CREB is a transcription factor that regulates diverse cellular responses, including proliferation, survival, and differentiation. CREB is induced by a variety of growth factors and inflammatory signals and subsequently mediates the transcription of genes containing a cAMP-responsive element. Several immune-related genes possess this cAMP-responsive element, including IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α. In addition, phosphorylated CREB has been proposed to directly inhibit NF-κB activation by blocking the binding of CREB binding protein to the NF-κB complex, thereby limiting proinflammatory responses. CREB also induces an antiapoptotic survival signal in monocytes and macrophages. In T and B cells, CREB activation promotes proliferation and survival and differentially regulates Th1, Th2, and Th17 responses. Finally, CREB activation is required for the generation and maintenance of regulatory T cells. This review summarizes current advances involving CREB in immune function—a role that is continually being defined.

OBJECTIVE Genital tract infection accounts for ~ 25–40% of all pre-term births. We sought to assess the relationship between preterm birth and selected vaginal bacterial taxa associated with preterm birth either directly or through their association with bacterial vaginosis (BV). STUDY DESIGN Vaginal fluid for Gram stain was collected between 17 and 22 weeks gestation as part of a randomized trial of ultrasound-indicated cerclage for preterm birth prevention in women at high risk for recurrent spontaneous preterm birth. Bacterial DNA was extracted from the Gram stain slides and analyzed using quantitative PCR. RESULTS Among the 499 participants, Mycoplasma was positively correlated with increased risk of preterm (RR = 1.83; 95% CI: 1.52,2.22) as was Mobiluncus (RR=1.36; 95% CI: 1.07, 1.73) and Atopobium (RR=1.44; 95% CI: 1.1, 1.87). However, there were strong interactions between race/ethnic group and the presence of these and other individual taxa on risk of preterm birth. By contrast, BVAB3 was consistently associated with a reduction in risk of preterm birth for all racial/ethnic groups (0.55; 95%CI: 0.39, 0.78). CONCLUSIONS BV is characterized by a reduction of Lactobacillus, and lactic acid producing bacteria and the presence of Mobiluncus; we found these factors and presence of Mycoplasma to be associated with increased risk of preterm birth. By contrast, the presence of a recently identified organism sufficient to cause BV, BVAB3, decreased risk of preterm birth. These findings give insight into why treating BV has mixed impact on risk of preterm birth.

BackgroundPowered, two-wheeled transportation devices like electric bicycles (E-bikes) and scooters are increasingly popular, but little is known about their relative injury risk compared to pedal operated bicycles.MethodsDescriptive and comparative analysis of injury patterns and trends associated with E-bikes, powered scooters and pedal bicycles from 2000 to 2017 using the US National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.ResultsWhile persons injured using E-bikes were more likely to suffer internal injuries (17.1%; 95% CI 5.6 to 28.6) and require hospital admission (OR=2.8, 95% CI 1.3 to 6.1), powered scooter injuries were nearly three times more likely to result in a diagnosis of concussion (3% of scooter injuries vs 0.5% of E-bike injuries). E-bike-related injuries were also more than three times more likely to involve a collision with a pedestrian than either pedal bicycles (OR=3.3, 95% CI 0.5 to 23.6) or powered scooters (OR=3.3, 95% CI 0.3 to 32.9), but there was no evidence that powered scooters were more likely than bicycles to be involved in a collision with a pedestrian (OR=1.0, 95% CI 0.3 to 3.1). While population-based rates of pedal bicycle-related injuries have been decreasing, particularly among children, reported E-bike injuries have been increasing dramatically particularly among older persons.ConclusionsE-bike and powered scooter use and injury patterns differ from more traditional pedal operated bicycles. Efforts to address injury prevention and control are warranted, and further studies examining demographics and hospital resource utilisation are necessary.

We examined the community ecology of vaginal microbial samples taken from pregnant women with previous preterm birth experience to investigate whether targeted pathogenic and commensal bacteria are related to risk of preterm birth in the current pregnancy. We found a significant correlation between the community structure of selected bacteria and birth outcome, but the correlation differed among self-reported racial/ethnic groups. Using a community ordination analysis, we observed infrequent co-occurrence of Mycoplasma and bacteria vaginosis associated bacteria 3 (BVAB3) among black and Hispanic participants. In addition, we found that the vaginal bacteria responded differently in different racial/ethnic groups to modifications of maternal behavioral (ie, douching and smoking) and biological traits (ie, body mass index [BMI]). Even after accounting for these maternal behaviors and traits, the selected vaginal bacteria was significantly associated with preterm birth among black and Hispanic participants. By contrast, white participants did not exhibit significant correlation between microbial community and birth outcome. Findings from this study affirm the necessity of considering women's race/ethnicity when evaluating the correlation between vaginal bacteria and preterm birth. The study also illustrates the importance of studying the vaginal microbiota from an ecological perspective, and demonstrates the power of ecological community analysis to improve understanding of infectious disease.

Vaping is a growing concern in adolescents, and a growing proportion is using electronic devices to inhale cannabis oil. The short‐term and long‐term effects of cannabis oil inhalation are not well understood. We report on a case of severe acute lung injury secondary to inhalation of cannabis oil via a vape pen, and propose a new term that describes lung injury related to vaping.

Background Family members share genes, environment and microbial communities. If there is a strong effect of family on the salivary microbiota, controlling for family will enhance identification of microbial communities associated with cariogenesis. The current study was designed to assess the similarity of the salivary microbiome among families and the association between the salivary microbiome and dental decay taking age into account. Methods We selected families (n= 49) participating in the cohort study of oral health conducted by the Center for Oral Health Research in Appalachia (COHRA). All families where at least two children and at least one parent gave a saliva sample (n=173) were included. Saliva samples were collected at least one hour after eating or drinking. Following DNA extraction, the V6 region of the 16s rRNA gene was sequenced. Paired ends were joined using FLASH, sequences were de-multiplexed and filtered using QIIME 1.9.0, and taxonomy was assigned using the RDP Classifier and sequences aligned with the CORE database using PyNAST. Results The salivary microbiome changed with age and was more similar within families than between families. There was no difference in the diversity of the salivary microbiome by dental decay. After taking into account age and family, signals of dental decay were weak in the saliva, whether examined at the phyla, genus or operational taxonomic level. Conclusions The salivary microbiome does not appear to be a good indicator of dental caries.

As a proof of principle, we used an untargeted global metabolic profiling of saliva to understand the biochemical processes associated with dental decay, dentition (primary and secondary tooth eruption) and familiality in a sample of 25 sibling pairs. Pairs were selected to represent four different combinations of dentition and tooth health: 1) both siblings with primary teeth and no decay (n=5); 2) both siblings with primary teeth and discordant for dental decay (n=6); 3) both siblings with primary teeth and dental decay (n=4); and 4) one sibling with primary teeth the other with mixed dentition and both with no dental decay (n=10). There was a strong effect of sibship on the metabolite profiles identified; this may reflect the effects of common genes, environment and behaviors, and shared oral microbial communities. Nested in the familial effects were associations of metabolite profile with dentition and with dental decay. Using three different analyses (Euclidean distance, hierarchical clustering and PCA using selected biochemicals) metabolite profiles of saliva from children with decayed teeth were more similar than the metabolite profiles of saliva from children with healthy (sound) teeth. Larger studies that include host behaviors, environmental factors, oral microbiota composition and structure, and host genetic predisposition are required to identify biomarkers for decay, and to estimate the relative contribution of host factors and oral microbes on risk of dental decay.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is one of the largest private lands conservation programs in the United States, establishing perennial vegetation on environmentally sensitive lands formerly in agricultural production. Over its 35 year existence, the CRP has evolved to include diverse conservation practices (CPs) while concomitantly meeting its core goals of reducing soil erosion, improving water quality, and providing wildlife habitat. Ongoing threats to grasslands and decreased CRP acreage highlighted the need for a national evaluation of the effectiveness in providing the program’s intended benefits. To address this need, we conducted edge-of-field surveys of erosional features, vegetation, and soil cover on 1 786 fields across 10 CPs and 14 central and western states from 2016 to 2018. We grouped practices into three types (grassland, wetland, and wildlife) and states into six regions for analysis. Across practice types, ⩾99% of fields had no evidence of rills, gullies, or pedestaling from erosion, and 91% of fields had <20% bare soil cover, with region being the strongest predictor of bare soil cover. Seventy-nine percent of fields had ⩾50% grass cover, with cover differing by practice type and region. Native grass species were present on more fields in wildlife and wetland practices compared to grassland practices. Forb cover >50% and native forb presence occurred most frequently in wildlife practices, with region being the strongest driver of differences. Federally listed noxious grass and forb species occurred on 23% and 61% of fields, respectively, but tended to constitute a small portion of cover in the field. Estimates from edge-of-field surveys and in-field validation sampling were strongly correlated, demonstrating the utility of the edge-of-field surveys. Our results provide the first national-level assessment of CRP establishment in three decades, confirming that enrolled wildlife and wetland practices often have diverse perennial vegetation cover and very few erosional features.