Survey of pharmacists' perspectives on preparing discharge medicine lists: a cross-sectional single-centre study.

Objectives: This study explored South-East Queensland Australian pharmacists' perspectives on preparing discharge medicine lists, specifically involvement of pharmacy assistants, use of electronic medication management software, and expanding pharmacists' scope during discharge.

Methods: Electronic survey distributed to pharmacists during December 2021 and data collected over 3 weeks.

Key Findings: Pharmacists supported increased involvement of pharmacy assistants (with structured collaborative training), pharmacist-led medication reconciliation, and producing the discharge medicine list directly from the electronic record.

Recommendations for mitochondria transfer and transplantation nomenclature and characterization.

Intercellular mitochondria transfer is an evolutionarily conserved process in which one cell delivers some of their mitochondria to another cell in the absence of cell division. This process has diverse functions depending on the cell types involved and physiological or disease context. Although mitochondria transfer was first shown to provide metabolic support to acceptor cells, recent studies have revealed diverse functions of mitochondria transfer, including, but not limited to, the maintenance of mitochondria quality of the donor cell and the regulation of tissue homeostasis and remodelling.

Harnessing defective interfering particles and lipid nanoparticles for effective delivery of an anti-dengue virus RNA therapy.

Currently, no approved antiviral drugs target dengue virus (DENV) infection, leaving treatment reliant on supportive care. DENV vaccine efficacy varies depending on the vaccine type, the circulating serotype, and vaccine coverage. We investigated defective interfering particles (DIPs) and lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to deliver DI290, an anti-DENV DI RNA.

The adaptor protein Miro1 modulates horizontal transfer of mitochondria in mouse melanoma models.

Recent research has shown that mtDNA-deficient cancer cells (ρ cells) acquire mitochondria from tumor stromal cells to restore respiration, facilitating tumor formation. We investigated the role of Miro1, an adaptor protein involved in movement of mitochondria along microtubules, in this phenomenon. Inducible Miro1 knockout (Miro1) mice markedly delayed tumor formation after grafting ρ cancer cells.

Isolation and characterisation of a heparosan capsular polysaccharide and a core oligosaccharide from Moraxella lincolnii strain CCUG 52988.

Moraxella lincolnii is a Gram-negative bacterium that resides in the upper respiratory tract (URT) of humans and may have a role as a member of a protective microbial community. Structural characterisation studies of its outer membrane glycan structures are very limited. We report here the isolation and structural characterisation (NMR, GLC-MS) of a capsular polysaccharide (CPS) and an oligosaccharide (OS) (lipooligosaccharide (LOS)-derived) isolated from strain CCUG 52988.

Intuitive eating predictors and outcomes in people with severe mental illness participating in a lifestyle intervention.

Issue Addressed: People with severe mental illness (SMI) are at higher risk of preventable diseases than the general population; poor diet contributes to heightened risk. Adaptive approaches designed to improve intuitive eating may improve dietary behaviours in people with SMI. Aims of this study were to investigate predictors of, and assess the impact of a nutrition program on, intuitive eating in people with SMI.

Evaluation of intranasal TLR2/6 agonist INNA-051: safety, tolerability and proof of pharmacology.

Background: Local priming of the innate immune system with a Toll-like receptor (TLR)2/6 agonist may reduce morbidity and mortality associated with viral respiratory tract infections, particularly for the elderly and those with chronic diseases. The objectives of the present study were to understand the potential of prophylactic treatment with a TLR2/6 agonist as an enhancer of innate immunity pathways leading to accelerated respiratory virus clearance from the upper airways.

Methods: Two randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials were conducted in healthy adult participants.

Formulation, Characterisation, and Biocompatibility Assessment of Rifampicin-Loaded Poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) Composites for Local Treatment of Orthopaedic and Wound Infections.

The escalating challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) necessitates the development of targeted antibiotic delivery platforms, minimising systemic administration. Polymer-based drug delivery emerges as a promising solution, ensuring sustained release and prolonged efficacy of bioactive compounds, ensuring long-term efficacy. This study focuses on encapsulating rifampicin (RIF), a key antibiotic for orthopaedic and wound-related infections, within Poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), a biodegradable polymer, through solvent casting, to formulate a PLGA-RIF composite membrane.

Mitochondrial DNA damage, repair, and replacement in cancer.

Mitochondria are vital organelles with their own DNA (mtDNA). mtDNA is circular and composed of heavy and light chains that are structurally more accessible than nuclear DNA (nDNA). While nDNA is typically diploid, the number of mtDNA copies per cell is higher and varies considerably during development and between tissues.

Efficacy of the Nutrition Education and Screening Tool as a Foundation for Exploring Perinatal Diet and Determinants in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women of Far North Queensland.

Background/objectives: Assessing perinatal diet and its determinants in Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women remains challenging, given the paucity of tools that incorporate Aboriginal ways of knowing, being, and remembering within a quantitative framework. This study aimed to explore the determinants of perinatal nutrition in this population and to evaluate the efficacy of the Nutrition Education and Screening Tool (NEST) in collecting diet-related data in this population.

Methods: This study employed a Participatory Action Research approach using the NEST as a foundation for structured research inquiry.

Characterization of regeneration initiating cells during Xenopus laevis tail regeneration.

Background: Embryos are regeneration and wound healing masters. They rapidly close wounds and scarlessly remodel and regenerate injured tissue. Regeneration has been extensively studied in many animal models using new tools such as single-cell analysis.

Medicine communication from hospital to residential aged care facilities: a cross-sectional survey of aged care facility staff.

Background: Continuity of medicines management can be compromised when older people are transferred between hospital and residential aged care facilities.

Aim: This study explored medicines management practices at facilities during patients' transfer of care from hospital, and staff experiences with medicines information handover from hospitals.

Method: An electronic cross-sectional questionnaire sent to all residential aged care facilities within a metropolitan region in Australia, in February 2022.

Early life stress exacerbates the obesogenic and anxiogenic effects of a Western diet without worsening cardiac ischaemic tolerance in male mice.

Early life stress (ELS) and a Western diet (WD) promote mood and cardiovascular disorders, however, how these risks interact in disease pathogenesis is unclear. We assessed effects of ELS with or without a subsequent WD on behaviour, cardiometabolic risk factors, and cardiac function/ischaemic tolerance in male mice. Fifty-six new-born male C57BL/6J mice were randomly allocated to a control group (CON) undisturbed before weaning, or to maternal separation (3h/day) and early (postnatal day 17) weaning (MSEW).

The effect of Proteinase K treatment on GeoMx digital spatial profiling data quality from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue.

The emergence of spatial profiling technologies in recent years has accelerated opportunities to profile in detail the molecular attributes of a wide range of tissue pathologies using archival specimens. However, tissue treatment for fixation and storage does not always support generation of high-quality genomic data. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of Proteinase K (ProtK) treatment, as a way to increase target transcript exposure, on downstream sequencing data quality metrics for spatial transcriptomic data using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples.

MitoTam induces ferroptosis and increases radiosensitivity in head and neck cancer cells.

Background And Purpose: Radiotherapy (RT) is an integral treatment part for patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but radioresistance remains a major issue. Here, we use MitoTam, a mitochondrially targeted analogue of tamoxifen, which we aim to stimulate ferroptotic cell death with, and sensitize radioresistant cells to RT.

Materials And Methods: We assessed viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, and lipid peroxidation in radiosensitive (UT-SCC-40) and radioresistant (UT-SCC-5) HNSCC cells following MitoTam treatment.

Mitochondrial translation is the primary determinant of secondary mitochondrial complex I deficiencies.

Individual complexes of the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS) are not linked solely by their function; they also share dependencies at the maintenance/assembly level, where one complex depends on the presence of a different individual complex. Despite the relevance of this "interdependence" behavior for mitochondrial diseases, its true nature remains elusive. To understand the mechanism that can explain this phenomenon, we examined the consequences of the aberration of different OXPHOS complexes in human cells.

An enhanced and rapid method for von Willebrand factor multimer analysis for mechanical circulatory device testing.

Background: Von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a critical glycoprotein in hemostasis and is an important factor in diagnosing bleeding disorders. Albeit the analysis of VWF is often compromised by inconsistent methodologies and challenges quantifying multimeric size. Current VWF multimer analysis methods are costly, time-consuming, and often inconsistent; thus, demanding skilled professionals.

Sex-Specific Changes to Brain Fatty Acids, Plasmalogen, and Plasma Endocannabinoids in Offspring Exposed to Maternal and Postnatal High-Linoleic-Acid Diets.

Linoleic acid (LA) is required for neuronal development. We have previously demonstrated sex-specific changes in cardiovascular and hepatic function in rat offspring from mothers consuming a high-LA diet, with some effects associated with reduced LA concentration in the postnatal diet. At this time, the impact of a high-maternal-LA diet on offspring brain development and the potential for the postnatal diet to alter any adverse changes are unknown.

Antidiabetic and antiulcer activity of methanolic extract of Tradescantia spathacea in rats.

The present study was designed to assess Tradescantia spathacea's antidiabetic ability, as well as the antiulcer activity of the entire plant extract. The diabetic condition was evaluated using Streptozotocin's oral glucose tolerance test, diabetes-alloxan and diabetes-models. Antiulcer activities were observed in rats where gastric ulcers were either caused by oral administration of ethanol, or pyloric ligation.

Safety and biological outcomes following a phase 1 trial of GD2-specific CAR-T cells in patients with GD2-positive metastatic melanoma and other solid cancers.

Background: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies specific for the CD19 and B-cell maturation antigen have become an approved standard of care worldwide for relapsed and refractory B-cell malignancies. If CAR-T cell therapy for non-hematological malignancies is to achieve the same stage of clinical development, then iterative early-phase clinical testing can add value to the clinical development process for evaluating CAR-T cell products containing different CAR designs and manufactured under differing conditions.

Methods: We conducted a phase 1 trial of third-generation GD2-specific CAR-T cell therapy, which has previously been tested in neuroblastoma patients.

Residual OXPHOS is required to drive primary and metastatic lung tumours in an orthotopic breast cancer model.

Background: Fast adaptation of glycolytic and mitochondrial energy pathways to changes in the tumour microenvironment is a hallmark of cancer. Purely glycolytic ρ tumour cells do not form primary tumours unless they acquire healthy mitochondria from their micro-environment. Here we explored the effects of severely compromised respiration on the metastatic capability of 4T1 mouse breast cancer cells.

Maternal Diet High in Linoleic Acid Alters Renal Branching Morphogenesis and mTOR/AKT Signalling Genes in Rat Fetal Kidneys.

Linoleic acid (LA), an n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), is obtained from the maternal diet during pregnancy, and is essential for normal fetal growth and development. A maternal high-LA (HLA) diet alters maternal and offspring fatty acids, maternal leptin and male/female ratio at embryonic (E) day 20 (E20). We investigated the effects of an HLA diet on embryonic offspring renal branching morphogenesis, leptin signalling, megalin signalling and angiogenesis gene expression.

Characterizing OXPHOS inhibitor-mediated alleviation of hypoxia using high-throughput live cell-imaging.

Background: Hypoxia is a common feature of many solid tumors and causes radiotherapy and immunotherapy resistance. Pharmacological inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) has emerged as a therapeutic strategy to reduce hypoxia. However, the OXPHOS inhibitors tested in clinical trials caused only moderate responses in hypoxia alleviation or trials were terminated due to dose-limiting toxicities.