Spiritual Literacy: a New Concept for a New Reality

The idea of literacy is prevalent in today’s society, especially among librarians.There is much discussion of technological literacy and the digital divide. There are volumes written on cultural literacy and how we interact with different groups such as younger generations. There are books dedicated specifically to literacy in the 21st century. There are growing specialized “literacies” but none dealing with religion, per se. It is critical that librarians are aware of spiritual undertones inherent in information, in order to provide balanced information to patrons

A State-of-the-Science Review of Arsenic's Effects on Glucose Homeostasis in Experimental Models.

BackgroundThe prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) has more than doubled since 1980. Poor nutrition, sedentary lifestyle, and obesity are among the primary risk factors. While an estimated 70% of cases are attributed to excess adiposity, there is an increased interest in understanding the contribution of environmental agents to diabetes causation and severity. Arsenic is one of these environmental chemicals, with multiple epidemiology studies supporting its association with T2D. Despite extensive research, the molecular mechanism by which arsenic exerts its diabetogenic effects remains unclear.ObjectivesWe conducted a literature search focused on arsenite exposure in vivo and in vitro, using relevant end points to elucidate potential mechanisms of oral arsenic exposure and diabetes development.MethodsWe explored experimental results for potential mechanisms and elucidated the distinct effects that occur at high vs. low exposure. We also performed network analyses relying on publicly available data, which supported our key findings.ResultsWhile several mechanisms may be involved, our findings support that arsenite has effects on whole-body glucose homeostasis, insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, hepatic glucose metabolism, and both adipose and pancreatic β-cell dysfunction.DiscussionThis review applies state-of-the-science approaches to identify the current knowledge gaps in our understanding of arsenite on diabetes development. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4517

Author Correction: Ultrasensitive amplicon barcoding for next-generation sequencing facilitating sequence error and amplification-bias correction.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

X-ray spectral and flux variability of the microquasar GRS 1758-258 on timescales from weeks to years

We present the spectral and timing evolution of the persistent black hole X-ray binary GRS 1758-258 based on almost 12 years of observations using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer Proportional Counter Array. While the source was predominantly found in the hard state during this time, it entered the thermally dominated soft state seven times. In the soft state GRS 1758-258 shows a strong decline in flux above 3 keV rather than the pivoting flux around 10 keV more commonly shown by black hole transients. In its 3-20 keV hardness intensity diagram, GRS 1758-258 shows a hysteresis of hard and soft state fluxes typical for transient sources in outburst. The RXTE-PCA and RXTE-ASM long-term light curves do not show any orbital modulations in the range of 2 to 30 d. However, in the dynamic power spectra significant peaks drift between 18.47d and 18.04d for the PCA data, while less significant signatures between 19d and 20d are seen for the ASM data as well as for the Swift/BAT data. We discuss different models for the hysteresis behavior during state transitions as well as possibilities for the origin of the long term variation in the context of a warped accretion disk.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic

Clinical and genetic heterogeneity in familial focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

Clinical and genetic heterogeneity in familial focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.BackgroundFamilial forms of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FFSGS) that exhibit autosomal dominant or recessive patterns of inheritance have been described. The genetic basis of these hereditary forms of FSGS is unknown. One recent study of a kindred from Oklahoma with an autosomal dominant form of FSGS linked this disease to a region of chromosome 19q. In addition, polymorphisms in a gene in this region on chromosome 19q13 have been linked to congenital nephrotic syndrome of the Finnish type. We have ascertained and characterized a large family with autosomal dominant FFSGS (Duke 6530).MethodsFamilies were compared for clinical and genetic heterogeneity. To test for linkage of our family to this portion of chromosome 19, genomic DNA was isolated from 102 family members, and polymerase chain reaction was performed using eight microsatellite markers that spanned the area of interest on chromosome 19. Data were evaluated using two-point linkage analysis, multipoint analysis, and an admixture test.ResultsLinkage was excluded at a distance of ±5 to 10cm for all markers tested with two-point log10 of the odds of linkage (LOD) scores and from an approximate 60cm interval in this area of chromosome 19q via multipoint analysis.ConclusionFSGS has been called the “final common pathway” of glomerular injury, as it is a frequent pathological manifestation with diverse etiologies. This diversity likely correlates with the genetic heterogeneity that we have established. Thus, our data demonstrate that there are at least two genes responsible for this disease, and there is genetic as well as clinical heterogeneity in autosomal dominant FSGS

Report of the Lancet Commission on the Value of Death: bringing death back into life

The story of dying in the 21st century is a story of paradox. While many people are overtreated in hospitals with families and communities relegated to the margins, still more remain undertreated, dying of preventable conditions and without access to basic pain relief. The unbalanced and contradictory picture of death and dying is the basis for this Commission

Transmission of MRSA between Companion Animals and Infected Human Patients Presenting to Outpatient Medical Care Facilities

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a significant pathogen in both human and veterinary medicine. The importance of companion animals as reservoirs of human infections is currently unknown. The companion animals of 49 MRSA-infected outpatients (cases) were screened for MRSA carriage, and their bacterial isolates were compared with those of the infected patients using Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE). Rates of MRSA among the companion animals of MRSA-infected patients were compared to rates of MRSA among companion animals of pet guardians attending a “veterinary wellness clinic” (controls). MRSA was isolated from at least one companion animal in 4/49 (8.2%) households of MRSA-infected outpatients vs. none of the pets of the 50 uninfected human controls. Using PFGE, patient-pets MRSA isolates were identical for three pairs and discordant for one pair (suggested MRSA inter-specie transmission p-value = 0.1175). These results suggest that companion animals of MRSA-infected patients can be culture-positive for MRSA, representing a potential source of infection or re-infection for humans. Further studies are required to better understand the epidemiology of MRSA human-animal inter-specie transmission

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin