The fungal microbiota modulate neonatal oxygen-induced lung injury.

Background: The immature lungs of very preterm infants are exposed to supraphysiologic oxygen, contributing to bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a chronic lung disease that is the most common morbidity of prematurity. While the microbiota significantly influences neonatal health, the relationship between the intestinal microbiome, particularly micro-eukaryotic members such as fungi and yeast, and lung injury severity in newborns remains unknown.

Results: Here, we show that the fungal microbiota modulates hyperoxia-induced lung injury severity in very low birth weight premature infants and preclinical pseudohumanized and altered fungal colonization mouse models.

The fungal intestinal microbiota predict the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in very low birthweight newborns.

Rationale: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most common morbidity affecting very preterm infants. Gut fungal and bacterial microbial communities contribute to multiple lung diseases and may influence BPD pathogenesis.

Methods: We performed a prospective, observational cohort study comparing the multikingdom fecal microbiota of 144 preterm infants with or without moderate to severe BPD by sequencing the bacterial 16S and fungal ITS2 ribosomal RNA gene.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Instigation of Cardiovascular Events: Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) and Atrial Fibrillation (AF).

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder with chronic deterioration that arises after exposure to traumatic events. In these events, a persistent maladaptive reaction was found as a result of severe psychological stress and trauma. It is usually accompanied by mood alteration, disturbing memories, evading behavior, and hyperarousal.

Role of Metformin in the Management of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome-Associated Acne: A Systematic Review.

Metformin, a biguanide hypoglycemic agent that is safe and effective for treating acne in women with the polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), has shown growing evidence of improving insulin resistance, hyperandrogenism, dyslipidemia, overall cardiovascular health, quality of life, psychological wellbeing, and general health outcomes. This study aims to identify and summarize the effects of metformin in patients with PCOS-associated acne. This systematic review was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

Cannabis Use and the Development of Depression in Adolescents: Is There an Established Linear Relationship Between the Two?

The period of adolescence is a stage during which individuals experience several physical and psychological changes which increase their vulnerabilities to environmental influences. Cannabis exposure is one environmental factor that may put their health at risk. Various research agree that a connection exists between the onset of depression and cannabis use.

Teaching and Learning in a Time of Corona: A Social Work Experience.

Preliminary results of a qualitative study of the lived experience of teaching and learning during the Covid-19 pandemic are presented. An instructor, a program director and five doctoral students in different stages of their coursework and dissertation proposal development, wrote a reflective journal. Participants varied in their levels of familiarity with technology-assisted education, personal backgrounds and circumstances including work and family responsibilities.

Exploring predictors of HIV-1 virologic failure to long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine: a multivariable analysis.

Objective: Efficacy and safety of long-acting cabotegravir (CAB) and rilpivirine (RPV) dosed intramuscularly every 4 or 8 weeks has been demonstrated in three Phase 3 trials. Here, factors associated with virologic failure at Week 48 were evaluated post hoc.

Design And Methods: Data from 1039 adults naive to long-acting CAB+RPV were pooled in a multivariable analysis to examine the influence of baseline viral and participant factors, dosing regimen and drug concentrations on confirmed virologic failure (CVF) occurrence using a logistic regression model.

The gut mycobiome of healthy mice is shaped by the environment and correlates with metabolic outcomes in response to diet.

As an active interface between the host and their diet, the gut microbiota influences host metabolic adaptation; however, the contributions of fungi have been overlooked. Here, we investigate whether variations in gut mycobiome abundance and composition correlate with key features of host metabolism. We obtained animals from four commercial sources in parallel to test if differing starting mycobiomes can shape host adaptation in response to processed diets.

Soil Microbial Networks Shift Across a High-Elevation Successional Gradient.

While it is well established that microbial composition and diversity shift along environmental gradients, how interactions among microbes change is poorly understood. Here, we tested how community structure and species interactions among diverse groups of soil microbes (bacteria, fungi, non-fungal eukaryotes) change across a fundamental ecological gradient, succession. Our study system is a high-elevation alpine ecosystem that exhibits variability in successional stage due to topography and harsh environmental conditions.

Perinatal maternal antibiotic exposure augments lung injury in offspring in experimental bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

During the newborn period, intestinal commensal bacteria influence pulmonary mucosal immunology via the gut-lung axis. Epidemiological studies have linked perinatal antibiotic exposure in human newborns to an increased risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia, but whether this effect is mediated by the gut-lung axis is unknown. To explore antibiotic disruption of the newborn gut-lung axis, we studied how perinatal maternal antibiotic exposure influenced lung injury in a hyperoxia-based mouse model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Rainfall variability maintains grass-forb species coexistence.

Environmental variability can structure species coexistence by enhancing niche partitioning. Modern coexistence theory highlights two fluctuation-dependent temporal coexistence mechanisms -the storage effect and relative nonlinearity - but empirical tests are rare. Here, we experimentally test if environmental fluctuations enhance coexistence in a California annual grassland.

Plant diversity and density predict belowground diversity and function in an early successional alpine ecosystem.

Despite decades of interest, few studies have provided evidence supporting theoretical expectations for coupled relationships between aboveground and belowground diversity and ecosystem functioning in non-manipulated natural ecosystems. We characterized plant species richness and density, soil bacterial, fungal and eukaryotic species richness and phylogenetic diversity (using 16S, ITS, and 18S gene sequencing), and ecosystem function (levels of soil C and N, and rates of microbial enzyme activities) along a natural gradient in plant richness and density in high-elevation, C-deficient soils to examine the coupling between above- and belowground systems. Overall, we observed a strong positive relationship between aboveground (plant richness and density) and belowground (bacteria, fungi, and non-fungal eukaryotes) richness.

Small molecule inhibition of RAS/MAPK signaling ameliorates developmental pathologies of Kabuki Syndrome.

Kabuki Syndrome (KS) is a rare disorder characterized by distinctive facial features, short stature, skeletal abnormalities, and neurodevelopmental deficits. Previously, we showed that loss of function of RAP1A, a RAF1 regulator, can activate the RAS/MAPK pathway and cause KS, an observation recapitulated in other genetic models of the disorder. These data suggested that suppression of this signaling cascade might be of therapeutic benefit for some features of KS.

Using a Mock Trial Method to Enhance Effectiveness of Teaching Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing.

Traditional teaching methodologies may deter adult learning because of passive the exchange of knowledge. Teaching to the "evidence" substantiating best practice requires a systematic approach to transfer knowledge into clinical inquiry. A mock trial simulated role-play activity was selected to show the value of learning through active engagement.

Peritoneal-pericardial communication in an adolescent on peritoneal dialysis.

Background: Dialysate leakage into the pericardium is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication of peritoneal dialysis (PD). There has been one reported pediatric case of spontaneous peritoneo-pericardial fistula in a 2-year-old boy with tissue fragility due to malnutrition and two reported adult cases in PD patients with a history of previous cardiac surgery and/or pericardiocentesis.

Case-diagnosis/treatment: We describe a 15-year-old girl with end-stage renal disease secondary to granulomatosis with polyangiitis, with recurrent pericardial effusions secondary to a peritoneo-pericardial fistula while on continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis (CCPD).

Hepcidin and risk of anemia in CKD: a cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis in the CKiD cohort.

Background: Hepcidin, a key iron regulatory protein, is elevated in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Its role in the development and progression of the anemia of CKD in children remains poorly defined.

Methods: Cross-sectional and longitudinal study in children aged 1-16 years with stage 2-4 CKD in the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) cohort (n = 133) with hepcidin measured at baseline and hemoglobin (HGB) measured annually at follow-up.

Laminar, cellular, transverse, and multiheaded pulsating detonations in condensed phase energetic materials from molecular dynamics simulations.

The development of condensed-phase detonation instabilities is simulated using moving window molecular dynamics and a generic AB model of a high explosive. It is found that an initially planar detonation front with one-dimensional flow can become unstable through development of transverse perturbations resulting in highly inhomogeneous and complex two- and three-dimensional distributions of pressure and other variables within the detonation front. Chemical reactions are initiated in localized transverse shock fronts and Mach stems with a pressure and temperature higher than those predicted by classic Zel'dovich, von Neumann, and Doering detonation theory.

Standard-dose versus high-dose acyclovir in children treated empirically for encephalitis: a retrospective cohort study of its use and safety.

Background: Intravenous acyclovir is the treatment of choice for herpes simplex virus encephalitis. In 2006, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its dosing recommendations for children aged 3 months to 12 years to receive high-dose acyclovir (60 mg/kg/day). The association between acyclovir dose and toxicity is unclear.

Canadian Society of Nephrology commentary on the 2012 KDIGO Clinical Practice Guideline for Anemia in CKD.

The KDIGO (Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes) 2012 clinical practice guideline for anemia management in patients with chronic kidney disease provides the structural and evidence base for the Canadian Society of Nephrology commentary on this guideline's relevancy and application to the Canadian health care system. While in general agreement, we provide commentary on 11 of the 61 KDIGO guideline statements. Specifically, we agreed that a therapeutic trial of iron is appropriate in cases in which a reduction in erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) dosage or avoidance of ESA and transfusion is desired, transferrin saturations are >30%, and ferritin concentrations are >500 μg/L.

Echo-Doppler assessment of the biophysical properties of the aorta in children with chronic kidney disease.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is known to cause increased arterial stiffness, which is an important independent risk factor for adverse cardiovascular events. The purpose of this study was to assess the vascular properties of the aorta (AO) in a group of children with CKD using a noninvasive echocardiography (echo)-Doppler method. We studied 24 children with stages 2 through 5 CKD and 48 age-matched controls.

Confinement, transport gap, and valley polarization in graphene from two parallel decorated line defects.

Quantum transport calculations show that a transport gap approximately E(g) = 2ħv(F)/W can be engineered in graphene using two parallel transport barriers, separated by W, extended along the zigzag direction. The barriers, modeled by chemically decorated observed line defects, create confinement and resonance bands tracing the bands in zigzag nanoribbons. The resonance bands terminate at the dimensional crossover, where the states become boundary-localized, leaving the transport gap.

Evolution of shock-induced orientation-dependent metastable states in crystalline aluminum.

The evolution of orientation-dependent metastable states during shock-induced solid-liquid phase transitions in crystalline Al is followed using moving window molecular dynamics simulations. The orientation-dependent transition pathways towards an orientation-independent final state Hugoniot include both "cold melting" followed by recrystallization in [110]- and [111]-oriented shock waves and crystal overheating followed by melting in [100] shock waves. The orientation-dependent dynamics take place within a zone that can extend up to hundreds of nanometers behind the shock front.

Carotid intima-media thickness in children with CKD: results from the CKiD study.

Background And Objectives: In adults, increased carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) as assessed by ultrasonography is a valid predictor of cardiovascular events. Children with CKD are known to be at increased cardiovascular risk. This study sought to identify cardiovascular risk factors associated with increased cIMT in children with CKD.