Background: Illness severity, comorbidity, fever, age and symptom duration influence antibiotic prescribing for respiratory tract infections (RTI). Non-medical determinants, such as patient expectations, also impact prescribing.
Aim: To quantify the effect of general practitioners' (GPs') perception of a patient request for antibiotics on antibiotic prescribing for RTI and investigate effect modification by medical determinants and country.
Objective: The study examines: 1) impacts of COVID-19 on the work of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - Education (SNAP-Ed) implementers, 2) facilitators and barriers experienced in making adaptations, and 3) factors that would have helped with preparedness to adapt.
Design, Setting, And Participants: A purposive sample of 181 SNAP-Ed program implementers from across five states completed a survey or interview based on the study aims. Quantitative data was summarized with descriptive statistics and qualitative data was analyzed thematically.
According to current guidelines, patients with heart valve disease should be followed by Heart Valve Clinics (HVCs). Regular quality analysis is a major prerequisite of an HVC's program, but few data have been reported so far. We retrospectively collected patients with isolated, native aortic valve stenosis who had been visited in our HVC at least once between 2021 and 2024.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Aetiological diagnosis and targeted antibiotic therapy are essential to improve the prognosis of patients with infective endocarditis. Molecular tests on blood have been reported to be effective in identifying the causative organism and are recommended when blood cultures are negative. The role of molecular tests on the surgically excised valve is still unclear and needs further investigation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLaboratory mice housed under specific pathogen-free (SPF) conditions are the standard model in biomedical research. However, experiments with a particular inbred mouse strain performed in different laboratories often yield inconsistent or conflicting data due to housing-specific variations in the composition and diversity of SPF microbiota. These variations affect immune and nonimmune cell functions, leading to systemic physiological changes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSedimentation tanks represent one of the most important components of any water and wastewater treatment plants. The lack of knowledge of hydraulics in sedimentation tank leads to unnecessary capital and operating costs as well as water pollution in the form of excessive sludge. Improper and inadequate design cause overloading of filters, and lead to frequent backwashing, which in turn waste a significant percentage of treated water.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe design of inhaled selective phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase delta (PI3Kδ) inhibitors for the treatment of inflammatory lung diseases was pursued. Knowledge-based design of a novel isocoumarin scaffold that was able to adopt a topology ensured the desired PI3Kδ selectivity. Achievement of low nanomolar cellular potencies through hinge binder group optimization, reduction of intrinsic permeability through head group optimization to extend lung retention, and screening of crystalline forms suitable for administration as dry powders culminated in the identification of compound .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Frailty Aging
November 2024
Background: Malnutrition has been variously associated with poor postoperative outcomes. Of note, 10-25 % of cardiac surgery patients are reported to be malnourished.
Objectives: To assess the impact of nutritional status (evaluated with the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index - GNRI) on outcomes of older patients undergoing heart valve surgery.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) evades immune detection partly via autophagic capture and lysosomal degradation of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I). Why MHC-I is susceptible to capture via autophagy remains unclear. By synchronizing exit of proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), we show that PDAC cells display prolonged retention of MHC-I in the ER and fail to efficiently route it to the plasma membrane.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFam Pract
November 2024
Background: The primary cause of antimicrobial resistance is excessive and non-indicated antibiotic use.
Aim: To evaluate the impact of a multifaceted intervention aimed at various healthcare professionals (HCPs) on antibiotic prescribing and dispensing for common infections.
Design And Setting: Before-and-after study set in general practice, out-of-hours services, nursing homes, and community pharmacies in France, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, and Spain.
The Irpinia Fault, also known as the Monte Marzano Fault System, located in the Southern Apennines (Italy), is one of the most seismically active structures in the Mediterranean. It is the source of the 1980, Ms 6.9, multi-segment rupture earthquake that caused significant damage and nearly 3,000 casualties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany specialized herbivorous insects sequester single classes of toxic secondary metabolites from their host plants as protection against natural enemies. If and how herbivores can use multiple classes of plant toxins across the large chemical diversity of plants for self-protection is unknown. We show that the polyphagous adults of the beetle Diabrotica virgifera are capable of selectively accumulating benzoxazinoids, cucurbitacins, and glucosinolates but not cyanogenic glycosides.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Trans-femoral (TF) represents the main access for TAVI. Although there are various technical strategies to conduct TF-TAVI (pacing modality, secondary arterial access, primary access puncture etc.), the optimal technique is not recognized.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Bioeng Biotechnol
October 2024
Our previous article entitled "Proteomics and its applications in breast cancer", proposed a Breast Cancer Continuum Concept (BCCC), including a Breast Cancer Cell Continuum Concept as well as a Breast Cancer Proteomic Continuum Concept. Breast cancer-on-chip (BCoC), breast cancer liquid biopsy-on-chip (BCLBoC), and breast cancer metastasis-on-chip (BCMoC) models successfully recapitulate and reproduce the principal mechanisms and events involved in BCCC. Thus, BCoC, BCLBoC, and BCMoC platforms allow for multiple cell lines co-cultivation to reproduce BC hallmark features, recapitulating cell proliferation, cell-to-cell communication, BC cell-stromal crosstalk and stromal activation, effects of local microenvironmental conditions on BC progression, invasion/epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)/migration, intravasation, dissemination through blood and lymphatic circulation, extravasation, distant tissues colonization, and immune escape of cancer cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The prone hip extension test is used as a clinical tool to diagnose specific motor control impairments that have been identified in individuals with chronic low back pain. However, conventional protocols for performing the test are subjective and lack evidence for their effectiveness. The objective of the current study was to quantify lumbopelvic motion and muscle activation during this test and identify which motor control patterns best distinguish individuals with low back pain from asymptomatic controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a sensitive tool to assess pulmonary congestion (PC). Few data are available on LUS-PC evaluation in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and prognostic impact of LUS-PC in patients with severe AS before and after TAVI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe development of acute kidney injury (AKI) in polytrauma patients is a common and serious complication, with an incidence ranging from 6% to 50%. Polytrauma is a complex pathological condition that involves the collaboration of various specialists. On one hand, hemodynamic stabilization through fluid therapy and aminic support, with specific attack protocols, managed by anesthetists.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant domestication often alters plant traits, including chemical and physical defenses against herbivores. In squash, domestication leads to reduced levels of cucurbitacins and leaf trichomes, influencing interactions with insects. However, the impact of domestication on inducible defenses in squash remains poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA hit-to-lead campaign pursuing the identification of novel inhalant small-molecule phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors for the treatment of inflammatory respiratory diseases is disclosed. A synthetically versatile pyridazin-3(2)-one scaffold was designed, and three exit vectors on the core moiety were used to explore chemical diversity and optimize pharmacological and absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) properties. Desired modulation of PI3Kδ selectivity and cellular potency as well as ADME properties in view of administration by inhalation was achieved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper describes the 30-year evolution of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) to provide evidence to support our perspective that SNAP-Ed has earned its position as a pillar of the public health infrastructure in the US. Legislatively designated as a nutrition education and obesity prevention program, its focus is the nearly 90 million Americans with limited income. This audience experiences ongoing health disparities and is disproportionately affected by public health crises.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNew-generation transcatheter heart valves have significantly improved technical success and procedural safety of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedures; however, the incidence of permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) remains a concern. This study aimed to assess the role of anatomic annulus features in determining periprocedural conduction disturbances leading to new PPI after TAVI using the last-generation Edwards SAPIEN balloon-expandable valves. In the context of a prospective single-center registry, we integrated the clinical and procedural predictors of PPI with anatomic data derived from multislice computed tomography.
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