Structural Dynamics of the Dengue Virus Non-structural 5 (NS5) Interactions with Promoter Stem Loop A (SLA).

The dengue virus (DENV) NS5 protein plays a central role in dengue viral RNA synthesis which makes it an attractive target for antiviral drug development. DENV NS5 is known to interact with the stem-loop A (SLA) promoter at the 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR) of the viral genome as a molecular recognition signature for the initiation of negative strand synthesis at the 3' end of the viral genome. However, the conformational dynamics involved in these interactions are yet to be fully elucidated.

Prolonged voluntary wheel running reveals unique adaptations in mdx mice treated with microdystrophin constructs ± the nNOS-binding site.

We tested the effects of prolonged voluntary wheel running on the muscle function of mdx mice treated with one of two different microdystrophin constructs. At 7 weeks of age mdx mice were injected with a single dose of AAV9-CK8-microdystrophin with (gene therapy 1, GT1) or without (gene therapy 2, GT2) the nNOS-binding domain and were assigned to one of four gene therapy treated groups: mdxRGT1 (run, GT1), mdxGT1 (no run, GT1), or mdxRGT2 (run,GT2), mdxGT2 (no run, GT2). There were two mdx untreated groups injected with excipient: mdxR (run, no gene therapy) and mdx (no run, no gene therapy).

Acute shear stress and vein graft disease.

The long saphenous vein is commonly used in cardiac surgery to bypass occluded coronary arteries. Its use is complicated by late stenosis and occlusion due to the development of intimal hyperplasia. It is accepted that intimal hyperplasia is a multifactorial inflammatory process that starts immediately after surgery.

Correction: Modelling and prediction of the thermophysical properties of aqueous mixtures of choline geranate and geranic acid (CAGE) using SAFT-γ Mie.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/C9RA07057E.].

MAS NMR Investigation of Molecular Order in an Ionic Liquid Crystal.

The structure and molecular order in the thermotropic ionic liquid crystal (ILC), [choline][geranate(H)octanoate], an analogue of Choline And GEranate (CAGE), which has potential for use as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial and transdermal and oral delivery agent, were investigated by magic-angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), polarizing optical microscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and mass spectrometry. Mass spectrometry and the H NMR chemical shift reveal that CAGE-oct is a dynamic system, with metathesis (the exchange of interacting ions) and hydrogen exchange occurring between hydrogen-bonded/ionic complexes such as [(choline)(geranate)(H)(octanoate)], [(choline)(octanoate)(H)], and [(choline)(geranate)(H)]. These clusters, which are shown by mass spectrometry to be significantly more stable than expected for typical electrostatic ion clusters, involve hydrogen bonding between the carboxylic acid, carboxylate, and hydroxyl groups, with rapid hydrogen bond breaking and re-formation observed to average the H chemical shifts.

Revealing Intermolecular Hydrogen Bonding Structure and Dynamics in a Deep Eutectic Pharmaceutical by Magic-Angle Spinning NMR Spectroscopy.

Liquid forms of pharmaceuticals (ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents) offer a number of potential advantages over solid-state drugs; a key question is the role of intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions in enabling membrane transport. Characterization is challenging since high sample viscosities, typical of liquid pharmaceutical formulations, hamper the use of conventional solution NMR at ambient temperature. Here, we report the application of magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy to the deep eutectic pharmaceutical, lidocaine ibuprofen.

Ionic Liquid Aqueous Two-Phase Systems From a Pharmaceutical Perspective.

Aqueous Two-Phase Systems (ATPSs) have been extensively studied for their ability to simultaneously separate and purify active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and key intermediates with high yields and high purity. Depending on the ATPS composition, it can be adapted for the separation and purification of cells, nucleic acids, proteins, antibodies, and small molecules. This method has been shown to be scalable, allowing it to be used in the milliliter scale for early drug development to thousands of liters in manufacture for commercial supply.

Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) for health technology assessment: the Queensland Health experience.

Objectives In determining whether new health technologies should be funded, health technology assessment (HTA) committees prefer explicit to implicit methods of analysis in enhancing transparency and consistency of decision making. The aim of this study was to develop and pilot a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework for the Queensland Department of Health HTA program committee, which weighted decision making criteria according to their perceived importance as determined by group consensus. Methods The criteria used in the MCDA framework were identified by reviewing the five unweighted criteria used in the existing process, consultation with committee members and literature review.

Assessment of Automating Safety Surveillance From Electronic Health Records: Analysis for the Quality and Safety Review System.

Background And Objectives: In an effort to improve and standardize the collection of adverse event data, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is developing and testing a patient safety surveillance system called the Quality and Safety Review System (QSRS). Its current abstraction from medical records is through manual human coders, taking an average of 75 minutes to complete the review and abstraction tasks for one patient record. With many healthcare systems across the country adopting electronic health record (EHR) technology, there is tremendous potential for more efficient abstraction by automatically populating QSRS.

Evidence-based medicine and clinical fluorodeoxyglucose PET/MRI in oncology.

Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging (PET/MRI) is a hybrid of two technologies each with its own evidence for clinical effectiveness. This article amalgamates evidence for clinical effectiveness of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT and MRI as separate modalities with current evidence for hybrid PET/MRI and considers whether such an approach might provide a stronger case for the clinical use of PET/MRI at an earlier stage.Because links between diagnostic accuracy and health outcomes have already been established for FDG-PET/CT in the investigation of suspected residual or recurrent malignancies, evidence showing improved diagnostic performance and therapeutic impact from the use of PET/MRI as an alternative would imply clinical effectiveness of this modality for this application.

Workforce profile for allied health professions in Queensland Public Health cancer care services with linear accelerators.

Purpose: This article profiles staffing levels for all allied health professionals in Queensland Public Health cancer care services to determine whether linear accelerator hours per clinical day are a potentially useful predictor of workforce requirements. Currently, radiation therapists and radiation oncology medical physicists have developed professional guidelines for calculating staffing full-time equivalents (FTEs) related to linear accelerator hours per clinical day.

Methods: Queensland Public Health service managers were surveyed using a self-reported standardized data collection tool, requesting the FTE allied health staff provided for a number of services, including cancer care.

Sacral nerve stimulation for urinary dysfunction: the first year of the Scottish national service.

Sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) has become an established treatment option for patients with intractable detrusor overactivity and non-obstructive urinary retention. The Scottish Sacral Nerve Stimulation service was established in April 2010 to provide a service for the population of Scotland. We report our experience from the first year of this new national service.

Federal commitment: transparency and collaboration in the United States.

Unlabelled: Federal agencies within the United States (US) are contributing to global advancement of Health Information Technology (HIT) through strategic goals and alignment of priorities. The US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is helping transform HIT as part of health reform efforts. Each DHHS agency participates in ways that are increasingly transparent.

An organizational framework and strategic implementation for system-level change to enhance research-based practice: QUERI Series.

Background: The continuing gap between available evidence and current practice in health care reinforces the need for more effective solutions, in particular related to organizational context. Considerable advances have been made within the U.S.

Using the interpretive narrative research method in interdisciplinary research projects.

Researchers from different disciplines bring to a project their different perspectives of the research problem. Differences in education, experiences, and understanding create a research project that has more depth and breadth than one designed by researchers from a single discipline. The purpose of this article is to describe how faculty from two disciplines, nursing and education, used the interpretive narrative method, a qualitative research method, in a pilot project to examine issues related to the recruitment and retention of Hispanic nurses.

Violence against emergency department workers.

The purpose of this study was to describe the violence experienced by Emergency Department (ED) workers from patients and visitors during the 6 months before the survey. Two hundred forty-two employees at five hospitals who came in direct contact with patients or visitors completed a survey. The study found that most workers had been verbally harassed by patients or visitors at least once.

A collective community approach to preparing nursing students for the NCLEX RN examination.

This paper examines the challenges that nursing faculty at one historically black college and university (HBCU) embark upon when preparing students for first time passage on the NCLEX RN examination. In response to these challenges, the nursing faculty advocate a collective community approach which focuses on nurse educators working together to share ideas and strategies to ensure NCLEX-RN success for nursing graduates and subsequently, their nursing programs.