Genetically Fusing Order-Promoting and Thermoresponsive Building Blocks to Design Hybrid Biomaterials.

The unique biophysical and biochemical properties of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and their recombinant derivatives, intrinsically disordered protein polymers (IDPPs) offer opportunities for producing multistimuli-responsive materials; their sequence-encoded disorder and tendency for phase separation facilitate the development of multifunctional materials. This review highlights the strategies for enhancing the structural diversity of elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) and resilin-like polypeptides (RLPs), and their self-assembled structures via genetic fusion to ordered motifs such as helical or beta sheet domains. In particular, this review describes approaches that harness the synergistic interplay between order-promoting and thermoresponsive building blocks to design hybrid biomaterials, resulting in well-structured, stimuli-responsive supramolecular materials ordered on the nanoscale.

The microbial growth potential of antiscalants used in seawater desalination.

20 years since the first report on the biofouling potential of chemicals used for scale control, still, antiscalants with high bacterial growth potential are used in practice. Evaluating the bacterial growth potential of commercially available antiscalants is therefore essential for a rational selection of these chemicals. Previous antiscalant growth potential tests were conducted in drinking water or seawater inoculated with model bacterial species which do not represent natural bacterial communities.

HIV seroconversion during pregnancy and the need for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

The reduction in the mother-to-infant transmission of HIV has been among the early successes of care and treatment of women living with HIV. Prenatal HIV counseling and testing, the availability of diverse antiretroviral therapies, elective cesarean section, and the use of formula milk have significantly reduced the mother-to-infant transmission in the USA and Europe. We are presenting two cases of seroconversion during pregnancy, identified during labor and delivery, of women who received risk reduction counseling and serial HIV testing during pregnancy.

The Zika Virus Infection in Pregnancy: Review and Implications for Research and Care of Women and Infants in Affected Areas.

The world has encountered a new and serious epidemic which has disproportionately affected fetuses and infants. What makes the Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic such a threat in our times, is that a whole generation can be affected by birth defects caused by a seemingly innocuous maternal infection, which in most cases go unnoticed and undiagnosed. Spreading to over 80 countries and affecting millions, it is associated with severe birth defects known as congenital Zika syndrome (CZS), which include fetal brain development abnormalities (microcephaly and brain calcifications), retinal abnormalities, and contractures and hypertonia of the extremities.

Improved Infant Outcomes with Group Prenatal Care in Puerto Rico.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of group prenatal care () on the rate of Preterm Birth (PTB) and low birth weight. Women were enrolled into Centering Pregnancy () if they fell in the category of poverty, and had at least one risk for PTB according to known risk factors for low birth weight or PTB.

Methods: Mother's age, parity, risk factors, prenatal/delivery complications, infants' Gestational Age (GA), birth weight, Apgar scores, delivery route, indications for delivery, and use of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) were abstracted from charts of mothers who received group or traditional care at the University Hospital in San Juan, PR.

HIV and ZIKA in Pregnancy: Parallel Stories and New Challenges.

On February 1, 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Zika virus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Because Zika virus is a relatively new infection with several transmission routes that include mosquito bites, sexual and possibly blood-related, we present the case for a parallel between the Zika epidemic and the AIDS epidemic for issues that relate particularly to pregnancy and epidemic response. We will discuss the many similarities between both epidemics while acknowledging that the viruses are different and the pathophysiology and disease manifestation are also different.

Biomedical HIV prevention strategies: state of the art and implications for public health policy in the Caribbean.

Recent advances in the field of biomedical prevention have induced optimism among both the scientific community and the public in general. The discussion of the research evidence is complemented with a discussion of the implications of this evidence for the Caribbean, highlighting the issues and controversies that should be considered in order to encourage and advance the responsible consideration of biomedical strategies. Traditionally, HIV prevention strategies have been characterized as predominantly behavior, social or biomedical.

Multiple platform assessment of the EGF dependent transcriptome by microarray and deep tag sequencing analysis.

Background: Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) is a key regulatory growth factor activating many processes relevant to normal development and disease, affecting cell proliferation and survival. Here we use a combined approach to study the EGF dependent transcriptome of HeLa cells by using multiple long oligonucleotide based microarray platforms (from Agilent, Operon, and Illumina) in combination with digital gene expression profiling (DGE) with the Illumina Genome Analyzer.

Results: By applying a procedure for cross-platform data meta-analysis based on RankProd and GlobalAncova tests, we establish a well validated gene set with transcript levels altered after EGF treatment.