Religious Pluralism: A Resource Book

Human societies have always been diverse but the modern period is distinctive, shaped by new forms of communication, global migration and media that have given rise to more pronounced and more established forms of diversity and perhaps even to ‘hyper-diversity’. This publication concentrates on religious diversity and it provides a set of conceptual and theoretical resources for approaching different discourses around religious diversity, highlighting in particular the distinctive approaches and sensitivities that emerge from different disciplinary engagements

Cell therapy process development with a 2 mL perfusion bioreactor

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Educational Programs and Adaptability: A Systems Approach to Creating Adaptable Educational Programs

The IUSM Scholarly Concentrations Program is an optional four-year longitudinal program that allows students to explore interests outside the core medical curriculum. In two years, 17 concentrations were developed statewide and more than 220 students enrolled. As a part of developing a sustainable educational program, a Plan-Do-Check-Act improvement cycle is being used. This workshop will feature examples of the use of the Plan-Do-Check-Act improvement cycle during the launch and pilot a large, novel educational program that is “good enough” and builds toward sustainability and excellence while responding to large-scale systematic changes. Participants in the workshop will apply these principles to their own educational programs

SREBP1c-CRY1 signalling represses hepatic glucose production by promoting FOXO1 degradation during refeeding

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Right Colonic Diverticulitis

Although right colonic diverticultis (RCD) has been reported to be a rare disease in Western countries, RCD is a common diagnosis, with an incidence per 2.9-17 case of appendicitis, in Korea. Many Western studies have reported that it is difficult to differentiate the presenting symptoms of RCD from those of appendicitis before surgery because the signs and symptoms are similar. However, performing a computed tomography scan after the application of the diagnostic criteria for RCD has increased the preoperative RCD diagnostic rate. Treatment strategies have been difficult to define for this condition due to its low preoperative diagnosis rate. However, recent reports have shown that conservative medical treatment of uncomplicated RCD can be recommended and that such treatment is effective due to the benign and self-limited natural history of RCD. Therefore, in this review, we discuss the controversies surrounding RCD management

SREBP1c-CRY1 signalling represses hepatic glucose production by promoting FOXO1 degradation during refeeding

SREBP1c is a key lipogenic transcription factor activated by insulin in the postprandial state. Although SREBP1c appears to be involved in suppression of hepatic gluconeogenesis, the molecular mechanism is not thoroughly understood. Here we show that CRY1 is activated by insulin-induced SREBP1c and decreases hepatic gluconeogenesis through FOXO1 degradation, at least, at specific circadian time points. SREBP1c−/− and CRY1−/− mice show higher blood glucose than wild-type (WT) mice in pyruvate tolerance tests, accompanied with enhanced expression of PEPCK and G6Pase genes. CRY1 promotes degradation of nuclear FOXO1 by promoting its binding to the ubiquitin E3 ligase MDM2. Although SREBP1c fails to upregulate CRY1 expression in db/db mice, overexpression of CRY1 attenuates hyperglycaemia through reduction of hepatic FOXO1 protein and gluconeogenic gene expression. These data suggest that insulin-activated SREBP1c downregulates gluconeogenesis through CRY1-mediated FOXO1 degradation and that dysregulation of hepatic SREBP1c-CRY1 signalling may contribute to hyperglycaemia in diabetic animals

A probabilistic threshold model: Analyzing semantic categorization data with the Rasch model

According to the Threshold Theory (Hampton, 1995, 2007) semantic categorization decisions come about through the placement of a threshold criterion along a dimension that represents items' similarity to the category representation. The adequacy of this theory is assessed by applying a formalization of the theory, known as the Rasch model (Rasch, 1960; Thissen & Steinberg, 1986), to categorization data for eight natural language categories and subjecting it to a formal test. In validating the model special care is given to its ability to account for inter- and intra-individual differences in categorization and their relationship with item typicality. Extensions of the Rasch model that can be used to uncover the nature of category representations and the sources of categorization differences are discussed

High-throughput characterization of HLA-E-presented CD94/NKG2x ligands reveals peptides which modulate NK cell activation

HLA-E is a non-classical class I MHC protein involved in innate and adaptive immune recognition. While recent studies have shown HLA-E can present diverse peptides to NK cells and T cells, the HLA-E repertoire recognized by CD94/NKG2x has remained poorly defined, with only a limited number of peptide ligands identified. Here we screen a yeast-displayed peptide library in the context of HLA-E to identify 500 high-confidence unique peptides that bind both HLA-E and CD94/NKG2A or CD94/NKG2C. Utilizing the sequences identified via yeast display selections, we train prediction algorithms and identify human and cytomegalovirus (CMV) proteome-derived, HLA-E-presented peptides capable of binding and signaling through both CD94/NKG2A and CD94/NKG2C. In addition, we identify peptides which selectively activate NKG2C+ NK cells. Taken together, characterization of the HLA-E-binding peptide repertoire and identification of NK activity-modulating peptides present opportunities for studies of NK cell regulation in health and disease, in addition to vaccine and therapeutic design

Neutral and Oxidized Triisopropylsilyl End-Capped Oligothienoacenes: A Combined Electrochemical, Spectroscopic, and Theoretical Study

This work presents an analysis of the structural, electrochemical, and optical properties of a family of triisopropylsilyl end-capped oligothienoacenes (TIPS- T n -TIPS, n =4–8) by combining cyclic voltammetry, spectroscopic techniques, and quantum-chemical calculations. TIPS- T n -TIPS compounds form stable radical cations, and dications are only obtained for the longest oligomers ( n =7 and 8). Oxidation leads to the quinoidization of the conjugated backbone, from which electrons are mainly extracted. The absorption and fluorescence spectra show partially resolved vibronic structures even at room temperature, due to the rigid molecular geometry. Two well-resolved vibronic progressions are observed at low temperatures due to the vibronic coupling, with normal modes showing wavenumbers of ≈1525 and ≈480 14cm −1 . Optical absorption bands display remarkable bathochromic dispersion with the oligomer length, indicative of the extent of Π conjugation. The optical properties of the oxidized compounds are characterized by in situ UV/Vis/NIR spectroelectrochemistry. The radical cation species show two intense absorption bands emerging at energies lower than in the neutral compounds. The formation of the dication is only detected for the heptamer and the octamer, and shows a new band at intermediate energies. Optical data are interpreted with the help of density functional theory calculations performed at the B3LYP/6-31G** level, both for the neutral and the oxidized compounds.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75765/1/5481_ftp.pd