Heart failure symptom clusters and functional status - a cross-sectional study.

Aim: To identify symptom clusters in individuals with heart failure and evaluate the relationship of the identified clusters to functional status.

Background: Heart Failure is a global health problem affecting approximately 1-2% of the adult population in developed countries worldwide. Individuals with heart failure may experience as many as nine symptoms and may limit activities that worsen their symptoms or adjust the way they engage in activities.

Assessment of methane emissions from oil and gas production pads using mobile measurements.

A new mobile methane emissions inspection approach, Other Test Method (OTM) 33A, was used to quantify short-term emission rates from 210 oil and gas production pads during eight two-week field studies in Texas, Colorado, and Wyoming from 2010 to 2013. Emission rates were log-normally distributed with geometric means and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of 0.33 (0.

A conceptual framework of stress vulnerability, depression, and health outcomes in women: potential uses in research on complementary therapies for depression.

Background: Depression is a chronic mental health condition that affects millions of individuals worldwide. It is well-established that psychological stress plays an integral role in depression and that depression has numerous negative health outcomes. However, a closer look at components of stress vulnerabilities and depression is required to allow for the development and testing of appropriate interventions.

Targeted quantitative analysis of a diurnal RuBisCO subunit expression and translation profile in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii introducing a novel Mass Western approach.

Unlabelled: RuBisCO catalyzes the rate-limiting step of CO2 fixation in photosynthesis. Hypothetical mechanisms for the regulation of rbcL and rbcS gene expression assume that both large (LSU) and small (SSU) RuBisCO subunit proteins (RSUs) are present in equimolar amounts to fit the 1:1 subunit stoichiometry of the holoenzyme. However, the actual quantities of the RSUs have never been determined in any photosynthetic organism.

Very-long-range disynaptic V1 connections through layer 6 pyramidal neurons revealed by transneuronal tracing with rabies virus.

Neurons in primary visual cortex (V1) integrate across the representation of the visual field through networks of long-range projecting pyramidal neurons. These projections, which originate from within V1 and through feedback from higher visual areas, are likely to play a key role in such visual processes as low contrast facilitation and extraclassical surround suppression. The extent of the visual field representation covered by feedback is generally much larger than that covered through monosynaptic horizontal connections within V1, and, although it may be possible that multisynaptic horizontal connections across V1 could also lead to more widespread spatial integration, nothing is known regarding such circuits.

Biobehavioral examination of fatigue across populations: report from a P30 Center of Excellence.

Objectives: This article reports the cross-studies analysis of projects from the P30 Center of Excellence for Biobehavioral Approaches to Symptom Management. Although the projects investigated diverse populations, a consistent theoretical and empirical approach guided each project.

Methods: Common data elements included the following measures of psychobehavioral variables: the PROMIS Short-Form Fatigue Scale, the Center of Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and the Perceived Stress Scale.

A biobehavioral perspective on telomere length and the exposome.

A major objective of biobehavioral research is defining the mechanisms that underlie linkages among behavior, biology, health, and disease. The genomic revolution has demonstrated the importance of studying the role of the environment in (epi)genetic mechanisms. The idea that interactions between environment and genetics influence health outcomes is a central concept of the exposome, a measure of environmental exposures throughout a lifetime.

Association of Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Fatigue: A Review of the Literature.

Fatigue is often described by patients as a lack of energy, mental or physical tiredness, diminished endurance, and prolonged recovery after physical activity. Etiologic mechanisms underlying fatigue are not well understood; however, fatigue is a hallmark symptom of mitochondrial disease, making mitochondrial dysfunction a putative biological mechanism for fatigue. Therefore, this review examined studies that investigated the association of markers of mitochondrial dysfunction with fatigue and proposes possible research directions to enhance understanding of the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in fatigue.

A critical appraisal of existing concepts for the grouping of nanomaterials.

The grouping of substances serves to streamline testing for regulatory purposes. General grouping approaches for chemicals have been implemented in, e.g.

Biologic comparison of inhaled insulin formulations: Exubera™ and novel spray-dried engineered particles of dextran-10.

Inhaled peptides and proteins have promise for respiratory and systemic disease treatment. Engineered spray-dried powder formulations have been shown to stabilize peptides and proteins and optimize aerosol properties for pulmonary delivery. The current study was undertaken to investigate the in vitro and in vivo inhalation performance of a model spray-dried powder of insulin and dextran 10 in comparison to Exubera™.

Shared symptoms and putative biological mechanisms in chronic liver disease: implications for biobehavioral research.

Liver disease affects over 25 million people in the United States and, despite advances in medical management resulting in increased survival, a majority of these individuals report multiple co-occurring symptoms that severely impair functioning and quality of life. The purpose of this review is to (1) propose defining these co-occurring symptoms as a symptom cluster of chronic liver disease (CLD), (2) discuss putative underlying biological mechanisms related to CLD, including the liver-gut-brain axis and influence of the microbiome, and (3) discuss the implications for biobehavioral research in this patient population. Biobehavioral research focusing on the interrelated, and possibly synergistic, mechanisms of these symptoms may lead to the development and testing of targeted symptom management interventions for improving function and quality of life in this growing patient population.

Depressive symptoms and cytokine levels in Serum and Tumor Tissue in patients with an Astrocytoma: a pilot study.

Background: Preoperative depressive symptoms are associated with poor outcomes in patients with an astrocytoma. Cytokines are associated with depressive symptoms in the general population and are important mediators of tumor growth and progression.The aims of this study were to: (1) characterize depressive symptoms, other treatment-related symptoms and biological mediators; and (2) determine whether preoperative depressive symptoms were associated with the selected biological mediators.

Telomere length: a review of methods for measurement.

Background: The exciting discovery that telomere shortening is associated with many health conditions and that telomere lengths can be altered in response to social and environmental exposures has underscored the need for methods to accurately and consistently quantify telomere length.

Objectives: The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive summary that compares and contrasts the current technologies used to assess telomere length.

Discussion: Multiple methods have been developed for the study of telomeres.

mzGroupAnalyzer--predicting pathways and novel chemical structures from untargeted high-throughput metabolomics data.

The metabolome is a highly dynamic entity and the final readout of the genotype x environment x phenotype (GxExP) relationship of an organism. Monitoring metabolite dynamics over time thus theoretically encrypts the whole range of possible chemical and biochemical transformations of small molecules involved in metabolism. The bottleneck is, however, the sheer number of unidentified structures in these samples.

Automated protein turnover calculations from 15N partial metabolic labeling LC/MS shotgun proteomics data.

Protein turnover is a well-controlled process in which polypeptides are constantly being degraded and subsequently replaced with newly synthesized copies. Extraction of composite spectral envelopes from complex LC/MS shotgun proteomics data can be a challenging task, due to the inherent complexity of biological samples. With partial metabolic labeling experiments this complexity increases as a result of the emergence of additional isotopic peaks.

Symptom Cluster Research in Women with Breast Cancer: A Comparison of Three Subgrouping Techniques.

Aims: To examine how symptom cluster subgroups defined by extreme discordant composite scores, cut-off scores, or a median split influence statistical associations with peripheral cytokine levels in women with breast cancer.

Background: Systemic cytokine dysregulation has been posited as a potential biological mechanism underlying symptom clusters in women with breast cancer. Symptom characteristics may play an important role in identifying cytokines of significant etiological importance, however, there is no consensus regarding the ideal subgrouping technique to use.

A Conceptual Model of Psychoneurological Symptom Cluster Variation in Women with Breast Cancer: Bringing Nursing Research to Personalized Medicine.

Personalized medicine applies knowledge about the patient's individual characteristics in relation to health and intervention outcomes, including treatment response and adverse side-effects, to develop a tailored treatment plan. For women with breast cancer, personalized medicine has substantially improved the rate of survival, however, a high proportion of these women report multiple, co-occurring psychoneurological symptoms over the treatment trajectory that adversely affect their quality of life. In a subset of these women, co-occurring symptoms referred to as symptoms clusters, can persist long after treatment has ended.

Priorities for oncology nursing research: the 2013 national survey.

Purpose/objectives: To advance the goals of evidence-based care and prioritize the knowledge generation that addresses contemporary challenges in oncology nursing. Results are used to inform the development of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Research Agenda and by the ONS Foundation to develop strategic research initiatives.

Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional survey.

An integrative review of factors associated with telomere length and implications for biobehavioral research.

Background: Although telomere shortening occurs as a natural part of aging, there is now a robust body of research that suggests that there is a relationship between psychosocial, environmental, and behavioral factors and changes in telomere length. These factors need to be considered when integrating telomere measurement in biobehavioral research studies.

Objectives: This article provides a brief summary of the known facts about telomere biology and an integrative review of current human research studies that assessed relationships between psychosocial, environmental, or behavioral factors and telomere length.

Interactions between snow chemistry, mercury inputs and microbial population dynamics in an Arctic snowpack.

We investigated the interactions between snowpack chemistry, mercury (Hg) contamination and microbial community structure and function in Arctic snow. Snowpack chemistry (inorganic and organic ions) including mercury (Hg) speciation was studied in samples collected during a two-month field study in a high Arctic site, Svalbard, Norway (79 °N). Shifts in microbial community structure were determined by using a 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic microarray.

Mass Western for absolute quantification of target proteins and considerations about the instrument of choice.

The Mass Western describes the absolute quantification of proteins based on stable isotope labeled integral standard peptides and liquid chromatography coupled selective reaction monitoring triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-SRM/MS). Here, we present a detailed workflow including tips and we discuss advantages and disadvantages of using different types of MS for absolute quantification.

Comprehensive cell-specific protein analysis in early and late pollen development from diploid microsporocytes to pollen tube growth.

Pollen development in angiosperms is one of the most important processes controlling plant reproduction and thus productivity. At the same time, pollen development is highly sensitive to environmental fluctuations, including temperature, drought, and nutrition. Therefore, pollen biology is a major focus in applied studies and breeding approaches for improving plant productivity in a globally changing climate.

Epigenetic alterations and an increased frequency of micronuclei in women with fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia (FM), characterized by chronic widespread pain, fatigue, and cognitive/mood disturbances, leads to reduced workplace productivity and increased healthcare expenses. To determine if acquired epigenetic/genetic changes are associated with FM, we compared the frequency of spontaneously occurring micronuclei (MN) and genome-wide methylation patterns in women with FM (n = 10) to those seen in comparably aged healthy controls (n = 42 (MN); n = 8 (methylation)). The mean (sd) MN frequency of women with FM (51.

Facial expression as an indicator of pain in critically ill intubated adults during endotracheal suctioning.

Background: Facial expression is often used to evaluate pain in noncommunicative critically ill patients.

Objectives: To describe facial behavior during endotracheal suctioning, determine facial behaviors that characterize the pain response, and describe the effect of patient factors on facial behavior during pain response.

Methods: Fifty noncommunicative patients receiving mechanical ventilation were video recorded during 2 phases (rest and endotracheal suctioning).