Air pollution has been linked to increased incidence of diabetes. Recently, we showed that ozone (O3) induces glucose intolerance, and increases serum leptin and epinephrine in Brown Norway rats. In ...this study, we hypothesized that O3 exposure will cause systemic changes in metabolic homeostasis and that serum metabolomic and liver transcriptomic profiling will provide mechanistic insights. In the first experiment, male Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats were exposed to filtered air (FA) or O3 at 0.25, 0.50, or 1.0ppm, 6h/day for two days to establish concentration-related effects on glucose tolerance and lung injury. In a second experiment, rats were exposed to FA or 1.0ppm O3, 6h/day for either one or two consecutive days, and systemic metabolic responses were determined immediately after or 18h post-exposure. O3 increased serum glucose and leptin on day 1. Glucose intolerance persisted through two days of exposure but reversed 18h-post second exposure. O3 increased circulating metabolites of glycolysis, long-chain free fatty acids, branched-chain amino acids and cholesterol, while 1,5-anhydroglucitol, bile acids and metabolites of TCA cycle were decreased, indicating impaired glycemic control, proteolysis and lipolysis. Liver gene expression increased for markers of glycolysis, TCA cycle and gluconeogenesis, and decreased for markers of steroid and fat biosynthesis. Genes involved in apoptosis and mitochondrial function were also impacted by O3. In conclusion, short-term O3 exposure induces global metabolic derangement involving glucose, lipid, and amino acid metabolism, typical of a stress–response. It remains to be examined if these alterations contribute to insulin resistance upon chronic exposure.
•Ozone, an ubiquitous air pollutant induces acute systemic metabolic derangement.•Serum metabolomic approach provides novel insights in ozone-induced changes.•Ozone exposure induces leptinemia, hyperglycemia, and glucose intolerance.•Ozone increases serum free fatty acids, branched chain amino acids, cholesterols.•Ozone metabolic derangement is likely mediated by neuronal stress response pathway.
Background
Rating scales are designed to complement traditional performance‐based measures, and both can provide useful information about the functioning of youth with histories of prenatal alcohol ...exposure. Few studies, however, have compared ratings from multiple informants or the relationship between these subjective rating scale scores and the objective results from laboratory performance‐based scales.
Methods
The current study addressed both of these questions in 3 study groups: children with histories of prenatal alcohol exposure (n = 47), attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n = 41), and typically developing controls (CON; n = 73). All subjects completed a standardized neuropsychological test battery, including laboratory measures of executive functioning and a self‐report measure of executive function behaviors. Parents and teachers completed corresponding rating scales of executive function behaviors for each subject. This study assessed the relationship between these behavior rating scales and corresponding neuropsychological tests, and interrater agreement among the multiple informants.
Results
Weak correlations were found between the rating scales and laboratory measures, indicating poor convergent validity for the behavior rating scale. Interrater reliability was found but it differed by group. Agreement was found between parent and teacher ratings for children with prenatal alcohol exposure, whereas teacher–child agreement was found for those with ADHD.
Conclusions
Findings from this study indicate that behavior ratings can be used to supplement laboratory measures but may not be measuring cognitive abilities regardless of whether a clinical diagnosis is present. A multimethod approach should be used when measuring skills in this domain. This was one of the first studies to examine cross‐informant agreement in a sample of children with prenatal alcohol exposure. Further research is necessary to understand why interrater agreement differed for children with prenatal alcohol exposure and those with ADHD.
This study assessed the relationship between behavior ratings of executive function and neuropsychological measures in children with prenatal alcohol exposure (AE), attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and typically developing controls (CON). Weak correlations were found between the two types of measures. Parent‐teacher agreement was significant for the AE group, not significant for the ADHD group, and mixed for the CON group. Findings reveal that parents and teachers of alcohol‐exposed children report similar difficulties but emphasize the importance of using a multi‐method approach when determining deficits in this domain.
Background
Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is associated with a variety of structural abnormalities in the brain, including several within the para‐limbic system. Children with PAE have higher rates ...of internalizing disorders, including depression and anxiety, which may be related to underlying limbic system anomalies.
Methods
Children aged 8 to 16 with PAE (n = 41) or without PAE (n = 36) underwent an magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and parents completed behavioral questionnaires about their children. Semi‐automated procedures (FreeSurfer) were used to derive para‐limbic volumes from T1‐weighted anatomical images.
Results
There were significant group differences (PAE vs. nonexposed controls) in the caudate, hippocampus, and the putamen; children with PAE had smaller volumes in these regions even after controlling for total intracranial volume. A trend‐level association was seen between caudate volume and internalizing symptoms in children with PAE; smaller caudate volumes (presumably reflecting less optimal neurodevelopment) were associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression symptoms in these children.
Conclusions
Caudate structure may be disproportionately affected by PAE and may be associated with the later development of internalizing symptoms in those affected by PAE.
Children with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) have higher rates of internalizing disorders, including depression and anxiety, which may be related to underlying para‐limbic system anomalies. This study revealed that smaller caudate volumes were associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression symptoms in children with PAE. Caudate structure may be disproportionately affected by PAE and may be associated with the later development of internalizing symptoms.
Two-photon excitation microscopy (TPEM) was used to monitor the air-to-leaf transfer and within-leaf movement and distribution of phenanthrene in two plant species (maize and spinach) grown within a ...contaminated atmosphere. Phenanthrene was visualized within the leaf cuticle, epidermis, mesophyll, and vascular system of living maize and spinach plants. No detectable levels of phenanthrene were observed in the roots or stems of either species, suggesting phenanthrene entered the leaves only from the air. Phenanthrene was observed in both the abaxial and adaxial cuticles of both species. Particulate material (aerosols/dust) contaminated with phenanthrene was located at the surface of the cuticle and became encapsulated within the cuticular waxes. Over time, diffuse areas of phenanthrene formed within the adjacent cuticle. However, most of the visualized phenanthrene reaching the leaves arrived via gas-phase transfer. Phenanthrene was found within the wax plugs of stomata of both species and on the external surface of the stomatal pore, but not on the internal surface, or within the sub-stomatal cavity. Phenanthrene diffused through the cuticles of both species in 24−48 h, entering the epidermis to reside predominantly within the cell walls of maize (indicative of apoplastic transport) and the cellular cytoplasm of spinach (indicative of symplastic transport). Phenanthrene accumulated within the spinach cytoplasm where it concentrated into the vacuoles of the epidermal cells. Phenanthrene was not observed to accumulate in the cytoplasm of maize cells. Phenanthrene entered the internal mesophyll of both species, and was found within the mesophyll cell walls, at the surface of the chloroplasts, and within the cellular cytoplasm. Phenanthrene was observed within the xylem of maize following 12 days exposure. The cuticle and epidermis at the edges of spinach leaves had a systematically higher concentration of phenanthrene than the cuticle and epidermal cells at the center of the leaf. These results provide important new information about how such compounds enter, move, and distribute within leaves, and suggest that contemporary views of such processes based on data obtained from traditional analytical methods may need to be revised.
CONTEXT Risk factors for perioperative mortality after coronary artery bypass
graft (CABG) surgery have been extensively studied. However, which factors
are associated with early readmissions ...following CABG surgery are less clear. OBJECTIVE To identify significant predictors of readmission within 30 days following
CABG surgery. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS Causes for readmission within 30 days were investigated for all patients
discharged after CABG surgery in the state of New York from January 1, 1999,
through December 31, 1999. A variety of patient demographics, preoperative
risk factors, complications, operative and postoperative factors, and provider
characteristics were considered as potential predictors of readmissions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Hospital readmissions within 30 days of discharge following CABG surgery. RESULTS Of 16 325 total patients, 2111 (12.9%) were readmitted within 30
days for reasons related to CABG surgery. The most common causes of readmission
were postsurgical infection (n = 598 28%) and heart failure (n = 331 16%).
Eleven risk factors were found to be independently associated with higher
readmission rates: older age, female sex, African American race, greater body
surface area, previous myocardial infarction within 1 week, and 6 comorbidities.
After controlling for these preoperative patient-level risk factors, 2 provider
characteristics (annual surgeon CABG volume <100, hospital risk-adjusted
mortality rate in the highest decile) and 2 postoperative factors (discharge
to nursing home or rehabilitation/acute care facility, length of stay during
index CABG admission of ≥5 days) were also related to higher readmission
rates. CONCLUSIONS Readmission within 30 days following discharge is an important adverse
outcome of CABG surgery. Continued attempts should be made to explore the
potential of readmission as a supplement to mortality in assessing provider
quality.
The rapid emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants challenges vaccination strategies. Here, we collected 201 serum samples from persons with a single infection or multiple vaccine exposures, or both. We ...measured their neutralization titers against 15 natural variants and 7 variants with engineered spike mutations and analyzed antigenic diversity. Antigenic maps of primary infection sera showed that Omicron sublineages BA.2, BA.4/BA.5, and BA.2.12.1 are distinct from BA.1 and more similar to Beta/Gamma/Mu variants. Three mRNA COVID-19 vaccinations increased neutralization of BA.1 more than BA.4/BA.5 or BA.2.12.1. BA.1 post-vaccination infection elicited higher neutralization titers to all variants than three vaccinations alone, although with less neutralization to BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5. Those with BA.1 infection after two or three vaccinations had similar neutralization titer magnitude and antigenic recognition. Accounting for antigenic differences among variants when interpreting neutralization titers can aid the understanding of complex patterns in humoral immunity that informs the selection of future COVID-19 vaccine strains.
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•Antigenic cartography of convalescent sera shows BA.1 as the most distinct variant•SARS-CoV-2 convalescent or vaccinee sera distinguish BA.1 and BA.4/BA.5 variants•Third vaccine boosts BA.1 and BA.2 neutralization more than BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5•BA.1 infection after two or three vaccinations broadens neutralization similarly
Wang et al. show that SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 or BA.1.1 infection after a second or third mRNA COVID-19 vaccination broadens neutralizing antibody responses to all variants, including Omicron, more than three vaccinations alone. BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5 evade neutralization more than BA.1 and BA.2 after three vaccinations or Omicron infection post-vaccination.
It is unclear how the type of an atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) event potentially influences patients' likelihood of smoking cessation.
Using 2013 to 2018 data from the US based ...National Cardiovascular Data Registry Practice Innovation and Clinical Excellence outpatient cardiac registry, we identified patients who were current smokers at a clinic visit and followed them over time for a subsequent ASCVD event. Self-reported smoking status was assessed at each consecutive visit and used to determine smoking cessation after each interim ASCVD event (myocardial infarction, percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary artery bypass graft, stroke/transient ischemic attack, peripheral artery disease). We constructed separate multivariable Cox models with nonproportional hazards to examine the association of each interim ASCVD event with smoking cessation, compared with not having an interim ASCVD event. We estimated the relative association of ASCVD event type with smoking cessation using contrast tests. Analyses were stratified by presence versus absence of ASCVD at baseline.
Across 530 cardiology practices, we identified 1 933 283 current smokers (mean age 62±15, male 54%, ASCVD at baseline 50%). Among the 322 743 patients who had an interim ASCVD event and were still smoking, 41 336 (12.8%) quit smoking by their first subsequent clinic visit, which was higher among those with baseline ASCVD (13.4%) as compared with those without baseline ASCVD (11.5%). Each type of ASCVD event was associated with an increased likelihood of smoking. Patients who had an myocardial infarction, underwent coronary artery bypass graft (hazard ratio, 1.60 95% CI, 1.55-1.65), or had a stroke or transient ischemic attack were more likely to quit smoking as compared with those who underwent elective percutaneous coronary intervention or had a new diagnosis of peripheral artery disease (hazard ratio, 1.20 95% CI, 1.17-1.22).
Only 13% of patients reported smoking cessation after an ASCVD event, with the type of event being associated with the likelihood of smoking cessation, prompting the need for patient-centered interventions.
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