Characterization of Clinically Relevant Strains of Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase-Producing Occurring in Environmental Sources in a Rural Area of China by Using Whole-Genome Sequencing.

is a gram-negative, opportunistic pathogen, and a common cause of healthcare-associated infections such as pneumonia, septicemia, and urinary tract infection. The purpose of this study was to survey the occurrence of and characterize in different environmental sources in a rural area of Shandong province, China. Two hundred and thirty-one samples from different environmental sources in 12 villages were screened for extended-spectrum β-lactamase-(ESBL)-producing , and 14 (6%) samples were positive.

Sublingual immunotherapy alters salivary IgA and systemic immune mediators in timothy allergic children.

Background: Immunomodulatory effects of sublingual immunotherapy on systemic and mucosal mediators in allergic children are largely unexplored. The aim of this study was to investigate allergy-related cytokine and chemokine levels, as well as IgA-responses upon a 3-year treatment with timothy grass pollen sublingual immunotherapy in children with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis.

Methods: From children included in the GRAZAX Asthma Prevention study, blood and saliva samples were analyzed at inclusion, after 3 years of treatment, and 2 years after treatment ending.

Glial activation and inflammation along the Alzheimer's disease continuum.

Background: Neuronal and glial cell interaction is essential for synaptic homeostasis and may be affected in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We measured cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neuronal and glia markers along the AD continuum, to reveal putative protective or harmful stage-dependent patterns of activation.

Methods: We included healthy controls (n = 36) and Aβ-positive (Aβ+) cases (as defined by pathological CSF amyloid beta 1-42 (Aβ42)) with either subjective cognitive decline (SCD, n = 19), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 39), or AD dementia (n = 27).

Health-related quality of life worsens by school age amongst children with food allergy.

Background: Food allergy is negatively associated with health-related quality of life (HRQL). Although differences exist between parents and children, less is known about age-specific differences amongst children. As such, we aimed to identify if age, as well as other factors, are associated with food allergy-specific HRQL in an objectively defined population of children.

The ability of locked nucleic acid oligonucleotides to pre-structure the double helix: A molecular simulation and binding study.

Locked nucleic acid (LNA) oligonucleotides bind DNA target sequences forming Watson-Crick and Hoogsteen base pairs, and are therefore of interest for medical applications. To be biologically active, such an oligonucleotide has to efficiently bind the target sequence. Here we used molecular dynamics simulations and electrophoresis mobility shift assays to elucidate the relation between helical structure and affinity for LNA-containing oligonucleotides.

Dairy Product Intake and Cardiometabolic Diseases in Northern Sweden: A 33-Year Prospective Cohort Study.

Dairy products are important constituents of most diets, and their association with adverse health outcomes remains a focus. We characterized dairy food intake and examined associations with the incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D), myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke among 108,065 Swedish men and women. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs were estimated using the multivariable Cox proportional hazards models in a population characterized by high milk tolerance.

Adverse events in prehospital emergency care: a trigger tool study.

Background: Prehospital emergency care has developed rapidly during the past decades. The care is given in a complex context which makes prehospital care a potential high-risk activity when it comes to patient safety. Patient safety in the prehospital setting has been only sparsely investigated.

Amyloid-β Peptide Targeting Peptidomimetics for Prevention of Neurotoxicity.

A new generation of ligands designed to interact with the α-helix/β-strand discordant region of the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) and to counteract its oligomerization is presented. These ligands are designed to interact with and stabilize the Aβ central helix (residues 13-26) in an α-helical conformation with increased interaction by combining properties of several first-generation ligands. The new peptide-like ligands aim at extended hydrophobic and polar contacts across the central part of the Aβ, that is, "clamping" the target.

HER2 CAR-T Cells Eradicate Uveal Melanoma and T-cell Therapy-Resistant Human Melanoma in IL2 Transgenic NOD/SCID IL2 Receptor Knockout Mice.

Chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) can transmit signals akin to those from activated T-cell receptors when bound to a cell surface target. CAR-expressing T cells against CD19 can cause curative effects in leukemia and lymphoma and is approved for clinical use. However, no CAR-T therapy is currently approved for use in solid tumors.

Adherence to the mediterranean diet and lymphoma risk in the european prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition.

There is a growing evidence of the protective role of the Mediterranean diet (MD) on cancer. However, no prospective study has yet investigated its influence on lymphoma. We evaluated the association between adherence to the MD and risk of lymphoma and its subtypes in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study.

The final assessment and its association with field assessment in patients who were transported by the emergency medical service.

Background: In patients who call for the emergency medical service (EMS), there is a knowledge gap with regard to the final assessment after arriving at hospital and its association with field assessment.

Aim: In a representative population of patients who call for the EMS, to describe a) the final assessment at hospital discharge and b) the association between the assessment in the field and the assessment at hospital discharge.

Methods: Thirty randomly selected patients reached by a dispatched ambulance each month between 1 Jan and 31 Dec 2016 in one urban, one rural and one mixed ambulance organisation in Sweden took part in the study.

Physicochemical and structural properties of starch from five Andean crops grown in Bolivia.

Three Andean grains - amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus), quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), canihua (Chenopodium pallidicaulle) - and two Andean roots starches - achira (Canna indica), maca (Lepidium meyenii) - were studied. Physicochemical properties such as granule size, crystallinity, pasting properties among other as well as structural properties such as root-mean-square radius (r), weight-average molar mass (M) and apparent density (ρ) were analyzed in order to evaluate the relation between them. Grains were similar in most of their characteristics as roots in their i.

Characterization of non-solvent precipitated starch using asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation coupled with multiple detectors.

Non-solvent precipitated starch (non-SPS) is a novel component for starch-based emulsions. Herein, three non-SPS materials were prepared using ethanol as a precipitant of waxy maize starch granules (WMs). The WMs were either untreated (SP) or pre-treated via acid-hydrolysis (AHSP).

Characterization of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli harboring mcr-1 and toxin genes from human fecal samples from China.

Aim: To characterize extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli harboring the colistin resistance gene mcr-1 from human fecal samples collected in 2012 in a rural area of Shandong province, PR China.

Materials & Methods: Whole-genome sequencing and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on 25 mcr-1-positive isolates to determine carriage of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes, diversity and antibiotic resistance profiles.

Results: The isolates were highly genetically diverse and carried a large variety of different antibiotic resistance genes.

Dairy intake revisited - associations between dairy intake and lifestyle related cardio-metabolic risk factors in a high milk consuming population.

Background: The association between milk and dairy intake and the incidence of cardiometabolic diseases, cancer and mortality has been evaluated in many studies, but these studies have had conflicting results with no clear conclusion on causal or confounding associations. The present study aims to further address this association by cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluation of the associations between exposure to various types of dairy products and metabolic risk markers among inhabitants in northern Sweden while taking other lifestyle factors into account.

Methods: Respondents in the Västerbotten Intervention Programme with complete and plausible diet data between 1991 and 2016 were included, yielding 124,934 observations from 90,512 unique subjects.

Goal-directed therapy during transthoracic oesophageal resection does not improve outcome: Randomised controlled trial.

Background: Goal-directed therapy (GDT) is expected to be of highest benefit in high-risk surgery. Therefore, GDT is recommended during oesophageal resection, which carries a high risk of postoperative complications.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to confirm the hypothesis that GDT during oesophageal resection improves outcome compared with standard care.

CSF sTREM2 in delirium-relation to Alzheimer's disease CSF biomarkers Aβ42, t-tau and p-tau.

Background: Delirium and dementia share symptoms of cognitive dysfunctions, and mechanisms of neuroinflammation appear involved in both conditions. Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) is linked to dementia and neurodegenerative disease. It encodes expression of an innate immune receptor in the brain expressed by microglia.

Duration of travel-associated faecal colonisation with ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae - A one year follow-up study.

Background: In a previous study, we found that 30% of individuals travelling outside Scandinavia acquired extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-PE) in their faecal flora. The aim of this study was to determine the duration of travel-associated faecal colonisation with ESBL-PE, to assess risk factors for prolonged colonisation and to detect changes in antibiotic susceptibility during prolonged colonisation.

Methods: Individuals with travel-associated colonisation with ESBL-PE submitted faecal samples every 3rd month over a one-year period.

Clinical effectiveness of golimumab in Crohn's disease: an observational study based on the Swedish National Quality Registry for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (SWIBREG).

Objective: The effectiveness of golimumab in Crohn's disease (CD) is largely unknown as it is not approved for the treatment of the disease. We aimed to identify the population of CD patients treated with golimumab in Sweden, to assess the effectiveness of golimumab (defined as the drug retention rate), and to identify predictors of drug discontinuation.

Methods: Patients with CD who received at least one injection of golimumab were identified through the Swedish National Quality Registry for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, which includes prospectively collected clinical information.

Imbalances in tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases differentiate choroidal neovascularization from geographic atrophy.

Purpose: Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) is known to play a role in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We wished to investigate alterations in different late stages of AMD: neovascular AMD and geographic atrophy (GA).

Methods: This was a prospective case-control study.

Overview of the current status of familial hypercholesterolaemia care in over 60 countries - The EAS Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Studies Collaboration (FHSC).

Background And Aims: Management of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) may vary across different settings due to factors related to population characteristics, practice, resources and/or policies. We conducted a survey among the worldwide network of EAS FHSC Lead Investigators to provide an overview of FH status in different countries.

Methods: Lead Investigators from countries formally involved in the EAS FHSC by mid-May 2018 were invited to provide a brief report on FH status in their countries, including available information, programmes, initiatives, and management.

Scanning electron microscopy as a tool for evaluating morphology of amyloid structures formed on surface plasmon resonance chips.

We demonstrate the use of Scanning Electron microscopy (SEM) in combination with Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) to probe and verify the formation of amyloid and its morphology on an SPR chip. SPR is a technique that measures changes in the immobilized weight on the chip surface and is frequently used to probe the formation and biophysical properties of amyloid structures. In this context it is of interest to also monitor the morphology of the formed structures.

Pleth variability index or stroke volume optimization during open abdominal surgery: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The impact of Goal Directed Fluid Therapy (GDFT) based on the non-invasive Pleth Variability Index (PVI) on clinical outcome after abdominal surgery has only sparingly been explored. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of intraoperative GDFT guided by PVI to a control group using esophageal Doppler on the incidence of complications and length of hospital stay after major abdominal surgery. We hypothesized that there would be no difference between the groups.

Decision-makers and mediators in a home healthcare digitisation process: nurses' experiences of implementation and use of a decision support system.

Background: This study focuses on a decision support system (DSS) for home healthcare and the implementation of it.

Aim: To describe home healthcare nurses' experiences of the implementation and use of a new DSS, with a focus on how it influences decision making in everyday work practice.

Design: A qualitative research design.