Interdisciplinary Learning in an EMBA: Making it Happen

The Executive MBA (EMBA) market, once a niche market served by the most elite schools, has become highly competitive. This competition is being driven by an increase in the number of B-schools offering an EMBA, corporations reducing their level of support for employees interested in an EMBA, and changes in the work histories and occupations of EMBA applicants. With the increased competition, EMBA programs have had to actively market and sell their programs to corporations and prospective students. Most B-schools have chosen one of three approaches: [1] promote the B-School brand while offering essentially the same curriculum to MBAs and EMBAs. [2] offer a low-cost, time-efficient program, or [3] offer a program quite distinct from the MBA that employers and students believe to be more relevant to their needs

Bicarbonate induces high-level resistance to the human antimicrobial peptide LL-37 in Staphylococcus aureus small colony variants

Objectives: Staphylococcus aureus small colony variants (SCVs) cause persistent infections and are resistant to cationic antibiotics. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been suggested as promising alternatives for treating antibiotic-resistant bacteria. We investigated the capacity of the human cationic AMP LL-37 to kill SCVs in the presence of physiological concentrations of bicarbonate, which are reported to alter bacterial membrane permeability and change resistance of bacteria to AMPs. Methods: MBCs of LL-37 for S. aureus SCVs with mutations in different genes in the presence and absence of bicarbonate were determined. Results: In the absence of bicarbonate, SCVs of S. aureus strains LS-1 and 8325-4 had the same level of resistance to LL-37 as the parental strain (8 mg/L). In the presence of bicarbonate, hemB, menD and aroD SCVs of LS-1 had high-level resistance to LL-37 (≥128 mg/L) compared with the parental strain (16 mg/L). However, only the aroD SCV of strain 8324-5 showed high-level resistance. 8325-4 harbours mutations in two genes, tcaR and rsbU, which are involved in antimicrobial sensing and the stress response, respectively. When rsbU was repaired in 8325-4 it displayed high-level resistance to LL-37 in the presence of bicarbonate. This phenotype was lost when tcaR was also repaired, demonstrating that RsbU and TcaR are involved in LL-37 resistance in the presence of bicarbonate. Conclusions: S. aureus SCVs would be resistant to high concentrations of LL-37 in niches where there are physiological concentrations of bicarbonate and therefore this AMP may not be effective in combating SCVs

Comparative investigation of MLOs associated with Caribbean and African coconut lethal decline diseases by DNA hybridization and PCR assays

Mycoplasmalike organisms (MLOs) associated with lethal decline diseases of the coconut palm (Cocos nuciferd) in eastern and western Africa were detected by dot hybridizations using (32P)dATP-labeled cloned DNA probes. Two probes, each consisting of a genomic DNA fragment of the palm lethal yellowing (LY) MLO from Florida, hybridized at moderate stringency to DNAs from four coconut cultivars with lethal disease (LD) in Tanzania and from a solitary West African Tall coconut palm with symptoms of Awka disease in Nigeria. Neither probe hybridized to DNA of the LD-affected hybrid coconut PBI2I or to DNA of symptomless palms. Conserved, mollicute-specific oligonucleotide sequences used for polymerase chain reactions (PCR) primed the amplification of near full-length MLO I6S rRNA genes from all decline-affected palms. No restriction fragment length polymorphisms were observed when rDNA amplified from both LY- and LD-affected coconut palms were singly digested with the restriction endonucieases Alul, BamHI, Oral, EcoRI, Hpal, Hpall, Rsal, and Scal. Polymorphisms were evident after digestion of MLO rDNA with Taql. These data establish the existence of genetic relationships between MLOs associated with coconut lethal decline diseases in the western Caribbean region and in Africa and provide further evidence indicating that the LY and LD MLOs, although very similar, are not genetically identical pathogens

Mid-infrared silicon photonics

A mid-infrared silicon nanophotonic integrated circuit platform can have broad impact upon environmental monitoring, personalized healthcare, and public safety applications. Development of various mid-IR components, including optical parametric amplifiers, sources, modulators, and detectors, is reviewed

Evaluation of Plant and Fungal Extracts for Their Potential Antigingivitis and Anticaries Activity

The link between diet and health has lead to the promotion of functional foods which can enhance health. In this study, the oral health benefits of a number of food homogenates and high molecular mass and low molecular mass fractions were investigated. A comprehensive range of assays were performed to assess the action of these foods on the development of gingivitis and caries using bacterial species associated with these diseases. Both antigingivitis and anticaries effects were investigated by assays examining the prevention of biofilm formation and coaggregation, disruption of preexisting biofilms, and the foods' antibacterial effects. Assays investigating interactions with gingival epithelial cells and cytokine production were carried out to assess the foods' anti- gingivitis properties. Anti-caries properties such as interactions with hydroxyapatite, disruption of signal transduction, and the inhibition of acid production were investigated. The mushroom and chicory homogenates and low molecular mass fractions show promise as anti-caries and anti-gingivitis agents, and further testing and clinical trials will need to be performed to evaluate their true effectiveness in humans

Reassessment of Routine Midstream Culture in Diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infection

Midstream urine culture (MSU) remains the gold standard diagnostic test for confirming urinary tract infection (UTI). We previously showed that patients with chronic lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) below the diagnostic cut-off on MSU culture may still harbour bacterial infection, and that their antibiotic treatment was associated with symptom resolution. Here, we evaluated the results of the UK's MSU culture in symptomatic patients and controls. Next, we compared the bacterial enrichment capabilities of the MSU culture with a 50 µl uncentrifuged culture, a 30 ml centrifuged sediment culture, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. This study was conducted on urine specimens from 33 LUTS patients attending their first clinical appointment (mean age = 49 years, standard deviation [SD] = 16.5), 30 LUTS patients on treatment (mean age = 47.8 years, SD = 16.8) whose symptoms had relapsed, and 29 asymptomatic controls (mean age = 40.7 years, SD = 15.7). We showed that the routine MSU culture, adopting the UK interpretation criteria tailored to acute UTI, failed to detect a variety of bacterial species, including recognised uropathogens. Moreover, the diagnostic MSU culture was unable to discriminate between patients and controls. In contrast, genomic analysis of urine enriched by centrifugation discriminated between the groups, generating a more accurate understanding of species richness. In conclusion, the UK's MSU protocol misses a significant proportion of bacteria, which include recognised uropathogens, and may be unsuitable for excluding UTI in patients with LUTS