University Of Wisconsin-Madison Research Articles

Citizen Scientist: Farm 2 Facts Supporting Farmers Markets

As multifunctional loci of local food economies and public activity, farmers markets impart diverse impacts on their surrounding communities. In response to the emerging scholarship on farmers markets, as well as the desires of market managers to buttress their decision-making with cogent data analysis, the Farm 2 Facts data collection toolkit was created by the University of Wisconsin-Madison to measure the economic, social, and ecological impacts of farmers markets. We document here the history of Farm 2 Facts. Through case studies of F2F members, we describe the ways in which individual markets, market organizations, and local governments use farmers markets as a means of achieving differing goals, as well as how Farm 2 Facts necessarily adapted to measure and support these goals. We argue that Farm 2 Facts is in a tight reciprocal relationship with market managers who become citizen scientists in order to support their managerial role and communicate the benefits of their markets. Given that market policy change is often the impetus for collecting data, empathy for the goals of market managers is inseparable from Farm 2 Facts. We find that a sensitivity to the dynamic needs of markets, an adaptive toolkit, and incorporating ongoing research into the toolkit are essential to supporting farmers market managers in their many duties.

Twenty-one years of Asian ethnicity: a short recollection

In February 2021, Asian Ethnicity formed a new team of editors-in-chief, led by Ian G. Baird, professor of geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Matthew W. King, associate professor of religi...

John W. Suttie (1934–2020)

John W. Suttie (1934–2020)

Robust analysis of space-, time-, and energy-resolved soft x-ray measurements of magnetically confined fusion plasmas (invited).

A novel compact multi-energy soft x-ray (ME-SXR) diagnostic based on the PILATUS3 100K x-ray detector has been developed in collaboration between the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and the University of Wisconsin-Madison and tested on the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) reversed-field pinch. This solid-state photon-counting detector consists of a two-dimensional array of ∼100 000 pixels for which the lower photon absorption cutoff energy can be independently set, allowing it to be configured for a unique combination of simultaneous spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution of ∼1cm, 100eV, and 500Hz, respectively. The diagnostic is highly versatile and can be readily adapted to diverse plasma operating conditions and scientific needs without any required downtime. New results from improved-confinement and quasi-single helicity plasmas in the MST demonstrate how the detector can be applied to study multiple aspects of the evolution of magnetically confined fusion-grade plasmas. These include observing the evolution of thermal emissivity, characterizing the energy of mid-Z excitation lines, extracting the Te profile, and observing the evolution of non-thermal populations. A technique for integrating the ME-SXR diagnostic into an integrated data analysis framework based on Bayesian inference is also presented. This allows ME-SXR measurements to be combined with data for complementary diagnostics in order to simultaneously infer Te and nZ from all available information.

On the Appearance of Angels

Research Article| May 01 2021 On the Appearance of Angels Alexis Sears Alexis Sears Alexis Sears earned her MFA in poetry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her bachelor’s at Johns Hopkins University. She was a 2019 Sewanee Writers’ Conference Scholar. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in the Cortland Review, Cimarron Review, Hopkins Review, Birmingham Poetry Review, and elsewhere. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google the minnesota review (2021) 2021 (96): 44. https://doi.org/10.1215/00265667-8851380 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Twitter Permissions Search Site Citation Alexis Sears; On the Appearance of Angels. the minnesota review 1 May 2021; 2021 (96): 44. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00265667-8851380 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter Books & JournalsAll Journalsthe minnesota review Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. © 2021 Alexis Sears2021 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal Issue Section: Creative You do not currently have access to this content.

The Relationship Between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Middle Cerebral Artery Velocity in Women

Age-related declines in cerebral blood flow have been linked to greater risk for cognitive decline. Habitual exercise is recommended to prevent or delay cognitive impairment. Previous studies have found a positive correlation between cardiorespiratory fitness and middle cerebral artery blood velocity (MCAv) in men; however, there is limited data on this relationship in women. This study aimed to examine the relationships between cardiorespiratory fitness, age and MCAv in women. We hypothesized that MCAv would decline with advancing age and there would be a positive association between MCAv and cardiorespiratory fitness in women. Data from 74 women (age = 46 ± 21 y, range = 18 – 83 yrs.) were collected at 4 institutions (University of Kansas Medical Center; University of Wisconsin-Madison; Université Laval; Mayo Clinic) as part of previously conducted studies. All participants were determined to be of low risk for cardiovascular disease according to the American College of Sports Medicine criteria. MCAv, mean arterial pressure, end tidal carbon dioxide and cardiorespiratory fitness (maximal oxygen consumption: VO2max) were retrieved from study records. MCAv was collected unilaterally at rest using a transcranial Doppler ultrasound. VO2max was collected during either cycling ergometry (n = 61) or treadmill ergometry (n = 13) tests. Associations were assessed using a Pearson product-moment correlation. In the 74 women, the absolute VO2max was 2089 ± 622 ml·min-1 and average relative VO2max was 34 ± 10 ml·kg-1·min-1. The average MCAv for the entire group was 64 ± 16 cm·s-1. As expected, there was an inverse association between age and MCAv (r = -0.310; p = 0.007) such that women who were older demonstrated lower MCAv. There was a positive association between absolute VO2max and MCAv (r = 0.310; p = 0.007). Likewise, there was a positive association between relative VO2max and MCAv (r = 0.309; p = 0.007) such that women with higher cardiorespiratory fitness demonstrated higher MCAv. However, the relationship between VO2max and MCAv was no longer significant when adjusted for age (absolute VO2max; r = -0.105, p = 0.375; relative VO2 max; r = -0.089, p = 0.452). Cardiorespiratory fitness is positively associated with MCAv in women. This suggests that habitual exercise may be protective against age-related declines in cerebral blood flow. However, because the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and MCAv is attenuated when it is adjusted for age, future studies could utilize non-linear modeling to understand how age, MCAv and cardiorespiratory fitness are related in women.

White matter microstructure associations with episodic memory in adults with Down syndrome: a tract-based spatial statistics study

BackgroundNearly all persons with Down syndrome will show pathology of Alzheimer’s disease in their 40s. There is a critical need for studies to identify early biomarkers of these various pathological changes of Alzheimer’s disease in the Down syndrome population and understand the relationship of these biomarkers to cognitive symptoms in order to inform clinical trials. Although Alzheimer’s disease is often considered a disease of gray matter, white matter degeneration has been documented during the preclinical stage of Alzheimer’s disease. The current study examined the association between diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures of white matter microstructure and episodic memory performance in 52 adults with Down syndrome.MethodsSeventy (N = 70) participants (M = 40.13, SD = 7.77 years) received baseline scans as part of the Neurodegeneration in Aging Down Syndrome (NiAD) study at two imaging facilities (36 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison [UW-Madison] and 34 at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center [UPMC]). All participants had genetically confirmed trisomy 21. Fifty-two (N = 52) participants remained after QC. The DTI measures, fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), were calculated for each participant. A combined measure of episodic memory was generated by summing the z-scores of (1) Free and Cued Recall test and (2) Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test for Children Picture Recognition. The DTI data were projected onto a population-derived FA skeleton and tract-based spatial statistics analysis was conducted using the FSL tool PALM to calculate Pearson’s r values between FA and MD with episodic memory.ResultsA positive correlation of episodic memory with FA and a negative correlation of episodic memory and MD in the major association white matter tracts were observed. Results were significant (p < 0.05) after correction for chronological age, imaging site, and premorbid cognitive ability.ConclusionThese findings suggest that white matter degeneration may be implicated in early episodic memory declines prior to the onset of dementia in adults with Down syndrome. Further, our findings suggest a coupling of episodic memory and white matter microstructure independent of chronological age.

The essential role of a physiatrist in recommending a COVID‐19 vaccine

PM&RVolume 13, Issue 6 p. 647-648 Letter to the Editor The essential role of a physiatrist in recommending a COVID-19 vaccine Alyssa Warden DO, Alyssa Warden DO orcid.org/0000-0002-0065-8975 Department of Orthopedics & Rehabilitation Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USASearch for more papers by this authorKristin Caldera DO, Corresponding Author Kristin Caldera DO [email protected] Department of Orthopedics & Rehabilitation Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA Correspondence Kristin Caldera, DO, Department of Orthopedics & Rehabilitation Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1685 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53705-2281, USA. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author Alyssa Warden DO, Alyssa Warden DO orcid.org/0000-0002-0065-8975 Department of Orthopedics & Rehabilitation Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USASearch for more papers by this authorKristin Caldera DO, Corresponding Author Kristin Caldera DO [email protected] Department of Orthopedics & Rehabilitation Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA Correspondence Kristin Caldera, DO, Department of Orthopedics & Rehabilitation Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1685 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53705-2281, USA. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author First published: 28 February 2021 https://doi.org/10.1002/pmrj.12582Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume13, Issue6June 2021Pages 647-648 RelatedInformation

At Play in the Cosmos

At Play in the Cosmos is a game for University-level Astronomy courses. Designed as a collaboration between the Games + Learning + Society Center, an academic center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Norton &amp; Company, Cosmos is intended to support a “game-first” model of curriculum in which students play the game before engaging in other activities. Cosmos includes about 4 hours of game play and spans the entirety of course. It includes over 25 embedded simulations that are also used for homework, lectures, and demonstrations. The design process and resulting artifact was colored by institutional constraints, specifically a lengthy pre-production that demanded extensive documentation. The subsequent development process followed a relatively linear, waterfall process and resulted in linear game. Designers attempted to mediate this linearity through a crafting system that enabled players to explore the Universe and mine celestial bodies for resources. As a game intended to compete in the market, Cosmos included a relatively high production quality led by a team experienced in AAA development processes, and the chapter focuses on the development of art styles, interfaces, and fitting voice overs in on a constrained budget and timeline.

COVID-19 Infection Induces Substantial Memory B Cell Maturation to Non-Neutralizing Viral Targets

Dissecting the evolution of memory B cells (MBCs) against SARS-CoV-2 is critical for understanding antibody recall upon secondary exposure. Here, we utilized single-cell sequencing to profile SARS-CoV-2-reactive B cell subsets in 42 COVID-19 patients. We isolated thousands of B cells in multiple distinct subsets specific to the SARS-CoV-2 spike, endemic coronavirus (HCoV) spikes, nucleoprotein (NP), and open reading frame 8 (ORF8). Spike-specific cells were enriched in the memory compartment of acutely infected and convalescent patients 1.5–5 months post-infection. With severe acute infection, we identified substantial populations of endemic HCoV-reactive antibody-secreting cells with highly mutated variable genes, indicative of preexisting immunity. Finally, MBCs exhibited maturation to NP and ORF8 over time relative to spike, especially in older patients. Monoclonal antibodies against these targets were non-neutralizing and non-protective in vivo. These findings reveal considerable antibody adaptation to non-neutralizing antigens during infection, emphasizing the importance of vaccination for inducing neutralizing spike-specific MBCs.Trial Registration Number: This clinical trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov with identifier NCT04340050, and clinical information for patients included in the study is detailed in Table S1–S3.Funding: This project was funded in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID); National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant numbers U19AI082724 (P.C.W.), U19AI109946 (P.C.W.), U19AI057266 (P.C.W.), the NIAID Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS) grant numbers HHSN272201400005C(P.C.W.). N.W.A. was supported by the Multi-disciplinary Training program in Cancer Research (MTCR) - NIH T32 CA009594. A.J. and R.P.J were supported by federal funds from the NIAID, NIH, and Department of Health and Human Services under Contract HHSN272201700060C. F.K and F.A. were funded by the NIAID CEIRS contractHHSN272201400008C, Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Centers (CIVIC) contract 75N93019C00051 and the generous support of the JPB foundation, the Open Philanthropy Project (#2020-215611) and other philanthropic donations. Y.K. and P.H.were funded by the Research Program on Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease grant (JP19fk0108113) and the Japan Program for Infectious Diseases Research and Infrastructure (JP20fk0108272) from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), NIAID CEIRS contract HHSN272201400008C, and CIVIC contract 75N93019C00051. D.F., C.N, Y.D., and P.D.H, were supported by NIAID contracts HHSN272201700060C and 75N93019C00062. M.S.D. and E.S.W. were supported by NIH grants R01 AI157155 and F30 AI152327, respectively.Conflict of Interest: Several antibodies generated from this work are being used by Now Diagnostics in Springdale, AR for the development of a diagnostic test. M.S.D. is a consultant for Inbios, Vir Biotechnology, NGM Biopharmaceuticals, and Carnival Corporation, and on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Moderna and Immunome. The Diamond laboratory has received funding support in sponsored research agreements from Moderna, Vir Biotechnology, and Emergent BioSolutions.Ethical Approval: All studies were performed with the approval of the University of Chicago institutional review board IRB20-0523 and University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Washington University in St. Louis institutional biosafety committees. Informed consent was obtained after the research applications and possible consequences of the studies were disclosed to study subjects.

Diagnostic utility of (18)f-fluciclovine positron emission tomography (FACBC) in biochemically recurrent (BCR) prostate cancer (PCa) based on prior primary treatment modality for localized disease and the impact of FACBC findings on treatment selection.

34 Background: Management of BCR PCa requires accurate assessment of location and extent of recurrent disease. FACBC has been shown to be a sensitive modality for detection and localization of recurrent disease but treatment guidelines are based on the findings of conventional (conv) imaging, including computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or bone scintigraphy, and little is known about how prior treatment impacts FACBC findings and concordance with conv scans. Methods: This single-center retrospective study included 137 patients (pts) who had FACBC for BCR at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 10/2017-10/2019. Clinical, pathological, imaging, and treatment data were collected by chart review. Pts were classified by type of primary treatment for localized PCa, either radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiation therapy (RT). Findings of conv scans performed within 4 weeks prior or any time after FACBC were collected. Results: 105 pts had RP and 32 pts had RT as their primary PCa treatment. Gleason score and PSA at diagnosis were similar between groups. Median PSA at time of FACBC was higher in the RT compared to RP group (3.3 vs 0.7 ng/dL) and median time from initial diagnosis to FACBC was longer (70 vs 55 months). Frequency of (+) FACBC findings was higher in the RT group (66% vs 47%); only 3% of pts in the RT group had a (-) FACBC compared to 29% in the RP group. The rate of (+) lesions in the prostate/prostate bed was higher in the RT group (41% vs 22%), while the rate of (+) lesions in pelvic nodes and distant sites was similar between groups. Of 69 pts who also had conv imaging, 61% had concordant conv imaging findings. In the RT group, conv and FACBC findings were similar in 47% of pts and not similar in 28%. In the RP group, conv and FACBC findings were similar in 26% of pts and not similar in 17%. Management after FACBC is listed in table. Median time from FACBC to first (+) conv scans was 6 (range: 0-18) and 5 (range: 0-17) months for RT and RP groups, respectively. Conclusions: In this large retrospective cohort, pts treated with initial RT had a longer median time from diagnosis to FACBC and higher median PSA at the time of FACBC compared to the RP group. RT patients had a higher rate of (+) FACBC findings but were more likely to continue on observation. The median time from FACBC to first (+) conv scan was 5-6 months, supporting the role of FACBC in earlier detection of recurrent disease in both groups of patients. Further analysis of concordance between FACBC and conv imaging is in process. [Table: see text]

The Romance Inter-Views: Syntax

The Romance Inter-Views are short, multiple Q&amp;A pairs that address key issues, definitions and ideas regarding Romance linguistics. Prominent exponents of different approaches to the study of Romance linguistics are asked to answer some general questions from their viewpoint. The answers are then assembled so that readers can get a comparative picture of what’s going on in the field.For the first Inter-Views we selected (morpho-)syntactic research, and asked 8 syntacticians, representing four approaches to the study of Romance linguistics, to answer our questions. The approaches we selected are Cartography, Distributed Morphology, Minimalism, and Nanosyntax. The scholars we interviewed are listed hereafter.For Cartography:Luigi Rizzi, professor of Linguistics at the Collège de France;Norma Schifano, lecturer in Modern Languages at the University of Birmingham. For Distributed Morphology:Karlos Arregi, associate professor in Linguistics at the University of Chicago;Andrés Saab, associate researcher at CONICET, Buenos Aires and associate professor in Linguistics at the University of Buenos Aires. For Minimalism:Grant Armstrong, associate professor of Spanish Linguistics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison;Caterina Donati, professor of Linguistics at the CNRS Laboratoire de Linguistique formelle, Université de ParisFor Nanosyntax:Karen De Clercq, CNRS researcher at the Laboratoire de Linguistique formelle (Université de Paris).Antonio Fábregas, professor of Linguistics at UIT, The Arctic University of Norway

Spatially Resolved Tagging of Proteolytic Neo-N termini with Subtiligase-TM.

Mass spectrometry-based proteomics has been used successfully to identify substrates for proteases. Identification of protease substrates at the cell surface, however, can be challenging since cleavages are less abundant compared to other cellular events. Precise methods are required to delineate cleavage events that take place in these compartmentalized areas. This article by up-and-coming scientist Dr. Amy Weeks, an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides an overview of methods developed to identify protease substrates and their cleavage sites at the membrane. An overview is presented with the pros and cons for each method and in particular the N-terminomics subtiligase-TM method, developed by Dr. Weeks as a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Jim Wells at University of California, San Francisco, is described in detail. Subtiligase-TM is a genetically engineered subtilisin protease variant that acts to biotinylate newly generated N termini, hence revealing new cleavage events in the presence of a specific enzyme, and furthermore can precisely identify the cleavage P1 site. Importantly, this proteomics method is compatible with living cells. This method will open the door to understanding protein shedding events at the biological membrane controlled by proteases to regulate biological processes.

Our HMoob American College Paj Ntaub: student-engaged Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) as counter-invisibility work

This article presents the institutional and historical context, methods, findings, and action-consequences of ‘Our HMoob American College Paj Ntaub,’ a qualitative, student-led Participatory Action Research (PAR) project documenting the sociocultural and institutional factors that influence HMoob American college students’ experiences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Drawing on concepts from Asian Critical Race Theory (AsianCrit), we identify sociocultural and institutional processes that misrepresent and erase HMoob American experiences, producing a profound and troubling experience of institutional invisibility which has serious consequences for students’ wellbeing and educational attainment. However, we also document that student-led PAR research can be an effective means of enacting what we term ‘counter-invisibility work,’ by producing compelling counter-narratives that expand social networks for activism, outreach, and policy enactment.

BII-Implementation: The causes and consequences of plant biodiversity across scales in a rapidly changing world

The proposed Biology Integration Institute will bring together two major research institutions in the Upper Midwest—the University of Minnesota (UMN) and University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW)—to investigate the causes and consequences of plant biodiversity across scales in a rapidly changing world—from genes and molecules within cells and tissues to communities, ecosystems, landscapes and the biosphere. The Institute focuses on plant biodiversity, defined broadly to encompass the heterogeneity within life that occurs from the smallest to the largest biological scales. A premise of the Institute is that life is envisioned as occurring at different scales nested within several contrasting conceptions of biological hierarchies, defined by the separate but related fields of physiology, evolutionary biology and ecology. The Institute will emphasize the use of ‘spectral biology’—detection of biological properties based on the interaction of light energy with matter—and process-oriented predictive models to investigate the processes by which biological components at one scale give rise to emergent properties at higher scales. Through an iterative process that harnesses cutting edge technologies to observe a suite of carefully designed empirical systems—including the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and some of the world’s longest running and state-of-the-art global change experiments—the Institute will advance biological understanding and theory of the causes and consequences of changes in biodiversity and at the interface of plant physiology, ecology and evolution. INTELLECTUAL MERIT The Institute brings together a diverse, gender-balanced and highly productive team with significant leadership experience that spans biological disciplines and career stages and is poised to integrate biology in new ways. Together, the team will harness the potential of spectral biology, experiments, observations and synthetic modeling in a manner never before possible to transform understanding of how variation within and among biological scales drives plant and ecosystem responses to global change over diurnal, seasonal and millennial time scales. In doing so, it will use and advance state-of-the-art theory. The institute team posits that the designed projects will unearth transformative understanding and biological rules at each of the various scales that will enable an unprecedented capacity to discern the linkages between physiological, ecological and evolutionary processes in relation to the multi-dimensional nature of biodiversity in this time of massive planetary change. A strength of the proposed Institute is that it leverages prior federal investments in research and formalizes partnerships with foreign institutions heavily invested in related biodiversity research. Most of the planned projects leverage existing research initiatives, infrastructure, working groups, experiments, training programs, and public outreach infrastructure, all of which are already highly synergistic and collaborative, and will bring together members of the overall research and training team. BROADER IMPACTS A central goal of the proposed Institute is to train the next generation of diverse integrative biologists. Post-doctoral, graduate student and undergraduate trainees, recruited from non-traditional and underrepresented groups, including through formal engagement with Native American communities, will receive a range of mentoring and training opportunities. Annual summer training workshops will be offered at UMN and UW as well as training experiences with the Global Change and Biodiversity Research Priority Program (URPP-GCB) at the University of Zurich (UZH) and through the Canadian Airborne Biodiversity Observatory (CABO). The Institute will engage diverse K-12 audiences, the general public and Native American communities through Market Science modules, Minute Earth videos, a museum exhibit and public engagement and educational activities through the Bell Museum of Natural History, the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve (CCESR) and the Wisconsin Tribal Conservation Association.

A Career in Catalysis: James A. Dumesic

After 43 years as a professor in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, James A. Dumesic retired in 2019. Jim is one of the most influential rese...

No Detectable Electroencephalographic Activity After Clinical Declaration of Death Among Tibetan Buddhist Meditators in Apparent Tukdam, a Putative Postmortem Meditation State.

Recent EEG studies on the early postmortem interval that suggest the persistence of electrophysiological coherence and connectivity in the brain of animals and humans reinforce the need for further investigation of the relationship between the brain’s activity and the dying process. Neuroscience is now in a position to empirically evaluate the extended process of dying and, more specifically, to investigate the possibility of brain activity following the cessation of cardiac and respiratory function. Under the direction of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, research was conducted in India on a postmortem meditative state cultivated by some Tibetan Buddhist practitioners in which decomposition is putatively delayed. For all healthy baseline (HB) and postmortem (PM) subjects presented here, we collected resting state electroencephalographic data, mismatch negativity (MMN), and auditory brainstem response (ABR). In this study, we present HB data to demonstrate the feasibility of a sparse electrode EEG configuration to capture well-defined ERP waveforms from living subjects under very challenging field conditions. While living subjects displayed well-defined MMN and ABR responses, no recognizable EEG waveforms were discernable in any of the tukdam cases.

Sensitivity and Efficiency of RNA Sample Pooling for RT-qPCR Testing for SARS-CoV-2

Background: Use of RT-qPCR pool testing in the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection has been limited due to a lack of data on its sensitivity and efficiency.Methods: We mixed single specimens of extracted RNA positive for the SARS-CoV-2 E gene by RT-qPCR with negative specimens, in pools of 4 (n=89), 8 (n=92), 16 (n=102), and 32 (n=105) specimens each. We estimated the average change in Ct for each pool size and added it to the Ct values of the first 1,350 tests in our lab, to obtain dilution-corrected Ct values. We estimated pool sensitivity as the proportion of samples with dilution-corrected Ct>40, and used it in simulations of the efficiency (tests used/true case detected) of binary split pool testing.Findings: We tested 388 pools. Average Ct changes were 2.21, 2.51, 3.27, and 3.94 cycles, for pools of 4, 8, 16, and 32 specimens, respectively. Corresponding pool tests sensitivities were 91.1%, 89.6%, 85.8% and 82.5%. Pool testing was substantially more efficient than individual testing. For prevalence of 0.5% to 2.0%, the efficiency of pools of ≥8 specimens was 30% to 280% higher, and the number of people tested was 4.4 to 13.9 times higher than those of individual testing were.Interpretation: Binary split pool testing substantially increases the number of people tested and the number of true cases detected per test. This strategy is key to curtail the transmission of SAR-CoV-2, by increasing efficiency in the identification and isolation of symptomatic and asymptomatic infected individuals.Funding: Major Office of Bucaramanga, Colombia.Declaration of Interests: None.Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by both the UIS’ and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Institutional Review Boards.

Risk factors for progression from low level BK dnaemia to unfavorable outcomes after BK management via immunosuppressive reduction.

Effective management of BK viremia (BKPyV-DNAemia) in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) involves regular monitoring and adjustment of immunosuppression. With this strategy, the majority of patients will clear BK or have ongoing, but non-significant, low-level BKPyV-DNAemia. However, despite adjustments, some will develop more severe sequelae of BK including BKPyV-DNAemia >5 log10 copies/mL and BK nephropathy, and others may develop de novo DSA (dnDSA) or acute rejection (AR). This was a single-center study of KTRs transplanted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison between 01/01/2015 and 12/31/2017. In this study, we sought to elucidate characteristics associated with the progression of BKPyV-DNAemia to unfavorable outcomes after decreasing immunosuppressive medications for the management of BK viremia as described in consensus guidelines. A total of 224 KTRs fulfilled our selection criteria; 118 (53%) resolved or had persistent low DNAemia, 64 (28%) had severe BK/nephropathy, and 42 (19%) developed dnDSA or AR. In multivariable analysis, female gender (HR: 2.05; 95% CI: 1.08-3.90; P=.02); previous rejection (HR: 2.90; 95% CI: 1.04-8.12; P=.04), and early infection (HR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.72-0.90; P<.001) were associated with the development of severe BK/nephropathy. Conversely, non-depleting induction at transplant (HR: 2.06; 95% CI: 1.03-4.11; P=.03), HLA mismatches >3 (HR: 2.27; HR: 1.01-5.06; P=.04), and delayed graft function (HR: 4.14; 95% CI: 1.12-15.28; P=.03) were associated with development of dnDSA and/or rejection. Our study suggests that almost half of KTRs with BKPyV-DNAemia managed by our immunosuppressant adjustment protocol progress unfavorably. Identification of these risk factors could assist the frontline clinician in creating an individualized immunosuppressive modification plan potentially mitigating negative outcomes.

Afterword

Afterword Shepherd Steiner Mosaic issue 54.2 is a special archival issue developed as the first part of a collaborative project with the Dutch artist team Bik Van der Pol. The second part involves a collaborative project hinging on a series of lectures that will be published in a subsequent issue. Relative Time/Little Time concentrates on the flow or pace of current time, especially in relation to past time. We are particularly interested in the different granularity of current time relative to the period beginning in 1989, which marked a decisive acceleration of economy, growth, extraction, globalism, movement, population, transportation, etc., and ending in 2020, when over a few weeks the world came to a halt under the influence of the pandemic that spread as rapidly and widely as people, commodities, and capital once moved. We wonder what the compression and contraction of time into these discrete units of temporal flow suggest? We wonder how to conceptualize the transference and exchange of time stamps between production quotas and life at the microbiological level, not to mention the palimpsest-like construction of these times we live? Does the elasticity between periods on either side of the divide provide the momentum we need to think the future, which is such an uncertain time at this point? Might this relate to attempts to get the system moving again in a new direction? How can Indigenous knowledges, the Green New Deal, Black Lives Matter, or decolonizing perspectives from the global South forge a new future from out of the context of relative time? [End Page 201] The participants include: Frédéric Neyrat, Associate Professor and Mellon-Morgridge Professor of Planetary Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a member of the editorial board of Multitudes and his books include Biopolitique des catastrophes (2008), L'indemne. Heidegger et la destruction du monde (2008), Instructions pour une prise d'âmes: Artaud ar l'envoûtement occidental (2009), Clinamen: Flux, absolu et loi spirale (2011), Le communisme existential de Jean-Luc Nancy (2013), Homo Labyrinthus. Humanisme, antihumanisme, posthumanisme (2015), Atopias: Manifesto for a Radical Existentialism (2017), and The Unconstructable Earth: An Ecology of Separation (2019). Erin Manning, University Research Chair in Relational Art and Philosophy in the Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia University (Montreal, Canada). She is the director of SenseLab, "a laboratory for thought in motion," which brings together individuals from a diversity of fields to work at the intersection of philosophy, art, and activism. Her books include Relationscapes: Movement, Art, Philosophy (2009), Always More Than One: Individuation's Dance (2013), Thought in the Act: Passages in the Ecology of Experience (with Brian Massumi, 2014), and The Minor Gesture (2016). Jonas Staal, a visual artist dealing primarily with the relation between art, propaganda, and democracy. With lawyer and writer Radha D'Souza he is developing the Court for Intergenerational Climate Crimes. This attempts to articulate a legal framework for interdependent and intergenerational climate justice. Intersecting temporalities of past and present as well as unborn plant, animal, and human life in the future are the key issues broached. His books include Nosso Lar, Brasilia (2014), Steve Bannon: A Propaganda Retrospective (2018), and Propaganda Art in the 21st Century (2019). With Dilar Dirik and Renée In der Mauer he co-edited Stateless Democracy (2015). Dr. Dominic Pettman, Professor of Media and New Humanities at the New School of Social Research. His books include After the Orgy: Toward a Politics of Exhaustion (2002), Avoiding the Subject: Media, Culture and the Object (with Justin Clemens, 2004), Love and Other Technologies: Retrofitting Eros for the Information Age (2006), Human Error: Species-Being and Media Machines (2011), Look at the Bunny: Totem, Taboo, Technology (2013), In Divisible Cities (2013), Infinite Distraction (2015), Humid, All too Humid (2016), Sonic Intimacy: Voice, Species, Technics (2017), Creaturely Love (2017), Metagestures (with Carla Nappi, 2019), and Peak Libido: Sex, Ecology, and the Collapse of Desire (2020). Andrea Robbins and Max Becher, New York based collaborative artists who use photography. Their primary focus is what they call the transportation of place—situations [End Page 202] in which one limited or isolated place strongly resembles another distant one. Accepted as genuine...