Oscar Ameringer and American Socialism

This study analyzes the ideology of Oscar Ameringer, one of the Midwest's noted socialists. While the immediate goal of the study is to determine whether Ameringer fits into a left-wing category instead of a right-wing one, it also provides an opportunity to view American radicalism from the perspective of a German immigrant who devoted his life to bringing about socialism in the -United States. The nature of radicalism in the West remains little studied, and Ameringer's perspective is another view from which to understand it better. Also Ameringer continued to view American radicalism from a European viewpoint, which added a different perspective than many of his colleagues.Histor

Addressing Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Needs in Androscoggin County

Public health and social equity hinge upon the accessibility of medical services to all. Lack of access to transportation for routine and non-emergency medical appointments poses a significant barrier to appointment attendance, a barrier that disproportionately impact low income people and other marginalized groups. Healthcare providers also suffer major financial losses when patients are unable to attend their appointments. Prior research and community forums in Androscoggin County, Maine have identified several shortcomings to existing local non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) services, illuminating the need for transportation options that better address the specific needs of the local population. In this report, we identify unmet transportation needs in Androscoggin County, detail the findings of our research on alternative models of NEMT across the United States, and propose a pilot program for a NEMT system tailored to the local needs and resources in Androscoggin County. This project is conducted in collaboration with Community Concepts Inc. (CCI). We build on the work of a previous Environmental Studies Capstone group from Bates College that identified the specific shortcomings of the current NEMT ride brokerage system from the perspective of the New Mainer community. Through consultations and scholarly research, we found a number of elevated transportation barriers faced by New Mainer users, rural users, users with disabilities, and non-MaineCare users. Our comparative study of different NEMT programs in Maine, New York, Minnesota, and Oregon allowed us to identify the range of different vehicles, transport styles, scheduling services and payment options that exist in NEMT services on a national scale. We synthesize the findings of this research into a proposal for a six month NEMT pilot program to be implemented in Androscoggin County. The pilot program we propose would be operated by CCI as a means of testing out the viability of an alternative to the current LogistiCare system. The program would operate two vans, one as a demand responsive, taxi-style service, and one on a fixed route with pick-up points in the downtown Lewiston-Auburn area and drop-off points at major healthcare providers. In order to address local and cultural needs present in Androscoggin County, our proposal recommends a multilingual ride-scheduling service, driver trainings on implicit bias and mental health first aid, and a representative community board to receive feedback and implement changes in the program moving forward. Fare options and potential funding options are also discussed. We conclude with a set of recommendations for next steps for working towards more accessible, culturally appropriate NEMT services in Androscoggin County

Unique Structural Modifications Are Present in the Lipopolysaccharide from Colistin-Resistant Strains of \u3ci\u3eAcinetobacter baumannii\u3c/i\u3e

Acinetobacter baumannii is a nosocomial opportunistic pathogen that can cause severe infections, including hospital-acquired pneumonia, wound infections, and sepsis. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains are prevalent, further complicating patient treatment. Due to the increase in MDR strains, the cationic antimicrobial peptide colistin has been used to treat A. baumannii infections. Colistin-resistant strains of A. baumannii with alterations to the lipid A component of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) have been reported; specifically, the lipid A structure was shown to be hepta-acylated with a phosphoethanolamine (pEtN) modification present on one of the terminal phosphate residues. Using a tandem mass spectrometry platform, we provide definitive evidence that the lipid A isolated from colistin-resistant A. baumannii MAC204 LPS contains a novel structure corresponding to a diphosphoryl hepta-acylated lipid A structure with both pEtN and galactosamine (GalN) modifications. To correlate our structural studies with clinically relevant samples, we characterized colistin-susceptible and -resistant isolates obtained from patients. These results demonstrated that the clinical colistin-resistant isolate had the same pEtN and GalN modifications as those seen in the laboratory-adapted A. baumannii strain MAC204. In summary, this work has shown complete structure characterization including the accurate assignment of acylation, phosphorylation, and glycosylation of lipid A from A. baumannii, which are important for resistance to colistin

Differential In Vitro Cultivation of Francisella tularensis Influences Live Vaccine Protective Efficacy by Altering the Immune Response

Francisella tularensis (Ft) is a biothreat agent for which there is no FDA-approved human vaccine. Currently, there are substantial efforts underway to develop both vaccines and improved tools to assess these vaccines. Ft expresses distinct sets of antigens (Ags) in vivo as compared to those expressed in vitro. Importantly, Ft grown in brain-heart infusion medium (BHIM) more closely mimics the antigenic profile of macrophage-grown Ft when compared to Mueller-Hinton medium (MHM)-grown Ft. Thus, we predicted that when used as a live vaccine BHIM-grown Ft (BHIM-Ft) would provide better protection, as compared to MHM-Ft. We first determined if there was a difference in growth kinetics between BHIM and MHM-Ft. We found that BHIM-Ft exhibited an initial growth advantage ex vivo that manifests as slightly hastened intracellular replication as compared to MHM-Ft. We also observed that BHIM-Ft exhibited an initial growth advantage in vivo represented by rapid bacterial expansion and systemic dissemination associated with a slightly shorter mean survival time of naive animals. Next, using two distinct strains of Ft LVS (WT and sodB), we observed that mice vaccinated with live BHIM-Ft LVS exhibited significantly better protection against Ft SchuS4 respiratory challenge compared to MHM-Ft-immunized mice. This enhanced protection correlated with lower bacterial burden, reduced tissue inflammation, and reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine production late in infection. Splenocytes from BHIM-Ft sodB-immunized mice contained more CD4+, effector, memory T-cells, and were more effective at limiting intracellular replication of Ft LVS in vitro. Concurrent with enhanced killing of Ft LVS, BHIM-Ft sodB-immune splenocytes produced significantly higher levels of IFN-γ and IL-17A cytokines than their MHM-Ft sodB-immunized counterparts indicating development of a more effective T cell memory response when immunizing mice with BHIM-Ft

Host-Adaptation of Francisella tularensis Alters the Bacterium's Surface-Carbohydrates to Hinder Effectors of Innate and Adaptive Immunity

The gram-negative bacterium Francisella tularensis survives in arthropods, fresh water amoeba, and mammals with both intracellular and extracellular phases and could reasonably be expected to express distinct phenotypes in these environments. The presence of a capsule on this bacterium has been controversial with some groups finding such a structure while other groups report that no capsule could be identified. Previously we reported in vitro culture conditions for this bacterium which, in contrast to typical methods, yielded a bacterial phenotype that mimics that of the bacterium's mammalian, extracellular phase.SDS-PAGE and carbohydrate analysis of differentially-cultivated F. tularensis LVS revealed that bacteria displaying the host-adapted phenotype produce both longer polymers of LPS O-antigen (OAg) and additional HMW carbohydrates/glycoproteins that are reduced/absent in non-host-adapted bacteria. Analysis of wildtype and OAg-mutant bacteria indicated that the induced changes in surface carbohydrates involved both OAg and non-OAg species. To assess the impact of these HMW carbohydrates on the access of outer membrane constituents to antibody we used differentially-cultivated bacteria in vitro to immunoprecipitate antibodies directed against outer membrane moieties. We observed that the surface-carbohydrates induced during host-adaptation shield many outer membrane antigens from binding by antibody. Similar assays with normal mouse serum indicate that the induced HMW carbohydrates also impede complement deposition. Using an in vitro macrophage infection assay, we find that the bacterial HMW carbohydrate impedes TLR2-dependent, pro-inflammatory cytokine production by macrophages. Lastly we show that upon host-adaptation, the human-virulent strain, F. tularensis SchuS4 also induces capsule production with the effect of reducing macrophage-activation and accelerating tularemia pathogenesis in mice.F. tularensis undergoes host-adaptation which includes production of multiple capsular materials. These capsules impede recognition of bacterial outer membrane constituents by antibody, complement, and Toll-Like Receptor 2. These changes in the host-pathogen interface have profound implications for pathogenesis and vaccine development