The 2015 Debt Crisis

At the London G20 Summit, participants reaffirmed their commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to increasing official development assistance (ODA). This aid will be important in helping the poorest countries meet the MDGs that were agreed before the crisis, but it will probably be insufficient to tackle the additional problems caused by the current economic downturn. (...)The 2015 Debt Crisis

La Crisis de la Deuda del Año 2015

La Crisis de la Deuda del Año 2015

Exploring and Exploiting DNA Repair Mechanisms to Improve Suicide Gene Therapy with Ganciclovir.

Exploring the unique mechanisms of anticancer drugs can provide the opportunity to identify novel targets for future drug development. Suicide gene therapy with the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) and ganciclovir (GCV) is a selective approach for the treatment of cancer. Only the cells containing HSV-TK can activate GCV to a toxic metabolite, thus sparing normal dividing tissues. Upon activation by HSV-TK and further metabolism by host cell enzymes, GCV becomes incorporated into the DNA of dividing tumor cells resulting in cell death by a unique mechanism compared to other HSV-TK substrates. However, the underlying mechanistic differences that confer high anticancer activity for GCV are still unknown. The studies described in this dissertation identify differences in the magnitude of DNA damage and the DNA repair pathways activated by GCV and a less toxic HSV-TK substrate, 1-β-D-arabinofuranosylthymine. Furthermore, the DNA repair pathway of homologous recombination (HR) is identified as a critical repair mechanism to survive GCV exposure. These observations suggest that inhibition of HR will improve GCV mediated tumor cell kill. While there are no inhibitors specific for HR, this dissertation demonstrates that the lysine deacetylase inhibitor Vorinostat (SAHA) inhibits HR in response to GCV resulting in synergistic tumor cell kill. Importantly, this synergy occurs only in cells proficient in HR demonstrating that the mechanism of synergy between GCV and SAHA is specifically due to inhibition of HR after GCV induced DNA damage. Collectively, these studies reveal that tumor cells activate the DNA repair pathway of HR in response to GCV and identify SAHA as a novel, mechanism based drug to enhance HSV-TK/GCV gene therapy.Ph.D.PharmacologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91394/1/breladd_1.pd

Screening of Hydrodynamic Interactions in Semidilute Polymer Solutions: A Computer Simulation Study

We study single-chain motion in semidilute solutions of polymers of length N = 1000 with excluded-volume and hydrodynamic interactions by a novel algorithm. The crossover length of the transition from Zimm (short lengths and times) to Rouse dynamics (larger scales) is proportional to the static screening length. The crossover time is the corresponding Zimm time. Our data indicate Zimm behavior at large lengths but short times. There is no hydrodynamic screening until the chains feel constraints, after which they resist the flow: "Incomplete screening" occurs in the time domain.Comment: 3 figure

Stochastic differential equations for non-linear hydrodynamics

We formulate the stochastic differential equations for non-linear hydrodynamic fluctuations. The equations incorporate the random forces through a random stress tensor and random heat flux as in the Landau and Lifshitz theory. However, the equations are non-linear and the random forces are non-Gaussian. We provide explicit expressions for these random quantities in terms of the well-defined increments of the Wienner process.Comment: 11 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Theology, News and Notes - Vol. 14, No. 03

Theology News & Notes was a theological journal published by Fuller Theological Seminary from 1954 through 2014.https://digitalcommons.fuller.edu/tnn/1030/thumbnail.jp

Triple Aims Healthcare Policy Voices of Graduate Student Interprofessional Team Members

The purpose of this study is to share the voices of healthcare graduate students participating in an interprofessional course experience, particularly as their voice relate to fundamental healthcare issues care embodied in the Triple Aims. Two research questions guided study efforts: (1) how do graduate students perceive the value of interprofessional learning experiences for their professional development as future healthcare providers? and (2) based on these experiences, how do students perceive the potential for interprofessional teams to address the Triple Aims of health care? This study was based on the qualitative approach of inductive thematic coding (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Findings indicated that course experiences led to favorable perspectives towards interprofessional practice, with students citing particular benefits regarding more effective and efficient patient service. Students also perceived that interprofessional healthcare would advance current practice regarding the first two triple aims (patient healthcare outcomes and patient satisfaction) due its focus on patient-centered care, improved provider communication, and better-informed treatment decisions. Regarding the third triple aim (reduced costs), students noted that healthcare cost savings were possible, but these must be viewed with a macro lens from a long-term perspective

Broad-Range Bacterial Detection and the Analysis of Unexplained Death and Critical Illness

Broad-range rDNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) provides an alternative, cultivation-independent approach for identifying pathogens. In 1995, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiated population-based surveillance for unexplained life-threatening infections (Unexplained Death and Critical Illness Project [UNEX]). To address the causes of UNEX cases, we examined 59 specimens from 46 cases by using broad-range bacterial 16S rDNA PCR and phylogenetic analysis of amplified sequences. Specimens from eight cases yielded sequences from Neisseria meningitidis (cerebrospinal fluid from two patients with meningitis), Streptococcus pneumoniae (cerebrospinal fluid from one patient with meningitis and pleural fluid from two patients with pneumonia), or Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (bone marrow aspirate from one patient with pneumonia). Streptococcus pneumoniae rDNA sequence microheterogeneity was found in one pleural fluid specimen, suggesting the presence of multiple strains. In conclusion, known bacterial pathogens cause some critical illnesses and deaths that fail to be explained with traditional diagnostic methods