Manoella Gemaque Cavalcante, Cleusa Yoshiko Nagamachi, Julio Cesar Pieczarka, and Renata Coelho Rodrigues Noronha

Eukaryotic genomes exhibit substantial accumulation of repetitive DNA sequences. These sequences can participate in chromosomal reorganization events and undergo molecular cooption to interfere with the function and evolution of genomes. In turtles, repetitive DNA sequences appear to be accumulated at probable break points and may participate in events such as non-homologous recombination and chromosomal rearrangements. In this study, repeated sequences of 5S rDNA, U2 snRNA and Tc1/Mariner transposons were amplified from the genomes of the turtles, Podocnemis expansa and Podocnemis unifilis, and mapped by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Our data confirm the 2n=28 chromosomes for these species (the second lowest 2n in the order Testudines). We observe high conservation of the co-located 5S rDNA and U2 snRNA genes on a small chromosome pair (pair 13), and surmise that this represents the ancestral condition. Our analysis reveals a wide distribution of the Tc1/Mariner transposons and we discuss how the mobility of these transposons can act on karyotypic reorganization events (contributing to the 2n decrease of those species). Our data add new information for the order Testudines and provide important insights into the dynamics and organization of these sequences in the chelonian genomes.

Background:

Patients with multimorbidity often require services across different health care settings, yet team processes among settings are rarely implemented. We explored perceptions of specialists and family physicians collaborating in a telemedicine interprofessional consultation for patients with multimorbidity to better understand the value of bringing physicians together across the boundaries of health care settings.

Clostridioides difficileDiagnosticsMetabolomicsMicrobiome

The diagnostic process of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) is complex and the underlying mechanisms that participate in these diseases still need to be fully understood. In 2015, the European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society Task Force on Undifferentiated Forms of Connective Tissue Disease-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease introduced the term "interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features" (IPAF) to identify subjects with IIP and features suggesting background autoimmunity but not characterisable connective tissue disease (CTD) [1]. The need for a proper clinical, serological and morphological assessment of IIP was highlighted to identify potential subjects with IPAF and CTD-ILD. However, the measurement of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs) is not included in the definition of IPAF and ANCA serological testing is only recommended in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) when a clinical suspicion of vasculitis exists [2]. As current research evaluates the prognostic relevance of autoimmune features in IIP, the clinical importance of ANCA positivity still needs to be determined.

Purpose:

Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is downstream to the CDK4/6 pathway, and TK activity (TKa) measured in blood is a dynamic marker of outcome in patients with advanced breast cancer (ABC). This study explores TK1 as a biomarker of palbociclib response, both in vitro and in patients with ABC.

Nosocomial pneumonia (NP), including ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), is increasingly associated with multidrug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens. This study describes the in vitro activity of ceftazidime-avibactam, ceftazidime, and relevant comparator agents against bacterial pathogens isolated from patients with NP, including VAP, enrolled in a ceftazidime-avibactam phase 3 trial. Gram-positive pathogens were included if coisolated with a Gram-negative pathogen. In vitro susceptibility was determined at a central laboratory using Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute broth microdilution methods. Of 817 randomized patients, 457 (55.9%) had ≥1 Gram-negative bacterial pathogen(s) isolated at baseline, and 149 (18.2%) had ≥1 Gram-positive pathogen(s) coisolated. The most common isolated pathogens were Klebsiella pneumoniae (18.8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (15.8%), and Staphylococcus aureus (11.5%). Ceftazidime-avibactam was highly active in vitro against 370 isolates of Enterobacteriaceae, with 98.6% susceptible (MIC₉₀, 0.5 μg/ml) compared with 73.2% susceptible for ceftazidime (MIC₉₀, >64 μg/ml). The percent susceptibility values for ceftazidime-avibactam and ceftazidime against 129 P. aeruginosa isolates were 88.4% and 72.9% (MIC₉₀ values of 16 μg/ml and 64 μg/ml), respectively. Among ceftazidime-nonsusceptible Gram-negative isolates, ceftazidime-avibactam percent susceptibility values were 94.9% for 99 Enterobacteriaceae and 60.0% for 35 P. aeruginosa. MIC₉₀ values for linezolid and vancomycin (permitted per protocol for Gram-positive coverage) were within their respective MIC susceptibility breakpoints against the Gram-positive pathogens isolated. This analysis demonstrates that ceftazidime-avibactam was active in vitro against the majority of Enterobacteriaceae and P. aeruginosa isolates from patients with NP, including VAP, in a phase 3 trial. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT01808092.)

The comparative efficacy of ceftazidime-avibactam and meropenem-vaborbactam for treatment of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infections remains unknown. This was a multicenter, retrospective cohort study of adults with CRE infections who received ceftazidime-avibactam or meropenem-vaborbactam for ≥72 hours from February 2015 to October 2018. Patients with a localized urinary tract infection and repeat study drug exposures after the first episode were excluded. The primary endpoint was clinical success compared between treatment groups. Secondary endpoints included 30- and 90-day mortality, adverse events (AE), 90-day CRE infection recurrence, and development of resistance in patients with recurrent infection. A post hoc subgroup analysis was completed comparing patients who received ceftazidime-avibactam monotherapy, ceftazidime-avibactam combination therapy, and meropenem-vaborbactam monotherapy. A total of 131 patients were included (ceftazidime-avibactam, n = 105; meropenem-vaborbactam, n = 26), 40% of whom had bacteremia. No significant difference in clinical success was observed between groups (62% versus 69%; P = 0.49). Patients in the ceftazidime-avibactam arm received combination therapy more often than patients in the meropenem-vaborbactam arm (61% versus 15%; P < 0.01). No difference in 30- and 90-day mortality resulted, and rates of AE were similar between groups. In patients with recurrent infection, development of resistance occurred in three patients that received ceftazidime-avibactam monotherapy and in no patients in the meropenem-vaborbactam arm. Clinical success was similar between patients receiving ceftazidime-avibactam and meropenem-vaborbactam for treatment of CRE infections, despite ceftazidime-avibactam being used more often as a combination therapy. Development of resistance was more common with ceftazidime-avibactam monotherapy.

People with type 1 diabetes may receive a significant portion of their care from primary care providers (PCPs). To understand the involvement of PCPs in delivering type 1 diabetes care, we performed surveys in California and Florida, two of the most populous and diverse states in the United States. PCPs fill insulin prescriptions but report low confidence in providing type 1 diabetes care and difficulty accessing specialty referrals to endocrinologists.

Prof. Jason Pomeroy talks about the rise of the digital economy and its impact on the workplace.

If you plan to buy a home within the next 1-3 years, be sure that you have prepared a large amount of money including value of the house and costs incurred to avoid the common mistake below.

Many investors have shifted their money into real estate for lease or short-term deposit in banks as the liquidity of land lot segment has declined sharply.

Four decades ago, we introduced a standard way of encoding digital sound. Its first ever upgrade could lead to new genres of music and ways of experiencing sound

Two stars in the constellation Sagitta are predicted to smash together in the year 2083, producing an explosion that will outshine every star in the sky

The Rosetta spacecraft’s measurements of comet 67P have revealed a hidden source of nitrogen that may help us learn how giant planets – and even life – formed

An end to lockdown is many weeks away for some nations, but decisions on how to do it need to be made now so we can make preparations and communicate it clearly

Giving the firm access to InfiniBand networking standard

After many delays

Expect expansion plans by the graphics card giant

BRITONS flocked outside to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day yesterday, which caused major backlash online, especially against the BBC.

At least 16 people have been killed in the deadliest mass shooting in Canada's history.

Customers were found hiding in cupboards after officers raided a pub suspected of breaching coronavirus lockdown regulations, police have said.

'I was thinking two weeks of quarantine and then things would go back to normal, but we realized pretty quickly that was not the case'

For the first time, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo rocket plane flew free in the skies over New Mexico's Spaceport America, its new base of operations. The SpaceShipTwo plane, known as VSS Unity, has made rocket-powered flights beyond the 50-mile space milestone during tests at California's Mojave Air and Space Port, but today's unpowered test flight was the first to be flown from Spaceport America. "Today's VSS Unity flight is another exciting milestone for Virgin Galactic's progress in New Mexico," Dan Hicks, executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, said in a news release. "We are extremely happy and proud of… Read More

A set of asteroids that came from outside our solar system have been hiding in plain sight, according to scientists.

Meltwater caused a 500-metre slab of ice to cascade down an Alaskan valley — and researchers say warmer summers are making similar events more likely

Return to your basics at every chance you get and re-learn them many times over.

New York health authorities reported a spike in possible bleach exposure cases after Trump's now-infamous press briefing

(Matador)
Will Toledo’s alt-rockers have emerged out of lo-fi fuzz, but seem unsure of where to turn as they drift toward the mainstream

Anyone wondering how things have changed in the world of lauded US alt-rockers Car Seat Headrest might consider the four years that separate Making a Door Less Open from their last album of new material. Ordinarily there would be nothing unusual about that gap – but in the first four years of Car Seat Headrest’s existence, its mastermind, Will Toledo, released seven albums (one of them a two-hour double), four EPs (one of them as long as an album) and two compilations of outtakes. That’s more than 150 songs and 12 hours of music: a lo-fi spewing forth of ideas that won Toledo a cult following, which then grew exponentially, both in size and rabidity, when he recruited a band and signed to the august US indie label Matador.

With over two million farmers on the platform, WeFarm has an essential place in the food supply chain

The 'Underworld' actress finds it frustrating that people consider women to be "risqué" for doing things like dating or getting tattoos

Juventus have confirmed both Daniele Rugani and Blaise Matuidi have recovered from coronavirus and are no longer subject to the Italian home isolation regime.

Crystal Palace are helping to feed frontline NHS workers and the most vulnerable in south London from the kitchens at Selhurst Park.

New Chelsea signing Hakim Ziyech says he wants to hit the same heights as Didier Drogba when he completes his move from Ajax.

Lenovo is leaping quickly on the latest NVIDIA and Intel technology for its gaming laptops. It's introducing Legion 5i and Legion 7i portables (successors to the Y540 and Y740 respectively) that, most notably, are among the first to use NVIDIA's Advanced Optimus graphics switching. The tech both lowers power consumption in less-intensive moments and ramps up performance in GPU-heavy situations, theoretically giving you added battery life and higher frame rates in the same package. The Legion 7i also touts the option of new GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q graphics if you insist on the best possible visuals.

A new study has identified thousands of incidents of previously rare or unprecedented extreme heat/humidity combinations in parts of Asia, Africa, Australia, South America and North America, including in the US Gulf Coast region.

Officers heard a noise ‘believed to be the sound of someone breaking wind from a nearby bush’.

SunRice says it will guarantee Australian-grown rice returns to supermarkets in April if the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is changed so environmental water can be used to grow rice.

Postmedia Network Canada Corp. expects to qualify for at least $20.3 million in COVID-related emergency wage subsidies from the federal government, the owner of Canada's largest newspaper chain said Friday.

X was supposed to tour behind its new album "Alphabetland." Now, bassist John Doe is home in Austin with his partner, his two horses nearby: "They keep me sane."

The coronavirus is pitching the U.S. and China into a new Cold War -- a confrontation over ideology as well as trade and security. It's happening partly because President Trump needs an issue to run on -- and it's dangerous

Health news and commentary from around the Web gathered by the ALLMedPage Today staff

Events with extreme temperatures and humidity are occurring twice as often now as they were 40 years ago

-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

Alexander Tajong, a Bronx, N.Y.-based return preparer, was charged today with twenty counts of willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of false income tax returns for 10 of his clients during the 2002 and 2003 tax years.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated and its subsidiary, Nichols Institute Diagnostics (NID), have entered into a global settlement with the United States to resolve criminal and civil claims concerning various types of diagnostic test kits that NID manufactured, marketed and sold to laboratories throughout the country until 2006. The payment of $302 million will resolve these allegations and represents one of the largest recoveries ever in a case involving a medical device.

Two subsidiaries of the Swedish company Trelleborg AB, one based in Virginia and the other in France, have agreed to plead guilty and pay a total of $11 million in criminal fines for their participation in separate conspiracies affecting the sales of marine products sold in the United States and elsewhere.

A 32-year-old Colombian citizen, Luz Mery Gutierrez Vergara, who was extradited from the Republic of Colombia on Thursday, made her initial appearance today in federal court in Washington, D.C., to face charges for allegedly participating in a conspiracy to provide material support to the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, commonly known as the “FARC.”