Amylose in Neurospora.

Amylose in Neurospora

Creative group performances to assess core competencies in a first-year patient-centered medicine course

Introduction: A novel assessment of systems-based practice and practice-based learning and improvement learning objectives, implemented in a first-year patient-centered medicine course, is qualitatively described. Methods: Student learning communities were asked to creatively demonstrate a problem and solution for health care delivery. Skits, filmed performances, plays, and documentaries were chosen by the students. Video recordings were reviewed for themes and the presence of course competencies. Results: All performances demonstrated not only the index competencies of team work and facilitation of the learning of others, but many other core objectives of the course. The assignment was rated positively both by the faculty and the students, and has been added to the assessment modalities of the course

Does Performance Breed Slack? Ownership as a Contingency to the Performance Feedback and Slack Relationship

Although organizational slack is a prominent construct in strategic management, it is often treated as an antecedent or enabler of other organizational outcomes, and thus our understanding of where slack comes from is underdeveloped. We draw on the behavioral theory of the firm to develop a better understanding about the antecedents of organizational slack. In so doing, we address a gap in the literature on the antecedents of slack by developing base models showing how and why performance feedback influences the three most common types of slack studied in the literature. Moreover, we contend that ownership is an important contingency that influences these relationships because different types of owners are motivated by different norms. Within a “communitarian” culture such as Japan, domestic owners generally have a multifaceted relationship with the firm and hence are motivated by norms of reciprocity and embeddedness, thereby allowing managers to adopt a stakeholder perspective. In contrast, foreign investors typically have only an arm’s-length relationship with the firm and are thus motivated by stock price, thereby putting “contractarian” pressures on managers to adopt a shareholder perspective. This domestic/foreign ownership distinction influences how resources are allocated and therefore the relationship between performance feedback and different types of slack in the firm. We further emphasize that these relationships will vary in accordance to where the slack resides: internal or external to the firm. We find general support for our hypotheses

Rigid rod spaced fullerene as building block for nanocluster

By using phenylacetylene based rigid-rod linkers (PhA), we have successfully synthesized two fullerene derivatives, C60-PhA and C60-PhA-C60.The absorption spectral features of C60, as well as that of the phenylacetylene moiety are retained in the monomeric forms of these fullerene derivatives, ruling out the possibility of any strong interaction between the two chromophores in the ground state. Both the fullerene derivatives form optically transparent clusters, absorbing in the UV-Vis region; this clustering leads to a significant increase in their molar extinction coefficients. TEM characterization of the C60-PhA showed large spherical clusters, with sizes ranging from 150-350 nm, while an elongated wire-type structure was observed for the bisfullerene derivative (C60-PhA-C60).AFM section analysis studies of isolated nanoclusters of C60-PhA-C60, deposited on mica, indicate that smaller clusters associate to form larger nanostructures

A comparison of clinical outcomes between vaccinated and vaccine-naive patients of COVID-19, in four tertiary care hospitals of Kerala, South India

The problem considered: This multi-centric study analyzed data of COVID-19 patients and compared differences in symptomatology, management, and outcomes between vaccinated and vaccine-naive patients. Methods: All COVID-19 positive individuals treated as an in-or out-patient from the 1stMarch to 15th May 2021 in four selected study sites were considered for the study. Treatment details, symptoms, and clinical course were obtained from hospital records. Chi-square was used to test the association of socio-demographic and treatment variables with the vaccination status and binary logistic regression were used to obtain the odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval. Results: The analysis was of 1446 patients after exclusion of 156 with missing data of which males were 57.3% and females 42.7%. 346 were vaccinated; 189 received one dose and 157 both doses. Hospitalization was more in vaccinated (38.2% vs 27.4%); ICU admissions were less in vaccinated (3.5% vs 7.1%). More vaccinated were symptomatic (OR = 1.5); half less likely to be on non-invasive ventilation (OR = 0.5) while vaccine naive patients had 4.21 times the risk of death. Conclusion: Severe infection, duration of hospital stays, need for ventilation and death were significantly less among vaccinated when compared with vaccine naive patients

Impact of Long-Term Application of Domestic Sewage Water on Soil Properties Around Hubli City in Karnataka, India

The effects of application of domestic sewage water for over four decades on physical, chemical and biological properties of soils were studied at three sites in Gabbur, Mavanur and Katnur villages near Hubli city in North Karnataka, India. Long-term use of sewage irrigation improved soil physical properties in terms of decrease in bulk density and dispersion index and increase in aggregate stability and water holding capacity compared to the unirrigated check. Despite long-term irrigation with sewage water with an EC of >1 dS m−1, the EC of soils was low (0.20–0.45 dS m−1). An increase of one-and-half to two times in organic carbon content, available N, P, K and S, in the sewage irrigated soils was observed compared to soils not irrigated with sewage. However, the available Zn, Fe, Cu and B increased only slightly with the exception of Mn which increased substantially. In general there was a decreasing trend of organic carbon, available N, P, K and S with distance away from the stream course. Despite no heavy metals in sewage water, they were detected in soils but not in toxic levels. There were 94, 80 and 60 % more bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes, respectively, in sewage irrigated soils over the non-irrigated soils. Further, the coliform bacteria (E. coli) were observed in soil samples, suggesting fecal contamination

Presence and Persistence of Ebola or Marburg Virus in Patients and Survivors: A Rapid Systematic Review

Background: The 2013-15 Ebola outbreak was unprecedented due to sustainedtransmission within urban environments and thousands of survivors. In 2014 the World Health Organization stated that there was insufficient evidence to give definitive guidance about which body fluids are infectious and when they pose a risk to humans. We report a rapid systematic review of published evidence on the presence of filoviruses in body fluids of infected people and survivors. Methods: Scientific articles were screened for information about filovirus in human body fluids. The aim was to find primary data that suggested high likelihood of actively infectious filovirus in human body fluids (viral RNA). Eligible infections were from Marburg virus (MARV or RAVV) and Zaire, Sudan, Taï Forest and Bundibugyo species of Ebola. [1] Cause of infection had to be laboratory confirmed (in practice either tissue culture or RT-PCR tests), or evidenced by compatible clinical history with subsequent positivity for filovirus antibodies or inflammatory factors. Data were extracted and summarized narratively. Results: 6831 unique articles were found, and after screening, 33 studies were eligible. For most body fluid types there were insufficient patients to draw strong conclusions, and prevalence of positivity was highly variable. Body fluids taken >16 days after onset were usually negative. In the six studies that used both assay methods RT-PCR tests for filovirus RNA gave positive results about 4 times more often than tissue culture. Conclusions: Filovirus was reported in most types of body fluid, but not in every sample from every otherwise confirmed patient. Apart from semen, most non-blood, RT-PCR positive samples are likely to be culture negative and so possibly of low infectious risk. Nevertheless, it is not apparent how relatively infectious many body fluids are during or after illness, even when culture-positive, not least because most test results come from more severe cases. Contact with blood and blood-stained body fluids remains the major risk for disease transmission because of the known high viral loads in blood