Recombinant production platform for Group A Streptococcus glycoconjugate vaccines.

Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) is a human-exclusive bacterial pathogen killing annually more than 500,000 patients, and no current licensed vaccine exists. Strep A bacteria are highly diverse, but all produce an essential, abundant, and conserved surface carbohydrate, the Group A Carbohydrate, which contains a rhamnose polysaccharide (RhaPS) backbone. RhaPS is a validated universal vaccine candidate in a glycoconjugate prepared by chemical conjugation of the native carbohydrate to a carrier protein.

Neutrophils initiate pro-inflammatory immune responses in early endometriosis lesion development.

Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological disease that affects 1 in 10 reproductive-aged women. Most studies investigate established disease; however, the initiation and early events in endometriotic lesion development remain poorly understood. Our study used neutrophils from human menstrual effluent from subjects with and without endometriosis for immunophenotyping, and a mouse model of endometriosis and a mouse endometriosis cell line to determine the role of neutrophils in the initiating events of endometriosis, including attachment and survival of minced endometrial pieces.

Flower size evolution in the Southwest Pacific.

Background And Aims: Despite accelerating interest in island evolution, the general evolutionary trajectories of island flowers remain poorly understood. In particular the island rule, which posits that small organisms become larger and large organisms to become smaller after island colonization, while tested in various plant traits, has never been tested in flower size. Here, we provide the first test for the island rule in flower size for animal- and wind-pollinated flowers, and the first evidence for generalized in-situ evolution of flower size on islands.

Prior nonarthroplasty shoulder surgery and modifiable risk factors negatively affect patient outcomes after shoulder arthroplasty.

Background: Total shoulder arthroplasty frequently is performed in patients with a history of shoulder surgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical outcomes after primary shoulder arthroplasty in patients with a history of nonarthroplasty shoulder surgery, and whether certain modifiable risk factors (MRFs) were negatively associated with final outcome measures. The secondary purpose was to determine if costs or complications were higher in patients with prior shoulder surgery.

Eligibility Criteria of Randomized Clinical Trials in Critical Care Medicine.

Importance: Eligibility criteria for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are designed to select clinically relevant patient populations. However, not all eligibility criteria are strongly justified, potentially excluding marginalized groups, and limiting the generalizability of trial findings.

Objective: To summarize and evaluate the justification of exclusion criteria in published RCTs in critical care medicine.