Respiratory Microbiome Profiling for Etiologic Diagnosis of Pneumonia in Mechanically Ventilated Patients.

Etiologic diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia relies on identification of causative pathogens by cultures, which require extended incubation periods and have limited sensitivity. Next-generation sequencing of microbial DNA directly from patient samples may improve diagnostic accuracy for guiding antibiotic prescriptions. In this study, we hypothesized that enhanced pathogen detection using sequencing can improve upon culture-based diagnosis and that certain sequencing profiles correlate with host response.

Models of utricular bouton afferents: role of afferent-hair cell connectivity in determining spike train regularity.

Vestibular bouton afferent terminals in turtle utricle can be categorized into four types depending on their location and terminal arbor structure: lateral extrastriolar (LES), striolar, juxtastriolar, and medial extrastriolar (MES). The terminal arbors of these afferents differ in surface area, total length, collecting area, number of boutons, number of bouton contacts per hair cell, and axon diameter (Huwe JA, Logan CJ, Williams B, Rowe MH, Peterson EH. 113: 2420-2433, 2015).

Perfluorooctane Sulfonate Plasma Half-Life Determination and Long-Term Tissue Distribution in Beef Cattle (Bos taurus).

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is used in consumer products as a surfactant and is found in industrial and consumer waste, which ends up in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). PFOS does not breakdown during WWTP processes and accumulates in the biosolids. Common practices include application of biosolids to pastures and croplands used for feed, and as a result, animals such as beef cattle are exposed to PFOS.

Utricular afferents: morphology of peripheral terminals.

The utricle provides critical information about spatiotemporal properties of head movement. It comprises multiple subdivisions whose functional roles are poorly understood. We previously identified four subdivisions in turtle utricle, based on hair bundle structure and mechanics, otoconial membrane structure and hair bundle coupling, and immunoreactivity to calcium-binding proteins.