Effectiveness, safety, and cost of combination advanced therapies in inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: A significant proportion of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients fail to respond to advanced therapies. Combining advanced therapies may improve treatment outcome. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness, adverse events, and costs associated with combining advanced therapies in IBD patients.

Tumour stemness and poor clinical outcomes in haemochromatosis patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aims: Patients with haemochromatosis (HFE) are known to have an increased risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Available data are conflicting on whether such patients have poorer prognosis, and there is lack of data regarding the biology of HFE-HCC. We compared the course of HFE-HCC with a matched non-HFE-HCC control group and examined tumour characteristics using immunohistochemistry.

The Impact of SARS-COV-2 on two Colorectal Cancer screening centres.

BowelScreen paused activity in March 2020 to prioritise the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of this delay. Cases affected by the pause and subsequently completed were compared to the same period in 2019.

Endoscopy training through the COVID-19 pandemic: maintaining procedural volumes and key performance standards.

Objective: Endoscopy departments have experienced considerable challenges in the provision of endoscopy services since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several studies have reported a reduction of procedures performed by trainee endoscopists during the pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess the impact on colonoscopy training and quality in an academic centre throughout successive waves of the pandemic.

Barriers and Facilitators Related to Delivery of Hospital Pharmacy Services to Women, Children, and Their Families during a Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.

Background: When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020, health care professionals were challenged to adapt quickly and efficiently to change their work practices. However, an evidence-informed approach has not yet been used to systematically gather data on barriers and facilitators related to delivery of hospital pharmacy services in Canada.

Objectives: The primary objective was to identify and describe barriers and facilitators related to the delivery of hospital pharmacy services to women, children, and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A decade of rising alcoholic liver disease hospital admissions and deaths in Irish hospitals, 2007-2016: a retrospective cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a major cause of both liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Ireland.

Aims: The aim of the study was to identify the epidemiological profile, temporal trends, development of complications and mortality arising from inpatient care episodes linked to ALD in Ireland from 2007 to 2016.

Methods: This was a national retrospective study that analysed data on patient discharges from hospitals across Ireland.

Enhanced Sensitivity of Patient-Derived Pediatric High-Grade Brain Tumor Xenografts to Oncolytic HSV-1 Virotherapy Correlates with Nectin-1 Expression.

Pediatric high-grade brain tumors and adult glioblastoma are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Oncolytic herpes simplex virus-1 (oHSV) is a promising approach to target brain tumors; oHSV G207 and M032 (encodes human interleukin-12) are currently in phase I clinical trials in children with malignant supratentorial brain tumors and adults with glioblastoma, respectively. We sought to compare the sensitivity of patient-derived pediatric malignant brain tumor and adult glioblastoma xenografts to these clinically-relevant oHSV.

Ovulation induction in polycystic ovary syndrome.

The objective of this narrative review was to suggest a rational order of treatment choices in anovulatory women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), for whom a multitude of treatment options exist. In obese/overweight women with PCOS the importance of weight reduction should be stressed. Inositol, a dietary supplement with a documented effect on ovulation and without adverse effects in the doses recommended, may be suggested.

Standardization of pediatric uroradiological terms: A multidisciplinary European glossary.

To promote the standardization of nephro-uroradiological terms used in children, the European Society of Pediatric Radiology uroradiology taskforce wrote a detailed glossary. This work has been subsequently submitted to European experts in pediatric urology and nephrology for discussion and acceptance to improve the quality of radiological reports and communication among different clinicians involved in pediatric urology and nephrology.

Standardization of pediatric uroradiological terms: a multidisciplinary European glossary.

To promote the standardization of nephro-uroradiological terms used in children, the European Society of Paediatric Radiology uroradiology taskforce wrote a detailed glossary. This work has been subsequently submitted to European experts in pediatric urology and nephrology for discussion and acceptance to improve the quality of radiological reports and communication between different clinicians involved in pediatric urology and nephrology.

New agents in the Treatment of Myeloma Bone Disease.

Patients with multiple myeloma develop a devastating bone disease driven by the uncoupling of bone remodelling, excess osteoclastic bone resorption and diminished osteoblastic bone formation. The bone phenotype is typified by focal osteolytic lesions leading to pathological fractures, hypercalcaemia and other catastrophic bone events such as spinal cord compression. This causes bone pain, impaired functional status, decreased quality of life and increased mortality.

Newly Characterized Murine Undifferentiated Sarcoma Models Sensitive to Virotherapy with Oncolytic HSV-1 M002.

Despite advances in conventional chemotherapy, surgical techniques, and radiation, outcomes for patients with relapsed, refractory, or metastatic soft tissue sarcomas are dismal. Survivors often suffer from lasting morbidity from current treatments. New targeted therapies with less toxicity, such as those that harness the immune system, and immunocompetent murine sarcoma models to test these therapies are greatly needed.

Mapping policies for surface water protection zones on forest land in the Nordic-Baltic region: Large differences in prescriptiveness and zone width.

The forest landscape across the Nordic and Baltic regions hosts numerous lakes and watercourses, which must be included in forest management. In this study, national policy designs regarding protection zones for surface waters on forest land were reviewed and compared for the Nordic countries, Estonia and Latvia. The focus was how each country regulates protection zones, whether they are voluntary or mandatory, and the rationale behind adopting a low or high degree of prescriptiveness.

Checkpoint Proteins in Pediatric Brain and Extracranial Solid Tumors: Opportunities for Immunotherapy.

Pediatric brain and extracranial solid tumors are a diverse group of malignancies that represent almost half of all pediatric cancers. Standard therapy includes various combinations of surgery, cytotoxic chemotherapy, and radiation, which can be very harmful to a developing child, and survivors carry a substantial burden of long-term morbidities. Although these therapies have improved survival rates for children with solid tumors, outcomes still remain extremely poor for subsets of patients.

Oncolytic virotherapy for pediatric malignancies: future prospects.

Pediatric solid tumors remain a major health concern, with nearly 16,000 children diagnosed each year. Of those, ~2,000 succumb to their disease, and survivors often suffer from lifelong disability secondary to toxic effects of current treatments. Countless multimodality treatment regimens are being explored to make advances against this deadly disease.

Nitrogen dynamics in managed boreal forests: Recent advances and future research directions.

Nitrogen (N) availability plays multiple roles in the boreal landscape, as a limiting nutrient to forest growth, determinant of terrestrial biodiversity, and agent of eutrophication in aquatic ecosystems. We review existing research on forest N dynamics in northern landscapes and address the effects of management and environmental change on internal cycling and export. Current research foci include resolving the nutritional importance of different N forms to trees and establishing how tree-mycorrhizal relationships influence N limitation.

Creation of a percutaneous mesocaval shunt to control variceal bleeding in a child.

Although transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) placement is the standard procedure for the treatment of portal hypertension, it is often impossible to perform in patients with extrahepatic portal vein occlusion. In these patients, options for decompressing the liver are few. In this report, we present a novel solution for managing gastro-esophageal hemorrhage in a child with portal hypertension and extrahepatic portal vein occlusion, through the creation of a percutaneous mesocaval shunt.

Is the water footprint an appropriate tool for forestry and forest products: the Fennoscandian case.

The water footprint by the Water Footprint Network (WF) is an ambitious tool for measuring human appropriation and promoting sustainable use of fresh water. Using recent case studies and examples from water-abundant Fennoscandia, we consider whether it is an appropriate tool for evaluating the water use of forestry and forest-based products. We show that aggregating catchment level water consumption over a product life cycle does not consider fresh water as a renewable resource and is inconsistent with the principles of the hydrologic cycle.

The transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt: an update.

Objective: The purpose of this article is to review the indications, outcomes, complications, patient selection, and technical aspects of creating a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS).

Conclusion: The best available evidence supports the use of TIPS in secondary prevention of variceal bleeding and in refractory ascites, although TIPS is also commonly used for other indications such as Budd-Chiari syndrome, hepatic hydrothorax, and acute variceal hemorrhage. The TIPS procedure was revolutionized by the introduction of covered stents, which dramatically improved long-term shunt patency.

Intravenous vasopressin for the prevention of nontarget gastrointestinal embolization during liver-directed cancer treatment: experimental study in a porcine model.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential for intravenous vasopressin to reduce the risk of nontarget gastrointestinal embolization during transcatheter liver-directed cancer therapies in a porcine model.

Materials And Methods: An angiographic catheter was used to select the celiac or common hepatic artery under fluoroscopic guidance in six anesthetized pigs. After angiography of the hepatic and splanchnic territories was performed, technetium-99m macroaggregated albumin ((99m)Tc-MAA) was injected through the catheter.

Volumetric ablation of uterine fibroids using Sonalleve high-intensity focused ultrasound in a 3 Tesla scanner--first clinical assessment.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of the Sonalleve high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU; Philips Healthcare, Vantaa, Finland) system in ablating uterine fibroids in a 3T magnet.

Material And Methods: Seven women were included in this study. Treatment was performed according to the manufacturer's recommendation.