Background: Platelet function testing is important for monitoring the effects of antiplatelet therapy but is not readily used due to time constraints for testing and the need for specialized equipment.
Objectives: This study evaluated the effects of various storage methods on selected platelet function tests to determine if delayed platelet function testing is feasible in canine blood samples. Our hypotheses were that platelet function would not decline during storage and, thus, no differences in test results would be found over time.
Low levels of plastics circularity today reflect major challenges for the sector to reduce environmental impacts and a need for wider systemic change. In this work, we investigated the potential for climate and socioeconomic benefits of circular economy (CE) interventions in the plastic packaging system. By means of a mixed-unit input-output (IO) model, we performed a comparative scenario analysis for the development of demand and waste management up to 2030 within the EU-28 (EU27 + United Kingdom).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBACKGROUNDIgE-mediated anaphylaxis is a potentially fatal systemic allergic reaction for which there are no currently FDA-approved preventative therapies. Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) is an essential enzyme for IgE-mediated signaling pathways and is an ideal pharmacologic target to prevent allergic reactions. In this open-label trial, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of acalabrutinib, a BTK inhibitor that is FDA approved to treat some B cell malignancies, in preventing clinical reactivity to peanut in adults with peanut allergy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEndometriosis is an invasive condition that affects 10% of women (and people assigned as female at birth) worldwide. The purpose of this study was to characterize the relative invasiveness of three available endometriotic cell lines (EEC12Z, iEc-ESCs, tHESCs) to cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231, SW1353 and EM-E6/E7/TERT) and assess whether the relative invasiveness was consistent across different invasion assays. All cell lines were subjected to transwell, spheroid drop, and spheroid-gel invasion assays, and stained for vimentin, cytokeratin, E-Cadherin and N-Cadherin to assess changes in expression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Customizing the accessibility and ease-of-use settings of a computer can improve the overall user experience for people with and without disabilities. However, the adoption of such settings remains poor. This study investigates various factors may influence people as they personalize and they choose to integrate those changes into everyday use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFluid-driven robotic systems typically use bulky and rigid power supplies, considerably limiting their mobility and flexibility. Although various forms of low-profile soft pumps have been demonstrated, they either are limited to specific working fluids or generate limited flow rates or pressures, making them ill-suited for widespread robotics applications. In this work, we introduce a class of centimeter-scale soft peristaltic pumps for power and control of fluidic robots.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe evolutionary processes of speciation during the Cambrian radiation and their potential extrinsic drivers, such as episodic oceanic oxygenation events, remain unconfirmed. High-resolution temporal and spatial distribution of reef-associated archaeocyath sponge species on the Siberian Craton during the early Cambrian [ca. 528 to 510 million years ago] shows that speciation was driven by increased endemism particularly ca.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Med (Lausanne)
June 2023
Introduction: Endometriosis is a common condition with average delays to diagnosis in New Zealand of almost 9 years.
Methods: In total, 50 endometriosis patients participated in anonymous, asynchronous, online group discussions about their priorities, and their experiences with the development of symptoms, seeking a diagnosis, and receiving appropriate treatment.
Results: Higher subsidy of care was the top change endometriosis patients wanted, followed by more research funding.
Background And Objectives: The family medicine residency application process is arduous and competitive. An important part of the application is the in-person interview process, which was affected during the last two interview cycles (2021-2022) due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual interviews eliminate traveling costs associated with applications, potentially improving underrepresented minorities' access to interviewing opportunities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFErrol Clive Friedberg, who died at the end of March 2023, was the first Editor-in-Chief of the journal DNA Repair. He was an influential DNA repair scientist, a synthesizer of ideas, and an accomplished historian. In addition to the research accomplishments of his laboratory groups, Errol Friedberg provided enormous service to the DNA repair community though organizing major conferences, journal editing, and writing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that outpatient people living with HIV (PLHIV) undergo tuberculosis screening with the WHO four-symptom screen (W4SS) or C-reactive protein (CRP) (5 mg·L cut-off) followed by confirmatory testing if screen positive. We conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis to determine the performance of WHO-recommended screening tools and two newly developed clinical prediction models (CPMs).
Methods: Following a systematic review, we identified studies that recruited adult outpatient PLHIV irrespective of tuberculosis signs and symptoms or with a positive W4SS, evaluated CRP and collected sputum for culture.
Background/rationale: Anorectal malformations (ARM) are associated with congenital anomalies of the spine, but the impact of a minor spinal cord dysraphism (mSCD) on fecal continence in the setting of ARM remains unclear.
Materials/methods: A retrospective review was performed utilizing data from the Pediatric Colorectal and Pelvic Learning Consortium (PCPLC) registry. The patient cohort was reviewed for ARM type, mSCD screening/incidence/neurosurgical intervention and age-based BMP utilization.
Background: The mechanism for anaphylaxis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination has been widely debated; understanding this serious adverse event is important for future vaccines of similar design. A mechanism proposed is type I hypersensitivity (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: For people with HIV and CD4 counts >500 cells/mm, early initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduces serious AIDS and serious non-AIDS (SNA) risk compared with deferral of treatment until CD4 counts are <350 cells/mm. Whether excess risk of AIDS and SNA persists once ART is initiated for those who defer treatment is uncertain.
Methods: The Strategic Timing of AntiRetroviral Treatment (START) trial, as previously reported, randomly assigned 4684 ART-naive HIV-positive adults with CD4 counts .
J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr
August 2023
Objectives: The objective of this study is to investigate long-term outcomes of antegrade continence enema (ACE) treatment in children with constipation or fecal incontinence.
Methods: Prospective cohort study including pediatric patients with organic or functional defecation disorders who started ACE treatment. Data were collected at baseline and at follow-up (FU) from 6 weeks until 60 months.
Background: The incidence and optimal management of rectal prolapse following repair of an anorectal malformation (ARM) has not been well-defined.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed utilizing data from the Pediatric Colorectal and Pelvic Learning Consortium registry. All children with a history of ARM repair were included.
Anaphylaxis reactions lie on a spectrum of severity, ranging from relatively mild lower respiratory involvement (depending on the definition of anaphylaxis used) to more severe reactions that are refractory to initial treatment with epinephrine and may rarely cause death. A variety of grading scales exist to characterize severe reactions, but there is a lack of consensus about the optimal approach to define severity. More recently, a new entity called refractory anaphylaxis (RA) has emerged in the literature, characterized by the persistence of anaphylaxis despite initial epinephrine treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: No approved treatment for peanut allergy exists for children younger than 4 years of age, and the efficacy and safety of epicutaneous immunotherapy with a peanut patch in toddlers with peanut allergy are unknown.
Methods: We conducted this phase 3, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial involving children 1 to 3 years of age with peanut allergy confirmed by a double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge. Patients who had an eliciting dose (the dose necessary to elicit an allergic reaction) of 300 mg or less of peanut protein were assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive epicutaneous immunotherapy delivered by means of a peanut patch (intervention group) or to receive placebo administered daily for 12 months.
Objective: To compare neonatal mortality associated with six novel vulnerable newborn types in 125.5 million live births across 15 countries, 2000-2020.
Design: Population-based, multi-country study.
Objective: To examine the prevalence of novel newborn types among 165 million live births in 23 countries from 2000 to 2021.
Design: Population-based, multi-country analysis.
Setting: National data systems in 23 middle- and high-income countries.
Purpose: To compare adherence to once-daily umeclidinium/vilanterol (UMEC/VI), a long-acting muscarinic antagonist/long-acting β-agonist (LAMA/LABA), and twice-daily inhaled corticosteroids (ICS)/LABA single-inhaler dual therapy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a primary care cohort in England.
Patients And Methods: Active comparator, new-user, retrospective cohort study using CPRD-Aurum primary care data and linked Hospital Episode Statistics secondary care administrative data. Patients without exacerbations in the previous year were indexed on first/earliest prescription date of once-daily UMEC/VI or twice-daily ICS/LABA as initial maintenance therapy between July 2014-September 2019.