Fostering effective school leaders: An anti-bullying intervention group composed of positive and negative class leaders [abstract]

McNair Scholars Progra

Cancer cell lines show high heritability for motility but not generation time

Tumour evolution depends on heritable differences between cells in traits affecting cell survival or replication. It is well established that cancer cells are genetically and phenotypically heterogeneous; however, the extent to which this phenotypic variation is heritable is far less well explored. Here, we estimate the broad-sense heritability (H2) of two cell traits related to cancer hallmarks––cell motility and generation time––within populations of four cancer cell lines in vitro and find that motility is strongly heritable. This heritability is stable across multiple cell generations, with heritability values at the high end of those measured for a range of traits in natural populations of animals or plants. These findings confirm a central assumption of cancer evolution, provide a first quantification of the evolvability of key traits in cancer cells and indicate that there is ample raw material for experimental evolution in cancer cell lines. Generation time, a trait directly affecting cell fitness, shows substantially lower values of heritability than cell speed, consistent with its having been under directional selection removing heritable variation

Stories of the Greensboro massacre

The dawn of the 1980s proved to be a troubling period in many southern cities in America because of racial conflict, class inequities, and frayed politics. These tensions often overlapped and, at times, were fatal. One of the most tragic examples of extreme racial violence occurred in Greensboro, North Carolina, on November 3, 1979, when the multi-racial Communist Workers Party (CWP) attended a demonstration to protest against the notorious Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The procession, referred to as a "Death to Klan" march, was scheduled to begin in a public housing, predominately black working-class community called Morningside Homes. As the marchers were gathering, a group of Nazis and Klansmen drove through the protest site in a nine-car caravan and unloaded eighty-eight seconds of gunfire. As a result, five people were killed including one African American woman, three Caucasian men, and a Cuban American male, all of whom were a part of the CWP. This event, which was dubbed the 1979 Greensboro Massacre, has remained a contentious topic over the past thirty years. However, while the story appears to be straightforward, it will be demonstrated through this study that it is more complex than it appears. This work will present this one event through the lens of the personal stories of those who were directly involved in the tragedy. There were four main groups: the Communist Workers Party, the Ku Klux Klan, the Greensboro Police Department, and the residents of Morningside Homes. They all have positions within the story of the 1979 Greensboro Massacre, and when considering their interpretations, it is clear that there is no such thing as a single truth of this event. In fact, there are multiple truths. This work, however, is not relativistic on the issue of responsibility for the violence. Where possible, the perspectives of each group have been interwoven with the "facts" given in the criminal and civil trials as well as FBI files. What has become clear is that, with the exception of the residents, each party had a responsibility for the 1979 tragedy. This study will discuss the realities of each group at the time the massacre happened, what they think now about the decisions that were made by those who were involved, and the way they continue to understand and recall this event. How the people who took part in the 1979 Greensboro Massacre "remember" is not only important for how one may view and understand the murders in years to come, but it is also important for putting to rest many of the misunderstandings and unsubstantiated claims that are often associated with the event. By way of the evidence, this emotionally driven topic will reveal how all of those involved in that fateful November conflict felt threatened, were victimized, and have often been misinterpreted

Fatal Exudative Dermatitis (FED) in Island Populations of Red Squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris): Spillover of a Virulent Staphylococcus aureus Clone (ST49) From Reservoir Hosts.

Fatal exudative dermatitis (FED) is a significant cause of death of red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) on the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands where it is associated with a virulent clone of Staphylococcus aureus, ST49. S. aureus ST49 has been found in other hosts such as small mammals, pigs and humans, but the dynamics of carriage and disease of this clone, or any other lineage in red squirrels, is currently unknown. We used whole-genome sequencing to characterize 228 isolates from healthy red squirrels on Jersey, the Isle of Arran (Scotland) and Brownsea Island (England), from red squirrels showing signs of FED on Jersey and the Isle of Wight (England) and a small number of isolates from other hosts. S. aureus was frequently carried by red squirrels on the Isle of Arran with strains typically associated with small ruminants predominating. For the Brownsea carriage, S. aureus was less frequent and involved strains associated with birds, small ruminants and humans, while for the Jersey carriage S. aureus was rare but ST49 predominated in diseased squirrels. By combining our data with publicly available sequences, we show that the S. aureus carriage in red squirrels largely reflects frequent but facile acquisitions of strains carried by other hosts sharing their habitat ('spillover'), possibly including, in the case of ST188, humans. Genome-wide association analysis of the ruminant lineage ST133 revealed variants in a small number of mostly bacterial-cell-membrane-associated genes that were statistically associated with squirrel isolates from the Isle of Arran, raising the possibility of specific adaptation to red squirrels in this lineage. In contrast there is little evidence that ST49 is a common carriage isolate of red squirrels and infection from reservoir hosts such as bank voles or rats, is likely to be driving the emergence of FED in red squirrels

Risk Factors for Self-Injury, Aggression, and Stereotyped Behavior Among Young Children At Risk for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Before the 1990s, research on the early identification and prevention of severe behavior disorders (SBDs), such as aggression, self-injury, and stereotyped behavior, among young children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), was mostly done with children 3 years or older. More recent work suggests that signs of SBDs may occur as early as 6 months in some infants. The present study combined a cross-sectional and longitudinal approach to examine SBDs in 180 young children aged 4–48 months recruited through mass screening, then receiving an interdisciplinary evaluation and six-month follow-ups for one year. Twelve potential risk factors related to SBDs were examined. Eight of these risk factors, including age, gender, diagnosis, intellectual and communication levels, visual impairment, parent education, family income, were differentially related to scores for Aggression, SIB, and Stereotyped Behavior subscales on the Behavior Problems Inventory (BPI-01) at initial interdisciplinary evaluation. BPI-01 scores decreased over the year for 57% of the children and increased for 43%. The amount of decrease on each BPI-01 subscale varied with age, gender, and diagnosis

Specialized care improves outcomes for patients with cirrhosis who require general surgical operations

BACKGROUND: General surgical operations on patients with cirrhosis have historically been associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. This study examines a contemporary series of patients with cirrhosis undergoing general surgical procedures. METHODS: A retrospective evaluation of 358 cirrhotic patients undergoing general surgical operations at a single institution between 2004-2015 was performed. Thirty- and 90-day mortality along with complications and subsequent transplantation rates were examined. RESULTS: 358 cirrhotic patients were identified. The majority were Child-Turcotte-Pugh class (CTP) A (55.9%) followed by class B (32.4%) and class C (11.7%). Mean MELD score differed significantly between the groups (8.7 vs. 12.1 vs. 20.1; p<0.001). The most common operations were herniorrhaphy (29.9%), cholecystectomy (19.3%), and liver resection (14.5%). The majority of cases were performed semi-electively (68.4%), however, within the CTP C patients most cases were performed emergently (73.8%). Thirty and 90-day mortality for all patients were 5% and 6%, respectively. Mortality rates increased from CTP A to CTP C (30 day: 3.0% vs. 5.2% vs. 14.3%; p = 0.01; 90 day: 4.5% vs. 6.9% vs. 16.7%; p = 0.016). Additionally, 30-day mortality (12.8% vs. 2.3%; p<0.001), 90 day mortality (16.0% vs. 3.4%; p<0.001) were higher for emergent compared to elective cases. A total of 13 (3.6%) patients underwent transplantation ≤ 90 days from surgery. No elective cases resulted in an urgent transplantation. CONCLUSION: Performing general surgical operations on cirrhotic patients carries a significant morbidity and mortality. This contemporary series from a specialized liver center demonstrates improved outcomes compared to historical series. These data strongly support early referral of cirrhotic patients needing general surgical operation to centers with liver expertise to minimize morbidity and mortality

Maintaining Texas State Board of Pharmacy Licensure with Employer-Driven Continuing Education

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/edwk22/1003/thumbnail.jp