George H. Ash, Master Builder

Few men who left so great an impression on their day and generation are as little known as George H. Ash.https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sav-bios-lane/1010/thumbnail.jp

Creating space for Indigenous healing practices in patient care plans

Background: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action ask that those who can effect change within the Canadian healthcare system recognize the value of Indigenous healing practices and support them in the treatment of Indigenous patients. Methods: We distributed a survey to the Canadian Rheumatology Association membership to assess awareness of Indigenous healing practices, and attitudes informing their acceptance in patient care plans. Results: We received responses from 77/514 members (15%), with most (73%) being unclear or unaware of what Indigenous healing practices were. Nearly all (93%) expressed interest in the concept of creating space for Indigenous healing practices in rheumatology care plans. The majority of support was for the use in preventive or symptom management strategies, and less as adjuncts to disease activity control. Themes identified through qualitative analysis of free-text responses included a desire for patient-centered care and support for reconciliation in medicine, but with a colonial construct of medicine, demonstration of an evidence bias, and hierarchy of medicines. Conclusions: Overall, respondents were open to the idea of inclusion of Indigenous healing practices in patient’s car plans, emphasizing importance for patient empowerment and patient-centered care. However, they cited concerns that provide the indication for further learning and reconciliation in medicine

Site-specific siderocalin binding to ferric and ferric-free enterobactin as revealed by mass spectrometry

Both host and pathogen competitively manipulate coordination environments during bacterial infections. Human cells release the innate immune protein siderocalin (Scn, also known as lipocalin-2/Lcn2, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin/NGAL) that can inhibit bacterial growth by sequestering iron in a ferric complex with enterobactin (Ent), the ubiquitou

Increased Adherence and Expression of Virulence Genes in a Lineage of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Commonly Associated with Human Infections

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7, a food and waterborne pathogen, can be classified into nine phylogenetically distinct lineages, as determined by single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping. One lineage (clade 8) was found to be associated with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can lead to kidney failure and death in some cases, particularly young children. Another lineage (clade 2) differs considerably in gene content and is phylogenetically distinct from clade 8, but caused significantly fewer cases of HUS in a prior study. Little is known, however, about how these two lineages vary with regard to phenotypic traits important for disease pathogenesis and in the expression of shared virulence genes.Here, we quantified the level of adherence to and invasion of MAC-T bovine epithelial cells, and examined the transcriptomes of 24 EHEC O157:H7 strains with varying Shiga toxin profiles from two common lineages. Adherence to epithelial cells was >2-fold higher for EHEC O157:H7 strains belonging to clade 8 versus clade 2, while no difference in invasiveness was observed between the two lineages. Whole-genome 70-mer oligo microarrays, which probe for 6088 genes from O157:H7 Sakai, O157:H7 EDL 933, pO157, and K12 MG1655, detected significant differential expression between clades in 604 genes following co-incubation with epithelial cells for 30 min; 186 of the 604 genes had a >1.5 fold change difference. Relative to clade 2, clade 8 strains showed upregulation of major virulence genes, including 29 of the 41 locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) pathogenicity island genes, which are critical for adherence, as well as Shiga toxin genes and pO157 plasmid-encoded virulence genes. Differences in expression of 16 genes that encode colonization factors, toxins, and regulators were confirmed by qRT-PCR, which revealed a greater magnitude of change than microarrays.These findings demonstrate that the EHEC O157:H7 lineage associated with HUS expresses higher levels of virulence genes and has an enhanced ability to attach to epithelial cells relative to another common lineage

A novel online food recall checklist for use in an undergraduate student population : a comparison with diet diaries

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Visual adaptation to goal-directed hand actions

Prolonged exposure to visual stimuli, or adaptation, often results in an adaptation “aftereffect” which can profoundly distort our perception of subsequent visual stimuli. This technique has been commonly used to investigate mechanisms underlying our perception of simple visual stimuli, and more recently, of static faces. We tested whether humans would adapt to movies of hands grasping and placing different weight objects. After adapting to hands grasping light or heavy objects, subsequently perceived objects appeared relatively heavier, or lighter, respectively. The aftereffects increased logarithmically with adaptation action repetition and decayed logarithmically with time. Adaptation aftereffects also indicated that perception of actions relies predominantly on view-dependent mechanisms. Adapting to one action significantly influenced the perception of the opposite action. These aftereffects can only be explained by adaptation of mechanisms that take into account the presence/absence of the object in the hand. We tested if evidence on action processing mechanisms obtained using visual adaptation techniques confirms underlying neural processing. We recorded monkey superior temporal sulcus (STS) single-cell responses to hand actions. Cells sensitive to grasping or placing typically responded well to the opposite action; cells also responded during different phases of the actions. Cell responses were sensitive to the view of the action and were dependent upon the presence of the object in the scene. We show here that action processing mechanisms established using visual adaptation parallel the neural mechanisms revealed during recording from monkey STS. Visual adaptation techniques can thus be usefully employed to investigate brain mechanisms underlying action perception.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Spatial distribution of transcript changes in the maize primary root elongation zone at low water potential

Background: Previous work showed that the maize primary root adapts to low Ψw (-1.6 MPa) by maintaining longitudinal expansion in the apical 3 mm (region 1), whereas in the adjacent 4 mm (region 2) longitudinal expansion reaches a maximum in well-watered roots but is progressively inhibited at low Ψw. To identify mechanisms that determine these responses to low Ψw, transcript expression was profiled in these regions of water-stressed and well-watered roots. In addition, comparison between region 2 of water-stressed roots and the zone of growth deceleration in well-watered roots (region 3) distinguished stress-responsive genes in region 2 from those involved in cell maturation. Results: Responses of gene expression to water stress in regions 1 and 2 were largely distinct. The largest functional categories of differentially expressed transcripts were reactive oxygen species and carbon metabolism in region 1, and membrane transport in region 2. Transcripts controlling sucrose hydrolysis distinguished well-watered and water-stressed states (invertase vs. sucrose synthase), and changes in expression of transcripts for starch synthesis indicated further alteration in carbon metabolism under water deficit. A role for inositols in the stress response was suggested, as was control of proline metabolism. Increased expression of transcripts for wall-loosening proteins in region 1, and for elements of ABA and ethylene signaling were also indicated in the response to water deficit. Conclusion: The analysis indicates that fundamentally different signaling and metabolic response mechanisms are involved in the response to water stress in different regions of the maize primary root elongation zone

How Well Do Global Climate Models Simulate the Variability of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Associated with ENSO?

The variability of Atlantic tropical cyclones (TCs) associated with El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in model simulations is assessed and compared with observations. The model experiments are 28-yr simulations forced with the observed sea surface temperature from 1982 to 2009. The simulations were coordinated by the U.S. CLIVAR Hurricane Working Group and conducted with five global climate models (GCMs) with a total of 16 ensemble members. The model performance is evaluated based on both individual model ensemble means and multi-model ensemble mean. The latter has the highest anomaly correlation (0.86) for the interannual variability of TCs. Previous observational studies show a strong association between ENSO and Atlantic TC activity, as well as distinctions in the TC activities during eastern Pacific (EP) and central Pacific (CP) El Nino events. The analysis of track density and TC origin indicates that each model has different mean biases. Overall, the GCMs simulate the variability of Atlantic TCs well with weaker activity during EP El Nino and stronger activity during La Nina. For CP El Nino, there is a slight increase in the number of TCs as compared with EP El Nino. However, the spatial distribution of track density and TC origin is less consistent among the models. Particularly, there is no indication of increasing TC activity over the U.S. southeast coastal region as in observations. The difference between the models and observations is likely due to the bias of vertical wind shear in response to the shift of tropical heating associated with CP El Nino, as well as the model bias in the mean circulation

Testimonial Injustice and Vulnerability: A Qualitative Analysis of Participation in the Court of Protection

This article explores participation in Court of Protection (COP) proceedings by people considered vulnerable. The paper is based on original data obtained from observing COP proceedings and reviewing COP case files. It is argued that the observed absence of the subject of proceedings is a form of testimonial injustice, that is, a failure to value a person in their capacity as a giver of knowledge. The issue of competence to give evidence is considered but it is argued that it is not the formal evidential rules that prohibit a vulnerable adult from giving evidence. Instead, it is the result of a persistent assumption that they are inherently vulnerable and therefore lack credibility as a knowledge giver. This assumption results in the voices of vulnerable adults being routinely absent from legal proceedings. It is argued that having a voice in the courtroom is essential and has a number of intrinsic and instrumental benefits. The paper concludes with a discussion about the implications of the research, including the current trend towards the increased use of special measures, and recommends a presumption in favour of the subject of COP proceedings giving evidence

Complex interactions of HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein with oligonucleotides

The HIV-1 nucleocapsid (NC) protein is a small, basic protein containing two retroviral zinc fingers. It is a highly active nucleic acid chaperone; because of this activity, it plays a crucial role in virus replication as a cofactor during reverse transcription, and is probably important in other steps of the replication cycle as well. We previously reported that NC binds with high-affinity to the repeating sequence d(TG)(n). We have now analyzed the interaction between NC and d(TG)(4) in considerable detail, using surface plasmon resonance (SPR), tryptophan fluorescence quenching (TFQ), fluorescence anisotropy (FA), isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and electrospray ionization Fourier transform mass spectrometry (ESI-FTMS). Our results show that the interactions between these two molecules are surprisngly complex: while the K(d) for binding of a single d(TG)(4) molecule to NC is only ∼5 nM in 150 mM NaCl, a single NC molecule is capable of interacting with more than one d(TG)(4) molecule, and conversely, more than one NC molecule can bind to a single d(TG)(4) molecule. The strengths of these additional binding reactions are quantitated. The implications of this multivalency for the functions of NC in virus replication are discussed