Search

The neural circuits responsible for animal behavior remain largely unknown. We summarize new methods and present the circuitry of a large fraction of the brain of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Improved methods include new procedures to prepare, image, align, segment, find synapses in, and proofread such large data sets. We define cell types, refine computational compartments, and provide an exhaustive atlas of cell examples and types, many of them novel. We provide detailed circuits consisting of neurons and their chemical synapses for most of the central brain. We make the data public and simplify access, reducing the effort needed to answer circuit questions, and provide procedures linking the neurons defined by our analysis with genetic reagents. Biologically, we examine distributions of connection strengths, neural motifs on different scales, electrical consequences of compartmentalization, and evidence that maximizing packing density is an important criterion in the evolution of the fly’s brain.

Medication access is critical to achieving optimal patient outcomes. The 2020 Task Force on Medication Access was charged with developing an ACCP white paper on improving medication access that addresses barriers such as cost, health disparities, and utilization management practices. This white paper outlines major barriers to medication access and provides pharmacists and professional organizations with policy and practice recommendations to help reduce barriers, enhance medication access, and fulfill the goal of optimal patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use is a serious public health problem in older adults because it may lead to adverse events. The purpose of the current study was to explore PIM use in rural, community-dwelling older adults. Participants (N = 138) underwent one-on-one medication reviews. Approximately one half (49%) of the sample used prescribed and over-the-counter (OTC) PIM. Prescribed and OTC nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (33%) and anticholinergic medications (28%) were the most frequently used PIM. Use of PIM was associated with a higher number of medications (r = 0.331, p < 0.01), more medical providers (r = 0.223, p < 0.001), and poor physical health (r = -0.193, p < 0.05). Higher number of medications increased the probability of PIM use by 85% (odds ratio: 1.8; 95% confidence interval [1.19, 2.84]). Findings highlight the importance of re-evaluating the monitoring of medications in rural, communitydwelling older adults and the need for sustainable interventions to reduce prescribing and OTC PIM use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seventeen African-American patients were operated on for Dupuytren’s contracture over a 14-year period. Six-month minimum follow-up was available for 16 patients. The initial deformity, and results of surgical release of Dupuytren’s contracture in this population was similar to that described in North Europeans. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Mycobacteriophage Phayonce is a newly isolated phage recovered from a soil sample in Pittsburgh, PA, using Mycobacterium smegmatis mc(2)155 as a host. Phayonce's genome is 49,203 bp long and contains 77 protein-coding genes, 23 of them having predicted functions. Phayonce shares a strong similarity in nucleotide sequence with phages of cluster P., (Copyright © 2015 Pope et al.)

We developed a method for measuring pentobarbital in samples that also contain phenobarbital. The phenobarbital is destroyed by adding sodium hydroxide and then heating at 95 degrees C for 60 min. Pentobarbital is not affected by this pretreatment and can then be measured with an Abbott TDx barbiturates kit. Using this method, we obtained an average analytical recovery of 98% of added pentobarbital and a correlation of y = 0.953x + 3.4 vs HPLC. The intra-assay CV was 3.7% at 25.8 mg/L; the interassay CV was 6.2% at 16.1 mg/L. Other long-acting barbiturates, e.g., hexobarbital, are also effectively destroyed by this alkali pretreatment. Other short-acting barbiturates, e.g., secobarbital, are not removed and would produce an interference.

To investigate the clinical utility of immunoassays for cyclosporine and metabolites in plasma and whole blood, we monitored 25 patients after orthotopic liver transplantation. We compared cyclosporine as measured by TDx fluorescence polarization immunoassay (of both plasma and whole blood) and by two polyclonal radioimmunoassays (from Sandoz and INCSTAR). We found considerable differences in measured cyclosporine concentrations, which were dependent on method, matrix, and clinical condition. Correlation coefficients between results by the various methods for samples from individual patients ranged from 0.825 to 0.996. The three methods used for monitoring cyclosporine in whole blood gave proportional results (Sandoz less than INCSTAR less than TDx) in individual patients, but results for the two methods for plasma sometimes differed by more than 100%. In some cases, ratios of plasma cyclosporine concentration (result by TDx/result by Sandoz) were correlated with disturbances in hepatic excretory function or kidney function. This ratio may be useful in monitoring for nephrotoxicity.