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PurposeTo evaluate whether yogurt supplemented with a probiotic strain could protect middle-aged and elderly people from acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) using a randomized, blank-controlled, parallel-group design.Patients and methodsTwo hundred and five volunteers aged ≥45 years were randomly divided into two groups. The subjects in the intervention group were orally administered 300 mL/d of yogurt supplemented with a probiotic strain, Lactobacillus paracasei N1115 (N1115), 3.6×107 CFU/mL for 12 weeks, while those in the control group retained their normal diet without any probiotic supplementation. The primary outcome was the incidence of URTI, and changes in serum protein, immunoglobulins, and the profiles of the T-lymphocyte subsets (total T-cells [CD3+], T-helper cells [CD4+], and T-cytotoxic-suppressor cells [CD8+]) during the intervention were the secondary outcomes.ResultsCompared to the control group, the number of persons diagnosed with an acute URTI and the number of URTI events significantly decreased in the intervention group (P=0.038, P=0.030, respectively). The risk of URTI in the intervention group was evaluated as 55% of that in the control group (relative risk =0.55, 95% CI: 0.307–0.969). The change in the percentage of CD3+ cells in the intervention group was significantly higher than in the control group (P=0.038). However, no significant differences were observed in the total protein, albumin, globulin, and prealbumin levels in both groups (P>0.05).ConclusionThe study suggested that yogurt with selected probiotic strains such as N1115 may reduce the risk of acute upper tract infections in the elderly. The enhancement of the T-cell-mediated natural immune defense might be one of the important underlying mechanisms for probiotics to express their anti-infective effects.

Background Due to the widespread and unprecedented popularity of mobile phones, the use of digital medicine and mobile health apps has seen significant growth. Mobile health apps have tremendous potential for monitoring and treating diseases, improving patient care, and promoting health. Objective This paper aims to explore research trends, coauthorship networks, and the research hot spots of mobile health app research. Methods Publications related to mobile health apps were retrieved and extracted from the Web of Science database with no language restrictions. Bibliographic Item Co-Occurrence Matrix Builder was employed to extract bibliographic information (publication year and journal source) and perform a descriptive analysis. We then used the VOSviewer (Leiden University) tool to construct and visualize the co-occurrence networks of researchers, research institutions, countries/regions, citations, and keywords. Results We retrieved 2802 research papers on mobile health apps published from 2000 to 2019. The number of annual publications increased over the past 19 years. JMIR mHealth and uHealth (323/2802, 11.53%), Journal of Medical Internet Research (106/2802, 3.78%), and JMIR Research Protocols (82/2802, 2.93%) were the most common journals for these publications. The United States (1186/2802, 42.33%), England (235/2802, 8.39%), Australia (215/2802, 7.67%), and Canada (112/2802, 4.00%) were the most productive countries of origin. The University of California San Francisco, the University of Washington, and the University of Toronto were the most productive institutions. As for the authors’ contributions, Schnall R, Kuhn E, Lopez-Coronado M, and Kim J were the most active researchers. The co-occurrence cluster analysis of the top 100 keywords forms 5 clusters: (1) the technology and system development of mobile health apps; (2) mobile health apps for mental health; (3) mobile health apps in telemedicine, chronic disease, and medication adherence management; (4) mobile health apps in health behavior and health promotion; and (5) mobile health apps in disease prevention via the internet. Conclusions We summarize the recent advances in mobile health app research and shed light on their research frontier, trends, and hot topics through bibliometric analysis and network visualization. These findings may provide valuable guidance on future research directions and perspectives in this rapidly developing field.

SummarySystematic genetic access to GABAergic cell types will facilitate studying the function and development of inhibitory circuitry. However, single gene-driven recombinase lines mark relatively broad and heterogeneous cell populations. Although intersectional approaches improve precision, it remains unclear whether they can capture cell types defined by multiple features. Here we demonstrate that combinatorial genetic and viral approaches target restricted GABAergic subpopulations and cell types characterized by distinct laminar location, morphology, axonal projection, and electrophysiological properties. Intersectional embryonic transcription factor drivers allow finer fate mapping of progenitor pools that give rise to distinct GABAergic populations, including laminar cohorts. Conversion of progenitor fate restriction signals to constitutive recombinase expression enables viral targeting of cell types based on their lineage and birth time. Properly designed intersection, subtraction, conversion, and multi-color reporters enhance the precision and versatility of drivers and viral vectors. These strategies and tools will facilitate studying GABAergic neurons throughout the mouse brain. eTOC BlurbHe et al. present strategies and tools for the combinatorial targeting of GABAergic neurons in the mouse brain. Specific cell type targeting can be achieved by combining 2 to 3 driver-reporter alleles with viral vectors that engage multiple cell-defining features.

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Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) has a high incidence in diabetic surgical patients. Preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis followed by an intraoperative re-dose was a common strategy in diabetic prolonged procedures. However, there were lacking studies on the relative benefits of this strategy on SSI. Our study aimed to clarify the effect of intraoperative re-dose of prophylactic antibiotics on SSI in diabetic patients. Methods: A total of 1,840 diabetic patients with prolonged surgeries were included and Cefazolin was the only type of antibiotic prophylaxis. We assessed the relationship between intraoperative re-dose of cefazolin and 30-day incidence of SSI using a retrospective cohort study method. Results: There were 361 diabetic cases with preoperative antibiotics only and 1,479 cases with pre-plus intraoperative antibiotics, in which 60 subjects suffered from SSI. Pre-plus intraoperative prophylaxis group had a lower rate of SSI in the overall and subgroup analyses when compared with preoperative only group. Operation location, combined with hypertension, poor blood glucose control, high WBC count and ASA score >2 were significantly associated with an increased risk of SSI for diabetic surgical patients (all P<0.05). Intraoperative re-dose of prophylactic antibiotics was statistically related to a lower incidence rate of SSI than preoperative prophylaxis alone (crude RR =0.47; 95% CI, 0.27-0.82; P<0.01), while the association remained significant even after adjusting the potential confounders (adjusted RR =0.51; 95% CI, 0.29-0.90; P=0.02). Conclusions: For diabetic patients, intraoperative re-dose of prophylactic antibiotics may be an independent protective factor for the prevention of SSI. A specific perioperative antibiotics injection strategy should be encouraged for diabetic patients with prolonged surgeries to minimize the possibility of SSI.