Koala MHCII association with chlamydia infertility remains equivocal: a need for new research approaches.

Chlamydiosis is a common infectious disease impacting koalas and is a major cause of population decline due to resulting mortality and infertility. Polymorphisms of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes influence chlamydial disease outcomes in several species but koala studies have produced variable results. We aimed to identify the MHC II DAB and DBB repertoire of koalas from Liverpool Plains, NSW, a population heavily impacted by chlamydiosis.

The prevalence and prognostic significance of Sarcopenia and Adipopenia in Pleural Mesothelioma.

Introduction: Altered body composition is associated with adverse survival in multiple cancers. We determined the prevalence, prognostic significance and clinicopathological correlates of sarcopenia and adipopenia in Pleural Mesothelioma (PM) patients receiving chemotherapy.

Methods: We performed a multi-centre retrospective cohort study.

Selective Depletion of Staphylococcus aureus Restores the Skin Microbiome and Accelerates Tissue Repair after Injury.

Our skin is home to a diverse community of commensal microorganisms integral to cutaneous function. However, microbial dysbiosis and barrier perturbation increase the risk of local and systemic infection. Staphylococcus aureus is a particularly problematic bacterial pathogen, with high levels of antimicrobial resistance and direct association with poor healing outcome.

Multivariate analysis of metabolic state vulnerabilities across diverse cancer contexts reveals synthetically lethal associations.

Targeting the distinct metabolic needs of tumor cells has recently emerged as a promising strategy for cancer therapy. The heterogeneous, context-dependent nature of cancer cell metabolism, however, poses challenges in identifying effective therapeutic interventions. Here, we utilize various unsupervised and supervised multivariate modeling approaches to systematically pinpoint recurrent metabolic states within hundreds of cancer cell lines, elucidate their association with tumor lineage and growth environments, and uncover vulnerabilities linked to their metabolic states across diverse genetic and tissue contexts.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Outcomes for Patients with Lung Cancer Receiving Curative-intent Radiotherapy in the UK.

Aims: Previous work found that during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, 34% of patients with lung cancer treated with curative-intent radiotherapy in the UK had a change to their centre's usual standard of care treatment (Banfill et al. Clin Oncol 2022;34:19-27). We present the impact of these changes on patient outcomes.

Body composition and lung cancer-associated cachexia in TRACERx.

Cancer-associated cachexia (CAC) is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in individuals with non-small cell lung cancer. Key features of CAC include alterations in body composition and body weight. Here, we explore the association between body composition and body weight with survival and delineate potential biological processes and mediators that contribute to the development of CAC.

Fully automated volumetric measurement of malignant pleural mesothelioma by deep learning AI: validation and comparison with modified RECIST response criteria.

Background: In malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), complex tumour morphology results in inconsistent radiological response assessment. Promising volumetric methods require automation to be practical. We developed a fully automated Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for this purpose, performed blinded validation and compared CNN and human response classification and survival prediction in patients treated with chemotherapy.

Imaging in pleural mesothelioma: A review of the 15th International Conference of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group.

Imaging of mesothelioma plays a role in all aspects of patient management, including disease detection, staging, evaluation of treatment options, response assessment, pre-surgical evaluation, and surveillance. Imaging in this disease impacts a wide range of disciplines throughout the healthcare enterprise. Researchers and clinician-scientists are developing state-of-the-art techniques to extract more of the information contained within these medical images and to utilize it for more sophisticated tasks; moreover, image-acquisition technology is advancing the inherent capabilities of these images.

Site Fidelity is Associated with Food Provisioning and Salmonella in an Urban Wading Bird.

Food provisioning can change wildlife pathogen dynamics by altering host susceptibility via nutrition and/or through shifts in foraging behavior and space use. We used the American white ibis (Eudocimus albus), a wading bird increasingly observed in urban parks, as a model to study synergistic relationships between food provisioning and infection risk across an urban gradient in South Florida. We tested whether Salmonella prevalence was associated with changes in ibis diet (stable isotope analysis), space use (site fidelity via GPS tracking), and local density (flock size).

PPA2-associated sudden cardiac death: extending the clinical and allelic spectrum in 20 new families.

Purpose: Biallelic hypomorphic variants in PPA2, encoding the mitochondrial inorganic pyrophosphatase 2 protein, have been recently identified in individuals presenting with sudden cardiac death, occasionally triggered by alcohol intake or a viral infection. Here we report 20 new families harboring PPA2 variants.

Methods: Synthesis of clinical and molecular data concerning 34 individuals harboring five previously reported PPA2 variants and 12 novel variants, 11 of which were functionally characterized.

Clinical, pathological and genetic characteristics of Perry disease-new cases and literature review.

Background And Purpose: Perry disease (or Perry syndrome) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder characterized by parkinsonism, neuropsychiatric symptoms, central hypoventilation, weight loss and distinct TDP-43 pathology. It is caused by mutations of the DCTN1 gene encoding an essential component of axonal transport. The objectives were to provide the current state of knowledge on clinical, pathological and genetic aspects of Perry disease, as well as practical suggestions for the management of the disease.

The Association Between Pleural Fluid Exposure and Survival in Pleural Mesothelioma.

Background: Most patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) seek treatment with malignant pleural effusion (MPE). In vitro evidence suggests that MPE may not be a simple bystander of malignancy, but rather potentially has biological properties that improve cancer cell survival and promote cancer progression. If this is the case, MPE management may need to shift from current symptomatic strategies to aggressive fluid removal to impact survival.

Expanding the clinical and radiological phenotypes of leukoencephalopathy due to biallelic HMBS mutations.

Pathogenic heterozygous variants in HMBS encoding the enzyme hydroxymethylbilane synthase (HMBS), also known as porphobilinogen deaminase, cause acute intermittent porphyria (AIP). Biallelic variants in HMBS have been reported in a small number of children with severe progressive neurological disease and in three adult siblings with a more slowly, progressive neurological disease and distinct leukoencephalopathy. We report three further adult individuals who share a distinct pattern of white matter abnormality on brain MRI in association with biallelic variants in HMBS, two individuals with homozygous variants, and one with compound-heterozygous variants.

Human Ex vivo Wound Model and Whole-Mount Staining Approach to Accurately Evaluate Skin Repair.

Chronic non-healing wounds, which primarily affect the elderly and diabetic, are a significant area of clinical unmet need. Unfortunately, current chronic wound treatments are inadequate, while available pre-clinical models poorly predict the clinical efficacy of new therapies. Here we describe a high throughput, pre-clinical model to assess multiple aspects of the human skin repair response.

The Detection of Lymphatic Invasion in Colorectal Polyp Cancer Using D2-40 Immunohistochemistry and Its Association With Prognosis.

Introduction The aim of this study was to compare the detection of lymphatic invasion using haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining versus D2-40 immunostaining on specimens from a retrospective cohort of patients with colorectal polyp cancer and to investigate the association of lymphatic invasion, detected by either method, with survival. Methods Specimens from patients with pathologically diagnosed colorectal polyp cancer were selected from the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Bowel Cancer Screening Registry for D2-40 immunohistochemistry staining. Clinicopathological information was retrieved from patient electronic records including analysis of pathology reports to determine if a lymphatic invasion was detected using H&E staining.

Chest drain aerosol generation in COVID-19 and emission reduction using a simple anti-viral filter.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has been characterised by significant in-hospital virus transmission and deaths among healthcare workers. Sources of in-hospital transmission are not fully understood, with special precautions currently reserved for procedures previously shown to generate aerosols (particles <5 μm). Pleural procedures are not currently considered AGPs (Aerosol Generating Procedures), reflecting a lack of data in this area.

A comparison between MRI and CT in the assessment of primary tumour volume in mesothelioma.

Introduction: Primary tumour staging in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) using Computed Tomography (CT) imaging is confounded by perception errors reflecting low spatial resolution between tumour and adjacent structures. Augmentation using perfusion CT is constrained by radiation dosage. In this study, we evaluated an alternative tumour staging method using perfusion-tuned Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

Developing a web-based patient decision aid for gastrostomy in motor neuron disease: a study protocol.

Introduction: Motor neuron disease (MND) is a progressive, incurable disease, characterised by degeneration of the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Due to the multisystem effects of the disease, patients are faced with many complex, time-sensitive decisions, one of which is the decision on gastrostomy feeding. There are currently no published decision aids (DAs) to support patients making this decision in the UK.

Cancer cachexia in thoracic malignancy: a narrative review.

Purpose Of Review: Thoracic malignancies are amongst the most lethal of all cancers. Cancer cachexia lacks unanimously accepted diagnostic criteria, and therefore is referenced to as a conceptual framework whereby cancer cachexia is 'an ongoing loss of skeletal muscle mass (termed sarcopenia), with or without loss of fat mass that cannot be reversed by conventional nutritional support and leads to progressive functional impairment'. This review summarises the current evidence base in this field, including imaging techniques currently used to define sarcopenia, inflammatory and metabolic changes associated with the syndrome and ongoing research into potential treatment strategies.

Inter-observer variation in image interpretation and the prognostic importance of non-expansile lung in malignant pleural effusion.

Background And Objective: Non-expansile lung (NEL) frequently complicates management of malignant pleural effusion (MPE) and is an important factor in clinical practice and trials. NEL is frequently diagnosed on a single radiographic observation, but neither the inter-observer agreement of this approach nor the prognostic importance of NEL in MPE has been reported.

Methods: A multicentre retrospective cohort study was performed in two UK pleural centres.

Pre-EDIT: A Randomized Feasibility Trial of Elastance-Directed Intrapleural Catheter or Talc Pleurodesis in Malignant Pleural Effusion.

Background: Talc slurry pleurodesis (TSP) prevents recurrence of symptomatic malignant pleural effusion (MPE) in 71% to 78% patients. Nonexpansile lung (NEL) frequently accounts for TSP failure but is often occult predrainage, impairing selection of patients. NEL is associated with high pleural elastance (P), but technical limitations have hampered the development of P as a predictive NEL marker.