Developmental gene regulatory network architecture across 500 million years of echinoderm evolution

Evolutionary change in morphological features must depend on architectural reorganization of developmental gene regulatory networks (GRNs), just as true conservation of morphological features must imply retention of ancestral developmental GRN features. Key elements of the provisional GRN for embryonic endomesoderm development in the sea urchin are here compared with those operating in embryos of a distantly related echinoderm, a starfish. These animals diverged from their common ancestor 520-480 million years ago. Their endomesodermal fate maps are similar, except that sea urchins generate a skeletogenic cell lineage that produces a prominent skeleton lacking entirely in starfish larvae. A relevant set of regulatory genes was isolated from the starfish Asterina miniata, their expression patterns determined, and effects on the other genes of perturbing the expression of each were demonstrated. A three-gene feedback loop that is a fundamental feature of the sea urchin GRN for endoderm specification is found in almost identical form in the starfish: a detailed element of GRN architecture has been retained since the Cambrian Period in both echinoderm lineages. The significance of this retention is highlighted by the observation of numerous specific differences in the GRN connections as well. A regulatory gene used to drive skeletogenesis in the sea urchin is used entirely differently in the starfish, where it responds to endomesodermal inputs that do not affect it in the sea urchin embryo. Evolutionary changes in the GRNs since divergence are limited sharply to certain cis-regulatory elements, whereas others have persisted unaltered

Classroom Clickers – Invigorating the Classroom Experience

Bridgewater grant-awarded Faculty share their experiences in using the TurningPoint classroom response system devices in their classroom teaching to elicit instant feedback from their students through PowerPoint and the use of wireless radio frequency devices commonly known as “classroom clickers”. Discover how you can use these devices in your own classes and department meetings for informal polling of students/colleagues or for assessment purposes

A Taste of Vietnamese Music: Building Bridges Through Cultural Understanding

The country of Vietnam has an incredibly rich and diverse culture that is deeply rooted in its long-standing history. The heart of its peoples can be seen through all facets of society such as rituals, religion, cultural mores, cuisine, art and dance, but especially through their music. Music plays a vital role in almost all the different parts of Vietnamese life. It can be found everywhere throughout history, from highly trained professionals in aristocratic courts to farmers in rice paddies to mega pop stars on television. Vietnam has had a long and rough history but throughout all the country’s changes, music and song remain intertwined in daily life. Growing up as an American of partial Vietnamese descent, I have had an “inside view” of how other Americans perceive Vietnam. I have noticed throughout my life that most Americans don’t know much about the country except for the Vietnam War (and the occasional bowl of phở). In this thesis, I aim to expand an American’s view of Vietnam beyond the lens of the Vietnam War. During my preliminary research, I realized – perhaps unsurprisingly – that it was difficult to find information about Vietnam from American sources that were not centered around the war. American involvement in the Vietnam War was an enormous controversy at the time of the conflict and still is today. Thousands of American lives were sacrificed for an effort that a majority still see as a pointless political game (for many reasons but mainly because of the conclusive Communist win in 1975). The immense damage the war caused for both America and Vietnam cannot be ignored, but it has been over four decades since the war ended and over two since the United States and Vietnamese governments officially normalized diplomatic relationships. Still, the first thing that comes to the mind of an average American citizen at the mention of Vietnam is the war. It is well over time for this mindset to change, and I believe that exposure to Vietnamese music is the best way to achieve this goal. iii Music is at the heart of Vietnamese culture and can be used as a link to even the farthest detached societies. Every human culture in the world has its own music, making music a universal and fundamental feature of the average human experience. To introduce Vietnamese music to an American audience, I will first write a brief history of Vietnam. Music is a wholly human experience, and to even try to understand a foreign music, one must have some knowledge of its culture’s background. Sometimes when approaching a completely foreign subject, it is best explained and understood through comparison. Since Vietnamese music sounds almost entirely different than Western music, I will use this strategy to explain some fundamentals about the structure, harmony, and more tangible aspects of Vietnamese music. This understanding will open a Western ear to the distant beauty of Vietnamese music. After these background chapters, I will provide a taste of Vietnamese music through three songs chosen from varying settings, styles, and time periods throughout history. Through these explanations and the supplemental recital, I will provide a sampling of the beautiful music created by the Vietnamese people. It is my hope that this music will open the ears and hearts of my audience to change how they view Vietnam

Long-term outcome of biologic graft: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Biologic grafts have been shown to support tissue regeneration in various animal models. Very few reports in the literature exist to show tissue remodeling in patients after placement of a biologic graft. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 69-year-old Caucasian man with a history of small bowel carcinoid resection and concurrent recurrent ventral hernia repair with component separation and underlay biologic graft placement who underwent re-operation for metastatic carcinoid tumor to his liver. Complete incorporation of the biologic graft was observed. Tissue analysis of the incised midline fascia revealed tissue remodeling at the site of the previous abdominal wall defect. CONCLUSION: Placement of a biologic graft in ventral hernia repair supports tissue regeneration similar to that previously reported in animal models

Fatal tracheal collapse and ossification in an osteopenic captive Indian blue peafowl in California.

A captive, 5-y-old, female, Indian blue peafowl (Pavo cristatus) was submitted for postmortem examination and diagnostic work-up following 24 h of open-mouth breathing, lethargy, and drooping of wings. Grossly, the trachea was diffusely, dorsoventrally flattened with irregular walls and significant narrowing of the lumen. There was no evidence of trauma in the surrounding skin, subcutaneous tissue, or esophagus. Microscopically, tracheal cartilage was diffusely replaced by immature bone tissue with wide medullary cavities containing thin, immature, and disorganized trabeculae covered by abundant osteoclasts. The proximal tibiotarsus and femur were osteopenic, with thin compact cortical bone, multifocally distended osteonic canals, and increased osteoclastic activity and fibrosis on endosteal surfaces of affected trabeculae. Concurrent tracheal collapse and osteopenia have not been reported previously in an Indian blue peafowl, to our knowledge

Medication Management Program Among Elderly at a Residential Facility

Abstract This quality improvement project aimed to address medication management-related issues at a residential facility. The project\u27s population was elderly residents who self- administered their medications. A root cause analysis and SWOT analysis identified multiple factors contributing to medication management errors, including lack of resident education, resident competency, and technology limitations. An intervention plan was developed and implemented in two phases. Phase 1 involved conducting medication reconciliation, assessing resident competency, and 1:1 educational sessions with the residents. Educational retention was assessed by using a pre-test and a post-test. Phase 2, to be implemented in the future, will address technology limitations, incorporate an electronic medical records (EMR) system, and provide ongoing staff education. Results from Phase 1 include 80% recalled new information while 20% showed no change after completion of the educational session and the pre/post-test; from those residents assessed with the Medi-Cog, 55% scored above 8 out of 10 while 45% scored below the cutoff score of 8, and last 100% of the Medication Administration Records (MAR) were reviewed. Although time constraints prevented Phase 2 interventions from being implemented, implementing an EMR system and a professional development plan for staff education are expected to contribute to further improvements in medication management at the residential facility. Continued monitoring and collaboration with the residents and staff are vital for sustained success

Guidelines for pre-operative cardiac risk assessment and perioperative cardiac management in non-cardiac surgery : the Task Force for Preoperative Cardiac Risk Assessment and Perioperative Cardiac Management in Non-cardiac Surgery of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and endorsed by the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA)

Non-cardiac surgery; Pre-operative cardiac risk assessment; Pre-operative cardiac testing; Pre-operative coronary artery revascularization; Perioperative cardiac management; Renal disease; Pulmonary disease; Neurological disease; Anaesthesiology; Post-operative cardiac surveillanc

Experimental comparison in sensing breast cancer mutations by signal on and signal off paper-based electroanalytical strips

Altres ajuts: the ICN2 is funded by the CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya.The development of paper-based electroanalytical strips as powerful diagnostic tools has gained a lot of attention within the sensor community. In particular, the detection of nucleic acids in complex matrices represents a trending topic, especially when focused toward the development of emerging technologies, such as liquid biopsy. DNA-based biosensors have been largely applied in this direction, and currently, there are two main approaches based on target/probe hybridization reported in the literature, namely Signal ON and Signal OFF. In this technical note, the two approaches are evaluated in combination with paper-based electrodes, using a single strand DNA relative to H1047R (A3140G) missense mutation in exon 20 in breast cancer as the model target. A detailed comparison among the analytical performances, detection protocol, and cost associated with the two systems is provided, highlighting the advantages and drawbacks depending on the application. The present work is aimed to a wide audience, particularly for those in the field of point-of-care, and it is intended to provide the know-how to manage with the design and development stages, and to optimize the platform for the sensing of nucleic acids using a paper-based detection method

Loss of the Desmosomal Component Perp Impairs Wound Healing In Vivo

Epithelial wound closure is a complex biological process that relies on the concerted action of activated keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts to resurface and close the exposed wound. Modulation of cell-cell adhesion junctions is thought to facilitate cellular proliferation and migration of keratinocytes across the wound. In particular, desmosomes, adhesion complexes critical for maintaining epithelial integrity, are downregulated at the wound edge. It is unclear, however, how compromised desmosomal adhesion would affect wound reepithelialization, given the need for a delicate balance between downmodulating adhesive strength to permit changes in cellular morphology and maintaining adhesion to allow coordinated migration of keratinocyte sheets. Here, we explore the contribution of desmosomal adhesion to wound healing using mice deficient for the desmosomal component Perp. We find that Perp conditional knockout mice display delayed wound healing relative to controls. Furthermore, we determine that while loss of Perp compromises cell-cell adhesion, it does not impair keratinocyte proliferation and actually enhances keratinocyte migration in in vitro assays. Thus, Perp's role in promoting cell adhesion is essential for wound closure. Together, these studies suggest a role for desmosomal adhesion in efficient wound healing

BHPR research: qualitative1. Complex reasoning determines patients' perception of outcome following foot surgery in rheumatoid arhtritis

Background: Foot surgery is common in patients with RA but research into surgical outcomes is limited and conceptually flawed as current outcome measures lack face validity: to date no one has asked patients what is important to them. This study aimed to determine which factors are important to patients when evaluating the success of foot surgery in RA Methods: Semi structured interviews of RA patients who had undergone foot surgery were conducted and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis of interviews was conducted to explore issues that were important to patients. Results: 11 RA patients (9 ♂, mean age 59, dis dur = 22yrs, mean of 3 yrs post op) with mixed experiences of foot surgery were interviewed. Patients interpreted outcome in respect to a multitude of factors, frequently positive change in one aspect contrasted with negative opinions about another. Overall, four major themes emerged. Function: Functional ability & participation in valued activities were very important to patients. Walking ability was a key concern but patients interpreted levels of activity in light of other aspects of their disease, reflecting on change in functional ability more than overall level. Positive feelings of improved mobility were often moderated by negative self perception ("I mean, I still walk like a waddling duck”). Appearance: Appearance was important to almost all patients but perhaps the most complex theme of all. Physical appearance, foot shape, and footwear were closely interlinked, yet patients saw these as distinct separate concepts. Patients need to legitimize these feelings was clear and they frequently entered into a defensive repertoire ("it's not cosmetic surgery; it's something that's more important than that, you know?”). Clinician opinion: Surgeons' post operative evaluation of the procedure was very influential. The impact of this appraisal continued to affect patients' lasting impression irrespective of how the outcome compared to their initial goals ("when he'd done it ... he said that hasn't worked as good as he'd wanted to ... but the pain has gone”). Pain: Whilst pain was important to almost all patients, it appeared to be less important than the other themes. Pain was predominately raised when it influenced other themes, such as function; many still felt the need to legitimize their foot pain in order for health professionals to take it seriously ("in the end I went to my GP because it had happened a few times and I went to an orthopaedic surgeon who was quite dismissive of it, it was like what are you complaining about”). Conclusions: Patients interpret the outcome of foot surgery using a multitude of interrelated factors, particularly functional ability, appearance and surgeons' appraisal of the procedure. While pain was often noted, this appeared less important than other factors in the overall outcome of the surgery. Future research into foot surgery should incorporate the complexity of how patients determine their outcome Disclosure statement: All authors have declared no conflicts of interes