Electrical synapses containing Connexin 36 (Cx36) represent the main means for communication in the mammalian nervous system. However, little is known about the protein complexes that constitute these synapses. In the present study, we applied different BioID strategies to screen the interactomes of Connexin 36 the major neuronal connexin and its zebrafish orthologue Cx35b in retinal neurons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: In 2018, an expert panel recommended two key modifications to the most used algorithm for screening neonates for critical congenital heart disease (CCHD). Our aim was to evaluate the outcomes of the modified algorithm compared with those of the original algorithm in a real-world setting.
Study Design: We compared the performance characteristics of an original CCHD algorithm used to screen term neonates at a large hospital system between October 26, 2018, and October 15, 2020, and the recommended modified algorithm used between October 15, 2020, and June 30, 2022.
Prevailing theories about animal foraging behaviours and the food webs they occupy offer divergent predictions about whether seasonally limited food availability promotes dietary diversification or specialization. Emphasis on how animals compete for food predominates in work on the foraging ecology of large mammalian herbivores, whereas emphasis on how the diversity of available foods generally constrains dietary opportunity predominates work on entire food webs. Reconciling predictions about what promotes dietary diversification is challenging because species' different body sizes and mobilities modulate how they seek and compete for resources-the mechanistic bases of common predictions may not pertain to all species equally.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study addresses the intricate interplay between climate, vegetation, and livestock dynamics in Tanzania within the Climate-Vegetation-Livestock (CVL) nexus through a quantitative assessment. By examining the temporal and spatial relationships between vegetation indices (NDVI, EVI, NPP) and key climatic variables (Precipitation, Temperature, Evapotranspiration) from 2009 to 2019, and projecting to 2050, this research aims to elucidate vegetation responses to climate change and its subsequent impacts on livestock. To this end, the relationship between the vegetation dynamics indicators (NDVI, NPP) and climate parameters is evaluated to quantify the vegetation response to climate change using statistical models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough recommended in the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) and European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) Guidelines, a framework for delivering post-cardiac arrest care in a systematic manner in dedicated high-volume cardiac arrest centers is lacking in the existing literature. To our knowledge, the Copenhagen Framework is the only established framework of its kind. The framework comprises management of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors, and follow-up, and rehabilitation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe conducted a series of 24-hour waste audits in a 20-bed pod of a Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit (Neuro ICU) during the COVID-19 pandemic to 1) determine the unit's waste generation practices, 2) calculate associated downstream greenhouse gas emissions, and 3) identify opportunities to reduce landfill waste and emissions. We collected and weighed municipal solid waste, regulated medical waste, and mechanical recycling. We then compared the current, "as-is" practices to an ideal, "should-be" model which adds the alternative waste and reprocessing streams of industrial composting, advanced recycling, and sterilization followed by reuse.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOne approach to improve the utility of adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapy is to engineer the AAV capsid to (i) overcome poor transport through tissue barriers and (ii) redirect the broadly tropic AAV to disease-relevant cell types. Peptide- or protein-domain insertions into AAV surface loops can achieve both engineering goals by introducing a new interaction surface on the AAV capsid. However, we understand little about the impact of insertions on capsid structure and the extent to which engineered inserts depend on a specific capsid context to function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe effects of anthropogenic climate change have become increasingly prevalent. There is thus a need both to prevent climate change or soften its effects (mitigation) and to address and deal with effects that are already occurring (adaptation). To facilitate climate action in a creative way, new forms of collaboration are needed, which will lead to increased transformative potential for individuals, for the economy, and for society as a whole.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe planetary boundaries framework defines the "safe operating space for humanity" represented by nine global processes that can destabilize the Earth System if perturbed. The water planetary boundary attempts to provide a global limit to anthropogenic water cycle modifications, but it has been challenging to translate and apply it to the regional and local scales at which water problems and management typically occur. We develop a cross-scale approach by which the water planetary boundary could guide sustainable water management and governance at subglobal contexts defined by physical features (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Stereotactic biopsy is a standard procedure in neurosurgery. In addition to or even replacing frame-based stereotaxy, some centers also use frameless imaging-based techniques and more recently robotic systems. Here we report a retrospective analysis of our experience with 102 consecutive biopsies performed in our institution using the neuromate robotic device.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are stem cells of the connective tissue, possess a plastic phenotype, and are able to differentiate into various tissues. Besides their role in tissue regeneration, MSCs perform additional functions as a modulator or inhibitor of immune responses. Due to their pleiotropic function, MSCs have also gained therapeutic importance for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and for improving fracture healing and cartilage regeneration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBinding of sweet, umami, and bitter tastants to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in apical membranes of type II taste bud cells (TBCs) triggers action potentials that activate a voltage-gated nonselective ion channel to release ATP to gustatory nerves mediating taste perception. Although calcium homeostasis modulator 1 (CALHM1) is necessary for ATP release, the molecular identification of the channel complex that provides the conductive ATP-release mechanism suitable for action potential-dependent neurotransmission remains to be determined. Here we show that CALHM3 interacts with CALHM1 as a pore-forming subunit in a CALHM1/CALHM3 hexameric channel, endowing it with fast voltage-activated gating identical to that of the ATP-release channel in vivo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCa entry into mitochondria is mediated by the Ca uniporter-channel complex containing MCU, the Ca-selective pore, and associated regulatory proteins. The roles of MICU proteins are controversial. MICU1 was proposed to be necessary for MCU activity, whereas subsequent studies suggested it inhibits the channel in the low-cytoplasmic Ca ([Ca]) regime, a mechanism referred to as "gatekeeping," that imposes a [Ca] threshold for channel activation at ∼1-3 μM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Womens Health (Larchmt)
April 2018
Purpose: To determine if reproductive specialists are screening new patients for depression or anxiety, explore possible reasons why providers are not screening, and assess physician's views about the impact of mental health disorders on fertility.
Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional exploratory study in which 86 practicing reproductive physicians filled out a 20-question survey regarding mental health screening and perception of psychological disorders on reproduction.
Results: The majority of infertility providers believe psychological conditions negatively impact pregnancy success (75%); however, most providers are not formally screening patients for depression or anxiety (28%).
The aim of this study is to report a case of acute ureterovaginal fistula (UVF) formation with immediate symptomatic presentation after transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte retrieval (TVOR) for fertilization (IVF) and to perform a systematic literature review of ureteral injuries during TVOR. A 33-year-old woman with a history of anovulatory infertility presented with severe abdominal pain and vaginal leakage immediately following TVOR for IVF. We systematically reviewed the current literature regarding ureteral injury resulting from TVOR and present a case of timely identification and management of a UVF followed by a successful pregnancy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmunologically restricted patients such as those with autoimmune diseases or malignancies often suffer from delayed or insufficient fracture healing. In human fracture hematomas and the surrounding bone marrow obtained from immunologically restricted patients, we analyzed the initial inflammatory phase on cellular and humoral level via flow cytometry and multiplex suspension array. Compared with controls, we demonstrated higher numbers of immune cells like monocytes/macrophages, natural killer T (NKT) cells, and activated T helper cells within the fracture hematomas and/or the surrounding bone marrow.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Question: Are infertile women who screen positive for depression less likely to initiate infertility treatments?
Summary Answer: Infertile women who screen positive for depression are less likely to initiate treatment for infertility.
What Is Already Known: Infertility imposes a psychological burden on many couples. Depression and anxiety have been demonstrated in ~40% of infertile women, which is twice that of fertile women.
The implantation of bioengineered scaffolds into lesion-induced gaps of the spinal cord is a promising strategy for promoting functional tissue repair because it can be combined with other intervention strategies. Our previous investigations showed that functional improvement following the implantation of a longitudinally microstructured collagen scaffold into unilateral mid-cervical spinal cord resection injuries of adult Lewis rats was associated with only poor axon regeneration within the scaffold. In an attempt to improve graft-host integration as well as functional recovery, scaffolds were seeded with highly enriched populations of syngeneic, olfactory bulb-derived ensheathing cells (OECs) prior to implantation into the same lesion model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mitochondrial uniporter (MCU) is an ion channel that mediates Ca(2+) uptake into the matrix to regulate metabolism, cell death, and cytoplasmic Ca(2+) signaling. Matrix Ca(2+) concentration is similar to that in cytoplasm, despite an enormous driving force for entry, but the mechanisms that prevent mitochondrial Ca(2+) overload are unclear. Here, we show that MCU channel activity is governed by matrix Ca(2+) concentration through EMRE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOBJECT The ActiGait drop foot stimulator is a promising technique for restoration of lost ankle function by an implantable hybrid stimulation system. It allows ankle dorsiflexion by active peroneal nerve stimulation during the swing phase of gait. In this paper the authors report the outcome of the first prospective study on a large number of patients with stroke-related drop foot.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHistone chaperones bind specific histones to mediate their storage, eviction or deposition from/or into chromatin. The HIRA histone chaperone complex, composed of HIRA, ubinuclein-1 (UBN1) and CABIN1, cooperates with the histone chaperone ASF1a to mediate H3.3-specific binding and chromatin deposition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study examines the structure of the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (CAPP) from a card sort perspective. The CAPP is a lexically based construct map of psychopathy comprising 33 symptoms organized by its developers into 6 broad functional domains of personality (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF