Evaluation of State-Led Surveillance of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome - Six U.S. States, 2018-2021.

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a significant public health problem in the United States, which affects children as well as adults. During 2010-2017, maternal opioid-related diagnoses increased approximately 130%, from 3.5 to 8.

A genomics approach to identify susceptibilities of breast cancer cells to "fever-range" hyperthermia.

Background: Preclinical and clinical studies have shown for decades that tumor cells demonstrate significantly enhanced sensitivity to "fever range" hyperthermia (increasing the intratumoral temperature to 42-45°C) than normal cells, although it is unknown why cancer cells exhibit this distinctive susceptibility.

Methods: To address this issue, mammary epithelial cells and three malignant breast cancer lines were subjected to hyperthermic shock and microarray, bioinformatics, and network analysis of the global transcription changes was subsequently performed.

Results: Bioinformatics analysis differentiated the gene expression patterns that distinguish the heat shock response of normal cells from malignant breast cancer cells, revealing that the gene expression profiles of mammary epithelial cells are completely distinct from malignant breast cancer lines following this treatment.

Searching in mother nature for anti-cancer activity: anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effect elicited by green barley on leukemia/lymphoma cells.

Green barley extract (GB) was investigated for possible anti-cancer activity by examining its anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic properties on human leukemia/lymphoma cell lines. Our results indicate that GB exhibits selective anti-proliferative activity on a panel of leukemia/lymphoma cells in comparison to non-cancerous cells. Specifically, GB disrupted the cell-cycle progression within BJAB cells, as manifested by G2/M phase arrest and DNA fragmentation, and induced apoptosis, as evidenced by phosphatidylserine (PS) translocation to the outer cytoplasmic membrane in two B-lineage leukemia/lymphoma cell lines.

Molecular interplay between cdk4 and p21 dictates G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in prostate cancer cells.

This study examined the effect of 3, 9-dihydroxy-2-prenylcoumestan (pso), a furanocoumarin, on PC-3 and C4-2B castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) cell lines. Pso caused significant G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and inhibition of cell growth. Molecular analysis of cyclin (D1, D2, D3, and E), cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) (cdks 2, 4, and 6), and cdk inhibitor (p21 and p27) expression suggested transcriptional regulation of the cdk inhibitors and more significant downregulation of cdk4 than of cyclins or other cdks.

Haptoglobin phenotypes and iron status in children living in a malaria endemic area of Kenyan coast.

Malaria infection may be affected by host genetic factors as well as nutritional status. Iron status and the phenotype of haptoglobin, a heme-binding acute phase reactant may be determinants of malaria parasitemia. A combination of cross sectional studies and longitudinal follow-up were used to describe the association between iron status, C-reactive protein, malaria infections and host genetic factors including; haptoglobin (Hp) phenotypes, in children below 9 years in a malaria endemic area in Coastal Kenya.

Temperature-mediated differential expression of immune and stress-related genes in Aedes aegypti larvae.

The mechanisms by which natural populations of vector mosquitoes cope with daily and seasonal fluctuations in temperature are poorly understood. We examined the effect of water temperature on expression of stress and immune-related genes in Aedes aegypti larvae. Aedes aegypti 3rd instars were exposed for 24 h to one of 7 constant temperatures (10 degrees C, 15 degrees C, 20 degrees C, 25 degrees C [control], 32 degrees C, 36 degrees C, or 40 degrees C) and expression of antimicrobial peptides (cecropin, defensin), transferrin, and heat shock proteins (HSP70 and HSP83) quantified by real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.

TCR-induced T cell activation leads to simultaneous phosphorylation at Y505 and Y394 of p56(lck) residues.

Biochemical studies have demonstrated that phosphorylation of lymphocyte cell kinase (p56(lck) ) is crucial for activation of signaling cascades following T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation. However, whether phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of the activating or inhibitory tyrosine residues occurs upon activation is controversial. Recent advances in intracellular staining of phospho-epitopes and cytometric analysis, requiring few cells, have opened up novel avenues for the field of immunological signaling.

HIV ENV glycoprotein-mediated bystander apoptosis depends on expression of the CCR5 co-receptor at the cell surface and ENV fusogenic activity.

HIV-1 infections lead to a progressive depletion of CD4 cells culminating in AIDS. The coreceptor usage by HIV varies from CCR5 (R5) tropic early in infection to CXCR4 (X4) tropic in later infections. Although the coreceptor switch from R5 to X4 tropic HIV is well associated with progression to AIDS, the role of CCR5 in disease progression especially in patients infected exclusively with R5 isolates throughout the disease remains enigmatic.

Highly active antiretroviral therapy in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus increases CD40 ligand expression and IL-12 production in cells ex vivo.

Highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) restores CD4(+) T-cell numbers in the periphery; however, its efficacy in restoring functional immunity is not fully elucidated. Here we evaluated longitudinal changes in the expression of several key markers of T-cell activation, namely CD40 ligand (CD154), OX40 (CD134), or CD69, after anti-CD3/CD28 activation, as well as levels of IL-12 production after Staphylococcus aureus Cowan stimulation in 28 HIV-infected adult patients. Patients were followed up to 12 mo post-HAART initiation.

Enhanced induction of HIV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes by dendritic cell-targeted delivery of SOCS-1 siRNA.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are potent antigen-presenting cells that play a critical role in the activation of T cells. RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated silencing of negative immunoregulatory molecules expressed by DCs may provide a strategy to enhance the potency of DC-based vaccines and immunotherapy. Ablation of suppressor of cytokine signaling-1 (SOCS-1) in antigen-presenting cells has been shown to enhance cellular immune response in mice.

Drug-induced death of the asexual blood stages of Plasmodium falciparum occurs without typical signs of apoptosis.

There is clear evidence that most antimalarial drugs, while acting through different mechanisms, are associated with parasite growth/development inhibition and eventual parasite death. However, the exact mode of parasite death remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the ability of various drugs, including two antimalarial drugs (chloroquine and atovaquone), a topoisemerase II inhibitor (etoposide) and a nitric oxide donor (S-nitro-N-acetyl-D, L-penicillamine), to induce apoptosis in a laboratory strain of Plasmodium falciparum.

Nutritional iron status in children with alpha+ thalassemia and the sickle cell trait in a malaria endemic area on the coast of Kenya.

Although hemoglobinopathies such as alpha+ thalassemia and the sickle cell trait might contribute to anemia in African children, we hypothesized that they might also enhance iron absorption under circumstances of critical availability, and that this could attenuate their hematologic effects. We found no support for this hypothesis in a cohort of children living on the coast of Kenya.

Malaria and nutritional status in children living on the coast of Kenya.

Background: The relation between malnutrition and malaria is controversial. On the one hand, malaria may cause malnutrition, whereas on the other hand, malnutrition itself may modulate susceptibility to the disease.

Objective: The objective was to investigate the association between Plasmodium falciparum malaria and malnutrition in a cohort of Kenyan children.

Iron deficiency and malaria among children living on the coast of Kenya.

Both iron deficiency and malaria are common in much of sub-Saharan Africa, and the interaction between these conditions is complex. To investigate the association between nutritional iron status, immunoglobulins, and clinical Plasmodium falciparum malaria, we determined the incidence of malaria in a cohort of children between the ages of 8 months and 8 years who were living on the Kenyan coast. Biochemical iron status and malaria-specific immune responses were determined during 2 cross-sectional surveys.