Potentially Inadequate Real-Life Speech Levels by Healthcare Professionals during Communication with Older Inpatients.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate real-life speech levels of health professionals during communication with older inpatients in small group settings.

Methods: This is a prospective observational study assessing group interactions between geriatric inpatients and health professionals in a geriatric rehabilitation unit of a tertiary university hospital (Bern, Switzerland). We measured speech levels of health professionals during three typical group interactions (discharge planning meeting ( = 21), chair exercise group ( = 5), and memory training group = 5)) with older inpatients.

Three Cases of Alcohol-Induced Acute-On-Chronic Liver Failure With Successful Support by Adipose-Derived Stem Cells.

Objectives: Acute liver failure (ALF) and acute-on-chronic liver failure (AOCLF) are critical medical conditions with urgent therapy requirements. When ALF or AOCLF are due to alcohol intoxication or based on chronic alcohol abuse, virtually, no therapeutic options are available as liver transplantation is prohibited. In this case series, treatment of alcohol-induced ALF/AOCLF with adipose--derived stem cells (ASC) was tested under compassionate use.

A short-term plastic adherence incubation of the stromal vascular fraction leads to a predictable GMP-compliant cell-product.

Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) derived from fat tissue are an encouraging tool for regenerative medicine. They share properties similar to the bone marrow-derived MSCs, but the amount of MSCs per gram of fat tissue is 500x higher. The fat tissue can easily be digested by collagenase, releasing a heterogeneous cell fraction called stromal vascular fraction (SVF) which contains a variable amount of stromal/stem cells.

Effects of health risk assessment and counselling on physical activity in older people: A pragmatic randomised trial.

Background: Interventions to increase physical activity (PA) among older community-dwelling adults may be enhanced by using multidimensional health risk assessment (HRA) as a basis for PA counselling.

Methods: The study was conducted among nondisabled but mostly frail persons 65 years of age and older at an ambulatory geriatric clinic in Bucharest, Romania. From May to July 2014, 200 participants were randomly allocated to intervention and control groups.

Effect of health risk assessment and counselling on health behaviour and survival in older people: a pragmatic randomised trial.

Background: Potentially avoidable risk factors continue to cause unnecessary disability and premature death in older people. Health risk assessment (HRA), a method successfully used in working-age populations, is a promising method for cost-effective health promotion and preventive care in older individuals, but the long-term effects of this approach are unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of an innovative approach to HRA and counselling in older individuals for health behaviours, preventive care, and long-term survival.

Evaluation of a novel photography-based home assessment protocol for identification of environmental risk factors for falls in elderly persons.

Principles: To evaluate the validity and feasibility of a novel photography-based home assessment (PhoHA) protocol, as a possible substitute for on-site home assessment (OsHA).

Methods: A total of 20 patients aged ≥65 years who were hospitalised in a rehabilitation centre for musculoskeletal disorders affecting mobility participated in this prospective validation study. For PhoHA, occupational therapists rated photographs and measurements of patients' homes provided by patients' confidants.

The human bitter taste receptor TAS2R10 is tailored to accommodate numerous diverse ligands.

Bitter taste is a basic taste modality, required to safeguard animals against consuming toxic substances. Bitter compounds are recognized by G-protein-coupled bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs). The human TAS2R10 responds to the toxic strychnine and numerous other compounds.

Immunohistochemical detection of TAS2R38 protein in human taste cells.

The sense of taste plays an important role in the evaluation of the nutrient composition of consumed food. Bitter taste in particular is believed to serve a warning function against the ingestion of poisonous substances. In the past years enormous progress was made in the characterization of bitter taste receptors, including their gene expression patterns, pharmacological features and presumed physiological roles in gustatory as well as in non-gustatory tissues.

Insights into the binding of Phenyltiocarbamide (PTC) agonist to its target human TAS2R38 bitter receptor.

Humans' bitter taste perception is mediated by the hTAS2R subfamily of the G protein-coupled membrane receptors (GPCRs). Structural information on these receptors is currently limited. Here we identify residues involved in the binding of phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and in receptor activation in one of the most widely studied hTAS2Rs (hTAS2R38) by means of structural bioinformatics and molecular docking.

Modulation of bitter taste perception by a small molecule hTAS2R antagonist.

Human bitter taste is mediated by the hTAS2R family of G protein-coupled receptors. The discovery of the hTAS2Rs enables the potential to develop specific bitter receptor antagonists that could be beneficial as chemical probes to examine the role of bitter receptor function in gustatory and nongustatory tissues. In addition, they could have widespread utility in food and beverages fortified with vitamins, antioxidants, and other nutraceuticals, because many of these have unwanted bitter aftertastes.