Connections and Disconnections between Academic Writing Theory and Writing in the Business World

Although not all college students will become professional writers, many, if not all, will need to learn to write professionally. The ability to write well is an essential skill in any profession, and while few would dispute the importance of being able to write well, the ways in which one’s academic writing experiences inform her ability to write successfully in professional settings remain a mystery to many. My thesis begins with a discussion of attempts made to bridge academic and business writing and a review of the history of efforts made by advocates of professional and workplace writing instruction and their influence on academic writing pedagogies. I then discuss characteristics of successful academic and business writing. After defining the characteristics of successful writing in each of these discourses, I examine the ways in which they are similar and dissimilar. In doing so, I conclude that while there are many writing values that are unique to academic or business contexts, there are also three significant attributes that are shared by these two discourse communities

Progressive cracking of masonry arch bridges

Numerous methods are available for the assessment of masonry arch bridges at the ultimate limit state. However, there is a lack of suitable methods for assessing behaviour at service levels of loading. To address this, non-linear three-dimensional finite element (FE) models that consider constitutive material models enabling progressive cracking and failure of the complete structural system were used to investigate the development of damage for three masonry arch bridges at both service levels and at the ultimate capacity. All of the elements contributing to the strength of the structure were represented in the models, including the arch barrel, spandrel, abutments, fill and surrounding soil. This allowed for consideration of the longitudinal and transverse capacities, the stiffening effects of the spandrel walls, the restraint and load distribution provided by the fill, the frictional behaviour between the masonry and fill, movement at the abutments and multiple causes of failure. While complex non-linear FE models are able to identify the ultimate load capacity there are alternative simpler approaches available for this, and it is the investigation of damage and crack propagation at service level loads where their use is of greatest benefit. </jats:p

Isolation and Characterization of toxin A-negative, toxin B-positive Clostridium difficile in Dublin, Ireland

Clostridium difficile is a major cause of infectious diarrhoea in hospitalised patients. Most pathogenic C. difficile strains produce two toxins, A and B; however, clinically relevant toxin A-negative, toxin Bpositive (A– B+ ) strains of C. difficile that cause diarrhoea and colitis in humans have been isolated worldwide. The aims of this study were to isolate and characterise A– B+ strains from two university hospitals in Dublin, Ireland. Samples positive for C. difficile were identified daily by review of ELISA results and were cultured on selective media. Following culture, toxin-specific immunoassays, IMR-90 cytotoxicity assays and PCR were used to analyse consecutive C. difficile isolates from 93 patients. Using a toxin A-specific ELISA, 52 samples produced detectable toxin. All isolates were positive using a toxin A ⁄ B ELISA. Similarly, all isolates were positive with the cytoxicity assay, although variant cytopathic effects were observed in 41 cases. PCR amplification of the toxin A and toxin B genes revealed that 41 of the previous A– B+ strains had a c. 1.7-kb deletion in the 3¢-end of the tcdA gene. Restriction enzyme analysis of these amplicons revealed the loss of polymorphic restriction sites. These 41 A– B+ isolates were designated toxinotype VIII by comparison with C. difficile strain 1470. PCR ribotyping revealed that all A– B+ isolates belonged to PCR-ribotype 017. A– B+ C. difficile isolates accounted for 44% of the isolates examined in this study, and appeared to be isolated more frequently in Dublin, Ireland, than reported rates for other countries

Reliability of Hallux Rigidus Radiographic Grading System

Introduction. The purpose of this study was to determine the inter- and intra-observer reliability of a clinical radiographic scale for hallux rigidus. Methods. A total of 80 patients were retrospectively selected from the patient population of two foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeons. Each corresponding series of radiographic images (weight-bearing anteroposterior, weight-bearing lateral, and oblique of the foot) was randomized and evaluated. Re-randomization was performed and the corresponding radiograph images re-numbered. Four orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeons graded each patient, and each rater reclassified the re-randomized radiographic images three weeks later. Results. Sixty-one out of 80 patients (76%) were included in this study. For intra-observer reliability, most of the raters showed “excellent” agreement except one rater had a “substantial” agreement. For inter-observer reliability, only 14 out of 61 cases (23%) showed total agreement between the eight readings from the four surgeons, and 11 out of the 14 cases (79%) were grade 3 hallux rigidus. One of the raters had a tendency to grade at a higher grade resulting in poorer agreement. If this rater was excluded, the results demonstrated a “substantial” agreement by using this classification. Conclusion. The hallux rigidus radiographic grading system should be used with caution. Although there is an “excellent” level of intra-observer agreement, there is only “moderate” to “substantial” level of inter-observer reliability

A germline TaqI restriction fragment length polymorphism in the progesterone receptor gene in ovarian carcinoma.

Clinical outcome in ovarian carcinoma is predicted by progesterone receptor status, indicating an endocrine aspect to this disease. Peripheral leucocyte genomic DNAs were obtained from 41 patients with primary ovarian carcinoma and 83 controls from Ireland, as well as from 26 primary ovarian carcinoma patients and 101 controls in Germany. Southern analysis using a human progesterone receptor (hPR) cDNA probe identified a germline TaqI restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) defined by two alleles: T1, represented by a 2.7 kb fragment; and T2, represented by a 1.9 kb fragment and characterised by an additional TaqI restriction site with respect to T1. An over-representation of T2 in ovarian cancer patients compared with controls in the pooled Irish/German population (P < 0.025) was observed. A difference (P < 0.02) in the distribution of the RFLP genotypes between Irish and German control populations was also observed. The allele distributions could not be shown to differ significantly from Hardy-Weinberg distribution in any subgroup. Using hPR cDNA region-specific probes, the extra TaqI restriction site was mapped to intron G of the hPR gene

Silica cycling in the ultra-oligotrophic eastern Mediterranean Sea

Although silica is a key plant nutrient, there have been few studies aimed at understanding the Si cycle in the eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS). Here we use a combination of new measurements and literature values to explain the silicic acid distribution across the basin and to calculate a silica budget to identify the key controlling processes. The surface water concentration of ∼1 μM, which is unchanging seasonally across the basin, was due to the inflow of western Mediterranean Sea (WMS) water at the Straits of Sicily. It does not change seasonally because there is only a sparse population of diatoms due to the low nutrient (N and P) supply to the photic zone in the EMS. The concentration of silicic acid in the deep water of the western Ionian Sea (6.3 μM) close to the S Adriatic are an of formation was due to the preformed silicic acid (3 μM) plus biogenic silica (BSi) from the dissolution of diatoms from the winter phytoplankton bloom (3.2 μM). The increase of 4.4 μM across the deep water of the EMS was due to silicic acid formed from in situ diagenetic weathering of aluminosilicate minerals fluxing out of the sediment. The major inputs to the EMS are silicic acid and BSi inflowing from the western Mediterranean (121 × 109 mol Si yr−1 silicic acid and 16 × 109 mol Si yr−1 BSi), silicic acid fluxing from the sediment (54 × 109 mol Si yr−1) and riverine (27 × 109 mol Si yr−1) and subterranean groundwater (9.7 × 109 mol Si yr−1) inputs, with only a minor direct input from dissolution of dust in the water column (1 × 109 mol Si yr−1). This budget shows the importance of rapidly dissolving BSi and in situ weathering of aluminosilicate minerals as sources of silica to balance the net export of silicic acid at the Straits of Sicily. Future measurements to improve the accuracy of this preliminary budget have been identified

Development and application of a novel Peptide Nucleic Acid probe for the specific detection of Cronobacter (Enterobacter sakazakii) in powdered infant formula

Cronobacter spp. are causative agents of meningitis, septicemia and necrotizing enterocolitis in neonates and immunocompromised infants. Recently, contaminated powdered infant formula (PIF) has been reported as a source of these infections. In order to minimize the risk of infection, the development of a rapid, sensitive and specific method for the early detection of this bacterium in infant formula is of the utmost importance. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), a technique that allows direct visualization of whole cells, has been combined with specific peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes, a new synthetic molecule with a better hybridization performance than DNA probes. In this work, a new FISH method for the detection of Cronobacter spp. using a novel PNA probe is reported. This PNA-FISH method was then adapted for the detection of this bacterium in PIF. The PNA-FISH procedure using the Cronobacter probe proved to be a reliable method for the detection of this pathogen in PIF samples and an alternative to existing molecular methods. It presented high specificity and sensitivity, detected less than 1 CFU per 10g of Cronobacter in infant formula and provided detection in less than 12 hours. Direct visualization of bacterial cells was possible and the method was simple and easy to use, without any special equipment apart from an epifluorescence microscope. The samples can be also analysed by flow cytometry

Tracking of Salmonella Positive Pigs from Farm to Fork in the Republic of Ireland

In this study, individual pigs from selected herds of known Salmonella serological status were tracked through the slaughter and dressing process. From all tracked animals, caecal contents, rectal faeces, carcasses (before washing and chilling and after chilling) and pork primal cuts were examined for the presence of Salmonella. All samples were screened for Salmonella using real time PCR and all suspect positive samples were confirmed using the ISO 6579 method for Salmonella. To determine the relationship between Salmonella isolates from different parts of the chain , all isolates are being characterised by Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE). The results suggest that the slaughter and dressing operations have a significant effect on the incidence of Salmonella and that even if pigs are presented for slaughter with caecal or rectal carriage of Salmonella then good slaughter practices can prevent carcass contamination. All data generated in the study is being fed into a quantitative risk assessment model for Salmonella in pork

Detection of Escherichia coli O157 by Peptide Nucleic Acid Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (PNA-FISH) and Comparison to a Standard Culture Method

Despite the emergence of non-O157 shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections, E. coli O157 serotype is still the most commonly identified STEC in world. It causes high morbidity and mortality, and has been responsible for a number of outbreaks in many parts of the world. Various methods have been developed to detect this particular serotype, but standard bacteriological methods remain as the gold standard.In here, we propose a new peptide nucleic acid fluorescence in situ hybridization (PNA-FISH) method for the rapid detection of E. coli O157.Testing on 54 representative strains showed that the PNA probe is highly sensitive and specific to E. coli O157. Then, the method was optimized for the detection in food samples. Ground beef and unpasteurized milk samples were artificially contaminated with E. coli O157 concentrations ranging from 1×10-2 to 1×102 CFU per 25g or ml of food. Samples were then pre-enriched and analyzed by both the traditional bacteriological method (ISO 16654:2001) and PNA-FISH. The PNA-FISH method performed well in both types of food matrixes with a detection limit of 1 CFU/25 g or ml of food samples. Tests on 60 food samples have shown a specificity value of 100% (95% CI 82.83 - 100), a sensitivity of 97.22% (95% CI, 83.79 - 99.85) and an accuracy of 98,33% (CI 95%, 83.41 - 99.91). Results indicate that PNA-FISH performed as well as the traditional culture methods and can reduce the diagnosis time to 1 day.This work was supported by the Portuguese Institute Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT), project PIC/IC/82815/2007. C.A. acknowledges FCT for individual postdoctoral fellowship SFRH/BPD/74480/2010. We also acknowledge Biomode S.A. for providing some supplies for this project