Escherichia coli Shiga Toxin Mechanisms of Action in Renal Disease

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli is a contaminant of food and water that in humans causes a diarrheal prodrome followed by more severe disease of the kidneys and an array of symptoms of the central nervous system. The systemic disease is a complex referred to as diarrhea-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (D+HUS). D+HUS is characterized by thrombocytopenia, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, and acute renal failure. This review focuses on the renal aspects of D+HUS. Current knowledge of this renal disease is derived from a combination of human samples, animal models of D+HUS, and interaction of Shiga toxin with isolated renal cell types. Shiga toxin is a multi-subunit protein complex that binds to a glycosphingolipid receptor, Gb3, on select eukaryotic cell types. Location of Gb3 in the kidney is predictive of the sites of action of Shiga toxin. However, the toxin is cytotoxic to some, but not all cell types that express Gb3. It also can cause apoptosis or generate an inflammatory response in some cells. Together, this myriad of results is responsible for D+HUS disease

Cell-type specific analysis of translating RNAs in developing flowers reveals new levels of control

Determining both the expression levels of mRNA and the regulation of its translation is important in understanding specialized cell functions. In this study, we describe both the expression profiles of cells within spatiotemporal domains of the Arabidopsis thaliana flower and the post-transcriptional regulation of these mRNAs, at nucleotide resolution. We express a tagged ribosomal protein under the promoters of three master regulators of flower development. By precipitating tagged polysomes, we isolated cell type specific mRNAs that are probably translating, and quantified those mRNAs through deep sequencing. Cell type comparisons identified known cell-specific transcripts and uncovered many new ones, from which we inferred cell type-specific hormone responses, promoter motifs and coexpressed cognate binding factor candidates, and splicing isoforms. By comparing translating mRNAs with steady-state overall transcripts, we found evidence for widespread post-transcriptional regulation at both the intron splicing and translational stages. Sequence analyses identified structural features associated with each step. Finally, we identified a new class of noncoding RNAs associated with polysomes. Findings from our profiling lead to new hypotheses in the understanding of flower development

From Acoustic Segmentation to Language Processing: Evidence from Optical Imaging

During language acquisition in infancy and when learning a foreign language, the segmentation of the auditory stream into words and phrases is a complex process. Intuitively, learners use “anchors” to segment the acoustic speech stream into meaningful units like words and phrases. Regularities on a segmental (e.g., phonological) or suprasegmental (e.g., prosodic) level can provide such anchors. Regarding the neuronal processing of these two kinds of linguistic cues a left-hemispheric dominance for segmental and a right-hemispheric bias for suprasegmental information has been reported in adults. Though lateralization is common in a number of higher cognitive functions, its prominence in language may also be a key to understanding the rapid emergence of the language network in infants and the ease at which we master our language in adulthood. One question here is whether the hemispheric lateralization is driven by linguistic input per se or whether non-linguistic, especially acoustic factors, “guide” the lateralization process. Methodologically, functional magnetic resonance imaging provides unsurpassed anatomical detail for such an enquiry. However, instrumental noise, experimental constraints and interference with EEG assessment limit its applicability, pointedly in infants and also when investigating the link between auditory and linguistic processing. Optical methods have the potential to fill this gap. Here we review a number of recent studies using optical imaging to investigate hemispheric differences during segmentation and basic auditory feature analysis in language development

Assessment of Departmental Journal Requests and Impact on an Academic Health Sciences Library Collection: An Unanticipated Benefit

In 2005, the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library made the decision to convert from print to a predominantly electronic journal collection. The conversion was completed in 2007. This poster presentation reports the objectives, guidelines, and results of the print-to-electronic journal collection conversion process

Use of a Locally-Developed Worksheet for Multiple Journal Requests to Simplify the Review Process

Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library developed a worksheet to aid in making collection development decisions for the George Washington University Medical Center. This worksheet would enable the library to give priority to departments with less journal coverage. By conducting departmental surveys, the library was able to prioritize purchases regarding the journal collection. This poster presentation explains the development, results, and benefits of the worksheet, which was created in Microsoft Excel

Changing Space Needs: A First Floor Renovation and Assessing Its Impact on Designing the Electronic Library of the 21st Century

An increase in electronic resources, modification in both usersʼ and staffʼs working space, and an internal initiative to create a single Service Desk, all resulted in the redesign of the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library\u27s first floor. This poster demonstrates how completion of that project has affected usersʼ perception of the library

Changing Space Needs and Electronic Resources Migration: Moving Towards a Library for the 21st Century

Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library underwent a major space renovation during the summer of 2005. Administration and librarians felt the need to modernize the environment to better reflect the needs of the users. This poster describes the planning, changes, and results of the 21st century version of the library