Comparison of transcriptomic profiles between intracellular and extracellular Bartonella henselae.

The Bartonella genus of bacteria encompasses ubiquitous species, some of which are pathogenic in humans and animals. Bartonella henselae, the causative agent of Cat Scratch disease, is responsible for a large portion of human Bartonella infections. These bacteria can grow outside of cells, replicate in erythrocytes and invade endothelial and monocytic cells.

Strength and durability of indirect protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection through vaccine and infection-acquired immunity.

Early investigation revealed a reduced risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among social contacts of COVID-19 vaccinated individuals, referred to as indirect protection. However, indirect protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection-acquired immunity and its comparative strength and durability to vaccine-derived indirect protection in the current epidemiologic context of high levels of vaccination, prior infection, and novel variants are not well characterized. Here, we show that both vaccine-derived and infection-acquired immunity independently yield indirect protection to close social contacts with key differences in their strength and waning.

Comparison of Pharmacokinetics of Long-Acting Local Analgesics: CPL-01, a Novel Extended-Release Ropivacaine, Demonstrates Consistent and Predictable Exposure Compared with Liposomal Bupivacaine.

Background And Objective: There is a significant medical need for improved long-acting local anesthetics to decrease postsurgical pain and reduce postoperative opioid use. While ropivacaine is considered a safer local anesthetic than bupivacaine, no long-acting ropivacaine formulation is currently marketed. Available formulations of bupivacaine show inconsistent pharmacokinetics (PK) among different surgical models, and inconsistency in PK may lead to a reluctance to use the medication owing to fear of local anesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST) or unreliable efficacy.

A Retrospective Study of Pediatric Allergic Contact Dermatitis from 2017-2022.

Objectives: Allergic contact dermatitis occurs frequently in children. The proportion of children of color in the US is increasing, and racial and ethnic minority representation is important in pediatric allergic contact dermatitis research. The objectives of our study were to identify differences in age, sex, race and ethnicity among pediatric patch tests obtained from 2017 to 2022.

Evaluation of the Digital Ventilated Cage® system for circadian phenotyping.

The study of circadian rhythms has been critically dependent upon analysing mouse home cage activity, typically employing wheel running activity under different lighting conditions. Here we assess a novel method, the Digital Ventilated Cage (DVC, Tecniplast SpA, Italy), for circadian phenotyping. Based upon capacitive sensors mounted under black individually ventilated cages with inbuilt LED lighting, each cage becomes an independent light-controlled chamber.

Structure and mechanism of vitamin-K-dependent γ-glutamyl carboxylase.

γ-Glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX) is the sole identified enzyme that uses vitamin K (VK) as a cofactor in humans. This protein catalyses the oxidation of VK hydroquinone to convert specific glutamate residues to γ-carboxyglutamate residues in VK-dependent proteins (VDPs), which are involved in various essential biological processes and diseases. However, the working mechanism of GGCX remains unclear.

Copper-dependent halogenase catalyses unactivated C-H bond functionalization.

Carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds are the foundation of essentially every organic molecule, making them an ideal place to do chemical synthesis. The key challenge is achieving selectivity for one particular C(sp)-H bond. In recent years, metalloenzymes have been found to perform C(sp)-H bond functionalization.

Genetic ancestry concordant RNA splicing in prostate cancer involves oncogenic genes and associates with recurrence.

Black men suffer disproportionately from prostate cancer (PCa) compared to men of other races and ethnicities. Comparing the molecular landscape of PCa among Black and White patients has the potential to identify targets for development of new precision medicine interventions. Herein, we conducted transcriptomic analysis of prostate tumors and paired tumor-adjacent normals from self-reported Black and White PCa patients and estimated patient genetic ancestry.

The enlarged perivascular spaces in the hippocampus is associated with memory function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Early detection of cognitive dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is important for preventive measures due to the lack of effective treatments. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between enlarged perivascular space in the hippocampus (H-EPVS) and cognitive performance in patients with T2DM, and to determine whether it can serve as an imaging marker for cognitive dysfunction. 66 T2DM patients with cognitive impairment (T2DM-CI) and 71 T2DM patients with normal cognitive function (T2DM-NC) underwent cranial MRI scans and comprehensive neuropsychological assessments.

Three-dimensional diffractive acoustic tomography.

Acoustically probing biological tissues with light or sound, photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging can provide anatomical, functional, and/or molecular information at depths far beyond the optical diffusion limit. However, most photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging systems rely on linear-array transducers with elevational focusing and are limited to two-dimensional imaging with anisotropic resolutions. Here, we present three-dimensional diffractive acoustic tomography (3D-DAT), which uses an off-the-shelf linear-array transducer with single-slit acoustic diffraction.

Social mixing patterns of United States healthcare personnel at a quaternary health center: a prospective observational study.

Background: Understanding healthcare personnel's (HCP) contact patterns are important to mitigate healthcare-associated infectious disease transmission. Little is known about how HCP contact patterns change over time or during outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This study in a large United States healthcare system examined the social contact patterns of HCP via standardized social contact diaries.

Nursing Care of the Patient With Epidural Analgesia.

Purpose: Although nurses frequently are responsible to care for and ensure safety of patients receiving epidural analgesia resources to guide them in this care are difficult to locate and not inclusive of all aspects of such care. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide a comprehensive resource to provide information for nurses when caring for patients receiving analgesia via an epidural catheter.

Methods: Literature and guidelines were reviewed to determine current standards of practice and guidance regarding care of patients receiving epidural analgesia.

The Efficacy of Superior Laryngeal Nerve Block for Chronic Cough: A Scoping Review.

Objective: Chronic cough poses diagnostic and treatment challenges due to its often multifactorial nature. Chronic cough associated with laryngeal hypersensitivity is linked to sensory neuropathy of the superior laryngeal nerve and can be complex to manage. Superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) blocks are increasingly being utilized by laryngologists to treat refractory chronic cough with the intent of reducing inflammation and nerve hypersensitivity.

Using augmented reality to deliver cue exposure treatment for smoking cessation: App usability findings and protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Augmented Reality (AR) is a rapidly developing technology with potential utility for treating addictive behaviors, including tobacco smoking. AR inserts digital images into a natural real-time scene as viewed on a smartphone or other video devices. With respect to smoking cessation, AR can place virtual smoking cues (i.

Interrupting sitting with moderate-intensity physical activity breaks improves cognitive processing speed in adults with overweight and obesity: Findings from the SITLess pilot randomized crossover trial.

Introduction: Prolonged sitting can acutely reduce working memory (WM) in individuals with overweight and obesity (OW/OB) who show executive function deficits. Interrupting prolonged sitting with brief PA bouts may counter these effects. However, the benefits of such interventions on behavioral and neuroelectric indices of WM and whether neurocognitive responses are associated with postprandial glycemic responses in young and middle-aged adults with OW/OB remain unknown.

A benzoxazolyl urea inhibits VraS and enhances antimicrobials against vancomycin intermediate-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Vancomycin intermediate-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) is a pathogen of concern. VraS, a histidine kinase, facilitates the VISA phenotype. Here, we reveal a benzoxazolyl urea (chemical 1) that directly inhibits VraS and enhances vancomycin to below the clinical breakpoint against an archetypal VISA strain, Mu50.

Localized K63 ubiquitin signaling is regulated by VCP/p97 during oxidative stress.

Under stress conditions, cells reprogram their molecular machineries to mitigate damage and promote survival. Ubiquitin signaling is globally increased during oxidative stress, controlling protein fate and supporting stress defenses at several subcellular compartments. However, the rules driving subcellular ubiquitin localization to promote concerted response mechanisms remain understudied.

Outpatient Total Knee Arthroplasty Has Become More Frequent Since the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic Without an Increase in Early Post-Operative Complications.

Introduction: Outpatient total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has quickly grown in popularity, largely driven by policy shifts and the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The aim of this study was to compare 30-day complications between outpatient TKA (oTKA) versus inpatient TKA (iTKA) before and after the COVID-19 pandemic to elucidate the effect of the pandemic on utilization and short-term outcomes.

Methods: Patients who underwent primary TKA between 2008 and 2021 were identified through Current Procedural Terminology codes in a national database.

Prenatal gene editing for neurodevelopmental diseases: Ethical considerations.

Neurodevelopmental diseases (NDDs) are notoriously difficult to treat because clinical symptoms stem from developmental processes that begin before birth. Prenatal gene editing could fill the treatment gap for NDDs by targeting and permanently correcting the genetic variants that underlie these pathogenic developmental processes. At the same time, there is a risk of unintended edits to the fetus or the pregnant person that could result in serious adverse consequences that are difficult, if not impossible, to undo.

Extracellular volume expansion drives vertebrate axis elongation.

The vertebrate bauplan is primarily established via the formation of embryonic tissues in a head-to-tail progression. The mechanics of this elongation, which requires the presomitic mesoderm (PSM), remain poorly understood. Here, we find that avian PSM explants can elongate autonomously when physically confined in vitro, producing a pushing force promoting posterior elongation of the embryo.

A review on the role of nanocomposites for desulfurization of liquid transportation fuels.

Stringent sulfur removal regulations from transportation fuels from typical levels of 500 ppm to ultra-low levels of 10 ppm (BS-6 standard) present a critical challenge for the crude processing industry. This research thoroughly investigates emerging desulfurization technologies, with a focus on nanocomposite (NC) materials that exhibit exceptional sulfur removal efficiency. Advanced nanocomposite catalysts, such as (TBA)PWFe@TiO@PVA, have near-complete removal rates of 96-99% for complicated sulfur compounds like dibenzothiophene (DBT) and derivatives.

Distribution and correlates of long-acting injectable antipsychotic use among community mental health center patients.

Although long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) are an important pharmaceutical option in the management of schizophrenia and related disorders, little is known about patient characteristics related to LAI use in real-world outpatient settings. We analyzed electronic medical records from 41,401 patients who received psychiatric services from one of 16 regional mental health centers operated by the South Carolina Department of Mental Health in 2022. We compared the use of first- and second-generation LAIs and oral antipsychotics by sociodemographic (age, gender, race/ethnicity, zip code, payment source) and clinical characteristics (psychiatric diagnoses, service use).