The potential role of T-cells and their interaction with antigen-presenting cells in mediating immunosuppression following trauma-hemorrhage

Objective: Trauma-hemorrhage results in depressed immune responses of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and T-cells. Recent studies suggest a key role of depressed T-cell derived interferon (IFN)-g in this complex immune cell interaction. The aim of this study was to elucidate further the underlying mechanisms responsible for dysfunctional T-cells and their interaction with APCs following trauma-hemorrhage. Design: Adult C3H/HeN male mice were subjected to trauma-hemorrhage (3-cm midline laparotomy) followed by hemorrhage (blood pressure of 35�5mmHg for 90 min and resuscitation) or sham operation. At 24 h thereafter, spleens were harvested and T-cells (by Microbeads) and APCs (via adherence) were Isolated. Co-cultures of T-cells and APCs were established for 48 h and stimulated with concanavalin A and lipopolysaccharide. T-Cell specific cytokines known to affect APC function (i.e. interleukin(IL)-2, IL-4 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)) were measured in culture supernatants by Multiplex assay. The expression of MHC class II as well as co-stimulatory surface molecules on T-cells and APCs was determined by flow cytometry. Results: The release of IL-4 and GM-CSF by T-cells was suppressed following trauma-hemorrhage, irrespective of whether sham or trauma-hemorrhage APCs were present. Antigen-presenting cells from animals subjected to trauma-hemorrhage did not affect T-cell derived cytokine release by sham T-cells. In contrast, T-cells from traumahemorrhage animals depressed MHC class II expression of CD11c(þ) cells, irrespective of whether APCs underwent sham or trauma-hemorrhage procedure. Surprisingly, co-stimulatory molecules on APCs (CD80, CD86) were not affected by trauma-hemorrhage. Conclusions: These results suggest that beside IFN-g other T-cell derived cytokines contribute to immunosuppression following trauma-hemorrhage causing diminished MHC II expression on APCs. Thus, T-cells appear to play an important role in this interaction at the time-point examined. Therapeutic approaches should aim at maintenance of T-cell function and their interaction with APCs to prevent extended immunosuppression following trauma-hemorrhage

A systematic review of randomised controlled trials on the effectiveness of exercise programs on lumbo pelvic pain among postnatal women

Background: A substantial number of women tend to be affected by Lumbo Pelvic Pain (LPP) following child birth. Physical exercise is indicated as a beneficial method to relieve LPP, but individual studies appear to suggest mixed findings about its effectiveness. This systematic review aimed to synthesise evidence from randomised controlled trials on the effectiveness of exercise on LPP among postnatal women to inform policy, practice and future research. Methods: A systematic review was conducted of all randomised controlled trials published between January 1990 and July 2014, identified through a comprehensive search of following databases: PubMed, PEDro, Embase, Cinahl, Medline, SPORTDiscus, Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group’s Trials Register, and electronic libraries of authors’institutions. Randomised controlled trials were eligible for inclusion if the intervention comprised of postnatal exercise for women with LPP onset during pregnancy or within 3 months after delivery and the outcome measures included changes in LPP. Selected articles were assessed using the PEDro Scale for methodological quality and findings were synthesised narratively as meta-analysis was found to be inappropriate due to heterogeneity among included studies. Results: Four randomised controlled trials were included, involving 251 postnatal women. Three trials were rated as of ‘good’ methodological quality. All trials, except one, were at low risk of bias. The trials included physical exercise programs with varying components, differing modes of delivery, follow up times and outcome measures. Intervention in one trial, involving physical therapy with specific stabilising exercises, proved to be effective in reducing LPP intensity. An improvement in gluteal pain on the right side was reported in another trial and a significant difference in pain frequency in another. Conclusion: Our review indicates that only few randomised controlled trials have evaluated the effectiveness of exercise on LPP among postnatal women. There is also a great amount of variability across existing trials in the components of exercise programs, modes of delivery, follow up times and outcome measures. While there is some evidence to indicate the effectiveness of exercise for relieving LPP, further good quality trials are needed to ascertain the most effective elements of postnatal exercise programs suited for LPP treatment

Politicians must heed health effects of climate change.

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Biomarker and Geochemical Assay Validation in Mars Analog Sites: Lessons from the FELDSPAR (Field Exploration and Life Detection Sampling for Planetary Analog Research) Project

Missions looking for signs of life on other worlds can often only take a few samples once they arrive. Making sense of these "few and far between" observations is easier if we know what a "normal" level of variation for that kind of planet is. Recent eruption sites in Iceland are good places to learn about this, because they have very little life present and the same types of rocks as many places on Mars. We have visited several of these sites in Iceland and tested many different kinds of measurements: the energy available for life, the amount of DNA (an important biological molecule) present, the relative amounts of different kinds of micro-organisms, and the specific minerals that make up the rocks and ground. In addition to recommendations for future expeditions, we have also shown that using early on-site measurements to choose later on-site sample sites is very helpful in reducing the number of sample sites needed

Determinants of intra-household food allocation between adults in South Asia - a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Nutrition interventions, often delivered at the household level, could increase their efficiency by channelling resources towards pregnant or lactating women, instead of leaving resources to be disproportionately allocated to traditionally favoured men. However, understanding of how to design targeted nutrition programs is limited by a lack of understanding of the factors affecting the intra-household allocation of food. METHODS: We systematically reviewed literature on the factors affecting the allocation of food to adults in South Asian households (in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) and developed a framework of food allocation determinants. Two reviewers independently searched and filtered results from PubMed, Web of Knowledge and Scopus databases by using pre-defined search terms and hand-searching the references from selected papers. Determinants were extracted, categorised into a framework, and narratively described. We used adapted Downs and Black and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklists to assess the quality of evidence. RESULTS: Out of 6928 retrieved studies we found 60 relevant results. Recent, high quality evidence was limited and mainly from Bangladesh, India and Nepal. There were no results from Iran, Afghanistan, Maldives, or Bhutan. At the intra-household level, food allocation was determined by relative differences in household members' income, bargaining power, food behaviours, social status, tastes and preferences, and interpersonal relationships. Household-level determinants included wealth, food security, occupation, land ownership, household size, religion / ethnicity / caste, education, and nutrition knowledge. In general, the highest inequity occurred in households experiencing severe or unexpected food insecurity, and also in better-off, high caste households, whereas poorer, low caste but not severely food insecure households were more equitable. Food allocation also varied regionally and seasonally. CONCLUSION: Program benefits may be differentially distributed within households of different socioeconomic status, and targeting of nutrition programs might be improved by influencing determinants that are amenable to change, such as food security, women's employment, or nutrition knowledge. Longitudinal studies in different settings could unravel causal effects. Conclusions are not generalizable to the whole South Asian region, and research is needed in many countries

Sex Hormones and Gender Effects following Trauma-Hemorrhage

Trauma is the leading cause of death in the industrialized world between the ages of one and 40. A number of risk factors including age and gender have been implicated in this regard. It is therefore not surprising that the majority of trauma victims are young males. Their mortality rate following trauma is not only higher compared to females, but they are also more prone to subsequent sepsis. Age and gender are therefore important factors in the prevalence of traumatic injury as well as in susceptibility to subsequent septic complications

Effects of cadmium and phenanthrene mixtures on aquatic fungi and microbially mediated leaf litter decomposition

This version does not correspond to the published one. To access the final version go to: http://www.springerlink.com/content/t8t302617003m078/Urbanization and industrial activities have contributed to widespread contamination by metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, but the combined effects of these toxics on aquatic biota and processes are poorly understood. We examined the effects of cadmium (Cd) and phenanthrene on the activity and diversity of fungi associated with decomposing leaf litter in streams. Leaves of Alnus glutinosa were immersed for 10 days in an unpolluted low-order stream in northwest Portugal to allow microbial colonization. Leaves were then exposed in microcosms for 14 days to Cd (0.06–4.5 mg L−1) and phenanthrene (0.2 mg L−1) either alone or in mixture. A total of 19 aquatic hyphomycete species were found sporulating on leaves during the whole study. The dominant species was Articulospora tetracladia, followed by Alatospora pulchella, Clavatospora longibrachiata, and Tetrachaetum elegans. Exposure to Cd and phenanthrene decreased the contribution of A. tetracladia to the total conidial production, whereas it increased that of A. pulchella. Fungal diversity, assessed as denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprinting or conidial morphology, was decreased by the exposure to Cd and/or phenanthrene. Moreover, increased Cd concentrations decreased leaf decomposition and fungal reproduction but did not inhibit fungal biomass production. Exposure to phenanthrene potentiated the negative effects of Cd on fungal diversity and activity, suggesting that the co-occurrence of these stressors may pose additional risk to aquatic biodiversity and stream ecosystem functioning.The Portuguese Foundation for the Science and Technology supported this work (POCI/MAR/56964/2004) and S. Duarte (SFRH/BPD/47574/2008

Initial Assessment of a Suicide Prevention Resource for Vermont Primary Care

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Vermonters ages 10-44. Studies have shown that of those who die from suicide 45% have seen their primary care provider in the month prior to their death and only 20% saw a mental health provider. To help strengthen suicide risk screening in primary care, a group of Larner College of Medicine students partnered with Chittenden Accountable Community for Health to curate a suicide prevention informational resource to be used in Vermont\u27s primary care practices to promote universal suicide screening. We then surveyed users of the tool to assess its utility and identify barriers to suicide screening within their practices.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1310/thumbnail.jp

Correction to: Minimum Quality Threshold in Pre-Clinical Sepsis Studies (MQTiPSS): an international expert consensus initiative for improvement of animal modeling in sepsis (Infection, (2018), 10.1007/s15010-018-1183-8)

© 2018, The Author(s). The original version of this article unfortunately contained mistakes

Correlations between life-detection techniques and implications for sampling site selection in planetary analog missions

We conducted an analog sampling expedition under simulated mission constraints to areas dominated by basaltic tephra of the Eldfell and Fimmvörðuháls lava fields (Iceland). Sites were selected to be “homogeneous” at a coarse remote sensing resolution (10–100 m) in apparent color, morphology, moisture, and grain size, with best-effort realism in numbers of locations and replicates. Three different biomarker assays (counting of nucleic-acid-stained cells via fluorescent microscopy, a luciferin/luciferase assay for adenosine triphosphate, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to detect DNA associated with bacteria, archaea, and fungi) were characterized at four nested spatial scales (1 m, 10 m, 100 m, and >1 km) by using five common metrics for sample site representativeness (sample mean variance, group F tests, pairwise t tests, and the distribution-free rank sum H and u tests). Correlations between all assays were characterized with Spearman's rank test. The bioluminescence assay showed the most variance across the sites, followed by qPCR for bacterial and archaeal DNA; these results could not be considered representative at the finest resolution tested (1 m). Cell concentration and fungal DNA also had significant local variation, but they were homogeneous over scales of >1 km. These results show that the selection of life detection assays and the number, distribution, and location of sampling sites in a low biomass environment with limited a priori characterization can yield both contrasting and complementary results, and that their interdependence must be given due consideration to maximize science return in future biomarker sampling expeditions