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Nature's diversity offers an abundance of promising solutions for novel bioinspired functional materials and systems. In particular, single‐celled organisms exhibit solutions and material properties that are realized at the nano‐ and micro‐scales. Ciliates are ubiquitous unicellular eukaryotes that are well‐adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions. They have developed a large variety of interesting and highly specialized characteristics with unique properties and design. In this review, the background of selected ciliate characteristics is highlighted with respect to material properties and structure‐function relationships. Hierarchically complex mineralized structures, highly efficient sensors for movement and protection, shape‐memory structures, as well as survival and detoxification strategies are to be emphasized. Proposed future bioinspired applications of these properties of ciliates expand the possibilities to more sustainable materials and development processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlamydiae are a unique group of obligate intracellular bacteria comprising important pathogens of vertebrates as well as symbionts of free-living amoebae. Although there is ample molecular evidence for a huge diversity and wide distribution of chlamydiae in nature, environmental chlamydiae are currently represented by only few isolates. This paper reports the recovery of a novel environmental chlamydia strain from activated sludge by co-cultivation with Acanthamoeba sp. The recovered environmental chlamydia strain UV-7 showed the characteristic morphology of chlamydial developmental stages as revealed by electron microscopy and was identified as a new member of the family Parachlamydiaceae (98.7 % 16S rRNA sequence similarity to Parachlamydia acanthamoebae). Infection studies suggested that Parachlamydia sp. UV-7 is not confined to amoeba hosts but is also able to invade mammalian cells. These findings outline a new straightforward approach to retrieving environmental chlamydiae from nature without prior, tedious isolation and cultivation of their natural host cells, and lend further support to suggested implications of environmental chlamydiae for public health. Abbreviations: DAPI, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole; EB, elementary body; FISH, fluorescence in situ hybridization; p.i., post-infection; RB, reticulate body.

Many concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020 related to healthcare personnel who provided direct patient care during the pandemic. In addition to exposure to infectious disease, these providers endured ongoing levels of high stress that placed them at risk for short-term and long-term mental health problems. To address these concerns, a large healthcare system based in Hawai'i developed and implemented a nurse-led employee health telehealth clinic. Registered nurses in employee health successfully led the use of telehealth visits to screen, assess, and schedule COVID-19 and influenza tests for healthcare personnel. Based on test results, the nurses provided isolation dates that followed the recommended guidelines and institutional policies. Follow-up telehealth visits by these nurses facilitated a safe return to work for healthcare employees. This article discusses the development, implementation, and outcomes of the nurse-led employee health telehealth clinic. Using this telehealth modality was efficient and convenient. The process also protected the telehealth clinic staff from exposure to ill providers during the COVID-19 pandemic and influenza seasons. Our discussion includes processes of the telehealth clinic for employees, analysis of outcomes between 2020-2023, lessons learned, and implications for practice and research in this time of ongoing COVID-19 concerns and local and national healthcare worker shortages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Endosymbiotic interactions are frequently found in nature, especially in the group of protists. Even though many endosymbioses have been studied in detail, little is known about the mechanistic origins and physiological prerequisites of endosymbiont establishment. A logical step towards the development of endocytobiotic associations is evading digestion and escaping from the host's food vacuoles. Surface properties of bacteria are probably involved in these processes. Therefore, we chemically modified the surface of a transformant strain of Escherichia coli prior to feeding to Tetrahymena pyriformis. N‐(3‐dimethylaminopropyl)‐N’‐ethylcarbodiimide allows any substance carrying amino‐ or carboxyl groups to be bound covalently to the bacterial surface by forming a peptide bond, thus, altering its properties biochemically and biophysically in a predictable manner. The effect of different traits on digestion of T. pyriformis was examined by fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy. The efficiency of digestion differs considerably depending on the coupled substances. Alkaline substances inhibit digestion partially, resulting in incomplete digestion and slightly enhanced escape rates. Increasing hydrophobicity leads to much higher escape frequencies. Both results point to possible mechanisms employed by pathogenic bacteria or potential endosymbionts in evading digestion and transmission to the host's cytoplasm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]