Performance status: A key factor in predicting mortality in the first wave of COVID-19 in South-East Scotland.

Background: COVID-19 mortality risk factors have been established in large cohort studies; long-term mortality outcomes are less documented.

Methods: We performed multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with in-patient mortality and intensive care unit (ICU) admission in symptomatic COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals in South-East Scotland from 1st March to 30th June 2020. One-year mortality was reviewed.

genetic alterations in breast cancer.

Aims: Activating somatic mutations or gene amplification of result in constitutive activation of its receptor tyrosine kinase, which is targetable in various solid tumours. Here, we sought to investigate the presence of genetic alterations in breast cancer (BC) and characterise the histological and genomic features of these tumours.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 5,575 BCs previously subjected to targeted sequencing using the FDA-authorised Memorial Sloan Kettering-Integrated Mutation Profiling of Actionable Targets (MSK-IMPACT) assay was performed to identify BCs with alterations.

Four powerful reasons for increasing investment in adolescents and their wellbeing.

We cannot afford to ignore the needs of this growing sector of the population, argue

Preventable Disease, the Case of Colorado: School District Demographics and Childhood Immunizations.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of selected sociodemographic factors on childhood vaccination hesitancy and to define their role according to specific exemptions. This population-based cohort study utilized vaccination rate and sociodemographic data from 1st to 12th grade from 2017 to 2021 for all school districts in Colorado. Data included immunization status and exemptions for each vaccine, race, ethnicity, and free and reduced meal status.

Abnormal asymmetry correlates with abnormal enlargement in a patient with chronic moderate traumatic brain injury.

Aim: Recent studies found patients with chronic, mild or moderate traumatic brain injury had more regions of enlargement than atrophy. There is little research discussing brain volume enlargement, asymmetry and TBI.

Materials & Methods: In this report, we describe a 40-year-old man who suffered a left cerebral hemorrhage resulting in a moderate TBI, suggesting greater forces on the left side of his brain.

Predominance of Methanomicrobiales and diverse hydrocarbon-degrading taxa in the Appalachian coalbed biosphere revealed through metagenomics and genome-resolved metabolisms.

Coalbed deposits are a unique subsurface environment and represent an underutilized resource for methane generation. Microbial communities extant in coalbed deposits are responsible for key subsurface biogeochemical cycling and could be utilized to enhance methane production in areas where existing gas wells have depleted methane stores, or in coalbeds that are unmined, or conversely be utilized for mitigation of methane release. Here we utilize metagenomics and metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) to identify extant microbial lineages and genome-resolved microbial metabolisms of coalbed produced water, which has not yet been explored in the Appalachian Basin (AppB).

A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of a Virtual Rehabilitation Program for Self-Management in Post-COVID-19 Syndrome (Long COVID).

Long COVID (LC) symptoms can be long standing, diverse and debilitating; comprehensive multidisciplinary rehabilitation programs are required to address this. A 10-week LC Virtual Rehabilitation Program (VRP) was developed to provide early education and self-management techniques to address the main symptoms of LC and was delivered to a group of persons with Long COVID (PwLC) online, facilitated by members of the multi-disciplinary rehabilitation team. This paper describes an evaluation of this VRP.

Retrospective spatial analysis of cases of COVID-19 in a single military accommodation block corridor, RMAS, January-March 21.

Shared ablutions and stairwells, corridor cross-ventilation and non-deliberate perflation (natural draft blowing through a space) are potential risk factors for COVID-19 transmission in corridor-based accommodation. This paper uses retrospective spatial analysis to identify potential built environmental risk factors during the January-March 2021 outbreak in Victory College, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.Distance was measured in units of single room spacing.

High-plex imaging of RNA and proteins at subcellular resolution in fixed tissue by spatial molecular imaging.

Resolving the spatial distribution of RNA and protein in tissues at subcellular resolution is a challenge in the field of spatial biology. We describe spatial molecular imaging, a system that measures RNAs and proteins in intact biological samples at subcellular resolution by performing multiple cycles of nucleic acid hybridization of fluorescent molecular barcodes. We demonstrate that spatial molecular imaging has high sensitivity (one or two copies per cell) and very low error rate (0.

Answering the ethical call of the other: A test of the Strong Relationality Model of Relationship Flourishing.

The philosophical framework of strong relationality has gained greater attention in scholarship and yet empirically testing models built on this important framework are rare. The present study tests predictions made by the Strong Relationality Model of Relationship Flourishing (SRM), which centers on the role of Ethical Responsiveness for relationship health. In doing so, we introduce common fate modeling as a methodological approach for strong relationality research.

Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training during Nephrology Fellowship: A National Survey of Fellows and Program Directors.

Background And Objectives: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS)-performed by a clinician during a patient encounter and used in patient assessment and care planning-has many potential applications in nephrology. Yet, US nephrologists have been slow to adopt POCUS, which may affect the training of nephrology fellows. This study sought to identify the current state of POCUS training and implementation in nephrology fellowships.

Method for reproducible automated bacterial cell culture and measurement.

Microbial cell culture is one of the most commonly performed protocols for synthetic biology, and laboratories are increasingly using 96-well plates and laboratory automation systems for cell culture. Here, we describe a method for reproducible microbial culture using laboratory automation systems, including automated liquid handling, automated plate sealing and de-sealing, automated incubation and measurement of growing cultures. We discuss the key considerations that, in our experience, are important for reproducibility and present statistical analyses of data from 150 automated microbial growth experiments performed over 27 months using our automated method.

Decision-making about gene therapy in transfusion dependent thalassemia.

Background: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a treatment option with curative intent for patients with transfusion dependent thalassemia (TDT) but its application is limited by the lack of suitable donors and acceptability due to the related morbidity/mortality. Transplantation of autologous genetically modified hematopoietic cells, gene therapy (GT) is emerging as a promising treatment option for TDT as it eliminates graft versus host disease (GVHD) and need for immunosuppression. Early results of GT suggest that many, but not all patients achieve transfusion independence after the procedure.

Exploring emergent barriers to hospital-based violence intervention programming during the COVID-19 pandemic.

National rates of gun violence have risen during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are many contributing factors to this increase, including the compounding consequences of social isolation, unstable housing, decreased economic stability, and ineffective and violent policing of communities of color. The effects of these factors are exacerbated by the pandemic's impact on the provision and availability of psychosocial services for individuals in marginalized communities, particularly those who have been violently injured.

Effects of DNA template preparation on variability in cell-free protein production.

DNA templates for protein production remain an unexplored source of variability in the performance of cell-free expression (CFE) systems. To characterize this variability, we investigated the effects of two common DNA extraction methodologies, a postprocessing step and manual versus automated preparation on protein production using CFE. We assess the concentration of the DNA template, the quality of the DNA template in terms of physical damage and the quality of the DNA solution in terms of purity resulting from eight DNA preparation workflows.

Sexual behaviours and their associated factors among young people in the Dodowa Health and Demographic Surveillance Site (DHDSS) in Ghana.

Objective: This paper describes sexual behaviours and their associated factors among young people.

Design: The study design is cross-sectional.

Setting: Dodowa Health and Demographic Surveillance Site (DHDSS) in Ghana's Shai-Osudoku and Ningo Prampram districts.

Prediction of thrombosis in post-polycythemia vera and post-essential thrombocythemia myelofibrosis: a study on 1258 patients.

Patients with Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms are at high risk of thrombotic events (TEs). Predisposing factors have been identified in essential thrombocythemia (ET), polycythemia vera (PV) and primary myelofibrosis (primary MF, PMF), while yet not recognized in post PV/ET-MF (known as secondary MF, SMF). Within the 1258 SMF of the MYSEC (MYelofibrosis SECondary to PV and ET) dataset, 135 (10.

Novel modes of MPL activation in triple-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms.

The identification of a somatic mutation associated with myeloid malignancy is of diagnostic importance in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). Individuals with no mutation detected in common screening tests for variants in JAK2, CALR, and MPL are described as 'triple-negative' and pose a diagnostic challenge if there is no other evidence of a clonal disorder. To identify potential drivers that might explain the clinical phenotype, we used an extended sequencing panel to characterise a cohort of 44 previously diagnosed triple-negative MPN patients for canonical mutations in JAK2, MPL and CALR at low variant allele frequency (found in 4/44 patients), less common variants in the JAK-STAT signalling pathway (12 patients), or other variants in recurrently mutated genes from myeloid malignancies (18 patients), including hotspot variants of potential clinical relevance in eight patients.

Adjuvant enzalutamide for the treatment of early-stage androgen-receptor positive, triple-negative breast cancer: a feasibility study.

Purpose: Chemotherapy with or without immunotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). A subset of TNBCs express the androgen receptor (AR), representing a potential new therapeutic target. This study assessed the feasibility of adjuvant enzalutamide, an AR antagonist, in early-stage, AR-positive (AR +) TNBC.

Translation of the 27-gene immuno-oncology test (IO score) to predict outcomes in immune checkpoint inhibitor treated metastatic urothelial cancer patients.

Background: The IO Score is a 27-gene immuno-oncology (IO) classifier that has previously predicted benefit to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It generates both a continuous score and a binary result using a defined threshold that is conserved between breast and lung. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the IO Score's binary threshold in ICI-naïve TCGA bladder cancer patients (TCGA-BLCA) and assess its clinical utility in metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC) using the IMvigor210 clinical trial treated with the ICI, atezolizumab.