Monoclonal antibodies targeting the FimH adhesin protect against uropathogenic UTI.

As antimicrobial resistance increases, urinary tract infections (UTIs) are expected to pose an increased burden in morbidity and expense on the healthcare system, increasing the need for alternative antibiotic-sparing treatments. Most UTIs are caused by uropathogenic (UPEC), while causes a significant portion of non-UPEC UTIs. Both bacteria express type 1 pili tipped with the mannose-binding FimH adhesin critical for UTI pathogenesis.

Accessing Rehabilitation after Upper Limb Reconstructive Surgery in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: A Qualitative Study.

Objectives: To investigate the barriers and facilitators to rehabilitation experienced by individuals with cervical SCI after upper limb (UL) reconstructive surgery.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study with a follow-up period of up to 24 months. Data collection occurred at two academic and two Veterans Affairs medical centers in the United States.

High fat diet-induced obesity and gestational DMBA exposure alter folliculogenesis and the proteome of the maternal ovary†.

Obesity and ovotoxicant exposures impair female reproductive health with greater ovotoxicity reported in obese relative to lean females. The mother and developing fetus are vulnerable to both during gestation. 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) is released during carbon combustion including from cigarettes, coal, fossil fuels, and forest fires.

Informing the Need for a SARS-CoV-2 Booster Based on the Immune Responses Among Young Healthy Adults to Variants Circulating in Late 2023.

Background: COVID-19 remains a global public health challenge due to new immune-evasive SARS-CoV-2 variants and heterogeneous immunity.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the adaptive immune responses in US active duty personnel who completed a COVID-19 primary vaccine series and had heterogenous SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and infection histories to 3 previously dominant variants (ancestral, Delta, BA.5) and 3 circulating variants (XBB.

Escalating Surgical Treatment for Left Ventricular Assist Device Infection and Expected Mortality: Clinical Risk Prediction Score.

Background: Left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) improve survival for patients with cardiac failure, but LVAD-specific infection (VSI) remains a challenge with poorly understood predictive risk factors. The indications and use of escalating medical treatment to surgical debridement and potential flap reconstruction are not well characterized.

Study Design: A retrospective review of consecutive patients undergoing primary LVAD implantation at a tertiary academic center was performed.

Variants in autophagy genes MTMR12 and FAM134A are putative modifiers of the hepatic phenotype in α1-antitrypsin deficiency.

Background And Aims: In the classical form of α1-antitrypsin deficiency, a misfolded variant α1-antitrypsin Z accumulates in the endoplasmic reticulum of liver cells and causes liver cell injury by gain-of-function proteotoxicity in a sub-group of affected homozygotes but relatively little is known about putative modifiers. Here, we carried out genomic sequencing in a uniquely affected family with an index case of liver failure and 2 homozygous siblings with minimal or no liver disease. Their sequences were compared to sequences in well-characterized cohorts of homozygotes with or without liver disease, and then candidate sequence variants were tested for changes in the kinetics of α1-antitrypsin variant Z degradation in iPS-derived hepatocyte-like cells derived from the affected siblings themselves.

Proteomic analysis of the developing mammalian brain links PCDH19 to the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway.

Clustering Epilepsy (CE) is a neurological disorder caused by pathogenic variants of the Protocadherin 19 (PCDH19) gene. PCDH19 encodes a protein involved in cell adhesion and Estrogen Receptor α mediated-gene regulation. To gain further insights into the molecular role of PCDH19 in the brain, we investigated the PCDH19 interactome in the developing mouse hippocampus and cortex.

Upper Extremity Surgery in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: A Prospective Comparative Mixed-Methods Study.

Background: Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) has a devastating effect on health and independence. Restoring upper extremity function is a top priority and can be accomplished by tendon transfer (TT) and nerve transfer (NT) surgery. The purpose of this prospective comparative study was to assess long-term changes in upper extremity function between surgical (TT or NT) and nonsurgical groups through a comprehensive mixed-methods approach.

Comparing surgeries to restore upper extremity function in tetraplegia: Impact on function during the perioperative period.

Context/objective: To assess short-term changes in health outcomes in people with cervical-level spinal cord injury (SCI) who underwent upper extremity (UE) reconstruction via either novel nerve transfer (NT) or traditional tendon transfer (TT) surgery with individuals who did not undergo UE surgical reconstruction.

Design: Prospective, comparative cohort pilot study.

Participants: 34 participants with cervical SCI met the following inclusion criteria: age 18 or older, greater than 6 months post-injury, and mid-cervical level SCI American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) A, B or C.

Mechanism and Effect of HNF4α Decrease in a Rat Model of Cirrhosis and Liver Failure.

Background & Aims: HNF4α, a master regulator of liver development and the mature hepatocyte phenotype, is down-regulated in chronic and inflammatory liver disease. We used contemporary transcriptomics and epigenomics to study the cause and effects of this down-regulation and characterized a multicellular etiology.

Methods: Progressive changes in the rat carbon tetrachloride model were studied by deep RNA sequencing and genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing analysis of transcription factor (TF) binding and chromatin modification.

Nerve Transfer After Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: Who Has a "Time Sensitive" Injury Based on Electrodiagnostic Findings?

Objective: To use the ulnar compound muscle action potential (CMAP) to abductor digiti minimi (ADM) to identify the proportion of individuals with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) who have lower motor neuron (LMN) abnormalities involving the C8-T1 spinal nerve roots, within 3-6 months, and thus may influence the response to nerve transfer surgery.

Design: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. Data were analyzed from European Multicenter Study About SCI database.

Assessing an Online Patient Decision Aid about Upper Extremity Reconstructive Surgery for Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: Pilot Testing Knowledge, Decisional Conflict, and Acceptability.

Unlabelled: While nerve and tendon transfer surgery can restore upper extremity function and independence after midcervical spinal cord injury, few individuals (∼14%) undergo surgery. There is limited information regarding these complex and time-sensitive treatment options. Patient decision aids (PtDAs) convey complex health information and help individuals make informed, preference-consistent choices.

Quantifying Tenodesis Hand Function in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: Implications for Function.

Purpose: Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) has a profound effect on upper-extremity function. Individuals with stiffness and/or spasticity may have more, or less, useful tenodesis function. This study examined the variability present before any reconstructive surgery.

The Yearly Periodicity of Operative Upper Extremity Trauma: A Retrospective Study of "Trauma Season".

Background: Upper extremity (UE) trauma requiring operative care increases during the summer and fall months, which the authors colloquially refer to as "trauma season."

Methods: CPT databases were queried for codes related to acute UE trauma at a single level-1 trauma center. Monthly CPT code volume was tabulated for 120 consecutive months and average monthly volume was calculated.

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron boosting induces de novo B cell response in humans.

The primary two-dose SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine series are strongly immunogenic in humans, but the emergence of highly infectious variants necessitated additional doses and the development of vaccines aimed at the new variants. SARS-CoV-2 booster immunizations in humans primarily recruit pre-existing memory B cells. However, it remains unclear whether the additional doses induce germinal centre reactions whereby re-engaged B cells can further mature, and whether variant-derived vaccines can elicit responses to variant-specific epitopes.

Resolution of hepatic fibrosis after ZFN-mediated gene editing in the PiZ mouse model of human α1-antitrypsin deficiency.

Background: α1-antitrypsin deficiency is most commonly caused by a mutation in exon-7 of SERPINA1 (SA1-ATZ), resulting in hepatocellular accumulation of a misfolded variant (ATZ). Human SA1-ATZ-transgenic (PiZ) mice exhibit hepatocellular ATZ accumulation and liver fibrosis. We hypothesized that disrupting the SA1-ATZ transgene in PiZ mice by in vivo genome editing would confer a proliferative advantage to the genome-edited hepatocytes, enabling them to repopulate the liver.

A qualitative thematic analysis of mentorship for new psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners.

Background: A volume of literature reflects that mentorship is key in producing quality nurse practitioners. Mentoring leads to increased confidence, role clarity, and other benefits improving practice. However, there is little to no research focusing specifically on the impact of mentoring in psychiatric nurse mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs).

Biofabrication of synthetic human liver tissue with advanced programmable functions.

Advances in cellular engineering, as well as gene, and cell therapy, may be used to produce human tissues with programmable genetically enhanced functions designed to model and/or treat specific diseases. Fabrication of synthetic human liver tissue with these programmable functions has not been described. By generating human iPSCs with target gene expression controlled by a guide RNA-directed CRISPR-Cas9 synergistic-activation-mediator, we produced synthetic human liver tissues with programmable functions.

Optimal Timing of Multidisciplinary Management of Sternal Wound Complications.

Background: Sternal wound complications after median sternotomy increase morbidity and mortality, and plastic and reconstructive surgery is often consulted to provide closure with flap reconstruction. In this study, we investigated how the timing of plastic surgery involvement may influence outcomes in this setting.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of patients with sternal wound complications cared for at our institution during a 10-year period.

Quantifying Donor Deficits Following Nerve Transfer Surgery in Tetraplegia.

Purpose: Nerve transfer (NT) surgery can improve function in people with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the impact of donor nerve deficits remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to quantify donor deficits experienced by individuals with cervical SCI following NT.

A non-human primate model of acute liver failure suitable for testing liver support systems.

Acute hepatic failure is associated with high morbidity and mortality for which the only definitive therapy is liver transplantation. Some fraction of those who undergo emergency transplantation have been shown to recover native liver function when transplanted with an auxiliary hepatic graft that leaves part of the native liver intact. Thus, transplantation could have been averted with the development and use of some form of hepatic support.

Combined pectoralis and rectus abdominis flaps are associated with improved outcomes in sternal reconstruction.

Background: Mortality increases nearly 5-fold in the approximately 5% of patients who develop sternal wound complications after cardiothoracic surgery. Flap-based reconstruction can improve outcomes by providing well-vascularized soft tissue for potential space obliteration, antibiotic delivery, and wound coverage; however, reoperation and readmission rates remain high. This study used the high case volume at a tertiary referral center and a diverse range of reconstructive approaches to compare various types of flap reconstruction.