The shrinking case for saw palmetto

Advise men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) not to take saw palmetto for urinary symptoms. Explain that it has not been found to alleviate symptoms, even at triple the standard dose. Stength of recommendation: A: Based on evidence from a high-quality randomized controlled trial (RCT)1 and a 2009 meta-analysis

SSRIs for depression/heart failure patients? Not so fast

This study should put to rest the practice of starting SSRIs in depressed patients with heart failure in an attempt to affect CVD outcomes. PRACTICE CHANGER: Do not prescribe selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors to improve depression and reduce cardiovascular risk in patients with congestive heart failure. Stength of recommendation: B: Based on one large randomized controlled trial

BioSentinel

The BioSentinel mission was selected in 2013 as one of three secondary payloads to fly on the Space Launch Systems first Exploration Mission (EM-1) planned for launch in December 2017. The primary objective of BioSentinel is to develop a biosensor using a simple model organism to detect, measure, and correlate the impact of space radiation to living organisms overlong durations beyond Low Earth Orbit(LEO). While progress identifying and characterizing biological radiation effects using Earth-based facilities has been significant, no terrestrial source duplicates the unique space radiation environment.The BioSentinel biosensor uses the buddin

Visit Patterns for Severe Mental Illness with Implementation of Integrated Care: A Pilot Retrospective Cohort Study

There is increasing interest in models that integrate behavioral health services into primary care. For patients with severe mental illness (SMI), a population with disproportionate morbidity and mortality, little is known about the impact of such models on primary care clinic utilization, and provider panels. We performed a retrospective cohort pilot study examining visit patterns for 1,105 patients with SMI overall, by provider, before, and after the implementation of a primary care behavioral health model which had a ramp up period from May 2006-August 2007. We used 2003-2012 electronic health record data from two clinics of a Federally Qualified Health Center and conducted interrupted time series and chi-square analyses. During the intervention period there was a significant increase in the proportion of visits per month to the clinic for patient with SMI relative to overall visits (0.27; 95% CI 0.22-0.32). After the intervention period, this rate declined (-0.23; -0.19-0.28) but remained above the pre-intervention period. After integration of behavioral health into our primary care clinics, there was a sharp increase in the number of patients with SMI, suggesting patient willingness to explore receiving care under this model. Clinics looking to adopt the model should be mindful of potential changes in patient subpopulations and proactively manage this transition

Organics Exposure in Orbit (OREOcube): A Next-Generation Space Exposure Platform

The OREOcube (ORganics Exposure in Orbit cube) experiment on the International Space Station (ISS) will investigate the effects of solar and cosmic radiation on organic thin films supported on inorganic substrates. Probing the kinetics of structural changes and photomodulated organic inorganic interactions with real-time in situ UVvisible spectroscopy, this experiment will investigate the role played by solid mineral surfaces in the (photo)chemical evolution, transport, and distribution of organics in our solar system and beyond. In preparation for the OREOcube ISS experiment, we report here laboratory measurements of the photostability of thin films of the 9,10-anthraquinone derivative anthrarufin (51 nm thick) layered upon ultrathin films of iron oxides magnetite and hematite (4 nm thick), as well as supported directly on fused silica. During irradiation with UV and visible light simulating the photon flux and spectral distribution on the surface of Mars, anthrarufin/iron oxide bilayer thin films were exposed to CO2 (800 Pa), the main constituent (and pressure) of the martian atmosphere. The time-dependent photodegradation of anthrarufin thin films revealed the inhibition of degradation by both types of underlying iron oxides relative to anthrarufin on bare fused silica. Interactions between the organic and inorganic thin films, apparent in spectral shifts of the anthrarufin bands, are consistent with presumed free-electron quenching of semiquinone anion radicals by the iron oxide layers, electively protecting the organic compound from photodegradation. Combining such in situ real-time kinetic measurements of thin films in future space exposure experiments on the ISS with postflight sample return and analysis will provide time-course studies complemented by in-depth chemical analysis. This will facilitate the characterization and modeling of the chemistry of organic species associated with mineral surfaces in astrobiological contexts

Preliminary studies for the ORganics Exposure in Orbit (OREOcube) Experiment on the International Space Station

Organic compounds that survive in uncommon space environments are animportant astrobiology focus. The ORganics Exposure in Orbit (OREOcube)experiment will investigate, in real time, chemical changes in organiccompounds exposed to low Earth orbit radiation conditions on anInternational Space Station (ISS) external platform. OREOcube ispackaged as an identical pair of 10-cm cube instruments, each weighing<2 kg and containing a highly capable UV-Visible-NIR spectrometer, a24-sample carousel, and integral optics enabling use of the Sun as lightsource for spectroscopy, along with the electronics, microcontroller,and data storage to make each cube an autonomous stand-alone instrumentpackage requiring only a standard power and data interface. We havecharacterized the influence of mineralogically relevant inorganicmaterials on the stability, modification, and degradation of the organicmolecules under ground laboratory experimental conditions. The resultsof our laboratory experiments will be used as the basis for theselection of samples for further investigations on the OREOcube ISSexperiment. OREOcube is an international collaboration between theEuropean Space Agency, the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration, and University partners