health problems may be compounded by the demands of round-the-clock supervision for years on end.

The new study is called Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH II). But the work wasn't Coon's first foray into the public health arena of dementia.

Coon worked toward his doctorate at Stanford University during the early 1990s. As part of his studies, he participated in elder-related projects with his advisor and mentor, noted gerontology researcher Dolores Gallagher-Thompson. Coon first focused on developing mood-management strategies for people who were providing care to older adults with a chronic illness. Over time, he began to zero in on the problems that are particular to those caring for relatives afflicted with dementia.

As part of his training, he logged long hours with Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers in both clinical and community settings. Their stories were key to his decision to specialize in this emerging public health concern.

"In An Intimate History of Humanity, Theodore Zelden said something like Ã¢â‚¬ËœCourage is the willingness to face the unexpected,'" Coon says. "I often think of Alzheimer's disease caregivers as that. They're people who are extremely courageous because they have no idea what's coming next. Healthcare providers and physicians will reassure you that they will do everything they can. But they can't tell you what tomorrow is going to look like exactly for you. These caregivers and their families get up every day and face the unexpected. They changed my life."

The ASU professor's previous research and professional experience confirmed the need for a multipronged intervention strategy. Caregivers experience many different kinds of problems.

For example, Coon points out that self-care for caregivers often takes a back seat to the more immediate concern of ministering to a stricken family member. They rarely get enough rest and exercise. And planning a night out with friends or scheduling regular medical checkups gets shoved to the side. As a result, caregivers perceive themselves as less healthy. They report greater feelings of stress and social isolation than their noncaregiving counterparts.

Caregivers routinely find themselves overwhelmed by anger. Their frustration grows as problematic behaviors increase. Some patients are defiant, even dangerous. Others wander obsessively. Many of those with dementia cannot bear even the smallest deviation from routine without becoming agitated or combative.

The REACH II study identified five measures that could be used to assess caregiver well-being. Those measures were depression, caregiver burden and stress, attention to personal health needs, social support, and coping with the problem behaviors of their Alzheimer's charges.

The study was done at five sites across the country. The team recruited 642 people who were caring for a relative with dementia. Participants were drawn from three different racial/ethnic groups: Caucasian, African-American, and Latino.

Within each group, some participants were randomly assigned to a control group. Those people received a packet of basic educational materials discussing the disease of dementia. Basic tips on caregiving and lists of community resources were provided. The researchers followed up with two 15-minute phone calls. Control group members also got an invitation to a dementia-caregivers workshop at the six-month conclusion of the study.

The second group participated in one-on-one sessions with certified interventionists. They learned more about dementia and its symptoms. In home visits, interventionists also used tools such as role playing. They helped caregivers brainstorm ways to manage their loved ones' problem behaviors.

Members of this group also learned how to intercept their own negative emotional responses and reframe them in a more helpful light. They practiced simple, but effective, on-the-spot breathing techniques for lowering stress. And interventionists made use of the telephone. They conducted individual conversations as well as structured support sessions with small groups of caregivers.

The results were strikingly different between the control group and the subjects who received more diverse and sustained intervention. For example, the overall rate of clinical depression was much lower among those who participated in the multiple interventions.

There also were marked differences among the racial/ethnic groups. The scientists say this suggests that interventions should be tailored to the specific needs of different communities.

Latino caregivers experienced the greatest decrease in depressive symptoms. They also reported the biggest reduction in the problem behaviors among their loved ones. Caucasians registered the biggest gains in the area of social support. The most positive outcomes for African-American caregivers were in the areas of reducing caregiver burden and improving self-care.

Coon and his colleagues explain that such multilevel interventions can be mastered by individuals with a bachelor's degree in psychology, social work, nursing, occupational therapy, or other related disciplines. The researchers currently are evaluating the costs for the program. They are looking at money saved in fewer trips to the hospital emergency room or delayed admission to pricey skilled-care nursing facilities.

Other benefits are more difficult to quantify. For example, how is the caregiver's well-being enhanced as they perform one of life's most challenging jobs?

"Most caregivers step up to the plate because they care about their loved one," Coon explains. "It's frustrating, sad, and hard to watch someone that you care about disappear in some capacities before you. But caregivers can also talk about what they learn about themselves and learn about that relationship. They wouldn't choose to have the experience. But when you slow the person down and you help them with their stress, they can also talk about the fact that there are good moments."

Coon is looking at ways to seed some of the results of this research on the ground in Arizona. He plans to examine the effects of caregiving on Latino and Anglo adults who are themselves suffering from health complications related to Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or obesity. Other work will look at Latino, African-American, and Anglo men with prostate cancer and their female partners.

"Caregivers are the hidden patient," Coon says. "They're notorious for getting their loved ones to the doctor. But what about themselves? They are dedicated people. That doesn't mean they don't need a break, doesn't mean that they don't need pleasure in their lives beyond just what they get from giving to someone they care about. There's something great about giving. But sometimes we all need to sleep, need time by ourselves, or need to connect with people who are important to us."

ASU research on caregivers is supported by the National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Nursing Research, Arizona Alzheimer's Research Consortium, ASU's Multidisciplinary Grants in Aid, and the National Cancer Institute. For more information, contact David Coon, Ph.D., Social and Behavioral Sciences Department, ASU West campus, 602.543.6064. Send email to David.W.Coon@asu.edu

The power of language

ovprea — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 10:57:57 -0600

by Sheilah Britton

Victor Agadjanian knows that clear communication is a key to intercultural understanding. Words are tools to avoid garbled messages. But they have to be the correct words.

The ASU sociology professor speaks eight languages. He is fluent in his native Russian and in English, as well as Armenian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Swahili, and Shangana, the language of Mozambique.

Speaking the language of the locals is a great asset for a visitor. It is doubly important for a scientist studying a culture. Agadjanian says that it allows for the establishment of great rapport between people.

"People feel differently when foreigners speak their languages," he explains. "Knowing the language also helps you monitor the work of your team. I can catch some errors or problems before they make it to translation into Portuguese."

The differences between African and western languages can be severe or subtle. Poor translation can result in embarrassment or bigger problems. The ASU professor says that many expressions, terms, and concepts require specific words for accurate description.

"For example, polygamous marriages are common in Mozambique," he explains. "When you talk about women who are in polygamous marriages, they refer to other wives of their husbands in their native language, Shangana. They say maquid—which means sister. When they talk of the other wives in Portuguese, they translate the word into rival."

In their native language polygamy is a norm–the term is sister. The meaning is obvious. But Portuguese is a western language associated with Christianity. A second or third wife becomes a rival, tension, or an element of competition. For women in Mozambique, the terms are fully equivalent.

Agadjanian adds, "When you think of other terms of that sort that seem to be fully equivalent, they actually represent major cultural leaps."

Read more about Victor Agadjanian's research in "Spiritualism in the HIV world."

Cell branching

ovprea — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:00:11 -0600

Cell Branching : by Robert Roberson

This image glows with the colors of fluorescent dyes used to stain tissue samples for easier viewing. Researchers add colored dyes to antibodies that attach to specific proteins. This "tags" the proteins and allows researchers to identify them. The image was created using a laser scanning confocal microscope

In this image, microtubules (green), their sites of nucleation (red/yellow) and nuclei (blue) are shown in the cytoplasm of the fungus Allomyces macrogynus. Rearrangements in cytoplasmic order are typically coupled to major events in cell morphogenesis–the process through which cells differentiate into different tissues or structures. This is evident here as the cell undergoes early stages of dichotomous branching.

Read more about Roberson's microscope art in "The art of life."