Ultrasound Imaging for the Diagnosis and Evaluation of Sarcopenia: An Umbrella Review

There is an increasing number of reviews investigating the value of ultrasound (US) in the assessment of aging-related muscle loss. The present umbrella review aimed to systematically investigate the evidence of US imaging in the diagnosis and evaluation of sarcopenia. PubMed, Medline, Embase and Web of Science were searched from their inceptions to 31 October 2021. Systematic reviews and reviews using a systematic strategy for literature search were enrolled. The extracted data were narrated at the level of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. This umbrella review included four articles pertaining to 125 original studies and yielded several important findings. First, US is a reliable and valid imaging tool for the assessment of skeletal muscle mass. Second, among all the US parameters in B-mode, muscle thickness is the most commonly used one, which has good correlation with other standard measurements. Third, although sonoelastography and contrast-enhanced US are promising imaging modalities, their clinical utility is still limited at the current stage. Finally, a future systematic review is warranted to analyze how different ultrasonographic diagnostic criteria influence the prevalence of sarcopenia as well as its adverse health outcomes.

Systematic identification of molecular mediators underlying sensing of Staphylococcus aureus by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Bacteria typically exist in dynamic, multispecies communities where polymicrobial interactions influence fitness. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying these interactions is critical for understanding and modulating bacterial behavior in natural environments. While bacterial responses to foreign species are frequently characterized at the molecular and phenotypic level, the exogenous molecules that elicit these responses are understudied. Here we outline a systematic strategy based on transcriptomics combined with genetic and biochemical screens of promoter-reporters to identify the molecules from one species that are sensed by another. We utilized this method to study interactions between the pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus that are frequently found in co-infections. We discovered that P. aeruginosa senses diverse staphylococcal exoproducts including the metallophore staphylopine, intermediate metabolites citrate and acetoin, and multiple molecules that modulate its iron starvation response. Further, we show that staphylopine inhibits biofilm formation and that P. aeruginosa can utilize citrate and acetoin for growth, revealing that these interactions have both antagonistic and beneficial effects. Our screening approach thus identified multiple S. aureus secreted molecules that are sensed by P. aeruginosa and affect its physiology, demonstrating the efficacy of this approach, and yielding new insight into the molecular basis of interactions between these two species.

Review article: Brief history of volcanic risk in the Neapolitan area (Campania, southern Italy): a critical review

The presence of three active volcanoes (Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei and Ischia island) along the coast of Naples did not contain the huge expansion of the urbanized zones around them. In contrast, since the Greco-Roman era, volcanoes have featured among the favourite sites for people colonizing the Campania region. The stable settlements around Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei caldera and Ischia were progressively enlarged, attaining a maximum growth rate between 1950 and 1980. Between 1982 and 1984, Neapolitans faced the last and most dramatic volcanic crises, which occurred at Campi Flegrei (Pozzuoli) without an eruption. Since that time, volcanologists have focused their attention on the problem of risks associated with eruptions in the Neapolitan area, but a systematic strategy to reduce the very high volcanic risk of this zone is still lacking. A brief history of volcanic risk in the Neapolitan district is narrated here in an effort to provide new food for thought for the scientific community that works for the mitigation of volcanic risk in this area.

Practice What We Preach: Beginning a Journey to Embrace Patient-Centered Outcomes Research

Background: Patient-centered outcomes research seeks to answer patient-centered questions. The process includes varied locations and individuals throughout the care continuum to address individual differences and constraints in implementation and dissemination. Problem: This paper intends to answer this question: do academic nurses practice what they preach by assisting patient-centered outcomes research and researchers through their engagement with patients, caregivers, and other community stakeholder partners in nursing research? Approach: This paper provides an overview of how academic nurses in a single institution (the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston School of Nursing) began to embrace patient-centered outcomes research. Conclusion: Whether academic nurses are practicing what they preach in terms of patient-centered outcomes research remains uncertain. More examples from academia are required to make that determination. Academic nurses worldwide have embarked on a steep learning curve to embrace patient-centered outcomes research. This journey will require patience and a systematic strategy.

The Performativity of State Non-Recognition in Sports: The Case of Spain over Kosovo

This article focuses on the use of sport by the Spanish Government to perform its non-recognition of Kosovo’s statehood. Our main goal is to analyse the practices and narratives through which Spain’s public authorities have carried out this policy in the sporting arena. Likewise, we set two specific objectives: to examine the administrative measures adopted by the Spanish government when a Kosovan team has participated in an event hosted in Spain; and to describe the policies and discourses regarding the display of Kosovo’s national symbols in these competitions. The study is based on a qualitative approach of five major tournaments that have taken place (or due to) in Spain between 2018 and 2019. The documentation has been mainly gathered through desk-research. The three major data sources have been media press releases, Spanish Government’s communiqués and sporting federation’s statements. We underline that the policies adopted by the Spanish authorities respond to a systematic strategy to give no room for a potential understanding of Kosovo as a sovereign state. Likewise, we highlight that Madrid’s attitude towards the Balkan country must be understood keeping in mind its own internal politics, specifically the nationalist claims from Catalonia and the Basque Country.

Analyzing diagnostic errors in the acute setting: a process-driven approach

Objectives We describe an approach for analyzing failures in diagnostic processes in a small, enriched cohort of general medicine patients who expired during hospitalization and experienced medical error. Our objective was to delineate a systematic strategy for identifying frequent and significant failures in the diagnostic process to inform strategies for preventing adverse events due to diagnostic error. Methods Two clinicians independently reviewed detailed records of purposively sampled cases identified from established institutional case review forums and assessed the likelihood of diagnostic error using the Safer Dx instrument. Each reviewer used the modified Diagnostic Error Evaluation and Research (DEER) taxonomy, revised for acute care (41 possible failure points across six process dimensions), to characterize the frequency of failure points (FPs) and significant FPs in the diagnostic process. Results Of 166 cases with medical error, 16 were sampled: 13 (81.3%) had one or more diagnostic error(s), and a total of 113 FPs and 30 significant FPs were identified. A majority of significant FPs (63.3%) occurred in “Diagnostic Information and Patient Follow-up” and “Patient and Provider Encounter and Initial Assessment” process dimensions. Fourteen (87.5%) cases had a significant FP in at least one of these dimensions. Conclusions Failures in the diagnostic process occurred across multiple dimensions in our purposively sampled cohort. A systematic analytic approach incorporating the modified DEER taxonomy, revised for acute care, offered critical insights into key failures in the diagnostic process that could serve as potential targets for preventative interventions.

Development and Validation of an Observational Assessment of Upper Extremity Functioning in Children With Bilateral Cerebral Palsy

Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. The Hand–Object Observation Tool is a valid systematic observational tool developed to measure upper extremity functioning in children with bilateral cerebral palsy. Using a valid systematic strategy to observe hand–object interaction during daily activities provides clinicians with the much-needed information regarding upper extremity function and optimal object placement to facilitate hand use, task completion, and participation in daily activities. Primary Author and Speaker: Amanda Sarafian Contributing Authors: Katherine Dimitropoulou, Madhabi Chatterji, and Andrew Gordon

Recent advancements in biochar production according to feedstock classification, pyrolysis conditions, and applications: A review

Biochar is highly valuable in various applications due to its unique physicochemical properties such as high thermal efficiency, high surface area, surface functional groups, and crystal structure. The goal of this review is to establish a systematic strategy of biochar production for applications in various fields. First, the characteristics of biomass as feedstock for biochar production and their classification are discussed according to the types present in nature. Second, the technology for biochar production and the production yield are examined. In thermochemical conversion for biochar production, five major types of pyrolysis processes are suggested, and the production yield is evaluated according to pyrolysis parameters (feedstock pretreatment, operating temperature, heating rate, residence time, carrier gas). In addition, biochar production from pyrolysis of mixed feedstock has recently been suggested; thus, the evaluation of the production yield from co-pyrolysis is included. Finally, analytical techniques for biochar characterization are investigated and the application of biochar in various fields is considered, such as in adsorbents, energy storage devices, and catalysts.

Structure modification, antialgal, antiplasmodial, and toxic evaluations of a series of new marine-derived 14-membered resorcylic acid lactone derivatives

Marine natural products play critical roles in the chemical defense of many marine organisms and are essential, reputable sources of successful drug leads. Sixty-seven 14-membered resorcylic acid lactone derivatives 3–27 and 30–71 of the natural product zeaenol (1) isolated from the marine-derived fungus Cochliobolus lunatus were semisynthesized by chlorination, acylation, esterification, and acetalization in one to three steps. The structures of these new derivatives were established by HRESIMS and NMR techniques. All the compounds (1–71) were evaluated for their antialgal and antiplasmodial activities. Among them, 14 compounds displayed antifouling activities against adhesion of the fouling diatoms. In particular, 9 and 34 exhibited strong and selective inhibitory effects against the diatoms Navicula laevissima and Navicula exigua (EC50 = 6.67 and 8.55 μmol/L), respectively, which were similar in efficacy to those of the positive control SeaNine 211 (EC50 = 2.90 and 9.74 μmol/L). More importantly, 38, 39, and 69–71 showed potent antiplasmodial activities against Plasmodium falciparum with IC50 values ranging from 3.54 to 9.72 μmol/L. Very interestingly, the five antiplasmodial derivatives displayed non-toxicity in the cytotoxicity assays and the zebrafish embryos model, thus, representing potential promising antiplasmodial drug agents. The preliminary structure–activity relationships indicated that biphenyl substituent at C-2, acetonide at positions C-5′ and C-6′, and tri- or tetra-substituted of acyl groups increased the antiplasmodial activity. Therefore, combining evaluation of chemical ecology with pharmacological models will be implemented as a systematic strategy, not only for environmentally friendly antifoulants but also for structurally novel drugs.