Competitive Microarray Screening Reveals Functional Ligands for the DHX15 RNA G-Quadruplex.

RNAs are increasingly considered valuable therapeutic targets, and the development of methods to identify and validate both RNA targets and ligands is more important than ever. Here, we utilized a bioinformatic approach to identify a hairpin-containing RNA G-quadruplex (rG4) in the 5' untranslated region (5' UTR) of mRNA. By using a novel competitive small molecule microarray (SMM) approach, we identified a compound that specifically binds to the rG4 ( = 12.

Preliminary evaluation of a smartphone application (DelApp) for identification of delirium in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: In sub-Saharan Africa, there are no validated screening tools for delirium in older adults, despite the known vulnerability of older people to delirium and the associated adverse outcomes. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a brief smartphone-based assessment of arousal and attention (DelApp) in the identification of delirium amongst older adults admitted to the medical department of a tertiary referral hospital in Northern Tanzania.

Method: Consecutive admissions were screened using the DelApp during a larger study of delirium prevalence and risk factors.

Influences on indoor environmental trigger remediation uptake for children and young people with asthma: A scoping review.

Introduction: Children and young people (CYP) with asthma can benefit from reduced exposure to indoor environmental allergens and triggers but may not consistently have avoidance strategies implemented. To inform future interventions to increase trigger and allergen avoidance and enhance asthma control, a greater understanding of the influences on avoidance behaviours is necessary.

Methods: A systematic scoping review was selected to summarize evidence on what influences family uptake of indoor environmental asthma trigger avoidance strategies for CYP with asthma and identify research gaps.

Risk of serious COVID-19 outcomes among adults and children with moderate-to-severe asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in the United Kingdom requested an evidence synthesis to investigate the relationship between asthma and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes.

Objective: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarise evidence on the risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes in people with uncontrolled asthma or markers of asthma severity.

Methods: High-dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) or oral corticosteroids (OCS) were used as markers of asthma severity, following international or national asthma guidelines.

Chemical explosion, COVID-19, and environmental justice: Insights from low-cost air quality sensors.

Objectives: To examine the impact of the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) fire and COVID-19 on airborne particulate matter (PM) concentrations and the PM disproportionally affecting communities in Houston using low-cost sensors.

Methods: We compared measurements from a network of low-cost sensors with a separate network of monitors from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Houston metropolitan area from Mar 18, 2019, to Dec 31, 2020. Further, we examined the associations between neighborhood-level sociodemographic status and air pollution patterns by linking the low-cost sensor data to EPA environmental justice screening and mapping systems.

Use of Identical INN "Imiglucerase" for Different Drug Products: Impact Analysis of Adverse Events in a Proprietary Global Safety Database.

Introduction: Approved in 1994 and assigned the International Nonproprietary Name (INN) imiglucerase by the World Health Organization, Cerezyme (Sanofi Genzyme) is an enzyme replacement therapy used to treat Gaucher disease in > 90 countries. At least two therapies approved outside the USA and the European Union, Abcertin and Asbroder, have adopted the identical INN imiglucerase. Both drugs were approved via regulatory pathways not aligned with World Health Organization Similar Biotherapeutic Product guidelines.

Responding to Natural and Industrial Disasters: Partnerships and Lessons Learned.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to provide insights learned from disaster research response (DR2) efforts following Hurricane Harvey in 2017 to launch DR2 activities following the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) fire in Deer Park, Texas, in 2019.

Methods: A multidisciplinary group of academic, community, and government partners launched a myriad of DR2 activities.

Results: The DR2 response to Hurricane Harvey focused on enhancing environmental health literacy around clean-up efforts, measuring environmental contaminants in soil and water in impacted neighborhoods, and launching studies to evaluate the health impact of the disaster.

Pregnancy outcome in women with Gaucher disease type 1 who had unplanned pregnancies during eliglustat clinical trials.

Gaucher disease type 1 (GD1) is an inherited lysosomal storage disorder caused by deficient enzymatic activity of acid β-glucosidase, resulting in accumulation of its substrate glucosylceramide, leading to debilitating visceral, hematologic, and skeletal manifestations. Women with GD1 are at increased risk for complications during pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum. Treatment with enzyme replacement therapy is generally recommended before and during pregnancy to reduce risks.

Supporting Parents Living in Disadvantaged Areas of Edinburgh to Create a Smoke-Free Home Using Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT): A Two-Phase Qualitative Study.

Exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) in the home is largely associated with socio-economic disadvantage. Disadvantaged parents face specific challenges creating a smoke-free home, often caring for children in accommodation without access to outdoor garden space. Existing smoke-free home interventions largely fail to accommodate these constraints.

Stigma and Smoking in the Home: Parents' Accounts of Using Nicotine Replacement Therapy to Protect Their Children from Second-Hand Smoke.

Evidence and campaigns highlighting smoking and second-hand smoke risks have significantly reduced smoking prevalence and denormalised smoking in the home in Scotland. However, smoking prevalence remains disproportionally high in socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. Using stigma as a theoretical lens, this article presents a thematic analysis of parents' accounts of attempting to abstain from smoking at home, using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), in disadvantaged areas of Edinburgh and the Lothians.

HGBEnviroScreen: Enabling Community Action through Data Integration in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria Region.

The Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) region faces numerous environmental and public health challenges from both natural disasters and industrial activity, but the historically disadvantaged communities most often impacted by such risks have limited ability to access and utilize big data for advocacy efforts. We developed HGBEnviroScreen to identify and prioritize regions of heightened vulnerability, in part to assist communities in understanding risk factors and developing environmental justice action plans. While similar in objectives to existing environmental justice tools, HGBEnviroScreen is unique in its ability to integrate and visualize national and local data to address regional concerns.

Characterizing Elevated Urban Air Pollutant Spatial Patterns with Mobile Monitoring in Houston, Texas.

Diverse urban air pollution sources contribute to spatially variable atmospheric concentrations, with important public health implications. Mobile monitoring shows promise for understanding spatial pollutant patterns, yet it is unclear whether uncertainties associated with temporally sparse sampling and instrument performance limit our ability to identify locations of elevated pollution. To address this question, we analyze 9 months of repeated weekday daytime on-road mobile measurements of black carbon (BC), particle number (PN), and nitrogen oxide (NO, NO) concentrations within 24 census tracts across Houston, Texas.

Review of Cerliponase Alfa: Recombinant Human Enzyme Replacement Therapy for Late-Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis Type 2.

The objective of this review is to summarize the pharmacology, efficacy, and safety of cerliponase alfa for the treatment of late infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2 (CLN2). Cerliponase alfa is recombinant human tripeptidyl peptidase 1 enzyme replacement therapy. A phase 1/2 trial established the efficacy and safety of cerliponase alfa for treatment of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2.

Long-term adverse event profile from four completed trials of oral eliglustat in adults with Gaucher disease type 1.

Background: Eliglustat is a first-line oral treatment for adults with Gaucher disease type 1 who have an extensive, intermediate or poor CYP2D6 metabolizer phenotype (> 90% of patients). Whereas enzyme replacement therapy for Gaucher disease has been widely used for more than two decades, eliglustat has only been in commercial use since 2014. Clinicians and patients want to better understand which adverse events are most commonly associated with eliglustat, as well as their severity, frequency, and duration.

"We never speak about death." Healthcare professionals' views on palliative care for inpatients in Tanzania: A qualitative study.

Unlabelled: ABSTRACTObjective:Little is known about the current views and practices of healthcare professionals (HCPs) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) regarding delivery of hospital palliative care. The present qualitative study explored the views of nursing staff and medical professionals on providing palliative and end-of-life care (EoLC) to hospital inpatients in Tanzania.

Method: Focus group discussions were conducted with a purposive sample of HCPs working on the medical and pediatric wards of the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, a tertiary referral hospital in northern Tanzania.

The American Society for Clinical Pathology's 2014 vacancy survey of medical laboratories in the United States.

Objectives: To determine the extent and distribution of workforce shortages within the nation's medical laboratories. Historically, the results of this biennial survey have served as a basis for additional research on laboratory recruitment, retention, education, marketing, certification, and advocacy.

Methods: The 2014 Vacancy Survey was conducted through collaboration between American Society for Clinical Pathology's Institute of Science, Technology, and Policy in Washington, DC, and the Evaluation, Measurement, and Assessment Department and Board of Certification in Chicago, Illinois.

Feedback-amplified electrochemical dual-plate boron-doped diamond microtrench detector for flow injection analysis.

An electrochemical flow cell with a boron-doped diamond dual-plate microtrench electrode has been developed and demonstrated for hydroquinone flow injection electroanalysis in phosphate buffer pH 7. Using the electrochemical generator-collector feedback detector improves the sensitivity by one order of magnitude (when compared to a single working electrode detector). The diffusion process is switched from an analyte consuming "external" process to an analyte regenerating "internal" process with benefits in selectivity and sensitivity.

Cavity transport effects in generator-collector electrochemical analysis of nitrobenzene.

Two types of generator-collector electrode systems, (i) a gold-gold interdigitated microband array and (ii) a gold-gold dual-plate microtrench, are compared for nitrobenzene electroanalysis in aerated aqueous 0.1 M NaOH. The complexity of the nitrobenzene reduction in conjunction with the presence of ambient levels of oxygen in the analysis solution provide a challenging problem in which feedback-amplified generator-collector steady state currents provide the analytical signal.

Generator-collector double electrode systems: a review.

A variety of generator-collector systems are reviewed, from the original rotating ring-disc electrodes developed in the 1950s, to very recent developments using new geometries and microelectrodes. An overview of both theoretical and experimental aspects are given, and the power of these double electrode systems in analytical electrochemistry is illustrated with a range of applications.

The impact of age-related macular degeneration on health status utility values.

Purpose: To estimate health status utility values in patients with age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) associated with visual impairments, by using preference-based measures of health.

Method: This was a cross-sectional study involving patients with unilateral or bilateral ARMD who attended a large teaching hospital. Patients underwent visual tests (near and distant visual acuity [VA] and contrast sensitivity [CS]) and completed health status questionnaires including the Index of Visual Function (VF)-14 and three preference-based measures (the Health Utilities Index Mark III [HUI-3], the EuroQoL Health Questionnaire [EQ-5D], and the Short Form 6D Health Status Questionnaire [SF-6D]) and the time tradeoff (TTO).