Developing And Delivering The Virtual MBA Course

The use of the Internet offers a unique opportunity to bring together individuals in an interactive setting for social and educational purposes. Colleges and universities have augmented their brick and mortar classes with virtual course offerings using the Internet for distance education. This paper will examine the origins of distance education and offer insights and recommendations for developing and delivering an on-line MBA course in Privacy and Information Security

Thunderstorm environments in Europe

Meteorological environments favorable for thunderstorms are studied across Europe, including rare thunderstorm conditions from seasons with climatologically few thunderstorms. Using cluster analysis on ERA5 reanalysis data and EUCLID (European Cooperation for Lightning Detection) lightning data, two major thunderstorm environments are found: wind-field thunderstorms, characterized by increased wind speeds, high shear, strong large-scale vertical velocities, and low CAPE values compared to other thunderstorms in the same region, and mass-field thunderstorms, characterized by large CAPE values, high dew point temperatures, and elevated isotherm heights. Wind-field thunderstorms occur mainly in winter and more over the seas, while mass-field thunderstorms occur more frequently in summer and over the European mainland. Several sub-environments of these two major thunderstorm environments exist. Principal component analysis is used to identify four topographically distinct regions in Europe that share similar thunderstorm characteristics: the Mediterranean, Alpine–central, continental, and coastal regions, respectively. Based on these results it is possible to differentiate lightning conditions in different seasons from coarse reanalysis data without a static threshold or a seasonal criterion.</p

Simultaneous detection and quantification of six equine cytokines in plasma using a fluorescent microsphere immunoassay (FMIA)

Cytokines are cell signalling proteins that mediate a number of different physiological responses. They are also biomarkers for inflammatory conditions and potential diagnostic references for diseases. Until recently, simultaneous quantification of cytokine profiles had not been possible. Now however, fluorescent microsphere immunoassays (FMIA) are able to measure multiple cytokines in a single sample. The following pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines were quantified in equine plasma and serum samples: interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, interferon (IFN)-γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. • The objective of this study was to quantify six equine cytokines simultaneously using the BioPlex® 200 system in equine EDTA-plasma and serum. • It demonstrates an increased number of detectable cytokines over published studies. • This technology has the advantage of reduced sample volume and assay time compared to traditional sandwich ELISAs

Consistency and flexibility in solving spatial tasks: different horses show different cognitive styles

Individual animals vary in their behaviour and reactions to novel situations. These differences may extend to differences in cognition among individuals. We tested twenty-six horses for their ability to detour around symmetric and asymmetric obstacles. All of the animals were able to get around the barrier to reach a food target, but varied in their approach. Some horses moved slowly but were more accurate in choosing the shortest way. Other horses acted quickly, consistently detoured in the same direction, and did not reliably choose the shortest way. The remaining horses shifted from a faster, directionally consistent response with the symmetric barrier, to a slower but more accurate response with the asymmetric barrier. The asymmetric barrier induced a reduction in heart rate variability, suggesting that this is a more demanding task. The different approaches used to solve the asymmetric task may reflect distinct cognitive styles in horses, which vary among individuals, and could be linked to different personality traits. Understanding equine behaviour and cognition can inform horse welfare and management

Evaluation of Visible Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy in Liver Tissue: Validation of Tissue Saturations Using Extracorporeal Circulation

Significance: Real-time information about oxygen delivery to the hepatic graft is important to direct care and diagnose vascular compromise in the immediate post-transplant period. Aim: The current study was designed to determine the utility of visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (vis-DRS) for measuring liver tissue saturation in vivo. Approach: A custom-built vis-DRS probe was calibrated using phantoms with hemoglobin (Hb) and polystyrene microspheres. Ex vivo (extracorporeal circulation) and in vivo protocols were used in a swine model (n=15) with validation via blood gas analysis. Results: In vivo absorption and scattering measured by vis-DRS with and without biliverdin correction correlated closely between analyses. Lin’s concordance correlation coefficients are 0.991 for μa and 0.959 for μs\u27. Hb measured by blood test and vis-DRS with (R2=0.81) and without (R2=0.85) biliverdin correction were compared. Vis-DRS data obtained from the ex vivo protocol plotted against the PO2 derived from blood gas analysis showed a good fit for a Hill coefficient of 1.67 and P50=34  mmHg (R2=0.81). A conversion formula was developed to account for the systematic deviation, which resulted in a goodness-of-fit (R2=0.76) with the expected oxygen dissociation curve. Conclusions: We show that vis-DRS allows for real-time measurement of liver tissue saturation, an indicator for liver perfusion and oxygen delivery

A Kinase-Phosphatase Network that Regulates Kinetochore-Microtubule Attachments and the SAC

The KMN network (for KNL1, MIS12 and NDC80 complexes) is a hub for signalling at the outer kinetochore. It integrates the activities of two kinases (MPS1 and Aurora B) and two phosphatases (PP1 and PP2A-B56) to regulate kinetochore-microtubule attachments and the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC). We will first discuss each of these enzymes separately, to describe how they are regulated at kinetochores and why this is important for their primary function in controlling either microtubule attachments or the SAC. We will then discuss why inhibiting any one of them individually produces secondary effects on all the others. This cross-talk may help to explain why all enzymes have been linked to both processes, even though the direct evidence suggests they each control only one. This chapter therefore describes how a network of kinases and phosphatases work together to regulate two key mitotic processes.</p

Using the Horse Grimace Scale (HGS) to Assess Pain Associated with Acute Laminitis in Horses (Equus caballus)

Acute laminitis is a common equine disease characterized by intense foot pain, both acutely and chronically. The Obel grading system is the most widely accepted method for describing the severity of laminitis by equine practitioners, however this method requires movement (walk and trot) of the horse, causing further intense pain. The recently developed Horse Grimace Scale (HGS), a facial-expression-based pain coding system, may offer a more effective means of assessing the pain associated with acute laminitis. The aims of this study were: to investigate whether HGS can be usefully applied to assess pain associated with acute laminitis in horses at rest, and to examine if scoring HGS using videos produced similar results as those obtained from still images. Ten horses, referred as acute laminitis cases with no prior treatment, were included in the study. Each horse was assessed using the Obel and HGS (from images and videos) scales: at the admission (before any treatment) and at seven days after the initial evaluation and treatment. The results of this study suggest that HGS is a potentially effective method to assess pain associated with acute laminitis in horses at rest, as horses showing high HGS scores also exhibited higher Obel scores and veterinarians classified them in a more severe painful state. Furthermore, the inter-observer reliability of the HGS total score was good for both still images and video evaluation. There was no significant difference in HGS total scores between the still images and videos, suggesting that there is a possibility of applying the HGS in clinical practice, by observing the horse for a short time. However, further validation studies are needed prior to applying the HGS in a clinical setting

Circulating miR-23b-3p, miR-145-5p and miR-200b-3p are potential biomarkers to monitor acute pain associated with laminitis in horses

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are emerging as promising biomarkers for several disorders and related pain. In equine practice, acute laminitis is a common disease characterised by intense pain that severely compromises horse welfare. Recently, the Horse Grimace Scale (HGS), a facial expression-based pain coding system, was shown to be a valid welfare indicator to identify pain linked to acute laminitis. The present study aimed to: determine whether miRNAs can be used as biomarkers for acute pain in horses (Equus caballus) affected by laminitis; integrate miRNAs to their target genes and to categorise target genes for biological processes; gather additional evidence on concurrent validity of HGS by investigating how it correlates to miRNAs. Nine horses presenting acute laminitis with no prior treatment were recruited. As control group, nine healthy horses were further included in the experimental design. Samples were collected from horses with laminitis at admission before any treatment ('pre-treatment') and 7 days after routine laminitis treatment ('post-treatment'). The expression levels of nine circulating miRNAs, namely hsa-miR-532-3p, hsa-miR-219-5p, mmu-miR-134-5p, mmu-miR-124a-3p, hsa-miR-200b-3p, hsa-miR-146a-5p, hsa-miR-23b-3p, hsa-miR-145-5p and hsa-miR-181a-5p, were detected and assessed as potential biomarkers of pain by quantitative PCR using TaqMan\uae probes. The area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) was then used to evaluate the diagnostic performance of miRNAs. Molecular data were integrated with HGS scores assessed by one trained treatment and time point blind veterinarian. The comparative analysis demonstrated that the levels of miR-23b-3p (P=0.029), miR-145-5p (P=0.015) and miR-200b-3p (P=0.023) were significantly higher in pre-treatment and the AUCs were 0.854, 0.859 and 0.841, respectively. MiR-200b-3p decreased after routine laminitis treatment (P=0.043). Combining two miRNAs in a panel, namely miR-145-5p and miR-200b-3p, increased efficiency in distinguishing animals with acute pain from controls. In addition, deregulated miRNAs were positively correlated to HGS scores. Computational target prediction and functional enrichment identified common biological pathways between different miRNAs. In particular, the glutamatergic pathway was affected by all three miRNAs, suggesting a crucial role in the pathogenesis of pain. In conclusion, the dynamic expression of circulating miR-23b-3p, miR-145-5p and miR-200b-3p was detected in horses with acute laminitis and miRNAs can be considered potentially promising pain biomarkers. Further studies are needed in order to assess their relevancy in other painful conditions severely compromising horse welfare. An important implication would be the possibility to use them for the concurrent validation of non-invasive indicators of pain in horses

Children with hemoglobin C or S trait have low serologic responses to a subset of malaria variant surface antigens

Summary Children with hemoglobin AC or AS have decreased susceptibility to clinical malaria. Parasite variant surface antigen (VSA) presentation on the surface of infected erythrocytes is altered in erythrocytes with hemoglobin C (Hb AC) or sickle trait (Hb AS) mutations in vitro. The protective role of incomplete or altered VSA presentation against clinical malaria in individuals with Hb AC or AS is unclear. Using a high-throughput protein microarray, we sought to use serological responses to VSAs as a measure of host exposure to VSAs among Malian children with Hb AC, Hb AS, or wildtype hemoglobin (Hb AA). In uncomplicated malaria, when compared to Hb AA children, Hb AC children had significantly lower serological responses to extracellular Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein-1 (PfEMP1) domains but did not differ in responses to intracellular PfEMP1 domains and other VSAs, including members of the repetitive interspersed family (RIFIN) and subtelomeric variable open reading frame (STEVOR) family. Healthy children with Hb AC and Hb AS genotypes recognized fewer extracellular PfEMP1s compared to children with Hb AA, especially CD36-binding PfEMP1s. These reduced serologic responses may reflect reduced VSA presentation or lower parasite exposure in children with Hb AC or AS and provide insights into mechanisms of protection

A RAC-GEF network critical for early intestinal tumourigenesis

: RAC1 activity is critical for intestinal homeostasis, and is required for hyperproliferation driven by loss of the tumour suppressor gene Apc in the murine intestine. To avoid the impact of direct targeting upon homeostasis, we reasoned that indirect targeting of RAC1 via RAC-GEFs might be effective. Transcriptional profiling of Apc deficient intestinal tissue identified Vav3 and Tiam1 as key targets. Deletion of these indicated that while TIAM1 deficiency could suppress Apc-driven hyperproliferation, it had no impact upon tumourigenesis, while VAV3 deficiency had no effect. Intriguingly, deletion of either gene resulted in upregulation of Vav2, with subsequent targeting of all three (Vav2-/- Vav3-/- Tiam1-/-), profoundly suppressing hyperproliferation, tumourigenesis and RAC1 activity, without impacting normal homeostasis. Critically, the observed RAC-GEF dependency was negated by oncogenic KRAS mutation. Together, these data demonstrate that while targeting RAC-GEF molecules may have therapeutic impact at early stages, this benefit may be lost in late stage disease