The Interactions of the Complement System with Human Cytomegalovirus.

The complement system is an evolutionarily ancient component of innate immunity that serves as an important first line of defense against pathogens, including viruses. In response to infection, the complement system can be activated by three distinct yet converging pathways (classical, lectin, and alternative) capable of engaging multiple antiviral host responses to confront acute, chronic, and recurrent viral infections. Complement can exert profound antiviral effects via multiple mechanisms including the induction of inflammation and chemotaxis to sites of infection, neutralization/opsonization of viruses and virally infected cells, and it can even shape adaptive immune responses.

Direct reprogramming of non-limb fibroblasts to cells with properties of limb progenitors.

The early limb bud consists of mesenchymal limb progenitors derived from the lateral plate mesoderm (LPM). The LPM also gives rise to the mesodermal components of the flank and neck. However, the cells at these other levels cannot produce the variety of cell types found in the limb.

Acute postoperative pain impact trajectories and factors contributing to trajectory membership.

Background: Ongoing postoperative pain assessments are vital to optimizing pain management and attenuating the development of poor health outcomes after surgery. This study aimed to characterize acute multidimensional trajectories of pain impact on physical function, sleep, mood, and stress and to examine clinical characteristics and demographics associated with trajectory membership. Additionally, this study compared levels of pain intensity and prescription opioid use at 2 weeks and 1 month postoperatively across acute symptom trajectories.

Potentiometric Hydrogen Sensor with 3D-Printed BaCeZrYO Electrolyte for High-Temperature Applications.

Hydrogen is expected to play an important role in the near future in the transition to a net-zero economy. Therefore, the development of new in situ and real-time analytical tools able to quantify hydrogen at high temperatures is required for future applications. Potentiometric sensors based on perovskite-structured solid-state electrolytes can be a good option for H monitoring.

and Antimicrobial Activity of Hypochlorous Acid against Drug-Resistant and Biofilm-Producing Strains.

The aims of this study were as follows. First, we determined the antimicrobial efficacy of hypochlorous acid (HClO) against bacterial, fungal, and yeast strains growing planktonically and growing in biofilms. Second, we sought to compare the activity of the combination of daptomycin and HClO versus those of the antimicrobial agents alone for the treatment of experimental catheter-related Staphylococcus epidermidis infection (CRI) using the antibiotic lock technique (ALT) in a rabbit model.

Collagen VI Regulates Motor Circuit Plasticity and Motor Performance by Cannabinoid Modulation.

Collagen VI is a key component of muscle basement membranes, and genetic variants can cause monogenic muscular dystrophies. Conversely, human genetic studies recently implicated collagen VI in central nervous system function, with variants causing the movement disorder dystonia. To elucidate the neurophysiological role of collagen VI, we generated mice with a truncation of the dystonia-related collagen α3 VI (COL6A3) C-terminal domain (CTD).

Multidimensional Perioperative Recovery Trajectories in a Mixed Surgical Cohort: A Longitudinal Cluster Analysis Utilizing National Institutes of Health Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System Measures.

Background: Pain trajectories have been described in numerous surgical settings where preoperative characteristics have been used to predict trajectory membership. Suboptimal pain intensity trajectories have been linked to poor longitudinal outcomes. However, numerous biopsychosocial modulators of postoperative pain may also have distinct longitudinal trajectories that may inform additional targets to improve postoperative recovery.

Using Concept Mapping to Understand Gender- and Age-Specific Factors Influencing Health Care Access among American Indian Elders.

Inequities in access to health care create barriers to physical and mental health treatment for the rapidly aging American Indian population in the United States. This study uses concept mapping-a participatory, mixed-methods approach to understanding complex phenomena-to examine the perceived impacts of multilevel factors influencing Elders' ability to access and use health care and how these perceptions vary according to gender and age, with the aim of identifying tailored strategies to address inequities. Using data from a purposive sample of American Indian Elders (n = 65) in two states, we compared ratings of thematic clusters and individual factors perceived to impact Elder health care across four participant subgroups: women aged 55-64, women aged 65+, men aged 55-64, and men aged 65+.

OpenEP: an open-source simulator for electroporation-based tumor treatments.

Electroporation (EP), the increase of cell membrane permeability due to the application of electric pulses, is a universal phenomenon with a broad range of applications. In medicine, some of the foremost EP-based tumor treatments are electrochemotherapy (ECT), irreversible electroporation, and gene electrotransfer (GET). The electroporation phenomenon is explained as the formation of cell membrane pores when a transmembrane cell voltage reaches a threshold value.

Differential gene expression of virulence factors modulates infectivity of TcI Trypanosoma cruzi strains.

Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiological agent of Chagas disease, whose clinical outcome ranges from asymptomatic individuals to chronic fatal megasyndromes. Despite being central to pathogenesis, the regulation of parasite virulence factors' expression remains largely unknown. In this work, the relative expression of several parasite virulence factors between two TcI strains (Ninoa, low virulence and Qro, high virulence) was assessed by qRT-PCR of total and of polysome-associated mRNA, as well as by western blots.

Discrete and Dynamic Postoperative Pain Catastrophizing Trajectories Across 6 Months: A Prospective Observational Study.

Objectives: To investigate pain catastrophizing presentations up to 6 months postoperatively and subsequent changes in pain intensity and physical function.

Design: Prospective observational multisite study.

Setting: Two tertiary care facilities between 2016 and 2019.

Health Care Access and Utilization for American Indian Elders: A Concept-Mapping Study.

Objectives: Inequities in access to and utilization of health care greatly influence the health and quality of life of American Indian elders (AIEs). This study explores the importance and perceived prevalence of factors affecting health care use within this population and assesses the changeability of these factors to produce a list of action items that are timely and relevant to improving health care access and utilization.

Method: Concept mapping was conducted with AIEs (n = 65) and professional stakeholders (n = 50), including tribal leaders, administrators of public-sector health systems, outreach workers, and health care providers.

Association of Fluid Overload With Clinical Outcomes in Critically Ill Children With Bronchiolitis: Bronquiolitis en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos Pediátricos (BRUCIP) Study.

Objectives: Increasing evidence supports the association of fluid overload with adverse outcomes in different diseases. To our knowledge, few studies have examined the impact of fluid balance on clinical outcome in severe bronchiolitis. Our aim was to determine whether fluid overload was associated with adverse clinical outcomes in critically ill children with severe bronchiolitis.

Environmental observation, social media, and One Health action: A description of the Local Environmental Observer (LEO) Network.

As a result of the close relationships between Arctic residents and the environment, climate change has a disproportionate impact on Arctic communities. Despite the need for One Health responses to climate change, environmental monitoring is difficult to conduct in Arctic regions. The Local Environmental Observer (LEO) Network is a global social media network that recruits citizen scientists to collect environmental observations on social media.

"Improving Native American elder access to and use of health care through effective health system navigation".

Background: Public insurance reforms of the past two decades have failed to substantively address the healthcare needs of American Indians in general, let alone the particular needs of American Indian elders, ages 55 years and older. Historically, this population is more likely to be uninsured and to suffer from greater morbidities, poorer health outcomes and quality of life, and lower life expectancies compared to all other United States aging populations, representing a neglected group within the healthcare system. Despite the pervasive belief that the Indian Health Service will address all their health-related needs, American Indian elders are negatively affected by gaps in insurance and lack of access to health care.

Microenvironmental influence on microtumour infiltration patterns: 3D-mathematical modelling supported by in vitro studies.

Mathematical modelling approaches have become increasingly abundant in cancer research. Tumour infiltration extent and its spatial organization depend both on the tumour type and stage and on the bio-physicochemical characteristics of the microenvironment. This sets a complex scenario that often requires a multidisciplinary and individually adjusted approach.

The application of visible absorption spectroscopy to the analysis of uranium in aqueous solutions.

Through assay analysis into an excess of 1M HSO at fixed temperature a technique has been developed for uranium concentration analysis by visible absorption spectroscopy over an assay concentration range of 1.8-13.4mgU/g.

The role of anti-NHba antibody in bactericidal activity elicited by the meningococcal serogroup B vaccine, MenB-4C.

Background: MenB-4C (Bexsero®) is a multicomponent serogroup B meningococcal vaccine. For vaccine licensure, efficacy was inferred from serum bactericidal antibody (SBA) against three antigen-specific indicator strains. The bactericidal role of antibody to the fourth vaccine antigen, Neisserial Heparin binding antigen (NHba), is incompletely understood.

Serum Bactericidal Antibody Responses of Students Immunized With a Meningococcal Serogroup B Vaccine in Response to an Outbreak on a University Campus.

Background: MenB-4C is a recently licensed meningococcal serogroup B vaccine. For vaccine licensure, short-term efficacy was inferred from serum bactericidal antibody (SBA) titers against 3 antigen-specific indicator strains, which are not necessarily representative of US disease-causing strains.

Methods: A total of 4923 students were immunized with MenB-4C in response to an outbreak at a university.

Breadth and Duration of Meningococcal Serum Bactericidal Activity in Health Care Workers and Microbiologists Immunized with the MenB-FHbp Vaccine.

MenB-FHbp is a meningococcal serogroup B vaccine with two factor H binding protein (FHbp) antigens from subfamilies A and B. For licensure, efficacy was inferred from serum bactericidal antibody (SBA) responses to four reference strains. Only limited information is available on the breadth or duration of protective SBA responses to genetically diverse disease-causing strains.

Serogroup B Meningococcal Disease Vaccine Recommendations at a University, New Jersey, USA, 2016.

In response to a university-based serogroup B meningococcal disease outbreak, the serogroup B meningococcal vaccine Trumenba was recommended for students, a rare instance in which a specific vaccine brand was recommended. This outbreak highlights the challenges of using molecular and immunologic data to inform real-time response.

Determination of origin and intended use of plutonium metal using nuclear forensic techniques.

Nuclear forensics techniques, including micro-XRF, gamma spectrometry, trace elemental analysis and isotopic/chronometric characterization were used to interrogate two, potentially related plutonium metal foils. These samples were submitted for analysis with only limited production information, and a comprehensive suite of forensic analyses were performed. Resulting analytical data was paired with available reactor model and historical information to provide insight into the materials' properties, origins, and likely intended uses.

Serum Bactericidal Antibody Responses of Adults Immunized with the MenB-4C Vaccine against Genetically Diverse Serogroup B Meningococci.

MenB-4C is a meningococcal vaccine for the prevention of serogroup B disease. The vaccine contains factor H binding protein (FHbp) and three other antigens that can elicit serum bactericidal antibodies (SBA). For vaccine licensure, efficacy was inferred from the SBA responses against three antigen-specific indicator strains.