Shirley Watkins Bowden

Shirley Watkins served as Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services at the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1997 – 2001, the first African-American woman to hold that position. Prior to that she was Director of Child Nutrition Programs for Memphis City Schools for seventeen years. She served as president of ASFSA from 1988 – 1989. She now works with Southern Educational Services, a consulting business concerned primarily with environment friendly school food service cafeteria operations. Shirley Watkins Bowden sat for an update to her oral history interview with Jeffrey Boyce on May 22, 2014, at the National Food Service Management Institute while she was participating in a seminar covering the first twenty-five years of the Institute’s operations. This update is included at the end of the interview.https://egrove.olemiss.edu/icn_ohistories/1137/thumbnail.jp

Assessment of mood in aphasia following stroke: validation of the Dynamic Visual Analogue Mood Scales (D-VAMS)

OBJECTIVES: To validate a non-verbal self-report measure of mood - the Dynamic Visual Analogue Mood Scales (D-VAMS) - against the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and assess its suitability as an outcome measure or screening measure for depressed mood following stroke. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-six stroke survivors (24% with aphasia) recruited from online, from stroke clubs and via an NHS rehabilitation service. METHODS: A set of seven bipolar scales was developed enabling users to report mood by modifying facial expression images using a slider. Participants completed a tablet/computer task, reporting their mood on these scales mixed randomly with versions which used only words. The HADS was then completed, followed by a repeat run of the two versions in a different, random sequence. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis identified one factor consistent with pleasantness of mood accounting for 80% of the variance. Internal consistency of D-VAMS was high ( α = 0.95), and there was a high correlation between face-only D-VAMS scores and HADS total scores ( r = -0.80, P < 0.001), as well as HADS-D/HADS-A subscale scores ( r = -0.73, P < 0.001; r = -0.71, P < 0.001). D-VAMS showed good sensitivity and specificity against HADS, with means of 85%/77% (sensitivity/specificity) against the HADS-D and 80%/77% against the HADS-A across nine cut-offs. CONCLUSION: D-VAMS is a valid and reliable measure likely suitable for assessment of depressed mood in aphasia following stroke. Though D-VAMS performed well as a screening measure in this study sample, further study is needed in the acute stage post-stroke

Cardiac troponin T is necessary for normal development in the embryonic chick heart

The heart is the first functioning organ to develop during embryogenesis. The formation of the heart is a tightly regulated and complex process, and alterations to its development can result in congenital heart defects. Mutations in sarcomeric proteins, such as alpha myosin heavy chain and cardiac alpha actin, have now been associated with congenital heart defects in humans, often with atrial septal defects. However, cardiac troponin T (cTNT encoded by gene TNNT2) has not. Using gene-specific antisense oligonucleotides, we have investigated the role of cTNT in chick cardiogenesis. TNNT2 is expressed throughout heart development and in the postnatal heart. TNNT2-morpholino treatment resulted in abnormal atrial septal growth and a reduction in the number of trabeculae in the developing primitive ventricular chamber. External analysis revealed the development of diverticula from the ventricular myocardial wall which showed no evidence of fibrosis and still retained a myocardial phenotype. Sarcomeric assembly appeared normal in these treated hearts. In humans, congenital ventricular diverticulum is a rare condition, which has not yet been genetically associated. However, abnormal haemodynamics is known to cause structural defects in the heart. Further, structural defects, including atrial septal defects and congenital diverticula, have previously been associated with conduction anomalies. Therefore, to provide mechanistic insights into the effect that cTNT knockdown has on the developing heart, quantitative PCR was performed to determine the expression of the shear stress responsive gene NOS3 and the conduction gene TBX3. Both genes were differentially expressed compared to controls. Therefore, a reduction in cTNT in the developing heart results in abnormal atrial septal formation and aberrant ventricular morphogenesis. We hypothesize that alterations to the haemodynamics, indicated by differential NOS3 expression, causes these abnormalities in growth in cTNT knockdown hearts. In addition, the muscular diverticula reported here suggest a novel role for mutations of structural sarcomeric proteins in the pathogenesis of congenital cardiac diverticula. From these studies, we suggest TNNT2 is a gene worthy of screening for those with a congenital heart defect, particularly atrial septal defects and ventricular diverticula

Prospectus, September 23, 1974

ALL SET FOR STUGO ELECTION; Trustees Approve Budget For \u2774-\u2775, Partial Figures On Page 12; 16 Candidates On Ballot For 1st \u2774 Election; PC Counselors Offer More Than Counseling; Attention: Transfer Students; mercy for who?; The Short Circuit; The Kaleidoscope; Letters; Point-Counterpoint: How Do You View America\u27s Future?; Here Are Candidates\u27 Platforms; State House Candidates To Debate Here; Friends; Untitled; Lit. 1.: A Secret Something, Untitled, Rebirth, Everyone\u27s looking for...; \u27DIRT\u27 Comes Off Clean; Really Raunchy Record Review: Eric Clapton, 461 Ocean Boulevard; Meeting For Prospective Debators; Classified Ads; Books: All The President\u27s Men; Republicans To Have Coffee Wednesday; Phi Beta Lambda Meetings Scheduled; APO Chapter Formed Here; In The Dark: That\u27s Entertainment ; Jock Talk; Harriers Perform Well, Abbey Pleased; IM Football Starts Play On 25th; Howell First \u27Fast Freddy\u27; Bowling Bulletin Board; Watching A Counselor At Work; Registration Drive; Cross Country Schedule; Last Chance For Girls IM Football; Fast Freddy\u27s Football Forecast; Callboard; Parkland Events; Summary Of Approved Budget; Vets Elect Officers; A Column By And For Women; Fashion Forecasthttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1974/1009/thumbnail.jp

Activation of Akt Signaling Reduces the Prevalence and Intensity of Malaria Parasite Infection and Lifespan in Anopheles stephensi Mosquitoes

Malaria (Plasmodium spp.) kills nearly one million people annually and this number will likely increase as drug and insecticide resistance reduces the effectiveness of current control strategies. The most important human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, undergoes a complex developmental cycle in the mosquito that takes approximately two weeks and begins with the invasion of the mosquito midgut. Here, we demonstrate that increased Akt signaling in the mosquito midgut disrupts parasite development and concurrently reduces the duration that mosquitoes are infective to humans. Specifically, we found that increased Akt signaling in the midgut of heterozygous Anopheles stephensi reduced the number of infected mosquitoes by 60–99%. Of those mosquitoes that were infected, we observed a 75–99% reduction in parasite load. In homozygous mosquitoes with increased Akt signaling parasite infection was completely blocked. The increase in midgut-specific Akt signaling also led to an 18–20% reduction in the average mosquito lifespan. Thus, activation of Akt signaling reduced the number of infected mosquitoes, the number of malaria parasites per infected mosquito, and the duration of mosquito infectivity

Allele-Specific HLA Loss and Immune Escape in Lung Cancer Evolution

Immune evasion is a hallmark of cancer. Losing the ability to present neoantigens through human leukocyte antigen (HLA) loss may facilitate immune evasion. However, the polymorphic nature of the locus has precluded accurate HLA copy-number analysis. Here, we present loss of heterozygosity in human leukocyte antigen (LOHHLA), a computational tool to determine HLA allele-specific copy number from sequencing data. Using LOHHLA, we find that HLA LOH occurs in 40% of non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) and is associated with a high subclonal neoantigen burden, APOBEC-mediated mutagenesis, upregulation of cytolytic activity, and PD-L1 positivity. The focal nature of HLA LOH alterations, their subclonal frequencies, enrichment in metastatic sites, and occurrence as parallel events suggests that HLA LOH is an immune escape mechanism that is subject to strong microenvironmental selection pressures later in tumor evolution. Characterizing HLA LOH with LOHHLA refines neoantigen prediction and may have implications for our understanding of resistance mechanisms and immunotherapeutic approaches targeting neoantigens. Video Abstract [Figure presented] Development of the bioinformatics tool LOHHLA allows precise measurement of allele-specific HLA copy number, improves the accuracy in neoantigen prediction, and uncovers insights into how immune escape contributes to tumor evolution in non-small-cell lung cancer

Fc-Optimized Anti-CD25 Depletes Tumor-Infiltrating Regulatory T Cells and Synergizes with PD-1 Blockade to Eradicate Established Tumors

CD25 is expressed at high levels on regulatory T (Treg) cells and was initially proposed as a target for cancer immunotherapy. However, anti-CD25 antibodies have displayed limited activity against established tumors. We demonstrated that CD25 expression is largely restricted to tumor-infiltrating Treg cells in mice and humans. While existing anti-CD25 antibodies were observed to deplete Treg cells in the periphery, upregulation of the inhibitory Fc gamma receptor (FcγR) IIb at the tumor site prevented intra-tumoral Treg cell depletion, which may underlie the lack of anti-tumor activity previously observed in pre-clinical models. Use of an anti-CD25 antibody with enhanced binding to activating FcγRs led to effective depletion of tumor-infiltrating Treg cells, increased effector to Treg cell ratios, and improved control of established tumors. Combination with anti-programmed cell death protein-1 antibodies promoted complete tumor rejection, demonstrating the relevance of CD25 as a therapeutic target and promising substrate for future combination approaches in immune-oncology