The Effect of Time-Restricted Feeding on Body Weight, Energy, Mood, Sleep, and Hunger Levels of Adults on Social Media

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of time-restricted eighthour feeding on body weight, self-reported energy, mood, and hunger scores, and selfreported sleep patterns of adult men and women on social media. Generally healthy adults ages 18 to 65 were invited on social media to participate in a five-week study which involved a one week of following their normal dietary patterns succeeded by four weeks of practicing time-restricted feeding of eight hours per day, also known as 16 hours of fasting. Daily surveys were created in Survey Monkey and distributed through the messaging platform, Remind, that gathered data concerning self-reported energy, mood, and hunger scores, sleep patterns, and times participants began and ended fasting for the previous day. Initial, midpoint, and final body weights were also self-reported and sent to the researcher. One hundred twenty-nine subjects participated in the study but only 86 met the requirements of submitting all three body weights and completing a minimum of five out of seven surveys each week. The majority of participants were female (81.39%), ages 18- 25 (36.05%), and worked in the health science/health care field (23.26%). There was a significant decrease in body weight and BMI from baseline to midpoint (2.03±5.11; .318±.742) and from baseline to final (3.49±7.08; .567±.742). Mood scores also decreased significantly, showing an increase in irritability/agitation throughout the study (.876±1.34). Hours of sleep increased significantly from baseline to after two weeks of intermittent fasting (.0781 ± .342) but not from baseline to after four weeks of intermittent fasting. There were no significant changes in self-reported hunger or energy scores. This study found supportive evidence that following time-restricted feeding in the short term may be effective for weight loss. Mood, specifically irritability and agitation, may also be negatively affected by time-restricted feeding. People may experience increased sleep duration but more research is needed to make conclusions at this time, particularly examining its effect long term

Medication Reconciliation of Medically-Complex Emergency Department Patients by Second-Year Professional Pharmacy Students

ABSTRACT: Background: There is a high potential for medication discrepancies to occur during patient care transitions. However, health professionals must find ways to reduce these and improve patient care, such as with medication reconciliation. This intervention is used to identify a patient’s most accurate medication list by comparing the medical record to another list obtained from the patient, hospital, or other provider. Pharmacists have a major role in this process because of their medicinal expertise, but paying them is expensive, so using students may be more cost-effective. Research has examined fourth-year professional pharmacy students (P4s) performing medication reconciliation during their advanced pharmacy practice experiences; however, no research currently exists that explores the use of P2 students to determine their efficacy. Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to determine the effect of P2 students on medication reconciliation for high-risk patients undergoing care transitions within the emergency department compared to the efforts of P4s as described in the literature. The secondary objective is to determine the impact on 30-day readmission rates. Methodology: This is a historical-controlled, prospective, observational study. Data collection will occur August 2015 through April 2016 at Grandview Medical Center and Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. A sample size of at least 34 subjects is required to obtain statistical significance. Subjects will be selected by purposive sampling based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. P2 students will perform medication reconciliation and complete a reporting form providing information on medication discrepancies, interventions, and re-admission dates. Analysis: Researchers will use descriptive statistics, such as mean, mode, and standard deviation, to report each set of data based on normality. One-sample t-tests will also be used to compare P2 data with pre-existing P4 data found in the literature

Two-by-two factorial randomised study within a trial (SWAT) to evaluate strategies for follow-up in a randomised prevention trial

BackgroundFailure to collect outcome data in randomised trials can result in bias and loss of statistical power. Further evaluations of strategies to increase retention are required. We assessed the effectiveness of two strategies for retention in a randomised prevention trial using a two-by-two factorial randomised study within a trial (SWAT).MethodsParents of babies included in the host trial were randomised to (1) short message service (SMS) notification prior to sending questionnaires at 3, 6, 12 and 18 months versus no SMS notification and (2) a £10 voucher sent with the invitation letter for the primary follow-up visit at 24 months or given at the visit. The two co-primary outcomes were collection of host trial (1) questionnaire data at interim follow-up times and (2) primary outcome at 24 months during a home/clinic visit with a research nurse.ResultsBetween November 2014 and November 2016, 1394 participants were randomised: 350 to no SMS + voucher at visit, 345 to SMS + voucher at visit, 352 to no SMS + voucher before visit and 347 to SMS + voucher before visit. Overall questionnaire data was collected at interim follow-up times for 75% in both the group allocated to the prior SMS notification and the group allocated to no SMS notification (odds ratio (OR) SMS versus none 1.02, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.25). Host trial primary outcome data was collected at a visit for 557 (80%) allocated to the voucher before the visit in the invitation letter and for 566 (81%) whose parents were allocated to receive the voucher at the visit (OR before versus at visit 0.89, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.17).ConclusionThere was no evidence of a difference in retention according to SMS notification or voucher timing. Future synthesis of SWAT results is required to be able to detect small but important incremental effects of retention strategies

A Natural Plasmid Uniquely Encodes Two Biosynthetic Pathways Creating a Potent Anti-MRSA Antibiotic

Background Understanding how complex antibiotics are synthesised by their producer bacteria is essential for creation of new families of bioactive compounds. Thiomarinols, produced by marine bacteria belonging to the genus Pseudoalteromonas, are hybrids of two independently active species: the pseudomonic acid mixture, mupirocin, which is used clinically against MRSA, and the pyrrothine core of holomycin. Methodology/Principal Findings High throughput DNA sequencing of the complete genome of the producer bacterium revealed a novel 97 kb plasmid, pTML1, consisting almost entirely of two distinct gene clusters. Targeted gene knockouts confirmed the role of these clusters in biosynthesis of the two separate components, pseudomonic acid and the pyrrothine, and identified a putative amide synthetase that joins them together. Feeding mupirocin to a mutant unable to make the endogenous pseudomonic acid created a novel hybrid with the pyrrothine via “mutasynthesis” that allows inhibition of mupirocin-resistant isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase, the mupirocin target. A mutant defective in pyrrothine biosynthesis was also able to incorporate alternative amine substrates. Conclusions/Significance Plasmid pTML1 provides a paradigm for combining independent antibiotic biosynthetic pathways or using mutasynthesis to develop a new family of hybrid derivatives that may extend the effective use of mupirocin against MRSA

Protocol for a multi-centre randomised controlled stand-alone feasibility trial to assess potential effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of digital hearing aids in patients with tinnitus and hearing loss (the HUSH trial)

Background: The most common management strategy for tinnitus provided in UK audiology clinics is education and advice. This may also be combined with some form of sound therapy (e.g. digital hearing aids). While education and advice is generally provided by all clinics, there is a marked variability in provision of hearing aids that depends very much on clinical decisions. A recent Cochrane review concluded a lack of evidence to support or refute hearing aid use as a routine intervention for people with tinnitus and hearing loss. This lack of evidence is reflected in the inconsistency of tinnitus management in the UK. The aim of the HUSH trial is to determine the feasibility of conducting a definitive randomised controlled trial (RCT) of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of hearing aids for adults with tinnitus and hearing loss. Methods: This is a multicentre randomised controlled feasibility trial. Up to 100 adults, aged 18 and over, presenting to 5 UK audiology clinics with a complaint of tinnitus and measurable hearing loss are being randomised to receive either: i) education and advice (Treatment as usual), or ii) education and advice with digital hearing aids. Feasibility outcomes are being collected around recruitment, retention, patient and healthcare professional acceptability and clinical outcome assessment. Outcomes are being collected via postal questionnaire at 12 weeks post baseline. A nested interview study will supplement clinical and other outcome data, providing a detailed understanding of participants’ and audiologists’ experience of both tinnitus management and the research processes.Discussion: This feasibility trial will help us to (i) determine if it is feasible to conduct a multicentre RCT comparing treatment as usual and treatment as usual plus digital hearing aids, (ii) optimise the design of a future definitive, multicentre RCT, and (iii) inform which outcome(s) is/are relevant for patients. This work presents an important first step in determining the effectiveness of hearing aids as a tinnitus management strategy. Trial registration: ISRCTN1421841

Medication Reconciliation of Medically-Complex Emergency Department Patients by Second-Year Professional Pharmacy Students

Background: There is a high potential for medication discrepancies to occur during patient care transitions. However, health professionals must find ways to reduce these and improve patient care, such as with medication reconciliation. This intervention is used to identify a patient’s most accurate medication list by comparing the medical record to another list obtained from the patient, hospital, or other provider. Pharmacists have a major role in this process because of their medicinal expertise, but paying them is expensive, so using students may be more cost-effective. Research has examined fourth-year professional pharmacy students (P4s) performing medication reconciliation during their advanced pharmacy practice experiences; however, no research currently exists that explores the use of P2 students to determine their efficacy. Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to determine the effect of P2 students on medication reconciliation for high-risk patients undergoing care transitions within the emergency department compared to the efforts of P4s as described in the literature. The secondary objective is to determine the impact on 30-day readmission rates. Methodology: This is a historical-controlled, prospective, observational study. Data collection will occur August 2015 through April 2016 at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. A sample size of at least 34 subjects is required to obtain statistical significance. Subjects will be selected by purposive sampling based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. P2 students will perform medication reconciliation and complete a reporting form providing information on medication discrepancies, interventions, and re-admission dates. Analysis: Researchers will use descriptive statistics, such as mean, mode, and standard deviation, to report each set of data based on normality. One-sample t-tests will also be used to compare P2 data with pre-existing P4 data found in the literature

Examining the correlates of adolescent food and nutrition knowledge

Food literacy is a set of skills and knowledge that are integral to diet. It is common among teenagers to not have basic food literacy skills needed to consume a healthy diet. This study examined: (1) the current state of food and nutrition knowledge among adolescents 13–19 years of age in the census metropolitan area of London, ON, Canada; and (2) correlates of food knowledge and nutrition knowledge among adolescents. Data for this study were drawn from baseline youth and parent survey data collected from a larger population health intervention study. Statistical analysis of the survey data indicates that higher parental education and higher median neighbourhood family income, the use of mobile health applications, liking to cook, as well as confidence in reading and understanding food labels were all consistently associated with increased food and nutrition knowledge. Findings may help guide future research towards optimal methods for delivering food literacy interventions to effectively educate teenagers. Results of this study may help guide policy makers, researchers, and public health professionals in developing appropriate food and nutrition programs and curriculums to combat the decline in food literacy skills

Ruminant Milk-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: A Nutritional and Therapeutic Opportunity?

Milk has been shown to contain a specific fraction of extracellular particles that are reported to resist digestion and are purposefully packaged with lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids to exert specific biological effects. These findings suggest that these particles may have a role in the quality of infant nutrition, particularly in the early phase of life when many of the foundations of an infant’s potential for health and overall wellness are established. However, much of the current research focuses on human or cow milk only, and there is a knowledge gap in how milk from other species, which may be more commonly consumed in different regions, could also have these reported biological effects. Our review provides a summary of the studies into the extracellular particle fraction of milk from a wider range of ruminants and pseudo-ruminants, focusing on how this fraction is isolated and characterised, the stability and uptake of the fraction, and the reported biological effects of these fractions in a range of model systems. As the individual composition of milk from different species is known to differ, we propose that the extracellular particle fraction of milk from non-traditional and minority species may also have important and distinct biological properties that warrant further study

Emerging from COVID-19: Lessons for Action on Climate Change and Health in Cities.

No abstract available

Author Correction: A population-specific reference panel empowers genetic studies of Anabaptist populations.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper