Use of Practices to Reduce of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death among Caregivers of Opioid Exposed Newborns.

Objectives: Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) occurs disproportionately among opioid exposed newborns (OENs) compared to those unexposed. The extent that primary caregivers of OENs adhere to SUID-reducing infant care practices is unknown. We examined rates of SUID-reducing practices (smoking cessation, breastfeeding, and safe sleep [supine sleep, room-sharing not bed-sharing, nonuse of soft bedding or objects]) in a pilot sample of caregivers of OENs.

Phytocytokine StPep1-Secreting Bacteria Suppress Potato Powdery Scab Disease.

Powdery scab is an important potato disease caused by the soilborne pathogen f. sp. .

Motor skill competence and moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity: a linear and non-linear cross-sectional analysis of eight pooled trials.

Background: Few studies have examined the relationship between motor skill competence and device-measured physical activity in large samples and none have used non-linear modelling. This study assessed the linear and non-linear associations between motor skill competence and physical activity in children using pooled data from eight studies.

Methods: Cross-sectional ActiGraph accelerometer and motor skills competence data from 988 children (50.

Evaluation of a pharmacist-provider collaborative clinic for treatment of iron deficiency in patients with heart failure.

Purpose: Intravenous iron therapy is recommended to improve symptoms and exercise tolerance in patients with heart failure (HF) with -reduced ejection fraction and iron deficiency (ID), but there are limited published data on the implementation of intravenous iron therapy in practice. A pharmacist-provider collaborative ID treatment clinic was established within an advanced HF and pulmonary hypertension service to optimize IV iron therapy. The objective was to evaluate the clinical impacts of the pharmacist-provider collaborative ID treatment clinic.

Drivers of decision-making regarding infant sleep practices among mothers with opioid use disorder.

Objective: To understand the perspectives and perceived facilitators of and barriers to following safe infant sleeping practices among mothers with opioid use disorder (OUD).

Study Design: Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework, we conducted qualitative interviews with mothers with OUD regarding infant sleep practices. We created codes and generated themes, concluding data collection upon achieving thematic saturation.

Understanding cigarette smoking among mothers with opioid use disorder.

Background: Cigarette smoking is highly prevalent among mothers with opioid use disorder (OUD). Organizations such as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommend cessation of cigarettes during the pre- and postnatal periods. Factors that inform decisions to continue or stop smoking cigarettes among pregnant and postpartum mothers with OUD are unclear.

Breastfeeding Decision-Making Among Mothers with Opioid Use Disorder: A Qualitative Study.

Factors that contribute to low initiation and continuation of breastfeeding among mothers with opioid use disorder (OUD) are poorly understood. To understand barriers and facilitators to breastfeeding initiation and continuation beyond the birth hospitalization for mothers with OUD. We conducted 23 in-depth, semistructured interviews with mothers with OUD who cared for their infants at home 1-7 months after birth.

Racism and Quality of Neonatal Intensive Care: Voices of Black Mothers.

Background And Objectives: Black preterm infants are more likely to die than White preterm infants within the same NICU. Racism may lead to disparate quality of NICU care contributing to disparities in preterm infant health outcomes. The objective of our study was to understand Black mothers' perspectives of the impact of racism on the quality of care for Black preterm infants in the NICU and what might be done to address it.

Sacubitril/Valsartan Off-Label Uses for Heart Failure.

Sacubitril/valsartan is an angiotensin receptor/neprilysin inhibitor that the Food and Drug Administration has indicated to reduce the risk of cardiovascular hospitalization and death in patients with left ventricular ejection fraction below normal and with no specified ejection-fraction cut-off. However, clinically significant patient groups were excluded or minimally represented in sacubitril/valsartan's pivotal clinical trials. Clinicians often encounter scenarios in which a sacubitril/valsartan off-label use may be beneficial, but limited resources are available to evaluate the efficacy and safety in these patients.

Economic Impact of Ambulatory Clinical Pharmacists in an Advanced Heart Failure Clinic.

Background: Clinical pharmacists play pivotal roles in multidisciplinary heart failure (HF) teams through the management of HF pharmacotherapy, but no study has examined the economic impact of HF ambulatory clinical pharmacists in an advanced HF clinic.

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the economic impact of HF ambulatory clinical pharmacist interventions in an advanced HF clinic using a cost-benefit analysis.

Methods: This prospective observational study detailed HF ambulatory clinical pharmacist interventions over 6 months in an advanced HF clinic in a single-center tertiary teaching hospital.

Lived experiences of stress of Black and Hispanic mothers during hospitalization of preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units.

Objective: To characterize the lived experiences of stress associated with having a preterm infant hospitalized in the NICU among Black and Hispanic mothers.

Methods: We performed a qualitative content analysis of secondary data from two prior studies that included 39 in-depth interviews with Black and Hispanic mothers of preterm infants at 3 U.S.

The Severity of Pectus Excavatum Defect Is Associated With Impaired Cardiopulmonary Function.

Background: Repair of pectus excavatum has cosmetic benefits, but the physiologic impact remains controversial. The aim of this study was to characterize the relationship between the degree of pectus excavatum and cardiopulmonary dysfunction seen on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), and pulmonary function testing (PFT).

Methods: A single-center analysis of CMR, CPET, and PFT was conducted.

Perspectives about Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure from Mothers of Premature Infants.

Objective: The study aimed to better understand the perceptions of mothers of preterm infants regarding smoking behaviors and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure using qualitative methodology.

Study Design: Using a Grounded Theory approach, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with mothers of preterm infants, both smokers and nonsmokers. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a conceptual framework for our questions, we conducted and analyzed interviews until theoretical saturation was reached.

Understanding the barriers and facilitators to safe infant sleep for mothers of preterm infants.

Objective: To identify barriers and facilitators to adherence to safe sleep practices (SSP) among mothers of preterm infants using qualitative methodology.

Design: We conducted 23 in-depth interviews in English or Spanish with mothers of preterm infants who were recently discharged from four hospitals, utilizing a grounded-theory approach and framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (attitudes, perceived control, social norms).

Results: For attitudes, mothers' fear about their infants' vulnerable preterm state related to suffocation, apnea of prematurity, and reflux influenced infant sleep practices.

Use of the Theory of Planned Behavior Framework to Understand Breastfeeding Decision-Making Among Mothers of Preterm Infants.

Mothers of preterm infants face significant challenges to breastfeeding. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) is a well-known framework comprising three domains (attitudes, perceived control, and social norms), which has been used to conceptualize the array of factors that influence health-related behaviors and develop interventions to promote behaviors. We used the TPB framework to determine the array of factors that contribute to breastfeeding among mothers of preterm infants.

Persistence Dynamics of Antimicrobial-Resistant in the Pharynx of Rhesus Macaques.

Pharyngeal infections by are often asymptomatic, making them difficult to treat. However, animal modeling of human pharyngeal infections by pathogenic species is challenging due to numerous host tropism barriers. We have relied on rhesus macaques to investigate pharyngeal persistence of naturally occurring species in response to antibiotics.

Two Distinct Myeloid Subsets at the Term Human Fetal-Maternal Interface.

During pregnancy, immune cells infiltrate the placenta at different stages of fetal development. NK cells and macrophages are the most predominant cell types. These immune cells play pleiotropic roles, as they control spiral artery remodeling to ensure appropriate blood supply and maintain long-term tolerance to a true allograft; yet, they must be able to mount appropriate immune defenses to pathogens that may threaten the fetus.

Calcitriol regulates immune genes and to modulate LPS responses in human trophoblasts.

We assessed the response of primary cultures of placental villous mononucleated trophoblasts and multinucleated syncytiotrophoblast to calcitriol, the most biologically active form of vitamin D. Whole-genome microarray data showed that calcitriol modulates the expression of many genes in trophoblasts within 6 hours of exposure and RT-qPCR revealed similar responses in cytotrophoblasts, syncytiotrophoblasts and villous explants. Both cytotrophoblasts and syncytiotrophoblasts expressed genes for the vitamin D receptor, for LRP2 and CUBN that mediate internalization of calcidiol, for that encodes the enzyme that converts calcidiol into active calcitriol, and for that encodes the enzyme that modifies calcitriol and calcidiol to inactive calcitetrol.

The conformational epitope for a new Aβ42 protofibril-selective antibody partially overlaps with the peptide N-terminal region.

Aggregation and accumulation of amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) is a key component of Alzheimer's disease (AD). While monomeric Aβ appears to be benign, oligomers adopt a biologically detrimental structure. These soluble structures can be detected in AD brain tissue by antibodies that demonstrate selectivity for aggregated Aβ.

Oleate attenuates palmitate-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis in placental trophoblasts.

Pre-pregnancy obesity is increasingly common and predisposes pregnant women and offspring to gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, fetal growth abnormalities and stillbirth. Obese women exhibit elevated levels of the two most common dietary fatty acids, palmitate and oleate, and the maternal blood containing these nutrients bathes the surface of trophoblasts of placental villi in vivo We test the hypothesis that the composition and concentration of free fatty acids modulate viability and function of primary human villous trophoblasts in culture. We found that palmitate increases syncytiotrophoblast death, specifically by caspase-mediated apoptosis, whereas oleate does not cause enhanced cell death.

Aβ40 has a subtle effect on Aβ42 protofibril formation, but to a lesser degree than Aβ42 concentration, in Aβ42/Aβ40 mixtures.

Recent findings suggest that the senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease may contain soluble amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) fibril precursors along with insoluble fibrils. These soluble Aβ species, including oligomers and protofibrils, have been well-studied in vitro and are formed via non-covalent self-assembly of Aβ monomers. While both 40- and 42-residue forms of Aβ are observed in the human body, the majority of the Aβ aggregation work has been conducted on Aβ42 or Aβ40 separately, with relatively few investigations of mixtures.

Improving haemophilia patient care through sharing best practice.

At the 2014 Annual Congress of the European Haemophilia Consortium (EHC) held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Pfizer initiated and funded a satellite symposium entitled: 'Improving Patient Care Through Sharing Best Practice'. Co-chaired by Brian Colvin (Pfizer Global Innovative Pharma Business, Rome, Italy) and Brian O'Mahony [President of the EHC, Brussels, Belgium], the symposium provided an opportunity to consider patient care across borders, to review how patient advocacy groups can successfully engage with policymakers in healthcare decision-making and to discuss the importance of patient involvement in data collection to help shape the future environment for people with haemophilia. Professor Philippe de Moerloose (University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine of Geneva, Switzerland) opened the session by discussing the gap between the haemophilia management guidelines and the reality of care for many patients living in Europe, highlighting the importance of sharing of best practice and building a network of treaters and patient organisations to support the improvement of care across Europe.

Biophysical comparison of soluble amyloid-β(1-42) protofibrils, oligomers, and protofilaments.

Some of the pathological hallmarks of the Alzheimer's disease brain are senile plaques composed of insoluble amyloid-β protein (Aβ) fibrils. However, much of the recent emphasis in research has been on soluble Aβ aggregates in response to a growing body of evidence that shows that these species may be more neurotoxic than fibrils. Within this subset of soluble aggregated Aβ are protofibrils and oligomers.

Introducing a multimedia course to enhance health professionals' skills to facilitate communities of practice.

Purpose: Scholarship about communities of practice (COP) is uncovering evidence that interactivity between community members contributes to improvement in practice. Leadership and facilitation are crucial elements of successful COP implementation. The purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative COP facilitator's course and report on the experiences of participants in the first course.

Pfizer-sponsored satellite symposium at the European Haemophilia Consortium (EHC) congress. Understanding health outcomes: focus on haemophilia.

At the 25th Annual European Haemophilia Consortium (EHC) Congress held in Prague, Czech Republic, in October 2012, Pfizer sponsored a satellite symposium entitled: 'Understanding Health Outcomes: Focus on Haemophilia'. Co-chaired by Brian O'Mahony (President of the EHC) and Brian Colvin (Director Medical and Scientific Affairs Haemophilia, Pfizer, Europe), the symposium examined the role of outcomes in haemophilia care in an age of evidence-based medicine. The current global economic recession has inevitably directed the spotlight of governments and health economists towards the cost of healthcare.