Alterations in Oral Microbiota in HIV Are Related to Decreased Pulmonary Function.

Mechanisms of HIV-associated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are poorly understood. The oral microbiome shapes the lung microbiome, and gut dysbiosis can affect lung diseases; however, relationships of the oral and gut microbiome to COPD in HIV have not been explored. To examine alterations in the oral and gut microbiome associated with pulmonary disease in persons with HIV (PWH).

Beyond the Lungs: Systemic Manifestations of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disease characterized by progressive loss and remodeling of the pulmonary arteries, resulting in right heart failure and death. Until recently, PAH was seen as a disease restricted to the pulmonary circulation. However, there is growing evidence that patients with PAH also exhibit systemic vascular dysfunction, as evidenced by impaired brachial artery flow-mediated dilation, abnormal cerebral blood flow, skeletal myopathy, and intrinsic kidney disease.

Enterosalivary nitrate metabolism and the microbiome: Intersection of microbial metabolism, nitric oxide and diet in cardiac and pulmonary vascular health.

Recent insights into the bioactivation and signaling actions of inorganic, dietary nitrate and nitrite now suggest a critical role for the microbiome in the development of cardiac and pulmonary vascular diseases. Once thought to be the inert, end-products of endothelial-derived nitric oxide (NO) heme-oxidation, nitrate and nitrite are now considered major sources of exogenous NO that exhibit enhanced vasoactive signaling activity under conditions of hypoxia and stress. The bioavailability of nitrate and nitrite depend on the enzymatic reduction of nitrate to nitrite by a unique set of bacterial nitrate reductase enzymes possessed by specific bacterial populations in the mammalian mouth and gut.

Accurate Nanoscale Crystallography in Real-Space Using Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy.

Here, we report reproducible and accurate measurement of crystallographic parameters using scanning transmission electron microscopy. This is made possible by removing drift and residual scan distortion. We demonstrate real-space lattice parameter measurements with <0.

In-situ atomic-scale observation of irradiation-induced void formation.

The formation of voids in an irradiated material significantly degrades its physical and mechanical properties. Void nucleation and growth involve discrete atomic-scale processes that, unfortunately, are not yet well understood due to the lack of direct experimental examination. Here we report an in-situ atomic-scale observation of the nucleation and growth of voids in hexagonal close-packed magnesium under electron irradiation.

Aggressive behavior of nonmelanotic skin cancers in solid organ transplant recipients.

Background: The increased incidence of skin cancers in solid organ transplant recipients (OTR) has been well established. However, our understanding of the potential aggressive behavior of these cancers has been largely based on the findings of multiple different studies analyzing isolated indicators of aggressive behavior. The purpose of this study was to determine the aggressiveness of nonmelanotic skin cancers in a large transplant population compared with an immunocompetent control population with similar cancers.

Self-assembled three-dimensional Cu-Ge nanoweb composite.

The inexpensive combination of cryogenically milled Cu(3)Ge powders sonochemically processed in a standard ultrasonic cleaner has led to the prototype of a heretofore undescribed class of material. This prototype is a nanostructured composite composed of 4.5 nm diameter Cu nanocrystals embedded in a three-dimensional (3D) amorphous CuGeO(3) polyhedron web matrix.

Reflective writing in the competency-based curriculum at the cleveland clinic lerner college of medicine.

The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University is a five-year medical school where the major emphasis is to train physician investigators. In this article we describe our experience with reflective writing in our competency-based medical school, which has reflective practice as one of the nine core competencies. We outline how we use reflective writing as a way to help students develop their reflective practice skills.