Visualizing biofilm formation in endotracheal tubes using endoscopic three-dimensional optical coherence tomography.

Biofilm formation has been linked to ventilator-associated pneumonia, which is a prevalent infection in hospital intensive care units. Currently, there is no rapid diagnostic tool to assess the degree of biofilm formation or cellular biofilm composition. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a minimally invasive, nonionizing imaging modality that can be used to provide high-resolution cross-sectional images.

An Engineered Split Intein for Photoactivated Protein Trans-Splicing.

Protein splicing is mediated by inteins that auto-catalytically join two separated protein fragments with a peptide bond. Here we engineered a genetically encoded synthetic photoactivatable intein (named LOVInC), by using the light-sensitive LOV2 domain from Avena sativa as a switch to modulate the splicing activity of the split DnaE intein from Nostoc punctiforme. Periodic blue light illumination of LOVInC induced protein splicing activity in mammalian cells.

Using Lopinavir Concentrations in Hair Samples to Assess Treatment Outcomes on Second-Line Regimens Among Asian Children.

We conducted a prospective monitoring study to determine whether antiretroviral (ARV) levels in hair of Asian children on second-line protease inhibitor-based ARV therapy (ART) are associated with virologic failure (VF), compared to plasma drug levels and self-reported adherence. HIV-infected Asian children on second-line ART regimens were enrolled into a longitudinal cohort. Traditional adherence measures, plasma, and hair samples were collected 24 weeks after study enrollment.

Atypical radiographic features of skull base cholesterol granuloma.

Cholesterol granulomas (CGs) are the most common benign lesions of the petrous apex (PA) and have distinct computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics. On CT, CGs of the PA (PACG) present as expansile lesions with erosion of bony trabeculae. MRI shows a hyperintense lesion on T1-and T2-weighted images and do not enhance with gadolinium.

Co-Designing Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Environments: Unravelling the Situated Context of Informal Dementia Care.

Ambient assisted living (AAL) aims to help older persons "age-in-place" and manage everyday activities using intelligent and pervasive computing technology. AAL research, however, has yet to explore how AAL might support or collaborate with informal care partners (ICPs), such as relatives and friends, who play important roles in the lives and care of persons with dementia (PwDs). In a multiphase codesign process with six (6) ICPs, we envisioned how AAL could be situated to complement their care.

Measles Epidemics Among Children in Vietnam: Genomic Characterization of Virus Responsible for Measles Outbreak in Ho Chi Minh City, 2014.

Background: Measles remains poorly controlled in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to characterize genes of virus responsible for a measles outbreak among children in Vietnam in 2014.

Study Design: Throat swab samples were collected from 122 pediatric patients with suspected measles.

Prevalence and incidence of liver dysfunction and assessment of biomarkers of liver disease in HIV-infected Asian children.

Background: We determined the prevalence and incidence of liver dysfunction before and after initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in the TREAT Asia Pediatric HIV Observational Database.

Methods: Data from children initiated on cART between 2 and 18 years of age with baseline alanine aminotransferase (ALT) available before and at least once after cART initiation in TREAT Asia Pediatric HIV Observational Database between 2008 and 2012 were analyzed. Prevalence and incidence of liver dysfunction and biomarkers including the aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index and FIB4 index (a noninvasive panel to stage liver disease) were assessed.

Case of a lung mass due to melioidosis in Mexico.

Background: Melioidosis, an infection caused by the gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, is an important cause of pneumonia, skin infection, sepsis, and death in Southeast Asia and Australia, but is exceedingly rare in North America. Pulmonary melioidosis typically presents as acute bacterial pneumonia or cavitary lung lesions resembling tuberculosis.

Case Report: We report melioidosis in a 70-year-old active smoker from Mexico with no history of travel to disease-endemic areas.

Value of sialendoscopy-assisted transoral sublingual gland resection for a plunging ranula: case report and review.

Objective: To highlight the value of sialendoscopy during transoral resection of the sublingual gland for a plunging ranula to prevent iatrogenic injury to the submandibular duct.

Method And Results: The clinical course of a 20-year-old male with a plunging ranula was analysed. The patient underwent transoral resection of the affected sublingual gland and pseudocyst.

Plasticity of subcortical pathways promote recovery of skilled hand function in rats after corticospinal and rubrospinal tract injuries.

The corticospinal and rubrospinal tracts are the predominant tracts for controlling skilled hand function. Injuries to these tracts impair grasping but not gross motor functions such as overground locomotion. The aim of the present study was to determine whether or not, after damage to both the corticospinal and rubrospinal tracts, other spared subcortical motor pathway can mediate the recovery of skilled hand function.

3-(4-pyridyl)-acetylacetone--a fully featured substituted pyridine and a flexible linker for complex materials.

3-(4-Pyridyl)-acetylacetone (HacacPy) acts as a pyridine-type ligand towards CdX2 (X = Cl, Br, I). Chain polymers with six-coordinated metal cations are obtained from CdCl2 and with alternating five- and six-coordinated Cd centers from CdBr2. In either case, the formation of these compounds does not depend on the precise stoichiometry.

An HMM-based comparative genomic framework for detecting introgression in eukaryotes.

One outcome of interspecific hybridization and subsequent effects of evolutionary forces is introgression, which is the integration of genetic material from one species into the genome of an individual in another species. The evolution of several groups of eukaryotic species has involved hybridization, and cases of adaptation through introgression have been already established. In this work, we report on PhyloNet-HMM-a new comparative genomic framework for detecting introgression in genomes.

Weight as predictors of clinical progression and treatment failure: results from the TREAT Asia Pediatric HIV Observational Database.

Objective: To evaluate the value of time-updated weight and height in predicting clinical progression, and immunological and virological failure in children receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (cART).

Methods: We used Cox regression to analyze data of a cohort of Asian children.

Results: A total of 2608 children were included; median age at cART was 5.

Preparing for patient-centered care: assessing nursing student knowledge, comfort, and cultural competence toward the Latino population.

As the Latino population continues to grow throughout the United States, cultural competence training of nursing students at the baccalaureate level has become a priority. This study aimed to explore undergraduate nursing students' attitudes and beliefs toward Latino patients and their perceived readiness to provide care to Latino patients. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at four major nursing schools in the southeastern United States, which is the region that has seen the highest percentage of growth in the Latino population.

Text Categorization of Heart, Lung, and Blood Studies in the Database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP) Utilizing n-grams and Metadata Features.

The database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP) allows researchers to understand phenotypic contribution to genetic conditions, generate new hypotheses, confirm previous study results, and identify control populations. However, effective use of the database is hindered by suboptimal study retrieval. Our objective is to evaluate text classification techniques to improve study retrieval in the context of the dbGaP database.

Inner ear supporting cells protect hair cells by secreting HSP70.

Mechanosensory hair cells are the receptor cells of hearing and balance. Hair cells are sensitive to death from exposure to therapeutic drugs with ototoxic side effects, including aminoglycoside antibiotics and cisplatin. We recently showed that the induction of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) inhibits ototoxic drug-induced hair cell death.

Prevalence of poor sleep quality and its relationship with body mass index among teenagers: evidence from Taiwan.

Background: The linkage between sleep quality and weight status among teenagers has gained more attention in the recent literature and health policy but no consensus has been reached.

Methods: Using both a propensity score method and multivariate linear regression for a cross-sectional sample of 2,113 teenagers, we analyzed their body mass index (BMI) in relation to sleep quality while controlling for family characteristics (household income, parent/guardian level of education, disability status, work night shift, and smoking) and individual factors (age, sex, regular exercise, smoking, employment, and feeling secure in the neighborhood). Sleep quality was assessed using 3 scales: difficulty in initiating sleep, difficulty in maintaining sleep, and non-restorative sleep, based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-defined insomnia.

Programming membrane fusion and subsequent apoptosis into mammalian cells.

By the delivery of specific natural or engineered proteins, mammalian cells can be programmed to perform increasingly sophisticated and useful functions. Here, we introduce a set of proteins that has potential value in cell-based therapies by programming a cell to target tumor cells. First, the delivery of VSV-G (vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein) allowed the cell to undergo membrane fusion with adjacent cells to form syncytia (i.

Engineered networks of synthetic and natural proteins to control cell migration.

Mammalian cells reprogrammed with engineered transgenes have the potential to be useful therapeutic platforms because they can support large genetic networks, can be taken from a host or patient, and perform useful functions such as migration and secretion. Successful engineering of mammalian cells will require the development of modules that can perform well-defined, reliable functions, such as directed cell migration toward a chemical or physical signal. One inherently modular cellular pathway is the Ca(2+) signaling pathway: protein modules that mobilize and respond to Ca(2+) are combined across cell types to create complexity.

Parts-based assembly of synthetic transmembrane proteins in mammalian cells.

Transmembrane proteins span cellular membranes such as the plasma membrane and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane to mediate inter- and intracellular interactions. An N-terminal signal peptide and transmembrane helices facilitate recruitment to the ER and integration into the membrane, respectively. Using a parts-based assembly approach in this study, we confirm that the minimum requirement to create a transmembrane protein is indeed only a transmembrane helix (TM).

Photoswitchable protein degradation: a generalizable control module for cellular function?

In this issue of Chemistry & Biology, Renicke et al. report a photosensitive degron (psd) consisting of the LOV2 domain fused to a protein degradation sequence. This design enabled light-dependent protein degradation in yeast.

Relativistic quantum teleportation with superconducting circuits.

We study the effects of relativistic motion on quantum teleportation and propose a realizable experiment where our results can be tested. We compute bounds on the optimal fidelity of teleportation when one of the observers undergoes nonuniform motion for a finite time. The upper bound to the optimal fidelity is degraded due to the observer's motion.

Analysis and regulation of amoeboid-like cell motility using synthetic Ca(2+)-sensitive proteins.

Several recent reports have demonstrated how engineered proteins can control cell motility, an important functional module for ultimately programming cells as therapeutics. We have reported two engineered proteins that regulate the blebbing cell morphology using chimeras of RhoA, a protein that regulates cytoskeletal tension. Here, we show that engineered switching of blebbing can be used to regulate cell motility.

Simultaneous assembly of two target proteins using split inteins for live cell imaging.

Inteins are protein elements that covalently reassemble proteins from two precursor fragments in a process known as protein splicing. They are commonly used to reassemble a single target protein by protein splicing, but a second target protein can potentially reassemble by intein dimerization. Here, we use the naturally occurring split DnaE intein from Nostoc punctiforme (NpuDnaE) to demonstrate the simultaneous assembly of two target proteins in several examples studied with live cell imaging: yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) with monomeric red fluorescent protein (mRFP), dominant positive mutant of RhoA GTPase with YFP and GCaMP2 Ca(2+) indicator with mRFP.