Early effects of neutering on energy expenditure in adult male cats.

The initial cause of post-neutering weight gain in male cats is not entirely known. There is evidence that energy intake (EI) increases rapidly post-neutering, but it is not clear if neutering also decreases energy expenditure (EE) prior to weight gain. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine if a decrease in EE contributes to the initial shift toward positive energy balance in neutered male cats.

Rapid automated diagnosis of diabetic peripheral neuropathy with in vivo corneal confocal microscopy.

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic validity of a fully automated image analysis algorithm of in vivo confocal microscopy images in quantifying corneal subbasal nerves to diagnose diabetic neuropathy.

Methods: One hundred eighty-six patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T1/T2DM) and 55 age-matched controls underwent assessment of neuropathy and bilateral in vivo corneal confocal microscopy (IVCCM). Corneal nerve fiber density (CNFD), branch density (CNBD), and length (CNFL) were quantified with expert, manual, and fully-automated analysis.

Thirty-day hospital readmission following discharge from postacute rehabilitation in fee-for-service Medicare patients.

Importance: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently identified 30-day readmission after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation facilities as a national quality indicator. Research is needed to determine the rates and factors related to readmission in this patient population.

Objective: To determine 30-day readmission rates and factors related to readmission for patients receiving postacute inpatient rehabilitation.

Social support as a predictor of early diagnosis, linkage, retention, and adherence to HIV care: results from the steps study.

Social support predicts adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in some settings but has not been well studied in persons newly diagnosed with HIV infection as a predictor of success through the cascade of HIV care. One hundred sixty-eight persons newly diagnosed with HIV completed the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey at diagnosis, and 129 were successfully followed for more than 12 months. Outcomes were earlier diagnosis of HIV infection, linkage to care, retention in care, ART use by 1 year, and adherence to ART.

Trajectories in functional recovery for patients receiving inpatient rehabilitation for unilateral hip or knee replacement.

The purpose of this study was to explore trajectories of recovery in patients with lower extremity joint replacements receiving post-acute rehabilitation. A retrospective cohort design was used to examine data from the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation (UDSMR®) for 7434 patients with total knee replacement (TKR) and 4765 patients with total hip replacement (THR) who received rehabilitation from 2008 to 2010. Functional Independence Measure (FIM)™ instrument ratings were obtained at admission, discharge, and 80-180 days after discharge.

Standardized process used in the emergency department for pediatric oncology patients with fever and neutropenia improves time to the first dose of antibiotics.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a standardized process on time to the first dose of antibiotics in pediatric oncology patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with fever and neutropenia (F-N).

Methods: A standardized process and order set were created to be used on all pediatric febrile neutropenic patients who presented to the ED of a large academic children's hospital. The order set was used for patients with a known oncologic diagnosis, a fever greater than 38.

Indian Ocean tsunami: relationships among posttraumatic stress, posttraumatic growth, resource loss, and coping at 3 and 15 months.

This study examines variables associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS) and posttraumatic growth among 2 independent samples of survivors following the Indian Ocean tsunami in Khao Lak, Thailand. Participants were exposed to unprecedented horror and loss of life and property. At 3 months participants (N = 248) were living in temporary shelters, and at 15 months a second sample (N = 255) was living in homes built after the tsunami.

FIM motor scores for classifying community discharge after inpatient rehabilitation for hip fracture.

Objective: To assess the utility of functional status in classifying patients by discharge setting after inpatient rehabilitation for hip fracture.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: A total of 1257 inpatient rehabilitation facilities in the United States.

Pyroptosis and adaptive immunity mechanisms are promptly engendered in mesenteric lymph-nodes during pig infections with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.

In this study, we explored the transcriptional response and the morphological changes occurring in porcine mesenteric lymph-nodes (MLN) along a time course of 1, 2 and 6 days post infection (dpi) with Salmonella Typhimurium. Additionally, we analysed the expression of some Salmonella effectors in tissue to complete our view of the processes triggered in these organs upon infection. The results indicate that besides dampening apoptosis, swine take advantage of the flagellin and prgJ expression by Salmonella Typhimuriun to induce pyroptosis in MLN, preventing bacterial dissemination.

Fish oil supplementation ameliorates fructose-induced hypertriglyceridemia and insulin resistance in adult male rhesus macaques.

Fish oil (FO) is a commonly used supplemental source of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), 2 n-3 (ω-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that have been shown to have a variety of health benefits considered to be protective against cardiometabolic diseases. Although the effects of EPA and DHA on lipid metabolism have been extensively studied, not all of the metabolic effects of FO-derived n-3 PUFAs have been characterized. Our laboratory recently showed that a high-fructose diet in rhesus monkeys induces the features of metabolic syndrome (MetS) similar to those observed in humans.

A novel approach for lung nodules segmentation in chest CT using level sets.

A new variational level set approach is proposed for lung nodule segmentation in lung CT scans. A general lung nodule shape model is proposed using implicit spaces as a signed distance function. The shape model is fused with the image intensity statistical information in a variational segmentation framework.

The Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation: report of follow-up information on patients discharged from inpatient rehabilitation programs in 2002-2010.

Objective: The aim of this study was to present yearly aggregated summaries of rehabilitation outcomes at admission, discharge, and follow-up from a national sample of patients receiving inpatient medical rehabilitation for stroke, traumatic brain injury, lower extremity fracture, lower extremity joint replacement, traumatic spinal cord injury, or debility.

Design: This is an analysis of secondary data from more than 300 inpatient rehabilitation facilities in the United States that contributed inpatient and follow-up data to the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation during the period January 2002 through December 2010. Aggregate variables reported include demographic information, social situation, and functional status (Functional Independence Measure instrument ratings at admission, discharge, and follow-up).

Maternal ileal interposition surgery confers metabolic improvements to offspring independent of effects on maternal body weight in UCD-T2DM rats.

Background: Increasing numbers of people are undergoing bariatric surgery, of which approximately half are women in their childbearing years. However, information on the long-term effects of maternal bariatric surgery in their children is lacking. Furthermore, since bariatric surgery is performed to reduce body weight, clinical studies have not been able to differentiate between benefits to the child due to maternal body weight loss versus other maternal postoperative metabolic changes.

Provider continuity prior to the diagnosis of advanced lung cancer and end-of-life care.

Background: Little is known about the effect of provider continuity prior to the diagnosis of advanced lung cancer and end-of-life care.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 69,247 Medicare beneficiaries aged 67 years or older diagnosed with Stage IIIB or IV lung cancer between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 2005 who died within two years of diagnosis. We examined visit patterns to a primary care physician (PCP) and/or any provider one year prior to the diagnosis of advanced lung cancer as measures of continuity of care.

Exercise intolerance in individuals with postconcussion syndrome.

Context: Little is known about exercise intolerance or the utility of an exercise evaluation in patients with postconcussion syndrome (PCS).

Objective: To assess exercise intolerance in male and female patients with PCS.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Comparative genomic and transcriptome analyses of pathotypes of Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri provide insights into mechanisms of bacterial virulence and host range.

Background: Citrus bacterial canker is a disease that has severe economic impact on citrus industries worldwide and is caused by a few species and pathotypes of Xanthomonas. X. citri subsp.

Regional variation in stroke rehabilitation outcomes.

Objective: To examine and describe regional variation in outcomes for persons with stroke receiving inpatient medical rehabilitation.

Design: Retrospective cohort design.

Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation units and facilities contributing to the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation from the United States.

Stress and social support in gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples: direct effects and buffering models.

The beneficial effect of social support on the well-being of individuals and romantic relationships has been extensively studied in married heterosexual relationships. The direct effects model suggests that social support is directly associated with well-being, while the social buffering model describes how social support can protect individual well-being from the negative impact of stress. In the present study, we seek to test the extent to which these processes apply to gay and lesbian couples.

Barriers and facilitators to all-terrain vehicle helmet use.

Background: The burden of all-terrain vehicle (ATV)-related injuries and deaths in the pediatric population has increased dramatically during the past decade. Brain injuries represent a large proportion of these injuries and are the leading cause of death among those injured. Despite the risk involved in operating these vehicles, helmet use remains low.

Complete Genome Sequence of Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri Strain Aw12879, a Restricted-Host-Range Citrus Canker-Causing Bacterium.

Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri causes citrus canker. The Asiatic strain has a broad host range, whereas the Wellington variant has a restricted host range.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B regulates pyruvate kinase M2 tyrosine phosphorylation.

Protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) is a physiological regulator of glucose homeostasis and adiposity and is a drug target for the treatment of obesity and diabetes. Here we identify pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) as a novel PTP1B substrate in adipocytes. PTP1B deficiency leads to increased PKM2 total tyrosine and Tyr(105) phosphorylation in cultured adipocytes and in vivo.

Inpatient rehabilitation volume and functional outcomes in stroke, lower extremity fracture, and lower extremity joint replacement.

Background: It is unclear if volume-outcome relationships exist in inpatient rehabilitation.

Objectives: Assess associations between facility volumes and 2 patient-centered outcomes in the 3 most common diagnostic groups in inpatient rehabilitation.

Research Design: We used hierarchical linear and generalized linear models to analyze administrative assessment data from patients receiving inpatient rehabilitation services for stroke (n=202,423), lower extremity fracture (n=132,194), or lower extremity joint replacement (n=148,068) between 2006 and 2008 in 717 rehabilitation facilities across the United States.

Image texture in dental panoramic radiographs as a potential biomarker of osteoporosis.

Previous studies have shown an association between osteoporosis and automatic measurements of mandibular cortical width on dental panoramic radiographs (DPRs). In this study, we show that additional image texture features increase this association and propose the combined features as a potential biomarker for osteoporosis. We used an existing dataset of 663 DPRs of female patients with bone mineral density (BMD) measurements.

Number of supernumerary vitrified blastocysts is positively correlated with implantation and live birth in single-blastocyst embryo transfers.

Objective: To estimate whether live birth in single-blastocyst transfers is correlated with the number of sibling supernumerary vitrified blastocysts (embryos not transferred) generated from that same cycle.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: A large academic assisted reproduction clinic.