Identification of a novel broadly neutralizing antibody targeting HIV-1

Despite 40 years of research and more than 25 years of effective antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV-1 infection remains a tremendous public health problem in both developing and industrialized countries. With a recent incidence of 1.5 million the UNAIDS goals of 500,000 new infections calculated in 2016 were dramatically missed. Therefore, new approaches to combat HIV-1 pandemic are needed. HIV-1 research regarding ‘Broadly neutralizing antibodies’ has paved the way for developing effectively used antibody therapies against SARS-CoV-2 and Ebola virus, showing that antibody therapies can be effectively used against infectious diseases. In general, bNAbs against HIV-1 were demonstrated to be safe and effective in infected individuals, but finally lead to viral escape because of the high mutation rate of HIV-1. Combi-therapies were implemented to address this problem and could prolong viral suppression compared to monotherapy. Still, for effective long-lasting viral suppression new potent bNAbs are needed to finally restrict viral escape. To this end, we characterized the HIV-1 specific B cell repertoire of an individual with potent serum neutralization of HIV-1, a so-called Elite Neutralizer, as this approach was previously successful for the isolation of existing bNAbs. The serum neutralization of Elite Neutralizer IDC561 ranked among the top 1% of a cohort of 2,274 HIV-1 infected individuals. From IDC561’s HIV-1 reactive B cell clones we amplified single cell sequences, allowing for antibody cloning and production. Testing isolated antibodies for their binding capacities and neutralizing activity lead to the isolation of 1-18, a broad and neutralizing antibody, which showed exceptional neutralizing activity. 1-18 exceeded neutralization activity in comparison to clinically advanced bNAbs not only in the 12-strain global panel but also in 119-pseudovirus multiclade and 100-pseudovirus clade C panels, which makes 1-18 a promising option for HIV 1 antibody therapy

Vietnamese American women’s beliefs and perceptions on cervical cancer, cervical cancer screening, and cancer prevention vaccines: A community-based participatory study

Cervical cancer remains commonly diagnosed in Vietnamese American women. Despite efforts to increase cervical cancer screening among Vietnamese American women, participation rates are persistently lower than the national goal. The objective of this study is to explore beliefs of Vietnamese American women about cervical cancer, cervical cancer screening, and cancer prevention vaccines. A qualitative descriptive investigation captured group perceptions about meaning and beliefs of cervical cancer, screening, and cancer prevention vaccines, and participants’ stories using a community-based participatory research approach. Forty Vietnamese American women were recruited from the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area into four focus groups. Using a process of directed content analysis, focus group transcripts were coded for themes. We found that cervical cancer continues to be a difficult topic to discuss, and Vietnamese American women may not bring the topic up themselves to their health care providers. Some women experienced intense emotions of fear or shame of having their cervix examined. Women delayed seeking cervical cancer screening and needed to have early warning signs, which guided them as to when to seek health care. Women focused on cleanliness through vaginal and/or perineal washing as primary prevention for cervical cancer. There were limited awareness and knowledge about cancer prevention vaccines, specifically the human papillomavirus. Some women relied heavily on their informal social networks of family, friends, or community for health knowledge. Fear and misunderstanding dominated the beliefs of Vietnamese American women about cervical cancer screening and prevention. These findings underscored the importance of having culturally-specific findings, which will inform a multicomponent intervention to promote cervical cancer screening and cancer prevention vaccine uptake within this population

Anatomical and behavioral analyses of the inheritance of audiogenic seizures in the progeny of genetically epilepsy-prone and Sprague-Dawley rats.

Our previous studies have shown an increase in the number of GABAergic and total neurons in the inferior colliculus (IC) of the genetically epilepsy-prone rat (GEPR-9) as compared to the non-seizing Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat. To determine whether an increase in neuron number in the IC is genetically associated with seizure behavior, seizing and non-seizing offspring of GEPR-9 and SD progenitor strains were studied as well as offspring from backcrosses made with F1 and either GEPR-9 or SD rats. In addition, the ontogeny of seizure behavior was studied in seizing rats from these same backgrounds. The development of seizure behavior in GEPR-9s was shown to be dependent on age and the number of exposures to sound stimulus up until the age of 9 weeks. The F1 and F2 generations displayed different audiogenic seizure profiles than those of the two progenitor strains. In the F1 generation, the ratio of seizing to non-seizing rats was always greater than 3:1, and the distribution of seizure scores was similar for males and females. In addition, the off-spring from backcrosses made with F1 rats (high or low seizing) and GEPR-9s displayed maximal audiogenic response scores (ARS) of 9, a characteristic of the GEPR-9s used in this study. The results of these genetic studies indicate a polygenetic inheritance of this autosomal dominant trait of audiogenic seizure susceptibility. For the quantitative study of neuronal density in the IC, neurons were counted from cresyl violet-stained preparations from seizing and non-seizing F1 and F2 rats, backcrosses from different categories and age-matched SD rats. Statistically significant increases in the number of both small (70% increase) and medium-sized (14% increase) neurons occurred in the high seizing animals (ARS = 7-9) as compared to either the non-seizing F2 or SD rats. In addition, a significant increase in the number of small neurons (77% increase) occurred in the high seizing offspring of the F1 X GEPR-9 backcross as compared to that of the non-seizing offspring of the F1 X SD backcross. The data from 25 rats generated a 0.9 coefficient of linear correlation between ARS and the number of small neurons. The results from the anatomical studies suggest that the inheritance of audiogenic seizures appears to be closely linked to the increase in cell number. Therefore, the increase in cell number in the IC may be an important determinant of seizure behavior for GEPR-9s

UV Photofunctionalization Effect on Bone Graft in Critical One-Wall Defect around Implant: A Pilot Study in Beagle Dogs

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The future of robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery

Introduction: Since the first revolution of robotic-assisted surgery officially happened in 2000, the healthcare service worldwide has transformed into a new era due to its superior technological advancements, particularly in laparoscopic surgery. Da Vinci which is seen as a master-slave system and Kymerax which is categorized as a hand-held device are commonly used in robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery. Whilst a conventional or open method requires a large incision to perform a surgery, laparoscopy - a minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is an advantageous surgical method which reduces an abdominal incision to a minimum, and effectively exploited with robots. Methods: Based on available articles with the object of robotic surgical surgery, two SWOT analysis for Da Vinci and Kymerax were formulated to understand strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of each system in comparison with the traditional laparoscopic surgery. From that, the future outlook is anticipated based on the scientific background. Results: Alongside technological advantages of Da Vinci mainly known as 6-degree of freedom, dexterity enhancement, stereovision, tremor filtering and especially minimal invasive surgery, it still has disadvantages that are not neglectable such as huge investment and lack of haptic feedback. Although the malfunction rate of Da Vinci is not significantly high, surgeons should be aware of it to fix or alter instruments in time. Kymerax is not as advanced as Da Vinci but it can fill in the gap of the Da Vinci which includes thelarge investment and bulky instruments. The Kymerax is the low-cost hand-held device allowing multiple degrees of freedom. It is an optimal combination between traditional performance and robotic performance allowing surgeons to manipulate in their hands and ensure haptic feedback. Conclusions: Both Da Vinci and Kymerax systems offer superior benefits for medical service due to the ongoing technological growth. The cost-effectiveness of Da Vinci system is currently a problematic issue when medical institutions consider to install them. The surgical instruments market, however, has become highly competitive which is likely leading to the decline of the costly investments. In the digital world nowadays, it will be a promising future for more integrated medical inventions

The Law on Child Labor: A Correlational Study in Vietnam

According to the International Labsour Organization (ILO), Vietnam is the first country in Asia and the second country in the world to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Among them, are conventions related to child labor such as Convention 138, on a minimum age for employment in 1973 (Convention 138); Convention 182, which prohibits and urgently acts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in 1999 (Convention 182). During the process of joining conventions on child labor, Vietnam’s legal system has been issued, amended, and adjusted to enforce international commitments. However, from the perspective of the conventions on labor children that Vietnam has joined, the national legal system still has shortcomings from the age of labor, occupations that are allowed to use child labor to forms of labor… The article uses the correlational research method, comparing the regulations of the ILO convention with the law regulating child labor in Vietnam and then proposing solutions to improve the Vietnam national law. Keywords: copyright, three-step test, intellectual property rights, infringement, universities… DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/138-05 Publication date: December 31st 202

Leadership styles and safety performance in high-risk industries: a systematic review

The importance of leadership on safety has been well acknowledged and studied for many years in various high-risk industries. This paper aims at (1) synthesising the existing safety leadership research by performing a systematic literature review to gain an overview of the relationship between various leadership styles and safety performance in high-risk industries with a main focus on health and workplace safety and (2) analysing and comparing the major results from the reviewed studies. The results show that nine leadership styles – transformational leadership, transactional leadership, leader–member exchange, authentic leadership, empowering leadership, ethical leadership, paternalistic leadership, charismatic leadership and passive leadership – have been frequently used in the development and validation of safety leadership theories as well as in understanding the leadership influence towards safety climate, safety compliance and safety participation in various contexts. However, blurred boundaries among the constructs of leadership styles alongside inconsistency in the conceptualisation and measurement of safety performance hinder the advancement of understanding safety leadership’s influence on safety performance. It is therefore of importance that further research develops consistent measurement instruments and conceptualisation and that systems thinking is applied to the study of leadership styles’ influence on safety performance.publishedVersio

Gene regulatory networks elucidating huanglongbing disease mechanisms.

Next-generation sequencing was exploited to gain deeper insight into the response to infection by Candidatus liberibacter asiaticus (CaLas), especially the immune disregulation and metabolic dysfunction caused by source-sink disruption. Previous fruit transcriptome data were compared with additional RNA-Seq data in three tissues: immature fruit, and young and mature leaves. Four categories of orchard trees were studied: symptomatic, asymptomatic, apparently healthy, and healthy. Principal component analysis found distinct expression patterns between immature and mature fruits and leaf samples for all four categories of trees. A predicted protein - protein interaction network identified HLB-regulated genes for sugar transporters playing key roles in the overall plant responses. Gene set and pathway enrichment analyses highlight the role of sucrose and starch metabolism in disease symptom development in all tissues. HLB-regulated genes (glucose-phosphate-transporter, invertase, starch-related genes) would likely determine the source-sink relationship disruption. In infected leaves, transcriptomic changes were observed for light reactions genes (downregulation), sucrose metabolism (upregulation), and starch biosynthesis (upregulation). In parallel, symptomatic fruits over-expressed genes involved in photosynthesis, sucrose and raffinose metabolism, and downregulated starch biosynthesis. We visualized gene networks between tissues inducing a source-sink shift. CaLas alters the hormone crosstalk, resulting in weak and ineffective tissue-specific plant immune responses necessary for bacterial clearance. Accordingly, expression of WRKYs (including WRKY70) was higher in fruits than in leaves. Systemic acquired responses were inadequately activated in young leaves, generally considered the sites where most new infections occur

Molecular Characterization of Two Monoclonal Antibodies against the Same Epitope on B-Cell Receptor Associated Protein 31

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