Galleria mellonella as an Antimicrobial Screening Model.

To combat the rising global issue of antibiotic resistance, the accelerated development of novel antibiotics is essential. Current preclinical antimicrobial development yields a significant number of leads that prove unsuitable either prior to or during clinical trials. To increase the efficiency of preclinical development, relevant, standardized, accessible, and cost-effective models must be developed.

The Kink Orientation Scale: Developing and Validating a Measure of Kink Desire, Practice, and Identity.

Kink, often referred to as BDSM, is an important aspect of a sizable minority's sexual desires, practices, and personal relationships, yet there are few ways to assess kink engagement in a holistic manner. This study aimed to develop the Kink Orientation Scale (KOS), a novel short tool for measuring different aspects of kink sexuality. In phase one, 27 items were created and included in the initial scale based on a literature review and focus groups with kinky and non-kinky individuals.

Secondary messenger signalling influences Pseudomonas aeruginosa adaptation to sinus and lung environments.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a cause of chronic respiratory tract infections in people with cystic fibrosis (CF), non-CF bronchiectasis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Prolonged infection allows the accumulation of mutations and horizontal gene transfer, increasing the likelihood of adaptive phenotypic traits. Adaptation is proposed to arise first in bacterial populations colonizing upper airway environments.

Identification of the and Spore Color Genes of .

Wild-type asexual spores (conidia) are green due to a pigment that protects the spores against ultraviolet light. The pigment is produced by a biosynthetic pathway, the genes of which are dispersed in the genome. The backbone molecule of the pigment is a polyketide synthesized by a polyketide synthase encoded by the gene.

Airway metabolic profiling during Streptococcus pneumoniae infection identifies branched chain amino acids as signatures of upper airway colonisation.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of community-acquired pneumonia and bacteraemia and is capable of remarkable phenotypic plasticity, responding rapidly to environmental change. Pneumococcus is a nasopharyngeal commensal, but is responsible for severe, acute infections following dissemination within-host. Pneumococcus is adept at utilising host resources, but the airways are compartmentalised and those resources are not evenly distributed.

Preclinical testing of antimicrobials for cystic fibrosis lung infections: current needs and future priorities.

A workshop was held by the PIPE-CF strategic research centre to consider preclinical testing of antimicrobials for cystic fibrosis (CF). The workshop brought together groups of people from the CF community to discuss current challenges and identify priorities when developing CF therapeutics. This paper summarizes the key points from the workshop from the different sessions, including talks given by presenters on the day and round table discussions.

An innate pathogen sensing strategy involving ubiquitination of bacterial surface proteins.

Sensing of pathogens by ubiquitination is a critical arm of cellular immunity. However, universal ubiquitination targets on microbes remain unidentified. Here, using in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo studies, we identify the first protein-based ubiquitination substrates on phylogenetically diverse bacteria by unveiling a strategy that uses recognition of degron-like motifs.

Challenges and opportunities in the development of novel antimicrobial therapeutics for cystic fibrosis.

Chronic respiratory infection is the primary driver of mortality in individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF). Existing drug screening models utilised in preclinical antimicrobial development are unable to mimic the complex CF respiratory environment. Consequently, antimicrobials showing promising activity in preclinical models often fail to translate through to clinical efficacy in people with CF.

Influence of Streptococcus pneumoniae Within-Strain Population Diversity on Virulence and Pathogenesis.

The short generation time of many bacterial pathogens allows the accumulation of mutations during routine culture procedures used for the preparation and propagation of bacterial stocks. Taking the major human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae as an example, we sought to determine the influence of standard laboratory handling of microbes on within-strain genetic diversity and explore how these changes influence virulence characteristics and experimental outcomes. A single culture of S.

Twelve-Week Daily Gluteal and Hamstring Electrical Stimulation Improves Vascular Structure and Function, Limb Volume, and Sitting Pressure in Spinal Cord Injury: A Pilot Feasibility Study.

Objective: We examined the long-term effects of low-intensity electrical stimulation on (micro)vasculature and sitting pressure of a home-based, wearable electrical stimulation device in a pilot feasibility study.

Design: In a cohort observation before-after trial, nine middle-aged male (n = 8) and female (n = 1) individuals (48 ± 15 yrs) with American Spinal Injury Association A-C classified chronic (1-24 yrs) spinal cord injury underwent 12 wks of self-administered daily, low-intensity gluteal and hamstring electrical stimulation (50 Hz, 6 hrs [30-min electrical stimulation, 15-min rest]). Common femoral artery diameter and blood blow were determined with ultrasound, skin vascular function during local heating was assessed using Laser-Doppler flowmetry, thigh volume was estimated using leg circumferences and skinfolds, and interface sitting pressure was measured using pressure mapping.

Pneumococcal Colonization and Virulence Factors Identified Via Experimental Evolution in Infection Models.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a commensal of the human nasopharynx and a major cause of respiratory and invasive disease. We examined adaptation and evolution of pneumococcus, within nasopharynx and lungs, in an experimental system where the selective pressures associated with transmission were removed. This was achieved by serial passage of pneumococci, separately, in mouse models of nasopharyngeal carriage or pneumonia.

Traditional Cardiovascular Risk Factors Strongly Underestimate the 5-Year Occurrence of Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality in Spinal Cord Injured Individuals.

Objectives: To explore whether traditional models of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction correctly predict CVD events across a median 5.7-year follow-up period in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and whether adding SCI-related characteristics (ie, lesion level) to the prediction model can improve the prognostic value.

Design: Retrospective analysis of patient records.

Femoral Artery Blood Flow and Microcirculatory Perfusion During Acute, Low-Level Functional Electrical Stimulation in Spinal Cord Injury.

Objective: Functional electrical stimulation (FES) may help to reduce the risk of developing macrovascular and microvascular complications in people with spinal cord injury. Low-intensity FES has significant clinical potential because this can be applied continuously throughout the day. This study examines the acute effects of low-intensity FES using wearable clothing garment on vascular blood flow and oxygen consumption in people with spinal cord injury.

What does the future hold for advanced nursing?

This third in a three-part series on advanced nursing explores the future demand for a flexible but regulated nursing career framework. Part 1 explored the historical evolution of advanced nursing, while part 2 discussed the development of a governance framework.

A governance framework for advanced nursing.

This second in a three-part series outlines the introduction of a governance framework for advanced nursing practice. Part 1 explored the history of the evolution of advanced practice, while part 3, to be published next week, will discuss the future of advanced practice and how it may shape the career structure of nursing.

Advanced nursing. Part 1: The development of advanced nursing roles.

This first in a three-part series on advanced nursing practice reviews its historical evolution. Part 2, to be published next week, reviews the introduction of a governance framework, while part 3 explores the future of advanced practice and how it may shape nursing career structures.

Hydroxyl-directed cyclizations of 1,6-enynes.

The palladium-catalyzed, hydroxyl-directed cyclization reactions of 1,6-enynes provide a highly diastereoselective process for the syntheses of stereochemically defined cyclopentanes. Consistently high levels of cis-selectivity are possible using homopropargyl alcohols in contrast to the corresponding propargyl alcohols. Hydroborylative enyne cyclizations coupled with this directing group effect provide a useful method for the syntheses of multifaceted compounds bearing all carbon quaternary centers.

Understanding practitioner ethnography.

Thomas David Barton provides an overview of practitioner ethnography, a research approach that provides practitioners with a way of exploring the culture of their workplace. He compares practitioner and traditional ethnography and looks at the pros and cons of the method.

Clinical mentoring of nurse practitioners: the doctors' experience.

The clinical development of nurse practitioners (NPs) has historically been dependent on mentorship from medical practitioners, yet their experience of this mentorship is generally unexplored. NPs have an ambiguous relationship with medicine as they have been dependent on medical mentorship to develop clinical skills, and they substitute into roles traditionally associated with medical practice. Consequently, NPs challenge professional boundaries and present particular concerns to their medical mentors.

Nurse practitioners - or advanced clinical nurses?

This article reviews a specific finding from a research project that examined the experiences of students, teachers and clinicians involved in a nurse practitioner degree programme. The development of advanced clinical nursing roles has presented challenges to the professional structure of nursing, particularly in the area of the unregulated and confusing array of titles adopted by nurses that infer advanced clinical practice. Over a 2-year period, practitioner ethnography was used to examine a sample of 10 student nurse practitioners who were undertaking a clinical degree programme (BSc (Hons) Nurse Practitioner).