High-throughput determination of exchange rates of unmodified and PTM-containing peptides using HX-MS.

Despite the widespread use of MS for hydrogen/deuterium exchange measurements, no systematic, large-scale study has been conducted to compare the observed exchange rates in protein-derived, unstructured peptides measured by MS to the predicted exchange rates calculated from NMR-derived values and how neighboring residues and post-translational modifications influence those exchange rates. In this study, we sought to test the accuracy of predicted values by performing hydrogen exchange measurements on whole cell digests to generate an unbiased dataset of 563 unique peptides derived from naturally-occurring protein sequences. A remarkable 97% of observed exchange rates of peptides are within two-fold of predicted values.

Functionalization of chitosan and its application in flame retardant: A review.

In recent years, bio-based flame retardants have gained significant attention as sustainable alternatives, achieving important breakthroughs in flame retardancy and becoming a key focus for future development. Derived from biomass, chitosan (CS) has been widely used in the field of advanced functional materials. However, in the field of flame retardancy, chitosan alone shows limited effectiveness, leading researchers to explore its reactive functional groups for creating multifunctional flame retardant chitosan composites (FRCC).

A longitudinal examination of factors predicting maternal permissiveness toward underage student drinking across the first three years of college.

Parental permissiveness of drinking is a reliable predictor of college drinking, but there is little known about factors that predict such permissiveness. This study seeks to examine factors that predict two potentially different facets of permissiveness: perceived general approval of alcohol use and perceived drinking limits. Additionally, we explored how these facets mediate the relationship between the predictors of permissiveness and subsequent college drinking and related consequences.

Rural Surgery Experiences in General Surgery Residency Training-The Current State an ACGME Sponsored Survey of General Surgery Program Directors.

Objective: Nationwide there is a significant shortage of surgeons in rural communities, which has led to a growing interest in training more general surgeons specifically for entry into rural practice. Despite noble intentions, exactly how this training should be performed is unclear, and highly variable across programs. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Surgery Residency Review Committee (RRC) sought to better understand the current state of rural focused training options in general surgery residencies.

A shared serial order system for verbal working memory and language production: evidence from aphasia.

Many aspects of human performance require producing sequences of items in serial order. The current study takes a multiple-case approach to investigate whether the system responsible for serial order is shared across cognitive domains, focusing on working memory (WM) and word production. Serial order performance in three individuals with post-stroke language and verbal WM disorders (hereafter persons with aphasia, PWAs) were assessed using recognition and recall tasks for verbal and visuospatial WM, as well as error analyses in spoken and written production tasks to assess whether there was a tendency to produce the correct phonemes/letters in the wrong order.

Analysis of time to regulatory approval in an exception from informed consent trial in trauma patients.

Background: The interactive media-based approach to community consultation and public disclosure (CC/PD), a key step when conducting exception from informed consent (EFIC) clinical trials, is intended to be completed in 4 months. This analysis characterizes the process, from initiation of CC/PD activities to institutional review board approval, to better understand the barriers and how these can be mitigated.

Methods: This is a retrospective post hoc analysis of data collected as part of the CC/PD campaigns conducted for a large trial involving up to 90 trauma centers in the United States.

Comparison of EEG Signal Characteristics of Subdural and Depth Electrodes.

Objectives: Our study aimed to compare signal characteristics of subdural electrodes (SDE) and depth stereo EEG placed within a 5-mm vicinity in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. We report how electrode design and placement collectively affect signal content from a shared source between these electrode types.

Methods: In subjects undergoing invasive intracranial EEG evaluation at a surgical epilepsy center from 2012 to 2018, stereo EEG and SDE electrode contacts placed within a 5-mm vicinity were identified.

Lateral Sternoclavicular Joint Dislocation: A Case Report.

Case: We report a case of a 29-year-old woman who sustained a left lateral sternoclavicular joint (SCJ) dislocation. Imaging demonstrated a 30-mm gap between the sternum and medial clavicle. Given well-preserved shoulder range of motion and well-controlled pain, she was ultimately treated nonoperatively.

Updating an HIV Knowledge Questionnaire With Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Through Expert Opinions in the United States Using Delphi Methodology: A Qualitative Study.

Our study was designed to update the HIV Knowledge Questionnaire by incorporating pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) knowledge questions, as previous HIV knowledge tools lack this focus. Four rounds of Delphi surveys were conducted with 47 expert participants, each with extensive HIV-related expertise (mean experience: 18.94 years).

Hospital Dermatology: Review of Research in 2023-2024.

Inpatient consultative dermatologists play a critical role in the care of hospitalized patients with skin disease. Our review of the 2023-2024 dermatology literature identified several areas of active investigation relevant to inpatient dermatology. In this article, we highlight advances in the understanding of severe cutaneous adverse drug reactions, diagnosis and prevention of skin and soft tissue infections, and management of autoimmune blistering diseases (AIBDs).

Comparing Patient Care Models at a Local Free Clinic vs an Insurance-Based University Medical Center.

More than 30 million Americans lack access to affordable health care, and many seek medical services such as dermatologic care at free clinics. In this study, we analyzed the dermatology patient populations at the Birmingham Free Clinic (BFC) and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), both in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A retrospective chart review of 76 BFC dermatology patients and a time-matched sample of 322 UPMC dermatology patients was performed for the period from January 2020 to May 2022.

A genomics learning framework for undergraduates.

Genomics is an increasingly important part of biology research. However, educating undergraduates in genomics is not yet a standard part of life sciences curricula. We believe this is, in part, due to a lack of standard concepts for the teaching of genomics.

A Qualitative Assessment of Barriers, Facilitators, and Outcomes in a Simulation-Based Collaborative Quality Improvement Program: The ImPACTS Project.

Objectives: ImPACTS (Improving Acute Care Through Simulation) is a collaborative simulation-based program partnering pediatric specialty centers ("hubs") with general emergency departments (GEDs) to improve pediatric acute care. Objective measurements of ImPACTS, such as evaluating Pediatric Readiness Score (PRS) and simulation-based outcome improvements, have been reported previously. Barriers to and facilitators of program involvement and the downstream effects of the program have not been previously described.

The Effects of Morphology and Hydration on Anion Transport in Self-Assembled Nanoporous Membranes.

Ordered nanoporous polymer membranes offer opportunities for systematically probing the mechanisms of ion transport under confinement and for realizing useful materials for electrochemical devices. Here, we examine the impact of morphology and ion hydration on the transport of hydroxide and bromide anions in nanostructured polymer membranes with 1 nm scale pores. We use aqueous lyotropic self-assembly of an amphiphilic monomer, with a polymerizable surfactant to create direct hexagonal (H) and gyroid mesophases.

CryoEM structure of an MHC-I/TAPBPR peptide-bound intermediate reveals the mechanism of antigen proofreading.

Class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I) proteins play a pivotal role in adaptive immunity by displaying epitopic peptides to CD8+ T cells. The chaperones tapasin and TAPBPR promote the selection of immunogenic antigens from a large pool of intracellular peptides. Interactions of chaperoned MHC-I molecules with incoming peptides are transient in nature, and as a result, the precise antigen proofreading mechanism remains elusive.

Anti-CTLA-4 generates greater memory response than anti-PD-1 via TCF-1.

The effects of T cell differentiation arising from immune checkpoint inhibition targeting cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) on the immunological memory response remain unclear. Our investigation into the effects of anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 on memory T cell formation in mice reveals that memory T cells generated by anti-CTLA-4 exhibit greater expansion, cytokine production, and antitumor activity than those from anti-PD-1. Notably, anti-CTLA-4 preserves more T cell factor-1 (TCF-1)+ T cells during priming, while anti-PD-1 leads to more thymocyte selection-associated high mobility group box (TOX)+ T cells.

Dispositional coping profiles moderate the links between racial discrimination and mental health in Black Americans.

Objectives: Racial discrimination is consistently linked to negative mental health outcomes. However, less is known about how unique patterns of coping in Black Americans experiencing high discrimination stress may moderate the association between discrimination and mental health. The present study uses person-centered methods to identify and describe latent profiles of coping in Black Americans, to understand how these coping profiles are linked to mental health, and to examine whether latent coping profiles moderate the links between discrimination and mental health.

Within-person affect dynamics among individuals in residential treatment for opioid use disorder: An ecological momentary assessment study.

Ecological momentary assessment is increasingly leveraged to better understand affective processes underlying substance use disorder treatment and recovery. Research in this area has yielded novel insights into the roles of mean levels of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) in precipitating drug craving and substance use in daily life. Little of the extant substance use disorder treatment research, however, considers dynamic patterns of PA and NA, separately or in relation to one another, or how such patterns may differ from those observed among nonclinical samples.

The people behind the papers - Stephen DiNardo and Gabriela Vida.

Stem cells exist within a niche, a microenvironment that regulates their activity, but the mechanisms by which niche cells influence stem cell behaviour are poorly understood. In this issue, Stephen DiNardo and colleagues reveal that the shape of the adult Drosophila testes niche, which is dependent on the cytoskeleton of the niche cells, is crucial to maintaining germinal stem cell function. To learn more about this work, we spoke to first author Gabriela Vida and corresponding author Stephen DiNardo, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, USA.