Effect of Activation of the GLT-1 Transporter by a Beta-Lactam Antibiotic on Serotonin-Induced Scratching Behavior in Mice

Glutamate is believed to be the predominant excitatory neurotransmitter in the networks responsible for itch-related behavior. Beta-lactam antibiotics were shown to exert neuroprotective effects by increasing expression of the glutamate transporter GLT-1. We observed whether repeated administration of the beta-lactam antibiotic ceftriaxone suppresses serotonin-induced itch-related behavior (similarly to its effect on pain transmission) in mice. Chronic, but not acute, ceftriaxone introductions reduced the number of serotonin-induced scratches; dihydrokainic acid, a selective GLT-1 transporter inhibitor, partly but significantly abolished this effect of ceftriaxone. Our findings suggest that GLT-1 activation by beta-lactam antibiotics looks promising for the treatment of chronic itch.Як вважають, глутамат є основним збуджуючим нейротрансмітером у нейронних мережах, відповідальних за поведінкові моторні прояви при почутті свербіжу. β-лактамні антибіотики мають нейропротективні властивості, оскільки забезпечують посилену експресію глутаматного транспортера GLT-1. Ми з’ясовували, чи здатне повторне введення β-лактамного антибіотика цефтриаксону пригнічувати викликані ін’єкціями серотоніну поведінкові моторні прояви (чухальні рухи), пов’язані з індукцією почуття свербіжу (подібно до впливу цього агента на біль) у мишей. Хронічні (але не поодинокі) введення цефтриаксону викликали зменшення кількості рухів чухання. Селективний блокатор транспортера GLT-1 дигідрокаїнова кислота частково, але істотно перешкоджала цьому ефекту цефтриаксону. Наші спостереження дають підстави вважати, що активація GLT-1 β-лактамними антибіотиками є перспективним підходом у лікуванні хронічного свербіжу

Adjustment to colostomy: stoma acceptance, stoma care self-efficacy and interpersonal relationships

‘The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com.’ Copyright Blackwell Publishing. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04446.xThis paper is a report of a study to examine adjustment and its relationship with stoma acceptance and social interaction, and the link between stoma care self-efficacy and adjustment in the presence of acceptance and social interactions.Peer reviewe

Relationship between serum bilirubin levels and metabolic syndrome in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Objective: We investigated the relationship between serum bilirubin levels and metabolic syndrome (MetS), and the longitudinal effects of baseline serum bilirubin concentrations on MetS in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders undergoing atypical antipsychotics. Methods: The sample of this study consisted of 131 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Waist circumference, blood pressure, and levels of triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting glucose, and insulin were evaluated at baseline and at month six. Serum bilirubin levels were measured at baseline. Serum bilirubin levels of the patients with and without MetS criteria were compared. We also compared patients with high and low bilirubin levels (upper and lower 50th percentiles of serum bilirubin levels) in terms of MetS criteria, MetS frequency, and course of MetS. Results: Serum direct bilirubin levels were more consistently related to MetS and MetS-related variables. The waist circumference and triglyceride criteria for MetS were significantly related to low serum direct bilirubin at baseline; waist circumference and fasting glucose criteria, and insulin resistance were associated with low serum direct bilirubin at follow-up. MetS diagnosis and the presence of the waist circumference criterion were more frequent at the baseline and the follow-up in low bilirubin group. At the end of the follow-up period, the rate of reverse MetS was significantly higher in the high bilirubin group. Conclusion: Our results have suggested that serum direct bilirubin levels showed a more reliable and stable relationship with abdominal obesity for MetS components.in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders using antipsychotics. Further studies are required. Copyright © 2017, Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology

Safeguarding people living in vulnerable conditions in the COVID-19 era through universal health coverage and social protection

The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented. The pandemic not only induced a public health crisis, but has led to severe economic, social, and educational crises. Across economies and societies, the distributional consequences of the pandemic have been uneven. Among groups living in vulnerable conditions, the pandemic substantially magnified the inequality gaps, with possible negative implications for these individuals' long-term physical, socioeconomic, and mental wellbeing. This Viewpoint proposes priority, programmatic, and policy recommendations that governments, resource partners, and relevant stakeholders should consider in formulating medium-term to long-term strategies for preventing the spread of COVID-19, addressing the virus's impacts, and decreasing health inequalities. The world is at a never more crucial moment, requiring collaboration and cooperation from all sectors to mitigate the inequality gaps and improve people's health and wellbeing with universal health coverage and social protection, in addition to implementation of the health in all policies approach

Quality standards for managing children and adolescents with bronchiectasis. an international consensus

The global burden of bronchiectasis in children and adolescents is being recognised increasingly. However, marked inequity exists between, and within, settings and countries for resources and standards of care afforded to children and adolescents with bronchiectasis compared with those with other chronic lung diseases. The European Respiratory Society (ERS) clinical practice guideline for the management of bronchiectasis in children and adolescents was published recently. Here we present an international consensus of quality standards of care for children and adolescents with bronchiectasis based upon this guideline.The panel used a standardised approach that included a Delphi process with 201 respondents from the parents and patients' survey, and 299 physicians (across 54 countries) who care for children and adolescents with bronchiectasis.The seven quality standards of care statements developed by the panel address the current absence of quality standards for clinical care related to paediatric bronchiectasis. These internationally derived, clinician-, parent- and patient-informed, consensus-based quality standards statements can be used by parents and patients to access and advocate for quality care for their children and themselves, respectively. They can also be used by healthcare professionals to advocate for their patients, and by health services as a monitoring tool, to help optimise health outcomes

Multivariate Genetic analysis of Personality and Cognitive Traits Reveals abundant Pleiotropy

Personality and cognitive function are heritable mental traits whose genetic foundations may be distributed across interconnected brain functions. Previous studies have typically treated these complex mental traits as distinct constructs. We applied the \u27pleiotropy-informed\u27 multivariate omnibus statistical test to genome-wide association studies of 35 measures of neuroticism and cognitive function from the UK Biobank (n = 336,993). We identified 431 significantly associated genetic loci with evidence of abundant shared genetic associations, across personality and cognitive function domains. Functional characterization implicated genes with significant tissue-specific expression in all tested brain tissues and brain-specific gene sets. We conditioned independent genome-wide association studies of the Big 5 personality traits and cognitive function on our multivariate findings, boosting genetic discovery in other personality traits and improving polygenic prediction. These findings advance our understanding of the polygenic architecture of these complex mental traits, indicating a prominence of pleiotropic genetic effects across higher order domains of mental function such as personality and cognitive function

Selection of the solvent and extraction conditions for maximum recovery of antioxidant phenolic compounds from coffee silverskin

The extraction of antioxidant phenolic compounds from coffee silverskin (CS) was studied. Firstly, the effect of different solvents (methanol, ethanol, acetone, and distilled water) on the production of antioxidant extracts was evaluated. All the extracts showed antioxidant activity (FRAP and DPPH assays), but those obtained with methanol and ethanol had significantly higher (p < 0.05) DPPH inhibition than the remaining ones. Due to the lower toxicity, ethanol was selected as extraction solvent, and further experiments were performed in order to define the solvent concentration, solvent/solid ratio, and time to maximize the extraction results. The best condition to produce an extract with high content of phenolic compounds (13 mg gallic acid equivalents/g CS) and antioxidant activity [DPPH = 18.24 μmol Trolox equivalents/g CS and FRAP = 0.83 mmol Fe(II)/g CS] was achieved when using 60 % ethanol in a ratio of 35 ml/g CS, during 30 min at 60–65 °C.This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The authors gratefully acknowledge Teresa Conde, student of Biological Engineering, for the help and interest in this work

Synthesis of an ordered mesoporous carbon with graphitic characteristics and its application for dye adsorption

An ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) was prepared by a chemical vapor deposition technique using liquid petroleum gas (LPG) as the carbon source. During synthesis, LPG was effectively adsorbed in the ordered mesopores of SBA-15 silica and converted to a graphitic carbon at 800 °C. X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption/desorption data and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) of the OMC confirmed its ordered mesoporous structure. The OMC was utilized as an adsorbent in the removal of dyes from aqueous solution. A commercial powder activated carbon (AC) was also investigated to obtain comparative data. The efficiency of the OMC for dye adsorption was tested using acidic dye acid orange 8 (AO8) and basic dyes methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RB). The results show that adsorption was affected by the molecular size of the dye, the textural properties of carbon adsorbent and surface-dye interactions. The adsorption capacities of the OMC for acid orange 8 (AO8), methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RB) were determined to be 222, 833, and 233 mg/g, respectively. The adsorption capacities of the AC for AO8, MB, and RB were determined to be 141, 313, and 185 mg/ g, respectively. The OMC demonstrated to be an excellent adsorbent for the removal of MB from wastewater.Web of Scienc

Power Doppler signal at the enthesis and bone erosions are the most discriminative OMERACT ultrasound lesions for SpA: Results from the DEUS (Defining Enthesitis on Ultrasound in Spondyloarthritis) multicentre study

Objectives To assess, in spondyloarthritis (SpA), the discriminative value of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) ultrasound lesions of enthesitis and their associations with clinical features in this population. Methods In this multicentre study involving 20 rheumatology centres, clinical and ultrasound examinations of the lower limb large entheses were performed in 413 patients with SpA (axial SpA and psoriatic arthritis) and 282 disease controls (osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia). 'Active enthesitis' was defined as (1) power Doppler (PD) at the enthesis grade ≥1 plus entheseal thickening and/or hypoechoic areas, or (2) PD grade &gt;1 (independent of the presence of entheseal thickening and/or hypoechoic areas). Results In the univariate analysis, all OMERACT lesions except enthesophytes/calcifications showed a significant association with SpA. PD (OR=8.77, 95% CI 4.40 to 19.20, p&lt;0.001) and bone erosions (OR=4.75, 95% CI 2.43 to 10.10, p&lt;0.001) retained this association in the multivariate analysis. Among the lower limb entheses, only the Achilles tendon was significantly associated with SpA (OR=1.93, 95% CI 1.30 to 2.88, p&lt;0.001) in the multivariate analyses. Active enthesitis showed a significant association with SpA (OR=9.20, 95% CI 4.21 to 23.20, p&lt;0.001), and unlike the individual OMERACT ultrasound lesions it was consistently associated with most clinical measures of SpA disease activity and severity in the regression analyses. Conclusions This large multicentre study assessed the value of different ultrasound findings of enthesitis in SpA, identifying the most discriminative ultrasound lesions and entheseal sites for SpA. Ultrasound could differentiate between SpA-related enthesitis and other forms of entheseal pathology (ie, mechanical enthesitis), thus improving the assessment of entheseal involvement in SpA