Exposure to Bacteria and Bacteria Carriage in the Social Amoeba

From the Washington University Office of Undergraduate Research Digest (WUURD), Vol. 12, 05-01-2017. Published by the Office of Undergraduate Research. Joy Zalis Kiefer, Director of Undergraduate Research and Associate Dean in the College of Arts & Sciences; Lindsey Paunovich, Editor; Helen Human, Programs Manager and Assistant Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences Mentor: Debra Broc

Rebuilding our Neighborhoods: Improving New York State Housing Policy to Better Meet Upstate Needs

New York faces a wide variety of housing challenges. While in the New York City region, where the population is growing, availability and affordability are the most pressing concerns, upstate regions have a different set of problems stemming from population loss, housing vacancy, abandonment, and deterioration. To address the full range of issues, state housing policy needs a variety of tools in its tool box. This policy brief discusses four ways that state housing policy can better address the needs of upstate regions such as Buffalo: Support holistic neighborhood revitalization, using Buffalo’s award-winning Green Development Zone as a model; Restore and enhance funding streams for small projects and housing repairs; Adjust New York’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit Qualified Allocation Plan to better address upstate needs; and Revise the DHCR Design Handbook to better facilitate rehabilitation projects

Effects of Off-Season Weight Training Programs on Development of Strength and Explosive Power of Football Players

Training to improve athletic performance is as old as the history of man. The ancient Persians began training their boys at the age of six, toughening them psychologically as well as physically by arduous activity under difficult and uncomfortable conditions. The ancient Greeks were fond of the training technique of running in sand with weights around the wrists and ankles. Some of these training techniques were remarkably scientific while others were based on tradition, ritual, or myth. From this colorful past have evolved our present day training programs which are based upon research results and tradition. With our present day football at such a high level of competitiveness, an off-season training program is certainly necessary. In this age of mechanization, many of the young men who desire to play and do play football lack the strength and endurance to compete safely and effectively. Statistics show an increase in the number of football injuries in the past few years, with almost fifty percent of those injuries occurring in the first three weeks of practice. The off-season football training program is of considerable value to the individual player who has the desire, determination and time to develop his potential to the fullest. Besides being an aid to the football player, such a program is of definite value to the coach who desires to prevent injuries and to develop a better team. Numerous studies have been completed to examine the effects of selected weight training programs upon various aspects of conditioning. However, it has been only recently that an attempt has been made to design an off season training program specifically for football. The present study was undertaken with the intent of providing football players and coaches with objective and practical knowledge about off-season football training programs

CHANGE FORCES: IMPLEMENTING CHANGE IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL FOR THE COMMON GOOD

In this article, we investigate the change forces that act on administrators, subject department chairpersons and teachers as they seek to implement a change in a Canadian secondary school. Using a case study methodology, our analysis of the data uses Sergiovanni’s (1998) six change forces: bureaucratic, personal, market, professional, cultural, and democratic forces. Our interpretation supports the importance of the principal and administrators, working together with teachers, in implementing change. The analysis points to the chairperson of subject departments having a crucial, but often overlooked, role in the implementation of change. Three key co-requisites that allow chairpersons to play this critical role are: the existence of a school-level democratic commitment to the common good that guides the work of professional learning; the location of professional learning within departments to operationalise the common good; and, the capacity of the chairperson to fulfil their role as an instructional leader in the fullest sense of the term

Case report on renal failure reversal in lambda chain multiple myeloma with bortezomib and dexamethasone

Renal failure (RF) reversal in multiple myeloma (MM) is associated with an improved prognosis. Light chain myeloma, serum creatinine (SCr) \u3e 4 mg/dL, extensive proteinuria, early infections, and certain renal biopsy findings are associated with lower rates of RF reversal. Our patient is a 67-year-old female with multiple poor prognostic factors for RF reversal who demonstrated a rapid renal response with bortezomib and dexamethasone (BD) regimen. She presented initially with altered mental status. On exam, she appeared lethargic and dehydrated and had generalized tenderness. She had been taking ibuprofen as needed for pain for a few weeks. Labs showed a white cell count-18,900/muL with no bandemia, hemoglobin 10.8 gm/dL, potassium-6.7 mEq/L, bicarbonate-15 mEq/L, blood urea nitrogen-62 mg/dL, SCr-5.6 mg/dL (baseline: 1.10), and corrected calcium-11.8 mg/dL. A rapid flu test was positive. Imaging studies were unremarkable. Her EKG showed sinus tachycardia and her urinalysis was unremarkable. The unexplained RF in an elderly individual in conjunction with hypercalcemia and anemia prompted a MM work-up; eventually, lambda variant MM was diagnosed. An immediate (4 days) renal response defined as 50% reduction in SCr was noticed after initiation of the BD regimen

Insulin detemir offers improved glycemic control compared with NPH insulin in people with type 1 diabetes - A randomized clinical trial

OBJECTIVE—Insulin detemir is a soluble long-acting basal insulin analog designed to overcome the limitations of conventional basal insulin formulations. Accordingly, insulin detemir has been compared with NPH insulin with respect to glycemic control (HbA1c, prebreakfast glucose levels and variability, and hypoglycemia) and timing of administration. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—People with type 1 diabetes (n = 408) were randomized in an open-label, parallel-group trial of 16-week treatment duration using either insulin detemir or NPH insulin. Insulin detemir was administered twice daily using two different regimens, either before breakfast and at bedtime (IDetmorn+bed) or at a 12-h interval (IDet12h). NPH insulin was administered before breakfast and at bedtime. Mealtime insulin was given as the rapid-acting insulin analog insulin aspart. RESULTS—With both insulin detemir groups, clinic fasting plasma glucose was lower than with NPH insulin (IDet12h vs. NPH, −1.5 mmol/l [95% CI −2.51 to −0.48], P = 0.004; IDetmorn+bed vs. NPH, −2.3 mmol/l (−3.32 to −1.29), P < 0.001), as was self-measured prebreakfast plasma glucose (P = 0.006 and P = 0.004, respectively). The risk of minor hypoglycemia was lower in both insulin detemir groups (25%, P = 0.046; 32%, P = 0.002; respectively) compared with NPH insulin in the last 12 weeks of treatment, this being mainly attributable to a 53% reduction in nocturnal hypoglycemia in the IDetmorn+bed group (P < 0.001). Although HbA1c for each insulin detemir group was not different from the NPH group, HbA1c for the pooled insulin detemir groups was significantly lower than for the NPH group (mean difference −0.18% [−0.34 to −0.02], P = 0.027). Within-person between-day variation in self-measured prebreakfast plasma glucose was lower for both detemir groups (both P < 0.001). The NPH group gained weight during the study, but there was no change in weight in either of the insulin detemir groups (IDet12h vs. NPH, −0.8 kg [−1.44 to −0.24], P = 0.006; IDetmorn+bed vs. NPH, −0.6 kg [−1.23 to −0.03], P = 0.040). CONCLUSIONS—Overall glycemic control with insulin detemir was improved compared with NPH insulin. The data provide a basis for tailoring the timing of administration of insulin detemir to the individual person’s needs

Perioperative donor bone marrow infusion augments chimerism in heart and lung transplant recipients

Background.: We and others have demonstrated that a low level of donor cell chimerism was present for years after transplantation in tissues and peripheral blood of heart and lung recipients; it was associated, in the latter, with a lower incidence of chronic rejection. To augment this phenomenon, we initiated a trial combining simultaneous infusion of donor bone marrow with heart or lung allotransplantation. Methods.: Between September 1993 and January 1995, 15 nonconditioned patients received either heart (n = 10) or lung (n = 5) allografts concurrently with an infusion of unmodified donor bone marrow (3.0 × 108 cells/kg), and were maintained on an immunosuppressive regimen consisting of tacrolimus and steroids. Results.: There was no complication associated with the infusion of donor bone marrow. Chimerism was detectable in 73% of bone marrow-augmented patients up to the last sample tested. Of the 5 control recipients who did not receive bone marrow infusion, only 1 had detectable chimerism by flow on postoperative day 15, which dwindled to an undetectable level by postoperative day 36. None of the patients had evidence of donor-specific immune modulation by mixed lymphocyte reaction. Conclusions.: The combined infusion of donor bone marrow and heart or lung transplantation, without preconditioning of the recipient, is safe and is associated with an augmentation of donor cell chimerism. © 1995 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

Pesquisa nas fronteiras da comunidade-universidade: Uso da ciência pública para estudar vigilância policial no South Bronx

This article is a case study of the Morris Justice Project (MJP), a participatory action research (PAR) study in a South Bronx neighborhood of New York City (NYC) designed to understand residents’ experiences with and attitudes towards the New York Police Department (NYPD). An illustration of public science, the research was conducted in solidarity with an emerging police reform movement and in response to an ongoing and particularly aggressive set of policing policies that most heavily impacts poor communities and communities of color.  The case study describes a set of ongoing participatory, research-action, “sidewalk science” strategies, developed in 42 square blocks of the South Bronx, designed to better understand and challenge the ongoing structural violence of the carceral state. Collaboratively written with members of the Morris Justice collective, we tell our story across three sections that outline the genesis of the project, describe our major commitments, and offers PAR and public science as a possible “intervention” in traditional university practice.Este artículo es un estudio de caso del Proyecto de Morris Justice (MJP), un estudio de investigación de acción participativa (PAR) en un vecindario del South Bronx de la Ciudad de Nueva York (NYC) diseñado para comprender las experiencias y las actitudes de los residentes hacia Departamento de Policía de Nueva York (NYPD). Una ilustración de la ciencia pública, la investigación se llevó a cabo en solidaridad con un movimiento de reforma policial emergente y en respuesta a un conjunto de políticas policiales en curso y particularmente agresivo que afecta más a las comunidades pobres y las comunidades de color. El estudio de caso describe un conjunto de estrategias participativas en curso, de investigación-acción, “ciencia de acera”, desarrolladas en 42 bloques cuadrados del South Bronx, diseñadas para comprender mejor y desafiar la violencia estructural en curso del estado carceral. Escrito en colaboración con miembros del colectivo Morris Justice, contamos nuestra historia en tres secciones que resumen la génesis del proyecto, describimos nuestros principales compromisos y ofrecemos PAR y ciencia pública como una posible “intervención” en la práctica universitaria tradicional.Este artigo é um estudo de caso do Morris Justice Project (MJP), um estudo de pesquisa de ação participativa (PAR) em um bairro no South Bronx, em Nova York, projetado para entender as experiências e atitudes dos moradores em relação ao Departamento de Polícia de Nova York (NYPD). Uma ilustração da ciência pública, a pesquisa foi conduzida em solidariedade com um movimento emergente de reforma da polícia e em resposta a um conjunto de políticas policiais em andamento e particularmente agressivas que mais afetam comunidades pobres e comunidades de cor. O estudo de caso descreve um conjunto de estratégias participativas de pesquisa-ação, “ciência da calçada”, desenvolvidas em 42 quarteirões do South Bronx, destinadas a melhor compreender e desafiar a violência estrutural em curso no Estado carcerário. Escrito em colaboração com membros do coletivo Morris Justice, contamos nossa história em três seções que resumem a gênese do projeto, descrevem nossos principais compromissos e oferecem a PAR e a ciência pública como uma possível “intervenção” na prática universitária tradicional.