Engineered Mycobacteriophage TM4::GeNL Rapidly Determines Bedaquiline, Pretomanid, Linezolid, Rifampicin, and Clofazimine Sensitivity in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Clinical Isolates.

Background: Drug-resistant tuberculosis is a growing public health threat, and early characterization of the resistance phenotype is essential for guiding treatment and mitigating the high mortality associated with the disease. However, the slow growth rate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, necessitates several weeks for conventional culture-dependent drug susceptibility testing (DST). In addition, there are no widely available molecular diagnostic assays for evaluating resistance to newer tuberculosis drugs or drugs with complex resistance mechanisms.

Characterization of sp. nov.: A novel nontuberculous mycobacteria isolated from a human wound infection.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are environmental bacteria commonly found in soil and water in almost every part of the world. While usually non-pathogenic, they can cause acute respiratory and cutaneous infections under certain circumstances or in patients with underlying medical conditions. Contrary to members of the complex, documented human-to-human transmissions of NTM have been rarely reported and most cases result from direct environmental exposure.

Novel Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Genotype Related to M. caprae.

We report the unusual genotypic characterization of a bacterium isolated from a clinical sample of a patient who grew up in Bangladesh and lives in the United States. Using whole-genome sequencing, we identified the bacterium as a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). Phylogenetic placement of this strain suggests a new MTBC genotype.

Manipulating the solution environment to control the surface roughness of elastin-based polymer coatings.

Elastin-like polypeptides (ELP) have been used as a genetically-engineered, biocompatible substitute for elastin. Cell culture coatings prepared using ELP conjugated to low molecular weight polyethyleneimine (PEI) entices cells to form three-dimensional cellular aggregates that mimic their counterparts. This study seeks to control the deposition of the ELP and ELP-PEI molecules to control the roughness of the final coatings.

CRISPR-Cas9 modified bacteriophage for treatment of Staphylococcus aureus induced osteomyelitis and soft tissue infection.

Osteomyelitis, or bone infection, is often induced by antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains of bacteria. Although debridement and long-term administration of antibiotics are the gold standard for osteomyelitis treatment, the increase in prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains limits the ability of clinicians to effectively treat infection. Bacteriophages (phages), viruses that in a lytic state can effectively kill bacteria, have gained recent attention for their high specificity, abundance in nature, and minimal risk of host toxicity.

Placental Pulsatility: Quantitative Assessment of Placental Bed Vasculature by 2-Dimensional Doppler Cine Imaging.

Objectives: Vascular resistance is known to be one of the determinants of pulsatile flow. This study aimed to investigate whether quantitative 2-dimensional Doppler ultrasound can capture and evaluate the pulsatility within the placental bed vasculature.

Methods: The placental bed vasculature was imaged by directional power Doppler ultrasound.

Do mirrors facilitate acquisition of motor imitation in children diagnosed with autism?

We evaluated the efficacy of a procedure that incorporated a mirror to teach gross motor imitation with a 2-year-old boy who had been diagnosed with autistic disorder. Responses taught with a mirror were acquired more quickly than responses taught without the mirror and were maintained after the mirror was removed. These data indicate that a mirror can facilitate acquisition of motor imitation.

The development of substitute inks and controls for reducing workplace concentrations of organic solvent vapors in a vinyl shower curtain printing plant.

During the summer of 1994, football players at a practice field reported noxious odors in the area. Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) investigations of industries surrounding the field included a printing facility producing vinyl shower curtains with screen-printed designs. Though not the source of the odor, they were discharging volatile organic compounds directly to the environs in violation of OEPA regulations.

Estradiol and pesticide methoxychlor do not exhibit additivity or synergism in the reproductive tract of adult ovariectomized mice.

The pesticide methoxychlor (MXC) is a DDT substitute that exhibits estrogenic activities in different animals. To determine whether there is synergism between purified MXC and a natural estrogen, ovariectomized adult mice received 3 daily intraperitoneal doses of either 2.5 or 25 ng estradiol-17beta or 0.

Impact of placental restriction on the development of the sympathoadrenal system.

We have investigated the impact of chronic restriction of placental function on circulating catecholamine concentrations and responses to the indirectly acting, sympathomimetic amine, tyramine, in the fetal sheep in late gestation. In 10 ewes, endometrial caruncles or placental placentation sites were removed before conception (placental restriction (PR) group). Fetal sheep in the PR group were hypoxemic throughout late gestation and growth-restricted (3.

Stabilization of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and structurally analogous growth factors by anionic phospholipids.

Recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) interacts with liposomes composed of the anionic phospholipid dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol (DOPG), and this interaction enhances the stability of the protein [Collins, D., & Cha, Y. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 4521-4526].

Estradiol or methoxychlor stimulates estrogen receptor (ER) expression in uteri.

The estrogenic pesticide methoxychlor (MXC) abnormally alters reproduction in rodents. The influence of MXC on expression of the estrogen receptor (ER) gene was investigated in the uterus of BALB/c mice and compared to the effect of estradiol. Uterine epithelium in control mice is devoid of ER until 5 d of life.

Purified methoxychlor stimulates the reproductive tract in immature female mice.

Methoxychlor is an estrogenic pesticide currently used as a substitute for DDT. The estrogenic effects of 98% pure methoxychlor or base-washed pure methoxychlor were examined on reproductive organs of immature mice and compared to control and estradiol-treated mice. Within 24 hours of birth, neonatal mice received 14 daily intraperitoneal injections of one of the following chemicals: sesame oil only, 10.

Self-care: chore or challenge?

Traditionally, nursing has been viewed as a paternalistic profession steeped in ritualistic practice. However, the current upsurge of interest in holistic and client-centred nursing has challenged this ritualism. The move is away from paternalism and the Medical Model of Care towards individual patient-centered practice in which mutuality of rehabilitative purpose is derived through bipartite negotiation.

Protein secretions in mouse uterus after methoxychlor or estradiol exposure.

Four-month-old, ovariectomized mice were treated with 14 daily ip injections of either 10.0 micrograms of 17 beta-estradiol or 1.0 mg technical grade methoxychlor.

Smoltification in steelhead trout (Salmo gairdneri): Developmental aspects of plasma constituents.

Selected biochemical parameters were measured in the plasma of both underyearling anadromous steelhead trout (Salmo gairdneri) and underyearling residentS. gairdneri. The analyses were conducted in an effort to determine whether or not there might be changes which could be associated with the parr-smolt transformation of anadromous strains.

The influence of chlordecone and oestrogen on the secretion of proteinaceous molecules of the mouse uterus.

Ovariectomised mice were treated with sesame seed oil, oestradiol, or one of three different levels of the insecticide chlordecone (1, 1a, 3, 3a, 4, 5, 5a, 6-decachloro-octahydro-1, 3, 4-metheno-2H-cyclobuta[cd] pentalen-2-one). After 9 days of treatment, the uteri were injected with (35)S-methionine and radiolabelled proteins were flushed from uteri 4 h later. Reproductive tract weights and the total amount of radioactivity in uterine flushings were measured.

The immune response during proliferative kidney disease in rainbow trout: a case history.

Young-of-the-year rainbow trout clinically affected by proliferative kidney disease (PKD), a systemic protozoan infection, exhibit a massive proliferation of small lymphocytes in the posterior kidney and spleen, a decrease in erythrocyte packed cell volume, hemoglobin, and serum albumins and an increase in beta-globulins. Electronphotomicrographs of the causative agent indicate that it is engulfed within a macrophage which is surrounded by small lymphocytes. Fish having survived a clinical episode are completely refractory to subsequent infection.

Accumulation of RNA in blastocysts during embryonic diapause and the periimplantation period in the western spotted skunk.

The in vivo incorporation of 3H-uridine into RNA was studied in delayed implanting and activated blastocysts obtained from 33 western spotted skunks. 3H-uridine was incorporated into RNA by all blastocysts; however, significantly more label was incorporated as blastocyst diameter increased. Activated blastocysts with diameters of 1.

Presence of an inhibitor of plasminogen activator in uterine fluid of the western spotted skunk during delayed implantation.

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that protease inhibitors would be present in uterine fluids of the western spotted skunk during the period of delayed implantation but would decline or disappear during implantation. Blood plasma, uterine flushings and medium from endometrial cultures were collected 40-70 days preimplantation (Stage 1), 20-25 days preimplantation (Stage 2), 1-3 days preimplantation (Stage 3) and 1-5 days postimplantation (Stage 4). Protein content of the flushings was low in Stage 1 (12.