The Role of Habit, Childhood Consumption, Familiarity and Attitudes Across Seafood Consumption Segments in Australia

Australian consumers hold very favorable attitudes toward seafood, with key drivers to consumption being taste, convenience, diet variety, and health benefits. Nevertheless, despite these positive attitudes, seafood consumption remains below many other countries. In this article, we investigate the influence of habit including regular childhood consumption, familiarity with seafood, and attitudes toward seafood on seafood consumption and consumption occasions. Habit and lack of familiarity with seafood were found to lead to lower levels of seafood consumption, whereas positive attitudes toward seafood were associated with more regular seafood consumption. People who consumed seafood on a regular basis as a child were more likely to be more familiar with seafood and be in the habit of consuming seafood in adulthood. Patterns of childhood consumption occasions were found to be associated with adult consumption occasions. Based on these findings, we discuss possible strategies and behavioral interventions for further investigation, which are grounded in habit theory and are aimed at changing seafood eating habits, increasing childhood consumption, and reducing the lack of familiarity with seafood

Using cfRNA as a tool to evaluate clinical treatment outcomes in patients with metastatic lung cancers and other tumors

Aim: We report an exploratory analysis of cfRNA as a biomarker to monitor clinical responses in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), breast cancer, and colorectal cancer (CRC). An analysis of cfRNA as a method for measuring PD-L1 expression with comparison to clinical responses was also performed in the NSCLC cohort. Methods: Blood samples were collected from 127 patients with metastatic disease that were undergoing therapy, 52 with NSCLC, 50 with breast cancer, and 25 with CRC. cfRNA was purified from fractionated plasma, and following reverse transcription (RT), total cfRNA and gene expression of PD-L1were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) using beta-actin expression as a surrogate for relative amounts of cfDNA and cfRNA. For the concordance study of liquid biopsies and tissue biopsies, the isolated RNA was analyzed by RNAseq for the expressions of 13 genes. We had to close the study early due to a lack of follow-up during the Covid-19 pandemic. Results: We collected a total of 373 blood samples. Mean cfRNA PCR signals after RT were about 50-fold higher than those of cfDNA. cfRNA was detected in all patients, while cfDNA was detected in 88% of them. A high concordance was found for the expression levels of 13 genes between blood and solid tumor tissue. Changes in cfRNA levels followed over the course of treatments were associated with response to therapy, increasing in progressive disease (PD) and falling when a partial response (PR) occurred. The expression of PD-L1 over time in patients treated with immunotherapy decreased with PR but increased with PD. Pre-treatment levels of PD-L1 were predictive of response in patients treated with immunotherapy. Conclusion: Changes in cfRNA correlate with clinical response to the therapy. Total cfRNA may be useful in predicting clinical outcomes. PD-L1 gene expression may provide a biomarker to predict response to PD-L1 inhibition

Structural features and formation of lower Cretaceous AV[1] layer in the Soviet oil field (Tomsk Oblast)

The analysis of the collected geological and geophysical information on AV[1] layer known as Ryabchik formation is carried out. The facial conditions of this formation which define structural features of "Ryabchik" sandstones formations are considered. Maps characterizing permeability and porosity of reservoir are plotted. Areal tracking technique of sand streaks is given

Lymphatic vessel density is associated with CD8⁺ T cell infiltration and immunosuppressive factors in human melanoma.

Increased density of tumor-associated lymphatic vessels correlates with poor patient survival in melanoma and other cancers, yet lymphatic drainage is essential for initiating an immune response. Here we asked whether and how lymphatic vessel density (LVD) correlates with immune cell infiltration in primary tumors and lymph nodes (LNs) from patients with cutaneous melanoma. Using immunohistochemistry and quantitative image analysis, we found significant positive correlations between LVD and CD8 <sup>+</sup> T cell infiltration as well as expression of the immunosuppressive molecules inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and 2,3-dioxygénase (IDO). Interestingly, similar associations were seen in tumor-free LNs adjacent to metastatic ones, indicating loco-regional effects of tumors. Our data suggest that lymphatic vessels play multiple roles at tumor sites and LNs, promoting both T cell infiltration and adaptive immunosuppressive mechanisms. Lymph vessel associated T cell infiltration may increase immunotherapy success rates provided that the treatment overcomes adaptive immune resistance

Acute coronary ischemia during alcohol withdrawal: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>The potential of alcohol withdrawal to cause acute coronary events is an area that needs the urgent attention of clinicians and researchers.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a 52-year-old heavy-alcohol-using Sri Lankan man who developed electocardiogram changes suggestive of an acute coronary event during alcohol withdrawal. Despite the patient being asymptomatic, subsequent echocardiogram showed evidence of ischemic myocardial dysfunction. We review the literature on precipitation of myocardial ischemia during alcohol withdrawal and propose possible mechanisms.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Alcohol withdrawal is a commonly observed phenomenon in hospitals. However, the number of cases reported in the literature of acute coronary events occurring during withdrawal is few. Many cases of acute ischemia or sudden cardiac deaths may be attributed to other well known complications of delirium tremens. This is an area needing the urgent attention of clinicians and epidemiologists.</p

A robust neuromuscular system protects rat and human skeletal muscle from sarcopenia.

Declining muscle mass and function is one of the main drivers of loss of independence in the elderly. Sarcopenia is associated with numerous cellular and endocrine perturbations, and it remains challenging to identify those changes that play a causal role and could serve as targets for therapeutic intervention. In this study, we uncovered a remarkable differential susceptibility of certain muscles to age-related decline. Aging rats specifically lose muscle mass and function in the hindlimbs, but not in the forelimbs. By performing a comprehensive comparative analysis of these muscles, we demonstrate that regional susceptibility to sarcopenia is dependent on neuromuscular junction fragmentation, loss of motoneuron innervation, and reduced excitability. Remarkably, muscle loss in elderly humans also differs in vastus lateralis and tibialis anterior muscles in direct relation to neuromuscular dysfunction. By comparing gene expression in susceptible and non-susceptible muscles, we identified a specific transcriptomic signature of neuromuscular impairment. Importantly, differential molecular profiling of the associated peripheral nerves revealed fundamental changes in cholesterol biosynthetic pathways. Altogether our results provide compelling evidence that susceptibility to sarcopenia is tightly linked to neuromuscular decline in rats and humans, and identify dysregulation of sterol metabolism in the peripheral nervous system as an early event in this process

Percutaneous Coronary Interventions Using a Ridaforolimus-Eluting Stent in Patients at High Bleeding Risk.

BACKGROUND: Patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention are often considered to be at a high bleeding risk (HBR). Drug-eluting stents have been shown to be superior to bare-metal stents in patients with HBR, even when patients were given abbreviated periods of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT). Short DAPT has not been evaluated with the EluNIR ridaforolimus-eluting stent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a shortened period of DAPT following implantation of the ridaforolimus-eluting stent in patients with HBR. METHODS AND RESULTS: This was a prospective, multicenter, binational, single-arm, open-label trial. Patients were defined as HBR according to the LEADERS-FREE (Prospective Randomized Comparison of the BioFreedom Biolimus A9 Drug-Coated Stent versus the Gazelle Bare-Metal Stent in Patients at High Bleeding Risk) trial criteria. After percutaneous coronary intervention, DAPT was given for 1 month to patients presenting with stable angina. In patients presenting with an acute coronary syndrome, DAPT was given for 1 to 3 months, at the investigator's discretion. The primary end point was a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, or stent thrombosis up to 1 year (Academic Research Consortium definite and probable). Three hundred fifteen patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention were enrolled, and 56.4% presented with acute coronary syndrome; 33.7% were receiving oral anticoagulation. At 1 year, the primary end point occurred in 15 patients (4.9%), meeting the prespecified performance goal of 14.1% (P<0.0001). Stent thrombosis (Academic Research Consortium definite and probable) occurred in 2 patients (0.6%). Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 3 and 5 bleeding occurred in 6 patients (1.9%). CONCLUSIONS: We observed favorable results in patients with HBR who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with a ridaforolimus-eluting stent and received shortened DAPT, including a low rate of ischemic events and low rate of stent thrombosis. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03877848

Predicting In Vivo Efficacy of Potential Restenosis Therapies by Cell Culture Studies: Species-Dependent Susceptibility of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Although drug-eluting stents (DES) are successfully utilized for restenosis therapy, the development of local and systemic therapeutic means including nanoparticles (NP) continues. Lack of correlation between in vitro and in vivo studies is one of the major drawbacks in developing new drug delivery systems. The present study was designed to examine the applicability of the arterial explant outgrowth model, and of smooth muscle cells (SMC) cultures for prescreening of possible drugs. Elucidation of different species sensitivity (rat, rabbit, porcine and human) to diverse drugs (tyrphostins, heparin and bisphsophonates) and a delivery system (nanoparticles) could provide a valuable screening tool for further in vivo studies. The anticipated sensitivity ranking from the explant outgrowth model and SMC mitotic rates (porcine>rat>>rabbit>human) do not correlate with the observed relative sensitivity of those animals to antiproliferative therapy in restenosis models (rat≥rabbit>porcine>human). Similarly, the inhibitory profile of the various antirestenotic drugs in SMC cultures (rabbit>porcine>rat>>human) do not correlate with animal studies, the rabbit- and porcine-derived SMC being highly sensitive. The validity of in vitro culture studies for the screening of controlled release delivery systems such as nanoparticles is limited. It is suggested that prescreening studies of possible drug candidates for restenosis therapy should include both SMC cell cultures of rat and human, appropriately designed with a suitable serum