Heart rate variability during sleep in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Purpose: Autonomic dysfunction has been reported in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Less is known about autonomic function during sleep in ASD. The objective of this study is to provide insight into the autonomic cardiovascular control during different sleep stages in ASD.

Hydrophobic interactions between polymeric carrier and palmitic acid-conjugated siRNA improve PEGylated polyplex stability and enhance in vivo pharmacokinetics and tumor gene silencing.

Formation of stable, long-circulating siRNA polyplexes is a significant challenge in translation of intravenously-delivered, polymeric RNAi cancer therapies. Here, we report that siRNA hydrophobization through conjugation to palmitic acid (siPA) improves stability, in vivo pharmacokinetics, and tumor gene silencing of PEGylated nanopolyplexes (siPA-NPs) with balanced cationic and hydrophobic content in the core relative to the analogous polyplexes formed with unmodified siRNA, si-NPs. Hydrophobized siPA loaded into the NPs at a lower charge ratio (N(+):P(-)) relative to unmodified siRNA, and siPA-NPs had superior resistance to siRNA cargo unpackaging in comparison to si-NPs upon exposure to the competing polyanion heparin and serum.

Fluorocoxib A loaded nanoparticles enable targeted visualization of cyclooxygenase-2 in inflammation and cancer.

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is expressed in virtually all solid tumors and its overexpression is a hallmark of inflammation. Thus, it is a potentially powerful biomarker for the early clinical detection of inflammatory disease and human cancers. We report a reactive oxygen species (ROS) responsive micellar nanoparticle, PPS-b-POEGA, that solubilizes the first fluorescent COX-2-selective inhibitor fluorocoxib A (FA) for COX-2 visualization in vivo.

Hydrolytic charge-reversal of PEGylated polyplexes enhances intracellular un-packaging and activity of siRNA.

Hydrolytically degrading nano-polyplexes (HDG-NPs) that reverse charge through conversion of tertiary amines to carboxylic acids were investigated to improve intracellular un-packaging of siRNA and target gene silencing compared to a non-degradable analog (non-HDG-NPs). Both NP types comprised reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) synthesized diblock copolymers of a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) corona-forming block and a cationic block for nucleic acid packaging that incorporated butyl methacrylate (BMA) and either dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA, non-HDG-NPs) or dimethylaminoethyl acrylate (DMAEA, HDG-NPs). HDG-NPs decreased significantly in size and released significantly more siRNA (∼40%) than non-HDG-NPs after 24 h in aqueous solution.

Integrating single-molecule experiments and discrete stochastic models to understand heterogeneous gene transcription dynamics.

The production and degradation of RNA transcripts is inherently subject to biological noise that arises from small gene copy numbers in individual cells. As a result, cellular RNA levels can exhibit large fluctuations over time and from one cell to the next. This article presents a range of precise single-molecule experimental techniques, based upon RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization, which can be used to measure the fluctuations of RNA at the single-cell level.

An Electronic Tool for the Evaluation and Treatment of Sepsis in the ICU: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives: To determine whether addition of an electronic sepsis evaluation and management tool to electronic sepsis alerting improves compliance with treatment guidelines and clinical outcomes in septic ICU patients.

Design: A pragmatic randomized trial.

Setting: Medical and surgical ICUs of an academic, tertiary care medical center.

Functional brain imaging in survivors of critical illness: A prospective feasibility study and exploration of the association between delirium and brain activation patterns.

Purpose: We undertook this pilot prospective cohort investigation to examine the feasibility of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) assessments in survivors of critical illness and to analyze potential associations between delirium and brain activation patterns observed during a working memory task (N-back) at hospital discharge and 3-month follow-up.

Materials And Methods: At hospital discharge and 3 months later, fMRI assessed subjects' functional activity during an N-back task. Multiple linear regression was used to examine associations between duration of delirium and brain activity, and elastic net regression was used to assess the relationship between brain activation patterns at 3 months and cognitive outcomes at 12 months.

Mapping the articular contact area of the long head of the biceps tendon on the humeral head.

The purpose of this investigation was to calculate the contact surface area of the long head of the biceps (LHB) in neutral position and abduction. We sought to determine whether the LHB articulates with the humeral head in a consistent pattern comparing articular contact area in neutral position and abduction. Eleven fresh frozen matched cadaveric shoulders were analyzed.

PPARγ isoforms differentially regulate metabolic networks to mediate mouse prostatic epithelial differentiation.

Recent observations indicate prostatic diseases are comorbidities of systemic metabolic dysfunction. These discoveries revealed fundamental questions regarding the nature of prostate metabolism. We previously showed that prostate-specific ablation of PPARγ in mice resulted in tumorigenesis and active autophagy.

An automated algorithm to improve the precision of basilar artery diameter measurements before and after subarachnoid hemorrhage-induced vasospasm in an animal model.

Objective: Quantifying vasospasm has traditionally been performed manually, a method prone to imprecision and user bias. An alternative approach is to use computerized image analysis techniques to define and quantify the diameter of a vessel. The goal of this article is to demonstrate a novel automated vessel measurement algorithm specific to the needs of vasospasm studies and to compare it with traditional manual measurements in an animal model of vasospasm.

Simulation study of susceptibility gradients leading to focal myocardial signal loss.

Purpose: To assess the cause of a "bite"-shaped signal void artifact often seen in 1.5 Tesla (T) and 3T gradient echo MR images in myocardium along the infero-apical border of the heart, MRI simulation was used to conduct experiments impossible in reality. Two previous studies attempting to explain the origin of this artifact came to different conclusions.

Successful allotransplantation of encapsulated islets in pancreatectomized canines for diabetic management without the use of immunosuppression.

Background: Pancreatic islet transplantation has shown great success in the treatment of diabetic patients. However, the required immunosuppressive therapy exposes patients to serious side effects.

Methods: We have designed a novel five-component/three-membrane capsule and encapsulation system to protect the transplanted islet cells from immune system attack while allowing the influx of molecules and nutrients necessary for cell function/survival and efflux of the desired cellular product, specifically insulin, for making recipients healthy.

Compartmental relaxation and diffusion tensor imaging measurements in vivo in lambda-carrageenan-induced edema in rat skeletal muscle.

Integrated diffusion tensor T(2) measurements were made on normal and edematous rat muscle, and the data were fitted with one- and two-compartment models, respectively. Edematous muscle exhibited a short-lived component (T(2) = 28 +/- 6 ms), with diffusion characteristics similar to that of normal muscle, and a long-lived component (T(2) = 96 +/- 27 ms), with greater mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and lower fractional anisotropy (FA). With this two-component description of diffusion and relaxation, values of ADC and FA estimated with a conventional pulsed-gradient spin-echo sequence will depend on the echo time, relative fraction of short-lived and long-lived water signals, and the intrinsic ADC and FA values within the tissue.

Temporal DeltaB0 and relaxation in the rat heart.

Field maps of the induced main magnetic field offset (DeltaB(0)) were measured in the rat heart at various points in the cardiac cycle for the purpose of identifying their effects on relaxation measurements. The mean DeltaB(0) of the left ventricle averaged across rats was found to be 0.11 +/- 0.

Shifting toward balance: measuring the distribution of workload among emergency physician teams.

Study Objective: The objective of this investigation is to determine time-dependent workload patterns for emergency department (ED) physician teams across work shifts. A secondary aim was to demonstrate how ED demand patterns and the timing of shift changes influence the balance of workload among a physician team.

Methods: Operational measurements of an adult ED were collected from a clinical information system to characterize physician workload patterns during all current work shifts.

Aqueous urea as a model system for bi-exponential relaxation.

Object: To evaluate the utility of aqueous urea, doped inner- and outer-sphere relaxation agents, as an adjustable two-component model system.

Materials And Methods: T2 was measured from 12 molal urea mixtures at pH 7.0 with varying amounts of the MnCl2 and FeO(1.

Autonomous reovirus strain classification using filament-coupled antibodies.

We previously described a filament-based antibody recognition assay (FARA) that generates ELISA-like sandwich structures immobilized on a filament. FARA allows the coupling of antibodies to precise locations along a filament, on-line fluorescence detection of captured pathogen, and feedback-directed filament motion. These properties suggest that this approach might be useful as an automated means to rapidly classify unknown pathogens.

K-space in the clinic.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences are characterized by both radio frequency (RF) pulses and time-varying gradient magnetic fields. The RF pulses manipulate the alignment of the resonant nuclei and thereby generate a measurable signal. The gradient fields spatially encode the signals so that those arising from one location in an excited slice of tissue may be distinguished from those arising in another location.

Formative assessment in physiology teaching using a wireless classroom communication system.

Systems physiology, studied by biomedical engineers, is an analytical way to approach the homeostatic foundations of basic physiology. In many systems physiology courses, students attend lectures and are given homework and reading assignments to complete outside of class. The effectiveness of this traditional approach was compared with an approach in which a wireless classroom communication system was used to provide instant feedback on in-class learning activities and reading assignment quizzes.

Maximizing the in vivo efficiency of gene transfer by means of nonviral polymeric gene delivery vehicles.

We have screened many synthetic and natural polymers for their ability to facilitate gene delivery in vivo into subcutaneous tissue. We postulated that gene delivery polymeric vehicles could control the chemical and biological stability of plasmid as well as their colloidal and surface properties, and this may lead to enhanced gene delivery in vivo. The screening was based on reporter gene (luciferase) expression using a plasmid containing the cytomegalovirus promoter.

Towards retrievable vascularized bioartificial pancreas: induction and long-lasting stability of polymeric mesh implant vascularized with the help of acidic and basic fibroblast growth factors and hydrogel coating.

We seek to improve existing methodologies for allogenic grafting of pancreatic islets. The lack of success of encapsulated transplanted islets inside the peritoneal cavity is presently attributed to poor vascularization of the implant. A thick, fibrotic capsule often surrounds the graft, limiting survival.

Evaluation of radiofrequency pulses and contrast agent doses for use in 3D pulmonary magnetic resonance angiography.

Ten healthy volunteers were imaged with breath-hold, three-dimensional (3D) time-of-flight (TOF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) using single-variable-angle uniform signal excitation (VUSE), double-VUSE, and flat radiofrequency (RF) pulses with various doses of contrast agent. The ability of each technique to display pulmonary vasculature was evaluated. Images were segmented to isolate lungs, and maximum intensity projections (MIPs) were computed.

An encapsulation system for the immunoisolation of pancreatic islets.

Over a thousand combinations of polyanions and polycations were tested to search for new polymer candidates that would be suitable for encapsulation of living cells. The combination of sodium alginate, cellulose sulfate, poly (methylene-co-guanidine) hydrochloride, calcium chloride, and sodium chloride was most promising. In parallel, a novel multiloop chamber reactor was developed to control the time of complex formation and to negate gravitational effects such as pancreatic islet sedimentation and droplet deformation during the encapsulation process.