Medical Mobile Applications for Stroke Survivors and Caregivers.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies estimate nearly half of the US population can access mobile medical applications (apps) on their smartphones. The are no systematic data available on apps focused on stroke survivors/caregivers. OBJECTIVE: To identify apps (a) designed for stroke survivors/caregivers, (b) dealing with a modifiable stroke risk factor (SRF), or (c) were developed for other purposes but could potentially be used by stroke survivors/caregivers. METHODS: A systematic review of the medical apps in the US Apple iTunes store was conducted between August 2013 and January 2016 using 18 predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria. SRFs considered were: diabetes, hypertension, smoking, obesity, atrial fibrillation, and dyslipidemia. RESULTS: Out of 30,132 medical apps available, 843 (2.7%) eligible apps were identified. Of these apps, (n = 74, 8.7%) apps were specifically designed for stroke survivors/caregivers use and provided the following services: language/speech therapy (n = 28, 37%), communication with aphasic patients (n = 19, 25%), stroke risk calculation (n = 11, 14%), assistance in spotting an acute stroke (n = 8, 10%), detection of atrial fibrillation (n = 3, 4%), direction to nearby emergency room (n = 3, 4%), physical rehabilitation (n = 3, 4%), direction to the nearest certified stroke center (n = 1, < 2%), and visual attention therapy (n = 1, <2%). 769 apps identified that were developed for purposes other than stroke. Of these, the majority (n = 526, 68%) addressed SRFs. CONCLUSIONS: Over 70 medical apps exist to specifically support stroke survivors/caregivers and primarily targeted language and communication difficulties. Apps encompassing most stroke survivor/caregiver needs could be developed and tested to ensure the issues faced by these populations are being adequately addressed.

A Microdebriefing Crisis Resource Management Program for Simulated Pediatric Resuscitation in a Community Hospital: A Feasibility Study.

INTRODUCTION: Crisis Resource Management (CRM) is a team training tool used in healthcare to enhance team performance and improve patient safety. Our program intends to determine the feasibility of high-fidelity simulation for teaching CRM to an interprofessional team in a community hospital and whether a microdebriefing intervention can improve performance during simulated pediatric resuscitation. METHODS: We conducted a single-center prospective interventional study with 24 teams drawn from 4 departments. The program was divided into an initial assessment simulation case (pre), a 40-minute microdebriefing intervention, and a final assessment simulation case (post). Post and pre results were analyzed for each team using t tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Primary outcome measures included (a) completion of program, (b) percent enrollment, (c) participant reaction, and (d) support of continued programs on completion. Secondary outcomes included (a) change in teamwork performance, measured by the Clinical Teamwork Scale; (b) change in time to initiation of chest compressions and defibrillation; and (c) pediatric advanced life support adherence, measured by the Clinical Performance Tool. RESULTS: We successfully completed a large-scale training program with high enrollment. Twenty-four teams with 162 participants improved in Clinical Teamwork Scale scores (42.8%-57.5%, P < 0.001), Clinical Performance Tool scores (61.7%-72.1%, P < 0.001), and time to cardiopulmonary resuscitation initiation (70.6-34.3 seconds, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our center ran a well-attended, well-received interprofessional program in a community hospital site demonstrating that teaching CRM skills can improve simulated team performance in a diverse experienced cohort.

Data on identification of conserved and novel miRNAs in Elettaria cardamomum.

Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton, or small cardamom referred as 'queen of spices', is a perennial herbaceous rhizomatous monocot of the family Zingiberaceae. Cardamom seeds and fruits are the economically significant parts and effectively used as a traditional medicine, food additive and flavoring agent. In the present study, using Ion Proton next generation sequencing technology we performed the small RNA sequencing, conserved and novel miRNA predictions of a wild and five cultivar genotypes of cardamom. Small RNA sequencing generated a total of 5,451,328 and 2,756,250 raw reads for wild and cultivar cardamom respectively. The raw data was submitted to SRA database of NCBI under the accession numbers and SRX2273863 (wild) and SRX2273862 (cultivars). The raw reads were quality filtered and predicted conserved and novel miRNAs for wild and cultivar cardamom. The predicted miRNAs, miRNA-targets and functional annotations might provide valuable insights into differences between wild progenitor and cultivated cardamom.

Transcriptome profiling of Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton (small cardamom).

Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton, known as 'queen of spices, is a perennial herbaceous monocot of the family Zingiberaceae, native to southern India. Cardamom is an economically valuable spice crop and used widely in culinary and medicinal purposes. In the present study, using Ion Proton RNA sequencing technology, we performed transcriptome sequencing and de novo transcriptome assembly of a wild and five cultivar genotypes of cardamom. RNA-seq generated a total of 22,811,983 (92 base) and 24,889,197 (75 base) raw reads accounting for approximately 8.21GB and 7.65GB of sequence data for wild and cultivar genotypes of cardamom respectively. The raw data were submitted to SRA database of NCBI under the accession numbers SRX1141272 (wild) and SRX1141276 (cultivars). The raw reads were quality filtered and assembled using MIRA assembler resulted with 112,208 and 264,161contigs having N50 value 616 and 664 for wild and cultivar cardamom respectively. The assembled unigenes were functionally annotated using several databases including PlantCyc for pathway annotation. This work represents the first report on cardamom transcriptome sequencing. In order to generate a comprehensive reference transcriptome, we further assembled the raw reads of wild and cultivar genotypes which might enrich the plant transcriptome database and trigger advanced research in cardamom genomics.

Non-nuclear Pool of Splicing Factor SFPQ Regulates Axonal Transcripts Required for Normal Motor Development.

Recent progress revealed the complexity of RNA processing and its association to human disorders. Here, we unveil a new facet of this complexity. Complete loss of function of the ubiquitous splicing factor SFPQ affects zebrafish motoneuron differentiation cell autonomously. In addition to its nuclear localization, the protein unexpectedly localizes to motor axons. The cytosolic version of SFPQ abolishes motor axonal defects, rescuing key transcripts, and restores motility in the paralyzed sfpq null mutants, indicating a non-nuclear processing role in motor axons. Novel variants affecting the conserved coiled-coil domain, so far exclusively found in fALS exomes, specifically affect the ability of SFPQ to localize in axons. They broadly rescue morphology and motility in the zebrafish mutant, but alter motor axon morphology, demonstrating functional requirement for axonal SFPQ. Altogether, we uncover the axonal function of the splicing factor SFPQ in motor development and highlight the importance of the coiled-coil domain in this process. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

Dynamic expression of neurexophilin1 during zebrafish embryonic development.

Neurexophilin 1 (Nxph1) is a specific endoligand of α-neurexins that is essential for trans-synaptic activation. Here, we report its dynamic expression during development in zebrafish. Our study revealed an early onset of expression of nxph1. RT-PCR on a series of embryonic stages showed that it is maternally deposited, although only readily detectable by whole mount in situ hybridization by 22hpf. During embryogenesis and larval stages, the zygotic transcript is expressed dynamically in various clusters of post-mitotic neurons and in glia in the central nervous system.

Acute columnaris infection in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque): efficacy of practical treatments for warmwater aquaculture ponds.

Columnaris disease was induced in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque), by bath exposure to four highly virulent isolates of Flavobacterium columnare. In untreated controls, mortality began 20 h after exposure and reached 100% by 48 h. Mortality in channel catfish given antibiotic treatments with oxytetracycline or a combination of sulphadimethoxine and ormetoprim in feed prior to bacterial challenge was zero with all four strains of F. columnare. Diquat (Zeneca Agricultural Products, Wilmington, DE, USA) was the most effective bath treatment; mortality with all four strains was zero. With potassium permanganate, chloramine-T, hydrogen peroxide and copper sulphate, bath treatment efficacy varied significantly among strains (P = 0.0346) and among treatments (P = 0.0033). Bath treatments with chloramine-T and potassium permanganate significantly reduced (P < 0.05) mortality from 100 to 75 and 69%, respectively, but copper sulphate and hydrogen peroxide treatments were not effective. Based on our results, oral antibiotics prevented columnaris disease but, of the bath treatments, only Diquat produced a dramatic reduction in the mortality of acutely infected fish. Diquat is labelled for aquatic use as an herbicide in the USA but in large ponds it is prohibitively expensive.

Morphological and genetic characteristics of Flavobacterium columnare isolates: correlations with virulence in fish.

Variability in pathogenicity of Flavobacterium columnare makes disease treatment difficult because there is currently no way to easily recognize those strains that warrant aggressive treatments. In order to identify suitable virulence markers, 17 isolates of F. columnare were cultured from six different fish species. The DNA from all isolates was analysed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Bootstrap analysis of the RAPD data produced a tree with three major groups supported by bootstrap scores of 80-100%. Virulence of the isolates was determined by bath exposure of channel catfish, Ictaluruspunctatus (Rafinesque), and golden shiners, Notemigonus crysoleucas (Mitchill), to broth cultures of F. columnare. In channel catfish, 13 of 17 isolates produced 100% mortality within 48 h post-exposure. All isolates of cyprinid fish origin clustered in a single RAPD group. At least two of the four isolates that were not virulent in channel catfish were of cyprinid fish origin. There was a wide variation in cell morphology between isolates with lengths of cells or cell chains ranging from 3 to 11 microm, even under identical culture conditions. Most of the shorter or single cell isolates fell into a single RAPD group. No clear association was identified between virulence and any other characteristic, including RAPD group.