Multistate outbreak of Oranienburg infections linked to bulb onions imported from Mexico - United States, 2021.

In 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local health and regulatory partners investigated an outbreak of serovar Oranienburg infections linked to bulb onions from Mexico, resulting in 1040 illnesses and 260 hospitalizations across 39 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Metastatic HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Is There an Optimal Sequence of Therapy?

Approximately 20% of breast cancers overexpress human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2+), conferring a particularly aggressive subtype of the disease with an increased risk for the development of systemic and brain metastases. However, the advent of trastuzumab and more recently several other HER2-targeting novel therapies has led to significant improvements in the prognosis, making the diagnosis a "double-edged sword." The current standard first-line therapy for patients with HER2+ metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is a taxane combined with trastuzumab and pertuzumab.

A 2019 Outbreak Investigation of Hepatitis A Virus Infections in the United States Linked to Imported Fresh Blackberries.

Globally, hepatitis A virus (HAV) is one of the most common agents of acute viral hepatitis and causes approximately 1.4 million cases and 90,000 deaths annually despite the existence of an effective vaccine. In 2019, federal, state, and local partners investigated a multi-state outbreak of HAV infections linked to fresh blackberries sourced from multiple suppliers in Michoacán, Mexico.

Effect of Storage Conditions on the Quality of Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil and the Impact on the Composition of Flavor-Related Compounds (Phenols and Volatiles).

Commercialization of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) requires a best before date recommended at up to 24 months after bottling, stored under specific conditions. Thus, it is expected that the product retains its chemical properties and preserves its 'extra virgin' category. However, inadequate storage conditions could alter the properties of EVOO.

A Series of Papaya-Associated Salmonella Illness Outbreak Investigations in 2017 and 2019: A Focus on Traceback, Laboratory, and Collaborative Efforts.

Abstract: In 2017 and 2019, five outbreaks of infections from multiple strains of Salmonella linked to the consumption of whole, fresh Maradol papayas were reported in the United States, resulting in 325 ill persons. Traceback, laboratory, and epidemiologic evidence indicated papayas as the likely vehicle for each of these outbreaks and identified the source of papayas. State and U.

Update on Precision Medicine in Breast Cancer.

Precision medicine approaches have found applications in the treatment of several tumor types and have led to rapid advancement in the number of available therapies for some difficult-to-treat diseases. In comparison to tumors like EGFR-mutated lung cancer, and BRAF-mutated melanoma for example, precision medicine in breast cancer is still in its infancy despite the much earlier identification of targets like ER and HER2. Though significant progress has been made in new therapies for hormone-receptor-positive and HER2-positive breast cancers, identification of molecular heterogeneity and lack of other valid reproducible targets in triple-negative breast cancer remain a challenge.

Thermal buffering capacity of the germination phenotype across the environmental envelope of the Cactaceae.

Recruitment from seeds is among the most vulnerable stage for plants as global temperatures change. While germination is the means by which the vast majority of the world's flora regenerate naturally, a framework for accurately predicting which species are at greatest risk of germination failure during environmental perturbation is lacking. Taking a physiological approach, we assess how one family, the Cactaceae, may respond to global temperature change based on the thermal buffering capacity of the germination phenotype.

Amplification and overexpression of oncogene Mdm2 and orphan receptor gene Nr1h4 in immortal PRKDC knockout cells.

DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) is required for the repair of double strand DNA breaks by nonhomologous DNA end joining. The catalytic subunit of DNA-PK, PRKDC, may also be involved in repair-related or separate cell signaling pathways. To learn more about the cellular function of DNA-PK under normal physiological conditions, we identified genes that are differentially expressed between an immortalized wild-type mouse fibroblast cell line and its DNA-PK-deficient counterpart (Prkdc -/-).

Treatment with human metalloproteinase-8 gene delivery ameliorates experimental rat liver cirrhosis.

Background & Aims: An extrahepatic human neutrophil collagenase complementary DNA (matrix metalloprotease-8) cloned in an adenovirus vector was used as a therapeutic agent in cirrhosis.

Methods: A high titer of clinical-grade AdMMP8 was obtained.

Results: HeLa cells transduced with AdMMP8 expressed recombinant matrix metalloprotease-8 messenger RNA and matrix metalloprotease-8 protein.

High G/C content of cohesive overhangs renders DNA end joining Ku-independent.

Ku plays an important role in the repair of double strand DNA breaks by non-homologous DNA end joining (NHEJ). Ku is thought to exert its function by aligning the two DNA ends. A previous study showed that the joining of certain cohesive DNA ends in cell-free in vitro reactions was independent of Ku [Mol.

Differential gene expression in human glioma cells: correlation with presence or absence of DNA-dependent protein kinase.

The human glioma cell line M059J is deficient in DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) due to a frame-shift mutation in PRKDC, the gene for its catalytic subunit, while cell line M059K, isolated from the same malignant tumor, has normal DNA-PK activity. DNA-PK is required for double-strand DNA break repair, and its absence is responsible for increased radiosensitivity of M059J. We show that transcripts of several melanoma antigen subfamily A (MAGE-A) genes, the expression of which is restricted to tumor and germ-line cells,are present in M059K, but that their expression is strongly downregulated in M059J.

Joining of DNA ends bearing non-matching 3'-overhangs.

Using the Xenopus egg extract as an in vitro system for double strand break repair, the joining of DNA ends bearing non-complementary, homopolymeric, 4nt 3'-protruding single strands ("overhangs") was examined. Such 3'-overhangs can not be filled-in and cannot align and anneal by canonical base pair interactions, thus presenting a special challenge to the repair machinery. The results indicate that two such non-matching 3'-overhangs typically overlap by 2nt forming non-canonical base pairs, from which the filling-in of the remaining gaps is primed.

Pirfenidone effectively reverses experimental liver fibrosis.

Background/aims: Our group has been involved in searching for different strategies to ameliorate hepatic cirrhosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Pirfenidone in the reversion or prevention of cirrhosis experimentally induced in rats by chronic administration of CCl(4) and bile-duct ligation (BDL).

Methods: Male cirrhotic Wistar rats (8 weeks of intoxication and then hepatotoxin was discontinued) received either oral saline or Pirfenidone at 500 mg/kg per day.