Silver nanoparticles enhance the efficacy of aminoglycosides against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

As the threat of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria compromises the safety and efficacy of modern healthcare practices, the search for effective treatments is more urgent than ever. For centuries, silver (Ag) has been known to have antibacterial properties and, over the past two decades, Ag-based nanoparticles have gained traction as potential antimicrobials. The antibacterial efficacy of Ag varies with structure, size, and concentration.

Effects of easing shelter-in-place restrictions and the lingering COVID-19 pandemic on orthopaedic trauma at a community level 2 trauma center.

Objectives: Evaluate the effect of easing "shelter-in-place" restrictions and coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) cases on orthopaedic trauma encounters (OTEs) at a community level II trauma center.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of OTEs from March-June of 2016 to 2020. Injuries were classified by high or low severity.

Effect of Shelter-in-Place Orders and the COVID-19 Pandemic on Orthopaedic Trauma at a Community Level II Trauma Center.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the "shelter-in-place" order on orthopaedic trauma presenting to a community level II trauma center. It is hypothesized that the overall number of orthopaedic trauma encounters (OTEs), the number of OTEs related to both high and low severity injuries, and the proportion of OTEs related to high severity versus low severity injuries decreased compared with previous years.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of OTEs between 2016 and 2020.

Impact of the physical environment on patient outcomes of genetic counseling: An exploratory study.

The psychology literature shows that the physical space in which counseling sessions are conducted influences outcomes of the interaction. However, this phenomenon has not been quantitatively explored in genetic counseling (GC). Through retrospective review of naturalistic data from a psychiatric GC clinic (where data on patient outcomes are routinely tracked from pre- to 1 month post-appointment using the Genetic Counseling Outcome Scale (GCOS, empowerment) and the Illness Management Self Efficacy Scale (IMSES), we tested the hypotheses that patients seen in comfortably furnished counseling (C-type) rooms would have greater increases in (a) empowerment and (b) self-efficacy after GC than patients seen in medically oriented (M-type) rooms.

Genetic Coupling of Female Mate Choice with Polygenic Ecological Divergence Facilitates Stickleback Speciation.

Ecological speciation with gene flow is widespread in nature [1], but it presents a conundrum: how are associations between traits under divergent natural selection and traits that contribute to assortative mating maintained? Theoretical models suggest that genetic mechanisms inhibiting free recombination between loci underlying these two types of traits (hereafter, "genetic coupling") can facilitate speciation [2-4]. Here, we perform a direct test for genetic coupling by mapping both divergent traits and female mate choice in a classic model of ecological speciation: sympatric benthic and limnetic threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). By measuring mate choice in F2 hybrid females, we allowed for recombination between loci underlying assortative mating and those under divergent ecological selection.

Extent of QTL Reuse During Repeated Phenotypic Divergence of Sympatric Threespine Stickleback.

How predictable is the genetic basis of phenotypic adaptation? Answering this question begins by estimating the repeatability of adaptation at the genetic level. Here, we provide a comprehensive estimate of the repeatability of the genetic basis of adaptive phenotypic evolution in a natural system. We used quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping to discover genomic regions controlling a large number of morphological traits that have diverged in parallel between pairs of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus species complex) in Paxton and Priest lakes, British Columbia.

Conserved Arabidopsis ECHIDNA protein mediates trans-Golgi-network trafficking and cell elongation.

Multiple steps of plant growth and development rely on rapid cell elongation during which secretory and endocytic trafficking via the trans-Golgi network (TGN) plays a central role. Here, we identify the ECHIDNA (ECH) protein from Arabidopsis thaliana as a TGN-localized component crucial for TGN function. ECH partially complements loss of budding yeast TVP23 function and a Populus ECH complements the Arabidopsis ech mutant, suggesting functional conservation of the genes.