Temporal emergence of age-associated changes in cognitive and physical function in vervets (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus).

Dual declines in gait speed and cognitive performance are associated with increased risk of developing dementia. Characterizing the patterns of such impairments therefore is paramount to distinguishing healthy from pathological aging. Nonhuman primates such as vervet/African green monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus) are important models of human neurocognitive aging, yet the trajectory of dual decline has not been characterized.

Gastrointestinal and hepatic manifestations of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Aim: This review investigates the role of gastrointestinal and hepatic manifestations in COVID-19, particularly with regard to the prevalence of isolated gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane library for COVID-19 publications from 1 December 2019 to 18 May 2020. We included any study that reported the presence of GI symptoms in a sample of >5 COVID-19 patients.

Electrocardiographic subclinical myocardial injury and alcohol consumption: a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Background: Cardiac Infarction/Injury Score (CIIS), an electrocardiographic based scoring system, is a surrogate marker of subclinical myocardial injury (SC-MI) and has shown excellent prognostic value in predicting future cardiovascular mortality. As an association of mild to moderate alcohol consumption with cardiovascular disease (CVD) is conflicting, using an electrocardiographic based scoring system such as CIIS is a simple and cost-effective way to investigate this controversial relationship.

Methods: This analysis included 6090 participants (58.

Restrictive Transfusion Strategy Is More Effective in Massive Burns: Results of the TRIBE Multicenter Prospective Randomized Trial.

Objectives: Studies suggest that a restrictive transfusion strategy is safe in burns, yet the efficacy of a restrictive transfusion policy in massive burn injury is uncertain. Our objective: compare outcomes between massive burn (≥60% total body surface area (TBSA) burn) and major (20-59% TBSA) burn using a restrictive or a liberal blood transfusion strategy.

Methods: Patients with burns ≥20% were block randomized by age and TBSA to a restrictive (transfuse hemoglobin <7 g/dL) or liberal (transfuse hemoglobin <10 g/dL) strategy throughout hospitalization.

Heterogeneity of Scaffold Biomaterials in Tissue Engineering.

Tissue engineering (TE) offers a potential solution for the shortage of transplantable organs and the need for novel methods of tissue repair. Methods of TE have advanced significantly in recent years, but there are challenges to using engineered tissues and organs including but not limited to: biocompatibility, immunogenicity, biodegradation, and toxicity. Analysis of biomaterials used as scaffolds may, however, elucidate how TE can be enhanced.

A comparative study of the photothermal efficiency of electrically conducting poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-based nanomaterials with cancer cells.

The photothermal efficiency of two similar organic nanomaterials, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrene-sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) nanoparticles and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanotubes, are compared. The PEDOT:PSS nanoparticles ranged from 100-200 nm in diameter, while the PEDOT nanotubes ranged from 200-400 nm in diameter and 4-10 microm in length. By changing the aspect ratio of the PEDOT nanomaterials from a spherical to a tubular shape, interesting differences in the optical and electronic properties of the materials were realized.

A chemically polymerized electrically conducting composite of polypyrrole nanoparticles and polyurethane for tissue engineering.

A variety of cell types respond to electrical stimuli; accordingly, many conducting polymers (CPs) have been used as tissue engineering (TE) scaffolds, and one such CP is polypyrrole (PPy). PPy is a well-studied biomaterial with potential TE applications because of its electrical conductivity and many other beneficial properties. Combining its characteristics with an elastomeric material, such as polyurethane (PU), may yield a hybrid scaffold with electrical activity and significant mechanical resilience.

Ab initio calcineurin inhibitor-based monotherapy immunosuppression after liver transplantation reduces the risk for Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia.

At the Tor Vergata University of Rome, ab initio calcineurin inhibitor-based monotherapy immunosuppression (IS) is the standard of treatment after liver transplantation (LT). As the net state of IS determines the onset of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP), we hypothesized that, in the presence of weak impairment of the immune function, as determined by the above-mentioned IS, the host is not overexposed to the risk for PCP and consequently the specific anti-PCP prophylaxis is unnecessary. In a single-cohort descriptive study, we retrospectively investigated the incidence of PCP in 203 LT patients who did not receive anti-PCP prophylaxis because they were under monotherapy IS.

Understanding the control of Pseudomonas aeruginosa alginate synthesis and the prospects for management of chronic infections in cystic fibrosis.

Decades of research have been dedicated to the study of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Gram-negative, environmental bacterium that secretes the exopolysaccharide alginate during chronic lung infection of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Although P. aeruginosa utilizes a variety of factors to establish a successful infection in the lungs of CF patients, alginate has stood out as one of the best-studied prognostic indicators of chronic lung infection.

Presynaptic inhibition of corticothalamic feedback by metabotropic glutamate receptors.

The thalamus relays sensory information to cortex, but this information may be influenced by excitatory feedback from cortical layer VI. The full importance of this feedback has only recently been explored, but among its possible functions are influences on the processing of sensory features, synchronization of thalamic firing, and transitions in response mode of thalamic relay cells. Uncontrolled, corticothalamic feedback has also been implicated in pathological thalamic rhythms associated with certain neurological disorders.

Direct binding of Fas-associated death domain (FADD) to the tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand receptor DR5 is regulated by the death effector domain of FADD.

Members of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily of receptors induce apoptosis by recruiting adaptor molecules through death domain interactions. The central adaptor molecule for these receptors is the death domain-containing protein Fas-associated death domain (FADD). FADD binds a death domain on a receptor or additional adaptor and recruits caspases to the activated receptor.

Social support increases in the year after inpatient treatment of depression.

High levels of social support are reported to protect against major depressive episode (MDE), but little is known about how social support changes during MDE. In this study, we measured total social support and four subtypes of social support in 75 psychiatric inpatients at the time of admission and one year later. The four subtypes of social support were tangible support, affectionate support, positive social interaction, and emotional/informational support.