Spatial ecology of in the human oral cavity.

Unlabelled: and are two of the most common bacterial genera in the human oral cavity, encompassing both commensals and pathogens of substantial ecological and medical significance. In this study, we conducted a metapangenomic analysis of oral and species to uncover genomic diversity, phylogenetic relationships, and habitat specialization within the human oral cavity. Using three metrics-pangenomic gene content, phylogenomics, and average nucleotide identity (ANI)-we first identified distinct species and sub-species groups among these genera.

μ-opioid receptor agonists and psychedelics: pharmacological opportunities and challenges.

Opioid misuse and opioid-involved overdose deaths are a massive public health problem involving the intertwined misuse of prescription opioids for pain management with the emergence of extremely potent fentanyl derivatives, sold as standalone products or adulterants in counterfeit prescription opioids or heroin. The incidence of repeated opioid overdose events indicates a problematic use pattern consistent with the development of the medical condition of opioid use disorder (). Prescription and illicit opioids reduce pain perception by activating µ-opioid receptors () localized to the central nervous system ().

Differential bumble bee gene expression associated with pathogen infection and pollen diet.

Background: Diet and parasitism can have powerful effects on host gene expression. However, how specific dietary components affect host gene expression that could feed back to affect parasitism is relatively unexplored in many wild species. Recently, it was discovered that consumption of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) pollen reduced severity of gut protozoan pathogen Crithidia bombi infection in Bombus impatiens bumble bees.

Comparative analysis of 3 pollen sterilization methods for feeding bumble bees.

Pollen is an essential component of bee diets, and rearing bumble bees (Bombus spp.) for commercial use necessitates feeding pollen in mass quantities. This pollen is collected from honey bee (Apis mellifera L.

Site Specialization of Human Oral Species.

species are abundant members of the human oral microbiome with multiple interspecies commensal relationships. Examining the distribution patterns of species across the oral cavity is fundamental to understanding their oral ecology. In this study, we used a combination of pangenomic analysis and oral metagenomic information to clarify taxonomy and to test the site specialist hypothesis for the genus, which contends that most oral bacterial species are adapted to live at specific oral sites.

Sunflower pollen reduces a gut pathogen in the model bee species, , but has weaker effects in three wild congeners.

Commercial bumblebees have become popular models to understand stressors and solutions for pollinator health, but few studies test whether results translate to other pollinators. Consuming sunflower pollen dramatically reduces infection by the gut parasite in commercially reared . We assessed the effect of sunflower pollen on infection in wild , and .

Eating driven by the gustatory insula: contrasting regulation by infralimbic vs. prelimbic cortices.

Subregions within insular cortex and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) have been implicated in eating disorders; however, the way these brain regions interact to produce dysfunctional eating is poorly understood. The present study explored how two mPFC subregions, the infralimbic (IL) and prelimbic (PRL) cortices, regulate sucrose hyperphagia elicited specifically by a neurochemical manipulation of the agranular/dysgranular region of gustatory insula (AI/DI). Using intra-AI/DI infusion of the mu-opioid receptor (µ-OR) agonist, DAMGO (1 µg), sucrose hyperphagia was generated in ad-libitum-maintained rats, while in the same rat, either the IL or prelimbic (PRL) subregion of mPFC was inactivated bilaterally with muscimol (30 ng).

Sunflower pollen induces rapid excretion in bumble bees: Implications for host-pathogen interactions.

Host diet can have a profound effect on host-pathogen interactions, including indirect effects on pathogens mediated through host physiology. In bumble bees (Bombus impatiens), the consumption of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) pollen dramatically reduces infection by the gut protozoan pathogen Crithidia bombi. One hypothesis for the medicinal effect of sunflower pollen is that consumption changes host gut physiological function, causing rapid excretion that flushes C.

Preoperative Computed Tomography Angiography Reveals Leaflet-Specific Calcification and Excursion Patterns in Aortic Stenosis.

Background: Computed tomography-based evaluation of aortic stenosis (AS) by calcium scoring does not consider interleaflet differences in leaflet characteristics. Here, we sought to examine the functional implications of these differences.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the computed tomography angiograms of 200 male patients with degenerative calcific AS undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement and 20 male patients with normal aortic valves.

Outcomes of Veterans Undergoing TAVR Within Veterans Affairs Medical Centers: Insights From the Veterans Affairs Clinical Assessment, Reporting, and Tracking Program.

Objectives: This study sought to describe clinical and procedural characteristics of veterans undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) within U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) centers and to examine their association with short- and long-term mortality, length of stay (LOS), and rehospitalization within 30 days.

A novel noninvasive method for remote heart failure monitoring: the EuleriAn video Magnification apPLications In heart Failure studY (AMPLIFY).

Current remote monitoring devices for heart failure have been shown to reduce hospitalizations but are invasive and costly; accurate non-invasive options remain limited. The EuleriAn Video Magnification ApPLications In Heart Failure StudY (AMPLIFY) pilot aimed to evaluate the accuracy of a novel noninvasive method that uses Eulerian video magnification. Video recordings were performed on the neck veins of 50 patients who were scheduled for right heart catheterization at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center.

Glucose metabolism controls disease-specific signatures of macrophage effector functions.

Background: In inflammatory blood vessel diseases, macrophages represent a key component of the vascular infiltrates and are responsible for tissue injury and wall remodeling.

Methods: To examine whether inflammatory macrophages in the vessel wall display a single distinctive effector program, we compared functional profiles in patients with either coronary artery disease (CAD) or giant cell arteritis (GCA).

Results: Unexpectedly, monocyte-derived macrophages from the 2 patient cohorts displayed disease-specific signatures and differed fundamentally in metabolic fitness.

Medicinal value of sunflower pollen against bee pathogens.

Global declines in pollinators, including bees, can have major consequences for ecosystem services. Bees are dominant pollinators, making it imperative to mitigate declines. Pathogens are strongly implicated in the decline of native and honey bees.

Modulation of appetitive motivation by prefrontal cortical mu-opioid receptors is dependent upon local dopamine D1 receptor signaling.

Opioid neurotransmission has been implicated in psychiatric disorders featuring impaired control over appetitive motivation, such as addiction and binge-eating disorder. We have previously shown that infusions of the μ-opioid receptor (μOR) agonist DAMGO into the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) induced hyperphagia, increased motor activity, and augmented sucrose-reinforced responding in the task progressive ratio (PR) task, which assesses the motivational value of an incentive. These effects were not reproduced by intra-PFC infusion of a variety of dopamine (DA) agonists and antagonists, suggesting that manipulation of intra-PFC DA systems alone is not sufficient to reproduce μOR-like effects.

Hypermetabolic macrophages in rheumatoid arthritis and coronary artery disease due to glycogen synthase kinase 3b inactivation.

Objectives: Accelerated atherosclerotic disease typically complicates rheumatoid arthritis (RA), leading to premature cardiovascular death. Inflammatory macrophages are key effector cells in both rheumatoid synovitis and the plaques of coronary artery disease (CAD). Whether both diseases share macrophage-dependent pathogenic mechanisms is unknown.

Pyruvate controls the checkpoint inhibitor PD-L1 and suppresses T cell immunity.

Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) are at high risk for reactivation of the varicella zoster virus (VZV) and development of herpes zoster (HZ). Here, we found that macrophages from patients with CAD actively suppress T cell activation and expansion, leading to defective VZV-specific T cell immunity. Monocyte-derived and plaque-infiltrating macrophages from patients with CAD spontaneously expressed high surface density of the immunoinhibitory ligand programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1), thereby providing negative signals to programmed death-1+ (PD-1+) T cells.

Use of parenteral antimicrobials in very small hospitals in inner Brazil: patterns, determinants, and opportunities for interventions in developing countries.

Much of healthcare in developing countries takes place in small hospitals. Little is known about the use of antimicrobials in those settings. We studied the 60-day use of parenteral antimicrobials in 48 hospitals with up to 50 beds in inner Brazil.

The glycolytic enzyme PKM2 bridges metabolic and inflammatory dysfunction in coronary artery disease.

Abnormal glucose metabolism and enhanced oxidative stress accelerate cardiovascular disease, a chronic inflammatory condition causing high morbidity and mortality. Here, we report that in monocytes and macrophages of patients with atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD), overutilization of glucose promotes excessive and prolonged production of the cytokines IL-6 and IL-1β, driving systemic and tissue inflammation. In patient-derived monocytes and macrophages, increased glucose uptake and glycolytic flux fuel the generation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, which in turn promote dimerization of the glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) and enable its nuclear translocation.

Transcatheter CoreValve valve-in-valve implantation in a stentless porcine aortic valve for severe aortic regurgitation.

We describe the first valve-in-valve Corevalve transcatheter aortic valve replacement in the St. Jude Toronto stentless porcine aortic valve in the United States, which enabled this 59-year-old patient with a history of bacterial endocarditis and aortic regurgitation to avoid heart transplant with complete resolution of his severe left ventricular dysfunction.

Efficacy of optimal long-term management of multiple cardiovascular risk factors (CVD) on walking and quality of life in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD): protocol for randomized controlled trial.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an understudied chronic illness most prevalent in elderly individuals. PAD patients experience substantial walking impairment due to symptoms of limb ischemia that significantly diminishes quality of life (QOL). Cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality is increased in this population because of aggressive atherosclerosis resulting from untreated CVD risk factors.

A pilot study of L-arginine supplementation on functional capacity in peripheral arterial disease.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) impairs walking capacity and is often associated with a profound endothelial vasodilator dysfunction, characterized by reduced bioactivity and/or synthesis of endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO). Previous studies have suggested that dietary supplementation of L-arginine, the precursor of NO, improves endothelium-dependent vasodilation, limb blood flow and walking distance. However, these studies have been small, and have used large intravenous doses of L-arginine.