Impact of psychosocial factors on the success of neuromodulation treatment for patients with persistent pain.

Introduction: Significant interindividual variability in spinal cord stimulation (SCS) outcomes exists. Due to its high cost and risks of complications, criteria to guide patient selection for SCS trials and their outcomes would be helpful. With increased focus on the use of patient-reported outcomes to improve care, we aim to evaluate the National Institute of Health Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System measures for an association with successful SCS trials in patients with persistent pain.

The Role of Early Life Gut Mycobiome on Child Health.

The human gut microbiota is composed of bacteria (microbiota or microbiome), fungi (mycobiome), viruses, and archaea, but most of the research is primarily focused on the bacterial component of this ecosystem. Besides bacteria, fungi have been shown to play a role in host health and physiologic functions. However, studies on mycobiota composition during infancy, the factors that might shape infant gut mycobiota, and implications to child health and development are limited.

Enhancer-activated RET confers protection against oxidative stress to KMT2A-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia.

Ectopic activation of rearranged during transfection (RET) has been reported to facilitate lineage differentiation and cell proliferation in different cytogenetic subtypes of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Herein, we demonstrate that RET is significantly (p < 0.01) upregulated in AML subtypes containing rearrangements of the lysine methyltransferase 2A gene (KMT2A), commonly referred to as KMT2A-rearranged (KMT2A-r) AML.

Identification of Regulatory Elements in Primary Sensory Neurons Involved in Trauma-Induced Neuropathic Pain.

Chronic pain is a significant public health issue that is often refractory to existing therapies. Here we use a multiomic approach to identify cis-regulatory elements that show differential chromatin accessibility and reveal transcription factor (TF) binding motifs with functional regulation in the rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG), which contain cell bodies of primary sensory neurons, after nerve injury. We integrated RNA-seq to understand how differential chromatin accessibility after nerve injury may influence gene expression.

Spinal Cord Stimulation Increases Chemoefficacy and Prevents Paclitaxel-Induced Pain via CX3CL1.

Introduction: Despite increasing utilization of spinal cord stimulation (SCS), its effects on chemoefficacy, cancer progression, and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) pain remain unclear. Up to 30% of adults who are cancer survivors may suffer from CIPN, and there are currently no effective preventative treatments.

Materials And Methods: Through a combination of bioluminescent imaging, behavioral, biochemical, and immunohistochemical approaches, we investigated the role of SCS and paclitaxel (PTX) on tumor growth and PTX-induced peripheral neuropathy (PIPN) pain development in T-cell-deficient male rats (Crl:NIH-Foxn1) with xenograft human non-small cell lung cancer.

De novo methylation of histone H3K23 by the methyltransferases EHMT1/GLP and EHMT2/G9a.

Epigenetic modifications to histone proteins serve an important role in regulating permissive and repressive chromatin states, but despite the identification of many histone PTMs and their perceived role, the epigenetic writers responsible for generating these chromatin signatures are not fully characterized. Here, we report that the canonical histone H3K9 methyltransferases EHMT1/GLP and EHMT2/G9a are capable of catalyzing methylation of histone H3 lysine 23 (H3K23). Our data show that while both enzymes can mono- and di-methylate H3K23, only EHMT1/GLP can tri-methylate H3K23.

CCAAT enhancer binding protein gamma (C/EBP-γ): An understudied transcription factor.

The CCAAT enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) family of transcription factors are important transcriptional mediators of a wide range of physiologic processes. C/EBP-γ is the shortest C/EBP protein and lacks a canonical activation domain for the recruitment of transcriptional machinery. Despite its ubiquitous expression and ability to dimerize with other C/EBP proteins, C/EBP-γ has been studied far less than other C/EBP proteins, and, to our knowledge, no review of its functions has been written.

Global gene expression and chromatin accessibility of the peripheral nervous system in animal models of persistent pain.

Background: Efforts to understand genetic variability involved in an individual's susceptibility to chronic pain support a role for upstream regulation by epigenetic mechanisms.

Methods: To examine the transcriptomic and epigenetic basis of chronic pain that resides in the peripheral nervous system, we used RNA-seq and ATAC-seq of the rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) to identify novel molecular pathways associated with pain hypersensitivity in two well-studied persistent pain models induced by chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve and intra-plantar injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) in rats.

Results: Our RNA-seq studies identify a variety of biological process related to synapse organization, membrane potential, transmembrane transport, and ion binding.

Human brain region-specific variably methylated regions are enriched for heritability of distinct neuropsychiatric traits.

Background: DNA methylation dynamics in the brain are associated with normal development and neuropsychiatric disease and differ across functionally distinct brain regions. Previous studies of genome-wide methylation differences among human brain regions focus on limited numbers of individuals and one to two brain regions.

Results: Using GTEx samples, we generate a resource of DNA methylation in purified neuronal nuclei from 8 brain regions as well as lung and thyroid tissues from 12 to 23 donors.

Spinal cord stimulation prevents paclitaxel-induced mechanical and cold hypersensitivity and modulates spinal gene expression in rats.

Introduction: Paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy (PIPN) is a common dose-limiting side effect of this cancer treatment drug. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has demonstrated efficacy for attenuating some neuropathic pain conditions.

Objective: We aim to examine the inhibitory effect of SCS on the development of PIPN pain and changes of gene expression in the spinal cord in male rats after SCS.

Sex differences in gene regulation in the dorsal root ganglion after nerve injury.

Background: Pain is a subjective experience derived from complex interactions among biological, environmental, and psychosocial pathways. Sex differences in pain sensitivity and chronic pain prevalence are well established. However, the molecular basis underlying these sex dimorphisms are poorly understood particularly with regard to the role of the peripheral nervous system.

RNA-seq of spinal cord from nerve-injured rats after spinal cord stimulation.

Spinal cord stimulation has become an important modality in pain treatment especially for neuropathic pain conditions refractory to pharmacotherapy. However, the molecular control of inhibitory and excitatory mechanisms observed after spinal cord stimulation are poorly understood. Here, we used RNA-seq to identify differences in the expression of genes and gene networks in spinal cord tissue from nerve-injured rats with and without repetitive conventional spinal cord stimulation treatment.

Peripherally Acting μ-Opioid Receptor Agonists Attenuate Ongoing Pain-associated Behavior and Spontaneous Neuronal Activity after Nerve Injury in Rats.

Background: Ongoing neuropathic pain is difficult to treat. The authors examined whether dermorphin [D-Arg2, Lys4] (1-4) amide, a peripherally acting µ-opioid receptor agonist, attenuates ongoing pain-associated manifestations after nerve injury in rats and mice.

Methods: Using conditioned place preference assay, the authors tested whether animals show a preference to the environment associated with drug treatment.

Associations between genetic and epigenetic variations in cytokine genes and mild persistent breast pain in women following breast cancer surgery.

Persistent pain following breast cancer surgery is a significant problem. Both inherited and acquired mechanisms of inflammation appear to play a role in the development and maintenance of persistent pain. In this longitudinal study, growth mixture modeling was used to identify persistent breast pain phenotypes based on pain assessments obtained prior to and monthly for 6months following breast cancer surgery.

Association of Implementation of Practice Standards for Electrocardiographic Monitoring With Nurses' Knowledge, Quality of Care, and Patient Outcomes: Findings From the Practical Use of the Latest Standards of Electrocardiography (PULSE) Trial.

Background: Although continuous electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring is ubiquitous in hospitals, monitoring practices are inconsistent. We evaluated implementation of American Heart Association practice standards for ECG monitoring on nurses' knowledge, quality of care, and patient outcomes.

Methods And Results: The PULSE (Practical Use of the Latest Standards of Electrocardiography) Trial was a 6-year multisite randomized clinical trial with crossover that took place in 65 cardiac units in 17 hospitals.

Reader domain specificity and lysine demethylase-4 family function.

The KDM4 histone demethylases are conserved epigenetic regulators linked to development, spermatogenesis and tumorigenesis. However, how the KDM4 family targets specific chromatin regions is largely unknown. Here, an extensive histone peptide microarray analysis uncovers trimethyl-lysine histone-binding preferences among the closely related KDM4 double tudor domains (DTDs).

Epigenetic regulation and measurement of epigenetic changes.

Epigenetic mechanisms provide an adaptive layer of control in the regulation of gene expression that enables an organism to adjust to a changing environment. Epigenetic regulation increases the functional complexity of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by altering chromatin structure, nuclear organization, and transcript stability. These changes may additively or synergistically influence gene expression and result in long-term molecular and functional consequences independent of the DNA sequence that may ultimately define an individual's phenotype.

The success of enteral nutrition and ICU-acquired infections: a multicenter observational study.

Background And Aims: The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between increasing success with enteral nutrition (EN) and acquired infection in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Methods: We conducted a prospective, multicenter, observational study in 3 Medical/Surgical ICUs. We included patients mechanically ventilated in ICU more than 72 h and who received enteral nutrition only.

Improving nurses' ability to identify anatomic location and leads on 12-lead electrocardiograms with ST elevation myocardial infarction.

Background: ST segment elevation on the electrocardiogram (ECG) signifies complete occlusion of a coronary artery. Nurses play a significant role in obtaining, interpreting, and communicating 12-lead ECG findings.

Aims: We evaluate a hand held paper tool to determine if it assists nurses; (1) identify the presence of ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), (2) location, and (3) leads.

Evaluation of a device to facilitate female urethral catheterization.

Urethral catheterization is a skilled procedure that nurses in hospital settings perform routinely. The opening of the female urethra is located within the vulvar vestibule, making insertion of urinary catheters into females a greater technical challenge than in males. Researchers evaluated whether a new device might decrease the time required for catheter insertion, increase the likelihood of inserting the catheter on the first attempt (improved accuracy), and reduce patient discomfort.

Interpreting 12-lead electrocardiograms for acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction: what nurses know.

In patients with acute myocardial infarction, early reperfusion and sustained patency of the culprit artery are important determinants of survival. The 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is considered the noninvasive gold standard for identification of acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Nurses play a critical role in the process of obtaining, interpreting, and communicating ECG findings.

An evaluation of a numbered surgical sponge product.

Surgical sponge counting is an essential patient safety measure in the OR in which all members of the surgical team must participate. The RN acting as circulator is responsible for accurately documenting sponge counts during the surgical procedure. A sequentially numbered sponge product was evaluated in a survey of OR personnel to determine ease of use and whether the product affected the flow of the surgical procedure.

New female catheterization device.

Data from one patient enrolled in the early phase of the ongoing clinical trial evaluating an experimental device called the Cath-Assist are presented. The device is designed to facilitate female urethral catheterization by exposing the vulvar vestibule, isolating the urethral opening, and blocking the entrance to the vagina.

An aerosolized fluorescent microsphere technique for evaluating particle deposition in the avian respiratory tract.

The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of using aerosolized fluorescent microspheres to examine particle distribution in the respiratory tract of birds following aerosol exposure. Adult domestic pigeons (Columbia livia domestica; n = 5 birds per microsphere size) were exposed to aerosolized monodispersed populations of various sized carboxylate microspheres (0.5, 1.