Omega-3 and Risk of atrial fibrillation: Vagally-mediated double-edged sword.

Objective: Studies regarding effects of omega-3 fatty acids, specifically eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), on risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) have reported discordant results. The aim of this review is to clarify effects of marine omega-3 intake on risk of AF.

Patients And Methods: A PubMed search was performed using terms: atrial fibrillation, omega-3, EPA, DHA, vagal tone.

Screening canine sources for novel antimicrobials reveals the circular broad-spectrum bacteriocin, caledonicin, produced by .

Introduction: Antimicrobial-resistant pathogens present an ongoing threat to human and animal health, with deaths linked to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) predicted to increase annually. While the misuse and overuse of antibiotics in humans undoubtedly contribute to this escalation, antibiotic use in the veterinary field, including companion animals, also plays a contributing role. Pet owners' desire to improve the quality of life of their pets is likely to support antibiotic use in this field.

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) in an Atypical Patient Without Risk Factors and Prior Asymptomatic COVID-19 Infection.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a condition primarily seen in young women and is characterized by non-atherosclerotic arterial damage. It can occur with or without conventional risk factors for coronary heart disease and is often associated with chronic inflammatory conditions. Here, we present a unique instance of a 67-year-old woman without known risk factors who developed sudden onset chest pain in the setting of an asymptomatic coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) infection three weeks earlier.

Impact of a phage cocktail targeting and as members of a gut bacterial consortium and .

Escherichia coli and have been implicated as important players in human gut health that have been associated with the onset of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Bacteriophage (phage) therapy has been used for decades to target pathogens as an alternative to antibiotics, but the ability of phage to shape complex bacterial consortia in the lower gastrointestinal tract is not clearly understood. We administered a cocktail of six phages (either viable or heat-inactivated) targeting pro-inflammatory LF82 and OG1RF as members of a defined community in both a continuous fermenter and a murine colitis model.

A completely precious metal-free alkaline fuel cell with enhanced performance using a carbon-coated nickel anode.

SignificanceWe present a groundbreaking advance in completely nonprecious hydrogen fuel cell technologies achieving a record power density of 200 mW/cm with Ni@CN anode and Co-Mn cathode. The 2-nm CN coating weakens the O-binding energy, which effectively mitigates the undesirable surface oxidation during hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) polarization, leading to a stable fuel cell operation for Ni@CN over 100 h at 200 mA/cm, superior to a Ni nanoparticle counterpart. Ni@CNx exhibited a dramatically enhanced tolerance to CO relative to Pt/C, enabling the use of hydrogen gas with trace amounts of CO, critical for practical applications.

Electrocatalysis in Alkaline Media and Alkaline Membrane-Based Energy Technologies.

Hydrogen energy-based electrochemical energy conversion technologies offer the promise of enabling a transition of the global energy landscape from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Here, we present a comprehensive review of the fundamentals of electrocatalysis in alkaline media and applications in alkaline-based energy technologies, particularly alkaline fuel cells and water electrolyzers. Anion exchange (alkaline) membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) enable the use of nonprecious electrocatalysts for the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), relative to proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), which require Pt-based electrocatalysts.

A Case of High-Output Heart Failure.

A 55-year-old woman with a medical history of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) complicated by recurrent nosebleeds, severe blood loss anemia, hepatic arterial-venous malformation (AVM), pulmonary hypertension, and severe tricuspid regurgitation presented to the HHT specialty clinic with acute hypoxic respiratory failure (new 3-L O requirement), weight gain, and volume overload. She was directly admitted to the pulmonary hypertension unit of our hospital. She had two recent admissions for similar symptoms thought to be due to worsening pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The Advantages and Challenges of Using Endolysins in a Clinical Setting.

Antibiotic-resistant pathogens are increasingly more prevalent and problematic. Traditional antibiotics are no longer a viable option for dealing with these multidrug-resistant microbes and so new approaches are needed. Bacteriophage-derived proteins such as endolysins could offer one effective solution.

Tuberculosis Screening, Testing, and Treatment of US Health Care Personnel: ACOEM and NTCA Joint Task Force on Implementation of the 2019 MMWR Recommendations.

: On May 17, 2019, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Tuberculosis Controllers Association issued new Recommendations for Tuberculosis Screening, Testing, and Treatment of Health Care Personnel, United States, 2019, updating the health care personnel-related sections of the Guidelines for Preventing the Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Health-Care Settings, 2005. This companion document offers the collective effort and experience of occupational health, infectious disease, and public health experts from major academic and public health institutions across the United States and expands on each section of the 2019 recommendations to provide clarifications, explanations, and considerations that go beyond the 2019 recommendations to answer questions that may arise and to offer strategies for implementation.

Anisotropic Synthesis of Armchair Graphene Nanoribbon Arrays from Sub-5 nm Seeds at Variable Pitches on Germanium.

At widths below 10 nm, armchair graphene nanoribbons become semiconductors. One promising route to synthesize nanoribbons is chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of hydrocarbons on Ge(001), and synthesis from seeds reduces nanoribbon polydispersity. In this contribution, we advance the seed-initiated synthesis of nanoribbons and explore the impact of seed size and nanoribbon spacing on growth kinetics.

Alignment of semiconducting graphene nanoribbons on vicinal Ge(001).

Chemical vapor deposition of CH4 on Ge(001) can enable anisotropic growth of narrow, semiconducting graphene nanoribbons with predominately smooth armchair edges and high-performance charge transport properties. However, such nanoribbons are not aligned in one direction but instead grow perpendicularly, which is not optimal for integration into high-performance electronics. Here, it is demonstrated that vicinal Ge(001) substrates can be used to synthesize armchair nanoribbons, of which ∼90% are aligned within ±1.

Genomic Investigation of a Outbreak Involving Prison and Community Cases in Florida, United States.

We used whole-genome sequencing to investigate a tuberculosis outbreak involving U.S.-born persons in the prison system and both U.

Monocyte Function and Clinical Outcomes in Febrile and Afebrile Patients With Severe Sepsis.

Introduction: Absence of fever is associated with higher mortality in septic patients, but the reason for this is unknown. Immune dysfunction may be a potential link between failure to mount a fever and poor outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate monocyte function and clinical surrogates of immunity (i.

Antipyretic Therapy in Critically Ill Septic Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to examine the impact of antipyretic therapy on mortality in critically ill septic adults.

Data Sources: Literature searches were implemented in Ovid Medline, Embase, Scopus, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, NHS Economic Evaluation Database, and ClinicalTrials.gov through February 2016.

Comparison of monocyte human leukocyte antigen-DR expression and stimulated tumor necrosis factor alpha production as outcome predictors in severe sepsis: a prospective observational study.

Background: Identifying patients in the immunosuppressive phase of sepsis is essential for development of immunomodulatory therapies. Little data exists comparing the ability of the two most well-studied markers of sepsis-induced immunosuppression, human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR expression and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-ɑ) production, to predict mortality and morbidity. The purpose of this study was to compare HLA-DR expression and LPS-induced TNF-ɑ production as predictors of 28-day mortality and acquisition of secondary infections in adult septic patients.

Controlled delivery of antibodies from injectable hydrogels.

Therapeutic antibodies are currently used for the treatment of various diseases, but large doses delivered systemically are typically required. Localized controlled delivery techniques would afford major benefits such as decreasing side effects and required doses. Injectable biopolymer systems are an attractive solution due to their minimally invasive potential for controlled release in a localized area.

Assessing the utility of an online registry for patients monitoring their own warfarin therapy.

Aims: To evaluate the utility of an online self-report registry for patient self-monitoring and self-management (PSM) of warfarin therapy.

Methods: A prospective observational study of UK-based patients undertaking PSM and recording their international normalised ratio (INR) data via an online registry. Consenting participants recorded INR test dates, results and warfarin dosages using the online registry for a period of 12 months.

Possible role of the microbiome in the development of acute malnutrition and implications for food-based strategies to prevent and treat acute malnutrition.

A pattern of changes in the microbiome composition have been observed in the normal maturation of the human gut. Perturbations from this pattern have been described in malnourished humans and reproduced in animal models of severe malnutrition. Treatment and prevention of malnutrition in the future may be more effective if the interventions not only restore body composition, but the composition of the microbiome as well.

Extending supplementary feeding for children younger than 5 years with moderate acute malnutrition leads to lower relapse rates.

Objectives: Children with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) have a high rate of relapse and death in the year following recovery. In this pilot study, we evaluate the long-term benefits of an extended course of nutritional therapy for children with MAM.

Methods: Rural Malawian children 6 to 59 months old with MAM, defined as a weight-for-height z score (WHZ) between -2 and -3, were provided supplementary feeding for a fixed duration of 12 weeks.

Home-based therapy for severe acute malnutrition with ready-to-use food.

Severe acute malnutrition is a devastating condition afflicting under-5 children in many developing countries, but concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper examines the development of home-based lipid-nutrient therapeutic foods for the treatment of acute malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa and the adoption of these therapies as a standard of care for non-complicated cases of acute malnutrition. Several of the early key clinical and operational effectiveness trials are discussed as well as the adoption of home-based treatment as a standard operating procedure in regions where malnutrition is present.

Zinc or albendazole attenuates the progression of environmental enteropathy: a randomized controlled trial.

Background & Aims: Environmental enteropathy (EE) is a subclinical condition among children in the developing world, characterized by T-cell infiltration of the small-bowel mucosa and diffuse villous atrophy. EE leads to macronutrient and micronutrient malabsorption and stunting, with a resultant increased risk for infection and reduced cognitive development. We tested the hypothesis that zinc and albendazole treatments would reduce the severity of EE in rural African children.

An international longitudinal registry of patients with atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke (GARFIELD): the UK protocol.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an independent risk factor for stroke and a significant predictor of mortality. Evidence-based guidelines for stroke prevention in AF recommend antithrombotic therapy corresponding to the risk of stroke. In practice, many patients with AF do not receive the appropriate antithrombotic therapy and are left either unprotected or inadequately protected against stroke.

ExPeKT--Exploring prevention and knowledge of venous thromboembolism: a two-stage, mixed-method study protocol.

Introduction: There is little awareness of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the public arena. Most commonly known causes are-travellers' thrombosis and thrombosis associated with oral contraception, both frequently referred to in the media. However, VTE is a substantial healthcare problem, resulting in mortality, morbidity and economic cost.

Trial Protocol: a randomised controlled trial of extended anticoagulation treatment versus routine anticoagulation treatment for the prevention of recurrent VTE and post thrombotic syndrome in patients being treated for a first episode of unprovoked VTE (The ExACT Study).

Background: Venous thromboembolism comprising pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis is a common condition with an incidence of approximately 1 per 1,000 per annum causing both mortality and serious morbidity. The principal aim of treatment of a venous thromboembolism with heparin and warfarin is to prevent extension or recurrence of clot. However, the recurrence rate following a deep vein thrombosis remains approximately 10% per annum following treatment cessation irrespective of the duration of anticoagulation therapy.

The representation of health professionals on governing boards of health care organizations in New York City.

The Representation of Health Professionals on Governing Boards of Health Care Organizations in New York City. The heightened importance of processes and outcomes of care-including their impact on health care organizations' (HCOs) financial health-translate into greater accountability for clinical performance on the part of HCO leaders, including their boards, during an era of health care reform. Quality and safety of care are now fiduciary responsibilities of HCO board members.