Bacterial Community Profiling of Milk Samples as a Means to Understand Culture-Negative Bovine Clinical Mastitis

Inflammation and infection of bovine mammary glands, commonly known as mastitis, imposes significant losses each year in the dairy industry worldwide. While several different bacterial species have been identified as causative agents of mastitis, many clinical mastitis cases remain culture negative, even after enrichment for bacterial growth. To understand the basis for this increasingly common phenomenon, the composition of bacterial communities from milk samples was analyzed using culture independent pyrosequencing of amplicons of 16S ribosomal RNA genes (16S rDNA). Comparisons were made of the microbial community composition of culture negative milk samples from mastitic quarters with that of non-mastitic quarters from the same animals. Genomic DNA from culture-negative clinical and healthy quarter sample pairs was isolated, and amplicon libraries were prepared using indexed primers specific to the V1–V2 region of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and sequenced using the Roche 454 GS FLX with titanium chemistry. Evaluation of the taxonomic composition of these samples revealed significant differences in the microbiota in milk from mastitic and healthy quarters. Statistical analysis identified seven bacterial genera that may be mainly responsible for the observed microbial community differences between mastitic and healthy quarters. Collectively, these results provide evidence that cases of culture negative mastitis can be associated with bacterial species that may be present below culture detection thresholds used here. The application of culture-independent bacterial community profiling represents a powerful approach to understand long-standing questions in animal health and disease

New drugs in ovarian cancer and malignant melanoma: in vitro phase II screening with the human tumor stem cell assay.

The successful development of a soft agar clonogenic assay for human tumor stem cells provides an in vitro technique with a high degree of accuracy for predicting in vivo clinical response to standard anticancer drugs. We used this system to conduct an "in vitro phase II trial" in human ovarian cancer and melanoma. This approach can potentially identify active phase I--II drugs suitable for treatment of given tumor types for specific patients and eliminates the need to subject patients (who would be predicted not to respond) to toxic side effects. In vitro sensitivity for new agents was operationally defined as at least a 70% reduction of tumor colony-forming units (TCFU) at concentrations which are readily achievable pharmacologically. The new agents AMSA and vindesine (as well as vinblastine) appeared to have activity in melanoma, while PALA and thymidine were inactive. Pentamethylmelamine, mitomycin C, methyl-GAG, and AMSA were relatively ineffective in ovarian cancer. Vinblastine and vindesine had definite activity. The human tumor stem cell assay may thus provide the basis for a useful alternative to the current clinical phase II testing approach for identifying antitumor activity of new agents. Validation of this concept with correlative in vitro and in vivo phase II trials of new agents in patients with tumor types predicted to be sensitive is clearly warranted

The Carter Family: A Musical Family\u27s Continuing Influence on Today\u27s Appalachian Musicians

This research project will examine the influence of the Carter Family through a recording project and archival research. The project will also include a research paper exploring the ways that the Carter Family have affected popular culture. Throughout the history of the Carter Family, many diverse people have contributed to the development of their repertoire. Carter family songs transcend genre and continue still to shape popular music. Starting in 1928 with the help of Lesley Riddle, an African American musician, A.P Carter collected songs that represented the many styles that existed in the Appalachian Mountains during that time period. In addition, they both composed new material and arranged some of the collected songs to become what is now identified as the Carter Family style. The presentation represents the many styles of the Carter Family through a recording project. It includes songs the Carter Family wrote, songs they collected, songs done in the many styles covered by influenced musicians, and songs that have been rearranged to better fit modern social settings. A few examples of the things the archival research will focus on are examining and extracting old recordings of the Carter Family and reading through some of their interviews and set lists. One of the many things that will be presented in the paper are interviews of the Carter family relatives that are still alive today and running “The Carter Family Fold”. They will be able to give a perspective that may have never been heard of before