Motivational interviewing for maternal Immunizations: Intervention development

Background and ObjectiveVaccine uptake during pregnancy remains low. Our objectives were to describe 1) development and adaptation of a clinician communication training intervention for maternal immunizations and 2) obstetrics and gynecology (ob-gyn) clinician and staff perspectives on the intervention and fit for the prenatal care context.MethodsDesign of the Motivational Interviewing for Maternal Immunizations (MI4MI) intervention was based on similar communication training interventions for pediatric settings and included presumptive initiation of vaccine recommendations (“You’re due for two vaccines today”) combined with motivational interviewing (MI) for hesitant patients. Interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with ob-gyn clinicians and staff in five Colorado clinics including settings with obstetric physicians, certified nurse midwives (CNMs), and clinician-trainees. Participants were asked about adapting training to the ob-gyn setting and their implementation experiences. Feedback was incorporated through iterative changes to training components.ResultsInterview and focus group discussion results from participants before (n = 3), during (n = 11) and after (n = 25) implementation guided intervention development and adaptation. Three virtual, asynchronous training components were created: a video and two interactive modules. This virtual format was favored due to challenges attending group meetings; however, participants noted opportunities to practice skills through role-play were lacking. Training modules were adapted to include common challenging vaccine conversations and live-action videos. Participants liked interactive training components and use of adult learning strategies. Some participants initially resisted the presumptive approach but later found it useful after applying it in their practices. Overall, participants reported that MI4MI training fit well with the prenatal context and recommended more inclusion of non-clinician staff.ConclusionsMI4MI training was viewed as relevant and useful for ob-gyn clinicians and staff. Suggestions included making training more interactive, and including more complex scenarios and non-clinician staff.     

Mechanism of action of Orthosiphon stamineus against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: Insights from systems pharmacology and molecular docking approaches

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common complications of a metabolic syndrome caused by excessive accumulation of fat in the liver. Orthosiphon stamineus also known as Orthosiphon aristatus is a medicinal plant with possible potential beneficial effects on various metabolic disorders. This study aims to investigate the in vitro inhibitory effects of O. stamineus on hepatic fat accumulation and to further use the computational systems pharmacology approach to identify the pharmacokinetic properties of the bioactive compounds of O. stamineus and to predict their molecular mechanisms against NAFLD. Methods: The effects of an ethanolic extract of O. stamineus leaves on cytotoxicity, fat accumulation and antioxidant activity were assessed using HepG2 cells. The bioactive compounds of O. stamineus were identified using LC/MS and two bioinformatics databases, namely the Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrated Database (TCMID) and the Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for the Molecular Mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine (BATMAN-TCM). Pathway enrichment analysis was performed on the predicted targets of the bioactive compounds to provide a systematic overview of the molecular mechanism of action, while molecular docking was used to validate the predicted targets. Results: A total of 27 bioactive compounds corresponding to 50 potential NAFLD-related targets were identified. O. stamineus exerts its anti-NAFLD effects by modulating a variety of cellular processes, including oxidative stress, mitochondrial β-oxidation, inflammatory signalling pathways, insulin signalling, and fatty acid homeostasis pathways. O. stamineus is significantly targeting many oxidative stress regulators, including JNK, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), NFKB1, PPAR, and AKT1. Molecular docking analysis confirmed the expected high affinity for the potential targets, while the in vitro assay indicates the ability of O. stamineus to inhibit hepatic fat accumulation. Conclusion: Using the computational systems pharmacology approach, the potentially beneficial effect of O. stamineus in NAFLD was indicated through the combination of multiple compounds, multiple targets, and multicellular components.     

人参内生菌的研究进展

内生菌由细菌、真菌、古菌和原生生物组成，它们生活在植物的活体组织中，具有丰富的次级代谢产物多样性。人参内生菌在人参的生长发育、次级代谢产物的生成和环境适应等方面均有重要的促进作用，对人参的产量和品质有较大影响。随着人们在微生物领域研究的深入，高通量测序技术已经成为研究植物内生菌的重要方法。文章主要从人参内生菌分离与鉴定研究方法、人参内生菌的多样性、人参内生菌及其次级代谢产物的活性、人参内生菌对宿主的影响等4个方面对人参内生菌近年来的研究进展进行讨论，并对其发展方向提出展望，以期为药用植物内生菌研究和品质改良提供新思路、新方法。     

A case of sudden cardiac death due to mitochondrial disease

A 25-year-old, emaciated man without medical treatment was found to have died suddenly at home by his mother. At autopsy, there were no injuries to his body, but significant circulatory insufficiency was observed. Electron microscopy revealed abnormal mitochondria in cells of the cardiac conduction system. The conduction system was filled with mitochondrial size abnormalities and mitochondrial cristae abnormalities. No notable abnormal findings were observed in other organs. Genetic examination of the blood revealed the mitochondrial pathogenetic variant m.3243A>G. Epileptic seizures, diabetic ketoacidosis, and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state were unlikely to be the cause of sudden death. The cause of death was diagnosed as arrhythmia possibly induced by the failure of the cardiac conduction system due to mitochondrial disease. This is a rare case of sudden death caused by an accumulation of abnormal mitochondria in the cardiac conduction system.     

补充与替代疗法治疗肠易激综合征的研究进展

肠易激综合征是临床常见的功能性胃肠病之一。由于多数患者的症状经过一线药物治疗后仍不能得到较好改善，许多患者为获得更好的治疗效果，转向选择补充与替代疗法进行治疗。然而，由于研究质量和数量的限制，大部分治疗肠易激综合征的补充与替代疗法并未被相关共识和指南所推荐。本文从补充与替代疗法的分类入手，从天然产品、身心治疗、传统医药3个方面就目前国内外常用的补充与替代疗法治疗肠易激综合征的研究进行概述，以期为临床工作者和患者更好地了解和应用提供帮助。     

Effectiveness of a double-carbapenem combinations against carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria

The emergence of carbapenem-resistant organisms posed considerable threat to global health while only limited treatment options are available and led to efforts to discover a novel way to treat them. To evaluate in vitro synergistic activity of meropenem plus ertapenem, a total of 203 carbapenem-resistant strains, collected from 12 provinces and municipalities in China, were examined with a dual carbapenem combination therapy. The statistical software R was used for analysis. Two hundred and one (201) of carbapenem-resistant strains mainly produced four types of carbapenemase: KPC-2 (n = 142, 69.95%), OXA-232 (n = 7, 3.45%), NDM (n = 38, 18.72%; 36 NDM-1, 1 NDM-4, 1 NDM-5), and IMP (n = 15, 7.39%; 1 IMP-26, 10 IMP-30, 4 IMP-4). Fifty-one out of two hundred and three (51/203 or 25.12%) of the examined strains showed a synergistic effect for the meropenem plus ertapenem combination throughout the checkerboard method, while only three isolates showed potential clinically relevant synergy (3/203, 1.48%). An additive effect was observed in 55/203 (27.09%) of the examined strains. Ninety-seven of the examined isolates (47.78%) showed fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) greater or equal to 2 (indicating antagonism). The synergistic activity of meropenem plus ertapenem combination suggests this combination can be a possible way to treat the infection caused by the carbapenem-resistant organisms, especially for IMP or NDM producer with a lesser minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the infected individual who was not recommended to use colistin or tigecycline.     

Preferences and willingness of accepting COVID-19 vaccine booster: Results from a middle-income country

The recent wave of COVID-19 cases has led to the potential need for booster doses. We surveyed 6,294 people and found that 87.6% reported willingness to take a booster dose, with vaccine efficacy rate being the most common reason cited to accept booster dose. Differences in acceptance rates were noted among those working in non-health related sectors, different ethnic groups as well as those who had taken viral vector vaccines.