GSDMD is associated with survival in human breast cancer but does not impact anti-tumor immunity in a mouse breast cancer model.

Inflammation plays a pivotal role in cancer development, with chronic inflammation promoting tumor progression and treatment resistance, whereas acute inflammatory responses contribute to protective anti-tumor immunity. Gasdermin D (GSDMD) mediates the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β. While the release of IL-1β is directly linked to the progression of several types of cancers, the role of GSDMD in cancer is less clear.

Stimulating the Antitumor Immune Response Using Immunocytokines: A Preclinical and Clinical Overview.

Cytokines are immune modulators which can enhance the immune response and have been proven to be an effective class of immunotherapy. Nevertheless, the clinical use of cytokines in cancer treatment has faced several challenges associated with poor pharmacokinetic properties and the occurrence of adverse effects. Immunocytokines (ICKs) have emerged as a promising approach to overcome the pharmacological limitations observed with cytokines.

Nutritional intake and growth until two years of age in moderate and late preterms.

Background And Aim: Moderate and late preterm infants (MLPTI) (gestational age 32 0/7-36 6/7 weeks), are at risk for suboptimal growth. This study evaluated adherence to nutritional recommendations until 6 months corrected age (CA), growth until 2 years CA, and associations between nutritional intake and growth until 2 years CA.

Methods: We prospectively collected nutritional intakes from 100 MLPTI during the first week of life and at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months CA.

Reprocessing Zamak laryngoscope blades into new instrument parts; an 'all-in-one' experimental study.

Introduction: Disposable instruments in healthcare have led to a significant increase of medical waste. The aim of this study is to validate the recycling of disposable Zamak laryngoscope blades into new medical components by using a new 'all-in-one' affordable reprocessing setup as alternative for die-casting.

Methods: A n "all-in-one" casting set-up was designed and built.

Inhibition of IL-1β release from macrophages targeted with necrosulfonamide-loaded porous nanoparticles.

Inflammation is required for protective responses against pathogens and is thus essential for survival, but sustained inflammation can lead to diseases, such as atherosclerosis and cancer. Two important mediators of inflammation are the cytokines IL-1β and IL-18, which are produced by myeloid cells of the immune system, including macrophages. These cytokines are released into the extracellular space through pores formed in the plasma membrane by the oligomerized protein gasdermin D (GSDMD).

Young children with a minor traumatic head injury: clinical observation or CT scan?

Unlabelled: Currently, in young children with minor traumatic head injuries (MTHI) classified as intermediate risk (IR), PECARN recommends clinical observation over computer tomography (CT) scan depending on provider comfort, although both options being possible. In this study, we describe clinicians' choice and which factors were associated with this decision. This was a planned sub-study of a prospective multicenter observational study that enrolled 1006 children younger than 18 years with MTHI who presented to six emergency departments in The Netherlands.

The interleukin-1 cytokine family members: Role in cancer pathogenesis and potential therapeutic applications in cancer immunotherapy.

The interleukin-1 (IL-1) family is one of the first described cytokine families and consists of eight cytokines (IL-1β, IL-1α, IL-18, IL-33, IL-36α, IL-36β, IL-36γ and IL-37) and three receptor antagonists (IL-1Ra, IL-36Ra and IL-38). The family members are known to play an essential role in inflammation. The importance of inflammation in cancer has been well established in the past decades.

Multi-centre study found that strict adherence to guidelines led to computed tomography scans being overused in children with minor head injuries.

Aim: Our primary aim was to calculate the head computed tomography (CT) scan rate in children with a minor head injury (MHI) when the Dutch National guidelines were followed in clinical practice. The secondary aim was to determine the incidence of CT abnormalities and the guideline predictors associated with traumatic abnormalities.

Methods: We performed a multi-centre, prospective observational cross-sectional study in the emergency departments of six hospitals in The Netherlands between 1 April 2015 and 31 December 2016.

A Review of Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an aerobic, non-spore-forming, non-motile bacillus that causes tuberculosis of both pulmonary and extrapulmonary sites. Though nationwide 66 percent of reported tuberculosis cases occur in foreign-born individuals, these individuals only contributed to 29 percent of the cases in South Dakota in 2015, whereas most of our cases were found in citizens born in the U.S.

Atypical Presentations of Tularemia.

Francisella tularensis is a gram-negative coccobacillus that causes a condition commonly referred to as tularemia. There has been a dramatic increase in tularemia cases reported in South Dakota, many of which were challenging to diagnose due to atypical clinical manifestations. We describe an interesting case of pneumonic tularemia and summarize six similar cases, several of which presented with lung nodules suggestive of malignancy.

Zinc protoporphyrin/heme ratio as parameter of iron status in moderately preterm infants: natural course and associations in the first 4 months.

Objective: To determine the natural course of zinc protoporphyrin/heme ratio (ZnPP/H) and its role in the detection of iron deficiency (ID) and iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) in the first 4 months of life in moderately preterm infants.

Study Design: ZnPP/H was measured at 1 week, 6 weeks and 4 months postnatal age in a prospective cohort of 161 Dutch infants born at a gestational age of 32+0 to 36+6 weeks who did not receive an erythrocyte transfusion or iron supplementation.

Results: ZnPP/H levels decreased in the first 6 weeks and increased thereafter.

Fully Compressible Low-Mach Number Simulations of Carbon-dioxide at Supercritical Pressures and Trans-critical Temperatures.

This work investigates fully developed turbulent flows of carbon-dioxide close to its vapour-liquid critical point in a channel with a hot and a cold wall. Two direct numerical simulations are performed at low Mach numbers, with the trans-critical transition near the channel centre and the cold wall, respectively. An additional simulation with constant transport properties is used to selectively investigate the effect of the non-linear equation of state on turbulence.

Predictive factors of iron depletion in late preterm infants at the postnatal age of 6 weeks.

Background/objectives: Late preterm infants (born ⩾32 weeks of gestation) are at risk for developing iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia, and this may lead to impaired neurodevelopment. In the Netherlands, there is no guideline for standardised iron supplementation in these infants. Individualised iron supplementation has been suggested (that is, treating those infants with the highest risk), but risk factors for deprived iron stores in this specific group of infants are not well documented.

Serum hepcidin in infants born after 32 to 37 wk of gestational age.

Background: Preterm infants are at risk of iron deficiency (ID). Hepcidin has been suggested as a good additional indicator of ID in preterm infants, next to ferritin.

Methods: In a prospective observational study, we analyzed serum hepcidin in 111 infants born after 32+0 to 36+6 wk gestational age during the first 4 mo of life.

Collision model for fully resolved simulations of flows laden with finite-size particles.

We present a collision model for particle-particle and particle-wall interactions in interface-resolved simulations of particle-laden flows. Three types of interparticle interactions are taken into account: (1) long- and (2) short-range hydrodynamic interactions, and (3) solid-solid contact. Long-range interactions are incorporated through an efficient and second-order-accurate immersed boundary method (IBM).

Iron deficiency in the first 6 months of age in infants born between 32 and 37 weeks of gestational age.

Background/objectives: Preterm infants are at risk of iron deficiency (ID). In the Netherlands, preterm infants born after 32 weeks of gestational age (GA) do not receive iron supplementation on a routine basis. We hypothesized that dietary iron intake in these infants might not be sufficient to meet the high iron requirements during the first 6 months of life.

Household income is associated with the p53 mutation frequency in human breast tumors.

Background: A study from Scotland reported that the p53 mutation frequency in breast tumors is associated with socio-economic deprivation.

Methods: We analyzed the association of the tumor p53 mutational status with tumor characteristics, education, and self-reported annual household income (HI) among 173 breast cancer patients from the greater Baltimore area, United States.

Results: p53 mutational frequency was significantly associated with HI.

Vaccination and the health care worker.

Historically, health care worker vaccination has been a strategy to protect the health care worker from infectious work related risk. This article will discuss the transition to health care worker vaccination as a key patient safety initiative for hospitals and health care systems. As the case is evolving toward mandatory influenza vaccination of health care workers, we have outlined key success factors for a voluntary program in a rural frontier referral hospital.

Pseudothrombocytopenia in a neonate due to mother?

Unlabelled: Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-dependent pseudothrombocytopenia (PTCP) is the phenomenon of a false low platelet count reported by an automated haematology analyzer due to in vitro aggregation of platelets. This aggregation is due to the interaction between antibodies and EDTA-dependent crypt antigens on platelets. We observed a new born child whose mother was diagnosed with transient PTCP due to transplacental transmission of maternal immunoglobulin G antibodies during pregnancy.

Sildenafil enhances systolic adaptation, but does not prevent diastolic dysfunction, in the pressure-loaded right ventricle.

Aim: Right ventricular (RV) failure due to pressure or volume overload is a major risk factor for early mortality in congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension, but currently treatments are lacking. We aimed to demonstrate that the phosphodiesterase 5A inhibitor sildenafil can prevent adverse remodelling and improve function in chronic abnormal RV overload, independent from effects on the pulmonary vasculature.

Methods And Results: In rat models of either pressure or volume overload, we performed pressure-volume studies to measure haemodynamic effects and voluntary exercise testing as clinical outcome after 4 weeks of sildenafil (or vehicle) administration.

PIV quantification of the flow induced by an ultrasonic horn and numerical modeling of the flow and related processing times.

The flow in a confined container induced by an ultrasonic horn is measured by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). This flow is caused by acoustic streaming and highly influenced by the presence of cavitation. The jet-like experimentally observed flow is compared with the available theoretical solution for a turbulent free round jet.

[Cardiorespiratory events after first immunization in premature infants: a prospective cohort study].

Objective: To investigate whether all preterm infants born before 33 weeks of gestation need cardiorespiratory monitoring due to the risk of cardiorespiratory disturbances following their first vaccination at 2 months of age.

Design: A prospective observational cohort study.

Method: During a period lasting a little over a year, all preterm infants who were being cared for at the neonatal ward of Medical Centre Alkmaar because they had been born before 33 weeks of gestation received their first immunization at the age of 2 months and were subsequently monitored.

Differential responses of the right ventricle to abnormal loading conditions in mice: pressure vs. volume load.

Aims: Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction is a major determinant of long-term morbidity and mortality in congenital heart disease. The right ventricle (RV) is genetically different from the left ventricle (LV), but it is unknown as to whether this has consequences for the cellular responses to abnormal loading conditions. In the LV, calcineurin-activation is a major determinant of pathological hypertrophy and an important target for therapeutic strategies.

Mast cell inhibition improves pulmonary vascular remodeling in pulmonary hypertension.

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive angioproliferative disease with high morbidity and mortality. Although the histopathology is well described, its pathogenesis is largely unknown. We previously identified the increased presence of mast cells and their markers in a rat model of flow-associated PAH.