An In Vitro Model System to Test Mechano-Microbiological Interactions Between Bacteria and Host Cells.

The aim of this chapter is to present an innovative technique to visualize changes of the F-actin cytoskeleton in response to locally applied force. We developed an in vitro system that combines micromanipulation of force by magnetic tweezers with simultaneous live cell fluorescence microscopy. We applied pulling forces to magnetic beads coated with the Neisseria gonorrhoeae Type IV pili in the same order of magnitude than the forces generated by live bacteria.

Mechanism of noncoding RNA-associated N-methyladenosine recognition by an RNA processing complex during IgH DNA recombination.

Immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) locus-associated G-rich long noncoding RNA (SμGLT) is important for physiological and pathological B cell DNA recombination. We demonstrate that the METTL3 enzyme-catalyzed N-methyladenosine (mA) RNA modification drives recognition and 3' end processing of SμGLT by the RNA exosome, promoting class switch recombination (CSR) and suppressing chromosomal translocations. The recognition is driven by interaction of the MPP6 adaptor protein with nuclear mA reader YTHDC1.

Asylum Caseworkers' Experience Working in Lesvos: A Grounded Theory Analysis.

Purpose: Assisting asylum applicants through their procedure for international protection implies a commitment that most caseworkers accept with deep satisfaction. However, working with asylum applicants who disclose the claim for protection and stories of their journey can be challenging and distressing. The study aimed to understand the experience of caseworkers with the asylum applicants in Lesvos, specifically, the challenges they face and their perception of the qualities that facilitated or inhibited coping.

Development of a standardized real time PCR for Torque teno viruses (TTV) viral load detection and quantification: A new tool for immune monitoring.

Background: Torque teno viruses (TTV) are small DNA viruses whose replication is closely linked to immune status. A growing number of publications underlined the potential of TTV viral load as an indicator of immunosuppression.

Objectives: To demonstrate the analytical performance of the first standardized RUO (Research Use Only) assay to detect and quantify human TTV DNA in whole blood and plasma.

Second Harmonic Generation Signals in Rabbit Sclera As a Tool for Evaluation of Therapeutic Tissue Cross-linking (TXL) for Myopia.

Methods to strengthen tissue by introducing chemical bonds (non-enzymatic cross-linking) into structural proteins (fibrillar collagens) for therapy include photochemical cross-linking and tissue cross-linking (TXL) methods. Such methods for inducing mechanical tissue property changes are being employed to the cornea in corneal thinning (mechanically weakened) disorders such as keratoconus as well as the sclera in progressive myopia, where thinning and weakening of the posterior sclera occurs and likely contributes to axial elongation. The primary target proteins for such tissue strengthening are fibrillar collagens which constitute the great majority of dry weight proteins in the cornea and sclera.