The LTAR Integrated Common Experiment at Southern Plains.

The Southern Plains (SP) is one of 18 Long-Term Agroecosystem Research network sites that combine strategic research projects with common measurements across multiple agroecosystems. Projects at the SP site focus on the use of indicator measurements to aid in assessment of land and nutrient management's impact on soil health, water quality, carbon and water balances, and forage biomass-quality in diversified, adaptive crop-livestock systems designed to overcome shifts in natural resources and climate. The prevailing treatment is tilled winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.

Comparative Safety and Effectiveness of Ustekinumab and Anti-TNF in Elderly Crohn's Disease Patients.

Background: Biologic therapies are associated with increased infection risk among elderly patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, there are few data on the safety and effectiveness of ustekinumab compared with anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) agents in the elderly.

Methods: The study sought to compare the safety and effectiveness of ustekinumab and anti-TNF agents in elderly Crohn's disease (CD) patients.

Ustekinumab and Vedolizumab Are Equally Safe and Effective in Elderly Crohn's Disease Patients.

Background: Anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) agents are associated with increased infection risk among elderly inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients, and thus, alternative biologics may be preferable. However, little comparative data exist on the safety and efficacy of vedolizumab and ustekinumab in elderly IBD patients.

Aims: To compare the safety and effectiveness of ustekinumab and vedolizumab in elderly Crohn's disease patients.

Safety and effectiveness of ustekinumab in elderly Crohn's disease patients.

Objective: Anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) agents are associated with increased infection risk among elderly IBD patients, but little is known about non anti-TNF biologics in this cohort. We examined the safety and effectiveness of ustekinumab in elderly Crohn's patients.

Methods: This retrospective multi-centre cohort study included Crohn's patients ≥60-years old who commenced ustekinumab.

Alterations of mucosa-attached microbiome and epithelial cell numbers in the cystic fibrosis small intestine with implications for intestinal disease.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. Defective CFTR leads to accumulation of dehydrated viscous mucus within the small intestine, luminal acidification and altered intestinal motility, resulting in blockage. These changes promote gut microbial dysbiosis, adversely influencing the normal proliferation and differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells.

Efficacy and Safety of Elective Switching from Intravenous to Subcutaneous Infliximab [CT-P13]: A Multicentre Cohort Study.

Background: Intravenous [IV] infliximab is a well-established therapy for inflammatory bowel diseases [IBD] patients. A subcutaneous [SC] formulation of infliximab [CT-P13] has recently been shown to be as effective as IV infliximab after two doses of IV induction in a randomised trial, but there are no data to support elective switching of patients on maintenance IV infliximab therapy. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of an elective switching programme to SC CT-P13 in patients treated with IV infliximab.

Comparative effectiveness of ustekinumab or vedolizumab after one year in 130 patients with anti-TNF-refractory Crohn's disease.

Background: Anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) agents are effective in Crohn's disease but some patients lose response and require alternative biologic therapy. There are few data on comparative effectiveness of vedolizumab and ustekinumab in this setting.

Aim: To compare the effectiveness of ustekinumab and vedolizumab in anti-TNF-refractory Crohn's disease over 12 months.

Randomized Trial of Ciprofloxacin Doxycycline and Hydroxychloroquine Versus Budesonide in Active Crohn's Disease.

Background: Increased mucosa-associated E. coli are present in Crohn's disease, but their role in pathogenesis is uncertain.

Aims: To assess efficacy and safety of an antibiotic/hydroxychloroquine combination effective against E.

Killing of Escherichia coli by Crohn's Disease Monocyte-derived Macrophages and Its Enhancement by Hydroxychloroquine and Vitamin D.

Background: Crohn's disease (CD) is associated with defective innate immunity, including impaired neutrophil chemotaxis, and mucosal invasion by bacteria, particularly adherent and invasive Escherichia coli that replicate inside macrophage phagolysosomes. We compared CD and healthy control (HC) macrophages for their abilities to kill E. coli and generate neutrophil chemoattractants and also assessed the effects of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and vitamin D on killing of phagocytosed E.

Escherichia coli-host macrophage interactions in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease.

Multiple studies have demonstrated alterations in the intestinal microbial community (termed the microbiome) in Crohn's disease (CD) and several lines of evidence suggest these changes may have a significant role in disease pathogenesis. In active and quiescent disease, both the faecal and mucosa-associated microbiome are discordant with matched controls with reduced biodiversity, changes in dominant organisms and increased temporal variation described. Mucosa-associated adherent, invasive Escherichia coli (E.

Colonic mucosa-associated diffusely adherent afaC+ Escherichia coli expressing lpfA and pks are increased in inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer.

Objective: Colonic mucosa-associated Escherichia coli are increased in Crohn's disease (CD) and colorectal cancer (CRC). They variously haemagglutinate, invade epithelial cell lines, replicate within macrophages, translocate across M (microfold) cells and damage DNA. We investigated genes responsible for these effects and their co-association in colonic mucosal isolates.

Tracking the fate of microbially sequestered carbon dioxide in soil organic matter.

The microbial contribution to soil organic matter (SOM) has recently been shown to be much larger than previously thought and thus its role in carbon sequestration may also be underestimated. In this study we employ (13)C ((13)CO₂) to assess the potential CO₂ sequestration capacity of soil chemoautotrophic bacteria and combine nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with stable isotope probing (SIP), techniques that independently make use of the isotopic enrichment of soil microbial biomass. In this way molecular information generated from NMR is linked with identification of microbes responsible for carbon capture.

Corticosteroids in the Treatment of Pseudomembranous Colitis: A Report of 3 Cases.

associated diarrhoea has been an increasing problem in the last decade in the UK and is a cause of significant morbidity. At the most severe end of the spectrum it causes pseudomembranous colitis which has a significant associated mortality rate and can be refractory to standard treatments. Here we present three cases of proven pseudomembranous colitis in which systemic corticosteroids were used as an adjunct to treatment, raising the possibility of a new treatment option for this difficult condition.

Lessons from diversion studies and antibacterial interventions.

If bacteria cause IBD, then it should be possible to target the bacteria with therapies and cure or at least treat the disease. Discovery of a successful intervention, unless found by chance, will depend on knowing more about which bacteria are involved, where they are and how to remove them. Some evidence for the possible role of bacteria has come from in vivo studies of the effects of diverting the faecal stream away from sites of IBD.

Adverse drug reaction: rosuvastatin as a cause for ischaemic colitis in a 64-year-old woman.

Rosuvastatin (Crestor, AstraZeneca) is a commonly used drug for managing hypercholesterolaemia. It is a very safe medication with mostly acceptable side effects. Rare but serious side effects are not well known.

Mixed methods evaluation of an interdisciplinary sexuality education programme for staff working with people who have an acquired physical disability.

Aim: .  To report a study evaluating the effectiveness of a 1-day interdisciplinary sexuality education programme for staff working with people with acquired physical disability.

Background:   Changes associated with an acquired physical disability can diminish a person's self-esteem, sense of attractiveness, relationships, and sexual functioning.

Bacteria in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease.

Twin studies have demonstrated the importance of environmental factors in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease, but progress has been relatively slow in identifying these, with the exception of smoking, which is positively associated with Crohn's disease and negatively associated with ulcerative colitis. Genetic studies have identified risk alleles which are involved in host-bacterial interactions and the mucosal barrier, and evidence is building for a likely pathogenic role for changes in the gut microbiome, with respect to both faecal and mucosa-associated microbiota. Some of these changes may be secondary to inflammation, nevertheless promising new therapeutic targets are beginning to emerge.

Extent and variation of phage-borne bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences in wastewater environments.

Phage metagenomes isolated from wastewater over a 12-month period were analyzed. The results suggested that various strains of Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and other phyla are likely to participate in transduction. The patterns of 16S rRNA sequences found in phage metagenomes did not follow changes in the total bacterial community.

Analysis of transduction in wastewater bacterial populations by targeting the phage-derived 16S rRNA gene sequences.

Bacterial 16S rRNA genes transduced by bacteriophages were identified and analyzed in order to estimate the extent of the bacteriophage-mediated horizontal gene transfer in the wastewater environment. For this purpose, phage and bacterial DNA was isolated from the oxidation tank of a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences cloned from a phage metagenome revealed that bacteriophages transduce genetic material in several major groups of bacteria.

Spinal infection caused by ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae treated with temocillin.

A case of cervical epidural abscess in a 63-year-old woman with a complex gastrointestinal surgical history is reported. The presenting symptom was neck pain, and blood analysis demonstrated raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein. MR imaging of the cervical spine revealed cervical discitis, osteomyelitis, and epidural collection.