Pep

Albino plants display partial or complete loss of photosynthetic pigments and defective thylakoid membrane development, consequently impairing plastid function and development. These distinctive attributes render albino plants excellent models for investigating chloroplast biogenesis. Despite their potential, limited exploration has been conducted regarding the molecular alterations underlying these phenotypes, extending beyond photosynthetic metabolism. In this study, we present a novel de novo transcriptome assembly of an albino somaclonal variant of Agave angustifolia Haw...

BACKGROUND: The National Clinician Consultation Center (NCCC) operates the PEPline, a federally-funded educational resource providing bloodborne pathogen exposure management tele-consultation to U.S. clinicians. METHODS: 67,109 occupational post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) consultations (January 2014 to December 2022) were retrospectively analyzed to describe PEPline utilization and common inquiries addressed by NCCC consultants. RESULTS: Most calls involved percutaneous incidents (70%); blood was the most common body fluid discussed (60%)...

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is used to diagnose and treat pancreatic and biliary disease. The current standard is to conduct ERCP under conscious sedation (CS). Patient movement and agitation during ERCP under CS can result in procedure failure and complications. Aiming to reduce procedure failure rates and complications, Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) in British Columbia, Canada transitioned to performing ERCP under general anesthesia (GA) as the practice standard...

Community-acquired Pneumonia (CAP) guidelines generally recommend to admit patients with moderate-to-severe CAP and start treatment with intravenous antibiotics. This study aims to explore the clinical outcomes of oral antibiotics in patients with moderate-to-severe CAP. We performed a nested cohort study of an observational study including all adult patients presenting to the emergency department of the Haga Teaching Hospital, the Netherlands, between April 2019 and May 2020, who had a blood culture drawn...

BACKGROUND: When unintentional pancreatic duct access occurs during difficult biliary cannulation, the double guidewire (DGW) or transpancreatic sphincterotomy (TPS) may be utilized. DGW can be easily switched to TPS due to the existing guidewire in the pancreatic duct. However, the efficacy of TPS after DGW, named sequential DGW-TPS technique, versus primary TPS has not been assessed. AIMS: Our aim was to compare the benefits and adverse events of sequential DGW-TPS technique and primary TPS...

Ferrocene-coupled chitosan (CS-Fc) support polymer was synthesized for the immobilization of double enzymes and single enzymes. The immobilization study was carried out after a detailed characterization study. The binding of pepsin and lipase enzymes to the polymer was supported by the shift of peaks in the FTIR spectra of free enzymes. The particle sizes of chitosan (CS) and CS-Fc were evaluated using zeta potential measurement. The optimum conditions of the enzymes in the double enzyme system did not affect each other and each showed their activity...

Mpox is a zoonotic disease that was once endemic in Africa countries caused by mpox virus. However, cases recently have been confirmed in many non-endemic countries outside of Africa. The rapidly increasing number of confirmed mpox cases poses a threat to the international community. In-depth studies of key viral factors are urgently needed, which will inform the design of multiple antiviral agents. Mpox virus encodes a unique protein, A41, that is nonessential for viral replication, but could affect the host response to infection via interacting with chemokines...

BACKGROUND: Post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP) is significantly influenced by the reflux of duodenal fluid. While gastrointestinal decompression represents a fundamental approach in acute pancreatitis management, the effectiveness of immediate duodenal decompression following ERCP to prevent PEP remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the impact of immediate duodenal decompression after ERCP on reducing the incidence of hyperamylasemia and PEP. METHODS: This retrospective study encompassed patients with native papilla who underwent therapeutic ERCP for choledocholithiasis at the Department of Gastroenterology, Chun'an Branch of Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (Zhejiang, China) between January 2020 and June 2023...

GH11 enzyme is known to be specific and efficient for the hydrolysis of xylan. It has been isolated from many microorganisms, and its enzymatic characteristics and thermostability vary between species. In this study, a GH11 enzyme PphXyn11 from a novel xylan-degrading strain of Paenibacillus physcomitrellae XB was characterized, and five mutants were constructed to try to improve the enzyme's thermostability. The results showed that PphXyn11 was an acidophilic endo-β-1,4-xylanase with the optimal reaction pH of 3...

Clytin II (CLII) is a Ca2+ -binding photoprotein and has been identified as an isotype of clytin I (CLI). CLII consists of apoCLII (an apoprotein) and 2-peroxide of coelenterazine (an adduct of molecular oxygen to coelenterazine), which is identical to the widely used Ca2+ -binding photoprotein, aequorin (AQ). However, CLII triggered by Ca2+ exhibits a 4.5-fold higher maximum luminescence intensity (Imax ) compared to both AQ and CLI, and it is approximately 5 times less sensitive to Ca2+ than AQ. To confirm the suitability of the preferred human codon-optimized CLII (pCLII) gene for cell-based G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) assays, a transformant stably expressing apoprotein of pCLII using the pCLII gene in the mitochondria of CHO-K1 cells was established and in situ regenerated pCLII in the cells were applied to the high-throughput screening system...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The duodenal papillae are the primary and essential pathway for ERCP, greatly determining its complexity and outcome. We aimed to investigate the association between papilla morphology and post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP), and to construct a robust model for PEP prediction. METHODS: We enrolled retrospectively patients underwent ERCP in 2 centers from January 2019 and June 2022. Radiomic features of papilla were extracted from endoscopic images with deep learning...

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: The impact of various categories of information on the prediction of Post Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography Pancreatitis (PEP) remains uncertain. We aimed to comprehensively investigate the risk factors associated with PEP by constructing and validating a model incorporating multi-modal data through multiple steps. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 1,916 cases underwent ERCP were retrospectively collected from multiple centers for model construction...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of botulinum-A toxin injections into the bulbospongiosus muscle for cases of lifelong drug-resistant premature ejaculation (PE). METHODS: Ninety-eight outpatients diagnosed with lifelong PE were randomly assigned to two groups: the botulinum-A toxin group comprising forty-nine patients and the placebo (saline) group also consisting of forty-nine patients. A 100 U botulinum-A toxin was diluted into 10 cc of saline, with 5 cc injected into one side of the muscle (botulinum-A toxin group) guided by ultrasound to distribute across most muscle fibers...

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to assess the effects of respiratory exercises (inspiratory and expiratory) in individuals with sleep bruxism (SB) and associated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). METHODS: This is a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial including individuals with SB and associated respiratory events in OSA. Respiratory physical therapy was performed using inspiratory (Threshold® IMT), expiratory (Threshold® PEP) muscle training, and compared with a placebo group...

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the pertinent risk factors associated with post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis (PEP) and develop a predictive scoring system for assessing the risk of PEP in patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Gastroenterology, Nantong First People's Hospital, Jiangsu, China, from January 2022 to January 2023...

There is considerable interest in the use of doxycycline post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to reduce the incidence of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs). An important concern is that this could select for tetracycline resistance in these STIs and other species. We searched PubMed and Google Scholar, (1948-2023) for randomized controlled trials comparing tetracycline PEP with non-tetracycline controls. The primary outcome was antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to tetracyclines in all bacterial species with available data...

BACKGROUND: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) prevent HIV among individuals at high risk for acquisition. Pre-existing structural barriers to PrEP/PEP access among rural patients may be exacerbated further if pharmacies do not keep PrEP/PEP in stock, constituting a significant barrier to mitigating the HIV epidemic. OBJECTIVES: To compare PrEP/PEP availability for same-day pickup in rural vs urban Georgia and Pennsylvania pharmacies...

Owing to vast therapeutic, commercial, and industrial applications of microbial proteases microorganisms from different sources are being explored. In this regard, the gut microbiota of Monopterus cuchia were isolated and examined for the production of protease. All the isolates were primarily and secondarily screened on skim milk and gelatin agar plates. The protease-positive isolates were characterized morphologically, biochemically, and molecularly. Out of the 20 isolated strains,6 belonging to five different genera viz...

BACKGROUND: Patients with idiopathic scoliosis commonly present with an imbalance of the paraspinal muscles. However, it is unclear whether this muscle imbalance is an underlying cause or a result of idiopathic scoliosis. This study aimed to investigate the role of paraspinal muscles in the development of idiopathic scoliosis based on surface electromyography (sEMG) and radiographic analyses. METHODS: This was a single-center prospective study of 27 patients with single-curve idiopathic scoliosis...

Xylanases are the main enzymes to hydrolyze xylan, the major hemicellulose found in lignocellulose. Xylanases also have a wide range of industrial applications. Therefore, the discovery of new xylanases has the potential to enhance efficiency and sustainability in many industries. Here, we report a xylanase with thermophilic character and superior biochemical properties for industrial use. The new xylanase is discovered in Anoxybacillus ayderensis as an intracellular xylanase (AAyXYN329) and recombinantly produced...