957 research outputs found
Differences in reading background brought to first grade.
Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit
Suboptimal clinical response to ciprofloxacin in patients with enteric fever due to Salmonella spp. with reduced fluoroquinolone susceptibility: a case series
BACKGROUND: Salmonella spp. with reduced susceptibility to fluoroquinolones have higher than usual MICs to these agents but are still considered "susceptible" by NCCLS criteria. Delayed treatment response to fluoroquinolones has been noted, especially in cases of enteric fever due to such strains. We reviewed the ciprofloxacin susceptibility and clinical outcome of our recent enteric fever cases. METHODS: Salmonella enterica Serotype Typhi (S. Typhi) and Serotype Paratyphi (S. Paratyphi) blood culture isolates (1998â2002) were tested against nalidixic acid by disk diffusion (DD) and agar dilution (AD) and to ciprofloxacin by AD using NCCLS methods and interpretive criteria. Reduced fluoroquinolone susceptibility was defined as a ciprofloxacin MIC of 0.125â1.0 mg/L. The clinical records of patients treated with ciprofloxacin for isolates with reduced fluoroquinolone susceptibility were reviewed. RESULTS: Seven of 21 (33%) S. Typhi and S. Paratyphi isolates had reduced susceptibility to fluoroquinolones (MIC range 0.125â0.5 mg/L). All 7 were nalidixic acid resistant by DD (no zone) and by AD (MIC 128- >512 mg/L). The other 14 isolates were nalidixic acid susceptible and fully susceptible to ciprofloxacin (MIC range 0.015â0.03 mg/L). Five of the 7 cases were treated initially with oral ciprofloxacin. One patient remained febrile on IV ciprofloxacin until cefotaxime was added, with fever recurrence when cefotaxime was discontinued. Two continued on oral or IV ciprofloxacin alone but had prolonged fevers of 9â10 days duration, one was switched to IV beta-lactam therapy after remaining febrile for 3 days on oral/IV ciprofloxacin and one was treated successfully with oral ciprofloxacin. Four of the 5 required hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: Our cases provide further evidence that reduced fluoroquinolone susceptibility of S. Typhi and S. Paratyphi is clinically significant. Laboratories should test extra-intestinal Salmonella spp. for reduced fluoroquinolone susceptibility
Rehydration Data for the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) Polymer Films
Atomic oxygen erosion of polymers in low Earth orbit (LEO) poses a serious threat to spacecraft performance and durability. Forty thin film polymer and pyrolytic graphite samples, collectively called the PEACE (Polymer Erosion and Contamination Experiment) Polymers, were exposed to the LEO space environment on the exterior of the ISS for nearly four years as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment 1 & 2 (MISSE 1 & 2) mission. The purpose of the MISSE 2 PEACE Polymers experiment was to determine the atomic oxygen (AO) erosion yield (E(sub y), volume loss per incident oxygen atom) of a wide variety of polymers exposed to the LEO space environment. The Ey values were determined based on mass loss measurements. Because many polymeric materials are hygroscopic, the pre-flight and post-flight mass measurements were obtained using dehydrated samples. To maximize the accuracy of the mass measurements, obtaining dehydration data for each of the polymers was desired to ensure that the samples were fully dehydrated before weighing. A comparison of dehydration and rehydration data showed that rehydration data mirrors dehydration data, and is easier and more reliable to obtain. Tests were also conducted to see if multiple samples could be dehydrated and weighed sequentially. Rehydration curves of 43 polymers and pyrolytic graphite were obtained. This information was used to determine the best pre-flight, and post-flight, mass measurement procedures for the MISSE 2 PEACE Polymers experiment, and for subsequent NASA Glenn Research Center MISSE polymer flight experiments
The genome sequence of the Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus Berkenhout 1769.
We present a genome assembly from an individual male Rattus norvegicus (the Norway rat; Chordata; Mammalia; Rodentia; Muridae). The genome sequence is 2.44 gigabases in span. The majority of the assembly is scaffolded into 20 chromosomal pseudomolecules, with both X and Y sex chromosomes assembled. This genome assembly, mRatBN7.2, represents the new reference genome for R. norvegicus and has been adopted by the Genome Reference Consortium
The open innovation research landscape: established perspectives and emerging themes across different levels of analysis
This paper provides an overview of the main perspectives and themes emerging in research on open innovation (OI). The paper is the result of a collaborative process among several OI scholars â having a common basis in the recurrent Professional Development Workshop on âResearching Open Innovationâ at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. In this paper, we present opportunities for future research on OI, organised at different levels of analysis. We discuss some of the contingencies at these different levels, and argue that future research needs to study OI â originally an organisational-level phenomenon â across multiple levels of analysis. While our integrative framework allows comparing, contrasting and integrating various perspectives at different levels of analysis, further theorising will be needed to advance OI research. On this basis, we propose some new research categories as well as questions for future research â particularly those that span across research domains that have so far developed in isolation
Co-Transport of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Motile Microorganisms Leads to Enhanced Mass Transfer under Diffusive Conditions.
The
environmental chemodynamics of hydrophobic organic chemicals
(HOCs) are often rate-limited by diffusion in stagnant boundary layers.
This study investigated whether motile microorganisms can act as microbial
carriers that enhance mass transfer of HOCs through diffusive boundary
layers. A new experimental system was developed that allows (1) generation
of concentration gradients of HOCs under the microscope, (2) exposure
and direct observation of microorganisms in such gradients, and (3)
quantification of HOC mass transfer. Silicone O-rings were integrated
into a Dunn chemotaxis chamber to serve as sink and source for polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This resulted in stable concentration
gradients in water (>24 h). Adding the model organism <i>Tetrahymena
pyriformis</i> to the experimental system enhanced PAH mass transfer
up to hundred-fold (benzoÂ[a]Âpyrene). Increasing mass transfer enhancement
with hydrophobicity indicated PAH co-transport with the motile organisms.
Fluorescence microscopy confirmed such transport. The effective diffusivity
of <i>T. pyriformis</i>, determined by video imaging microscopy,
was found to exceed molecular diffusivities of the PAHs up to four-fold.
Cell-bound PAH fractions were determined to range from 28% (naphthalene)
to 92% (pyrene). Motile microorganisms can therefore function as effective
carriers for HOCs under diffusive conditions and might significantly
enhance mobility and availability of HOCs
Voiceless but empowered farmers in corporate supply chains: contradictory imagery and instrumental approach to empowerment
There have been calls for a shift of focus towards the political and power-laden aspects of transitioning towards socially equitable global supply chains. This paper offers an empirically grounded response to these calls from a critical realist stance in the context of global food supply chains. We examine how an imaginary for sustainable farming structured around an instrumental construction of empowerment limits what is viewed as permissible, desirable and possible in global food supply chains. We adopt a multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to examine the sustainable farming imaginary for smallholder farmers constructed by one large organization, Unilever, in a series of videos produced and disseminated on YouTube. We expose the underlying mechanisms of power and marginalization at work within the sustainability imaginary and show how âempowermentâ has the potential to create of new dependencies for these farmers. We recontextualize the representations to show that while the imaginary may be commercially feasible, it is less achievable in terms of empowering smallholder farmers
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