Antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects of marine sponge extracts , and from a Caribbean Island.

Although marine sponges are known for their antimicrobial, antifungal and cytotoxic activity, very few studies have been carried out on endemic species of Martinique. Martinique is part of the Agoa Sanctuary, a marine protected area that includes the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the French Caribbean islands, making it an abundant source of marine species. To highlight the potential of this area for the discovery of marine biomolecules with antipathogenic and antitumor activities, we tested the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of sponge species , and .

Antero-posterior ectoderm patterning by canonical Wnt signaling during ascidian development.

Wnt/β-catenin signaling is an ancient pathway in metazoans and controls various developmental processes, in particular the establishment and patterning of the embryonic primary axis. In vertebrates, a graded Wnt activity from posterior to anterior endows cells with positional information in the central nervous system. Recent studies in hemichordates support a conserved role for Wnt/β-catenin in ectoderm antero-posterior patterning at the base of the deuterostomes.

Community-based Flu Outreach Clinics in South Los Angeles: Client Satisfaction and Experiences.

Objective: This study sought to better understand and improve influenza vaccination in low-income populations regardless of their health insurance/immigration status. It assessed client satisfaction and experiences with services provided at community-based "flu outreach" clinics in South Los Angeles. The clinics represent a community-public agency partnership-a model of vaccine delivery that was relatively novel to the region.

Burden of Bites by Dogs and Other Animals in Los Angeles County, California, 2009-2011.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to analyze all animal-to-human bite reports during a 3-year period from a regional surveillance database. Results helped to inform local efforts to reduce and prevent animal-to-human bites.

Methods: We reviewed all cases of animal-to-human bites occurring from 2009 through 2011 that were reported to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health's Animal Bites Database.

Cone-beam computed tomography in children with cochlear implants: The effect of electrode array position on ECAP.

Objectives: To assess the feasibility of using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) in young children with cochlear implants (CIs) and study the effect of intracochlear position on electrophysiological and behavioral measurements.

Methods: A total of 40 children with either unilateral or bilateral cochlear implants were prospectively included in the study. Electrode placement and insertion angles were studied in 55 Cochlear implants (16 straight arrays and 39 perimodiolar arrays), using either CBCT or X-ray imaging.

Outcomes after cochlear reimplantation in children.

Objectives: With cochlear implantation now a routine procedure, reimplantation is becoming more commonplace for medical/surgical complications or device malfunctions. This study investigated the indications for reimplantation and the auditory outcomes following reimplantation surgery in prelingually-deafened children.

Methods: Of the 539 prelingually deafened children implanted between 1990 and 2013, 45 were reimplanted (8.

Effects of electrode array length on frequency-place mismatch and speech perception with cochlear implants.

Frequency-place mismatch often occurs after cochlear implantation, yet its effect on speech perception outcome remains unclear. In this article, we propose a method, based on cochlea imaging, to determine the cochlear place-frequency map. We evaluated the effect of frequency-place mismatch on speech perception outcome in subjects implanted with 3 different lengths of electrode arrays.

The influence of gender and self-efficacy on healthy eating in a low-income urban population affected by structural changes to the food environment.

Although U.S. obesity prevention efforts have begun to implement a variety of system and environmental change strategies to address the underlying socioecological barriers to healthy eating, factors which can impede or facilitate community acceptance of such interventions are often poorly understood.

A long QT mutation substitutes cholesterol for phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate in KCNQ1 channel regulation.

Introduction: Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) is a cofactor necessary for the activity of KCNQ1 channels. Some Long QT mutations of KCNQ1, including R243H, R539W and R555C have been shown to decrease KCNQ1 interaction with PIP2. A previous study suggested that R539W is paradoxically less sensitive to intracellular magnesium inhibition than the WT channel, despite a decreased interaction with PIP2.

The immune system GTPase GIMAP6 interacts with the Atg8 homologue GABARAPL2 and is recruited to autophagosomes.

The GIMAPs (GTPases of the immunity-associated proteins) are a family of small GTPases expressed prominently in the immune systems of mammals and other vertebrates. In mammals, studies of mutant or genetically-modified rodents have indicated important roles for the GIMAP GTPases in the development and survival of lymphocytes. No clear picture has yet emerged, however, of the molecular mechanisms by which they perform their function(s).

Microbubble attenuation and destruction: are they involved in sonoporation efficiency?

This technical note investigates the involvement of microbubble attenuation and destruction in sonoporation mechanisms. First, we evaluate sonoporation efficiency using Vevo Micromarker, and a comparison is made with BR14 and SonoVue microbubbles. Then, the acoustical properties of the microbubbles are measured to gain insight into the sonoporation mechanisms using a green fluorescent protein as a marker.

The transtympanic promontory stimulation test in patients with auditory deprivation: correlations with electrical dynamics of cochlear implant and speech perception.

Transtympanic promontory stimulation test (TPST) has been suggested to be a useful tool in predicting postoperative outcomes in patients at risk of poor auditory neuron functioning, especially after a long auditory deprivation. However, only sparse data are available on this topic. This study aimed at showing correlations between the auditory nerve dynamic range, evaluated by TPST, the electrical dynamic range of the cochlear implant and speech perception outcome.

Clinical evaluation of cochlear implant sound coding taking into account conjectural masking functions, MP3000™.

Efficacy of the SPEAK and ACE coding strategies was compared with that of a new strategy, MP3000™, by 37 European implant centers including 221 subjects. The SPEAK and ACE strategies are based on selection of 8-10 spectral components with the highest levels, while MP3000 is based on the selection of only 4-6 components, with the highest levels relative to an estimate of the spread of masking. The pulse rate per component was fixed.

Photovoltaic device performance of single-walled carbon nanotube and polyaniline films on n-Si: device structure analysis.

In this paper, we explore the use of two organic materials that have been touted for use as photovoltaic (PV) materials: inherently conducting polymers (ICPs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Due to these materials' attractive features, such as environmental stability and tunable electrical properties, our focus here is to evaluate the use of polyaniline (PANI) and single wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) films in heterojunction diode devices. The devices are characterized by electron microscopy (film morphology), current-voltage characteristics (photovoltaic behavior), and UV/visible/NIR spectroscopy (light absorption).

Knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about seasonal influenza and H1N1 vaccinations in a low-income, public health clinic population.

Objective: The Public Health Center Vaccine Survey (PHCVS) examines the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about seasonal influenza and H1N1 vaccinations in a largely low-income, urban, public health clinic population in Los Angeles County, USA.

Design: A cross-sectional survey of vulnerable individuals at risk for severe influenza infection was conducted in one of the nation's largest local public health jurisdictions.

Subjects: A total of 1541 clinic patients were recruited in the waiting rooms of five large public health centers in Los Angeles County from June to August, 2010.

Effect of surgical technique on electrode impedance after cochlear implantation.

Objectives: We compare the evolution of electrode impedance values (IVs) following either conventional cochlear implantation or implantation by the soft surgery (SS) technique.

Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of 20 consecutive adult patients who underwent implantation with the Nucleus CA 24 device between 2004 and 2007. Five patients with preoperative residual hearing at the frequencies 256, 512, and 1,024 Hz underwent implantation by an SS cochlear implantation technique (SS group), and the 15 other patients underwent a conventional implantation technique (conventional cochleostomy [CC] group).

Early ion-channel remodeling and arrhythmias precede hypertrophy in a mouse model of complete atrioventricular block.

Complete atrioventricular block (CAVB) and related ventricular bradycardia are known to induce ventricular hypertrophy and arrhythmias. Different animal models of CAVB have been established with the most common being the dog model. Related studies were mainly focused on the consequences on the main repolarizing currents in these species, i.

Doxorubicin delivery into tumor cells with ultrasound and microbubbles.

Doxorubicin is a potent chemotherapeutic whose severe side effects limit its application. Drug-targeted delivery with noninvasive techniques is required to increase the drug concentration locally and to reduce systemic side effects. Microbubble-assisted ultrasound has become a promising strategy for noninvasive local drug delivery.

Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP(2)) stabilizes the open pore conformation of the Kv11.1 (hERG) channel.

Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP(2)) is a phospholipid that has been shown to modulate several ion channels, including some voltage-gated channels like Kv11.1 (hERG). From a biophysical perspective, the mechanisms underlying this regulation are not well characterized.

KCNE1-KCNQ1 osmoregulation by interaction of phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate with Mg2+ and polyamines.

KCNQ1 osmosensitivity is of physiological and pathophysiological relevance in epithelial and cardiac cells, but the mechanism involved remains elusive. In COS-7 cells expressing the KCNE1-KCNQ1 fusion protein, extracellular hypoosmolarity and hyperosmolarity modify the channel biophysical parameters. These changes are consistent with hypoosmolarity increasing the level of membrane phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP(2)), which in turn upregulates KCNE1-KCNQ1 channels.

Knowledge, attitudes and potential response to menu labelling in an urban public health clinic population.

Objective: The present study examines the receptivity to and potential effects of menu labelling on food choices of low-income and minority individuals - a group often at disproportionate risk for preventable, lifestyle-related health conditions (e.g. obesity, diabetes and CVD).

Reliability and complications of 500 consecutive cochlear implantations.

Objectives: To assess device failures as well as early postoperative, late postoperative, and medical complications occurring after cochlear implantation and to discuss their causes and treatments.

Study Design: Retrospective study of 500 consecutive cochlear implantations.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Biological pacemaker engineered by nonviral gene transfer in a mouse model of complete atrioventricular block.

We hypothesized that a nonviral gene delivery of the hyperpolarization-activated HCN2 channel combined with the beta(2)-adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) would generate a functional pacemaker in a mouse model of complete atrioventricular block (CAVB) induced by radiofrequency ablation of the His bundle. Plasmids encoding HCN2 and ADRB2 mixed with tetronic 304, a poloxamine block copolymer, were injected in the left ventricular free wall (HCN2-ADRB2 mice). Sham mice received a noncoding plasmid.