The effect of magic as a therapeutic recreation intervention on the self-esteem and depression of older adults in long-term care facilities

Depression and low self-esteem are issues that confront many adults as they age. These concerns are particularly prominent in older adults who move into long-term care facilities, such as assisted living centers or nursing homes. With the increasing number of older adults, it is important to design interventions that can help decrease depression and increase self-esteem levels in this population. This quantitative study used the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) to explore the potential benefits of a four-week, eight-session magic as a therapeutic recreation intervention (magic) program on the self-esteem and depression levels of older adults. Also, the relationship between levels of depression and self-esteem was explored. Though results were not statistically significant, there were improvements in some individuals' depression and self-esteem, showing potential for a magic program to improve depression and self-esteem levels in older adults. Furthermore, a relationship was shown between self-esteem and depression, specifically with high levels of self-esteem correlating with low levels of depression. This result provides supportive evidence that interventions with the potential to improve self-esteem, like magic, could be helpful in decreasing depression. Limitations of this study as well as directions for further research are discussed

Stump appendicitis.

Stump appendicitis is a rare and late complication following appendectomy and can often be overlooked. Our case details a 42-year-old male who presented to the Emergency Department with right-sided lower abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. A computed tomography scan of his abdomen and pelvis demonstrated a tubular, fluid-filled structure with surrounding inflammatory changes at the level of the patient\u27s appendectomy clips with a 2.3-cm calcified intraluminal stone. Findings were concerning for stump appendicitis with appendicolith. He was admitted and taken to the operating room for a laparoscopic stump appendectomy. Stump appendicitis should always be considered in the differential diagnosis to prevent potentially serious complications

FishFace: interactive atlas of zebrafish craniofacial development at cellular resolution

Background: The vertebrate craniofacial skeleton may exhibit anatomical complexity and diversity, but its genesis and evolution can be understood through careful dissection of developmental programs at cellular resolution. Resources are lacking that include introductory overviews of skeletal anatomy coupled with descriptions of craniofacial development at cellular resolution. In addition to providing analytical guidelines for other studies, such an atlas would suggest cellular mechanisms underlying development. Description We present the Fish Face Atlas, an online, 3D-interactive atlas of craniofacial development in the zebrafish Danio rerio. Alizarin red-stained skulls scanned by fluorescent optical projection tomography and segmented into individual elements provide a resource for understanding the 3D structure of the zebrafish craniofacial skeleton. These data provide the user an anatomical entry point to confocal images of Alizarin red-stained zebrafish with transgenically-labelled pharyngeal arch ectomesenchyme, chondrocytes, and osteoblasts, which illustrate the appearance, morphogenesis, and growth of the mandibular and hyoid cartilages and bones, as viewed in live, anesthetized zebrafish during embryonic and larval development. Confocal image stacks at high magnification during the same stages provide cellular detail and suggest developmental and evolutionary hypotheses. Conclusion: The FishFace Atlas is a novel learning tool for understanding craniofacial skeletal development, and can serve as a reference for a variety of studies, including comparative and mutational analyses

Excretion of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci by Wild Mammals

A survey of fecal samples found enterococcal excretion in 82% of 388 bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus), 92% of 131 woodmice (Apodemus sylvaticus), and 75% of 165 badgers (Meles meles). Vancomycin-resistant enterococci, all Enterococcus faecium of vanA genotype, were excreted by 4.6% of the woodmice and 1.2% of the badgers, but by none of the bank voles

Fatal Biliary-Systemic Air Embolism during Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography: A Case with Multifocal Liver Abscesses and Choledochoduodenostomy

We report a rare case of a massive fatal embolism that occurred in the middle of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and retrospectively examine the significant causes of the event. The patient was a 50-year old female with an uncertain history of previous abdominal surgery for multiple biliary stones 20 years prior. The patient presented with acute right upper quadrant pain. An abdominal computed tomographic (CT) scan revealed the presence of multiple stones in the common bile duct (CBD) and intra-hepatic duct (IHD) with biliary obstruction, multifocal liver abscesses, and air-biliarygram. Emergency ERCP showed a wide and straight opening of choledochoduodenostomy, which may have been created during a previous surgery, and multiple filling defects in the CBD. With the use of a forward endoscope, mud stones were extracted through the opening of the choledochoduodenostomy. Cardiac arrest suddenly developed during the procedure, and despite immediate resuscitation, the patient died due to a massive systemic air embolism. We reviewed previously reported fatal cases and accessed factors facilitating air embolisms in this case

<em>Enterococcus faecalis</em> Infection Causes Inflammation, Intracellular Oxphos-Independent ROS Production, and DNA Damage in Human Gastric Cancer Cells

Background: Achlorhydria caused by e.g. atrophic gastritis allows for bacterial overgrowth, which induces chronic inflammation and damage to the mucosal cells of infected individuals driving gastric malignancies and cancer. Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) can colonize achlohydric stomachs and we therefore wanted to study the impact of E. faecalis infection on inflammatory response, reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, mitochondrial respiration, and mitochondrial genetic stability in gastric mucosal cells. Methods: To separate the changes induced by bacteria from those of the inflammatory cells we established an in vitro E. faecalis infection model system using the gastric carcinoma cell line MKN74. Total ROS and superoxide was measured by fluorescence microscopy. Cellular oxygen consumption was characterized non-invasively using XF24 microplate based respirometry. Gene expression was examined by microarray, and response pathways were identified by Gene Set Analysis (GSA). Selected gene transcripts were verified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Mitochondrial mutations were determined by sequencing. Results: Infection of MKN74 cells with E. faecalis induced intracellular ROS production through a pathway independent of oxidative phosphorylation (oxphos). Furthermore, E. faecalis infection induced mitochondrial DNA instability. Following infection, genes coding for inflammatory response proteins were transcriptionally up-regulated while DNA damage repair and cell cycle control genes were down-regulated. Cell growth slowed down when infected with viable E. faecalis and responded in a dose dependent manner to E. faecalis lysate. Conclusions: Infection by E. faecalis induced an oxphos-independent intracellular ROS response and damaged the mitochondrial genome in gastric cell culture. Finally the bacteria induced an NF-kappa B inflammatory response as well as impaired DNA damage response and cell cycle control gene expression