Barriers to Cardiac Patients Returning to Work: Program Planning Guidelines for Social Workers in Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs

The purpose of this study is to explore barriers to cardiac patients under the age of 65 in returning to their jobs following cardiac events and create program planning guidelines based on the findings. Reasons why patients do not return to work noted in the literature include job stress, anxiety and depression, cardiac invalidism, and/or physical limitations. Former outpatient cardiac rehabilitation patients were surveyed as well as professionals who work in hospitals or clinics with cardiac patients to assess barriers to returning to work following a cardiac event and how outpatient cardiac rehabilitation programs can assist patients in returning to work. Findings show 94% of the respondents returned to work after their cardiac event (n=17). However, cardiac patients may experience pyschosocial problems which delay return to work including depression, job stress, and cardiac invalidism which supports social work involvement in outpatient cardiac rehabilitation programs

How should you further evaluate an adult with a testicular mass?

Perform a scrotal ultrasonography immediately to determine whether emergency surgery is necessary for patients with an exam or history that suggests testicular torsion or rupture (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, based on cohort trials of patient oriented outcomes). In less urgent cases, ultrasound is also useful for verifying diagnoses made by physical exam, and to exclude conditions such as neoplasm, for which further workup is indicated (SOR: C, based on expert opinion). In those cases in which ultrasound and clinical exam are inconclusive or confl- icting, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide additional information to improve management and decrease unnecessary surgery (SOR: B, based on cohort trials of patient-oriented outcomes)

Breeding tools for Cuphea : An updated genetic linkage map and fatty acid mutant candidate gene analysis

Medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) are important industrial feedstocks for soaps, detergents and surfactants. Interspecific lines derived from Cuphea lanceolata and Cup hea viscosissima are being domesticated as a temperate source of MCFAs. These species also serve as model organisms for understanding the biosynthesis of MCFAs in seeds. Various markers (176 SSRs, 22 fatty acid synthesis loci, and 27 converted RFLP markers) were screened for polymorphism among at least four genotypes (VS55, LN185, LN193-S1, and PSR23). The SSRs had heterozygosities ranging from 0.278 to 0.889. An F2 population ((LN185 x LNI193-S1, 91 individuals) of C. lanceolata (x=6) was genotyped at 90 loci for constructing a genetic linkage map. Eighty eight loci (48 SSRs, 23 SSCPs, 7 SNPs, 10 fatty acid synthesis loci) coalesced into eight linkage groups (two markers segregated independently). The map was 340.8 cM long with a mean density of 3.9 cM per locus. This linkage map will be a useful tool for the continued breeding and domestication of Cuphea

Accumulation of Microbial Biomass within Particulate Organic Matter of Aging Golf Greens

Microbial biomass (MB) is a key variable controlling soil organic matter dynamics in soil. Currently, there is little information on the amount and significance of MB in highly managed golf greens. Our objective was to determine the amount and distribution of MB within soil structural components of golf greens and its relationship to the location of organic substrates. During 1996, 47 greens were sampled from 12 golf courses within Nebraska (USA). Microbial biomass, determined as extractable lipid phosphate on field-moist soils, increased linearly with age of green (Y = 19.39 + 3.54x; r2 = 0.87, P = 0.001). In 1997 and 1999, selected greens were resampled and separated into mineral fraction (MF) and particulate organic matter (POM) fraction using a sodium metatungstate (NMT; r = 2.3 g cm-3). Then, POM was separated into light (L-POM) and heavy (H-POM) fractions using NMT (r = 2.0 g cm-3). Amount of MB of whole soil and POM was linearly related to green age (r2 = 0.76 and 0.68, respectively). Amount of MB in MF was not related to green age. The portion of total soil MB associated with POM increased significantly from 25.6% for an 8-yr-old green to 77.8% for a 28-yr-old green. Carbon in fulvic acid and humic acid increased with green age from 0.5 to 1.7 and 0.6 to 2.6 g kg-1 soil, respectively. As humus is a relatively stable form of soil organic matter, we hypothesized that humus accumulation within POM renders both POM and associated MB more resistant to degradation; thus, they accumulate

Enhanced Aromatic Sequons Increase Oligosaccharyltransferase Glycosylation Efficiency and Glycan Homogeneity

SummaryN-Glycosylation plays an important role in protein folding and function. Previous studies demonstrate that a phenylalanine residue introduced at the n-2 position relative to an Asn-Xxx-Thr/Ser N-glycosylation sequon increases the glycan occupancy of the sequon in insect cells. Here, we show that any aromatic residue at n-2 increases glycan occupancy in human cells and that this effect is dependent upon oligosaccharyltransferase substrate preferences rather than differences in other cellular processing events such as degradation or trafficking. Moreover, aromatic residues at n-2 alter glycan processing in the Golgi, producing proteins with less complex N-glycan structures. These results demonstrate that manipulating the sequence space surrounding N-glycosylation sequons is useful both for controlling glycosylation efficiency, thus enhancing glycan occupancy, and for influencing the N-glycan structures produced

Tissue-specific conditional PKCε knockout mice: a model to precisely reveal PKCε functional role in initiation, promotion and progression of cancer

PKCε is a transforming oncogene and a predictive biomarker of various human cancers. However, a precise in vivo link of PKCε to cancer induction, progression and metastasis remain undefined. To achieve these goals, we generated tissue specific conditional PKCε knockout mice (PKCε-CKO) using cre-lox technology. Homozygous PKCεLoxP/LoxP mice have normal body weight and phenotype. To determine what effect loss of PKCε would have on the prostate, the PKCεLoxP/LoxP mice were bred to probasin cre (PB-Cre4+) mice which express cre specifically in the prostate epithelium of postnatal mice. Western blot and immunohistochemical analyses showed reduced levels of PKCε specifically in the prostate of PKCε-CKO mice. Histopathological analyses of prostate from both PKCεLoxP/LoxP and prostate PKCε-CKO mice showed normal pathology. To determine the functional impact of prostate specific deletion of PKCε on prostate tumor growth, we performed an orthotopic xenograft study. Transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP) cells (TRAMPC1, 2×106) were implanted in the prostate of PKCε-CKO mice. Mice were sacrificed at 6th week post-implantation. Results demonstrated a significant (P\u3c0.05) decrease in the growth of TRAMPC1 cells-derived xenograft tumors in PKCε-CKO mice compared to wild type. To determine a link of PKCε to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure-induced epidermal Stat3 phosphorylation, PKCεLoxP/LoxP mice were bred to tamoxifen-inducible K14 Cre mice. PKCε deletion in the epidermis resulted in inhibition of UVR-induced Stat3 phosphorylation. In summary, our novel PKCεLoxP/LoxP mice will be useful for defining the link of PKCε to various cancers in specific organ, tissue, or cells

B-Vitamin Intake and Biomarker Status in Relation to Cognitive Decline in Healthy Older Adults in a 4-Year Follow-Up Study

Advancing age can be associated with an increase in cognitive dysfunction, a spectrum of disability that ranges in severity from mild cognitive impairment to dementia. Folate and the other B-vitamins involved in one-carbon metabolism are associated with cognition in ageing but the evidence is not entirely clear. The hypothesis addressed in this study was that lower dietary intake or biomarker status of folate and/or the metabolically related B-vitamins would be associated with a greater than expected rate of cognitive decline over a 4-year follow-up period in healthy older adults. Participants (aged 60–88 years; n = 155) who had been previously screened for cognitive function were reassessed four years after initial investigation using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). At the 4-year follow-up assessment when participants were aged 73.4 ± 7.1 years, mean cognitive MMSE scores had declined from 29.1 ± 1.3 at baseline to 27.5 ± 2.4 (p < 0.001), but some 27% of participants showed a greater than expected rate of cognitive decline (i.e., decrease in MMSE > 0.56 points per year). Lower vitamin B6 status, as measured using pyridoxal-5-phosphate (PLP; <43 nmol/L) was associated with a 3.5 times higher risk of accelerated cognitive decline, after adjustment for age and baseline MMSE score (OR, 3.48; 95% CI, 1.58 to 7.63; p < 0.05). Correspondingly, lower dietary intake (0.9–1.4 mg/day) of vitamin B6 was also associated with a greater rate of cognitive decline (OR, 4.22; 95% CI, 1.28–13.90; p < 0.05). No significant relationships of dietary intake or biomarker status with cognitive decline were observed for the other B-vitamins. In conclusion, lower dietary and biomarker status of vitamin B6 at baseline predicted a greater than expected rate of cognitive decline over a 4-year period in healthy older adults. Vitamin B6 may be an important protective factor in helping maintain cognitive health in ageing

Hsp72 is targeted to the mitotic spindle by Nek6 to promote K-fiber assembly and mitotic progression

Hsp70 proteins represent a family of chaperones that regulate cellular homeostasis and are required for cancer cell survival. However, their function and regulation in mitosis remain unknown. In this paper, we show that the major inducible cytoplasmic Hsp70 isoform, Hsp72, is required for assembly of a robust bipolar spindle capable of efficient chromosome congression. Mechanistically, Hsp72 associates with the K-fiber-stabilizing proteins, ch-TOG and TACC3, and promotes their interaction with each other and recruitment to spindle microtubules (MTs). Targeting of Hsp72 to the mitotic spindle is dependent on phosphorylation at Thr-66 within its nucleotide-binding domain by the Nek6 kinase. Phosphorylated Hsp72 concentrates on spindle poles and sites of MT-kinetochore attachment. A phosphomimetic Hsp72 mutant rescued defects in K-fiber assembly, ch-TOG/TACC3 recruitment and mitotic progression that also resulted from Nek6 depletion. We therefore propose that Nek6 facilitates association of Hsp72 with the mitotic spindle, where it promotes stable K-fiber assembly through recruitment of the ch-TOG-TACC3 complex

Application of Acoustic Telemetry to Assess Residency and Movements of Rockfish and Lingcod at Created and Natural Habitats in Prince William Sound

Loss and/or degradation of nearshore habitats have led to increased efforts to restore or enhance many of these habitats, particularly those that are deemed essential for marine fishes. Copper rockfish (Sebastes caurinus) and lingcod (Ophiodon enlongatus) are dominant members of the typical reef fish community that inhabit rocky and high-relief substrates along the Pacific Northwest. We used acoustic telemetry to document their residency and movements in the nearshore waters of Prince William Sound, Alaska in order to assess use of created reef habitat in an individual-based manner. A total of 57 fish were surgically implanted with acoustic transmitters. Forty-five fish were captured and monitored in three habitats: artificial reef, low-relief natural reef, and patchy high-relief natural reef. Within each habitat, both rockfish and lingcod exhibited long periods of residency with limited movements. Twelve rockfish were captured at the natural reefs and displaced a distance of 4.0 km to the artificial reef. Five of the 12 rockfish returned within 10 d of their release to their initial capture site. Another five of the 12 displaced fish established residency at the artificial reef through the duration of our study. Our results suggest the potential for artificial reefs to provide rockfish habitat in the event of disturbances to natural habitat