Non-enzymatic glycation is the chemical reaction between the amine group of an amino acid and the carbonyl group of a reducing sugar. The final products of this reaction, advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), are known to play a key role in aging and many chronic diseases. The kinetics of the AGE formation reaction depends on several factors, including pH, temperature, and the presence of prooxidant metals, such as iron and copper.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFuture Healthc J
December 2024
Physician associates (PAs) are a developing profession in the UK. The Faculty of Physician Associates (FPA) recommends the establishment of local preceptorship programmes for PAs in the first year of practice who have successfully passed the PA national exam. Limited evidence currently exists around the evaluation of such local programmes and the experience of the intern PAs involved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOver the past decade, healthcare systems have started to establish control centres to manage patient flow, with a view to removing delays and increasing the quality of care. Such centres-here dubbed Healthcare Capacity Command/Coordination Centres (HCCCs)-are a challenge to design and operate. Broad-ranging surveys of HCCCs have been lacking, and design for their human users is only starting to be addressed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrimates are important species for biomedical research and ensuring their good welfare is critical for research translatability and ethical responsibility. Systematic animal welfare assessments can support continuous programme improvements and build institutional awareness of areas requiring more attention. A multi-facility, collaborative project aimed to develop and implement a novel primate welfare assessment tool (PWAT) for use with research macaques.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal disease with limited effective treatment options, potentiating the importance of uncovering novel drug targets. Here, we target cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor 3 (CPSF3), the 3' endonuclease that catalyzes mRNA cleavage during polyadenylation and histone mRNA processing. We find that is highly expressed in PDAC and is associated with poor prognosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh rates of failure, exorbitant costs, and the sluggish pace of new drug discovery and development have led to a growing interest in repurposing "old" drugs to treat both common and rare diseases, particularly cancer. Cancer, a complex and heterogeneous disease, often necessitates a combination of different treatment modalities to achieve optimal outcomes. The intrinsic polygenicity of cancer, intricate biological signalling networks, and feedback loops make the inhibition of a single target frequently insufficient for achieving the desired therapeutic impact.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol
June 2024
Introduction: Endometriosis is an under-researched disease, with Aotearoa-specific data severely lacking. Current estimates of parameters such as rates of endometriosis diagnosis, indication for surgery and sites of disease are based on international data. There is currently no published data on endometriosis surgeries in Aotearoa New Zealand.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There are public health concerns about an increased risk of mortality after release from prison. The objectives of this scoping review were to investigate, map and summarise evidence from record linkage studies about drug-related deaths among former adult prisoners.
Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO and Web of Science were searched for studies (January 2011- September 2021) using keywords/index headings.
Purpose: We undertook a study to examine how stigma influences the uptake of training on medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in primary care academic programs.
Methods: We conducted a qualitative study of 23 key stakeholders responsible for implementing MOUD training in their academic primary care training programs that were participants in a learning collaborative in 2018. We assessed barriers to and facilitators of successful program implementation and used an integrated approach to develop a codebook and analyze the data.
Glioblastoma, a grade IV astrocytoma, is regarded as the most aggressive primary brain tumour with an overall median survival of 16.0 months following the standard treatment regimen of surgical resection, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy with temozolomide. Despite such intensive treatment, the tumour almost invariably recurs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReprod Biol Endocrinol
December 2022
Endometriosis is a chronic, inflammatory gynaecological disease that can have severe negative impacts on quality of life and fertility, placing burden on patients and the healthcare system. Due to the heterogeneous nature of endometriosis, and the lack of correlation between symptom and surgical disease severity, diagnosis and treatment remain a significant clinical challenge. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are biologically active particles containing molecular cargo involved in intercellular communication, that can be exploited for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer cells encounter a hostile tumor microenvironment (TME), and their adaptations to metabolic stresses determine metastatic competence. Here, we show that the metabolic enzyme 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase-4 (PFKFB4) is induced in hypoxic tumors acquiring metabolic plasticity and invasive phenotype. In mouse models of breast cancer, genetic ablation of PFKFB4 significantly delays distant organ metastasis, reducing local lymph node invasion by suppressing expression of invasive gene signature including integrin β3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe microbiota populating the rhizosphere, the interface between roots and soil, can modulate plant growth, development, and health. These microbial communities are not stochastically assembled from the surrounding soil, but their composition and putative function are controlled, at least partially, by the host plant. Here, we use the staple cereal barley as a model to gain novel insights into the impact of differential applications of nitrogen, a rate-limiting step for global crop production, on the host genetic control of the rhizosphere microbiota.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic has imposed substantial burdens on clinicians and there is a need to better understand the impact on mental health and well-being. This scoping review investigates the prevalence of mental health concerns in anaesthetists, risk and protective factors for mental well-being, and anaesthetists' pandemic-related concerns and support. We searched online databases for articles published between January 2020 and May 2022, using search terms related to: anaesthesia; burnout, well-being, mental health or stress; and COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccination remains key to reducing the risk of COVID-19-related severe illness and death. Because of historic medical exclusion and barriers to access, Black communities have had lower rates of COVID-19 vaccination than White communities. We describe the efforts of an academic medical institution to implement community-based COVID-19 vaccine clinics in medically underserved neighborhoods in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResearch primates may undergo surgical procedures making effective pain management essential to ensure good animal welfare and unbiased scientific data. Adequate pain mitigation is dependent on whether veterinarians, technicians, researchers, and caregivers can recognize and assess pain, as well as the availability of efficacious therapeutics. A survey was conducted to evaluate primate veterinary approaches to pain assessment and alleviation, as well as expressed challenges for adequately managing primate pain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEndometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynaecological malignancy in the developed world, and concerningly incidence is rising, particularly in younger people. Therefore, there is increased interest in novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-bound particles present in bodily fluids that have the potential to facilitate non-invasive, early diagnosis of EC and could aid with monitoring of recurrence and treatment response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomed Instrum Technol
April 2022
Manufacturers could improve the pulse tones emitted by pulse oximeters to support more accurate identification of a patient's peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) range. In this article, we outline the strengths and limitations of the variable-pitch tone that represents SpO2 of each detected pulse, and we argue that enhancements to the tone to demarcate clinically relevant ranges are feasible and desirable. The variable-pitch tone is an appreciated and trusted feature of the pulse oximeter's user interface.
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