An investigation to examine the most appropriate methodology to capture historical and modern preserved anatomical specimens for use in the digital age to improve access: a pilot study

Anatomico-pathological specimens constitute a valuable component of many medical museums or institutional collections but can be limited in their impact on account of both physical and intellectual inaccessibility. Further concerns relate to conservation as anatomical specimens may be subject to tissue deterioration, constraints imposed by spatial or financial limitations of the host institution, or accident-based destruction. In awareness of these issues, a simple and easily implementable methodology to increase accessibility, impact and conservation of anatomical specimens is proposed which combines photogrammetry, object virtual reality (object VR), and interactive portable document format (PDF) with supplementary historical and anatomical commentary. The methodology was developed using wet, dry, and plastinated specimens from the historical and modern collections in the Museum of Anatomy at the University of Glasgow. It was found that photogrammetry yielded excellent results for plastinated specimens and showed potential for dry specimens, while object VR produced excellent photorealistic virtual specimens for all materials visualised. Use of PDF as output format was found to allow for the addition of textual, visual, and interactive content, and as such supplemented the virtual specimen with multidisciplinary information adaptable to the needs of various audiences. The results of this small-scale pilot study indicate the beneficial nature of combining these established techniques into a methodology for the digitisation and utilisation of historical anatomical collections in particular, but also collections of material culture more broadly

Feeling the managed-care pinch

I never paid much attention to HMOs until I began hearing the occasional managed-care horror story (the one about bone-marrow transplant denials comes to mind) and realized I was one of those untold millions living under the auspices of a managed care company. A perennial favorite of the news media, managed care has received a healthy dose of concerned prodding over the last few years over its practices

UM observes MLK\u27s birthday

Article from the University of Maine student newspaper The Maine Campus regarding the University of Maine Faculty Senate agreeing to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday. Also, includes the agenda for the Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebrations at the University

Gap widening between rich, poor

The gap between the rich and poor of the United States is widening, a visiting speaker at the University of Maine and Saturday

Slurs bring civil suit against UM student

The Maine Attorney General\u27s Office filed a civil suit yesterday against a University of Maine student who allegedly used the FirstClass [email] computer system to make threatening statements directed at gays, lesbians and bisexuals. The suit claims Casey Belanger, 19, of Orono, violated the Maine Civil Rights Act... Bias motivated threats of violence have absolutely no place anywhere in society, including our universities and colleges, Attorney General Andrew Ketterer said

Belanger tells story behind FirstClass threats

The penalties levied by the University of Maine against a student accused of issuing a violent threat on FirstClass [the University\u27s email system] have been set, but an investigation by UMaine\u27s Public Safety continues. Casey Belanger, 19, of Caribou, has been ordered by UMaine to serve 30 hours of community service over two semesters. The university has also suspended his FirstClass account and placed him on probated suspension. The punishment sought by the state, however, is potentially more severe

Digital curation and online resources: digital scanning of surgical tools at the royal college of physicians and surgeons of Glasgow for an open university learning resource

Collection preservation is essential for the cultural status of any city. However, presenting a collection publicly risks damage. Recently this drawback has been overcome by digital curation. Described here is a method of digitisation using photogrammetry and virtual reality software. Items were selected from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow archives, and implemented into an online learning module for the Open University. Images were processed via Agisoft Photoscan, Autodesk Memento, and Garden Gnome Object 2VR. Although problems arose due to specularity, 2VR digital models were developed for online viewing. Future research must minimise the difficulty of digitising specular objects

Myxobacteria are able to prey broadly upon clinically-relevant pathogens, exhibiting a prey range which cannot be explained by phylogeny

Myxobacteria are natural predators of microorganisms and the subjects of concerted efforts to identify novel antimicrobial compounds. Myxobacterial predatory activity seems to require more than just the possession of specific antimicrobial metabolites. Thus a holistic approach to studying predation promises novel insights into antimicrobial action. Here, we report the isolation of 113 myxobacteria from samples of soil taken from a range of habitats in mid Wales. Predatory activity of each isolate was quantified against a panel of clinically important prey organisms, including Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Candida albicans, Enterococcus faecalis, and three species of Staphylococcus. Myxobacterial isolates exhibited a wide range of predation activity profiles against the panel of prey. Efficient predation of all prey by isolates within the collection was observed, with K. pneumoniae and C. albicans proving particularly susceptible to myxobacterial predation. Notably efficient predators tended to be proficient at predating multiple prey organisms, suggesting they possess gene(s) encoding a broad range killing activity. However, predatory activity was not congruent with phylogeny, suggesting prey range is subject to relatively rapid specialization, potentially involving lateral gene transfer. The broad but patchy prey ranges observed for natural myxobacterial isolates also implies multiple (potentially overlapping) genetic determinants are responsible for dictating predatory activity

Genome Sequencing and Pan-Genome Analysis of 23 Corallococcus spp. Strains Reveal Unexpected Diversity, With Particular Plasticity of Predatory Gene Sets

Corallococcus is an abundant genus of predatory soil myxobacteria, containing two species, C. coralloides (for which a genome sequence is available) and C. exiguus. To investigate the genomic basis of predation, we genome-sequenced 23 Corallococcus strains. Genomic similarity metrics grouped the sequenced strains into at least nine distinct genomospecies, divided between two major sub-divisions of the genus, encompassing previously described diversity. The Corallococcus pan-genome was found to be open, with strains exhibiting highly individual gene sets. On average, only 30.5% of each strain’s gene set belonged to the core pan-genome, while more than 75% of the accessory pan-genome genes were present in less than four of the 24 genomes. The Corallococcus accessory pan-proteome was enriched for the COG functional category “Secondary metabolism,” with each genome containing on average 55 biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), of which only 20 belonged to the core pan-genome. Predatory activity was assayed against ten prey microbes and found to be mostly incongruent with phylogeny or BGC complement. Thus, predation seems multifactorial, depending partially on BGC complement, but also on the accessory pan-genome – genes most likely acquired horizontally. These observations encourage further exploration of Corallococcus as a source for novel bioactive secondary metabolites and predatory proteins.</p

Interview with Paul Ramchandani: Sonia Livingstone interview with Paul Ramchandani

To gain insights into children’s world and how they use play, Sonia Livingstone and Kate Cowan spoke to Paul Ramchandani, a Lego Professor at the PEDAL Centre, as part of our interview series on play in the digital world