Collaborative Research: Determinants of male reproductive success in natural spawns

This proposal is an extension of previous work aimed at understanding the effects of reproductive biology on patterns of life history evolution in a colonial marine tunicate, Botryllus schlosseri. The project will test five hypotheses about factors that may determine male reproductive success in natural spawns of this colonial invertebrate. The five hypotheses specifically aim to explore the effects of timing of sperm release, relatedness of mates, population density, and allocation to male function on fertilization success in field and experimental populations of Botryllus. Previous work has shown that there is a narrow temporal window in which fertilization can result in a viable embryo, and there may be a gametic incompatibility system. Furthermore, fertilizing sperm are generally the product of nearby colonies; colonies exhibit variation in sperm production, and high levels of sperm production only increase local reproductive success when sperm competition occurs.This preliminary information suggests that male reproductive success in natural populations is a complex function of timing relative to the reproductive cycles of other colonies, gametic compatibility, sperm production, and population density.The proposed research will consist of field and laboratory studies, with preliminary work focused to maximize the information yield of a suite of nine polymorphic microsatellite loci. These genetic markers will then be used to assay paternity in natural spawns and test the series of five hypotheses about the determinants of male reproductive success

Closed-loop control for precision antimicrobial delivery: an In silico proof-of-concept

IEEE Objective: Inappropriate dosing of patients with antibiotics is a driver of antimicrobial resistance, toxicity, and poor outcomes of therapy. In this paper, we investigate, in silico, the hypothesis that the use of a closed-loop control system could improve the attainment of pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic targets for antimicrobial therapy, where wide variations in target attainment have been reported. This includes patients in critical care, patients with renal disease and patients with obesity

Oxygen-Tolerant RAFT Polymerization Initiated by Living Bacteria

Living organisms can synthesize a wide range of macromolecules from a small set of natural building blocks, yet there is potential for even greater materials diversity by exploiting biochemical processes to convert unnatural feedstocks into new abiotic polymers. Ultimately, the synthesis of these polymers in situ might aid the coupling of organisms with synthetic matrices, and the generation of biohybrids or engineered living materials. The key step in biohybrid materials preparation is to harness the relevant biological pathways to produce synthetic polymers with predictable molar masses and defined architectures under ambient conditions. Accordingly, we report an aqueous, oxygen-tolerant RAFT polymerization platform based on a modified Fenton reaction, which is initiated by Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34, a bacterial species with iron-reducing capabilities. We show the synthesis of a range of water-soluble polymers under normoxic conditions, with control over the molar mass distribution, and also the production of block copolymer nanoparticles via polymerization-induced self-assembly. Finally, we highlight the benefits of using a bacterial initiation system by recycling the cells for multiple polymerizations. Overall, our method represents a highly versatile approach to producing well-defined polymeric materials within a hybrid natural-synthetic polymerization platform and in engineered living materials with properties beyond those of biotic macromolecules

Risk of organism acquisition from prior room occupants: An updated systematic review

Background Evidence from a previous systematic review indicates that patients admitted to a room where the previous occupant had a multidrug-resistant bacterial infection resulted in an increased risk of subsequent colonisation and infection with the same organism for the next room occupant. In this paper, we have sought to expand and update this review. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis was undertaken. A search using Medline/PubMed, Cochrane and CINHAL databases was conducted. Risk of bias was assessed by the ROB-2 tool for randomised control studies and ROBIN-I for non-randomised studies. Results From 5175 identified, 12 papers from 11 studies were included in the review for analysis. From 28,299 patients who were admitted into a room where the prior room occupant had any of the organisms of interest, 651 (2.3%) were shown to acquire the same species of organism. In contrast, 981,865 patients were admitted to a room where the prior occupant did not have an organism of interest, 3818 (0.39%) acquired an organism(s). The pooled acquisition odds ratio (OR) for all the organisms across all studies was 2.45 (95% CI: 1.53–3.93]. There was heterogeneity between the studies (I2 89%, P < 0.001). Conclusion The pooled OR for all the pathogens in this latest review has increased since the original review. Findings from our review provide some evidence to help inform a risk management approach when determining patient room allocation. The risk of pathogen acquisition appears to remain high, supporting the need for continued investment in this area

The Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery : defining a model for antimicrobial stewardship-results from an international cross-sectional survey

Background: Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs) have been promoted to optimize antimicrobial usage and patient outcomes, and to reduce the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant organisms. However, the best strategies for an ASP are not definitively established and are likely to vary based on local culture, policy, and routine clinical practice, and probably limited resources in middle-income countries. The aim of this study is to evaluate structures and resources of antimicrobial stewardship teams (ASTs) in surgical departments from different regions of the world. Methods: A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted in 2016 on 173 physicians who participated in the AGORA (Antimicrobials: A Global Alliance for Optimizing their Rational Use in Intra-Abdominal Infections) project and on 658 international experts in the fields of ASPs, infection control, and infections in surgery. Results: The response rate was 19.4%. One hundred fifty-six (98.7%) participants stated their hospital had a multidisciplinary AST. The median number of physicians working inside the team was five [interquartile range 4-6]. An infectious disease specialist, a microbiologist and an infection control specialist were, respectively, present in 80.1, 76.3, and 67.9% of the ASTs. A surgeon was a component in 59.0% of cases and was significantly more likely to be present in university hospitals (89.5%, p <0.05) compared to community teaching (83.3%) and community hospitals (66.7%). Protocols for pre-operative prophylaxis and for antimicrobial treatment of surgical infections were respectively implemented in 96.2 and 82.3% of the hospitals. The majority of the surgical departments implemented both persuasive and restrictive interventions (72.8%). The most common types of interventions in surgical departments were dissemination of educational materials (62.5%), expert approval (61.0%), audit and feedback (55.1%), educational outreach (53.7%), and compulsory order forms (51.5%). Conclusion: The survey showed a heterogeneous organization of ASPs worldwide, demonstrating the necessity of a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach in the battle against antimicrobial resistance in surgical infections, and the importance of educational efforts towards this goal.Peer reviewe

Interpreting the Image of the Human Body in Premodern India

This paper sets out two main arguments. In part one, a description of the adherents of the various intellectual disciplines and religious faiths in premodern India is given, each having developed distinct and different imagined bodies; for example, the body described in Tantric circles had little or nothing in common with the body described in medical circles. In part two, an account is given of the encounter between Ayurvedic anatomy and early colonial European anatomy which led initially to attempts at synthesis; these gave way to an abandonment of the syncretist vision of the body and the acceptance of an epistemological suspension of judgment, in which radically different body conceptualizations are simultaneously held in unacknowledged cognitive dissonance

Ceramics

Buku ini memberikan informasi tentang seni keramik yang menyajikan prinsip-prinsip estetika yang cukup kompleks. Isi buku dibagi dalam 3 bagian. Bagian 1 membahas tentang keramik secara umum. Di dalamnya membahas dasar bagi penilaian estetika, karya tembikar dan karya dari tradisi keramik besar di masa lalu. Bagian 2 membahas tentang teknik pembuatan keramik. Di dalamnya membahas tentang bahan pokok pembuatan keramik, yaitu tanah liat yang didapatkan di lapisan tanah, diproduksi secara alami oleh dekomposisi dari batu granit dan gneiss yang merupakan sekitar 85% dari permukaan bumi. Dilanjutkan dengan membahas teknik-teknik pembuatan keramik. Bagian 3 membahas berbagai aspek formal karya keramik (pot) yang dapat dikupas nilai simbolisnya atau atas dasar imajinasi seseorang.xv+223 hlm.: ilus.; 21,5 cm

Recent Fires: Contemporary Amercian Ceramics

This show illustrates something of the depth and range of American ceramics since World War II. It includes both very well-known and less well-known names. As most of the pieces are vessels of one kind or another (with a few oustanding exceptions) it expressly refers us to the roots of the ceramic art in handling clay by throw-potting. Many pieces in fact embody in their imagery the axially centered container. There are also some of those charmingly ironic and brightly glazed confections which have become very popular in recent years, partly for their hi-tech look. But this show is not about passing fashion, rather about fundamental quality.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/artmuseum_cat/1030/thumbnail.jp