A Polyaniline-Based Sensor of Nucleic Acids

Detection of nucleic acids is at the center of diagnostic technologies used in research and the clinic. Standard approaches used in these technologies rely on enzymatic modification that can introduce bias and artifacts. A critical element of next generation detection platforms will be direct molecular sensing, thereby avoiding a need for amplification or labels. Advanced nanomaterials may provide the suitable chemical modalities to realize label-free sensors. Conjugated polymers are ideal for biological sensing, possessing properties compatible with biomolecules and exhibit high sensitivity to localized environmental changes. In this article, a method is presented for detecting nucleic acids using the electroconductive polymer polyaniline. Simple DNA probe oligonucleotides complementary to target nucleic acids are attached electrostatically to the polymer, creating a sensor system that can differentiate single nucleotide differences in target molecules. Outside the specific and unbiased nature of this technology, it is highly cost effective

The Sweetest Words I Know

Illustration of straight and wavy red lineshttps://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cht-sheet-music/10525/thumbnail.jp

HIV retesting in pregnant women in South Africa: Outcomes of a quality improvement project targeting health systems’ weaknesses

Introduction: South Africa is moving towards achieving elimination of mother-to-child transmission (eMTCT) but gaps remain in eMTCT programmes. Documenting successful outcomes of health systems interventions to address these gaps could encourage similar initiatives in the future.Methods: We describe the effectiveness of a Quality Improvement Project (QIP) to improve HIV retesting rates during pregnancy among women who had previously tested negative by redesigning the clinic process. Eight poorly-performing clinics were selected and compared with eight better-performing control clinics in a subdistrict in North West Province. Over nine months, root cause analysis and testing of change ideas using Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles were used to identify and refine interventions. Analysis of patient flow showed that women were referred for retesting following their nurse-driven antenatal visits, and many left without retesting as this would have further prolonged their visit. Processes were redesigned and standardised, where a counsellor was charged with retesting patients before antenatal consults. Staff were mentored on data collection and interpretation process. Quality improvement nurse advisors monitored indicators bi-weekly and adjusted interventions accordingly.Results: Retesting in intervention clinics rose from 36% in the three months pre-intervention to full coverage at month nine. At the end of the study, retesting in intervention clinics was 20% higher than in controls. Retesting also increased in the subdistrict overall.Conclusion: Service coverage and overall impact of HIV programmes can be raised through care-process analysis that optimises patient flow, supported by targeted QI interventions. These QI methodologies may be effective elsewhere for identifying new HIV infections in pregnant/breastfeeding women, and possibly in other services

The Student Movement Volume 105 Issue 11: A Symposium of Research: Students Share Capstone Scholarship

NEWS Andrews University Choral Performs Chasing Away the Blues Concert, Jenae Rogers Bump, Set, Spike: Players and Fans Enjoy Intramural Volleyball Games, Amanda Cho Reaching Milestones: The Honors Poster Symposium, Elianna Srikureja WEAAU Hosts Women\u27s History Month Vespers, Terika Williams PULSE Hello, Sunshine, Wambui Karanja Study Spots, Gloria Oh The Buchanan Revitalization Project, Interview by Alec Bofetiado HUMANS An Interview with This Year\u27s AUSA President: Kyara Samuels, Interviewed by Abigail Lee Editor-in-Chief Spotlight, Interviewed by Brandi Seawood Senior Spotlight: TJ Hunter, Alyssa Henriquez ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Book Review: Becoming by Michelle Obama, Alannah Tjhatra Contemporary Young Women Making an Impact: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Kaela McFadden Creative Spotlight: Michael Davis, Interviewed by Pearl Parker Nomadland, Hannah Cruse IDEAS Literature and Her Influences: A Women\u27s History Month Booklist, Abigail Lee The Astounding Potential of mRNA Vaccines, Lyle Goulbourne THE LAST WORD Trouble with the Editors, Moriah McDonaldhttps://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/sm-105/1014/thumbnail.jp

Community-Based Participatory Research: Lessons Learned from the Centers for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research

Over the past several decades there has been growing evidence of the increase in incidence rates, morbidity, and mortality for a number of health problems experienced by children. The causation and aggravation of these problems are complex and multifactorial. The burden of these health problems and environmental exposures is borne disproportionately by children from low-income communities and communities of color. Researchers and funding institutions have called for increased attention to the complex issues that affect the health of children living in marginalized communities—and communities more broadly—and have suggested greater community involvement in processes that shape research and intervention approaches, for example, through community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships among academic, health services, public health, and community-based organizations. Centers for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research (Children’s Centers) funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were required to include a CBPR project. The purpose of this article is to provide a definition and set of CBPR principles, to describe the rationale for and major benefits of using this approach, to draw on the experiences of six of the Children’s Centers in using CBPR, and to provide lessons learned and recommendations for how to successfully establish and maintain CBPR partnerships aimed at enhancing our understanding and addressing the multiple determinants of children’s health

Public/community engagement in health research with men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa: challenges and opportunities

Abstract Background Community engagement, incorporating elements of the broader concepts of public and stakeholder engagement, is increasingly promoted globally, including for health research conducted in developing countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, community engagement needs and challenges are arguably intensified for studies involving gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, where male same-sex sexual interactions are often highly stigmatised and even illegal. This paper contextualises, describes and interprets the discussions and outcomes of an international meeting held at the Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust in Kilifi, Kenya, in November 2013, to critically examine the experiences with community engagement for studies involving men who have sex with men. Discussion We discuss the ethically charged nature of the language used for men who have sex with men, and of working with ‘representatives’ of these communities, as well as the complementarity and tensions between a broadly public health approach to community engagement, and a more rights based approach. We highlight the importance of researchers carefully considering which communities to engage with, and the goals, activities, and indicators of success and potential challenges for each. We suggest that, given the unintended harms that can emerge from community engagement (including through labelling, breaches in confidentiality, increased visibility and stigma, and threats to safety), representatives of same-sex populations should be consulted from the earliest possible stage, and that engagement activities should be continuously revised in response to unfolding realities. Engagement should also include less vocal and visible men who have sex with men, and members of other communities with influence on the research, and on research participants and their families and friends. Broader ethics support, advice and research into studies involving men who have sex with men is needed to ensure that ethical challenges – including but not limited to those related to community engagement – are identified and addressed. Summary Underlying challenges and dilemmas linked to stigma and discrimination of men who have sex with men in Africa raise special responsibilities for researchers. Community engagement is an important way of identifying responses to these challenges and responsibilities but itself presents important ethical challenges

The Student Movement Volume 105 Issue 16: Best of The Student Movement 2020-21

NEWS Bump, Set, Spike: Players and Fans Enjoy Intramural Volleyball Games, Amanda Cho One Year Later: Reflecting on the Changes at Andrews University Since COVID-19, Taylor Uphus Tenth Annual Honors Church Service Reflects on Christian Stewardship, Elianna Srikureja The Andrews University Symphony Orchestra Performs Awakening Concert, Jenae Rogers WEAAU Hosts Women\u27s History Month Vespers, Terika Williams PULSE Fresh Air, Fresh Produce, Jessica Rim How to Stay Eco-Friendly During the Pandemic, Gloria Oh International Women\u27s Month: Lessons From My Mother, Wambui Karaja Spring Birding, Interview by Masy Domecillo The Buchanan Revitalization Projects, Interview by Alec Bofetiado HUMANS Interviewing Andrews University\u27s AAPI Students on Allyship, Interviewed by Abigail Lee My Experience in COVID-19 Isolation: Edition Two, Interviewed by Brandi Seawood Our Lost Season: An Interview with Cardinals Athletic Director Rob Gettys, Terika Williams Teaching During COVID-19, Interviewed by Celeste Richardson Trusting the Science, Interviewed by Pearl Parker ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Black Novelists You Should Know & Read, Alannah Tjhatra Contemporary Young Women Making an Impact: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Kaela McFadden Creative Spotlight: Michael David, Interviewed by Pearl Parker Signal Boost, Monday by Evin-Nazya Musgrove IDEAS Just This Once , Evin N. Musgrove On Healing, Adoniah Simon Parler, QAnon, and the Freedom of Speech: What Should be Done?, Abaigail Lee Productivity Tips to Help You Get Smart Fast, Alannah Tjhatra The Good, Kyara Samuels THE LAST WORD How Does it Change Us?, Daniel Self THIS JUST IN! A COVID Passport: Is it Realistic?, Matt Jarrard Graduation Weekend Events Calendar Prescott Khair Joins Center for Faith Engagement as New Associate Chaplin, Isabella Koh and Moriah McDonald This Year I Learned..., Wambui Karanjahttps://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/sm-105/1020/thumbnail.jp

Estimation of changes in the force of infection for intestinal and urogenital schistosomiasis in countries with Schistosomiasis Control Initiative-assisted programmes

The last decade has seen an expansion of national schistosomiasis control programmes in Africa based on large-scale preventative chemotherapy. In many areas this has resulted in considerable reductions in infection and morbidity levels in treated individuals. In this paper, we quantify changes in the force of infection (FOI), defined here as the per (human) host parasite establishment rate, to ascertain the impact on transmission of some of these programmes under the umbrella of the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI)

Targeted inhibition of protein synthesis renders cancer cells vulnerable to apoptosis by unfolded protein response

AbstractCellular stress responses including the unfolded protein response (UPR) decide over the fate of an individual cell to ensure survival of the entire organism. During physiologic UPR counter-regulation, protective proteins are upregulated to prevent cell death. A similar strategy induces resistance to UPR in cancer. Therefore, we hypothesized that blocking protein synthesis following induction of UPR substantially enhances drug-induced apoptosis of malignant cells. In line, upregulation of the chaperone BiP was prevented by simultaneous arrest of protein synthesis in B cell malignancies. Cytotoxicity by immunotoxins—approved inhibitors of protein synthesis—was synergistically enhanced in combination with UPR-inducers in seven distinct hematologic and three solid tumor entities in vitro. Synergistic cell death depended on mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization via BAK/BAX, which correlated with synergistic, IRE1α-dependent reduction of BID, accompanied by an additive fall of MCL-1. The strong synergy was reproduced in vivo against xenograft mouse models of mantle cell lymphoma, Burkitt’s lymphoma, and patient-derived acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In contrast, synergy was absent in blood cells of healthy donors suggesting a tumor-specific vulnerability. Together, these data support clinical evaluation of blocking stress response counter-regulation using inhibitors of protein synthesis as a novel therapeutic strategy.</jats:p

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts