Retinal injury from a laser skin resurfacing device during medical tourism: a public health concern.

Background: Laser skin resurfacing is a popular cosmetic procedure for noninvasive skin rejuvenation. Since health insurance plans often do not cover these types of procedures, patients often pay out of pocket. Consequently, there is an incentive to go abroad, where prices are more affordable.

Case Report: Vision-Threatening Fungal Keratitis in a Service Member Stationed at Guantanamo Bay.

Fungal keratitis is a major cause of corneal blindness worldwide. Compared to other types of infectious keratitis, fungal keratitis has a relatively poor prognosis because of various factors such as delayed patient presentation and diagnosis. Although associated in earlier studies with poverty and low socioeconomic status, military personnel stationed in tropical and subtropical climates, in low-resource settings, are at risk.

Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 Aerosols Dispersed During Noninvasive Respiratory Support of Patients With COVID-19.

Background: In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, noninvasive respiratory support (NRS) therapies such as high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) and noninvasive ventilation (NIV) were central to respiratory care. The extent to which these treatments increase the generation and dispersion of infectious respiratory aerosols is not fully understood. The objective of this study was to characterize SARS-CoV-2 aerosol dispersion from subjects with COVID-19 undergoing NRS therapy.

Improving T Cell Expansion with a Soft Touch.

Protein-coated microbeads provide a consistent approach for activating and expanding populations of T cells for immunotherapy but do not fully capture the properties of antigen presenting cells. In this report, we enhance T cell expansion by replacing the conventional, rigid bead with a mechanically soft elastomer. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was prepared in a microbead format and modified with activating antibodies to CD3 and CD28.

Antigen reversal identifies targets of opsonizing IgGs against pregnancy-associated malaria.

Clinical immunity to pregnancy associated-malaria (PAM) in multigravida women has been attributed to antibodies that recognize VAR2CSA on the infected erythrocyte (IE) surface. The size and complexity of VAR2CSA have focused efforts on selecting one or more of its six Duffy binding-like (DBL) domains for vaccine development. Presently, however, there is no consensus as to which DBL domain(s) would be most effective in eliciting immunity.

Virus resistance induced by NB-LRR proteins involves Argonaute4-dependent translational control.

Active resistance to viruses is afforded by plant disease resistance (R) genes, which encode proteins with nucleotide-binding (NB) and leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domains. Upon recognition of pathogen-derived elicitors, these NB-LRR proteins are thought to initiate a number of signaling pathways that lead to pathogen restriction. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that ultimately curtail virus accumulation.