A Case Report of Folie\u27a Deux: Husband-and-Wife

Shared paranoid disorder is a relatively rare psychiatric disorder in which paranoid delusions are transferred from one individual to one or more other susceptible person(s) in close association. Folie a deux describes a shared paranoid disorder involving two people and is characterized by a complex dependant relationship between the involved individuals. Provided there is no additional underlying psychopathology, there is a good prognosis for the submissive partner. Here we present a case report and discussion off folie a deux involving a husband and wife. Although folie a deux is a relatively uncommon disorder, it is important to recognize such cases due to the potential for recovery in the submissive partner

Genetically modified IFN-alpha for gene therapy treatment of squamous cell carcinoma

In the last twenty years, interferon-α (IFN-α) has gained success as an immunotherapy for treating such cancers as hairy cell leukemia, malignant melanoma, and renal cell cancer. Our goal was to improve the effectiveness of IFN-α therapy by genetically modified the IFN-α gene to encode a tumor-targeting peptide fused to a functional IFN-α protein. To ensure the targeting peptide worked, a genetically modified reporter gene encoding a secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) gene and different mini-peptides were used to determine distribution and targeting ability. The DNA fragment encoding the most effective peptide was selected to modify the IFN-α gene construct for therapeutic trials. This fusion gene encoded the peptide with the amino acid sequence of C-D-G-R-C, and demonstrated a higher localization of the genetically modified gene product in the tumor local area. Tumor volume and animal survival was measured over several weeks to compare the anti-tumor effects of the IFN-α to CDGRC-IFN-α treatments. Results indicate an increase in therapeutic efficacy due to treatment with the CDGRC-IFN-α gene over the wild-type IFN-α gene. Flow cytometry was performed and it was determined that both of the tumor targeted gene products, CDGRC-SEAP and CNGRC-SEAP share a high affinity for the receptor, Aminopeptidase N (CD13). In order to determine the mechanism responsible for the enhanced anti-tumor effect by CDGRC-IFN-α gene therapy, the T cell infiltration, subsequent CTL activity, and tumor vessel density were confirmed through immunostaining. An increase in number of CD8+ T cells was seen, as well as an increase in activity of cytotoxic T cells. Decreased vessel density in CDGRC-IFN-α treated animals suggest that this therapy enhanced anti-angiogenisis. A high level of non-specific activity was detected in the CTL assay, suggesting involvement of other immune cells, such as NK cells. Overall, this study describes the first example of using a genetically modified immunostimulatory gene encoding tumor-targeted IFN-α for treating tumors. This novel concept may have the potential for increasing therapeutic efficacy of several current cancer treatments

Stabilizing the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) by nucleotide derivative binding to promote proper folding

Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to [email protected], referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 11).Seventy percent of people who suffer from cystic fibrosis have a cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene on chromosome 7 that contains a three base-pair deletion of phenylalanine at position 508, in a nucleotide binding domain called NBD1. Nucleotide binding domain one (wild-type) was expressed in protein aggregates, or inclusion bodies, from a plasmid in Escherichia coli. It was then purified on a nickel histidine-binding column and refolded. A fluorescence emission spectra wavelength scan was run on the protein that yielded a []max of 330nm for the native state of NBD1 and a []max of 346nm for the denatured state. The biggest difference between the two curves was at 225nm so this wavelength was chosen to follow unfolding. Monitoring the denaturation of NBD1 with fluorescence at this wavelength will give a characteristic curve that can be used for comparison with binding ligands to the mutant phenylalanine 508 deficient form in order to find any stabilizing effects that promote proper folding

Estimating Errors: the Politics of Environmental Impact Assessment Along the Savannah River

In this dissertation research, I investigate three interrelated conflicts which emerged as part of an environmental impact assessment along the Savannah River in the late 1990s: a controversial plan to improve water quality through supplemental oxygen injection; a lengthy struggle over federal funding policies that constrained efforts to address scientific uncertainty; and an entrenched refusal to investigate human health risks from air toxics at the Port of Savannah. In each of these conflicts, I trace the dismantling of controversy, investigating how, and with what effect, the slow and tedious work of building consensus has reshaped the governance of the lower Savannah River. Drawing on extensive archival and ethnographic work in Savannah, Georgia, I find that different constitutions, manipulations, and deployments of space--in the form of habitat suitability maps or containerized cargo forecast projections--enabled long-standing and intensified controversies to be channeled into consensus. In doing so, I argue that environmental impact assessment in Savannah is aimed at constituting the city and the river as sites of both modern industrial port operations and sleepy, moss-covered, bucolic Southern landscapes, in a tension-filled effort to remain articulated with both the tremendous flows of financial capital from global shipping and historic tourism that converge on the city. First, my analysis of efforts to improve water quality through supplemental oxygen highlights the intricate spatial arrangements necessary to make these efforts work. Next, my study of adaptive management politics reveals the ways in which memory and its material traces erode institutional risk-aversion, opening new opportunities for better resource management and increased ecological resilience. Lastly, my investigation of air toxics at the Port of Savannah reveals how different constructions of space are combined, intersected, and overlapped in ways that erase human health risks and construct compliance with federal environmental justice policy. Taken together, these conflicts suggest that space serves as a strategic resource in environmental impact assessments, contributing to how problems get defined and solutions get proposed. Further, this research underlines the need for greater attention to the active role of spatial constructs--boundaries, networks, scales, or pathways--in environmental impact assessment practice and policy

The Impact of a Narrative Informed Intervention on Career Decision Self-Efficacy and Occupational Engagement

This study investigates the contribution of the narrative approach to career counseling that addresses the changing nature of work facing those seeking career services. To analyze this, 84 students in a career exploration course were divided between those who received the treatment as it had been done in the past and those who received the treatment plus the narrative perspective and interventions. A repeated measures ANOVA was performed and found a significant effect across time but no significant interaction effects. This did not confirm either of the hypotheses that the narrative additions would significantly increase above that of the treatment-as-usual group: a) the students' occupational engagement as measured by the OES or b) the students' career decision self-efficacy as measured by the CDSE scale. This study raises awareness for the need of further investigations into the narrative and other constructivist perspectives in career counseling

Prosthetic Body Parts in Literature and Culture, 1832 to 1908

Covering the years 1832 to 1908, a period that saw significant development in prosthetic technologies—in particular artificial legs, teeth, and eyes—this thesis explores representations of prostheses in British and American nineteenth- and early twentieth-century literature and culture. By considering prosthetic devices such as wooden legs and hook hands alongside artificial body parts that are often overlooked in terms of their status as prostheses, such as wigs and dentures, this thesis is the first to examine holistically the varied and complex attitudes displayed towards attempts to efface bodily loss in this period. Lennard J. Davis has shown how the concept of physical normalcy, against which bodily difference is defined, gained cultural momentum in the nineteenth century as bodily statistics emerged onto the scene (Enforcing Normalcy). This thesis builds on Davis’s work by considering other historical factors that contributed to the rise of physical normalcy, a concept that I show was buttressed by an understanding of the “healthy body” as “whole”. Like Davis, I also explore the denigration of physical difference that such a rise encouraged. The prosthesis industry, which saw tremendous development in the nineteenth century, cashed in on the increasing mandate for physical normalcy. However, as this thesis shows—and where it breaks new ground—while contemporary journalism and advertising often lauded the accomplishments of an emerging group of professional prosthesis makers, fiction tended to provide the other side of the picture, revealing the stereotypes, stigma, scepticism, inadequacies, and injustices attached to the use and dissemination of prosthetic devices. I argue that Victorian prosthesis narratives complicated the hegemony of normalcy that Davis has shown emerged in this period. Showing how representations of the prostheticised body were inflected significantly by factors such as social class, gender, and age, this thesis argues that nineteenth-century prosthesis narratives, though presented in a predominantly ableist manner, challenged the dominance of physical completeness as they either questioned the logic of prostheticisation or presented non-normative subjects in threateningly powerful ways.AHR

Prototyping of the ILC Baseline Positron Target

The ILC positron system uses novel helical undulators to create a powerful photon beam from the main electron beam. This beam is passed through a titanium target to convert it into electron-positron pairs. The target is constructed as a 1 m diameter wheel spinning at 2000 RPM to smear the 1 ms ILC pulse train over 10 cm. A pulsed flux concentrating magnet is used to increase the positron capture efficiency. It is cooled to liquid nitrogen temperatures to maximize the flatness of the magnetic field over the 1 ms ILC pulse train. We report on prototyping effort on this system.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, Proceedings of the International Workshop on Future Linear Colliders, Granada Spain, 26-30 September 201

Development of a fluorescence-based protease biosensor using nanoscale platforms

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on May 23, 2011).Thesis advisors: Dr. Sheila A. Grant, Dr. Shubhra Gangopadhyay.Ph. D. University of Missouri--Columbia 2010.The development of a protease biosensor utilizing nanomaterials is presented in this dissertation. Peptide substrates and nanomaterial platforms were investigated to increase the sensitivity and response time for the detection of protease analytes. Nano-sized platforms, including nanoparticles and nanofibers, offer the advantage of a higher surface area-to-volume ratio contributing to increased immobilization points and a capability of an enhance signal output. Nanoparticles (Silica Nanoparticles, Quantum Dots, and Gold Nanoparticles) in solution and solid surface (Polymer) nanofibers were tested with immobilized peptide substrates that contained fluorophores to acquire fluorescence for signal transduction. A full characterization was accomplished through a variety of optical characterization techniques and an optimized protocol has been developed for each of the sensing systems. The results from these studies are reported for each of the sensing platforms with response to protease analytesIncludes bibliographical reference