Decreasing Bilirubin Serum Tests in Healthy Newborns During Birth Hospitalization.

Objectives: Substantial variability exists in hyperbilirubinemia screening and monitoring leading to unnecessary total serum bilirubin (TSB) testing in healthy newborns. We aimed to assess the impact of value-care interventions to decrease the monthly TSB testing rate per 100 patient-days among healthy newborns in our Mother-Baby Unit by 30% by June 2022.

Methods: We formed a multidisciplinary team to review the current practice for ordering TSB among housestaff in our Mother-Baby Unit.

Preexposure Prophylaxis for HIV Prevention in a Rural Southern Clinic.

Objectives: Little is known about implementing preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the rural US South, where most HIV infections occur. To investigate how to better reach the at-risk population in rural eastern North Carolina (ENC), the characteristics and clinical courses of those receiving PrEP from our clinic were reviewed and analyzed.

Methods: A retrospective study was used to describe the characteristics and outcomes of PrEP participants in rural ENC.

Molecular identification of Aedes triseriatus and Aedes hendersoni by a novel duplex polymerase chain reaction assay.

Aedes triseriatus is the principal vector of La Crosse virus (LACv), which is the most common cause of pediatric arboviral encephalitis in North America. Here we report a novel species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that differentially identifies Ae. triseriatus and Ae.

Cluster analysis reveals a binary effect of storage on boar sperm motility function.

Storage of liquid-preserved boar spermatozoa is associated with a loss of fertilising ability of the preserved spermatozoa, which standard semen parameters barely reflect. Monitoring responses to molecular effectors of sperm function (e.g.

Bivalent response to long-term storage in liquid-preserved boar semen: a flow cytometric analysis.

The fertility of liquid-preserved boar semen declines during storage at 17°C, insemination trials even indicating early losses in fertilizing ability within the first 24-48 h of storage. Standard semen parameters barely reflect these changes in semen quality, and new approaches for assessment of functional changes in stored spermatozoa are needed. Capacitation, the essential prefertilization step for spermatozoa in the female genital tract, is specifically induced in vitro by bicarbonate.

Fibronectin type II-module proteins in the bovine genital tract and their putative role in cell volume control during sperm maturation.

The male reproductive tract of ungulates contains two protein families bearing tandemly arranged fibronectin II (Fn2) modules; one (small Fn2 proteins) bears two modules (e.g. BSP-A1/2), the other (long Fn2 proteins) bears four (e.

Control of bull sperm cell volume during epididymal maturation.

Mature spermatozoa have a mechanism by which they can reduce cellular swelling caused by hypo-osmotic stress. The development of this ability during epididymal maturation in the bull was investigated. Caput and cauda sperm preparations were exposed to various osmotic stresses at 38 degrees C and measurements of cell volume made by electronic cell sizing.

Bicarbonate-induced membrane processing in sperm capacitation.

During capacitation, major changes take place in the sperm plasma membrane so as to render it fusogenic and responsive to zona pellucida glycoproteins. However, the mechanisms involved have not been defined. As bicarbonate is known to be the key component that induces capacitation, we have investigated the bicarbonate-dependent changes in the boar sperm's plasma membrane architecture.

Bicarbonate stimulation of boar sperm motility via a protein kinase A-dependent pathway: between-cell and between-ejaculate differences are not due to deficiencies in protein kinase A activation.

Because poorly motile sperm samples can often be stimulated by treatments that increase intracellular levels of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), it has been supposed that such samples are unable to maintain an adequate supply of the cyclic nucleotide with which to activate protein kinase A (PKA). To investigate this hypothesis, we incubated boar sperm samples with bicarbonate (a stimulator of adenylyl cyclase) and compared its effect with that of 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole 3',5'-cyclic monophosphothioate (cBIMPS, a highly permeable and stable cAMP analog). Videomicroscopy assessment of motility was followed by computer analysis of the sperm tracks to produce motility descriptor values for many individual cells in each sample, whence "cluster" analysis of these data identified groups of spermatozoa that differed in motility characteristics.