The Atlantis Products Blog.: 04/08/19

Monday, 8 April 2019

Study provides insight into use of critical care resources

A study by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has found wide variation in the use of different hospital units—intensive care or general medical units—to deliver a type of advanced respiratory support called non-invasive ventilation. The team's report published in Critical Care Medicine found no differences in length of stay or in-hospital deaths among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) receiving this treatment that were associated with whether they were treated on a general medical unit or an intensive care unit (ICU).

* This article was originally published here

uliCUT&RUN maps protein binding on chromatin in single cells and single embryos

Groundbreaking research by Sarah Hainer, an assistant professor of gene expression and cell fate in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Biological Sciences, and Thomas G. Fazzio of the University of Massachusetts Medical School has adapted the CUT&RUN method to examine mapping of transcription factor and other DNA binding protein occupancies on chromatin using a low number of cells, including single cells, and individual pre-implantation embryos.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers develop first functional targeted inhibitors of peanut allergens

For an estimated 4.2 million children living with peanut allergies, the slightest trace of peanut and peanut ingredients could have fatal consequences. The allergy is the result of allergens binding with an antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE) on the surface of immune cells, setting off a complex chain reaction that could lead to a response ranging in severity from a rash to anaphylactic shock.

* This article was originally published here

Carbon lurking in deep ocean threw ancient climate switch, say researchers

A million years ago, a longtime pattern of alternating glaciations and warm periods dramatically changed, when ice ages suddenly became longer and more intense. Scientists have long suspected that this was connected to the slowdown of a key Atlantic Ocean current system that today once again is slowing. A new study of sediments from the Atlantic bottom directly links this slowdown with a massive buildup of carbon dragged from the air into the abyss. With the system running at full speed, this carbon would have percolated back into the air fairly quickly, but during this period it just stagnated in the depths. This suggests that the carbon drawdown cooled the planet—the opposite of the greenhouse effect we are seeing now, as humans pump carbon into the atmosphere. But if the current keeps slowing now, we should not expect it to help us out by storing our emissions; possibly to the contrary. The study, led by researchers at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, appears this week in the journal Nature Geoscience.

* This article was originally published here

Exploiting metabolic differences to optimize SSRI dosing in adolescents

In a simulated study, exposure to and maximum blood concentrations of two selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) - commonly used to treat anxiety and depression in adolescents—differed depending on whether the teens modeled were poor, normal, rapid, or ultra-rapid metabolizers of the SSRIs. Caused by differences in the gene coding for cytochrome P4502C19 (CYP2C19), this information could inform SSRI dosing to optimize efficacy of the medications and minimize adverse effects, as reported in an article published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology.

* This article was originally published here