Diaci v3.0: chromosome-level assembly, de novo transcriptome, and manual annotation of Diaphorina citri, insect vector of Huanglongbing.

Background: Diaphorina citri is an insect vector of "Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus" (CLas), the gram-negative bacterial pathogen associated with citrus greening disease. Control measures rely on pesticides with negative impacts on the environment, natural ecosystems, and human and animal health. In contrast, gene-targeting methods have the potential to specifically target the vector species and/or reduce pathogen transmission.

Mitigation of UV-B Radiation Stress in Tobacco Pollen by Expression of the Tardigrade Damage Suppressor Protein (Dsup).

Pollen, the male gametophyte of seed plants, is extremely sensitive to UV light, which may prevent fertilization. As a result, strategies to improve plant resistance to solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation are required. The tardigrade damage suppressor protein (Dsup) is a putative DNA-binding protein that enables tardigrades to tolerate harsh environmental conditions, including UV radiation, and was therefore considered as a candidate for reducing the effects of UV exposure on pollen.

Introducing Virtual Reality in a STEMI Coronary Syndrome Course: Qualitative Evaluation with Nurses and Doctors.

In the increasing number of medical education topics taught with virtual reality (VR), the prehospital management of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) had not been considered. This article proposes an implemented VR system for STEMI training and introduces it in an institutional course addressed to emergency nurses and case manager (CM) doctors. The system comprises three different applications to, respectively, allow (a) the course instructor to control the conditions of the virtual patient, (b) the CM to communicate with the nurse in the virtual field and receive from him/her the patient's parameters and electrocardiogram, and (c) the nurse to interact with the patient in the immersive VR scenario.

[Fifteen ways to optimize feedback.].

This article proposes a series of insights that are drawn from the most up-to-date scientific literature and functional for an optimal implementation of Audit & Feedback (A&F). The focus is on the "feedback" component of the methodology. Some key issues of the feedback are the capability to address changes perceived as priorities for the recipients, recommend actions that bring real improvements, and allow the people to whom recommendations are addressed to manage them.

Quadratus lumborum blocks for abdominal transplant surgeries at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh-A five year experience.

Background: Adequate perioperative analgesia for pediatric abdominal transplant surgery is essential for patient recovery. However, the risks of commonly used medications such as hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, bleeding concerns, and poor graft results with opioids limit pain management in this population. Thoracic epidural, continuous erector spinae plane, and type-1 quadratus lumborum blocks (QLBs) have been described and utilized in the adult population in this setting.

Ibrutinib in Refractory or Relapsing Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma: A Systematic Review.

Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare variant of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) representing 1-2% of all NHL cases. PCNSL is defined as a lymphoma that occurs in the brain, spinal cord, leptomeninges, or eyes. Efforts to treat PCNSL by traditional chemotherapy and radiotherapy have generally been unsuccessful as a significant proportion of patients have frequent relapses or are refractory to treatment.

Gallbladder volvulus: a case report.

Background: Gallbladder volvulus is a rare pathology first reported by Wendel in 1898. Although the main pathological process associated with gallbladder volvulus is not known, there is clinical evidence suggesting that lack of gallbladder adhesions to the liver leads to an eventual twisting around the cystic bile duct (a process that seems to favor older female populations).

Case Presentation: In this report, an 81-year-old Caucasian elderly female presented to the emergency department with acute/severe right upper quadrant pain, which was also accompanied by an elevated leukocyte count.

No evidence for loss of natalizumab effectiveness with every-6-week dosing: a propensity score-matched comparison with every-4-week dosing in patients enrolled in the Tysabri Observational Program (TOP).

Background: Extended interval dosing of natalizumab is associated with significantly lower progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy risk compared with every-4-week (Q4W) dosing in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Previous studies have suggested that natalizumab effectiveness is maintained in patients who switch from Q4W to extended interval dosing but have been limited by a lack of well-matched patient cohorts.

Methods: Tysabri Observational Program (TOP) data as of November 2019 were used to identify patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis treated with natalizumab Q4W and those with a single physician-indicated dosing change from Q4W to every-6-week (Q6W) dosing after ⩾1 year of Q4W treatment.

A randomized study of natalizumab dosing regimens for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Background: REFINE was an exploratory, dose- and frequency-blinded, prospective, randomized, dose-ranging study in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients.

Objective: To examine the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of natalizumab administered via various regimens in RRMS patients.

Methods: Clinically stable RRMS patients previously treated with 300 mg natalizumab intravenously for ⩾12 months were randomized to one of six natalizumab regimens over 60 weeks: 300 mg administered intravenously or subcutaneously every 4 weeks (Q4W), 300 mg intravenously or subcutaneously every 12 weeks (Q12W), or 150 mg intravenously or subcutaneously Q12W.

Natalizumab versus fingolimod for patients with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: results from REVEAL, a prospective, randomised head-to-head study.

Objective: To directly compare the efficacy of natalizumab and fingolimod in patients with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Methods: This phase 4, randomised, rater- and sponsor-blinded, prospective, parallel-group, clinic-based head-to-head study was conducted at 43 sites in nine countries. Patients were randomised (1:1) to intravenous natalizumab 300 mg every 4 weeks or oral fingolimod 0.

Social Work Training in Palliative Care: Addressing the Gap.

As people live longer with chronic disease and serious illness in the U.S., palliative care teams are called upon to support patients and their families.

Influenza molecular diagnostic testing in a 1000-bed academic Italian hospital during the 2018-19 influenza season.

Aim: The aims of this study were to examine the requests for influenza molecular tests processed by the Virology Laboratory of the University Hospital of Udine during the 2018-19 influenza season and to assess the test results and to estimate costs.

Subjects And Methods: We analyzed various administrative databases of the hospital health information system, which can be deterministically linked at the individual level through an anonymous stochastic key. Requests for influenza molecular tests from November 1, 2018, to April 15, 2019, and test results were described by week and, for hospitalized patients, hospital ward.

The Italian Multicentre Registry of Fenestrated Anaconda™ Endografts for Complex Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Repair.

Objective: The aim was to describe the outcomes of the Anaconda™ Fenestrated endograft Italian Registry for complex aortic aneurysms (AAAs), unsuitable for standard endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR).

Methods: Between 2012 and 2018 patients with a proximal neck unsuitable for standard EVAR, treated with the fenestrated Anaconda™ endograft, were prospectively enrolled in a dedicated database. Endpoints were peri-operative technical success (TS) and evaluation of type Ia/b or 3 endoleaks (T1/3 EL), target visceral vessel (TVV) occlusion, re-interventions, and AAA related mortality at 30 days, six months, and later follow up.

Real-world disability improvement in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis treated with natalizumab in the Tysabri Observational Program.

Background: Natalizumab has been associated with disability improvement as indicated by a confirmed Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score decrease.

Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize disability improvement in patients in the Tysabri Observational Program (TOP), an ongoing observational study of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients initiating natalizumab in clinical practice.

Methods: TOP data as of November 2018 were included.

Clinical outcomes in patients who discontinue natalizumab therapy after 2 years in the Tysabri Observational Program (TOP).

Background: Natalizumab is a highly efficacious therapy for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Patients who discontinue natalizumab may experience return of MS disease activity.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze predictors of post-natalizumab disease activity return.

Long-term safety and effectiveness of natalizumab treatment in clinical practice: 10 years of real-world data from the Tysabri Observational Program (TOP).

Objective: The Tysabri Observational Programme (TOP), which began >10 years ago, is an open-label, multinational, prospective observational study evaluating the long-term safety and effectiveness of natalizumab in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients.

Methods: These data provide a 10-year interim analysis of safety and effectiveness in TOP. Annualised relapse rates (ARRs) and disability progression/improvement were analysed using the Poisson model and the Kaplan-Meier method, respectively.

Zolpidem increases GABA in depressed volunteers maintained on SSRIs.

Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) often use hypnotics like zolpidem (Ambien(®)) to improve sleep in addition to their selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) regimen. SSRIs act in part to restore disrupted GABAergic activity, but benzodiazepines and related drugs have been shown to lower GABA in a way that may be counter to these therapeutic effects. The present within-subject, single-blind, placebo-controlled study measured changes in GABA in the anterior cingulate (ACC) and thalamus of volunteers maintained on SSRIs for the treatment of MDD (n=14) following zolpidem (10mg) administration.

Alterations in brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the mouse hippocampus following acute but not repeated benzodiazepine treatment.

Benzodiazepines (BZs) are safe drugs for treating anxiety, sleep, and seizure disorders, but their use also results in unwanted effects including memory impairment, abuse, and dependence. The present study aimed to reveal the molecular mechanisms that may contribute to the effects of BZs in the hippocampus (HIP), an area involved in drug-related plasticity, by investigating the regulation of immediate early genes following BZ administration. Previous studies have demonstrated that both brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and c-Fos contribute to memory- and abuse-related processes that occur within the HIP, and their expression is altered in response to BZ exposure.

Evaluating the effects of systemic low frequency oscillations measured in the periphery on the independent component analysis results of resting state networks.

Independent component analysis (ICA) is widely used in resting state functional connectivity studies. ICA is a data-driven method, which uses no a priori anatomical or functional assumptions. However, as a result, it still relies on the user to distinguish the independent components (ICs) corresponding to neuronal activation, peripherally originating signals (without directly attributable neuronal origin, such as respiration, cardiac pulsation and Mayer wave), and acquisition artifacts.

Reinforcing effects of compounds lacking intrinsic efficacy at α1 subunit-containing GABAA receptor subtypes in midazolam- but not cocaine-experienced rhesus monkeys.

Benzodiazepines are prescribed widely but their utility is limited by unwanted side effects, including abuse potential. The mechanisms underlying the abuse-related effects of benzodiazepines are not well understood, although α1 subunit-containing GABAA receptors have been proposed to have a critical role. Here, we examine the reinforcing effects of several compounds that vary with respect to intrinsic efficacy at α2, α3, and α5 subunit-containing GABAA receptors but lack efficacy at α1 subunit-containing GABAA receptors ('α1-sparing compounds'): MRK-623 (functional selectivity for α2/α3 subunit-containing receptors), TPA023B (functional selectivity for α2/α3/α5 subunit-containing receptors), and TP003 (functional selectivity for α3 subunit-containing receptors).

The hypnotic zolpidem increases the synchrony of BOLD signal fluctuations in widespread brain networks during a resting paradigm.

Networks of brain regions having synchronized fluctuations of the blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) time-series at rest, or "resting state networks" (RSNs), are emerging as a basis for understanding intrinsic brain activity. RSNs are topographically consistent with activity-related networks subserving sensory, motor, and cognitive processes, and studying their spontaneous fluctuations following acute drug challenge may provide a way to understand better the neuroanatomical substrates of drug action. The present within-subject double-blind study used BOLD fMRI at 3T to investigate the functional networks influenced by the non-benzodiazepine hypnotic zolpidem (Ambien).