Notes

Incorporation of social networking together with emails as well as in-person outreach pertaining to exclusion via educated consent local community assessment.
Assessment involves clinical examination, laboratory tests, echocardiography, electrocardiography, heart rhythm, cardiac function, and quality of life. The primary endpoint is a composite of all-cause mortality or re-admission due to worsening HF. Secondary endpoints include the assessments of cardiac remodelling, cardiac functional capacity, and quality of life.

The SHIFT-AHF trial will shed further light on the role of early HR reduction using ivabradine in patients with AHF.
The SHIFT-AHF trial will shed further light on the role of early HR reduction using ivabradine in patients with AHF.
Patients with malignancy are particularly vulnerable to infection with Severe Acute Respiratory Disease-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) given their immunodeficiency secondary to their underlying disease and cancer-directed therapy. We report a case series of patients with cancer who received convalescent plasma, an investigational therapy for severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Patients with cancer were identified who received convalescent plasma. Enrolled patients had confirmed COVID-19 with severe or life-threatening disease and were transfused with convalescent plasma from donors with a SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike antibody titer of≥1320 dilution. Oxygen requirements and clinical outcomes of interests were captured as well as laboratory parameters at baseline and 3days after treatment.

We identified 24 patients with cancer, 14 of whom had a hematological malignancy, who were treated with convalescent plasma. Fifteen patients (62.5%) were on cancer-directed treatment at the time of COVID-19 infection. After a median of hospital duration of 9days, 13 patients (54.2%) had been discharged home, 1 patient (4.2%) was still hospitalized, and 10 patients had died (41.7%). Non-intubated patients, particularly those on nasal cannula alone, had favorable outcomes. Three mild febrile non-hemolytic transfusion reactions were observed. C-reactive protein significantly decreased after 3days of treatment, while other laboratory parameters including ferritin and D-dimer remained unchanged.

Convalescent plasma may be a promising therapy in cancer patients with COVID-19.
Convalescent plasma may be a promising therapy in cancer patients with COVID-19.Within the framework of green chemistry, the continuous development of new and advanced tools for sustainable synthesis is essential. For this, multi-facetted underlying demands pose inherent challenges to individual chemical disciplines. As a solution, both interdisciplinary technology screening and research can enhance the possibility for groundbreaking innovation. To illustrate the stages from discovery to the implementing of combined technologies, a SusChem matrix model is proposed inspired by natural product biosynthesis. The model describes a multi-dimensional and dynamic exploratory space where necessary interaction is exclusively provided and guided by sustainable themes.
Neuroblastoma is the most common pediatric solid tumor. MYCN-amplification is an important negative prognostic indicator and inherited genetic contributions to risk are incompletely understood. Genetic determinants of stature increase risk of several adult and childhood cancers, but have not been studied in neuroblastoma despite elevated neuroblastoma incidence in children with congenital overgrowth syndromes.

We investigated the association between genetic determinants of height and neuroblastoma risk in 1538 neuroblastoma cases, stratified by MYCN-amplification status, and compared to 3390 European-ancestry controls using polygenic scores for birth length (five variants), childhood height (six variants), and adult height (413 variants). We further examined the UK Biobank to evaluate the association of known neuroblastoma risk loci and stature.

An increase in the polygenic score for childhood stature, corresponding to a ~0.5cm increase in pre-pubertal height, was associated with greater risk of MYCN-amassociated with MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma risk, suggesting that biological pathways affecting growth trajectories and pubertal timing may contribute to MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma etiology.Inhibiting the function of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) transporter, which causes drug efflux through adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-dependent manner, has become an effective strategy to conquer multidrug resistance (MDR) of cancer cells. However, there remains challenges for effective co-delivery, sequential release of P-gp modulator and chemotherapeutic agent. In this work, a novel type of core-shell nanoparticle is reported. It can independently encapsulate a high amount (about 683 µg mg-1 ) of chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (DOX) in the mesoporous polydopamine (MPDA) core and glucose oxidase (GOx) in the zeolite imidazolate frameworks-8 (ZIF-8) shell, namely MPDA@ZIF-8/DOX+GOx. The fast release of GOx triggered by acid-sensitive degradation of the ZIF-8 shell consumes glucose to starve cancer cells for ATP deprivation and effective suppress ATP-dependent drug efflux in advance, and then effectively facilitates the accumulation of DOX in MCF-7/ADR cancer cells. Experiments in vitro and in vivo demonstrate that the fabricated nanosystem can dramatically improve anticancer effects for MDR through sequential release property and exhibit excellent biocompatibility. Overall, this work reveals new insights in the use of GOx for MDR treatment.
Early detection and intervention in individuals at risk for developing psychosis have become a priority for many clinical services around the world. Limited naturalistic evidence is available on whether detection and intervention for ultra-high risk (UHR) is effective by means of reducing psychosis risk and improving functioning.

We compared functioning scores over 5.9 (±7.7) months of time between UHR individuals (n = 61) and help-seeking adolescents without a specific UHR profile (general adolescent help-seeking population [HSP]; n = 82) aged 12 to 25 years receiving psychological interventions at a specialized UHR service in the Netherlands. Attenuated psychotic symptoms (APS) were evaluated over time within the UHR group. In addition, the impact of duration of treatment, <7 sessions, 8 to 21 sessions and >20 sessions, as well as treatment type, that is, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and CBT + add on treatment, were evaluated.

Both UHR and HSP showed an increase in functioning over time (P < .001), with no difference between these groups. The UHR group showed a reduction of APS over time (P < .001). More than 20 treatment sessions was more effective than 1 to 6 treatment sessions (P < .01, partial eta squared = .08) and CBT was equally effective as CBT-add on in improving functioning.

The findings of this study suggest that psychological treatment is just as effective in improving functioning in UHR as in HSP. Moreover, it decreases APS in UHR. Improvement in functioning is not affected by treatment type, but positively affected by the duration of treatment.
The findings of this study suggest that psychological treatment is just as effective in improving functioning in UHR as in HSP. Moreover, it decreases APS in UHR. Improvement in functioning is not affected by treatment type, but positively affected by the duration of treatment.
The purpose of this retrospective propensity score-matched study was to evaluate the superiority of different application approaches [continuous diuretics use (CDU) vs. intermittent diuretics use (IDU)] and types [loop diuretics (LDs) vs. thiazide diuretics (TDs)] of diuretics on long-term outcomes for rheumatic heart disease (RHD) patients with compensated chronic heart failure (CHF).

A total of 494 RHD patients with compensated CHF were analysed after propensity score matching. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to investigate the associations of different diuretic application approaches and types with all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death (CVD), and cerebrovascular death. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the associations of different diuretic application approaches and types with 1-, 3-, and 5-year heart failure (HF) re-hospitalization as well as new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF). In the comparison between IDU and CDU strategies for RHD patients with compenLDs among study participants receiving CDU strategy, LDs were not associated with cerebrovascular death and 1-year HF re-hospitalization (both adjusted P>0.05) but with increased risks of all-cause mortality (adjusted HR=1.80, 95% CI 1.09-2.99, P=0.023), CVD (adjusted HR=1.89, 95% CI 1.04-3.44, P=0.037), 3-year (adjusted OR=1.91, 95% CI 1.06-3.43, P=0.031) and 5-year (adjusted OR=2.16, 95% CI 1.12-4.19, P=0.022) HF re-hospitalization, and new-onset AF (adjusted OR=2.66, 95% CI 1.25-5.68, P=0.012).

Continuous diuretics use (especially LDs) was associated with increased risks of all-cause mortality, CVD, medium-term/long-term HF re-hospitalization, and new-onset AF in RHD patients with compensated CHF.
Continuous diuretics use (especially LDs) was associated with increased risks of all-cause mortality, CVD, medium-term/long-term HF re-hospitalization, and new-onset AF in RHD patients with compensated CHF.Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are RNA transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides that do not code for proteins. LncRNAs play crucial regulatory roles in several biological processes via diverse mechanisms and their aberrant expression is associated with various diseases. LncRNA genes are further subcategorized based on their relative organization in the genome. MicroRNA (miRNA)-host-gene-derived lncRNAs (lnc-MIRHGs) refer to lncRNAs whose genes also harbor miRNAs. There exists crosstalk between the processing of lnc-MIRHGs and the biogenesis of the encoded miRNAs. Although the functions of the encoded miRNAs are usually well understood, whether those lnc-MIRHGs play independent functions are not fully elucidated. Here, we review our current understanding of lnc-MIRHGs, including their biogenesis, function, and mechanism of action, with a focus on discussing the miRNA-independent functions of lnc-MIRHGs, including their involvement in cancer. Our current understanding of lnc-MIRHGs strongly indicates that this class of lncRNAs could play important roles in basic cellular events as well as in diseases. This article is categorized under Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > Regulatory RNAs Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > Biogenesis of Effector Small RNAs.The clinical setting remains a strategic environment for early assessment, identification and treatment of adolescents with obesity. Yet, healthcare providers' (HCPs) efforts have been unsuccessful in improving physical activity, nutritional intake or body mass index in adolescents with obesity. Obesity is a chronic condition that influences how patients interact with HCPs and experience ambulatory healthcare appointments. However, it is unknown how female adolescents with obesity perceive the clinical setting, especially regarding weight management. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of female adolescents with obesity regarding health and weight management in the clinical setting. Using a qualitative design, 28 English-speaking female adolescents, 13 to 19 years of age, with a body mass index ≥85th percentile for height and weight participated in individual interviews. Results demonstrate that adolescents with obesity desire to be recognized as unique individuals and to be involved in their own health conversations.
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