Clinical Evaluation of a COVID-19 Antibody Lateral Flow Assay using Point of Care Samples.

Introduction: The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has spurred the development of numerous point of care (PoC) immunoassays. Assessments of performance of available kits are necessary to determine their clinical utility. Previous studies have mostly performed these assessments in a laboratory setting, which raises concerns of translating findings for PoC use.

A journey upstream: Fluctuating platelet-specific genes in cell-free plasma as proof-of-concept for using ribonucleic acid sequencing to improve understanding of postinjury platelet biology.

Background: The mechanisms of aberrant circulating platelet behavior following injury remain unclear. Platelets retain megakaryocyte immature ribonucleic acid (RNA) splicing and protein synthesis machinery to alter their functions based on physiologic signals. We sought to identify fluctuating platelet-specific RNA transcripts in cell-free plasma (CFP) from traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients as proof-of-concept for using RNA sequencing to improve our understanding of postinjury platelet behavior.

Activation of orexin system facilitates anesthesia emergence and pain control.

Orexin (also known as hypocretin) neurons in the hypothalamus play an essential role in sleep-wake control, feeding, reward, and energy homeostasis. The likelihood of anesthesia and sleep sharing common pathways notwithstanding, it is important to understand the processes underlying emergence from anesthesia. In this study, we investigated the role of the orexin system in anesthesia emergence, by specifically activating orexin neurons utilizing the designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADD) chemogenetic approach.

Sick and tired: how molecular regulators of human sleep schedules and duration impact immune function.

Why do we need to sleep? What regulates when we sleep? And what dictates the number of hours we require? These are often viewed as three separate biological questions. Here, we propose they share molecular etiologies, whereby regulators of sleep schedules and sleep duration also govern the physiological purposes of sleep. To support our hypothesis, we review Mendelian human genetic variants sufficient to advance sleep-wake onset (PER2) and shorten sleep length (DEC2), and evaluate their emerging roles in immune responses that may rely on a sound night of slumber.

Simultaneous transgenic suppression of LePG and LeExp1 influences fruit texture and juice viscosity in a fresh market tomato variety.

Tomatoes are grown for fresh consumption or for processing of the fruit. Some ripening-associated processes of the fruit can either contribute to or degrade attributes associated with both fresh and processing quality. For example, cell wall disassembly is associated with loss of fresh fruit firmness as well as with loss of processed tomato product viscosity.