9,742 research outputs found
High levels of cyclic di-GMP in Klebsiella pneumoniae attenuate virulence in the lung
ABSTRACT
The bacterial second messenger bis-(3′-5′)-cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP) has been shown to influence the expression of virulence factors in certain pathogenic bacteria, but little is known about its activity in the increasingly antibiotic-resistant pathogen
Klebsiella pneumoniae
. Here, the expression in
K. pneumoniae
of a heterologous diguanylate cyclase increased the bacterial c-di-GMP concentration and attenuated pathogenesis in murine pneumonia. This attenuation remained evident in mice lacking the c-di-GMP sensor STING, indicating that the high c-di-GMP concentration exerted its influence not on host responses but on bacterial physiology. While serum resistance and capsule expression were unaffected by the increased c-di-GMP concentration, both type 3 and type 1 pili were strongly upregulated. Importantly, attenuation of
K. pneumoniae
virulence by high c-di-GMP levels was abrogated when type 1 pilus expression was silenced. We conclude that increased type 1 piliation may hamper
K. pneumoniae
virulence in the respiratory tract and that c-di-GMP signaling represents a potential therapeutic target for antibiotic-resistant
K. pneumoniae
in this niche.
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A History of Malayalam Horror Cinema and the Use of Christian Iconography
The research provides an introduction to Malayalam horror cinema. Malayalam is the language spoken at the region of Kerala located on the south western part of India. The
Malayalam horror genre uses narratives that are closely connected with religion. In this doctoral thesis I discuss the use of Christian iconography in Malayalam horror cinema.
This thesis analysed various Malayalam horror films portraying elements of Christian imagery and show how Christianity in Kerala is othered using the horror genre. I argued that the shifts in south Indian society and Indian politics over the past three decades are to blame for the rise of Christian iconography in Malayalam horror films and the alterations in how Christianity is viewed. Christianity has historically served as a haven from Hindutva's restrictions and caste, religion, class and gender-based oppression in India. As a result, Christianity is frequently both positively and adversely associated with moderate libertarianism regarding women and class in Indian films.
Chapter 3 addresses the questions I aimed to answer for this research that is, the Indian political repression that othered the Christian community and its influence on Malayalam cinema using the horror genre. I used film analysis techniques within mis-en-scene, dialogue, cinematography, sound, editing, costumes, characters and the making of selected films to demonstrate how Christianity is consistently positioned as the ‘other.’
The Malayalam film industry have significantly changed due to various reasons that will be elaborated in the thesis, some being associated with the western film making culture and practices. This thesis demonstrated inspirations used by Malayalam film makers by comparison and assessment of different films in Hollywood. The practical output I produced would provide the reader with information on important elements that constitute Malayalam horror cinema and its significance within the Malayalam film industr
Sling Complications
https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/wrin_briefs/1003/thumbnail.jp
Automated progress identification and feedback in large experimental laboratories
In this work we describe a novel web-based system whose aim is to enhance the learning environment within experimental laboratories, and report on its deployment in undergraduate computer architecture modules. Student progress is tracked and recorded throughout the practical work, and supervisory facilities are provided including the visualisation of the progress of everyone in the laboratory on a management console. The system delivers information concerning the practical work to be undertaken, and uses carefully designed sets of questions based on the observations to be made by students in the laboratory. The responses made in this system are used to feedback further specific information to the student to aid their individual progress
Surgeon Volume
https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/wrin_briefs/1002/thumbnail.jp
Incentives vs. Control: An Analysis of U.S. Dual-Class Companies
Dual-class common stock allows for the separation of voting rights and cash flow rights across the different classes of equity. We construct a large sample of dual-class firms in the United States and analyze the relationships of insider's cash flow rights and voting rights with firm value, performance, and investment behavior. We find that relationship of firm value to cash flow rights is positive and concave and the relationship to voting rights is negative and convex. Identical quadratic relationships are found for the respective ownership variables with sales growth, capital expenditures, and the combination of R&D and advertising. Our evidence is consistent with an entrenchment effect of voting control that leads managers to underinvest and an incentive effect of cash flow ownership that induces managers to pursue more aggressive strategies.
The Cost of Clinical Legal Education
Critics of clinical legal education often malign its expense and look to clinical budget cuts as the primary means of reducing costs in legal education. This narrow focus, however, ignores the important function that clinical legal education plays in training law students to be ready for practice and assumes other legal education expenses are more important. The 1992 MacCrate Report, the 2007 Carnegie Report, and other studies demonstrate that clinical education is necessary to produce a well-rounded and practice ready law student. Though clinical legal education should not be immune to cost constraints, neither should any other type of law school expenditure. To succeed in economically difficult and demanding times, law schools must put every aspect of legal education through a cost-benefit analysis for cost-saving potential
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