Supporting Cancer Prevention Strategies Using Geospatial Analysis on HRSA data

This paper uses develops a methodology to geospatially analyze factors associated with disparities in cancer rates

ISIS: Brand Management and Community Organizing

Authors Shiv Ganesh and Cynthia Stohl explore in their essay “Community Organizing, Social Movements, and Collective Acton” the concept of organizational communication studies exiting the workplace and engaging substantively with community groups and activist organizing as worthy subjects of study. Because of the evoluBon of what are worthy subjects of study, it is appropriate to examine the Non-­‐Governmental OrganizaBon that is ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State, and construct the various perspecBves of this organizaBon in its community. The transnational organization, ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State, is amid a revolution of its own when interacting with the concept of brand management. Isis has undoubtedly engaged in many acts of cruelty in the form of sex trade, slavery, executions, cultural cleansing, imprisonment and death of dissidents and defectors, and other activities. Despite these horrific actions, the organization is still managing to raise fungible resources, recruit foreign volunteers, and maintain control of territories in the name of their particular religious interpretation. Through the technique utilized by the aforementioned article, this work in progress seeks to explore ISIS as an organization through the lens of an outsider, insider, and constitutive. Through broadening the ability to perceive ISIS beyond its attention-­garnering actions, and instead empathize with the community that it directly affects, I hope to better understand the physical and rhetorical power of persuasion that distinguishes ISIS from other terrorist organizations

Case study: Lessons learned during tech transfer at a multi-product legacy launch facility

Genentech\u27s original GMP production facility in South San Francisco, California, was approved by the FDA in 1985 and today is licensed to manufacture 10 marketed products. This legacy manufacturing plant has evolved over the years to become a complex multi-product facility that supplies both clinical and commercial products utilizing a 96,000 liter-capacity on the CHO line. The site’s flexibility along with proximal location of key functional areas including Operations, Process Development, Quality and Regulatory well position it as a launch site for new molecules. Balancing flexibility with older qualified equipment presents unique opportunities when launching new molecules in an aging multi-product facility. Some constraints include equipment resource overlap between clinical and commercial, reliance on single probes on bioreactors, ensuring adequate raw material inventory across multiple products and providing heightened process monitoring support with legacy automation systems. This poster will discuss the above challenges encountered and mitigation measures adopted during a recent new molecule licensure campaign at the Genentech South San Francisco Manufacturing facility

Efficacy of Focal Lasers in Central Serous Chorioretinopathy

AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate the efficacy of focal laser in patients diagnosed as CSR with extrafoveal leakage, in terms of visual acuity and central macular thickness and comparing it with the control group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 60 patients diagnosed as Central Serous Chorioretinopathy attending Uvea and Retina services of RIOGOH, satisfying our inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. All patients underwent detailed history taking and ophthalmic examination including fundus examination along with Fundus Fluorescein Angiography and Optical coherence tomography. Patients were divided into two groups by simple randomization with 30 patients in each group. The patients in the laser group underwent focal laser wherein pinpoint leaks were treated with burns of spot size 100 μm, power of 100 mW of 100 ms duration with 3 confluent burns. The patients of both the groups were followed up at 4 weeks and 12 weeks, to look for the improvement in Best Corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and reduction in the central macular thickness (CMT). RESULTS: The reduction in the CMT of the laser group and the control group were 38.3% and 25.3% respectively at the end of 4 weeks. At the end of 12 months the reduction in the mean CMT was 37.3% in the control group whereas it was 49% in the study group. The BCVA (logMAR)improved from 0.5 at the time of presentation to 0.2 at 4 weeks and 0.1 at six weeks in the laser group and in the control group the BCVA had improved only to 0.43 at 4 weeks and 0.2 at 12 weeks. Mental stress, type A personality and sleep disorders are found to be significant risk factors in patients with CSR in our study. Systemic steroid usage is found to be a significant risk factor in patients with bilateral CSR. The most common site of extrafoveal leakage in fundus flourescein angiography in our study was found to be in the superonasal quadrant (40%). The ink blot pattern was found to be most common pattern in fundus flourescein angiography (present in 65% of the patient). CSR was found to be associated with Retinal Pigment Epithelial. CONCLUSION: Focal lasers are effective in cases of central serous chorioretinopathy which persists for a period of more than three months. Focal lasers can be used effectively to shorten the duration of the disease and results in the resolution of the subretinal fluid and improvement in visual acuity significantly by 4 weeks

Theory and Simulations of Macromolecular Soft Materials: Linking Molecular Design to Macroscale Morphology and Function

We use theory and simulation techniques to connect molecular features of macromolecular materials, specifically polymers, to their morphology and macroscopic properties, thereby guiding synthesis of materials for various applications in the energy and biomedical fields. In the first part of my talk I will present our recent theory and simulation studies of polymer functionalized nanoparticles in polymer nanocomposites. The goal of this work is to control spatial arrangement of nanoparticles in a polymer nanocomposite so as to engineer materials with target mechanical or optical properties. One can tailor the inter-particle interactions and precisely control the assembly of the particles in the polymer matrix by functionalizing nanoparticle surfaces with polymers, and systematically tuning the composition, chemistry, molecular weight and grafting density of these grafted polymers. We have developed an integrated self-consistent approach involving Polymer Reference Interaction Site Model (PRISM) theory and molecular simulations to study polymer grafted nanoparticles in polymer matrix, and understand the effect of heterogeneity, such as monomer chemistry, monomer sequence, and polydispersity, in the polymer functionalization on the effective interactions, and dispersion/assembly of functionalized nanoparticles in a polymer matrix. In the second part of my talk I will present our molecular simulation studies aimed at designing polycations for DNA delivery. DNA delivery involves successful transfection of therapeutic DNA by a vector into target cells and expression of that genetic material. Viral vectors, while effective, can elicit harmful immunogenic responses, thus motivating ongoing research on non-viral transfection agents. Cationic polymers or polycations are a promising class of non-viral vectors due to their low immugenic responses and low toxicity, and their ability to bind to the polyanionic DNA backbone to form a polycation-DNA complex (polyplex) that is then internalized in the target cell. Combinatorial approaches have generated many polycations with differing DNA transfection efficacies, but there is a need for general design guidelines that can relate the molecular features of the polycation to its DNA transfection efficiency. Using atomistic and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of DNA and polycations composed of polypeptides, we connect the thermodynamics of polycation-DNA binding and structure of the polycation-DNA complexes, both of which impact transfection efficiency, to polycation chemistry and architecture

Design of Tissue-specific Cellular Microenvironments for Adipose-derived Stromal Cell Culture and Delivery

The development of in vitro cell culture models that investigate tissue-specific effects of the extracellular matrix (ECM) on stem/progenitor cell lineage-commitment can contribute towards the design of improved cell delivery strategies. This thesis developed processing methods that conserved ECM bioactivity to generate well-characterized 2- and 3-D culture platforms that facilitated the evaluation of ECM composition on the adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stromal cells (ASCs). Initial work compared α-amylase and pepsin digestion as methods to fabricate ECM coatings. The effects of enzyme processing and ECM composition were explored using human decellularized adipose tissue (DAT) and bovine tendon collagen as matrix sources. The α-amylase-digested coatings were softer and more stable, with a complex composition and fibrillar architecture. ASCs cultured on α-amylase-digested ECM retained a spindle-shaped morphology, with enhanced proliferation on the α-amylase-digested DAT. Further, the α-amylase-digested DAT enhanced adipogenesis, based on adipogenic gene expression, glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) enzyme activity, and perilipin staining under differentiation conditions. To further evaluate the effects of tissue-specific ECM composition on ASC differentiation, bovine trabecular bone was explored as a compositionally distinct ECM source. A detergent-free protocol was developed for obtaining decellularized trabecular bone (DTB). Immunohistochemical and biochemical techniques were used to compare the composition of the DTB and DAT, demonstrating higher levels of glycosaminoglycans in the DTB and enhanced expression of basement membrane proteins (collagen IV, laminin, collagen VI) in the DAT. To investigate the potential of applying a tissue-specific approach within a 3-D culture system, cryo-milled DAT or DTB particles were incorporated within methacrylated chondroitin sulphate (MCS) hydrogels. ASC viability, adipogenesis and osteogenesis were assessed in the MCS+DAT, MCS+DTB and MCS alone. The findings indicated that the incorporation of DAT provided an adipo-conductive microenvironment, as seen by enhanced adipogenic gene expression, GPDH enzyme activity and intracellular lipid accumulation under differentiation conditions. The preliminary osteogenic data suggested that the DTB may have osteo-inductive effects, as seen by early stage osteogenic gene expression (OPN and ON) under proliferation conditions. ii Overall, this thesis provided a body of evidence supporting that tissue-specific ECM composition can be harnessed in biomaterials design to promote the lineage-specific differentiation of ASCs

Beyond the Language Program Model: The Importance of Student Identity for the English Language Learner

This ethnographic dissertation study focuses on life in fourth grade classrooms, examining how sociocultural experiences and influences in the local learning environment impact native Spanish-speaking English language learners’ (ELL) identities, and subsequently how students perceive their schooling experience and language practices. Connections are made between their learning and experiences that occur in their classrooms and schools at large, specifically through language of instruction and schooling practices, and how ELLs identify themselves as individuals and members of society. This qualitative research looks at ELLs in transitional bilingual and dual language classroom contexts through the frameworks of sociocultural theory and language as a resource. Qualitative data (observations, interviews, focus groups, document analysis) was examined through discourse analysis. Findings suggest that naming a language instructional program is not enough, and educators must also consider instructional and curricular practices to best prepare ELLs in becoming productive members of society

An Observational study to assess Immediate hemodynamic outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous Transvenous mitral commissurotomy in Our Institution

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Several studies conducted on the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease reported a prevalence of 34.54/1000 in India. Furthermore, demands for adequate medical therapies are expanding with increasing use of Percutaneous transvenous mitral valvuloplasty. In comparison to the surgical mitral commissurotomy Percutaneous mitral valvotomy has shown better success rates, comparable restenosis rates, larger valve area and long term durability. The most widely used echocardiographic parameter for patient selection for PTMC, is the Wilkins score which we follow in our institute. Our study aims to analyse the immediate hemodynamic outcomes in patients undergoing Percutaneous mitral valvotomy in our institute selected by specific clinical and echo criteria. METHODS: In this following hospital based observational study, fifty patients who were admitted as inpatients for the above procedure in the department of cardiology, who met the inclusion and exclusion cirteria were followed up during intraoperative and postoperative period. Immediate functional outcome of the procedure in terms of hemodynamic improvement was assessed by measuring the percentage of improvement in mitral valve orifice area, Left atrial pressure and mitral valve peak gradient. RESULTS: Out of the 50 patients who were included in the study group 64% were in 21-40 age group, 78% were females, 52% have symptoms and NYHA II, 48% have symptoms in NYHA class III, 0% in NYHA class I & IV. All the patients had wilkins score of 8 or below. 84% Patients had no atrial fibrillation. Even though lower age group, female sex, no atrial fibrillation and lower NYHA class seemed to have better outcomes the association was not statistically significant. The association between wilkins score and outcome with regard to all three parameters was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: PTMC is the procedure of choice for the management of uncomplicated and pliable mitral stenosis. Even though Echocardiographic scores are not the only parameters determining the outcome of PTMC, they still have a significant role in patient selection for PTMC

The Cost of Sharing Information in a Social World

With the increasing prevalence of large scale online social networks, the field has evolved from studying small scale networks and interactions to massive ones that encompass huge fractions of the world’s population. While many methods focus on techniques at scale applied to a single domain, methods that apply techniques across multiple domains are becoming increasingly important. These methods rely on understanding the complex relationships in the data. In the context of social networks, the big data available allows us to better model and analyze the flow of information within the network. The first part of this thesis discusses methods to more effectively learn and predict in a social network by leveraging information across multiple domains and types of data. We document a method to identify users from their access to content in a network and their click behavior. Even on a macro level, click behavior is often hard to obtain. We describe a technique to predict click behavior using other public information about the social network. Communication within a network inevitably has some bias that can be attributed to individual preferences and quality as well as the underlying structure of the network. The second part of the thesis characterizes the structural bias in a network by modeling the underlying information flow as a commodity of trade