Use of a dual reporter plasmid to demonstrate bactofection with an attenuated aroa- derivative of Pasteurella multocida b:2

A reporter plasmid pSRG has been developed which expresses red fluorescent protein (RFP) from a constitutive prokaryotic promoter within Pasteurella multocida B:2 and green fluorescent protein (GFP) from a constitutive eukaryotic promoter within mammalian cells. This construct has been used to determine the location and viability of the bacteria when moving from the extracellular environment into the intracellular compartment of mammalian cells. Invasion assays with embryonic bovine lung (EBL) cells and an attenuated AroA- derivative of Pasteurella multocida B:2 (strain JRMT12), harbouring the plasmid pSRG, showed that RFP-expressing bacteria could be detected intracellularly at 3 h post-invasion. At this stage, some EBL cells harbouring RFP-expressing bacteria were observed to express GFP simultaneously, indicating release of the plasmid into the intracellular environment. At 5 h post-invasion, more EBL cells were expressing GFP, while still harbouring RFP-expressing bacteria. Concurrently, some EBL cells were shown to express only GFP, indicating loss of viable bacteria within these cells. These experiments proved the functionality of the pSRG dual reporter system and the potential of P. multocida B:2 JRMT12 for bactofection and delivery of a DNA vaccine

Automorphic forms and rational homology 3–spheres

We investigate a question of Cooper adjacent to the Virtual Haken Conjecture. Assuming certain conjectures in number theory, we show that there exist hyperbolic rational homology 3–spheres with arbitrarily large injectivity radius. These examples come from a tower of abelian covers of an explicit arithmetic 3–manifold. The conjectures we must assume are the Generalized Riemann Hypothesis and a mild strengthening of results of Taylor et al on part of the Langlands Program for GL2 of an imaginary quadratic field. The proof of this theorem involves ruling out the existence of an irreducible two dimensional Galois representation rho of Gal(Qbar/Qsqrt-2) satisfying certain prescribed ramification conditions. In contrast to similar questions of this form, rho is allowed to have arbitrary ramification at some prime pi of Z[sqrt -2]. In the next paper in this volume, Boston and Ellenberg apply pro–p techniques to our examples and show that our result is true unconditionally. Here, we give additional examples where their techniques apply, including some non-arithmetic examples. Finally, we investigate the congruence covers of twist-knot orbifolds. Our experimental evidence suggests that these topologically similar orbifolds have rather different behavior depending on whether or not they are arithmetic. In particular, the congruence covers of the non-arithmetic orbifolds have a paucity of homology

Local flavour vs global audiences: Elena Ferrante and translatability

Through an analysis of the novels written under the pen name ElenaFerrante and of the paratextual elements that surround them, thisarticle examines the portrayal of Naples and its outskirts in thesenarratives, and how the specific geographical and cultural context isrendered and variously translated for different audiences. It arguesthat the concealment of the author’s identity has enhanced theperceived authenticity of the texts, and that the emphasis onmarginal backgrounds and subaltern characters entails a contradictionnot dissimilar to the phenomenon that Huggan (2001) describesas‘staged marginality’in the context of postcolonial narratives.Ferrante’s cultural specificity can therefore be read as a highlyambivalent discourse that entails both resistance and adherenceto the mechanisms of a global market. Lastly, the article examineshow the emphasis on dialect influences the process of translationfor diverse readerships, showing the relevance of the‘Ferranteproject’within world literature debates

Yeezus Is Jesuz: Examining the Socio-Hermeneutical Transmediated Images of Jesus Employed by Kanye West

Kanye is enigmatic in many ways. His continuous reference to deity while still embracing a person like 452 makes him worth the study and effort to explore his contribution and effect in the Hip Hop cultural continuum. This article investigates, Kanye West from a theological and spiritual standpoint to provide insights from his theological aesthetics. While the ever-growing field of Hip Hop studies begins to explore religion in Hip Hop, the present work seeks to address this and develop new theologies/theories that fit both a Hip Hop and Black theology context. While the formal discipline of theology in the United States focuses on Christianity, and a good scope of this project takes a Judeo-Christian approach, it is noted that Black theology is much larger and complex than Judeo Christianity—such is the case with Kanye West as well. This project seeks to add to the study of Black theology grounded in a Hip Hop context. Using a duo methodological approach—qualitative media analysis and Jon Michael Spencer’s theomusicology—this article explores the symbolism and transmediation of Jesus in Kanye West’s music and concerts between 2011 and 2013. This research explores West’s transmediated images of Jesus through a socio-hermeneutical process—a qualitative analysis of language (verbal & non-verbal), imagery, and the tropes it produces for a Black theological discourse. Finally, this article will argue that West’s imagery of Jesus expands the imagination and worldview on the concept of Jesus and provides a Hip Hop socio-hermeneutic for Black theology

Reef fishes of Saba Bank, Netherlands Antilles : Assemblage structure across a gradient of habitat types

Saba Bank is a 2,200 km2 submerged carbonate platform in the northeastern Caribbean Sea off Saba Island, Netherlands Antilles. The presence of reef-like geomorphic features and significant shelf edge coral development on Saba Bank have led to the conclusion that it is an actively growing, though wholly submerged, coral reef atoll. However, little information exists on the composition of benthic communities or associated reef fish assemblages of Saba Bank. We selected a 40 km2 area of the bank for an exploratory study. Habitat and reef fish assemblages were investigated in five shallow-water benthic habitat types that form a gradient from Saba Bank shelf edge to lagoon. Significant coral cover was restricted to fore reef habitat (average cover 11.5%) and outer reef flat habitat (2.4%) and declined to near zero in habitats of the central lagoon zone. Macroalgae dominated benthic cover in all habitats (average cover: 32.5 – 48.1%) but dominant algal genera differed among habitats. A total of 97 fish species were recorded. The composition of Saba Bank fish assemblages differed among habitat types. Highest fish density and diversity occurred in the outer reef flat, fore reef and inner reef flat habitats. Biomass estimates for commercially valued species in the reef zone (fore reef and reef flat habitats) ranged between 52 and 83 g/m2. The composition of Saba Bank fish assemblages reflects the absence of important nursery habitats, as well as the effects of past fishing. The relatively high abundance of large predatory fish (i.e. groupers and sharks), which is generally considered an indicator of good ecosystem health for tropical reef systems, shows that an intact trophic network is still present on Saba Bank

Angle Tree: Nearest Neighbor Search in High Dimensions with Low Intrinsic Dimensionality

We propose an extension of tree-based space-partitioning indexing structures for data with low intrinsic dimensionality embedded in a high dimensional space. We call this extension an Angle Tree. Our extension can be applied to both classical kd-trees as well as the more recent rp-trees. The key idea of our approach is to store the angle (the "dihedral angle") between the data region (which is a low dimensional manifold) and the random hyperplane that splits the region (the "splitter"). We show that the dihedral angle can be used to obtain a tight lower bound on the distance between the query point and any point on the opposite side of the splitter. This in turn can be used to efficiently prune the search space. We introduce a novel randomized strategy to efficiently calculate the dihedral angle with a high degree of accuracy. Experiments and analysis on real and synthetic data sets shows that the Angle Tree is the most efficient known indexing structure for nearest neighbor queries in terms of preprocessing and space usage while achieving high accuracy and fast search time.Comment: To be submitted to IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligenc