Glucosylceramide synthase maintains influenza virus entry and infection.

Influenza virus is an enveloped virus wrapped in a lipid bilayer derived from the host cell plasma membrane. Infection by influenza virus is dependent on these host cell lipids, which include sphingolipids. Here we examined the role of the sphingolipid, glucosylceramide, in influenza virus infection by knocking out the enzyme responsible for its synthesis, glucosylceramide synthase (UGCG).

[S2e guideline "Urinary incontinence in geriatric patients": a summary].

In 2009, the first complete guideline for the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of urinary incontinence in geriatric patients, commissioned by the German Society of Geriatrics, was developed by the working group Urinary Incontinence and published in the guideline registry of the AWMF (Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany). We are presenting an up-to-date summary of the most recent update published as an "S2e" guideline in January 2019. This is the only valid, up-to-date and complete guideline on urinary incontinence in German language.

MRI in patients with implanted active devices: how to combine safety and image quality using a limited transmission field?

Objectives: Radio frequency (RF) pulses in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can interact with implanted devices and cause tissue damage. However, there are new devices that can safely perform measurements with liberal MRI conditions such as an RF transmission field B ≤ 2.0 μT.

Multiple regions of E6AP (UBE3A) contribute to interaction with papillomavirus E6 proteins and the activation of ubiquitin ligase activity.

The HECT domain E3 ubiquitin ligase E6AP (UBE3A) is critical for the development of human papillomavirus (HPV) associated cancers, the neurodevelopment disorder Angelman Syndrome, and some cases of autism spectrum disorders. How E6AP recognizes its cellular targets and how its ubiquitin ligase activity is triggered remain poorly understood, and HPV E6 proteins are models for these processes. We examined diverse E6 proteins from human and non-human papillomaviruses and identified two different modes of interaction between E6 and E6AP.

E6 proteins from high-risk HPV, low-risk HPV, and animal papillomaviruses activate the Wnt/β-catenin pathway through E6AP-dependent degradation of NHERF1.

High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) E6 proteins associate with the cellular ubiquitin ligase E6-Associated Protein (E6AP), and then recruit both p53 and certain cellular PDZ proteins for ubiquitination and degradation by the proteasome. Low-risk HPV E6 proteins also associate with E6AP, yet fail to recruit p53 or PDZ proteins; their E6AP-dependent targets have so far been uncharacterized. We found a cellular PDZ protein called Na+/H+ Exchanger Regulatory Factor 1 (NHERF1) is targeted for degradation by both high and low-risk HPV E6 proteins as well as E6 proteins from diverse non-primate mammalian species.

Glucosylceramidase Maintains Influenza Virus Infection by Regulating Endocytosis.

Influenza virus is an RNA virus encapsulated in a lipid bilayer derived from the host cell plasma membrane. Previous studies showed that influenza virus infection depends on cellular lipids, including the sphingolipids sphingomyelin and sphingosine. Here we examined the role of a third sphingolipid, glucosylceramide, in influenza virus infection following clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats with Cas9 (CRISPR-Cas9)-mediated knockout (KO) of its metabolizing enzyme glucosylceramidase (GBA).

Association of papillomavirus E6 proteins with either MAML1 or E6AP clusters E6 proteins by structure, function, and evolutionary relatedness.

Papillomavirus E6 proteins bind to LXXLL peptide motifs displayed on targeted cellular proteins. Alpha genus HPV E6 proteins associate with the cellular ubiquitin ligase E6AP (UBE3A), by binding to an LXXLL peptide (ELTLQELLGEE) displayed by E6AP, thereby stimulating E6AP ubiquitin ligase activity. Beta, Gamma, and Delta genera E6 proteins bind a similar LXXLL peptide (WMSDLDDLLGS) on the cellular transcriptional co-activator MAML1 and thereby repress Notch signaling.

Directional analysis of the storm surge from Hurricane Sandy 2012, with applications to Charleston, New Orleans, and the Philippines.

Hurricane Sandy in late October 2012 drove before it a storm surge that rose to 4.28 meters above mean lower low water at The Battery in lower Manhattan, and flooded the Hugh L. Carey automobile tunnel between Brooklyn and The Battery.

Using wind setdown and storm surge on Lake Erie to calibrate the air-sea drag coefficient.

The air-sea drag coefficient controls the transfer of momentum from wind to water. In modeling storm surge, this coefficient is a crucial parameter for estimating the surge height. This study uses two strong wind events on Lake Erie to calibrate the drag coefficient using the Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Wave Sediment Transport (COAWST) modeling system and the the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS).

Major depressive disorder symptoms in male and female young adults.

This research aimed to compare the prevalence rates of major depressive disorder (MDD) and to differentiate the presence and severity of depressive symptoms between women and men aged 18-24 years. In this population-based, cross-sectional study (n = 1560), young adults were screened with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for MDD (n = 137). Participants then completed a self-report questionnaire to gather sociodemographic data, and the presence of each symptom of depression was assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory.

Parent-reported prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in US-born children: an assessment of changes within birth cohorts from the 2003 to the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health.

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) was twice the 2003 NSCH estimate for autism. From each NSCH, we selected children born in the US from 1990 to 2000. We estimated autism prevalence within each 1-year birth cohort to hold genetic and non-genetic prenatal factors constant.

The nephrogenic potential of the transcription factors osr1, osr2, hnf1b, lhx1 and pax8 assessed in Xenopus animal caps.

Background: The three distinct types of kidneys, pronephros, mesonephros and metanephros, develop consecutively in vertebrates. The earliest form of embryonic kidney, the pronephros, is derived from intermediate mesoderm and the first expressed genes localized in the pronephros anlage are the transcription factors osr1, osr2, hnf1b, lhx1 and pax8, here referred to as the early nephrogenic transcription factors. However, the pathway inducing nephrogenesis and the network of theses factors are poorly understood.

Dynamics of wind setdown at Suez and the Eastern Nile Delta.

Background: Wind setdown is the drop in water level caused by wind stress acting on the surface of a body of water for an extended period of time. As the wind blows, water recedes from the upwind shore and exposes terrain that was formerly underwater. Previous researchers have suggested wind setdown as a possible hydrodynamic explanation for Moses crossing the Red Sea, as described in Exodus 14.

Designing climate-smart conservation: guidance and case studies.

To be successful, conservation practitioners and resource managers must fully integrate the effects of climate change into all planning projects. Some conservation practitioners are beginning to develop, test, and implement new approaches that are designed to deal with climate change. We devised four basic tenets that are essential in climate-change adaptation for conservation: protect adequate and appropriate space, reduce nonclimate stresses, use adaptive management to implement and test climate-change adaptation strategies, and work to reduce the rate and extent of climate change to reduce overall risk.

First-trimester maternal plasma cytokine levels, pre-pregnancy body mass index, and spontaneous preterm delivery.

Objective: To examine associations between first-trimester plasma cytokines and spontaneous preterm delivery (sPTD).

Design: A case-control study was nested within the Danish National Birth Cohort, a cohort of women with 101,042 pregnancies from 1997 to 2002 who were recruited during pregnancy and followed prospectively.

Sample: Subjects included 107 women delivering singleton infants at 24-29 weeks, 353 at 30-33 weeks, 422 at 34-36 weeks, and 1,372 at > or =37 weeks.

Mid-pregnancy maternal plasma levels of interleukin 2, 6, and 12, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interferon-gamma, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and spontaneous preterm delivery.

Background: Few studies have investigated the relationship between inflammation and spontaneous preterm delivery (sPTD) in women before preterm labour. The authors examine whether mid-pregnancy plasma cytokine levels are associated with sPTD, and whether associations vary by maternal age, body mass index, prior preterm delivery, or gravidity.

Methods: This case-control study was nested within the Danish National Birth Cohort, a cohort of women with 101,042 pregnancies from 1997 to 2002.

Maternal plasma cytokines in early- and mid-gestation of normal human pregnancy and their association with maternal factors.

Few studies have assessed longitudinal changes in circulating cytokine levels during normal pregnancy. We have examined the natural history of maternal plasma cytokines from early- to mid-pregnancy in a large, longitudinal cohort. Multiplex flow cytometry was used to measure interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6, IL-12, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interferon (IFN)-gamma and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in early- (median [IQR]: 8.

Contraceptive use and discontinuation: findings from the contraceptive history, initiation, and choice study.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to provide insight on the continuing high rate of unintended pregnancy among adult women.

Study Design: Contracepting women were recruited while they waited for primary care appointments. A total of 369 completed the baseline questionnaire, and 145 oral contraceptive (OC) users were enrolled in a 5-week, diary-based study of adherence and sexual activity.

Body mass index and risk for oral contraceptive failure: a case-cohort study in South Carolina.

Purpose: Studies have suggested that obesity is associated with an increased risk for oral contraceptive (OC) failure. We conducted a case-cohort study in South Carolina to examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and OC failure by using population-based data sources.

Methods: Our cohort sample from the source population consists of 205 women who reported using OCs to prevent pregnancy on the 1999 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey.

Measurement of von Willebrand factor activity: relative effects of ABO blood type and race.

Tests based on three different principles are reported to measure the activity of von Willebrand factor (VWF): ristocetin cofactor (VWF:RCo), collagen binding (VWF:CB), and the so-called "activity ELISA" (VWF:MoAb). We measured these and other diagnostic parameters in a population of 123 randomly selected female study controls, age 18-45 years. Type O subjects had significantly lower levels than non-O subjects in each test.