Inhibition of CD226 co-stimulation suppresses diabetes development in the NOD mouse by augmenting regulatory T cells and diminishing effector T cell function.

Aims/hypothesis: Immunotherapeutics targeting T cells are crucial for inhibiting autoimmune disease progression proximal to disease onset in type 1 diabetes. There is an outstanding need to augment the durability and effectiveness of T cell targeting therapies by directly restraining proinflammatory T cell subsets, while simultaneously augmenting regulatory T cell (Treg) activity. Here, we present a novel strategy for preventing diabetes incidence in the NOD mouse model using a blocking monoclonal antibody targeting the type 1 diabetes risk-associated T cell co-stimulatory receptor, CD226.

Inhibition of CD226 Co-Stimulation Suppresses Diabetes Development in the NOD Mouse by Augmenting Tregs and Diminishing Effector T Cell Function.

Aims/hypothesis: Immunotherapeutics targeting T cells are crucial for inhibiting autoimmune disease progression proximal to disease onset in type 1 diabetes. A growing number of T cell-directed therapeutics have demonstrated partial therapeutic efficacy, with anti-CD3 (α-CD3) representing the only regulatory agency-approved drug capable of slowing disease progression through a mechanism involving the induction of partial T cell exhaustion. There is an outstanding need to augment the durability and effectiveness of T cell targeting by directly restraining proinflammatory T helper type 1 (Th1) and type 1 cytotoxic CD8 T cell (Tc1) subsets, while simultaneously augmenting regulatory T cell (Treg) activity.

Total Joint Arthroplasty Outcomes in Eligible Patients Versus Patients Who Failed to Meet at Least 1 Eligibility Criterion: A Single-Center Retrospective Analysis.

Background: This study looks to investigate how not meeting eligibility criteria affects postoperative outcomes following total joint arthroplasty surgery.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of total joint arthroplasty patients at a single academic institution. Demographics, laboratory values, and complications were recorded.

Improvement in Stage of Lung Cancer Diagnosis With Incidental Pulmonary Nodules Followed With a Patient Tracking System and Computerized Registry.

Introduction: Given that an incidental pulmonary nodule (IPN) on chest computed tomography (CT) may represent nascent lung cancer, timely follow-up imaging is critical to assess nodule growth and the need for tissue sampling. We previously reported our institution's systematic process to identify and track patients with an IPN associated with improved CT on follow-up. We hypothesized that this improvement may have led to a higher frequency of early-stage lung cancer.

Experimental data supporting adaptive locomotor responses to salt stress in the mud-tidal gastropod populations ().

This article describes the experimental locomotor data used to study the general and adaptive responses to salt stress of the northern Pacific intertidal gastropod . The data were obtained from a series of 30-day experiments on snails acclimated to different salinity regimes. Snails were collected from coastal areas on the eastern and western sides of the North Pacific Ocean.

Improvement in Follow-up Imaging With a Patient Tracking System and Computerized Registry for Lung Nodule Management.

Purpose: Despite established guidelines, radiologists' recommendations and timely follow-up of incidental lung nodules remain variable. To improve follow-up of nodules, a system using standardized language (tracker phrases) recommending time-based follow-up in chest CT reports, coupled with a computerized registry, was created.

Materials And Methods: Data were obtained from the electronic health record and a facility-built electronic lung nodule registry.

Locomotor responses to salt stress in native and invasive mud-tidal gastropod populations ().

Plasticity in salt tolerance can be crucial for successful biological invasions of novel habitats by marine gastropods. The intertidal snail , which is native to East Asia but invaded the western shores of North America from Japan 80 years ago, provides an opportunity to examine how environmental salinity may shape behavioral and morphological traits. In this study, we compared the movement distance of four populations from native (Korea and Japan) and introduced (United States) habitats under various salinity levels (13, 23, 33, and 43 PSU) during 30 days of exposure in the lab.

Identifying Smoking-Related Disease on Lung Cancer Screening CT Scans: Increasing the Value.

Background: Lung cancer screening (LCS) via chest computed tomography (CT) scans can save lives by identifying early-stage tumors. However, most smokers die of comorbid smoking-related diseases. LCS scans contain information about smoking-related conditions that is not currently systematically assessed.

A revision of the genus (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in Korea.

Férussac, 1822 is an abundant genus of small gastropods found in the upper littoral zone of rocky seashores worldwide. Although ecologically important, shell-based species identification in this genus is challenging due to phenotypic variation in shell morphology and lack of diagnostic characters among morphologically similar species. In this study, we revised the taxonomy of Korean species using morphological characters (shell and radula) and mitochondrial DNA sequences for three Korean species: , and .

Population Genomic Analysis Reveals Contrasting Demographic Changes of Two Closely Related Dolphin Species in the Last Glacial.

Population genomic data can be used to infer historical effective population sizes (Ne), which help study the impact of past climate changes on biodiversity. Previous genome sequencing of one individual of the common bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus revealed an unusual, sharp rise in Ne during the last glacial, raising questions about the reliability, generality, underlying cause, and biological implication of this finding. Here we first verify this result by additional sampling of T.

The bipartite mitochondrial genome of Ruizia karukerae (Rhigonematomorpha, Nematoda).

Mitochondrial genes and whole mitochondrial genome sequences are widely used as molecular markers in studying population genetics and resolving both deep and shallow nodes in phylogenetics. In animals the mitochondrial genome is generally composed of a single chromosome, but mystifying exceptions sometimes occur. We determined the complete mitochondrial genome of the millipede-parasitic nematode Ruizia karukerae and found its mitochondrial genome consists of two circular chromosomes, which is highly unusual in bilateral animals.

Urbanization drives contemporary evolution in stream fish.

Human activities reduce biodiversity but may also drive diversification by modifying selection. Urbanization alters stream hydrology by increasing peak water velocities, which should in turn alter selection on the body morphology of aquatic species. Here, we show how urbanization can generate evolutionary divergence in the body morphology of two species of stream fish, western blacknose dace (Rhinichthys obtusus) and creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus).

Clinical Characteristics in Patients with Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast the clinical characteristics of the triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and non-TNBC patients, with a particular focus on genetic susceptibility and risk factors prior to diagnosis.

Methods: Our institutional database was queried for all patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer between January 2010 and May 2016.

Results: Out of a total of 1964 patients, 190 (10%) patients had TNBC.

More than meets the eye: The barrier effect of the Yangtze River outflow.

The Yangtze (Changjiang) River enters the East China Sea with huge annual freshwater and sediment deposits. This outflow, known as the Changjiang diluted water (CDW), causes striking ecological gradients that potentially shape coastal species' distribution and differentiation. The CDW has long been rendered as a marine biogeographic boundary separating cold-temperature and warm-water faunas, but it remains unclear whether and to what extent it acts as an intraspecific barrier.

Measuring to Improve Medication Reconciliation in a Large Subspecialty Outpatient Practice.

Background: To assess performance in medication reconciliation (med rec)-the process of comparing and reconciling patients' medication lists at clinical transition points-and demonstrate improvement in an outpatient setting, sustainable and valid measures are needed.

Methods: An interdisciplinary team at National Jewish Health (Denver) attempted to improve med rec in an ambulatory practice serving patients with respiratory and related diseases. Interventions, which were aimed at physicians, nurses (RNs), and medical assistants, involved changes in practice and changes in documentation in the electronic health record (EHR).

Draft genome of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus and genetic polymorphism among color variants.

The Japanese sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus Selenka 1867) is an economically important species as a source of seafood and ingredient in traditional medicine. It is mainly found off the coasts of northeast Asia. Recently, substantial exploitation and widespread biotic diseases in A.

Phylogenetic analysis of two Plectus mitochondrial genomes (Nematoda: Plectida) supports a sister group relationship between Plectida and Rhabditida within Chromadorea.

Plectida is an important nematode order with species that occupy many different biological niches. The order includes free-living aquatic and soil-dwelling species, but its phylogenetic position has remained uncertain. We sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes of two members of this order, Plectus acuminatus and Plectus aquatilis and compared them with those of other major nematode clades.

Correlated evolution of personality, morphology and performance.

Evolutionary change in one trait can elicit evolutionary changes in other traits due to genetic correlations. This constrains the independent evolution of traits and can lead to unpredicted ecological and evolutionary outcomes. Animals might frequently exhibit genetic associations among behavioural and morphological-physiological traits, because the physiological mechanisms behind animal personality can have broad multitrait effects and because many selective agents influence the evolution of multiple types of traits.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of three color variants of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.

The sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus Selenka 1867 represents an important resource in biomedical research, traditional medicine, and the seafood industry. Much of the commercial value of A. japonicus is determined by dorsal/ventral color variation (red, green, and black), yet the taxonomic relationships between these color variants are not clearly understood.