Tracking an imploding cylinder with photonic Doppler velocimetry.

Cylindrical implosion offers a path to extreme material states, reaching considerably higher pressures than planar geometry. However, diagnosing compressed material in cylindrical geometry is challenging. Time-resolved velocimetry, a standard technique in planar compression, is difficult to incorporate into cylindrical experiments.

Splenic injury after colonoscopy requiring splenectomy.

We present a case of a middle-aged woman, who presented with abdominal pain less than 24 h following an uneventful colonoscopy for rectal bleeding. Initial diagnosis was thought to be colonic perforation. An urgent CT scan performed owing to dropping haemoglobin and blood pressure revealed a large perisplenic haematoma.

Supersite of immune vulnerability on the glycosylated face of HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp120.

A substantial proportion of the broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) identified in certain HIV-infected donors recognize glycan-dependent epitopes on HIV-1 gp120. Here we elucidate how the bnAb PGT 135 binds its Asn332 glycan-dependent epitope from its 3.1-Å crystal structure with gp120, CD4 and Fab 17b.

Broadly neutralizing antibody PGT121 allosterically modulates CD4 binding via recognition of the HIV-1 gp120 V3 base and multiple surrounding glycans.

New broad and potent neutralizing HIV-1 antibodies have recently been described that are largely dependent on the gp120 N332 glycan for Env recognition. Members of the PGT121 family of antibodies, isolated from an African donor, neutralize ∼70% of circulating isolates with a median IC50 less than 0.05 µg ml(-1).

On-chip synthesis and screening of a sialoside library yields a high affinity ligand for Siglec-7.

The Siglec family of sialic acid-binding proteins are differentially expressed on white blood cells of the immune system and represent an attractive class of targets for cell-directed therapy. Nanoparticles decorated with high-affinity Siglec ligands show promise for delivering cargo to Siglec-bearing cells, but this approach has been limited by a lack of ligands with suitable affinity and selectivity. Building on previous work employing solution-phase sialoside library synthesis and subsequent microarray screening, we herein report a more streamlined 'on-chip' synthetic approach.

Measuring the impact of practice-based research networks on member dentists in the Collaboration on Networked Dental and Oral Health Research, CONDOR.

Objectives: The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research funded three practice-based research networks (PBRNs), NW-PRECEDENT, PEARL and DPBRN to conduct studies relevant to practicing general dentists. These PBRNs collaborated to develop a questionnaire to assess the impact of network participation on changes in practice patterns. This report presents results from the initial administration of the questionnaire.

Characterization of Amoeboaphelidium protococcarum, an algal parasite new to the cryptomycota isolated from an outdoor algal pond used for the production of biofuel.

Mass culture of algae for the production of biofuels is a developing technology designed to offset the depletion of fossil fuel reserves. However, large scale culture of algae in open ponds can be challenging because of incidences of infestation with algal parasites. Without knowledge of the identity of the specific parasite and how to control these pests, algal-based biofuel production will be limited.

A recurring motif for antibody recognition of the receptor-binding site of influenza hemagglutinin.

Influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) mediates receptor binding and viral entry during influenza infection. The development of receptor analogs as viral-entry blockers has not been successful, which suggests that sialic acid may not be an ideal scaffold to obtain broad, potent HA inhibitors. Here, we report crystal structures of Fab fragments from three human antibodies that neutralize the 1957 pandemic H2N2 influenza virus in complex with H2 HA.

Information-seeking behaviors of dental practitioners in three practice-based research networks.

Research on the information-seeking behaviors of dental practitioners is scarce. Knowledge of dentists' informationseeking behaviors should advance the translational gap between clinical dental research and dental practice. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to examine the self-reported information-seeking behaviors of dentists in three dental practice-based research networks (PBRNs).

The minimum information required for a glycomics experiment (MIRAGE) project: improving the standards for reporting mass-spectrometry-based glycoanalytic data.

The MIRAGE guidelines are being developed in response to a critical need in the glycobiology community to clarify glycoanalytic results so that they are more readily evaluated (in terms of their scope and depth) and to facilitate the reproduction of important results in the laboratory. The molecular and biological complexity of the glycosylation process makes thorough reporting of the results of a glycomics experiment a highly challenging endeavor. The resulting data specify the identity and quantity of complex structures, the precise molecular features of which are sometimes inferred using prior knowledge, such as familiarity with a particular biosynthetic mechanism.

Hemagglutinin homologue from H17N10 bat influenza virus exhibits divergent receptor-binding and pH-dependent fusion activities.

Bat influenza virus H17N10 represents a distinct lineage of influenza A viruses with gene segments coding for proteins that are homologs of the surface antigens, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Our recent study of the N10 NA homolog revealed an NA-like structure, but with a highly divergent putative active site exhibiting little or no NA activity, and provided strong motivation for performing equivalent structural and functional analyses of the H17 HA protein. The overall structure of the H17 HA homolog from A/little yellow-shouldered bat/Guatemala/060/2010 at 3.

Selective pressure causes an RNA virus to trade reproductive fitness for increased structural and thermal stability of a viral enzyme.

The modulation of fitness by single mutational substitutions during environmental change is the most fundamental consequence of natural selection. The antagonistic tradeoffs of pleiotropic mutations that can be selected under changing environments therefore lie at the foundation of evolutionary biology. However, the molecular basis of fitness tradeoffs is rarely determined in terms of how these pleiotropic mutations affect protein structure.

The role of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-coronavirus accessory proteins in virus pathogenesis.

A respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus, termed the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), was first reported in China in late 2002. The subsequent efficient human-to-human transmission of this virus eventually affected more than 30 countries worldwide, resulting in a mortality rate of ~10% of infected individuals. The spread of the virus was ultimately controlled by isolation of infected individuals and there has been no infections reported since April 2004.

Yeast response to LA virus indicates coadapted global gene expression during mycoviral infection.

Viruses that infect fungi have a ubiquitous distribution and play an important role in structuring fungal communities. Most of these viruses have an unusual life history in that they are propagated exclusively via asexual reproduction or fission of fungal cells. This asexual mode of transmission intimately ties viral reproductive success to that of its fungal host and should select for viruses that have minimal deleterious impact on the fitness of their hosts.

Investigation of high-temperature bright plasma X-ray sources produced in 5-MA X-pinch experiments.

Using solid, machined X-pinch targets driven by currents rising from 0 to 5-6 MA in 60 ns, we observed bright spots of 5-9-keV continuum radiation from 5±2-μm diameter regions. The >6-keV radiation is emitted in about 0.4 ns, and the bright spots are roughly 75 times brighter than the bright spots measured at 1 MA.

Metformin compared with insulin in the treatment of pregnant women with overt diabetes: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To compare the safety and tolerability of metformin to insulin for glycemic control among women with preexisting type 2 and early A2 gestational diabetes.

Study Design: Women with preexisting type 2 diabetes and those diagnosed with gestational diabetes who required medical management prior to 20 weeks were randomly assigned to metformin or insulin. Glycemic control, defined as >50% capillary blood glucose within target range, was compared between groups.

Click and pick: identification of sialoside analogues for siglec-based cell targeting.

Click 'n' chips: Azide and alkyne-bearing sialic acids (purple diamond; see picture) were subjected to high-throughput click chemistry to generate a library of sialic acid analogues. Microarray printing of the library and screening with the siglec family of sialic-acid-binding proteins, led to the identification of high-affinity ligands for siglec-9 and siglec-10.

Penetrating radiography of imploding and stagnating beryllium liners on the Z accelerator.

The implosions of initially solid beryllium liners (tubes) have been imaged with penetrating radiography through to stagnation. These novel radiographic data reveal a high degree of azimuthal correlation in the evolving magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor structure at times just prior to (and during) stagnation, providing stringent constraints on the simulation tools used by the broader high energy density physics and inertial confinement fusion communities. To emphasize this point, comparisons to 2D and 3D radiation magnetohydrodynamics simulations are also presented.

Influenza virus neuraminidases with reduced enzymatic activity that avidly bind sialic Acid receptors.

Influenza virus neuraminidase (NA) cleaves off sialic acid from cellular receptors of hemagglutinin (HA) to enable progeny escape from infected cells. However, NA variants (D151G) of recent human H3N2 viruses have also been reported to bind receptors on red blood cells, but the nature of these receptors and the effect of the mutation on NA activity were not established. Here, we compare the functional and structural properties of a human H3N2 NA from A/Tanzania/205/2010 and its D151G mutant, which supports HA-independent receptor binding.

Evolutionary genomics of host-use in bifurcating demes of RNA virus phi-6.

Background: Viruses are exceedingly diverse in their evolved strategies to manipulate hosts for viral replication. However, despite these differences, most virus populations will occasionally experience two commonly-encountered challenges: growth in variable host environments, and growth under fluctuating population sizes. We used the segmented RNA bacteriophage ϕ6 as a model for studying the evolutionary genomics of virus adaptation in the face of host switches and parametrically varying population sizes.

Functional balance of the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase activities accompanies the emergence of the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic.

The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic is the first human pandemic in decades and was of swine origin. Although swine are believed to be an intermediate host in the emergence of new human influenza viruses, there is still little known about the host barriers that keep swine influenza viruses from entering the human population. We surveyed swine progenitors and human viruses from the 2009 pandemic and measured the activities of the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA), which are the two viral surface proteins that interact with host glycan receptors.

Permanent genetic resources added to Molecular Ecology Resources Database 1 February 2012 - 31 March 2012.

This article documents the addition of 171 microsatellite marker loci and 27 pairs of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sequencing primers to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Bombus pauloensis, Cephalorhynchus heavisidii, Cercospora sojina, Harpyhaliaetus coronatus, Hordeum vulgare, Lachnolaimus maximus, Oceanodroma monteiroi, Puccinia striiformis f. sp.