Dissection of NCAD12: Distinctive Characteristics of Domains 1 and 2

The cadherin superfamily of cell surface adhesion molecules have long been recognized for their crucial roles in morphogenesis, and controlled growth and turnover in adult tissues. Neural cadherins (NCAD) are involved in the cell to cell adhesion of neural tissue. Neural cadherin molecules share a common structure with the members of its superfamily including an amino terminal extracellular region, a transmembrane region and a carboxyl-terminal cytoplasmic region. It contains five folded domains in its extracellular region that are seven strand B-barrel modules of the immunoglobulin type. These modular domains are then connected by a seven amino acid sequence known as linker regions. It has been reported that calcium binding and Domains 1 and 2 are essential to adhesion. Previous studies of Epithelial cadherin (ECAD) have characterized the stability as a function of temperature and denaturant concentration. Here, we report studies of the component modules of dissected NCAD 12: the extracellular domains individually (NCAD 1 and NCAD 2) and the two-Domain construct NCAD 12. Ultra violet (UV) spectra of all NCAD constructs were used to determine stock concentrations and molar extinctions coefficients. Thermal denaturation was monitored via circular dicroism (CD) in the presence and absence of calcium. Data showed a stable NCAD 1 with an uncharacteristically high melting temperature. NCAD 2 was very similar to ECAD 2 in that the core domain was quite stable and it is destabilized by the adjacent linker segments. Domain 2 constructs were stabilized by calcium. The primary melting transition for the two-Domain construct, NCAD 12, was similar to the melting transition for NCAD 2, indicating that the stability of the construct is dominated by that of Domain 2. However, NCAD 12 also showed the high temperature melting transition as seen for constructs containing Domain 1. This second transition makes data analysis problematic. Our studies indicate that formation of this “stable” species is reversible and independent of protein and calcium concentration

Using PROMs to guide patients and practitioners through the head and neck cancer journey

Simon N Rogers,1,2 Brittany Barber3 1Evidence-Based Practice Research Centre (EPRC), Faculty of Health and Social Care, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK; 2Regional Maxillofacial Unit, University Hospital Aintree, Liverpool, UK; 3Head and Neck Department, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (MSSM), New York, NY, USA Abstract: The measurement of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) following head and neck cancer (HNC) has the capacity to substantially enhance the care of patients and their care-givers following the diagnosis and treatment of HNC. Literature concerning PROMs has increased exponentially in the past 2 decades, producing a vast array of data upon which the multidisciplinary team can reflect. For this review, “Handle On QOL” has been used as a source of references to illustrate the points raised. PROMs are contextualized by considering the clinically-distinct key stages that cancer patients endure: diagnosis, treatment, acute toxicity, early recovery, late effects, recurrence, and palliation. The PROMs are considered in six main categories: 1) those addressing cornucopia of issues not specific to cancer; 2) those addressing issues common to all cancers; 3) questionnaires with items specific to HNC; 4) questionnaires that focus on a particular aspect of head and neck function; 5) those measuring psychological concerns, such as depression, anxiety, or self-esteem; and 6) item prompt lists. Potential benefits of PROMs in clinical practice are discussed, as are barriers to use. The way forward in integrating PROMs into routine HNC care is discussed with an emphasis on information technology. Keywords: patient reported outcomes, head and neck cancer, quality of life, multi-professiona

Motivating Students to Become Engaged Lifelong Readers

The intent of our study was to determine the effect of using daily silent reading, with teacher/student conferencing, on our student’s enjoyment and motivation for reading. The research study took place at a public elementary school, in second and fifth grade classrooms with 18 and 19 students. The sources of data included a Star Literacy Test, Reading Interest Questionnaire, Teacher/Student Conferencing Log, and Teacher Observation Checklist. The data revealed an increase in the majority of students’ reading levels, and in our student’s enjoyment of reading. The teacher observations also showed a significant decrease in student off –task behaviors during silent reading time. Therefore, we think silent reading with teacher/student conferencing shows lasting benefits in students’ reading abilities and motivation for reading. Due to the purposeful inclusion of silent reading with conferencing, our Action Research Plan demonstrates student growth with silent reading in the elementary classroo

The Effect of Bedslide Report on Patient Satisfaction

https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/student_scholarship_posters/1095/thumbnail.jp

A Comparison of Teachers Perceptions, Misconceptions, and Teaching of Students with Dyslexia

Teachers commonly work with students with dyslexia. They may not have been aware that the reason a student struggled with many academic tasks, was due to challenges with mental processing associated with the dyslexia. Dyslexia tends to be difficult to recognize. However, the commonly associated behaviors such as acting out, withdrawing, or simply trying and failing are readily noticeable. Because of the hidden nature of dyslexia, many teachers may attribute students’ lack of academic success to other easily explainable issues, such as attention deficit disorder or issues with family function. Students’ academic and potentially life-long success, could be influenced by the lack of teacher awareness or ability to recognize the executive functioning issues of students with dyslexia. Thus, there is a need for teachers at all levels to understand what dyslexia is, hold accurate conceptions of dyslexia, and know how to effectively support the learning of students with dyslexia. Given the critical role teachers play in working with students with dyslexia and the potential teachers have to support or hinder students long term success, there is warrant for examining the perceptions, attitudes, misconceptions, and practice of teachers working with students with dyslexia

Antibiotic Stewardship Among Primary Care Providers In Mississippi

The World Health Organization states antimicrobial resistance is the ability of a microorganism to stop an antimicrobial from working which results in ineffective treatment and persistent infections. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2017) reported that in the year 2015, 269.4 million antibiotic prescriptions were written in the outpatient setting, and approximately 30% of antibiotics written are unwarranted. Of those cases, most patients receive an antibiotic related to acute uncomplicated bronchitis, pharyngitis, or rhinosinusitis. The CDC reported that Americans spend nearly $11 billion yearly on antibiotics alone. However, up to 50% of all antibiotics prescribed are not indicated or optimally effective which eventually leads to resistance. Antibiotic resistant infections are associated with loss of productivity, poorer health outcomes, and greater healthcare costs. The CDC launched The Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work campaign in 2003 which aimed to direct appropriate antibiotic use (CDC, 2017). Within this campaign, the CDC provides outpatient regarding condition, epidemiology, diagnosis, and management for providers to follow for appropriate prescription. The purpose of this study was to determine if primary care providers in Mississippi are following the CDC Adult Treatment Recommendations for antibiotic use in the treatment of acute uncomplicated bronchitis, streptococcal pharyngitis, and acute unspecified pharyngitis (CDC, 2016). The researchers collected data in six rural clinics across Mississippi. This study consisted of a quantitative, retrospective chart review with descriptive statistics. A convenience sampling of 582 charts were obtained for the retrospective review. For data collection, the researchers used a data collection tool which included information related to age, gender, insurance, title o f provider, and diagnoses related to the current research and CDC Adult Treatment Recommendations. Prior to conducting the study, consent was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the Mississippi University for Women. After data collection, data were subjected to analyses using descriptive statistics including, but not limited to, frequency, distributions, and percentages. The findings suggested that primary care providers in Mississippi are not consistently following the CDC Adult Treatment Recommendations for acute pharyngitis and uncomplicated bronchitis

Degradation of Spacesuit Fabrics in Low Earth Orbit

Six samples of pristine and dust-abraded outer layer spacesuit fabrics were included in the Materials International Space Station Experiment-7, in which they were exposed to the wake-side low Earth orbit environment on the International Space Station (ISS) for 18 months in order to determine whether abrasion by lunar dust increases radiation degradation. The fabric samples were characterized using optical microscopy, optical spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and tensile testing before and after exposure on the ISS. Comparison of pre- and post-flight characterizations showed that the environment darkened and reddened all six fabrics, increasing their integrated solar absorptance by 7 to 38 percent. There was a decrease in the ultimate tensile strength and elongation to failure of lunar dust abraded Apollo spacesuit fibers by a factor of four and an increase in the elastic modulus by a factor of two

Your space or mine? : Mapping self in time

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Consequences of Intraspecific Variation in Seed Dispersal for Plant Demography, Communities, Evolution and Global Change

As the single opportunity for plants to move, seed dispersal has an important impact on plant fitness, species distributions and patterns of biodiversity. However, models that predict dynamics such as risk of extinction, range shifts and biodiversity loss tend to rely on the mean value of parameters and rarely incorporate realistic dispersal mechanisms. By focusing on the mean population value, variation among individuals or variability caused by complex spatial and temporal dynamics is ignored. This calls for increased efforts to understand individual variation in dispersal and integrate it more explicitly into population and community models involving dispersal. However, the sources, magnitude and outcomes of intraspecific variation in dispersal are poorly characterized, limiting our understanding of the role of dispersal in mediating the dynamics of communities and their response to global change. In this manuscript, we synthesize recent research that examines the sources of individual variation in dispersal and emphasize its implications for plant fitness, populations and communities. We argue that this intraspecific variation in seed dispersal does not simply add noise to systems, but, in fact, alters dispersal processes and patterns with consequences for demography, communities, evolution and response to anthropogenic changes. We conclude with recommendations for moving this field of research forward