The application of environmental health assessment strategies to detect Streptococcus pyogenes in Kimberley school classrooms.

Background: Children spend almost one-third of their waking hours at school. Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A) is a common childhood bacterial infection that can progress to causing serious disease. We aimed to detect Strep A in classrooms by using environmental settle plates and swabbing of high-touch surfaces in two remote schools in the Kimberley, Western Australia.

The 5-year outcomes of a health-empowerment program on low-income children's behaviors and quality of life.

Background: This study aims to evaluate the 5-year impact of a Health Empowerment Program (HEP) on mitigating problematic conducts and enhancing the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among children living in poverty.

Methods: A prospective cohort study (N = 239, Intervention group: n = 124, Comparison group: n = 115) was established with participants recruited between July 2013 and March 2016 and followed until November 2021. During the 5-year study period, children and their parents from the intervention group were invited to join a multi-dimensional HEP.

A guide to selecting high-performing antibodies for PLC-gamma-2 for use in Western Blot, immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence.

Phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C gamma 2 (PLC-gamma-2) is an enzyme that regulates the function of immune cells. PLC-gamma-2 has been implicated in neurodegenerative and autoimmune disorders, yet investigation of this protein has been limited by a lack of independently characterized antibodies. Here we have characterized eleven PLC-gamma-2 commercial antibodies for use in Western Blot, immunoprecipitation, and immunofluorescence using a standardized experimental protocol based on comparing read-outs in knockout cell lines and isogenic parental controls.

Trem2-deficiency aggravates and accelerates age-related myelin degeneration.

Aging is the greatest known risk factor for most neurodegenerative diseases. Myelin degeneration is an early pathological indicator of these diseases and a normal part of aging; albeit, to a lesser extent. Despite this, little is known about the contribution of age-related myelin degeneration on neurodegenerative disease.