Publications by authors named "W J Ott"

Genetic oscillations are generated by delayed transcriptional negative feedback loops, wherein repressor proteins inhibit their own synthesis after a temporal production delay. This delay is distributed because it arises from a sequence of noisy processes, including transcription, translocation, translation, and folding. Because the delay determines repression timing and, therefore, oscillation period, it has been commonly believed that delay noise weakens oscillatory dynamics.

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One challenge in synthetic biology is the tuning of regulatory components within gene circuits to elicit a specific behavior. This challenge becomes more difficult in synthetic microbial consortia since each strain's circuit must function at the intracellular level and their combination must operate at the population level. Here we demonstrate that circuit dynamics can be tuned in synthetic consortia through the manipulation of strain fractions within the community.

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BACKGROUND Moyamoya disease is a rare and progressive cerebrovascular disorder caused by narrowed or blocked arteries supplying the brain. First described in Japan, the disease's incidence is higher in Asian countries and primarily affects children, although adults can also be afflicted. Following a literature review, very little was found regarding non-Asian ethnicities and the lack of typically associated risk factors that are known correlates of Moyamoya disease.

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Microbial communities such as swarms or biofilms often form at the interfaces of solid substrates and open fluid flows. At the same time, in laboratory environments these communities are commonly studied using microfluidic devices with media flows and open boundaries. Extracellular signaling within these communities is therefore subject to different constraints than signaling within classic, closed-boundary systems such as developing embryos or tissues, yet is understudied by comparison.

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Introduction: Epidural anesthesia is commonly used for analgesia during labor, and headache is a common complaint following this procedure. Pneumocephalus, on the other hand, is a rare and potentially serious complication of epidural anesthesia, which is most often caused by accidental puncture of the dura with the introduction of air into intrathecal space.

Case Presentation: We present the case of a 19-year-old Hispanic female who developed a severe frontal headache and neck pain eight hours following epidural catheter placement to deliver analgesia during labor.

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