Associations of body composition measures with circulating insulin-like growth factor-I, testosterone, and sex hormone-binding globulin concentrations in 16,000 men.

Background: Adiposity is positively associated with risk of some cancer sites and other health conditions in men; however, it is unclear if endogenous hormones play a role in these associations. We examined how body composition, measured from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and common measures of adiposity (e.g.

Interventions that have potential to help older adults living with social frailty: a systematic scoping review.

Background: The impact of social frailty on older adults is profound including mortality risk, functional decline, falls, and disability. However, effective strategies that respond to the needs of socially frail older adults are lacking and few studies have unpacked how social determinants operate or how interventions can be adapted during periods requiring social distancing and isolation such as the COVID-19 pandemic. To address these gaps, we conducted a scoping review using JBI methodology to identify interventions that have the best potential to help socially frail older adults (age ≥65 years).

Computational simulation model of transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair: a proof-of-concept study.

Aims: As transcatheter mitral valve (MV) interventions are expanding and more device types and sizes become available, a tool supporting operators in pre-procedural planning and the clinical decision-making process is highly desirable. We sought to develop a finite element computational simulation model to predict the results of transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) interventions.

Methods And Results: We prospectively enrolled patients with secondary mitral regurgitation (MR) referred for a clinically indicated TEER.

Evaluation of an online arts-based platform to support the health and well-being of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to conduct a formative evaluation of the Art Your Service (AYS) arts-based program to determine the program's potential for improving the social and physical well-being of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design, Settings And Participants: An online questionnaire was administered to the AYS members who consented to be invited to participate in the study. Questionnaire items consisted of a Likert scale and open-ended questions delivered using an online platform (SurveyMonkey).

RADReef: A global Holocene Reef Rate of Accretion Dataset.

Reef cores are a powerful tool for investigating temporal changes in reef communities. Radiometric dating facilitates the determination of vertical accretion rates, which has allowed for examination of local-regional controlling factors, such as subsidence and sea level changes. Coral reefs must grow at sufficient rates to keep up with sea level rise, or risk 'drowning.

The Price of Love: Understanding the Financial and Psychosocial Costs of Caring for Children with Medical Complexities.

Parents of children with medical complexities (CMCs) report significant challenges affecting their financial, emotional and social well-being in relation to caring for their child's medical needs. The Complex Care Navigator Program was designed to provide social, emotional and economic support to parents of CMCs. This paper describes the results and outcomes of the program and the challenges experienced during the evaluation process.

Factors associated with weight loss and health gains in a structured lifestyle modification programme for adults with severe obesity: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Individual responses to behavioural weight loss interventions can vary significantly, and a better understanding of the factors associated with successful treatment might help to target interventions for those who will benefit the most. We sought to identify demographic and clinical characteristics that predicted intervention "success" (defined as ≥5% weight loss) and other health gains in patients with severe obesity attending a ten-week structured lifestyle modification programme.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of all 1122 patients (751 (66.

sp. nov. strain T173 isolated from (sweet clover) in Canada possesses recombinant plasmid pT173b harbouring symbiosis and type IV secretion system genes apparently acquired from .

A bacterial strain, designated T173, was previously isolated from a root-nodule of a plant growing in Canada and identified as a novel lineage that shared a clade with the non-symbiotic species, Strain T173 was also previously found to harbour a symbiosis plasmid and to elicit root-nodules on and species but not fix nitrogen. Here we present data for the genomic and taxonomic description of strain T173. Phylogenetic analyses including the analysis of whole genome sequences and multiple locus sequence analysis (MLSA) of 53 concatenated ribosome protein subunit () gene sequences confirmed placement of strain T173 in a highly supported lineage distinct from named species with Lc04 as the closest relative.

Factors that influence compliance for referral from primary care to hospital for maternal and neonatal complications in Bosaso, Somalia: a qualitative study.

Objectives: To estimate referral compliance and examine factors that influence decisions to comply with referral for newborn and maternal complications in Bosaso, Somalia.

Setting: Bosaso, Somalia, is a large port city that hosts a large proportion of internally displaced persons. The study was conducted at the only four primary health centres offering 24/7 delivery services and the only public referral hospital in Bosaso.

Examination of the horizontal gene transfer dynamics of an integrative and conjugative element encoding multidrug resistance in .

Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) are self-transferable mobile genetic elements that play a significant role in disseminating antimicrobial resistance between bacteria via horizontal gene transfer. A recently identified ICE in a clinical isolate of () is 72 914 base pairs in length and harbours seven predicted antimicrobial resistance genes conferring resistance to tetracycline (), florfenicol (), sulfonamide (), aminoglycosides (), and copper (). This study investigated  host range, assessed effects of antimicrobial stressors on transfer frequency, and examined effects of acquisition on hosts.

Obesity in Adults: A 2022 Adapted Clinical Practice Guideline for Ireland.

Background: This Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) for the management of obesity in adults in Ireland, adapted from the Canadian CPG, defines obesity as a complex chronic disease characterised by excess or dysfunctional adiposity that impairs health. The guideline reflects substantial advances in the understanding of the determinants, pathophysiology, assessment, and treatment of obesity.

Summary: It shifts the focus of obesity management toward improving patient-centred health outcomes, functional outcomes, and social and economic participation, rather than weight loss alone.

Building resilience for sexual and reproductive health at the community level: learning from three crisis-affected provinces in Pakistan.

Pakistan regularly faces natural disasters and has a longstanding disaster risk management infrastructure. It is also a nation with high maternal and newborn mortality. Rahnuma-Family Planning Association of Pakistan, with support from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Women's Refugee Commission and the International Planned Parenthood Federation South Asia Region's Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme in Crisis and Post Crisis Situations Initiative, embarked on building community capacity to prepare for and respond to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) risks in select disaster-prone areas in Pakistan, and linking communities to existing disaster risk management structures at national, regional and district levels.

More Than Fluff and Buff.

Massage therapy with older patients can be healing and rewarding work.

A population-based validation study of the 8th edition UICC/AJCC TNM staging system for cutaneous melanoma.

Background: The 8 edition UICC/AJCC TNM8 (Tumour, Nodes, Metastasis) melanoma staging system introduced several modifications from the 7 edition (TNM7), resulting in changes in survival and subgroup composition. We set out to address the limited validation of TNM8 (stages I-IV) in large population-based datasets.

Methods: This retrospective cohort-study included 6,414 patients from the population-based Ontario Cancer Registry diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2012.

Carbon Catabolite Repression Governs Diverse Physiological Processes and Development in Aspergillus nidulans.

Carbon catabolite repression (CCR) is a common phenomenon of microorganisms that enable efficient utilization of carbon nutrients, critical for the fitness of microorganisms in the wild and for pathogenic species to cause infection. In most filamentous fungal species, the conserved transcription factor CreA/Cre1 mediates CCR. Previous studies demonstrated a primary function for CreA/Cre1 in carbon metabolism; however, the phenotype of / mutants indicated broader roles.

An epigenetic switch activates bacterial quorum sensing and horizontal transfer of an integrative and conjugative element.

Horizontal transfer of the integrative and conjugative element ICEMlSymR7A converts non-symbiotic Mesorhizobium spp. into nitrogen-fixing legume symbionts. Here, we discover subpopulations of Mesorhizobium japonicum R7A become epigenetically primed for quorum-sensing (QS) and QS-activated horizontal transfer.

Why are rhizobial symbiosis genes mobile?

Rhizobia are one of the most important and best studied groups of bacterial symbionts. They are defined by their ability to establish nitrogen-fixing intracellular infections within plant hosts. One surprising feature of this symbiosis is that the bacterial genes required for this complex trait are not fixed within the chromosome, but are encoded on mobile genetic elements (MGEs), namely plasmids or integrative and conjugative elements.

Improved Quality of Life, Fitness, Mental Health and Cardiovascular Risk Factors with a Publicly Funded Bariatric Lifestyle Intervention for Adults with Severe Obesity: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Lifestyle modification is the cornerstone of management for patients with severe and complicated obesity, but the effects of structured lifestyle programmes on quality of life, anxiety and depression scores and cardiovascular risk factors are not well-described. We sought to describe changes in self-reported quality of life and mental health-related outcomes as well as cardiovascular risk factors in patients completing a 10-week multidisciplinary lifestyle-modification programme.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of all patients referred from our bariatric service who completed the programme between 2013 and 2019.

Beyond Ablation in Atrial Fibrillation: 10 Steps to Better Control.

The prevention and treatment of atrial fibrillation includes risk factor modification beyond ablation, with lifestyle modifications including treatment of obesity through diet and moderate exercise being at the top of the list. Losing 10% of body weight if obese, a plant-based diet, exercise, maintaining systolic blood pressure below 130 mm Hg, treatment of sleep disorders and obstructive sleep apnea, stress management, and treatment of depression and anxiety should all be included in treatment. Maximizing evidence-based treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes is also paramount.

Helping Families Thrive: Co-Designing a Program to Support Parents of Children with Medical Complexity.

Families of children with medical complexity (CMC) face significant challenges beyond those related to caring for their child's medical condition. Parents of CMC report a variety of concerns impacting their social, emotional and financial well-being. This paper details how CHEO, community organizations and parents co-designed and evaluated the Navigator Program.

Influence of the Chelation Process on the Stability of Organic Trace Mineral Supplements Used in Animal Nutrition.

The effect of the chelation process on the pH-dependent stability of organic trace minerals (OTMs) used as mineral supplements in animal nutrition was assessed using analytical techniques such as potentiometry, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIRS) and amino acid profiling. The aim was to understand the influence and relative importance of the manufacturing conditions on mineral chelation and the subsequent pH stability of OTMs. A selection of OTMs were assessed over a wide pH range to account for the typical environmental changes encountered in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.