Construction and iterative redesign of synXVI a 903 kb synthetic Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome.

The Sc2.0 global consortium to design and construct a synthetic genome based on the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome commenced in 2006, comprising 16 synthetic chromosomes and a new-to-nature tRNA neochromosome. In this paper we describe assembly and debugging of the 902,994-bp synthetic Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome synXVI of the Sc2.

Direct Oral Anticoagulants Versus Warfarin for the Treatment of Left Ventricular Thrombus: A Multicenter Retrospective Observational Study.

Vitamin K antagonists remain the mainstay of therapy in patients with left ventricular thrombus (LVT) because the efficacy of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) is not well-established. We performed a multicenter retrospective analysis of adults admitted between January 2015 and December 2021 and diagnosed with LVT to compare the safety and efficacy of warfarin versus DOACs. The primary outcome was thrombus resolution.

Exposure to Racism and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes for Black Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Research suggests that stress due to racism may underlie the disproportionately high rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes experienced by Black women in the US. Study objectives: (1) Identify forms of systemic racism affecting pregnancy outcomes and (2) increase understanding about the role of racism in adverse pregnancy outcomes for Black women. A systematic review was conducted to explore the relationship between systemic racism and pregnancy outcomes for Black women.

Lived experiences of end-of-life care at home in the UK: a scoping review of qualitative research.

Background: Home is the preferred place of care and death for most people with advanced illness.

Aim: To examine and describe the published qualitative literature on the lived experiences of dying at home, to characterise the participants and their contexts, and to identify key gaps in knowledge, with a view to informing future research.

Design And Setting: A scoping literature review, undertaken in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guideline, examined studies focusing on the lived experiences of dying at home in the UK.

The reflections of health service providers on implementing contingency management for methamphetamine use disorder in Australia.

Introduction: Contingency management (CM) is the most effective treatment for reducing methamphetamine use. We sought to understand why CM has not been taken up to manage methamphetamine use disorder in Australia.

Methods: Six focus groups (4-8 participants per group) were conducted with health workers from agencies in Australia that provided drug-related health care to people who use methamphetamine.

Adapting a health facility HIV stigma-reduction participatory training intervention to address drug use stigma in HIV care and treatment clinics in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Background: HIV prevalence among people who use drugs (PWUD) in Tanzania is 4-7 times higher than in the general population, underscoring an urgent need to increase HIV testing and treatment among PWUD. Drug use stigma within HIV clinics is a barrier to HIV treatment for PWUD, yet few interventions to address HIV-clinic drug use stigma exist. Guided by the ADAPT-ITT model, we adapted the participatory training curriculum of the evidence-based Health Policy Plus Total Facility Approach to HIV stigma reduction, to address drug use stigma in HIV care and treatment clinics (CTCs).

Bioinformatics characterization of variants of uncertain significance in pediatric sensorineural hearing loss.

Introduction: Rapid advancements in Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatics tools have allowed physicians to obtain genetic testing results in a more rapid, cost-effective, and comprehensive manner than ever before. Around 50% of pediatric sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) cases are due to a genetic etiology, thus physicians regularly utilize targeted sequencing panels that identify variants in genes related to SNHL. These panels allow for early detection of pathogenic variants which allows physicians to provide anticipatory guidance to families.

Is Methotrexate Ototoxic? Investigating the Ototoxic Late Effects of Pediatric Cancer Treatment.

Purpose: Pediatric cancer survivors often experience long-term adverse health conditions or late effects, including hearing loss, that are attributable to cancer therapy. Ototoxic late effects have been documented in patients with cancer treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy and/or radiation. This study evaluated the late effects of methotrexate as compared to cisplatin and other cancer therapy agents on pediatric cancer survivors at the Children's Hospital of New Orleans in Louisiana (CHNOLA) and patients currently undergoing cancer treatment at Our Lady of the Lake (OLOL) Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Perspectives and sentiments on contingency management from people who use methamphetamine.

Introduction: Contingency management (CM) is currently the most efficacious treatment for methamphetamine use, yet it is rarely available in routine care. We examined the viewpoints of people who use methamphetamine on CM as a potential treatment for methamphetamine use disorder.

Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews with 30 Australians aged 18 years or older who had used methamphetamine at least weekly in the past 6 months.

'I just thought that was the best thing for me to do at this point': Exploring patient experiences with depot buprenorphine and their motivations to discontinue.

Introduction: Long-acting injectable depot buprenorphine is a recent addition to the suite of opioid agonist therapies (OAT) used to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). However, there has been little research that focuses on the lived experience of people receiving depot buprenorphine treatment and reasons for why people decide to discontinue. The aim of this study was to explore what it is like to receive depot buprenorphine and to understand the motivations behind why people discontinue.

Multi-omic association study identifies DNA methylation-mediated genotype and smoking exposure effects on lung function in children living in urban settings.

Impaired lung function in early life is associated with the subsequent development of chronic respiratory disease. Most genetic associations with lung function have been identified in adults of European descent and therefore may not represent those most relevant to pediatric populations and populations of different ancestries. In this study, we performed genome-wide association analyses of lung function in a multiethnic cohort of children (n = 1,035) living in low-income urban neighborhoods.

Weed-induced crop yield loss: a new paradigm and new challenges.

Direct competition for resources is generally considered the primary mechanism for weed-induced yield loss. A re-evaluation of physiological evidence suggests weeds initially impact crop growth and development through resource-independent interference. We suggest weed perception by crops induce a shift in crop development, before resources become limited, which ultimately reduce crop yield, even if weeds are subsequently removed.

US-Born Black Women and Black Immigrant Women: an Exploration of Disparities in Health Care and Sociodemographic Factors Related to Low Birth Weight.

Purpose: This study explores whether nativity differences in health care and sociodemographic factors help to account for nativity differences in low birth weight (LBW) when comparing US-born Black women (USBW) to Black Immigrant women (BIW).

Methods: Bivariate analyses and multinomial nested logit (MNL) models were performed using the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) dataset.

Results: Statistically significant nativity differences between USBW and BIW were found across variables of LBW (p = .

Retrospective study comparing outcomes of multimodal epidural and erector spinae catheter pain protocols after pectus surgery.

Introduction: There are no optimal postoperative analgesia regimens for Nuss procedures. We compared the effectiveness of thoracic epidurals (EPI) and novel ambulatory erector spinae plane (ESP) catheters as part of multimodal pain protocols after Nuss surgery.

Methods: Data on demographics, comorbidities, perioperative details, length of stay (LOS), in hospital and post discharge pain/opioid use, side effects, and emergency department (ED) visits were collected retrospectively in children who underwent Nuss repair with EPI (N = 114) and ESP protocols (N = 97).

Using a mixed-methods approach to adapt an HIV stigma reduction to address intersectional stigma faced by men who have sex with men in Ghana.

Introduction: In Ghana, men who have sex with men (MSM) are estimated to be 11 times more likely to be living with HIV than the general population. Stigmas at the intersection of HIV, same-sex and gender non-conformity are potential key drivers behind this outsized HIV disease burden. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are essential to HIV prevention, care and treatment and can also be sources of stigma for people living with HIV and MSM.

Conserved and Taxon-Specific Patterns of Phenotypic Modularity in the Mammalian Dentition.

Previous genotype:phenotype mapping of the mouse and primate dentition revealed the presence of pre- and post-canine modules in mice and anthropoid primates, as well as molar and premolar submodules in anthropoid primates. We estimated phenotypic correlation matrices for species that sample broadly across Mammalia to test the hypothesis that these modules exist across a broader range of taxa and thereby represent a conserved mammalian trait. We calculated phenotypic correlation matrices from linear dental measurements of 419 individual specimens representing 5 species from 4 mammalian orders: Artiodactyla (), Carnivora ( and ), Didelphimorphia (), and Primates ().

DNA methylation signatures in airway cells from adult children of asthmatic mothers reflect subtypes of severe asthma.

Maternal asthma (MA) is among the most consistent risk factors for asthma in children. Possible mechanisms for this observation are epigenetic modifications in utero that have lasting effects on developmental programs in children of mothers with asthma. To test this hypothesis, we performed differential DNA methylation analyses of 398,186 individual CpG sites in primary bronchial epithelial cells (BECs) from 42 nonasthma controls and 88 asthma cases, including 56 without MA (NMA) and 32 with MA.

Situating HIV Stigma in Health Facility Settings: A Qualitative Study of Experiences and Perceptions of Stigma in 'Clinics' among Healthcare Workers and Service Users in Zambia.

The study focused on the representations, processes and effects of HIV stigma for healthcare workers living with HIV within health facilities in Zambia. A descriptive study design was deployed. A total of 56 health workers and four service user participants responded to a structured questionnaire (n = 50) or took part in key informant interviews (n = 10) in five high HIV-prevalence provinces.