Association between prevalence of laboratory-identified infection (CDI) and antibiotic treatment for CDI in US acute-care hospitals, 2019.

Objective: To evaluate hospital-level variation in using first-line antibiotics for infection (CDI) based on the burden of laboratory-identified (LabID) CDI.

Methods: Using data on hospital-level LabID CDI events and antimicrobial use (AU) for CDI (oral/rectal vancomycin or fidaxomicin) submitted to the National Healthcare Safety Network in 2019, we assessed the association between hospital-level CDI prevalence (per 100 patient admissions) and rate of CDI AU (days of therapy per 1,000 days present) to generate a predicted value of AU based on CDI prevalence and CDI test type using negative binomial regression. The ratio of the observed to predicted AU was then used to identify hospitals with extreme discordance between CDI prevalence and CDI AU, defined as hospitals with a ratio outside of the intervigintile range.

Ecological Analysis of the Decline in Incidence Rates of COVID-19 Among Nursing Home Residents Associated with Vaccination, United States, December 2020-January 2021.

Objective: To evaluate if facility-level vaccination after an initial vaccination clinic was independently associated with COVID-19 incidence adjusted for other factors in January 2021 among nursing home residents.

Design: Ecological analysis of data from the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and from the CDC's Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program.

Setting And Participants: CMS-certified nursing homes participating in both NHSN and the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program.

Rates of COVID-19 Among Residents and Staff Members in Nursing Homes - United States, May 25-November 22, 2020.

During the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nursing homes were identified as congregate settings at high risk for outbreaks of COVID-19 (1,2). Their residents also are at higher risk than the general population for morbidity and mortality associated with infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in light of the association of severe outcomes with older age and certain underlying medical conditions (1,3). CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) launched nationwide, facility-level COVID-19 nursing home surveillance on April 26, 2020.

Risk Factors for Community-Associated Infection in Adults: A Case-Control Study.

Background: An increasing proportion of infections (CDI) in the United States are community-associated (CA). We conducted a case-control study to identify CA-CDI risk factors.

Methods: We enrolled participants from 10 US sites during October 2014-March 2015.

Genetic Evidence of Contemporary Dispersal of the Intermediate Snail Host of Schistosoma japonicum: Movement of an NTD Host Is Facilitated by Land Use and Landscape Connectivity.

Background: While the dispersal of hosts and vectors-through active or passive movement-is known to facilitate the spread and re-emergence of certain infectious diseases, little is known about the movement ecology of Oncomelania spp., intermediate snail host of the parasite Schistosoma japonicum, and its consequences for the spread of schistosomiasis in East and Southeast Asia. In China, despite intense control programs aimed at preventing schistosomiasis transmission, there is evidence in recent years of re-emergence and persistence of infection in some areas, as well as an increase in the spatial extent of the snail host.

Circulating progenitor cells and coronary microvascular dysfunction: Results from the NHLBI-sponsored Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation - Coronary Vascular Dysfunction Study (WISE-CVD).

Background And Aims: Ischemia stimulates a reparative response resulting in mobilization of circulating progenitor cells (CPCs). We hypothesized that women with chronic myocardial ischemia from coronary microvascular disease (CMD) will mobilize CPCs.

Methods: In 123 women with ischemic symptoms and signs but no obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) enrolled in the Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation - Coronary Vascular Dysfunction Study (WISE-CVD), we measured coronary flow reserve (CFR) in response to intracoronary adenosine.

Incidence and Characteristics of Ventilator-Associated Events Reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network in 2014.

Objective: Ventilator-associated event surveillance was introduced in the National Healthcare Safety Network in 2013, replacing surveillance for ventilator-associated pneumonia in adult inpatient locations. We determined incidence rates and characteristics of ventilator-associated events reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network.

Design, Setting, And Patients: We analyzed data reported from U.

Age and Human Regenerative Capacity Impact of Cardiovascular Risk Factors.

Rationale: We investigated aging of human endogenous reparative capacity and aimed to clarify whether it is affected by presence of cardiovascular disease or its risk factors (RFs).

Objective: Circulating progenitor cell (PC) levels reflect endogenous regenerative potential. The effect on PC of healthy aging compared with aging with RFs or cardiovascular disease (CVD) is unknown.

Outcomes After Surgery in High-Risk Patients With Early Stage Lung Cancer.

Background: Patients with early stage lung cancer considered high risk for surgery are increasingly being treated with nonsurgical therapies. However, consensus on the classification of high risk does not exist. We compared clinical outcomes of patients considered to be high risk with those of standard-risk patients, after lung cancer surgery.

Differential effects of nebivolol and metoprolol on arterial stiffness, circulating progenitor cells, and oxidative stress.

Unlike traditional beta receptor antagonists, nebivolol activates nitric oxide. We hypothesized that therapy with nebivolol compared with metoprolol would improve arterial stiffness, increase levels of circulating progenitor cells (PC), and decrease oxidative stress (OS). In a randomized, double-blind, cross-over study, 30 hypertensive subjects received either once daily nebivolol or metoprolol succinate for 3 months each.

Circulating CD34+ progenitor cells and risk of mortality in a population with coronary artery disease.

Rationale: Low circulating progenitor cell numbers and activity may reflect impaired intrinsic regenerative/reparative potential, but it remains uncertain whether this translates into a worse prognosis.

Objectives: To investigate whether low numbers of progenitor cells associate with a greater risk of mortality in a population at high cardiovascular risk.

Methods And Results: Patients undergoing coronary angiography were recruited into 2 cohorts (1, n=502 and 2, n=403) over separate time periods.

Circadian variation in vascular function and regenerative capacity in healthy humans.

Background: Progenitor cells (PCs) are mobilized in response to vascular injury to effect regeneration and repair. Recruitment of PCs requires intact nitric oxide (NO) synthesis by endothelial cells, and their number and activity correlate with cardiovascular disease risk burden and future outcomes. Whereas cardiovascular vulnerability exhibits a robust circadian rhythm, the 24-hour variation of PCs and their inter-relation with vascular function remain unknown.

Effect of progenitor cell mobilization with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in patients with peripheral artery disease: a randomized clinical trial.

Importance: Many patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) have walking impairment despite therapy. Experimental studies in animals demonstrate improved perfusion in ischemic hind limb after mobilization of bone marrow progenitor cells (PCs), but whether this is effective in patients with PAD is unknown.

Objective: To investigate whether therapy with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) improves exercise capacity in patients with intermittent claudication.

Estrogen up-regulates ATBF1 transcription but causes its protein degradation in estrogen receptor-alpha-positive breast cancer cells.

The proper level of estrogen-estrogen receptor (ER) signaling is important for the maintenance of epithelial homeostasis in the breast. In a previous study we demonstrated that ATBF1, which has been suggested as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer, inhibited estrogen-mediated cell proliferation by selectively competing with AIB1 for binding to the ER. However, the expression of ATBF1 mRNA was shown to positively correlate with ER in breast cancer specimens.

ATBF1 inhibits estrogen receptor (ER) function by selectively competing with AIB1 for binding to the ER in ER-positive breast cancer cells.

Loss of the q22 band of chromosome 16 is a frequent genetic event in breast cancer, and the candidate tumor suppressor gene, ATBF1, has been implicated in breast cancer by genomic deletion, transcriptional down-regulation, and association with better prognostic parameters. In addition, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer expresses a higher level of ATBF1, suggesting a role of ATBF1 in ER-positive breast cancer. In this study, we examined whether and how ATBF1 affects the ER function in breast cancer cells.

Opposing effects of KLF5 on the transcription of MYC in epithelial proliferation in the context of transforming growth factor beta.

The proto-oncogene MYC plays a critical role in cell proliferation and tumorigenesis, and its down-regulation by transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) signaling is necessary for TGFbeta to inhibit cell proliferation. KLF5, on the other hand, is a pro-proliferative basic transcription factor that reverses function to become an anti-proliferative TGFbeta cofactor upon TGFbeta stimulation in epithelial homeostasis. In this study we investigated whether KLF5 directly regulates MYC transcription in epithelial cells in the context of TGFbeta.

Implication of snoRNA U50 in human breast cancer.

Deletion of chromosome 6q is frequent in breast cancer, and the deletion often involves a region in 6q14-q16. At present, however, the underlying tumor suppressor gene has not been established. Based on a recent study identifying snoRNA U50 as a candidate for the 6q14-16 tumor suppressor gene in prostate cancer, we investigated whether U50 is also involved in breast cancer.

Estrogen-induced interaction between KLF5 and estrogen receptor (ER) suppresses the function of ER in ER-positive breast cancer cells.

Kruppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) is implicated in human breast cancer by frequent genomic deletion and expressional deregulation, but the molecular mechanisms by which KLF5 affects breast tumorigenesis are still unknown. This study was conducted to examine whether and how KLF5 affects the function of estrogen receptor (ER) in breast cancer cells. Using different cell lines, we found that restored expression of KLF5 inhibited estrogen-promoted cell proliferation in ER-positive MCF-7 and T-47D cell lines but had no effect on ER-negative SK-BR-3 cells.

Pro-proliferative factor KLF5 becomes anti-proliferative in epithelial homeostasis upon signaling-mediated modification.

During epithelial homeostasis, stem cells divide to produce progenitor cells, which not only proliferate to generate the cell mass but also respond to cellular signaling to transition from a proliferative state to a differentiation state. Such a transition involves functional alterations of transcriptional factors, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Recent studies have implicated Kruppel-like factors (KLFs) including KLF5 in the renewal and maintenance of stem/progenitor cells.

SnoRNA U50 is a candidate tumor-suppressor gene at 6q14.3 with a mutation associated with clinically significant prostate cancer.

Deletion of chromosome 6q14-q22 is common in multiple human cancers including prostate cancer, and chromosome 6 transferred into cancer cells induces senescence and reduces cell growth, tumorigenicity and metastasis, indicating the existence of one or more tumor-suppressor genes in 6q. To identify the 6q tumor-suppressor gene, we first narrowed the common region of deletion to a 2.5 Mb interval at 6q14-15.