Patient Education for CKD and Decision Support in Primary Care: Findings From the EPIK Pilot Study.

Rationale & Objective: Chronic kidney disease affects millions of people in the United States, yet effective interventions to address gaps in patient knowledge and engagement are not well established. We sought to develop and pilot a brief educational decision aid for patients with CKD cared for in primary care settings.

Study Design: A pilot QI study of a decision aid intervention.

Metformin Treatment With or Without Mediterranean Diet for the Prevention of Age-Related Diseases in People With Metabolic Syndrome: The MeMeMe Randomized Trial.

Objective: The Metformin and Dietary Restriction to Prevent Age-Related Morbid Events in People With Metabolic Syndrome (MeMeMe) trial tested whether 1,700 mg/day metformin (MET) with or without a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) intervention could reduce the cumulative incidence of major noncommunicable diseases in people with metabolic syndrome.

Research Design And Methods: A total of 1,442 participants were randomly assigned to one of four interventions: 1) MET (1,700 mg/day) plus MedDiet intervention (MET+MedDiet); 2) placebo plus MedDiet intervention; 3) MET (1,700 mg/day) alone; and 4) placebo alone. Participants were followed up for 3 years on average.

The role of diet as adjuvant treatment in FAP patients.

Background: The management of individuals with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) includes invasive prophylactic surgery and intensive endoscopic surveillance to reduce their risk of colorectal cancer. FAP patients frequently ask for dietary recommendations to alleviate bowel disturbances after prophylactic colectomy, and to prevent the formation and growth of new adenomas. We have enriched the multidisciplinary outpatient clinic for FAP with nutritional support.

Novel fermentations integrate traditional practice and rational design of fermented-food microbiomes.

Fermented foods and beverages have been produced around the world for millennia, providing humans with a range of gastronomic, cultural, health, and scientific benefits. Building on these traditional forms, a convergence of factors, including culinary innovation, globalization, shifts in consumer preferences, and advances in microbiome sciences, has led to the emergence of so-called 'novel fermentations'. In this review, we define novel fermentation as the confluence of traditional food practices and rational microbiome design.

Lessons from Extremophiles: Functional Adaptations and Genomic Innovations across the Eukaryotic Tree of Life.

From hydrothermal vents, to glaciers, to deserts, research in extreme environments has reshaped our understanding of how and where life can persist. Contained within the genomes of extremophilic organisms are the blueprints for a toolkit to tackle the multitude of challenges of survival in inhospitable environments. As new sequencing technologies have rapidly developed, so too has our understanding of the molecular and genomic mechanisms that have facilitated the success of extremophiles.

Feasibility and reliability of measured glomerular filtration rate with [I125]-iothalamate among young adults with mild-to-moderate cerebral palsy.

Objective: Despite the need, measuring glomerular filtration rate (mGFR) is not routinely performed for adults with cerebral palsy (CP), possibly due to unknown feasibility given the secondary complications of CP. This study aimed to assess the feasibility and reliability of mGFR and explore factors associated with eGFR-mGFR discordance among young adults with mild-to-moderate CP.

Methods: This single-center, cross-sectional study included 18- to 40-year-olds with CP gross motor function classification system (GMFCS) I-III.

A common ericoid shrub modulates the diversity and structure of fungal communities across an arbuscular to ectomycorrhizal tree dominance gradient.

Differences between arbuscular (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (EcM) trees strongly influence forest ecosystem processes, in part through their impact on saprotrophic fungal communities. Ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM) shrubs likely also impact saprotrophic communities given that they can shape nutrient cycling by slowing decomposition rates and intensifying nitrogen limitation. We investigated the depth distributions of saprotrophic and EcM fungal communities in paired subplots with and without a common understory ErM shrub, mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia L.

Responding to the ripple effects of sexual harassment: an emergency management framework.

Sexual harassment in academia is endemic driven by gender-based inequalities and sustained through organizational tolerance, and its impact extends beyond the primary victim(s). Applying principles of emergency management provides a framework for institutions to balance their obligations to the primary victim(s) while also acknowledging the need to restore the well-being and culture of secondary victims.

Plasma Concentration of 36 (Poly)phenols and Prospective Body Weight Change in Participants from the EPIC Cohort.

Introduction: Dietary intake of (poly)phenols has been linked to reduced adiposity and body weight (BW) in several epidemiological studies. However, epidemiological evidence on (poly)phenol biomarkers, particularly plasma concentrations, is scarce. We aimed to investigate the associations between plasma (poly)phenols and prospective BW change in participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

Supporting Patient-Centered Pregnancy Counseling in Nephrology Care: A Semistructured Interview Study of Patients and Nephrologists.

Introduction: Individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and are susceptible to disempowerment and decisional burden when receiving reproductive counseling and considering pregnancy. Nephrologists do not frequently counsel about reproductive health, and no tools exist to support patient-centered reproductive counseling for those with CKD.

Methods: A total of 30 patients aged 18 to 45 years with CKD stages 1 to 5 who were assigned female sex at birth and 12 nephrologists from a single academic medical center participated in semistructured qualitative interviews.

Corrigendum: Sleep behavior and daily activity levels in people with metabolic syndrome: effect of 1 year of metformin treatment.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2023.

CureGN-Diabetes Study: Rationale, Design, and Methods of a Prospective Observational Study of Glomerular Disease Patients with Diabetes.

Glomerular diseases (GDs) represent the third leading cause of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in the US Diabetes was excluded from the CureGN Study, an NIH/NIDDK-sponsored observational cohort study of four leading primary GDs: IgA nephropathy (IgAN), membranous nephropathy (MN), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), and minimal change disease (MCD). CureGN-Diabetes, an ancillary study to CureGN, seeks to understand how diabetes influences the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of GD. It is a multicenter, prospective cohort study, targeting an enrollment of 300 adults with prevalent type 1 or type 2 diabetes and MCD, FSGS, MN, or IgAN, with first kidney biopsy obtained within 5 years of enrollment in 80% (20% allowed if biopsy after 2010).

BACTERIAL EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES IN THE REGULATION OF INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE AND HOST-MICROBE INTERACTIONS.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a new revelation in cross-kingdom communication, with increasing evidence showing the diverse roles of bacterial EVs (BEVs) in mammalian cells and host-microbe interactions. Bacterial EVs include outer membrane vesicles released by gram-negative bacteria and membrane vesicles generated from gram-positive bacteria. Recently, BEVs have drawn attention for their potential as biomarkers and therapeutic tools because they are nano-sized and can deliver bacterial cargo into host cells.

Sleep behavior and daily activity levels in people with metabolic syndrome: effect of 1 year of metformin treatment.

Impaired sleep and low daily activity levels increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome (MS). Metformin (MET), an insulin sensitizer drug, is effective in regressing MS and has been recently studied as an adjuvant agent for managing sleep disorders. The present study aimed to assess whether 1,700 mg/day of MET treatment modifies sleep and daily activity levels in people with MS evaluated by Rest-Activity circadian Rhythm (RAR), which is the expression of 24 h of spontaneous activity parameters.

Intake of the Total, Classes, and Subclasses of (Poly)Phenols and Risk of Prostate Cancer: A Prospective Analysis of the EPIC Study.

Existing epidemiological evidence regarding the potential role of (poly)phenol intake in prostate cancer (PCa) risk is scarce and, in the case of flavonoids, it has been suggested that their intake may increase PCa risk. We investigated the associations between the intake of the total and individual classes and subclasses of (poly)phenols and the risk of PCa, including clinically relevant subtypes. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort included 131,425 adult men from seven European countries.

Cannabinoformins: Designing Biguanide-Embedded, Orally Available, Peripherally Selective Cannabinoid-1 Receptor Antagonists for Metabolic Syndrome Disorders.

We have designed orally bioavailable, non-brain-penetrant antagonists of the cannabinoid-1 receptor (CBR) with a built-in biguanide sensor to mimic 5'-adenosine monophosphate kinase (AMPK) activation for treating obesity-associated co-morbidities. A series of 3,4-diarylpyrazolines bearing rational pharmacophoric pendants designed to limit brain penetration were synthesized and evaluated in CBR ligand binding assays and recombinant AMPK assays. The compounds displayed high CBR binding affinity and potent CBR antagonist activities and acted as AMPK activators.

Extreme environments offer an unprecedented opportunity to understand microbial eukaryotic ecology, evolution, and genome biology.

Research in extreme environments has substantially expanded our understanding of the ecology and evolution of life on Earth, but a major group of organisms has been largely overlooked: microbial eukaryotes (i.e., protists).