Influence of different types of mouthguards on strength and performance of collegiate athletes: a controlled-randomized trial.

Background: Prevention of traumatic dental injuries relies on the identification of etiologic factors and the use of protective devices during contact sports. Mouthguards are considered to be an effective and cost-efficient device aimed at buffering the impacts or blows that might otherwise cause moderate to severe dental and maxillofacial injuries. Interestingly, besides their role in preventing injury, some authors claim that mouthguards can enhance athletic performance.

High-resolution view of the yeast meiotic program revealed by ribosome profiling.

Meiosis is a complex developmental process that generates haploid cells from diploid progenitors. We measured messenger RNA (mRNA) abundance and protein production through the yeast meiotic sporulation program and found strong, stage-specific expression for most genes, achieved through control of both mRNA levels and translational efficiency. Monitoring of protein production timing revealed uncharacterized recombination factors and extensive organellar remodeling.

Selective ribosome profiling reveals the cotranslational chaperone action of trigger factor in vivo.

As nascent polypeptides exit ribosomes, they are engaged by a series of processing, targeting, and folding factors. Here, we present a selective ribosome profiling strategy that enables global monitoring of when these factors engage polypeptides in the complex cellular environment. Studies of the Escherichia coli chaperone trigger factor (TF) reveal that, though TF can interact with many polypeptides, β-barrel outer-membrane proteins are the most prominent substrates.

Road to ruin: targeting proteins for degradation in the endoplasmic reticulum.

Some nascent proteins that fold within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) never reach their native state. Misfolded proteins are removed from the folding machinery, dislocated from the ER into the cytosol, and degraded in a series of pathways collectively referred to as ER-associated degradation (ERAD). Distinct ERAD pathways centered on different E3 ubiquitin ligases survey the range of potential substrates.

Physicians' needs in coping with emotional stressors: the case for peer support.

Objective: To design an evidence-based intervention to address physician distress, based on the attitudes toward support among physicians at our hospital.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A 56-item survey was administered to a convenience sample (n = 108) of resident and attending physicians at surgery, emergency medicine, and anesthesiology departmental conferences at a large tertiary care academic hospital.

Main Outcome Measures: Likelihood of seeking support, perceived barriers, awareness of available services, sources of support, and experience with stress.

Protein kinase Ypk1 phosphorylates regulatory proteins Orm1 and Orm2 to control sphingolipid homeostasis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The Orm family proteins are conserved integral membrane proteins of the endoplasmic reticulum that are key homeostatic regulators of sphingolipid biosynthesis. Orm proteins bind to and inhibit serine:palmitoyl-coenzyme A transferase, the first enzyme in sphingolipid biosynthesis. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Orm1 and Orm2 are inactivated by phosphorylation in response to compromised sphingolipid synthesis (e.

Ribosome profiling of mouse embryonic stem cells reveals the complexity and dynamics of mammalian proteomes.

The ability to sequence genomes has far outstripped approaches for deciphering the information they encode. Here we present a suite of techniques, based on ribosome profiling (the deep sequencing of ribosome-protected mRNA fragments), to provide genome-wide maps of protein synthesis as well as a pulse-chase strategy for determining rates of translation elongation. We exploit the propensity of harringtonine to cause ribosomes to accumulate at sites of translation initiation together with a machine learning algorithm to define protein products systematically.

Changes in physical activity and travel behaviors in residents of a mixed-use development.

Background: Mixed-use developments may be especially promising settings for encouraging walking and other types of physical activity.

Purpose: This study examined the physical activity and travel behaviors of individuals before and after they relocated to Atlantic Station, a mixed-use redevelopment community in metropolitan Atlanta.

Methods: A survey study was conducted to compare the behaviors, experiences, and attitudes of Atlantic Station residents before and after moving to a mixed-use neighborhood.

Xylitol nasal irrigation in the management of chronic rhinosinusitis: a pilot study.

Objectives/hypothesis: To determine the tolerability of xylitol mixed with water as a nasal irrigant and to evaluate whether xylitol nasal irrigation results in symptomatic improvement of subjects with chronic rhinosinusitis.

Study Design: A prospective, randomized, double-blinded, controlled crossover pilot study.

Methods: Twenty subjects were instructed to perform sequential 10-day courses of daily xylitol and saline irrigations in a randomized fashion, with a 3-day washout irrigation rest period at the start of each treatment arm.

Demographic, clinical, and functional factors associated with antidepressant use in the home healthcare elderly.

Objectives: Determine rates and demographic, clinical, and functional correlates of antidepressants (ADs) in home healthcare patients.

Methods: Year 2007 cross-sectional National Home Health and Hospice Care Survey (N = 3,226) of patients 65 years or older (mean 80.11, confidence interval [CI] = 79.

A mitochondrial-focused genetic interaction map reveals a scaffold-like complex required for inner membrane organization in mitochondria.

To broadly explore mitochondrial structure and function as well as the communication of mitochondria with other cellular pathways, we constructed a quantitative, high-density genetic interaction map (the MITO-MAP) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The MITO-MAP provides a comprehensive view of mitochondrial function including insights into the activity of uncharacterized mitochondrial proteins and the functional connection between mitochondria and the ER. The MITO-MAP also reveals a large inner membrane-associated complex, which we term MitOS for mitochondrial organizing structure, comprised of Fcj1/Mitofilin, a conserved inner membrane protein, and five additional components.

Sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with antidepressant type in a national sample of the home health care elderly.

Objective: The study examined in home health care (HHC) the demographic, functional and clinical factors by antidepressant (AD) type including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and "Other" ADs such as bupropion and mirtazapine.

Method: Cross-sectional sample (N=909) was analyzed from the 2007 National Home Health and Hospice Care Survey that included patients 65 years and older [mean=78.79 years, confidence interval (CI)=77.

Ganglion-specific splicing of TRPV1 underlies infrared sensation in vampire bats.

Vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) are obligate blood feeders that have evolved specialized systems to suit their sanguinary lifestyle. Chief among such adaptations is the ability to detect infrared radiation as a means of locating hotspots on warm-blooded prey. Among vertebrates, only vampire bats, boas, pythons and pit vipers are capable of detecting infrared radiation.

Semi-automated Algorithm for Localization of Dermal/ Epidermal Junction in Reflectance Confocal Microscopy Images of Human Skin.

The examination of the dermis/epidermis junction (DEJ) is clinically important for skin cancer diagnosis. Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is an emerging tool for detection of skin cancers in vivo. However, visual localization of the DEJ in RCM images, with high accuracy and repeatability, is challenging, especially in fair skin, due to low contrast, heterogeneous structure and high inter- and intra-subject variability.

H3K4 trimethylation by Set1 promotes efficient termination by the Nrd1-Nab3-Sen1 pathway.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Nrd1-Nab3-Sen1 pathway mediates the termination of snoRNAs and cryptic unstable transcripts (CUTs). Both Nrd1 and the Set1 histone H3K4 methyltransferase complex interact with RNA polymerase II (Pol II) during early elongation, leading us to test whether these two processes are functionally linked. The deletion of SET1 exacerbates the growth rate and termination defects of nrd1 mutants.

An empirical assessment of boarding and quality of care: delays in care among chest pain, pneumonia, and cellulitis patients.

Background: As hospital crowding has increased, more patients have ended up boarding in the emergency department (ED) awaiting their inpatient beds. To the best of our knowledge, no study has compared the quality of care of boarded and nonboarded patients.

Objectives: This study sought to examine whether being a boarded patient and boarding longer were associated with more delays, medication errors, and adverse events among ED patients admitted with chest pain, pneumonia, or cellulitis.

Analysis raises questions on whether pay-for-performance in Medicaid can efficiently reduce racial and ethnic disparities.

In 2006 Massachusetts took the novel approach of using pay-for-performance--a payment mechanism typically used to improve the quality of care--to specifically target racial and ethnic disparities in hospital care for Medicaid patients. We describe the challenges of implementing such an ambitious effort in a short time frame, with limited resources. The early years of the program have yielded little evidence of racial or ethnic disparity in hospital care in Massachusetts, and raise questions about whether pay-for-performance as it is now practiced is a suitable tool for addressing disparities in hospital care.

Divergence by ADHD subtype in smoking cessation response to OROS-methylphenidate.

Introduction: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neuropsychiatric condition subclassified in DSM-IV according to its core symptoms domains as (a) predominantly inattentive (ADHD-IN), (b) predominantly hyperactive/impulsive (ADHD-H), and (c) combined inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive (ADHD-C). Whether these subtypes represent distinct clinical entities or points on a severity continuum is controversial. Divergence in treatment response is a potential indicator of qualitative heterogeneity.

Can we rely on patients' reports of adverse events?

Background: Evidence suggests that patients can report a variety of adverse events (AEs) not captured by traditional methods such as a chart review. Little is known, however, about whether patient reports are useful for measuring patient safety.

Objectives: To examine the degree to which physician reviewers agreed that patient reports of "negative effects" constituted AEs, and to identify questionnaire items that affected reviewers' judgments.

Correlation of asymmetric facial growth with deviated nasal septum.

Objectives/hypothesis: To evaluate the correlation between growth differences of the face and nasal septal deviation, and to evaluate whether developmental differences of the face have an effect on nontraumatic nasal septal deviation (DNS).

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Methods: Twenty-five patients with DNS who underwent facial aesthetic surgery and had an ostiomeatal unit-computed tomography (OMU-CT) scan and photos for facial analysis were included in the study.

Amyloid structure: conformational diversity and consequences.

Many, perhaps most, proteins, are capable of forming self-propagating, β-sheet (amyloid) aggregates. Amyloid-like aggregates are found in a wide range of diseases and underlie prion-based inheritance. Despite intense interest in amyloids, structural details have only recently begun to be revealed as advances in biophysical approaches, such as hydrogen-deuterium exchange, X-ray crystallography, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR), and cryoelectron microscopy (cryoEM), have enabled high-resolution insights into their molecular organization.

Strain conformation, primary structure and the propagation of the yeast prion [PSI+].

Prion proteins can adopt multiple infectious strain conformations. Here we investigate how the sequence of a prion protein affects its capacity to propagate specific conformations by exploiting our ability to create two distinct infectious conformations of the yeast [PSI(+)] prion protein Sup35, termed Sc4 and Sc37. PNM2, a G58D point mutant of Sup35 that was originally identified for its dominant interference with prion propagation, leads to rapid, recessive loss of Sc4 but does not interfere with propagation of Sc37.

Radically different amyloid conformations dictate the seeding specificity of a chimeric Sup35 prion.

A remarkable feature of prion biology is that the same prion protein can misfold into more than one infectious conformation, and these conformations in turn lead to distinct heritable prion strains with different phenotypes. The yeast prion [PSI(+)] is a powerful system for studying how changes in strain conformation affect cross-species transmission. We have previously established that a chimera of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC) and Candida albicans (CA) Sup35 prion domains can cross the SC/CA species barrier in a strain-dependent manner.