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Prostate cancer patients undergoing androgen deprivation therapy almost invariably develop castration-resistant prostate cancer. Resistance can occur when mutations in the androgen receptor (AR) render anti-androgen drugs ineffective or through the expression of constitutively active splice variants lacking the androgen binding domain entirely (e.g., ARV7). In this study, we are reporting the discovery of a novel AR-NTD covalent inhibitor 1-chloro-3-[(5-([(2S)-3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl]amino)naphthalen-1-yl)amino]propan-2-ol (VPC-220010) targeting the AR-N-ter-minal Domain (AR-NTD). VPC-220010 inhibits AR-mediated transcription of full length and truncated variant ARV7, downregulates AR response genes, and selectively reduces the growth of both full-length AR-and truncated AR-dependent prostate cancer cell lines. We show that VPC-220010 disrupts interactions between AR and known coactivators and coregulatory proteins, such as CHD4, FOXA1, ZMIZ1, and several SWI/SNF complex proteins. Taken together, our data suggest that VPC-220010 is a promising small molecule that can be further optimized into effective AR-NTD inhibitor for the treatment of CRPC.

© 2016 Acoustical Society of America. The Discovery of Sound in the Sea (DOSITS) project has produced a comprehensive set of resources on underwater sound. Over the last 14 years, the project has increased the diversity of digital platforms used to meet its objective of communicating accurate, peer-reviewed science to diverse audiences. Since the DOSITS website (www.dosits.org) was launched in 2002, there has been a great increase in Internet accessibility, both in terms of number of people connected and bandwidth available. At the same time, a sea of change has occurred in website technologies making it easier to provide an incredible range of media and interfaces. In the last six years, the platforms, or methods, by which people can access digital media, and devices used to access that media, has greatly proliferated. As researchers strive to effectively communicate scientific results to specific audiences, such as the international regulatory community, it is necessary to address the diverse digital platforms available. The DOSITS team now uses many digital platforms, including websites, electronic books, live webinars, and online videos. The evolution of the DOSITS project to leverage multiple digital platforms allows different audiences to access DOSITS content in forms that best meet their information needs at a preferred time.

© 2016 Acoustical Society of America. Research on underwater sound is critical for understanding potential acoustic impacts to marine life. However, such research can be challenging, requiring complex, multidisciplinary approaches. Research results often reach the public through popular media, but these sources sometimes contain misinformation or oversimplify results. To provide a scientifically accurate resource on underwater sound but understandable for a variety of audiences, the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography has teamed with Marine Acoustic, Inc. on the Discovery of Sound in the Sea (DOSITS) project. The project's foundation is a website (www.dosits.org) that is a comprehensive, universally available resource that synthesizes the latest peer-reviewed science on underwater sound, updated semiannually with newly published scientific information after a thorough review by a panel of scientific experts. A current focus of the DOSITS project is resources for the international decision making community. Recently, two needs assessment surveys were conducted to identify format and content priorities of government employees, federal and state contractors, nongovernmental organization employees, and industry representatives. Guided by their input, structured tutorials, webinars, and instructional videos were developed to address needs such as science of sound fundamentals, hearing sensitivities, and potential effects of underwater sound on marine animals.

This study examines balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) recruitment in old fir stands. Studying the regeneration of these stands is essential to understand the regeneration dynamic of the species in the absence of standdestroying disturbances. The objectives were (1) to obtain substrate-seedling associations for different age-classes and according to the presence or absence of adventitious roots; (2) to evaluate the contribution of the seed rain to seedling recruitment; (3) to re-examine age structures using the most appropriate method that minimizes estimation errors due to the presence of adventitious roots. A total of 90 quadrats (1 m2) were established along transects. In each quadrat, subtrates were characterized (type and topography) and their area was estimated. All balsam fir seedlings (<50 cm tall) present in the quadrats were located, harvested whole (root and shoot), and described (age, height, presence of adventitious roots, etc). Fir seedlings were strongly associated with woody mounds covered with thin mats of mixed mosses and Pleurozium shreberi (Bird.) Mitt. but negatively associated with flat topography particularly dominated by Hylocomium splendens (Hedw.) B.S.G. The presence of adventitious root is related to seedling age more than substrate type or topography. The age structure is in agreement with seed production and disturbance regime.

Numerous researchers have suggested a causal relationship between low leaf biomass in suppressed trees and the lack of radial growth at the base of the trunk. The objective of this study was to verify this relationship with suppressed balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) saplings found growing in an old-growth fir stand. A total of 29 saplings varying in height from 67 to 183 cm were uprooted. All saplings had adventitious roots. All terminal bud scars (TBS) found between the apex of the terminal leader and the trunk base (first adventitious root) as well as those found below ground were localized, and rings were counted between TBS along the aboveground trunk. Various morphological traits and the ratio of photosynthetic tissue dry mass (P, needles) to non-photosynthetic tissue dry mass (nP, above-ground stem) were used as an indicator of tree vigour. Between 3 and 33 rings counted along the aboveground trunk were missing at the trunk base. The number of missing rings at the base of the trunk was correlated with total height (r = 0.41), height growth (r = -0.51), radial growth (r = -0.44), the P/nP ratio (r = -0.73), and the proportion of live crown (r = -0.62). Moreover, from 2 to 35 additional rings, missing at the trunk base, were found in the belowground section of trunk and these missing rings were associated with the adventitious roots phenomenon. In conclusion, suppressed firs had missing rings at the base of the trunk. When all of the missing rings were added to the number of rings counted at the base of the trunk, age estimates provided a different temporal pattern of recruitment compared with that obtained by solely counting rings at the base of the trunk. Stem analysis on the entire trunk is the best aging method for suppressed balsam fir saplings.

This paper characterizes the growth and crown morphology of young balsam fir saplings naturally regenerated under a gradient of understory light environments and intraspecific competition densities for two size classes (50-100 cm and 100-200 cm). Most growth and crown morphological parameters investigated were strongly related to the natural light gradient investigated (3-83% full sunlight), but the relationship tended to plateau at around 25% full sunlight. The relationships were generally better for the larger size class. Intraspecific competition did not significantly affect growth and crown morphology of saplings receiving less than 25% full sunlight, but it affected relative height growth, relative radial growth and the apical dominance ratio for those receiving more than 25% full sunlight (R2=0.506; p<0.001; R2=0.403; p<0.002; R2=0.348; p<0.001, respectively). These results suggest that live crown ratio, apical dominance ratio and the number of internodal branches can provide, alone or in combination, useful indicators of vigour for understory fir. Such a study provides the basic data inputs required for the development of empirically-derived mechanistic models that can predict understory tree growth and survival.

The effects of recurrent spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) outbreaks on balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) mortality have been extensively studied in Canada. Most studies report substantial seedling recruitment of balsam fir during outbreaks when reproductive trees are dying. According to previous research, this contradiction could be due to inaccuracies in the conventional aging method. Counting the maximum number of growth rings found at the tree base would significantly underestimate tree age. Counting terminal bud scars found on the entire trunk, including buried stem, would give a more accurate tree age. In this study, we compare recruitment dynamics obtained for aging seedlings in two balsam fir populations (about 500 km apart) using (i) the conventional method and (ii) bud scar counts. For both populations, the conventional method shows substantial recruitment during adult mortality, while the second aging technique reveals reduced recruitment during the epidemic phase of the spruce budworm outbreak.

The age structure of balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) regeneration is frequently used to investigate boreal forest dynamics of North America. Tree ages are usually estimated by counting annual growth rings at the shoot-root interface located above or close to the root system. Inaccurately locating the shoot-root interface could lead to imprecise age determination. In this study, balsam fir seedlings (<2 m height) were harvested in whole from closed forest stands located in the province of Quebec, Canada. Seedling age was determined by (i) counting the number of annual growth rings at the presumed shoot-root interface, and (ii) counting all terminal bud scars from the apex to the base of the hypocotyl (true collar). For all seedlings with adventitious roots, the number of terminal bud scars on the entire trunk was higher than the number of growth rings at the shoot-root interface. The formation of adventitious roots on the belowground trunk was accompanied by a reverse taper phenomenon, i.e., the number of annual growth rings decreased from the presumed shoot-root interface to the true collar. Counting annual growth rings at any level on the trunk of balsam fir seedlings that form adventitious root systems would not be reliable, underestimation's exceeding 20 years are possible and the resulting age structures could lead to erroneous interpretations of regeneration dynamics.