You Define Me.

The work I created in conjunction with this paper is a representation of myself and my family, both individually and as a unit. The work was spawned by a search for my identity at my current age of 25. The outcome is an installation of photographs that focus on my heritage and family work ethic and a series of altar-like tables highlighting the personalities of my grandmother, grandfather, mother, father, and sister when they were experiencing life at my stage. I believe that this work culminates in defining me. Every element, every individual, reflects a part of myself in the people I love. The following paper explores the elements that come into play in the creation of this work

Campylobacter bacteremia in London: A 44-year single-center study.

PURPOSE: Campylobacter species are a well-recognized but rare cause of bloodstream infection. METHODS: Here we reviewed 41 cases of Campylobacter bloodstream infection occurring at a single center in London over 44years, comprising 0.2% of all recorded episodes during this time period. RESULTS: Patients had a mean age of 46years and, contrasting with previous reports, nearly 50% of our patients did not have significant comorbidities. Ciprofloxacin resistance increased over the study period with 35% of isolates overall being resistant compared with only 3% exhibiting macrolide resistance. Despite a minority of patients receiving appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy, overall mortality was only 7%. CONCLUSION: Campylobacter bacteremia remains a rare but significant cause of morbidity with a low associated mortality. Underlying immunosuppressive conditions are common but by no means universal. In our setting, macrolides would be favored as empirical agents to treat suspected Campylobacter enteritis, including cases with associated bacteremia

Dynamics of chromatin and transcription during transient depletion of the RSC chromatin remodeling complex

Nucleosome organization has a key role in transcriptional regulation, yet the precise mechanisms establishing nucleosome locations and their effect on transcription are unclear. Here, we use an induced degradation system to screen all yeast ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers. We characterize how rapid clearance of the remodeler affects nucleosome locations. Specifically, depletion of Sth1, the catalytic subunit of the RSC (remodel the structure of chromatin) complex, leads to rapid fill-in of nucleosome-free regions at gene promoters. These changes are reversible upon reintroduction of Sth1 and do not depend on DNA replication. RSC-dependent nucleosome positioning is pivotal in maintaining promoters of lowly expressed genes free from nucleosomes. In contrast, we observe that upon acute stress, the RSC is not necessary for the transcriptional response. Moreover, RSC-dependent nucleosome positions are tightly related to usage of specific transcription start sites. Our results suggest organizational principles that determine nucleosome positions with and without RSC and how these interact with the transcriptional process

A Bayesian Approach to Calibrating Period-Luminosity Relations of RR Lyrae Stars in the Mid-Infrared

A Bayesian approach to calibrating period-luminosity (PL) relations has substantial benefits over generic least-squares fits. In particular, the Bayesian approach takes into account the full prior distribution of the model parameters, such as the a priori distances, and refits these parameters as part of the process of settling on the most highly-constrained final fit. Additionally, the Bayesian approach can naturally ingest data from multiple wavebands and simultaneously fit the parameters of PL relations for each waveband in a procedure that constrains the parameter posterior distributions so as to minimize the scatter of the final fits appropriately in all wavebands. Here we describe the generalized approach to Bayesian model fitting and then specialize to a detailed description of applying Bayesian linear model fitting to the mid-infrared PL relations of RR Lyrae variable stars. For this example application we quantify the improvement afforded by using a Bayesian model fit. We also compare distances previously predicted in our example application to recently published parallax distances measured with the Hubble Space Telescope and find their agreement to be a vindication of our methodology. Our intent with this article is to spread awareness of the benefits and applicability of this Bayesian approach and encourage future PL relation investigations to consider employing this powerful analysis method.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Science. Following a presentation at the conference The Fundamental Cosmic Distance Scale: State of the Art and the Gaia Perspective, Naples, May 201

Trapping and manipulating neutral atoms with electrostatic fields

We report on experiments with cold thermal $^7$Li atoms confined in combined magnetic and electric potentials. A novel type of three-dimensional trap was formed by modulating a magnetic guide using electrostatic fields. We observed atoms trapped in a string of up to six individual such traps, a controlled transport of an atomic cloud over a distance of 400$\mu$m, and a dynamic splitting of a single trap into a double well potential. Applications for quantum information processing are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

GAGrank: Software for Glycosaminoglycan Sequence Ranking using a Bipartite Graph Model

The Sulfated Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) Are Long, Linear Polysaccharide Chains that Are Typically Found as the Glycan Portion of Proteoglycans. These GAGs Are Characterized by Repeating Disaccharide Units with Variable Sulfation and Acetylation Patterns Along the Chain. GAG Length and Modification Patterns Have Profound Impacts on Growth Factor Signaling Mechanisms Central to Numerous Physiological Processes. Electron Activated Dissociation Tandem Mass Spectrometry is a Very Effective Technique for Assigning the Structures of GAG Saccharides; However, Manual Interpretation of the Resulting Complex Tandem Mass Spectra is a Difficult and Time-Consuming Process that Drives the Development of Computational Methods for Accurate and Efficient Sequencing. We Have Recently Published GAGfinder, the First Peak Picking and Elemental Composition Assignment Algorithm Specifically Designed for GAG Tandem Mass Spectra. Here, We Present GAGrank, a Novel Network-Based Method for Determining GAG Structure using Information Extracted from Tandem Mass Spectra using GAGfinder. GAGrank is based on Google\u27s PageRank Algorithm for Ranking Websites for Search Engine Output. in Particular, It is an Implementation of BiRank, an Extension of PageRank for Bipartite Networks. in Our Implementation, the Two Partitions Comprise Every Possible Sequence for a Given GAG Composition and the Tandem MS Fragments Found using GAGfinder. Sequences Are Given a Higher Ranking If They Link to Many Important Fragments. using the Simulated Annealing Probabilistic Optimization Technique, We Optimized GAGrank\u27s Parameters on Ten Training Sequences. We Then Validated GAGrank\u27s Performance on Three Validation Sequences. We Also Demonstrated GAGrank\u27s Ability to Sequence Isomeric Mixtures using Two Mixtures at Five Different Ratios

Asymmetric dimethylarginine blocks nitric oxide-mediated alcohol-stimulated cilia beating.

The airway epithelium is exposed to alcohol during drinking through direct exhalation of volatized ethanol from the bronchial circulation. Alcohol exposure leads to a rapid increase in the cilia beat frequency (CBF) of bronchial epithelial cells followed by a chronic desensitization of cilia stimulatory responses. This effect is governed in part by the nitric oxide regulation of cyclic guanosine and adenosine monophosphate-dependent protein kinases (PKG and PKA) and is not fully understood. Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, is implicated in the pathogenesis of several pulmonary disorders. We hypothesized that the inhibition of nitric oxide synthase by ADMA blocks alcohol-stimulated increases in CBF. To test this hypothesis, ciliated primary bovine bronchial epithelial cells (BBEC) were preincubated with ADMA (100  µM) and stimulated with 100 mM ethanol. CBF was measured and PKA assayed. By 1 hr, ethanol activated PKA, resulting in elevated CBF. Both alcohol-induced PKA activation and CBF were inhibited in the presence of ADMA. ADMA alone had no effect on PKA activity or CBF. Using a mouse model overexpressing the ADMA-degrading enzyme, dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), we examined PKA and CBF in precision-cut mouse lung slices. Alcohol-stimulated increases in lung slice PKA and CBF were temporally enhanced in the DDAH mice versus control mice