Assessing the microbiota of the snail intermediate host of trematodes, Galba truncatula.

BACKGROUND: The microbiome is known to play key roles in health and disease, including host susceptibility to parasite infections. The freshwater snail Galba truncatula is the intermediate host for many trematode species, including the liver and rumen flukes Fasciola hepatica and Calicophoron daubneyi, respectively. The snail-parasite system has previously been investigated. However, the specific interaction between the snail-associated microbiota and intra-snail developmental stages of trematodes has yet to be explored. METHODS: Galba truncatula snails were collected from farms in Northern Ireland and trematode infection was diagnosed using PCR. High-throughput sequencing analysis of the bacterial 16S ribosomal DNA V3-V4 hypervariable regions was subsequently applied to characterise the microbiota of both uninfected and infected snails. RESULTS: We first showed that the snail harboured microbiota that was distinct for its environment. The microbiota of infected snails was found to differ significantly from that of uninfected snails. In particular, the bacterial genera Mycoplasma and Methylotenera were significantly more abundant in infected snails, while genera Sphingomonas and Nocardioides were predominantly associated with uninfected snails. CONCLUSION: These findings pave the way to future studies on the functional roles of bacteria in host-parasite relationships.

Agriculture and climate change are reshaping insect biodiversity worldwide.

Several previous studies have investigated changes in insect biodiversity, with some highlighting declines and others showing turnover in species composition without net declines1-5. Although research has shown that biodiversity changes are driven primarily by land-use change and increasingly by climate change6,7, the potential for interaction between these drivers and insect biodiversity on the global scale remains unclear. Here we show that the interaction between indices of historical climate warming and intensive agricultural land use is associated with reductions of almost 50% in the abundance and 27% in the number of species within insect assemblages relative to those in less-disturbed habitats with lower rates of historical climate warming. These patterns are particularly evident in the tropical realm, whereas some positive responses of biodiversity to climate change occur in non-tropical regions in natural habitats. A high availability of nearby natural habitat often mitigates reductions in insect abundance and richness associated with agricultural land use and substantial climate warming but only in low-intensity agricultural systems. In such systems, in which high levels (75% cover) of natural habitat are available, abundance and richness were reduced by 7% and 5%, respectively, compared with reductions of 63% and 61% in places where less natural habitat is present (25% cover). Our results show that insect biodiversity will probably benefit from mitigating climate change, preserving natural habitat within landscapes and reducing the intensity of agriculture.

Strengthened and posterior-shifted structural rich-club organization in people who use cocaine.

BACKGROUND: People with cocaine use disorder (CUD) often have abnormal cognitive function and brain structure. Cognition is supported by brain networks that typically have characteristics like rich-club organization, which is a group of regions that are highly connected across the brain and to each other, and small worldness, which is a balance between local and long-distance connections. However, it is unknown whether there are abnormalities in structural brain network connectivity of CUD. METHODS: Using diffusion-weighted imaging, we measured structural connectivity in 37 people with CUD and 38 age-matched controls. We identified differences in rich-club organization and whether such differences related to small worldness and behavior. We also tested whether rich-club reorganization was associated with caudate and putamen structural connectivity due to the relevance of the dopamine system to cocaine use. RESULTS: People with CUD had a higher normalized rich-club coefficient than controls, more edges connecting rich-club nodes to each other and to non-rich-club nodes, and fewer edges connecting non-rich-club nodes. Rich-club nodes were shifted posterior and lateral. Rich-club reorganization was related to lower clustered connectivity around individual nodes found in CUD, to increased impulsivity, and to a decrease in caudate connectivity. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are consistent with previous work showing increased rich-club connectivity in conditions associated with a hypofunctional dopamine system. The posterior shift in rich-club nodes in CUD suggests that the structural connectivity of posterior regions may be more impacted than previously recognized in models based on brain function and morphology.

The modern reverse shoulder arthroplasty and an updated systematic review for each complication: part II.

BACKGROUND: Globally, reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) has moved away from the Grammont design to modern prosthesis designs. The purpose of this study was to provide a focused, updated systematic review for each of the most common complications of RSA by limiting each search to publications after 2010. In this part II, the following were examined: (1) instability, (2) humerus/glenoid fracture, (3) acromial/scapular spine fractures (AF/SSF), and (4) problems/miscellaneous. METHODS: Four separate PubMed database searches were performed following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Overall, 137 studies for instability, 94 for humerus/glenoid fracture, 120 for AF/SSF, and 74 for problems/miscellaneous were included in each review, respectively. Univariate analysis was performed with chi-square and Fisher exact tests. RESULTS: The Grammont design had a higher instability rate vs. all other designs combined (4.0%, 1.3%; P < .001), and the onlay humerus design had a lower rate than the lateralized glenoid design (0.9%, 2.0%; P = .02). The rate for intraoperative humerus fracture was 1.8%; intraoperative glenoid fracture, 0.3%; postoperative humerus fracture, 1.2%; and postoperative glenoid fracture, 0.1%. The rate of AF/SSF was 2.6% (371/14235). The rate for complex regional pain syndrome was 0.4%; deltoid injury, 0.1%; hematoma, 0.3%; and heterotopic ossification, 0.8%. CONCLUSIONS: Focused systematic reviews of recent literature with a large volume of shoulders demonstrate that using non-Grammont modern prosthesis designs, complications including instability, intraoperative humerus and glenoid fractures, and hematoma are significantly reduced compared with previous studies. As the indications continue to expand for RSA, it is imperative to accurately track the rate and types of complications in order to justify its cost and increased indications.

The modern reverse shoulder arthroplasty and an updated systematic review for each complication: part I.

BACKGROUND: Globally, reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) has moved away from the Grammont design to modern prosthesis designs. The purpose of this 2-part study was to systematically review each of the most common complications of RSA, limiting each search to publications in 2010 or later. In this part (part I), we examined (1) scapular notching (SN), (2) periprosthetic infection (PJI), (3) mechanical failure (glenoid or humeral component), and (4) neurologic injury (NI). METHODS: Four separate PubMed database searches were performed following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. Overall, 113 studies on SN, 62 on PJI, 34 on mechanical failure, and 48 on NI were included in our reviews. Univariate analysis was performed with the χ2 or Fisher exact test. RESULTS: The Grammont design had a higher SN rate vs. all other designs combined (42.5% vs. 12.3%, P < .001). The onlay humeral design had a lower rate than the lateralized glenoid design (10.5% vs. 14.8%, P < .001). The PJI rate was 2.4% for primary RSA and 2.6% for revision RSA. The incidence of glenoid and humeral component loosening was 2.3% and 1.4%, respectively. The Grammont design had an increased NI rate vs. all other designs combined (0.9% vs. 0.1%, P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: Focused systematic reviews of the recent literature with a large volume of RSAs demonstrate that with the use of non-Grammont modern prosthesis designs, complications including SN, PJI, glenoid component loosening, and NI are significantly reduced compared with previous studies. As the indications for RSA continue to expand, it is imperative to accurately track the rates and types of complications to justify its cost and increased indications.

The proactive elderly care team: dementia screening of over 20 000 patients.

The proactive elderly care team was introduced at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in October 2012. This article describes how the team performed over 5 years (up to the end of December 2017). The proactive elderly care team had three broad aims related to all non-elective patients over the age of 75 years who either came to accident and emergency or were admitted into the hospital, irrespective of speciality: To screen all patients over the age of 75 years for delirium and dementia To identify patients over 75 years who were the most frail, and would benefit from a comprehensive geriatric assessment and targeted interventions To reduce length of stay for patients over the age of 75 years without any increase in their readmission rate. Following the introduction of the proactive elderly care team, length of stay and the readmission rate of patients who were seen by the service fell by about 50%. Almost £10 million has been saved and for every £1 invested in the proactive elderly care team service, over £12 was saved.

Colder Weather and Fewer Sunlight Hours Increase Alcohol Consumption and Alcoholic Cirrhosis Worldwide.

Risk of alcoholic cirrhosis is determined by genetic and environmental factors. We aimed to investigate if climate has a causal effect on alcohol consumption and its weight on alcoholic cirrhosis. We collected extensive data from 193 sovereign countries as well as 50 states and 3,144 counties in the United States. Data sources included World Health Organization, World Meteorological Organization, and the Institute on Health Metrics and Evaluation. Climate parameters comprised Koppen-Geiger classification, average annual sunshine hours, and average annual temperature. Alcohol consumption data, pattern of drinking, health indicators, and alcohol-attributable fraction (AAF) of cirrhosis were obtained. The global cohort revealed an inverse correlation between mean average temperature and average annual sunshine hours with liters of annual alcohol consumption per capita (Spearman's rho -0.5 and -0.57, respectively). Moreover, the percentage of heavy episodic drinking and total drinkers among population inversely correlated with temperature -0.45 and -0.49 (P < 0.001) and sunshine hours -0.39 and -0.57 (P < 0.001). Importantly, AAF was inversely correlated with temperature -0.45 (P < 0.001) and sunshine hours -0.6 (P < 0.001). At a global level, all included parameters in the univariable and multivariable analysis showed an association with liters of alcohol consumption and drinkers among population once adjusted by potential confounders. In the multivariate analysis, liters of alcohol consumption associated with AAF. In the United States, colder climates showed a positive correlation with the age-standardized prevalence of heavy and binge drinkers. Conclusion: These results suggest that colder climates may play a causal role on AAF mediated by alcohol consumption.

Bridging multimodal pain management provides 48-hour pain control in patients undergoing total shoulder replacement.

BACKGROUND: We report our experience with a bridging multimodal pain management program that provides comprehensive 48-hour pain control in patients undergoing total shoulder replacement (TSR). METHODS: The study included all patients undergoing unilateral TSR by 1 surgeon between May 2015 and April 2017. There were 62 patients (23 men, 39 women) with an average age of 68 years (range 38-92 years). Of these, 31 underwent standard nonconstrained TSR and 31 underwent reverse TSR. The bridging multimodal pain management protocol included scalene block regional anesthesia using 0.25% bupivacaine enhanced with 4 mg of dexamethasone, application of 20 mg of liposomal bupivacaine diluted with 40 mL of normal saline in the periarticular soft tissues at time of closure, scheduled 24 hours of intravenous acetaminophen and ketorolac, and immediate cryotherapy. Parameters measured included hospital length of stay, postoperative use of intravenous narcotics, and 30-day hospital readmission. RESULTS: The median length of stay was 1 day (range, 1-6; average, 1.5 days). Overall, 41 patients (66%) were discharged on postoperative day 1. Intravenous narcotics were required postoperatively in 22 patients (35.5%). There were no 30-day readmissions. CONCLUSION: This bridging multimodal pain management protocol resulted in a length of stay of 1 day for 66% of patients, even for higher-risk patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification III (63%). Of the 62 patients, 64% (n = 40) did not require postoperative intravenous narcotics. For properly selected patients, this program may be considered for performing TSR as an ambulatory procedure.

Modulation of amygdala response and connectivity in depression by serotonin transporter polymorphism and diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Polymorphisms in the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) modulate amygdala activity in healthy individuals. Increased responses to negative stimuli in carriers of low transcription alleles have been proposed to contribute to the pathogenesis of depression. We sought to investigate the effects of genotype as well as diagnosis in patients with depression. METHODS: Subjects with recurrent depression (n=67) and matched healthy controls (n=49) participated in a fMRI task of implicit processing of sad facial stimuli. Effects of biallelic (short (S) and long (L) alleles) and triallelic (including rs25531 A/G single nucleotide variation) models of 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms on amygdala activity and connectivity were investigated. RESULTS: Significant effects were observed of both genotype and diagnosis on amygdala activity. Increased amygdala activity was associated with 5-HTTLPR genotype in low transcription allele carriers as well as with a diagnosis of depression. The connectivity analysis revealed a main effect of genotype with reduced connectivity to the subgenual region of the anterior cingulate in carriers of the low transcription alleles. There was also a main effect of diagnosis with reduced connectivity to the dorsal region of the anterior cingulate and to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in depression. There were no interaction effects between genotype and diagnosis in amygdala activity or connectivity. CONCLUSIONS: Significant independent effects of genotype and diagnosis on amygdala responsivity were revealed. The effects of genotype and diagnosis on amygdala connectivity showed a regional segregation, suggesting that 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms bias frontal-limbic connectivity while the development of depression involves more extensive neural disturbances. These findings point to the potential of connectivity maps as a diagnostic biomarker for depression.