HVint: a strategy for identifying novel protein-protein interactions in Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1

Human herpesviruses are widespread human pathogens with a remarkable impact on worldwide public health. Despite intense decades of research, the molecular details in many aspects of their function remain to be fully characterized. To unravel the details of how these viruses operate, a thorough understanding of the relationships between the involved components is key. Here, we present HVint, a novel protein-protein intra-viral interaction resource for herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) integrating data from five external sources. To assess each interaction, we used a scoring scheme that takes into consideration aspects such as the type of detection method and the number of lines of evidence. The coverage of the initial interactome was further increased using evolutionary information, by importing interactions reported for other human herpesviruses. These latter interactions constitute, therefore, computational predictions for potential novel interactions in HSV-1. An independent experimental analysis was performed to confirm a subset of our predicted interactions. This subset covers proteins that contribute to nuclear egress and primary envelopment events, including VP26, pUL31, pUL40 and the recently characterized pUL32 and pUL21. Our findings support a coordinated crosstalk between VP26 and proteins such as pUL31, pUS9 and the CSVC complex, contributing to the development of a model describing the nuclear egress and primary envelopment pathways of newly synthesized HSV-1 capsids. The results are also consistent with recent findings on the involvement of pUL32 in capsid maturation and early tegumentation events. Further, they open the door to new hypotheses on virus-specific regulators of pUS9-dependent transport. To make this repository of interactions readily accessible for the scientific community, we also developed a user-friendly and interactive web interface. Our approach demonstrates the power of computational predictions to assist in the design of targeted experiments for the discovery of novel protein-protein interactions

The Pulse of Progress: A Review on Wearable Technology in Healthcare

In recent years the literature that has examined wearable technology has grown exponentially. Healthcare is a field in which numerous studies involving wearable technologies and occupational health have been conducted due to its critical and demanding nature. Wearable devices provide many advantages for research, including offering objective physiological data that can support efforts to better understand and improve the well-being of healthcare professionals. Our research team conducted a literature review of 20 peer-reviewed articles related to wearable technology in healthcare. Online databases (e.g., PsycInfo, Google Scholar) were utilized to collect studies that examined a variety of devices and measures such as heart rate variability, sleep, and stress. Data extracted from the articles included participant demographics, type of wearable device, and occupational health outcomes studied. This information was synthesized to evaluate the current state of research and identify areas for future development. The goal is to provide researchers and practitioners with practical and effective ways to incorporate wearables into future research. Common themes that arose, and will be discussed more thoroughly in the poster, include the prevalence of heart rate variability and sleep quality/duration as physiological measures most commonly collected. These measures were frequently linked to stress and burnout, demonstrating the potential of wearables to connect physiological functioning with psychological well-being. At the same time, several limitations emerged. Studies highlighted the inaccuracy of wearable data in capturing mental health states and noted compliance challenges as healthcare workers often found it difficult to wear devices consistently throughout their workday. Based on our findings, we suggest that future research should focus on improving the integration of wearable data with validated self-report measures. This would allow researchers to better capture complex variables such as stress, burnout, and cognitive performance. Additionally, enhancing device usability and minimizing participant burden are essential to improving data quality and reducing attrition. Further work is also needed to address issues related to algorithm validation, transparency, and cost to ensure that wearable technologies are both reliable and accessible. Wearable technology offers promising opportunities to advance occupational health research in healthcare. By addressing current limitations and refining how data are collected and integrated, future studies can position wearables as powerful tools to support the well-being of healthcare professionals. This project is partially supported by the Clemson University Creative Inquiry program

Understanding why adult participants at the World Senior Games choose a healthy diet

BACKGROUND: Identifying those seniors most likely to adopt a healthy diet, the relative importance they place on certain perceived benefits associated with a healthy diet, and whether these perceived benefits are associated with selected demographic, lifestyle, and health history variables is important for directing effective dietary health promotion programs. METHODS: Analyses are based on a cross-sectional convenience sample of 670 seniors aged 50 years and older at the 2002 World Senior Games in St. George, Utah. Data are assessed using frequencies, bivariate analysis, analysis of variance, and multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Fruit and vegetable consumption was significantly higher in individuals aged 70–79, in women, in those not overweight or obese, and in those with excellent overall health. Dietary fiber consumption was significantly higher in former or never smokers, current and previous alcohol drinkers, in those not overweight or obese, and in those with excellent health. The strongest motivating factors identified for adopting a healthy diet were to improve the quality of life, to increase longevity, and to prevent disease. Of intermediate importance were the need to feel a sense of control and to satisfy likes or dislikes. Least important were the desire to experience a higher level of spirituality, social reasons, and peer acceptance. CONCLUSION: Seniors who have adopted a healthy diet are more likely to have chosen that behavior because of perceived health benefits than for personal and social benefits. Overweight or obese individuals and those in poor health were less likely to be engaged in healthy eating behavior and require special attention by dieticians and public health professionals

Academic misconduct, misrepresentation and gaming: a reassessment

The motivation for this Special Issue is increasing concern not only with academic misconduct but also with less easily defined forms of misrepresentation and gaming. In an era of intense emphasis on measuring academic performance, there has been a proliferation of scandals, questionable behaviors and devious stratagems involving not just individuals but also organizations, including universities, editors and reviewers, journal publishers, and conference organizers. This introduction first reviews the literature on the prevalence of academic misconduct, misrepresentation and gaming (MMG). The core of the article is organized around a life-cycle model of the production and dissemination of research results. We synthesize the findings in the MMG literature at the level of the investigator or research team, emphasizing that misbehavior extends well beyond fabrication and falsification to include behaviors designed to exaggerate or to mislead readers as to the significance of research findings. MMG is next explored in the post-research review, publication, and post-publication realms. Moving from the individual researcher to the organizational level, we examine how MMG can be engaged in by either journals or organizations employing or funding the researchers. The changing institutional environment including the growth of research assessment exercises, increased quantitative output measurement and greater pressure to publish may all encourage MMG. In the final section, we summarize the main conclusions and offer suggestions both on how we might best address the problems and on topics for future research

Long-term retention and separation reproducibility for analytical scale Fused-core® columns

We present the long-term retention and separation data reproducibility between 2013 and 2020 for analytical scale (4.6 mm internal diameter) superficially porous particle (SPP) columns. The retention factor for a small molecule—naphthalene—separated on 60 randomized manufactured lots, resulted in a 1.04% RSD; for a large molecule—bovine ribonuclease—separated on 31 randomized lots, 1.16% RSD. The peak shapes for three lots within this 7-year period were overlaid to visualize the chromatographic profile reproducibility. Naphthalene’s tailing factor had a % RSD of 4.42 and bovine ribonuclease’s peak width had an % RSD of 2.94; these metrics are sensitive to variability of the total error contribution of the column and system. A small and a large molecule application demonstrated reproducibility using three SPP manufactured lots packed in a narrow bore 2.1 mm i.d. analytical scale format. 15 peaks of the small molecule study resulted with a retention time %RSD reproducibility of ≤ 0.32, and for the large molecule study ≤ 1.12. The information in this study and the detailed discussion of the variability associated to different separation metrics is critical for industries that use HPLC and must adhere to stringent regulatory specifications, e.g., pharmaceutical, food and beverage industry

Maintaining ordinariness around food: partners’ experiences of everyday life with a dying person

Aims and objectives: To explore partners’ experiences of everyday life in caring for a dying person with eating deficiencies at home.Background: When a dying person receives care at home, eating deficiencies can influence everyday life for family members, who often take responsibility for the provision of food and meals. The literature reveals this to be emotionally stressful. Partners of dying persons are challenged both as caregivers and as partners who will soon lose their life companion. There is a need for studies that provide enhanced understanding about the influence of dying persons’ eating deficiencies on their partners, from the perspective of everyday life.Design: A qualitative design was chosen to obtain experience-based knowledge of relevance for the clinical context of palliative home care.Methods: Nine people were purposefully selected and interviewed three–six months after the death of their partner. Data collection and analysis were guided by an interpretive descriptive method.Results: The partners described experiences of how eating deficiencies brought about changes in the participants’ everyday lives. Two patterns of experiences were identified: the challenge of doing the best for their dying partner around matters involving food and mealtimes, and experiences of striving to maintain ordinariness, including holding on to social values around food, despite experiences of unfamiliarity when the dying partners’ habits were changed.Conclusion:Living close to a person who has eating deficiencies at the end of life is challenging, both from a caring perspective and for personal well-being.Relevance to clinical practice: The findings can assist palliative home care teams and other healthcare professionals to give support that goes beyond giving practical advice about food. Initiating talk about the current situation around food and meals at home, by posing questions and opening the way for conversations, is suggested.</p