Title: Cat Allergy Doesn't Have to Mean Giving Up Kitty
Category: Health News
Created: 4/23/2010 2:10:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 4/26/2010 12:00:00 AM

Title: More Chocolate Means More Depression, or Vice Versa
Category: Health News
Created: 4/27/2010 11:41:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2010 11:41:12 AM

Title: HPV Test Beats Pap Smear for Cancer Screening
Category: Health News
Created: 4/28/2010 12:10:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 4/29/2010 12:00:00 AM

Title: Top 10 Food Trends: Hip May Not Mean Healthy
Category: Health News
Created: 4/26/2011 1:54:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 4/26/2011 12:00:00 AM

Title: Secondhand Smoke Permeates Many Apartment Buildings: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 4/29/2012 10:05:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/30/2012 12:00:00 AM

Title: Hate Meat? It May Be in Your Genes
Category: Health News
Created: 5/3/2012 11:01:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/3/2012 12:00:00 AM

Title: Ironclad Findings About Red Meat's Harms?
Category: Health News
Created: 4/29/2014 12:35:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 4/30/2014 12:00:00 AM

Title: Microneedle Patch Might Boost Global Measles Vaccination Rates
Category: Health News
Created: 4/28/2015 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/29/2015 12:00:00 AM

Title: Health Tip: Smart Swaps at Mealtime
Category: Health News
Created: 5/1/2017 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/1/2017 12:00:00 AM

Title: Cooking at Home Means Eating Better, Spending Less
Category: Health News
Created: 4/30/2017 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/1/2017 12:00:00 AM

Title: Happy Mom Means Less Colicky Baby
Category: Health News
Created: 4/28/2017 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/1/2017 12:00:00 AM

Title: Health Tip: Preparing Nutritious Meals
Category: Health News
Created: 5/4/2017 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/4/2017 12:00:00 AM

Title: Mom's Money Worries May Mean Smaller Baby
Category: Health News
Created: 5/3/2017 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/4/2017 12:00:00 AM

Title: Measles Outbreak in Minnesota Grows to 34 Cases
Category: Health News
Created: 5/4/2017 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/5/2017 12:00:00 AM

Title: Opioid Crisis Means More Newborns With Hepatitis C, But Few Get Tested
Category: Health News
Created: 5/2/2018 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/2/2018 12:00:00 AM

Title: Earlier Mammograms May Mean Less Need for Aggressive Treatments
Category: Health News
Created: 5/3/2018 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/4/2018 12:00:00 AM

Title: Nearly 700 at LA Universities Remain Under Measles Quarantine
Category: Health News
Created: 4/29/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/29/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: Meal Swaps That Save 200 Calories
Category: Health News
Created: 4/29/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/29/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: Parents, Protect Your Kids as Measles Outbreaks Spread
Category: Health News
Created: 4/29/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/29/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: High Measles Rates Mean Kids, Adults Need Proper Vaccination: CDC
Category: Health News
Created: 4/29/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/30/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: Measles Case Leads to Quarantine of Cruise Ship in St. Lucia
Category: Health News
Created: 5/2/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/2/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: Red Tape Means Many Cancer Patients Get Radiation Treatments Late
Category: Health News
Created: 5/2/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/3/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: Trump Orders Meat Plants to Stay Open as U.S. Coronavirus Cases Pass 1 Million
Category: Health News
Created: 4/29/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/29/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: With Macular Degeneration, 1 Missed Visit to Eye Doc Can Mean Vision Loss
Category: Health News
Created: 2/7/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 2/10/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: AHA News: Is This Nature's Healthier Meat Replacement?
Category: Health News
Created: 3/27/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 3/30/2020 12:00:00 AM

Just as an imperfect ruler can measure accurately if its error is constant and known, serology need not have perfect sensitivity and specificity to estimate COVID's prevalence, write Drs Jha and Murthy.

Title: Money Not a Good Measure of Your Self-Worth
Category: Health News
Created: 4/14/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/15/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: More Hot Flashes Could Mean Higher Odds for Heart Trouble
Category: Health News
Created: 9/24/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 9/24/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: Less Sex Could Mean Earlier Menopause
Category: Health News
Created: 1/15/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 1/16/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: More Trees, Parks May Mean Longer Lives for City Dwellers
Category: Health News
Created: 4/28/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/29/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: Traveling Abroad? Make Sure Your Measles Shot Is Up to Date
Category: Health News
Created: 7/24/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 7/24/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: Too Much Super Bowl Can Mean Too Little Sleep
Category: Health News
Created: 1/31/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 1/31/2020 12:00:00 AM

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze associations between the oral health literacy of refugees and two oral health outcomes: dental care utilization and oral health self-efficacy.Methods: A convenience sample of refugees in the greater Los Angeles area attending English as a second language (ESL) classes sponsored by two refugee assistance organizations was used for this cross-sectional, correlational study. Participants responded to a questionnaire using items from the Health Literacy in Dentistry (HeLD) scale, in addition to items concerning dental care utilization and oral health self-efficacy. Descriptive statistics, chi-square and Fisher's Exact tests were used to analyze results.Results: Sixty-two refugees volunteered to participate (n=62). A majority of the respondents were female from Iraq or Syria, and selected the item “with little difficulty” for all oral health literacy tasks. In regards to dental care utilization, more than half of the respondents were considered high utilizers (63%, n=34) meaning they had visited a dental office within the last year; while a little more than one-third (37%, n=20), were low utilizers, indicating they had either never been to a dental office or it had been more than one year since they had dental treatment. Statistical analysis showed associations between oral health literacy and dental care utilization. However, few associations between oral health literacy and oral health self-efficacy were identified (p=0.0045).Conclusions: Results support the provision of easily obtainable and understandable oral health information to increase oral health literacy and dental care utilization among refugee populations. Future research is needed to examine the oral health literacy among refugees resettling in the United States.

ABSTRACT

Gram-negative bacteria are intrinsically resistant to many antibiotics due to their outer membrane barrier. Although the outer membrane has been studied for decades, there is much to uncover about the biology and permeability of this complex structure. Investigating synthetic genetic interactions can reveal a great deal of information about genetic function and pathway interconnectivity. Here, we performed synthetic genetic arrays (SGAs) in Escherichia coli by crossing a subset of gene deletion strains implicated in outer membrane permeability with nonessential gene and small RNA (sRNA) deletion collections. Some 155,400 double-deletion strains were grown on rich microbiological medium with and without subinhibitory concentrations of two antibiotics excluded by the outer membrane, vancomycin and rifampin, to probe both genetic interactions and permeability. The genetic interactions of interest were synthetic sick or lethal (SSL) gene deletions that were detrimental to the cell in combination but had a negligible impact on viability individually. On average, there were ~30, ~36, and ~40 SSL interactions per gene under no-drug, rifampin, and vancomycin conditions, respectively; however, many of these involved frequent interactors. Our data sets have been compiled into an interactive database called the Outer Membrane Interaction (OMI) Explorer, where genetic interactions can be searched, visualized across the genome, compared between conditions, and enriched for gene ontology (GO) terms. A set of SSL interactions revealed connectivity and permeability links between enterobacterial common antigen (ECA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of the outer membrane. This data set provides a novel platform to generate hypotheses about outer membrane biology and permeability.

IMPORTANCE Gram-negative bacteria are a major concern for public health, particularly due to the rise of antibiotic resistance. It is important to understand the biology and permeability of the outer membrane of these bacteria in order to increase the efficacy of antibiotics that have difficulty penetrating this structure. Here, we studied the genetic interactions of a subset of outer membrane-related gene deletions in the model Gram-negative bacterium E. coli. We systematically combined these mutants with 3,985 nonessential gene and small RNA deletion mutations in the genome. We examined the viability of these double-deletion strains and probed their permeability characteristics using two antibiotics that have difficulty crossing the outer membrane barrier. An understanding of the genetic basis for outer membrane integrity can assist in the development of new antibiotics with favorable permeability properties and the discovery of compounds capable of increasing outer membrane permeability to enhance the activity of existing antibiotics.

ABSTRACT

In Gram-negative bacteria, the permeability of the outer membrane governs rates of antibiotic uptake and thus the efficacy of antimicrobial treatment. Hydrophilic drugs like β-lactam antibiotics depend on diffusion through pore-forming outer membrane proteins to reach their intracellular targets. In this study, we investigated the distribution of porin genes in more than 2,700 Klebsiella isolates and found a widespread loss of OmpK35 functionality, particularly in those strains isolated from clinical environments. Using a defined set of outer-membrane-remodeled mutants, the major porin OmpK35 was shown to be largely responsible for β-lactam permeation. Sequence similarity network analysis characterized the porin protein subfamilies and led to discovery of a new porin family member, OmpK38. Structure-based comparisons of OmpK35, OmpK36, OmpK37, OmpK38, and PhoE showed near-identical pore frameworks but defining differences in the sequence characteristics of the extracellular loops. Antibiotic sensitivity profiles of isogenic Klebsiella pneumoniae strains, each expressing a different porin as its dominant pore, revealed striking differences in the antibiotic permeability characteristics of each channel in a physiological context. Since K. pneumoniae is a nosocomial pathogen with high rates of antimicrobial resistance and concurrent mortality, these experiments elucidate the role of porins in conferring specific drug-resistant phenotypes in a global context, informing future research to combat antimicrobial resistance in K. pneumoniae.

IMPORTANCE Klebsiella pneumoniae is a pathogen of humans with high rates of mortality and a recognized global rise in incidence of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (CRKP). The outer membrane of K. pneumoniae forms a permeability barrier that modulates the ability of antibiotics to reach their intracellular target. OmpK35, OmpK36, OmpK37, OmpK38, PhoE, and OmpK26 are porins in the outer membrane of K. pneumoniae, demonstrated here to have a causative relationship to drug resistance phenotypes in a physiological context. The data highlight that currently trialed combination treatments with a carbapenem and β-lactamase inhibitors could be effective on porin-deficient K. pneumoniae. Together with structural data, the results reveal the role of outer membrane proteome remodeling in antimicrobial resistance of K. pneumoniae and point to the role of extracellular loops, not channel parameters, in drug permeation. This significant finding warrants care in the development of phage therapies for K. pneumoniae infections, given the way porin expression will be modulated to confer phage-resistant—and collateral drug-resistant—phenotypes in K. pneumoniae.

We thank F. Guezguez and H. Ben Saad for raising important questions on recommendations for assessing a bronchodilator response (BDR) in children. The authors summarise how recommended outcome measures and cut-offs for BDR in children vary between guidelines, and raise questions about our study [1].

Isoprene has the highest emission into Earth’s atmosphere of any nonmethane hydrocarbon. Atmospheric processing of alkenes, including isoprene, via ozonolysis leads to the formation of zwitterionic reactive intermediates, known as Criegee intermediates (CIs). Direct studies have revealed that reactions involving simple CIs can significantly impact the tropospheric oxidizing capacity, enhance...

The development of pastoralism transformed human diets and societies in grasslands worldwide. The long-term success of cattle herding in Africa has been sustained by dynamic food systems, consumption of a broad range of primary and secondary livestock products, and the evolution of lactase persistence (LP), which allows digestion of lactose...

Legumes tend to be nodulated by competitive rhizobia that do not maximize nitrogen (N2) fixation, resulting in suboptimal yields. Rhizobial nodulation competitiveness and effectiveness at N2 fixation are independent traits, making their measurement extremely time-consuming with low experimental throughput. To transform the experimental assessment of rhizobial competitiveness and effectiveness, we...

Cowen et al. (1) leverage modern gains in data science to describe impressive cross-cultural similarities in the perception of musical affect and do so in unprecedented detail. Their approach is innovative and fundamentally empirical. As such, it should have important applications for prediction in the field of affective computing, which...

Background

Water and solute transport across epithelia can occur via the transcellular or paracellular pathways. Tight junctions play a key role in mediating paracellular ion reabsorption in the kidney. In the renal collecting duct, which is a typical absorptive tight epithelium, coordination between transcellular sodium reabsorption and paracellular permeability may prevent the backflow of reabsorbed sodium to the tubular lumen along a steep electrochemical gradient.

Methods

To investigate whether transcellular sodium transport controls tight-junction composition and paracellular permeability via modulating expression of the transmembrane protein claudin-8, we used cultured mouse cortical collecting duct cells to see how overexpression or silencing of epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) subunits and claudin-8 affect paracellular permeability. We also used conditional kidney tubule–specific knockout mice lacking ENaC subunits to assess the ENaC’s effect on claudin-8 expression.

Results

Overexpression or silencing of the ENaC -subunit was associated with parallel and specific changes in claudin-8 abundance. Increased claudin-8 abundance was associated with a reduction in paracellular permeability to sodium, whereas decreased claudin-8 abundance was associated with the opposite effect. Claudin-8 overexpression and silencing reproduced these functional effects on paracellular ion permeability. Conditional kidney tubule–specific ENaC -subunit knockout mice displayed decreased claudin-8 expression, confirming the cell culture experiments' findings. Importantly, ENaC β-subunit or α-subunit silencing or kidney tubule–specific β-ENaC or α-ENaC knockout mice did not alter claudin-8 abundance.

Conclusions

Our data reveal the specific coupling between ENaC -subunit and claudin-8 expression. This coupling may play an important role in preventing the backflow of reabsorbed solutes and water to the tubular lumen, as well as in coupling paracellular and transcellular sodium permeability.

BACKGROUND:Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a noninvasive, portable lung imaging technique that provides functional distribution of ventilation. We aimed to describe the relationship between the distribution of ventilation by mode of ventilation and level of oxygenation impairment in children who are critically ill. We also aimed to describe the safety of EIT application.METHODS:A prospective observational study of EIT images obtained from subjects in the pediatric ICU. Images were categorized by whether the subjects were on intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV), continuous spontaneous ventilation, or no positive-pressure ventilation. Images were categorized by the level of oxygenation impairment when using SpO2/FIO2. Distribution of ventilation is described by the center of ventilation.RESULTS:Sixty-four images were obtained from 25 subjects. Forty-two images obtained during IMV with a mean ± SD center of ventilation of 55 ± 6%, 14 images during continuous spontaneous ventilation with a mean ± SD center of ventilation of 48.1 ± 11%, and 8 images during no positive-pressure ventilation with a mean ± SD center of ventilation of 47.5 ± 10%. Seventeen images obtained from subjects with moderate oxygenation impairment with a mean ± SD center of ventilation of 59.3 ± 1.9%, 12 with mild oxygenation impairment with a mean ± SD center of ventilation of 52.6 ± 2.3%, and 4 without oxygenation impairment with a mean ± SD center of ventilation of 48.3 ± 4%. There was more ventral distribution of ventilation with IMV versus continuous spontaneous ventilation (P = .009), with IMV versus no positive-pressure ventilation (P = .01) cohorts, and with moderate oxygenation impairment versus cohorts without oxygenation impairment (P = .009). There were no adverse events related to the placement and use of EIT in our study.CONCLUSIONS:Children who had worse oxygen impairment or who received controlled modes of ventilation had more ventral distribution of ventilation than those without oxygen impairment or the subjects who were spontaneously breathing. The ability of EIT to detect changes in the distribution of ventilation in real time may allow for distribution-targeted mechanical ventilation strategies to be deployed proactively; however, future studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of such a strategy.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by its aggressive biology, early metastatic spread, and poor survival outcomes. TNBC lacks expression of the targetable receptors found in other breast cancer subtypes, mandating use of cytotoxic chemotherapy. However, resistance to chemotherapy is a significant problem, encountered in about two-thirds of TNBC patients, and new strategies are needed to mitigate resistance. In this issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Geck et al. report that TNBC cells are highly sensitive to inhibition of the de novo polyamine synthesis pathway and that inhibition of this pathway sensitizes cells to TNBC-relevant chemotherapy, uncovering new opportunities for addressing chemoresistance.

In spite of the Kozeny–Carman formula having been applied effectively to sands, there is at present no generally accepted explanation for why it is inadequate for clays. The impermeable adsorbed water layer surrounding the soil particles throws further light on the issue. By introducing the pervious void ratio, which accounts for the effective voids that a fluid flows through, a modified Kozeny–Carman formula is presented. The results presented here show that the modified Kozeny–Carman formula predicts fairly well the hydraulic conductivity of clays, especially for fine-grained soils.

While airway clearance techniques (ACTs) are recommended for individuals with bronchiectasis, many trials have demonstrated inconsistent benefits or failed to reach their primary outcome. This review determined the most common clinical and patient-reported outcome measures used to evaluate the efficacy of ACTs in bronchiectasis. A literature search of five databases using relevant keywords and filtering for studies published in English, up until the end of August 2019, was completed. Studies included randomised controlled trials, using crossover or any other trial design, and abstracts. Studies were included where the control was placebo, no intervention, standard care, usual care or an active comparator. Adults with bronchiectasis not related to cystic fibrosis were included. Extracted data comprised study authors, design, duration, intervention, outcome measures and results. The search identified 27 published studies and one abstract. The most common clinical outcome measures were sputum volume (n=23), lung function (n=17) and pulse oximetry (n=9). The most common patient-reported outcomes were health-related quality of life (measured with St George's Respiratory Questionnaire, n=4), cough-related quality of life (measured with Leicester Cough Questionnaire, n=4) and dyspnoea (measured with Borg/modified Borg scale, n=8). Sputum volume, lung function, dyspnoea and health- and cough-related quality of life appear to be the most common clinical and patient-reported measures of airway clearance treatment efficacy.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees arrived in Bangladesh within weeks in fall 2017, quickly forming large settlements without any basic support. Humanitarian first responders provided basic necessities including food, shelter, water, sanitation, and health care. However, the challenge before them—a vast camp ravaged by diphtheria and measles superimposed on a myriad of common pathologies—was disproportionate to the resources. The needs were endless, resources finite, inadequacies abundant, and premature death inevitable. While such confines force unimaginable choices in resource allocation, they do not define the humanitarian purpose—to alleviate suffering and not allow such moral violations to become devoid of their horrifying meaning. As humanitarian workers, we maintain humanity when we care, commit, and respond to moral injustices. This refusal to abandon others in desperate situations is an attempt to rectify injustices through witnessing and solidarity. When people are left behind, we must not leave them alone.

The measurement of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in serum is frequently requested for diagnosis, risk stratification, and treatment monitoring of neuroblastoma (NB) in the pediatric population. However, authoritative clinical practice guidelines advise about the poor diagnostic performance of NSE.We critically appraised the available literature evaluating the diagnostic and prognostic value of NSE in the management of NB, paying special attention to the definition of appropriate threshold levels. In addition, we discuss the interfering conditions causing artifactual increases of NSE concentrations in serum and potentially influencing the clinical evaluation of patients with suspected NB.No definitive evidence supports the use of serum NSE for diagnosis and monitoring of NB. The risk of obtaining false-positive NSE results associated with confounders (e.g., sample hemolysis) and other pathophysiologic conditions (e.g., inflammation) is remarkable and hampers the diagnostic value of this test. NSE may be helpful to define the risk of death of patients with NB, mainly in the advanced stages of disease. However, further studies validating currently marketed immunoassays and defining threshold values useful for this scope are warranted.