Taking an HPV vaccine research-tested intervention to scale in a clinical setting.

Research tested interventions are seldom ready for wide spread use. Successful intervention adaptation to clinical settings demands an iterative process with target audience feedback. We describe the adaptation process of implementing an NCI research tested HPV vaccine intervention, Women's Stories, to a community clinic context (Planned Parenthood).

Artificial Gene Amplification in Escherichia coli Reveals Numerous Determinants for Resistance to Metal Toxicity.

When organisms are subjected to environmental challenges, including growth inhibitors and toxins, evolution often selects for the duplication of endogenous genes, whose overexpression can provide a selective advantage. Such events occur both in natural environments and in clinical settings. Microbial cells-with their large populations and short generation times-frequently evolve resistance to a range of antimicrobials.

Synanthropic triatomines as potential vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi in Central Brazil.

Introduction: Chagas disease surveillance requires current knowledge on synanthropic triatomines. We analyzed the occurrence and Trypanosoma cruzi infection rates of triatomine bugs in central Brazil, during 2012-2014.

Methods: Triatomines were collected inside or around houses, and T.

A de novo enzyme catalyzes a life-sustaining reaction in Escherichia coli.

Producing novel enzymes that are catalytically active in vitro and biologically functional in vivo is a key goal of synthetic biology. Here we describe Syn-F4, the first de novo protein that meets both criteria. Purified Syn-F4 hydrolyzes the siderophore ferric enterobactin, and expression of Syn-F4 allows an inviable strain of Escherichia coli to grow in iron-limited medium.

Surveillance of vector-borne pathogens under imperfect detection: lessons from Chagas disease risk (mis)measurement.

Vector-borne pathogens threaten human health worldwide. Despite their critical role in disease prevention, routine surveillance systems often rely on low-complexity pathogen detection tests of uncertain accuracy. In Chagas disease surveillance, optical microscopy (OM) is routinely used for detecting Trypanosoma cruzi in its vectors.

Are natural proteins special? Can we do that?

Natural proteins represent a minuscule fraction of possible sequence space. These very rare sequences display remarkable properties: They fold into many different stable structures, and perform a wide range of complex biological functions. These two considerations-rarity and functionality-may suggest that natural proteins are somehow special.

Targeted On-line SPE-LC-MS/MS Assay for the Quantitation of 12 Apolipoproteins from Human Blood.

Laborious sample pretreatment of biological samples represents the most limiting factor for the translation of targeted proteomics assays from research to clinical routine. An optimized method for the simultaneous quantitation of 12 major apolipoproteins (apos) combining on-line SPE and fast LC-MS/MS analysis in 6.5 min total run time was developed, reducing the manual sample pretreatment time of 3 μL serum or plasma by 60%.

Can sexual transmission support the enzootic cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi?

Background: Trypanosoma cruzi circulates in sylvatic habitats, mainly through blood-feeding triatomines, although other routes also contribute to its dispersion. Sexual transmission of T. cruzi is an understudied topic, especially among wild mammals.

Results of a Quality Improvement Project Aimed at Eliminating Healthcare Waste by Changing Medical Resident Test Ordering Behavior.

Background: In light of rising healthcare costs and evidence of inefficient use of medical resources, there is growing interest in reducing healthcare waste by clinicians. Unwarranted lab tests may lead to further tests, prolonged hospital stays, unnecessary referrals and procedures, patient discomfort, and iatrogenic anemia, resulting in significant economic and clinical effects. Blood tests are essential in guiding medical decisions, but they are also associated with significant financial and clinical costs.

Programming asynchronous replication in stem cells.

Many regions of the genome replicate asynchronously and are expressed monoallelically. It is thought that asynchronous replication may be involved in choosing one allele over the other, but little is known about how these patterns are established during development. We show that, unlike somatic cells, which replicate in a clonal manner, embryonic and adult stem cells are programmed to undergo switching, such that daughter cells with an early-replicating paternal allele are derived from mother cells that have a late-replicating paternal allele.

Parent Prevention Communication Profiles and Adolescent Substance Use: A Latent Profile Analysis and Growth Curve Model.

This current study identifies distinct parent prevention communication profiles and examines whether youth with different parental communication profiles have varying substance use trajectories over time. Eleven schools in two rural school districts in the Midwestern United States were selected, and 784 students were surveyed at three time points from the beginning of 7th grade to the end of 8th grade. A series of latent profile analyses were performed to identify discrete profiles/subgroups of substance-specific prevention communication (SSPC).

Sponge Spray-Reaching New Dimensions of Direct Sampling and Analysis by MS.

Sample preparation for the analysis of clinical samples with the mass spectrometer (MS) can be extensive and expensive. Simplifying and speeding up the process would be very beneficial. This paper reports sponge spray-a novel sampling and direct MS analysis approach-attempting exactly that.

Rubella Seropositivity in Pregnant Women After Vaccination Campaign in Brazil's Federal District.

Rubella is an acute viral disease that usually does not generate sequels; however, in pregnant women the infection can cause serious abnormalities to fetuses, which are collectively called congenital rubella syndrome. In Brazil, population immunization was started in 1992, but few epidemiological studies have been conducted to assess vaccination coverage and seroconversion since then. The aim of this work is to evaluate the seropositivity of pregnant women to rubella virus after vaccination campaign was carried out in 2008.

Impact of postoperative radiotherapy and HER2/new overexpression in salivary duct carcinoma : A monocentric clinicopathologic analysis.

Aim: Retrospective Investigation of the prognostic relevance of clinicopathologic parameters in patients with salivary duct carcinoma (SDC).

Methods: An experienced pathologist reviewed 67 patients with de novo SDC or SDC ex pleomorphic adenoma. Paraffin-embedded tumor samples were examined by immunohistochemistry for expression of HER2/neu, androgen (AR), progesterone (PR), estrogen (ER), epidermal growth factor (EGFR) and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1-R) receptor.

Optical pH Sensor Covering the Range from pH 0-14 Compatible with Mobile-Device Readout and Based on a Set of Rationally Designed Indicator Dyes.

In this work, a family of pH-responsive fluorescent probes has been designed in a rational manner with the aid of quantum chemistry tools, covering the entire pH range from 0-14. Relying on the boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) core, all the probes as well as selected reference dyes display very similar spectroscopic properties with ON-OFF fluorescence switching responses, facilitating optical readout in simple devices used for detection and analysis. Embedding of the probes and reference dyes into hydrogel spots on a plastic strip yielded a test strip that reversibly indicates pH with a considerably small uncertainty of ∼0.

Diketopyrrolopyrrole Columnar Liquid-Crystalline Assembly Directed by Quadruple Hydrogen Bonds.

A diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) dye self-assembles via a unique hydrogen-bonding motif into an unprecedented columnar liquid-crystalline (LC) structure. X-ray and polarized FTIR experiments reveal that the DPPs organize into a one-dimensional assembly with the chromophores oriented parallel to the columnar axis. This columnar structure is composed of two π-π-stacked DPP dimers with mirror-image configurations that stack alternately through quadruple hydrogen bonding by 90° rotation.

"Learning Science Is About Facts and Language Learning Is About Being Discursive"-An Empirical Investigation of Students' Disciplinary Beliefs in the Context of Argumentation.

Argumentation is considered crucial in numerous disciplines in schools and universities because it constitutes an important proficiency in peoples' daily and professional lives. However, it is unclear whether argumentation is understood and practiced in comparable ways across disciplines. This study consequently examined empirically how students perceive argumentation in science and (first) language lessons.

Epigenetic mechanism of FMR1 inactivation in Fragile X syndrome.

Fragile X syndrome is the most frequent cause of inherited intellectual disability. The primary molecular defect in this disease is the expansion of a CGG repeat in the 5' region of the fragile X mental retardation1 (FMR1) gene, leading to de novo methylation of the promoter and inactivation of this otherwise normal gene, but little is known about how these epigenetic changes occur during development. In order to gain insight into the nature of this process, we have used cell fusion technology to recapitulate the events that occur during early embryogenesis.

Coming to the new D.A.R.E.: A preliminary test of the officer-taught elementary keepin' it REAL curriculum.

The present study reports a preliminary evaluation of D.A.R.

Entertainment-Education Videos as a Persuasive Tool in the Substance Use Prevention Intervention "keepin' it REAL".

Based on social cognitive theory and narrative engagement theory, the current study examined hypothesized indirect effects of engagement with keepin' it REAL (kiR) curriculum entertainment-education (E-E) videos on youth alcohol use via youth drug offer refusal efficacy. Students in 7th grade (N = 1,464) at 25 public schools in two Midwestern states were randomly assigned to one of the two versions of the kiR curriculum, the kiR urban version and the kiR rural version. Each version had their own set of five culturally-grounded E-E videos depicting communicative skills to refuse drug offers.

Common sequence variants affect molecular function more than rare variants?

Any two unrelated individuals differ by about 10,000 single amino acid variants (SAVs). Do these impact molecular function? Experimental answers cannot answer comprehensively, while state-of-the-art prediction methods can. We predicted the functional impacts of SAVs within human and for variants between human and other species.

Why assessment in medical education needs a solid foundation in modern test theory.

Despite the frequent use of state-of-the-art psychometric models in the field of medical education, there is a growing body of literature that questions their usefulness in the assessment of medical competence. Essentially, a number of authors raised doubt about the appropriateness of psychometric models as a guiding framework to secure and refine current approaches to the assessment of medical competence. In addition, an intriguing phenomenon known as case specificity is specific to the controversy on the use of psychometric models for the assessment of medical competence.

Parental Messages about Substance Use in Early Adolescence: Extending a Model of Drug-Talk Styles.

This study extends a typology of parent-offspring drug talk styles to early adolescents and investigates associations with adolescent substance use. Data come from a self-report survey associated with a school-based, 7th grade drug prevention curriculum. Mixed methods were used to collect data across four measurement occasions spanning 30 months.