University of North Carolina at Charlotte

About: University of North Carolina at Charlotte is a education organization based out in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 8772 authors who have published 22239 publications receiving 562529 citations. The organization is also known as: UNC Charlotte & UNCC.

Entrepreneurial Team Composition Characteristics and New Venture Performance: A Meta‐Analysis

Abstract: Upper echelon theory highlights the importance of top management teams in large and established firms; however, effects are not always clear outside of this context. Due to the unique nature of new...

Cadmium-induced apoptosis in oyster hemocytes involves disturbance of cellular energy balance but no mitochondrial permeability transition.

Abstract: SUMMARY Exposure to environmentally prevalent heavy metals such as cadmium can have detrimental effects on a variety of commercially and ecologically important species such as oysters. Since Cd 2+ is known to induce apoptosis in immune cells of vertebrates, we have investigated the effects of this metal on isolated oyster hemocytes, the main cellular immune defense in mollusks. Enhanced apoptosis of these cells could conceivably create immunosuppressed conditions in these organisms and result in reduced disease resistance and increased opportunistic infection, resulting in decline of their populations. Cd 2+ exposure induced apoptosis in oyster hemocytes in a dose-dependent manner in the range of 10-100 μmol l -1 , as indicated by the translocation of phosphatidylserine to the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane. At higher concentrations (200-1000 μmol l -1 ), there was no further increase in apoptosis but a significant increase in the level of necrosis. In stark contrast to vertebrate immune cells, there was no decrease in the mitochondrial membrane potential or activation of caspases in response to Cd 2+ in the apoptotic range. Surprisingly, Cd 2+ exposure in this range did cause a significant decrease in intracellular ATP levels, indicating a severe disturbance of energy metabolism. Similarly, Cd 2+ exposure of isolated mitochondria resulted in partial uncoupling of mitochondria but no difference in mitochondrial membrane potential. The results demonstrate that the important environmental pollutant Cd 2+ induces apoptosis in oyster immune cells and does so through a mitochondria/caspase-independent pathway, suggesting that a novel, perhaps ancient, apoptotic pathway is active in these cells. Furthermore, it appears that the observed decrease in ATP production during apoptosis is not due to the loss of the mitochondrial proton-motive force but is more likely to be due to inhibition of the F 0 /F 1 -ATPase and/or mitochondrial ADP/ATP or substrate transport.

What mathematics education may prepare students for the society of the future

Abstract: This paper attempts to engage the field in a discussion about what mathematics is needed for students to engage in society, especially with an increase in technology and digitalization. In this respect, mathematics holds a special place in STEM as machines do most of the calculations that students are taught in K-12. We raise questions about what mathematical proficiency means in today’s world and what shifts need to be made in both content and pedagogy to prepare students for 21st Century Skills and mathematical reasoning.

Cumulative Prevalence of Arrest From Ages 8 to 23 in a National Sample

Abstract: OBJECTIVE:To estimate the cumulative proportion of youth who self-report having been arrested or taken into custody for illegal or delinquent offenses (excluding arrests for minor traffic violations) from ages 8 to 23 years.METHODS:Self-reported arrest history data (excluding arrests for minor traffic violations) from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (N = 7335) were examined from 1997 to 2008.RESULTS:By age 18, the in-sample cumulative arrest prevalence rate lies between 15.9% and 26.8%; at age 23, it lies between 25.3% and 41.4%. These bounds make no assumptions at all about missing cases. If we assume that the missing cases are at least as likely to have been arrested as the observed cases, the in-sample age-23 prevalence rate must lie between 30.2% and 41.4%. The greatest growth in the cumulative prevalence of arrest occurs during late adolescence and the period of early or emerging adulthood.CONCLUSIONS:Since the last nationally defensible estimate based on data from 1965, the cumulative prevalence of arrest for American youth (particularly in the period of late adolescence and early adulthood) has increased substantially. At a minimum, being arrested for criminal activity signifies increased risk of unhealthy lifestyle, violence involvement, and violent victimization. Incorporating this insight into regular clinical assessment could yield significant benefits for patients and the larger community. Language: en

Stochastic changes over time and not founder effects drive cage effects in microbial community assembly in a mouse model

Abstract: Maternal transmission and cage effects are powerful confounding factors in microbiome studies. To assess the consequences of cage microenvironment on the mouse gut microbiome, two groups of germ-free (GF) wild-type (WT) mice, one gavaged with a microbiota harvested from adult WT mice and another allowed to acquire the microbiome from the cage microenvironment, were monitored using Illumina 16S rRNA sequencing over a period of 8 weeks. Our results revealed that cage effects in WT mice moved from GF to specific pathogen free (SPF) conditions take several weeks to develop and are not eliminated by the initial gavage treatment. Initial gavage influenced, but did not eliminate a successional pattern in which Proteobacteria became less abundant over time. An analysis in which 16S rRNA sequences are mapped to the closest sequenced whole genome suggests that the functional potential of microbial genomes changes significantly over time shifting from an emphasis on pathogenesis and motility early in community assembly to metabolic processes at later time points. Functionally, mice allowed to naturally acquire a microbial community from their cage, but not mice gavaged with a common biome, exhibit a cage effect in Dextran Sulfate Sodium-induced inflammation. Our results argue that while there are long-term effects of the founding community, these effects are mitigated by cage microenvironment and successional community assembly over time, which must both be explicitly considered in the interpretation of microbiome mouse experiments.