Wearable activity trackers-advanced technology or advanced marketing?

Wearable devices represent one of the most popular trends in health and fitness. Rapid advances in wearable technology present a dizzying display of possible functions: from thermometers and barometers, magnetometers and accelerometers, to oximeters and calorimeters. Consumers and practitioners utilize wearable devices to track outcomes, such as energy expenditure, training load, step count, and heart rate.

Development of a broad spectrum glycoconjugate vaccine to prevent wound and disseminated infections with Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) are important human pathogens that are associated with a range of infection types, including wound and disseminated infections. Treatment has been complicated by rising rates of antimicrobial resistance. Immunoprophylactic strategies are not constrained by antimicrobial resistance mechanisms.

Shape Analysis of DNA-Au Hybrid Particles by Analytical Ultracentrifugation.

Current developments in nanotechnology have increased the demand for nanocrystal assemblies with well-defined shapes and tunable sizes. DNA is a particularly well-suited building block in nanoscale assemblies because of its scalable sizes, conformational variability, and convenient self-assembly capabilities via base pairing. In hybrid materials, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) can be assembled into nanoparticle structures with programmable interparticle distances by applying appropriate DNA sequences.

High Yield Overexpression, Refolding, Purification and Characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Type B-Flagellin: An Improved Method Without Sonication.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa as an opportunistic pathogen is a significant cause of acute and chronic infections in patients with compromised defenses. This bacterium is motile via a single polar flagellum made of polymerized flagellin subunits differentiated into two major serotypes: A and B. flagellin plays an important role as a virulence factor in the adhesion, colonization and invasion of P.

The dual aptamer approach: rational design of a high-affinity FAD aptamer.

A design strategy for high-affinity aptamers of complex biomolecules is presented. We developed an RNA with FAD-binding properties by combining known ATP- and FMN-aptamers. Cooperative binding of FAD was shown by SPR spectroscopy and fluorescence assays.

Intrastrand triplex DNA repeats in bacteria: a source of genomic instability.

Repetitive nucleic acid sequences are often prone to form secondary structures distinct from B-DNA. Prominent examples of such structures are DNA triplexes. We observed that certain intrastrand triplex motifs are highly conserved and abundant in prokaryotic genomes.

Pulsed EPR spectroscopy distance measurements of DNA internally labelled with Gd(3+)-DOTA.

Gd(3+) is increasingly used in EPR spectroscopy due to its increased intracellular stability and signal-to-noise ratios. Here we present the incorporation of Gd(3+)-DOTA into internal positions in DNA. Distance measurements via pulsed Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy in vitro and in cellula proved enhanced stability and efficiency compared to nitroxide labels.

A matter of location: influence of G-quadruplexes on Escherichia coli gene expression.

We provide important insights into secondary-structure-mediated regulation of gene expression in Escherichia coli. In a comprehensive survey, we show that the strand orientation and the exact position of a G-quadruplex sequence strongly influence its effect on transcription and translation. We generated a series of reporter gene constructs that contained systematically varied positions of quadruplexes and respective control sequences inserted into several positions within the promoter, 50-UTR, and 30-UTR regions.

A founder CEP120 mutation in Jeune asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy expands the role of centriolar proteins in skeletal ciliopathies.

Jeune asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy (JATD) is a skeletal dysplasia characterized by a small thoracic cage and a range of skeletal and extra-skeletal anomalies. JATD is genetically heterogeneous with at least nine genes identified, all encoding ciliary proteins, hence the classification of JATD as a skeletal ciliopathy. Consistent with the observation that the heterogeneous molecular basis of JATD has not been fully determined yet, we have identified two consanguineous Saudi families segregating JATD who share a single identical ancestral homozygous haplotype among the affected members.

Protective efficacy of Pseudomonas aeruginosa type-A flagellin in the murine burn wound model of infection.

The main goal of this study was to develop a vaccination strategy that would enhance the protective response against the recombinant type A flagellin (r-fla-A) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the burn wound sepsis model. Inbred mice were immunized with r-fla-A with or without alum adjuvant. The vaccinated mice were burned and challenged with P.

Structural characterization of quadruplex DNA with in-cell EPR approaches.

Guanosine-rich DNA sequences have the potential to adopt four-stranded conformations termed quadruplexes. The chromosomes of higher organisms are capped by so-called telomeres that are composed of repeats of the sequence TTAGGG. Up to 200 nucleotides of the G-rich strand form an overhang that is suspected to fold into intramolecular G-quadruplexes.

Passive anti-PcrV treatment protects burned mice against Pseudomonas aeruginosa challenge.

The type III secretion system consists of secreted exoproducts and structural components, such as PcrV, and this system plays an important role in the virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in burned hosts. The purpose of this study was to determine if passive anti-PcrV treatment would protect burned mice from fatal P. aeruginosa challenge, and to determine the type III exoproduct phenotype of the P.

Pseudomonas immunotherapy: a historical overview.

The historic development of vaccines to be used as immunotherapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections, in various patient populations, is reviewed. Commentary is offered concerning the relevance of each approach in light of our current understanding of the pathological process of these infections.

Assessment of a silver-coated barrier dressing for potential use with skin grafts on excised burns.

Acticoat burn dressing is a silver-coated dressing with antimicrobial activity purported to reduce infection from environmental organisms in partial and full-thickness wounds. Acticoat was tested for activity as an antimicrobial treatment and as an antimicrobial barrier dressing in three in vitro assays. It was found that a modified disc assay method gave false negative results but in an assay in which bacteria were inoculated on top of samples of Acticoat, bacterial numbers were reduced, over time, with all microorganisms tested.

Differential effects of two different routes of immunization on protection against gram-negative sepsis by a detoxified Escherichia coli J5 lipopolysaccharide group B meningococcal outer membrane protein complex vaccine in a burned mouse model.

Gram-negative sepsis causes morbidity and mortality in burned patients. To determine whether immunization with core endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide) via one of two routes could protect burned mice from septic death, mice were immunized either three times subcutaneously (SC) or one time intramuscularly (IM) then two times intraperitoneally (IP) with a core-lipopolysaccharide vaccine. Control mice were immunized with either saline or an irrelevant antigen.

Effect of antibiotics on polymorphonuclear neutrophil apoptosis.

Study Objective: To evaluate the effects of various antibiotics-direct and indirect as a result of bacterial killing-on polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) apoptosis.

Design: In vitro analysis.

Setting: Research laboratory.

PcrV immunization enhances survival of burned Pseudomonas aeruginosa-infected mice.

Burned Pseudomonas aeruginosa-infected mice immunized against PcrV, a type III virulence system translocating protein, showed significantly enhanced survival compared to controls. Survival was non-O serotype specific and correlated with a reduced systemic microbial load. Infection with a high-level toxin A-producing strain required supplemental antitoxin treatment to enhance survival.

Does the addition of nystatin to 5% mafenide acetate and genitourinary irrigant solutions interfere with their antimicrobial activity? Assessment by two topical antimicrobial test assay systems.

Results previously reported using the Wet Disc Topical Antimicrobial Assay (WDA) suggested that adding nystatin (NY) to a 0.5% mafenide acetate (MA) suspension or genitourinary irrigant (double antibiotic [DAB]) to expand their antimicrobial activity to include Candida sp. antagonized the antibacterial effect of MA but not DAB.

Secreted products of a nonmucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain induce two modes of macrophage killing: external-ATP-dependent, P2Z-receptor-mediated necrosis and ATP-independent, caspase-mediated apoptosis.

A nonmucoid clinical isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, strain 808, elaborated ATP-dependent and ATP-independent types of cytotoxic factors in the growth medium. These cytotoxic factors, active against macrophages, were secreted during the exponential phase of growth in a complex medium. Commensurate with the appearance of the cytotoxic activities in the cell-free growth medium, several ATP-utilizing enzymic activities, such as adenylate kinase, nucleoside diphosphate kinase and 5'-nucleotidase (ATPase and/or phosphatase), were detected in the medium.

Assessment of the potential for microbial resistance to topical use of multiple antimicrobial agents.

The goal of this study was to reduce the likelihood of the generation and/or persistence of bacterial resistance to some antimicrobial components contained in a topical antimicrobial mixture (neomycin, polymyxin B, mupirocin and ciprofloxacin) for use with cultured skin grafts, by substitution of alternative antimicrobials, specifically fusidic acid for mupirocin and ofloxacin for ciprofloxacin. The alternative agents failed to serve that purpose. However, with the exception of specific genera of bacteria, Proteus sp.

Antimicrobial mixtures used to store harvested skin: antimicrobial activities tested at refrigerator (4 degrees C) temperatures.

Tissue culture media used by skin and tissue banks to store tissue were tested, with and without antimicrobial mixtures, for their ability to inhibit the growth of bacteria during incubation at refrigerator temperatures. Reductions in bacterial load were found after incubation at 4 degrees C in both the basal tissue culture media with and without the addition of antimicrobial mixtures. The presence of antimicrobials enhanced the degree and rapidity of reduction.