Distinct Effects of Respiratory Viral Infection Models on miR-149-5p, IL-6 and p63 Expression in BEAS-2B and A549 Epithelial Cells.

Respiratory viruses cause airway inflammation, resulting in epithelial injury and repair. miRNAs, including miR-149-5p, regulate different pathological conditions. We aimed to determine how miR-149-5p functions in regulating pro-inflammatory IL-6 and p63, key regulators of airway epithelial wound repair, in response to viral proteins in bronchial (BEAS-2B) and alveolar (A549) epithelial cells.

Unveiling genetic diversity and forensic utility of SureID® human DNA identification kits: a comprehensive analysis of 44 autosomal STR loci in English and Irish populations.

Human identification and kinship testing in forensic science rely on Short Tandem Repeat (STR) multiplex kits, typically containing loci recommended by standard sets. However, complementary kits with additional STR loci can be valuable in complex cases. Allele frequency databases specific to the population are essential for accurate forensic analysis.

Mechanisms affecting the gut of preterm infants in enteral feeding trials: a nested cohort within a randomised controlled trial of lactoferrin.

Objective: To determine the impact of supplemental bovine lactoferrin on the gut microbiome and metabolome of preterm infants.

Design: Cohort study nested within a randomised controlled trial (RCT). Infants across different trial arms were matched on several clinical variables.

Key role of dysregulated airway epithelium in response to respiratory viral infections in asthma.

https://bit.ly/3yDgiX1.

Exposure to bile and gastric juice can impact the aerodigestive microbiome in people with cystic fibrosis.

Studies of microbiota reveal inter-relationships between the microbiomes of the gut and lungs. This relationship may influence the progression of lung disease, particularly in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), who often experience extraoesophageal reflux (EOR). Despite identifying this relationship, it is not well characterised.

Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) samples are not a beneficial replacement for frozen tissues in fetal membrane microbiota research.

Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) tissues are routinely collected, archived, and used for clinical diagnosis, including maternal and neonatal health. Applying FFPE samples to microbiota research would be beneficial to reduce preparation, storage and costs associated with limited available frozen samples. This research aims to understand if FFPE fetal membrane samples are comparable to frozen tissues, which are the current gold standard for DNA microbiota analysis.

Phosphonopeptides Revisited, in an Era of Increasing Antimicrobial Resistance.

Given the increase in resistance to antibacterial agents, there is an urgent need for the development of new agents with novel modes of action. As an interim solution, it is also prudent to reinvestigate old or abandoned antibacterial compounds to assess their efficacy in the context of widespread resistance to conventional agents. In the 1970s, much work was performed on the development of peptide mimetics, exemplified by the phosphonopeptide, alafosfalin.

Fetal membrane bacterial load is increased in histologically confirmed inflammatory chorioamnionitis: A retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: It is widely debated whether fetal membranes possess a genuine microbiome, and if bacterial presence and load is linked to inflammation. Chorioamnionitis is an inflammation of the fetal membranes. This research focussed on inflammatory diagnosed histological chorioamnionitis (HCA) and aimed to determine whether the bacterial load in fetal membranes correlates to inflammatory response, including histological staging and inflammatory markers in HCA.

Associations of Smoking, Moderate Alcohol Use, and Function: A 20-Year Cohort Study of Older Women.

The objective of this study is to determine whether the health effects of smoking and moderate alcohol use persist with aging. Smoking status, alcohol use, and measures of function and health were obtained from 9,704 women aged ≥65 years at baseline and over 10- and 20-year follow-up periods. Adjusted multiple linear and logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard models estimated associations.

Excess Mucin Impairs Subglottic Epithelial Host Defense in Mechanically Ventilated Patients.

Rationale: Aspiration of infective subglottic secretions causes ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in mechanically ventilated patients. Mechanisms underlying subglottic colonization in critical illness have not been defined, limiting strategies for targeted prevention of VAP.

Objectives: To characterize subglottic host defense dysfunction in mechanically ventilated patients in the ICU; to determine whether subglottic mucin contributes to neutrophil phagocytic impairment and bacterial growth.

Longitudinal development of the gut microbiome and metabolome in preterm neonates with late onset sepsis and healthy controls.

Background: Late onset sepsis (LOS) in preterm infants is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. While studies have implicated gut bacteria in the aetiology of the disease, functional analysis and mechanistic insights are generally lacking. We performed temporal bacterial (n = 613) and metabolomic (n = 63) profiling on extensively sampled stool from 7 infants with LOS and 28 matched healthy (no LOS or NEC) controls.

Reducing Viability Bias in Analysis of Gut Microbiota in Preterm Infants at Risk of NEC and Sepsis.

Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) and sepsis are serious diseases of preterm infants that can result in feeding intolerance, the need for bowel resection, impaired physiological and neurological development, and high mortality rates. Neonatal healthcare improvements have allowed greater survival rates in preterm infants leading to increased numbers at risk of developing NEC and sepsis. Gut bacteria play a role in protection from or propensity to these conditions and have therefore, been studied extensively using targeted 16S rRNA gene sequencing methods.

Cesarean or Vaginal Birth Does Not Impact the Longitudinal Development of the Gut Microbiome in a Cohort of Exclusively Preterm Infants.

The short and long-term impact of birth mode on the developing gut microbiome in neonates has potential implications for the health of infants. In term infants, the microbiome immediately following birth across multiple body sites corresponds to birth mode, with increased in vaginally delivered infants. We aimed to determine the impact of birth mode of the preterm gut microbiome over the first 100 days of life and following neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge.

Mechanisms Affecting the Gut of Preterm Infants in Enteral Feeding Trials.

Large randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in preterm infants offer unique opportunities for mechanistic evaluation of the risk factors leading to serious diseases, as well as the actions of interventions designed to prevent them. Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) a serious inflammatory gut condition and late-onset sepsis (LOS) are common feeding and nutrition-related problems that may cause death or serious long-term morbidity and are key outcomes in two current UK National Institutes for Health Research (NIHR) trials. Speed of increasing milk feeds trial (SIFT) randomized preterm infants to different rates of increases in milk feeds with a primary outcome of survival without disability at 2 years corrected age.

Temporal bacterial and metabolic development of the preterm gut reveals specific signatures in health and disease.

Background: The preterm microbiome is crucial to gut health and may contribute to necrotising enterocolitis (NEC), which represents the most significant pathology affecting preterm infants. From a cohort of 318 infants, <32 weeks gestation, we selected 7 infants who developed NEC (defined rigorously) and 28 matched controls. We performed detailed temporal bacterial (n = 641) and metabolomic (n = 75) profiling of the gut microbiome throughout the disease.

A novel fresh cadaver model for education and assessment of joint aspiration.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to describe a novel cadaver model and to determine the utility of this model for teaching and assessing students in performing knee, elbow, and wrist arthrocentesis.

Methods: Third year medical students were evaluated while performing arthrocentesis during a fresh cadaver training sessions.

Results: Sixty-three participants were included in this analysis.

Evaluation of Various Culture Media for Detection of Rapidly Growing Mycobacteria from Patients with Cystic Fibrosis.

Isolation of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) from the sputum of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) is challenging due to overgrowth by rapidly growing species that colonize the lungs of patients with CF. Extended incubation on Burkholderia cepacia selective agar (BCSA) has been recommended as an expedient culture method for the isolation of rapidly growing NTM in this setting. The aim of this study was to assess five selective media designed for the isolation of Burkholderia cepacia complex, along with two media designed for the isolation of mycobacteria (rapidly growing mycobacteria [RGM] medium and Middlebrook 7H11 agar), for their abilities to isolate NTM.

Stool bacterial load in preterm infants with necrotising enterocolitis.

Resected gut tissue in necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) has a higher bacterial load than controls. Quantitative PCR was performed on longitudinal NEC and control stool samples (n=72). No significant difference in the total bacterial load was found between samples at diagnosis compared to controls or temporally within NEC.

Routine Use of Probiotics in Preterm Infants: Longitudinal Impact on the Microbiome and Metabolome.

Background: Probiotics are live microbial supplements that colonize the gut and potentially exert health benefit to the host.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the impact of a probiotic (Infloran®: Lactobacillus acidophilus-NCIMB701748 and Bifidobacterium bifidum-ATCC15696) on the bacterial and metabolic function of the preterm gut while in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and following discharge.

Methods: Stool samples (n = 88) were collected before, during, and after probiotic intake from 7 patients, along with time-matched controls from 3 patients.

Development of a novel kinetic model for the analysis of PAH biodegradation in the presence of lead and cadmium co-contaminants.

We report on the results of a 40 week study in which the biodegradation of 16 US EPA polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was followed in microcosms containing soil of high organic carbon content (11%) in the presence and absence of lead and cadmium co-contaminants. The total spiked PAH concentration was 2166mg/kg. Mercury amendment was also made to give an abiotic control.

Preterm gut microbiota and metabolome following discharge from intensive care.

The development of the preterm gut microbiome is important for immediate and longer-term health following birth. We aimed to determine if modifications to the preterm gut on the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) impacted the gut microbiota and metabolome long-term. Stool samples were collected from 29 infants ages 1-3 years post discharge (PD) from a single NICU.

Metabolomic and proteomic analysis of serum from preterm infants with necrotising entercolitis and late-onset sepsis.

Background: Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) and late-onset sepsis (LOS) are the leading causes of death among preterm infants in the developed world. This study aimed to explore the serum proteome and metabolome longitudinally in preterm infants with NEC or LOS, matched to controls.

Methods: Nineteen patients (10 cases, 9 controls) were included.