Microbiome and floral associations of a wild bee using biodiversity survey collections.

The health of bees can be assessed through their microbiome, which serves as a biomarker indicating the presence of both beneficial and harmful microorganisms within a bee community. This study presents the characterisation of the bacterial, fungal, and plant composition on the cuticle of adult bicoloured sweat bees (Agapostemon virescens). These bees were collected using various methods such as pan traps, blue vane traps and sweep netting across the northern extent of their habitat range.

Multiple Ecological Axes Drive Molecular Evolution of Cone Opsins in Beloniform Fishes.

Ecological and evolutionary transitions offer an excellent opportunity to examine the molecular basis of adaptation. Fishes of the order Beloniformes include needlefishes, flyingfishes, halfbeaks, and allies, and comprise over 200 species occupying a wide array of habitats-from the marine epipelagic zone to tropical rainforest rivers. These fishes also exhibit a diversity of diets, including piscivory, herbivory, and zooplanktivory.

The effects of maternal care on the developmental transcriptome and metatranscriptome of a wild bee.

Maternal care acts as a strong environmental stimulus that can induce phenotypic plasticity in animals and may also alter their microbial communities through development. Here, we characterize the developmental metatranscriptome of the small carpenter bee, Ceratina calcarata, across developmental stages and in the presence or absence of mothers. Maternal care had the most influence during early development, with the greatest number and magnitude of differentially expressed genes between maternal care treatments, and enrichment for transcription factors regulating immune response in motherless early larvae.

Integrative population genetics and metagenomics reveals urbanization increases pathogen loads and decreases connectivity in a wild bee.

As urbanization continues to increase, it is expected that two-thirds of the human population will reside in cities by 2050. Urbanization fragments and degrades natural landscapes, threatening wildlife including economically important species such as bees. In this study, we employ whole genome sequencing to characterize the population genetics, metagenome and microbiome, and environmental stressors of a common wild bee, Ceratina calcarata.

Outcomes 2 Years After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in Patients at Low Surgical Risk.

Background: In low surgical risk patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis, the PARTNER 3 (Safety and Effectiveness of the SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve in Low Risk Patients With Aortic Stenosis) trial demonstrated superiority of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) versus surgery for the primary endpoint of death, stroke, or re-hospitalization at 1 year.

Objectives: This study determined both clinical and echocardiographic outcomes between 1 and 2 years in the PARTNER 3 trial.

Methods: This study randomly assigned 1,000 patients (1:1) to transfemoral TAVR with the SAPIEN 3 valve versus surgery (mean Society of Thoracic Surgeons score: 1.

Stent Thrombosis Risk Over Time on the Basis of Clinical Presentation and Platelet Reactivity: Analysis From ADAPT-DES.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the risk period for increased stent thrombosis (ST) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and whether this increased risk is related to high platelet reactivity (HPR).

Background: ST risk after PCI is higher among patients with ACS than those with stable ischemic heart disease. When ST risk is highest in patients with ACS and how that is affected by HPR is unknown.

The incidence and impact of cardiac conduction disturbances after transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has developed into an established therapy for patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) across the spectrum of surgical risk. Despite improvements in transcatheter heart valve (THV) technologies and procedural techniques, cardiac conduction disturbances, including high degree atrioventricular block (AVB) requiring permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation and new-onset left bundle branch block (LBBB), remain frequent complications. TAVR-related conduction disturbances occur due to injury to the conduction system from interactions with interventional equipment and the transcatheter valve stent frame.

Impact of recent heart failure hospitalization on clinical outcomes in patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement: an analysis from the PARTNER 2 trial and registries.

Aims: Heart failure (HF) hospitalization prior to transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is associated with increased post-procedural mortality. We sought to assess the association between recent (≤6 months) HF hospitalization and long-term adverse outcomes in patients with symptomatic, severe aortic stenosis, undergoing TAVR in the PARTNER 2 trial and registries.

Methods And Results: Intermediate to high or even prohibitive risk patients who underwent TAVR in the PARTNER 2 trial and registries were included in the analysis.

Regression of Left Ventricular Mass After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: The PARTNER Trials and Registries.

Background: Greater early left ventricular mass index (LVMi) regression is associated with fewer hospitalizations 1 year after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The association between LVMi regression and longer-term post-TAVR outcomes is unclear.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the association between LVMi regression at 1-year post-TAVR and clinical outcomes between 1 and 5 years.

Impact of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors on clinical outcomes in patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement: an analysis of from the PARTNER 2 trial and registries.

Aims: Left ventricular pressure overload is associated with activation of the cardiac renin-angiotensin system, which may contribute to myocardial fibrosis and worse clinical outcomes. We sought to assess the association between treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) at baseline and clinical outcomes in patients with symptomatic, severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in the PARTNER 2 trial and registries.

Methods And Results: A total of 3979 intermediate, high, or prohibitive risk patients who underwent TAVR in the PARTNER 2 trial and registries (excluding the valve in valve registry) were included in the study.

Uptake of Drug-Eluting Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffolds in Clinical Practice: An NCDR Registry to Practice Project.

Importance: Physicians have been criticized for having an overly enthusiastic response to new device approvals, especially for novel technologies. However, to our knowledge, the rates of new product adoption and patterns of new device usage in clinical practice have not been well described.

Objective: To characterize the patterns of uptake of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) within the United States following device approval and to describe changes in response to subsequent releases of data and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warnings.

CHA2DS2-VASc Score, Warfarin Use, and Risk for Thromboembolic Events Among HIV-Infected Persons With Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: The prevalence of atrial fibrillation in the HIV-infected population is growing, but the ability of the CHA2DS2-VASc score to predict thromboembolic (TE) risk is unknown in this population.

Setting: Within the Veterans Affairs HIV Clinical Case Registry, 914 patients had an atrial fibrillation diagnosis between 1997 and 2011 and no previous TE events.

Methods: We compared TE incidence by CHA2DS2-VASc scores and stratified by warfarin use.

Publication and reporting of clinical trial results: cross sectional analysis across academic medical centers.

Objective: To determine rates of publication and reporting of results within two years for all completed clinical trials registered in ClinicalTrials.gov across leading academic medical centers in the United States.

Design: Cross sectional analysis.

Ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms protect against myocardial infarctions.

There has been increasing evidence that ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAAs) protect against atherosclerosis. However, there have been no studies examining the relationship between ascending TAAs and clinical endpoints of atherosclerosis, such as stroke or peripheral arterial disease. In this study, we aim to characterize the relationship between TAAs and a specific clinical endpoint of atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction (MI).

Silver lining in the dark cloud of aneurysm disease.

An ascending aortic aneurysm is a common and very much unwelcome diagnosis that has never been associated with anything positive. We believe, however, that there actually is a silver lining to this disease: aortic root and ascending aortic aneurysms actually protect against atherosclerosis. We have found that patients with ascending aneurysms have both decreased arterial calcification and carotid intima-media thickness, late and early indicators of atherosclerosis, respectively.