The impact of radiation dread on mass casualty medical management during a radiological or nuclear event.

Since the events of 9/11, a concerted interagency effort has been undertaken to create comprehensive emergency planning and preparedness strategies for management of a radiological or nuclear event in the US. These planning guides include protective action guidelines, medical countermeasure recommendations, and systems for diagnosing and triaging radiation injury. Yet, key areas such as perception of risk from radiation exposure by first responders have not been addressed.

Met35 Oxidation Hinders Aβ25-35 Peptide Aggregation within the Dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine Bilayer.

Using all-atom explicit solvent replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations, we studied the aggregation of oxidized (ox) Aβ25-35 peptides into dimers mediated by the zwitterionic dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) lipid bilayer. By comparing oxAβ25-35 aggregation with that observed for reduced and phosphorylated Aβ25-35 peptides, we elucidated plausible impact of post-translational modifications on cytotoxicity of Aβ peptides involved in Alzheimer's disease. We found that Met35 oxidation reduces helical propensity in oxAβ25-35 peptides bound to the lipid bilayer and enhances backbone fluctuations.

Classifying major mental disorders genetically.

Typically, mental disorders are defined and classified based on clinical symptoms and syndromes. Although clinically useful, current diagnostic systems for psychiatry cause concerns due to the lack of biological mechanisms. Deciphering the relationships among psychiatric traits according to their genetic basis may facilitate understanding the biological mechanisms of psychiatric disorders.

Intrinsic functional connectivity of the frontoparietal network predicts inter-individual differences in the propensity for costly third-party punishment.

Humans are motivated to give norm violators their just deserts through costly punishment even as unaffected third parties (i.e., third-party punishment, TPP).

Smoking quantitatively increases risk for COVID-19.

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Genetic mechanisms of COVID-19 and its association with smoking and alcohol consumption.

We aimed to investigate the genetic mechanisms associated with coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes in the host and to evaluate the possible associations between smoking and drinking behavior and three COVID-19 outcomes: severe COVID-19, hospitalized COVID-19 and COVID-19 infection. We described the genomic loci and risk genes associated with the COVID-19 outcomes, followed by functional analyses of the risk genes. Then, a summary data-based Mendelian randomization (SMR) analysis, and a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) were performed for the severe COVID-19 dataset.

A microfluidic array device for single cell capture and intracellular Ca2+ response analysis induced by dynamic biochemical stimulus.

A microfluidic array was constructed for trapping single cell and loading identical dynamic biochemical stimulation for gain a better understanding of Ca2+ signaling at single cell resolution in the present study. This microfluidic array consists of multiple radially aligned flow channels with equal intersection angles, which was designed by a combination of stagnation point flow and physical barrier. Numerical simulation results and trajectory analysis have shown the effectiveness of this single cell trapping device.

CD27CD38 B cells accumulated in early HIV infection exhibit transitional profile and promote HIV disease progression.

Although peripheral B cell dysfunction in early HIV infection is established, how B cell subsets are altered by HIV infection is poorly understood. While investigating B cell subsets among individuals recently infected with HIV, we observe an accumulation of CD27CD38 B cells and find that these cells can directly facilitate HIV infection of primary CD4 T cells in vitro. Comprehensive analyses of the phenotype, function, and transcriptome of the CD27CD38 B cell subset is conducted compared with memory and naive B cells.

Use of magnetic nanotrap particles in capturing Yersinia pestis virulence factors, nucleic acids and bacteria.

Background: Many pathogens, including Yersinia pestis, cannot be consistently and reliably cultured from blood. New approaches are needed to facilitate the detection of proteins, nucleic acid and microorganisms in whole blood samples to improve downstream assay performance. Detection of biomarkers in whole blood is difficult due to the presence of host proteins that obscure standard detection mechanisms.

Integrated multi-omics analyses on patient-derived CRC organoids highlight altered molecular pathways in colorectal cancer progression involving PTEN.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. The heterogeneity of CRC identity limits the usage of cell lines to study this type of tumor because of the limited representation of multiple features of the original malignancy. Patient-derived colon organoids (PDCOs) are a promising 3D-cell model to study tumor identity for personalized medicine, although this approach still lacks detailed characterization regarding molecular stability during culturing conditions.

Schizophrenia Plays a Negative Role in the Pathological Development of Myocardial Infarction at Multiple Biological Levels.

It has shown that schizophrenia (SCZ) is associated with a higher chance of myocardial infarction (MI) and increased mortality. However, the underlying mechanism is largely unknown. Here, we first constructed a literature-based genetic pathway linking SCZ and MI, and then we tested the expression levels of the genes involved in the pathway by a meta-analysis using nine gene expression datasets of MI.

Explore the Underlying Mechanism Between Atopic Dermatitis and Major Depressive Disorder.

Adult patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) present relatively higher rates of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the underlying mechanism is largely unknown. Here, we first conducted a systematic literature-based data mining to identify entities linking AD and MDD, including proteins, cells, functional classes, and small molecules.

V367F Mutation in SARS-CoV-2 Spike RBD Emerging during the Early Transmission Phase Enhances Viral Infectivity through Increased Human ACE2 Receptor Binding Affinity.

The current pandemic of COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) is the critical determinant of viral tropism and infectivity. To investigate whether naturally occurring RBD mutations during the early transmission phase have altered the receptor binding affinity and infectivity, we first analyzed the binding dynamics between SARS-CoV-2 RBD mutants and the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor.

X-ROS Signaling Depends on Length-Dependent Calcium Buffering by Troponin.

The stretching of a cardiomyocyte leads to the increased production of reactive oxygen species that increases ryanodine receptor open probability through a process termed X-ROS signaling. The stretching of the myocyte also increases the calcium affinity of myofilament Troponin C, which increases its calcium buffering capacity. Here, an integrative experimental and modeling study is pursued to explain the interplay of length-dependent changes in calcium buffering by troponin and stretch-activated X-ROS calcium signaling.

Identification of the SHREK Family of Proteins as Broad-Spectrum Host Antiviral Factors.

Mucins and mucin-like molecules are highly glycosylated, high-molecular-weight cell surface proteins that possess a semi-rigid and highly extended extracellular domain. P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1), a mucin-like glycoprotein, has recently been found to restrict HIV-1 infectivity through virion incorporation that sterically hinders virus particle attachment to target cells. Here, we report the identification of a family of antiviral cellular proteins, named the Surface-Hinged, Rigidly-Extended Killer (SHREK) family of virion inactivators (PSGL-1, CD43, TIM-1, CD34, PODXL1, PODXL2, CD164, MUC1, MUC4, and TMEM123) that share similar structural characteristics with PSGL-1.

Genetic Determinants of Antibiotic Resistance in .

Tularemia, caused by , is endemic to the northern hemisphere. This zoonotic organism has historically been developed into a biological weapon. For this Tier 1, Category A select agent, it is important to expand our understanding of its mechanisms of antibiotic resistance (AMR).

A traditional medicine, respiratory detox shot (RDS), inhibits the infection of SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and the influenza A virus in vitro.

Background: The ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in the infection of over 128 million people and has caused over 2.8 million deaths as of April 2021 in more than 220 countries and territories. Currently, there is no effective treatment for COVID-19 to reduce mortality.

Predictive Models to Identify Small Molecule Activators and Inhibitors of Opioid Receptors.

Opioid receptors (OPRs) are the main targets for the treatment of pain and related disorders. The opiate compounds that activate these receptors are effective analgesics but their use leads to adverse effects, and they often are highly addictive drugs of abuse. There is an urgent need for alternative chemicals that are analgesics and to reduce/avoid the unwanted effects in order to relieve the public health crisis of opioid addiction.

Brain networks involved in the influence of religion on empathy in male Vietnam War veterans.

Humans all over the world believe in spirits and deities, yet how the brain supports religious cognition remains unclear. Drawing on a unique sample of patients with penetrating traumatic brain injuries (pTBI) and matched healthy controls (HCs) we investigate dependencies of religious cognition on neural networks that represent (1) others agents' intentions (Theory of Mind, ToM) and (2) other agents' feelings (Empathy). Extending previous observations that ToM networks are recruited during prayer, we find that people with vmPFC damage report higher scores on the personal relationship with God inventory even when they are not praying.

Nicotinic receptor targeting in physiological and environmental vulnerability: A whole of biosphere perspective.

We propose a biosphere model of convergent interactions between nicotine and neonicotinoids (neonics) within a related framework of nicotinic receptor targeting agents (NrTA) across the globe. We explore how rising global trends in the use nicotine as well as neonics impacts vulnerability, within and across species, and posit that evolutionary conservation at the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) provides an operational strategy map for pathogens and disease. Furthermore, we examine the effects of NrTA exposure on balance within extant and developing ecological niches, food chains, and human societies.

Omics community detection using multi-resolution clustering.

Motivation: The discovery of biologically interpretable and clinically actionable communities in heterogeneous omics data is a necessary first step toward deriving mechanistic insights into complex biological phenomena. Here, we present a novel clustering approach, omeClust, for community detection in omics profiles by simultaneously incorporating similarities among measurements and the overall complex structure of the data.

Results: We show that omeClust outperforms published methods in inferring the true community structure as measured by both sensitivity and misclassification rate on simulated datasets.