Implementation of a Sample Pooling Strategy for the Direct Detection of SARS-CoV-2 by Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: To report our institutional experience in devising and implementing a pooling protocol and process for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing over a 3-month period in the fall of 2020.

Methods: The widespread testing implemented in the United States for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has led to a significant shortage of testing supplies and therefore has become a major impediment to the public health response. To date, several institutions have implemented sample pooling, but publications documenting these experiences are sparse.

Cytoreduction with hyperthermic intra peritoneal and intra thoracic chemotherapy for metastatic Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor of the ovary.

Sertoli Leydig cell tumor (SLCT) is a rare sex-cord stromal tumor of the ovary that generally has a benign course. Here, we report an unusual case of recurrent, metastatic SLCT and its unique management with a combination of cytoreductive surgery, hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy, and systemic chemotherapy.

Effect of antimicrobial stewardship with rapid MALDI-TOF identification and Vitek 2 antimicrobial susceptibility testing on hospitalization outcome.

We sought to evaluate time for bacterial culture and initiation of appropriate therapy for patients, from 2017 (without rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP)) and 2018 (with RDT and ASP). Time to identification (ID) was significantly faster in 2018 (2018 24.9 ± 14.

Leukocyte filtration and postoperative infections.

Background: Leukocyte filtration has been hypothesized to reduce the risk of postoperative infections by alleviating the immunosuppressive effect of whole blood. However, the literature regarding the clinical efficacy of leukocyte filtration remains conflicted. This meta-analysis investigates the impact of allogeneic and autologous leukocyte-filtered blood transfusions on the incidence of postoperative infections in adult surgical patients.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) Funding for Studies of Hospital-Associated Bacterial Pathogens: Are Funds Proportionate to Burden of Disease?

Background: Hospital-associated infections (HAIs) are associated with a considerable burden of disease and direct costs greater than $17 billion. The pathogens that cause the majority of serious HAIs are Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium difficile, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species, referred as ESCKAPE. We aimed to determine the amount of funding the National Institute of Health (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) allocates to research on antimicrobial resistant pathogens, particularly ESCKAPE pathogens.

Bridging the gap: a GFP-based strategy for overexpression and purification of membrane proteins with intra and extracellular C-termini.

Low expression and instability during isolation are major obstacles preventing adequate structure-function characterization of membrane proteins (MPs). To increase the likelihood of generating large quantities of protein, C-terminally fused green fluorescent protein (GFP) is commonly used as a reporter for monitoring expression and evaluating purification. This technique has mainly been restricted to MPs with intracellular C-termini (C(in)) due to GFP's inability to fluoresce in the Escherichia coli periplasm.

Fluorescence Detection of Heavy Atom Labeling (FD-HAL): a rapid method for identifying covalently modified cysteine residues by phasing atoms.

Membrane protein crystallography frequently stalls at the phase determination stage due to poor crystal diffraction and the inability to identify heavy atom derivatization prior to data collection. Thus, a majority of time, effort and resources are invested preparing potential derivatized crystals for synchrotron data collection and analysis without knowledge of heavy atom labeling. To remove this uncertainty, we introduce Fluorescence Detection of Heavy Atom Labeling (FD-HAL) using tetramethylrhodamine-5-maleimide (a fluorescent maleimide compound) to monitor in-gel cysteine residue accessibility and ascertain covalent modification by mercury, platinum and gold compounds.

The crystal structure of the primary Ca2+ sensor of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger reveals a novel Ca2+ binding motif.

The Na+/Ca2+ exchanger is a plasma membrane protein that regulates intracellular Ca2+ levels in cardiac myocytes. Transport activity is governed by Ca2+, and the primary Ca2+ sensor (CBD1) is located in a large cytoplasmic loop connecting two transmembrane helices. The binding of Ca2+ to the CBD1 sensory domain results in conformational changes that stimulate the exchanger to extrude Ca2+.