Agnogene Deletion in a Novel Pathogenic JC Virus Isolate Impairs VP1 Expression and Virion Production

Infection of glial cells by the human polyomavirus JC (JCV) causes progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). JCV Encephalopathy (JCVE) is a newly identified disease characterized by JCV infection of cortical pyramidal neurons. The virus JCVCPN associated with JCVE contains a unique 143 base pair deletion in the agnogene. Contrary to most JCV brain isolates, JCVCPN has an archetype-like regulatory region (RR) usually found in kidney strains. This provided us with the unique opportunity to determine for the first time how each of these regions contributed to the phenotype of JCVCPN. We characterized the replication of JCVCPN compared to the prototype virus JCVMad-1 in kidney, glial and neuronal cell lines. We found that JCVCPN is capable of replicating viral DNA in all cell lines tested, but is unable to establish persistent infection seen with JCVMad-1. JCVCPN does not have an increased ability to replicate in the neuronal cell line tested. To determine whether this phenotype results from the archetype-like RR or the agnogene deletion, we generated chimeric viruses between JCVCPN of JCVMad-1. We found that the deletion in the agnogene is the predominant cause of the inability of the virus to maintain a persistent infection, with the introduction of a full length agnogene, either with or without agnoprotein expression, rescues the replication of JCVCPN. Studying this naturally occurring pathogenic variant of JCV provides a valuable tool for understanding the functions of the agnogene and RR form in JCV replication

El proceso de desarrollo en las experiencias de construcción socialista de Viet Nam y Cuba: un análisis comparado

This paper analyses the development process of two experience of socialist construction, Viet Nam and Cuba. Also, the results, positives and negatives, of the implementation of the development strategies applied by each country, are exposed. The latest has been closely linked to the development conditions prevailing in each region. An econometric model was applied using the Eviews software package, to measure the impact of the growth obtained by each country on the development levels achieved by them, in terms of human development.En este trabajo se analiza el proceso de desarrollo en el contexto del socialismo histórico. En este sentido se exponen las experiencias vietnamita y cubana, destacando los resultados, tanto positivos como negativos de las estrategias de desarrollo adoptadas en estos países, lo cual ha guardado estrecho vínculo con las condiciones de desarrollo que prevalecen en cada región. Para ello, se empleará un modelo econométrico a partir de la herramienta del paquete informático Eviews, para medir el impacto del crecimiento obtenido en el proceso de construcción socialista sobre los niveles de desarrollo alcanzado por cada país, en términos de desarrollo humano

Retirements of Coal and Oil Power Plants in California: Association With Reduced Preterm Birth Among Populations Nearby.

Coal and oil power plant retirements reduce air pollution nearby, but few studies have leveraged these natural experiments for public health research. We used California Department of Public Health birth records and US Energy Information Administration data from 2001-2011 to evaluate the relationship between the retirements of 8 coal and oil power plants and nearby preterm (gestational age of <37 weeks) birth. We conducted a difference-in-differences analysis using adjusted linear mixed models that included 57,005 births-6.3% of which were preterm-to compare the probability of preterm birth before and after power plant retirement among mothers residing within 0-5 km and 5-10 km of the 8 power plants. We found that power plant retirements were associated with a decrease in the proportion of preterm birth within 5 km (-0.019, 95% CI: -0.031, -0.008) and 5-10 km (-0.015, 95% CI: -0.024, -0.007), controlling for secular trends with mothers living 10-20 km away. For the 0-5-km area, this corresponds to a reduction in preterm birth from 7.0% to 5.1%. Subgroup analyses indicated a potentially larger association among non-Hispanic black and Asian mothers than among non-Hispanic white and Hispanic mothers and no differences in educational attainment. Future coal and oil power plant retirements may reduce preterm birth among nearby populations

Developing a feedback-rich culture in academic medicine: the effect of coaching and 360-feedback on physician leadership

Background: This is a time of unprecedented change in healthcare. More physicians are being tasked with stepping into a variety of leadership roles without having received the training needed to be an effective leader. Previous data have demonstrated the effectiveness of both leadership coaching and 360-feedback tools to foster physician well-being and leadership growth. In this proof of concept study, we explore the combined effect of these two tools. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of a brief physician 360 leadership coaching intervention on perception of professional dynamics and acquired leadership skills. Methods: Participants completed a tailored 360-feedback tool to gather input on their leadership skills, then engaged in five bi-weekly leadership coaching sessions. We conducted a post-intervention semi-structured qualitative interview. Qualitative data were coded using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Results: Twenty-three primary care physicians at an academic medical center engaged in the 360 leadership coaching study. Participants reported that the intervention yielded valuable benefits in five coaching sessions. Two overarching themes emerged: a Shift in leadership awareness and Navigating their environment. Leadership awareness included increased clarity of purpose and role, and recognition that routine feedback is critical to leadership development. Navigating their environment included gaining relationship-building communication, organizational awareness and navigation strategies. Conclusions: Combining a tailored 360-feedback tool with a five-session leadership coaching intervention provided physicians with valued support infrastructure for becoming more effective leaders. Physicians described a nuanced understanding of the leadership challenges physicians face, and identified the leadership tools needed to navigate the evolving healthcare delivery landscape. Curricula for physician leadership learning could consider this combination of a customized 360 plus targeted leadership coaching for training physician leaders

Characterizing Biology Education Research: Perspectives from Practitioners and Scholars in the Field

Biology education research (BER) is a recently emerging field mainly focused on the learning and teaching of biology in postsecondary education. As BER continues to grow, exploring what goals, questions, and scholarship the field encompasses will provide an opportunity for the community to reflect on what new lines of inquiry could be pursued in the future. There have been top-down approaches at characterizing BER, such as aims and scope provided by professional societies or peer-reviewed journals, and literature analyses with evidence for current and historical research trends. However, there have not been previous attempts with a bottom-up approach at characterizing BER by directly surveying practitioners and scholars in the field. Here, we share survey results that asked participants at the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) annual meeting what they perceive as current scholarship in BER as well as what areas of inquiry in the field that they would like to see pursued in the future. These survey responses provide us with information directly from BER practitioners and scholars, and we invite colleagues to reflect on how we can collectively and collaboratively continue to promote BER as a field

Optimization of Unrelated Donor Cord Blood Transplantation for Thalassemia: Implications for Other Non‐Malignant Indications such as HIV Infection or Autoimmune Diseases

Since the first cord blood transplantation (CBT), many indications have been proven for this stem cell therapy. Besides the standard hematological indications, such as leukemia, lymphomas, and aplastic anemia, CBT has also been a proven curative therapy for non-hematological indications such as Krabbe’s disease, and osteopetrosis. As transplant-related mortality (TRM), overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) for CBT continue to improve with larger inventories, double CBT, higher cell dose CB products, optimal conditioning, GvHD, HLA matching, and infection prophylaxis and treatment, the utility of this stem cell source will expand to certain indications which in the past, rarely used CBT. For patients and physicians to accept CBT for indications such as thalassemia, autoimmune diseases or HIV, the benefit-risk ratio has to be significantly improved so that patients will take a chance on a risky procedure in order to improve their lifespan or quality of life. We review here some of the efforts to improve clinical outcome of CBT for thalassemia through increasing cell dosage using a combination strategy – (1) Chow’s MaxCell second and third generation technologies that maximize CB cell dosage, (2) double CBT, (3) no-wash thaw direct infusion advocated by Chow et al., and (4) optimal product selection

Opioid-Prescribing Practices for Post-Operative Patients in Otolaryngology: A Multiphasic Quality Improvement Project in a Single Large Institution

Objectives: In otolaryngology, postoperative pain management lacks evidence-based guidelines. We investigated opioid prescription and consumption for common procedures to develop prescribing guidelines at our institution. Study Design: Prospective, survey study. Methods: Patients who underwent surgery between July and September were given surveys upon discharge and at first follow-up visit. We assessed opioid usage and pain using the visual analog scale and opioid consumption throughout the postoperative period. Opioid prescriptions were converted to a standardized unit of 5 mg Oxycodone pills for reporting. Four procedures (transoral robotic surgery resection [TORS], sialendoscopy, parathyroidectomy/thyroidectomy, and parotidectomy) were selected for isolated analysis. Results: Of the 80 surveys that met criteria for inclusion for analysis, a total of 1,954.0 pills were prescribed, with 300.3 pills (15.4%) reported having been used by patients, leaving 1,653.7 pills (84.5%) unused. TORS (n=12) average pills used: 4.9 ± 5.9 (95% CI: 1.6-8.3); total % pills unused: 89.3%. Sialendoscopy (n=13) average pills used: 4.2 ± 5.1 (95% CI: 1.1-7.4); total % pills unused: 72.5%. Parathyroidectomy/thyroidectomy (n=22) average pills used: 3.1 ± 4.4 (95% CI: 1.7-5.5); total % pills unused: 79.2%. Parotidectomy (n=12) average pills used: 1.3 ± 2.5 (95% CI: 0.7-4.3); total % pills unused: 94.7%. Conclusions: At our institution, opioids for ((postoperative otolaryngology)) patients’ pain management in otolaryngologic procedures were prescribed in excess with 84.5% reported as unused. Procedure-specific opioid diversion pool ranged from 72.5%-94.7%. Our findings provide a foundation for procedure-specific evidence-based opioid prescription guidelines