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Linkages Between Anxiety And Outcomes In Heart Failure, Marla J. De Jong, Misook L. Chung, Jia-Rong Wu, Barbara Riegel, Mary Kay Rayens, Debra K. Moser

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Objective: We investigated the relationship between anxiety and event-free survival (ie, composite endpoint of death, emergency department visits, or hospitalizations) for patients with heart failure (HF), and examined whether behavioral and physiologic mechanisms mediate any association between anxiety and outcomes.

Methods: In this longitudinal study, patients with HF completed the anxiety subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory, and heart-rate variability and plasma norepinephrine levels were measured. Dietary adherence and medication adherence were measured according to 24-hour urine sodium level and the Medication Event Monitoring System, respectively. Patients were followed at least 1 year for event-free survival.

Results: In total, 147 …

Shiga Toxin Of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia Coli Type O157:H7 Promotes Intestinal Colonization, Cory M. Robinson, James F. Sinclair, Michael J. Smith, Alison D. O'Brien

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) 0157:H7 is a food-borne pathogen that can cause bloody diarrhea and, occasionally, acute renal failure as a consequence of Shiga toxin (Stx) production by the organism. Stxs are potent cytotoxins that are lethal to animals at low doses. Thus, Stxs not only harm the host but, as reported here, also significantly enhance the capacity of EHEC O157:H7 to adhere to epithelial cells and to colonize the intestines of mice. Tissue culture experiments showed that this toxin-mediated increase in bacterial adherence correlated with an Stx-evoked increase in a eukaryotic receptor for the EHEC O157:H7 attachment factor intimin.