Biophysical characterization of the CXC chemokine receptor 2 ligands.

The chemokines of the immune system act as first responders by operating as chemoattractants, directing immune cells to specific locations of inflamed tissues. This promiscuous network is comprised of 50 ligands and 18 receptors where the ligands may interact with the receptors in various oligomeric states i.e.

"But at home, with the midwife, you are a person": experiences and impact of a new early postpartum home-based midwifery care model in the view of women in vulnerable family situations.

Background: Postpartum home-based midwifery care is covered by basic health insurance in Switzerland for all families with newborns but must be self-organized. To ensure access for all, Familystart, a network of self-employed midwives, launched a new care model in 2012 by ensuring the transition from hospital to home through cooperation with maternity hospitals in the Basel area. It has particularly improved the access to follow-up care for families in vulnerable situations needing support beyond basic services.

A Small Contribution to a Large System: The Leptin Receptor Complex.

Obesity is a classified epidemic, increasing the risk of secondary diseases such as diabetes, inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. The pleiotropic hormone leptin is the proposed link for the gut-brain axis controlling nutritional status and energy expenditure. Research into leptin signaling provides great promise toward discovering therapeutics for obesity and its related diseases targeting leptin and its cognate leptin receptor (LEP-R).

Exquisite Sensitivity to Dual BRG1/BRM ATPase Inhibitors Reveals Broad SWI/SNF Dependencies in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Unlabelled: Various subunits of mammalian SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes display loss-of-function mutations characteristic of tumor suppressors in different cancers, but an additional role for SWI/SNF supporting cell survival in distinct cancer contexts is emerging. In particular, genetic dependence on the catalytic subunit BRG1/SMARCA4 has been observed in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), yet the feasibility of direct therapeutic targeting of SWI/SNF catalytic activity in leukemia remains unknown. Here, we evaluated the activity of dual BRG1/BRM ATPase inhibitors across a genetically diverse panel of cancer cell lines and observed that hematopoietic cancer cell lines were among the most sensitive compared with other lineages.

A Proof of Concept for Biomarker-Guided Targeted Therapy against Ovarian Cancer Based on Patient-Derived Tumor Xenografts.

Advanced ovarian cancers are a leading cause of cancer-related death in women and are currently treated with surgery and chemotherapy. This standard of care is often temporarily successful but exhibits a high rate of relapse, after which, treatment options are few. Here we investigate whether biomarker-guided use of multiple targeted therapies, including small molecules and antibody-drug conjugates, is a viable alternative.

Communication barriers in maternity care of allophone migrants: Experiences of women, healthcare professionals, and intercultural interpreters.

Aim: To describe communication barriers faced by allophone migrant women in maternity care provision from the perspectives of migrant women, healthcare professionals, and intercultural interpreters.

Background: Perinatal health inequality of migrant women hinges on barriers to services, with a major barrier being language. Their care is often also perceived as demanding due to conflicting values or complex situations.

Protective effects of an extract of the freshwater microalga Scenedesmus rubescens on UV-irradiated skin cells.

Background: Skin ageing results from intrinsic but also extrinsic factors of which UV irradiation is a main cause. It is hence of interest to have means to protect skin from UV irradiation-induced damage. We selected an extract of the freshwater microalga Scenedesmus rubescens and assessed its potential to protect skin from photoageing caused by UV irradiation.

Does Coordinated Postpartum Care Influence Costs?

Questions Under Study: To investigate changes to health insurance costs for post-discharge postpartum care after the introduction of a midwife-led coordinated care model.

Methods: The study included mothers and their newborns insured by the Helsana health insurance group in Switzerland and who delivered between January 2012 and May 2013 in the canton of Basel Stadt (BS) (intervention canton). We compared monthly post-discharge costs before the launch of a coordinated postpartum care model (control phase, n = 144) to those after its introduction (intervention phase, n = 92).

Barrier-free communication in maternity care of allophone migrants: BRIDGE study protocol.

Aim: To describe communication and access barriers encountered by allophone women of different migration backgrounds in the Swiss maternity care services, from the perspective of users, healthcare professionals and intercultural interpreters.

Background: In addition to the challenges of maternal adjustment, pregnant migrant women must also deal with an unfamiliar health service system. Some must overcome language barriers and the stress of uncertain residence status.

Myosin-driven transport network in plants.

We investigate the myosin XI-driven transport network in using protein-protein interaction, subcellular localization, gene knockout, and bioinformatics analyses. The two major groups of nodes in this network are myosins XI and their membrane-anchored receptors (MyoB) that, together, drive endomembrane trafficking and cytoplasmic streaming in the plant cells. The network shows high node connectivity and is dominated by generalists, with a smaller fraction of more specialized myosins and receptors.

Characterization of activating mutations of NOTCH3 in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and anti-leukemic activity of NOTCH3 inhibitory antibodies.

Notch receptors have been implicated as oncogenic drivers in several cancers, the most notable example being NOTCH1 in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). To characterize the role of activated NOTCH3 in cancer, we generated an antibody that detects the neo-epitope created upon gamma-secretase cleavage of NOTCH3 to release its intracellular domain (ICD3), and sequenced the negative regulatory region (NRR) and PEST (proline, glutamate, serine, threonine) domain coding regions of NOTCH3 in a panel of cell lines. We also characterize NOTCH3 tumor-associated mutations that result in activation of signaling and report new inhibitory antibodies.

Safe start at home: what parents of newborns need after early discharge from hospital - a focus group study.

Background: The length of postpartum hospital stay is decreasing internationally. Earlier hospital discharge of mothers and newborns decreases postnatal care or transfers it to the outpatient setting. This study aimed to investigate the experiences of new parents and examine their views on care following early hospital discharge.

Molecular characterization of a citrus yellow vein clearing virus strain from China.

The complete nucleotide sequence of an isolate of citrus yellow vein clearing virus from Yunnan, China (CYVCV-RL), was determined following whole-genome amplification by RT-PCR. The CYVCV-RL genome was 7529 nt in length, excluding the 3' poly (A) tail, and contained six open reading frames (ORFs), resembling that of viruses belonging to the genus Mandarivirus in the family Alphaflexiviridae. Sequence analysis showed that the CYVCV-RL shared the greatest nucleotide sequence identity with the CYVCV-Y1 (JX040635) isolate from Turkey for the whole genome (97.

[Young first-time parents' experiences with family-centred postpartal health care in Switzerland].

Background: Routine postnatal care normally addresses only the mother and her child. In Switzerland, counselling for all parents and their children is provided by family nurses in a community-based health care setting. We implemented a new approach to ensure father involvement within the framework of the Calgary Family Assessment (CFAM) and the Calgary Intervention Model CFIM of Wright and Leahey (2013) in the northwest of Switzerland.

[What women want: a qualitative study about postnatal midwifery care at home].

In Switzerland, decreases in regular hospital treatment after birth are leading increasingly to mother and child being cared for at home by independent midwives. The research herein was carried out in order to understand the needs of mothers in their home once they leave the hospital and what this midwife provided care consists of. In 2008, eight women from central Switzerland were interviewed on two separate occasions after the birth of their child, and the interviews were analysed using content analysing techniques.

Identification of myosin XI receptors in Arabidopsis defines a distinct class of transport vesicles.

To characterize the mechanism through which myosin XI-K attaches to its principal endomembrane cargo, a yeast two-hybrid library of Arabidopsis thaliana cDNAs was screened using the myosin cargo binding domain as bait. This screen identified two previously uncharacterized transmembrane proteins (hereinafter myosin binding proteins or MyoB1/2) that share a myosin binding, conserved domain of unknown function 593 (DUF593). Additional screens revealed that MyoB1/2 also bind myosin XI-1, whereas myosin XI-I interacts with the distantly related MyoB7.

Predictors of early postpartum mental distress in mothers with midwifery home care--results from a nested case-control study.

Principles: The prevalence of early postpartum mental health conditions is high. Midwives and other health professionals visiting women at home may identify mothers at risk. This seems crucial given decreasing trends of length of hospital stay after childbirth.

Responding to a crying infant - you do not learn it overnight: a phenomenological study.

Objective: to examine the views and practices of first-time and experienced mothers in response to infant crying during the first 12 weeks post birth.

Design: longitudinal, qualitative study using an interpretive, phenomenological approach.

Setting: postnatal hospital and home settings in Switzerland.

Virus-derived gene expression and RNA interference vector for grapevine.

The improvement of the agricultural and wine-making qualities of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera) is hampered by adherence to traditional varieties, the recalcitrance of this plant to genetic modifications, and public resistance to genetically modified organism (GMO) technologies. To address these challenges, we developed an RNA virus-based vector for the introduction of desired traits into grapevine without heritable modifications to the genome. This vector expresses recombinant proteins in the phloem tissue that is involved in sugar transport throughout the plant, from leaves to roots to berries.

[Paradise lost - Reflexion of preterm birth from the perspective after a brain injury. A case study].

This case study describes the history of an older person, born in 1942 preterminally, who suffered from a brain injury in 2005. Problems in rehabilitation elicited the search for a new meaning in life. In analysing and interpreting the brain injury, preterm birth played a crucial role.

Reproductive health care for asylum-seeking women - a challenge for health professionals.

Background: Dealing with pregnancy, childbirth and the care of newborn babies is a challenge for female asylum seekers and their health care providers. The aim of our study was to identify reproductive health issues in a population of women seeking asylum in Switzerland, and to examine the care they received. The women were insured through a special Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO) and were attending the Women's Clinic of the University Hospital in Basel.

Predictors of crying problems in the early postpartum period.

Objective: To investigate maternal and infant factors associated with midwife-reported crying problems in the early postpartum period.

Design: Case control study.

Setting: Postnatal home care in Switzerland.

Crying babies, tired mothers - challenges of the postnatal hospital stay: an interpretive phenomenological study.

Background: According to an old Swiss proverb, "a new mother lazing in childbed is a blessing to her family". Today mothers rarely enjoy restful days after birth, but enter directly into the challenge of combining baby- and self-care. They often face a combination of infant crying and personal tiredness.

Crying babies, tired mothers: what do we know? A systematic review.

Objective: to synthesise the evidence on the interconnectedness of infant crying and maternal tiredness in the postpartum period, both from quantitative as well as from qualitative studies.

Methods: a systematic review was conducted including studies in English, French and German published from 1980 to 2007. Studies were included in the systematic review if they had extractable data on infant crying as well as maternal tiredness in the period of 0-3 months post partum.