A Role for Behavior in the Relationships Between Depression and Hostility and Cardiovascular Disease Incidence, Mortality, and All-Cause Mortality: the Prime Study.

BACKGROUND: Behavioral factors are important in disease incidence and mortality and may explain associations between mortality and various psychological traits. PURPOSE: These analyses investigated the impact of behavioral factors on the associations between depression, hostility and cardiovascular disease(CVD) incidence, CVD mortality, and all-cause mortality. METHODS: Data from the PRIME Study (N = 6953 men) were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models, following adjustment for demographic and biological CVD risk factors, and other psychological traits, including social support. RESULTS: Following initial adjustment, both depression and hostility were significantly associated with both mortality outcomes (smallest SHR = 1.24, p < 0.001). Following adjustment for behavioral factors, all relationships were attenuated both when accounting for and not accounting for other psychological variables. Associations with all-cause mortality remained significant (smallest SHR = 1.14, p = 0.04). Of the behaviors included, the most significant contribution to outcomes was found for smoking, but a role was also found for fruit and vegetable intakes and high alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate well-known associations between depression, hostility, and mortality and suggest the potential importance of behaviors in explaining these relationships

Regulated Fluctuations in Nanog Expression Mediate Cell Fate Decisions in Embryonic Stem Cells

The notion that the differentiated state of a cell population is determined simply by expression of specific marker genes is changing. In this work, the authors reveal that a pluripotent cell population comprises cells with temporal fluctuations in the expression of Nanog

Molecular marks for epigenetic identification of developmental and cancer stem cells

Epigenetic regulations of genes by reversible methylation of DNA (at the carbon-5 of cytosine) and numerous reversible modifications of histones play important roles in normal physiology and development, and epigenetic deregulations are associated with developmental disorders and various disease states, including cancer. Stem cells have the capacity to self-renew indefinitely. Similar to stem cells, some malignant cells have the capacity to divide indefinitely and are referred to as cancer stem cells. In recent times, direct correlation between epigenetic modifications and reprogramming of stem cell and cancer stem cell is emerging. Major discoveries were made with investigations on reprogramming gene products, also known as master regulators of totipotency and inducer of pluoripotency, namely, OCT4, NANOG, cMYC, SOX2, Klf4, and LIN28. The challenge to induce pluripotency is the insertion of four reprogramming genes (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc) into the genome. There are always risks of silencing of these genes by epigenetic modifications in the host cells, particularly, when introduced through retroviral techniques. In this contribution, we will discuss some of the major discoveries on epigenetic modifications within the chromatin of various genes associated with cancer progression and cancer stem cells in comparison to normal development of stem cell. These modifications may be considered as molecular signatures for predicting disorders of development and for identifying disease states

Evaluation of a Mobile App to Assist Patient Education and Research in Arthroplasty

Background: Paper-based patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and patient education can assist in improving outcomes but is administratively burdensome. Mobile phone applications (‘apps’) can distribute extensive information and PROMs at relevant time points. This study aimed to assess the suitability of an app to guide postoperative management and record PROMs based on satisfaction and compliance. Methods: Thirty-four patients who were scheduled for a total hip/knee arthroplasty were enrolled into the study. Automatic notifications were sent by the app to complete PROMs at the appropriate time points. Patients were reminded via phone call if PROMs were not completed. An app satisfaction questionnaire was also completed, where a high score represented satisfaction with the app. Results: Patients remained satisfied with the app throughout the study with a mean score of 19.0 out of 25. 57% found the app to be helpful with completing surveys, with 63% preferring the app over paper handouts. Majority of the participants (68%) stated that they would use the app again. There was an overall mean compliance of 78% at all time points. Most patients (82%) required at least one phone call reminder, with 18% of patients completing their PROMs prompted by the app notification alone. Conclusions: A mobile phone app can be useful for both distributing patient education and collecting PROMs. PROMs collected using a mobile phone app still caused some administrative burden with many participants requiring multiple reminders to complete their questionnaires. While paper-forms will still be required for some patients, most found the app preferable to paper-form