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Background: Alterations in body weight and composition are common in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and are independent predictors for morbidity and mortality. Low vitamin D status is also more prevalent in patients with COPD compared to controls and has been related to lower lung function, muscle atrophy and impaired musculoskeletal function. This study aimed to evaluate the association between vitamin D levels and status with body composition (BC), as well as with its changes over time., Patients and Methods: Patients with COPD and controls without COPD, participating in the Individualized COPD Evaluation in relation to Ageing (ICE-Age) study, a prospective observational study, were included. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) was measured at baseline and BC was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan, at baseline and after two years of follow-up. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to assess the relationships between 25(OH)D (nmol/l) and longitudinal changes in BMI, fat-free mass index (FFMI), fat mas index (FMI) and bone mineral density (BMD)., Results: A total of 192 patients with COPD (57% males, mean ± SD age, 62 ± 7, FEV1, 49 ± 16% predicted) and 199 controls (45% males, mean ± SD age 61 ± 7) were included in this study. Vitamin D levels were significantly lower in patients with COPD (64 ± 26 nmol/L, 95% CI 60-68 nmol/L versus 75 ± 25 nmol/L, 95% CI 72-79 nmol/L) compared to controls. Both patients and controls presented a significant decline in FFMI and T-score hip, but vitamin D level or status did not determine differences in BC or changes in BC over time in either COPD or controls., Conclusion: Vitamin D status was not associated with BC or longitudinal changes in BC. However, vitamin D insufficiency and low BMD were more prevalent in patients with COPD compared to controls., Competing Interests: FF reports grants and personal fees from AstraZeneca, grants, and personal fees from Chiesi, grants and personal fees from GlaxoSmithKline, personal fees from Pieris, grants and personal fees from Sanofi, outside the submitted work. MAS reports grants and/or fees from Netherlands Lung Foundation Netherlands, Stichting Astma Bestrijding, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, Chiesi, GSK, Sanofi and TEVA, all paid to the institution and all outside the submitted work. LEGWV reports personal fees for lectures and/or advisory boards from AstraZeneca, GSK, Chiesi, Pulmonx, Novartis, Boehringer, Menarini, Grifols and reports research grants from AstraZeneca paid to the institution, all outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2024 Minter et al.)

Objective: Agricultural producers face a wide array of stress triggers, shocks, and long-term pressures such as drought, flooding, fire, government policies, financial insecurity, and physical injuries. Extant research has revealed that mental health stigma, lack of access to care in rural areas, and negative coping responses (alcohol abuse, suicide, prescription drugs use) exacerbate the challenge of producer responses to short and long-term adversity. Resilience, the traits, processes, and capacities of producers to adapt and transform their approach to farming or ranching, when necessary, in response to stress triggers or long-term pressures, has received less research attention, particularly in the Western United States. The purpose of the study was to apply an interactionist occupational resilience theoretical perspective to the investigation of contextual factors contributing to resilience in Western United States agricultural producers., Methods: Qualitative interviews (45 to 90 minutes) were conducted with agricultural producers (n=51) from Western states and territories. Applied thematic analysis with a phenomenological lens was utilized to analyze interview transcriptions. First and second level coding were conducted to derive themes., Results: The analysis revealed that resilience is based upon the interactions between traits of producers and the context of agriculture. Four themes were generated (Agricultural Life, External Stressors, Traits and Adaptations, and Supports and Resources), supported by subthemes. The themes and subthemes are depicted in an agricultural producer resiliency model. The findings shed light on the equivocal role of neighbors in providing support for each other and the double-edged sword of co-working with family., Conclusions: The findings underscore that social capital is an important mechanism for supporting farmers and ranchers, as those with stronger social resources are more resilient. We recommend more funding to tailor stress and mental health programming to the specifics of agriculture, integration of behavioral health in primary care as a mechanism to increase access to care, and more intentional technical assistance for farmers and ranchers on strategic planning and problem solving.

Low vitamin D levels are common in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and have been associated with various adverse COPD-related outcomes. Recent data on vitamin D status in representative COPD cohorts in Scandinavia is lacking. This study aimed to assess vitamin D status and determinants of vitamin D insufficiency in patients with COPD who were attending a specialist secondary care COPD clinic in Southwestern Sweden. All patients who visited the COPD clinic for their first medical visit during two periods, 2017−2018 and 2021, were included in this observational study. Measurements of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), clinical data and documentation of supplements containing vitamin D were collected retrospectively from patients’ medical records. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify determinants of the primary outcome, vitamin D insufficiency (25(OH)D < 50 nmol/L). A total of 667 patients were included, and 33% had vitamin D insufficiency. The median 25(OH)D was 62 nmol/L (43.5−83.1 nmol/L). Vitamin D insufficiency was related to the male gender, current smoking habits, a lack of supplements containing vitamin D and the winter season for blood sampling. In conclusion, vitamin D insufficiency is common in patients with COPD. Men had significantly lower levels of vitamin D but took vitamin D-containing supplements less frequently compared to women. Our findings can help clinicians to identify patients who are at risk of vitamin D insufficiency and allow correction with supplementation where appropriate., Competing Interests: L.E.G.W.V. received payment for lectures and advisory boards from Astra Zeneca, GSK, Boehringer, Novartis, Chiesi, Pulmonx, Resmed, outside the scope of the current manuscript. The other authors (M.M., J.v.O. and H.A.) declare no conflict of interest.

Pre-natal exposures to nicotine and alcohol are known risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the leading cause of post-neonatal infant mortality. Here, we present data on nicotinic receptor binding, as determined by 125 I-epibatidine receptor autoradiography, in the brainstems of infants dying of SIDS and of other known causes of death collected from the Safe Passage Study, a prospective, multicenter study with clinical sites in Cape Town, South Africa and 5 United States sites, including 2 American Indian Reservations. We examined 15 pons and medulla regions related to cardiovascular control and arousal in infants dying of SIDS ( n = 12) and infants dying from known causes ( n = 20, 10 pre-discharge from time of birth, 10 post-discharge). Overall, there was a developmental decrease in 125 I-epibatidine binding with increasing postconceptional age in 5 medullary sites [raphe obscurus, gigantocellularis, paragigantocellularis, centralis, and dorsal accessory olive ( p = 0.0002-0.03)], three of which are nuclei containing serotonin cells. Comparing SIDS with post-discharge known cause of death (post-KCOD) controls, we found significant decreased binding in SIDS in the nucleus pontis oralis ( p = 0.02), a critical component of the cholinergic ascending arousal system of the rostral pons (post-KCOD, 12.1 ± 0.9 fmol/mg and SIDS, 9.1 ± 0.78 fmol/mg). In addition, we found an effect of maternal smoking in SIDS ( n = 11) combined with post-KCOD controls ( n = 8) on the raphe obscurus ( p = 0.01), gigantocellularis ( p = 0.02), and the paragigantocellularis ( p = 0.002), three medullary sites found in this study to have decreased binding with age and found in previous studies to have abnormal indices of serotonin neurotransmission in SIDS infants. At these sites, 125 I-epibatidine binding increased with increasing cigarettes per week. We found no effect of maternal drinking on 125 I-epibatidine binding at any site measured. Taken together, these data support changes in nicotinic receptor binding related to development, cause of death, and exposure to maternal cigarette smoking. These data present new evidence in a prospective study supporting the roles of developmental factors, as well as adverse exposure on nicotinic receptors, in serotonergic nuclei of the rostral medulla-a finding that highlights the interwoven and complex relationship between acetylcholine (via nicotinic receptors) and serotonergic neurotransmission in the medulla., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Vivekanandarajah, Nelson, Kinney, Elliott, Folkerth, Tran, Cotton, Jacobs, Minter, McMillan, Duncan, Broadbelt, Schissler, Odendaal, Angal, Brink, Burger, Coldrey, Dempers, Boyd, Fifer, Geldenhuys, Groenewald, Holm, Myers, Randall, Schubert, Sens, Wright, Roberts, Nelsen, Wadee, Zaharie, Haynes and PASS Network.)

Migratory insects are capable of actively sustaining powered flight for several hours. This extraordinary phenomenon requires a highly efficient transport system to cope with the energetic demands placed on the flight muscles. Here, we provide evidence that the role of the hydrophobic ligand binding of odorant binding proteins (OBPs) extends beyond their typical function in the olfactory system to support insect flight activity via lipid interactions. Transcriptomic and candidate gene analyses show that two phylogenetically clustered OBPs (OBP3/OBP6) are consistently over-expressed in adult moths of the migrant Old-World bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, displaying sustained flight performance in flight activity bioassays. Tissue-specific over-expression of OBP6 was observed in the antennae, wings and thorax in long-fliers of H. armigera. Transgenic Drosophila flies over-expressing an H. armigera transcript of OBP6 (HarmOBP6) in the flight muscle attained higher flight speeds on a modified tethered flight system. Quantification of lipid molecules using mass spectrometry showed a depletion of triacylglyerol and phospholipids in flown moths. Protein homology models built from the crystal structure of a fatty acid carrier protein identified the binding site of OBP3 and OBP6 for hydrophobic ligand binding with both proteins exhibiting a stronger average binding affinity with triacylglycerols and phospholipids compared with other groups of ligands. We propose that HarmOBP3 and HarmOBP6 contribute to the flight capacity of a globally invasive and highly migratory noctuid moth, and in doing so, extend the function of this group of proteins beyond their typical role as chemosensory proteins in insects., (© 2020 The Authors. Molecular Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aim: Climatic changes throughout the Pleistocene have strongly modified species distributions. We examine how these range shifts have affected the genetic diversity of a montane butterfly species and whether the genetic diversity in the extant populations is threatened by future climate change., Location: Europe., Taxon: Erebia epiphron Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae., Methods: We analyzed mtDNA to map current genetic diversity and differentiation of E. epiphron across Europe to identify population refugia and postglacial range shifts. We used species distribution modeling (SDM) to hindcast distributions over the last 21,000 years to identify source locations of extant populations and to project distributions into the future (2070) to predict potential losses in genetic diversity., Results: We found substantial genetic diversity unique to specific regions within Europe (total number of haplotypes = 31, number of unique haplotypes = 27, H d  = 0.9). Genetic data and SDM hindcasting suggest long-term separation and survival of discrete populations. Particularly, high rates of unique diversity in postglacially colonized sites in England ( H d  = 0.64) suggest this population was colonized from a now extinct cryptic refugium. Under future climate change, SDMs predict loss of climate suitability for E. epiphron , particularly at lower elevations (<1,000 meters above sea level) equating to 1 to 12 unique haplotypes being at risk under climate scenarios projecting 1°C and 2-3°C increases respectfully in global temperature by 2070., Main Conclusions: Our results suggest that historical range expansion and retraction processes by a cold-adapted mountain species caused diversification between populations, resulting in unique genetic diversity which may be at risk if distributions of cold-adapted species shrink in future. Assisted colonizations of individuals from at-risk populations into climatically suitable unoccupied habitat might help conserve unique genetic diversity, and translocations into remaining populations might increase their genetic diversity and hence their ability to adapt to future climate change., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

1. Every year billions of insects engage in long-distance, seasonal mass migrations which have major consequences for agriculture, ecosystem services and insect-vectored diseases. Tracking this movement in the field is difficult, with mass migrations often occurring at high altitudes and over large spatial scales. 2. As such, tethered flight provides a valuable tool for studying the flight behaviour of insects, giving insights into flight propensity (e.g. distance, duration and velocity) and orientation under controlled laboratory settings. By experimentally manipulating a variety of environmental and physiological traits, numerous studies have used this technology to study the flight behaviour of migratory insects ranging in size from aphids to butterflies. Advances in functional genomics promise to extend this to the identification of genetic factors associated with flight. Tethered flight techniques have been used to study migratory flight characteristics in insects for more than 50 years, but have never been reviewed. 3. This study summarises the key findings of this technology, which has been employed in studies of species from six Orders. By providing detailed descriptions of the tethered flight systems, the present study also aims to further the understanding of how tethered flight studies support field observations, the situations under which the technology is useful and how it might be used in future studies. 4. The aim is to contextualise the available tethered flight studies within the broader knowledge of insect migration and to describe the significant contribution these systems have made to the literature.

Disclosures: Vickers: University of Aberdeen: Patents & Royalties: About to apply for patent. Barker: University of Aberdeen: Employment, Patents & Royalties: About to apply for patent. Cao: University of Aberdeen: Patents & Royalties: About to apply for patent., (© 2017 by The American Society of Hematology.)

Sudden unexplained death in infants, including the sudden infant death syndrome, is likely due to heterogeneous causes that involve different intrinsic vulnerabilities and/or environmental factors. Neuropathologic research focuses upon the role of brain regions, particularly the brainstem, that regulate or modulate autonomic and respiratory control during sleep or transitions to waking. The hippocampus is a key component of the forebrain-limbic network that modulates autonomic/respiratory control via brainstem connections, but its role in sudden infant death has received little attention. We tested the hypothesis that a well-established marker of hippocampal pathology in temporal lobe epilepsy-focal granule cell bilamination in the dentate, a variant of granule cell dispersion-is associated with sudden unexplained death in infants. In a blinded study of hippocampal morphology in 153 infants with sudden and unexpected death autopsied in the San Diego County medical examiner's office, deaths were classified as unexplained or explained based upon autopsy and scene investigation. Focal granule cell bilamination was present in 41.2% (47/114) of the unexplained group compared to 7.7% (3/39) of the explained (control) group (p < 0.001). It was associated with a cluster of other dentate developmental abnormalities that reflect defective neuronal proliferation, migration, and/or survival. Dentate lesions in a large subset of infants with sudden unexplained death may represent a developmental vulnerability that leads to autonomic/respiratory instability or autonomic seizures, and sleep-related death when the infants are challenged with homeostatic stressors. Importantly, these lesions can be recognized in microscopic sections prepared in current forensic practice. Future research is needed to determine the relationship between hippocampal and previously reported brainstem pathology in sudden infant death.

Purpose: The effects of 28 days of heavy resistance training while ingesting the pre- and post-workout supplements, NO-Shotgun® and NO-Synthesize® were determined on body composition, muscle strength and mass, markers of protein synthesis, and clinical safety markers., Methods: Nineteen non-resistance-trained males participated in a resistance training program 4 times/week for 28 days while either ingesting 27 g/day of carbohydrate (CARB) or NO-Shotgun® 30 min pre-exercise and 27 g/day of carbohydrate or NO- Synthesize® 30 min post-exercise (NOSS). Data were analyzed with separate 2 × 2 ANOVA (p < 0.05)., Results: Total body mass was increased in both groups (p = 0.001), but not different between groups. Fat mass was unchanged with CARB, but NOSS decreased fat mass (p = 0.026). Both groups increased fat-free mass (p = 0.001); however, the increases were greater with NOSS (p = 0.023). NOSS underwent greater increases in upper-body (p = 0.023) and lower-body (p = 0.035) strength than CARB. Myofibrillar protein significantly increased in both groups (p = 0.041), with NOSS being greater than CARB (p = 0.049). All of the MHC isoforms were significantly increased in both groups; however, NOSS was greater than CARB for MHC 1 (p = 0.013) and MHC 2A (p = 0.046). All of the myogenic regulatory factors were significantly increased in both groups; however, NOSS was greater than CARB for Myo-D (p = 0.038) and MRF-4 (p = 0.001). For the whole blood and serum clinical chemistry markers, all variables remained within normal clinical ranges., Conclusions: Heavy resistance training for 28 days, with NO-Shotgun® and NO-Synthesize® ingested before and after exercise, respectively, significantly improved body composition and increased muscle mass and performance without abnormally impacting any of the clinical chemistry markers.

One of the fastest growing segments of the population infected with HIV is the nation's youths. Thus, prevention in this high-risk population is vital. The authors detail the process of adapting an evidence-based HIV/AIDS educational program (HIVEd) to the unique needs of high-risk youths in adjudicated and detained facilities and alternative high schools. The HIVEd program derives from St. Lawrence's Becoming A Responsible Teen (BART) curriculum. This article describes the modification of BART into HIVEd, identifies the challenges encountered and lessons learned, and suggests future directions for HIVEd as a useful tool for prevention of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infection in high-risk youths.

Transposon Tn5 mutagenesis of the Escherichia coli chromosome was used to isolate 21 independent insertion mutations conferring an altered colony color phenotype on MacConkey-glycerol plates. The polymerase chain reaction was used to map 16 of these Tn5 insertions within the glpFK region at 88 min. The most polar Tn5 insertion was shown by nucleotide sequencing to be in the proposed glpF open reading frame. The data suggest that the glpF and glpK genes are in an operon with a bent DNA segment (BENT-6) involved in transcriptional regulation of this operon.

Ninety-one patients had cardiorespiratory arrest in a children's hospital emergency department over six years. Only five children survived, three with severe neurologic sequelae. The records of 40 other children in the same community resuscitated by paramedics, but taken to other hospitals, were reviewed and there were three survivors. The causes and outcomes of resuscitation of children are clearly different from those of adults. Cardiac disease and ventricular arrhythmias are uncommon. Neurologically intact survival was seen only in those children who received immediate resuscitation and responded promptly. Research in cerebral resuscitation at the cellular level is promising for the future. Prevention of some cardiorespiratory arrests through accident prevention and earlier recognition of serious infections is possible now.

A one-year prospective study of 105 resuscitations in 74 children was done at Milwaukee Children's Hospital. Resuscitation outcome was correlated to location of arrest, level of monitoring at time of arrest, and type of arrest. Type of arrest was the only analyzed variable that influenced outcome. This study indicates that outcome for children requiring resuscitation for respiratory arrest without cardiac arrest is reasonably good (25% mortality). However, the outcome for children requiring resuscitation for cardiac or cardiorespiratory arrest is poor (87% to 89% mortality or severe morbidity). Children who suffered a respiratory arrest without cardiac arrest had a better outcome than did adults. However, children who had a cardiac or cardiopulmonary arrest had the same poor outcome as did adults.

The protein-based technologies used to screen newborns for sickle cell disease require confirmation with a liquid blood specimen. We have developed a strategy for rapid and specific genotypic diagnosis using DNA extracted from a dried blood spot on the filter paper blotter used to screen newborns. DNA could be microextracted from a specimen as small as a 1/8 inch diameter punched disc representing the dried equivalent of approximately 3 microliters of whole blood. We utilized the DNA from a 1/4 inch diameter specimen (12 microliters equivalent) for polymerase chain reaction amplification of the beta-globin region spanning the sickle cell mutation with detection by allele-specific oligonucleotide probes. Molecular confirmation of genotype from the original blotter would reduce the personnel costs associated with obtaining follow-up liquid blood specimens and would provide information to the family in a more timely and less equivocal manner.

A new method that permits rapid, sensitive, and specific enzymatic assay of proteins in polyacrylamide gels is described. The enzyme product blot described in this report involves percolation of the reaction mixture through a gel containing native enzyme which converts the labeled substrate to a labeled product with differing chemical properties. A permeable membrane with specific ligand-binding properties overlies the gel and binds the enzyme product, but not the substrate, as reaction mixture is blotted vertically. This membrane is washed free of substrate and the location of the product is identified by autoradiography. The autoradiogram is compared with the stained gel in order to recover the enzyme for amino acid sequence analysis. The enzyme product blot is demonstrated using glycerol kinase and hexokinase.

The porins are a class of voltage-dependent, anion-selective, channel-forming proteins located in the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM). The porins are responsible for passage of adenine nucleotides across the OMM, as well as for specific binding of hexokinase and glycerol kinase. This porin-kinase complex has direct access to ATP generated by mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and may be important in the regulation of glycolysis. Porin had not been described previously in humans but, due to its importance in bioenergetics, would be expected to be present, especially in organs requiring a large and constant supply of energy. We therefore postulated that porin would occur in human myocardium where it would be important in cardiac function. Polyclonal antibodies to bovine myocardial and rat liver porins were utilized in transblotting experiments after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of human heart preparations from atria, ventricles, papillary muscles, and interventricular septum. These immunoblots demonstrated selective staining of a 34-kDa band. This was identical to the results obtained with purified porin and the antibodies. Also notable was the finding that the vast majority of this staining was found in the homogenate pellet after high speed centrifugation (20,000g), as would be expected for a mitochondrial protein. The demonstration of human cardiac porin by immunoblotting with rat liver and bovine myocardial porin antibodies is the first demonstration of cross-species identification of the porins. The success of this approach undoubtedly occurred because of strong homology between porins from a variety of species.

Since 1983 the computerized record and verify system Mevamatic 3 was tested in connection with the linear accelerator Mevatron 77 (Siemens Company). In consequence of the software development the handling of the system was improved for the clinical routine with the result of a fully utilizable system. The topics of this report are the description of the hardware, the functions of the system, the software development and some possibilities for improvements in the future.

The Medical Center Library contracted to provide bibliographic information services for the Tobacco and Health Research Institute of the University of Kentucky. This new department is now an integral part of the Medical Center Library providing reference and literature services in the tobacco and health area. Operating as a quasi-independent unit of the Medical Center Library, THIS (Tobacco and Health Information Services) functions separately in all areas of library operations, or more specifically, as a special library within a library. Its collection differs from that of most libraries in that it consists almost solely of periodical reprints instead of books and journals. The diversity of disciplines which tobacco and health literature encompasses has created the need for the development of a current awareness service for researchers. It is the belief of the author that there is a definite trend toward library collections such as THIS within larger medical libraries, as more institutes with special areas of interest are being formed.