Education module for serotonin syndrome with 24-hour dose monitoring intervention.

Background: Serotonin Syndrome (SS) is recognized by a combination of mental status changes, neuromuscular hyperactivity, and autonomic hyperactivity (Volpi-Abadie, Kaye, & Kaye, 2013). Despite the severity and commonality of SS, it is an under reported and an under treated condition (Boyer, 2018). The purpose of this project was to 1) implement an education module on SS using a pretest and posttest design to increase LTC staff knowledge, and 2) evaluate the effectiveness (e.g., confidence level, satisfaction) of the intervention among nursing staff. Method: An education module was implemented focusing on recognizing and treating SS in aging adults. A pretest-posttest design was used to measure participant knowledge of SS. Participants consisting of nursing staff at a long-term care (LTC) facility (i.e., CNAs, LPNs, and RNs) completed a questionnaire at the end of the project to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. Results: There was a significant increase in knowledge from pretest to posttest with a pretest mean of 2.92 and a posttest mean of 6.61. Summary: Providing an educational module to LTC staff on SS facilitated an increase in LTC providers’ knowledge of patients at risk for developing SS, and increased assessment frequency of LTC residents at risk for SS

Bis­(benzene­thiol­ato)(2,2′-biquinoline)zinc(II)

The title compound, [Zn(C6H5S)2(C18H12N2)], was prepared as a model for future complexes that will be incorporated into light-harvesting arrays. The ZnII atom lies on a twofold rotation axis and the ligands are arranged tetra­hedrally around this atom. The benzene­thiol­ate ligand and the biquinoline ligand are nearly perpendicular to one another, making a dihedral angle of 84.09 (5)°. The biquinoline ligand is nearly planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.055 (3) Å from the mean plane of the ring system. In the crystal, the mol­ecules pack in a manner such that the biquinoline ligands are parallel to one another, with a π–π inter­action [interplanar distance = 3.38 (1) Å] with the neighboring biquinoline ligand

Identification of MiR-21-5p as a functional regulator of mesothelin expression using microRNA capture affinity coupled with next generation sequencing

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate mRNA expression mainly by silencing target transcripts via binding to miRNA recognition elements (MREs) in the 3′untranslated region (3′UTR). The identification of bona fide targets is challenging for researchers working on the functional aspect of miRNAs. Recently, we developed a method (miR-CATCH) based on biotinylated DNA antisense oligonucleotides that capture the mRNA of interest and facilitates the characterisation of miRNAs::mRNA interactions in a physiological cellular context. Here, the miR-CATCH technique was applied to the mesothelin (MSLN) gene and coupled with next generation sequencing (NGS), to identify miRNAs that regulate MSLN mRNA and that may be responsible for its increased protein levels found in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Biotinylated MSLN oligos were employed to isolate miRNA::MSLN mRNA complexes from a normal cell line (Met-5A) which expresses low levels of MSLN. MiRNAs targeting the MSLN mRNA were identified by NGS and miR-21-5p and miR-100-5p were selected for further validation analyses. MiR-21-5p was shown to be able to modulate MSLN expression in miRNA mimic experiments in a panel of malignant and non-malignant cell lines. Further miRNA inhibitor experiments and luciferase assays in Mero-14 cells validated miR-21-5p as a true regulator of MSLN. Moreover, in vitro experiments showed that treatment with miR-21-5p mimic reduced proliferation of MPM cell lines. Altogether, this work shows that the miR-CATCH technique, coupled with NGS and in vitro validation, represents a reliable method to identify native miRNA::mRNA interactions. MiR-21-5p is suggested as novel regulator of MSLN with a possible functional role in cellular growth

Actin-binding protein regulation by microRNAs as a novel microbial strategy to modulate phagocytosis by host cells: the case of N-Wasp and miR-142-3p

International audienc

Aging and Replicative Senescence Have Related Effects on Human Stem and Progenitor Cells

The regenerative potential diminishes with age and this has been ascribed to functional impairments of adult stem cells. Cells in culture undergo senescence after a certain number of cell divisions whereby the cells enlarge and finally stop proliferation. This observation of replicative senescence has been extrapolated to somatic stem cells in vivo and might reflect the aging process of the whole organism. In this study we have analyzed the effect of aging on gene expression profiles of human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) and human hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC). MSC were isolated from bone marrow of donors between 21 and 92 years old. 67 genes were age-induced and 60 were age-repressed. HPC were isolated from cord blood or from mobilized peripheral blood of donors between 27 and 73 years and 432 genes were age-induced and 495 were age-repressed. The overlap of age-associated differential gene expression in HPC and MSC was moderate. However, it was striking that several age-related gene expression changes in both MSC and HPC were also differentially expressed upon replicative senescence of MSC in vitro. Especially genes involved in genomic integrity and regulation of transcription were age-repressed. Although telomerase activity and telomere length varied in HPC particularly from older donors, an age-dependent decline was not significant arguing against telomere exhaustion as being causal for the aging phenotype. These studies have demonstrated that aging causes gene expression changes in human MSC and HPC that vary between the two different cell types. Changes upon aging of MSC and HPC are related to those of replicative senescence of MSC in vitro and this indicates that our stem and progenitor cells undergo a similar process also in vivo

Rapid microtubule self-assembly kinetics

SUMMARY Microtubule assembly is vital for many fundamental cellular processes. Current models for microtubule assembly kinetics assume that the subunit dissociation rate from a microtubule tip is independent of free subunit concentration. Total-Internal-Reflection-Fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy experiments and data from a laser tweezers assay that measures in vitro microtubule assembly with nanometer resolution, provides evidence that the subunit dissociation rate from a microtubule tip increases as the free subunit concentration increases. These data are consistent with a two-dimensional model for microtubule assembly, and are explained by a shift in microtubule tip structure from a relatively blunt shape at low free concentrations to relatively tapered at high free concentrations. We find that because both the association and the dissociation rates increase at higher free subunit concentrations, the kinetics of microtubule assembly are an order-ofmagnitude higher than currently estimated in the literature

Concert recording 2017-10-12

[Track 1]. Concertino for trombone, op. 4. I. Allegro maestoso / Ferdinand David -- [Track 2]. Sonata for trombone and piano. II. Andante molto sostenuto I. Allegro / Kazimierz Serocki -- [Track 3]. Selections from Pictures at an exhibition. Bydlo Promenade / Modest Mussorgsky arranged by Kenneth Gehrs -- [Track 4]. A winter\u27s night / Kevin McKee -- [Track 5]. Sonata for bass trombone. II. Andantino I. Allegro non troppo / Patrick McCarty -- [Track 6]. Achieved is the glorious work from Creation / Franz Joseph Haydn -- [Track 7]. Etude no. 15 / Marco Bordogni -- [Track 8]. Suite for four trombones. I. Intrada VI. Arietta III. Interludium / Serocki

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely