Unifying Power of Sport Fandom

Through previous research, it was known that sport has many physical and non-physical benefits to participants and is a powerful tool used to bring people together in light of social and political differences. However, little was known about the impact of sport fandom on feelings of social connectedness. The purpose of this study was to further the understanding of feelings of social connectedness in sport fandom within the context of the current polarized political environment in the United States. Survey methodology was used to capture demographics and other variables including political identity and behaviors, sport fandom identity and behaviors, and feelings of social connectedness. The survey was distributed on Twitter through the use of relevant hashtags and also sent to students, faculty, and staff at St. John Fisher College. Results found that there was a significant relationship between ratings of sport fandom identity and behaviors and reported feelings of social connectedness. There was also found to be a significant predictive relationship between the grand means of sport and politics to the grand mean of social connectedness. The results of this research study added support for the use sport and sport fandom as tools for bringing people together within a polarized society as these findings suggested that sport fandom was a strong unifying tool that transcended the divided sociopolitical culture of the US today

Micro finance for water and sanitation in West Africa

This paper focus on the challenge of financing the expansion and maintenance of water and sanitation services in poor rural areas and small towns. One possible solution lies in increasing flows of local finance through innovative financing mechanisms. These mechanisms must not only be available, but also be accessible to those who most need them. There is therefore a need to identify what capacities and support are required at local level to create the optimal conditions to promote and implement such mechanisms. The paper is based on a study undertaken by CREPA - Centre Régional pour l’Eau Potable et l’Assainissement à faible coût - in eight countries in West Africa which evaluated the impact and documented a number of experiences where micro finance has been used for water and sanitation projects

Cyst-Wall-Protein-1 is fundamental for Golgi-like organelle neogenesis and cyst-wall biosynthesis in Giardia lamblia

The genome of the protozoan parasite Giardia lamblia is organized in two diploid nuclei, which has so far precluded complete analysis of gene function. Here we use a previously developed Cre/loxP-based knock-out and selection marker salvage strategy in the human-derived isolate WB-C6 to eliminate all four copies of the Cyst-Wall-Protein-1 locus (CWP1). Because these loci are silenced in proliferating trophozoites and highly expressed only in encysting cells, CWP1 ablation allows functional characterization of a conditional phenotype in parasites induced to encyst. We show that encysting Δcwp1 cells are unable to establish the stage-regulated trafficking machinery with Golgi-like encystation-specific vesicles required for cyst-wall formation but show morphological hallmarks of cyst development and karyokinesis. This ‘pseudocyst’ phenotype is rescued by transfection of Δcwp1 cells with an episomally maintained CWP1 expression vector. Genome editing in genera Giardia and Trypanosoma are the only reported examples addressing questions on pathogen transmission within the Excavata supergroup

Perinatal mortality in rural Burkina Faso: a prospective community-based cohort study

BACKGROUND: There is a scarcity of reliable data on perinatal mortality (PNM) in Sub-Saharan Africa. The PROMISE-EBF trial, during which we promoted exclusive breastfeeding, gave us the opportunity to describe the epidemiology of PNM in Banfora Health District, South-West in Burkina Faso. STUDY OBJECTIVES: To measure the perinatal mortality rate (PNMR) in the PROMISE-EBF cohort in Banfora Health District and to identify potential risk factors for perinatal death. METHODS: We used data collected prospectively during the PROMISE-EBF-trial to estimate the stillbirth rate (SBR) and early neonatal mortality rate (ENMR). We used binomial regression with generalized estimating equations to identify potential risk factors for perinatal death. RESULTS: 895 pregnant women were enrolled for data collection in the EBF trial and followed-up to 7 days after birth. The PNMR, the SBR and the ENMR, were 79 per 1000 (95% CI: 59-99), 54 per 1000 (95% CI: 38-69) and 27 per 1000 (95% CI: 9-44), respectively. In a multivariable analysis, nulliparous women (RR = 2.90, 95% CI: 1.6-5.0), primiparae mothers (RR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.2-3.9), twins (RR = 4.0, 95% CI: 2.3-6.9) and giving birth during the dry season (RR = 2.1 95% CI: 1.3-3.3) were factors associated with increased risk of perinatal death. There was no evidence that risk of perinatal death differed between deliveries at home and at a health centre CONCLUSION: Our study observed the highest PNMR ever reported in Burkina. There is an urgent need for sustainable interventions to improve maternal and newborn health in the country

Combined nanometric and phylogenetic analysis of unique endocytic compartments in Giardia lamblia sheds light on the evolution of endocytosis in Metamonada

BACKGROUND: Giardia lamblia, a parasitic protist of the Metamonada supergroup, has evolved one of the most diverged endocytic compartment systems investigated so far. Peripheral endocytic compartments, currently known as peripheral vesicles or vacuoles (PVs), perform bulk uptake of fluid phase material which is then digested and sorted either to the cell cytosol or back to the extracellular space. RESULTS: Here, we present a quantitative morphological characterization of these organelles using volumetric electron microscopy and super-resolution microscopy (SRM). We defined a morphological classification for the heterogenous population of PVs and performed a comparative analysis of PVs and endosome-like organelles in representatives of phylogenetically related taxa, Spironucleus spp. and Tritrichomonas foetus. To investigate the as-yet insufficiently understood connection between PVs and clathrin assemblies in G. lamblia, we further performed an in-depth search for two key elements of the endocytic machinery, clathrin heavy chain (CHC) and clathrin light chain (CLC), across different lineages in Metamonada. Our data point to the loss of a bona fide CLC in the last Fornicata common ancestor (LFCA) with the emergence of a protein analogous to CLC (GlACLC) in the Giardia genus. Finally, the location of clathrin in the various compartments was quantified. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, this provides the first comprehensive nanometric view of Giardia's endocytic system architecture and sheds light on the evolution of GlACLC analogues in the Fornicata supergroup and, specific to Giardia, as a possible adaptation to the formation and maintenance of stable clathrin assemblies at PVs

Exile Vol. XV No. 1

POETRY Haiku by John Anderson 2 It\u27s the looking in the mirror by Larry Faso 3 There is a voice in me by Larry Faso 15 We fight along time by Tracy Mac Nab 8 During the night by Tracy Mac Nab 8 Illusion by Phil Cockerille 10 Mexico City \u2759 by Keith McWalter 12 Summer Correspondence II by Lauren Shakely 13 America Sings to Herself and Doesn\u27t Hear by Lauren Shakely 15 eatin crawdads by Bob Martin 14 G. [unattributed*] 16 Finis Coronant Opus [unattributed*] 17 The Droplet Sea by Jeffrey R. Smith 17 The surrounding dismal forest by P. F. Galbraith 18 FICTION The Shadow in his mind by Cem Mehmet Kozlu 4-7 An Excerpt from a Novel in Progress by Dick Devine 19-22 ARTWORK AND ILLUSTRATIONS by Tom Robinson 2, 12, 16, 18 by Bob Tauber 3, 8, 15 by Tom King 7, 9, 13 by Ted Hall 11, 24 by Clare Conrad 14 Mislabeled Fall 196

Unexpected organellar locations of ESCRT machinery in Giardia intestinalis and complex evolutionary dynamics spanning the transition to parasitism in the lineage Fornicata

Background: Comparing a parasitic lineage to its free-living relatives is a powerful way to understand how that evolutionary transition to parasitism occurred. Giardia intestinalis (Fornicata) is a leading cause of gastrointestinal disease world-wide and is famous for its unusual complement of cellular compartments, such as having peripheral vacuoles instead of typical endosomal compartments. Endocytosis plays an important role in Giardia's pathogenesis. Endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) are membrane-deforming proteins associated with the late endosome/multivesicular body (MVB). MVBs are ill-defined in G. intestinalis, and roles for identified ESCRT-related proteins are not fully understood in the context of its unique endocytic system. Furthermore, components thought to be required for full ESCRT functionality have not yet been documented in this species. Results: We used genomic and transcriptomic data from several Fornicata species to clarify the evolutionary genome streamlining observed in Giardia, as well as to detect any divergent orthologs of the Fornicata ESCRT subunits. We observed differences in the ESCRT machinery complement between Giardia strains. Microscopy-based investigations of key components of ESCRT machinery such as GiVPS36 and GiVPS25 link them to peripheral vacuoles, highlighting these organelles as simplified MVB equivalents. Unexpectedly, we show ESCRT components associated with the endoplasmic reticulum and, for the first time, mitosomes. Finally, we identified the rare ESCRT component CHMP7 in several fornicate representatives, including Giardia and show that contrary to current understanding, CHMP7 evolved from a gene fusion of VPS25 and SNF7 domains, prior to the last eukaryotic common ancestor, over 1.5 billion years ago. Conclusions: Our findings show that ESCRT machinery in G. intestinalis is far more varied and complete than previously thought, associates to multiple cellular locations, and presents changes in ESCRT complement which pre-date adoption of a parasitic lifestyle

CT-GUIDED TRANSTHORACIC NEEDLE BIOPSY: ADVANTEGES IN HISTOPATHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR TESTS

Aim: The present study aimed to demonstrate that computed tomography-guided transthoracic needle biopsy (TTNB) is a safe procedure that gives a more accurate pre-operative tissue diagnosis for peripheral lung nodules than transthoracic needle aspiration, obtaining suitable samples for molecular test in lung adenocarcinomas. Patients and methods: Between December 2016 and March 2018 at Thoracic Surgery Department of the University of Palermo - Policlinico Paolo Giaccone Hospital, TTNB was performed in 42 patients with computed tomography-detected peripheral lung nodules > 10 mm, using 16-18 -Gauge tru-Cut needles. Results: With TTNB, we have estimated an accuracy for tissue diagnosis of 97,6%. At the molecular test, EGFR overexpression and ALK mutation resulted positive for 12/23 patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Conclusion: TTNB has showed a low rate of complications and it is adoptable as standard diagnostic procedure for peripheral lung nodules