Barriers to Cancer Care in the LGBTQ+ Community.

Individuals that identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) make up a medically underserved population, that experience disparities in cancer care. Specific cancer incidence and mortality in this population is understudied, as national cancer registries and cancer surveys have limited data about sexual orientation or gender identity. The LGBTQIA community face disparate cancer outcomes in prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment due to barriers that limit access to cancer care.

Improving infant Neurocognitive Development and Growth Outcomes with micronutrients (INDiGO): A protocol for an efficacy trial in rural Gambia.

Background: Undernutrition during the early years of life has a harmful and irreversible impact on child growth and cognitive development. Many of the interventions tested to improve outcomes across infancy have had disappointing or inconsistent impact, a common feature being the absence of any attempt to provide nutritional supplements to infants during the first six months. With increasing evidence of micronutrient deficiencies in this age group, alongside strong evidence that growth and developmental deficits begin before six months, a renewed focus on the micronutrient status of infants is required.

Multicomponent Synthesis of α-Branched Amines via a Zinc-Mediated Carbonyl Alkylative Amination Reaction.

Methods for the synthesis of α-branched alkylamines are important due to their ubiquity in biologically active molecules. Despite the development of many methods for amine preparation, C(sp)-rich nitrogen-containing compounds continue to pose challenges for synthesis. While carbonyl reductive amination (CRA) between ketones and alkylamines is the cornerstone method for α-branched alkylamine synthesis, it is sometimes limited by the sterically demanding condensation step between dialkyl ketones and amines and the more restricted availability of ketones compared to aldehydes.

Comprehensive structural, infrared spectroscopic and kinetic investigations of the roles of the active-site arginine in bidirectional hydrogen activation by the [NiFe]-hydrogenase 'Hyd-2' from .

The active site of [NiFe]-hydrogenases contains a strictly-conserved pendant arginine, the guanidine head group of which is suspended immediately above the Ni and Fe atoms. Replacement of this arginine (R479) in hydrogenase-2 from results in an enzyme that is isolated with a very tightly-bound diatomic ligand attached end-on to the Ni and stabilised by hydrogen bonding to the Nζ atom of the pendant lysine and one of the three additional water molecules located in the active site of the variant. The diatomic ligand is bound under oxidising conditions and is removed only after a prolonged period of reduction with H and reduced methyl viologen.

Bacterial rhomboid proteases mediate quality control of orphan membrane proteins.

Although multiprotein membrane complexes play crucial roles in bacterial physiology and virulence, the mechanisms governing their quality control remain incompletely understood. In particular, it is not known how unincorporated, orphan components of protein complexes are recognised and eliminated from membranes. Rhomboids, the most widespread and largest superfamily of intramembrane proteases, are known to play key roles in eukaryotes.

Cloud System Evolution in the Trades-CSET: Following the Evolution of Boundary Layer Cloud Systems with the NSF/NCAR GV.

The Cloud System Evolution in the Trades (CSET) study was designed to describe and explain the evolution of the boundary layer aerosol, cloud, and thermodynamic structures along trajectories within the north-Pacific trade-winds. The study centered on 7 round-trips of the NSF NCAR Gulfstream V (GV) between Sacramento, CA and Kona, Hawaii between 1 July and 15 August 2015. The CSET observing strategy was to sample aerosol, cloud, and boundary layer properties upwind from the transition zone over the North Pacific and to resample these areas two days later.

A novel overproduction system for the structural determination of a proton-pumping hydrogen-producing [NiFe]-hydrogenase.

The recent novel overproduction system for the membrane-bound oxygen-sensitive [NiFe]-hydrogenase-2 (Hyd-2) from Escherichia coli is detailed. Hyd-2 is an efficient and reversible catalyst for the interconversion of H and 2H. Produced at low levels during anaerobic respiration, Hyd-2 is instrumental in the generation of proton-motive force (PMF), and likewise uses PMF to generate H.

Mechanistic Exploitation of a Self-Repairing, Blocked Proton Transfer Pathway in an O-Tolerant [NiFe]-Hydrogenase.

Catalytic long-range proton transfer in [NiFe]-hydrogenases has long been associated with a highly conserved glutamate (E) situated within 4 Å of the active site. Substituting for glutamine (Q) in the O-tolerant [NiFe]-hydrogenase-1 from Escherichia coli produces a variant (E28Q) with unique properties that have been investigated using protein film electrochemistry, protein film infrared electrochemistry, and X-ray crystallography. At pH 7 and moderate potential, E28Q displays approximately 1% of the activity of the native enzyme, high enough to allow detailed infrared measurements under steady-state conditions.

The structure of hydrogenase-2 from : implications for H-driven proton pumping.

Under anaerobic conditions, is able to metabolize molecular hydrogen via the action of several [NiFe]-hydrogenase enzymes. Hydrogenase-2, which is typically present in cells at low levels during anaerobic respiration, is a periplasmic-facing membrane-bound complex that functions as a proton pump to convert energy from hydrogen (H) oxidation into a proton gradient; consequently, its structure is of great interest. Empirically, the complex consists of a tightly bound core catalytic module, comprising large (HybC) and small (HybO) subunits, which is attached to an Fe-S protein (HybA) and an integral membrane protein (HybB).

The Convective Transport of Active Species in the Tropics (CONTRAST) Experiment.

The Convective Transport of Active Species in the Tropics (CONTRAST) experiment was conducted from Guam (13.5° N, 144.8° E) during January-February 2014.

Development of a Rhodobacter capsulatus self-reporting model system for optimizing light-dependent, [FeFe]-hydrogenase-driven H production.

The photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus normally photoproduces H as a by-product of its nitrogenase-catalyzed nitrogen-fixing activity. Such H production, however, is expensive from a metabolic perspective, requiring nearly four times as many photons as the equivalent algal hydrogenase-based system (Ghirardi et al., 2009 Photobiological hydrogen-producing systems.

Developing clinical competency: Experiences and perceptions of Advanced Midwifery Practitioners in training.

This paper will describe the experiences and perception of a cohort of trainee Advanced Midwifery Practitioners (AMP's) during their training on an MSc in Advanced Practice. The educational philosophy underpinning the master's programme is interprofessional learning linked closely to work based learning and assessment. The focus group explored how the AMP's were developing core competencies within four domains: The links between the university and clinical assessments were instrumental in developing both midwifery and specialised skills required for extending their scope of practice.

Kinetic evaluation of glucose 1-phosphate analogues with a thymidylyltransferase using a continuous coupled enzyme assay.

Cps2L, a thymidylytransferase, is the first enzyme in Streptococcus pneumoniae L-rhamnose biosynthesis and an antibacterial target. We herein report the evaluation of six sugar phosphate analogues selected to further probe Cps2L substrate tolerance. A modified continuous spectrophotometric assay was employed for facile detection of pyrophosphate (PPi) released from nucleotidylyltransfase-catalysed condensation of sugar 1-phosphates and nucleoside triphosphates to produce sugar nucleotides.

Trends in elective labor induction for six United States health plans, 2001-2007.

Background: To describe trends in labor induction, including elective induction, from 2001 to 2007 for six U.S. health plans and to examine the validity of induction measures derived from birth certificate and health plan data.

Thiophosphate and thiophosphonate analogues of glucose-1-phosphate: synthesis and enzymatic activity with a thymidylyltransferase.

Synthetic methods were investigated for the preparation of O and S-glucosyl thiophosphates and glucosyl 1C-thiophosphonate. Four protected glucosyl thiophosphate compounds were synthesized and characterized as precursors to glucose 1-thiophosphate. The effect of various reaction conditions and the nature of the carbohydrate and thiophosphate protecting groups and how they impact both the yields and α/β diastereoselectivity of the glucosyl thiophosphate products were explored.

The effect of bisphosphonate acidity on the activity of a thymidylyltransferase.

Thymidylyltransferases (thymidine diphospho pyrophosphorylases) are nucleotidylyltransferases that play key roles in the biosynthesis of carbohydrate components within bacterial cell walls and in the biosynthesis of glycosylated natural products. They catalyze the formation of sugar nucleotides concomitant with the release of pyrophosphate. Protein engineering of thymidylyltransferases has been an approach for the production of a variety of non-physiological sugar nucleotides.

Methods of linking mothers and infants using health plan data for studies of pregnancy outcomes.

Purpose: Research on medication safety in pregnancy often utilizes health plan and birth certificate records. This study discusses methods used to link mothers with infants, a crucial step in such research.

Methods: We describe how eight sites participating in the Medication Exposure in Pregnancy Risk Evaluation Program created linkages between deliveries, infants and birth certificates for the 2001-2007 birth cohorts.

Are benefits from diabetes self-management education sustained?

Objectives: To evaluate whether outcomes from diabetes self-management education for patients with suboptimal control were sustained.

Study Design: A randomized controlled trial of 623 adults with type 2 diabetes and glycated hemoglobin (A1C) > 7% assigned to receive conventional individual education (IE), group education (GE) using US Diabetes Conversation Maps, or usual care (UC) with no education.

Methods: A1C tests, Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID), Diabetes Self-Efficacy (DES), Recommended Food Score (RFS), physical activity, and medication use were quantified at baseline and 1 year of follow-up through electronic health records and quarterly mailed surveys.

Prevalence, trends, and patterns of use of antidiabetic medications among pregnant women, 2001-2007.

Objective: To describe the prevalence, trends, and patterns in use of antidiabetic medications to treat hyperglycemia and insulin resistance before and during pregnancy in a large U.S. cohort of insured pregnant women.

Medication exposure in pregnancy risk evaluation program: the prevalence of asthma medication use during pregnancy.

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in women of reproductive age, occurring in up to 8 % of pregnancies. The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of asthma medication use during pregnancy in a large diverse cohort. We identified women aged 15-45 years who delivered a live born infant between 2001 and 2007 across 11 U.

Validity of health plan and birth certificate data for pregnancy research.

Purpose: To evaluate the validity of health plan and birth certificate data for pregnancy research.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using administrative and claims data from 11 U.S.

The effectiveness of screening and brief intervention on reducing driving while intoxicated citations.

The purpose of this study was to use retrospective data, including citations for driving while intoxicated (DWI), to assess the long-term effectiveness of a program consisting of Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) for at-risk alcohol users and its impact on traffic safety. A second objective was to study ethnic differences in response to SBI. During the time period of 1998-1999, LCF Research, together with the Lovelace Health System, participated in the Cutting Back SBI study for at-risk drinkers.

Medication Exposure in Pregnancy Risk Evaluation Program.

To describe a program to study medication safety in pregnancy, the Medication Exposure in Pregnancy Risk Evaluation Program (MEPREP). MEPREP is a multi-site collaborative research program developed to enable the conduct of studies of medication use and outcomes in pregnancy. Collaborators include the U.