Clinical translation of tissue-engineered oesophageal grafts: are patients ready for us?

Purpose: We sought to engage with expert patient/carers to understand attitudes towards use of tissue engineering (TE) for long-gap oesophageal atresia (OA).

Methods: An in-person engagement event for 70 patients/parents was held by the OA patient group, TOFS. Attitudes towards TE were assessed before and after a talk on use of TE oesophagi in a pre-clinical OA model.

"How I would like AI used for my imaging": children and young persons' perspectives.

Objectives: Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are becoming more available in modern healthcare, particularly in radiology, although less attention has been paid to applications for children and young people. In the development of these, it is critical their views are heard.

Materials And Methods: A national, online survey was publicised to UK schools, universities and charity partners encouraging any child or young adult to participate.

Engaging children and young people on the potential role of artificial intelligence in medicine.

Introduction: There is increasing interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its application to medicine. Perceptions of AI are less well-known, notably amongst children and young people (CYP). This workshop investigates attitudes towards AI and its future applications in medicine and healthcare at a specialised paediatric hospital using practical design scenarios.

Enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma manifesting as non-specific abdominal pain: A case report highlighting the dangers of relying on Google Translate for clinical history taking.

We present the case of a 60-year-old man with non-specific abdominal pain. We explore how communication between doctor and patient was challenged by a language barrier. We also consider how the ability to take an accurate clinical history differed between Google Translate and an accredited medical phone translation service.

Reduced exposure evaluation of an Electrically Heated Cigarette Smoking System. Part 8: Nicotine bridging--estimating smoke constituent exposure by their relationships to both nicotine levels in mainstream cigarette smoke and in smokers.

A modeling approach termed 'nicotine bridging' is presented to estimate exposure to mainstream smoke constituents. The method is based on: (1) determination of harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHC) and in vitro toxicity parameter-to-nicotine regressions obtained using multiple machine-smoking protocols, (2) nicotine uptake distributions determined from 24-h excretion of nicotine metabolites in a clinical study, and (3) modeled HPHC uptake distributions using steps 1 and 2. An example of 'nicotine bridging' is provided, using a subset of the data reported in Part 2 of this supplement (Zenzen et al.

Scientific assessment of the use of sugars as cigarette tobacco ingredients: a review of published and other publicly available studies.

Sugars, such as sucrose or invert sugar, have been used as tobacco ingredients in American-blend cigarettes to replenish the sugars lost during curing of the Burley component of the blended tobacco in order to maintain a balanced flavor. Chemical-analytical studies of the mainstream smoke of research cigarettes with various sugar application levels revealed that most of the smoke constituents determined did not show any sugar-related changes in yields (per mg nicotine), while ten constituents were found to either increase (formaldehyde, acrolein, 2-butanone, isoprene, benzene, toluene, benzo[k]fluoranthene) or decrease (4-aminobiphenyl, N-nitrosodimethylamine, N-nitrosonornicotine) in a statistically significant manner with increasing sugar application levels. Such constituent yields were modeled into constituent uptake distributions using simulations of nicotine uptake distributions generated on the basis of published nicotine biomonitoring data, which were multiplied by the constituent/nicotine ratios determined in the current analysis.

Biomonitoring of smoke constituents: exposure to 4-aminobiphenyl and 4-aminobiphenyl hemoglobin adduct levels in nonsmokers and smokers.

Public health authorities worldwide have concluded that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) causes diseases, including cancer, in adult nonsmokers. The arylamine, 4-aminobiphenyl (4-ABP), has been identified as a human carcinogen. Some publications have suggested that 4-ABP hemoglobin (4-ABP-Hb) adduct levels in nonsmokers are a result of exposure to ETS, whereas others could not confirm these observations.

Distribution analysis of airborne nicotine concentrations in hospitality facilities.

A number of publications report statistical summaries for environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) concentrations. Despite compelling evidence for the data not being normally distributed, these publications typically report the arithmetic mean and standard deviation of the data, thereby losing important information related to the distribution of values contained in the original data. We were interested in the frequency distributions of reported nicotine concentrations in hospitality environments and subjected available data to distribution analyses.

Assessment of nicotine uptake from cigarette smoke: comparison of a colorimetric test strip (NicCheck I™) and gas chromatography/mass selective detector.

Colorimetric test strip assays are a convenient and inexpensive means for the determination of cotinine in human urine because they can be performed in a nonlaboratory environment using a trained technician. Four hundred human urine samples were separated into four categories: (1) heavy smokers (>20 cigarettes smoked per day), (2) light smokers (<20 cigarettes smoked per day), (3) non-smokers, and (4) vegetarian non-smokers. Samples were evaluated by a gas chromatography/mass selective detector (GC/MSD) method as a reference and using NicCheck I™ (DynaGen, Inc.

Hydroxyurea and trimidox enhance the radiation effect in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells.

Background: Pancreatic cancer remains the most lethal of all common human malignancies with a 5-year survival rate of lower than 5%. Adjuvant and neoadjuvant preoperative and postoperative chemo-radiotherapy using 5-fluorouracil, have reduced local relapse rate and slightly increased the median survival. Testing new and more potent radiation-sensitising drugs in human pancreatic cancer cells can provide the basis for a more effective chemo-radiation regimen and may consequently improve treatment outcome.

Modelling nicotine intake in smokers and snuff users using biological fluid nicotine metabolites.

Data from two clinical studies involving smokers and snuff users were analysed to address the estimation of nicotine intake using urinary and salivary nicotine metabolites. Comprehensive regression modelling is performed to determine which combinations of urinary nicotine metabolites provide better estimation of nicotine intake in these subjects than the predominant practice of basing nicotine intake on urinary cotinine analysis alone. Within-subject and between-subject variability is examined with regard to reliability of measurement and replicate sampling.

Teaching behavioral medicine using individual coronary heart disease risk factors.

Two hundred twenty-one first-year medical students participated in a voluntary coronary heart disease risk factor self-change project designed to teach the principles of behavioral change. Blood pressure, serum lipids, percentage body fat, cardiovascular fitness, and smoking status were measured prior to the project. Students designed their own programs of behavior modification and, after 8 weeks, repeat measurements were obtained in students whose projects related to coronary heart disease risk (56% of entire group).

Measuring patient attitudes in a comprehensive health care setting.

Systematic patient feedback is important for assessing the impact of existing hospital policy on patients and for providing a base for continuing inservice training of personnel. Health professionals need to have knowledge of patient attitudes about quality of care, interpersonal relations, treatment methods, health status and rights, and the health facility process. A unique combination of the Rosenberg-Fishbein, AID, and psychographic models has considerable promise for objective measurement of patient attitudes over a wide range of health care activities.

Selenosis, hepatic selenium accumulation, and plasma glutathione peroxidase activity in chicks as affected by a factor in linseed meal.

Linseed meal has previously been reported to contain an organic factor that reduces toxicity of selenium in animals. The purpose of the studies reported here was to obtain information on the mechanism of action of the linseed meal factor in counteracting selenosis in chicks. Feeding a diet containing 20% linseed meal to chicks partially counteracted the growth depression caused by including high levels of selenium (10-40 ppm) in the diet.