Objectives
To describe latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) testing practices in long‐term care facilities (LTCFs).
Design
Retrospective cohort study.
Setting
Three Boston‐area LTCFs.
Participants
...Residents admitted between January 1 and December 31, 2011.
Measurements
Resident demographic characteristics, comorbidities, LTCF stay, and LTBI testing and treatment.
Results
Data for 291 LTCF residents admitted in 2011 were reviewed. Of the 257 without a history of LTBI and with documentation of testing, 162 (63%) were tested; 114 of 186 (61%) with a stay less than 90 days and 48 of 71 (68%) with a stay of 90 days or longer were tested. Of 196 residents with data on prior LTBI testing, 39 (19.9%) had LTBI; 12 of these (30.8%) were diagnosed at the LTCF. Hispanic participants were more likely than black participants to undergo LTBI testing (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.4, P = .003). Having a length of stay of less than 90 days (aOR = 0.7, P < .001) and history of illicit drug use (aOR = 0.7, P < .001) were associated with lower odds of LTBI testing.
Conclusion
One‐fifth of LTCF residents had LTBI, but testing was not always performed. The high prevalence of LTBI in older adults combined with the risk of an outbreak if a case of tuberculosis occurs in a LTCF make LTBI testing and treatment an important prevention opportunity. The importance of LTBI testing in LTCFs needs to be reinforced.
We studied the taxonomy of Pluteus romellii, and morphologically similar Holarctic species in the/romellii clade of section Celluloderma, using morphological and molecular data (nrITS, TEF1-α). ...Pluteus romellii is lectotypified and epitypified and accepted as an exclusively Eurasian species. Pluteus lutescens and P. pallescens are considered synonyms of P. romellii. Pluteus fulvibadius is accepted as a related, but separate, North American species. Five species in the/romellii clade are described as new to science: two from North America (P. austrofulvus and P. parvisporus), one from Asia (P. parvicarpus), one from Europe (P. siccus), and one widely distributed across the Holarctic region (P. vellingae). Basidioma size, pileus color, lamellae color, basidiospore size, hymenial cystidia shape and size, habitat and geographical distribution help separate the species described here, but in some instances only molecular data allows for confident identification. The current status of P. californicus, P. melleipes, P. romellii var. luteoalbus, P. splendidus, P. sternbergii and P. sulphureus is discussed.
There is increasing concern regarding potential impacts of snake fungal disease (SFD), caused by
Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola
(
Oo
), on free-ranging snake populations in the eastern USA. The snake ...cutaneous microbiome likely serves as the first line of defense against
Oo
and other pathogens; however, little is known about microbial associations in snakes. The objective of this study was to better define the composition and immune function of the snake cutaneous microbiome. Eight timber rattlesnakes (
Crotalus horridus
) and four black racers (
Coluber constrictor
) were captured in Arkansas and Tennessee, with some snakes exhibiting signs of SFD.
Oo
wa
s
detected through real-time qPCR in five snakes. Additional histopathological techniques confirmed a diagnosis of SFD in one racer, the species’ first confirmed case of SFD in Tennessee. Fifty-eight bacterial and five fungal strains were isolated from skin swabs and identified with Sanger sequencing. Non-metric multidimensional scaling and PERMANOVA analyses indicated that the culturable microbiome does not differ between snake species. Fifteen bacterial strains isolated from rattlesnakes and a single strain isolated from a racer inhibited growth of
Oo
in vitro. Results shed light on the culturable cutaneous microbiome of snakes and probiotic members that may play a role in fighting an emergent disease.
Skeletal muscle function and regenerative capacity decline during aging, yet factors driving these changes are incompletely understood. Muscle regeneration requires temporally coordinated ...transcriptional programs to drive myogenic stem cells to activate, proliferate, fuse to form myofibers, and to mature as myonuclei, restoring muscle function after injury. We assessed global changes in myogenic transcription programs distinguishing muscle regeneration in aged mice from young mice by comparing pseudotime trajectories from single-nucleus RNA sequencing of myogenic nuclei. Aging-specific differences in coordinating myogenic transcription programs necessary for restoring muscle function occur following muscle injury, likely contributing to compromised regeneration in aged mice. Differences in pseudotime alignment of myogenic nuclei when comparing aged with young mice via dynamic time warping revealed pseudotemporal differences becoming progressively more severe as regeneration proceeds. Disruptions in timing of myogenic gene expression programs may contribute to incomplete skeletal muscle regeneration and declines in muscle function as organisms age.
•Comparison of pre- and post-fusion nuclei during regeneration in young and aged mice•Quantified altered gene expression timing in aged mice during muscle regeneration•Timing of myogenic gene networks are disrupted in aged mice compared with young mice•In aging, disrupted gene expression timing is exacerbated as regeneration proceeds
In this article, Olwin, Dowell, and colleagues identify pervasive changes in gene expression timing during skeletal muscle regeneration occurring in aged mice compared with young mice. These changes in timing of gene expression networks, as identified via single-nucleus RNA sequencing and quantified with in-depth bioinformatic analyses, likely contribute to aging muscle phenotypes.
Summary
A machine learning model using clinical, laboratory, and imaging data was developed to predict 10-year risk of menopause-related osteoporosis. The resulting predictions, which are sensitive ...and specific, highlight distinct clinical risk profiles that can be used to identify patients most likely to be diagnosed with osteoporosis.
Purpose
The aim of this study was to incorporate demographic, metabolic, and imaging risk factors into a model for long-term prediction of self-reported osteoporosis diagnosis.
Methods
This was a secondary analysis of 1685 patients from the longitudinal Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation using data collected between 1996 and 2008. Participants were pre- or perimenopausal women between 42 and 52 years of age. A machine learning model was trained using 14 baseline risk factors—age, height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, race, menopausal status, maternal osteoporosis history, maternal spine fracture history, serum estradiol level, serum dehydroepiandrosterone level, serum thyroid-stimulating hormone level, total spine bone mineral density, and total hip bone mineral density. The self-reported outcome was whether a doctor or other provider had told participants they have osteoporosis or treated them for osteoporosis.
Results
At 10-year follow-up, a clinical osteoporosis diagnosis was reported by 113 (6.7%) women. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the model was 0.83 (95% confidence interval, 0.73–0.91) and Brier score was 0.054 (95% confidence interval, 0.035–0.074). Total spine bone mineral density, total hip bone mineral density, and age had the largest contributions to predicted risk. Using two discrimination thresholds, stratification into low, medium, and high risk, respectively, was associated with likelihood ratios of 0.23, 3.2, and 6.8. At the lower threshold, sensitivity was 0.81, and specificity was 0.82.
Conclusion
The model developed in this analysis integrates clinical data, serum biomarker levels, and bone mineral densities to predict 10-year risk of osteoporosis with good performance.
Background
Studies in aging rodent models and elderly men have recognized skeletal muscle denervation as an important factor contributing to age‐related muscle atrophy. This has not yet been assessed ...in octogenarian women, a population that is at a greater risk of becoming physically frail. On this basis we determined the presence of muscle denervation in prefrail/frail elderly women and its contribution to aging muscle phenotypes compared to a population with high function in advanced age, world class octogenarian track and field athletes.
Methods
Muscle biopsies were obtained from vastus lateralis muscle from prefrail/frail elderly women (FE, n=17, 77.9±1.5y), master athletes (MA, n=7, 80.9±2.2y) and young inactive (YI, n=12, 24.0±1.0y) controls, to assess denervation‐induced morphological and transcriptional markers.
Results
The FE group displayed a high abundance of grouped slow fibers, accumulation of very small myofibers, a severe reduction in type IIa to type I size ratio, and an accumulation of neural cell adhesion molecule‐positive myofibers and pyknotic nuclei, consistent with recurring cycles of denervation/reinnervation with a sporadic occurrence of failed reinnervation in prefrail/frail subjects. The MA group exhibited a smaller decline in type IIa/I size ratio, but not attenuated fiber atrophy relative to FE, and this was associated with a higher degree of fiber type I grouping in MA vs FE, suggesting a greater reinnervation of denervated fibers in MA. Consistent with this interpretation, MA had higher mRNA levels of the reinnervation promoting cytokine Fibroblast Growth Factor Binding Protein 1 than FE.
Conclusion
Our results indicate that the muscle of prefrail/frail elderly women undergoes significant neurogenic atrophy, whereas MA exhibit evidence of superior reinnervation capacity that attenuates functional decline with aging by attenuating aging muscle atrophy through better retention of muscle fiber number.
Support or Funding Information
This work was supported by Canadian Institute of Health Research (MOP 125986 and MOP 119583 to R.T. Hepple). Part of the expenses involving older participants was supported by an Internal Grant from the Helen McCall Hutchison Family Foundation of the Montreal General Hospital. V. Sonjak was supported by the Bloomberg Manulife Fellowship. K.J. Jacob was supported by a PhD scholarship from the Fonds de recherche du Quebec – Sante (FRQS).
This is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this published in The FASEB Journal.
Materials trapped and preserved in comets date from the earliest history of the solar system. Particles captured by the Stardust spacecraft from comet 81P/Wild 2 are indisputable cometary matter ...available for laboratory study. Here we report measurements of noble gases in Stardust material. Neon isotope ratios are within the range observed in "phase Q," a ubiquitous, primitive organic carrier of noble gases in meteorites. Helium displays ³He/⁴He ratios twice those in phase Q and in Jupiter's atmosphere. Abundances per gram are surprisingly large, suggesting implantation by ion irradiation. The gases are probably carried in high-temperature igneous grains similar to particles found in other Stardust studies. Collectively, the evidence points to gas acquisition in a hot, high ion-flux nebular environment close to the young Sun.
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