Chain-Extendable Crosslinked Hydrogels Using Branching RAFT Modification.

Functional crosslinked hydrogels were prepared from 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and acrylic acid (AA). The acid monomer was incorporated both via copolymerization and chain extension of a branching, reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer agent incorporated into the crosslinked polymer gel. The hydrogels were intolerant to high levels of acidic copolymerization as the acrylic acid weakened the ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) crosslinked network.

Principles and analytical performance of Papilloplex® HR-HPV, a new commercial CE-IVD molecular diagnostic test for the detection of high-risk HPV genotypes.

The accurate detection and genotyping of high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) are critical for cervical cancer screening and epidemiological investigations. GeneFirst Papilloplex® HR-HPV is a new CE-IVD-marked real-time PCR test based on patented multiplex probe amplification technology. Papilloplex® HR-HPV provides the simultaneous detection and differentiation of 14 HR-HPV genotypes (16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66, and 68a/b) in a single closed-tube reaction ensuring rapid, cost-effective, and contamination-free results.

Patient, Family, and Community Advisory Councils in Health Care and Research: a Systematic Review.

Background: Patient-centeredness is a characteristic of high-quality medical care and requires engaging community members in health systems' decision-making. One key patient engagement strategy is patient, family, and community advisory boards/councils (PFACs), yet the evidence to guide PFACs is lacking. Systematic reviews on patient engagement may benefit from patient input, but feasibility is unclear.

Metabolic and evolutionary insights into the closely-related species Streptomyces coelicolor and Streptomyces lividans deduced from high-resolution comparative genomic hybridization.

Background: Whilst being closely related to the model actinomycete Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2), S. lividans 66 differs from it in several significant and phenotypically observable ways, including antibiotic production. Previous comparative gene hybridization studies investigating such differences have used low-density (one probe per gene) PCR-based spotted arrays.

Different sized somatic NF1 locus rearrangements in neurofibromatosis 1-associated malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) patients are at increased risk of developing both benign (neurofibromas) and malignant (malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors, MPNST) tumors. Molecular data on tumor progression are scarce, and few studies have compared the NF1 locus copy number in these two tumor types. To further explore the role of such NF1 locus rearrangements in NF1 tumorigenesis, and the likely disruption to the associated genes, the NF1 gene region was analyzed in NF1-associated tumors.

Comprehensive identification of essential Staphylococcus aureus genes using Transposon-Mediated Differential Hybridisation (TMDH).

Background: In recent years there has been an increasing problem with Staphylococcus aureus strains that are resistant to treatment with existing antibiotics. An important starting point for the development of new antimicrobial drugs is the identification of "essential" genes that are important for bacterial survival and growth.

Results: We have developed a robust microarray and PCR-based method, Transposon-Mediated Differential Hybridisation (TMDH), that uses novel bioinformatics to identify transposon inserts in genome-wide libraries.

Development and application of versatile high density microarrays for genome-wide analysis of Streptomyces coelicolor: characterization of the HspR regulon.

Background: DNA microarrays are a key resource for global analysis of genome content, gene expression and the distribution of transcription factor binding sites. We describe the development and application of versatile high density ink-jet in situ-synthesized DNA arrays for the G+C rich bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor. High G+C content DNA probes often perform poorly on arrays, yielding either weak hybridization or non-specific signals.

Metabolite and transcriptome analysis of Campylobacter jejuni in vitro growth reveals a stationary-phase physiological switch.

Campylobacter jejuni is a prevalent cause of food-borne diarrhoeal illness in humans. Understanding of the physiological and metabolic capabilities of the organism is limited. We report a detailed analysis of the C.

H-NS mediates the silencing of laterally acquired genes in bacteria.

Histone-like nucleoid structuring protein (H-NS) is a modular protein that is associated with the bacterial nucleoid. We used chromatin immunoprecipitation to determine the binding sites of H-NS and RNA polymerase on the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium chromosome. We found that H-NS does not bind to actively transcribed genes and does not co-localize with RNA polymerase.

Studies of the distribution of Escherichia coli cAMP-receptor protein and RNA polymerase along the E. coli chromosome.

Chromatin immunoprecipitation and high-density microarrays have been used to monitor the distribution of the global transcription regulator Escherichia coli cAMP-receptor protein (CRP) and RNA polymerase along the E. coli chromosome. Our results identify targets occupied by CRP and genes transcribed by RNA polymerase in vivo.