Medical-Legal Partnership Effects on Mental Health, Health Care Use, and Quality of Life in Primary Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

PURPOSE: To determine whether an immediate referral to a medical-legal partnership (MLP), compared with a 6-month waitlist control, improved mental health, health care use, and quality of life. METHODS: This trial randomly assigned individuals to an immediate referral or a wait-list control. The MLP involved a collaboration between the primary care clinic and a legal services organization. The primary outcome was stress (6 months) as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Secondary measures included the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7); Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS); and emergency department (ED), urgent care, and hospital visits. Assessments were at baseline and 3-, 6-, and 9-month follow-ups. Bayesian statistical inference and a 75% posterior probability threshold were used to identify noteworthy differences. RESULTS: Immediate referral was associated with lower PSS scores and higher GAD-7 scores. PROMIS scores were higher for the immediate referral group with respect to several subdomains. At 6 months, the immediate referral group demonstrated 21% fewer ED visits and 75.6% more hospital visits. CONCLUSION: Immediate referral to the MLP was associated with lower stress and a lower rate of ED visits but higher anxiety and a higher rate of hospital visits. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03805126.

COVID-19 long-term sequelae: Omicron versus Alpha and Delta variants.

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to assess the association between three predominant SARS-CoV-2 variants (Alpha, Delta, and Omicron) and the risk of developing long COVID (persistence of physical, medical, and cognitive symptoms more than 4 weeks after infection), post-COVID-19 syndrome (symptoms extending beyond 12 weeks), and viral persistence (testing positive beyond 4 weeks despite clinical resolution). METHODS: Retrospective study of 325 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 with genomic sequencing information. For each SARS-CoV-2 variant, sample characteristics, frequency of symptoms, and long-term sequelae were compared using Chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Dunn's test as appropriate. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated using logistic regression models to assess the association of risk factors and sequelae. RESULTS: The adjusted model showed that the Omicron (vs Alpha) variant (OR, 0.30; 95% CI 0.16-0.56), admission to ICU (OR, 1.14; 95% CI 1.05-1.23), and being treated with antiviral or immunomodulatory drugs (OR, 2.01; 95% CI 1.23-3.27) predicted long COVID and post-COVID-19 syndrome. Viral persistence showed no difference between variants. CONCLUSIONS: The Omicron variant was associated with significantly lower odds of developing long-term sequelae from COVID-19 compared with previous variants, while severity of illness indicators increased the risk. Vaccination status, age, sex, and comorbidities were not found to predict sequelae development. This information has implications for both health managers and clinicians when deciding on the appropriate clinical management and subsequent outpatient follow-up of these patients. More studies with non-hospitalized patients are still necessary.

Komatiites as Complex Adsorption Surfaces for Amino Acids in Prebiotic Environments, a Prebiotic Chemistry Essay.

Komatiites represent the oldest known terrestrial rocks, and their composition has been cataloged as the closest to that of the first terrestrial crust after the cooling of the magma ocean. These rocks could have been present in multiple environments on the early Earth and served as concentrators of organic molecules. In this study, the adsorption of five amino acids (glycine, lysine, histidine, arginine, and aspartic acid) on a natural komatiite, a simulated komatiite, and the minerals olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase were analyzed under three different pH values: acid pH (5.5), natural pH of the aqueous solution of each amino acid and alkaline pH (11). Adsorption experiments were performed in solid-liquid suspensions and organic molecules were analyzed by spectrophotometry. The main objective of this essay was to determine if the complex surfaces could have participated as concentrators of amino acids in scenarios of the primitive Earth and if the adsorption responds to the change of charge of the molecules. The results showed that komatiite is capable of adsorbing amino acids in different amounts depending on the experimental conditions. In total, 75 systems were analyzed that show different adsorptions, which implies that different interactions are involved, particularly in relation to the type of amino acid, the type of solid material and the conditions of the medium.

A Neuroscience Primer for Integrating Geroscience With the Neurobiology of Aging.

Neuroscience has a rich history of studies focusing on neurobiology of aging. However, much of the aging studies in neuroscience occur outside of the gerosciences. The goal of this primer is 2-fold: first, to briefly highlight some of the history of aging neurobiology and second, to introduce to geroscientists the broad spectrum of methodological approaches neuroscientists use to study the neurobiology of aging. This primer is accompanied by a corresponding geroscience primer, as well as a perspective on the current challenges and triumphs of the current divide across these 2 fields. This series of manuscripts is intended to foster enhanced collaborations between neuroscientists and geroscientists with the intent of strengthening the field of cognitive aging through inclusion of parameters from both areas of expertise.

Phenotypic plasticity and a new small molecule are involved in a fungal-bacterial interaction.

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria have been extensively studied in the context of interactions with their host plants; however, little is known about the phenotypic plasticity of these microorganisms in nonmutualistic interactions with other eukaryotes. A dual-species coculture model was developed by using the plant symbiotic bacterium Rhizobium etli and the well-studied eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a tractable system to explore the molecular mechanisms used by R. etli in nonmutual interactions. Here, we show that the fungus promotes the growth of the bacterium and that together, these organisms form a mixed biofilm whose biomass is ~ 3 times greater and is more structured than that of either single-species biofilm. We found that these biofilm traits are dependent on a symbiotic plasmid encoding elements involved in the phenotypic plasticity of the bacterium, mitochondrial function and in the production of a yeast-secreted sophoroside. Interestingly, the promoters of 3 genes that are key in plant bacteria-interaction (nifH, fixA and nodA) were induced when R. etli coexists with yeast. These results show that investigating interactions between species that do not naturally coexist is a new approach to discover gene functions and specialized metabolites in model organisms.

Epidemiología del cáncer de próstata, sus determinantes y prevención / Epidemiology of prostate cancer, its determinants and prevention

INTRODUCCIÓN: El cáncer de próstata es el más común entre la población masculina a nivel mundial. Debido al diagnóstico temprano y a las mejoras en el tratamiento, en los últimos 25 años la tasa de supervivencia se ha incrementado a 5 años. OBJETIVO: Evaluar el conocimiento, factores de riesgo y prevención del cáncer de próstata. METODOLOGÍA: Se realizó un estudio de tipo descriptivo transversal, Se aplicó una encuesta semiestructurada y de carácter anónimo al personal de intendencia del Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud. RESULTADOS: Se aplicaron 50 encuestas, el rango de edad más frecuente fue de 40 a 50 años, el principal grado de escolaridad fue secundaria. El 25% de la población manifestó contar con un conocimiento medio sobre el cáncer de próstata y el 50 % de la población manifestó no acudir a realizarse estudios por temor al urólogo. CONCLUSIÓN: Existe falta de información sobre el cáncer de próstata, por lo que es necesario brindar una educación sanitaria a la población masculina e incitar a la realización de pruebas de cáncer de próstata para lograr un diagnostico precoz, de lo contrario un resultado tardío implica estado de salud negativo

INTRODUCTION: Prostate cancer is the most common among the male population worldwide. Due to early diagnosis and to improvements in the treatment, in the past 25 years, the survival rate has increased to 5 years. OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, risk factors and prevention of prostate cancer. METHODOLOGY: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study, a semi-structured survey and anonymous nature of the Quartermaster staff of the Institute of Health Sciences. RESULTS: 50 surveys were applied, the most frequent age range was 40 to 50 years, the primary level of schooling was secondary. The 25% of the population said to have an average knowledge about prostate cancer and the 50% of the population said they did not go back to studies can be carried out for fear of the urologist. CONCLUSION: There is a lack of information about prostate cancer, so it is necessary to provide health education to the male population and encourage the testing of prostate cancer to achieve an early diagnosis. Otherwise a late result implies a negative health condition

Heterogeneity of Matrin 3 in the developing and aging murine central nervous system.

Mutations in the MATR3 gene encoding the nucleotide binding protein Matrin 3 have recently been identified as causing a subset of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS) and more rarely causing distal myopathy. Translating the identification of MATR3 mutations into an understanding of disease pathogenesis and the creation of mouse models requires a complete understanding of normal Matrin 3 levels and distribution in vivo. Consequently, we examined the levels of murine Matrin 3 in body tissues and regions of the central nervous system (CNS). We observed a significant degree of variability in Matrin 3 protein levels among different tissues of adult animals, with the highest levels found in reproductive organs and the lowest in muscle. Within the adult CNS, Matrin 3 levels were lowest in spinal cord. Further, we found that Matrin 3 declines significantly in CNS through early development and young adulthood before stabilizing. As previously reported, antibodies to Matrin 3 primarily stain nuclei, but the intensity of staining was not uniform in all nuclei. The low levels of Matrin 3 in spinal cord and muscle could mean that that these tissues are particularly vulnerable to alterations in Matrin 3 function. Our study is the first to characterize endogenous Matrin 3 in rodents across the lifespan, providing the groundwork for deciphering disease mechanisms and developing mouse models of MATR3-linked ALS. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:2740-2752, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Age-related impairments in object-place associations are not due to hippocampal dysfunction.

Age-associated cognitive decline can reduce an individual's quality of life. As no single neurobiological deficit can account for the wide spectrum of behavioral impairments observed in old age, it is critical to develop an understanding of how interactions between different brain regions change over the life span. The performance of young and aged animals on behaviors that require the hippocampus and cortical regions to interact, however, has not been well characterized. Specifically, the ability to link a spatial location with specific features of a stimulus, such as object identity, relies on the hippocampus, perirhinal and prefrontal cortices. Although aging is associated with dysfunction in each of these brain regions, behavioral measures of functional change within the hippocampus, perirhinal and prefrontal cortices in individual animals are often not correlated. Thus, how dysfunction of a single brain region within this circuit, such as the hippocampus, impacts behaviors that require communication with the perirhinal and prefrontal cortices remains unknown. To address this question, young and aged rats were tested on the interregion dependent object-place paired association task, as well as a hippocampal-dependent test of spatial reference memory. This particular cohort of aged rats did not show deficits on the hippocampal-dependent task, but were significantly impaired at acquiring object-place associations relative to young. These data suggest that behaviors requiring functional connectivity across different regions of the memory network may be particularly sensitive to aging, and can be used to develop models that will clarify the impact of systems-level dysfunction in the elderly.

Interspecies competition triggers virulence and mutability in Candida albicans-Pseudomonas aeruginosa mixed biofilms.

Inter-kingdom and interspecies interactions are ubiquitous in nature and are important for the survival of species and ecological balance. The investigation of microbe-microbe interactions is essential for understanding the in vivo activities of commensal and pathogenic microorganisms. Candida albicans, a polymorphic fungus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Gram-negative bacterium, are two opportunistic pathogens that interact in various polymicrobial infections in humans. To determine how P. aeruginosa affects the physiology of C. albicans and vice versa, we compared the proteomes of each species in mixed biofilms versus single-species biofilms. In addition, extracellular proteins were analyzed. We observed that, in mixed biofilms, both species showed differential expression of virulence proteins, multidrug resistance-associated proteins, proteases and cell defense, stress and iron-regulated proteins. Furthermore, in mixed biofilms, both species displayed an increase in mutability compared with monospecific biofilms. This characteristic was correlated with the downregulation of enzymes conferring protection against DNA oxidation. In mixed biofilms, P. aeruginosa regulates its production of various molecules involved in quorum sensing and induces the production of virulence factors (pyoverdine, rhamnolipids and pyocyanin), which are major contributors to the ability of this bacterium to cause disease. Overall, our results indicate that interspecies competition between these opportunistic pathogens enhances the production of virulence factors and increases mutability and thus can alter the course of host-pathogen interactions in polymicrobial infections.