Background: Large-scale multicentre studies are needed to understand complex relationships between the gut microbiota, health and disease. Interrogating the mucosal microbiota may identify important biology not captured by stool analysis. Gold standard tissue cryopreservation ('flash freezing') limits large-scale study feasibility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Characterised by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) symptoms including diarrhoea, abdominal pain and fatigue can significantly impact patient's quality of life. Therapeutic developments in the last 20 years have revolutionised treatment. However, clinical trials and real-world data show primary non-response rates up to 40%.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To assess whether extra-oesophageal symptoms are predictive of oesophageal malignancy.
Methods: A prospective, single-centre cross-sectional questionnaire study at a tertiary referral unit for oesophageal cancer using the Comprehensive Reflux Symptoms Scale (CReSS) questionnaire tool. Respondents with oesophageal malignancy were compared with historical cohorts undergoing airway examination or upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and found to have benign diagnoses.
The thick mucus layer of the gut provides a barrier to infiltration of the underlying epithelia by both the normal microbiota and enteric pathogens. Some members of the microbiota utilise mucin glycoproteins as a nutrient source, but a detailed understanding of the mechanisms used to breakdown these complex macromolecules is lacking. Here we describe the discovery and characterisation of endo-acting enzymes from prominent mucin-degrading bacteria that target the polyLacNAc structures within oligosaccharide side chains of both animal and human mucins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe emergence of the trained nurse as a new profession for women coincided with the transformation of hospitals from refuges for the sick and poor into treatment facilities. The hospital was an apt setting for learning nursing's fundamentals, but the domestic demands of the setting soon took precedence over nursing education. Nursing superintendents struggled to honor the right of pupil nurses to an education over the might of the hospital's demands.
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