The Isolation and Characterization of Novel and Non- Lysogenic Bacteria from Soil and the Discovery of Broad-Host-Range Phages Infecting Multiple Genera.

To explore how microbial interactions within the rhizosphere influence the diversity and functional roles of bacterial communities, we isolated 21 bacterial strains from soil samples collected near Rocky Branch Creek on the University of South Carolina campus. Our findings revealed that a significant proportion of the isolated bacterial strains are lysogenic. Contrary to predictions of a narrow host range, most of the bacteriophages derived from these lysogenic bacteria demonstrated the ability to infect a broad range of bacterial strains.

Transition readiness and coping styles in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

Purpose: Although promoting positive coping and reducing negative coping improves health, little research has examined how types of coping relate to transition readiness in adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D). This study aimed to clarify the direct and indirect relations between coping style and transition readiness. We first examined which coping styles predict transition readiness in adolescents with T1D and then explored whether diabetes distress mediates the relation between disengagement coping and transition readiness.

Immune and neural response to acute social stress in adolescent humans and rodents.

Studies in adults have linked stress-related activation of the immune system to the manifestation of psychiatric conditions. Using a translational design, this study aimed to examine the impact of social stress on immune activity in adolescents and on neuronal activity in a preclinical mouse model. Participants were 31 adolescents (ages 12-19), including 25 with mood and anxiety symptoms.

New Genera and Species of and Bacteriophages Provide Insights into Phage Genome Evolution.

Previous studies have identified diverse bacteriophages that infect strain CB15 ranging from small RNA phages to four genera of jumbo phages. In this study, we focus on 20 bacteriophages whose genomes range from 40 to 60 kb in length. Genome comparisons indicated that these diverse phages represent six phage genera and one additional genus that includes both and phages.

C-Reactive Protein Does Not Predict Future Depression Onset in Adolescents: Preliminary Findings from a Longitudinal Study.

Neuroinflammatory processes have been extensively implicated in the underlying neurobiology of numerous neuropsychiatric disorders. Elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), an indicator of nonspecific inflammation commonly utilized in clinical practice, has been associated with depression in adults. In adolescents, our group previously found CRP to be associated with altered neural reward function but not with mood and anxiety symptoms assessed cross-sectionally.

Immune and Neural Response to Acute Social Stress in Adolescent Humans and Rodents.

Studies in adults have linked stress-related activation of the immune system to the manifestation of psychiatric conditions. Using a translational design, this study aimed to examine the impact of social stress on immune activity in adolescents and on neuronal activity in a preclinical mouse model. Participants were 31 adolescents (ages 12-19), including 25 with mood and anxiety symptoms.

Modeling thermoregulatory responses during high-intensity exercise in warm environments.

The six cylinder thermoregulatory model (SCTM) has been validated thoroughly for resting humans. This type of modeling is helpful to predict and develop guidance for safe performance of work and recreational activities. In the context of a warming global climate, updating the accuracy of the model for intense exercise in warm environments will help a wide range of individuals in athletic, recreational, and military settings.

White matter diffusion estimates in obsessive-compulsive disorder across 1653 individuals: machine learning findings from the ENIGMA OCD Working Group.

White matter pathways, typically studied with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), have been implicated in the neurobiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, due to limited sample sizes and the predominance of single-site studies, the generalizability of OCD classification based on diffusion white matter estimates remains unclear. Here, we tested classification accuracy using the largest OCD DTI dataset to date, involving 1336 adult participants (690 OCD patients and 646 healthy controls) and 317 pediatric participants (175 OCD patients and 142 healthy controls) from 18 international sites within the ENIGMA OCD Working Group.

Structural and Genomic Diversity of Bacteriophages.

Bacteriophage diversity is a relatively unknown frontier that is rapidly being explored, leading to a wealth of new information. New bacteriophages are being discovered at an astounding rate via both phage isolation studies and metagenomic analyses. In addition, a nucleotide sequence-based viral taxonomic system has been developed to better handle this wealth of new information.

C-reactive protein does not predict future depression onset in adolescents: preliminary findings from a longitudinal study.

Introduction: Neuroinflammatory processes have been extensively implicated in the underlying neurobiology of numerous neuropsychiatric disorders. Elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), an indicator of non-specific inflammation commonly utilized in clinical practice, has been associated with depression in adults. In adolescents, our group previously found CRP to be associated with altered neural reward function but not with mood and anxiety symptoms assessed cross-sectionally.

Vitamin D Oral Replacement in Children With Obesity Related Asthma: VDORA1 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Children with asthma and obesity are more likely to have lower vitamin D levels, but the optimal replacement dose is unknown in this population. The objective of this study is identifying a vitamin D dose in children with obesity-related asthma that safely achieves serum vitamin D levels of ≥ 40 ng/mL. This prospective multisite randomized controlled trial recruited children/adolescents with asthma and body mass index ≥ 85% for age/sex.

Personality characteristics, not clinical symptoms, are associated with anhedonia in a community sample: A preliminary investigation.

Anhedonia is a salient transdiagnostic psychiatric symptom associated with increased illness severity and chronicity. Anhedonia is also present to varying degrees in non-clinical cohorts. Here, we sought to examine factors influencing expression of anhedonia.

Individualized monitoring of heat illness risk: novel adaptive physiological strain index to assess exercise-heat strain from athletes to fully encapsulated workers.

. Exercise-heat strain estimation approaches often involve combinations of body core temperature (Tcore), skin temperature (Tsk) and heart rate (HR). A successful existing measure is the 'Physiological Strain Index' (PSI), which combines HR and Tcore values to estimate strain.

Novelty Search Promotes Antigenic Diversity in Microbial Pathogens.

Driven by host-pathogen coevolution, cell surface antigens are often the fastest evolving parts of a microbial pathogen. The persistent evolutionary impetus for novel antigen variants suggests the utility of novelty-seeking algorithms in predicting antigen diversification in microbial pathogens. In contrast to traditional genetic algorithms maximizing variant fitness, novelty-seeking algorithms optimize variant novelty.

Clitoromegaly Secondary to Exogenous Androgen Exposure From Paternal Skin to Skin Transfer.

Clitoromegaly is the abnormal enlargement of the clitoris. Its etiology is often divided into congenital and acquired causes, leading to a differential diagnosis that is quite broad. Workup often includes serum hormone testing, imaging studies, and sometimes an investigation into genetic and nonhormonal causes, which can be obtained from a detailed patient history.

Neural function underlying reward expectancy and attainment in adolescents with diverse psychiatric symptoms.

Reward dysfunction has been hypothesized to play a key role in the development of psychiatric conditions during adolescence. To help capture the complexity of reward function in youth, we used the Reward Flanker fMRI Task, which enabled us to examine neural activity during expectancy and attainment of both certain and uncertain rewards. Participants were 84 psychotropic-medication-free adolescents, including 67 with diverse psychiatric conditions and 17 healthy controls.

Associations of medication with subcortical morphology across the lifespan in OCD: Results from the international ENIGMA Consortium.

Background: Widely used psychotropic medications for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may change the volumes of subcortical brain structures, and differently in children vs. adults. We measured subcortical volumes cross-sectionally in patients finely stratified for age taking various common classes of OCD drugs.

Clenbuterol attenuates immune reaction to lipopolysaccharide and its relationship to anhedonia in adolescents.

While inflammation has been implicated in psychopathology, relationships between immune-suppressing processes and psychiatric constructs remain elusive. This study sought to assess whether β-agonist clenbuterol (CBL) would attenuate immune activation in adolescents with mood and anxiety symptoms following ex vivo exposure of whole blood to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Our focus on adolescents aimed to target a critical developmental period when psychiatric conditions often emerge and prior to chronicity effects.

S2B, a Temperate Bacteriophage That Infects Caulobacter Crescentus Strain CB15.

The Caulobacter crescentus strain CB15 has been the basis of numerous studies designed to characterize the biphasic life cycle of this bacterium. Here we describe a newly isolated podovirus, designated S2B, which is capable of integrating into the CB15 chromosome by recombining with the 3'-end of a particular tRNA gene. In addition, we show that S2B is a representative of a family of closely related prophages that are present in the genomes of characterized strains from several Alphaproteobacteria genera.

Plasmids Bring Additional Capabilities to Caulobacter Isolates.

Caulobacter is a well-studied bacterial genus, but little is known about the plasmids that are found in some wild Caulobacter isolates. We used bioinformatic approaches to identify nine plasmids from seven different Caulobacter strains and grouped them based on their size and the similarity of their repABC, parAB, and mobAB genes. Protein pathway analysis of the genes on the K31p1 and K31p2 plasmids showed many metabolic pathways that would enhance the metabolic versatility of the host strain.

Brachial and carotid hemodynamic response to hot water immersion in men and women.

This study sought to compare the brachial and carotid hemodynamic response to hot water immersion (HWI) between healthy young men and women. Ten women (W) and 11 men (M) (24 ± 4 yr) completed a 60-min HWI session immersed to the level of the sternum in 40°C water. Brachial and carotid artery hemodynamics (Doppler ultrasound) were measured at baseline (seated rest) and every 15 min throughout HWI.

The effect of body surface area exposure to menthol on temperature regulation and perception in men.

Introduction: In warm conditions topical application of menthol increases cool sensations and influences deep body temperature. The purpose of this experiment was to explore whether different body surface areas (BSA) exposed to menthol influence these responses. It was hypothesized that the forcing function exerted by menthol will be proportionally related to BSA.