Extensive immunophenotypic sub-population analysis of StemRegenin1 expanded haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells.

Background: Ex vivo haematopoietic stem/progenitor cell (HSPCs) expansion constitutes an important area of research, and has the potential to improve access to umbilical cord blood (UCB) as a source of stem cells for haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The ability to improve stem cell dose and thereby reduce delayed engraftment times, which has plagued the use of UCB as a stem cell source since inception, is a recognised advantage. The extent to which cluster of differentiation (CD)34 sub-populations are affected by expansion with StemRegenin1 (SR1), and whether a particular subtype may account for better engraftment than others, is currently unknown.

"It's different than a doctor saying 'You're making the right choice'": A qualitative study of chaplains' experience caring for patients undergoing abortion in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

Objectives: Health care chaplains are faith providers with theological education, pastoral experience, and clinical training who provide spiritual care to patients, their families, and medical staff. This study sought to characterize chaplains' experiences providing spiritual care for patients experiencing abortion and pregnancy loss and to explore how chaplains gain competency and comfort in providing pastoral care for this patient population.

Study Design: Researchers conducted in-depth, semistructured, qualitative interviews with currently-practicing chaplains recruited via convenience sampling in the Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia region.

Mental health, chronic and infectious conditions among pregnant persons in US state prisons and local jails 2016-2017.

Background: Pregnant individuals in incarcerated settings have unique healthcare needs. Rates of mental health, infectious diseases, and chronic disease are higher among nonpregnant incarcerated women compared with those who are not, but the prevalence of these conditions among pregnant people in custody has not been documented.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to describe the prevalence of metabolic, infectious, and mental health conditions in pregnant people to identify the medical needs of high-risk pregnancies in US state prisons and local jails.

Haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation in an HIV endemic area: time to consider donors exposed to or living with HIV.

South Africa has more than 8 million people living with HIV. However, the number of patients undergoing haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) in South Africa is far below the target number. Donor numbers are insufficient to meet demand.

Cellular therapy in lymphoma.

CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has had a dramatic impact on the natural history and survival of patients with high-risk B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Accompanying this success has been the development of new fields of medicine and investigation into toxicity risks and mitigation therapies, mechanisms of resistance and the development of novel and next generation products and strategies in order to address relapse, and issues related to global access and health care economics. This article is a survey of each of these areas as it pertains to the rapidly evolving field of CAR T-cell therapy, written by an International community of lymphoma experts, who also happen to be women.

Optimizing Pediatric Mask Induction Fresh Gas Flow.

Introduction: The environmental impact of inhaled anesthetics is a subject of increasing research. However, little attention has been paid to optimizing high-concentration volatile anesthetics during the inhalational (mask) inductions that begin most pediatric anesthetics.

Methods: The performance of the GE Datex Ohmeda TEC 7 sevoflurane vaporizer was analyzed at different fresh gas flow (FGF) rates and two clinically relevant ambient temperatures.

Exploring Bias in Scientific Peer Review: An ASCO Initiative.

Purpose: To investigate implicit bias (IB) in the peer review process across ASCO and Conquer Cancer Foundation and to propose potential mitigation strategies.

Materials And Methods: We, ASCO Working Group on Implicit Bias, selected four data sources: (1) literature search [(a) defining IB in peer review, (b) evidence of IB in peer review, and (c) strategies to mitigate IB]; (2) created and analyzed an ASCO database for sex, race, and institutional affiliation regarding peer review success; (3) constructed and conducted qualitative interviews of key stakeholders within the ASCO board, publications, and grants committee, on experience with IB within ASCO; and (4) constructed, delivered, and analyzed results of member survey on perception of IB within ASCO.

Results: Historically uncommon, PubMed articles on IB in peer review subsequently increased exponentially in the past 2 decades.

Childhood aplastic anaemia with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria clones: A retrospective single-centre study in South Africa.

Background: Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) clones in children are rare but commonly associated with aplastic anaemia (AA) and myelodysplasia.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of PNH clones in paediatric patients with idiopathic AA, identify differences in clinical and laboratory features and outcomes, and determine the impact of clone size on clinical presentation.

Methods: Patients with confirmed idiopathic AA who were tested for PNH between September 2013 and January 2018 at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, were included.

Discordance between HIV-1 Population in Plasma at Rebound after Structured Treatment Interruption and Archived Provirus Population in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) can sustain the suppression of plasma viremia to below detection levels. Infected individuals undergoing a treatment interruption exhibit rapid viral rebound in plasma viremia which is fueled by cellular reservoirs such as CD4 T cells, myeloid cells, and potentially uncharacterized cellular sources. Interrogating the populations of viruses found during analytical treatment interruption (ATI) can give insights into the biologically competent reservoirs that persist under effective ART as well as the nature of the cellular reservoirs that enable viral persistence under ART.

Conducting Randomized Controlled Trials of Complex Interventions in Prisons: A Sisyphean Task?

Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) are the "gold standard" for measuring the effectiveness of an intervention. However, they have their limitations and are especially complex in prison settings. Several systematic reviews have highlighted some of the issues, including, institutional constraints e.

Social Media and COVID-19-Perceptions and Public Deceptions of Ivermectin, Colchicine and Hydroxychloroquine: Lessons for Future Pandemics.

The capacity for social media to influence the utilization of re-purposed medicines to manage COVID-19, despite limited availability of safety and efficacy data, is a cause for concern within health care systems. This study sought to ascertain links between social media reports and utilization for three re-purposed medicines: hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), ivermectin and colchicine. A combined retrospective analysis of social media posts for these three re-purposed medicines was undertaken, along with utilization and clinical trials data, in South Africa, between January 2020 and June 2021.

Coronavirus Host Genetics South Africa (COHG-SA) database-a variant database for gene regions associated with SARS-CoV-2 outcomes.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is responsible for the COVID-19 global public health emergency, and the disease it causes is highly variable in its clinical presentation. Clinical phenotypes are heterogeneous both in terms of presentation of symptoms in the host and response to therapy. Several studies and initiatives have been established to analyse and review host genetic epidemiology associated with COVID-19.

Regenerative medicines: A new regulatory paradigm for South Africa.

Clinicians are increasingly using regenerative medicines to repair, replace, regenerate or rejuvenate lost, damaged or diseased genes, cells, tissues or organs. In South Africa, access to these novel gene therapies and cell and tissue-based products is limited. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) diversity and a paucity of suitable HLA-identical unrelated donors, results in limited access to haematopoietic stem and progenitor cell transplantation (HSPCT).

Spotlight on International Quality: COVID-19 and Its Impact on Quality Improvement in Cancer Care.

This report from ASCO's International Quality Steering Group summarizes early learnings on how the COVID-19 pandemic and its stresses have disproportionately affected cancer care delivery and its delivery systems across the world. This article shares perspectives from eight different countries, including Austria, Brazil, Ghana, Honduras, Ireland, the Philippines, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, which provide insight to their unique issues, challenges, and barriers to quality improvement in cancer care during the pandemic. These perspectives shed light on some key recommendations applicable on a global scale and focus on access to care, importance of expanding and developing new treatments for both COVID-19 and cancer, access to telemedicine, collecting and using COVID-19 and cancer registry data, establishing measures and guidelines to further enhance quality of care, and expanding communication among governments, health care systems, and health care providers.

Bacteraemia and antibiotic sensitivity in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit.

Background: Neonatal sepsis is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in neonatal intensive care populations worldwide. Data on rates of bacteraemia and antibiotic resistance patterns are limited, particularly in the developing world.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed positive blood cultures obtained in the neonatal intensive care unit between 01 January 2015 and 31 December 2015.

Perfusion Parameters in Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging with Indocyanine Green: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

(1) Background: Near-infrared fluorescence imaging is a technique capable of assessing tissue perfusion and has been adopted in various fields including plastic surgery, vascular surgery, coronary arterial disease, and gastrointestinal surgery. While the usefulness of this technique has been broadly explored, there is a large variety in the calculation of perfusion parameters. In this systematic review, we aim to provide a detailed overview of current perfusion parameters, and determine the perfusion parameters with the most potential for application in near-infrared fluorescence imaging.

The Interplay of HIV-1 and Macrophages in Viral Persistence.

HIV-1 has evolved mechanisms to evade host cell immune responses and persist for lifelong infection. Latent cellular reservoirs are responsible for this persistence of HIV-1 despite the powerful effects of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART) to control circulating viral load. While cellular reservoirs have been extensively studied, much of these studies have focused on peripheral blood and resting memory CD4+ T cells containing latent HIV-1 provirus; however, efforts to eradicate cellular reservoirs have been stunted by reservoirs found in tissues compartments that are not easily accessible.