Redefining the bacterial Type I protein secretion system.

Type I secretion systems (T1SS) are versatile molecular machines for protein transport across the Gram-negative cell envelope. The archetypal Type I system mediates secretion of the Escherichia coli hemolysin, HlyA. This system has remained the pre-eminent model of T1SS research since its discovery.

Direct continuous electromyographic control of a powered prosthetic ankle for improved postural control after guided physical training: A case study.

Despite the promise of powered lower limb prostheses, existing controllers do not assist many daily activities that require continuous control of prosthetic joints according to human states and environments. The objective of this case study was to investigate the feasibility of direct, continuous electromyographic (dEMG) control of a powered ankle prosthesis, combined with physical therapist-guided training, for improved standing postural control in an individual with transtibial amputation. Specifically, EMG signals of the residual antagonistic muscles (i.

Analysis of Selection Methods to Develop Novel Phage Therapy Cocktails Against Antimicrobial Resistant Clinical Isolates of Bacteria.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major problem globally. The main bacterial organisms associated with urinary tract infection (UTI) associated sepsis are and along with species. These all have AMR strains known as ESBL (Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase), which are featured on the WHO priority pathogens list as "critical" for research.

The Effect of Oxygen Availability on Bacteriophage Infection: A Review.

Bacteriophages offer a viable solution to addressing the global issue of bacterial resistance to antimicrobials. Although knowledge of bacteriophages has increased greatly since their discovery in 1915, a significant amount of what is currently known is based on studies conducted in model conditions and aerobic environments. There are a variety of environments in which bacteriophages could be applied to successfully replace or supplement antimicrobials in agriculture, food production, and human medicine where the amount of oxygen is limited.

Zika virus knowledge, contraception use, and lessons learned from a Dominican Republic pilot study.

Objective: To assess knowledge of the Zika virus (ZIKV), use of contraceptives, and sources of health information in rural communities in the Dominican Republic.

Methods: Over 4 days in March 2017, a research team traveled to four rural communities in the Dominican Republic to provide healthcare services. Overall, 90 men and women consented to a voluntary verbal 12-question survey.

Dynamic anterior cervical plating for multi-level spondylosis: Does it help?

Study Design:  Randomized controlled trial.

Objective:  To compare fusion rates, time to fusion, complication rates and subsidence between 1) a static, 2) a dynamic angulation, and 3) a dynamic translation plate in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for symptomatic degenerative cervical disease.

Methods:  Thirty-six patients with two level, symptomatic cervical degenerative changes requiring surgery were randomized in a blinded fashion to receive a statically locked plate, Cervical Spine Locking Plate (CSLP) (Synthes, Paoli, PN, USA), an Atlantis Vision(®) Anterior Cervical Plate System (Medtronic, Memphis, TN, USA) which allows angular dynamization, or a Premier(®) Anterior Cervical Plate System (Medtronic) which allows translational dynamization.

The ability of MRI to predict failure of nonoperative treatment of pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis.

Pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis (PVO) can be treated most often by medical management. For those failing with medical management, surgical delay can result in increased morbidity. Therefore, the ability to predict failure of medical management on presentation would greatly improve the outcome.

The carcinogenicity of smegma: debunking a myth.

Background: Smegma is widely believed to cause penile, cervical and prostate cancer. This nearly ubiquitous myth continues to permeate the medical literature despite a lack of valid supportive evidence.

Methods: A historical perspective of medical ideas pertaining to smegma is provided, and the original studies in both animals and humans are reanalysed using the appropriate statistical methods.

Accessory tragus: A report of 2 cases.

The purpose of this article was to review the embryology of the external ear, as related to the clinical finding of accessory tragus (ear tags). Medical management of the accessory tragus is discussed, as well as differential diagnoses and associated syndromes. A general clinical description of accessory tragus is described, and 2 specific cases in pediatric patients are presented.

HIV infection and circumcision: cutting through the hyperbole.

The objective of this study was to determine whether the justifications given for promoting mass circumcision as a preventive measure for HIV infection are reasonable and whether mass circumcision is a feasible preventive measure for HIV infection in developing countries. The medical literature concerning the practice of circumcision in the absence of medical indication was reviewed regarding its impact on HIV infection and related issues. The literature was analysed with careful attention to historical perspective.

The promised planet: alliances and struggles of the gerontocracy in American television science fiction of the 1960s.

American science fiction television series of the 1960s dramatized the complex conflicts raging throughout society in simple, allegorical terms. The power struggle between the older and younger generations that pervaded many of the conflicts and social reform movements of this era was explored in the four most imaginative and acclaimed science fiction television series of the 1960s: The Twilight Zone (1959-1965), The Outer Limits (1963-1965), Star Trek (1966-1969) and Lost in Space (1965-1968). Each show presented the mature male as the bearer of culture, the holder of power and the keeper of the scientific mysteries, but instead of a standardized response to the problem of the 'generation gap' and the ever-increasing polarization of American society along generational lines, these dramas offered both pessimistic and optimistic views of the outcome of contemporary intergenerational social strife.

The penalties of passion and desire: love and the aging male in early 20th-century film.

In popular feature films of the 20th century, the aging male is generally presented as a kindly, if feeble, old grandfather or as a ruthless villain. A handful of films from this era broke with tradition and took the bold step of exploring the social and medical implications of latent sexual impulses in this age group. Love for aging males was typically presented as a dangerous aberration that held the promise of tragic consequences.

Prophylactic interventions on children: balancing human rights with public health.

Bioethics committees have issued guidelines that medical interventions should be permissible only in cases of clinically verifiable disease, deformity, or injury. Furthermore, once the existence of one or more of these requirements has been proven, the proposed therapeutic procedure must reasonably be expected to result in a net benefit to the patient. As an exception to this rule, some prophylactic interventions might be performed on individuals "in their best interests" or with the aim of averting an urgent and potentially calamitous public health danger.

The ideal prepuce in ancient Greece and Rome: male genital aesthetics and their relation to lipodermos, circumcision, foreskin restoration, and the kynodesme.

This study examines the evolution of Greek and Roman medical conceptualizations of preputial aesthetics, utilizing evidence found in classical medical texts as well as clues from literature, legal sources, and art. A conclusive picture emerges that the Greeks valued the longer prepuce and pathologized the penis characterized by a deficient prepuce--especially one that had been surgically ablated--under the disease concept of lipodermos. The medical conceptualization of lipodermos is also placed in the historical context of the legal efforts to abolish ritual circumcision throughout the Seleucid and Roman empires.

Phimosis in antiquity.

The medical term phimosis has been in use since antiquity, but in contrast to the imprecise definition of the term that is characteristic of nineteenth-century and some controversial modern medical writing. Greek and Roman medical writers imbued it with a clinically precise definition. Using the tools of the history of medicine, an analysis of the medical writings of antiquity reveals that phimosis was defined exclusively as a rare, inflammatory or cicatricial stricture of the preputial orifice consequent to a true pathological condition rather than a disease process in itself.