Map2k6 is a potent genetic modifier of arterial rupture in vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome mice.

Aortic dissection or rupture is a major cause of mortality in vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (vEDS), a connective tissue disorder caused by heterozygous mutations in the COL3A1 gene. C57BL6/J (BL6) mice carrying the Col3a1 G938D/+ mutation recapitulate the vEDS vascular phenotype and die suddenly of aortic rupture/dissection. However, 129S6/SvEvTac (129) mice expressing the same Col3a1 G938D/+ mutation show near-complete life-long protection from vascular rupture.

The first trimester abortion journey Aotearoa: health practitioners' perspectives.

Aim: To gain insight into health practitioners' understanding of how people experience the first trimester abortion journey.

Methods: Qualitative interviews informed by phenomenology with health practitioners from a range of practice settings across Aotearoa New Zealand. Participants were recruited via a separate but related study.

UV light and the ocular lens: a review of exposure models and resulting biomolecular changes.

UV light is known to cause damage to biomolecules in living tissue. Tissues of the eye that play highly specialised roles in forming our sense of sight are uniquely exposed to light of all wavelengths. While these tissues have evolved protective mechanisms to resist damage from UV wavelengths, prolonged exposure is thought to lead to pathological changes.

Intrinsic expression sensitizes the aortic root to dilation in a Loeys-Dietz syndrome mouse model.

Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) is an aneurysm disorder caused by mutations that decrease transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling. Although aneurysms develop throughout the arterial tree, the aortic root is a site of heightened risk. To identify molecular determinants of this vulnerability, we investigated the heterogeneity of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in the aorta of LDS mice by single cell and spatial transcriptomics.

Preliminary assessment of using mobile point-of-care human papillomavirus (HPV) testing with the option of immediate colposcopy in a rural area in a high-income country: a case study.

Aim: Cervical cancer is now preventable with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and HPV screening. However, structural health system barriers in rural areas can inhibit screening access. Inequitable access for rural Māori is exacerbated by social determinants and racism.

The glucocorticoid receptor in skeletal health and disease: insights from targeted knockout mice.

Glucocorticoids are steroid hormones, secreted by the adrenals to regulate a range of metabolic, immunologic, and homeostatic functions. Due to their potent anti-inflammatory effects, synthetic glucocorticoids are widely used to treat inflammatory disorders. However, their use especially at high doses and over the long-term is associated with several unwanted side effects that compromises their intended use (e.

Deletion of the chondrocyte glucocorticoid receptor attenuates cartilage degradation through suppression of early synovial activation in murine posttraumatic osteoarthritis.

Objective: Disruption of endogenous glucocorticoid signalling in bone cells attenuates osteoarthritis (OA) in aged mice, however, the role of endogenous glucocorticoids in chondrocytes is unknown. Here, we investigated whether deletion of the glucocorticoid receptor, specifically in chondrocytes, also alters OA progression.

Design: Knee OA was induced by surgical destabilisation of the medial meniscus (DMM) in male 22-week-old tamoxifen-inducible glucocorticoid receptor knockout (chGRKO) mice and their wild-type (WT) littermates (n = 7-9/group).

Incidence and mortality from malignant mesothelioma 1982-2020 and relationship with asbestos exposure: the Australian Mesothelioma Registry.

Objectives: Malignant mesothelioma is an uncommon cancer associated with asbestos exposure, predominantly occupational. Asbestos has been banned in Australia since 2003 but mesothelioma has a long latency and incident cases continue to present. The Australian Mesothelioma Registry was incepted to collect systematic data about incidence and mortality alongside asbestos exposure.

What skills do New Zealand clinicians have to provide first trimester abortion in primary care and are they willing?

Objective: To determine the skills and intentions of health practitioners in New Zealand to provide first trimester abortion care.New Zealand achieved abortion law reform in 2020, changing how abortion could be delivered and experienced by pregnant people. However, little has changed in the way abortion care is provided.

A mixed-methods characterisation of patient safety incidents by primary eye care practitioners.

Purpose: Patient safety in eye health care is an underdeveloped field of research. A patient safety incident occurs when an unintended incident happens that could have (or did) lead to harm. To enable learning from patient safety incidents in optometry, a characterisation of commonly experienced safety incidents is needed to identify options to improve the quality of care.

Postnatal Smad3 Inactivation in Murine Smooth Muscle Cells Elicits a Temporally and Regionally Distinct Transcriptional Response.

Heterozygous, loss of function mutations in positive regulators of the Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) pathway cause hereditary forms of thoracic aortic aneurysm. It is unclear whether and how the initial signaling deficiency triggers secondary signaling upregulation in the remaining functional branches of the pathway, and if this contributes to maladaptive vascular remodeling. To examine this process in a mouse model in which time-controlled, partial interference with postnatal TGF-β signaling in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) could be assessed, we used a VSMC-specific tamoxifen-inducible system, and a conditional allele, to inactivate at 6 weeks of age, after completion of perinatal aortic development.

Persistent organic pollutants and β-cell toxicity: a comprehensive review.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a diverse family of contaminants that show widespread global dispersion and bioaccumulation. Humans are continuously exposed to POPs through diet, air particles, and household and commercial products; POPs are consistently detected in human tissues, including the pancreas. Epidemiological studies show a modest but consistent correlation between exposure to POPs and increased diabetes risk.

Osteoblastic glucocorticoid signaling exacerbates high-fat-diet- induced bone loss and obesity.

Chronic high-fat diet (HFD) consumption not only promotes obesity and insulin resistance, but also causes bone loss through mechanisms that are not well understood. Here, we fed wild-type CD-1 mice either chow or a HFD (43% of energy from fat) for 18 weeks; HFD-fed mice exhibited decreased trabecular volume (-28%) and cortical thickness (-14%) compared to chow-fed mice. In HFD-fed mice, bone loss was due to reduced bone formation and mineral apposition, without obvious effects on bone resorption.

What does abortion law reform mean for primary care practitioners in New Zealand?

New Zealand achieved a major sexual reproductive health and rights milestone when abortion ceased to be a crime. Introduction of the Abortion Legislation Act 2020 has significantly changed the way abortion care can be provided in New Zealand, with the potential to improve access, reduce inequities and transform the abortion experience for those people who choose to end their pregnancy. The primary care sector stands to be a key player in the provision of first-trimester abortion care.

Differential induction of allergen-specific IgA responses following timothy grass subcutaneous and sublingual immunotherapy.

Introduction: There is no detailed comparison of allergen-specific immunoglobulin responses following sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) and subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT).

Objective: We sought to compare nasal and systemic timothy grass pollen (TGP)-specific antibody responses during 2 years of SCIT and SLIT and 1 year after treatment discontinuation in a double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled trial.

Methods: Nasal fluid and serum were obtained yearly (per-protocol population, n = 84).

Student use of common online resources in a multi-campus medical school.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Multi-campus medical schools can differ in medical curriculum delivery due to location specific factors, creating different learning contexts.

Human Pluripotent Stem Cells: A Unique Tool for Toxicity Testing in Pancreatic Progenitor and Endocrine Cells.

Diabetes prevalence is increasing worldwide, and epidemiological studies report an association between diabetes incidence and environmental pollutant exposure. There are >84,000 chemicals in commerce, many of which are released into the environment without a clear understanding of potential adverse health consequences. While rodent studies remain an important tool for testing chemical toxicity systemically, we urgently need high-throughput screening platforms in biologically relevant models to efficiently prioritize chemicals for in depth toxicity analysis.

Insights on the Pathogenesis of Aneurysm through the Study of Hereditary Aortopathies.

Thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA) are permanent and localized dilations of the aorta that predispose patients to a life-threatening risk of aortic dissection or rupture. The identification of pathogenic variants that cause hereditary forms of TAA has delineated fundamental molecular processes required to maintain aortic homeostasis. Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) elaborate and remodel the extracellular matrix (ECM) in response to mechanical and biochemical cues from their environment.

Arthritis and the role of endogenous glucocorticoids.

Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, the most common forms of arthritis, are chronic, painful, and disabling conditions. Although both diseases differ in etiology, they manifest in progressive joint destruction characterized by pathological changes in the articular cartilage, bone, and synovium. While the potent anti-inflammatory properties of therapeutic (i.

Gender differences in respiratory health outcomes among farming cohorts around the globe: findings from the AGRICOH consortium.

: Respiratory hazards of farming have been identified for centuries, with little focus on gender differences. We used data from the AGRICOH consortium, a collective of prospective cohorts of agricultural workers, to assess respiratory disease prevalence among adults in 18 cohorts representing over 200,000 farmers, farm workers, and their spouses from six continents.: Cohorts collected data between 1992 and 2016 and ranged in size from 200 to >128,000 individuals; 44% of participants were female.

Development and application of a LC-MS/MS assay for simultaneous analysis of 25-hydroxyvitamin-D and 3-epi-25-hydroxyvitamin-D metabolites in canine serum.

Hypovitaminosis D and hypervitaminosis D are well recognised disorders in dogs. Hypovitaminosis D can occur following consumption of a diet inadequately supplemented with vitamin D or as a sequelae of severe intestinal disease. Hypervitaminosis D may occur as a result of consuming proprietary dog foods over-supplemented with vitamin D or through ingestion of vitamin D containing medicinal products or rodenticides.

Functional cytochrome P450 1A enzymes are induced in mouse and human islets following pollutant exposure.

Aims/hypothesis: Exposure to environmental pollution has been consistently linked to diabetes incidence in humans, but the potential causative mechanisms remain unclear. Given the critical role of regulated insulin secretion in maintaining glucose homeostasis, environmental chemicals that reach the endocrine pancreas and cause beta cell injury are of particular concern. We propose that cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, which are involved in metabolising xenobiotics, could serve as a useful biomarker for direct exposure of islets to pollutants.