Conception and Synthesis of Oxabicyclic Nucleoside Phosphonates as Internucleotidic Phosphate Surrogates in Antisense Oligonucleotide Constructs.

The stereocontrolled synthesis of a novel oxabicyclic nucleoside phosphonate comprising a perhydrofuropyran core unit was achieved. It was incorporated in an oligonucleotide sequence as a 5'-3' phosphonate-phosphate insert, and the stability properties of the resulting duplex were measured. The oxabicyclic nucleoside framework was designed so as to restrict rotation around angles γ, δ, and ε of a natural nucleoside.

Physical Activity in Older Mexican Americans Living in Two Cities on the U.S.-Mexico Border.

Background: There is limited information on physical activity in marginalized older populations like that on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Psychosocial Correlates of Monocyte Activation and HIV Persistence in Methamphetamine Users.

This cross-sectional study investigated the associations of psychosocial factors relevant to recovery from substance use disorders with monocyte activation and HIV persistence in a sample of 84 HIV-positive, methamphetamine-using sexual minority men with undetectable HIV viral load (<40 copies/mL). We examined if psychosocial factors were associated with decreased soluble CD14 (sCD14) and lower proviral HIV DNA. Multiple linear regression models adjusted for age, anti-retroviral therapy regimen, and CD4+ T-cell count.

Change in Breast Cancer Screening Knowledge is Associated With Change in Mammogram Intention in Mexican-Origin Women After an Educational Intervention.

Purpose: To determine the relationship between breast cancer screening knowledge and intent to receive a mammogram within 6 months in a sample of Mexican-origin women living in El Paso, Texas.

Methods: A total of 489 uninsured Mexican-origin women were assigned to treatment or control and completed surveys at pre- and postintervention. Pre-post associations between breast cancer screening knowledge and intent were tested.

Nitric Oxide Controls Constitutive Freezing Tolerance in Arabidopsis by Attenuating the Levels of Osmoprotectants, Stress-Related Hormones and Anthocyanins.

Plant tolerance to freezing temperatures is governed by endogenous constitutive components and environmental inducing factors. Nitric oxide (NO) is one of the endogenous components that participate in freezing tolerance regulation. A combined metabolomic and transcriptomic characterization of NO-deficient nia1,2noa1-2 mutant plants suggests that NO acts attenuating the production and accumulation of osmoprotective and regulatory metabolites, such as sugars and polyamines, stress-related hormones, such as ABA and jasmonates, and antioxidants, such as anthocyanins and flavonoids.

Efficiency of the OcluchMAD in the treatment of patients with OSAS and its association with craniofacial morphology.

Objective: This study uses polysomnography and the Epworth sleepiness scale to assess the efficiency of the OcluchMAD in patients with Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAS), on overall respiratory disturbance indices (RDI), supine respiratory disturbance index (SRDI), minimum oxygen saturation, microarousals, CT90 (or ID90), sleep efficacy and snoring. These data are associated with skeletal class and facial biotype in order to establish predictive parameters for its effectiveness according to craniofacial morphology.

Methods: 22 adult patients (between 38 and 60 years of age) of both sexes (7 women, 15 men) diagnosed with OSAS in the Hospital de Carabineros de Chile (HOSCAR) Neurology Unit were recruited and given the Ocluch MAD in the hospital's dental clinic, for its use during a three-month period.

Effects of gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia in mRNA expression of fibrinolysis genes in primary cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

Hypertension disorders (HD) and pre-eclampsia (PRE) are leading causes of maternal deaths worldwide. PRE is associated with vascular endothelial dysfunction and with deregulation of the fibrinolysis pathway genes. Fibrinolysis is the fibrin clot hydrolysis process catalyzed by plasmin, a proteolytic enzyme formed from plasminogen.

Predicting the Ability of Wounds to Heal Given Any Burn Size and Fluid Volume: An Analytical Approach.

The intrinsic relationship between fluid volume and open wound size (%) has not been previously examined. Therefore, we conducted this study to investigate whether open wound size can be predicted from fluid volume plus other significant factors over time and to evaluate how machine learning may perform in predicting open wound size. This retrospective study involved patients with at least 20% TBSA burned.

Immediate Two-Stage Prosthetic Breast Reconstruction Failure: Radiation Is Not the Only Culprit.

Background: Immediate prosthetic breast reconstruction produces a satisfactory aesthetic result with high levels of patient satisfaction. However, with the broader indication for postmastectomy adjuvant radiation therapy, many patients are advised against immediate breast reconstruction because of concerns of implant loss and infection, particularly as most patients also require chemotherapy. This retrospective cohort study examines outcomes for patients who underwent immediate two-stage prosthetic breast reconstruction after mastectomy with or without adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Radiotherapy volume delineation using 18F-FDG-PET/CT modifies gross node volume in patients with oesophageal cancer.

Purpose: Evidence supporting the use of 18F-FDG-PET/CT in the segmentation process of oesophageal cancer for radiotherapy planning is limited. Our aim was to compare the volumes and tumour lengths defined by fused PET/CT vs. CT simulation.

Evaluation of Healthy Fit: A Community Health Worker Model to Address Hispanic Health Disparities.

Introduction: Hispanics in the United States have disproportionately high rates of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes and poorer access to preventive health services. Healthy Fit uses community health workers to extend public health department infrastructure and address Hispanic health disparities related to cardiovascular disease and access to preventive health services. We evaluated the effectiveness of Healthy Fit in 1) reaching Hispanic Americans facing health disparities, and 2) helping participants access preventive health services and make behavior changes to improve heart health.

Trend Analysis of Current Modalities for Monitoring Fluid Therapy in Patients With Large Burns: Echoing the Call for Better Resuscitation Indices.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether current standards at our institution have effectively monitored resuscitations of severely burned patients during the first 48 hours postburn. Demographics, injuries assessed by TBSA and full thickness (FT), and resuscitation volumes (lactated Ringer's [LR]) were compared for all patients and those who died or survived. Means and standard deviations of hourly indices (urinary output [UOP], lactate [LAC], base excess [BE]) vs LR were analyzed.

Mexican parent's undocumented status and the educational attainment of the children left behind.

Research shows that having undocumented parents lowers the educational attainment of children that grew up in the United States, but we know less about how it affects the education of children left behind in their origin countries. We use fixed effects models and data from the Mexican Migration Project to examine this relationship. We find that having both parents documented increases the educational attainment of children left behind by over two years in comparison to similar children with mixed-status, undocumented, and nonimmigrant parents.

[Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia following infliximab therapy in patient with Crohn's disease].

There are no evidence-based guidelines about prophylaxis against Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia in inflammatory bowel disease. We report a case of P. jiroveci pneumonia in patient with Crohn's disease receiving infliximab and methotrexate.

On the possible role of ticks in the eco-epidemiology of Coxiella burnetii in a Mediterranean ecosystem.

Ruminant livestock is the main reservoir of Coxiella burnetii (Cb), but little is known about the role of wildlife and ticks in its epidemiology. The Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica, Schinz 1838) population of "Ports de Tortosa i Beseit" (NE Spain) suffers intense tick infestations and low reproduction rates. This study aims to (1) assess the relationship between infection in ibexes (detection of serum antibodies and/or of Cb DNA in tissues) and Cb DNA presence in ticks hosted by the same ibexes; and (2) identify Cb associated risk factors.

Polygenic Risk for Depression Increases Risk of Ischemic Stroke: From the Stroke Genetics Network Study.

Background And Purpose: Although depression is a risk factor for stroke in large prospective studies, it is unknown whether these conditions have a shared genetic basis.

Methods: We applied a polygenic risk score (PRS) for major depressive disorder derived from European ancestry analyses by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium to a genome-wide association study of ischemic stroke in the Stroke Genetics Network of National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Included in separate analyses were 12 577 stroke cases and 25 643 controls of European ancestry and 1353 cases and 2383 controls of African ancestry.

Development of an in vivo model of Chlamydia abortus chronic infection in mice overexpressing IL-10.

Chlamydia abortus, like other members of the family Chlamydiaceae, have a unique intracellular developmental cycle that is characterized by its chronic nature. Infection of a flock can remain undetected for months, until abortion occurs the following reproductive season but, to date, neither the location nor the mechanisms that maintain this latent phase are fully understood. Studies have shown that IL-10 produced as a response to certain micro-organisms sustains the intracellular survival of pathogens and increases host susceptibility to chlamydial infections.

The SlCBL10 Calcineurin B-Like Protein Ensures Plant Growth under Salt Stress by Regulating Na and Ca Homeostasis.

Characterization of a new tomato () T-DNA mutant allowed for the isolation of the () gene whose lack of function was responsible for the severe alterations observed in the shoot apex and reproductive organs under salinity conditions. Physiological studies proved that gene is required to maintain a proper low Na/Ca ratio in growing tissues allowing tomato growth under salt stress. Expression analysis of the main responsible genes for Na compartmentalization (i.

Laparoscopic Versus Open Distal Pancreatectomy: Comparative Analysis of Clinical Outcomes at a Single Institution.

Purpose: Undertake a comparison between laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy (LDP) and open distal pancreatectomy (ODP) for the management of benign and malignant lesions.

Methods: A case series study of 93 consecutive patients subjected to a distal pancreatectomy for pancreatic tumors between 2001 and 2015. In each patient, clinical and surgical characteristic, postoperative course, histopathologic examination, and survival were analyzed.

Follow-Up Evaluation of the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research Burn Flow Sheet for En Route Care Documentation of Burned Combat Casualties.

Introduction: In 2006, burn clinical practice guidelines were developed to provide recommendations for optimal care of U.S. military and local national burn casualties.

Associations between social relationship measures, serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and risk of stroke and dementia.

Introduction: Mechanisms underlying social determinants of stroke and dementia are unclear and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may contribute as a molecular link.

Methods: Using the Framingham Study, we examined social relationship measures as predictors of higher serum BDNF level and cumulative incidence of stroke and dementia.

Results: Among 3294 participants, controlling for age and sex, isolation trended with lower BDNF (odds ratio = 0.