1,355,811 research outputs found
Finding consensus after two decades of breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma
No full textBreast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is an emerging and indolent, but potentially fatal cancer of the immune system that can develop around textured-surface breast implants. The World Health Organization first recognized BIA-ALCL as a unique clinical entity in 2016. To date, over 600 confirmed cases have been reported worldwide. BIA-ALCL most commonly presents with disease confined to the capsule, as a seroma or a mass adjacent to the implant. While BIA-ALCL has a fairly indolent clinical course, with an excellent prognosis in early stage disease, disseminated cancer and death have also been reported. In this review, the authors focus on the early diagnosis and treatment, including reconstructing the breast following BIA-ALCL, and also discuss recently updated National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. They also review the current epidemiology and risk factors associated with BIA-ALCL. Finally, they discuss important medicolegal considerations and the bioethics surrounding the continued use of textured-surface breast implants
CRIME AS AN OBJECT OF INQUIRY IN RUSSIAN CRIMINALISTICS ALEKSEY BESSONOV,
Get PDFThis article deals with the definition of the subject and objects of modern Russian criminalistics. It is aimed at sensitizing world public opinion to the necessity of inquiry into the criminalistic essence of crime and encouraging criminalists to study new techniques of crime investigation in order to mitigate risks and reduce errors arising in the criminal investigation process.One of the main objects that is constantly undergoing research in Russian criminalistics is criminal activity. The subject of Russian criminalistics is the regularities of criminal activity. When investigating crimes scientists are interested in the information that allows the successful investigation of the crimes and determination of the offender. The information about different types of crimes, which is necessary for crime investigation, is accumulated in the criminalistic characteristic of crimes. The Criminalistic Characteristic of Crimes is a scientific theory of modern Russian criminalistics that makes it possible to fully examine the specific features of crimes of all kinds, i.e. the forensic nature (essence) of crime, the system of crime elements with their characteristics, and the relationship between those elements. In U.S. and European criminalistics, the regularities of criminal activity are not defined as an object of study of this science. Yet, in the U.S. and European countries criminal profilers investigating criminal cases study the criminal links between crimes to identify crime series and crimes committed by similar offenders (or to determine co-offenders)
The Thursday Murder Club: Launching a megabrand author - a publishing case study
Get PDFIn 2020, the Christmas book charts in the UK made headlines: Barack Obama’s eagerly awaited autobiography, The Promised Land, was beaten to the top spot by The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, a debut cosy crime novel set in a retirement village. Not only did Osman’s book beat the former US president’s expected bestseller, it also broke records, becoming the fastest-selling debut crime novel of all time. Although Osman has a certain level of fame in the UK from his TV appearances on shows such as Pointless, his celebrity status does not entirely explain the novel’s huge sales. This article tracks the acquisition, publication, and promotion journey of The Thursday Murder Club in order to understand the industry and cultural context of its success and to interrogate the role of celebrity in the creation of author brands. The findings suggest that the unexpected scale of the success of the book owed to a number of factors, including in-depth editing by the novel’s agent, editor, and author to tighten up the plot, an extensive and strategic promotional campaign, the pandemic (which drove interest in the book’s genre and themes), and the quality of the writing. We find that the book’s success was accentuated by Osman’s celebrity status rather than being entirely reliant on it. This research adds to the growing scholarship on celebrity authorship by means of an in-depth case study and provides insight into the processes behind publishing a ‘celebrity’ book and launching a megabrand author
Towards screening for antibiotics with enhanced permeation properties through bacterial porins
No full textGram-negative bacteria are protected by an outer membrane barrier, and to reach their periplasmic target, penicillins have to diffuse through outer membrane porins such as OmpF. Here we propose a structure-dynamics-based strategy for improving such antibiotic uptake. Using a variety of experiments (high-resolution single channel recording, Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), liposome swelling assay) and accelerated molecular simulations, we decipher the subtle balance of interactions governing ampicillin diffusion through the porin OmpF. This suggests mutagenesis of a hot spot residue of OmpF for which additional simulations reveal drastic changes in the molecular and energetic pathway of ampicillin's diffusion. Inverting the problem, we predict and describe how benzylpenicillin diffuses with a lower effective energy barrier by interacting differently with OmpF. The thorough comparison between the theoretical predictions and the three independent experiments, which were set up to measure the kinetics of transport and biological activity, gives insights on how to combine such different investigation techniques with the aim of providing complementary validation. Our study illustrates the importance of microscopic interactions at the constriction region of the biological channel to control the antibiotic flux through it. We conclude by providing a complete inventory of the channel and antibiotic hot spots and discuss the implications in terms of antibacterial screening and design
Solution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Structure and Molecular Dynamics Simulations of a Murine 18.5 kDa Myelin Basic Protein Segment (S72-S107) in Association with Dodecylphosphocholine Micelles.
No full textpeer reviewedThe 18.5 kDa myelin basic protein (MBP), the most abundant splice isoform in adult mammalian myelin, is a multifunctional, intrinsically disordered protein involved in the development and compaction of the myelin sheath in the central nervous system. A highly conserved central segment comprises a membrane-anchoring amphipathic alpha-helix followed by a proline-rich segment that represents a ligand for SH3 domain-containing proteins. Here, we have determined using solution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy the structure of a 36-residue peptide fragment of MBP (murine 18.5 kDa residues S72-S107, denoted the alpha2-peptide) comprising these two structural motifs, in association with dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) micelles. The structure was calculated using CS-ROSETTA (version 1.01) because the nuclear Overhauser effect restraints were insufficient for this protein. The experimental studies were complemented by molecular dynamics simulations of a corresponding 24-residue peptide fragment (murine 18.5 kDa residues E80-G103, denoted the MD-peptide), also in association with a DPC micelle in silico. The experimental and theoretical results agreed well with one another, despite the independence of the starting structures and analyses, both showing membrane association via the amphipathic alpha-helix, and a sharp bend in the vicinity of the Pro93 residue (murine 18.5 kDa sequence numbering). Overall, the conformations elucidated here show how the SH3 ligand is presented to the cytoplasm for interaction with SH3 domain-containing proteins such as Fyn and contribute to our understanding of myelin architecture at the molecular level
A novel design concept for connections in glass: structural Integrity of glass reinforced with externally–bonded GFRP laminates
No full textThe paper reports experimental results of the load response and failure behaviour of open-hole annealed glass tensile test specimens reinforced with adhesively-bonded GFRP laminates. The results show that the bonded GFRP has potential to strengthen stress concentration features in glass by either arresting the cracks developed in the critical zone or eliminating the failure from the vicinity of the critical area. It is anticipated that the findings of this research could be effectively used to develop reinforcement strategies for critical joints in glass structures
Detection of weak stochastic forces in a parametrically stabilized micro-optomechanical system
Get PDFMeasuring a weak force is an important task for micromechanical systems, both when using devices as sensitive detectors and, particularly, in experiments of quantum mechanics. The optimal strategy for resolving a weak stochastic signal force on a huge background (typically given by thermal noise) is a crucial and debated topic, and the stability of the mechanical resonance is a further, related critical issue. We introduce and analyze the parametric control of the optical spring, which allows us to stabilize the resonance and provides a phase reference for the oscillator motion, yet conserving a free evolution in one quadrature of the phase space. We also study quantitatively the characteristics of our micro-optomechanical system as detector of stochastic force for short measurement times (for quick, high-resolution monitoring) as well as for the longer-term observations that optimize the sensitivity. We compare a simple strategy based on the evaluation of the variance of the displacement which is a widely used technique) with an optimal Wiener-Kolmogorov data analysis. We show that, due to the parametric stabilization of the effective susceptibility, we can more efficiently implement Wiener filtering, and we investigate how this strategy improves the performance of our system. We finally demonstrate the possibility to resolve stochastic force variations well below 1% of the thermal noise.MicroelectronicsElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
A principal in transition: an autoethnography
Get PDFThis research represents a highly personalized account of the complexities,
interpretations, and reflections of a principal in transition from one elementary school to
another elementary school in the same district. Using myself as the subject and the
researcher in the social context of an elementary school provided the impetus for this
self-study. Through an insider's vantage point, I have chronicled and traced the
experiences of my own administrative transition using the qualitative methodology of
autoethnography. This genre of qualitative research brings the reader closer to the
subculture studied through the experiences of the author. While every campus and
district has its own unique culture and environment, the introspection and evaluation
provided by the methodology of autoethnography greatly facilitates an understanding of
the processes of transition. The experiences I have encountered, the problems I face, and
the interpretations derived from them will strengthen my own practice as a public school
administrator and provide insight into the ever-changing administrative position called
the principalship. Data gathering consisted of a reflexive journal, my personal calendar, faculty
agendas, staff memos, and reflective analysis. At the completion of the school year
common strands, key attributes, and coding of the data served to provide retrospective
insights. These research tools were used to capture the experiences of my administrative
transition.
The results of this study were expressed in a personal narrative that comprises
Chapters IV through VI. Chapters I through III present a traditional dissertation model
that includes the introduction, review of literature, and research methodology. Chapter
VII offers recommendations, a discussion of the findings and concluding remarks
"Y'all come and have fun": discovering a New Jersey country and western music scene in a box of postcards
No full textSeveral years ago, Rutgers University's Special Collections and University Archives was given a checkbox containing fifty-six postcards advertising country and western music shows at venues around New Jersey. The postcards, primarily from the 1960s, promoted shows featuring Grand Ole Opry stars like Wanda Jackson, Hank Thompson, and Elton Britt. Preliminary research revealed that the postcards touted performances by regional and local musicians, as well. A closer look at the cards began to expose how a small, hyper-local ephemeral collection could bring to light and contribute to a larger history; in this case, a once thriving but little explored New Jersey country and western music scene. The research that forms this article focuses on one venue, the Copa Club in the city of Secaucus, and its owners, brothers and musicians Shorty and Smokey Warren, as a specific case study. This collection of postcards, like so much ephemeral material in archives, could have remained undervalued and under-researched. In this case, a close consideration set forth a journey that included research in local archives and interviews with scene participants. As a result, this article explores the past of an important musical genre that evolved along with social changes in the United States. This piece contributes to the scholarship around uses and value of ephemera, as well as scholarship that continues to challenge the southern origin story of country music and examine vital locales of country music outside the South.Peer reviewe
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