Inaugural address of University of Mississippi Chancellor R. Gerald Turner

Transcribed copy of inaugural address given by University of Mississippi Chancellor R. Gerald Turnerhttps://egrove.olemiss.edu/inauguration/1011/thumbnail.jp

Investigating potential planetary nebula/cluster pairs

Publisher's Version/PDFContext. Fundamental parameters characterizing the end-state of intermediate-mass stars may be constrained by discovering planetary nebulae (PNe) in open clusters (OCs). Cluster membership may be exploited to establish the distance, luminosity, age, and physical size for PNe, and the intrinsic luminosity and mass of its central star. Aims. Four potential PN-OC associations were investigated to assess the cluster membership for the PNe. Methods. Radial velocities were measured from intermediate-resolution optical spectra, complemented with previous estimates in the literature.When the radial velocity study supported the PN/OC association, we analyzed whether other parameters (e.g., age, distance, reddening, central star brightness) were consistent with this conclusion. Results. Our measurements imply that the PNe VBe 3 and HeFa 1 are not members of the OCs NGC5999 and NGC6067, respectively, and that they very likely belong to the background bulge population. Conversely, consistent radial velocities indicate that NGC2452/NGC 2453 could be associated, but our results are not conclusive so additional observations are warranted. Finally, we demonstrate that all the available information point to He 2-86 being a young, highly internally obscured PN member of NGC4463. New near-infrared photometry acquired via the Vista Variables in the Via Lactea ESO public survey was used in tandem with existing UBV photometry to measure the distance, reddening, and age of NGC4463, finding d = 1.55 ± 0.10 kpc, E(B − V) = 0.41 ± 0.02, and τ = 65 ± 10 Myr, respectively. The same values should be adopted for the PN if the proposed cluster membership is confirme

Evaluating treatments in health care: The instability of a one-legged stool

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Both scientists and the public routinely refer to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as being the 'gold standard' of scientific evidence. Although there is no question that placebo-controlled RCTs play a significant role in the evaluation of new pharmaceutical treatments, especially when it is important to rule out placebo effects, they have many inherent limitations which constrain their ability to inform medical decision making. The purpose of this paper is to raise questions about <it>over-reliance </it>on RCTs and to point out an additional perspective for evaluating healthcare evidence, as embodied in the Hill criteria. The arguments presented here are generally relevant to all areas of health care, though mental health applications provide the primary context for this essay.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This article first traces the history of RCTs, and then evaluates five of their major limitations: they often lack external validity, they have the potential for increasing health risk in the general population, they are no less likely to overestimate treatment effects than many other methods, they make a relatively weak contribution to clinical practice, and they are excessively expensive (leading to several additional vulnerabilities in the quality of evidence produced). Next, the nine Hill criteria are presented and discussed as a richer approach to the evaluation of health care treatments. Reliance on these multi-faceted criteria requires more analytical thinking than simply examining RCT data, but will also enhance confidence in the evaluation of novel treatments.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>Excessive reliance on RCTs tends to stifle funding of other types of research, and publication of other forms of evidence. We call upon our research and clinical colleagues to consider additional methods of evaluating data, such as the Hill criteria. Over-reliance on RCTs is similar to resting all of health care evidence on a one-legged stool.</p

Surface Co-Expression of Two Different PfEMP1 Antigens on Single Plasmodium falciparum-Infected Erythrocytes Facilitates Binding to ICAM1 and PECAM1

The Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) antigens play a major role in cytoadhesion of infected erythrocytes (IE), antigenic variation, and immunity to malaria. The current consensus on control of variant surface antigen expression is that only one PfEMP1 encoded by one var gene is expressed per cell at a time. We measured var mRNA transcript levels by real-time Q-PCR, analysed var gene transcripts by single-cell FISH and directly compared these with PfEMP1 antigen surface expression and cytoadhesion in three different antibody-selected P. falciparum 3D7 sub-lines using live confocal microscopy, flow cytometry and in vitro adhesion assays. We found that one selected parasite sub-line simultaneously expressed two different var genes as surface antigens, on single IE. Importantly, and of physiological relevance to adhesion and malaria pathogenesis, this parasite sub-line was found to bind both CD31/PECAM1 and CD54/ICAM1 and to adhere twice as efficiently to human endothelial cells, compared to infected cells having only one PfEMP1 variant on the surface. These new results on PfEMP1 antigen expression indicate that a re-evaluation of the molecular mechanisms involved in P. falciparum adhesion and of the accepted paradigm of absolutely mutually exclusive var gene transcription is required

2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Gout

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155484/1/art41247.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155484/2/art41247_am.pd

Identifying dominant environmental predictors of freshwater wetland methane fluxes across diurnal to seasonal time scales

While wetlands are the largest natural source of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere, they represent a large source of uncertainty in the global CH4 budget due to the complex biogeochemical controls on CH4 dynamics. Here we present, to our knowledge, the first multi-site synthesis of how predictors of CH4 fluxes (FCH4) in freshwater wetlands vary across wetland types at diel, multiday (synoptic), and seasonal time scales. We used several statistical approaches (correlation analysis, generalized additive modeling, mutual information, and random forests) in a wavelet-based multi-resolution framework to assess the importance of environmental predictors, nonlinearities and lags on FCH4 across 23 eddy covariance sites. Seasonally, soil and air temperature were dominant predictors of FCH4 at sites with smaller seasonal variation in water table depth (WTD). In contrast, WTD was the dominant predictor for wetlands with smaller variations in temperature (e.g., seasonal tropical/subtropical wetlands). Changes in seasonal FCH4 lagged fluctuations in WTD by similar to 17 +/- 11 days, and lagged air and soil temperature by median values of 8 +/- 16 and 5 +/- 15 days, respectively. Temperature and WTD were also dominant predictors at the multiday scale. Atmospheric pressure (PA) was another important multiday scale predictor for peat-dominated sites, with drops in PA coinciding with synchronous releases of CH4. At the diel scale, synchronous relationships with latent heat flux and vapor pressure deficit suggest that physical processes controlling evaporation and boundary layer mixing exert similar controls on CH4 volatilization, and suggest the influence of pressurized ventilation in aerenchymatous vegetation. In addition, 1- to 4-h lagged relationships with ecosystem photosynthesis indicate recent carbon substrates, such as root exudates, may also control FCH4. By addressing issues of scale, asynchrony, and nonlinearity, this work improves understanding of the predictors and timing of wetland FCH4 that can inform future studies and models, and help constrain wetland CH4 emissions.Peer reviewe

Herpetological observations from field expeditions to North Karnataka and Southwest Maharashtra, India

The Western Ghats of India are one of the 34 global hotspots of biodiversity. They are one of the most important large natural areas in the world and are fast becoming recognised for their biological importance. The herpetofauna of the Western Ghats is hugely diverse, with many species exhibiting rare, endemic styles of autecology and niche preference that could equal that of countries such as Borneo and Madagascar. In this report we detail 18 amphibian and 37 reptile species from eight sites following three expeditions to the Western Ghats from 2007-2009. The report details species descriptions, habitat, ecology and conservation to alert the herpetological community to the importance of future research to address the lack of knowledge in species ecology. It also presents newinformation on species distribution and behaviour

Meta‐Analysis of Genome‐wide Linkage Studies in BMI and Obesity

Objective: The objective was to provide an overall assessment of genetic linkage data of BMI and BMI‐defined obesity using a nonparametric genome scan meta‐analysis. Research Methods and Procedures: We identified 37 published studies containing data on over 31,000 individuals from more than >10,000 families and obtained genome‐wide logarithm of the odds (LOD) scores, non‐parametric linkage (NPL) scores, or maximum likelihood scores (MLS). BMI was analyzed in a pooled set of all studies, as a subgroup of 10 studies that used BMI‐defined obesity, and for subgroups ascertained through type 2 diabetes, hypertension, or subjects of European ancestry. Results: Bins at chromosome 13q13.2‐ q33.1, 12q23‐q24.3 achieved suggestive evidence of linkage to BMI in the pooled analysis and samples ascertained for hypertension. Nominal evidence of linkage to these regions and suggestive evidence for 11q13.3‐22.3 were also observed for BMI‐defined obesity. The FTO obesity gene locus at 16q12.2 also showed nominal evidence for linkage. However, overall distribution of summed rank p values <0.05 is not different from that expected by chance. The strongest evidence was obtained in the families ascertained for hypertension at 9q31.1‐qter and 12p11.21‐q23 (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Despite having substantial statistical power, we did not unequivocally implicate specific loci for BMI or obesity. This may be because genes influencing adiposity are of very small effect, with substantial genetic heterogeneity and variable dependence on environmental factors. However, the observation that the FTO gene maps to one of the highest ranking bins for obesity is interesting and, while not a validation of this approach, indicates that other potential loci identified in this study should be investigated further.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93663/1/oby.2007.269.pd