Pneumococcal Neuraminidases Increase Platelet Killing by Pneumolysin.

Background:  Platelets prevent extravasation of capillary fluids into the pulmonary interstitial tissue by sealing gaps in inflamed endothelium. This reduces respiratory distress associated with pneumonia. is the leading cause of severe community-acquired pneumonia.

Perspectives of US Youths on Participation of Transgender Individuals in Competitive Sports: A Qualitative Study.

Importance: Rights and access for transgender individuals, including the participation of transgender athletes in sports, have long been debated. These discussions often center around fairness and mental health impacts on youths associated with identity-based inclusion in sports.

Objective: To assess the experiences and perspectives of adolescents and young adults on the inclusion of transgender individuals in competitive sports.

The Role of Medical Student Government in Responding to COVID-19.

The COVID-19 outbreak has sown clinical and administrative chaos at academic health centers throughout the country. As COVID-19-related burdens on the health care system and medical schools piled up, questions from medical students far outweighed the capacity of medical school administrators to respond in an adequate or timely manner, leaving students feeling confused and without clear guidance. In this article, incoming and outgoing executive leaders of the University of Michigan Medical School Student Council and medical school deans outline the specific ways they were able to bridge the gap between medical students and administrators in a time of crisis.

The Sinus Membrane-Maxillary Lateral Wall Complex: Histologic Description and Clinical Implications for Maxillary Sinus Floor Elevation.

Maxillary sinus floor elevation has been documented as a safe and predictable procedure for gaining vertical bone height in the atrophic posterior maxillae. Conversely, there is a lack of basic research on the characteristics of the union between the sinus membrane (SM) and the bone. Clinical implications of an impaired union in healthy or pathologic membranes remain unknown.

Multigrowth Factor Delivery via Immobilization of Gene Therapy Vectors.

Molecules can be immobilized onto biomaterials by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) coating strategy. Pentafluorophenolester groups react with amine side chains on antibodies, which can selectively immobilize adenoviral vectors for gene delivery of growth factors. These vectors can produce functional proteins within defined regions of biomaterials to produce customizable structures for targeted tissue regeneration.

Menarche? A Case of Abdominal Pain and Vaginal Bleeding in a Preadolescent Girl.

Abdominal pain is one of the most common complaints in the pediatric ED. Because of the broad range of potential diagnoses, it can pose challenges in diagnosis and therapy in the preadolescent girl. An 11-year-old previously healthy girl presented to our pediatric ED with fever, decreased appetite, vaginal bleeding, and abdominal pain.

Cell population kinetics of collagen scaffolds in ex vivo oral wound repair.

Biodegradable collagen scaffolds are used clinically for oral soft tissue augmentation to support wound healing. This study sought to provide a novel ex vivo model for analyzing healing kinetics and gene expression of primary human gingival fibroblasts (hGF) within collagen scaffolds. Sponge type and gel type scaffolds with and without platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF) were assessed in an hGF containing matrix.

Bat-cave catchment areas: using stable isotopes (deltaD) to determine the probable origins of hibernating bats.

The application of stable hydrogen isotope (deltaD) techniques has swiftly advanced our understanding of animal movements, but this progression is dominated by studies of birds and relatively long-distance, north-south migrants. This dominance reflects the challenge of incorporating multiple sources of error into geographic assignments and the nature of spatially explicit deltaD models, which possess greater latitudinal than longitudinal resolution. However, recent progress in likelihood-based assignments that incorporate multiple sources of isotopic error and Bayesian approaches that include additional sources of information may advance finer-scale understanding of animal movements.