Identification of the native Torpedo californica nicotinic acetylcholine receptor's glycan composition after a multi-step sequential purification method using MALDI-ToF MS.

The Cys-loop pentameric ligand-gated ion channels comprise a dynamic group of proteins that have been extensively studied for decades, yielding a wealth of findings at both the structural and functional levels. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) is no exception, as it is part of this large protein family involved in proper organismal function. Our efforts have successfully produced a highly pure nAChR in detergent complex (nAChR-DC), enabling more robust studies to be conducted on it, including beginning to experiment with high-throughput crystallization.

Bilateral simultaneous tibial tubercle avulsion fractures in an adolescent baseball player: Case report and literature review.

Introduction And Importance: Fractures in the proximal tibial tuberosity are rare injuries. Even more uncommon are bilateral simultaneous fractures. Due to the few cases reported in the literature, we aimed to present a case which may contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of bilateral simultaneous tibial tubercle fractures.

Rewarding Capacity of Optogenetically Activating a Giant GABAergic Central-Brain Interneuron in Larval .

Larvae of the fruit fly are a powerful study case for understanding the neural circuits underlying behavior. Indeed, the numerical simplicity of the larval brain has permitted the reconstruction of its synaptic connectome, and genetic tools for manipulating single, identified neurons allow neural circuit function to be investigated with relative ease and precision. We focus on one of the most complex neurons in the brain of the larva (of either sex), the GABAergic anterior paired lateral neuron (APL).

Middle finger tenolysis using WALANT surgical technique in a pediatric patient: A case report.

Introduction And Importance: Wide Awake Local Anesthesia No Tourniquet (WALANT) is a surgical technique used in hand surgery that allows for active patient participation during surgery while avoiding the pain and discomfort associated with general anesthesia and tourniquets. Using this technique for tenolysis enables a surgeon to assess the repair intraoperatively. However, this technique is more commonly used in adults than in pediatric patients.

A Longitudinal Study of Risk Factors for Sexual Victimization in Puerto Rican Youth.

Objective: To determine whether youth, family, and neighborhood factors and minoritized status are associated with youth-reported sexual victimization from childhood through young adulthood.

Methods: We analyzed longitudinal data from 2 population-based samples of Puerto Rican youth living in the South Bronx (as a minoritized group) and Puerto Rico (as a nonminoritized group). Waves 1 to 3 were collected annually beginning in 2000 (youth age 5-13).

Lack of race/ethnic minority representation in ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction in baseball athletes: a systematic review.

Objectives: To assess the reporting and representation of ethnic and racial minorities in comparative studies of ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injuries and treatment in baseball athletes.

Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) reporting guidelines. The literature search was conducted by two independent reviewers using the PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases.

Strategies for Passing the Physical Therapy Licensure Examination for Students with English as a Second Language: Experience at the University of Puerto Rico DPT Program.

The skill to answer items successfully in a standardized exam requires a student to master the language in which the exam is written. This implies total mastering of the English language for students with English as a Second Language (ESL). This commentary shares the experience of the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program at the Medical Science Campus at the University of Puerto Rico in identifying strategies used by the program to ensure students pass the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE).

Experimental models of undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor.

Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) are aggressive soft tissue sarcomas that do not respond well to current treatment modalities. The limited availability of UPS and MPNST cell lines makes it challenging to identify potential therapeutic targets in a laboratory setting. Understanding the urgent need for improved treatments for these tumors and the limited cellular models available, we generated additional cell lines to study these rare cancers.

Effect of Hurricane Maria on HPV, Tdap, and meningococcal conjugate vaccination rates in Puerto Rico, 2015-2019.

In September 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated the Caribbean region, among them the US territory of Puerto Rico (PR). Vaccination distribution and uptake suffered from the impact. This study evaluated the trends in monthly vaccination initiation rates for human papilloma virus (HPV), Tdap and meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY) adolescent vaccines from 2015 to 2019, during which it was possible to observe and analyze the impact of Hurricane Maria on vaccine initiation.

Understanding parents' views toward the newly enacted HPV vaccine school entry policy in Puerto Rico: a qualitative study.

Background: The Human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) is an essential tool for the prevention of HPV-related cancers. In Puerto Rico, the Secretary of Health established a school entry requirement of at least one dose of HPV vaccination in girls and boys aged 11 and 12 years, taking effect in August 2018. Our study aimed to examine parents' and guardians' views of unvaccinated children about the process of implementation of the new HPV vaccination school entry policy in Puerto Rico and identify potential barriers and facilitators related to the implementation of this requirement.

Disruption of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory response by R5-tropic HIV-1 protein gp120.

Despite current pharmacological intervention strategies, patients with HIV still suffer from chronic inflammation. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are widely distributed throughout the nervous and immune systems. In macrophages, activation of alpha7-nAChR (α7-nAChR) controls inflammatory processes through the cholinergic anti-inflammatory response (CAR).

Prevalence of Complementary/Alternative Medicine use in Cancer Patients in a Tertiary Hospital in Puerto Rico.

Objective: We conducted a study in a tertiary hospital to investigate complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) prevalence in a Puerto Rican population. The study also evaluated demographic and clinical factors in order to correlate them with CAM use.

Methods: Spanish speaking residents with a known diagnosis of cancer being followed in the outpatient facilities at Auxilio Mutuo Cancer Center were invited to participate in the study.

Biophysical characterization dataset of native nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in lipid-like detergent complexes.

For a long time, traditional purification and extraction methods for the native nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in lipid-like detergent complex (nAChR-DC) have compromised its purity, functionality and X-ray structural studies possibility. The dataset presented in this article provide a characterization of the nAChR-DC purified using a sequential purification processes developed in our laboratory [1]. This purification takes in consideration all of the physicochemical and functional requirements stablished by several researchers for the past three decades for the nAChR.

Sequential purification and characterization of Torpedo californica nAChR-DC supplemented with CHS for high-resolution crystallization studies.

Over the past 10 years we have been developing a multi-attribute analytical platform that allows for the preparation of milligram amounts of functional, high-pure, and stable Torpedo (muscle-type) nAChR detergent complexes for crystallization purpose. In the present work, we have been able to significantly improve and optimize the purity and yield of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in detergent complexes (nAChR-DC) without compromising stability and functionality. We implemented new methods in the process, such as analysis and rapid production of samples for future crystallization preparations.

Identification of Dopaminergic Neurons That Can Both Establish Associative Memory and Acutely Terminate Its Behavioral Expression.

An adaptive transition from exploring the environment in search of vital resources to exploiting these resources once the search was successful is important to all animals. Here we study the neuronal circuitry that allows larval of either sex to negotiate this exploration-exploitation transition. We do so by combining Pavlovian conditioning with high-resolution behavioral tracking, optogenetic manipulation of individually identified neurons, and EM data-based analyses of synaptic organization.

Recurrent architecture for adaptive regulation of learning in the insect brain.

Dopaminergic neurons (DANs) drive learning across the animal kingdom, but the upstream circuits that regulate their activity and thereby learning remain poorly understood. We provide a synaptic-resolution connectome of the circuitry upstream of all DANs in a learning center, the mushroom body of Drosophila larva. We discover afferent sensory pathways and a large population of neurons that provide feedback from mushroom body output neurons and link distinct memory systems (aversive and appetitive).

Advancing Health Equity through Organizational Mentoring Policies at Minority-Serving Institutions.

Objective: Morehouse School of Medicine, a collaborative partner in the National Research Mentoring Network, established the Mentoring Academy Institutional Planning Forum (MA Forum) to help minority-serving institutions (MSI) optimize research mentoring. In this commentary, we describe the policy workshop and review survey data from six MSIs to assess the current state of organizational policies and activities that advance research mentoring.

Participants: Twenty-eight institutional leaders, representing six MSIs, participated in an MA Forum between May 20, 2016 and May 11, 2017.

Endoscope-assisted contralateral transmaxillary approach to the clivus and the hypoglossal canal: technical case report.

Clival lesions are still considered surgically complex due to their anatomical location. Critical structures, such as the internal carotid arteries (ICAs), cavernous sinuses, cranial nerves, and brainstem, may be encased within the lesion. Although advances in endoscopic endonasal approaches have provided new routes to these lesions, exposure and resection of clival tumors through the endonasal route remain a technical challenge.

The Health related Quality of Life of Puerto Ricans during Cancer Treatments; A Pilot Study.

Objective: To examine the health related quality of life (HRQOL) experienced by 79 Puerto Rican adults during cancer treatments.

Methods: This study used a descriptive, cross-sectional design. Participants completed a demographics form and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General QOL questionnaire (FACT-G).