Virtual terminator nucleotides for next-generation DNA sequencing.

We synthesized reversible terminators with tethered inhibitors for next-generation sequencing. These were efficiently incorporated with high fidelity while preventing incorporation of additional nucleotides, and we used them to sequence canine bacterial artificial chromosomes in a single-molecule system that provided even coverage for over 99% of the region sequenced. This single-molecule approach generated high-quality sequence data without the need for target amplification and thus avoided concomitant biases.

Patient attitudinal and behavioral factors associated with warfarin non-adherence at outpatient anticoagulation clinics.

Background: Warfarin is an anticoagulant effective in preventing stroke, but it has a narrow therapeutic range requiring optimal adherence to achieve the most favorable effects.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to examine specific patient factors that might help explain warfarin non-adherence at outpatient anticoagulation clinics.

Method: In a prospective cohort study of 156 adults, we utilized logistic regression analyses to examine the relationship between the five Treatment Prognostics scales from the Millon Behavioral Medicine Diagnostic (MBMD), as well as three additional MBMD scales (Depression, Future Pessimism, and Social Isolation), and daily warfarin non-adherence assessed using electronic medication event monitoring systems caps over a median of 139 days.

Neighborhood of residence is associated with daily adherence to CPAP therapy.

Study Objectives: Adherence to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy for obstructive sleep apnea is poor. Risk factors for nonadherence are not well understood but may reflect individual or neighborhood socioeconomic factors. We sought to determine the association of socioeconomic status and initial CPAP adherence.

Changes in functional status among persons over age sixty-five undergoing total knee arthroplasty.

Background: This study assessed changes in physical functional status following receipt of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee in a national sample of persons aged 65+ in the United States relative to a sample of similar OA patients who did not receive TKA.

Methods: Data from the Health Retirement Survey (HRS) and linked Medicare claims from 1994 to 2006 were used to identify persons with diagnoses of OA of the lower leg who received a TKA (n = 516) and those who did not receive TKA (n = 1756). Predicted probabilities of receiving total knee arthroplasty from logit analysis were used for matching TKA and comparison groups on demographic, socioeconomic, and baseline functional status factors.

Manganese(II) and cobalt(II) complexes of 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphinoyl)butane.

The title complexes, catena-poly[[[diaquadiethanolmanganese(II)]-mu-1,4-bis(diphenylphosphinoyl)butane-kappa(2)O:O'] dinitrate 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphinoyl)butane solvate], {[Mn(C(2)H(6)O)(2)(C(28)H(28)O(2)P(2))(H(2)O)(2)](NO(3))(2).C(28)H(28)O(2)P(2)}(n), (I), and catena-poly[[[diaquadiethanolcobalt(II)]-mu-1,4-bis(diphenylphosphinoyl)butane-kappa(2)O:O'] dinitrate 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphinoyl)butane solvate], {[Co(C(2)H(6)O)(2)(C(28)H(28)O(2)P(2))(H(2)O)(2)](NO(3))(2).C(28)H(28)O(2)P(2)}(n), (II), are isostructural and centrosymmetric, with the M(II) ions at centres of inversion.

Basal cell carcinoma with a sarcomatous component (carcinosarcoma): a series of 5 cases and a review of the literature.

Cutaneous carcinosarcomas are rare biphasic malignant tumors with a malignant epithelial component together with malignant stroma. Five cases treated in the Yorkshire region of England between 2003 and 2006 are presented. The patients were male with an age range from 58 to 84 years.

Squamous intraepithelial lesions arising in benign endocervical polyps: a report of 9 cases with correlation to the Pap smears, HPV analysis, and immunoprofile.

Endocervical polyps are common benign lesions that typically arise in the endocervical canal of women from 40 to 60 years old. The reported incidence of squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL) occurring in an endocervical polyp is typically less than 1/1,000 (0.1%).

Mucosal macrophages and the regulation of immune responses in the intestine.

The healthy intestinal mucosa is home to one of the largest populations of macrophages (mvarphi) in the body [Lee SH, Starkey PM, Gordon S. Quantitative analysis of total macrophage content in adult mouse tissues. Immunochemical studies with monoclonal antibody F4/80.

Evidence for PI-3K-dependent migration of Th17-polarized cells in response to CCR2 and CCR6 agonists.

IL-17-producing Th cells (Th17) are a distinct subset of effector cells that bridge the innate and adaptive immune system and are implicated in autoimmune disease processes. CD4(+) splenocytes from DO11.10 mice were activated with OVA peptide(323-339) and maintained under Th17 polarization conditions, resulting in significantly higher proportions of IL-17(+) T cells compared with nonpolarized (Th0) cells.

Association mapping through heuristic evolutionary history reconstruction-application to GAW15 Problem 3.

This paper presents a novel method of identifying phenotypically important regions of the genome. It involves a form of association mapping that works by summarizing properties of the ancestral recombination graph (ARG) of a sample of unrelated phenotyped and genotyped individuals. By breaking the sample into many small sub-samples and averaging the results, it becomes computationally tractable to measure the degree to which the evolutionary history of any locus is consistent with the distribution of the phenotypes in the sample.

IL-10-dependent partial refractoriness to Toll-like receptor stimulation modulates gut mucosal dendritic cell function.

The default response of the intestinal immune system to most antigens is the induction of immunological tolerance, which is difficult to reconcile with the constant exposure to ligands for TLR and other pattern recognition receptors. We showed previously that dendritic cells (DC) from the lamina propria of normal mouse intestine may be inherently tolerogenic and here we have explored how this might relate to the expression and function of Toll-like receptors (TLR). Lamina propria (LP) DC showed higher levels of TLR 2, 3, 4 and 9 protein expression than spleen and MLN DC, with most TLR-expressing DC in the gut being CD11c(lo), class II MHC(lo), CD103(-), CD11b(-) and F4/80(-).

Risk factors for nonadherence to warfarin: results from the IN-RANGE study.

Background: Warfarin is widely used to prevent stroke and venous thromboembolism despite its narrow therapeutic window. Warfarin nonadherence is a substantial problem, but risk factors have not been well elucidated.

Methods: A prospective cohort study of adults initiating warfarin at two anticoagulation clinics (University and VA-affiliated) was performed to determine factors affecting nonadherence to warfarin.

Data mining, neural nets, trees--problems 2 and 3 of Genetic Analysis Workshop 15.

Genome-wide association studies using thousands to hundreds of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers and region-wide association studies using a dense panel of SNPs are already in use to identify disease susceptibility genes and to predict disease risk in individuals. Because these tasks become increasingly important, three different data sets were provided for the Genetic Analysis Workshop 15, thus allowing examination of various novel and existing data mining methods for both classification and identification of disease susceptibility genes, gene by gene or gene by environment interaction. The approach most often applied in this presentation group was random forests because of its simplicity, elegance, and robustness.

Summary of contributions to GAW15 Group 13: candidate gene association studies.

Here we summarize the contributions to Group 13 of the Genetic Analysis Workshop 15 held in St. Pete Beach, Florida, on November 12-14, 2006. The focus of this group was to identify candidate genes associated with rheumatoid arthritis or surrogate outcomes.

The impact of dressings on recovery from carpal tunnel decompression.

This study assesses the impact on outcome of wearing a bulky dressing following carpal tunnel decompression. One hundred patients were randomised for having a bulky dressing removed at either 24h or 2 weeks postoperatively. A Levine score was measured preoperatively and postoperatively at 2 weeks.

catena-Poly[[bis(nitrato-kappa(2)O,O')copper(II)]-mu-propane-1,3-diylbis(diphenylphosphine oxide)-kappa(2)O:O'].

The structure of the title complex, [Cu(NO(3))(2)(C(27)H(26)O(2)P(2))](n), consists of polymeric chains formed by propane-1,3-diylbis(diphenylphosphine oxide) ligands bridging between metal centres. The Cu atom lies on a twofold rotation axis and a further symmetry centre bisects the bridging bisphosphine dioxide ligand. The CuO(6) coordination geometry is a distorted octahedron, with the bidentate chelating nitrate groups adopting a cis configuration.

Implementation and evaluation of the critical care assistant role.

This paper provides an overview of the implementation and evaluation of the critical care assistant (CCA) role within a large teaching trust. Nine CCAs were employed as a pilot across six critical care units. A multistakeholder evaluation was performed to establish the impact of the new role on the critical care team and the contribution to patient care.