Randomized, Controlled Trial of an Advance Care Planning Video Decision Support Tool for Patients With Advanced Heart Failure.

Background: Conversations about goals of care and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)/intubation for patients with advanced heart failure can be difficult. This study examined the impact of a video decision support tool and patient checklist on advance care planning for patients with heart failure.

Methods: This was a multisite, randomized, controlled trial of a video-assisted intervention and advance care planning checklist versus a verbal description in 246 patients ≥64 years of age with heart failure and an estimated likelihood of death of >50% within 2 years.

Ovarian function after hematopoietic cell transplantation: a descriptive study following the use of GnRH agonists for myeloablative conditioning and observation only for reduced-intensity conditioning.

Gonadal failure is a health and quality-of-life concern in hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) survivors. While ovarian dysfunction is nearly universal following myeloablative (MA) conditioning, the risk is unclear after reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC). Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists decrease ovarian failure rates following conventional chemotherapy, but little is known about its effectiveness with HCT.

Insertion of perilipin 3 into a glycero(phospho)lipid monolayer depends on lipid headgroup and acyl chain species.

Lipid droplets (LDs) are organelles that contribute to various cellular functions that are vital for life. Aside from acting as a neutral lipid storage depot, they are also involved in building new membranes, synthesis of steroid hormones, and cell signaling. Many aspects of LD structure and function are not yet well-understood.

Improving Patient Outcomes: Effectively Training Healthcare Staff in Psychological Practice Skills: A Mixed Systematic Literature Review.

Training is an important part of modern European healthcare services and is often cited as a way to improve care quality. To date, various training methods have been used to impart skills relevant to psychological practice in a variety of mental health professionals. However, patient outcomes are rarely used in evaluating the effectiveness of the different training methods used, making it difficult to assess true utility.

Impact of strategies to reduce polypharmacy on clinically relevant endpoints: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to explore the impact of strategies to reduce polypharmacy on mortality, hospitalization and change in number of drugs.

Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis: a systematic literature search targeting patients ≥65 years with polypharmacy (≥4 drugs), focusing on patient-relevant outcome measures, was conducted. We included controlled studies aiming to reduce polypharmacy.

Epimural Indicator Phylotypes of Transiently-Induced Subacute Ruminal Acidosis in Dairy Cattle.

The impact of a long-term subacute rumen acidosis (SARA) on the bovine epimural bacterial microbiome (BEBM) and its consequences for rumen health is poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate shifts in the BEBM during a long-term transient SARA model consisting of two concentrate-diet-induced SARA challenges separated by a 1-week challenge break. Eight cows were fed forage and varying concentrate amounts throughout the experiment.

Psychrophile spoilers dominate the bacterial microbiome in musculature samples of slaughter pigs.

The aim of this study was to disentangle the microbial diversity on porcine musculature. The hypervariable V1-V2 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified from DNA samples of clinically healthy slaughter pigs (n=8). Pyrosequencing yielded 37,000 quality-controlled reads and a diverse microbiome with 54-159 OTUs per sample was detected.

The Klebsiella pneumoniae O12 ATP-binding Cassette (ABC) Transporter Recognizes the Terminal Residue of Its O-antigen Polysaccharide Substrate.

Export of the Escherichia coli serotype O9a O-antigenic polysaccharides (O-PS) involves an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter. The process requires a non-reducing terminal residue, which is recognized by a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) appended to the C terminus of the nucleotide-binding domain of the transporter. Here, we investigate the process in Klebsiella pneumoniae serotype O12 (and Raoultella terrigena ATCC 33257).

Chemokine (C-C Motif) Receptor 2 Mediates Dendritic Cell Recruitment to the Human Colon but Is Not Responsible for Differences Observed in Dendritic Cell Subsets, Phenotype, and Function Between the Proximal and Distal Colon.

Background & Aims: Most knowledge about gastrointestinal (GI)-tract dendritic cells (DC) relies on murine studies where CD103 DC specialize in generating immune tolerance with the functionality of CD11b subsets being unclear. Information about human GI-DC is scarce, especially regarding regional specifications. Here, we characterized human DC properties throughout the human colon.

Frequency and characteristics of healthcare visits associated with chronic pain: results from a population-based Canadian study.

Purpose: This study was designed to investigate the role of chronic pain in healthcare visits. The specific objectives were to document the frequency of healthcare visits and to identify characteristics associated with frequent visits.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of data from a Canadian cross-sectional study on chronic pain.

Assessment of EGFR Mutation Status in Matched Plasma and Tumor Tissue of NSCLC Patients from a Phase I Study of Rociletinib (CO-1686).

Purpose: The evaluation of plasma testing for the EGFR resistance mutation T790M in NSCLC patients has not been broadly explored. We investigated the detection of EGFR activating and T790M mutations in matched tumor tissue and plasma, mostly from patients with acquired resistance to first-generation EGFR inhibitors.

Experimental Design: Samples were obtained from two studies, an observational study and a phase I trial of rociletinib, a mutant-selective inhibitor of EGFR that targets both activating mutations and T790M.

The Metabolically Active Bacterial Microbiome of Tonsils and Mandibular Lymph Nodes of Slaughter Pigs.

The exploration of microbiomes in lymphatic organs is relevant for basic and applied research into explaining microbial translocation processes and understanding cross-contamination during slaughter. This study aimed to investigate whether metabolically active bacteria (MAB) could be detected within tonsils and mandibular lymph nodes (MLNs) of pigs. The hypervariable V1-V2 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA genes was amplified from cDNA from tonsils and MLNs of eight clinically healthy slaughter pigs.

A Review of the Role of Food and the Food System in the Transmission and Spread of Ebolavirus.

The current outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) centered in West Africa is the largest in history, with nearly ten times more individuals contracting the disease than all previous outbreaks combined. The details of human-to-human and zoonotic ebolavirus transmission have justifiably received the largest share of research attention, and much information exists on these topics. However, although food processing-in the form of slaughtering and preparing wildlife for consumption (referred to as bushmeat)-has been implicated in EVD outbreaks, the full role of food in EVD spread is poorly understood and has been little studied.

Adaptation of the cecal bacterial microbiome of growing pigs in response to resistant starch type 4.

Resistant starch (RS) exacerbates health benefits on the host via modulation of the gut bacterial community. By far, these effects have been less well explored for RS of type 4. This study aimed at gaining a community-wide insight into the impact of enzymatically modified starch (EMS) on the cecal microbiota and hindgut fermentation in growing pigs.

Photoreducible Mercury Loss from Arctic Snow Is Influenced by Temperature and Snow Age.

Mercury (Hg) is an important environmental contaminant, due to its neurotoxicity and ability to bioaccumulate. The Arctic is a mercury-sensitive region, where organisms can accumulate high Hg concentrations. Snowpack mercury photoredox reactions may control how much Hg is transported with melting Arctic snow.

Bacteriophage-mediated Glucosylation Can Modify Lipopolysaccharide O-Antigens Synthesized by an ATP-binding Cassette (ABC) Transporter-dependent Assembly Mechanism.

Lysogenic bacteriophages may encode enzymes that modify the structures of lipopolysaccharide O-antigen glycans, altering the structure of the bacteriophage receptor and resulting in serotype conversion. This can enhance virulence and has implications for antigenic diversity and vaccine development. Side chain glucosylation is a common modification strategy found in a number of bacterial species.

High diversity of viable bacteria isolated from lymph nodes of slaughter pigs and its possible impacts for food safety.

Aims: Ileocaecal lymph nodes (ICLNs) of pigs, the key immune inductive site for bacterial systemic invasion, were examined in this study with emphasis on viable and cultivable bacteria.

Methods And Results: Asymptomatic and pathologically altered ICLNs of slaughter pigs (n = 16) with hyperplasia, purulence or granulomatous formations were aerobically and anaerobically cultivated. In total, 209 isolates were collected and the near full-length 16S rRNA gene from each isolate was sequenced.

Variable alterations of the microbiota, without metabolic or immunological change, following faecal microbiota transplantation in patients with chronic pouchitis.

Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is effective in the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection, where efficacy correlates with changes in microbiota diversity and composition. The effects of FMT on recipient microbiota in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) remain unclear. We assessed the effects of FMT on microbiota composition and function, mucosal immune response, and clinical outcome in patients with chronic pouchitis.

1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 acts via transforming growth factor-β to up-regulate expression of immunosuppressive CD73 on human CD4+ Foxp3- T cells.

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased incidence and severity of various immune-mediated diseases. Active vitamin D (1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3; 1,25(OH)2 D3) up-regulates CD4(+) T-cell expression of the purine ectonucleotidase CD39, a molecule that is associated with the generation of anti-inflammatory adenosine. Here we aimed to investigate the direct impact of 1,25(OH)2 D3 on expression of the downstream ecto-5'-nucleotidase CD73 by human CD4 T cells, and components of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) pathway, which have been implicated in the modulation of CD73 by murine T cells.

Dark Matter Search Results from the PICO-2L C3F8 Bubble Chamber.

New data are reported from the operation of a 2 liter C3F8 bubble chamber in the SNOLAB underground laboratory, with a total exposure of 211.5 kg days at four different energy thresholds below 10 keV. These data show that C3F8 provides excellent electron-recoil and alpha rejection capabilities at very low thresholds.