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Zein is a water-insoluble polymer from maize seeds that has been widely used to produce carrier particles for the delivery of therapeutic molecules. We encapsulated a recombinant model vaccine antigen in newly formed zein bodies in planta by generating a fusion construct comprising the ectodomain of hemagglutinin subtype 5 and the N-terminal part of γ-zein. The chimeric protein was transiently produced in tobacco leaves, and H5-containing protein bodies (PBs) were used to immunize mice. An immune response was achieved in all mice treated with H5-zein, even at low doses. The fusion to zein markedly enhanced the IgG response compared the soluble H5 control, and the effect was similar to a commercial adjuvant. The co-administration of adjuvants with the H5-zein bodies did not enhance the immune response any further, suggesting that the zein portion itself mediates an adjuvant effect. While the zein portion used to induce protein body formation was only weakly immunogenic, our results indicate that zein-induced protein bodies are promising production and delivery vehicles for subunit vaccines.

Recent advances in high-throughout sequencing technologies have made it possible to accurately assign copy number (CN) at CN variable loci. However, current analytic methods often perform poorly in regions in which complex CN variation is observed. Here we report the development of a read depth-based approach, CNVrd2, for investigation of CN variation using high-throughput sequencing data. This methodology was developed using data from the 1000 Genomes Project from the CCL3L1 locus, and tested using data from the DEFB103A locus. In both cases, samples were selected for which paralogue ratio test data were also available for comparison. The CNVrd2 method first uses observed read-count ratios to refine segmentation results in one population. Then a linear regression model is applied to adjust the results across multiple populations, in combination with a Bayesian normal mixture model to cluster segmentation scores into groups for individual CN counts. The performance of CNVrd2 was compared to that of two other read depth-based methods (CNVnator, cn.mops) at the CCL3L1 and DEFB103A loci, and the highest concordance with the paralog ratio test method was observed for CNVrd2 (77.8%/90.4% for CNVrd2, 36.7%/4.8% for cn.mops and 7.2%/1% for CNVnator at CCL3L1 and DEF103A). CNVrd2 is available as an R package as part of the Bioconductor project: http://www.bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/CNVrd2.html.

There is growing evidence that seaweed extracts (SWE) may be a solution for mitigating the negative effects of salt stress on crop yield and quality, as they introduce bioactive ingredients able to regulate the expression of growth-inducing and stress-responsive genes. We demonstrate that SWE slightly ameliorated the negative physical growth effects of salt stress, especially in the root anatomy of the salt-sensitive (Clark) variety. The SWE did not stimulate or enhance peroxidase (POD) activity in either the salt-sensitive (Clark) or salt-tolerant variety (Manokin). However, a complete assessment of other antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, APX) involved in the ROS detoxification process is further required., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest present., (Copyright: © 2024 by the authors.)

Background: Patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) undergo alveolar bone grafting (ABG) to unite the bony segments before eruption of the maxillary permanent canine., Purpose: This study assessed the frequency of canine impaction after ABG in the UCLP patient population and identified associated demographic, anatomical, and operative factors., Study Design, Setting, Sample: This retrospective cohort study included 257 patients with UCLP who received ABG surgery at a single craniofacial center., Predictor Variables: The variables were cleft characteristics, pre-ABG procedures, operative factors, and dental anomalies identified through electronic health records, radiographs, and intraoral photographs taken before ABG and at least 2 years after ABG., Main Outcome Variable: The primary outcome variable was the presence of an impacted maxillary canine, defined as malposition of a fully developed canine following ABG with full eruption of the contralateral canine., Analyses: The t tests, χ 2 tests, and logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate frequency of canine impaction and test for associations with the predictor variables., Results: Of 257 patients, 56% were male with a mean age of 9.2 years at the time of ABG. The frequency of canine impaction was 27% (n = 69, 95% confidence interval 22 to 33%). Significant associations were found for: complete clefts (30 vs 12%, P = .017), hypodivergent facial patterns (low angle: 46%; high angle: 29 vs 22% normal angle, P = .042), females (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.1, P = .015), early grafting with less than 1/3 developed canine root (aOR = 3.36, P = .024), pregraft extraction of primary canine (aOR = 2.3, P = .009) and greater permanent canine angulation (odds ratio = 1.1, P < .0001). No significant associations with pregraft orthodontic expansion or regrafting were detected., Conclusion and Relevance: In this study, about one in four patients with UCLP had an impacted canine. Multiple factors including pregraft extraction of the primary canine and increased canine angulation were associated with impaction of the permanent canine., (Copyright © 2023 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The objective of this study is to describe the characteristics of patients who discontinue onabotulinumtoxinA treatment for overactive bladder (OAB) and to determine the impact of prior sacroneuromodulation or peripheral nerve stimulation on the discontinuation rates of onabotulinumtoxinA., Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of women with at least two onabotulinumtoxinA (BTX-A) treatments for OAB with a Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive surgeon at a referral center between January 2014 and July 2019. Patients were excluded if they underwent BTX-A treatment in the operating room or utilized clean intermittent catheterization at baseline. Women who continued injections throughout the study period were compared to those who did not. Discontinuation was defined as stopping BTX-A during the study period. Treatment failure was defined as a documented failure in the chart and/or moving to other OAB treatments. Loss to follow-up was defined as no follow-up greater than 12 months after the last injection. Discontinuation-free and failure-free survival were estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis., Results: A total of 214 women met the inclusion criteria with a mean age of 62.9 ± 14 years. Fifty percent were Black. Eighty-six (40.2%) discontinued onabotulinumtoxinA treatment during the study period. There were no demographic differences between patients who discontinued BTX-A and those who continued with the following exceptions: patients who discontinued had higher rates of prior pelvic reconstructive surgery (19.8% vs. 10.2%, p = 0.04) and were more likely to have the concurrent diagnosis of painful bladder syndrome (9.3% vs. 2.3%, p = 0.03). Patients diagnosed with a urinary tract infection (UTI) after ≥50% of treatments were more likely to discontinue (27.9% vs. 14.1%, p = 0.01). On multivariate logistic regression analysis, patients with recurrent UTIs after treatment were significantly more likely to discontinue than those who do not (odds ratio: 2.61, [1.17, 5.82]). Of the cohort, 54 (25%) patients had previously undergone nerve stimulation. A total of 27.8% of patients with prior nerve stimulation discontinued BTX-A compared to 44.4% of those without prior third line treatment (p = 0.03). Patients with prior nerve stimulation had a higher discontinuation-free survival rate (p = 0.013) but there was no difference in failure-free survival., Conclusions: Patients who have recurrent UTIs after onabotulinumtoxinA injections are 2.6 times more likely to discontinue treatment than those who do not have infections. Patients with prior exposure to nerve stimulation have a significantly lower onabotulinumtoxinA discontinuation rate, but there is no difference in failure rates., (© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Importance: Assumption of a well-mixed population during modeling is often erroneously made without due analysis of its validity. Ignoring the importance of the geo-spatial granularity at which the data is collected could have significant implications on the quality of forecasts and the actionable clinical recommendations that are based on it., Objective: This paper's primary objective is to test the hypothesis that the characteristic dynamics defining the trajectory of the pandemic in a region is lost when the data is aggregated and modeled at higher geo-spatial levels., Design: We use publicly available confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases and deaths from January 1st, 2020 to August 3rd, 2020 in the United States at different geo-spatial granularities to conduct our experiments. To understand the impact of this hypothesis, the output of this study was implemented in Tampa General Hospital (TGH) to provide resource demand forecast., Results: The Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) in the forecast confirmed cases can be 30% higher for modeling at the state-level than aggregating model results at the scale of counties or clusters of counties. Similarly, modeling at a state-level and crafting policy decisions based on them may not be effective - county-level forecasts made by partitioning state-level forecasts are 3x worse for confirmed cases and 20x worse for deaths relative to the same model at the county level. By leveraging these results, TGH was able to accurately allocate clinical resources to tackle COVID-19 cases, continue elective surgical procedures largely uninterrupted and avoid costly construction of overflow capacity in the first two epidemic waves., Conclusions and Relevance: Accurate forecasting at the county level requires hyper-local modeling with county resolution. State-level modeling does not accurately predict community spread in smaller sub-regions because state populations are not well mixed, resulting in large prediction errors. Actionable decisions such as deciding whether to cancel planned surgeries or construct overflow capacity require models with local specificity., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Study Objective: The creation of an ontology may enable providers to more definitively engage the public in evidence-based and meaningful discussions about women's health. The goal of this study is to review and analyze the current social media status of minimally invasive gynecologic surgery (MIGS) on Twitter and create a tag ontology., Design: Tag ontologies are lists of hashtags used to standardize searches within a social media platform. We examined trending terms and influencers on Twitter on the basis of the keyword "MIGS." We then compiled a list of top hashtags on the basis of the number of tweets from January 2018 to August 2020. Terms were identified with manual Twitter queries and Symplur Signals and selected for inclusion in the ontology on the basis of frequency of use and clinical relevance. The ontology was then categorized by pelvic disease and intervention and reviewed/supplemented by key social media influencers for inclusivity., Setting: N/A PATIENTS: N/A INTERVENTIONS: N/A MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We identified 4550 tweets and 1836 users while searching #MIGS in August 2020. Twenty-nine terms were included in our ontology, which were then subcategorized into 6 groups (uterine pathology, adnexal pathology, menstruation, pelvic pathology, pelvic pain, and other)., Conclusion: Our study has created an ontology specific to the MIGS on the basis of Twitter usage over the last 2 years that may facilitate more effective social media communication., (Copyright © 2021 AAGL. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)