Regional and institutional trends in assessment for academic promotion.

The assessment of research performance is widely seen as a vital tool in upholding the highest standards of quality, with selection and competition believed to drive progress. Academic institutions need to take critical decisions on hiring and promotion, while facing external pressure by also being subject to research assessment. Here we present an outlook on research assessment for career progression with specific focus on promotion to full professorship, based on 314 policies from 190 academic institutions and 218 policies from 58 government agencies, covering 32 countries in the Global North and 89 countries in the Global South.

Electric field stimulation directs target-specific axon regeneration and partial restoration of vision after optic nerve crush injury.

Failure of central nervous system (CNS) axons to regenerate after injury results in permanent disability. Several molecular neuro-protective and neuro-regenerative strategies have been proposed as potential treatments but do not provide the directional cues needed to direct target-specific axon regeneration. Here, we demonstrate that applying an external guidance cue in the form of electric field stimulation to adult rats after optic nerve crush injury was effective at directing long-distance, target-specific retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axon regeneration to native targets in the diencephalon.

Long-term evaluation of clinical success and safety of omadacycline in nontuberculous mycobacteria infections: a retrospective, multicenter cohort of real-world health outcomes.

Infections due to nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) continue to increase in prevalence, leading to problematic clinical outcomes. Omadacycline (OMC) is an aminomethylcycline antibiotic with FDA orphan drug and fast-track designations for pulmonary NTM infections, including (MAB). This multicenter retrospective study across 16 U.

Asymmetric charge balanced waveforms direct retinal ganglion cell axon growth.

Failure to direct axon regeneration to appropriate targets is a major barrier to restoring function after nerve injury. Development of strategies that can direct targeted regeneration of neurons such as retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are needed to delay or reverse blindness in diseases like glaucoma. Here, we demonstrate that a new class of asymmetric, charge balanced (ACB) waveforms are effective at directing RGC axon growth, in vitro, without compromising cell viability.

A Protocol for Low-Input RNA-Sequencing of Patients with Febrile Neutropenia Captures Relevant Immunological Information.

Improved methods are needed for diagnosing infectious diseases in children with cancer. Most children have fever for other reasons than bacterial infection and are exposed to unnecessary antibiotics and hospital admission. Recent research has shown that host whole blood RNA transcriptomic signatures can distinguish bacterial infection from other causes of fever.

Benchmarking full-length transcript single cell mRNA sequencing protocols.

Background: Single cell mRNA sequencing technologies have transformed our understanding of cellular heterogeneity and identity. For sensitive discovery or clinical marker estimation where high transcript capture per cell is needed only plate-based techniques currently offer sufficient resolution.

Results: Here, we present a performance evaluation of four different plate-based scRNA-seq protocols.

Health-system specialty pharmacy role and outcomes: A review of current literature.

Purpose: Specialty medications can have life-altering outcomes for patients with complex diseases. However, their benefit relies on appropriate treatment selection, patients' ability to afford and initiate treatment, and ongoing treatment optimization based on patient response to therapy. Mounting research demonstrates the benefits of the health-system specialty pharmacies (HSSPs) in improving specialty medication access, affordability, and outcomes.

Left thoracotomy approach for aortic root surgery.

Marfan syndrome is an autosomal dominant disease of connective tissue affecting approximately one in 5 000 people. However, the majority of patients (60-80%) with Marfan syndrome have some degree of aortic root dilation or thoracic aortic aneurysm that can lead to aortic dissection and rupture, which has long been recognised as the leading cause of death in Marfan syndrome. The funnel breast (pectus excavatum), often seen in patients with Marfan syndrome, radically complicates the access during aortic root or arch interventions, forcing cardiosurgery practitioners to seek alternative approaches.

Application of land snail Helix lucorum for evaluation of genotoxicity of soil pollution.

Application of native species as sentinels allows environmental scientists to determine real genotoxic impact of environmental pollutants. The present study aims at investigating the DNA damage in the land snail Helix lucorum as a biomarker of soil pollution. For this reason, the genotoxic impact of contaminated soil on H.

Epidural unilateral stimulation with "adaptive stim" option in treatment of type II CRPS.

CRPS is a type of severe pain syndrome and can be triggered by previous surgery or trauma. CRPS involves vasomotor changes such as changes in color and temperature of the skin, edema, increased sensitivity to touch, and a limited range of movement. Depending on the presence of nerve damage, CRPS is divided into two types.

A Comparison of Tools for Copy-Number Variation Detection in Germline Whole Exome and Whole Genome Sequencing Data.

Copy-number variations (CNVs) have important clinical implications for several diseases and cancers. Relevant CNVs are hard to detect because common structural variations define large parts of the human genome. CNV calling from short-read sequencing would allow single protocol full genomic profiling.

Radical Surgery for Recurrent Pulmonary Artery Sarcoma With 4-Year Survival.

Primary pulmonary artery sarcoma is a rare disease with poor prognosis. Radical resection provides the best curative chances. Our 60-year old male patient underwent pulmonary artery sarcoma excision with pericardial patch repair of the main pulmonary artery in 2017, but required reoperation in 2019 due to recurrence.

Molecular Mechanisms of the Deregulation of Muscle Contraction Induced by the R90P Mutation in Tpm3.12 and the Weakening of This Effect by BDM and W7.

Point mutations in the genes encoding the skeletal muscle isoforms of tropomyosin can cause a range of muscle diseases. The amino acid substitution of Arg for Pro residue in the 90th position (R90P) in γ-tropomyosin (Tpm3.12) is associated with congenital fiber type disproportion and muscle weakness.

Telomere Maintenance Pathway Activity Analysis Enables Tissue- and Gene-Level Inferences.

Telomere maintenance is one of the mechanisms ensuring indefinite divisions of cancer and stem cells. Good understanding of telomere maintenance mechanisms (TMM) is important for studying cancers and designing therapies. However, molecular factors triggering selective activation of either the telomerase dependent (TEL) or the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) pathway are poorly understood.

Aortic homograft implantation after Ozaki procedure: Case report.

Introduction And Importance: The infective endocarditis incidence data for patients undergoing aortic valve neocuspidization with glutaraldehyde-treated autologous pericardium (Ozaki procedure) are rare, and the optimal surgical treatment strategy remains unclear.

Case Presentation: This is the first case report of surgical treatment of infective endocarditis of aortic valve with cryopreserved homograft in an athlete with previously performed Ozaki procedure.

Clinical Discussion: The choice of homograft was dictated by the young age of the patient; professional activity as an athlete; refusal of anticoagulants and the need for wide excision of compromised tissues to mitigate potential risk of spread of infection as well as its recurrence.

Transcriptome Patterns of - and - Mutated Breast and Ovarian Cancers.

Mutations in the and genes are known risk factors and drivers of breast and ovarian cancers. So far, few studies have been focused on understanding the differences in transcriptome and functional landscapes associated with the disease (breast vs. ovarian cancers), gene ( vs.

Looking for Targets to Restore the Contractile Function in Congenital Myopathy Caused by GlnPro Tropomyosin.

We have used the technique of polarized microfluorimetry to obtain new insight into the pathogenesis of skeletal muscle disease caused by the GlnPro substitution in β-tropomyosin (Tpm2.2). The spatial rearrangements of actin, myosin and tropomyosin in the single muscle fiber containing reconstituted thin filaments were studied during simulation of several stages of ATP hydrolysis cycle.

Burr hole microsurgery in treatment of patients with intracranial lesions: Experience of 44 clinical cases.

Background: Modern technical capabilities have made minimally invasive surgery increasingly popular. Small incisions can reduce surgical duration and the degree of tissue trauma, which reduces the risk of complications. Burr hole microsurgery is a relatively new minimally invasive technique used in neurosurgery.

[Combined surgical treatment of a patient with kidney cancer stage 4 and coronary artery disease].

We report 3 patients with coronary artery disease and kidney cancer followed by thrombosis of inferior vena cava and right cardiac chambers undergoing simultaneous surgery.

Molecular Mechanisms of Muscle Weakness Associated with E173A Mutation in Tpm3.12. Troponin Ca Sensitivity Inhibitor W7 Can Reduce the Damaging Effect of This Mutation.

Substitution of Ala for Glu residue in position 173 of γ-tropomyosin (Tpm3.12) is associated with muscle weakness. Here we observe that this mutation increases myofilament Ca-sensitivity and inhibits in vitro actin-activated ATPase activity of myosin subfragment-1 at high Ca.

Morpho‑functional study of the hypothalamic proline‑rich polypeptide apoptotic activity against mouse Ehrlich ascites carcinoma.

A new type of bioactive polypeptides of the neurosecretory hypothalamus called proline‑rich peptides (PRPs), which are isolated from bovine neurosecretory granules of the neurohypophysis, are synthesized in the form of a common precursor protein (neurophysin vasopressin‑associated glycoprotein). Proline‑rich polypetide 1 (PRP‑1; also known as galarmin) is comprised of 15 amino acids residues, and has been suggested to possess anti‑neurodegenerative, immunoregulatory, hematopoietic, antimicrobial and antitumor properties. The cytostatic, antiproliferative effect of PRP‑1 was demonstrated in the human chondrosarcoma JJ012 and triple negative breast carcinoma MDA MB 231 cell lines.

Regulatory feedback on receptor and non-receptor synthesis for robust signaling.

Elaborate regulatory feedback processes are thought to make biological development robust, that is, resistant to changes induced by genetic or environmental perturbations. How this might be done is still not completely understood. Previous numerical simulations on reaction-diffusion models of Dpp gradients in Drosophila wing imaginal disc have showed that feedback (of the Hill function type) on (signaling) receptors and/or non-(signaling) receptors are of limited effectiveness in promoting robustness.

The molecular mechanism of muscle dysfunction associated with the R133W mutation in Tpm2.2.

Ghost muscle fibres reconstituted with myosin heads labeled with the fluorescent probe 1,5-IAEDANS were used for analysis of muscle fibre dysfunction associated with the R133W mutation in β-tropomyosin (Tpm2.2). By using polarized microscopy, we showed that at high Ca the R133W mutation in both αβ-Tpm heterodimers and ββ-Tpm homodimers decreases the amount of the myosin heads strongly bound to F-actin and the number of switched-on actin monomers, with this effect being stronger for ββ-Tpm.

Transcriptome-Guided Drug Repositioning.

Drug repositioning can save considerable time and resources and significantly speed up the drug development process. The increasing availability of drug action and disease-associated transcriptome data makes it an attractive source for repositioning studies. Here, we have developed a transcriptome-guided approach for drug/biologics repositioning based on multi-layer self-organizing maps (ml-SOM).

An individualized approach to residency preparation for fourth professional year pharmacy students.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of an individualized residency preparation program and faculty mentorship on student preparedness for pursuing residency training and their ability to successfully match with a postgraduate year one (PGY1) residency position.

Methods: This prospective cohort enrolled fourth professional year pharmacy students from August 2016 to March 2017. Students participated in a faculty-designed residency preparation program, were assigned faculty mentors, and were provided with several residency preparation resources.