Antibody-resistant mutants of Borrelia burgdorferi: in vitro selection and characterization.

We used polyclonal antisera and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to inhibit the growth of clonal populations of two strains of Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease agent, and thereby select for antibody-resistant mutants. mAbs were directed at the outer membrane proteins, OspA or OspB. Mutants resistant to the growth-inhibiting properties of the antibodies were present in the populations at frequencies ranging from 10(-5) to 10(-2). The several escape variants that were examined were of four classes. Class I mutants were resistant to all mAbs; they lacked OspA and OspB and the linear plasmid that encodes them. Two other proteins were expressed in larger amounts in class I mutants; mAbs to these proteins inhibited the mutant but not the wild-type cells. Class II mutants were resistant to some but not all mAbs; they had truncated OspA and/or OspB proteins. Class III mutants were resistant only to the selecting mAb; they had full-length Osp proteins that were not bound by the selecting antibody in Western blots. In two class III mutants resistant to different anti-OspA mAbs, missense mutations were demonstrated in the ospA genes. Class IV mutants were likewise resistant only to selecting antibody, but in this case the selecting antibody still bound in Western blots

An empirical study into the learning practices and enculturation of DJs, turntablists, hip hop and dance music producers

This study explores the music practices and learning strategies of nine popular electronic musicians (DJs, turntablists, hip hop and dance music producers) through the consideration of current literature in empirical music studies, trends in music education and the theme of musical enculturation as a key component of a popular electronic musician’s development. Following the investigation into the learning practices employed by the musicians, as they gather the necessary skills and knowledge to compose, arrange, produce and perform dance and hip hop genres of electronic music, the article goes on to consider whether the learning practices and values expressed by the musicians could be realistically adapted or included within formal music education

Exploring the experiences, perceptions and reflections of popular electronic musicians at UK higher education institutions

Although formal educational institutions in the UK, and particularly in Higher Education (HE), have begun to include aspects of dance music and hip-hop styles of music in their curricula, there is still a notable lack of research into the relationship between popular electronic music-making practices, such as performance, and formal education. This study explores some of the experiences, perceptions and reflections of popular electronic musicians in formal educational institutions in the UK with a specific focus on the performance of popular electronic music. Our findings show that formal education has had some impact on the development of popular electronic musicians' practice and, in some cases, acted as an introduction to popular electronic styles of music. However, the study's findings also highlight the need to develop more comprehensive musical curricula that include popular electronic styles of music as well as the more established popular musical styles such as rock

Naturalistic Artistic Decision-making and Metacognition in the Music Studio

Professional artistic contexts, such as studio-based music production, are rarely investigated in naturalistic decision-making (NDM) research, though creative work is characterised by uncertainty, risk, a lack of clearly definable goals, and in the case of music production, a complex socio-technical working environment that brings together a diverse group of specialized collaborators. This study investigates NDM in the music production studio. In music production, there is a professional role explicitly tasked with taking decisions—the (record) producer. The producer, as a creative collaborator, is differentiated as a problem-solver, solution creator and goal setter. This investigation looks at the producer’s metacognitive abilities for reflecting on the nature of problems and decisions. An important challenge for this study is to develop methods for observing decision-making without unrealistically reducing the amount of uncertainty around outcomes or creative intention within a studio production. In the face of that, a method is proposed that combines socio-cultural musicology and cognitive approaches and uses ethnographic data. Preliminary findings shed light on how the producer in this study self-manages his decisions and his interactions with, and in response to, the production environment; how decisions and actions sustain collaboration; how experience is utilized to identify scenarios and choose actions; and the kinds of strategies employed and their expected outcomes. Findings provide evidence that exercising producing skills and performing production tasks involve metacognitive reflection

Polyelectrolyte determination in drinking water

Chemical contaminants that occur in drinking water are not usually associated with acute health effects when compared to microbial contaminants and are usually given a lower priority. Those that are of concern have cumulative toxic properties such as metals and substances that are carcinogenic. Some of these potentially hazardous chemical contaminants are a consequence of the treatment chemicals themselves e.g. organic polyelectrolytes used as coagulant aids in water treatment. The presence of residues of the un-reacted monomer in these polyelectrolyte products is a cause for concern. Historically, inorganic coagulants such as aluminium sulphate and ferric chloride have been used as coagulants/flocculants in the treatment of drinking water. The residual amounts of these chemicals were easy to detect and to control using readily available standard methods. The increasing use of polyelectrolytes has created a problem for the potable water industry as there are no readily available methods for the determination of residual polyelectrolyte concentration. This study aims at extending existing analytical techniques and comparing them to determine results that are most accurate and reliable to the quantification of residual polyelectrolytes

Using e-cigarettes for smoking cessation : evaluation of a pilot project in the North West of England

Aims: E-cigarettes have been advocated as an effective smoking cessation intervention, with evidence indicating that they are substantially less harmful than conventional cigarettes. As a result, a pilot to encourage people to swap from conventional cigarettes to e-cigarettes was conducted in 2018 in a socially deprived area in the North West of England. This evaluation highlights the key findings from the pilot. Methods: An analysis of secondary data at 4 weeks (n = 1022) was undertaken to predict those who used solely used e-cigarettes (i.e. had quit tobacco, as confirmed by a carbon monoxide test, CO < 10 ppm) from baseline characteristics, using chi-square tests and logistic regression. Baseline data were demographics, smoking levels and service provider type. Results: Of the 1022 participants who engaged with the pilot 614 were still engaged at 4 weeks, of whom 62% had quit; quitting was more likely in younger participants (aged 18–24) and less likely in those who were sick and disabled. Of those who still smoked tobacco at week 4 (n = 226), smoking had reduced from a baseline of 19.1 cigarettes/day to 8.7. Overall, 37% (381) of those initially enrolled were confirmed to be using an e-cigarette on its own at follow-up. Successful quit was associated with occupation (unemployed, 33% vs intermediate, 47%, p = .023) and residing in the less deprived quintiles of deprivation (50% vs 34% in the most deprived quintile, p = .016). Conclusions: Making the conservative assumption that all those not in contact at 4 weeks were still smoking tobacco, for every five people entering the scheme, three people stayed on the programme and reduced their cigarette smoking and one person cut out tobacco altogether. E-cigarettes appear to be an effective nicotine replacement therapy; however, further research is required to determine whether e-cigarette users are more likely to reduce their overall nicotine consumption in the longer term