Virtue Ethics in the Works of Iris Murdoch and Flannery O\u27Connor

This panel presents several research papers written for a course in Literary Criticism. This course studied the relationship of Virtue Ethics to philosophy, connecting this relationship to the fiction writings of Iris Murdoch and Flannery O\u27Conner

Genetic background influences the 5XFAD Alzheimer\u27s disease mouse model brain proteome.

There is an urgent need to improve the translational validity of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) mouse models. Introducing genetic background diversity in AD mouse models has been proposed as a way to increase validity and enable the discovery of previously uncharacterized genetic contributions to AD susceptibility or resilience. However, the extent to which genetic background influences the mouse brain proteome and its perturbation in AD mouse models is unknown. In this study, we crossed the 5XFAD AD mouse model on a C57BL/6J (B6) inbred background with the DBA/2J (D2) inbred background and analyzed the effects of genetic background variation on the brain proteome in F1 progeny. Both genetic background and 5XFAD transgene insertion strongly affected protein variance in the hippocampus and cortex (n = 3,368 proteins). Protein co-expression network analysis identified 16 modules of highly co-expressed proteins common across the hippocampus and cortex in 5XFAD and non- transgenic mice. Among the modules strongly influenced by genetic background were those related to small molecule metabolism and ion transport. Modules strongly influenced by the 5XFAD transgene were related to lysosome/stress responses and neuronal synapse/signaling. The modules with the strongest relationship to human disease—neuronal synapse/signaling and lysosome/stress response—were not significantly influenced by genetic background. However, other modules in 5XFAD that were related to human disease, such as GABA synaptic signaling and mitochondrial membrane modules, were influenced by genetic background. Most disease-related modules were more strongly correlated with AD genotype in the hippocampus compared with the cortex. Our findings suggest that the genetic diversity introduced by crossing B6 and D2 inbred backgrounds influences proteomic changes related to disease in the 5XFAD model, and that proteomic analysis of other genetic backgrounds in transgenic and knock-in AD mouse models is warranted to capture the full range of molecular heterogeneity in genetically diverse models of AD

Sorghum-Sudangrass Production Guide

Sudex is a warm-season forage crop that performs well in Utah’s dry climate due to its drought tolerance. It can be especially useful during drought years or when irrigation supplies are limited. As well as being a high-quality feed, Sudex has many benefits, including weed suppression and soil-building properties. Although there are concerns for prussic acid and nitrate poisoning, these concerns can be reduced and often eliminated with proper management. This fact sheet provides information to producers about using Sudex and best production practices. Much of the information may also apply to forage sorghum and a few of the major differences will be noted throughout

A delayed injection-site reaction in a patient receiving extended-release naltrexone

BACKGROUND: Pharmacotherapy, such as oral naltrexone, has proven effective in treating alcohol use disorder, although medication adherence has presented challenges. Although a formulation of extended-release naltrexone for intramuscular injection has been developed to counter daily adherence issues, injection-site reactions can occur within days of depot injection. CASE: The authors report a case of an individual with alcohol use disorder who had a previously undescribed delayed injection-site reaction that occurred 11 days after injection. Subsequent challenge with the medication resulted in recurrence of the reaction. DISCUSSION: Although extended-release naltrexone is generally well tolerated, injection-site reactions can complicate treatment and can appear more than 10 days after medication administration

Concert recording 2016-04-03

[Track 01]. Fanfare pour précéder \u27La Péri\u27 / Paul Dukas -- [Track 02]. French dances revisted. I ; [Track 03]. II ; [Track 04]. III ; [Track 05]. IV ; [Track 06]. V ; [Track 07]. VI / Adam Gorb -- [Track 08]. Danses sacrée et profane / Claude Debussy -- [Track 09]. Dance mix / Rob Smith

Factors associated with willingness to take extended release naltrexone among injection drug users

BACKGROUND: Although opioid-agonist therapy with methadone or buprenorphine/naloxone is currently the mainstay of medical treatment for opioid use disorder, these medications often are not well accepted or tolerated by patients. Recently, extended release naltrexone (XR-NTX), an opioid antagonist, has been advanced as an alternative treatment. The willingness of opioid-addicted patients to take XR-NTX has not been well described. METHODS: Opioid-using persons enrolled in a community-recruited cohort in Vancouver, Canada, were asked whether or not they would be willing to take XR-NTX. Logistic regression was used to independently identify factors associated with willingness to take the medication. RESULTS: Among the 657 participants surveyed between June 1, 2013, and November 30, 2013, 342 (52.1%) were willing to take XR-NTX. One factor positively associated with willingness was daily heroin injection (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.53; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02–2.31), whereas Caucasian ethnicity was negatively associated (AOR = 0.59; 95% CI = 0.43–0.82). Satisfaction with agonist therapy (13.4%) and unwillingness to stop opioids being used for pain (26.9%) were the most common reasons for being unwilling to take XR-NTX. CONCLUSIONS: A high level of willingness to take XR-NTX was observed in this setting. Interestingly, daily injection heroin use was positively associated with willingness, whereas Caucasian participants were less willing to take XR-NTX. Although explanations for unwillingness were described in this study, further research is needed to investigate real-world acceptability of XR-NTX as an additional option for the treatment of opioid use disorder

Measuring coordination and integration in chronic disease care: tailoring evaluation tools for North Shore Chronic Disease Services

Measuring coordination and integration within and between programs in chronic care is an evaluation strategy underutilized in health care. North Shore Chronic Disease Services (NSCDS) is an example of a coordinated approach to chronic disease care in British Columbia. In 2009, NSCDS planned a comprehensive evaluation strategy, including a tool to measure coordination and integration between and within acute, chronic and community programs. This paper extrapolates from this section of evaluation work and proposes a tailored, quantitative evaluation tool to measure the actual degree of coordination and integration of NSCDS to other community programs. The process of tailoring this tool is presented and the implications for population and public health practice in relation to chronic disease management and program evaluation are also discussed

HIGHER CONCENTRATION OF Fe LEADS TO HISTONE MODIFICATION IN COMMON BEAN TISSUE

INTRODUCTION Over more than 100 years agricultural scientists all over the world have developed high yielding crop varieties to meet the energy demand of increasing population. However the nutritional qualities have not been given priorities as a result world is facing with serious malnutrition problem. Two of the most prominent deficiencies affecting the world are of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn). Among others Fe is vital in building proteins of red blood cells, whereas Zn is essential in cellular growth and development. Epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone modification, and small interfering RNA (sRNA) regulate the transcription of DNA in living organisms (He et al. 2011). It has been reported that the abiotic and biotic stresses such as changes in temperature, pests, drought, disease, and the concentration of minerals and metals in the surrounding soil are involved with the changes in epigenetic and transcriptomic components (Hu et al. 2012) in plant. The long-terms goals of our work are to identify the epigenetic and transcriptomic components involved in the acquisition and translocation of micronutrients in common bean. MATERIALS AND METHODS In our work, we applied higher concentrations of Fe to a common bean genotype G122 which was previously identified as a genotype that is highly responsive to elevated Fe and other health-related minerals (Bauduin et al. 2014). The treated and control plants were planted in 8.5”x11” pots filled with Sunshine Mix. The sunshine mix was kept soaked with water until germination. After germination we kept the clear saucers beneath the treated pot filled with a solution of Fe (200 mg-1L) until the leaves reached 50% senescence while the control plant continued to receive water. At 50% leaf senescence, the stems of the plants were harvested and chromatin and total histone were isolated using the Chromaflash Plant Chromatin Extraction Kit (P-2022) and Epiquik Total Extraction Kit (OP-0006) respectively (www.epigenetek.com). One hundred nanograms of total histone of treated and control samples were added into the wells of 20 H3 modification sites in duplication for identifying each of the 20 histone modification patterns. Following the procedure described in the EpiQuik Histone H3 Modification Multiplex Assay Kit (P-3100), the intensity of absorbance of the H3 modification sites was measured at 450 nm wavelength by a BioTek Microplate reader (Elx808). Using the formula (given below) provided by the EpiQuik Histone H3 Modification Multiplex Assay Kit, histone modifications for 20 of the 21 H3 modification sites were calculated in ng/μg of histone 3 protein and compared between treated and control stems and presented as fold change (Table. 1)

HIGHER CONTENT OF FE CAUSES DIFFERENTIAL GENE EXPRESSION IN COMMON BEAN

INTRODUCTION The insight into the complex processes of biological systems encoded by the plant and animal genome can be focused by studying the network of gene products (Pandy and Mann, 200) which are resulted from gene expression determined by the complex interactions among transcription factors, chromatin proteins, and epigenetic modifications. The long-term goals of our research are to understand the transcriptomic and epigenetic components involved in the translocation of health related micronutrients in common bean. Previously, we identified a common bean genotype highly responsive to higher concentration of Fe (Bauduin et al. 2014). In this work, we applied higher concentrations of Fe to a responsive common bean genotype and analyzed isolated proteins to identify differences in protein expression between treatments using SDS-PAGE and mass spectrometry. MATERIALS AND METHODS At Mayville State University, we grew three replications of the bean genotype (G122) with controls. We planted the seeds in 8.5’’x11’’ pots filled with “Sunshine Mix”. The sunshine mix was soaked with water until germination. After germination, we kept filling the plastic saucer beneath the treated plants’ pot with solutions of 150mg-1L and (200mg-1L) Fe until 50% leaf senescence, while the controls continued receiving water. After harvesting, seed samples were sent to a Proteomics laboratory at University Maryland College Park for SDS-PAGE and Mass Spectrometry analysis