Accessing mole-scanning through community pharmacy; a pilot service in collaboration with dermatology specialists

Early identification and treatment of malignant melanoma is crucial to prevent mortality. The aim of this work was to describe the uptake, profile of users and service outcomes of a mole scanning service in the community pharmacy setting in the UK. In addition, health care costs saved from the perspective of general practice were estimated. The service allowed patients to have concerning skin lesions scanned with a dermatoscopy device which were analyzed remotely by clinical dermatology specialists in order to provide recommendations for the patient. Patients were followed up to ascertain the clinical outcome. Data were analyzed for 6,355 patients and 9,881 scans across 50 community pharmacies. The majority of the scans required no further follow-up (n=8763, 88.7%). Diagnosis was confirmed for 70.4% (n=757/1,118) of scans where patients were recommended to seek further medical attention. Of these, 44.3% were ultimately defined as normal (n=335) and 6.2% as malignant melanoma (n=47/757). An estimated 0.7% of scans taken as part of the service led to a confirmed diagnosis of malignant melanoma. This service evaluation has shown that a mole scanning service available within community pharmacies is effective at triaging patients and ultimately playing a part in identifying diagnoses of malignant melanoma

'Sadly forgotten'?: Newspaper coverage of the first men to fly the Atlantic non-stop, Alcock and Brown

This article centres on John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown, two Mancunians who were the first people to fly the Atlantic non-stop, yet are largely neglected as a subject of acclaim or study and even the centenary of their historic flight from Newfoundland to Ireland went by virtually uncelebrated in Britain in 2019. Alcock died six months after their ground-breaking flight and Brown, an understated character, was not comfortable with fame, but their circumstances and disposition do not explain why they have been forgotten. This article will try to explain why by examining the coverage of three newspapers, one provincial and two national, through the lens of news values

Is there a common water-activity limit for the three domains of life?

Archaea and Bacteria constitute a majority of life systems on Earth but have long been considered inferior to Eukarya in terms of solute tolerance. Whereas the most halophilic prokaryotes are known for an ability to multiply at saturated NaCl (water activity (a w) 0.755) some xerophilic fungi can germinate, usually at high-sugar concentrations, at values as low as 0.650-0.605 a w. Here, we present evidence that halophilic prokayotes can grow down to water activities of <0.755 for Halanaerobium lacusrosei (0.748), Halobacterium strain 004.1 (0.728), Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 and Halococcus morrhuae (0.717), Haloquadratum walsbyi (0.709), Halococcus salifodinae (0.693), Halobacterium noricense (0.687), Natrinema pallidum (0.681) and haloarchaeal strains GN-2 and GN-5 (0.635 a w). Furthermore, extrapolation of growth curves (prone to giving conservative estimates) indicated theoretical minima down to 0.611 a w for extreme, obligately halophilic Archaea and Bacteria. These were compared with minima for the most solute-tolerant Bacteria in high-sugar (or other non-saline) media (Mycobacterium spp., Tetragenococcus halophilus, Saccharibacter floricola, Staphylococcus aureus and so on) and eukaryotic microbes in saline (Wallemia spp., Basipetospora halophila, Dunaliella spp. and so on) and high-sugar substrates (for example, Xeromyces bisporus, Zygosaccharomyces rouxii, Aspergillus and Eurotium spp.). We also manipulated the balance of chaotropic and kosmotropic stressors for the extreme, xerophilic fungi Aspergillus penicilloides and X. bisporus and, via this approach, their established water-activity limits for mycelial growth (∼0.65) were reduced to 0.640. Furthermore, extrapolations indicated theoretical limits of 0.632 and 0.636 a w for A. penicilloides and X. bisporus, respectively. Collectively, these findings suggest that there is a common water-activity limit that is determined by physicochemical constraints for the three domains of life

The influence of water activity and temperature on germination, growth and sporulation of stachybotrys chartarum strains

The objectives were to determine theinfluence of water activity (aw, 0.997-0.92) andtemperature (10-37C) and their interactions onconidial germination, mycelial growth and sporulationof two strains of Stachybotrys chartarum in vitroon a potato dextrose medium. Studies were carriedout by modifying the medium with glycerol andeither spread plating with conidia to evaluate germinationand germ tube extension or centrally inoculatingtreatment media for measuring mycelialgrowth rates and harvesting whole colonies fordetermining sporulation. Overall, germination ofconidia was significantly influenced by aw andtemperature and was fastest at 0.997-0.98 aw between15 and 30C with complete germination within 24 h.Germ tube extension was found to be most rapid atsimilar aw levels and 25-30C. Mycelial growth ratesof both strains were optimal at 0.997 aw between 25and 30C, with very little growth at 37C. Sporulationwas optimum at 30C at 0.997 aw. However,under drier conditions, this was optimum at 25C.This shows that there are differences in the ranges ofaw x temperature for germination and growth and forsporulation. This may help in understanding the roleof this fungal species in damp buildings and conditionsunder which immune-compromised patientsmay be at risk when exposed to such contaminantsin the indoor air environment