A Reactive and Specific Sensor for Activity-Based F-MRI Sensing of Zn.

The rapid fluctuations of metal ion levels in biological systems are faster than the time needed to map fluorinated sensors designed for the F-MRI of cations. An attractive modular solution might come from the activity-based sensing approach. Here, we propose a highly reactive but still ultimately specific synthetic fluorinated sensor for F-MRI mapping of labile Zn.

Root-associated bacterial communities and root metabolite composition are linked to nitrogen use efficiency in sorghum.

The development of cereal crops with high nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is a priority for worldwide agriculture. In addition to conventional plant breeding and genetic engineering, the use of the plant microbiome offers another approach to improving crop NUE. To gain insight into the bacterial communities associated with sorghum lines that differ in NUE, a field experiment was designed comparing 24 diverse lines under sufficient and deficient nitrogen (N).

NMR exchange dynamics studies of metal-capped cyclodextrins reveal multiple populations of host-guest complexes in solution.

Metal-capped molecular hosts are unique in supramolecular chemistry, benefitting from the inner cavity's hydrophobic nature and the metal center's electrochemical properties. It is shown here that the paramagnetic properties of the metals in lanthanide-capped cyclodextrins (Ln-α-CDs and Ln-β-CDs) are a convenient NMR indicator for different populations of host-guest complexes in a given solution. The paramagnetic guest exchange saturation transfer (paraGEST) method was used to study the exchange dynamics in systems composed of Ln-α-CDs or Ln-β-CDs with fluorinated guests, revealing multiple co-existing populations of host-guest complexes exclusively in solutions containing Ln-β-CDs.

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Thymic Epithelial Tumors Staging Project: Proposals for the N and the M Components for the Forthcoming (Ninth) Edition of the TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors.

Introduction: Stage classification is an important underpinning of management in patients with cancer and rests on a combination of three components-T for tumor extent, N for nodal involvement, and M for distant metastases. This article details the revision of the N and the M components of thymic epithelial tumors for the ninth edition of the TNM classification of malignant tumors proposed by the Thymic Domain of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Staging and Prognostic Factors Committee.

Methods: The N and M components of the eighth edition staging system were verified by a large international collaborative data source through a data-driven analysis.

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Thymic Epithelial Tumors Staging Project: An Overview of the Central Database Informing Revision of the Forthcoming (Ninth) Edition of the TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors.

Introduction: In 2014, a TNM-based system for thymic epithelial tumors was proposed. The TNM stage classification system was published as a result of a joint project from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and the International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group for the eighth edition of the American Joint Commission on Cancer and the Union for International Cancer Control stage classification system. The Thymic Domain of the Staging and Prognostic Factors Committee of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer received the mandate to make proposals for the ninth edition of the TNM stage classification.

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Thymic Epithelial Tumors Staging Project: Proposal for a Stage Classification for the Forthcoming (Ninth) Edition of the TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors.

Introduction: A TNM-based system for all types of thymic epithelial tumors was introduced in the eighth edition of the TNM classification of thoracic malignancies. The Thymic Domain of the Staging and Prognostic Factors Committee of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, composed of multispecialty international experts, was charged to develop proposals for the ninth edition. This article outlines the proposed definitions for the T, the N, and the M components and their combination into stage groups.

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Thymic Epithelial Tumor Staging Project: A Re-Assessment of the International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group/International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Lymph Node Map for Thymic Epithelial Tumors for the Forthcoming Ninth Edition of the TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors.

Introduction: A lymph node map is the pillar on which accurate assignment and documentation of nodal classification stands. The International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group created the first map for thymic epithelial malignancies in conjunction with the eighth edition of the TNM classification, representing the first official TNM classification of thymic epithelial malignancies. The map was based on clinical experience and published studies, but it was largely empirical because of limited available data.

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Thymic Epithelial Tumor Staging Project: Proposal for the T Component for the Forthcoming (Ninth) Edition of the TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors.

Introduction: A TNM-based stage classification system of thymic epithelial tumors was adopted for the eighth edition of the stage classification of malignant tumors. The Thymic Domain of the Staging and Prognostics Factor Committee of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer developed a new database with the purpose to make proposals for the ninth edition stage classification system. This article outlines the proposed definitions for the T categories for the ninth edition TNM stage classification of thymic malignancies.

Assessment of the Enrichment of Heavy Metals in Coal and Its Combustion Residues.

Coal-fired thermal power plants remain one of the main sources of electricity generation in Turkey. Combustion of coal creates coal ash and slag, which are often stored in landfills located near residential and agricultural fields, increasing the potential for high environmental contamination and health risks. This study investigates the content and enrichment factor (EF) of heavy metals in pulverized lignite coal and its combustion residues from the Kangal lignite coal-fired thermal power plant situated in the Central Anatolian Region of Turkey.

P63 targeted deletion under the FOXN1 promoter disrupts pre-and post-natal thymus development, function and maintenance as well as induces severe hair loss.

Progressive immune deficiency of aging is characterized by severe thymic atrophy, contracted T cell repertoire, and poor immune function. p63 is critical for the proliferative potential of embryonic and adult stem cells, as well as thymic epithelial cells (TECs). Because p63 null mice experience rapid post-natal lethality due to epidermal and limb morphogenesis defects, studies to define a role for p63 expression in TEC biology focused on embryonic thymus development and in vitro experiments.

Feature selection and causal analysis for microbiome studies in the presence of confounding using standardization.

Background: Microbiome studies have uncovered associations between microbes and human, animal, and plant health outcomes. This has led to an interest in developing microbial interventions for treatment of disease and optimization of crop yields which requires identification of microbiome features that impact the outcome in the population of interest. That task is challenging because of the high dimensionality of microbiome data and the confounding that results from the complex and dynamic interactions among host, environment, and microbiome.

Extended and dynamic linker histone-DNA Interactions control chromatosome compaction.

Chromatosomes play a fundamental role in chromatin regulation, but a detailed understanding of their structure is lacking, partially due to their complex dynamics. Using single-molecule DNA unzipping with optical tweezers, we reveal that linker histone interactions with DNA are remarkably extended, with the C-terminal domain binding both DNA linkers as far as approximately ±140 bp from the dyad. In addition to a symmetrical compaction of the nucleosome core governed by globular domain contacts at the dyad, the C-terminal domain compacts the nucleosome's entry and exit.

Development of a Multifaceted Antimicrobial Stewardship Curriculum for Undergraduate Medical Education: The Antibiotic Stewardship, Safety, Utilization, Resistance, and Evaluation (ASSURE) Elective.

To address the growing need for dedicated stewardship training in undergraduate medical education, we developed an antimicrobial stewardship curriculum for medical students with the objectives of increasing expertise in antimicrobial prescribing, introducing antimicrobial stewardship fundamentals, and enhancing comfort with engagement in interprofessional antimicrobial stewardship activities.

Versatile non-luminescent color palette based on guest exchange dynamics in paramagnetic cavitands.

Multicolor luminescent portrayal of complexed arrays is indispensable for many aspects of science and technology. Nevertheless, challenges such as inaccessible readouts from opaque objects, a limited visible-light spectrum and restricted spectral resolution call for alternative approaches for multicolor representation. Here, we present a strategy for spatial COlor Display by Exploiting Host-guest Dynamics (CODE-HD), comprising a paramagnetic cavitand library and various guests.

Fertility, mortality, migration, and population scenarios for 195 countries and territories from 2017 to 2100: a forecasting analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study.

Background: Understanding potential patterns in future population levels is crucial for anticipating and planning for changing age structures, resource and health-care needs, and environmental and economic landscapes. Future fertility patterns are a key input to estimation of future population size, but they are surrounded by substantial uncertainty and diverging methodologies of estimation and forecasting, leading to important differences in global population projections. Changing population size and age structure might have profound economic, social, and geopolitical impacts in many countries.

Bayesian Meta-analysis of Safety Outcomes Using Blinded Clinical Trial Data.

Background: During the development of an investigational new drug, identifying potential safety risks is imperative. Early detection, as well as federal regulations, requires safety monitoring procedures during clinical trials while the data are still blinded.

Method: We introduce a Bayesian meta-analytic approach for detecting a potential elevated safety risk conferred by an investigational treatment, as compared to control, using blinded data from multiple trials.

Metabolomics of sorghum roots during nitrogen stress reveals compromised metabolic capacity for salicylic acid biosynthesis.

Sorghum ( [L.] Moench) is the fifth most productive cereal crop worldwide with some hybrids having high biomass yield traits making it promising for sustainable, economical biofuel production. To maximize biofuel feedstock yields, a more complete understanding of metabolic responses to low nitrogen (N) will be useful for incorporation in crop improvement efforts.

Simple Frameworks for Daily Work: Innovative Strategies to Coach Residents Struggling With Time Management, Organization, and Efficiency.

Background: Organization and efficiency are central to success on busy inpatient services and may be relevant to demonstrating certain milestones. Most residents adopt these skills by observing supervisors and peers. For some, this method of emulation and adaptation does not occur, with the potential for a negative effect on patient care and team morale.

BinQuasi: a peak detection method for ChIP-sequencing data with biological replicates.

Motivation: ChIP-seq experiments that are aimed at detecting DNA-protein interactions require biological replication to draw inferential conclusions, however there is no current consensus on how to analyze ChIP-seq data with biological replicates. Very few methodologies exist for the joint analysis of replicated ChIP-seq data, with approaches ranging from combining the results of analyzing replicates individually to joint modeling of all replicates. Combining the results of individual replicates analyzed separately can lead to reduced peak classification performance compared to joint modeling.

A novel approach to improve immune effector responses post transplant by restoration of CCL21 expression.

Chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy conditioning regimens required for bone marrow transplantation (BMT) cause significant morbidity and mortality as a result of insufficient immune surveillance mechanisms leading to increased risks of infection and tumor recurrence. Such conditioning causes host stromal cell injury, impairing restoration of the central (thymus) and peripheral (spleen and lymph node) T cell compartments and slow immune reconstitution. The chemokine, CCL21, produced by host stromal cells, recruits T- and B-cells that provide lymphotoxin mediated instructive signals to stromal cells for lymphoid organogenesis.

Comprehensive Assessment of Struggling Learners Referred to a Graduate Medical Education Remediation Program.

Background: Implementation of the Next Accreditation System has provided a standardized framework for identifying learners not meeting milestones, but there is as yet no corresponding framework for remediation.

Objective: We developed a comprehensive assessment process that allows correct diagnosis of a struggling learner's deficit(s) to promote successful remediation.

Methods: At the University of Pennsylvania, resident learners within the Department of Medicine who are not meeting milestones are referred to the Early Intervention Remediation Committee (EIRC).

Environmental evaluation of natural radioactivity in soil near a lignite-burning power plant in Turkey.

Natural radionuclides are released into the environment together with fly ash from the coal-burning power plant and cause an increase in the natural radioactivity in environmental samples. The study concerns to the evaluation the influence of Kangal lignite-burning power plant (LBPP) with a power of 457 MWe, which has been in operation since 1989, on natural radionuclide a concentration in surface soil samples around it. Activity concentrations of natural radionuclides (Ra, Th, K and Rn) in the soil samples, and emanation coefficient (EC) and mass (ER) and surface (ER) exhalation rate of radon were determined by using a gamma-ray spectrometer with an HPGe detector.