Draft Genome Sequences of Antibiotic-Resistant Commensal Escherichia coli

Antimicrobial resistance is a significant public health issue. We report here the draft genome sequences of three drug-resistant strains of commensal Escherichia coli isolated from a single healthy college student. Each strain has a distinct genome, but two of the three contain an identical large plasmid with multiple resistance genes

Utility of FMS to Understand Injury Incidence in Sports: Current Perspectives

The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is a popular movement screen used by rehabilitation, as well as strength and conditioning, professionals. The FMS, like other movement screens, identifies movement dysfunction in those at risk of, but not currently experiencing, signs or symptoms of a musculoskeletal injury. Seven movement patterns comprise the FMS, which was designed to screen fundamental movement requiring a balance between stability and mobility. The 7 movement patterns are summed to a composite FMS score. For an instrument to have wide applicability and acceptability, there must be high levels of reliability, validity, and accuracy. The FMS is certainly a reliable tool, and can be consistently scored within and between raters. Although the FMS has high face and content validity, the criterion validity (discriminant and convergent) is low. Additionally, the FMS does not appear to be studying a single construct, challenging the use of the summed composite FMS score. The accuracy of the FMS in screening for injury is also suspect, with low sensitivity in almost all studies, although specificity is higher. Finally, within the FMS literature, the concepts of prediction and association are conflated, combined with flawed cohort studies, leading to questions about the efficacy of the FMS to screen for injury. Future research on the use of the FMS, either the composite score or the individual movement patterns, to screen for injury or injury risk in adequately powered, well-designed studies are required to determine if the FMS is appropriate for use as a movement screen

Systematically Searching for New Resonances at the Energy Frontier using Topological Models

We propose a new strategy to systematically search for new physics processes in particle collisions at the energy frontier. An examination of all possible topologies which give identifiable resonant features in a specific final state leads to a tractable number of `topological models' per final state and gives specific guidance for their discovery. Using one specific final state, $\ell\ell jj$, as an example, we find that the number of possibilities is reasonable and reveals simple, but as-yet-unexplored, topologies which contain significant discovery potential. We propose analysis techniques and estimate the sensitivity for $pp$ collisions with $\sqrt{s}=14$ TeV and $\mathcal{L}=300$ fb$^{-1}$

Reliability of the Tuck Jump Assessment Using Standardized Rater Training

# BACKGROUND The Tuck Jump Assessment (TJA) is a test used to assess technique flaws during a 10-second, high intensity, jumping bout. Although the TJA has broad clinical applicability, there is no standardized training to maximize the TJA measurement properties. # HYPOTHESIS/PURPOSE To determine the reliability of the TJA using varied healthcare professionals following an online standardized training program. The authors hypothesized that the total score will have moderate to excellent levels of intra- and interrater reliability. # STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional reliability. # METHODS A website was created by a physical therapist (PT) with videos, written descriptors of the 10 TJA technique flaws, and examples of what constituted no flaw, minor flaw, or major flaw (0,1,2) using published standards. The website was then validated (both face and content) by four experts. Three raters of different professions: a PT, an AT, and a Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (SCCC) were selected due to their expertise with injury and movement. Raters used the online standardized training, scored 41 videos of participants' TJAs, then scored them again two weeks later. Reliability estimates were determined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for total scores of 10 technique flaws and Krippendorff α (K α) for the individual technique flaws (ordinal). # RESULTS Eleven of 50 individual technique flaws were above the acceptable level (K α = 0.80). The total score had moderate interrater reliability in both sessions (Session 1: ICC~2,2~ = 0.64; 95% CI (Confidence Interval) (0.34-0.81); Standard Error Measurement (SEM) = 0.66 technique flaws and Session 2: ICC~2,2~ = 0.56; 95% CI (0.04-0.79); SEM = 1.30). Rater 1had a good reliability (ICC~2,2~ = 0.76; 95% CI (0.54-0.87); SEM = 0.26), rater 2 had a moderate reliability (ICC~2,2~ = 0.62; 95% CI (0.24-0.80); SEM =0.41) and rater 3 had excellent reliability (ICC~2,2~ = 0.98; 95% CI (0.97-0.99); SEM =0.01). # CONCLUSION All raters had at least good reliability estimates for the total score. The same level of consistency was not seen when evaluating each technique flaw. These findings suggest that the total score may not be as accurate when compared to individual technique flaws and should be used with caution. # LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3

Regulation of D-galacturonate metabolism in Caulobacter crescentus by HumR, a LacI-family transcriptional repressor

The oligotrophic freshwater bacterium Caulobacter crescentus encodes a cluster of genes (CC_1487 to CC_1495) shown here to be necessary for metabolism of D-galacturonate, the primary constituent of pectin, a major plant polymer. Sequence analysis suggests that these genes encode a version of the bacterial hexuronate isomerase pathway. A conserved 14 bp sequence motif is associated with promoter regions of three operons within this cluster, and is conserved in homologous gene clusters in related alpha-Proteobacteria. Embedded in the hexuronate gene cluster is a gene (CC_1489) encoding a member of the LacI family of bacterial transcription factors. This gene product, designated here as HumR (hexuronate metabolism regulator), represses expression of the uxaA and uxaC operon promoters by binding to the conserved operator sequence. Repression is relieved in the presence of galacturonate or, to a lesser extent, by glucuronate. Other genes potentially involved in pectin degradation and hexuronate transport are also under the control of HumR. Adoption of a LacI-type repressor to control hexuronate metabolism parallels the regulation of xylose, glucose, and maltose utilization in C. crescentus, but is distinct from the use of GntR-type repressors to control pectin and hexuronate utilization in gamma-Proteobacteria such as Escherichia coli

Central and peripheral arterial stiffness responses to uninterrupted prolonged sitting combined with a high-fat meal: a randomized, controlled cross-over trial

Background and aims: Independently, prolonged uninterrupted sitting and the consumption of a meal high in saturated fats acutely disrupt normal cardiovascular function. Currently the acute effects of these behaviours performed in combination on arterial stiffness, a marker of cardiovascular health, is unknown. This study sought to determine the effect of consuming a high-fat meal (Δ= 51 g fat) in conjunction with prolonged uninterrupted sitting (180 min) on measures of central and peripheral arterial stiffness. Methods: Using a randomized crossover design, thirteen young healthy males consumed a high-fat (61 g) or low-fat (10 g) meal before 180 min of uninterrupted sitting. Carotid-femoral (cf-) and femoral-ankle (fa-) pulse wave velocity (PWV), aortic-femoral stiffness gradient (af-SG), superficial femoral PWV beta (β), and oscillometric pulse wave analysis outcomes were assessed pre and post sitting. Results: cfPWV increased significantly more following the high-fat (mean difference [MD]= 0.59 m·s-1) when compared to the low-fat (MD= 0.2 m·s-1) meal, with no change in faPWV in either condition. The af-SG significantly decreased (worsened) (ηp2= 0.569) overtime in high and low-fat conditions (ratio= 0.1 and 0.1 respectively). Superficial femoral PWVβ significantly increased over time in high- and low-fat conditions (ηp2= 0.321; 0.8 and 0.4 m·s-1 respectively). A significant interaction found that triglycerides increased over time in the high fat trial only (ηp2= 0.761). There were no significant changes in blood pressures. Conclusions: Consuming a high-fat meal prior to 180 min of uninterrupted sitting augments markers of cardiovascular disease risk more than sitting following a low-fat meal

Infrared observations of gravitational lensing in Abell 2219 with CIRSI

We present the first detection of a gravitational depletion signal at near-infrared wavelengths, based on deep panoramic images of the cluster Abell 2219 (z=0.22) taken with the Cambridge Infrared Survey Instrument (CIRSI) at the prime focus of the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope. Infrared studies of gravitational depletion offer a number of advantages over similar techniques applied at optical wavelengths, and can provide reliable total masses for intermediate-redshift clusters. Using the maximum-likelihood technique developed by Schneider, King & Erben, we detect the gravitational depletion at the 3σ confidence level. By modelling the mass distribution as a singular isothermal sphere and ignoring the uncertainty in the unlensed number counts, we find an Einstein radius of θ_E ≃ 13.7^(+3.9)_(-4.2) arcsec (66 per cent confidence limit). This corresponds to a projected velocity dispersion of σᵥ∼800 km s⁻¹, in agreement with constraints from strongly lensed features. For a Navarro, Frenk & White mass model, the radial dependence observed indicates a best-fitting halo scalelength of 125h⁻¹ kpc. We investigate the uncertainties arising from the observed fluctuations in the unlensed number counts, and show that clustering is the dominant source of error. We extend the maximum-likelihood method to include the effect of incompleteness, and discuss the prospects of further systematic studies of lensing in the near-infrared band