Comparison of Antibiotic Sensitivity Profiles, Molecular Typing Patterns, and Attribution of Salmonella Enterica Serotype Newport in the U.S., 2003-2006

Salmonella causes gastrointestinal illness in humans. The purpose of the study was to determine the relative contribution of different food commodities to sporadic cases of salmonellosis (attribution analysis) caused by Salmonella Newport (SN) using Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns and antimicrobial sensitivity (AST) data submitted by public health laboratories and regulatory agencies from 2003 to 2006. The genetic relationship between isolates from non-human (348) and human (10,848) sources was studied by two unique clustering methods: UPGMA and Ward. Results show poultry was the highest contributor of human SN infections, followed by tomatoes and beef. Beef was the largest contributing food commodity of multi-drug resistant (MDR)-AmpC infection patterns. Results from this pilot study show that PFGE and AST can be useful tools in performing attribution analysis at the national level and that SN MDR-AmpC patterns are decreasing and seem to be restricted to isolates from animal sources

A Mindful Environmental Jurisprudence?: Speculations on the Application of Gandhi’s Thought to MCWC v. Nestlé

We attempt to engage modern legal reasoning with Gandhi’s thought. We hope to speculate on what jurisprudence would look like if it were more mindful of the concepts central to Gandhi’s thought. By using Gandhi as an intellectual anchor, we hope to take a step toward creating a more “mindful jurisprudence” that implicitly incorporates into its reasoning the needs of environmental stewardship, disempowered populations, and the poverty-stricken. Because Gandhi’s thought has been discussed at length in environmental justice campaigns, we begin this effort by examining the relationship between environmental law and Gandhi’s thought. Given Gandhi’s commentaries on exploitative and oppressive social relationships, we focus on the intersections of law, environment, and economy. We use the recent suit, Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation v. Nestlé Waters North America, Inc. (MCWC), as a case study to which we apply themes from Gandhi’s thought. Applying Gandhi’s thought to MCWC is useful for two reasons. First, MCWC contains several core legal doctrines that appear regularly in environmental cases (and in case law more broadly). As a result, our applications of Gandhi’s thought directly apply to other environmental cases. Second, the case involves a defendant-corporation’s encroachment onto a stream used by local plaintiff-civilians. Environmental justice campaigns often involve similar factual circumstances in which local people resist large outsider organizations. Therefore, using Gandhi’s thought, we examine the legal reasoning in MCWC to identify taken-for-granted assumptions about environment and society that favor outside parties over local residents

DETERMINATION OF S-METHYL L-CYSTEINE BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHIC METHOD

Objective: A simple, reproducible and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography method has been developed for determination of S-Methyl L-Cysteine. S-Methyl L-Cysteine is widely observed and most common amino acid in plants, including many edible vegetables, which is responsible for reducing blood cholesterol level in the body. Methods: S-Methyl L-Cysteine was chromatographed using Phosphate buffer of pH 6.5: Acetonitrile in the ratio of 97:3. The liquid chromatogram was equipped with a variable wavelength UV detector, an injector and a data processor. Inertsustain GL-Science Column C-18 (150 mm x 4.6 mm; 5μ) was used as a stationary phase. Results: The retention time of S-Methyl L-Cysteine was observed as 2.261±0.0016 min. The linearity value for S-Methyl L-Cysteine was found to be 100-2000 µg/ml with Correlation of Determination (R2) value as 0.9992. LOD and LOQ values obtained are 29.51μg/ml and 89.74 μg/ml, respectively. Conclusion: The method was developed and validated successfully as per ICH guidelines for analytical method validation

Spectrin-Based Complex for Regulation of Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 Signaling and Heart Function

Maladaptive cardiac remodeling is an important step in the progression of heart failure and is characterized by changes in cardiac chamber size, structure, and performance induced by a constellation of cell- and tissue-level factors. While great strides have been made in identifying membrane receptors, signaling molecules, and transcription factors involved in the remodeling process, fundamental questions remain about the molecular pathways linking extracellular stress cues to cellular reprogramming underlying progression of disease. Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) is a multifunctional transcription factor which regulates expression of gene programs important for inflammation, cell survival, and hypertrophy. While STAT3 signaling modulates cardiomyocyte function in response to ischemia and biomechanical stress, the molecular pathways that coordinate STAT3 activity is unclear. We hypothesized that βIV-spectrin, an actin associated cytoskeletal protein, coordinates a macromolecular complex with CaMKII and STAT3 to promote phosphorylation/activation of STAT3 at the cardiomyocyte submembrane. We believe that dysfunction of βIV-spectrin will induce cardiac malfunction downstream of STAT3. To understand the interaction between STAT3 and βIV-spectrin, novel mouse models expressing truncated βIV-spectrin protein lacking the validated CaMKII binding domain (qv3J), a cardiac-selective knockout (cKO) of βIV-spectrin, and wildtype littermates were used. Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography at baseline and post Transverse Aortic Constriction (TAC). Levels of total and phosphorylated STAT3 and CaMKII were assessed in whole heart lysates by western blot, pull-down, and co-immunoprecipitation assays to measure relevant protein concentrations and interactions. Permeabilized cardiomyocytes were immunostained for βIV-spectrin, CaMKII, and STAT3 and protein localization was assessed by confocal microscopy to study the activation and localization of STAT3. βIV-spectrin cKO mice showed decreased heart function while qv3J mice displayed normal cardiac function at baseline and post TAC, compared to wildtype. Mice lacking βIV-spectrin/CaMKII/STAT3 interaction demonstrated abnormal STAT3 regulation and response to biomechanical stress. This study indicates the presence of a novel complex between βIV-spectrin and STAT3, thereby regulating the localization of STAT3 in cardiomyocytes. Future studies will address the specific role of STAT3 in pathology associated with spectrin-deficiency.The Ohio State University- College of EngineeringThe Ohio State University- Undergraduate Research OfficeA two-year embargo was granted for this item.Academic Major: Biomedical Engineerin