Lack of Cross-Reactivity Allergy Following a Switch from Alirocumab to Evolocumab

The proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) gene and gain-of-function mutations were first described in 2003. The gain-of-function mutations observed were associated with low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in the 400’s, in addition to premature cardiovascular disease. Subsequent loss-of-function experiments conducted in mice demonstrated marked reductions in plasma cholesterol levels in the absence of PCSK9. Physiologically, PCSK9 serves as a chaperone protein and functions to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor recycling; consequently, less LDL-C is removed from circulation and serum lipid concentrations become elevated. Inhibition of PCSK9 prevents LDL receptor degradation and preserves receptor recycling to the hepatocyte surface; this in turn results in reduced LDL-C levels. We report a lack of cross-sensitivity following the administration of evolocumab after an allergic reaction to alirocumab

Australian Undergraduate IT Curricula: Employer Perspectives

This research paper outlines our research approach relating to analysing current trends within Australian undergraduate BIT curricula. With a variety of data collection techniques, we seek to address a knowledge gap in the literature through identifying the strengths and challenges facing university curricula. Closing the education-employment gap requires the involvement of all stakeholder groups (academics, employers, and students) (Trauth et al, 1993). We develop an educational matrix based on the information literacy framework and the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). Secondary data collection is conducted from a range of NSW BIT core units to map against this framework, as well as conducting pilot interviews with selected employers to gain a better understanding of the current curriculum and the needs of the employers. The outcome of this research will enable current educational sectors to improve the tertiary education curriculum, with a view towards increasing employability rates post-graduation, which may be generalizable to other nations

Resilience, Agency and Coping with Hardship : Evidence from Europe during the Great Recession

© Cambridge University Press 2018This paper aims to contribute to the growing literature on resilience by focusing on coping with hardship during the Great Recession, drawing upon primary data gathered through household and key informant interviews in nine European countries. As the resilience approach highlights agency, the paper examines the nature of household responses to hardship during this period on the basis of the ‘structure-agency problem’. An important contribution of this paper is to identify different forms of agency and discuss their implications. More specifically, we conceptualise three different types of agency in coping with hardship: absorptive, adaptive and transformative. Analysis of the findings indicates that structural constraints remain prominent. Most coping mechanisms fall under the category of absorptive and adaptive agency characterised here as burden-bearing actions that ‘conform’ to changing circumstances rather than shaping those circumstances.Peer reviewe

Serendipity in Entrepreneurship, Strategy, and Innovation—A Review and Conceptualisation

Serendipity is at the core of many innovationsInnovation, inventions, and entrepreneurial opportunities. However, despite its importance for organisations and individuals alike, research on the dimensions and antecedents of serendipity is surprisingly scarce. In this chapter, Christian Busch and Matthew Grimes review and synthesize research on serendipity in the entrepreneurshipEntrepreneurship, strategyStrategy, and innovationInnovation context, and suggest a novel conceptualisation of the processProcess of (cultivating) serendipity. They thereby provide the reader with a thorough and wide-ranging view of how serendipity has come into the fore in the field of organization and management, but also what possibilities it opens up for understanding and creating the conditionsConditions for entrepreneurial success. They advance a processProcess-oriented model of serendipity that serves as a basis to elaborate factors that increase the chancesChance for serendipitous encounters and how to capitalize on them. Amongst those, Busch and Grimes distinguish between individual (including reframing, extrovertedness and perseverance) and organizational factors (including systematic evaluations, iteration and team-based collaboration). Their paper, thereby, advances the conceptual understanding of serendipity as much as a theory of how to transfer this understanding successfully into the entrepreneurial context

Strong Lensing Model of SPT-CLJ0356-5337, a Major Merger Candidate at Redshift 1.0359

We present an analysis of the mass distribution inferred from strong lensing by SPT-CL J0356-5337, a cluster of galaxies at redshift z = 1.0359 revealed in the follow-up of the SPT-SZ clusters. The cluster has an Einstein radius of Erad=14 for a source at z = 3 and a mass within 500 kpc of M_500kpc = 4.0+-0.8x10^14Msol. Our spectroscopic identification of three multiply-imaged systems (z = 2.363, z = 2.364, and z = 3.048), combined with HST F606W-band imaging allows us to build a strong lensing model for this cluster with an rms of <0.3'' between the predicted and measured positions of the multiple images. Our modeling reveals a two-component mass distribution in the cluster. One mass component is dominated by the brightest cluster galaxy and the other component, separated by ~170 kpc, contains a group of eight red elliptical galaxies confined in a ~9'' (~70 kpc) diameter circle. We estimate the mass ratio between the two components to be between 1:1.25 and 1:1.58. In addition, spectroscopic data reveal that these two near-equal mass cores have only a small velocity difference of 300 km/s between the two components. This small radial velocity difference suggests that most of the relative velocity takes place in the plane of the sky, and implies that SPT-CL J0356-5337 is a major merger with a small impact parameter seen face-on. We also assess the relative contributions of galaxy-scale halos to the overall mass of the core of the cluster and find that within 800 kpc from the brightest cluster galaxy about 27% of the total mass can be attributed to visible and dark matter associated with galaxies, whereas only 73% of the total mass in the core comes from cluster-scale dark matter halos.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures. Submitted to Ap

Understanding, characterizing, and communicating responses to ocean acidification : challenges and uncertainties

Author Posting. © The Oceanography Society, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of The Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 28, no. 2 (2015): 30-39, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2015.29.Over the past decade, ocean acidification (OA) has emerged as a major concern in ocean science. The field of OA is based on certainties—uptake of carbon dioxide into the global ocean alters its carbon chemistry, and many marine organisms, especially calcifiers, are sensitive to this change. However, the field must accommodate uncertainties about the seriousness of these impacts as it synthesizes and draws conclusions from multiple disciplines. There is pressure from stakeholders to expeditiously inform society about the extent to which OA will impact marine ecosystems and the people who depend on them. Ultimately, decisions about actions related to OA require evaluating risks about the likelihood and magnitude of these impacts. As the scientific literature accumulates, some of the uncertainty related to single-species sensitivity to OA is diminishing. Difficulties remain in scaling laboratory results to species and ecosystem responses in nature, though modeling exercises provide useful insight. As recognition of OA grows, scientists’ ability to communicate the certainties and uncertainties of our knowledge on OA is crucial for interaction with decision makers. In this regard, there are a number of valuable practices that can be drawn from other fields, especially the global climate change community. A generally accepted set of best practices that scientists follow in their discussions of uncertainty would be helpful for the community engaged in ocean acidification.NOAA Ocean Acidification Program and National Marine Fisheries Service (DSB, MP), NSF-supported Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making (SCD), and NASA Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry Program (SS)

Impact of Study Skills and Parent Education on First-Year GPA Among College Students With and Without ADHD: A Moderated Mediation Model

Objective: To test if the relationship between ADHD and academic achievement is mediated by service utilization and/or study skills, and if these mediation effects are moderated by parental education level. Method: A bootstrapping method within structural equation modeling was used with data from 355 first year college students meeting strict criteria for ADHD or clearly without ADHD to test the mediation and moderation effects. Results: Study skills, but not service utilization, significantly mediated the relationship between ADHD status and GPA; however, this relationship was not significant among students with at least one parent holding a master’s degree or higher. Conclusion: Among first year college students study skills may be a more salient predictor of educational outcomes relative to ADHD status. Additional research into support services for college students with ADHD is needed, however, results suggest interventions targeting study skills may hold particular promise for these students

Structural Features of Patients with Drusen-like Deposits and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Background: The relevance of drusen-like deposits (DLD) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is to a large extent uncertain. Their genesis is proposed to be correlated to immune-complex and complement depositions in the framework of SLE. The intention of this study was to determine potential morphological differences in the choroid and retina as well as potential microvascular changes comparing two cohorts of SLE patients divergent in the presence or absence of DLD using multimodal imaging. Methods: Both eyes of 16 SLE patients with DLD were compared to an age- and sex-matched control-group consisting of 16 SLE patients without detectable DLD. Both cohorts were treated with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and did not differ in the treatment duration or dosage. Using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) choroidal volume measures, choroidal vascularity indices (CVI) and retinal layer segmentation was performed and compared. In addition, by the exploitation of optical coherence tomography angiography vascular density, perfusion density of superficial and deep retinal capillary plexuses and the choriocapillaris were analyzed. For the choroidal OCT-scans, a subset of 51 healthy individuals served as a reference-group. Results: CVI measures revealed a significant reduction in eyes with DLD compared to healthy controls (0.56 (0.54–0.59) versus 0.58 (0.57–0.59) (p = 0.018) and 0.56 (0.54–0.58) versus 0.58 (0.57–0.60) (p < 0.001)). The photoreceptor cell layer presented significant thinning in both eyes of subjects with DLD compared to control subjects without DLD (68.8 ± 7.7 µm vs. 77.1 ± 7.3 µm for right eyes, p = 0.008, and 66.5 ± 10.5 µm vs. 76.1 ± 6.3 µm for left eyes, p = 0.011). OCTA scans revealed no significant changes, yet there could be observed numerically lower values in the capillary plexuses of the retina in eyes with DLD than in eyes without DLD. Conclusions: Our results illustrated significant alterations in the choroidal and retinal analyzes, suggesting a correlation between DLD and the progression of inflammatory processes in the course of SLE leading to retinal degeneration. For this reason, DLD could serve as a biomarker for a more active state of disease