Stimulation of hepatic regeneration after partial hepatectomy by infusion of a cytosol extract from regenerating dog liver

A cytosol liver extract was prepared from adult dog livers and from liver remnants that had been regenerating for one, two and three days after 72 per cent partial hepatectomy. Given intraportally, the most active of these cytosols did not stimulate proliferation in the livers of normal dogs. However, infused during a six hour period into the portal vein of test group dogs, the cytosol from 48 and, especially, 72 hour regenerating livers augmented the regeneration response ordinarily produced by 44 per cent partial hepatectomy. The effect was delayed. It became identifiable 48 hours after infusion and reached a peak at 72 hours. Neither augmentation nor significant inhibition of the normal regeneration response was produced by cytosol from normal liver and 24 hour regenerating liver or by a six hour infusion of insulin. The amplification effect of active cytosol was equivocal when the infusions were given intraperitoneally and was not demonstrable at all by the intravenous route. In these investigations, it is confirmed that there are growth control factors in regenerating liver but the nature or physiologic significance of the factor or factors has not been clarified

Using Network Analysis to Understand Knowledge Mobilization in a Community-based Organization

Background Knowledge mobilization (KM) has been described as putting research in the hands of research users. Network analysis is an empirical approach that has potential for examining the complex process of knowledge mobilization within community-based organizations (CBOs). Yet, conducting a network analysis in a CBO presents challenges. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the value and feasibility of using network analysis as a method for understanding knowledge mobilization within a CBO by (1) presenting challenges and solutions to conducting a network analysis in a CBO, (2) examining the feasibility of our methodology, and (3) demonstrating the utility of this methodology through an example of a network analysis conducted in a CBO engaging in knowledge mobilization activities. Method The final method used by the partnership team to conduct our network analysis of a CBO is described. Results An example of network analysis results of a CBO engaging in knowledge mobilization is presented. In total, 81 participants completed the network survey. All of the feasibility benchmarks set by the CBO were met. Results of the network analysis are highlighted and discussed as a means of identifying (1) prominent and influential individuals in the knowledge mobilization process and (2) areas for improvement in future knowledge mobilization initiatives. Conclusion Findings demonstrate that network analysis can be feasibly used to provide a rich description of a CBO engaging in knowledge mobilization activities

Study of multiband disordered systems using the typical medium dynamical cluster approximation

We generalize the typical medium dynamical cluster approximation to multiband disordered systems. Using our extended formalism, we perform a systematic study of the non-local correlation effects induced by disorder on the density of states and the mobility edge of the three-dimensional two-band Anderson model. We include inter-band and intra-band hopping and an intra-band disorder potential. Our results are consistent with the ones obtained by the transfer matrix and the kernel polynomial methods. We apply the method to K$_x$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ with Fe vacancies. Despite the strong vacancy disorder and anisotropy, we find the material is not an Anderson insulator. Our results demonstrate the application of the typical medium dynamical cluster approximation method to study Anderson localization in real materials.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

The potential yield of Tai Chi in cancer survivorship

The purpose of the current paper is to encourage research into all areas of Tai Chi and cancer survivorship. Tai Chi is defined here as a combination of Chinese philosophy, martial and healing arts. Tai Chi is a form of physical activity that is carried out at either a light or moderate intensity. The practice of Tai Chi integrates mental concentration and breathing control [1,2]. We first discuss the role of light physical activity in cancer survivorship and then narrow our focus to Tai Chi per se

Metagenomic analysis of silage

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Metagenomics is defined as the direct analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) purified from environmental samples and enables taxonomic identification of the microbial communities present within them. Two main metagenomic approaches exist; sequencing the 16S rRNA gene coding region, which exhibits sufficient variation between taxa for identification, and shotgun sequencing, in which genomes of the organisms that are present in the sample are analyzed and ascribed to "operational taxonomic units"; species, genera or families depending on the extent of sequencing coverage. In this study, shotgun sequencing was used to analyze the microbial community present in cattle silage and, coupled with a range of bioinformatics tools to quality check and filter the DNA sequence reads, perform taxonomic classification of the microbial populations present within the sampled silage, and achieve functional annotation of the sequences. These methods were employed to identify potentially harmful bacteria that existed within the silage, an indication of silage spoilage. If spoiled silage is not remediated, then upon ingestion it could be potentially fatal to the livestock.Authors would like to thank Andrew Bird for the silage samples and Audrey Farbos of the Exeter Sequencing Service for her assistance in preparing DNA sequencing libraries. Exeter Sequencing Service and Computational core facilities at the University of Exeter. Medical Research Council Clinical Infrastructure award (MR/M008924/1). Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund (WT097835MF), Wellcome Trust Multi User Equipment Award (WT101650MA) and BBSRC LOLA award (BB/K003240/1

Disease transmission promotes evolution of host spatial patterns

Ecological dynamics can produce a variety of striking patterns. On ecological time scales, pattern formation has been hypothesized to be due to the interaction between a species and its local environment. On longer time scales, evolutionary factors must be taken into account. To examine the evolutionary robustness of spatial pattern formation, we construct a spatially explicit model of vegetation in the presence of a pathogen. Initially, we compare the dynamics for vegetation parameters that lead to competition induced spatial patterns and those that do not. Over ecological time scales, banded spatial patterns dramatically reduced the ability of the pathogen to spread, lowered its endemic density and hence increased the persistence of the vegetation. To gain an evolutionary understanding, each plant was given a heritable trait defining its resilience to competition; greater competition leads to lower vegetation density but stronger spatial patterns. When a disease is introduced, the selective pressure on the plant's resilience to the competition parameter is determined by the transmission of the disease. For high transmission, vegetation that has low resilience to competition and hence strong spatial patterning is an evolutionarily stable strategy. This demonstrates a novel mechanism by which striking spatial patterns can be maintained by disease-driven selection

The partition bundle of type A_{N-1} (2, 0) theory

Six-dimensional (2, 0) theory can be defined on a large class of six-manifolds endowed with some additional topological and geometric data (i.e. an orientation, a spin structure, a conformal structure, and an R-symmetry bundle with connection). We discuss the nature of the object that generalizes the partition function of a more conventional quantum theory. This object takes its values in a certain complex vector space, which fits together into the total space of a complex vector bundle (the `partition bundle') as the data on the six-manifold is varied in its infinite-dimensional parameter space. In this context, an important role is played by the middle-dimensional intermediate Jacobian of the six-manifold endowed with some additional data (i.e. a symplectic structure, a quadratic form, and a complex structure). We define a certain hermitian vector bundle over this finite-dimensional parameter space. The partition bundle is then given by the pullback of the latter bundle by the map from the parameter space related to the six-manifold to the parameter space related to the intermediate Jacobian.Comment: 15 pages. Minor changes, added reference

Beyond the Refugee Crisis how the UK news media represent asylum seekers across national boundaries

Migration is one of the most pressing, divisive issues in global politics today, and media play a crucial role in how communities understand and respond. This study examines how UK newspapers (n = 974) and popular news websites (n = 1044) reported on asylum seekers throughout 2017. It contributes to previous literature in two important ways. First, by examining the ‘new normal’ of daily news coverage in the wake of the 2015 ‘refugee crisis’ in Europe. Second, by looking at how asylum seekers from different regions are represented. The content analysis finds significant variations in how asylum seekers are reported, including terminology use and topics they are associated with. The paper also identifies important commonalities in how all asylum seekers are represented - most notably, the dominance of political elites as sources across all media content. It argues that Entman’s ‘cascade network model’ can help to explain this, with elites in one country able to influence transnational reports