Direct observation of twist mode in electroconvection in I52

I report on the direct observation of a uniform twist mode of the director field in electroconvection in I52. Recent theoretical work suggests that such a uniform twist mode of the director field is responsible for a number of secondary bifurcations in both electroconvection and thermal convection in nematics. I show here evidence that the proposed mechanisms are consistent with being the source of the previously reported SO2 state of electroconvection in I52. The same mechanisms also contribute to a tertiary Hopf bifurcation that I observe in electroconvection in I52. There are quantitative differences between the experiment and calculations that only include the twist mode. These differences suggest that a complete description must include effects described by the weak-electrolyte model of electroconvection

Let's Make Love: Whiteness, Cleanliness and Sexuality in the French Reception of Marilyn Monroe

Copyright © by SAGE PublicationsRichard Dyer’s seminal work on whiteness in film considers Marilyn Monroe as the epitome of an institutionally racist Hollywood system that imagines the most desirable woman to be blonde, given that blondeness is understood as a guarantee of whiteness. This article adds to other recent scholarship on Monroe that has sought to complicate this reading by examining other meanings that can be attributed to her bleached blonde hair. By closely analyzing media texts that discussed Monroe in 1950s France, this article demonstrates the way in which her performance of ideal American female sexuality was read through the prism of Monroe as icon of cleanliness and (linked) modernity. It examines the way in which Monroe’s modernity allowed her to partially escape the traditional feminine private sphere and it concludes that Monroe’s bleached blonde hair can be seen in this context as having liberatory potential

An Automated Respiratory Data Pipeline for Waveform Characteristic Analysis

Comprehensive and accurate analysis of respiratory and metabolic data is crucial to modelling congenital, pathogenic and degenerative diseases converging on autonomic control failure. A lack of tools for high-throughput analysis of respiratory datasets remains a major challenge. We present Breathe Easy, a novel open-source pipeline for processing raw recordings and associated metadata into operative outcomes, publication-worthy graphs and robust statistical analyses including QQ and residual plots for assumption queries and data transformations. This pipeline uses a facile graphical user interface for uploading data files, setting waveform feature thresholds and defining experimental variables. Breathe Easy was validated against manual selection by experts, which represents the current standard in the field. We demonstrate Breathe Easy\u27s utility by examining a 2-year longitudinal study of an Alzheimer\u27s disease mouse model to assess contributions of forebrain pathology in disordered breathing. Whole body plethysmography has become an important experimental outcome measure for a variety of diseases with primary and secondary respiratory indications. Respiratory dysfunction, while not an initial symptom in many of these disorders, often drives disability or death in patient outcomes. Breathe Easy provides an open-source respiratory analysis tool for all respiratory datasets and represents a necessary improvement upon current analytical methods in the field. KEY POINTS: Respiratory dysfunction is a common endpoint for disability and mortality in many disorders throughout life. Whole body plethysmography in rodents represents a high face-value method for measuring respiratory outcomes in rodent models of these diseases and disorders. Analysis of key respiratory variables remains hindered by manual annotation and analysis that leads to low throughput results that often exclude a majority of the recorded data. Here we present a software suite, Breathe Easy, that automates the process of data selection from raw recordings derived from plethysmography experiments and the analysis of these data into operative outcomes and publication-worthy graphs with statistics. We validate Breathe Easy with a terabyte-scale Alzheimer\u27s dataset that examines the effects of forebrain pathology on respiratory function over 2 years of degeneration

Achieving WIPP certification for software: A white paper

The NMT-1 and NMT-3 organizations within the Chemical and Metallurgical Research (CMR) facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is working to achieve Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) certification to enable them to transport their TRU waste to WIPP. In particular, the NMT-1 management is requesting support from the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) to assist them in making the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) software WIPP certifiable. Thus, LIMS must be compliant with the recognized software quality assurance (SQA) requirements stated within the QAPD. Since the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) has achieved WIPP certification, INEEL personnel can provide valuable assistance to LANL by sharing lessons learned and recommendations. Thus, this white paper delineates the particular software quality assurance requirements required for WIPP certification

Association between gut microbiome composition and rotavirus vaccine response among Nicaraguan infants

Rotavirus is the leading cause of childhood deaths due to diarrhea. Although existing oral rotavirus vaccines are highly efficacious in high-income countries, these vaccines have been demonstrated to have decreased efficacy in low- and middle-income countries. A possible explanation for decreased efficacy is the impact of gut microbiota on the enteric immune system's response to vaccination. We analyzed the gut microbiome of 50 children enrolled in a prospective study evaluating response to oral pentavalent rotavirus vaccination (RV5) to assess associations between relative abundance of bacterial taxa and seroconversion following vaccination. Stool samples were taken before the first RV5 dose, and microbiome composition characterized using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology software. Relative abundance of bacterial taxa between seroconverters following the first RV5 dose, those with 3 4-fold increase in rotavirus-specific IgA titers, and nonseroconverters were compared using the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test. We identified no significant differences in microbiome composition between infants who did and did not respond to vaccination. Infants who responded to vaccination tended to have higher abundance of Proteobacteria and Eggerthella, whereas those who did not respond had higher abundance of Fusobacteria and Enterobacteriaceae; however, these differences were not statistically significant following a multiple comparison correction. This study suggests a limited impact of gut microbial taxa on response to oral rotavirus vaccination among infants; however, additional research is needed to improve our understanding of the impact of gut microbiome on vaccine response, toward a goal of improving vaccine efficacy and rotavirus prevention

Enhanced GII.4 human norovirus infection in gnotobiotic pigs transplanted with a human gut microbiota

The role of commensal microbiota in enteric viral infections has been explored extensively, but the interaction between human gut microbiota (HGM) and human norovirus (HuNoV) is poorly understood. In this study, we established an HGM-Transplanted gnotobiotic (Gn) pig model of HuNoV infection and disease, using an infant stool as HGM transplant and a HuNoV GII.4/2006b strain for virus inoculation. Compared to germ-free Gn pigs, HuNoV inoculation in HGMT Gn pigs resulted in increased HuNoV shedding, characterized by significantly higher shedding titres on post inoculation day (PID) 3, 4, 6, 8 and 9, and significantly longer mean duration of virus shedding. In addition, virus titres were significantly higher in duodenum and distal ileum of HGMT Gn pigs on PID10, while comparable and transient HuNoV viremia was detected in both groups. 16S rRNA gene sequencing demonstrated that HuNoV infection dramatically altered intestinal microbiota in HGMT Gn pigs at the phylum (Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes) and genus (Enterococcus, Bifidobacterium, Clostridium, Ruminococcus, Anaerococcus, Bacteroides and Lactobacillus) levels. In summary, enhanced GII.4 HuNoV infection was observed in the presence of HGM, and host microbiota was susceptible to disruption upon HuNoV infection

A Discourse Analysis of Pilgrimage Reviews

This paper is the first to provide an account of the discursive features of online consumer reviews of pilgrimage sites. Drawing from pilgrimage studies and narrativity theory in consumer research, we explore how consumers communicate the spiritual and material aspects of pilgrimage experiences by examining a corpus of 833 consumer reviews on TripAdvisor of the most sacred pilgrimage sites of the world’s major five faith groups. Pilgrims include analytical discursive features to communicate the material aspect of their consumption experience. They reserve narration for spiritual transformation and the experience of strong emotions. Moreover, review ratings are only reflective of the spiritual aspect of their consumption experience. As such, our research complements previous studies by highlighting the material, physical aspect of this extraordinary consumption experience

Factors influencing nurses' compliance with Standard Precautions in order to avoid occupational exposure to microorganisms: A focus group study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Nurses may acquire an infection during the provision of nursing care because of occupational exposure to microorganisms. Relevant literature reports that, compliance with Standard Precautions (a set of guidelines that can protect health care professionals from being exposed to microorganisms) is low among nurses. Additionally, high rates of exposure to microorganisms among nurses via several modes (needlesticks, hand contamination with blood, exposure to air-transmitted microorganisms) occur. The aim of the study was to study the factors that influence nurses' compliance with Standard Precaution in order to avoid occupational exposure to pathogens, by employing a qualitative research design.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>A focus group approach was used to explore the issue under study. Four focus groups (N = 30) were organised to elicit nurses' perception of the factors that influence their compliance with Standard Precautions. The Health Belief Model (HBM) was used as the theoretical framework and the data were analysed according to predetermined criteria.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Following content analysis, factors that influence nurses' compliance emerged. Most factors could be applied to one of the main domains of the HBM: benefits, barriers, severity, susceptibility, cues to action, and self-efficacy.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Changing current behavior requires knowledge of the factors that may influence nurses' compliance with Standard Precautions. This knowledge will facilitate in the implementation of programs and preventive actions that contribute in avoiding of occupational exposure.</p