Benchmarking for healthy food stores: protocol for a randomised controlled trial with remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia to enhance adoption of health-enabling store policy and practice.

Background: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in remote Australia have initiated bold policies for health-enabling stores. Benchmarking, a data-driven and facilitated 'audit and feedback' with action planning process, provides a potential strategy to strengthen and scale health-enabling best-practice adoption by remote community store directors/owners. We aim to co-design a benchmarking model with five partner organisations and test its effectiveness with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community stores in remote Australia.

Should handgrip strength be considered when choosing the administration mode of oral nutritional supplements in geriatric patients? A secondary analysis of the MEDPass Trial.

Objective: It is important to individualize nutrition therapy and to identify whether certain patient groups benefit from a specific intervention such as oral nutritional supplements (ONS). This study investigated whether patients with weak handgrip strength (HGS) benefit better from ONS administration in the Medication Pass Nutritional Supplement Program (MEDPass) mode regarding the individual coverage of energy and protein requirements throughout their hospitalization.

Methods: A secondary analysis of the intention-to-treat data set of the randomized controlled MEDPass trial was conducted.

Food in my life: How Australian adolescents perceive and experience their foodscape.

Food choice has long been recognized as an interaction between psychological, social, cultural, economic, and biological forces through life course events and experiences. Adolescence is a particularly sensitive life stage during which personal and external environments influence food decisions and attitudes that can have long-term implications. Young people represent future households, yet little is understood about their perspectives on, and experiences of, their foodscape.

Chemo-mechanical modeling of smooth muscle cell activation for the simulation of arterial walls under changing blood pressure.

In this paper, a novel chemo-mechanical model is proposed for the description of the stretch-dependent chemical processes known as Bayliss effect and their impact on the active contraction in vascular smooth muscle. These processes are responsible for the adaptive reaction of arterial walls to changing blood pressure by which the blood vessels actively support the heart in providing sufficient blood supply for varying demands in the supplied tissues. The model is designed to describe two different stretch-dependent mechanisms observed in smooth muscle cells (SMCs): a calcium-dependent and a calcium-independent contraction.

Mixed methods instrument validation: Evaluation procedures for practitioners developed from the validation of the Swiss Instrument for Evaluating Interprofessional Collaboration.

Background: Quantitative and qualitative procedures are necessary components of instrument development and assessment. However, validation studies conventionally emphasise quantitative assessments while neglecting qualitative procedures. Applying both methods in a mixed methods design provides additional insights into instrument quality and more rigorous validity evidence.

MEDPass versus conventional administration of oral nutritional supplements - A randomized controlled trial comparing coverage of energy and protein requirements.

Background & Aims: The use of oral nutritional supplements (ONS) in the hospital setting is important to reach individual protein and energy goals in patients at risk for malnutrition. Compliance with ONS can be challenging but may be improved by prescribing ONS in smaller portions with medication rounds (MEDPass). We compared the likelihood of meeting energy and protein requirements in patients receiving ONS with MEDPass versus conventional ONS administration.

Current Practice of Assessing and Monitoring Muscle Strength, Muscle Mass and Muscle Function during Nutritional Care by Dietitians in Switzerland-An Online Survey.

Muscle parameters are recommended as diagnostic criteria for malnutrition and sarcopenia in various guidelines. However, little is known about the application of muscle parameters in daily practice of nutritional care. The aim of this study was to investigate the current practice of the application of muscle parameters, along with its promoting factors and barriers by dietitians in Switzerland.

Distribution of oral nutritional supplements with medication: Is there a benefit? A systematic review.

Objectives: Disease-related malnutrition remains a major burden for patients and health care systems. The Medication Pass Nutritional Supplement Program (MEDPass) involves providing patients with oral nutritional supplements (ONS) in unusually small amounts three to four times per day during medication rounds. This systematic review aims to evaluate the impact of MEDPass ONS administration on compliance, total energy and protein intake, food intake, body weight and handgrip strength in hospitalized adults and nursing-home residents.

Fluid-structure interaction simulation of tissue degradation and its effects on intra-aneurysm hemodynamics.

Tissue degradation plays a crucial role in vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and aneurysms. Computational modeling of vascular hemodynamics incorporating both arterial wall mechanics and tissue degradation has been a challenging task. In this study, we propose a novel finite element method-based approach to model the microscopic degradation of arterial walls and its interaction with blood flow.

On the Potential Self-Amplification of Aneurysms Due to Tissue Degradation and Blood Flow Revealed From FSI Simulations.

Tissue degradation plays a crucial role in the formation and rupture of aneurysms. Using numerical computer simulations, we study the combined effects of blood flow and tissue degradation on intra-aneurysm hemodynamics. Our computational analysis reveals that the degradation-induced changes of the time-averaged wall shear stress (TAWSS) and oscillatory shear index (OSI) within the aneurysm dome are inversely correlated.

Energy and protein intake in medical and geriatric inpatients with MEDPass versus conventional administration of oral nutritional supplements: study protocol for the randomized controlled MEDPass Trial.

Background: Disease-related malnutrition is highly prevalent in hospitalized medical and geriatric inpatients. It is associated with negative outcomes such as muscle wasting, decline of functional status, and increased morbidity and mortality. Oral nutritional supplements (ONS) are frequently used in nutritional therapy to increase intake.

Polyacrylamide Bead Sensors for in vivo Quantification of Cell-Scale Stress in Zebrafish Development.

Mechanical stress exerted and experienced by cells during tissue morphogenesis and organ formation plays an important role in embryonic development. While techniques to quantify mechanical stresses in vitro are available, few methods exist for studying stresses in living organisms. Here, we describe and characterize cell-like polyacrylamide (PAAm) bead sensors with well-defined elastic properties and size for in vivo quantification of cell-scale stresses.

Species determination of Culicoides biting midges via peptide profiling using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry.

Background: Culicoides biting midges are vectors of bluetongue and Schmallenberg viruses that inflict large-scale disease epidemics in ruminant livestock in Europe. Methods based on morphological characteristics and sequencing of genetic markers are most commonly employed to differentiate Culicoides to species level. Proteomic methods, however, are also increasingly being used as an alternative method of identification.

Surface-modified upconverting microparticles and nanoparticles for use in click chemistries.

A method is described for modifying the surface of upconverting microparticles (UCmuPs) and nanoparticles (UCNPs) such that they become amenable to click chemistry. Respective reagents are presented and used in both kinds of particles, either directly or in combination with tetraethoxysilane. The particles also were labeled by using the click reaction, a) with fluorophores to yield materials that have emission colors that depend on the wavelength of excitation; b) with maleinimido groups (so to obtain labels for thiols), and c) with biotin (to make them useful for affinity studies based on the biotin-streptavidin system).

Genetics of diabetic retinopathy.

Familial aggregation as well as racial and ethnic differences in incidence suggest that genetic components play a role in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR), several approaches have been used to identify genes contributing to the development of retinopathy. We searched the literature database using the keywords [diabetes], [gene], for publications dealing with retinopathy. 88 original publications reporting data on genetics of retinopathy were found.

Methylation analysis of the neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) promoter in peripheral nerve sheath tumours.

Peripheral nerve sheath tumours are hallmarks of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Development of plexiform neurofibromas to malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumours (MPNST) is common. The NF1 gene promoter harbours a hypomethylated CpG island.

Distinct methylation profiles of glioma subtypes.

Gliomas are tumors of the central nervous system with a wide spectrum of different tumor types. They range from pilocytic astrocytoma, with a generally good prognosis, to the extremely aggressive malignant glioblastoma. In addition to these 2 types of contrasting neoplasms, several other subtypes can be distinguished, each characterized by specific phenotypic, as well as genotypic features.

Evaluation of a potential epigenetic biomarker by quantitative methyl-single nucleotide polymorphism analysis.

Tumorigenesis is characterized by alterations of methylation profiles including loss and gain of 5-methylcytosine. Recently, we identified a single CpG, which seemed to be consistently hypomethylated in pilocytic astrocytomas but not in other gliomas. To evaluate its applicability as a biomarker, we examined its methylation status in a large panel of gliomas (n = 97).

Heterozygous mutations in ANKH, the human ortholog of the mouse progressive ankylosis gene, result in craniometaphyseal dysplasia.

Craniometaphyseal dysplasia (CMD) is a bone dysplasia characterized by overgrowth and sclerosis of the craniofacial bones and abnormal modeling of the metaphyses of the tubular bones. Hyperostosis and sclerosis of the skull may lead to cranial nerve compressions resulting in hearing loss and facial palsy. An autosomal dominant form of the disorder (MIM 123000) was linked to chromosome 5p15.

Changes in methylation patterns identified by two-dimensional DNA fingerprinting.

Two-dimensional DNA fingerprinting (2-D fingerprinting) is a sensitive tool for genomic difference analysis between tumor DNA and constitutive DNA of glioma patients. Numerous differences were found even in low-grade gliomas. They can be interpreted as deletions, amplifications, rearrangements, HaeIII restriction site mutations, tandem repeat instabilities, or methylation differences.

Basal catecholamine and cortisol secretion in primary chromaffin cell cultures before and after purification and retroviral transfection.

We have investigated the effects of supraphysiological concentrations of catecholamines on glucocorticoid secretion in vitro. These effects were analyzed in adrenocortical cells shown to be present in chromaffin cell cultures as well as in cortical cells cocultured with transfected chromaffin cells that overproduce catecholamines. Cortisol release from residual cortical cells in chromaffin cell cultures was found to be 2.

Leptin down-regulates the steroid producing system in the adrenal.

OB protein leptin inhibits the secretion of cortisol in primary cultures of bovine adrenocortical cells and down-regulates 17alpha-hydroxylase cytochrome P450 mRNA expression. To analyze if leptin regulates other major enzymes involved in adrenal steroidogenesis we tested its effect on mRNA expression for two further key enzymes, C21-hydroxylase (P450C21) and side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450SCC). Cultured bovine cortical cells were stimulated for 24 hours with 10 nM ACTH, with 10 nM ACTH plus 100 ng/ml leptin or left unstimulated as controls.

Genomic difference analysis by two-dimensional DNA fingerprinting reveals typical changes in human low-grade gliomas.

Cytogenetic and molecular analyses such as allelotyping studies have revealed several genetic changes typical for human glial neoplasms. However, most studies to date have involved malignant gliomas and thus are likely to reflect late events of tumor progression. To elucidate the initial events of glial tumor growth, we performed a genome-wide search for genetic alterations in the DNA of 43 low-grade gliomas as compared to the constitutional DNA of the patients' peripheral blood leucocytes using the two-dimensional (2D) DNA fingerprint approach.

Effect of high dose verapamil on restenosis after peripheral angioplasty.

Objectives: We sought to determine whether treatment with high dose verapamil prevents restenosis in patients at high risk for reoccurrence after successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA).

Background: Restenosis is the major limitation of PTCA. Calcium antagonists have demonstrated some potential as inhibitors of this process.

Basal steroidogenic activity of adrenocortical cells is increased 10-fold by coculture with chromaffin cells.

Historically, catecholamine-producing chromaffin cells and steroid-producing adrenocortical cells have been regarded as two independent endocrine systems that are united under a common capsule to form the adrenal gland. There is increasing evidence for bidirectional interactions, with regulatory influences of adrenocortical secretory products on adrenomedullary functions and vice versa. However, the direct involvement of chromaffin cells on the regulation and maintenance of cortical function has not yet been demonstrated.