Presentation and Management Outcomes of Corneal and Scleral Perforations in Geriatric Nursing Home Residents.

We compared the clinical presentation and treatment outcomes of corneal and scleral perforations in geriatric nursing home residents, geriatric community residents, and non-geriatric population. The medical records of patients who were treated for corneal and scleral perforations at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong between January 1, 2004 and May 1, 2013, were reviewed retrospectively. Of 144 cases, 53 (37%) occurred in the geriatric population, of which 16 (11%) lived in nursing homes, and 37 (26%) were community residents.

Regulation of septin dynamics by the Saccharomyces cerevisiae lysine acetyltransferase NuA4.

In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the lysine acetyltransferase NuA4 has been linked to a host of cellular processes through the acetylation of histone and non-histone targets. To discover proteins regulated by NuA4-dependent acetylation, we performed genome-wide synthetic dosage lethal screens to identify genes whose overexpression is toxic to non-essential NuA4 deletion mutants. The resulting genetic network identified a novel link between NuA4 and septin proteins, a group of highly conserved GTP-binding proteins that function in cytokinesis.

Functional genomics analysis of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae iron responsive transcription factor Aft1 reveals iron-independent functions.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcription factor Aft1 is activated in iron-deficient cells to induce the expression of iron regulon genes, which coordinate the increase of iron uptake and remodel cellular metabolism to survive low-iron conditions. In addition, Aft1 has been implicated in numerous cellular processes including cell-cycle progression and chromosome stability; however, it is unclear if all cellular effects of Aft1 are mediated through iron homeostasis. To further investigate the cellular processes affected by Aft1, we identified >70 deletion mutants that are sensitive to perturbations in AFT1 levels using genome-wide synthetic lethal and synthetic dosage lethal screens.

An integrated approach to functional genomics: construction of a novel reporter gene fusion library for Sinorhizobium meliloti.

As a means of investigating gene function, we developed a robust transcription fusion reporter vector to measure gene expression in bacteria. The vector, pTH1522, was used to construct a random insert library for the Sinorhizobium meliloti genome. pTH1522 replicates in Escherichia coli and can be transferred to, but cannot replicate in, S.