Early pulmonary rehabilitation after acute exacerbation of COPD: a randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish whether early pulmonary rehabilitation after severe exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) reduces mortality and hospital admissions, and increases physical performance and quality of life compared to rehabilitation initiated later in the stable phase of COPD.

Methods: In a randomised controlled trial of 150 patients hospitalised with an exacerbation of COPD, participants were allocated to pulmonary rehabilitation either within 2 weeks after discharge or the same rehabilitation programme but initiated 2 months after discharge.

Results: Early pulmonary rehabilitation did not prolong time to first hospital admission or time to death (hazard ratio 0.

Cooperation in Groups of Different Sizes: The Effects of Punishment and Reputation-Based Partner Choice.

Reputation and punishment are two distinct mechanisms that facilitate cooperation among strangers. However, empirical research on their effectiveness is mainly limited to relatively small groups and does not address how they enhance cooperation in relatively larger groups. We address this gap in the literature by testing hypotheses from competing perspectives about the extent to which reputation-based partner choice and punishment enhance cooperation in both small and large groups.

Exercise with food withdrawal at thermoneutrality impacts fuel use, the microbiome, AMPK phosphorylation, muscle fibers, and thyroid hormone levels in rats.

Exercise under fasting conditions induces a switch to lipid metabolism, eliciting beneficial metabolic effects. Knowledge of signaling responses underlying metabolic adjustments in such conditions may help to identify therapeutic strategies. Therefore, we studied the effect of mild exercise on rats submitted to food withdrawal at thermoneutrality (28°C) for 3 days.

Chronic Cough in Individuals With COPD: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Background: The role and impact of chronic cough in individuals with COPD have not been described in the general population. This study hypothesized that comorbid chronic cough is a marker of disease severity in individuals with COPD.

Methods: This study identified individuals with COPD and chronic cough, and recorded respiratory symptoms, health-care utilizations, lung function, and inflammatory biomarkers in blood in a nested cohort of 43,271 adults from the Copenhagen General Population Study (CGPS).

Results from a double blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled, feasibility trial of melatonin for the treatment of delirium in older medical inpatients.

Background: Delirium is common in elderly inpatients, causing distress, cognitive decline and death. No known intervention improves the course of delirium; current treatments are symptomatic, and limited by lack of efficacy and adverse effects. There is an urgent need to find an effective treatment for delirium.

A nurse-led paediatric oncology fast-track clinic proves a successful ambulatory intervention for patients.

Aim: To assess the impact of a pilot nurse-led paediatric oncology fast-track clinic (OFTC) for complications and side effects following chemotherapy within a paediatric tertiary hospital.

Methods: Prospective clinical data from the first 100 patients seen in the OFTC were compared with retrospective data of oncology patient presentations to the emergency department (ED) (over a 1-year period, n = 196) who would have been eligible for review in the OFTC. Parent and patient satisfaction of clinical care were also assessed via surveys pre- and post-OFTC implementation.

Prospective blinded Evaluation of the smartphone-based AliveCor Kardia ECG monitor for Atrial Fibrillation detection: The PEAK-AF study.

Introduction: The AliveCor Kardia ECG monitor (ACK) offers a smartphone-based one-lead ECG recording for the detection of atrial fibrillation. We compared ACK lead I recordings with the 12-lead ECG and introduce a novel parasternal lead (NPL).

Methods: Consecutive cardiac inpatients were recruited.

Prevalence, Characteristics, and Prognosis of Early Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. The Copenhagen General Population Study.

Identification of younger adults at high risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) could lead to implementation of preventive measures before disease onset and halt progression. To investigate the prevalence, characteristics, and prognosis of individuals with early COPD in the general population. We investigated 105,630 randomly chosen adults from a Danish contemporary population-based cohort.

Secular trends in smoking in relation to prevalent and incident smoking-related disease: A prospective population-based study.

Introduction: We examined changes in smoking habits in the general population according to prevalence and incidence of chronic diseases affected by smoking.

Methods: We included 12283 individuals enrolled from 2003 in the Copenhagen General Population Study and re-examined from 2014. Participants were classified as either healthy or suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, diabetes mellitus, heart disease or stroke.

miR-22-3p is involved in gluconeogenic pathway modulated by 3,5-diiodo-L-thyronine (T2).

The 3,5-diiodo-L-thyronine (T2) has emerged as an active iodothyronine and its beneficial effects on glucose metabolism including glucose tolerance and insulin resistance is well established. However, little is known about its molecular mechanisms. Given the emerging importance of microRNAs in various metabolic diseases, in this study a possible link between the effects of T2 on glucose metabolism and miRNA expression was investigated by using an in vivo model in which T2 was administered in rats receiving a high fat diet, a condition known to impair glucose homeostasis.

Long-term experience of atrioventricular node ablation in patients with refractory atrial arrhythmias.

Atrial fibrillation and other atrial tachyarrhythmias are increasing with age and concomitant morbidity. First options in symptomatic patients are drug treatment and catheter ablation. Nevertheless, a considerable number of patients suffer from refractory atrial tachyarrhythmias despite treatment.

How reproductive hormonal changes affect relationship dynamics for women and men: A 15-day diary study.

Research suggests that women's sexual psychology and behavior change across the ovulatory cycle, but very little is known about how fluctuations in estradiol and progesterone - two hormones that systematically vary across the ovulatory cycle - affect romantic relationship dynamics. We present the first dyadic study to assess daily hormonal fluctuations and personal and relationship well-being from both partners' perspectives. Specifically, we recruited women who were not using hormonal contraception and their partners for a 15-day diary study.

Acute hunger does not always undermine prosociality.

It has been argued that, when they are acutely hungry, people act in self-protective ways by keeping resources to themselves rather than sharing them. In four studies, using experimental, quasi-experimental, and correlational designs (total N = 795), we examine the effects of acute hunger on prosociality in a wide variety of non-interdependent tasks (e.g.

B Cell-Intrinsic SHP1 Expression Promotes the Gammaherpesvirus-Driven Germinal Center Response and the Establishment of Chronic Infection.

Gammaherpesviruses are ubiquitous pathogens that establish lifelong infections in the majority of adults worldwide. Chronic gammaherpesvirus infection has been implicated in both lymphomagenesis and, somewhat controversially, autoimmune disease development. Pathogenesis is largely associated with the unique ability of gammaherpesviruses to usurp B cell differentiation, specifically, the germinal center response, to establish long-term latency in memory B cells.

[Inhalers and inhalation techniques in the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].

A wide catalogue of inhalers is available today as described in this review, but many patients and healthcare professionals do not know how to use inhalers correctly. However, knowledge of the working principles and pros and cons of the various inhaler types may improve patient education and the correct choice of device. Which inhaler is the best suited cannot be determined without measuring the patient's inspiration flow and controlling the ability to coordinate and handle a device.

Tau-protein concentrations are not elevated in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), caused by infection with John Cunningham polyoma virus (JCPyV) in immune-compromised patients, is a serious demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. This disease often leads to major neurological impairments and consecutive disability. No effective treatment for PML has been found as yet.

β-Adrenergic genotypes and risk of severe exacerbations in COPD: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Individual susceptibility to exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is likely influenced by genetic factors; however, most such variance is unexplained. We hypothesised that β-adrenergic receptor genotypes, Gly16Arg (rs1042713, c.46G>A) and Gln27Glu (rs1042714, c.

Sensitive Determination of Proteolytic Proteoforms in Limited Microscale Proteome Samples.

Protein N termini unambiguously identify truncated, alternatively translated or modified proteoforms with distinct functions and reveal perturbations in disease. Selective enrichment of N-terminal peptides is necessary to achieve proteome-wide coverage for unbiased identification of site-specific regulatory proteolytic processing and protease substrates. However, many proteolytic processes are strictly confined in time and space and therefore can only be analyzed in minute samples that provide insufficient starting material for current enrichment protocols.

Absence of Uncoupling Protein-3 at Thermoneutrality Impacts Lipid Handling and Energy Homeostasis in Mice.

The role of uncoupling protein-3 (UCP3) in energy and lipid metabolism was investigated. Male wild-type (WT) and UCP3-null (KO) mice that were housed at thermoneutrality (30 °C) were used as the animal model. In KO mice, the ability of skeletal muscle mitochondria to oxidize fatty acids (but not pyruvate or succinate) was reduced.

Timing and methods of frailty assessments in geriatric trauma patients: A systematic review.

Introduction: The trauma population is aging and better prognostic measures for geriatric trauma patients are required. Frailty rather than age appears to be associated with poor outcomes. This systematic review aimed to identify the optimum frailty assessment instrument and timing of assessment in patients aged over 65 years admitted to hospital after traumatic injury.

Latitudinal gradients as scientific tools for psychologists.

It is an unmistakable fact of life that animals and plants function differently at lower and higher latitudes with distinct temperatures and rainfall. No less unmistakable are the opposite directions of these latitudinal gradients above and below the equator. Therefore, it would be surprising if there were no opposite north-south gradients in human functioning in the northern and southern hemispheres.