Trajectories of self-rated health in people with diabetes: Associations with functioning in a prospective community sample

© 2013 Schmitz et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Background: Self-rated health (SRH) is a single-item measure that is one of the most widely used measures of general health in population health research. Relatively little is known about changes and the trajectories of SRH in people with chronic medical conditions. The aims of the present study were to identify and describe longitudinal trajectories of self-rated health (SRH) status in people with diabetes. Methods: A prospective community study was carried out between 2008 and 2011. SRH was assessed at baseline and yearly at follow-ups (n=1288). Analysis was carried out through trajectory modeling. The trajectory groups were subsequently compared at 4 years follow-up with respect to functioning. Results: Four distinct trajectories of SRH were identified: 1) 72.2% of the participants were assigned to a persistently good SRH trajectory; 2) 10.1% were assigned to a persistently poor SRH trajectory; 3) mean SRH scores changed from good to poor for one group (7.3%); while 4) mean SRH scores changed from poor to medium/good for another group (10.4%). Those with a persistently poor perception of health status were at higher risk for poor functioning at 4 years follow-up than those whose SRH scores decreased from good to poor. Conclusions: SRH is an important predictor for poor functioning in diabetes, but the trajectory of SRH seems to be even more important. Health professionals should pay attention to not only SRH per se, but also changes in SRH over time.This work was supported by Operating Grant MOP-84574 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). GG was supported by a doctoral fellowship from the CIHR. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

The microaerophilic microbiota of de-novo paediatric inflammatory bowel disease: the BISCUIT study

<p>Introduction: Children presenting for the first time with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) offer a unique opportunity to study aetiological agents before the confounders of treatment. Microaerophilic bacteria can exploit the ecological niche of the intestinal epithelium; Helicobacter and Campylobacter are previously implicated in IBD pathogenesis. We set out to study these and other microaerophilic bacteria in de-novo paediatric IBD.</p> <p>Patients and Methods: 100 children undergoing colonoscopy were recruited including 44 treatment naïve de-novo IBD patients and 42 with normal colons. Colonic biopsies were subjected to microaerophilic culture with Gram-negative isolates then identified by sequencing. Biopsies were also PCR screened for the specific microaerophilic bacterial groups: Helicobacteraceae, Campylobacteraceae and Sutterella wadsworthensis.</p> <p>Results: 129 Gram-negative microaerophilic bacterial isolates were identified from 10 genera. The most frequently cultured was S. wadsworthensis (32 distinct isolates). Unusual Campylobacter were isolated from 8 subjects (including 3 C. concisus, 1 C. curvus, 1 C. lari, 1 C. rectus, 3 C. showae). No Helicobacter were cultured. When comparing IBD vs. normal colon control by PCR the prevalence figures were not significantly different (Helicobacter 11% vs. 12%, p = 1.00; Campylobacter 75% vs. 76%, p = 1.00; S. wadsworthensis 82% vs. 71%, p = 0.312).</p> <p>Conclusions: This study offers a comprehensive overview of the microaerophilic microbiota of the paediatric colon including at IBD onset. Campylobacter appear to be surprisingly common, are not more strongly associated with IBD and can be isolated from around 8% of paediatric colonic biopsies. S. wadsworthensis appears to be a common commensal. Helicobacter species are relatively rare in the paediatric colon.</p&gt

Characterization of In Vivo Keratin 19 Phosphorylation on Tyrosine-391

Keratin polypeptide 19 (K19) is a type I intermediate filament protein that is expressed in stratified and simple-type epithelia. Although K19 is known to be phosphorylated on tyrosine residue(s), conclusive site-specific characterization of these residue(s) and identification potential kinases that may be involved has not been reported.In this study, biochemical, molecular and immunological approaches were undertaken in order to identify and characterize K19 tyrosine phosphorylation. Upon treatment with pervanadate, a tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor, human K19 (hK19) was phosphorylated on tyrosine 391, located in the 'tail' domain of the protein. K19 Y391 phosphorylation was confirmed using site-directed mutagenesis and cell transfection coupled with the generation of a K19 phospho (p)-Y391-specific rabbit antibody. The antibody also recognized mouse phospho-K19 (K19 pY394). This tyrosine residue is not phosphorylated under basal conditions, but becomes phosphorylated in the presence of Src kinase in vitro and in cells expressing constitutively-active Src. Pervanadate treatment in vivo resulted in phosphorylation of K19 Y394 and Y391 in colonic epithelial cells of non-transgenic mice and hK19-overexpressing mice, respectively.Human K19 tyrosine 391 is phosphorylated, potentially by Src kinase, and is the first well-defined tyrosine phosphorylation site of any keratin protein. The lack of detection of K19 pY391 in the absence of tyrosine phosphatase inhibition suggests that its phosphorylation is highly dynamic

Sero-survey of rubella IgM antibodies among children in Jos, Nigeria

Sero-survey of rubella IgM antibodies was carried out among children aged 0-10 years in Jos, Nigeria. Blood samples were collected from the subjects and sera extracted. Of the 93(100%) assayed for the rubella IgM antibody, 42(45.2%) were seropositive for rubella IgM antibody while 51(54.8%) were seronegative. A breakdown of the seropositive subjects reveals that 14(15.1%) of the infected children were males while 28(30.1%) were females. Those subjects within the age groups of 1-2, 3-4 and 5-6 years had the highest prevalence of 8(8.6%) followed by those within the age groups of 7-8, 9-10 years with 7(7.5%). Blood transfusion as a risk factor did not show any significant influence on the status of the subjects. The demographic data of the mothers of the subjects were also linked with the seropositivity of the children

Elliptic emission of K+ and pi(+) in 158 A center dot GeV Pb + Pb collisions

An event-by-event analysis of the azimuthal angular correlation with respect to the reaction plane has been carried out for K+ and pi(+) emission near mid-rapidity in 158 A . GeV Pb + Pb collisions. In semi-central collisions, K+ mesons are found to be preferentially emitted out of the reaction plane, while pi(+) mesons are emitted in the reaction plane. The results suggest that the kaon emission is influenced by in-medium potential effects in addition to collective flow effects. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Fostering students’ evaluation behaviour while searching the internet

the interne

Gender, ethnicity, health behaviour & self-rated health in Singapore

10.1186/1471-2458-7-184BMC Public Health718

The effect of the timing of exposure to Campylobacter jejuni on the gut microbiome and inflammatory responses of broiler chickens

Background Campylobacters are an unwelcome member of the poultry gut microbiota in terms of food safety. The objective of this study was to compare the microbiota, inflammatory responses, and zootechnical parameters of broiler chickens not exposed to Campylobacter jejuni with those exposed either early at 6 days old or at the age commercial broiler chicken flocks are frequently observed to become colonized at 20 days old. Results Birds infected with Campylobacter at 20 days became cecal colonized within 2 days of exposure, whereas birds infected at 6 days of age did not show complete colonization of the sample cohort until 9 days post-infection. All birds sampled thereafter were colonized until the end of the study at 35 days (mean 6.1 log10 CFU per g of cecal contents). The cecal microbiota of birds infected with Campylobacter were significantly different to age-matched non-infected controls at 2 days post-infection but generally the composition of the cecal microbiota were more affected by bird age as the time post infection increased. The effects of Campylobacter colonization on the cecal microbiota were associated with reductions in the relative abundance of OTUs within the taxonomic family Lactobacillaceae and the Clostridium cluster XIVa. Specific members of the Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae families exhibit transient shifts in microbial community populations dependent upon the age at which the birds become colonized by C. jejuni. Analysis of ileal and cecal chemokine/cytokine gene expression revealed increases in IL-6, IL-17A and Il-17F consistent with a Th17 response but the persistence of the response was dependent on the stage/time of C. jejuni colonization that coincide with significant reductions in the abundance of Clostridium cluster XIVa. Conclusions This study combines microbiome data, cytokine/chemokine gene expression with intestinal villus and crypt measurements to compare chickens colonized early or late in the rearing cycle to provide insights into the process and outcomes of Campylobacter colonization. Early colonization results in a transient growth rate reduction and pro-inflammatory response but persistent modification of the cecal microbiota. Late colonization produces pro-inflammatory responses with changes in the cecal microbiota that will endure in market ready chickens