Christensencowan0244

Infection with parvovirus B19 and cytomegalovirus (CMV) during pregnancy might lead to fetal infection, resulting in congenital abnormalities. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of IgM and IgG antibodies against parvovirus B19 and CMV in female university students in Shiraz, in Fars province, Southern Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 370 female university students were included. Blood samples were collected from each participant and tested for anti-parvovirus B19 and CMV IgG and IgM antibodies, using commercial ELISA kits. The mean age of the participants was 24 (±7)years. Out of 370 participants, 327 (88.4%) and 9 (2.4%) were positive for IgG and IgM antibodies against CMV. Moreover, 211 (57.0%) and 4 (1.1%) of the participants were respectively positive for IgG and IgM antibodies against parvovirus B19. The difference in CMV or parvovirus B19 seropositivity between different age groups was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The findings of our study showed that more than 50% of the female university students are seropositive to CMV and parvovirus B19 infections. It highlights the importance of health education and also the laboratory screening of females at childbearing age to reduce the risk of congenital infections resulting from these viral infections.Background Malrotation is a common congenital anomaly that can lead to bowel obstruction and ischemia if not corrected with a Ladd procedure. Controversy exists between open and laparoscopic approaches. We sought to compare postoperative outcomes and determine risk factors for conversion to an open procedure. Methods The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP)-Pediatric was used to identify patients undergoing Ladd procedures from 2013 to 2018. selleck chemical Propensity score matching was used to account for differences in patient characteristics between open and laparoscopically treated cohorts. Chi-square tests and adjusted logistic regression analysis were used to determine patient outcomes differences between treatment groups and factors associated with conversion. Results A total of 2437 patients were identified, 1889 (77.5%) open, 548 (22.5%) laparoscopic, and 193 (35.2%) laparoscopic converted to open. Patients undergoing laparoscopic compared with open procedures had shorter length of stay (5 versus 7 days, P  less then  .001) and lower overall complication rates (13.1% versus 18.1%, P = .025), despite longer operative times (108.9 versus 93.7 minutes, P  less then  .001). Patients requiring conversion were more likely to be younger, have an urgent/emergent case, sepsis/septic shock, and nutritional support requirement. Conclusions After risk adjustment, laparoscopic Ladd procedure is associated with decreased complications and minimal operative time increases compared with an open approach. Risk factors associated with conversion should be considered during operative planning.In this study, a parasitic capacitance-free tactile sensor with a floating electrode that is capable of identifying actual physical contact pressure by distinguishing from parasitic effects and applicable to sensor arrays is presented. Although capacitive pressure sensors are known for their excellent pressure sensing capabilities in wide range with high sensitivity, they tend to suffer from a parasitic capacitance noise and unwanted proximity effects. Electromagnetic interference shielding was conventionally used to prevent this noise; however, it was not entirely successful in multicell array sensors. Parasitic capacitance-free method involves the use of a floating electrode, which functions as a contact trigger by causing sudden changes in capacitance only when the actual physical contact pressure has been applied or removed. The proposed method is robust, consistent, and precise. Experimental results show a wide range of pressure response up to 2.4 MPa with a sensitivity of 0.179 MPa-1 (up to 0.74 MPa) and negligible hysteresis.The circadian field has come a long way since I started as a postdoctoral fellow ~30 years ago. At the time, the only known animal clock gene was period, so I had the privilege of witnessing, and participating in, the molecular revolution that took us from the discovery of the circadian clock mechanism to the identification of pathways that link clocks to behavior and physiology. This lecture highlights my role and perspective in these developments, and also demonstrates how the successful use of Drosophila for studies of circadian rhythms inspired us to develop a fly model for sleep. I also touch upon my experiences as a non-white immigrant woman navigating my way through the US science and education system, and hope my story will be of interest to some.Anticancer peptides have received widespread attention as alternative antitumor therapeutics due to their unique action mode. However, the systemic toxicity hampers their successful utilisation in tumour therapy. Here, the tumour acidic environment was used as a trigger to design a series of histidine-rich peptides by optimising the distribution of histidine and leucine based on the amphiphilic peptide LK, in hoping to achieve desirable acid-activate anticancer peptides. Among all the obtained peptides, L9H5-1 showed enhanced antitumor activity at acidic pH concomitant with low toxicity at normal pH, exhibiting excellent pH-response. At acidic pH, protonated L9H5-1 could rapidly kill tumour cells by efficient membrane disruption as evidenced by in vitro experiments, including increasing intracellular PI uptake and LDH release, dramatic membrane damage and increase of later apoptotic/necrotic cells. Moreover, no cell cycle arrest was observed after treated with L9H5-1. Interestingly, this study found that the new peptides with the same number of histidines and leucines displayed different pH-dependent antitumor activity, indicating that the position of amino acid alteration is extremely important for the design of acid-activated histidine-rich peptides. In short, our work provides a new avenue to develop new acid-activated anticancer peptides as promising antitumor drugs with high efficiency and good selectivity.