Identification and function of enhancers in the human genome.

The study of gene regulation has rapidly advanced by leveraging next-generation sequencing to identify and characterize the cis and trans elements that are critical for defining cell identity. These advances have paralleled a movement towards whole genome sequencing in clinics. These two tracks have increasingly synergized to underscore the importance of cis-regulatory elements in development as well produce countless studies implicating these elements in human disease.

Treatment Summaries and Follow-Up Care Instructions for Cancer Survivors: Improving Survivor Self-Efficacy and Health Care Utilization.

Background: Treatment summaries and follow-up care plan information should be provided to cancer survivors. This study examines the association of receiving summaries and care plans with cancer survivor self-efficacy for chronic illness management, and whether self-efficacy was associated with health care utilization.

Methods: Four hundred forty-one cancer survivors (≥2 years from diagnosis and had completed treatment) ≥65 years old from 12 cancer centers across 5 states completed telephone surveys.

Association of hyperlipidaemia, inflammation and serological status and coronary heart disease among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: data from the National Veterans Health Administration.

Objective: To examine the association of serum lipids, inflammation and seropositivity on coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: The incidence of hospitalised myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke was calculated in a cohort of patients with RA receiving care within the national Veterans Health Administration from 1998 to 2011. Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the association between these outcomes and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), C reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) as time-varying variables, divided into quintiles.

The intricacies of induced lactation for same-sex mothers of an adopted child.

The definition of a modern family is changing. In this case study, we describe the breastfeeding experience of a child receiving human milk from all 3 of his mothers: his 2 adoptive mothers, who induced lactation to nurse him, and his birth mother, who shared in his early feeding during the open adoption process and continued to pump and send milk to him for several months. We review the lactation protocol used by his adoptive mothers and the unique difficulties inherent in this multi-mother family dynamic.

A pilot study on the protein composition of induced nonpuerperal human milk.

Background: Our understanding of the components of human puerperal milk is extensive and increasing, yet the literature on nonpuerperal human milk has been limited to studies that measure the success of induced lactation.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the composition of total protein and key bioactive proteins when lactation is induced in nonpuerperal women.

Methods: Two women who induced lactation in the absence of pregnancy provided weekly milk samples over a 2-month period for analysis of total protein, secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), lysozyme, and lactoferrin.

Global Human-Kinase Screening Identifies Therapeutic Host Targets against Influenza.

During viral infection of human cells, host kinases mediate signaling activities that are used by all viruses for replication; therefore, targeting of host kinases is of broad therapeutic interest. Here, host kinases were globally screened during human influenza virus (H1N1) infection to determine the time-dependent effects of virus infection and replication on kinase function. Desthiobiotin-labeled analogs of adenosine triphosphate and adenosine diphosphate were used to probe and covalently label host kinases in infected cell lysates, and probe affinity was determined.