Describing difficult-to-culture bacteria: Taking a shortcut or investing time to discover something new?

Despite the growing interest in isolating representatives of poorly studied and as-yet-uncultivated bacterial phylogenetic groups, these microorganisms remain difficult objects for taxonomic studies. The time required for describing one of these fastidious bacteria is commonly measured in several years. What is even more problematic, many routine laboratory tests, which were originally developed for fast-growing and fast-responding microorganisms, are not fully suitable for many environmentally relevant, slow-growing bacteria. Standard techniques used in chemotaxonomic analyses do not identify unique lipids produced by these bacteria. A common practice of preparing taxonomic descriptions that report a minimal set of features to name a newly isolated organism deepens a gap between microbial ecologists and taxonomists. By contrast, investing time in detailed analysis of cell biology and experimental verification of genome-encoded capabilities of newly isolated microorganisms opens a window for novel, unexpected findings, which may shape our ideas about the functional role of these microbes in the environment.

A smartphone-based self-care application for patients with urinary tract stones: identification of information content and functional capabilities.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify and validate the information content and functional capabilities of a smartphone-based application for the self-care of patients with urinary tract stones. METHODS AND MATERIALS: First, by reviewing studies and urology-oriented books, studying 214 medical records, and consulting with specialists, the information items and basic capabilities of the application were identified, and in the next stage, a researcher-made questionnaire was designed based on the information obtained from the previous step. Then, experts' opinions were considered to confirm the validity and reliability of the questionnaire; the designed questionnaire was distributed among various participants. Finally, the application's leading information elements, contents, and functional capabilities were explored by analyzing the questionnaire results. RESULTS: To conduct the survey, 101 patients with Urinary Stone Diseases (USD), 32 urologists and nephrologists, 11 nurses, and six other specialists were recruited. After analyzing the results of the filled questionnaire, 21 information elements and nine surveyed capabilities that were more important than others were selected to be used in designing the application. Some of the principal information elements that were used in the application design include: the cause of various stones in the body, clinical manifestations, laboratory results, treatments of various stones, the role of environmental factors in the treatment, the role of nutrition in the treatment and formation of stones, and different diagnostic methods. Some of the important features of the application include: medication and fluid intake reminders, laboratory test reminders, radiography and periodic examination reminders, surgical history, and easy access to medical centers for information. The mean score of information elements was 75.07 from the patients' perspective, 65.09 from the physicians' perspective, and 80.09 from the nurses' perspective. Also, the mean score of application capabilities was 31.89 from the patients' perspective, 30.37 from the physicians' perspective, and 35.09 from the nurses' perspective. The difference in the mean scores of the above variables was statistically significant (p < 0.05) in both layers. CONCLUSION: In this study, informational and functional needs and capabilities were presented for designing a mobile-based application that helps in disease management in patients with urinary tract stones.

Application and practice of trimodal prehabilitation model in preoperative management of patients with lung cancer undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.

Lung cancer is one of the malignant tumors with high mortality worldwide. To date, the most effective treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still surgical resection. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery has become the main surgical approach. Tumor patients are the high-risk perioperative population. At present, how to optimize perioperative management measures to improve the patient's body function and promote the rehabilitation after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is a hot research topic for medical staff. In this study, 148 patients with lung cancer were selected as the research object, to analyze and discuss the application value of trimodal prehabilitation model in preoperative management of patients with lung cancer undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.

[Relationship between mental and physical disorders in old age and senility.]

In order to identify the relationship between mental and physical disorders in the elderly and senile age, 70 patients were examined in one of the clinics in Arkhangelsk, including 56 (80%) persons aged 60-74 years and 14 (20%) people aged 75 years and older. A questionnaire was conducted, data from outpatient records were studied, and the clinical status assessment was used, as well as methods for determining mental and physical condition. The most frequent mental and physical disorders were the cognitive and depressive disorders presence, a high risk of malnutrition syndrome, sarcopenia and falls syndrome, reduced functional capabilities, while senile patients had significantly more pronounced disorders. It has been shown that the cognitive and depressive disorders presence in the elderly and senile increases the falling syndrome risk and reduced functional capabilities, and in old age - sarcopenia syndrome.

Expression of Siglec-1, -3, -5 and -10 in porcine cDC1 and cDC2 subsets from blood, spleen and lymph nodes and functional capabilities of these cells.

Dendritic cells are professional antigen-presenting cells that play a critical role in the development of immune responses. DCs express a variety of Siglecs on their surface, which play a regulatory role modulating their activation through interaction with sialylated structures expressed by cells or pathogens. Here, we characterized the phenotype of porcine conventional dendritic cells subsets from blood, spleen and lymph nodes, emphasizing the analysis of the expression of Siglecs. Siglec-1 was detected in type 1 cDC and, at lower levels, in type 2 cDC in the spleen, being low to negative in blood and lymph node cDC. Siglec-3 and Siglec-5 were expressed in cDC1 at lower levels than in cDC2. Porcine cDCs did not express Siglec-10. cDC2 showed a higher capacity to phagocytose microspheres and to process DQ™-OVA than cDC1, but none of these functions was affected by engagement of Siglec-3 and -5 with antibodies on blood cDC.

Analysis of the health profiles and prevalence of falls for patients over 65 years of age in a thermal environment.

BACKGROUND: A falls prevention programme has been initiated in balneotherapy at Balaruc-les-Bains. AIMS: To determine the health profiles of subjects who are at risk of falls, over 65 years of age and attending balneotherapy. METHODS: Questionnaires were used to evaluate people on their fear of falling. Fatigue was assessed by visual analog scale as well as by functional status over the past 12 months. EQ-5D-3L, the IPAQ questionnaire and Fried's frailty scale were all used. Patients' functional capabilities were tested using the Unipedal stance test, the TUG test, the SPPB, the Tandem walking test and the isometric manual grip strength test. RESULTS: Out of the 1471 patients (72.45 years ± 5.10), the women (67%) were tested. In the last 12 months, 485 of these 1471 patients fell (33%) and 37% of them suffered a severe injury. 45-50% of these subjects are now in good health. Women had a significantly higher impaired perception of their health than men (0.02 < p < 0.0001). According to Fried's criteria, 10.2% of the population is considered frail, with a significantly greater number of women (p < 0.0001). Static equilibrium was subnormal (less than 12 s during the TUG). The number of steps in tandem position discriminates individuals and gender as does the speed of moving from A to B and muscular strength. CONCLUSIONS: More than one-third of the subjects (more women than men) aged 65 or older visiting the Balaruc-les-Bains health resort are pre-frail or frail. They all have a recent history of falls, suffer from impaired muscle strength, and have balance and gait disorders.

Informative value of diagnostic methods for determining the training of highly skilled greco-roman wrestlers

Adult and young highly skilled Greco-Roman wrestlers are trained using the same training program. The use of the standard models of testing loads and research methods for adult and young highly skilled wrestlers allowed to reveal significant differences in the level of their general and special training. A comparative analysis of the test data obtained from adult and young highly skilled wrestlers in adapting the cardiovascular system to the cycloergometric load and analyzer systems to the special power load has not yet been conducted for these athletes. The purpose of the study is to determine the informative value of diagnostic methods for determining the training of highly skilled Greco-Roman wrestlers of different age. The main results of the study are the substantiation of the informative value of tests and research methods, which most fully describe special training of wrestlers from different age groups. A lower level of strength performance and coordination abilities, increased fatigue of the central and neuromuscular systems, as well as intensity of the circulatory system adaptation during the adaptation to the testing load on the cycle ergometer were determined in the surveyed contingent of young athletes, compared with adult wrestlers. The used set of tests and research methods is informative for determining the training level of highly skilled wrestlers of different age. Conclusion. The use of complex diagnostics of cardiovascular and analyzer systems allows to determine the physical and functional body reserves of young and adult wrestlers and factors that limit performance, and necessitates the development of individual training programs for juniors in their sports improvement.

[The effect of status epilepticus on autonomic regulation of the heart and its functional capabilities in different postictal periods]. / Vliianie épilepticheskogo statusa na vegetativnuiu reguliatsiiu serdtsa i ego funktsional'nye vozmozhnosti v raznye postiktal'nye periody.

AIM: To study the postictal changes in the autonomic regulation of the heart rhythm and its functional capabilities in different periods after epistatus and to assess the risk of life-threatening arrhythmias. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was conducted on Wistar rats after epileptic status (ES). Telemonitoring of EEG and ECG was performed in the online mode using the system of the company 'ADInstruments'. Functional stress test with dobutamine was used. RESULTS: ES leads to a long-lasting disturbance of autonomic regulation (AR) of the heart and reduces its functional capabilities. The heart's AR balance is shifted towards sympathetic tonus 5 days after ES. This increases the predictors of life-threatening arrhythmias. The decrease in SWD activity increases the activity of parasympathetic tonus 10 days after ES. However, this is due to the tension of regulation mechanisms and the risk of life-threatening arrhythmias. CONCLUSION: The high degree of seizure activity of the brain in the ES predetermines prolonged postictal disorders of the AR heart, which reduce its functional capabilities and increase the risk of life-threatening arrhythmias.

Relating genomic characteristics to environmental preferences and ubiquity in different microbial taxa.

BACKGROUND: Despite the important role that microorganisms play in environmental processes, the low percentage of cultured microbes (5%) has limited, until now, our knowledge of their ecological strategies. However, the development of high-throughput sequencing has generated a huge amount of genomic and metagenomic data without the need of culturing that can be used to study ecological questions. This study aims to estimate the functional capabilities, genomic sizes and 16S copy number of different taxa in relation to their ubiquity and their environmental preferences. RESULTS: To achieve this goal, we compiled data regarding the presence of each prokaryotic genera in diverse environments. Then, genomic characteristics such as genome size, 16S rRNA gene copy number, and functional content of the genomes were related to their ubiquity and different environmental preferences of the corresponding taxa. The results showed clear correlations between genomic characteristics and environmental conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Ubiquity and adaptation were linked to genome size, while 16S copy number was not directly related to ubiquity. We observed that different combinations of these two characteristics delineate the different environments. Besides, the analysis of functional classes showed some clear signatures linked to particular environments.