Literary Affect: Alive or dead?

This research study explores the phenomenon of literary affect, and involves investigations into the ways in which literature provokes intellectual, emotional and psychological responses. The research data offers insight into the nature of the literary experience both within the education system and in the private lives of trainee teachers, and the forms literary affect takes in an age dominated by postmodemist problematising of the literary. Student teacher participants were asked to complete questionnaires and/or attend focus groups that discussed their experiences with literary texts, their thoughts on English syllabi and the effect of their literary schooling upon their decision to teach. Participants revealed their passions for literary texts and the affective engagements they experienced. Significantly, disparities between student teachers of primary and secondary study were highlighted in terms of the type of affect experienced; secondary student teachers demonstrated a far greater capacity for inward affect, in comparison to primary student teachers who exhibited more capacity for affective experiences that related to outward understanding or the gaining of knowledge. However, comparison was found in affective experiences that related to private and educational literary texts, where participants cited as many educational texts that produced affect as texts read privately. Finally, in relation to the new 1999 NSW HSC English syllabus, data from younger generation and mature age students did not demonstrate significant difference in affective literary experiences, illustrating that the affective aesthetic phenomenon is still very much alive in contemporary secondary English studies. These findings are presented in the context of present and continuing debates about the place and relevance of postmodemism, popular culture texts and critical literacy in contemporary secondary English syllabi and the return of a revised form of aesthetics in the field of tertiary English studies

Evolution of T Cell Responses during Measles Virus Infection and RNA Clearance

Measles is an acute viral disease associated both with immune suppression and development of life-long immunity. Clearance of measles virus (MeV) involves rapid elimination of infectious virus during the rash followed by slow elimination of viral RNA. To characterize cellular immune responses during recovery, we analyzed the appearance, specificity and function of MeV-specific T cells for 6 months after respiratory infection of rhesus macaques with wild type MeV. IFN-γ and IL-17-producing cells specific for the hemagglutinin and nucleocapsid proteins appeared in circulation in multiple waves approximately 2-3, 8 and 18-24 weeks after infection. IFN-γ-secreting cells were most abundant early and IL-17-secreting cells late. Both CD4 and CD8 T cells were sources of IFN-γ and IL-17, and IL-17-producing cells expressed RORγt. Therefore, the cellular immune response evolves during MeV clearance to produce functionally distinct subsets of MeV-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells at different times after infection

MSI-CIEC: MSI Cyberinfrastructure Empowerment Coalition and the TeraGrid

Paper written as a collaboration of the following institutions and presented at the 2006 TeraGrid Conference, Indianapolis, IN June 12-16: 1. University of Houston Downtown 2. NAFEO: National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education 3. SDSC: San Diego Supercomputer Center 4. Indiana University, Computer Science Department 5. AIHEC: The American Indiana Highter Education Consortium 6. HACU: Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universitie

Interactions between anti-EGFR therapies and cytotoxic chemotherapy in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma: why clinical trials might have failed and how they could succeed

Acknowledgements We thank Alice Savage for technical laboratory assistance. Funding The work undertaken was funded by Ninewells Cancer Campaign (Dundee) and Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office (Grant reference TCS/19/18).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

An Age-Dependent Pharmacokinetic Study of Intravenous and Oral Mycophenolate Mofetil in Combination with Tacrolimus for GVHD Prophylaxis in Pediatric Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation Recipients

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) still remains a major limiting factor following allogeneic stem cell transplantation (AlloSCT) in pediatric recipients. Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), an uncompetitive selective inhibitor of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase, is a new immunosuppressant agent without major mucosal, hepatic, or renal toxicity compared to other prophylactic aGVHD immunosuppressant drugs. Although there has been an extensive pharmacokinetic (PK) experience with MMF administration following solid organ transplantation in children, there is a paucity of PK data following its use in pediatric AlloSCT recipients. We investigated the safety and PK of MMF as GVHD prophylaxis following intravenous (i.v.) and oral (p.o.) administration (900 mg/m2 every 6 hours) in conjunction with tacrolimus, after myeloablative (MA) and nonmyeloablative (NMA) conditioning and AlloSCT in 3 distinct age groups of pediatric AlloSCT recipients (0-6 years, 6-12 years, and 12-16 years). Mycophenolic acid (MPA) in plasma samples was measured either by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) as we have previously described. Plasma samples were obtained at baseline and at 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 hours after i.v. dosing on days +1, +7, +14, and at 2 time points between day +45 and +100 after p.o. administration post AlloSCT. MPA PK analysis included AUC (0-6 hours), Cmax, Tmax, Css, Vss, C trough (C0), CL, and T½. Thirty-eight patients, with a median age of 8 years (0.33-16 years), 20/18 M:F ratio, 21/17 malignant/nonmalignant disease, 17/21 MA: NMA conditioning, 16 of 22 related/unrelated allografts. Median time to myeloid and platelet engraftment was 18 and 31 days, respectively. Mean donor chimerism on day +60 and +100 was 83% and 90%, respectively. Probability of developing aGVHD grade II-IV and extensive chronic GVHD (cGVHD) was 54% and 34%, respectively. There was significant intra- and interpatient MMF PK variability. There was a significant increase in i.v. MPA area under the curve (AUC)0-6hour and Cmax (P < .0003) and a significant decrease in CLss (P < .002) and Vss (P < .001) on day +14 versus day +7. Children <12 years of age had a significant increase in i.v. MPA Tmax (P = .01), Vss (P = .028), and CLss (P < .001) compared to the older age group. There was a trend in increased i.v. MPA CLss following MA versus NMA conditioning (P < .054); i.v. and p.o. MMF administration (900 mg/m2 every 6 hours) in combination with tacrolimus was well tolerated in pediatric AlloSCT recipients. There was a significant increase in MPA exposure on day +14 versus day +7, suggesting improved enterohepatic recirculation at day +14 post-AlloSCT. Children <12 years of age appear to have a significantly different MPA PK profile compared to older children and adolescents and may require more frequent dosing

Patient emergency health-care use before hospital admission for COVID-19 and long-term outcomes in Scotland: a national cohort study

BackgroundIt is unclear what effect the pattern of health-care use before admission to hospital with COVID-19 (index admission) has on the long-term outcomes for patients. We sought to describe mortality and emergency readmission to hospital after discharge following the index admission (index discharge), and to assess associations between these outcomes and patterns of health-care use before such admissions.MethodsWe did a national, retrospective, complete cohort study by extracting data from several national databases and linking the databases for all adult patients admitted to hospital in Scotland with COVID-19. We used latent class trajectory modelling to identify distinct clusters of patients on the basis of their emergency admissions to hospital in the 2 years before the index admission. The primary outcomes were mortality and emergency readmission up to 1 year after index admission. We used multivariable regression models to explore associations between these outcomes and patient demographics, vaccination status, level of care received in hospital, and previous emergency hospital use.FindingsBetween March 1, 2020, and Oct 25, 2021, 33 580 patients were admitted to hospital with COVID-19 in Scotland. Overall, the Kaplan-Meier estimate of mortality within 1 year of index admission was 29·6% (95% CI 29·1-30·2). The cumulative incidence of emergency hospital readmission within 30 days of index discharge was 14·4% (95% CI 14·0-14·8), with the number increasing to 35·6% (34·9-36·3) patients at 1 year. Among the 33 580 patients, we identified four distinct patterns of previous emergency hospital use: no admissions (n=18 772 [55·9%]); minimal admissions (n=12 057 [35·9%]); recently high admissions (n=1931 [5·8%]), and persistently high admissions (n=820 [2·4%]). Patients with recently or persistently high admissions were older, more multimorbid, and more likely to have hospital-acquired COVID-19 than patients with no or minimal admissions. People in the minimal, recently high, and persistently high admissions groups had an increased risk of mortality and hospital readmission compared with those in the no admissions group. Compared with the no admissions group, mortality was highest in the recently high admissions group (post-hospital mortality HR 2·70 [95% CI 2·35-2·81]; pInterpretationLong-term mortality and readmission rates for patients hospitalised with COVID-19 were high; within 1 year, one in three patients had died and a third had been readmitted as an emergency. Patterns of hospital use before index admission were strongly predictive of mortality and readmission risk, independent of age, pre-existing comorbidities, and COVID-19 vaccination status. This increasingly precise identification of individuals at high risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19 will enable targeted support.FundingChief Scientist Office Scotland, UK National Institute for Health Research, and UK Research and Innovation

Growth Performance and Root Transcriptome Remodeling of Arabidopsis in Response to Mars-Like Levels of Magnesium Sulfate

Martian regolith (unconsolidated surface material) is a potential medium for plant growth in bioregenerative life support systems during manned missions on Mars. However, hydrated magnesium sulfate mineral levels in the regolith of Mars can reach as high as 10 wt%, and would be expected to be highly inhibitory to plant growth. at 180 min. after initiation of treatment. mutants exhibit partial tolerance to magnesium sulfate, and by elucidating a small subset (500 vs. >10,000) of candidate genes for mutation or metabolic engineering that will enhance tolerance to magnesium sulfate soils

Drug Resistance Mutations for Surveillance of Transmitted HIV-1 Drug-Resistance: 2009 Update

Programs that monitor local, national, and regional levels of transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance inform treatment guidelines and provide feedback on the success of HIV-1 treatment and prevention programs. To accurately compare transmitted drug resistance rates across geographic regions and times, the World Health Organization has recommended the adoption of a consensus genotypic definition of transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance. In January 2007, we outlined criteria for developing a list of mutations for drug-resistance surveillance and compiled a list of 80 RT and protease mutations meeting these criteria (surveillance drug resistance mutations; SDRMs). Since January 2007, several new drugs have been approved and several new drug-resistance mutations have been identified. In this paper, we follow the same procedures described previously to develop an updated list of SDRMs that are likely to be useful for ongoing and future studies of transmitted drug resistance. The updated SDRM list has 93 mutations including 34 NRTI-resistance mutations at 15 RT positions, 19 NNRTI-resistance mutations at 10 RT positions, and 40 PI-resistance mutations at 18 protease positions