Contribution of the Nurses' Health Study to the Epidemiology of Cataract, Age-Related Macular Degeneration, and Glaucoma.

Objectives: To review the contribution of the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) to understanding the genetic and lifestyle factors that influence the risk of cataract, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma.

Methods: We performed a narrative review of the publications of the NHS between 1976 and 2016.

Results: The NHS has helped to elucidate the roles of genetics, lifestyle factors (e.

The impact of caffeine use across the lifespan on cognitive performance in elderly women.

Habitual caffeine consumption has often been associated with decreasing age-related cognitive decline. However, whether habitual caffeine use preferentially spares different cognitive processes is unclear. Furthermore, whether basing habitual caffeine consumption patterns on current consumption or on a lifetime measure better represents an individual's use remains unclear.

An improvement of surfactin production by B. subtilis BBG131 using design of experiments in microbioreactors and continuous process in bubbleless membrane bioreactor.

Culture medium elements were analysed by a screening DoE to identify their influence in surfactin specific production by a surfactin constitutive overproducing Bacillus subtilis strain. Statistics pointed the major enhancement caused by high glutamic acid concentrations, as well as a minor positive influence of tryptophan and glucose. Successively, a central composite design was performed in microplate bioreactors using a BioLector®, in which variations of these impressive parameters, glucose, glutamic acid and tryptophan concentrations were selected for optimization of product-biomass yield (YP/X).

Genetic and functional analyses of krs, a locus encoding kurstakin, a lipopeptide produced by Bacillus thuringiensis.

Bacteria of the Bacillus genus are able to synthesize several families of lipopeptides. These small molecules are the product of non-ribosomal peptide synthetases. In 2000, it was found that Bacillus thuringiensis, an entomopathogenic bacterium of the Bacillus cereus group, produced a previously unknown lipopeptide: kurstakin.

Norine: A powerful resource for novel nonribosomal peptide discovery.

Since its first release in 2008, Norine remains the unique resource completely devoted to nonribosomal peptides (NRPs). They are very attractive microbial secondary metabolites, displaying a remarkable diversity of structure and functions. Norine (http://bioinfo.

Economic considerations and patients' preferences affect treatment selection for patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a discrete choice experiment among European rheumatologists.

Objective: To compare the value that rheumatologists across Europe attach to patients' preferences and economic aspects when choosing treatments for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods: In a discrete choice experiment, European rheumatologists chose between two hypothetical drug treatments for a patient with moderate disease activity. Treatments differed in five attributes: efficacy (improvement and achieved state on disease activity), safety (probability of serious adverse events), patient's preference (level of agreement), medication costs and cost-effectiveness (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER)).

Burkholderia genome mining for nonribosomal peptide synthetases reveals a great potential for novel siderophores and lipopeptides synthesis.

Burkholderia is an important genus encompassing a variety of species, including pathogenic strains as well as strains that promote plant growth. We have carried out a global strategy, which combined two complementary approaches. The first one is genome guided with deep analysis of genome sequences and the second one is assay guided with experiments to support the predictions obtained in silico.

The cyclochlorotine mycotoxin is produced by the nonribosomal peptide synthetase CctN in Talaromyces islandicus ('Penicillium islandicum').

Talaromyces islandicus ('Penicillium islandicum') is a widespread foodborne mold that produces numerous secondary metabolites, among them potent mycotoxins belonging to different chemical classes. A notable metabolite is the hepatotoxic and carcinogenic pentapeptide cyclochlorotine that contains the unusual amino acids β-phenylalanine, 2-aminobutyrate and 3,4-dichloroproline. Although the chemical structure has been known for over five decades, nothing is known about the biosynthetic pathway of cyclochlorotine.

Influence of promoters on the production of fengycin in Bacillus spp.

Fengycin is a promising antifungal lipopeptide from Bacillus spp. synthesized by non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS). In this work, fengycin production of a spontaneous fengycin overproducing strain, Bacillus subtilis BBG21, was first compared to those of B.

B-Type Natriuretic Peptide and Cardiac Troponin I Are Associated With Adverse Outcomes in Stable Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Background: Approximately 200 000 kidney transplant recipients are living in the United States; they are at increased risk for cardiovascular and other adverse outcomes. Biomarkers predicting these outcomes are needed. Using specimens collected during the Folic Acid for Vascular Outcome Reduction in Transplantation trial, we determined whether plasma levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and cardiac troponin I are associated with adverse outcomes in stable kidney transplant recipients.

Association of Serum Vitamin D with the Risk of Incident Dementia and Subclinical Indices of Brain Aging: The Framingham Heart Study.

Background: Identifying nutrition- and lifestyle-based risk factors for cognitive impairment and dementia may aid future primary prevention efforts.

Objective: We aimed to examine the association of serum vitamin D levels with incident all-cause dementia, clinically characterized Alzheimer's disease (AD), MRI markers of brain aging, and neuropsychological function.

Methods: Framingham Heart Study participants had baseline serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations measured between 1986 and 2001.

Actigraphic sleep fragmentation, efficiency and duration associate with dietary intake in the Rotterdam Study.

Short self-reported sleep duration is associated with dietary intake and this association may partly mediate the link between short sleep and metabolic abnormalities. Subjective sleep measures, however, may be inaccurate and biased. The objective of this study was to evaluate the associations between actigraphic measures of sleep fragmentation, efficiency and duration and energy and macronutrient intakes.

Bioinformatics Tools for the Discovery of New Nonribosomal Peptides.

This chapter helps in the use of bioinformatics tools relevant to the discovery of new nonribosomal peptides (NRPs) produced by microorganisms. The strategy described can be applied to draft or fully assembled genome sequences. It relies on the identification of the synthetase genes and the deciphering of the domain architecture of the nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs).

Effect of zinc supplementation on serum zinc concentration and T cell proliferation in nursing home elderly: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Zinc is essential for the regulation of immune response. T cell function declines with age. Zinc supplementation has the potential to improve the serum zinc concentrations and immunity of nursing home elderly with a low serum zinc concentration.

Diagnosis of late-onset Pompe disease and other muscle disorders by next-generation sequencing.

Background: Late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) is a rare treatable lysosomal storage disorder characterized by progressive lysosomal glycogen accumulation and muscle weakness, with often a limb-girdle pattern. Despite published guidelines, testing for LOPD is often overlooked or delayed in adults, owing to its low frequency compared to other muscle disorders with similar muscle patterns. Next-generation sequencing has the capability to test concurrently for several muscle disorders.

Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption Is Associated With Change of Visceral Adipose Tissue Over 6 Years of Follow-Up.

Background: Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake has been linked to abnormal abdominal adipose tissue. We examined the prospective association of habitual SSB intake and change in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue.

Methods And Results: The quantity (volume, cm(3)) and quality (attenuation, Hounsfield Unit) of abdominal adipose tissue were measured using computed tomography in 1003 participants (mean age 45.

Short sleep duration and dietary intake: epidemiologic evidence, mechanisms, and health implications.

Links between short sleep duration and obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease may be mediated through changes in dietary intake. This review provides an overview of recent epidemiologic studies on the relations between habitual short sleep duration and dietary intake in adults from 16 cross-sectional studies. The studies have observed consistent associations between short sleep duration and higher total energy intake and higher total fat intake, and limited evidence for lower fruit intake, and lower quality diets.

Prophylactic Antibiotic Management of Surgical Patients Noted as "Allergic" to Penicillin at Two Academic Hospitals.

We studied prophylactic antibiotics administered at 2 academic medical centers during a 6-year period where a cephalosporin was indicated but an "allergy" to penicillin was noted. Another drug (typically vancomycin or clindamycin) was substituted approximately 80% of the time; this occurred frequently even when symptoms unrelated to acute hypersensitivity were listed. In >50% of cases, the reaction was either omitted or vague (e.

Norine, the knowledgebase dedicated to non-ribosomal peptides, is now open to crowdsourcing.

Since its creation in 2006, Norine remains the unique knowledgebase dedicated to non-ribosomal peptides (NRPs). These secondary metabolites, produced by bacteria and fungi, harbor diverse interesting biological activities (such as antibiotic, antitumor, siderophore or surfactant) directly related to the diversity of their structures. The Norine team goal is to collect the NRPs and provide tools to analyze them efficiently.

Potential link between excess added sugar intake and ectopic fat: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Context: The effect of added sugar intake on ectopic fat accumulation is a subject of debate.

Objective: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to examine the potential effect of added sugar intake on ectopic fat depots.

Data Sources: MEDLINE, CAB Abstracts, CAB Global Health, and EBM (Evidence-Based Medicine) Reviews - Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases were searched for studies published from 1973 to September 2014.

The Tunisian oasis ecosystem is a source of antagonistic Bacillus spp. producing diverse antifungal lipopeptides.

The use of microbial products has become a promising alternative approach to controlling plant diseases caused by phytopathogenic fungi. Bacteria isolated from the date palm tree rhizosphere of the Tunisian oasis ecosystem could provide new biocontrol microorganisms adapted to extreme conditions, such as drought, salinity and high temperature. The aim of this study was to screen bacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of the date palm tree for their ability to inhibit phytopathogenic fungi, and to identify molecules responsible for their antifungal activity.

Diabetes self-care behaviours and clinical outcomes among Taiwanese patients with type 2 diabetes.

We examined the influences of patients' background characteristics on the frequency of performing five diabetes self-care behaviours that 185 Taiwanese outpatients reported. All patients had type 2 diabetes diagnosed for more than a year and attended an outpatient clinic at a large university hospital where they had received at least one dietitian-led individual nutrition education session and one nurse-led diabetes education session during the course of their care. Seventy nine percent of the patients regularly (defined as responses often or always on the questionnaire) took their medications and over half followed recommended meal plans and exercised, but fewer performed foot care (38%) or checked their blood glucose levels (20%) regularly.

Determinants of dietary self-care behaviours among Taiwanese patients with type 2 diabetes.

The effects of patient characteristics on reported adherence to dietary self-care behaviours in 184 Taiwanese outpatients 40 years or older with type 2 diabetes was assessed. Patient characteristics included the presence of predisposing factors affecting diabetes adherence (knowledge and attitudes about the disease, self-efficacy, and the absence of psychological problems), enabling factors (understanding of diabetes and environmental factors affecting it), and reinforcing factors (presence of medical and social support) which were evaluated using a 72 item self-administered questionnaire with 8 subscales. Adherence was assessed by patients' reports of carrying out 7 self-care behaviours (following a diabetic meal plan, following the diabetes exchange system, eating meals providing the same amount of carbohydrate every day, counting carbohydrates, reducing dietary fat, consuming high fiber foods, and keeping a daily food record).

Solvent tuned single molecule dual emission in protic solvents: effect of polarity and H-bonding.

Phen-PENMe2 has recently been proposed as a promising new molecule displaying solvent-tuned dual emission, highlighting an original and newly-described charge transfer model. The study of the photophysical behaviour of this molecule was extended to include protic solvents. The effects of polarity and hydrogen bonding lead to an even more evident dual emission associated with a large multi-emission band in some solvents like methanol, highlighting Phen-PENMe2 as a promising candidate for white light emission.