The effects of online and institutional racism on the mental health of African Americans.

OBJECTIVES: Although a wealth of literature has documented the adverse physical and mental health effects associated with exposure to racism, little scholarly attention has focused on the specific impact of online racism. Online experiences of racism have increased significantly over the years, and the intersection of online and "offline" racism makes it difficult for African Americans to find respite from overall experiences of racial discrimination in their daily lives. To address this gap in the literature, the present study was designed to examine the possible compounded effect of online and institutional racism by investigating whether offline institutional racism would serve as a moderator of the effects of online racism on psychological outcomes in a sample of African Americans. METHOD: One hundred and eighty-two African Americans answered survey data on their experiences of institutional and online racism, as well as their overall mental health. Moderated regressions and simple slope analyses were performed to examine the effects of online, institutional, and the interaction of online and institutional racism on psychological symptoms (i.e., psychological distress and well-being). RESULTS: Online racism was the strongest and most consistent predictor of all outcome variables. The interaction of online and institutional racism was significantly associated with psychological distress but not well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that participants who endorsed institutional racism experience increased severity in psychological symptoms in relation to increased exposure to online racism. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Understanding Barriers to Implementing and Managing Therapeutic Diets for People Living with Chronic Kidney Disease in Remote Indigenous Communities.

Indigenous peoples in Canada, and globally, experience a disproportionate burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) ESRD patients in remote Indigenous communities might experience significant challenges in adhering to dietary guidelines. Much research has documented the poor quality, high cost, and limited availability of healthy foods in remote, Indigenous communities. Food quality and availability are poor in remote communities, indicating that persons with ESRD and CKD might have limited ability to adhere to dietary guidelines. This article reports on research designed to understand food-access barriers in remote First Nations for persons living with stage 4 and 5 CKD/ESRD. The study involved semi-structured interviews with 38 patients in remote communities. It concludes with some reflections on the significance of this issue in the context of dietetic practice.

Genetic basis for daptomycin resistance in enterococci.

The emergence of multidrug-resistant enterococci as a leading cause of hospital-acquired infection is an important public health concern. Little is known about the genetic mechanisms by which enterococci adapt to strong selective pressures, including the use of antibiotics. The lipopeptide antibiotic daptomycin is approved to treat Gram-positive bacterial infections, including those caused by enterococci. Since its introduction, resistance to daptomycin by strains of Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium has been reported but is still rare. We evolved daptomycin-resistant strains of the multidrug-resistant E. faecalis strain V583. Based on the availability of a fully closed genome sequence for V583, we used whole-genome resequencing to identify the mutations that became fixed over short time scales (~2 weeks) upon serial passage in the presence of daptomycin. By comparison of the genome sequences of the three adapted strains to that of parental V583, we identified seven candidate daptomycin resistance genes and three different mutational paths to daptomycin resistance in E. faecalis. Mutations in one of the seven candidate genes (EF0631), encoding a putative cardiolipin synthase, were found in each of the adapted E. faecalis V583 strains as well as in daptomycin-resistant E. faecalis and E. faecium clinical isolates. Alleles of EF0631 from daptomycin-resistant strains are dominant in trans and confer daptomycin resistance upon a susceptible host. These results demonstrate a mechanism of enterococcal daptomycin resistance that is genetically distinct from that occurring in staphylococci and indicate that enterococci possessing alternate EF0631 alleles are selected for during daptomycin therapy. However, our analysis of E. faecalis clinical isolates indicates that resistance pathways independent from mutant forms of EF0631 also exist.

Evaluating the activity of the RNA polymerase inhibitor myxopyronin B against Staphylococcus aureus.

Myxopyronin B (MyxB) binds to the switch region of RNA polymerase (RNAP) and inhibits transcriptional initiation. To evaluate the potential development of MyxB as a novel class of antibiotic, we characterized the antimicrobial activity of MyxB against Staphylococcus aureus. Spontaneous MyxB resistance in S. aureus occurred at a frequency of 8 × 10(-8) , similar to that of rifampin. The MyxB-resistant mutants were found to be altered in single amino acid residues in the RNAP subunits that form the MyxB-binding site. In the presence of human serum albumin, the MyxB minimum inhibitory concentration against S. aureus increased drastically (≥128-fold) and 99.5% of MyxB was protein bound. Because of the high serum protein binding and resistance rate, we conclude that MyxB is not a viable starting point for antibiotic development.