Impact Of Choices When Creating Average Proximity Soundings As Applied To Lp/cl/hp Supercell Environments

The first half of this two-part study explores two ways of producing composite environmental soundings (feature averaging versus height averaging; FA vs. HA), why those composites differ from one another, how the compositing technique itself affects the resulting thermodynamic and wind parameters, and which technique results in preserving features. This exploration was applied to three groups of supercell proximity soundings: low-precipitation (LP), classic (CL), and high precipitation (HP) and the HA analysis from the Rasmusssen and Straka (RS98) paper are reanalyzed in both the FA and HA framework. The second half of this study investigates how well previously reported LP, CL, and HP supercell radar behavior (Beatty et al. 2009) is reproduced in an idealized three-dimensional cloud model using both the original and composite soundings. Reanalyzing the results from RS98 in both HA and FA frameworks, the LP group of soundings have a mean mixed-layer LCL (MLLCL) and mean MLLFC that are both significantly different (p \u3c 0.05) than those from the other sounding groups. Also, the HP group of soundings has a mean MLLFC that is significantly different (p \u3c 0.05) than the means from the other sounding groups. The HP sounding mean BL to 9 km shear and mean 4-10 km shear magnitude are significantly different (p \u3c 0.05; RS98 found p \u3c 0.02) and the mean HP sounding 9-10 km storm relative wind is significantly different (p \u3c 0.02) compared to the other sounding groups. Wind parameters and thermodynamic parameters computed from surface-based parcels for both the FA and HA composite sounding lay within one standard deviation of the distribution mean for each sounding group and mixed-layer parcel parameters lay farther from the distribution mean. The FA soundings parameters are not consistently closer to distribution means despite features such as the capping inversion and low-level moisture being preserved better within the FA sounding. Using relative humidity for the LP and CL FA and HA soundings (and vapor pressure for the HP soundings) produces the largest CAPE and least CIN, although averaging water vapor mixing ratio is arguably the most accurate and appropriate. From the dataset, 29 individual sounding cases were simulated--10 CL, 10 LP, and 9 HP supercells-- and only three storms in each class lasted at least 7200 seconds with an updraft helicity greater than 480 m2 s-2. Only two of these nine individual cases produced long lived supercells, one each from the LP and HP sounding classes, transitioned from a forward flank dominant to rear flank dominant maximum precipitation (following Beatty et al. 2009). The other seven cases maintained a forward flank dominant maximum precipitation. Compositing using only the three successful cases in each class only succeeded in producing long-lived supercells only for CL FA and HA composites and the HP HA composite. These cases produced forward flank dominant precipitation maximums, with no transition. Due to the lack of consistency in storm behavior within each class, it is concluded that cases should be simulated and studied individually, as compared to creating a composite sounding - particularly when studying environments with a very small sample size

Keeping Up with International Children's Literature

This review of Reading Globally, K-8 discusses this book alongside others sponsored by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY)

Parent and teacher perceptions of school partnerships in New Hampshire schools

This quantitative, descriptive study assessed parent and teacher perceptions of the extent to which exemplary school-family-community partnership practices were being implemented at elementary and secondary schools within the state of New Hampshire. The teacher and parent participants were organized into four paired groups and were asked to indicate the frequency with which activities, that exemplify Epstein\u27s six types of school-family-community partnership practices, were utilized at their respective schools to determine whether significant differences exist among teachers\u27 and parent\u27s perceptions of partnership program implementation. The sample for this study was drawn from forty two elementary and secondary public schools across the state of New Hampshire and a forced response survey device gathered information to determine parents\u27 and teachers\u27 perceptions about practices that create a comprehensive program of school-family partnerships. Analysis of the survey data revealed significant variability in the perceptions of three paired groups of elementary and secondary school teachers and parents and negligible differences were observed in the perceptions of one paired group of teachers and parents. Additionally, the survey results determined that school level significantly influenced perceptions held by teachers and parents. In addition to testing the formal hypotheses concerning the differences in perceptions of partnership activities between study groups, the results of the study were used to assess the extent to which schools represented in the sample were implementing the partnership model and it was determined most were deficient in their implementation of partnership practices. Recommendations for future quantitative research into school-community partnerships are included in the study as are several recommendations regarding practice

Candida glabrata’s recurrent infections: biofilm formation during Amphotericin B treatment

Candida species are responsible for recurrent human infections, mostly in immunocompromised patients, due to their high vulnerability. Candida glabrata has a major role in systemic candidiasis and Amphotericin B (AmB), a hospital environment exclusive polyene, is frequently used to treat this disease. Lately, however, clinical evidences of Candida recurrent infections during these treatments are being described, probably due to biofilms (re)formation during this therapy. Thus, this work aims at inferring if C. glabrata biofilms are still being formed during AmB treatment. For that, C. glabrata biofilms were formed in the presence of AmB and analysed by dry weight. Matrix composition was analysed quantifying carbohydrates and, specifically, -1,3 glucans. Results demonstrated that, although in a lesser extent, C. glabrata is able to develop biofilms in the presence of AmB, with a thick extracellular matrix, with an increase on carbohydrates, especially -1,3 glucans. Therefore, it is confirmed that complex biofilms of C. glabrata can be formed during an AmB treatment.This work was supported by the Programa Operacional, Fatores de competitividade – COMPETE and by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia on the scope of the projects FCT PTDC/SAUMIC/119069/2010, RECI/EBB-EBI/0179/2012, PEst-OE/ EQB/LA0023/2013 and C elia F. Rodrigues’ SFRH/BD/ 93078/2013 PhD grant. The authors thank the Project ‘BioHealth - Biotechnology and Bioengineering approaches to improve health quality’, Ref. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER- 000027, co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 – O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER

Transcriptome assembly and profiling of Candida auris reveals novel insights into biofilm-mediated resistance

Candida auris has emerged as a significant global nosocomial pathogen. This is primarily due to its antifungal resistance profile but also its capacity to form adherent biofilm communities on a range of clinically important substrates. While we have a comprehensive understanding of how other Candida species resist and respond to antifungal challenge within the sessile phenotype, our current understanding of C. auris biofilm-mediated resistance is lacking. In this study, we are the first to perform transcriptomic analysis of temporally developing C. auris biofilms, which were shown to exhibit phase- and antifungal class-dependent resistance profiles. A de novo transcriptome assembly was performed, where sequenced sample reads were assembled into an ~11.5-Mb transcriptome consisting of 5,848 genes. Differential expression (DE) analysis demonstrated that 791 and 464 genes were upregulated in biofilm formation and planktonic cells, respectively, with a minimum 2-fold change. Adhesin-related glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored cell wall genes were upregulated at all time points of biofilm formation. As the biofilm developed into intermediate and mature stages, a number of genes encoding efflux pumps were upregulated, including ATP-binding cassette (ABC) and major facilitator superfamily (MFS) transporters. When we assessed efflux pump activity biochemically, biofilm efflux was greater than that of planktonic cells at 12 and 24 h. When these were inhibited, fluconazole sensitivity was enhanced 4- to 16-fold. This study demonstrates the importance of efflux-mediated resistance within complex C. auris communities and may explain the resistance of C. auris to a range of antimicrobial agents within the hospital environment

The Fungal Cell Wall : Structure, Biosynthesis, and Function

N.G. is funded by the Wellcome Trust via a senior investigator award and a strategic award and by the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology. C.M. acknowledges the support of the Wellcome Trust and the MRC. N.G. and C.M. are part of the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology. J.P.L. acknowledges support from ANR, Aviesan, and FRM.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Infección del tracto urinario adquirida en la comunidad

Urinary tract infections (UTI) represent one of the most common infectious diseases and represent a high economic cost throughout the world every year. The term UTI encompasses the pathology in different anatomical areas: urethritis, cystitis, pyelonephritis, and prostatitis; cystitis being the most common, which typically presents as dysuria, urinary frequency and urgency. UTIs include a wide variety of clinical presentations, from simple colonization to septic shock. Enteric bacteria are the main causes of UTI, of which Escherichia coli is the main pathogen. They are the second leading cause of bacterial infection in the community, after respiratory infections; and the incidence increases with age and in females. The episodes can be classified as uncomplicated for otherwise healthy, sexually active, non-pregnant female patients; the complicated ones occur in patients with a risk factor such as structural or functional abnormalities of the urinary tract, underlying pathologies or special populations such as pregnant women and children. The diagnosis is based mainly on the clinic, with the help of urine studies for cases that require it. Treatment is antibiotic therapy, administered empirically and outpatiently, in most cases.Las infecciones del tracto urinario (ITU) representan una de las enfermedades infecciosas más frecuentes en la actualidad y significan un alto costo económico a través del mundo cada año. El término ITU abarca la patología en diferentes zonas anatómicas: uretritis, cistitis, pielonefritis y prostatitis; siendo la cistitis la más común, la cual se presenta típicamente como disuria, frecuencia y urgencia urinarias. Las ITU comprenden una amplia variedad de presentaciones clínicas, desde la colonización simple hasta el shock séptico. Las bacterias entéricas son las principales causantes de ITU, de las cuales Escherichia coli es el principal patógeno. Son la segunda causa de infección bacteriana en la comunidad, después de las infecciones respiratorias; y la incidencia aumenta con la edad y en el sexo femenino.  Los cuadros se pueden clasificar en no complicados cuando se trata de pacientes femeninas por lo demás sanas, sexualmente activas, no embarazadas; los complicados se dan en pacientes con algún factor de riesgo como anomalías estructurales o funcionales de las vías urinarias, patologías de base o poblaciones especiales como mujeres embarazadas y niños. El diagnóstico se basa principalmente en la clínica, con ayuda de estudios de orina para los casos que lo requieran. El tratamiento es la terapia antibiótica, administrada de forma empírica y ambulatoria, en la mayoría de los casos