Exploring a Qualitative Approach to Arts Advocacy and Evaluation

The quantitative impact of the arts has become an increasingly important factor in determining the overall value of a project, and is often used to determine acceptance of submissions, public recognition and funding disbursement. This project evaluates current understandings of how the arts function within society, popular methods for determining the value of the arts and explores how qualitative reasoning can be utilized to communicate the value of supporting artistic endeavors. While placing a numerical value on the arts based on data collection can be important, this project will aim to evaluate the implications of relying so heavily on facts and figures to determine the value of things that are ultimately driven by human experiences that defy measure

Metabolic Differentiation of Early Lyme Disease from Southern Tick-associated Rash Illness (STARI)

Lyme disease, the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the United States, results from infection with Borrelia burgdorferi. Early clinical diagnosis of this disease is largely based on the presence of an erythematous skin lesion for individuals in high-risk regions. This, however, can be confused with other illnesses including southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI), an illness that lacks a defined etiological agent or laboratory diagnostic test, and is coprevalent with Lyme disease in portions of the eastern United States. By applying an unbiased metabolomics approach with sera retrospectively obtained from well-characterized patients, we defined biochemical and diagnostic differences between early Lyme disease and STARI. Specifically, a metabolic biosignature consisting of 261 molecular features (MFs) revealed that altered N-acyl ethanolamine and primary fatty acid amide metabolism discriminated early Lyme disease from STARI. Development of classification models with the 261-MF biosignature and testing against validation samples differentiated early Lyme disease from STARI with an accuracy of 85 to 98%. These findings revealed metabolic dissimilarity between early Lyme disease and STARI, and provide a powerful and new approach to inform patient management by objectively distinguishing early Lyme disease from an illness with nearly identical symptoms

Elasticity model of a supercoiled DNA molecule

Within a simple elastic theory, we study the elongation versus force characteristics of a supercoiled DNA molecule at thermal equilibrium in the regime of small supercoiling. The partition function is mapped to the path integral representation for a quantum charged particle in the field of a magnetic monopole with unquantized charge. We show that the theory is singular in the continuum limit and must be regularised at an intermediate length scale. We find good agreement with existing experimental data, and point out how to measure the twist rigidity accurately.Comment: Latex, 4 pages. The figure contains new experimental data, giving a new determination of the twist rigidit

A mixed methods approach to exploring values that inform desirable food-systems futures

Throughout the United States, urban food systems are in suboptimal states that are not operating efficiently or equitably and thus do not support food security for all. Creating transformation to a more sustainable and desirable state first requires acknowledging the different values of diverse groups within a city. Then these diverse values can be used to explore pluralistic pathways to futures that maximize benefits for multiple stakeholders. We demonstrate how integrating visioning and Q-methodology can achieve an inclusive understanding of values as priorities for such a food system. Applied in Flint, Michigan, a post-industrial Rust Belt city, this approach can shape the planning process for cities experiencing food insecurity. Qualitative analysis of data from a visioning workshop resulted in sixteen values as priorities for a sustainable and desirable food system. Values as priorities were then ranked in a Q-sort activity, from which three unique groups of ranking patterns emerged, each of which can be interpreted as a vision for a better future. The three visions were a food system with healthy foods that residents are willing to travel for; a food system with convenient, fresh food options for those who cannot travel; and a food system that maintains the community’s food traditions. Our novel mixed methods approach empowers communities by giving them a voice in the planning process but also allows decision makers to create transformation pathways that more accurately reflect the needs of the various subsets of community members who hold diverse visions and priorities

The risk of new-onset epilepsy and refractory epilepsy in older adult stroke survivors

Research Summary: Key Findings Stroke is a common cause of epilepsy in older adults, but little is known about stroke-related epilepsy or its outcomes in this population. 1.1% of older adult stroke survivors developed epilepsy in this study, of whom 12.9% developed refractory epilepsy, indicating that this population is particularly responsive to treatment. Over 85% of deaths in this population are not due to stroke or epilepsy.https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/neuruprojectsummaries/1000/thumbnail.jp

Genomic and transcriptomic analyses of Phytophthora cinnamomi reveal complex genome architecture, expansion of pathogenicity factors, and host-dependent gene expression profiles

Phytophthora cinnamomi is a hemibiotrophic oomycete causing Phytophthora root rot in over 5,000 plant species, threatening natural ecosystems, forestry, and agriculture. Genomic studies of P. cinnamomi are limited compared to other Phytophthora spp. despite the importance of this destructive and highly invasive pathogen. The genome of two genetically and phenotypically distinct P. cinnamomi isolates collected from avocado orchards in California were sequenced using PacBio and Illumina sequencing. Genome sizes were estimated by flow cytometry and assembled de novo to 140-141 Mb genomes with 21,111-21,402 gene models. Genome analyses revealed that both isolates exhibited complex heterozygous genomes fitting the two-speed genome model. The more virulent isolate encodes a larger secretome and more RXLR effectors when compared to the less virulent isolate. Transcriptome analysis after P. cinnamomi infection in Arabidopsis thaliana, Nicotiana benthamiana, and Persea americana de Mill (avocado) showed that this pathogen deploys common gene repertoires in all hosts and host-specific subsets, especially among effectors. Overall, our results suggested that clonal P. cinnamomi isolates employ similar strategies as other Phytophthora spp. to increase phenotypic diversity (e.g., polyploidization, gene duplications, and a bipartite genome architecture) to cope with environmental changes. Our study also provides insights into common and host-specific P. cinnamomi infection strategies and may serve as a method for narrowing and selecting key candidate effectors for functional studies to determine their contributions to plant resistance or susceptibility

Identification of Siglec-9 as the receptor for MUC16 on human NK cells, B cells, and monocytes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>MUC16 is a cell surface mucin expressed at high levels by epithelial ovarian tumors. Following proteolytic cleavage, cell surface MUC16 (csMUC16) is shed in the extracellular milieu and is detected in the serum of cancer patients as the tumor marker CA125. csMUC16 acts as an adhesion molecule and facilitates peritoneal metastasis of ovarian tumors. Both sMUC16 and csMUC16 also protect cancer cells from cytotoxic responses of natural killer (NK) cells. In a previous study we demonstrated that sMUC16 binds to specific subset of NK cells. Here, we identify the csMUC16/sMUC16 binding partner expressed on immune cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Analysis of immune cells from the peripheral blood and peritoneal fluid of ovarian cancer patients indicates that in addition to NK cells, sMUC16 also binds to B cells and monocytes isolated from the peripheral blood and peritoneal fluid. I-type lectin, Siglec-9, is identified as the sMUC16 receptor on these immune cells. Siglec-9 is expressed on approximately 30-40% of CD16^pos/CD56^dimNK cells, 20-30% of B cells and >95% of monocytes. sMUC16 binds to the majority of the Siglec-9^posNK cells, B cells and monocytes. sMUC16 is released from the immune cells following neuraminidase treatment. Siglec-9 transfected Jurkat cells and monocytes isolated from healthy donors bind to ovarian tumor cells via Siglec-9-csMUC16 interaction.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Recent studies indicate that csMUC16 can act as an anti-adhesive agent that blocks tumor-immune cell interactions. Our results demonstrate that similar to other mucins, csMUC16 can also facilitate cell adhesion by interacting with a suitable binding partner such as mesothelin or Siglec-9. Siglec-9 is an inhibitory receptor that attenuates T cell and NK cell function. sMUC16/csMUC16-Siglec-9 binding likely mediates inhibition of anti-tumor immune responses.</p

The prevalence of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases in Canadian pediatric populations: administrative database estimates

CI 17.9, 29.2). SARDs were more common in females than in males across all provinces. There was a slightly higher prevalence among those living in urban compared to rural areas of Alberta (rate difference 14.4, 95 % CI 8.6, 20.1) and Saskatchewan (rate difference 13.8, 95 % CI 1.0, 26.6). Our results provide population-based prevalence estimates of pediatric SARDs in four Canadian provinces. Keywords Pediatric rheumatic diseases · Systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases · Epidemiology · Disease prevalence Abstract To estimate systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease (SARD) prevalence using administrative data for pediatric populations in four Canadian provinces. Physician billing claims and inpatient hospitalizations from Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, and Saskatchewan were used to define cases aged ≤18 years with a SARD diagnosis code in: one or more hospitalization, two or more physician visits within 2 years and at least 2 months apart, or one or more physician visit to a rheumatologist. Estimates ranged from 15.9/100,000 in Quebec [95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) 14.1, 18.0] to 23.0/100,000 in Manitoba (95 % Rheumatology INTERNATIONA

Integrating Teaching and Research in Undergraduate Biology Laboratory Education

A course recently designed and implemented at Stanford University applies practical suggestions for creating research-based undergraduate courses that benefit both teaching and research