There is a high medical need to develop new strategies for the treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) refractory to conventional therapy. In vitro, the combinations of the blast-modulatory response modifiers GM-CSF + Prostaglandin E1, (summarized as Kit M) have been shown to convert myeloid leukemic blasts into antigen-presenting dendritic cells of leukemic origin (DC) that were able to (re-)activate the innate and adaptive immune system, direct it specifically against leukemic blasts, and induce memory cells. This study aimed to investigate the immune modulatory capacity and antileukemic efficacy of Kit M in vivo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: NSAIDs are commonly used as first line therapy in chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis (CNO) but are not effective for all patients. The objective of this study was to identify clinical variables associated with NSAID monotherapy response versus requiring second-line medication in a single-center cohort of patients with CNO.
Methods: The charts of children with CNO who attended a CNO clinic at a quaternary care center between 1/1/05 and 7/31/21 were retrospectively reviewed.
Global trends indicate that takeaway food is commonly accessible in neighbourhood food environments. Local governments in England can use spatial planning to manage the opening of new takeaway outlets in 'takeaway management zones around schools' (known sometimes as 'exclusion zones'). We analysed data from the 2021 International Food Policy Study to investigate public acceptability of takeaway management zones around schools.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Takeaway food is often high in calories and served in portion sizes that exceed public health recommendations for fat, salt and sugar. This food is widely accessible in the neighbourhood food environment. As of 2019, of all local authorities in England (n=325), 41 had adopted urban planning interventions that can allow them to manage the opening of new takeaway outlets in "takeaway management zones around schools" (known elsewhere as "exclusion zones").
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In England, the number of takeaway food outlets ('takeaways') has been increasing for over two decades. Takeaway management zones around schools are an effective way to restrict the growth of new takeaways but their impacts on population health have not been estimated.
Methods: To model the impact of takeaway management zones on health, we used estimates of change in and exposure to takeaways (across home, work, and commuting buffers) based on a previous evaluation suggesting that 50% of new outlets were prevented from opening because of management zones.
Background: Mast cells (MCs) are tissue resident cells of the immune system, mainly known for their role in allergy. However, mounting evidence indicates their involvement in the pathology of age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and cancer. MC numbers increase in aged tissues, but how ageing affects MCs is poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Neighbourhood exposure to takeaways can contribute negatively to diet and diet-related health outcomes. Urban planners within local authorities (LAs) in England can modify takeaway exposure through denying planning permission to new outlets in management zones around schools. LAs sometimes refer to these as takeaway "exclusion zones".
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacterial membrane vesicles (BMVs) are extracellular vesicles secreted by either Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria. These BMVs typically possess a diameter between 20 and 250 nm. Due to their size, when these BMVs are suspended in another medium, they could be constituents of a colloidal system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: COVID-19 is known to be associated with increased risks of cognitive and psychiatric outcomes after the acute phase of disease. We aimed to assess whether these symptoms can emerge or persist more than 1 year after hospitalisation for COVID-19, to identify which early aspects of COVID-19 illness predict longer-term symptoms, and to establish how these symptoms relate to occupational functioning.
Methods: The Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID) is a prospective, longitudinal cohort study of adults (aged ≥18 years) who were hospitalised with a clinical diagnosis of COVID-19 at participating National Health Service hospitals across the UK.
Highly diastereoselective self-assembly reactions give both enantiomers (Λ and Δ) of anti-parallel triple-stranded bimetallic Co(ii) and Co(iii) cationic helices, without the need for resolution; the first such reaction for Co. The complexes are water soluble and stable, even in the case of Co(ii). Studies in a range of cancer and healthy cell lines indicate high activity and selectivity, and substantial differences between enantiomers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJACC Basic Transl Sci
May 2024
Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) face a high risk of cardiovascular disease. Previous studies reported that endogenous thrombospondin 1 (TSP1) involves right ventricular remodeling and dysfunction. Here we show that a murine model of CKD increased myocardial TSP1 expression and produced left ventricular hypertrophy, fibrosis, and dysfunction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The UK soft drinks industry levy (SDIL) was announced in March 2016 and implemented in April 2018, encouraging manufacturers to reduce the sugar content of soft drinks. This is the first study to investigate changes in individual-level consumption of free sugars in relation to the SDIL.
Methods: We used controlled interrupted time series (2011-2019) to explore changes in the consumption of free sugars in the whole diet and from soft drinks alone 11 months after SDIL implementation in a nationally representative sample of adults (>18 years; n=7999) and children (1.
The pathogenesis of allograft (dys)function has been increasingly studied using 'omics'-based technologies, but the focus on individual organs has created knowledge gaps that neither unify nor distinguish pathological mechanisms across allografts. Here we present a comprehensive study of human pan-organ allograft dysfunction, analyzing 150 datasets with more than 12,000 samples across four commonly transplanted solid organs (heart, lung, liver and kidney, n = 1,160, 1,241, 1,216 and 8,853 samples, respectively) that we leveraged to explore transcriptomic differences among allograft dysfunction (delayed graft function, acute rejection and fibrosis), tolerance and stable graft function. We identified genes that correlated robustly with allograft dysfunction across heart, lung, liver and kidney transplantation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSugar sweetened beverage consumption has been suggested as a risk factor for childhood asthma symptoms. We examined whether the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), announced in March 2016 and implemented in April 2018, was associated with changes in National Health Service hospital admission rates for asthma in children, 22 months post-implementation of SDIL. We conducted interrupted time series analyses (2012-2020) to measure changes in monthly incidence rates of hospital admissions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In April 2018, the UK government implemented a levy on soft drinks importers and manufacturers, tiered according to the amount of sugar in drinks. The stated aim was to encourage manufacturers to reduce sugar and portion sizes. Previous evidence suggests that the policy has been successful in reducing sugar in drinks in the short-term since implementation, but their sustained effects have not been explored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanobubbles have been increasingly used in various applications involving porous media, such as groundwater remediation and irrigation. However, the fundamental scientific knowledge regarding the interactions between nanobubbles and the media is still limited. The interactions can be repulsive, attractive, or inert, and can involve reversible or irreversible attachment as well as destructive mechanisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this article, we describe our experience developing and implementing a multipronged approach to improve performance across a strategic subset of quality measures within primary care. Detailed techniques include data visualization and analytics, process reengineering, team engagement, visual project management, continuous improvement methods and training, and incentives and recognition. We achieved positive change across 12 high priority measures which we deemed the "High Value Framework (HVF)" by fostering a collaborative, nonpunitive, problem-solving culture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The number of donors from donation after circulatory determination of death (DCDD) has increased by at least 4-fold over the past decade. This study evaluated the association between the antecedent cardiac arrest status of controlled DCDD donors and the risk of delayed graft function (DGF).
Methods: Using data from the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant, the associations between antecedent cardiac arrest status of DCDD donors before withdrawal of cardiorespiratory support, DGF, posttransplant estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and allograft loss were examined using adjusted logistic, linear mixed modeling, and cox regression, respectively.
A role for vitamin D in immune modulation and in cancer has been suggested. In this work, we report that mice with increased availability of vitamin D display greater immune-dependent resistance to transplantable cancers and augmented responses to checkpoint blockade immunotherapies. Similarly, in humans, vitamin D-induced genes correlate with improved responses to immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment as well as with immunity to cancer and increased overall survival.
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