Self-administration of intranasal influenza vaccine: Immunogenicity and volunteer acceptance.

Background: In outbreak settings, mass vaccination strategies could maximize health protection of military personnel. Self-administration of live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) may be a means to vaccinate large numbers of people and achieve deployment readiness while sparing the use of human resources.

Methods: A phase IV, open-label, randomized controlled trial evaluating the immunogenicity and acceptance of self-administered (SA) LAIV was conducted from 2012 to 2014.

Laboratory-acquired vaccinia virus infection in a recently immunized person--Massachusetts, 2013.

On November 26, 2013, the CDC poxvirus laboratory was notified by the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) of an inadvertent inoculation of a recently vaccinated (ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine) laboratory worker with wild type vaccinia virus (VACV) Western Reserve. A joint investigation by CDC and BPHC confirmed orthopoxvirus infection in the worker, who had reported a needle stick in his thumb while inoculating a mouse with VACV. He experienced a non-tender, red rash on his arm, diagnosed at a local emergency department as cellulitis.

Highlights from the tenth ISCB Student Council Symposium 2014.

This report summarizes the scientific content and activities of the annual symposium organized by the Student Council of the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB), held in conjunction with the Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB) conference in Boston, USA, on July 11th, 2014.

Variola virus-specific diagnostic assays: characterization, sensitivity, and specificity.

A public health response relies upon rapid and reliable confirmation of disease by diagnostic assays. Here, we detail the design and validation of two variola virus-specific real-time PCR assays, since previous assays cross-reacted with newly identified cowpox viruses. The assay specificity must continually be reassessed as other closely related viruses are identified.

Automated analysis of vital signs to identify patients with substantial bleeding before hospital arrival: a feasibility study.

Trauma outcomes are improved by protocols for substantial bleeding, typically activated after physician evaluation at a hospital. Previous analysis suggested that prehospital vital signs contained patterns indicating the presence or absence of substantial bleeding. In an observational study of adults (aged ≥18 years) transported to level I trauma centers by helicopter, we investigated the diagnostic performance of the Automated Processing of the Physiological Registry for Assessment of Injury Severity (APPRAISE) system, a computational platform for real-time analysis of vital signs, for identification of substantial bleeding in trauma patients with explicitly hemorrhagic injuries.

Self-incompatibility-induced programmed cell death in field poppy pollen involves dramatic acidification of the incompatible pollen tube cytosol.

Self-incompatibility (SI) is an important genetically controlled mechanism to prevent inbreeding in higher plants. SI involves highly specific interactions during pollination, resulting in the rejection of incompatible (self) pollen. Programmed cell death (PCD) is an important mechanism for destroying cells in a precisely regulated manner.

Trauma Informed Guilt Reduction Therapy With Combat Veterans.

Guilt related to combat trauma is highly prevalent among veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Trauma-related guilt has been associated with increased risk for posttraumatic psychopathology and poorer response to treatment. Trauma Informed Guilt Reduction (TrIGR) therapy is a 4-module cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy designed to reduce guilt related to combat trauma.

Novel poxvirus infection in 2 patients from the United States.

Background: Some human poxvirus infections can be acquired through zoonotic transmission. We report a previously unknown poxvirus infection in 2 patients, 1 of whom was immunocompromised; both patients had known equine contact.

Methods: The patients were interviewed and clinical information was abstracted from the patients' medical files.

The hydroxyl radical in plants: from seed to seed.

The hydroxyl radical (OH(•)) is the most potent yet short-lived of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) radicals. Just as hydrogen peroxide was once considered to be simply a deleterious by-product of oxidative metabolism but is now acknowledged to have signalling roles in plant cells, so evidence is mounting for the hydroxyl radical as being more than merely an agent of destruction. Its oxidative power is harnessed to facilitate germination, growth, stomatal closure, reproduction, the immune response, and adaptation to stress.

An evidence review of gender-integrated interventions in reproductive and maternal-child health.

Evidence-based behavior change interventions addressing gender dynamics must be identified and disseminated to improve child health outcomes. Interventions were identified from systematic searches of the published literature and a web-based search (Google and implementer's websites). Studies were eligible if an intervention addressed gender dynamics (i.

Mental health self-care in medical students: a comprehensive look at help-seeking.

Objective: The authors characterize medical student help-seeking behaviors and examine the relationship with stress, burnout, stigma, depression, and personal health behaviors.

Methods: In 2013, the authors administered an electronic survey of all enrolled students at Yale School of Medicine (183 responders, response rate=35 %), inquiring about students' primary medical and mental health care, personal health behaviors, support systems, and help-seeking behaviors. Students completed the Attitudes to Mental Health Questionnaire, the Patient Health Questionnaire-2, and a modified Maslach Burnout Inventory.

RNABindRPlus: a predictor that combines machine learning and sequence homology-based methods to improve the reliability of predicted RNA-binding residues in proteins.

Protein-RNA interactions are central to essential cellular processes such as protein synthesis and regulation of gene expression and play roles in human infectious and genetic diseases. Reliable identification of protein-RNA interfaces is critical for understanding the structural bases and functional implications of such interactions and for developing effective approaches to rational drug design. Sequence-based computational methods offer a viable, cost-effective way to identify putative RNA-binding residues in RNA-binding proteins.

Hygiene strategies to prevent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus skin and soft tissue infections: a cluster-randomized controlled trial among high-risk military trainees.

Background: Effective measures are needed to prevent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in high-risk community settings. The study objective was to evaluate the effect of personal hygiene-based strategies on rates of overall SSTI and MRSA SSTI.

Methods: We conducted a prospective, field-based, cluster-randomized trial in US Army Infantry trainees from May 2010 through January 2012.

Code-assisted discovery of TAL effector targets in bacterial leaf streak of rice reveals contrast with bacterial blight and a novel susceptibility gene.

Bacterial leaf streak of rice, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola (Xoc) is an increasingly important yield constraint in this staple crop. A mesophyll colonizer, Xoc differs from X.

Poxvirus viability and signatures in historical relics.

Although it has been >30 years since the eradication of smallpox, the unearthing of well-preserved tissue material in which the virus may reside has called into question the viability of variola virus decades or centuries after its original occurrence. Experimental data to address the long-term stability and viability of the virus are limited. There are several instances of well-preserved corpses and tissues that have been examined for poxvirus viability and viral DNA.

Supporting adolescents and young adults with cancer through transitions: position statement from the Canadian Task Force on Adolescents and Young Adults with cancer.

Objective: This position statement from the Canadian Task Force on Adolescents and Young Adults with cancer aims to (1) conceptualize the numerous transition experiences encountered by adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer; and (2) provide recommendations on how to help the AYA regain a sense of control over their lives as they adjust to these transition experiences.

Methods: We reviewed and synthesized a heterogeneous sample of studies and recommendations, ranging from well-designed case-controlled investigations to opinions of respected authorities based on clinical experience, and reports of expert committees.

Results: We describe the key factors that have an impact on different transitions during the cancer journey, and the need for developmentally appropriate services for AYA with cancer that consider both the system issues and individual transition issues.

Smoking, smoking cessation and heart disease risk: A 16-year follow-up study.

Background: Smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease. Over the past decade, the prevalence of smoking and the number of cigarettes smoked per day have decreased in Canada. Using a contemporary cohort of Canadian men and women, this study measured associations between smoking, smoking cessation and heart disease.

Dynamics of smoking cessation and health-related quality of life among Canadians.

Background: People who smoke are at increased risk of lung and other cancers, heart attack, stroke, chronic lung disease and premature death. After smoking cessation, these risks diminish, but little is known about the time required to regain the level of health of people who have never smoked. This analysis describes trajectories of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in relation to smoking status, focusing on the time required for former smokers to achieve an HRQL level similar to that of never-smokers.

Development and validation of a portable platform for deploying decision-support algorithms in prehospital settings.

Background: Advanced decision-support capabilities for prehospital trauma care may prove effective at improving patient care. Such functionality would be possible if an analysis platform were connected to a transport vital-signs monitor. In practice, there are technical challenges to implementing such a system.

Conscious thoughts from reflex-like processes: a new experimental paradigm for consciousness research.

The contents of our conscious mind can seem unpredictable, whimsical, and free from external control. When instructed to attend to a stimulus in a work setting, for example, one might find oneself thinking about household chores. Conscious content thus appears different in nature from reflex action.

Specific qPCR assays for the detection of orf virus, pseudocowpox virus and bovine papular stomatitis virus.

The genus Parapoxvirus (PAPV) is comprised traditionally of orf virus (ORFV), pseudocowpox virus (PCPV) and bovine papular stomatitis virus (BPSV), which cause infections of ruminants and their handlers in the U.S. and worldwide.

Evaluation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus skin and soft-tissue infection prevention strategies at a military training center.

Military trainees are at high risk for skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs), especially those caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). A multicomponent hygiene-based SSTI prevention strategy was implemented at a military training center. After implementation, we observed 30% and 64% reductions in overall and MRSA-associated SSTI rates, respectively.