Notes

Easy medical explantation strategy for self-expanding transcatheter aortic device: 'lasso technique'.
High-level disinfection protects tens-of-millions of patients from the transmission of viruses on reusable medical devices. The efficacy of high-level disinfectants for preventing human papillomavirus (HPV) transmission has been called into question by recent publications, which if true, would have significant public health implications.

Evaluation of the clinical relevance of these published findings required the development of novel methods to quantify and compare (i) Infectious titres of lab-produced, clinically-sourced, and animal-derived papillomaviruses, (ii) The papillomavirus dose responses in the newly developed in vitro and in vivo models, and the kinetics of in vivo disease formation, and (iii) The efficacy of high-level disinfectants in inactivating papillomaviruses in these systems.

Clinical virus titres obtained from cervical lesions were comparable to those obtained from tissue (raft-culture) and in vivo models. A mouse tail infection model showed a clear dose-response for disease formation, that papillomaviruses remain stable and infective on fomite surfaces for at least 8 weeks without squames and up to a year with squames, and that there is a 10-fold drop in virus titre with transfer from a fomite surface to a new infection site. Disinfectants such as ortho-phthalaldehyde and hydrogen peroxide, but not ethanol, were highly effective at inactivating multiple HPV types in vitro and in vivo.

Together with comparable results presented in a companion manuscript from an independent laboratory, this work demonstrates that high-level disinfectants inactivate HPV and highlights the need for standardized and well-controlled methods to assess HPV transmission and disinfection.

Advanced Sterilization Products, UK-MRC (MR/S024409/1 and MC-PC-13050) and Addenbrookes Charitable Trust.
Advanced Sterilization Products, UK-MRC (MR/S024409/1 and MC-PC-13050) and Addenbrookes Charitable Trust.The BMI1 protein, a member of the PRC1 family, is a well recognised transcriptional suppressor and has the capability of maintaining the self-renewal and proliferation of tissue-specific stem cells. Numerous studies have established that BMI1 is highly expressed in a variety of malignant cancers and serves as a key regulator in the tumorigenesis process. However, our understanding of BMI1 in terminally differentiated organs, such as the heart, is relatively nascent. Importantly, emerging data support that, beyond the tumor, BMI1 is also expressed in the heart tissue and indeed exerts profound effects in various cardiac pathological conditions. This review gives a summary of the novel functions of BMI1 in the heart, including BMI1-positive cardiac stem cells and BMI1-mediated signaling pathways, which are involved in the response to various cardiac pathological stimuli. Besides, we summarize the recent progress of BMI1 in some novel and rapidly developing cardiovascular therapies. Furtherly, we highlight the properties of BMI1, a therapeutic target proved effective in cancer treatment, as a promising target to alleviate cardiovascular diseases.
Altered lipid metabolism in early life has been associated with subsequent weight gain and predicting this could aid in obesity prevention and risk management. Here, a lipidomic approach was used to identify circulating markers for future obesity risk in translational murine models and validate in a human infant cohort.

Lipidomics was performed on the plasma of APOE*3 Leiden, Ldlr-/-.Leiden, and the wild-type C57BL/6J mice to capture candidate biomarkers predicting subsequent obesity parameters after exposure to high-fat diet. The identified candidate biomarkers were mapped onto corresponding lipid metabolism pathways and were investigated in the Cambridge Baby Growth Study. Infants' growth and adiposity were measured at 0-24 months. Capillary dried blood spots were sampled at 3 months for lipid profiling analysis.

From the mouse models, cholesteryl esters were correlated with subsequent weight gain and other obesity parameters after HFD period (Spearman's r≥0.5, FDR p values <0.05) among APOE*3 Leidivities in lipid metabolism were associated with subsequent body size increase, providing a potential tool to predict early life weight gain.Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a neurodegenerative disease that presents with profound changes in social cognition. Music might be a sensitive probe for social cognition abilities, but underlying neurobiological substrates are unclear. We performed a meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry studies in FTD patients and functional MRI studies for music perception and social cognition tasks in cognitively normal controls to identify robust patterns of atrophy (FTD) or activation (music perception or social cognition). Conjunction analyses were performed to identify overlapping brain regions. In total 303 articles were included 53 for FTD (n = 1153 patients, 42.5% female; 1337 controls, 53.8% female), 28 for music perception (n = 540, 51.8% female) and 222 for social cognition in controls (n = 5664, 50.2% female). Selleck Pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate ammonium We observed considerable overlap in atrophy patterns associated with FTD, and functional activation associated with music perception and social cognition, mostly encompassing the ventral language network. We further observed overlap across all three modalities in mesolimbic, basal forebrain and striatal regions. The results of our meta-analysis suggest that music perception and social cognition share neurobiological circuits that are affected in FTD. This supports the idea that music might be a sensitive probe for social cognition abilities with implications for diagnosis and monitoring.
Silicosis is a rapidly emerging major health concern for workers in the artificial stone benchtop industry. The association between serum angiotensin converting enzyme (sACE) levels and artificial stone silicosis is unknown.

We investigated 179 male workers (median age 40 years, interquartile range (IQR) 33-48 years) from the stone benchtop industry in Victoria, Australia. All had worked in an environment where dry processing of artificial stone had occurred and were registered with the Victorian Silica-associated Disease Registry between June 2019 and August 2020. Workers had undergone protocolised assessments including respiratory function testing, high resolution CT chest and blood tests panel, including sACE.

Sixty workers with artificial stone silicosis were identified and they had a higher median sACE level (64.1 U/L, IQR 51.5, 87.5), compared to 119 without silicosis (35.0 U/L, IQR 25.0, 47.0). Compared to those with a normal assessment, regression modelling noted significantly higher average differences in sACE levels for workers with lymphadenopathy alone (12.1 U/L, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3, 22.9), simple silicosis (28.7 U/L, 95% CI 21.3, 36.0) and complicated silicosis (36.0 U/L, 95% CI 25.2, 46.9). There was a small negative association with gas transfer, but no associations with exposure duration or spirometry.

sACE levels were noted to be higher in artificial stone workers with silicosis compared to those without disease and was highest in those with complicated silicosis. Longitudinal follow up is required to evaluate sACE as a prognostic biomarker for workers with this rapidly emerging occupational lung disease.
sACE levels were noted to be higher in artificial stone workers with silicosis compared to those without disease and was highest in those with complicated silicosis. Longitudinal follow up is required to evaluate sACE as a prognostic biomarker for workers with this rapidly emerging occupational lung disease.
Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with chronic respiratory failure (COPD-CRF) experience high mortality and healthcare utilization. Non-invasive home ventilation (NIVH) is increasingly used in such patients. We examined the associations between NIVH and survival, hospitalizations, and emergency room (ER) use in COPD-CRF Medicare beneficiaries.

Retrospective cohort study using the Medicare Limited Data Set (2012-2018). Patients receiving NIVH within two months of CRF diagnosis (treatment group) were matched on demographic and clinical characteristics to patients never receiving NIVH (control group). CRF diagnosis was identified using ICD-9-CM/ICD-10-CM codes. Time to death, first hospitalization, and first ER visit were estimated using Cox regressions.

After matching, 517 patients receiving NIVH and 511 controls (mean age 70.6 years, 44% male) were compared. NIVH significantly reduced risk of death (aHR 0.50; 95%CI 0.36-0.65), hospitalization (aHR 0.72; 95%CI 0.52-0.93), and ER visit (aHR 0.48; 95%CI 0.38-0.58) at diagnosis. The NIVH risk reduction became smaller over time for mortality and ER visits, but continued to accrue for hospitalizations. One-year post-diagnosis, 28% of treated patients died versus 46% controls. For hospitalizations and ER visits, 55% and 72% treated patients experienced an event, respectively, versus 67% and 92% controls. The relative risk reduction was 39% for mortality, 17% for hospitalizations, and 22% for ER visits. Number needed to treat were 5.5, 9, and 5 to prevent a death, hospitalization, or ER visit one-year post-diagnosis, respectively.

NIVH treatment is associated with reduced risk of death, hospitalizations, and ER visits among COPD-CRF Medicare beneficiaries.
NIVH treatment is associated with reduced risk of death, hospitalizations, and ER visits among COPD-CRF Medicare beneficiaries.India is one of the world's largest emerging economies and, therefore, has a critical role to play in ensuring global sustainability, while the Indian economy is also prioritizing energy security. The paper explores the dynamic linkages between energy security captured through national-level energy use, foreign direct investment (FDI), economic output, carbon emissions, and trade openness in India spanning the period from 1978 to 2016 in a multivariate framework based on the theoretical premise of an Environmental Kuznets Curve. Time series econometric modelling based on the ARDL model and VECM Granger causality tests are employed for this purpose. The results confirm the presence of a co-integrating relationship and finds a strong energy-output-CO2-FDI long-run nexus. A 1% increase in FDI results in a 0.013% reduction in energy use. Energy use is found to be Granger caused by output, carbon emissions, FDI and trade openness in the long-run. The adoption of energy-efficient techniques through FDI is essential for reducing carbon emissions in India based on our findings. The Indian government should also galvanize FDI inflow in the renewable energy sectors by assuring incentives to investors to concurrently achieve favorable macroeconomic outcomes and ensure sustainable economic development. These are globally important policy lessons for other developing and emerging economies.Switchgrass, both raw and torrefied, was tested for its ability to sorb water or oil. The cyclic performance was also examined, utilizing centrifugal extraction as the regeneration method. Both oil and water sorption capacity increase with the decreasing size of raw switchgrass particles. Results indicate that 3 mm raw switchgrass can sorb water at a capacity of about 6 times its mass and can sorb oil at a capacity of about 3 times its mass, which makes it a suitable biodegradable sorbent. Torrefaction at 220 °C for 30 min reduces water sorption capacity by an average of 55% but does not have a statistically significant impact on oil sorption. Sorption of liquid is negatively correlated to particle size. Centrifugation is able to partially desorb either liquid from the sorbent, and subsequent sorption cycles do not display lower sorption capacity than the first cycle when calculated on a dry mass basis.
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