When select committees speak, do newspapers listen?

It is frequently claimed that the House of Commons’ select committees have grown in prominence since key reforms were implemented in 2010. Brian J. Gaines, Mark Goodwin, Stephen Holden Bates and Gisela Sin test this claim specifically in relation to press coverage. They find a pattern of increased newspaper attention after the reforms, but caution that these results show no consistent sustained increase, and also vary considerably depending on committee

An exploration of alternative visualisations of the basic helix-loop-helix protein interaction network

Background: Alternative representations of biochemical networks emphasise different aspects of the data and contribute to the understanding of complex biological systems. In this study we present a variety of automated methods for visualisation of a protein-protein interaction network, using the basic helix-loop-helix ( bHLH) family of transcription factors as an example. Results: Network representations that arrange nodes ( proteins) according to either continuous or discrete information are investigated, revealing the existence of protein sub-families and the retention of interactions following gene duplication events. Methods of network visualisation in conjunction with a phylogenetic tree are presented, highlighting the evolutionary relationships between proteins, and clarifying the context of network hubs and interaction clusters. Finally, an optimisation technique is used to create a three-dimensional layout of the phylogenetic tree upon which the protein-protein interactions may be projected. Conclusion: We show that by incorporating secondary genomic, functional or phylogenetic information into network visualisation, it is possible to move beyond simple layout algorithms based on network topology towards more biologically meaningful representations. These new visualisations can give structure to complex networks and will greatly help in interpreting their evolutionary origins and functional implications. Three open source software packages (InterView, TVi and OptiMage) implementing our methods are available

Understanding value creation and word-of-mouth behaviour at cultural events

Cultural value is a highly contested concept, despite its undoubted importance to practitioners and policy makers. Reseach into cultural value has, meanwhile, tended to employ a unidimensional value framework. This has hamprered the understanding of behaviour related to the word-of-mouth (WOM) communication behaviour of cultural values. This paper presents a cultural value segmentation based on a multidimensional value framework, allowing a profile of WOM behaviour (both online and offline) of each segment to be developed. The segmentation has four distinct segments of cultural consumer, each with different combinations of cultural values and WOM communication preferences. In this way, the study challenges current understandings of value creation and transfer in cultural settings. By way of practical recommendations, the study favours the use of market segmentation based on multi-dimensional value ‘constellations’, which can not only achieve better audience development but also to encourage wider WOM communication of the values in question

New Polymyxin B Dosing Strategies To Fortify Old Allies in the War against KPC-2-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae

ABSTRACT Pharmacodynamics of a polymyxin B, meropenem, and rifampin triple combination were examined against Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC-Kp) ST258. In time-kill experiments against three KPC-Kp isolates, triple combination generated 8.14, 8.19, and 8.29 log 10 CFU/ml reductions within 24 h. In the hollow-fiber infection model, the triple combination caused maximal killing of 5.16 log 10 CFU/ml at 78 h and the time required for regrowth was more than doubled versus the 2-drug combinations. Remarkably, combinations with a high single-dose polymyxin B burst plus rifampin preserved KPC-Kp polymyxin susceptibility (MIC 240 h = 0.5 mg/liter) versus the same combination with traditionally dosed polymyxin B, where resistance was amplified (MIC 240 h = 32 mg/liter)

Building a genomic framework for prospective MRSA surveillance in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

The correct interpretation of microbial sequencing data applied to surveillance and outbreak investigation depends on accessible genomic databases to provide vital genetic context. Our aim was to construct and describe a United Kingdom MRSA database containing over 1000 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) genomes drawn from England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and the Republic of Ireland over a decade. We sequenced 1013 MRSA submitted to the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy by 46 laboratories between 2001 and 2010. Each isolate was assigned to a regional healthcare referral network in England and was otherwise grouped based on country of origin. Phylogenetic reconstructions were used to contextualize MRSA outbreak investigations and to detect the spread of resistance. The majority of isolates (n = 783, 77%) belonged to CC22, which contains the dominant United Kingdom epidemic clone (EMRSA-15). There was marked geographic structuring of EMRSA-15, consistent with widespread dissemination prior to the sampling decade followed by local diversification. The addition of MRSA genomes from two outbreaks and one pseudo-outbreak demonstrated the certainty with which outbreaks could be confirmed or refuted. We identified local and regional differences in antibiotic resistance profiles, with examples of local expansion, as well as widespread circulation of mobile genetic elements across the bacterial population. We have generated a resource for the future surveillance and outbreak investigation of MRSA in the United Kingdom and Ireland and have shown the value of this during outbreak investigation and tracking of antimicrobial resistance.We are grateful for assistance from the library construction, sequencing and core informatics teams at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. We acknowledge David Harris and Martin Aslett for their help in submitting the sequenced isolates to public databases. The study was supported by grants from the UKCRC Translational Infection Research Initiative, and the Medical Research Council (Grant Number G1000803) with contributions to the Grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research on behalf of the Department of Health, and the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorate (to Prof. Peacock); by Wellcome Trust grant number 098051 awarded to the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute; and by a Healthcare Infection Society Major Reasearch Grant. MET is a Clinician Scientist Fellow, supported by the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Health Foundation and the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. BGS was supported by Wellcome Trust grant number 089472. The study was approved by the University of Cambridge Human Biology Research Ethics Committee (reference HBREC.2013.05), and by the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Research and Development Department (reference A092869). Isolates were supplied by the BSAC Resistance Surveillance Project.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/gr.196709.11

High-intensity meropenem combinations with polymyxin B: new strategies to overcome carbapenem resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii

The pharmacodynamics of polymyxin/carbapenem combinations against carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) are largely unknown. Our objective was to determine whether intensified meropenem regimens in combination with polymyxin B enhance killing and resistance suppression of CRAB

Ante- and postmortem tau in autosomal dominant and late-onset Alzheimer\u27s disease

Antemortem tau positron emission tomography imaging suggests elevated tau pathology in autosomal dominant versus late-onset Alzheimer\u27s disease at equivalent clinical stages, but does not implicate the specific tau pathologies responsible. Here we made stereological measurements of tau neurofibrillary tangles, neuritic plaques, and neuropil threads and found compared to late-onset Alzheimer\u27s disease, autosomal dominant Alzheimer\u27s disease showed even greater tangle and thread burdens. Regional tau burden resembled that observed in tau imaging of a separate cohort at earlier clinical stages. Finally, our results suggest tau imaging measures total tau burden in Alzheimer\u27s disease, composed predominantly of tangle and thread pathology

Comparative Genomics of Vancomycin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains and Their Positions within the Clade Most Commonly Associated with Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus Hospital-Acquired Infection in the United States

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains are leading causes of hospital-acquired infections in the United States, and clonal cluster 5 (CC5) is the predominant lineage responsible for these infections. Since 2002, there have been 12 cases of vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA) infection in the United States—all CC5 strains. To understand this genetic background and what distinguishes it from other lineages, we generated and analyzed high-quality draft genome sequences for all available VRSA strains. Sequence comparisons show unambiguously that each strain independently acquired Tn1546 and that all VRSA strains last shared a common ancestor over 50 years ago, well before the occurrence of vancomycin resistance in this species. In contrast to existing hypotheses on what predisposes this lineage to acquire Tn1546, the barrier posed by restriction systems appears to be intact in most VRSA strains. However, VRSA (and other CC5) strains were found to possess a constellation of traits that appears to be optimized for proliferation in precisely the types of polymicrobic infection where transfer could occur. They lack a bacteriocin operon that would be predicted to limit the occurrence of non-CC5 strains in mixed infection and harbor a cluster of unique superantigens and lipoproteins to confound host immunity. A frameshift in dprA, which in other microbes influences uptake of foreign DNA, may also make this lineage conducive to foreign DNA acquisition

Prospectus, April 18, 1984

CHORAL UNION DEMANDING AND REWARDING; News Digest; Is your child part of the identi-child program?; Budding playwrights get chance to have work produced; PC Happenings: Parkland wins Automotive Contest, German Club annual Springfest, EMT workshop offered, Petitions available for Stu-Go, Stu-Go lacks quorum; Here Comes the Easter Bunny (or the Easter Hare?); Faces We Make; Former Prospectus entertainment writer: Alender services held; Strange things at the library; Only Food Service Management course in area: Sutton leads Food Service Management program; Criminal justice program well rounded; Running may increase protein need; Easter means Easter egg time; Second Wind hosts race; Did You Know...; Classifieds; Creative Corner...Especially for you!!: Recollections, She\u27s More than a Nurse, You are a corn-fed steak..., Memories..., A fire burns, AKTING??????????????..., Sometimes in their heed to tact..., Clouds, Disturb Not the Dead, Follow the Wind, I don\u27t know why I bother..., Innoncent Eyes, Please tell me what it is you want..., Running scared from yourself and tripped, babe..., Time Bomb, Don\u27t go away--Linger on..., Class, Raggedy Ann lay in the back of an old station wagon..., Too Late, To God; Ice Capades comes to town: Skaters say it\u27s hard work but well worth it; few surprises during Hollywood\u27s biggest night; \u27Queen\u27 film at Assembly Hall; Director shines in film; \u27Go-Go\u27s\u27 are back on track; \u27Weird Al\u27 hits big time; Fan Club to host film; Parkland College 1984 baseball roster; Cobra men lose two; 1984 Parkland Outdoor Track Bests; Sports Digest; Women lose twin bill; Prospectus survey resultshttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1984/1024/thumbnail.jp

Needle Electrode-Based Electromechanical Reshaping of Cartilage

Electromechanical reshaping (EMR) of cartilage provides an alternative to the classic surgical techniques of modifying the shape of facial cartilages. The original embodiment of EMR required surface electrodes to be in direct contact with the entire cartilage region being reshaped. This study evaluates the feasibility of using needle electrode systems for EMR of facial cartilage and evaluates the relationships between electrode configuration, voltage, and application time in effecting shape change. Flat rabbit nasal septal cartilage specimens were deformed by a jig into a 90° bend, while a constant electric voltage was applied to needle electrodes that were inserted into the cartilage. The electrode configuration, voltage (0–7.5 V), and application time (1–9 min) were varied systematically to create the most effective shape change. Electric current and temperature were measured during voltage application, and the resulting specimen shape was assessed in terms of retained bend angle. In order to demonstrate the clinical feasibility of EMR, the most effective and practical settings from the septal cartilage experimentation were used to reshape intact rabbit and pig ears ex vivo. Cell viability of the cartilage after EMR was determined using confocal microscopy in conjunction with a live/dead assay. Overall, cartilage reshaping increased with increased voltage and increased application time. For all electrode configurations and application times tested, heat generation was negligible (<1 °C) up to 6 V. At 6 V, with the most effective electrode configuration, the bend angle began to significantly increase after 2 min of application time and began to plateau above 5 min. As a function of voltage at 2 min of application time, significant reshaping occurred at and above 5 V, with no significant increase in the bend angle between 6 and 7.5 V. In conclusion, electromechanical reshaping of cartilage grafts and intact ears can be effectively performed with negligible temperature elevation and spatially limited cell injury using needle electrodes