Importance of heterogeneity in Porhyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide lipid A in tissue specific inflammatory signaling

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Porphyromonas gingivalis exists in at least two known forms, O-LPS and A-LPS. A-LPS shows heterogeneity in which two isoforms designated LPS1435/1449 and LPS1690 appear responsible for tissue specific immune signalingpathways activation and increased virulence. The modification of lipid A to tetra-acylated1435/1449 and/or penta-acylated1690 fatty acids indicates poor growth conditions and bioavailability of hemin. Hemin protects P. gingivalis from serum resistance and the lipid A serves as a site for its binding. The LPS1435/1449 and LPS1690 isoforms can produce opposite effects on the human Toll-like receptors (TLR) TLR 2 and TLR 4 activation. This enabless P. gingivalis to select the conditions for its entry, survival and that of its co-habiting species in the host, orchestrating its virulence to control innate immune pathway activation and biofilm dysbiosis. Thismini review describes a number of effects that LPS1435/1449 and LPS1690 can exert on the host tissues such as deregulation of the innate immune system, subversion of host cell autophagy, regulation of outer membrane vesicle production and adverse effects on pregnancy outcome. The ability to change its LPS1435/1449 and/or LPS1690 composition may enables P. gingivalis to paralyze local pro-inflammatory cytokine production, thereby gaining access to its primary location in periodontal tissue

Genome-Wide Analyses Reveal a Role for Peptide Hormones in Planarian Germline Development

Genomic/peptidomic analyses of the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea identifies >200 neuropeptides and uncovers a conserved neuropeptide required for proper maturation and maintenance of the reproductive system

Exploring capability maturity models and relevant practices as solutions addressing information technology service offshoring project issues

This research investigated Capability Maturity Models (CMM) / Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) best practices and their effects on managing and mitigating critical issues associated with offshore development. Using a web-based survey, data was collected from 451 Information Technology and software development firms in the US. The results of the analysis show that IT companies applying CMM/CMMI models have fewer issues associated with IT offshoring. When US IT companies utilizing and incorporating different practices from TSP and People-CMM into CMMI-DEV/SVC and CMMI-ACQ, they have fewer offshoring issues related to language barriers and cultural differences

Temporal patterns and types of sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) codas in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: a metadata analysis

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 (leaves 107-116).Issued also on microfiche from Lange Micrographics.Variation in sperm whale codas, short rhythmic series of clicks, was examined across annual, seasonal, and time-of-day temporal categories. Recordings were made from towed linear arrays during two-week seasonal cruises of the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) spanning May 1992 - August 1994 and October 1996 - August 1997. Archived sperm whale vocalizations were randomly sampled posthoc and codas were classified by the number and temporal pattern of their clicks: Short ([] 5 clicks) versus Long ([] 6 clicks), as well as Regular (equally-spaced clicks), Variable (unevenly-spaced clicks), and Plus-one (double intervals between the last two clicks). A total of 842 codas were analyzed, comprising 17 different coda types. The high number of Regular codas across all years and the lack of consistently significant temporal variation in codas suggest that a resident population of animals inhabits the NGOM. The high percentage of shared coda types between the Caribbean and NGOM may indicate movement of whales between these two regions. More codas (predominantly Long and Variable) were heard during 1996, compared to a greater diversity of coda types during 1997. In 1996, cows and calves were aggregated near the Mouth of the Mississippi River (MOM) and in 1997, whales were found in loose associations over DeSoto Canyon and in the presence of dolphins. More Plus-one codas were found during Spring than Fall, as were more Regular and Short codas recorded in Summer than Fall. During Spring, groups were concentrated near the MOM, and in Summer whales were sparsely distributed across broad areas. High diversity of coda types as well as the abundance of Long and Variable codas is likely related to crepuscular peaks observed in foraging activity and a three-hour cycle associated with deep diving. The proximate differences observed between temporal scales may be attributed to variation in oceanographic conditions affecting the spatial distribution and abundance of sperm whales as well as to contextual differences in behavior. Further research involving more acoustic data as well as comparisons with photo-identification, genetic, and behavioral information are needed to further corroborate the variation observed

Writing About Politics

Curtis Wilkie, moderato

Innovative Food Tourism Development Strategies for Sustainability on American Indian Reservations

The goal of this project is to enhance the economic sustainability of agricultural production in Southwest Indian Country through food/agritourism enterprise and supply chain development. This strategy takes advantage of increasing traveler demand for local and heritage foods and activities and the need to diversify Southwest agriculture to increase its resiliency to climate change. Project objectives include assessing tourism behaviors and motivations, assessing the production and marketing needs of tribal food producers, and evaluating various models for incorporating food/agritourism into current operations. Project outcomes will increase business opportunities for tribal members and strengthen tribal economies while preserving traditional tribal customs and knowledge

Prevalence of Phantom Scanning in Cardiac Arrest and Trauma Resuscitations: The Scary Truth

Background: The prevalence of phantom scanning, or point of care ultrasound (POCUS) performed without saving images, has not been well studied. Phantom scanning can negatively affect patient care, reduce billed revenue, and can increase medicolegal liability. We sought to quantify and compare the prevalence of phantom scanning among emergency department (ED) cardiac arrests and trauma resuscitations. Methods: This was a single center, retrospective cohort study from July 1, 2019, to July 1, 2021, of all occurrences of POCUS examination documented on the resuscitation run sheet during cardiac arrest and trauma resuscitations. Two investigators reviewed the run sheets to screen for POCUS documentation. Instances where documentation was present were matched with saved images in the picture archiving and communication system. Instances where documentation was present but no images could be located were considered phantom scans. A two-tailed student’s t test was utilized to compare the phantom scanning rate between cardiac arrest and trauma resuscitations. Results: A total of 1,862 patients were included in the study period, with 329 cardiac arrests and 401 trauma resuscitations having run sheet documentation of POCUS performance. The phantom scanning rate in cardiac arrests and trauma resuscitations was 70.5% (232/329) and 86.5% (347/401), respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Phantom scanning is common in both cardiac arrests and trauma resuscitations in the ED at our institution, but is significantly higher in trauma resuscitations. Further research is needed to assess causes and develop potential solutions to reduce the high prevalence of phantom scanning

Loss-of-function fibroblast growth factor receptor-2 mutations in melanoma

We report that 10% of melanoma tumors and cell lines harbor mutations in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) gene. These novel mutations include three truncating mutations and 20 missense mutations occurring at evolutionary conserved residues in FGFR2 as well as among all four FGFRs. The mutation spectrum is characteristic of those induced by UV radiation. Mapping of these mutations onto the known crystal structures of FGFR2 followed by in vitro and in vivo studies show that these mutations result in receptor loss of function through several distinct mechanisms, including loss of ligand binding affinity, impaired receptor dimerization, destabilization of the extracellular domains, and reduced kinase activity. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of loss-of-function mutations in a class IV receptor tyrosine kinase in cancer. Taken into account with our recent discovery of activating FGFR2 mutations in endometrial cancer, we suggest that FGFR2 may join the list of genes that play context-dependent opposing roles in cancer