Antibiotic De-Escalation Practices in the Intensive Care Unit: A Multicenter Observational Study.

Background: There is little known about antibiotic de-escalation (ADE) practices in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Objective: The objective was to determine the proportion of patients who received ADE within 24 hours of actionable cultures and identify predictors of timely ADE.

Methods: Multicenter cohort study in ICUs of 15 hospitals in Australia and New Zealand.

Targeted degradation of extracellular mitochondrial aspartyl-tRNA synthetase modulates immune responses.

The severity of bacterial pneumonia can be worsened by impaired innate immunity resulting in ineffective pathogen clearance. We describe a mitochondrial protein, aspartyl-tRNA synthetase (DARS2), which is released in circulation during bacterial pneumonia in humans and displays intrinsic innate immune properties and cellular repair properties. DARS2 interacts with a bacterial-induced ubiquitin E3 ligase subunit, FBXO24, which targets the synthetase for ubiquitylation and degradation, a process that is inhibited by DARS2 acetylation.

Predictors and pregnancy outcomes associated with a newborn birth weight of 4000 g or more in Lusaka, Zambia.

Objective: To identify predictors and outcomes associated with a birth weight of 4000g or more in Lusaka, Zambia.

Methods: Data from women who delivered between February 2006 and August 2011 were obtained from electronic perinatal records at 25 public sector facilities in Lusaka. Macrosomia was defined as a birth weight of 4000g or more and normal birth weight as 2500-3999g.

POT1 proteins in green algae and land plants: DNA-binding properties and evidence of co-evolution with telomeric DNA.

Telomeric DNA terminates with a single-stranded 3' G-overhang that in vertebrates and fission yeast is bound by POT1 (Protection Of Telomeres). However, no in vitro telomeric DNA binding is associated with Arabidopsis POT1 paralogs. To further investigate POT1-DNA interaction in plants, we cloned POT1 genes from 11 plant species representing major branches of plant kingdom.