Sinorhizobium meliloti BR-bodies promote fitness during host colonization.

Biomolecular condensates, such as the nucleoli or P-bodies, are non-membrane-bound assemblies of proteins and nucleic acids that facilitate specific cellular processes. Like eukaryotic P-bodies, the recently discovered bacterial ribonucleoprotein bodies (BR-bodies) organize the mRNA decay machinery, yet the similarities in molecular and cellular functions across species have been poorly explored. Here, we examine the functions of BR-bodies in the nitrogen-fixing endosymbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti, which colonizes the roots of compatible legume plants. Assembly of BR-bodies into visible foci in S. meliloti cells requires the C-terminal intrinsically disordered region (IDR) of RNase E, and foci fusion is readily observed in vivo, suggesting they are liquid-like condensates that form via mRNA sequestration. Using Rif-seq to measure mRNA lifetimes, we found a global slowdown in mRNA decay in a mutant deficient in BR-bodies, indicating that compartmentalization of the degradation machinery promotes efficient mRNA turnover. While BR-bodies are constitutively present during exponential growth, the abundance of BR-bodies increases upon cell stress, whereby they promote stress resistance. Finally, using Medicago truncatula as host, we show that BR-bodies enhance competitiveness during colonization and appear to be required for effective symbiosis, as mutants without BR-bodies failed to stimulate plant growth. These results suggest that BR-bodies provide a fitness advantage for bacteria during infection, perhaps by enabling better resistance against the host immune response.

Variations in Cortical Functional Gradients Relate to Dimensions of Psychopathology in Preschool Children.

OBJECTIVE: It is unclear how the functional brain hierarchy is organized in preschool-aged children, and whether alterations in the brain organization are linked to mental health in this age group. Here, we assessed whether preschool-aged children exhibit a brain organizational structure similar to that of older children, how this structure might change over time, and whether it might reflect mental health. METHOD: This study derived functional gradients using diffusion embedding from resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 4.5-year-old children (N = 100, 42 male participants) and 6.0-year-old children (N = 133, 62 male participants) from the longitudinal Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) cohort. We then conducted partial least-squares correlation analyses to identify the association between the impairment ratings of different mental disorders and network gradient values. RESULTS: The main organizing axis of functional connectivity (ie, principal gradient) separated the visual and somatomotor regions (ie, unimodal) in preschool-aged children, whereas the second axis delineated the unimodal-transmodal gradient. This pattern of organization was stable from 4.5 to 6 years of age. The second gradient separating the high- and low-order networks exhibited a diverging pattern across mental health severity, differentiating dimensions related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and phobic disorders. CONCLUSION: This study characterized, for the first time, the functional brain hierarchy in preschool-aged children. A divergence in functional gradient pattern across different disease dimensions was found, highlighting how perturbations in functional brain organization can relate to the severity of different mental health disorders.

Changes in Medication Use During Pregnancy for Women with Chronic Conditions: An Analysis of Claims Data.

PURPOSE: Evaluation of drug safety during pregnancy is dependent on the number of exposed women during routine clinical practice with data available for analysis. We examined medication fills in pregnant and nonpregnant women within select disease cohorts: general population, migraine, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia to explore the potential use of claims data to assess medication use and safety during pregnancy. METHODS: This cohort study, using IBM MarketScan® Research Databases claims data, included women 10-54 years of age with pregnancy resulting in a liveborn infant between January 2010 and September 2015 and matched nonpregnant women. Medication use (antidepressants, antihypertensives, sedatives, glucose-lowering medications, antiepileptics, antipsychotics, lipid-lowering medications) was abstracted from pharmacy claims 180 days before last menstrual period through 180 days postdelivery. RESULTS: Among 753,760 women in the general pregnancy population (including 73,268 migraine, 50,155 hyperlipidemia, and 8361 diabetes; non-exclusive cohorts), antidepressants, antihypertensives, and sedatives were the most commonly used medications during pregnancy. Medications of interest were less commonly used in the pregnancy cohort than in the matched nonpregnant cohort within each time period (e.g., 3.7% vs 13.1% antidepressant use in 1st trimester). Most prescription fills were less common during pregnancy then pre-pregnancy. Post-pregnancy, prescription fills increased to or exceeded pre-pregnancy levels, except antihypertensive and glucose-lowering medications, which increased during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Medication use among pregnant women was low and different from that among matched nonpregnant women. The underlying size of large commercial claims databases offer opportunities for efficient evaluation of potential safety concerns, particularly for rare drug exposures, compared to traditional pregnancy registries.

Genomic Immune Evasion: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Opportunities in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas.

Head and neck squamous cell cancers (HNSCCs) represent a diverse group of tumors emerging within different mucosal surfaces of the oral cavity, nasopharynx, oropharynx, larynx, and hypopharynx. HNSCCs share common clinical risk factors and genomic features, including smoking, alcohol, age, male sex, aneuploidy, and TP53 mutations. Viral initiating and contributing events are increasingly recognized in HNSCCs. While both Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) and human papilloma virus (HPV) are observed, EBV is more frequently associated with nasopharyngeal cancers whereas HPV is associated with oropharyngeal cancers. HNSCCs are associated with high tumor mutational burden and loss of tumor suppressor gene function, especially in TP53 and X-linked genes. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that HNSCCs are subject to immunologic surveillance and immune-induced evolutionary pressure that correlate with negative clinical outcomes. This review will discuss genomic mechanisms related to immune-mediated pressures and propose prognostic and therapeutic implications of detectable immune escape mechanisms that drive tumorigenesis and disease progression.

Examine the relationships between health-related quality of life, achievement motivation and job performance: the case of Taiwan hospitality industry.

BACKGROUND: Employees are considered as one of the most important assets in many organizations, and their health well-being is critical to help achieve a sustainable and motivated workforce that is committed to delivering quality hospitality services through enhanced performance and productivity. Given the extent of the challenges and impact presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to the hospitality industry, it is timely to gain further insights on employees' health well-being. The key purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between health-related quality of life, achievement motivation and job performance in the Taiwan hospitality industry, to acquire a better understanding of their relationships through the job performance pathway models. METHODS: This study has used a purposeful sampling technique to select the 10 highest-earning hospitality companies in Taiwan. A total of 292 questionnaires were collected from the employees of these hospitality companies. Based on the multi-dimensional concept of health-related quality of life (HRQoL), the relationships between the five key dimensions (i.e. psychological health, physical health, social health, achievement motivation, and job performance) were examined. To measure these dimensions, the survey questions were adapted from previous research such as the World Health Organization's WHOQOL-BREF scale, Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Partial least squares - Structural Equation Modeling method was used to explore these dimensions, and two job performance pathway models (for manager and staff) were subsequently developed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Findings showed that psychological health directly affected the manager's job performance and physical health had a similar effect through social health. While psychological health had not affected the staff's job performance, but it could affect achievement motivation through both direct and indirect effects of social health. The pathway models that were developed indicated that the manager's job performance was mainly affected by psychological health and social health, whereas the key dimension that had affected the staff's job performance was achievement motivation.

A parsimonious model of blood glucose homeostasis.

The mathematical modelling of biological systems has historically followed one of two approaches: comprehensive and minimal. In comprehensive models, the involved biological pathways are modelled independently, then brought together as an ensemble of equations that represents the system being studied, most often in the form of a large system of coupled differential equations. This approach often contains a very large number of tuneable parameters (> 100) where each describes some physical or biochemical subproperty. As a result, such models scale very poorly when assimilation of real world data is needed. Furthermore, condensing model results into simple indicators is challenging, an important difficulty in scenarios where medical diagnosis is required. In this paper, we develop a minimal model of glucose homeostasis with the potential to yield diagnostics for pre-diabetes. We model glucose homeostasis as a closed control system containing a self-feedback mechanism that describes the collective effects of the physiological components involved. The model is analyzed as a planar dynamical system, then tested and verified using data collected with continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) from healthy individuals in four separate studies. We show that, although the model has only a small number (3) of tunable parameters, their distributions are consistent across subjects and studies both for hyperglycemic and for hypoglycemic episodes.

Effects of Parental Involvement in a Preschool-Based Eye Health Intervention Regarding Children's Screen Use in China.

In this digital era, young children spend a considerable amount of time looking at telephone, tablet, computer and television screens. However, preventative eye health behavior education could help avoid and relieve asthenopia. The effects of parental influence on their children's eye health behavior through the preschool eye health education intervention program were examined. The Health Belief Model was used to develop parental involvement strategy and eye health curriculum. The study was conducted in a large public preschool with five branches in Beijing, China. A total of 248 parent-child pairs participated in the baseline and follow-up surveys, of which 129 were in the intervention group and 119 were in the comparison group. The generalized estimating equation analysis results indicated that parental involvement in preschool-based eye health intervention on screen uses had positive influence on parents' eye health knowledge, cues to action, and parenting efficacy. The intervention program also had positive effects on the increasing level of children's eye health knowledge, beliefs, cues to action, self-efficacy, and behaviors. The results supported the implementation of a preschool-based eye health intervention program with parental involvement, which could potentially enhance children's and parents' eye health beliefs and practices.

Determinants of pro-environmental behavior among excessive smartphone usage children and moderate smartphone usage children in Taiwan.

INTRODUCTION: Although there is evidence linking the relationships between smartphone usage with health, stress, and academic performance, there is still inadequate knowledge about the influence on pro-environmental behaviors. This study seeks to bridge this gap by adapting the theory of attribution framework to examine the effects of personal norms, social norms, perceived behavioral control on pro-environmental behavior of smartphone usage in children. METHODS: A total of 225 children aged between 11 to 12 from eight selected public primary schools at the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park in Taiwan were surveyed. Two distinct groups (excessive versus moderate usage) were purposefully selected for comparison, of which 96 participants were excessive smartphone users while the remaining 129 were moderate smartphone users. RESULTS: Findings revealed significant differences between excessive and moderate smartphone usage children groups in personal norms (p < 0.001), social norms (p = 0.002), perceived behavioral control (p = 0.001), and pro-environmental behavior (p = 0.001). Findings for excessive smartphone usage children showed that social norms (ß = 0.428, t = 4.096***, p < 0.001) had a direct predictive impact on pro-environmental behavior. In contrast, while there was no direct path established between personal norms and pro-environmental behavior (ß = 0.177, t = 1.580, p > 0.05), as well as social norms and pro-environmental behavior for moderate smartphone usage children (ß = 0.181, t = 1.924, p > 0.05), but such a relationship could be developed through the mediating effect of perceived behavioral control (ß = 0.497, t = 4.471***, p < 0.001). DISCUSSION: The results suggested that excessive smartphone usage children lack positive perceived behavioral control, and their pro-environmental behavior could only be predicted through explicit social norms, whereas pro-environmental behavior of moderate smartphone usage children was implicitly influenced by personal norms through perceived behavioral control.

Patient Satisfaction With Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: New York City was the international epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Health care providers responded by rapidly transitioning from in-person to video consultations. Telemedicine (ie, video visits) is a potentially disruptive innovation; however, little is known about patient satisfaction with this emerging alternative to the traditional clinical encounter. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine if patient satisfaction differs between video and in-person visits. METHODS: In this retrospective observational cohort study, we analyzed 38,609 Press Ganey patient satisfaction survey outcomes from clinic encounters (620 video visits vs 37,989 in-person visits) at a single-institution, urban, quaternary academic medical center in New York City for patients aged 18 years, from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020. Time was categorized as pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 (before vs after March 4, 2020). Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests and multivariable linear regression were used for hypothesis testing and statistical modeling, respectively. RESULTS: We experienced an 8729% increase in video visit utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the same period last year. Video visit Press Ganey scores were significantly higher than in-person visits (94.9% vs 92.5%; P<.001). In adjusted analyses, video visits (parameter estimate [PE] 2.18; 95% CI 1.20-3.16) and the COVID-19 period (PE 0.55; 95% CI 0.04-1.06) were associated with higher patient satisfaction. Younger age (PE -2.05; 95% CI -2.66 to -1.22), female gender (PE -0.73; 95% CI -0.96 to -0.50), and new visit type (PE -0.75; 95% CI -1.00 to -0.49) were associated with lower patient satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Patient satisfaction with video visits is high and is not a barrier toward a paradigm shift away from traditional in-person clinic visits. Future research comparing other clinic visit quality indicators is needed to guide and implement the widespread adoption of telemedicine.

Cinacalcet studies in pediatric subjects with secondary hyperparathyroidism receiving dialysis.

BACKGROUND: Secondary hyperparathyroidism (sHPT), a complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD) characterized by persistently elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH), alterations in calcium-phosphorus homeostasis, and vitamin D metabolism, affects 50% of children receiving dialysis. A significant proportion of these children develop CKD-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD), associated with an increased risk of fractures and vascular calcification. The standard of care for sHPT in children includes vitamin D sterols, calcium supplementation, and phosphate binders. Several agents are approved for sHPT treatment in adults undergoing dialysis, including vitamin D analogs and calcimimetics, with limited information on their safety and efficacy in children. The calcimimetic cinacalcet is approved for use in adults with sHPT on dialysis, but is not approved for pediatric use outside Europe. METHODS: This review provides dosing, safety, and efficacy information from Amgen-sponsored cinacalcet pediatric trials and data from non-Amgen sponsored clinical studies. RESULTS: The Amgen cinacalcet pediatric clinical development program consisted of two Phase 3 randomized studies, one Phase 3 single arm extension study, one open-label Phase 2 study, and two open-label Phase 1 studies. Effects of cinacalcet on PTH varied across studies. Overall, 7.4 to 57.1% of subjects who received cinacalcet in an Amgen clinical trial attained PTH levels within recommended target ranges and 22.2 to 70.6% observed a ≥ 30% reduction in PTH. In addition, significant reductions in PTH were demonstrated in all non-Amgen-supported studies. CONCLUSIONS: To help inform the pediatric nephrology community, this manuscript contains the most comprehensive review of cinacalcet usage in pediatric CKD patients to date.

10D1F, an Anti-HER3 Antibody that Uniquely Blocks the Receptor Heterodimerization Interface, Potently Inhibits Tumor Growth Across a Broad Panel of Tumor Models.

In recent years, HER3 has increasingly been implicated in the progression of a variety of tumor types and in acquired resistance to EGFR and HER2 therapies. Whereas EGFR and HER2 primarily signal through the MAPK pathway, HER3, as a heterodimer with EGFR or HER2, potently activates the PI3K pathway. Despite its critical role, previous attempts to target HER3 with neutralizing antibodies have shown disappointing efficacy in the clinic, most likely due to suboptimal and indirect mechanisms of action that fail to completely block heterodimerization; for example, tumors can escape inhibition of ligand binding by upregulating ligand-independent mechanisms of HER3 activation. We therefore developed 10D1F, a picomolar affinity, highly specific anti-HER3 neutralizing antibody that binds the HER3 heterodimerization interface, a region that was hitherto challenging to raise antibodies against. We demonstrate that 10D1F potently inhibits both EGFR:HER3 and HER2:HER3 heterodimerization to durably suppress activation of the PI3K pathway in a broad panel of tumor models. Even as a monotherapy, 10D1F shows superior inhibition of tumor growth in the same cell lines both in vitro and in mouse xenograft experiments, when compared with other classes of anti-HER3 antibodies. This includes models demonstrating ligand-independent activation of heterodimerization as well as constitutively activating mutations in the MAPK pathway. Possessing favorable pharmacokinetic and toxicologic profiles, 10D1F uniquely represents a new class of anti-HER3 neutralizing antibodies with a novel mechanism of action that offers significant potential for broad clinical benefit.10D1F is a novel anti-HER3 antibody that uniquely binds the receptor dimerization interface to block ligand-dependent and independent heterodimerization with EGFR/HER2 and thus more potently inhibits tumor growth than existing anti-HER3 antibodies.

The Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict Protective Behavioral Intentions against PM2.5 in Parents of Young Children from Urban and Rural Beijing, China.

Smog and air pollution have fast become significant environmental problems and are attributed to rapid global industrialization and urbanization. Emissions of fine particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5) increase smog and air pollution, with strong impacts on human health. Children are particularly vulnerable. While increasing studies are being conducted on the behaviors leading to PM2.5 toxicity from the perspective of environmental toxicants, there is a lack of research on factors influencing anti-PM2.5 behavioral intentions. Thus, this study aims to narrow this gap by adapting the theory of planned behavior framework to investigate the effects of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on protective behavioral intentions against PM2.5. In total, 1277 online questionnaires were collected from parents of young children living in urban and rural areas of Beijing, and the data was analyzed using correlation, regression, and path analyses. Results revealed that there were significant differences between parents from urban and rural areas in terms of attitude (t = 4.727 > 1.96, p < 0.001), subjective norms (t = 5.529 > 1.96, p < 0.001), perceived behavioral control (t = 6.155 > 1.96, p < 0.001), and anti-PM2.5 behavioral intentions (t = 6.838 > 1.96, p < 0.001). Path analysis revealed that parents from urban and rural areas had different behavioral intention paths. For urban parents, the findings indicated that subjective norms (ß = 0.73, t = 21.84 > 3.29) and perceived behavioral control (γ = 0.22, t = 6.12 > 3.29) had direct impacts on anti-PM2.5 behavioral intentions. In contrast, the attitudes (γ = 0.39, t = 3.74 > 3.29) and subjective norms (ß = 0.60, t = 8.55 > 3.29) of rural parents were found to directly influence anti-PM2.5 behavioral intentions.

No Consensus for Femoral Head Impaction Technique in Surgeon Education Materials From Orthopedic Implant Manufacturers.

BACKGROUND: Prior studies indicate that one factor that may contribute to total hip arthroplasty failure due to mechanically assisted crevice corrosion at the femoral head-trunnion junction is the method of femoral head fixation. METHODS: Up-to-date on-line surgical technique guides describing fixation of the prosthetic femoral head of common implants of the 4 largest manufacturers as well as 2 minor manufacturers were identified. The information given regarding preparation and fixation of the femoral head was evaluated and compared. RESULTS: A total of 24 surgical technique guides were evaluated. Most guides (22/24) addressed fixation technique; of these, 19 of 22 suggested cleaning and 20 of 22 suggested drying the trunnion prior to affixing the femoral head. The manner of fixation, however, varied widely and there was no single technique advocated. CONCLUSION: The majority of surgeon education materials do not specify a single technique for assembly of the head femoral component in total hip arthroplasty. If the method of fixation is indeed important, efforts should be made to identify the best technique, and improve and unify the surgical technique instructions.

Physical Outdoor Activity versus Indoor Activity: Their Influence on Environmental Behaviors.

There are strong evidences linking physical outdoor activity and health benefits; however, little is known about the impact on environmental behaviors. Thus, this study aims to close this gap by investigating the influence of physical outdoor activity on environmental behaviors. A total of 416 surveys were distributed to students in eight public primary schools located near the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park in Taiwan. Findings from the analysis revealed that subjective norms had a more influential effect on environmental behaviors for participants who engaged in physical activity at outdoor parks. In contrast, descriptive norms had a direct predictive impact on environmental behaviors for participants whose main physical activity venue was at the indoor after-school centers. Research results also highlighted attitude as the strongest predictive variable influence on environmental behaviors for children who engaged in physical indoor and outdoor activities.

Pharmacy Student Attitudes and Willingness to Engage in Care with People Living with HIV/AIDS.

Objective. To describe the extent to which pharmacy students hold negative attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and to determine whether background variables, student knowledge, and professional attitudes may affect willingness to care for PLWHA. Methods. An online survey tool was developed and administered to 150 pharmacy students in their third professional year. Descriptive and stepwise multivariate regressions were performed. Results. While descriptive results showed a majority of respondents had favorable professional attitudes towards caring for PLWHA, most pharmacy students expressed discomfort with specific attitudes about being in close physical contact and receiving selected services from PLWHA. Multivariate results revealed that: (1) being a minority predicted greater knowledge; (2) having received prior HIV instruction and greater HIV knowledge predicted more positive professional attitudes caring for PLWHA; (3) being more socially liberal, having more positive professional attitudes caring for PLWHA, and having greater empathy towards PLWHA predicted student willingness to provide services. Conclusion. Future educational interventions specifically targeted toward socially conservative whites may impact greater student willingness to care for PLWHA. Additional research should also explore the generalizability of the present findings and modeling to pharmacy students in other regions of the country.

Outcome of Encephalitis in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

OBJECTIVE: To review pathogens, morbidity and mortality in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients with viral and infectious encephalitis. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of all patients with encephalitis admitted to the PICU between 2002 and 2014 was done. RESULTS: Encephalitis (n = 46) accounted for 2.7 % of PICU admissions, but 11.8 % PICU mortality over a 12-y period. A microorganism (primarily virus) was identified in 59 % of encephalitis patients in the PICU. Enteroviruses and herpes viruses were isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Respiratory viruses [such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza viruses] and enteric viruses (such as rotavirus and norovirus) were obtained in the nasopharyngeal aspirate and stool respectively, but undetectable from the CSF. More than one-fourth patients with encephalitis died in the PICU. Boys accounted for 85 % of nonsurvivors and 52 % survivors (p = 0.038). Mechanical ventilation, inotrope, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and corticosteroid usage were significantly higher among non-survivors (p 0.001-0.044). Binomial logistic regression showed that patients who received corticosteroid had a lower chance of survival than those who did not after adjusting for gender, IVIG and mechanical ventilation (adjusted odd ratio = 0.071, 95 % CI 0.006-0.881; p 0.039). Eighteen (55 %) of the survivors had moderate-to-severe neurodevelopmental impairments. CONCLUSIONS: Encephalitis is associated with significant mortality despite intensive care. Over 25 % case died and 55 % of survivors had moderate-to-severe neurodevelopmental impairments. There appeared to be no emerging outbreaks of encephalitis during the 15-y study period.

An open-label study in healthy men to evaluate the risk of seminal fluid transmission of denosumab to pregnant partners.

AIMS: Denosumab is a fully human monoclonal immunoglobulin G2 antibody that inhibits bone resorption and increases bone mass and strength. The present clinical study assessed serum and seminal fluid pharmacokinetics following a single denosumab dose in healthy men, and evaluated whether denosumab in seminal fluid poses any risk to a fetus in the event of unprotected sexual intercourse with a pregnant partner. METHODS: An open-label, single-dose study in 12 healthy men was conducted over a 106-day period. Subjects received a single subcutaneous dose of 60-mg denosumab on day 1. Serum and seminal fluid samples were collected at specified time points to assess denosumab pharmacokinetics. Adverse events were recorded. RESULTS: Denosumab was measurable at low concentrations in seminal fluid (~2% of serum concentrations). The mean [standard deviation (SD)] maximum observed drug concentration (Cmax ) was 6170 (2070) ng ml(-1) (serum) and 100 (81.9) ng ml(-1) (seminal fluid). The median time to Cmax (tmax ) was 8 days (serum) and 21 days (seminal fluid). The mean (SD) area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) from time zero to the time of the last quantifiable concentration (AUClast ) was 333 000 (122 000) day•ng ml(-1) (serum) and 5220 (4880) day•ng ml(-1) (seminal fluid). The mean (SD) Cmax and AUC ratios between seminal fluid and serum were 0.0217 (0.0154) and 0.0170 (0.0148), respectively. Using conservative assumptions for ejaculate volume (6 ml), vaginal absorption (100%) and placental transfer (100%), the measured mean denosumab seminal fluid Cmax would result in fetal exposure that was more than 110 times below the preclinically derived 'no effect level' for denosumab. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate a negligible risk to a fetus exposed to denosumab via seminal fluid transfer to a pregnant partner.

Controlling inplane orientation of a monolayer colloidal crystal by meniscus pinning.

We demonstrate the usage of meniscus pinning by surface relief boundaries to control in-plane orientation of monolayer colloidal crystals without the interruption of grain disorientation. By optimizing the pinning boundary and withdrawal speed, a well controlled linear meniscus contact line offers unidirectional growth of a colloidal crystal-densely packed crystal direction ⟨11⟩ and ⟨10⟩ parallel to linear edge-giving rise to a single domain crystal with only twins and vacancies present as residual defects. The pinning effect works by eliminating the wavy contact line induced by fingering instability which is commonly found in liquid wetting film. It is found that surfactants and colloidal particles play significant roles to enhance edge pinning, increasing the distance traveled by receding bulk meniscus (during substrate withdrawal) before liquid depinning or rupturing.

Wavelet-denoising of electroencephalogram and the absolute slope method: a new tool to improve electroencephalographic localization and lateralization.

OBJECTIVE: In ictal scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) the presence of artefacts and the wide ranging patterns of discharges are hurdles to good diagnostic accuracy. Quantitative EEG aids the lateralization and/or localization process of epileptiform activity. METHODS: Twelve patients achieving Engel Class I/IIa outcome following temporal lobe surgery (1 year) were selected with approximately 1-3 ictal EEGs analyzed/patient. The EEG signals were denoised with discrete wavelet transform (DWT), followed by computing the normalized absolute slopes and spatial interpolation of scalp topography associated to detection of local maxima. For localization, the region with the highest normalized absolute slopes at the time when epileptiform activities were registered (>2.5 times standard deviation) was designated as the region of onset. For lateralization, the cerebral hemisphere registering the first appearance of normalized absolute slopes >2.5 times the standard deviation was designated as the side of onset. As comparison, all the EEG episodes were reviewed by two neurologists blinded to clinical information to determine the localization and lateralization of seizure onset by visual analysis. RESULTS: 16/25 seizures (64%) were correctly localized by the visual method and 21/25 seizures (84%) by the quantitative EEG method. 12/25 seizures (48%) were correctly lateralized by the visual method and 23/25 seizures (92%) by the quantitative EEG method. The McNemar test showed p=0.15 for localization and p=0.0026 for lateralization when comparing the two methods. CONCLUSIONS: The quantitative EEG method yielded significantly more seizure episodes that were correctly lateralized and there was a trend towards more correctly localized seizures. SIGNIFICANCE: Coupling DWT with the absolute slope method helps clinicians achieve a better EEG diagnostic accuracy.