Improving the Rate of Same-day Discharge in Gynecologic Oncology Patients with Endometrial Cancer undergoing Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery: A Quality Improvement Initiative.

Study Objective/setting/patients: Same-day discharge (SDD) in patients with endometrial cancer undergoing minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is safe and feasible, with multiple patient and healthcare system benefits. Despite this, our local rate of SDD was only 29.4%.

SARS-CoV-2 Testing Before International Airline Travel, December 2020 to May 2021.

Although there have been several case reports and simulation models of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission associated with air travel, there are limited data to guide testing strategy to minimize the risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and transmission onboard commercial aircraft. Among 9853 passengers with a negative SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction test performed within 72 hours of departure from December 2020 through May 2021, five (0.05%) passengers with active SARS-CoV-2 infection were identified with rapid antigen tests and confirmed with rapid molecular test performed before and after an international flight from the United States to Italy.

Shifts in temperature influence how Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infects amphibian larvae.

Many climate change models predict increases in frequency and magnitude of temperature fluctuations that might impact how ectotherms are affected by disease. Shifts in temperature might especially affect amphibians, a group with populations that have been challenged by several pathogens. Because amphibian hosts invest more in immunity at warmer than cooler temperatures and parasites might acclimate to temperature shifts faster than hosts (creating lags in optimal host immunity), researchers have hypothesized that a temperature shift from cold-to-warm might result in increased amphibian sensitivity to pathogens, whereas a shift from warm-to-cold might result in decreased sensitivity.

Validation and long term performance characteristics of a quantitative enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for human anti-PA IgG.

Accurate, reliable and standardized quantification of anti-protective antigen (PA) IgG antibody levels is essential for comparative analyses of anti-toxin immune responses in anthrax cases, recipients of PA-based anthrax vaccines and for evaluation of anti-PA based immunotherapies. We have previously reported the early performance characteristics and application of a quantitative anti-PA IgG enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The principal application of this assay was in a Phase 4 human clinical trial of anthrax vaccine adsorbed (AVA, BioThrax), the central component of the CDC Anthrax Vaccine Research Program (AVRP) and in humans following bioterrorism associated Bacillus anthracis infection (Quinn et al.

Reliability and Minimal Detectible Change values for gait kinematics and kinetics in healthy adults.

Computerized assessment of gait is commonly used in both research and clinical settings to quantify gait mechanics and detect change in performance. Minimal Detectable Change values have only recently been reported, are only available for patient populations, and in many cases exceed 10°. Twenty nine healthy individuals underwent two biomechanical gait assessments separated by 5.

Understanding hallux valgus deformity: what the surgeon wants to know from the conventional radiograph.

Hallux valgus deformity is a common and a significant source of symptoms. It can interfere with daily activities and affects the quality of life of many people. Imaging evaluation is performed almost exclusively by conventional radiography and systematic evaluation of the conventional radiograph can provide the clinician with the necessary information to choose the correct surgical procedure.

Stroke genomics: approaches to identify, validate, and understand ischemic stroke gene expression.

Sequencing of the human genome is nearing completion and biologists, molecular biologists, and bioinformatics specialists have teamed up to develop global genomic technologies to help decipher the complex nature of pathophysiologic gene function. This review will focus on differential gene expression in ischemic stroke. It will discuss inheritance in the broader stroke population, how experimental models of spontaneous stroke might be applied to humans to identify chromosomal loci of increased risk and ischemic sensitivity, and also how the gene expression induced by stroke is related to the poststroke processes of brain injury, repair, and recovery.

Molecular and pharmacological characterization of the murine tachykinin NK(3) receptor.

Starting with a partial sequence from Genbank, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was utilized to isolate the full-length cDNA for NK(3) receptor from mouse brain. The murine NK(3) receptor has a predicted sequence of 452 amino acids, sharing 96% and 86% identity to the rat and human NK(3) receptors, respectively. Binding affinities and functional potencies of tachykinin receptor agonists were similar in HEK (human embryonic kidney) 293 cells expressing murine NK(3) receptor and human NK(3) receptor, although substance P and neurokinin A were more potent stimulators of Ca(2+) mobilization in murine NK(3) receptor cells.

Identification of a small-molecule, nonpeptide macrophage scavenger receptor antagonist.

Class A scavenger receptor (SR-A) antagonists may prevent the initiation of atherosclerosis, because a recent report found that SR-A/apolipoprotein E (apoE) double-knockout mice had 60% smaller lesions than apoE single-knockout littermates. We transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells with SR-A type I or II receptors to find small-molecule antagonists. Uptake of 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3', 3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate-labeled acetylated low-density lipoprotein (DiI-AcLDL) showed that among common polyanionic ligands, polyinosine was the most potent, with an IC50 of 0.

Identification of a truncated form of the CC chemokine CK beta-8 demonstrating greatly enhanced biological activity.

A new CC chemokine, designated CKbeta-8 or myeloid progenitor inhibitor factor-1, was recently identified in a large scale sequencing effort and was cloned from a human aortic endothelial library. CKbeta-8 cDNA encodes a signal sequence of 21 amino acids, followed by a 99-amino acid predicted mature form. CKbeta-8 was expressed and purified from a baculovirus insect cell expression system, which resulted in the identification of different N-terminal variants of the secreted chemokine.

Cloning and functional characterization of a novel human CC chemokine that binds to the CCR3 receptor and activates human eosinophils.

Eotaxin has been found to bind exclusively to a single chemokine receptor, CCR3. Using expression sequence tag screening of an activated monocyte library, a second chemokine has been identified; it was expressed and purified from a Drosophila cell culture system and appears to only activate CCR3. Eotaxin-2, MPIF-2, or CKbeta-6, is a human CC chemokine with low amino acid sequence identity to other chemokines.

Characterization of functional chemokine receptors (CCR1 and CCR2) on EoL-3 cells: a model system to examine the role of chemokines in cell function.

A growing family of proteins, known as the chemokines, play an important role in the recruitment and activation of inflammatory cells. The purpose of these studies was to characterize the chemokine receptors present on human sodium butyrate differentiated EoL-3 cells (dEoL-3 cells). Using a combination of 3' rapid amplification of cDNA ends and nested polymerase chain reaction, we detected mRNA for CC chemokine receptor (CCR)1, CCR2, CCR3 and low level of CCR5.

Characterization of the rpoC gene of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) and its use to develop a simple and rapid method for the purification of RNA polymerase.

The Streptomyces coelicolor rpoC gene, that encodes the beta' subunit of RNA polymerase, was isolated using the Escherichia coli rpoC gene as a hybridization probe. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequence of the S. coelicolor beta' subunit to those characterized from other bacteria revealed three distinct subfamilies of beta' subunits, one of which consists of the S.

Cloning, in vitro expression, and functional characterization of a novel human CC chemokine of the monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP) family (MCP-4) that binds and signals through the CC chemokine receptor 2B.

Here we describe the characterization of a novel human CC chemokine, tentatively named monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP-4). This chemokine was detected by random sequencing of expressed sequence tags in cDNA libraries. The full-length cDNA revealed an open reading frame for a 98-amino acid residue protein, and a sequence alignment with known CC chemokines showed high levels of similarity (59-62%) with MCP-1, MCP-3, and eotaxin.

Nonpeptide tachykinin receptor antagonists: I. Pharmacological and pharmacokinetic characterization of SB 223412, a novel, potent and selective neurokinin-3 receptor antagonist.

The in vitro and in vivo pharmacological profile of SB 223412 [(S)-(-)-N-(alpha-ethylbenzyl)-3-hydroxy-2-phenylquinoline-4-carbo xamide], a novel human NK-3 (hNK-3) receptor antagonist, is described. SB 223412 demonstrated enantioselective affinity for inhibition of [125I][MePhe7]neurokinin B (NKB) binding to membranes of CHO cells expressing the hNK-3 receptor (CHO hNK-3). SB 223412, the (S)-isomer, (Ki = 1.

The Streptomyces galP1 promoter has a novel RNA polymerase recognition sequence and is transcribed by a new form of RNA polymerase in vitro.

We report the identification of DNA sequences that determine the activity of the Streptomyces galP1 promoter and a new form of RNA polymerase holoenzyme that recognizes these sequences in vitro. Base substitutions were introduced throughout the galP1 promoter region, and bases at positions -34, -36, and -11 with respect to the transcription start site were shown to be required for promoter function. These bases correspond in their positions to regions known to be important for RNA polymerase binding in several classes of eubacterial promoters, but the sequences themselves are not similar to those previously described.

Native complex formation between apolipoprotein E isoforms and the Alzheimer's disease peptide A beta.

To explore whether the genetic linkage between apolipoprotein E (ApoE) alleles and susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease might be attributable to a direct molecular interaction between ApoE and the amyloid peptide A beta, we have produced ApoE variants in Escherichia coli and studied their interactions with A beta under native conditions. When incubated with A beta at 20-40 microM concentrations, all three isoforms of ApoE (2, 3, and 4) readily form complexes with A beta which can be isolated by gel filtration in native buffer. Freshly mixed ApoE and A beta generate a complex that co-migrates in gel filtration with the main A280 peak, which migrates identically to the ApoE tetramer alone.

Advances in heterologous gene expression by Streptomyces.

During the past year, noteworthy advances have been made in our ability to express foreign genes in Streptomyces. These advances were due, in part, to a detailed examination of the critical parameters that limit expression by Streptomyces of soluble forms of the human T-cell receptor CD4. Significant progress has also been made in our understanding of transcriptional regulation and protease gene expression.

Soluble forms of the human T cell receptor CD4 are efficiently expressed by Streptomyces lividans.

We have developed a new gene expression and secretion system for Streptomyces lividans and used it to produce soluble forms of a human T-cell receptor CD4 at levels greater than 300 mg/l. The system uses the transcription, translation and secretion signals of the serine protease inhibitor gene STI-II which is naturally produced by S. longisporus.

Identification of a complex operator for galP1, the glucose-sensitive, galactose-dependent promoter of the Streptomyces galactose operon.

The galP1 promoter is responsible for galactose-dependent, glucose-sensitive transcription of the galactose utilization operon of Streptomyces coelicolor and Streptomyces lividans. We describe the characterization of mutations that were positioned directly upstream of the apparent transcription start site of galP1 and that resulted in deregulated expression. Certain combinations of base changes within a series of hexamers that lie within two pairs of direct repeat sequences resulted in significant expression from galP1 in the absence of inducer.

Streptomyces: a host for heterologous gene expression.

Streptomyces species offer many potential advantages as hosts for the expression and secretion of eukaryotic gene products. In this review we discuss the expression and localization signals that have been used to direct heterologous gene expression and the applications of these signals. Finally, we discuss future strategies aimed at increasing the capacity of this host for the high level production of biologically active eukaryotic gene products.

xylE functions as an efficient reporter gene in Streptomyces spp.: use for the study of galP1, a catabolite-controlled promoter.

We describe the development of a convenient and sensitive reporter gene system for Streptomyces spp. based on the use of a promoterless copy of the xylE gene of Pseudomonas putida. The xylE gene product is a catechol dioxygenase, which converts the colorless substrate catechol to an intensely yellow hydroxymuconic semialdehyde.

Two transcribing activities are involved in expression of the Streptomyces galactose operon.

The Streptomyces galactose operon is transcribed from two independently regulated promoters: galP1, located at the 5' end of the operon and responsible for galactose-dependent transcription of the operon, and galP2, an internal constitutive promoter. We identified and partially separated two distinct transcribing activities involved in expression of this operon. Using RNA polymerase from Streptomyces lividans and Streptomyces coelicolor partially purified by chromatography on heparin-agarose and DNA-cellulose, we detected activities capable of initiating transcription in vitro specifically from either galP1 or galP2.

Secretion of interleukin-1 beta and Escherichia coli galactokinase by Streptomyces lividans.

The functionality of the Streptomyces lividans beta-galactosidase signal peptide to direct heterologous protein export was examined. The signal peptide plus eight amino acids of mature protein were sufficient to export not only a naturally exported protein, interleukin-1 beta, but also a naturally occurring cytoplasmic protein, Escherichia coli galactokinase. Interestingly, cells which expressed yet exported galactokinase were phenotypically Gal-.

Gene organization and structure of the Streptomyces lividans gal operon.

We present the gene organization and DNA sequence of the Streptomyces lividans galactose utilization genes. Complementation of Escherichia coli galE, galT, or galK mutants and DNA sequence analysis were used to demonstrate that the galactose utilization genes are organized within an operon with the gene order galT, galE, and galK. Comparison of the inferred protein sequences for the S.