Increasing Hospital Admissions for Pneumonia, England

This rise in recorded incidence from 2001 to 2005 was particularly marked among the elderly

Ocular hypotensive effect of the novel EP3/FP agonist ONO-9054 versus Xalatan: results of a 28-day, double-masked, randomised study

Background/aims ONO-9054 is being developed for the reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with ocular hypertension (OHT) and open-angle glaucoma (OAG). This study compared the novel dual EP3/FP agonist ONO-9054 with the FP agonist Xalatan. Methods Adults (n=123) with bilateral mild/moderate OAG or OHT, with unmedicated IOP of ≥24 mm Hg at 8:00 hours, ≥21 mm Hg at 10:00 hours and ≤36 mm Hg, were randomised 1:1 to receive ONO-9054 (0.003%, 30 μg/mL) or Xalatan (0.005%, 50 μg/mL) once daily for 28 days. Results Day 29 mean diurnal IOP was −7.2 mm Hg for ONO-9054 vs −6.6 mm Hg for Xalatan. At 08:00 hours, the IOPs were comparable, and at all later time points the decrease in IOP was greater for ONO-9054. On day 29, the odds of a mean IOP reduction of ≤−25%, ≤−30% and ≤−35% for ONO-9054 were 2.39, 2.37 and 4.85 times more, respectively, than the odds for Xalatan (p<0.05, post hoc analyses). The percentage of subjects achieving target IOPs on day 29 (≤17, ≤16 and ≤15 mm Hg) was greater for ONO-9054 than for Xalatan; the odds of achieving an IOP ≤15 mm Hg for ONO-9054 were 2.4 times more than the odds for Xalatan (p<0.01, post hoc analysis). Conclusions Subjects randomised to receive ONO-9054 were more likely to achieve a greater per cent reduction in IOP and were more likely to achieve target IOPs than those receiving Xalatan. The effects of ONO-9054 in reducing IOP appear to persist longer than those of Xalatan

Consumer attitudes towards sustainability attributes on food labels

Concerns about climate change and the general status of the environment have increased expectation that food products have sustainability credentials, and that these can be verified. There are significant and increasing pressures in key export markets for information on Greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of products throughout its life-cycle. How this information is conveyed to consumers is a key issue. Labelling is a common method of communicating certain product attributes to consumers that may influence their choices. In a choice experiment concerning fruit purchase decisions, this study estimates willingness to pay for sustainability attributes by consumers in Japan and the UK. The role of label presentation format is investigated: text only, text and graphical, and graphical only. Results indicate that sustainability attributes influence consumers’ fruit purchase decisions. Reduction of carbon in fruit production is shown to be the least valued out of sustainability attributes considered. Differences are evident between presentation formats and between countries, with increased nutrient content being the most sensitive to format and country while carbon reduction is the most insensitive and almost always valued the least

Labelling sustainability - what consumers want, know and understand

With today’s concerns about the general status of the environment, there is an increasing expectation for products to have sustainability attributes. Labelling is a common method of letting consumers know more about what they have bought. Different consumers react differently towards various attributes on food labels and this may have an effect on their choices. It is helpful to understand which of the many attributes appeal to consumers and how much they may be willing to pay

Student Pharmacists’ Response to a Pandemic: Service-Learning through Contact Tracing

In March 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted education nationwide. To safely deliver in-person classes, Purdue University contracted One-to-One Health, creating the Protect Purdue Health Center (PPHC). The PPHC was a central location for information, testing, and case management for Purdue students, staff, faculty and their dependents. Contact tracing is a proven public health measure that has been utilized to control the spread of infectious diseases by identifying and isolating potential active cases. The communicative nature of contact tracing, along with its need for clinical decision-making skills makes the student pharmacist an ideal candidate for aiding in this pandemic response. In an effort to support the PPHC in navigating the necessary protocols to keep Purdue open, operating, and safe, the College of Pharmacy formed Experiences in Public Health, a service-learning course which enrolled ten student pharmacists. The students served as contact tracers, participated in group discussions surrounding emerging COVID-19 health information, and reflected on their experiences as members of the community. As contact tracers, they aimed to decrease secondary spread of COVID-19 by identifying and following-up with close contacts of lab-confirmed cases, educating on quarantine/isolation protocols, and scheduling tests for those with symptoms or exposure history. Active participation in a pandemic response is a meaningful opportunity for professional growth in patient-centered care and communication. Students actively improved upon skills taught in the Doctor of Pharmacy program such as motivational interviewing, active listening, and open communication to fulfill their role as contact tracers. Additionally, the students gained proficiency in patient education and clinical decision-making, and through class discussions, enhanced their abilities to answer COVID-19-related questions with scientific resources. Through volunteering at the PPHC and engagement in peer-led topic discussions, the Experiences In Public Health service-learning course allowed student pharmacists to apply professional skills to become an active force in mitigating the spread of COVID-19. This service-learning opportunity provided several key takeaways. Student pharmacists who participated in this initiative attest that they are more comfortable providing patient care, better able to handle a rapidly developing clinical situation, and further prepared for their future careers in various fields of pharmacy practice

High-fat diet-induced brain region-specific phenotypic spectrum of CNS resident microglia

Diets high in fat (HFD) are known to cause an immune response in the periphery as well as the central nervous system. In peripheral adipose tissue, this immune response is primarily mediated by macrophages that are recruited to the tissue. Similarly, reactivity of microglia, the innate immune cells of the brain, has been shown to occur in the hypothalamus of mice fed a high-fat diet. To characterize the nature of the microglial response to diets high in fat in a temporal fashion, we studied the phenotypic spectrum of hypothalamic microglia of mice fed high-fat diet for 3 days and 8 weeks by assessing their tissue reaction and inflammatory signature. While we observed a significant increase in Iba1+ myeloid cells and a reaction of GFAP+ astrocytes in the hypothalamus after 8 weeks of HFD feeding, we found the hypothalamic myeloid cell reaction to be limited to endogenous microglia and not mediated by infiltrating myeloid cells. Moreover, obese humans were found to present with signs of hypothalamic gliosis and exacerbated microglia dystrophy, suggesting a targeted microglia response to diet in humans as well. Notably, the glial reaction occurring in the mouse hypothalamus was not accompanied by an increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines, but rather by an anti-inflammatory reaction. Gene expression analyses of isolated microglia not only confirmed this observation, but also revealed a downregulation of microglia genes important for sensing signals in the microenvironment. Finally, we demonstrate that long-term exposure of microglia to HFD in vivo does not impair the cell’s ability to respond to additional stimuli, like lipopolysaccharide. Taken together, our findings support the notion that microglia react to diets high in fat in a region-specific manner in rodents as well as in humans; however, this response changes over time as it is not exclusively pro-inflammatory nor does exposure to HFD prime microglia in the hypothalamus. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00401-016-1595-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Abrogated Response to Cellular Stress Identifies DCIS Associated with Subsequent Tumor Events and Defines Basal-like Breast Tumors

SummaryApproximately 15%–30% of women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) develop a subsequent tumor event within 10 years after surgical lumpectomy. To date, little is known about the molecular pathways that confer this differential risk for developing subsequent disease. In this study, we demonstrate that expression of biomarkers indicative of an abrogated response to cellular stress predicts DCIS with worse outcome and is a defining characteristic of basal-like invasive tumors. Mechanistic studies identify the Rb pathway as a key regulator of this response. Conversely, biomarkers indicative of an intact response to cellular stress are strongly associated with a disease-free prognosis. Assessment of these biomarkers in DCIS begins to allow prediction of tumor formation years before it actually occurs

Mountain lions prey selectively on prion-infected mule deer

The possibility that predators choose prey selectively based on age or condition has been suggested but rarely tested. We examined whether mountain lions (Puma concolor) selectively prey upon mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) infected with chronic wasting disease, a prion disease. We located kill sites of mountain lions in the northern Front Range of Colorado, USA, and compared disease prevalence among lion-killed adult (≥2 years old) deer with prevalence among sympatric deer taken by hunters in the vicinity of kill sites. Hunter-killed female deer were less likely to be infected than males (odds ratios (OR) = 0.2, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 0.1–0.6; p = 0.015). However, both female (OR = 8.5, 95% CI = 2.3–30.9) and male deer (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1–10) killed by a mountain lion were more likely to be infected than same-sex deer killed in the vicinity by a hunter (p < 0.001), suggesting that mountain lions in this area actively selected prion-infected individuals when targeting adult mule deer as prey items