Atg9 is required for intraluminal vesicles in amphisomes and autolysosomes.

Autophagy is an intracellular recycling and degradation process, which is important for energy metabolism, lipid metabolism, physiological stress response and organism development. During Drosophila development, autophagy is up-regulated in fat body and midgut cells, to control metabolic function and to enable tissue remodelling. Atg9 is the only transmembrane protein involved in the core autophagy machinery and is thought to have a role in autophagosome formation.

Bromodomain-Containing Protein 4: The Epigenetic Origin of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Rationale: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a vasculopathy characterized by enhanced pulmonary artery (PA) smooth muscle cell (PASMC) proliferation and suppressed apoptosis. Decreased expression of microRNA-204 has been associated to this phenotype. By a still elusive mechanism, microRNA-204 downregulation promotes the expression of oncogenes, including nuclear factor of activated T cells, B-cell lymphoma 2, and Survivin.

Impact of a Focused Approach for Discharge Teaching Regarding the Use of Aspirin as Anticoagulant After Joint Replacement Surgery.

Background: Patient education for the use and administration of aspirin (ASA) as an anticoagulant may be deficient.

Purpose: To pilot a knowledge assessment tool regarding the use of aspirin (ASA) as an anticoagulant and to evaluate the impact of a focused approach for discharge teaching.

Design: One-group pretest-posttest pilot study.

Downregulation of MicroRNA-126 Contributes to the Failing Right Ventricle in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) failure is the most important factor of both morbidity and mortality in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, the underlying mechanisms resulting in the failed RV in PAH remain unknown. There is growing evidence that angiogenesis and microRNAs are involved in PAH-associated RV failure.

Do occupational therapists' communication behaviours change with experience?

Background: An increasing amount of literature has studied changes in communication skills in medical and nursing undergraduate students.

Aim: To evaluate whether occupational therapists' communication behaviours change with experience.

Material And Methods: A total of 45 participants (second-year OT students, final-year OT students, professional OTs) were enrolled and met three simulated clients.

miR-223 reverses experimental pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a devastating disease affecting lung vasculature. The pulmonary arteries become occluded due to increased proliferation and suppressed apoptosis of the pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) within the vascular wall. It was recently shown that DNA damage could trigger this phenotype by upregulating poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase 1 (PARP-1) expression, although the exact mechanism remains unclear.

Does the use of a brief cryotherapy intervention with analgesic administration improve pain management after total knee arthroplasty?

Background: Prior studies have evaluated only the prolonged use of cryotherapy as a nonpharmacologic pain intervention.

Purpose Of The Study: The purpose of this study was to determine whether a 30-minute application of cryotherapy at the time pain medication was given after a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) provided better pain relief than analgesic drugs alone.

Methods: A pretest, posttest, randomized controlled trial study design with crossover was used to evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative pain and satisfaction with pain management.

An approach to the identification and regulation of endocrine disrupting pesticides.

Recent decades have seen an increasing interest in chemicals that interact with the endocrine system and have the potential to alter the normal function of this system in humans and wildlife. Chemicals that produce adverse effects caused by interaction with endocrine systems are termed Endocrine Disrupters (EDs). This interest has led regulatory authorities around the world (including the European Union) to consider whether potential endocrine disrupters should be identified and assessed for effects on human health and wildlife and what harmonised criteria could be used for such an assessment.

An individual based computational model of intestinal crypt fission and its application to predicting unrestrictive growth of the intestinal epithelium.

Intestinal crypt fission is a homeostatic phenomenon, observable in healthy adult mucosa, but which also plays a pathological role as the main mode of growth of some intestinal polyps. Building on our previous individual based model for the small intestinal crypt and on in vitro cultured intestinal organoids, we here model crypt fission as a budding process based on fluid mechanics at the individual cell level and extrapolated predictions for growth of the intestinal epithelium. Budding was always observed in regions of organoids with abundant Paneth cells.

Mitochondrial ADCK3 employs an atypical protein kinase-like fold to enable coenzyme Q biosynthesis.

The ancient UbiB protein kinase-like family is involved in isoprenoid lipid biosynthesis and is implicated in human diseases, but demonstration of UbiB kinase activity has remained elusive for unknown reasons. Here, we quantitatively define UbiB-specific sequence motifs and reveal their positions within the crystal structure of a UbiB protein, ADCK3. We find that multiple UbiB-specific features are poised to inhibit protein kinase activity, including an N-terminal domain that occupies the typical substrate binding pocket and a unique A-rich loop that limits ATP binding by establishing an unusual selectivity for ADP.

On-line monitoring of methane in sewer air.

Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas and contributes significantly to climate change. Recent studies have shown significant methane production in sewers. The studies conducted so far have relied on manual sampling followed by off-line laboratory-based chromatography analysis.

Ceramides mediate cigarette smoke-induced metabolic disruption in mice.

Cigarette smoke exposure increases lung ceramide biosynthesis and alters metabolic function. We hypothesized that ceramides are released from the lung during cigarette smoke exposure and result in elevated skeletal muscle ceramide levels, resulting in insulin resistance and altered mitochondrial respiration. Employing cell and animal models, we explored the effect of cigarette smoke on muscle cell insulin signaling and mitochondrial respiration.

Transcriptome analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in human subjects following a 36 h fast provides evidence of effects on genes regulating inflammation, apoptosis and energy metabolism.

There is growing interest in the potential health benefits of diets that involve regular periods of fasting. While animal studies have provided compelling evidence that feeding patterns such as alternate-day fasting can increase longevity and reduce incidence of many chronic diseases, the evidence from human studies is much more limited and equivocal. Additionally, although several candidate processes have been proposed to contribute to the health benefits observed in animals, the precise molecular mechanisms responsible remain to be elucidated.

Sputum conversion at the end of 8weeks among category 1 tuberculosis patients: How reliable are the peripheral laboratory results?

Objective: To assess the quality of week 8 sputum smear AFB microscopy performed by peripheral TB laboratories in Nigeria.

Method: A cross-sectional review was performed of all week 8 tuberculosis sputum smear slides reported for the first quarter of 2009 by peripheral laboratories in five States of Nigeria. Each slide was reviewed by two independent external slide readers as external quality check and also crosschecked with fluorescent microscopy.

Altered endosome biogenesis in prostate cancer has biomarker potential.

Unlabelled: Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer in males, affecting one in eight men by the time they reach the age of 70 years. Current diagnostic tests for prostate cancer have significant problems with both false negatives and false positives, necessitating the search for new molecular markers. A recent investigation of endosomal and lysosomal proteins revealed that the critical process of endosomal biogenesis might be altered in prostate cancer.

Elevated mercury levels in a wintering population of common eiders (Somateria mollissima) in the northeastern United States.

In North America and Europe, sea ducks are important indicators of ecological health and inshore marine pollution. To explore spatial variation in mercury accumulation in common eiders in the northeastern United States, we compared concentrations of total mercury in common eider blood at several New England locations between 1998 and 2013. Eider food items (mollusks) were collected and analyzed to determine if mercury concentrations in eider blood were indicative of local mercury bioavailability.

High-throughput ptychography using Eiger: scanning X-ray nano-imaging of extended regions.

The smaller pixel size and high frame rate of next-generation photon counting pixel detectors opens new opportunities for the application of X-ray coherent diffractive imaging (CDI). In this manuscript we demonstrate fast image acquisition for ptychography using an Eiger detector. We achieve above 25,000 resolution elements per second, or an effective dwell time of 40 μs per resolution element, when imaging a 500 μm × 290 μm region of an integrated electronic circuit with 41 nm resolution.

Does dental disease presence equate to treatment need among care home residents?

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the relationship between dental disease, complexity and dental treatment needs of care home residents.

Methods: Survey of residents in care homes in Wales. Random sample of participants from a random selection of care homes across Wales, UK.

Intra- and inter-centre standardisation of thromboelastography (TEG®).

Thromboelastography is used for assessment of coagulation and to guide administration of blood products peri-operatively. There is currently no method of standardisation in the UK, nor an approved method of proving quality. We investigated the reproducibility of thromboelastography by testing whole blood with no coagulation abnormality in three phases.

The effect of diet on the intestinal epigenome.

The colorectal mucosal epithelium is composed of rapidly proliferating crypt cells derived by clonal expansion from stem cells. The aging human colorectal mucosa develops aberrant patterns of DNA methylation that may contribute to its increasing vulnerability to cancer. Various types of evidence suggest that age-dependent loss of global methylation, together with hypermethylation of CpG islands associated with cancer-related genes, may be influenced by nutritional and metabolic factors.

Surveillance and epidemiology in natural disasters: a novel framework and assessment of reliability.

Objective: To create a framework and methodology for organizing relevant disaster epidemiology literature. The target audience for the framework is local public health practitioners conducting emergency surveillance in the setting of preparedness or response to natural disasters.

Methods: The approach to developing the framework involved utilizing the public health and emergency management literature.

Resonance frequency analysis of osseo-integrated implants for bone conduction in a pediatric population - a novel approach for assessing stability for early loading.

Objectives: The purpose of our study was to directly measure the stability of a bone anchored hearing device (BAHD) abutment using resonance frequency analysis (RFA) in a pediatric population. RFA was used to guide early loading of the abutment following single stage surgery.

Methods: The principle behind RFA is to obtain a numerical value relating to stability.

Procyanidin induces apoptosis of esophageal adenocarcinoma cells via JNK activation of c-Jun.

Procyanidins are polymeric flavanols found in fruits and vegetables and have shown anticarcinogenic/chemopreventive properties. We previously showed that oligomeric procyanidin extracted from apples induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in esophageal adenocarcinoma (OA) cells. To understand the mechanism of action, we determined transcriptomic changes induced by procyanidin in OA cells.

Prostate cell lines as models for biomarker discovery: performance of current markers and the search for new biomarkers.

Background: Prostate cancer cell lines have been used in the search for biomarkers that are suitable for prostate cancer diagnosis. Unfortunately, many cell line studies have only involved single cell lines, partially characterized cell lines or were performed without controls, and this may have been detrimental to effective biomarker discovery. We have analyzed a panel of prostate cancer and nonmalignant control cell lines using current biomarkers and then investigated a set of prospective endosomal and lysosomal proteins to search for new biomarkers.