"People Need to Know; We're Part of the Community. We're Here.": Examining Experiences of Sharing Demographic Information for a Community-Based Diabetes Prevention Program.

Background: Collecting demographic data is critical for identifying inequities in healthcare services and delivery. Inaccurate collection of demographic data can make developing equitable health interventions and improving reach of existing interventions difficult. This study aimed to (a) examine experiences in completing a community-based type 2 diabetes prevention program Small Steps for Big Changes (SSBC) demographic questionnaire (SSBC-DQ) among adults from equity-owed groups, and (b) assess recommendations for improvement to the questionnaire.

Internet use and health literacy among pediatric chronic kidney disease patients and their caregivers.

Background: Management of pediatric chronic kidney disease (CKD) is complex for affected youth and their families. Treatment requires a high level of family engagement to successfully manage medical appointments, inpatient hospital stays, and daily medication regimens. Health literacy has been identified as a possible contributor to health inequities and unsuccessful chronic disease management.

Total energy expenditure measured using doubly labeled water in adults with major chronic diseases: a systematic review.

Background: Energy requirement assessment is a cornerstone for nutrition practice. The extent to which total energy expenditure (TEE; indicator of energy requirements) has been measured in adults with chronic diseases has not been explored.

Objectives: This systematic review aimed to characterize evidence on TEE among individuals with chronic diseases and describe TEE across chronic diseases and in comparison to controls without a chronic disease.

Urodynamic insights: exploring the relationship between detrusor overactivity and pelvic organ prolapse in women with urge incontinence.

Purpose: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and overactive bladder (OAB) commonly affect the aging female population. We aimed to investigate the possible relationship between the two, as reflected by urodynamic studies.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on women who underwent urodynamic studies at a university-affiliated tertiary medical center from January 2018 to January 2021.

Patient- and caregiver-reported factors associated with school absenteeism in children with chronic kidney disease.

Background: Children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at risk for neurocognitive deficits while simultaneously being at risk for chronic school absenteeism (≥ 18 school days per school year). Chronic school absenteeism compounds the negative impacts of CKD on academic achievement. In this study, we examined patient- and caregiver-reported factors associated with school absenteeism in children with non-dialysis- or transplant-dependent CKD in order to help identify which factors could be modifiable and ultimately improve school attendance.

Cytosolic dsRNA improves neonatal innate immune responses to adjuvants in use in pediatric vaccines.

Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) of the innate immune system represent the critical front-line defense against pathogens, and new vaccine formulations target these PRR pathways to boost vaccine responses, through activation of cellular/Th1 immunity. The majority of pediatric vaccines contain aluminum (ALUM) or monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) as adjuvants to encourage immune activation. Evidence suggests that elements of the innate immune system, currently being targeted for vaccine adjuvanticity do not fully develop until puberty and it is likely that effective adjuvants for the neonatal and pediatric populations are being overlooked due to modeling of responses in adult systems.

The coiled-coil domain of Escherichia coli FtsLB is a structurally detuned element critical for modulating its activation in bacterial cell division.

The FtsLB complex is a key regulator of bacterial cell division, existing in either an off state or an on state, which supports the activation of septal peptidoglycan synthesis. In Escherichia coli, residues known to be critical for this activation are located in a region near the C-terminal end of the periplasmic coiled-coil domain of FtsLB, raising questions about the precise role of this conserved domain in the activation mechanism. Here, we investigate an unusual cluster of polar amino acids found within the core of the FtsLB coiled coil.

Maternal morbidity in placenta accreta spectrum following introduction of a multi-disciplinary service compared to standard care: an Irish perspective.

Aim: The purpose of this study is to compare maternal outcomes in patients with placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) when managed as part of a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) compared to standard care.

Methods: Patients in the standard care group were retrospectively identified from pathology records, with patients in the MDT group prospectively collected on an electronic database. Data on maternal demographics, delivery, estimated blood loss (EBL), transfusion requirements, and morbidity were recorded.

Do you pay to go private?: a single centre comparison of induction of labour and caesarean section rates in private versus public patients.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare rates of induction and subsequent caesarean delivery among nulliparous women with private versus publicly funded health care at a single institution. This is a retrospective cohort study using the electronic booking and delivery records of nulliparous women with singleton pregnancies who delivered between 2010 and 2015 in an Irish Tertiary Maternity Hospital (approx. 9000 deliveries per annum).

The FtsLB subcomplex of the bacterial divisome is a tetramer with an uninterrupted FtsL helix linking the transmembrane and periplasmic regions.

In , FtsLB plays a central role in the initiation of cell division, possibly transducing a signal that will eventually lead to the activation of peptidoglycan remodeling at the forming septum. The molecular mechanisms by which FtsLB operates in the divisome, however, are not understood. Here, we present a structural analysis of the FtsLB complex, performed with biophysical, computational, and methods, that establishes the organization of the transmembrane region and proximal coiled coil of the complex.

Female genital mutilation management in the ambulatory clinic setting: a case study and review of the literature.

A 31-year-old patient with obstructive voiding symptoms and apareunia in the setting of Type III female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is presented. The patient underwent ambulatory clinic defibulation to relieve her symptoms. FGM has been shown to have serious immediate complications and many chronic complications that greatly impact patients' lives.

Approach-Avoidance Attitudes Associated with Initial Therapy Appointment Attendance: A Prospective Study.

Background: Initial therapy appointments have high nonattendance rates yet the reasons remain poorly understood.

Aims: This study aimed to identify positive and negative attitudes towards therapy that predicted initial attendance, informed by a perceptual control theory account of approach-avoidance conflicts in help-seeking.

Method: A prospective study was conducted within a low intensity CBT service using first appointment attendance (n = 96) as an outcome.

Process model comparison and transferability across bioreactor scales and modes of operation for a mammalian cell bioprocess.

A Monod kinetic model, logistic equation model, and statistical regression model were developed for a Chinese hamster ovary cell bioprocess operated under three different modes of operation (batch, bolus fed-batch, and continuous fed-batch) and grown on two different bioreactor scales (3 L bench-top and 15 L pilot-scale). The Monod kinetic model was developed for all modes of operation under study and predicted cell density, glucose glutamine, lactate, and ammonia concentrations well for the bioprocess. However, it was computationally demanding due to the large number of parameters necessary to produce a good model fit.

Pilot study of an investigation of psychological factors associated with first appointment nonattendance in a low-intensity service.

Background: Nonattendance rates remain high for first therapy appointments, despite initiatives to increase access to psychological therapy. The reasons for nonattendance are poorly understood and studies of demographic and clinical predictors have produced conflicting findings.

Aims: We aimed to pilot a method for investigating psychological factors associated with first appointment attendance in a primary care mental health service.

Is there a nitrergic modulation of the rat external anal sphincter?

Nitric oxide is known to relax the internal anal sphincter, but its effect on the external anal sphincter (EAS) is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a nitrergic nerve plexus that modulates the EAS, similar to that found in oesophageal striated muscle. An in vitro ring preparation of rat anal canal was used to evaluate the effects of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N(ω)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) and the NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) on the EAS in conditions of neuromuscular blockade and the effect of SNP on nerve-evoked contractions.

In situ Raman spectroscopy for simultaneous monitoring of multiple process parameters in mammalian cell culture bioreactors.

In this study, the application of Raman spectroscopy to the simultaneous quantitative determination of glucose, glutamine, lactate, ammonia, glutamate, total cell density (TCD), and viable cell density (VCD) in a CHO fed-batch process was demonstrated in situ in 3 L and 15 L bioreactors. Spectral preprocessing and partial least squares (PLS) regression were used to correlate spectral data with off-line reference data. Separate PLS calibration models were developed for each analyte at the 3 L laboratory bioreactor scale before assessing its transferability to the same bioprocess conducted at the 15 L pilot scale.

Discovery of a gene involved in a third bacterial protoporphyrinogen oxidase activity through comparative genomic analysis and functional complementation.

Tetrapyrroles are ubiquitous molecules in nearly all living organisms. Heme, an iron-containing tetrapyrrole, is widely distributed in nature, including most characterized aerobic and facultative bacteria. A large majority of bacteria that contain heme possess the ability to synthesize it.