NOX2 is critical for heterotypic neutrophil-platelet interactions during vascular inflammation.

Platelet-leukocyte interactions on activated endothelial cells play an important role during microvascular occlusion under oxidative stress conditions. However, it remains poorly understood how neutrophil-platelet interactions are regulated during vascular inflammation. By using intravital microscopy with mice lacking nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase 2 (NOX2) and their bone marrow chimera, we demonstrated that NOX2 from both hematopoietic and endothelial cells is crucial for neutrophil-platelet interactions during tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced venular inflammation.

'Picture me healthy': a pilot study using photovoice to explore health perceptions among migrant youth in Beijing, China.

Globalization has resulted in an influx of migrant families from rural provinces into the urban areas of China. Although the migrant population may live in the same cities as urban residents, they experience different lives because of restricted access to job opportunities, social services, and schools for children. Limited research exists with Chinese rural-to-urban migrant youth, particularly using community-based approaches.

Reduction of Iatrogenic Atrial Septal Defects with an Anterior and Inferior Transseptal Puncture Site when Operating the Cryoballoon Ablation Catheter.

The cryoballoon catheter ablates atrial fibrillation (AF) triggers in the left atrium (LA) and pulmonary veins (PVs) via transseptal access. The typical transseptal puncture site is the fossa ovalis (FO) - the atrial septum's thinnest section. A potentially beneficial transseptal site, for the cryoballoon, is near the inferior limbus (IL).

Extensively Expanded Auricular Chondrocytes Form Neocartilage In Vivo.

Objective: Our goal was to engineer cartilage in vivo using auricular chondrocytes that underwent clinically relevant expansion and using methodologies that could be easily translated into health care practice.

Design: Sheep and human chondrocytes were isolated from auricular cartilage biopsies and expanded in vitro. To reverse dedifferentiation, expanded cells were either mixed with cryopreserved P0 chondrocytes at the time of seeding onto porous collagen scaffolds or proliferated with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF).

Effect of laser acupuncture on obesity: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Obesity-related diseases have a profound economic impact on health care systems. Laser acupuncture has been shown to have beneficial effects on obesity. However, to our knowledge, those trials were either non-randomized, non-blinded or included low-calorie diet control.

Drug-Drug Interactions With Antiviral Agents in People Who Inject Drugs Requiring Substitution Therapy.

Objective: To describe potential drug-drug interactions in the area of HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection and injection drug use, including those between antiretrovirals (ARVs), direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), and opioid-agonist therapy, and to supply a practical approach to their management.

Data Sources: We searched PubMed for relevant articles published up until February 2015 as well as conference reports and drug-drug-interaction Web sites.

Data Selection And Data Extraction: We used the following search terms: pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic drug-drug interaction, opioid substitution, HIV, hepatitis and the individual names of the relevant agents of the following drug classes and the drug classes itself: reverse transcriptase inhibitors, nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease inhibitors, direct-acting antivirals, opioide, benzodiazepines, anticonvulsants, antidepressants and antipsychotics.

Enhancing the Predictive Power of Mutations in the C-Terminus of the KCNQ1-Encoded Kv7.1 Voltage-Gated Potassium Channel.

Despite the overrepresentation of Kv7.1 mutations among patients with a robust diagnosis of long QT syndrome (LQTS), a background rate of innocuous Kv7.1 missense variants observed in healthy controls creates ambiguity in the interpretation of LQTS genetic test results.

Measuring alcohol-related consequences and motives among students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Introduction: College student drinkers have the propensity to engage in heavy alcohol consumption. These consumption patterns can be problematic given the well-established relationship between heavy drinking and negative consequences of alcohol consumption. Though the research on college student drinking is abundant, much of the work conducted has been with Caucasian samples and less so with African American samples or at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Drosophila muller f elements maintain a distinct set of genomic properties over 40 million years of evolution.

The Muller F element (4.2 Mb, ~80 protein-coding genes) is an unusual autosome of Drosophila melanogaster; it is mostly heterochromatic with a low recombination rate. To investigate how these properties impact the evolution of repeats and genes, we manually improved the sequence and annotated the genes on the D.

Platelet-neutrophil interactions under thromboinflammatory conditions.

Platelets primarily mediate hemostasis and thrombosis, whereas leukocytes are responsible for immune responses. Since platelets interact with leukocytes at the site of vascular injury, thrombosis and vascular inflammation are closely intertwined and occur consecutively. Recent studies using real-time imaging technology demonstrated that platelet-neutrophil interactions on the activated endothelium are an important determinant of microvascular occlusion during thromboinflammatory disease in which inflammation is coupled to thrombosis.

Conditions for seeding and promoting neo-auricular cartilage formation in a fibrous collagen scaffold.

Background: Carved autologous costal cartilage and porous polyethylene implants (Medpor) are the most common approaches for total ear reconstruction, but these approaches may have inconsistent cosmetic outcomes, a high risk of extrusion, or other surgical complications. Engineering ear cartilage to emulate native auricular tissue is an appealing approach, but often the cell-seeded scaffolds are susceptible to shrinkage and architectural changes when placed in vivo. The aim of this study was to assess the most favorable conditions for in vitro pre-culture of cell-seeded type I collagen scaffolds prior to in vivo implantation.

Molecular phenotyping of a UK population: defining the human serum metabolome.

Phenotyping of 1,200 'healthy' adults from the UK has been performed through the investigation of diverse classes of hydrophilic and lipophilic metabolites present in serum by applying a series of chromatography-mass spectrometry platforms. These data were made robust to instrumental drift by numerical correction; this was prerequisite to allow detection of subtle metabolic differences. The variation in observed metabolite relative concentrations between the 1,200 subjects ranged from less than 5 % to more than 200 %.

CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network Co-Infection and Concurrent Diseases Core: Updated Canadian guidelines for the treatment of hepatitis C infection in HIV-hepatitis C coinfected adults.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection occurs in 20% to 30% of Canadians living with HIV and is responsible for a heavy burden of morbidity and mortality. Management of HIV-HCV coinfection is more complex due to the accelerated progression of liver disease, the timing and nature of antiretroviral and HCV therapy, mental health and addictions management, socioeconomic obstacles and drug-drug interactions between new HCV direct-acting antiviral therapies and antiretroviral regimens.

Objective: To update national standards for the management of HCV-HIV coinfected adults in the Canadian context.

SIRT3 interactions with FOXO3 acetylation, phosphorylation and ubiquitinylation mediate endothelial cell responses to hypoxia.

The endothelial cells (ECs) that line the vascular lumen are exposed to a wide variety of environmental stresses, such as hypoxia. Maladaptation to stress in ECs is a key event in the development of cardiovascular disease. Sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) is an NAD+-dependent protein deacetylase that modulates various proteins to control mitochondrial function and metabolism.

Physicochemical, nutritional, and sensory qualities of wine grape pomace fortified baked goods.

Wine grape pomace (WGP) as a source of antioxidant dietary fiber (DF) was used to fortify baked goods, including breads, muffins, and brownies. Pinot Noir WGP (RWGP) and Pinot Grigio WGP (WWGP) substituted wheat flour at concentration of 5%, 10%, and 15% for bread, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% RWGP for brownies, and 5%, 10%, and 15% RWGP or 10%, 15%, and 20% WWGP for muffins. The finished products were evaluated for total phenolic content (TPC), radical scavenging activity (RSA), and total DF, as well as physicochemical and sensory properties.

SLC41A1, a Na/Mg exchanger, is downregulated during exercise.

Serum magnesium (Mg) levels are closely controlled through a variety of Mg transporters and ionic channels during physiological conditions. These levels have been shown to increase during exercise. However, the effect of Mg transporter expression during exercise remains to be determined.

The evolution of three decades of antiretroviral therapy: challenges, triumphs and the promise of the future.

The evolution of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment has improved our understanding and management of complex pharmacological issues that have driven improved outcomes and quality of life of the HIV-infected patient. These issues include adherence, long- and short-term toxicities, pharmacoenhancement, pharmacogenomics, therapeutic drug monitoring, differential penetration of drugs into sanctuary sites, such as the central nervous system, genital tract and small bowel, and drug-drug and drug-food interactions related to cytochrome P450 drug-metabolizing enzymes, uridine diphosphate glucuronyltransferases and drug transporters, to name a few. There is future promise, as an increased understanding of the immunopathogenesis of HIV and global public health initiatives are driving novel treatment approaches with goals to prevent, control and, ultimately, eradicate HIV.

Pain relief as a primary treatment goal: at what point does functioning and well-being become more important? A case study of an adolescent with debilitating chronic pain.

Background: Pediatric chronic pain is a common problem with significant economic implications and devastating consequences on quality of life. The present report describes a case involving a 15-year-old girl with severe and debilitating chronic pain.

Results: Before her referral to a pain rehabilitation program, the patient saw numerous specialists who treated her with an aggressive medical regimen and two spinal cord stimulators.

CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network Coinfection and Concurrent Diseases Core: Canadian guidelines for management and treatment of HIV/hepatitis C coinfection in adults.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection occurs in 20% to 30% of Canadians living with HIV, and is responsible for a heavy burden of morbidity and mortality. HIV-HCV management is more complex due to the accelerated progression of liver disease, the timing and nature of antiretroviral and HCV therapy, mental health and addictions management, socioeconomic obstacles and drug-drug interactions between new HCV direct-acting antiviral therapies and antiretroviral regimens.

Objective: To develop national standards for the management of HCV-HIV coinfected adults in the Canadian context.

Functional Module Connectivity Map (FMCM): a framework for searching repurposed drug compounds for systems treatment of cancer and an application to colorectal adenocarcinoma.

Drug repurposing has become an increasingly attractive approach to drug development owing to the ever-growing cost of new drug discovery and frequent withdrawal of successful drugs caused by side effect issues. Here, we devised Functional Module Connectivity Map (FMCM) for the discovery of repurposed drug compounds for systems treatment of complex diseases, and applied it to colorectal adenocarcinoma. FMCM used multiple functional gene modules to query the Connectivity Map (CMap).

Shear-induced endothelial mechanotransduction: the interplay between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) and the pathophysiological implications.

Hemodynamic shear stress, the blood flow-generated frictional force acting on the vascular endothelial cells, is essential for endothelial homeostasis under normal physiological conditions. Mechanosensors on endothelial cells detect shear stress and transduce it into biochemical signals to trigger vascular adaptive responses. Among the various shear-induced signaling molecules, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) have been implicated in vascular homeostasis and diseases.