A Comparison of Three Automated Nucleic Acid Extraction Systems for Human Stool Samples.

Automated nucleic acid extractors are useful instruments for the high-throughput processing of bio-samples and are expected to improve research throughput in addition to decreased inter-sample variability inherent to manual processing. We evaluated three commercial nucleic acid extractors Bioer GenePure Pro (Bioer Technology, Hangzhou, China), Maxwell RSC 16 (Promega Corporation, Madison, WI, USA), and KingFisher Apex (ThermoFisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA) based on their DNA yield, DNA purity, and 16S rRNA gene amplicon results using both human fecal samples and a mock community (ZymoBIOMICS Microbial Community Standard (Zymo Research Corp., Irvine, CA, USA)).

The pivotal role of sleep in mediating the effects of life stressors and healthy habits on allostatic load in mid-life adults.

Objectives: We assessed the modulation of allostatic load (AL) by engagement in healthy habits and life stressors, mediated through resilience and the perceived influence of the stressors. Sleep was included as third mediator given extensive evidence associating to all the analysed factors.

Methods: Structural equation models to assess the modulation of AL by either traumatic or psychosocial stressors and healthy habits were generated with data from 620 mid-life adults (age 51.

Sustained growth-promoting effects of vosoritide in children with achondroplasia from an ongoing phase 3 extension study.

Background: Vosoritide is a C-type natriuretic peptide analog that addresses an underlying pathway causing reduced bone growth in achondroplasia. Understanding the vosoritide treatment effect requires evaluation over an extended duration and comparison with outcomes in untreated children.

Methods: After completing ≥6 months of a baseline observational growth study and 52 weeks in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study (ClinicalTrials.

Performance of Risk-Stratification Scores for Patients With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Population.

Guidelines recommend risk stratification of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients to guide management. There are currently several risk stratification scores available, which have largely been validated in various pulmonary hypertension registries in the West but not in Asia. We aim to study the performance of these different risk scores in PAH patients from a multi-ethnic Asian population.

Unravelling the natural history of localised prostate cancer in the post-prostate specific antigen era: implications for clinical management.

Background: Management of localised prostate cancer (PCa) remains controversial in the era of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing. This study aims to describe the natural history of men with PCa being followed up expectantly to evaluate disease mortality.

Methods: After exclusion, clinical data of 204 patients retrieved from a prospective large PCa registry were reviewed.