Denosumab for osteoporosis in older adults in long-term care: A randomized trial.

Background: In long-term care (LTC), the incidence of hip or vertebral fractures are eight times that in the community. Despite the wide availability of osteoporosis therapy, LTC residents are omitted from pivotal trials and not treated. Denosumab is a relatively new, monoclonal antibody therapy for osteoporosis treatment.

Subsidized Versus Unsubsidized Senior Housing Communities in PA: A Window on Variation in Health, Function, and Access to Services in Old Age.

: Independent Living residences for older adults can be divided into two categories and require better definitions for research purposes; the purpose of this manuscript is to provide those definitions and explore variation in provided services and resident characteristics: (a) age-based housing (55+) (Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) housing units for low-income adults), and (b) age-based housing. Residents in the two settings were compared: 37 subsidized locations ( = 289 residents) and 19 non-subsidized ( = 208). Aging support services in each housing type were quantified.

Leaf Shelters Facilitate the Colonisation of Arthropods and Enhance Microbial Diversity on Plants.

Shelter-building insects are important ecosystem engineers, playing critical roles in structuring arthropod communities. Nonetheless, the influence of leaf shelters and arthropods on plant-associated microbiota remains largely unexplored. Arthropods that visit or inhabit plants can contribute to the leaf microbial community, resulting in significant changes in plant-microbe interactions.

Host-associated helminth diversity and microbiome composition contribute to anti-pathogen defences in tropical frogs impacted by forest fragmentation.

Habitat fragmentation can negatively impact wildlife populations by simplification of ecological interactions, but little is known about how these impacts extend to host-associated symbiotic communities. The symbiotic communities of amphibians play important roles in anti-pathogen defences, particularly against the amphibian chytrid fungus (). In this study, we analyse the role of macroparasitic helminth communities in concert with microbial communities in defending the host against infection within the context of forest fragmentation.

The Work-life Check-ins randomized controlled trial: A leader-based adaptive, semi-structured burnout intervention in primary care clinics.

Background: Burnout in primary care undermines worker well-being and patient care. Many factors contribute to burnout, including high workloads, emotional stress, and unsupportive supervisors. Formative evidence suggests that burnout might be reduced if clinic leaders hold quarterly and brief (∼30 min) one-on-one check-ins with team members to acknowledge and address work-life stressors (e.

Preparation For Flight: The Physical Profile of Pre-Professional and Professional Circus Artists in the United States.

Background: Established norms for fitness and performance measures are lacking in circus arts. These would assist healthcare professionals and coaches to screen for readiness to participate in training or performance, determine post-injury return to performance, and develop targeted conditioning programs.

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to establish norms for trunk and extremity physical exam and performance measures in circus artists by professional status, assigned sex at birth (ASAB), and age.

Association of inflammatory markers with muscle and cognitive function in early and late-aging older adults.

Objectives: Age-related loss in muscle and cognitive function is common in older adults. Numerous studies have suggested that inflammation contributes to the decline in physical performance and increased frailty in older adults. We sought to investigate the relationship of inflammatory markers, including CRP, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, TNFR1, and TNFR2, with muscle and cognitive function in frail early-aging and non-frail late-aging older adults.

A molecular index for biological age identified from the metabolome and senescence-associated secretome in humans.

Unlike chronological age, biological age is a strong indicator of health of an individual. However, the molecular fingerprint associated with biological age is ill-defined. To define a high-resolution signature of biological age, we analyzed metabolome, circulating senescence-associated secretome (SASP)/inflammation markers and the interaction between them, from a cohort of healthy and rapid agers.

Safety Responsiveness and Psychological Distress Among Health Care Workers During COVID-19 (2020-2022) in the Pacific Northwest.

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed unprecedented safety challenges on health care facilities. This study examined whether health care workers who deemed a better safety response to the pandemic by their units or employers experienced lower psychological distress. Patient care workers at a health care system in the Pacific Northwest were surveyed every 6 to 8 months from May 2020 to May 2022 (n = 3468).

Skin microbiome disturbance linked to drought-associated amphibian disease.

The onset of global climate change has led to abnormal rainfall patterns, disrupting associations between wildlife and their symbiotic microorganisms. We monitored a population of pumpkin toadlets and their skin bacteria in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest during a drought. Given the recognized ability of some amphibian skin bacteria to inhibit the widespread fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), we investigated links between skin microbiome health, susceptibility to Bd and host mortality during a die-off event.

Linking microbiome and stress hormone responses in wild tropical treefrogs across continuous and fragmented forests.

The amphibian skin microbiome is an important component of anti-pathogen defense, but the impact of environmental change on the link between microbiome composition and host stress remains unclear. In this study, we used radiotelemetry and host translocation to track microbiome composition and function, pathogen infection, and host stress over time across natural movement paths for the forest-associated treefrog, Boana faber. We found a negative correlation between cortisol levels and putative microbiome function for frogs translocated to forest fragments, indicating strong integration of host stress response and anti-pathogen potential of the microbiome.

The Association of Bone Turnover Markers with Muscle Function, Falls, and Frailty in Older Women in Long-Term Care.

Background: Osteoporosis and sarcopenia commonly coexist in older adults. There is strong evidence that bone and muscle impact each other through mechanical and biochemical cross-talk.

Objectives: We sought to investigate the relationship between the markers of bone remodeling including the C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen (CTX) and procollagen type 1 N propeptide (P1NP) with muscle function, falls, and frailty in older women residing in long-term care (LTC) facilities.

Taming Postoperative Delirium with Dexmedetomidine: A Review of the Therapeutic Agent's Neuroprotective Effects following Surgery.

Postoperative delirium (POD) represents a perioperative neurocognitive disorder that has dreaded ramifications on a patient's recovery from surgery. Dexmedetomidine displays multiple mechanisms of neuroprotection to assist in preventing POD as a part of a comprehensive anesthetic care plan. This review will cover dexmedetomidine's pharmacological overlap with the current etiological theories behind POD along with pre-clinical and clinical studies on POD prevention with dexmedetomidine.

The association of vitamin D with bone microarchitecture, muscle strength, and mobility performance in older women in long-term care.

Background: Osteoporosis and sarcopenia are prevalent in older adults. Trabecular bone score (TBS) is a novel method to evaluate bone microarchitecture, whereas grip strength and gait speed are simple methods to assess muscle strength and function. Few studies have linked the relationship between vitamin D levels (25OHD) with TBS, grip strength, and gait speed in healthy community dwelling adults.

Caudal block vs. transversus abdominis plane block for pediatric surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The caudal block and transversus abdominis plane block (TAP) are commonly used in combination with general anesthesia for pediatric lower abdominal, inguinal, and genitourinary surgeries. There is limited data directly comparing the impact of these techniques on recovery. In this meta-analysis, we compare the duration of postoperative analgesia between these two techniques.

Gaps in evidence on treatment of male osteoporosis: a Research Agenda.

Objective: To identify key research gaps regarding medication therapy to prevent osteoporotic fractures in men.

Data Sources: Articles from the peer-reviewed literature containing empirical studies of the use of medication therapy for fracture prevention in men, either in clinical trials or observational studies.

Study Selection And Data Extraction: We searched PubMed with search terms including "osteoporosis AND medication therapy management".

Selection of an anti-pathogen skin microbiome following prophylaxis treatment in an amphibian model system.

With emerging diseases on the rise, there is an urgent need to identify and understand novel mechanisms of prophylactic protection in vertebrate hosts. Inducing resistance against emerging pathogens through prophylaxis is an ideal management strategy that may impact pathogens and their host-associated microbiome. The host microbiome is recognized as a critical component of immunity, but the effects of prophylactic inoculation on the microbiome are unknown.

Untangling risk factors including discipline-specific exposure for injuries in preprofessional and professional circus artists in the USA.

Objective: This prospective cohort study quantified injury patterns related to specific circus discipline exposure in preprofessional and professional circus artists.

Methods: Circus artists (n=201; ages 13-69; 172 female, 29 male assigned sex at birth) were enrolled in 10 cities across the USA. Participants were followed for 1 year from enrolment, completing a weekly training log and undergoing a physical therapist evaluation for injuries.

Speaking the Same Language: Team Science Approaches in Aging Research for Integrating Basic and Translational Science With Clinical Practice.

Research on aging is at an important inflection point, where the insights accumulated over the last 2 decades in the basic biology of aging are poised to be translated into new interventions to promote health span and improve longevity. Progress in the basic science of aging is increasingly influencing medical practice, and the application and translation of geroscience require seamless integration of basic, translational, and clinical researchers. This includes the identification of new biomarkers, novel molecular targets as potential therapeutic agents, and translational in vivo studies to assess the potential efficacy of new interventions.

Promise and Perils of Leader-Employee Check-ins in Reducing Emotional Exhaustion in Primary Care Clinics: Quasi-Experimental and Qualitative Evidence.

Objective: To analyze the role of short (<30 minutes) and frequent (quarterly) check-ins between clinic leaders and employees in reducing emotional exhaustion.

Methods: Three interrelated studies were conducted: a 3-year repeated cross-sectional survey at 10 primary care clinics (n=505; we compared emotional exhaustion, perceived stress, and values alignment among employees of a clinic where check-ins were conducted vs 9 control clinics); interviews with leaders and employees (n=10) regarding the check-ins process and experiences; and interviews with leaders and employees (n=10) after replicating the check-ins at a new clinic.

Results: Outcomes were similar at baseline.

Peripheral bone structure, geometry, and strength and muscle density as derived from peripheral quantitative computed tomography and mortality among rural south Indian older adults.

Multiple studies have observed a relationship of bone mineral density (BMD) measured by Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and mortality. However, areal BMD (aBMD) measured by DXA is an integrated measure of trabecular and cortical bone and does not measure the geometry of bone. Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (pQCT) provides greater insights on bone structure, geometry and strength.

Effectiveness of Thoracic Wall Blocks in Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery, a Network Meta-Analysis.

Introduction: Thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) and thoracic paravertebral blocks (PVB) are well-established techniques for pain management in thoracotomy. Here, we examine the efficacy of various thoracic fascial plane blocks vs TEA and PVB for intraoperative and postoperative analgesia for video assisted thoracoscopy surgery (VATS) with network meta-analysis.

Methods: A search for prospective randomized control studies using adult patients undergoing VATS with general anesthesia.

Habitat split as a driver of disease in amphibians.

Anthropogenic habitat disturbance is fundamentally altering patterns of disease transmission and immunity across the vertebrate tree of life. Most studies linking anthropogenic habitat change and disease focus on habitat loss and fragmentation, but these processes often lead to a third process that is equally important: habitat split. Defined as spatial separation between the multiple classes of natural habitat that many vertebrate species require to complete their life cycles, habitat split has been linked to population declines in vertebrates, e.

Constant-temperature predictions underestimate growth of a fungal amphibian pathogen under individual host thermal profiles.

Ectotherm body temperatures fluctuate with environmental variability and host behavior, which may influence host-pathogen interactions. Fungal pathogens are a major threat to ectotherms and may be highly responsive to the fluctuating thermal profiles of individual hosts, especially cool-loving fungi exposed to high host temperatures. However, most studies estimate pathogen thermal performance based on averages of host or surrogate environmental temperatures, potentially missing effects of short-term host temperature shifts such as daily or hourly heat spikes.