CSF 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate Serial Monitoring to Guide Treatment of Congenital Folate Malabsorption Due to Proton-Coupled Folate Transporter (PCFT) Deficiency.

Hereditary folate malabsorption is characterized by folate deficiency with impaired folate transport into the central nervous system (CNS). This disease is characterized by megaloblastic anemia of early appearance, combined immunodeficiency, seizures, and cognitive impairment. The anemia and immunologic disease are responsive but neurological signs are refractory to folic-acid treatment.

Understanding immune protection against tuberculosis using RNA expression profiling.

A major limitation in the development and testing of new tuberculosis (TB) vaccines is the current inadequate understanding of the nature of the immune response required for protection against either infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) or progression to disease. Genome wide RNA expression analysis has provided a new tool with which to study the inflammatory and immunological response to mycobacteria. To explore how currently available transcriptomic data might be used to understand the basis of protective immunity to MTB, we analysed and reviewed published RNA expression studies to (1) identify a "susceptible" immune response in patients with acquired defects in the interferon gamma pathway; (2) identify the "failing" transcriptomic response in patients with TB as compared with latent TB infection (LTBI); and (3) identify elements of the "protective" response in healthy latently infected and healthy uninfected individuals.

A practical deca-gram scale ring expansion of (R)-(-)-carvone to (R)-(+)-3-methyl-6-isopropenyl-cyclohept-3-enone-1.

A route to enantiopure (R)-(+)-3-methyl-6-isopropenyl-cyclohept-3-enone-1, an intermediate for terpenoids, has been developed and includes a highly chemo- and regioselective Tiffeneau-Demjanov reaction. Starting from readily available (R)-(-)-carvone, this robust sequence is available on a deca-gram scale and uses flow chemistry for the initial epoxidation reaction. The stereochemistry of the addition of two nucleophiles to the carbonyl group of (R)-(-)-carvone has been determined by X-ray diffraction studies and chemical correlation.

Malaria parasite density estimated with white blood cells count reference value agrees with density estimated with absolute in children less than 5 years in central ghana.

Introduction. The estimation of malaria parasite density using a microscope heavily relies on White Blood Cells (WBCs) counts. An assumed WBCs count of 8000/µL has been accepted as reasonably accurate in estimating malaria parasite densities due to the challenge to accurately determine WBCs count.

Oligodendrocyte morphometry and expression of myelin - Related mRNA in ventral prefrontal white matter in major depressive disorder.

White matter disturbance in the ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) in major depressive disorder (MDD) has been noted with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). However, the cellular and molecular pathology of prefrontal white matter in MDD and potential influence of antidepressant medications is not fully understood. Oligodendrocyte morphometry and myelin-related mRNA and protein expression was examined in the white matter of the vPFC in MDD.

Evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy of CareStart G6PD deficiency Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) in a malaria endemic area in Ghana, Africa.

Background: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the most widespread enzyme defect that can result in red cell breakdown under oxidative stress when exposed to certain medicines including antimalarials. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of CareStart G6PD deficiency Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) as a point-of-care tool for screening G6PD deficiency.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 206 randomly selected and consented participants from a group with known G6PD deficiency status between February 2013 and June 2013.

The differential contributions of the parvocellular and the magnocellular subdivisions of the red nucleus to skilled reaching in the rat.

During the execution of the skilled reaching task, naïve rats bring their elbow to the midline of their body to aim at the food target, perform the arpeggio movement to grasp it and supinate the paw to bring the food to their mouth. Red nucleus lesions in the rat interfere with each of these three movement elements of reaching. On the other hand, lesions to the rubrospinal tract, which originate from the magnocellular subdivision of the red nucleus, only interfere with the arpeggio movement.

Modifying the Bank Erosion Hazard Index (BEHI) protocol for rapid assessment of streambank erosion in northeastern Ohio.

Understanding the source of pollution in a stream is vital to preserving, restoring, and maintaining the stream's function and habitat it provides. Sediments from highly eroding streambanks are a major source of pollution in a stream system and have the potential to jeopardize habitat, infrastructure, and stream function. Watershed management practices throughout the Cleveland Metroparks attempt to locate and inventory the source and rate the risk of potential streambank erosion to assist in formulating effect stream, riparian, and habitat management recommendations.

Emerging flame retardants, PBDEs, and HBCDDs in indoor and outdoor media in Stockholm, Sweden.

Dust, indoor air, outgoing air from ventilation systems, outdoor air, and soil were sampled in and around Stockholm, Sweden during the winter and spring 2012. The concentrations of several emerging flame retardants (EFRs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and isomers of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) were measured. The most commonly found EFR was 1,2-dibromo-4-(1,2 dibromoethyl)cyclohexane (TBECH or DBE-DBCH), which was found in nearly all indoor, ventilation, and outdoor air samples, most dust samples, but not in soil samples.

International experiences in assessing vitamin A status and applying the vitamin A-labeled isotope dilution method.

Inadequate vitamin A (VA) nutrition continues to be a major problem worldwide, and many interventions being implemented to improve VA status in various populations need to be evaluated. The interpretation of results after an intervention depends greatly on the method selected to assess VA status. To evaluate the effect of an intervention on VA status, researchers in Cameroon, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Senegal and Zambia have used serum retinol as an indicator, and have not always found improvement in response to supplementation.

Functional drug screening reveals anticonvulsants as enhancers of mTOR-independent autophagic killing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis through inositol depletion.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) remains a major challenge to global health made worse by the spread of multidrug resistance. We therefore examined whether stimulating intracellular killing of mycobacteria through pharmacological enhancement of macroautophagy might provide a novel therapeutic strategy. Despite the resistance of MTB to killing by basal autophagy, cell-based screening of FDA-approved drugs revealed two anticonvulsants, carbamazepine and valproic acid, that were able to stimulate autophagic killing of intracellular M.

Birthweight and risk markers for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in childhood: the Child Heart and Health Study in England (CHASE).

Aims/hypothesis: Lower birthweight (a marker of fetal undernutrition) is associated with higher risks of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and could explain ethnic differences in these diseases. We examined associations between birthweight and risk markers for diabetes and CVD in UK-resident white European, South Asian and black African-Caribbean children.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study of risk markers for diabetes and CVD in 9- to 10-year-old children of different ethnic origins, birthweight was obtained from health records and/or parental recall.

Effect of early neonatal vitamin A supplementation on mortality during infancy in Ghana (Neovita): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Results of randomised controlled trials of newborn (age 1-3 days) vitamin A supplementation have been inconclusive. The WHO is coordinating three large randomised trials in Ghana, India, and Tanzania (Neovita trials). We present the findings of the Neovita trial in Ghana.

Novel mechanism of hemin capture by Hbp2, the hemoglobin-binding hemophore from Listeria monocytogenes.

Iron is an essential nutrient that is required for the growth of the bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. In cell cultures, this microbe secretes hemin/hemoglobin-binding protein 2 (Hbp2; Lmo2185) protein, which has been proposed to function as a hemophore that scavenges heme from the environment. Based on its primary sequence, Hbp2 contains three NEAr transporter (NEAT) domains of unknown function.

Cumulative effects of heat exposure and storage conditions of Oxytocin-in-Uniject in rural Ghana: implications for scale up.

Objective: Postpartum hemorrhage can be reduced substantially in home deliveries attended by community-based workers by using Oxytocin-in-Uniject (OIU) devices affixed with temperature-time indicators. We characterized the distribution of time to discard of these devices when stored under normal field conditions in Ghana.

Methods: Two drug storage simulation studies were conducted in rural Ghana in 2011 and 2012.

Influence of Inbreeding on Female Mate Choice in Two Species of .

Many organisms have been reported to choose their mates in order to increase the heterozygosity of their offspring by avoiding mating with relatives or homozygous individuals. Most previous studies using have used artificial chromosomes or extreme inbreeding treatments, situations unlikely to be matched in nature. Additionally, few studies have examined the interaction between female inbreeding status and her choice of mate.

Preliminary Normative Data on the Penn State University Symbol Cancellation Task With Nonconcussed Adolescents.

Visual concentration impairment after neurologic injury is frequent, making its identification a critical component of neurocognitive concussion assessment. Visual target cancellation tests such as the Penn State University Symbol Cancellation Task (PSUSCT) have been widely used in assessing professional and collegiate athletes. To date, there are no normative studies using the PSUSCT with an adolescent population.

Concerted loop motion triggers induced fit of FepA to ferric enterobactin.

Spectroscopic analyses of fluorophore-labeled Escherichia coli FepA described dynamic actions of its surface loops during binding and transport of ferric enterobactin (FeEnt). When FeEnt bound to fluoresceinated FepA, in living cells or outer membrane fragments, quenching of fluorophore emissions reflected conformational motion of the external vestibular loops. We reacted Cys sulfhydryls in seven surface loops (L2, L3, L4, L5, L7 L8, and L11) with fluorophore maleimides.

Accelerating spirocyclic polyketide synthesis using flow chemistry.

Over the past decade, the integration of synthetic chemistry with flow processing has resulted in a powerful platform for molecular assembly that is making an impact throughout the chemical community. Herein, we demonstrate the extension of these tools to encompass complex natural product synthesis. We have developed a number of novel flow-through processes for reactions commonly encountered in natural product synthesis programs to achieve the first total synthesis of spirodienal A and the preparation of spirangien A methyl ester.

Using simulation to improve the medication administration skills of undergraduate nursing students.

Aim: This quasi-experimental pilot study examined simulation methods to improve nursing students' medication calculation and administration abilities.

Background: Approximately 25 percent of junior-level students in the nursing program who took a medication administration exam (MAE) failed in their first attempt. It was theorized that simulation could facilitate their success.

Reduction of the pectoral spine and girdle in domesticated Channel catfish is likely caused by changes in selection pressure.

Locked pectoral spines of the Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus more than double the fish's width and complicate ingestion by gape-limited predators. The spine mates with the pectoral girdle, a robust structure that anchors the spine. This study demonstrates that both spine and girdle exhibit negative allometric growth and that pectoral spines and girdles are lighter in domesticated than in wild Channel Catfish.

Disaster easily averted? Data confidentiality and the hospital desktop computer.

Objective: We specifically identified the hospital desktop computer as a potential source of breaches in confidentiality. We aimed to evaluate if there was accessible, unprotected, confidential information stored on the desktop screen on computers in a district general hospital and if so, how a teaching intervention could improve this situation.

Design: An unannounced spot check of 59 ward computers was performed.

Physiological and behavioural indices of hostility: an extension of the capacity model to include exposure to affective stress and right lateralized motor stress.

Right hemisphere functional cerebral systems have reliably been associated with sympathetic nervous system arousal and the perception of negative affective events. The goal of the current research was to provide additional support for the capacity model of hostility by examining changes attributable to functional cerebral systems within the right hemisphere using a dual concurrent task paradigm. To incorporate exposure to negative affective and right-lateralized motor stress using this approach, high and low hostile individuals completed a series of grip-strength tasks before and after hearing a recording of angry infant vocalizations.

Effectiveness of general practice-based health checks: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: A recent review concluded that general health checks fail to reduce mortality in adults.

Aim: This review focuses on general practice-based health checks and their effects on both surrogate and final outcomes.

Design And Setting: Systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials.

A compound heterozygous mutation in GPD1 causes hepatomegaly, steatohepatitis, and hypertriglyceridemia.

The constellation of clinico-pathological and laboratory findings including massive hepatomegaly, steatosis, and marked hypertriglyceridemia in infancy is extremely rare. We describe a child who is presented with the above findings, and despite extensive diagnostic testing no cause could be identified. Whole exome sequencing was performed on the patient and parents' DNA.