131 research outputs found
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Infection Prevention and Control Department of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Prospective Payment System-Exempt Cancer Centers, including the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, will eventually be denied payments by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program for certain preventable Hospital Acquired Conditions. This study is a participant-observer case study of the Infection Prevention and Control Department of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects that the CMS’ Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program may have on the Infection Prevention and Control Department of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Data was collected through direct observation over an eight week period, including in-person interviews with department members. This study suggests the primary impact is a perception by the members of the Infection Prevention and Control Department that compliance with the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program will be hindered due to uncooperativeness by other departments at the RPCI with the implementation of policies, procedures, and programs designed to target infections identified in the regulation
Next-generation sequencing identifies the natural killer cell microRNA transcriptome
Natural killer (NK) cells are innate lymphocytes important for early host defense against infectious pathogens and surveillance against malignant transformation. Resting murine NK cells regulate the translation of effector molecule mRNAs (e.g., granzyme B, GzmB) through unclear molecular mechanisms. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate the translation of their mRNA targets, and are therefore candidates for mediating this control process. While the expression and importance of miRNAs in T and B lymphocytes have been established, little is known about miRNAs in NK cells. Here, we used two next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms to define the miRNA transcriptomes of resting and cytokine-activated primary murine NK cells, with confirmation by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and microarrays. We delineate a bioinformatics analysis pipeline that identified 302 known and 21 novel mature miRNAs from sequences obtained from NK cell small RNA libraries. These miRNAs are expressed over a broad range and exhibit isomiR complexity, and a subset is differentially expressed following cytokine activation. Using these miRNA NGS data, miR-223 was identified as a mature miRNA present in resting NK cells with decreased expression following cytokine activation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that miR-223 specifically targets the 3′ untranslated region of murine GzmB in vitro, indicating that this miRNA may contribute to control of GzmB translation in resting NK cells. Thus, the sequenced NK cell miRNA transcriptome provides a valuable framework for further elucidation of miRNA expression and function in NK cell biology
Study of the A(e,e') Reaction on H, H, C, Al, Cu and Au
Cross sections for the p()n process on H, H, C,
Al, Cu and Au targets were measured at the Thomas
Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) in order to extract the
nuclear transparencies. Data were taken for four-momentum transfers ranging
from =1.1 to 4.8 GeV for a fixed center of mass energy of =2.14
GeV. The ratio of and was extracted from the measured
cross sections for H, H, C and Cu targets at = 2.15
and 4.0 GeV allowing for additional studies of the reaction mechanism. The
experimental setup and the analysis of the data are described in detail
including systematic studies needed to obtain the results. The results for the
nuclear transparency and the differential cross sections as a function of the
pion momentum at the different values of are presented. Global features
of the data are discussed and the data are compared with the results of model
calculations for the p()n reaction from nuclear targets.Comment: 28 pages, 19 figures, submited to PR
Scaling study of the pion electroproduction cross sections and the pion form factor
The H()n cross section was measured for a range of
four-momentum transfer up to =3.91 GeV at values of the invariant
mass, , above the resonance region. The -dependence of the longitudinal
component is consistent with the -scaling prediction for hard exclusive
processes. This suggests that perturbative QCD concepts are applicable at
rather low values of . Pion form factor results, while consistent with the
-scaling prediction, are inconsistent in magnitude with perturbative QCD
calculations. The extraction of Generalized Parton Distributions from hard
exclusive processes assumes the dominance of the longitudinal term. However,
transverse contributions to the cross section are still significant at
=3.91 GeV.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Scaling of the F_2 structure function in nuclei and quark distributions at x>1
We present new data on electron scattering from a range of nuclei taken in
Hall C at Jefferson Lab. For heavy nuclei, we observe a rapid falloff in the
cross section for , which is sensitive to short range contributions to the
nuclear wave-function, and in deep inelastic scattering corresponds to probing
extremely high momentum quarks. This result agrees with higher energy muon
scattering measurements, but is in sharp contrast to neutrino scattering
measurements which suggested a dramatic enhancement in the distribution of the
`super-fast' quarks probed at x>1. The falloff at x>1 is noticeably stronger in
^2H and ^3He, but nearly identical for all heavier nuclei.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be submitted to physical revie
Nuclear transparency and effective kaon-nucleon cross section from the A(e, e'K+) reaction
We have determined the transparency of the nuclear medium to kaons from
measurements on C, Cu, and Au targets.
The measurements were performed at the Jefferson Laboratory and span a range in
four-momentum-transfer squared Q=1.1 -- 3.0 GeV. The nuclear
transparency was defined as the ratio of measured kaon electroproduction cross
sections with respect to deuterium, (). We further
extracted the atomic number () dependence of the transparency as
parametrized by and, within a simple model assumption,
the in-medium effective kaon-nucleon cross sections. The effective cross
sections extracted from the electroproduction data are found to be smaller than
the free cross sections determined from kaon-nucleon scattering experiments,
and the parameter was found to be significantly larger than those
obtained from kaon-nucleus scattering. We have included similar comparisons
between pion- and proton-nucleon effective cross sections as determined from
electron scattering experiments, and pion-nucleus and proton-nucleus scattering
data.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Measurement of Nuclear Transparency for the A(e,e' pi^+) Reaction
We have measured the nuclear transparency of the A(e,e' pi^+) process in
^{2}H,^{12}C, ^{27}Al, ^{63}Cu and ^{197}Au targets. These measurements were
performed at the Jefferson Laboratory over a four momentum transfer squared
range Q^2 = 1.1 - 4.7 (GeV/c)^2. The nuclear transparency was extracted as the
super-ratio of from data to a model of
pion-electroproduction from nuclei without pi-N final state interactions. The
Q^2 and atomic number dependence of the nuclear transparency both show
deviations from traditional nuclear physics expectations, and are consistent
with calculations that include the quantum chromodynamical phenomenon of color
transparency.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figs Changes to figure 2 and 3 (error band updated and
theory curves updated
New measurements of high-momentum nucleons and short-range structures in nuclei
We present new measurements of electron scattering from high-momentum
nucleons in nuclei. These data allow an improved determination of the strength
of two-nucleon correlations for several nuclei, including light nuclei where
clustering effects can, for the first time, be examined. The data also include
the kinematic region where three-nucleon correlations are expected to dominate.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Results from JLab E02-01
Statistical validation of megavariate effects in ASCA
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens
Recoil Polarization Measurements of the Proton Electromagnetic Form Factor Ratio to Q^2 = 8.5 GeV^2
Among the most fundamental observables of nucleon structure, electromagnetic
form factors are a crucial benchmark for modern calculations describing the
strong interaction dynamics of the nucleon's quark constituents; indeed, recent
proton data have attracted intense theoretical interest. In this letter, we
report new measurements of the proton electromagnetic form factor ratio using
the recoil polarization method, at momentum transfers Q2=5.2, 6.7, and 8.5
GeV2. By extending the range of Q2 for which GEp is accurately determined by
more than 50%, these measurements will provide significant constraints on
models of nucleon structure in the non-perturbative regime
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