Impact of a computerized physician order entry (CPOE)-based antibiotic stewardship intervention on the treatment duration for pneumonia and COPD exacerbations.

Background: In hospitalized patients, the duration of antibiotic therapy for uncomplicated pneumonia is often longer than recommended in clinical guidelines. Consequences include increased risk of Clostridioides difficile infection and the emergence of antibiotic resistance. Reducing the duration of antibiotic therapy is an important goal of antibiotic stewardship (ABS) programs.

What behavior change techniques are associated with effective interventions to reduce screen time in 0-5 year olds? A narrative systematic review.

Screen time has been linked to obesity in young children. Therefore, this systematic review aims to investigate which Behavior Change Techniques (BCTs) are associated with the effectiveness of interventions to reduce screen time in 0-5 year olds. Seven databases were searched, including PsycInfo, PubMed, and Medline.

Are Computer-Based Treatment Programs Effective at Reducing Symptoms of Substance Misuse and Mental Health Difficulties Within Adults? A Systematic Review.

Comorbid substance misuse and mental health difficulties are recognized as a leading contributor to disease burden worldwide. Amid cuts to health care services, computer-based interventions may provide support for patients experiencing these difficulties. The aims of this systematic review were to identify and investigate the efficacy of these computer-based interventions at improving substance misuse and mental health outcomes.

Offenders' perceptions of the UK prison smoking ban.

Purpose: Despite overall reductions in levels of smoking in the UK, rates of offender smoking remain high. In 2016, it was announced that prisons in England and Wales would gradually introduce a smoking ban. The purpose of this paper is to explore offenders' perceptions around the upcoming smoking ban.

[Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing-Step by Step].

Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) is a non-invasive simultaneous measurement of the cardiovascular and respiratory system during exercise to assess a patient's exercise capacity.It is used in a wide spectrum of clinical applications for the objective determination of functional capacity and impairment. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing involves measurements of respiratory oxygen uptake (VO2), carbon dioxide production (VCO2), and other cardiopulmonary and metabolic measures during a symptom-limited exercise test.

[Longterm Homecare Augmentation Program in Alpha-1-Antitrypsin Deficient Patients].

Background: Augmentation with human alpha-1 proteinase inhibitor is the only specific treatment for Alpha-1-Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD), a rare genetic disease with symptoms of progressive COPD.

Objectives: A prospective long-term exploration of outcomes during the "Alpha-1-Mobile" home care AAT augmentation program in seven advanced-stage patients.

Methods: Patients received weekly i.

'Dropped from the system': the experiences and challenges of long-term breast cancer survivors.

Aims: The aim of this study was to explore breast cancer patients' experiences during survivorship. Particular attention is given to the role of specialist breast care nurses in supporting women throughout this phase.

Background: There is a relative lack of research involving long-term breast cancer survivors.

Drug-induced myocarditis after nivolumab treatment in a patient with PDL1- negative squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.

Immunotherapy such as nivolumab is a new promising therapeutic option for advanced stage non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Due to the interference with the immune system previously unknown side effects are observed both in clinical studies and experience. Autoimmune phenomena effecting skin, gastrointestinal tract, endocrine glands, kidney and lung have been described.

A systematic review of the effectiveness of smartphone applications that encourage dietary self-regulatory strategies for weight loss in overweight and obese adults.

The aim of this paper is to systematically review the evidence to explore whether smartphone applications that use self-regulatory strategies are beneficial for weight loss in overweight and obese adults over the age of 18 years. Sixteen electronic databases were searched for articles published up to April 2015 including MEDLINE, OVID, Ingenta, PSYCARTICLES and PSYCINFO, CINAHL, Sportdiscus, Science Direct, Web of Knowledge, Cochrane Library, JSTOR, EBSCO, Proquest, Wiley and Google Scholar. Twenty nine eligible studies were retrieved of which six studies met the inclusion criteria.

The 'dark side' and 'bright side' of personality: when too much conscientiousness and too little anxiety are detrimental with respect to the acquisition of medical knowledge and skill.

Theory suggests that personality traits evolved to have costs and benefits, with the effectiveness of a trait dependent on how these costs and benefits relate to the present circumstances. This suggests that traits that are generally viewed as positive can have a 'dark side' and those generally viewed as negative can have a 'bright side' depending on changes in context. We test this in a sample of 220 UK medical students with respect to associations between the Big 5 personality traits and learning outcomes across the 5 years of a medical degree.

Impact of suspected food allergy on emotional distress and family life of parents prior to allergy diagnosis.

Background: Food allergy is associated with psychological distress in both child and parent. It is unknown whether parental distress is present prior to clinical diagnosis or whether experiences at clinic can reduce any distress present. This study aimed to assess anxiety and depression in parents and the impact of suspected food allergy on the lives of families before and after a visit to an allergy clinic.

Clinical and prognostic significance of histamine monitoring in patients with CML during treatment with imatinib (STI571).

Background: Although imatinib is highly effective in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), drug-resistance may occur. Therefore, monitoring of minimal residual disease (MRD) during treatment with imatinib is important. However, most MRD-parameters are expensive and require special technology.

Allergen cleavage by effector cell-derived proteases regulates allergic inflammation.

The key event of allergic inflammation, allergen-induced crosslinking of mast cell-bound IgE antibodies, is accompanied by release of inflammatory mediators, cytokines, and proteases, in particular beta-tryptase. We provide evidence that protease-mediated cleavage of allergens represents a mechanism that regulates allergen-induced mast cell activation. When used in molar ratios as they occur in vivo, purified beta-tryptase cleaved major grass and birch pollen allergens, resulting in defined peptide fragments as mapped by mass spectrometry.

Allergen-specific immunotherapy with a monophosphoryl lipid A-adjuvanted vaccine: reduced seasonally boosted immunoglobulin E production and inhibition of basophil histamine release by therapy-induced blocking antibodies.

Background: Allergen-specific immunotherapy represents a causal form of treatment for IgE-mediated allergies. The allergen extract-based analyses of immunotherapy-induced effects yielded highly controversial results regarding a beneficial role of therapy-induced IgG antibodies.

Objective: We analysed allergen-specific IgE, IgG subclass, and IgM responses in patients treated with a grass pollen allergy vaccine adjuvanted with monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL), a Th1-inducing agent, and in a placebo group using recombinant timothy grass pollen allergen molecules (rPhl p 1, rPhl p 2, rPhl p 5).

Serum tryptase measurements in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.

Abnormal differentiation and maturation of hemopoietic cells are characteristic features of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Tryptases (alpha- and beta-type) are lineage-restricted serine proteases primarily expressed in mast cells (MC). We have analyzed expression of tryptase in 89 de novo MDS patients (refractory anemia (RA), n = 30; RA with ringed sideroblasts (RARS), n = 21; RA with excess of blasts (RAEB/RAEB-t), n = 27; chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), n = 11).

Serum tryptase levels in patients with mastocytosis: correlation with mast cell burden and implication for defining the category of disease.

Background: The serum tryptase level is used as a diagnostic marker in mastocytosis and is considered to reflect the burden of (neoplastic) mast cells (MC).

Methods: In the present study, serum tryptase levels were measured in patients with mastocytosis by fluoroenzyme immunoassay and compared with the extent of infiltration of the bone marrow (BM) by neoplastic MC, determined by tryptase immunohistochemistry. Sixteen patients with cutaneous mastocytosis (CM) and 43 patients with systemic mastocytosis (SM) were examined.

Quantitative, phenotypic, and functional evaluation of basophils in myelodysplastic syndromes.

Background: The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of clonal haematological disorders characterized by cytopenia(s), reduced differentiation-capacity of myeloid cells, and impaired leukocyte function. However, little is known so far about basophil granulocytes in MDS.

Design: We have compared the numbers, phenotype and function of basophils in MDS patients with those in healthy subjects.

Expression of mast cell tryptase by myeloblasts in a group of patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

alpha- and beta-tryptase genes encode serine proteases that are abundantly expressed by mast cells. Under physiologic conditions other myeloid cells are virtually tryptase negative. However, tryptases are also expressed in several myeloid leukemia cell lines.

Genetic engineering of a hypoallergenic trimer of the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1.

An estimated 100 million individuals suffer from birch pollen allergy. Specific immunotherapy, the only curative allergy treatment, can cause life-threatening anaphylactic side effects. Here, we report the genetic engineering of a recombinant trimer consisting of three covalently linked copies of the major birch pollen allergen, Bet v 1.

Effects of interferon-alpha2b treatment on ex vivo differentiation of mast cells from circulating progenitor cells in a patient with systemic mastocytosis.

Interferon (IFN)-alpha, a known inhibitor of myelopoiesis, is increasingly used to treat patients with systemic mastocytosis (SM). However, the mechanisms of IFN-alpha effects on mast cell (MC) growth remain unknown, and the treatment responses may be variable. In the present study, factor-dependent ex-vivo differentiation of MCs from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) was analyzed in a patient with SM treated with IFN-alpha2b (3 million U/day).