Determinants of LA reservoir strain: Independent effects of LA volume and LV global longitudinal strain.

Background: Left atrial (LA) deformation during the reservoir phase (LASr) has demonstrated strong prognostic value in different clinical settings. Although determinants of left atrial reservoir strain including left atrial relaxation, left atrial compliance, and left ventricular longitudinal systolic function are fairly well defined, there is incomplete information regarding the effect of left atrial volume on this relationship which is the focus of our study.

Method: Consecutive patients without prior cardiac disease referred for transthoracic echocardiography were prospectively recruited.

Can post-mortem coronary artery calcium scores aid diagnosis in young sudden death?

This study sought to explore the feasibility and utility of post-mortem coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring in identifying patients with ischemic heart disease as cause of sudden death. 100 deceased patients aged 18-50 years underwent post-mortem examination in the setting of sudden death. At post-mortem, fifty cases were determined to have ischemic heart disease, and fifty had death attributed to trauma or unascertained causes.

Facemask against viral respiratory infections among Hajj pilgrims: A challenging cluster-randomized trial.

Background: In this large-scale cluster-randomized controlled trial (cRCT) we sought to assess the effectiveness of facemasks against viral respiratory infections.

Methods And Results: Over three consecutive Hajj seasons (2013, 2014, 2015) pilgrims' tents in Makkah were allocated to 'facemask' or 'no facemask' group. Fifty facemasks were offered to participants in intervention tents, to be worn over four days, and none were offered to participants in control tents.

Bacterial antigen is directly delivered to the draining lymph nodes and activates CD8 T cells during Staphylococcus aureus skin infection.

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common causes of community- and hospital-acquired bacterial infection worldwide. While neutrophils play an important role in anti-S. aureus immune defense, the role of adaptive immunity is less clear.

Molecular recognition and sensing of dicarboxylates and dicarboxylic acids.

The recognition and detection of dicarboxylic acids and dicarboxylates is of significance for a wide variety of applications, including medical diagnosis, monitoring of health and of environmental contaminants, and in industry. Hence small molecule receptors and sensors for dicarboxylic acids and dicarboxylates have great potential for applications in these fields. This review outlines the challenges faced in the recognition and detection of these species, strategies that have been used to obtain effective and observable interactions with dicarboxylic acids and dicarboxylates, and progress made in this field in the period from 2014 to 2020.

Cost-analysis of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in patients with peritoneal malignancy: An Australian perspective with global application.

Background: Cost-effective cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for treatment of patients with peritoneal malignancy remains an ongoing financial challenge for healthcare systems, hospitals and patients. This study aims to describe the detailed in-hospital costs of CRS and HIPEC compared with an Australian Activity Based Funding (ABF) system, and to evaluate how the learning curve, disease entities and surgical outcomes influence in-hospital costs.

Methods: A retrospective descriptive costing review of all CRS and HIPEC cases undertaken at a large public tertiary referral hospital in Sydney, Australia from April 2017 to June 2019.

Longer Follow-Up Confirms Recurrence-Free Survival Benefit of Adjuvant Pembrolizumab in High-Risk Stage III Melanoma: Updated Results From the EORTC 1325-MG/KEYNOTE-054 Trial.

Purpose: We conducted the phase III double-blind European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 1325/KEYNOTE-054 trial to evaluate pembrolizumab versus placebo in patients with resected high-risk stage III melanoma. On the basis of 351 recurrence-free survival (RFS) events at a 1.25-year median follow-up, pembrolizumab prolonged RFS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.

Tricyclic heterocycles display diverse sensitivity to the A147T TSPO polymorphism.

The 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) is a target for the development of imaging agents to detect neuroinflammation. The clinical utility of second-generation TSPO ligands has been hindered by the presence of a polymorphism, rs6971, which causes a non-conservative substitution of alanine for threonine at amino acid residue 147 (TSPO A147T). Given the complex nature of TSPO binding, and the lack of non-discriminating high-affinity ligands at both wild type and A147T forms of TSPO, a series of novel TSPO ligands containing various heterocyclic scaffolds was developed to explore the pharmacophoric drivers of affinity loss at TSPO A147T.

Deficits in all aspects of social competence identified in children who have undergone epilepsy surgery.

Research on social competence of children who undergo epilepsy surgery is limited. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the frequency and pattern of impairments in social competence (domains: social skills, social adjustment, and social performance) in a cohort of children who underwent surgery for intractable epilepsy at a single epilepsy surgical center. In addition, we explored the relationships between social competence with epilepsy variables, surgical variables, and seizure outcomes.

COVID-19: The need for an Australian economic pandemic response plan.

Objectives: Pandemics pressure national governments to respond swiftly. Mitigation efforts created an imbalance between population health, capacity of the healthcare system and economic prosperity. Each pandemic arising from a new virus is unknown territory for policy makers, and there is considerable uncertainty of the appropriateness of responses and outcomes.

Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit (APSU) Annual Surveillance Report 2019.

The Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit (APSU) has been prospectively collecting national data on rare childhood conditions since 1993, with monthly reporting of cases by paediatricians. In this report we describe annual results from studies for ten communicable diseases and complications of communicable diseases that were conducted using APSU surveillance in 2019 and place these in an historic context. Results are reported on acute flaccid paralysis, congenital cytomegalovirus infection, neonatal herpes simplex virus infection, perinatal exposure to HIV, paediatric HIV infection, severe complications of seasonal influenza, juvenile onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JoRRP), congenital rubella syndrome, congenital varicella syndrome and neonatal varicella infection.

Evaluating spectral cytometry for immune profiling in viral disease.

In conventional fluorescence cytometry, each fluorophore present in a panel is measured in a target detector, through the use of wide band-pass optical filters. In contrast, spectral cytometry uses a large number of detectors with narrow band-pass filters to measure a fluorophore's signal across the spectrum, creating a more detailed fluorescent signature for each fluorophore. The spectral approach shows promise in adding flexibility to panel design and improving the measurement of fluorescent signal.

Engaging consumers in health research: a narrative review.

Objective Consumer and community engagement (CCE) in research is increasingly valued in a contemporary healthcare environment that seeks to genuinely partner with consumers and the wider community. Although there is widespread agreement at research governance levels as to the benefits of CCE in research, there is little available research-based guidance as to how best to proceed with CCE organisationally and how to manage and overcome barriers. The aim of this narrative review was to draw together the available research, review findings and relevant governance-related material and to discuss these in light of a case series among research-engaged consumers in order to chart a practical way forward.

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are activated in the gastrointestinal tissue of patients with combination ipilimumab and nivolumab therapy-related colitis in a pathology distinct from ulcerative colitis.

The aim of this study was to investigate the pathogenesis of combination ipilimumab and nivolumab-associated colitis (IN-COL) by measuring gut-derived and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (GMNC; PBMC) profiles. We studied GMNC and PBMC from patients with IN-COL, IN-treated with no adverse-events (IN-NAE), ulcerative colitis (UC) and healthy volunteers using flow cytometry. In the gastrointestinal-derived cells we found high levels of activated CD8 T cells and mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells in IN-COL, changes that were not evident in IN-NAE or UC.

Evaluation of Combination Nivolumab and Ipilimumab Immunotherapy in Patients With Advanced Biliary Tract Cancers: Subgroup Analysis of a Phase 2 Nonrandomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Biliary tract cancers represent a rare group of malignant conditions with very limited treatment options. Patients with advanced disease have a poor outcome with current therapies.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of combination immunotherapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab in patients with advanced biliary tract cancers.

Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation on Disabling Foot Pain in Patients With Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis.

Objective: The present study was undertaken to determine whether vitamin D supplementation or maintaining sufficient vitamin D level reduces foot pain over 2 years in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: A post hoc study was conducted from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial named the Vitamin D Effect on Osteoarthritis (VIDEO) study. Symptomatic knee OA patients with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels between 12.

E-cigarettes damage the liver and alter nutrient metabolism in pregnant mice and their offspring.

Approximately 15% of pregnant women vape electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), exposing the fetus to a range of toxic compounds, including nicotine and by-products of e-cigarette liquid (e-liquid) pyrolysis. Owing to the recent emergence of these products, research mainly focuses on immediate users, and not on in utero exposure. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the impact of intrauterine e-cigarette vapor (e-vapor) exposure, with and without nicotine, on liver metabolic markers in the male offspring.

Rechallenge patients with immune checkpoint inhibitors following severe immune-related adverse events: review of the literature and suggested prophylactic strategy.

Patients with cancer who developed severe, grade 3 or 4 immune-related adverse events (irAEs) during therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors are at risk for developing severe toxicities again on rechallenge with checkpoint inhibitors. Consequently, medical oncologists and multidisciplinary teams are hesitant to retreat in this scenario, despite the fact that a number of patients may derive clinical benefit from this approach. Balancing such clinical benefit and treatment-related toxicities for each patient is becoming increasingly challenging as more and more patients with cancer are being treated with checkpoint inhibitors.