Inflatable Aeroponic System

Aeroponics Internationals (AI) innovation is a self-contained, self-supporting, flexible low mass aeroponic crop production unit with integral environmental systems for the control and delivery of a nutrient mist to the roots. This FLEX Aeroponic System model was developed for commercialization as a result of the NASA SBIR Phase I contract for the research and development of a low-mass, Inflatable Aeroponic System (IAS) for producing pesticide-free lettuces, grains, peppers, tomatoes and other vegetables. The innovation addresses the needs of water and nutrient delivery systems technologies for food production in space. The inflatable nature of the innovation makes it lightweight, allowing it to be deflated so it takes up less volume during transportation and storage. It improves upon AI's current aeroponic system design that uses more rigid structures and takes advantage of vertical inclines to increase bio-mass production by over 600%

Fertility preservation for male patients with childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer:recommendations from the PanCareLIFE Consortium and the International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Guideline Harmonization Group

Item does not contain fulltextMale patients with childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer are at an increased risk for infertility if their treatment adversely affects reproductive organ function. Future fertility is a primary concern of patients and their families. Variations in clinical practice are barriers to the timely implementation of interventions that preserve fertility. As part of the PanCareLIFE Consortium, in collaboration with the International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Guideline Harmonization Group, we reviewed the current literature and developed a clinical practice guideline for fertility preservation in male patients who are diagnosed with childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer at age 25 years or younger, including guidance on risk assessment and available methods for fertility preservation. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation methodology was used to grade the available evidence and to form the recommendations. Recognising the need for global consensus, this clinical practice guideline used existing evidence and international expertise to rigorously develop transparent recommendations that are easy to use to facilitate the care of male patients with childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer who are at high risk of fertility impairment and to enhance their quality of life

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

AI is a viable alternative to high throughput screening: a 318-target study

: High throughput screening (HTS) is routinely used to identify bioactive small molecules. This requires physical compounds, which limits coverage of accessible chemical space. Computational approaches combined with vast on-demand chemical libraries can access far greater chemical space, provided that the predictive accuracy is sufficient to identify useful molecules. Through the largest and most diverse virtual HTS campaign reported to date, comprising 318 individual projects, we demonstrate that our AtomNet® convolutional neural network successfully finds novel hits across every major therapeutic area and protein class. We address historical limitations of computational screening by demonstrating success for target proteins without known binders, high-quality X-ray crystal structures, or manual cherry-picking of compounds. We show that the molecules selected by the AtomNet® model are novel drug-like scaffolds rather than minor modifications to known bioactive compounds. Our empirical results suggest that computational methods can substantially replace HTS as the first step of small-molecule drug discovery

The Ketolide Antibiotic ABT-773 is A Specific Inhibitor of Translation and 50S Ribosomal Subunit Formation in Streptococcus pneumoniae Cells

ABT-773 is a new 3-keto macrolide antibiotic that has been shown to be very effective against infections by Gram-positive microorganisms. This work examines its inhibitory effects in cells of Streptococcus pneumoniae. ABT-773 caused a proportional decline in cell growth rates and viability with an IC50 of 5 ng/ml. Protein synthesis in these cells was reduced by 50% at an antibiotic concentration of 2.5 ng/ml. This compound was also found to be a very effective inhibitor of the formation of the 50S ribosomal subunit in growing cells. Pulse and chase labeling assays revealed a reduced rate of 50S synthesis in antibiotic-treated cells. At 2 ng/ml, the rate was reduced to 33% of the control synthesis rate. An IC50 of 5 ng/ml was found for the effect on this process, indicating an equal effect of the drug on translation and assembly. Synthesis of the 30S ribosomal subunit was unaffected by this antibiotic. The effects of ABT-773 in S. pneumoniae are compared with those of the related ketolide antibiotic telithromycin in S. pneumoniae and in Staphylococcus aureus

Telithromycin Inhibition of Protein Synthesis and 50s Ribosomal Subunit Formation in Streptococcus Pneumoniae Cells

The new ketolide antibiotic telithromycin (HMR3647) has been examined for inhibitory effects in cells of Streptococcus pneumoniae. The antibiotic caused a proportional decline in cell growth rate and viability with an IC50 of 15 ng/ml. At a concentration of 7.5 ng/ml, protein synthesis in these cells was reduced by 50%. As seen in other organisms, this compound was also a very effective inhibitor of the formation of the 50S ribosomal subunit in growing cells. Pulse and chase labeling assays defined the reduced rate of 50S synthesis in antibiotic treated cells. At 7.5 ng/ml the rate was reduced to 50% of the control synthesis rate. An IC50 of 15 ng/ml was found for the effect on this process. 30S ribosomal subunit formation was unaffected by the antibiotic. Inhibition of translation and 50S particle formation are equivalent targets for this antibiotic. The effects of telithromycin in S. pneumoniae are compared with those found in Staphylococcus aureus cells

TAN-1057a: A Translational Inhibitor With a Specific Inhibitory Effect on 50S Ribosomal Subunit Formation

The inhibitory activities of a novel antibiotic compound have been investigated. A synthetic version of the natural product TAN-1057A was examined for its effects on translation and ribosomal subunit formation. The antibiotic at 6 μg/ml reduced the growth rate of wild-type Staphylococcus aureus cells by 50%. The IC50 for inhibition of protein synthesis in these cells was 4.5 μg/ml. Pulse and chase labeling kinetics showed a strong inhibitory effect on 50S ribosomal subunit formation as well. The IC50 for this process was 9 μg/ml, indicating an equivalent inhibitory effect of the antibiotic on translation and 50S synthesis. The post-antibiotic effect of the drug was investigated. Protein synthesis resumed rapidly after removal of the drug from cells, but full recovery of the normal 50S subunit complement in treated cells required 1.5 h. The dual inhibitory effects of this compound are compared with other antimicrobial agents having similar effects on cell growth

Why is the Duration of Imagined Walking Underproduced? A dual-representation view on the mental imagery of locomotion

Generally, imagining an action and physically executing it are thought to be controlled by common motor representations. However, imagined walking to a previewed target tends to be terminated more quickly than real walking to the same target, raising a question as to what representations underlie the two modes of walking. To address this question, the present study put forward a hypothesis that both explicit and implicit representations of gait are involved in imagined walking, and further proposed that the underproduction of imagined walking duration largely stems from the explicit representation due to its susceptibility to a general undershooting tendency in time production (i.e., the error of anticipation). Properties of the explicit and implicit representations were examined by manipulating their relative dominance during imagined walking through concurrent bodily motions, and also by using non-spatial tasks that extracted the temporal structure of imagined walking. Results showed that the duration of imagined walking subserved by the implicit representation was equal to that of real walking, and a time production task exhibited an equivalent underproduction bias as in imagined walking tasks that were based on the explicit representation. These findings are interpreted as evidence for the dual-representation view of imagined walking