Prognostic Value of Cardiac MRI Late Gadolinium Enhancement Granularity in Participants with Ischemic Cardiomyopathy.

Background Ischemic late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) assessed with cardiac MRI is a well-established prognosticator in ischemic cardiomyopathy. However, the prognostic value of additional LGE parameters, such as extent, transmurality, location, and associated midwall LGE, remains unclear. Purpose To assess the prognostic value of ischemic LGE features to predict all-cause mortality in ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Two codependent routes lead to high-level MRSA.

Methicillin-resistant (MRSA), in which acquisition of [which encodes the cell wall peptidoglycan biosynthesis component penicillin-binding protein 2a (PBP2a)] confers resistance to β-lactam antibiotics, is of major clinical concern. We show that, in the presence of antibiotics, MRSA adopts an alternative mode of cell division and shows an altered peptidoglycan architecture at the division septum. PBP2a can replace the transpeptidase activity of the endogenous and essential PBP2 but not that of PBP1, which is responsible for the distinctive native septal peptidoglycan architecture.

A novel humanized mouse model for HIV and tuberculosis co-infection studies.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB), caused by (), continues to be a major public health problem worldwide. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is another equally important life-threatening pathogen. HIV infection decreases CD4+ T cell levels markedly increasing co-infections.

A Novel Humanized Mouse Model for HIV and Tuberculosis Co-infection Studies.

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by (), continues to be a major public health problem worldwide. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is another equally important life-threatening pathogen. Further, co-infections with HIV and have severe effects in the host, with people infected with HIV being fifteen to twenty-one times more likely to develop active TB.

Bacteriophage therapy for the treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections in humanized mice.

The continuing emergence of new strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has renewed interest in phage therapy; however, there has been limited progress in applying phage therapy to multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infections. In this study, we show that bacteriophage strains D29 and DS6A can efficiently lyse Mtb H37Rv in 7H10 agar plates. However, only phage DS6A efficiently kills H37Rv in liquid culture and in Mtb-infected human primary macrophages.

Simultaneous Two- and Three-Photon Deep Imaging of Autofluorescence in Bacterial Communities.

The intrinsic fluorescence of bacterial samples has a proven potential for label-free bacterial characterization, monitoring bacterial metabolic functions, and as a mechanism for tracking the transport of relevant components through vesicles. The reduced scattering and axial confinement of the excitation offered by multiphoton imaging can be used to overcome some of the limitations of single-photon excitation (e.g.

A Novel Rabbit Model of Retained Hemothorax with Pleural Organization.

Retained hemothorax (RH) is a commonly encountered and potentially severe complication of intrapleural bleeding that can organize with lung restriction. Early surgical intervention and intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy have been advocated. However, the lack of a reliable, cost-effective model amenable to interventional testing has hampered our understanding of the role of pharmacological interventions in RH management.

Right coronary artery kinking after tricuspid valve annuloplasty: a case report.

Background: Right coronary artery (RCA) injury is a rare complication of valvular surgery. However, complications should be considered, due to the significant clinical consequences. Identifying the coronary injury type and understanding the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms is essential to managing these complications.

Bacteriophage therapy for the treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections in humanized mice.

The continuing emergence of new strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has renewed interest in phage therapy; however, there has been limited progress in applying phage therapy to multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infections. In this study, we tested three bacteriophage strains for their Mtb-killing activities and found that two of them efficiently lysed Mtb H37Rv in 7H10 agar plates. However, only phage DS6A efficiently killed H37Rv in liquid culture and in Mtb-infected human primary macrophages.

Investigating Late-Onset Pompe Prevalence in Neuromuscular Medicine Academic Practices: The IPaNeMA Study.

Background And Objectives: We investigated the prevalence of late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) in patients presenting to 13 academic, tertiary neuromuscular practices in the United States and Canada.

Methods: All successive patients presenting with proximal muscle weakness or isolated hyperCKemia and/or neck muscle weakness to these 13 centers were invited to participate in the study. Whole blood was tested for acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA) assay through the fluorometric method, and all cases with enzyme levels of ≤10 pmoL/punch/h were reflexed to molecular testing for mutations in the GAA gene.

Background-penalty-free waveguide enhancement of CARS signal in air-filled anti-resonance hollow-core fiber.

We study coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy in air-filled anti-resonance hollow-core photonic crystal fiber, otherwise known as "revolver" fiber. We compare the vibrational coherent anti-Stokes Raman signal of N, at ∼2331 cm, generated in ambient air (no fiber present), with the one generated in a 2.96 cm of a revolver fiber.

Consensus Guidelines for Improving Quality of Assessment and Training for Neuromuscular Diseases.

Critical components of successful evaluation of clinical outcome assessments (COAs) in multisite clinical trials and clinical practice are standardized training, administration, and documented reliability of scoring. Experiences of evaluators, alongside patient differences from regional standards of care, may contribute to heterogeneity in clinical center's expertise. Achieving low variability and high reliability of COA is fundamental to clinical research and to give confidence in our ability to draw rational, interpretable conclusions from the data collected.

Epidemiological evidence for a hereditary contribution to myasthenia gravis: a retrospective cohort study of patients from North America.

Objectives: To approximate the rate of familial myasthenia gravis and the coexistence of other autoimmune disorders in the patients and their families.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Clinics across North America.

The CINRG Becker Natural History Study: Baseline characteristics.

We performed an observational, natural history study of males with in-frame dystrophin gene deletions causing Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD). A prospective natural history study collected longitudinal medical, strength, and timed function assessments. Eighty-three participants with genetically confirmed BMD were enrolled (age range 5.

Electrical impedance myography for reducing sample size in Duchenne muscular dystrophy trials.

Objective: To evaluate the sensitivity of electrical impedance myography (EIM) to disease progression in both ambulatory and non-ambulatory boys with DMD.

Methods And Participants: A non-blinded, longitudinal cohort study of 29 ambulatory and 15 non-ambulatory boys with DMD and age-similar healthy boys. Subjects were followed for up to 1 year and assessed using the Myolex mView EIM system as part of a multicenter study.

Influenza Virus Infection Induces ZBP1 Expression and Necroptosis in Mouse Lungs.

Programmed cell death and especially necroptosis, a programmed and regulated form of necrosis, have been recently implicated in the progression and outcomes of influenza in mouse models. Moreover, Z-DNA/RNA binding protein 1 (ZBP1) has been identified as a key signaling molecule for necroptosis induced by Influenza A virus (IAV). Direct evidence of IAV-induced necroptosis has not been shown in infected lungs .

Twice-weekly glucocorticosteroids in infants and young boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Introduction: Glucocorticosteroids (GC) are effective in slowing weakness in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Methods: This is a multisite, 1-year, open-label trial of twice-weekly prednisolone (5 mg/kg/dose) in infants/young boys (0.4-2.

Assessment of disease progression in dysferlinopathy: A 1-year cohort study.

Objective: To assess the ability of functional measures to detect disease progression in dysferlinopathy over 6 months and 1 year.

Methods: One hundred ninety-three patients with dysferlinopathy were recruited to the Jain Foundation's International Clinical Outcome Study for Dysferlinopathy. Baseline, 6-month, and 1-year assessments included adapted North Star Ambulatory Assessment (a-NSAA), Motor Function Measure (MFM-20), timed function tests, 6-minute walk test (6MWT), Brooke scale, Jebsen test, manual muscle testing, and hand-held dynamometry.

Inhibiting Bruton's tyrosine kinase rescues mice from lethal influenza-induced acute lung injury.

Infection with seasonal influenza A virus (IAV) leads to lung inflammation and respiratory failure, a main cause of death in influenza-infected patients. Previous experiments in our laboratory indicate that Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) plays a substantial role in regulating inflammation in the respiratory region during acute lung injury in mice; therefore, we sought to determine if blocking Btk activity has a protective effect in the lung during influenza-induced inflammation. The Btk inhibitor ibrutinib (also known as PCI-32765) was administered intranasally to mice starting 72 h after lethal infection with IAV.

Disrupting the Btk Pathway Suppresses COPD-Like Lung Alterations in Atherosclerosis Prone ApoE Mice Following Regular Exposure to Cigarette Smoke.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with severe chronic inflammation that promotes irreversible tissue destruction. Moreover, the most broadly accepted cause of COPD is exposure to cigarette smoke. There is no effective cure and significantly, the mechanism behind the development and progression of this disease remains unknown.