HLA-Associated viral mutations are common in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 elite controllers

Elite controllers (EC) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HTV-1) maintain viremia below the limit of detection without antiretroviral treatment. Virus-specific cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes are believed to play a crucial role in viral containment, but the degree of immune imprinting and compensatory mutations in EC is unclear. We obtained plasma gag, pol, and nef sequences from HLA-diverse subjects and found that 30 to 40% of the predefined HLA-associated polymorphic sites show evidence of immune selection pressure in EC., compared to approximately 50% of the sites in chronic progressors. These data indicate ongoing viral replication and escape from cytotoxic T lymphocytes are present even in strictly controlled HTV-1 infection

Light my elbows: a cycling jacket incorporating electronic yarn

There is a need for illuminated cycle clothing that is comfortable and safe when cycling, and stylish to wear during other activities. It is particularly challenging to integrate lighting within textiles without compromising the drape and comfort of the textile structure. A team of electronics, textiles and fashion specialists was formed to design and make an illuminated jacket for use by cyclists. The jacket incorporates bespoke woven panels that integrate electronic yarns within the pattern. These were designed and made for this project, with fluorescent and retroreflective yarns also included in the weave. LEDs integrated within the electronic yarns illuminate the elbows of the jacket, without causing constraint or adding excess volume. The movement of the jacket elbows during cycling widens the body outline and makes the lighting eye-catching. The collaboration between electronics and textiles experts overcame challenges including development of electrical circuitry designed specifically to fit into the jacket unobtrusively, without interfering with movement or rucksack straps. Electrical connections were required between the electronic yarns assimilated within the weave. Standard, rigid solder joints would have been difficult to form without damaging the cloth and would have been liable to breakage within the garment structure, so embroidery techniques were used to create flexible, conductive connections. The illuminated jacket provides a working prototype, demonstrating the potential for further collaborative ventures in which electronics are integrated into garments that are stylish, functional and 'wearable'. Further interdisciplinary research will include the development of additional wearable prototypes that enhance safety and wellbeing, whilst addressing the recycling of the textiles and garments, including the safe separation and disposal of electronic yarn and other components that provide electrical functionality

A third dimension in the mirror? How senior managers design products and organizations

Individual CEO characteristics may affect architectural choices through the application of managerial discretion. Systems such as organizations and their products are not purely driven toward modularity because of external forces. Individual CEO characteristics may constitute an additional dimension to established mirroring considerations that impacts both the choice of architecture and the correspondence between product and organization architectures

Fit for purpose? Pattern cutting and seams in wearables development

This paper describes how a group of practitioners and researchers are working across disciplines at Nottingham Trent University in the area of Technical Textiles. It introduces strands of ongoing enquiry centred around the development and application of stretch sensors on the body, focusing on how textile and fashion knowledge are being reflexively revealed in the collaborative development of seamful wearable concepts, and on the tensions between design philosophies as revealed by definitions of purpose. We discuss the current research direction of the Aeolia project, which seeks to exploit the literal gaps found in pattern cutting for fitted stretch garments towards experiential forms and potential interactions. Normative goals of fitness for purpose and seamlessness are interrogated and the potential for more integrated design processes, which may at first appear ‘upside down’, is discussed

Thirty Years After Michael E. Porter: What Do We Know About Business Exit?

Although a business exit is an important corporate change initiative, the buyer’s side seems to be more appealing to management researchers than the seller’s because acquisitions imply growth, i.e., success. Yet from an optimistic viewpoint, business exit can effectively create value for the selling company. In this paper we attempt to bring the relevance of the seller’s side back into our consciousness by asking: What do we know about business exit? We start our exploration with Porter (1976), focusing on literature that investigates the antecedents of, barriers to, and outcomes of business exit. We also include studies from related fields such as finance and economics.1 Through this research we determine three clusters of findings: factors promoting business exit, exit barriers, and exit outcomes. Overall, it is the intention of this paper to highlight the importance of business exit for research and practice. Knowing what we know about business exits and their high financial value we should bear in mind that exit need not mean failure but a new beginning for a corporation

Use of the Spine AdVerse Events Severity (SAVES) System to Categorize and Report Adverse Events in Spine Surgery.

Introduction: Analysis of adverse events (AEs) in spine surgery has historically been retrospective, utilizing hospital administrative data. Our objective was to determine the incidence, severity and effect on hospital length of stay (LOS) for AEs in spine surgery using the Spine AdVerse Events Severity (SAVES V2) system. Methods: AEs for all surgical spine patients at our institution were prospectively collected for 18 months and correlated with retrospective data from operative reports and H&Ps. Statistical analyses compared patient demographics, diagnoses, and surgical characteristics to hospital length of stay and likelihood of adverse events. Results: This system captured 75% (765/977) of surgical cases for all indications over the study period. 73% (541/743) of patients experienced at least one AE, with an average of 1.2 AEs per patient (range 0-5). The most common AEs were pain control (31%), urinary retention (9.7%), wound infection (6.3%), and incidental durotomy (5.8%). For patients experiencing at least one AE, 30% had no effect on LOS, 48% increased LOS by 1-2 days, 15% increased LOS by 3-7 days, and 7% had prolonged LOS greater than 8 days. Our system captured 25.4% more adverse events (60.0% vs. 34.6%) than hospital administrative data. Univariate analysis revealed patient age, emergent surgery, diagnostic and surgical categories, and spine region to be predictors of both AEs and LOS. Instrumentation was predictive of increased LOS but not AEs. The type of AE was strongly associated with LOS. Multivariable analysis of AE likelihood demonstrated emergent surgery to be the strongest independent predictor with an adjusted odds ratio of 8.5 versus elective surgery. Discussion: Spine surgery is associated with a high incidence of adverse events, which often prolong hospital length of stay. Better characterization of adverse events and their predictors could lead to improved management strategies that reduce patient morbidity and mortality

Towards a global land surface climate fiducial reference measurements network

There is overwhelming evidence that the climate system has warmed since the instigation of instrumental meteorological observations. The Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that the evidence for warming was unequivocal. However, owing to imperfect measurements and ubiquitous changes in measurement networks and techniques, there remain uncertainties in many of the details of these historical changes. These uncertainties do not call into question the trend or overall magnitude of the changes in the global climate system. Rather, they act to make the picture less clear than it could be, particularly at the local scale where many decisions regarding adaptation choices will be required, both now and in the future. A set of high-quality long-term fiducial reference measurements of essential climate variables will enable future generations to make rigorous assessments of future climate change and variability, providing society with the best possible information to support future decisions. Here we propose that by implementing and maintaining a suitably stable and metrologically well-characterized global land surface climate fiducial reference measurements network, the present-day scientific community can bequeath to future generations a better set of observations. This will aid future adaptation decisions and help us to monitor and quantify the effectiveness of internationally agreed mitigation steps. This article provides the background, rationale, metrological principles, and practical considerations regarding what would be involved in such a network, and outlines the benefits which may accrue. The challenge, of course, is how to convert such a vision to a long-term sustainable capability providing the necessary well-characterized measurement series to the benefit of global science and future generations

Einstein, incompleteness, and the epistemic view of quantum states

Does the quantum state represent reality or our knowledge of reality? In making this distinction precise, we are led to a novel classification of hidden variable models of quantum theory. Indeed, representatives of each class can be found among existing constructions for two-dimensional Hilbert spaces. Our approach also provides a fruitful new perspective on arguments for the nonlocality and incompleteness of quantum theory. Specifically, we show that for models wherein the quantum state has the status of something real, the failure of locality can be established through an argument considerably more straightforward than Bell's theorem. The historical significance of this result becomes evident when one recognizes that the same reasoning is present in Einstein's preferred argument for incompleteness, which dates back to 1935. This fact suggests that Einstein was seeking not just any completion of quantum theory, but one wherein quantum states are solely representative of our knowledge. Our hypothesis is supported by an analysis of Einstein's attempts to clarify his views on quantum theory and the circumstance of his otherwise puzzling abandonment of an even simpler argument for incompleteness from 1927.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, 1 recipe for cupcakes; comments welcom

Natural Products Chemistry and Taxonomy of the Marine Cyanobacterium Blennothrix cantharidosmum

A Papua New Guinea field collection of the marine cyanobacterium Blennothrix cantharidosmum was investigated for its cytotoxic constituents. Bioassay-guided isolation defined the cytotoxic components as the known compounds lyngbyastatins 1 and 3. However, six new acyl proline derivatives, tumonoic acids D−I, plus the known tumonoic acid A were also isolated. Their planar structures were defined from NMR and MS data, while their stereostructures followed from a series of chiral chromatographies, degradation sequences, and synthetic approaches. The new compounds were tested in an array of assays, but showed only modest antimalarial and inhibition of quorum sensing activities. Nevertheless, these are the first natural products to be reported from this genus, and this inspired a detailed morphologic and 16S rDNA-based phylogenetic analysis of the producing organism

Fitness Ranking of Individual Mutants Drives Patterns of Epistatic Interactions in HIV-1

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