Utility of Induced Sputum in Assessing Bacterial Etiology for Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Hospitalized Children.

Background: Diagnostic testing for bacterial etiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is insensitive. Induced sputum (IS) is an attractive option for the evaluation of the lower respiratory tract.

Methods: Children aged 0-18 years with CAP were enrolled in the Etiology of Pneumonia in the Community (EPIC) study between 2010 and 2012.

Dopamine dynamics associated with, and resulting from, schedule-induced alcohol self-administration: analyses in dopamine transporter knockout mice.

Preclinical and clinical evidence suggest an association between alcoholism and the primary regulator of extracellular dopamine concentrations, the dopamine transporter (DAT). However, the nature of this association is unclear. We determined if 10 days of voluntary alcohol self-administration followed by withdrawal could directly alter DAT function, or if genetically mediated changes in DAT function and/or availability could influence vulnerability to alcohol abuse.

A mouse model of Waardenburg syndrome type IV resulting from an ENU-induced mutation in endothelin 3.

A line of mutant mice (114-CH19) exhibiting white spotting and preweaning lethality was identified during an N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mutagenesis screen. The trait segregated as a semidominant bellyspot with reduced penetrance. Homozygous mutant mice showed preweaning lethality, and exhibited white spotting over the majority of the body surface, with pigmented patches remaining around the pinnae, eyes and tail.

Transrectal gene therapy of the prostate in the canine model.

Direct transrectal delivery of therapeutic genes utilizing adenoviral vectors for advanced prostate cancer may offer effective treatment at the molecular level. Large animal models to assess feasibility and the intraprostatic and systemic dissemination patterns of these vectors have not been reported. For these studies, a replication-deficient (E1(-)/E3(-)) recombinant adenovirus (AdRSVlacZ) expressing bacterial beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) was delivered under transrectal ultrasound guidance.