The use of serum segesterone acetate levels to assess adherence of trial participants with a contraceptive vaginal ring.

Objectives: To determine the incidence of out-of-range segesterone acetate (NES) concentrations in participants of a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic trial of a continuous use contraceptive vaginal ring (CVR) releasing NES and estradiol (E2). We hypothesized that out-of-range concentrations reflect nonadherent ring use and predict ovulation risk.

Study Design: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a prospective, multi-centered, randomized, Phase IIa dose-finding trial for a CVR releasing NES and E2.

Design principles for lymphatic drainage of fluid and solutes from collagen scaffolds.

In vivo, tissues are drained of excess fluid and macromolecules by the lymphatic vascular system. How to engineer artificial lymphatics that can provide equivalent drainage in biomaterials remains an open question. This study elucidates design principles for engineered lymphatics, by comparing the rates of removal of fluid and solute through type I collagen gels that contain lymphatic vessels or unseeded channels, or through gels without channels.

Non-invasive mapping of interstitial fluid pressure in microscale tissues.

This study describes a non-invasive method for mapping interstitial fluid pressure within hydrogel-based microscale tissues. The method is based on embedding (or forming) a tissue within a silicone (PDMS) microfluidic device, and measuring the extremely slight displacement (<1 μm) of the PDMS optically when the device is pressurized under static and flow conditions. The displacement field under uniform pressure provides a map of the local device stiffness, which can then be used to obtain the non-uniform pressure field under flow conditions.

Expression of a truncated ATHB17 protein in maize increases ear weight at silking.

ATHB17 (AT2G01430) is an Arabidopsis gene encoding a member of the α-subclass of the homeodomain leucine zipper class II (HD-Zip II) family of transcription factors. The ATHB17 monomer contains four domains common to all class II HD-Zip proteins: a putative repression domain adjacent to a homeodomain, leucine zipper, and carboxy terminal domain. However, it also possesses a unique N-terminus not present in other members of the family.

Crosslinking of collagen scaffolds promotes blood and lymphatic vascular stability.

The low stiffness of reconstituted collagen hydrogels has limited their use as scaffolds for engineering implantable tissues. Although chemical crosslinking has been used to stiffen collagen and protect it against enzymatic degradation in vivo, it remains unclear how crosslinking alters the vascularization of collagen hydrogels. In this study, we examine how the crosslinking agents genipin and 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide alter vascular stability and function in microfluidic type I collagen gels in vitro.

BROTHER OF LUX ARRHYTHMO is a component of the Arabidopsis circadian clock.

BROTHER OF LUX ARRHYTHMO (BOA) is a GARP family transcription factor in Arabidopsis thaliana and is regulated by circadian rhythms. Transgenic lines that constitutively overexpress BOA exhibit physiological and developmental changes, including delayed flowering time and increased vegetative growth under standard growing conditions. Arabidopsis circadian clock protein CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED1 (CCA1) binds to the evening element of the BOA promoter and negatively regulates its expression.

Incidence of type 1 diabetes in Philadelphia is higher in black than white children from 1995 to 1999: epidemic or misclassification?

Objective: To determine the epidemiology of type 1 diabetes in children in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1995 through 1999 and compare these data with previous cohorts.

Research Design And Methods: This is a report of a retrospective population-based registry maintained since 1985. Hospital records meeting the following criteria were reviewed: newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes, age 0-14 years, residing in Philadelphia at the time of diagnosis, and diagnosed from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 1999.