Analgesic regimens administered to older adults receiving skilled nursing facility care following hip fracture: a proof-of-concept federated analysis.

Background: Although a majority of patients in the U.S. receive post-acute care in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) following hip fracture, large-sample observational studies of analgesic prescribing and use in SNFs have not been possible due to limitations in available data sources.

Differences in opioid prescriptions by race among U.S. older adults with a hip fracture transitioning to community care.

Background: Appropriate pain management can facilitate rehabilitation after a hip fracture as patients transition back to the community setting. Differences in opioid prescribing by race may exist during this critical transition period.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of older adult U.

Cholinesterase Inhibitor Initiation Does Not Increase the Risk of Fall-Related Injury in Older Adults Treated With Beta-Blockers: A Self-Controlled Case Series Design.

Background: Prescribing cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) concurrently with beta-blockers might cause syncope that increases the risk of fall-related injuries (FRIs). This self-controlled case series study assesses the risk of FRIs associated with initiating ChEIs while receiving beta-blockers among Medicare fee-for-service-insured nursing home (NH) residents in the United States.

Methods: We identified individuals at their first dispensing of a beta-blocker between 2016 and 2019 after at least 45 days of long-stay NH residency.

Evaluation of post-acute care and one-year outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries with hip fractures: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Post-acute care (PAC) services after hospitalization for hip fracture are typically provided in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), or at home via home health care (HHC). Little is known about the clinical course following PAC for hip fracture. We examined the nationwide burden of adverse outcomes by PAC setting in the year following discharge from PAC for hip fracture.

Building referral mechanisms for neonatal care in humanitarian emergency settings: A systematic review.

Aim: During humanitarian emergencies, women and children are particularly vulnerable to health complications and neonatal mortality rates have been shown to rise. Additionally, health cluster partners face challenges in coordinating referrals, both between communities and camps to health facilities and across different levels of health facilities. The purpose of this review was to identify the primary referral needs of neonates during humanitarian emergencies, current gaps and barriers, and effective mechanisms for overcoming these barriers.

Post-Acute Care Setting After Hip Fracture Hospitalization and Subsequent Opioid Use in Older Adults.

Objective: Pain management in post-acute care (PAC) requires careful balance, with both opioid use and inadequate pain treatment linked to poor outcomes. We describe opioid use among older adults following discharge from PAC for hip fracture in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs).

Design: Retrospective cohort.

Long-Term Care Pharmacy Market Shares and Differences in Skilled Nursing Facilities Served.

Medications and pharmacy services are critical to post-acute care (PAC) in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), yet little is known about the long-term care (LTC) pharmacies that provide them. We estimated the market shares of LTC pharmacies and how SNFs differed between pharmacies. This cross-sectional study used data from SNFs that provided PAC services in Rhode Island (RI) in 2019.

What are the determinants of childhood infections in India's peri-urban slums? A case study of eight cities.

Background: Respiratory Tract Infections (RTIs) and Gastro-Intestinal (GI) infections are the leading causes of child mortality and morbidity. This study investigates the associations between the individual, household and slum-level determinants of children's health and vulnerability to RTIs and GI infections in peri-urban slums in India; an area of research interest at the Childhood Infections and Pollution Consortium.

Methods: The 2015-16 Indian National Family Health Survey was used for data analysis on children aged 0-5 years.

'Birthing a Better Future': A mixed-methods evaluation of an exhibition on the early years of life.

Background: Our study aimed to evaluate to what extent Zero2 Expo's 'Birthing a Better Future', a co-created multimedia exhibition, was effective in raising awareness on the importance of the first 1001 days of life and explore what refinements would help to optimize the impact of future exhibitions.

Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods evaluation of the exhibition delivered in the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. Through convenience sampling, 14 participants were selected to participate in 12 structured interviews and 19 participants completed a questionnaire.

The identification of established modifiable mid-life risk factors for cardiovascular disease which contribute to cognitive decline: Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA).

Introduction: We explored how different chronic diseases, risk factors, and protective factors highly associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are associated with dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in Korean elders, with a focus on those that manifest in mid-life.

Methods: A CVD-free cohort (n = 4289) from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging was selected to perform Cox mixed-effects proportional hazard regressions. Eighteen control variables with strong associations to CVD were chosen as explanatory variables, and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score cut-off for dementia and MCI were used as outcome variables.

Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and cancer prognosis: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies.

Background: Although neutrophils have been linked to the progression of cancer, uncertainty exists around their association with cancer outcomes, depending on the site, outcome and treatments considered. We aimed to evaluate the strength and validity of evidence on the association between either the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) or tumour-associated neutrophils (TAN) and cancer prognosis.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from inception to 29 May 2020 for systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies on neutrophil counts (here NLR or TAN) and specific cancer outcomes related to disease progression or survival.

Effect of antibiotics in preventing hospitalizations from respiratory tract infections in children with Down syndrome.

Background: Children with Down syndrome (DS) are at high risk of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) due to anatomical variations, comorbidities, and immune system immaturity. Evidence on interventions to reduce this risk is incomplete. This study aims to quantify the effect of antibiotics prescribed for RTIs in primary care on the subsequent risk of RTI-related hospitalization for children with DS versus controls.

Exploring perceptions of consanguineous unions with women from an East London community: analysis of discussion groups.

Consanguineous unions are relationships between blood relatives. This study explores the perceptions of consanguineous unions and risk of childhood disability and illness through the reported views and experiences of women in an ethnically diverse London community. This qualitative study utilised group discussions to elicit women's views and experiences.

Importance of vitamin D in acute and critically ill children with subgroup analyses of sepsis and respiratory tract infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) deficiency and investigate its association with mortality in children with acute or critical conditions.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Data Sources: PubMed, OVID, Google Scholar and the Cochrane Library searched until 21 December 2018.

Investigating hydrophobic ligand-receptor interactions in parathyroid hormone receptor using peptide probes.

With an increasing number of new chemical entities entering clinical studies, and an increasing share of the market, peptides and peptidomimetics constitute one of the most promising classes of therapeutics. The success of synthetic peptides as therapeutics relies on the lead optimization step in which the lead candidates are modified to improve drug-like properties of peptides related to potency, pharmacokinetics, solubility, and stability, among others. Peptidomimetics based on the N-terminal stretch of the first 11 amino acids of the PTH have been investigated as potential lead compounds for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and PTH-related peptide domains contributing to activation of different PTH receptor-mediated signaling pathways.

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP), acting through the osteoblast PTH1 receptor (PTH1R), play important roles in bone remodeling. Intermittent administration of PTH(1-34) (teriparatide) leads to bone formation, whereas continuous administration paradoxically leads to bone resorption. Activation of PTH1R promotes regulation of multiple signaling pathways, including G(s)/cAMP/protein kinase A, G(q)/calcium/protein kinase C, β-arrestin recruitment, and extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK)1/2 phosphorylation, as well as receptor internalization, but their role in promoting anabolic and catabolic actions of PTH(1-34) are unclear.

Salivary gland thrombostasin isoforms differentially regulate blood uptake of horn flies fed on control- and thrombostasin-vaccinated cattle.

Thrombostasin (TS) is an anticlotting protein found in saliva of Haematobia irritans (horn flies). The polymorphic nature of the ts gene was first associated with success of horn flies blood feeding on a laboratory host, New Zealand White rabbits. In this study, we report results of similar studies testing blood uptake of horn flies feeding on a natural host, cattle.

Improving cost-effectiveness of epidemiological studies via designed missingness strategies.

Modern epidemiological studies face opportunities and challenges posed by an ever-expanding capacity to measure a wide range of environmental exposures, along with sophisticated biomarkers of exposure and response at the individual level. The challenge of deciding what to measure is further complicated for longitudinal studies, where logistical and cost constraints preclude the collection of all possible measurements on all participants at every follow-up time. This is true for the National Children's Study (NCS), a large-scale longitudinal study that will enroll women both prior to conception and during pregnancy and collect information on their environment, their pregnancies, and their children's development through early adulthood-with a goal of assessing key exposure/outcome relationships among a cohort of approximately 100 000 children.

Caenorhabditis is a metazoan host for Legionella.

We investigated whether nematodes contribute to the persistence, differentiation and amplification of Legionella species in soil, an emerging source for Legionnaires' disease. Here we show that Legionella spp. colonize the intestinal tracts of Caenorhabditis nematodes leading to worm death.

Salivary gland thrombostasin isoforms differentially regulate blood uptake of horn flies fed on New Zealand White rabbits.

Thrombostasin (TS) is a previously characterized anticlotting protein with multiple isoforms found in the saliva of horn flies. In this report, the effect of TS isoforms on blood feeding was assessed using individual flies that carried corresponding ts allelles. Laboratory studies of horn fly blood feeding were conducted using colony-reared flies fed on New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits.

Chromosomal localization of two antihemostatic salivary factors in Simulium vittatum (Diptera: Simuliidae).

The chromosomal locations of two genes encoding the salivary protein products Simulidin (SVAT) and Simulium vittatum erythyma protein (SVEP) were identified using high-resolution cytogenetic mapping. Chromosomal subsection levels were determined from larval and adult salivary gland polytene chromosomes and adult Malphigian tubule chromosomes. Syntenic relationships occurred for both loci from a wild population of Simulium vittatum IIIL-1 collected in central Alabama and the colonized IS-7 S.

Short report: impact of ivermectin community-level treatments on elimination of adult Onchocerca volvulus when individuals receive multiple treatments per year.

A reanalysis of several published reports indicates that when community-wide biannual treatment disrupts transmission of new infection, a profound macrofilaricidal effect of ivermectin (Mectizan) occurs that is accelerated for individuals treated 4 times a year (4x/yr). The effect is particularly obvious on adult male worms and suggests that this gender is susceptible to repetitive treatment after transmission has been blocked or greatly reduced as a result of community treatment.

The effects of long-term community level treatment with ivermectin (Mectizan) on adult Onchocerca volvulus in Latin America.

The objective of this study was to examine nodules from Mexico, Guatemala, and Ecuador collected over a one-year period (2001) to determine the effects of semi-annual ivermectin treatments on Onchocerca volvulus macrofilarial populations. Nodules were sectioned, stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and histologic findings were compared between countries and with historical data prior to the introduction of ivermectin into the region. Nodules from Ecuador had 10 times more dead or moribund worms than the historical control (66.