Effects of sodium and GTP on the binding kinetics of [3H]diprenorphine in NG 108-15 cell membranes

Summary Equilibrium binding isotherms of [³H]diprenorphine in membranes from NG 108-15 cells are consistent with a homogenous population of binding sites. Upon addition of Na⁺, Mg²⁺ and GTP, only a 2-fold reduction in affinity with a minor decrease in the number of sites is observed. Dissociation curves of [³H]diprenorphine, however, are clearly biphasic: in the absence of Na⁺, Mg²⁺ and GTP, 80% of the bound ligand dissociates slowly with at _1/2 of 100 min, and only 20% rapidly (t _1/2 4.5 min). In the presence of Mg²⁺, nearly all the binding is found in the slowly dissociating form. Upon the addition of either Na⁺ or GTP, 20–30% of the binding dissociates more rapidly. The rate constant of the rapidly dissociating form generated by Na⁺, however, is 2.5 times greater than that induced by the presence of GTP. Thus, the addition of both, Na⁺ and GTP, converts about 80% of the receptor into a very fast dissociating form (t _1/2 1.7 min).Exposure of intact cells to pertussis toxin (10 ng/ml) or treatment of membranes with N-ethyl maleimide (500 M), strongly reduces the proportion of the slowly dissociating component. Following these treatments, the effect of GTP is reduced or abolished, but that of Na⁺ remains unaffected.We conclude from these data that the effects of Na⁺ and GTP are not only distinct in site but also in mechanism of action and that there are three forms of opioid receptors that can be differentiated by their kinetic properties. The slowly dissociating receptor form requires a functional N unit.     

Exploring professional identity in rehabilitation professions: a scoping review

Advances in Health Sciences Education - Professional identity is believed to foster self-confidence and resilience in health care professionals. While literature exists describing professional...     

High-Protein,Low-Glycaemic Meal Replacement Decreases Fasting Insulin and Inflammation Markers—A 12-Month Subanalysis of the ACOORH Trial

Lifestyle interventions, including meal replacement, are effective in the prevention and treatment of type-2-diabetes and obesity. Since insulin is the key weight regulator, we hypothesised that the addition of meal replacement to a lifestyle intervention reduces insulin levels more effectively than lifestyle intervention alone. In the international multicentre randomised controlled ACOORH (Almased Concept against Overweight and Obesity and Related Health Risk) trial, overweight or obese persons who meet the criteria for metabolic syndrome (n = 463) were randomised into two groups. Both groups received nutritional advice focusing on carbohydrate restriction and the use of telemonitoring devices. The intervention group substituted all three main meals per day in week 1, two meals per day in weeks 2–4, and one meal per day in weeks 5–26 with a protein-rich, low-glycaemic meal replacement. Data were collected at baseline and after 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. All datasets providing insulin data (n = 446) were included in this predefined subanalysis. Significantly higher reductions in insulin (−3.3 ± 8.7 µU/mL vs. −1.6 ± 9.8 µU/mL), weight (−6.1 ± 5.2 kg vs. −3.2 ± 4.6 kg), and inflammation markers were observed in the intervention group. Insulin reduction correlated with weight reduction and the highest amount of weight loss (−7.6 ± 4.9 kg) was observed in those participants with an insulin decrease > 2 µU/mL. These results underline the potential for meal replacement-based lifestyle interventions in diabetes prevention, and measurement of insulin levels may serve as an indicator for adherence to carbohydrate restriction.     

Inflammation and the Association of Vitamin D and Depressive Symptomatology

Depression and vitamin D deficiency are major public health problems. The existing literature indicates the complex relationship between depression and vitamin D. The purpose of this study was to examine whether this relationship is moderated or mediated by inflammation. A community sample (n = 7162) from the LIFE-Adult-Study was investigated, for whom depressive symptoms were assessed via the German version of CES-D scale and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels and inflammatory markers (IL-6 and CRP levels, WBC count) were quantified. Mediation analyses were performed using Hayes’ PROCESS macro and regression analyses were conducted to test moderation effects. There was a significant negative correlation between CES-D and 25(OH)D, and positive associations between inflammatory markers and CES-D scores. Only WBC partially mediated the association between 25(OH)D levels and depressive symptoms both in a simple mediation model (ab: −0.0042) and a model including covariates (ab: −0.0011). None of the inflammatory markers showed a moderation effect on the association between 25(OH)D levels and depressive symptoms. This present work highlighted the complex relationship between vitamin D, depressive symptoms and inflammation. Future studies are needed to examine the effect of vitamin D supplementation on inflammation and depressive symptomatology for causality assessment.     

Postmortem Stability of SARS-CoV-2 in Nasopharyngeal Mucosa

Analyses of infection chains have demonstrated that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is highly transmissive. However, data on postmortem stability and infectivity are lacking. Our finding of nasopharyngeal viral RNA stability in 79 corpses showed no time-dependent decrease. Maintained infectivity is supported by virus isolation up to 35 hours postmortem.     

The Role of Community Health Workers Within the Continuum of Services for HIV,Viral Hepatitis,and Other STIs Amongst Men Who Have Sex with Men in Europe

Journal of Community Health - Little is known about Community Health Workers (CHWs) who work in non-clinical settings to provide sexual health support around HIV, viral hepatitis, and other...     

Patients' and family members' perspectives on the benefits and working mechanisms of family nursing conversations in Dutch home healthcare

The aim of this study is to propose a model of the benefits and working mechanisms of family nursing conversations in home healthcare from the perspective of participating patients and their family members. Family nursing conversations in this study are intended to optimise family functioning, improve collaboration between family and professional caregivers and ultimately prevent or reduce overburden of family caregivers. In a qualitative grounded theory design, data were collected in 2017 using intensive interviewing with participants of family nursing conversations in home healthcare. A total of 26 participants (9 patients and 17 family members) from 11 families participated in a family nursing conversation and the study. Seven nurses who received extensive education in family nursing conversations conducted them as part of their daily practice. Interviews occurred 4–6 weeks after the family nursing conversation. The model that was constructed in close collaboration with the families consists of three parts. The first part outlines working mechanisms of the conversation itself according to participants, i.e. structured and open communication about the care situation and the presence of all of the people who are involved. The second part consists of the benefits that participants experienced during and immediately after the conversation – an increased sense of overview and improved contact among the people involved – and the related working mechanisms. The last part consists of benefits that emerged in the weeks after the conversation – reduced caregiver burden and improved quality of care – and the related working mechanisms. Insight into the benefits and working mechanisms of family nursing conversations may assist healthcare professionals in their application of the intervention and provides directions for outcomes and processes to include in future studies.     

Collaborative working in health and social care: Lessons learned from post-hoc preliminary findings of a young families’ pregnancy to age 2 project in South Wales,United Kingdom

Children of young and socially disadvantaged parents are more likely to experience adverse outcomes. In response to this, a unique young families’ project in Swansea, UK, was created, which drew together a team of multi-agency professionals, to support people aged 16–24 from 17 weeks of pregnancy throughout 1,001 days of the child's life. The aim of the JIGSO (the Welsh word for Jigsaw) project is for young people to reach their potential as parents and to break the cycle of health and social inequality. This evaluation analysed routinely collected data held by the project from January 2017 to December 2018 exploring health and social outcomes, including smoking and alcohol use in pregnancy, breastfeeding, maternal diet and social services outcomes. Outcomes were compared to local and national averages, where available. Data relating to parenting knowledge and skills were available via records of 10-point Likert scales, one collected at the start of the JIGSO involvement and one around 4–6 months later. Findings showed higher than average levels of breastfeeding initiation and lower smoking and alcohol use in pregnancy. Parents also reported enhanced knowledge and confidence in their child care skills, as well as improved family relationships. Parents with high levels of engagement with JIGSO also appeared to have positive outcomes with Social Services (their child's name was removed from child protection register or their case was closed to social services). This was a post-hoc evaluation, not an intervention study or trial, and thus findings must be interpreted with caution. Despite this, the findings are promising and more prospective research exploring similar services is required.     

Reactivity of human sera in a sensitive, high-throughput pseudovirus-based papillomavirus neutralization assay for HPV16 and HPV18

Sensitive high-throughput neutralization assays, based upon pseudoviruses carrying a secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) reporter gene, were developed and validated for human papillomavirus (HPV)16, HPV18, and bovine papillomavirus 1 (BPV1). SEAP pseudoviruses were produced by transient transfection of codon-modified papillomavirus structural genes into an SV40 T antigen expressing line derived from 293 cells, yielding sufficient pseudovirus from one flask for thousands of titrations. In a 96-well plate format, in this initial characterization, the assay was reproducible and appears to be as sensitive as, but more specific than, a standard papillomavirus-like particle (VLP)-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The neutralization assay detected type-specific HPV16 or HPV18 neutralizing antibodies (titers of 160-10240) in sera of the majority of a group of women infected with the corresponding HPV type, but not in virgin women. Sera from HPV16 VLP vaccinees had high anti-HPV16 neutralizing titers (mean: 45000; range: 5120-163840), but no anti-HPV18 neutralizing activity. The SEAP pseudovirus-based neutralization assay should be a practical method for quantifying potentially protective antibody responses in HPV natural history and prophylactic vaccine studies.     

Epidemiology and virulence gene expression of intracellular group A streptococci in tonsils of recurrently infected adults

Intracellularly persistent group A streptococci (GAS, Streptococcus pyogenes) have been associated with recurrent tonsillopharyngitis and antibiotic treatment failure. As a supplementation of the published in vitro data, conventional bacteriology and molecular epidemiology was performed on material from 29 adult patients of a German army hospital with anamnestic signs of recurrent tonsillopharyngitis. Pre-surgery tonsil swabs and the surgically removed tonsils were examined with respect to growth of aerobic bacteria in absence and presence of antibiotics with exclusively extracellular activity. Under such antibiotic selection, Staphylococcus aureus and GAS were cultured from specimens of 13 and 3 patients, respectively. In every material GAS-positive by culture methods, the intracellular location of the penicillin-susceptible GAS isolates was confirmed by immunohistologic examination of tonsillar sections using a GAS-specific IgG antibody. The three intracellular GAS isolates were typed by emm gene sequencing and could be associated to types M6 and M49 (two isolates). The bacteria were serially passaged on sheep blood agar, and semiquantitative mRNA analysis from virulence genes was performed using bacteria of the 4th and 25th passage after isolation. An M-type-specific pattern of virulence gene expression and different gene expression levels in relation to the passage number were observed.