Reducing growth impairment in infants undergoing intestinal surgery: A quality improvement initiative.

Background: Infants undergoing intestinal surgery are at risk for impaired growth. Our objective was to reduce growth impairment in these infants by 20% in a 12-month period and sustain over 12 months.

Methods: Eight neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) participated in the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative-led multisite quality improvement (QI) project, comprising a baseline, active, and sustainability phase.

Mediation of antitumor activity by AZD4820 oncolytic vaccinia virus encoding IL-12.

Oncolytic viruses are engineered to selectively kill tumor cells and have demonstrated promising results in early-phase clinical trials. To further modulate the innate and adaptive immune system, we generated AZD4820, a vaccinia virus engineered to express interleukin-12 (IL-12), a potent cytokine involved in the activation of natural killer (NK) and T cells and the reprogramming of the tumor immune microenvironment. Testing in cultured human tumor cell lines demonstrated broad oncolytic activity and IL-12 transgene expression.

Global dataset of soil organic carbon in tidal marshes.

Tidal marshes store large amounts of organic carbon in their soils. Field data quantifying soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks provide an important resource for researchers, natural resource managers, and policy-makers working towards the protection, restoration, and valuation of these ecosystems. We collated a global dataset of tidal marsh soil organic carbon (MarSOC) from 99 studies that includes location, soil depth, site name, dry bulk density, SOC, and/or soil organic matter (SOM).

Advancing a grounded theory of parental support in competitive girls' golf.

Parental support in youth sport has been associated with positive athlete outcomes, such as sport enjoyment and continued participation. Although research has demonstrated the significant and influential role parents fulfil in the youth sport context, there remains a dearth of theoretical frameworks detailing parental support in youth sport and an absence of empirical research examining parental support across athlete development stages and sports. The present study sought to examine athletes' perceptions of parental support, with a view to advancing a grounded theory of parental support in youth golf.

Emergency Medicine Obstetrics and Gynecology: A Case-Based Curriculum for Residents.

Introduction: Millions of patients present to US emergency departments every year with OB/GYN concerns. Emergency medicine trainees must be adequately prepared to care for this population, regardless of how commonly they appear in the training environment. We used active learning and gamification principles in this curriculum to increase learner engagement and participation in the material.

Nutritional Management of Infants With a Giant Ruptured Omphalocele: Clinical Observations From a Single Institution Case Series.

The nutritional requirements of neonates with congenital abdominal wall defects (AWDs) remain poorly described. In particular, there is a lack of literature on the calorie, protein, and micronutrient needs of those with AWD. Nutritional therapy is a cornerstone of care in patients with burns due to the metabolic consequences of injury to the epithelial layer.

UME-to-GME PandEMonium in COVID-19: Large-Scale Implementation of a Virtual ACGME Milestone-Based Curriculum for Senior Medical Students Matched Into Emergency Medicine.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic displaced newly matched emergency medicine "pre-interns" from in-person educational experiences at the end of medical school. This called for novel remote teaching modalities.

Objective: This study assesses effectiveness of a multisite Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) sub-competency-based curricular implementation on Slack during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

A Novel Virtual Emergency Medicine Residents-as-Teachers (RAT) Curriculum.

Audience: The Residents-as-Teachers (RAT) curriculum is designed for emergency medicine (EM) residents of all years (PGY1-4).

Length Of Curriculum: The curriculum is divided into three hour-long sessions. The entire curriculum can be run as a single block or can be spread out over multiple days.

Recombinant Newcastle Disease Virus Immunotherapy Drives Oncolytic Effects and Durable Systemic Antitumor Immunity.

A recombinant Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV), encoding either a human (NDVhuGM-CSF, MEDI5395) or murine (NDVmuGM-CSF) GM-CSF transgene, combined broad oncolytic activity with the ability to significantly modulate genes related to immune functionality in human tumor cells. Replication in murine tumor lines was significantly diminished relative to human tumor cells. Nonetheless, intratumoral injection of NDVmuGM-CSF conferred antitumor effects in three syngeneic models ; with efficacy further augmented by concomitant treatment with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 or T-cell agonists.

Factors and Growth Trends Associated With the Need for Gastrostomy Tube in Neonates With Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia.

Objectives: A third of infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) require a gastrostomy tube (GT) for nutritional support. We compared CDH infants who are GT-dependent to those able to meet their nutritional needs orally, to identify factors associated with requiring a GT and evaluate their long-term growth.

Methods: Patients with CDH repaired at a single institution between 2012 and 2020 were included.

A redundant hydraulic function of root hairs in barley plants grown in hydroponics.

The root hair-less brb of Hordeum vulgare L. (bald root barley) mutant was used to assess the significance that root hairs have for the hydraulic properties of roots and response to a limited supply of mineral nutrients in plants grown on hydroponics. The barley brb mutant and its parent wild-type (H.

Intratumoral IL12 mRNA Therapy Promotes TH1 Transformation of the Tumor Microenvironment.

Purpose: While immune checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-PD-L1 are rapidly becoming the standard of care in the treatment of many cancers, only a subset of treated patients have long-term responses. IL12 promotes antitumor immunity in mouse models; however, systemic recombinant IL12 had significant toxicity and limited efficacy in early clinical trials.

Experimental Design: We therefore designed a novel intratumoral IL12 mRNA therapy to promote local IL12 tumor production while mitigating systemic effects.

Oncolytic Newcastle disease virus activation of the innate immune response and priming of antitumor adaptive responses in vitro.

Oncolytic virus (OV) therapy is an emerging approach with the potential to redefine treatment options across a range of cancer indications and in patients who remain resistant to existing standards of care, including immuno-oncology (IO) drugs. MEDI5395, a recombinant Newcastle disease virus (NDV), engineered to express granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), exhibits potent oncolytic activity. It was hypothesized that activation of immune cells by MEDI5395, coupled with its oncolytic activity, would enhance the priming of antitumor immunity.

Multifaceted Sexual Desire and Hormonal Associations: Accounting for Social Location, Relationship Status, and Desire Target.

Sexual desire is typically measured as a unitary erotic phenomenon and is often assumed by biological and biomedical researchers, as well as the lay public, to be directly connected to physiological parameters like testosterone (T). In the present study, we empirically examined how conceptualizing sexual desire as multifaceted might clarify associations with T and contextual variables. To do so, we used the Sexual Desire Questionnaire (DESQ), which assesses multifaceted dyadic sexual desire, to explore how contextual variables such as social location, relationship status, and desire target (e.

Sexual Desire in Sexual Minority and Majority Women and Men: The Multifaceted Sexual Desire Questionnaire.

Sexual desire is increasingly understood to be multifaceted and not solely erotically oriented, but measures are still generally unitary and eroticism-focused. Our goals in this article were to explore the multifaceted nature of sexual desire and develop a measure to do so, and to determine how multifaceted sexual desire might be related to gender/sex and sexual orientation/identity. In the development phase, we generated items to form the 65-item Sexual Desire Questionnaire (DESQ).

The Effect of Omega-3 Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation on Gestational Length: Randomized Trial of Supplementation Compared to Nutrition Education for Increasing n-3 Intake from Foods.

Objective: DHA supplementation was compared to nutrition education to increase DHA consumption from fish and DHA fortified foods.

Design: This two-part intervention included a randomized double-blind placebo controlled DHA supplementation arm and a nutrition education arm designed to increase intake of DHA from dietary sources by 300 mg per day.

Setting: Denver Health Hospitals and Clinics, Denver, Colorado, USA.

Single-cell transcriptomic reconstruction reveals cell cycle and multi-lineage differentiation defects in Bcl11a-deficient hematopoietic stem cells.

Background: Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are a rare cell type with the ability of long-term self-renewal and multipotency to reconstitute all blood lineages. HSCs are typically purified from the bone marrow using cell surface markers. Recent studies have identified significant cellular heterogeneities in the HSC compartment with subsets of HSCs displaying lineage bias.

The transcription factor Bcl11b is specifically expressed in group 2 innate lymphoid cells and is essential for their development.

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), or ILC2s, are a subset of recently identified ILCs, which play important roles in innate immunity by producing type 2 effector cytokines. Several transcription factors have been found to have critical functions in the development of both ILC2s and T cells. We report here that Bcl11b, a transcription factor essential in T cell lineage commitment and maintenance, is specifically expressed in progenitors committed to the ILC2 lineage and is required for ILC2 development.

Bcl11a is essential for lymphoid development and negatively regulates p53.

Transcription factors play important roles in lymphopoiesis. We have previously demonstrated that Bcl11a is essential for normal lymphocyte development in the mouse embryo. We report here that, in the adult mouse, Bcl11a is expressed in most hematopoietic cells and is highly enriched in B cells, early T cell progenitors, common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs), and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs).

Critical roles of Bcl11b in T-cell development and maintenance of T-cell identity.

T-cell development primarily occurs in the thymus and involves in the interactions of many important transcription factors. Until recently, no single transcription factor has been identified to be essential for T-cell lineage commitment or maintenance of T-cell identity. Recent studies have now identified the zinc finger transcription factor Bcl11b to be essential for T-cell development and for maintenance of T-cell identity.

New views on natural killer cell-based immunotherapy for melanoma treatment.

Natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapies treat hematopoietic malignancies, but are less effective against solid tumors. Here, we review recent data on NK cell recognition of melanoma at various stages of the disease and propose a combinatorial strategy to exploit fully the potential of NK cells. Depending on the stage of melanoma progression, NK cell-based therapies could be combined with pharmacological and T cell-based immunotherapies, to: (i) prevent lymph node metastases by redistributing cytotoxic NK cells; (ii) boost NK cell activity using chemotherapy to upregulate activating ligands on tumor cells; and (iii) target visceral metastases by transfer of autologous or allogeneic NK cells.

Reprogramming of T cells to natural killer-like cells upon Bcl11b deletion.

T cells develop in the thymus and are critical for adaptive immunity. Natural killer (NK) lymphocytes constitute an essential component of the innate immune system in tumor surveillance, reproduction, and defense against microbes and viruses. Here, we show that the transcription factor Bcl11b was expressed in all T cell compartments and was indispensable for T lineage development.

A simple method to measure NK cell cytotoxicity in vivo.

Natural killer (NK) cells were discovered in the 1970 s and named after their naturally occurring cytotoxic activity against tumor cells. It has recently become clear that NK cells are not just killers and that malignancy is unlikely to be the selective pressure driving the evolution of NK cells. Indeed, NK cells secrete a host of cytokines and chemokines that contribute to tissue remodeling at the feto-maternal interface and to both innate and adaptive immunity during infection.