The epidemiology of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Objective: To describe the epidemiology and clinical features of pressure injury (PI) development in adult patients supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

Design: Retrospective, observational, cohort study from January 2018 to May 2023.

Setting: A single-centre high-volume ECMO specialist intensive care unit (ICU).

Studying Rare Movement Disorders: From Whole-Exome Sequencing to New Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approaches in a Modern Genetic Clinic.

Rare movement disorders often have a genetic etiology. New technological advances have increased the odds of achieving genetic diagnoses: next-generation sequencing (NGS) (whole-exome sequencing-WES; whole-genome sequencing-WGS) and long-read sequencing (LRS). In 2017, we launched a WES program for patients with rare movement disorders of suspected genetic etiology.

Virus-induced vesicular acidification enhances HIV immune evasion.

To inhibit endocytic entry of some viruses, cells promote acidification of endosomes by expressing the short isoform of human nuclear receptor 7 (NCOA7) which increases activity of vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase). While we found that HIV-1 infection of primary T cells led to acidification of endosomes, NCOA7 levels were only marginally affected. Contrastingly, levels of the 50 kDa form of the sodium/hydrogen exchanger 6 (NHE6) were greatly reduced.

Landscape analysis of adverse events and dose intensity for FDA approved oncology small molecules.

As development of new oncology small molecule therapies is focused mainly on molecularly targeted agents, the dose selection paradigm has shifted from the maximum tolerated dose (MTD)-based approach traditionally utilized with cytotoxic drugs towards determining an optimal dose with long-term tolerability while maintaining efficacy. To assess overall tolerability in recently approved oncology small molecules, we surveyed 54 compounds approved by the FDA since March 2017 with respect to dose intensity, dose modifications, and treatment emergent adverse events (TEAEs). Of the 54 new molecular entities surveyed, only 15 were approved at a label dose equal to the MTD (Label Dose = MTD).

Development and evaluation of a quality improvement educational video on joint contractures for care home staff.

Background: Contractures are a debilitating problem for individuals living in long-term care settings. However, there is a lack of education and training among the care staff regarding the identification of risk factors related to contractures and the preventive strategies that can decrease their development or progression. Addressing this knowledge gap has the potential to improve the quality of care provided to residents in care homes.

IUPHAR themed review: The gut microbiome in schizophrenia.

Gut microbial dysbiosis or altered gut microbial consortium, in schizophrenia suggests a pathogenic role through the gut-brain axis, influencing neuroinflammatory and neurotransmitter pathways critical to psychotic, affective, and cognitive symptoms. Paradoxically, conventional psychotropic interventions may exacerbate this dysbiosis, with antipsychotics, particularly olanzapine, demonstrating profound effects on microbial architecture through disruption of bacterial phyla ratios, diminished taxonomic diversity, and attenuated short-chain fatty acid synthesis. To address these challenges, novel therapeutic strategies targeting the gut microbiome, encompassing probiotic supplementation, prebiotic compounds, faecal microbiota transplantation, and rationalised co-pharmacotherapy, show promise in attenuating antipsychotic-induced metabolic disruptions while enhancing therapeutic efficacy.

Demonstrating multi-benefits of green infrastructure to schools through collaborative approach.

Green infrastructure (GI) is known to reduce road air pollution exposure, but their implementation in schools and associated benefits remain under-researched. In this study, two GI solutions, green screen and green gate, were co-designed and installed at a primary school in Guildford using collaborative and participatory methods. By assessing changes in air pollution levels, noise, and public perception before and after GI installation, we aimed to understand their impact on reducing children's exposure and evaluate other co-benefits.

Primary inferior vena cava synovial sarcoma treated with caval replacement during cardiopulmonary bypass and liver perfusion.

Primary inferior vena cava (IVC) tumors are rare. Most are leiomyosarcomas. The prognosis is poor with those involving and superior to the hepatic veins faring worse than those isolated within the retrohepatic cava.

Consecutive Evaluation of Systematic Community-Based COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Testing in Three Different Populations in Jamaica during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The rise in COVID-19 cases in late 2021 posed a grave threat to the public health system and the economy of Jamaica. A key pillar of controlling COVID-19 includes rapid diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals and their contacts. Hence, we evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of weekly deployment of antigen rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) by conducting three 6-week studies within high-risk populations in Jamaica.

Transesophageal 3-dimensional echocardiographic guidance for pacemaker lead placement improves lead position accuracy and reduces fluoroscopy.

Background: Pacemaker and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) lead placement traditionally uses fluoroscopy, often with inaccurate lead placement on the free wall rather than on the ventricular septum, with associated longer QRS duration and pacemaker-induced cardiomyopathy while exposing staff and patients to radiation.

Objective: We sought to determine whether transesophageal 3-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) guidance improves lead placement accuracy in the ventricular septum, results in shorter paced QRS durations, and reduces fluoroscopy exposure.

Methods: In a single-center case-control study, 3DE guided right ventricular or atrial pacemaker and ICD leads to the desired location, with fluoroscopy used per operator preference.

Crassatella rubrolineata Turton, 1932, as a replacement name for Crassatella sowerbyi Lamy, 1917 non Wood, 1871 (Bivalvia, Crassatellidae), and a revision of Wood's subspecies of C. sowerbyi.

Resolving and disambiguating the many names given to fossil and Recent Crassatellidae is sometimes a knotty problem, exacerbated by the subtle differences between taxa and many applications of simple descriptive specific epithets ('sulcata', 'rostrata', 'compressa' etc.) leading to homonyms requiring resolution. The common decision to (perhaps) soften the blow of replacing someone's name by erecting an eponym as a replacement to honour them has led to further unresolved homonyms and taxonomic ambiguities.

The GIP receptor activates futile calcium cycling in white adipose tissue to increase energy expenditure and drive weight loss in mice.

Obesity is a chronic disease that contributes to the development of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and cardiovascular risk. Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor (GIPR) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor (GLP-1R) co-agonism provide an improved therapeutic profile in individuals with T2D and obesity when compared with selective GLP-1R agonism. Although the metabolic benefits of GLP-1R agonism are established, whether GIPR activation impacts weight loss through peripheral mechanisms is yet to be fully defined.

Variation in HIV-1 Tat activity is a key determinant in the establishment of latent infection.

Despite effective treatment, Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) persists in optimally treated people as a transcriptionally silent provirus. Latently infected cells evade the immune system and the harmful effects of the virus, thereby creating a long-lasting reservoir of HIV. To gain a deeper insight into the molecular mechanisms of HIV latency establishment, we constructed a series of HIV-1 fluorescent reporter viruses that distinguish active versus latent infection.

Improved precision, sensitivity, and adaptability of Ordered Two-Template Relay cDNA library preparation for RNA sequencing.

Sequencing RNAs that are biologically processed or degraded to less than ~100 nucleotides typically involves multi-step, low-yield protocols with bias and information loss inherent to ligation and/or polynucleotide tailing. We recently introduced Ordered Two-Template Relay (OTTR), a method that captures obligatorily end-to-end sequences of input molecules and, in the same reverse transcription step, also appends 5' and 3' sequencing adapters of choice. OTTR has been thoroughly benchmarked for optimal production of microRNA, tRNA and tRNA fragments, and ribosome-protected mRNA footprint libraries.

Correction: Assessment of the transmission blocking activity of antimalarial compounds by membrane feeding assays using natural Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte isolates from West-Africa.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Investigating the Triple Code Model in numerical cognition using stereotactic electroencephalography.

The ability to conceptualize numerical quantities is an essential human trait. According to the "Triple Code Model" in numerical cognition, distinct neural substrates encode the processing of visual, auditory, and non-symbolic numerical representations. While our contemporary understanding of human number cognition has benefited greatly from advances in clinical imaging, limited studies have investigated the intracranial electrophysiological correlates of number processing.

Structures of vertebrate R2 retrotransposon complexes during target-primed reverse transcription and after second strand nicking.

R2 retrotransposons are model site-specific eukaryotic non-LTR retrotransposons that copy-and-paste into gene loci encoding ribosomal RNAs. Recently we demonstrated that avian A-clade R2 proteins achieve efficient and precise insertion of transgenes into their native safe-harbor loci in human cells. The features of A-clade R2 proteins that support gene insertion are not characterized.

A giant planet transiting a 3-Myr protostar with a misaligned disk.

Astronomers have found more than a dozen planets transiting stars that are 10-40 million years old, but younger transiting planets have remained elusive. The lack of such discoveries may be because planets have not fully formed at this age or because our view is blocked by the protoplanetary disk. However, we now know that many outer disks are warped or broken; provided the inner disk is depleted, transiting planets may thus be visible.

Training undergraduate biomedical science majors in peer review and constructive criticism through a senior capstone course.

Effective scientific communication is crucial for undergraduate students to succeed in future graduate or professional careers in the biomedical sciences. Peer review and constructive criticism are essential to producing written science communications. Unfortunately, training in how to perform peer review and incorporate constructive criticism is minimal in undergraduate science courses.