Combination immunotherapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab in patients with rare gynecological malignancies: results of the CA209-538 clinical trial.

Background: Patients with rare cancers represent 55% of all gynecological malignancies and have poor survival outcomes due to limited treatment options. Combination immunotherapy with the anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) antibody nivolumab and the anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (anti-CTLA-4) antibody ipilimumab has demonstrated significant clinical efficacy across a range of common malignancies, justifying evaluation of this combination in rare gynecological cancers.

Methods: This multicenter phase II study enrolled 43 patients with advanced rare gynecological cancers.

Global Initiative for Asthma Strategy 2021: Executive Summary and Rationale for Key Changes.

The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Strategy Report provides clinicians with an annually updated evidence-based strategy for asthma management and prevention, which can be adapted for local circumstances (e.g., medication availability).

Global Initiative for Asthma Strategy 2021: executive summary and rationale for key changes.

https://bit.ly/3FZblIS

A Practical Guide to Implementing SMART in Asthma Management.

The use of a single inhaler containing the combination of an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and formoterol, a specific long-acting bronchodilator, for both maintenance and quick relief therapy (single maintenance and reliever therapy [SMART or MART]) is recommended by both the Global Initiative for Asthma and the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Coordinating Committee in steps 3 and 4 of asthma management. This article provides practical advice about implementing SMART in clinical practice based on evidence and clinical experience. Fundamental to SMART is that ICS-formoterol provides quick relief of asthma symptoms similar to that of short-acting β-agonists such as albuterol, while reducing the risk for severe asthma exacerbations and at an overall lower ICS exposure.

Survival and morbidity outcomes after pelvic exenteration for pelvic sarcoma: an institutional series.

Background: To describe our institutional experience in the management of locally advanced primary, and recurrent pelvic sarcoma through pelvic exenteration (PE).

Methods: Patients undergoing PE for locally advanced primary or recurrent pelvic sarcoma between 2003 and 2017 were identified from a prospectively maintained database at a single quaternary referral hospital in Sydney, Australia were eligible for review. The primary outcomes measured were surgical resection margin and survival.

Global Initiative for Asthma Strategy 2021: Executive Summary and Rationale for Key Changes.

The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Strategy Report provides clinicians with an annually updated evidence-based strategy for asthma management and prevention, which can be adapted for local circumstances (e.g., medication availability).

The needs and well-being of severe asthma and COPD carers: A cross-sectional study.

Background And Objective: Caring for people with severe asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can impair the quality of life (QoL) of the carer. We aimed to describe the QoL and needs of severe asthma and COPD carers.

Methods: Carers of severe asthma (n = 89) and COPD (n = 48) completed an online cross-sectional survey assessing QoL and carer support needs using the Short Form Health Survey 12v2 (SF-12), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Carers Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) questionnaires.

Clinical standards for the assessment, management and rehabilitation of post-TB lung disease.

Increasing evidence suggests that post-TB lung disease (PTLD) causes significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of these clinical standards is to provide guidance on the assessment and management of PTLD and the implementation of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). A panel of global experts in the field of TB care and PR was identified; 62 participated in a Delphi process.

Outcomes of routine screening for reproductive coercion in a family planning service.

Background Reproductive coercion (RC) occurs when a person's autonomous decision-making regarding reproductive health is compromised by another. RC screening, that is, the use of routine, non-invasive screening questions asked of service users/clients, is one strategy that can be used to assess for RC. Routine screening for RC was implemented within Family Planning NSW clinical consultations in December 2018.

Oral corticosteroids stewardship for asthma in adults and adolescents: A position paper from the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Oral corticosteroids (OCS) are frequently used for asthma treatment. This medication is highly effective for both acute and chronic diseases, but evidence indicates that indiscriminate OCS use is common, posing a risk of serious side effects and irreversible harm. There is now an urgent need to introduce OCS stewardship approaches, akin to successful initiatives that optimized appropriate antibiotic usage.

Sydney's 'last drinks' laws: A content analysis of news media coverage of views and arguments about a preventive health policy.

Introduction: News media representation of preventive health policies can influence public discussion and political decision making, impacting policy implementation and sustainability. This study analysed news media coverage of the contested 'last drinks' alcohol laws in Sydney, Australia, to understand the arguments made by different 'actors' (stakeholders) regarding the laws and provide insights on how preventive health policies are positioned within media discourse.

Methods: We identified print and online news media articles discussing the laws from 2014 to 2020.

Implementation of robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty in the public health system: a comparative cost analysis.

Purpose: Robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty (TKA) may improve the precision of bone preparation and component alignment when compared to the conventional surgical approach; however, the detailed cost analysis of robotic-assisted TKA is lacking. This study aims to compare in-hospital costs between robotic-assisted and computer-navigated TKA.

Methods: Patients undergoing primary TKA at a public hospital in Sydney between October 2018 and June 2019 were included.

Skin cancer classification via convolutional neural networks: systematic review of studies involving human experts.

Background: Multiple studies have compared the performance of artificial intelligence (AI)-based models for automated skin cancer classification to human experts, thus setting the cornerstone for a successful translation of AI-based tools into clinicopathological practice.

Objective: The objective of the study was to systematically analyse the current state of research on reader studies involving melanoma and to assess their potential clinical relevance by evaluating three main aspects: test set characteristics (holdout/out-of-distribution data set, composition), test setting (experimental/clinical, inclusion of metadata) and representativeness of participating clinicians.

Methods: PubMed, Medline and ScienceDirect were screened for peer-reviewed studies published between 2017 and 2021 and dealing with AI-based skin cancer classification involving melanoma.

At my own pace, space, and place: a systematic review of qualitative studies of enablers and barriers to telehealth interventions for people with chronic pain.

Telehealth is a promising approach to support self-management with the potential to overcome geographical barriers. Understanding patient perspectives will identify practical challenges to delivering self-management strategies by telehealth. The aim of this study was to synthesize the perceptions of people with chronic musculoskeletal pain for engaging in interventions delivered using telehealth.

Australia and New Zealand Transplant and Cellular Therapies COVID-19 vaccination consensus position statement.

Australia and New Zealand have achieved excellent community control of COVID-19 infection. In light of the imminent COVID-19 vaccination roll out in both countries, representatives of all adult and paediatric allogeneic bone marrow transplant and cellular therapy (TCT) centres as well as representatives from autologous transplant only centres in Australia and New Zealand collaborated with infectious diseases specialists with expertise in TCT on this consensus position statement regarding COVID-19 vaccination in TCT patients in Australia and New Zealand. It is our recommendation that TCT patients, should have expedited access to high-efficacy COVID-19 vaccines given that these patients are at high risk of morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 infection.

Bias-Adaptable CO-to-CO Conversion via Tuning the Binding of Competing Intermediates.

CO electroreduction powered by renewable electricity represents a promising method to enclose anthropogenic carbon cycle. Current catalysts display high selectivity toward the desired product only over a narrow potential window due primarily to unoptimized intermediate binding. Here, we report a functional ligand modification strategy in which palladium nanoparticles are encapsulated inside metal-organic frameworks with 2,2'-bipyridine organic linkers to tune intermediate binding and thus to sustain a highly selective CO-to-CO conversion over widened potential window.

Immediate and Temporal Enhancement of Power Conversion Efficiency in Surface-Passivated Perovskite Solar Cells.

This work reports strategies for improving the power conversion efficiency (PCE) by capitalizing on temporal changes through the storage effect and immediate improvements by interface passivation. It is demonstrated that both strategies can be combined as shown by PCE improvement in passivated perovskite solar cells (PSCs) upon ambient storage because of trap density reduction. By analyzing the dominant charge recombination process, we find that lead-related traps in perovskite bulk, rather than at the surface, are the recombination centers in both as-fabricated and ambient-stored passivated PSCs.