Genetically Fusing Order-Promoting and Thermoresponsive Building Blocks to Design Hybrid Biomaterials.

The unique biophysical and biochemical properties of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and their recombinant derivatives, intrinsically disordered protein polymers (IDPPs) offer opportunities for producing multistimuli-responsive materials; their sequence-encoded disorder and tendency for phase separation facilitate the development of multifunctional materials. This review highlights the strategies for enhancing the structural diversity of elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) and resilin-like polypeptides (RLPs), and their self-assembled structures via genetic fusion to ordered motifs such as helical or beta sheet domains. In particular, this review describes approaches that harness the synergistic interplay between order-promoting and thermoresponsive building blocks to design hybrid biomaterials, resulting in well-structured, stimuli-responsive supramolecular materials ordered on the nanoscale.

The microbial growth potential of antiscalants used in seawater desalination.

20 years since the first report on the biofouling potential of chemicals used for scale control, still, antiscalants with high bacterial growth potential are used in practice. Evaluating the bacterial growth potential of commercially available antiscalants is therefore essential for a rational selection of these chemicals. Previous antiscalant growth potential tests were conducted in drinking water or seawater inoculated with model bacterial species which do not represent natural bacterial communities. To reflect better on the conditions of desalination systems, we investigated the bacterial growth potential of eight different antiscalants in natural seawater and an autochthonous bacterial population as inoculum. The antiscalants differed strongly in their bacterial growth potential varying from ≤ 1 to 6 µg easily biodegradable C equivalents/mg antiscalant. The six phosphonate-based antiscalants investigated showed a broad range of growth potential, which depended on their chemical composition, whilst the biopolymer and the synthetic carboxylated polymers-based antiscalants showed limited or no significant bacterial growth. Moreover, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) scans enabled antiscalant fingerprinting, identifying components and contaminants, providing a rapid and sensitive characterization, and opening opportunities for rational selection of antiscalants for biofouling control.

Reconstrucción de scalp masivo con colgajo muscular quimérico libre de dorsal ancho y serrato anterior / Massive scalp reconstruction with quimeric muscular latissimus dorsi and anterior serratus free flap

La reconstrucción del cuero cabelludo por una lesión en scalp es compleja debido a las características morfológicas del cráneo.Presentamos el caso de una paciente de 44 años remitida al Hospital Universitario de La Samaritana (Bogotá, Colombia), con un scalp masivo de espesor total que comprometía el 95% de la superficie y para el cual usamos un colgajo muscular quimérico libre de dorsal ancho y serrato anterior, con posterior cobertura del mismo mediante injertos de piel de espesor parcial.El colgajo adoptó el contorno natural del cráneo; no hubo complicaciones ni necesidad de una revisión secundaria. Los injertos generaron un adecuado resultado funcional y estético que permite el uso de pelucas.No se presentaron otras de las desventajas que se observan con diferentes opciones de reconstrucción. (AU)

Reconstruction of scalp is complex due to cranial morphological traits.A 44-year-old patient is referred to Hospital Universitario de La Samaritana (Bogotá, Colombia) with a massive scalp defect affecting 95% of its total surface and total thickness. A chimeric muscular free flap of the latissimus dorsi and anterior serratus is used to cover the defect; posteriorly, a split-thickness skin graft was placed to cover the flap.The flap adapted to the natural cranial contour without complications; no secondary surgical revision was necessary. Additionally, the skin graft achieved an adequate aesthetic and functional result that allows the use of wigs without other irregularities that could be observed with other reconstructive options. (AU)

Improved Infant Outcomes with Group Prenatal Care in Puerto Rico.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of group prenatal care (Centering Pregnancy) on the rate of Preterm Birth (PTB) and low birth weight. Women were enrolled into Centering Pregnancy (Transformación Prenatal) if they fell in the category of poverty, and had at least one risk for PTB according to known risk factors for low birth weight or PTB. METHODS: Mother's age, parity, risk factors, prenatal/delivery complications, infants' Gestational Age (GA), birth weight, Apgar scores, delivery route, indications for delivery, and use of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) were abstracted from charts of mothers who received group or traditional care at the University Hospital in San Juan, PR. RESULTS: More infants were born at term if the mothers received Centering Pregnancy. The mean birth weight and gestational age of the infants were higher (6.59 vs. 6.33 lbs. and 37.8 vs. 36.8 weeks) than for those in traditional care. Centering Pregnancy also had lower rates of preterm birth (27.7% vs. 34.1%) and births earlier than 31 weeks (2.8% vs. 9.9%). All were statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We successfully implemented group prenatal care (Centering Pregnancy) for the first time in PR in a complex environment: tertiary care hospital with a high-risk prenatal clinic. Despite having known risk factors for preterm birth, the mothers in Centering Pregnancy had better outcomes. In an environment of adverse determinants of health, the program was effective in reducing the odds for adverse infant outcomes early in life and demonstrating that innovative models of health care can improve such outcomes.

HIV and ZIKA in Pregnancy: Parallel Stories and New Challenges.

On February 1, 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Zika virus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Because Zika virus is a relatively new infection with several transmission routes that include mosquito bites, sexual and possibly blood-related, we present the case for a parallel between the Zika epidemic and the AIDS epidemic for issues that relate particularly to pregnancy and epidemic response. We will discuss the many similarities between both epidemics while acknowledging that the viruses are different and the pathophysiology and disease manifestation are also different. What can we learn of the three decades of awareness campaigns, community involvement, clinical, behavior and prevention research, activism and policy-making related to HIV/AIDS? How can the lessons and experience of dealing with the HIV epidemic can help us deal with the ongoing Zika epidemic? Is there a roadmap that we can follow? Our position is that we can and we should. Parallels between the Zika and HIV/AIDS epidemics particularly in relation to pregnancy can be established. Lessons and successes from the HIV/AIDS epidemic control efforts can guide us towards comprehensive approaches to improve the health of women and infants at risk for Zika.