Introduction: Integrated mental and physical health care has the potential to improve health outcomes. A behavioral health organization established a reverse integration program site using a co-located model to provide primary care services to patients receiving behavioral health services. We ask whether this model of co-located care was effective in improving a range of physical health outcomes for clients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBotulinum neurotoxin serotype A (BoNT/A) is a widely used cosmetic agent that also has diverse therapeutic applications; however, adverse antidrug immune responses and associated loss of efficacy have been reported in clinical uses. Here, we describe computational design and ultrahigh-throughput screening of a massive BoNT/A light-chain (BoNT/A-LC) library optimized for reduced T cell epitope content and thereby dampened immunogenicity. We developed a functional assay based on bacterial co-expression of BoNT/A-LC library members with a Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) sensor for BoNT/A-LC enzymatic activity, and we employed high-speed fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) to identify numerous computationally designed variants having wild-type-like enzyme kinetics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPredicting the edges of species distributions is fundamental for species conservation, ecosystem services, and management decisions. In North America, the location of the upstream limit of fish in forested streams receives special attention, because fish-bearing portions of streams have more protections during forest management activities than fishless portions. We present a novel model development and evaluation framework, wherein we compare 26 models to predict upper distribution limits of trout in streams.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious research revealed a potential effect of dietary trace mineral source on both ruminal and fecal microbiota. However, the effect of Zn source, specifically, has not previously been considered. Based on reported postruminal solubility, we hypothesized that Zn hydroxychloride would decrease spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfluenza A virus (IAV) causes significant morbidity and mortality in the human population. Tethered mucin 1 (MUC1) is highly expressed in airway epithelium, the primary site of IAV replication, and also by other cell types that influence IAV infection, including macrophages. MUC1 has the potential to influence infection dynamics through physical interactions and/or signaling activity, yet MUC1 modulation and its impact during viral pathogenesis remain unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arbovirus that periodically emerges to cause large epidemics of arthritic disease. Although the robust immunity elicited by live-attenuated virus (LAV) vaccine candidates makes them attractive, CHIKV vaccine development has been hampered by a high threshold for acceptable adverse events.
Methods: We evaluated the vaccine potential of a recently described LAV, skeletal muscle-restricted virus (SKE), that exhibits diminished replication in skeletal muscle due to insertion of target sequences for skeletal muscle-specific miR-206.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl
December 2021
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) manifests with high clinical variability and warrants sensitive and specific assays to analyze immune responses in infected and vaccinated individuals. Using Single Molecule Arrays (Simoa), we developed an assay to assess antibody neutralization with high sensitivity and multiplexing capabilities based on antibody-mediated blockage of the ACE2-spike interaction. The assay does not require live viruses or cells and can be performed in a biosafety level 2 laboratory within two hours.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBACKGROUNDWeeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection or exposure, some children develop a severe, life-threatening illness called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are common in patients with MIS-C, and a severe hyperinflammatory response ensues with potential for cardiac complications. The cause of MIS-C has not been identified to date.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacteria utilize a wide variety of endogenous cell wall hydrolases, or autolysins, to remodel their cell walls during processes including cell division, biofilm formation, and programmed death. We here systematically investigate the composition of these enzymes in order to gain insights into their associated biological processes, potential ways to disrupt them via chemotherapeutics, and strategies by which they might be leveraged as recombinant antibacterial biotherapies. To do so, we developed LEDGOs (lytic enzyme domains grouped by organism), a pipeline to create and analyze databases of autolytic enzyme sequences, constituent domain annotations, and architectural patterns of multi-domain enzymes that integrate peptidoglycan binding and degrading functions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA global migration of individuals fleeing persecution, violence and armed conflict reached almost 60 million world-wide in 2015. This world-wide crisis of displacement reflects people seeking safety across borders and oceans; dangerous journeys that compound the trauma endured by these women, men and children. Refugees/asylum seekers face barriers upon entry to the U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClostridioides difficile is the single most deadly bacterial pathogen in the United States, and its global prevalence and outsized health impacts underscore the need for more effective therapeutic options. Towards this goal, a novel group of modified peptidoglycan hydrolases with significant in vitro bactericidal activity have emerged as potential candidates for treating C. difficile infections (CDI).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has laid bare the dis-integrated health care system in the United States. Decades of inattention and dwindling support for public health, coupled with declining access to primary care medical services have left many vulnerable communities without adequate COVID-19 response and recovery capacity. "Health is a Community Affair" is a 1966 effort to build and deploy local communities of solution that align public health, primary care, and community organizations to identify health care problem sheds, and activate local asset sheds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCircumstances forcing individuals and families to flee set the stage for disruptions in mental health and forge resilience. Individual characteristics and conditions premigration, perimigration, and postmigration influence health, mental health, care-seeking behavior, and stages of well-being and successful resettlement. Primary care providers have strategies to promote mental well-being, including focusing on resilience and social determinants of health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCombinations of human lysozyme (hLYS) and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are known to exhibit either additive or synergistic activity, and as a result, they have therapeutic potential for persistent and antibiotic-resistant infections. We examined hLYS activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa when combined with six different AMPs. In contrast to prior reports, we discovered that some therapeutically relevant AMPs manifest striking antagonistic interactions with hLYS across particular concentration ranges.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDrug-resistant bacterial pathogens are a serious threat to global health, and antibacterial lysins are at the forefront of innovative treatments for these life-threatening infections. While lysins' general mechanism of action is well understood, the design principles that might enable engineering of performance-enhanced variants are still being formulated. Here, we report a detailed analysis of molecular determinants underlying the efficacy of lysostaphin, a canonical anti-MRSA (methicillin-resistant ) lysin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is an urgent need for novel agents to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections, such as multidrug-resistant (MRSA). Desirable properties for new antibiotics include high potency, narrow species selectivity, low propensity to elicit new resistance phenotypes, and synergy with standard-of-care (SOC) chemotherapies. Here, we describe analysis of the antibacterial potential exhibited by F12, an innovative anti-MRSA lysin that has been genetically engineered to evade detrimental antidrug immune responses in human patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Increasing numbers of primary care practitioners in refugee resettlement countries are providing care to refugees. Access to trained interpreters is a priority for these practitioners, but there are many barriers to the implementation of interpreted consultations in routine care. There is a lack of international, theoretically informed research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNew storage technologies are needed to keep up with the global demands of data generation. DNA is an ideal storage medium due to its stability, information density and ease-of-readout with advanced sequencing techniques. However, progress in writing DNA is stifled by the continued reliance on chemical synthesis methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arthritogenic alphavirus that causes debilitating musculoskeletal disease. CHIKV displays broad cell, tissue, and species tropism, which may correlate with the attachment factors and entry receptors used by the virus. Cell surface glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) have been identified as CHIKV attachment factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is a critical need for novel therapies to treat methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and other drug-resistant pathogens, and lysins are among the vanguard of innovative antibiotics under development. Unfortunately, lysins' own microbial origins can elicit detrimental antidrug antibodies (ADAs) that undermine efficacy and threaten patient safety. To create an enhanced anti-MRSA lysin, a novel variant of lysostaphin was engineered by T cell epitope deletion.
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