Construction of an effective landscape for multistate genetic switches.

Multistate genetic switches play a crucial role during embryonic development and tumorigenesis. An archetypical example is the three-way switch regulating epithelial-hybrid-mesenchymal transitions. We devise a special WKB-based approach to investigate white Gaussian and shot noise effects on three-way switches, and construct an effective landscape in good quantitative agreement with stochastic simulations.

Comparisons of the educational preparation of registered and enrolled nurses in Australia: the educators' perspectives.

Similar to the U.S.A.

Propagating waves of directionality and coordination orchestrate collective cell migration.

The ability of cells to coordinately migrate in groups is crucial to enable them to travel long distances during embryonic development, wound healing and tumorigenesis, but the fundamental mechanisms underlying intercellular coordination during collective cell migration remain elusive despite considerable research efforts. A novel analytical framework is introduced here to explicitly detect and quantify cell clusters that move coordinately in a monolayer. The analysis combines and associates vast amount of spatiotemporal data across multiple experiments into transparent quantitative measures to report the emergence of new modes of organized behavior during collective migration of tumor and epithelial cells in wound healing assays.

Sensory and Thermal Quantitative Testing in Children With Sickle Cell Disease.

Very little is known about pain processing in sickle cell disease (SCD). We examined the mechanical and thermal sensory patterns in children with SCD. Children ages 10 to 17 years (n = 48; mean 13.

Senior nurse role expectations of graduate registered and enrolled nurses on commencement to practice.

Objective: This paper reports on a project to examine the expectations of senior nurses regarding graduate roles of registered and enrolled nurses educated in Victoria, Australia.

Methods: Participants completed an online survey to indicate whether predetermined competencies were in the roles of graduate enrolled or registered nurses or not in the role of either nurse. Chi-squared analysis was used to identify differences between participant groups.

Individual pause-and-go motion is instrumental to the formation and maintenance of swarms of marching locust nymphs.

The principal interactions leading to the emergence of order in swarms of marching locust nymphs was studied both experimentally, using small groups of marching locusts in the lab, and using computer simulations. We utilized a custom tracking algorithm to reveal fundamental animal-animal interactions leading to collective motion. Uncovering this behavior introduced a new agent-based modeling approach in which pause-and-go motion is pivotal.

Pain assessment using the adolescent pediatric pain tool: a systematic review.

Background: The Adolescent Pediatric Pain Tool (APPT) is a multidimensional pain assessment tool designed to assess pain location (body outline diagram), intensity (word graphic rating scale) and quality (list of pain descriptors) in hospitalized children eight to 17 years of age.

Objectives: To identify the age range, health conditions, settings and purpose for which APPT has been used; the components of the APPT that have been used; and the reported clinical and research utility of the APPT.

Methods: A systematic review of published studies using the APPT was performed.

Pain, coping, and sleep in children and adolescents with sickle cell disease.

Purpose: The study examined the relationships among pain, pain coping, and sleep, and assessed factors (age, gender, frequency, and intensity of pain) that affect pain, coping, and sleep in children with sickle cell disease (SCD).

Methods: Participants (66) were 39 children (M = 11.5 years) and 27 adolescents (M = 15.

Defining a reference range for cold agglutinin titers.

Background: The cold agglutinin (CAGG) titer is offered at our institution to aid in diagnosing cold agglutinin disease (CAD). Our goal was to create a seasonally adjusted reference range using prospective samples and compare it to a reference range generated retrospectively.

Study Design And Methods: Prospective CAGG titer testing was performed on healthy blood donors.

Genome-wide adaptive complexes to underground stresses in blind mole rats Spalax.

The blind mole rat (BMR), Spalax galili, is an excellent model for studying mammalian adaptation to life underground and medical applications. The BMR spends its entire life underground, protecting itself from predators and climatic fluctuations while challenging it with multiple stressors such as darkness, hypoxia, hypercapnia, energetics and high pathonecity. Here we sequence and analyse the BMR genome and transcriptome, highlighting the possible genomic adaptive responses to the underground stressors.

RESTful discovery and eventing for service provisioning in assisted living environments.

Service provisioning in assisted living environments faces distinct challenges due to the heterogeneity of networks, access technology, and sensing/actuation devices in such an environment. Existing solutions, such as SOAP-based web services, can interconnect heterogeneous devices and services, and can be published, discovered and invoked dynamically. However, it is considered heavier than what is required in the smart environment-like context and hence suffers from performance degradation.

Structural brain alterations in children an average of 5 years after surgery and chemotherapy for brain tumors.

Young children with brain tumors are often treated with high-dose chemotherapy after surgery to avoid brain tissue injury associated with irradiation. The effects of systemic chemotherapy on healthy brain tissue in this population, however, are unclear. Our objective was to compare gray and white matter integrity using MRI procedures in children with brain tumors (n = 7, mean age 8.

Sparse short-distance connections enhance calcium wave propagation in a 3D model of astrocyte networks.

Traditionally, astrocytes have been considered to couple via gap-junctions into a syncytium with only rudimentary spatial organization. However, this view is challenged by growing experimental evidence that astrocytes organize as a proper gap-junction mediated network with more complex region-dependent properties. On the other hand, the propagation range of intercellular calcium waves (ICW) within astrocyte populations is as well highly variable, depending on the brain region considered.

Infusion technique of hematopoietic progenitor cells and related adverse events (CME).

Background: The use of hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) transplant has risen over the past two decades. A variety of adverse events (AEs) of varying severity have been noted during HPC infusions. These AEs have been associated with several factors such as the amount of dimethyl sulfoxide and white blood cells in the HPC product.

Antibody engineering and therapeutics, The Annual Meeting of the Antibody Society: December 8-12, 2013, Huntington Beach, CA.

The 24th Antibody Engineering & Therapeutics meeting brought together a broad range of participants who were updated on the latest advances in antibody research and development. Organized by IBC Life Sciences, the gathering is the annual meeting of The Antibody Society, which serves as the scientific sponsor. Preconference workshops on 3D modeling and delineation of clonal lineages were featured, and the conference included sessions on a wide variety of topics relevant to researchers, including systems biology; antibody deep sequencing and repertoires; the effects of antibody gene variation and usage on antibody response; directed evolution; knowledge-based design; antibodies in a complex environment; polyreactive antibodies and polyspecificity; the interface between antibody therapy and cellular immunity in cancer; antibodies in cardiometabolic medicine; antibody pharmacokinetics, distribution and off-target toxicity; optimizing antibody formats for immunotherapy; polyclonals, oligoclonals and bispecifics; antibody discovery platforms; and antibody-drug conjugates.

Reflections on the neurotherapeutic effects of hyperbaric oxygen.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke are the major causes of brain damage and chronic neurological impairments. There is no agreed-upon effective metabolic intervention for TBI and stroke patients with chronic neurological dysfunction. Clinical studies published this year present convincing evidence that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) might be the coveted neurotherapeutic method for brain repair.

Growth feedback as a basis for persister bistability.

A small fraction of cells in many bacterial populations, called persisters, are much less sensitive to antibiotic treatment than the majority. Persisters are in a dormant metabolic state, even while remaining genetically identical to the actively growing cells. Toxin and antitoxin modules in bacteria are believed to be one possible cause of persistence.

Collective navigation of cargo-carrying swarms.

Much effort has been devoted to the study of swarming and collective navigation of micro-organisms, insects, fish, birds and other organisms, as well as multi-agent simulations and to the study of real robots. It is well known that insect swarms can carry cargo. The studies here are motivated by a less well-known phenomenon: cargo transport by bacteria swarms.

Scope of practice for Australian enrolled nurses: evolution and practice issues.

Significant changes to the scope of practice for enrolled nurses have occurred in Australia over the past decade. These changes, which are largely a consequence of staff shortages and economic pressure, have resulted in increased role confusion and overlap between enrolled and registered nurses in Australia. This paper presents a brief history of the enrolled nurse in Australia followed by an overview of the current situation and emerging trends in the education and employment of these nurses.

Modeling cell-death patterning during biofilm formation.

Self-organization by bacterial cells often leads to the formation of a highly complex spatially-structured biofilm. In such a bacterial biofilm, cells adhere to each other and are embedded in a self-produced extracellular matrix (ECM). Bacillus substilis bacteria utilize localized cell-death patterns which focuses mechanical forces to form wrinkled sheet-like structures in three dimensions.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can improve post concussion syndrome years after mild traumatic brain injury - randomized prospective trial.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability in the US. Approximately 70-90% of the TBI cases are classified as mild, and up to 25% of them will not recover and suffer chronic neurocognitive impairments. The main pathology in these cases involves diffuse brain injuries, which are hard to detect by anatomical imaging yet noticeable in metabolic imaging.

Benchmark for multi-cellular segmentation of bright field microscopy images.

Background: Multi-cellular segmentation of bright field microscopy images is an essential computational step when quantifying collective migration of cells in vitro. Despite the availability of various tools and algorithms, no publicly available benchmark has been proposed for evaluation and comparison between the different alternatives.

Description: A uniform framework is presented to benchmark algorithms for multi-cellular segmentation in bright field microscopy images.

MicroRNA-based regulation of epithelial-hybrid-mesenchymal fate determination.

Forward and backward transitions between epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes play crucial roles in embryonic development and tissue repair. Aberrantly regulated transitions are also a hallmark of cancer metastasis. The genetic network that regulates these transitions appears to allow for the existence of a hybrid phenotype (epithelial/mesenchymal).

Non-O blood type is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism after radical cystectomy.

Objective: To evaluate the association of blood type (non-O vs O) with venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk after radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer.

Methods: From 1980 to 2005, we identified 2076 consecutive patients with RC for whom blood type was available in 2008 (96.7%).