A comparison between word analysis and prompting in oral reading.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Thrombocytosis and abnormal liver enzymes:A trigger for investigation of underlying malignancy

BackgroundThrombocytosis is often an incidental finding in primary care with a range of causes. Despite evidence of a strong association between thrombocytosis and malignancy, guidelines for investigating thrombocytosis in the absence of red flag symptoms remain unclear. A novel automated system of laboratory analysis, intelligent Liver Function Testing (iLFT), launched in Tayside in 2018 and has identified a patient group with thrombocytosis and abnormal liver test (LFT) results. This study analysed the outcome of these patients and investigated the use of thrombocytosis combined with LFTs in predicting risk of cancer.Methods and findingsBetween August 2018 and August 2020, 6792 patients underwent iLFT, with 246 found to have both thrombocytosis and at least one abnormal LFT. A random case-matched control group of 492 iLFT patients with normal platelet count and at least one abnormal LFT was created. 7.7% (95% CI 4.7-11.8%) of patients with thrombocytosis had cancer compared to 2.0% (1.0-3.7%) of controls. Patients ConclusionsThese findings suggest a substantial increased risk of cancer in patients with thrombocytosis and raised ALP. This could be developed as an adjunct to current investigation algorithms, highlighting high-risk patients and prompting further investigation (such as computed tomography scans) where indicated

Induction of a chemoattractant transcriptional response by a Campylobacter jejuni boiled cell extract in colonocytes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Campylobacter jejuni</it>, the commonest cause of bacterial diarrhoea worldwide, can also induce colonic inflammation. To understand how a previously identified heat stable component contributes to pro-inflammatory responses we used microarray and real-time quantitative PCR to investigate the transcriptional response to a boiled cell extract of <it>Campylobacter jejuni </it>NCTC 11168.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>RNA was extracted from the human colonocyte line HCA-7 (clone 29) after incubation for 6 hours with <it>Campylobacter jejuni </it>boiled cell extract and was used to probe the Affymetrix Human Genome U133A array. Genes differentially affected by <it>Campylobacter jejuni </it>boiled cell extract were identified using the Significance Score algorithm of the Bioconductor software suite and further analyzed using the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis program. The chemokines CCL20, CXCL3, CXCL2, Interleukin 8, CXCL1 and CXCL6 comprised 6 of the 10 most highly up-regulated genes, all with Significance Scores ≥ 10. Members of the Tumor Necrosis Factor α/Nuclear Factor-κB super-family were also significantly up-regulated and involved in the most significantly regulated signalling pathways (Death receptor, Interleukin 6, Interleukin 10, Toll like receptor, Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor-γ and apoptosis). Ingenuity Pathway Analysis also identified the most affected functional gene networks such as cell movement, gene expression and cell death. In contrast, down-regulated genes were predominantly concerned with structural and metabolic functions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A boiled cell extract of <it>Campylobacter jejuni </it>has components that can directly switch the phenotype of colonic epithelial cells from one of resting metabolism to a pro-inflammatory one, particularly characterized by increased expression of genes for leukocyte chemoattractant molecules.</p

Mortality rates among patients successfully treated for hepatitis C in the era of interferon-free antivirals: population based cohort study

Objectives To quantify mortality rates for patients successfully treated for hepatitis C in the era of interferon-free, direct acting antivirals and compare these rates with those of the general population.Design Population based cohort study.Setting British Columbia, Scotland, and England (England cohort consists of patients with cirrhosis only).Participants 21 790 people who were successfully treated for hepatitis C in the era of interferon-free antivirals (2014-19). Participants were divided into three liver disease severity groups: people without cirrhosis (pre-cirrhosis), those with compensated cirrhosis, and those with end stage liver disease. Follow-up started 12 weeks after antiviral treatment completion and ended on date of death or 31 December 2019.Main outcome measures Crude and age-sex standardised mortality rates, and standardised mortality ratio comparing the number of deaths with that of the general population, adjusting for age, sex, and year. Poisson regression was used to identify factors associated with all cause mortality rates.Results 1572 (7%) participants died during follow-up. The leading causes of death were drug related mortality (n=383, 24%), liver failure (n=286, 18%), and liver cancer (n=250, 16%). Crude all cause mortality rates (deaths per 1000 person years) were 31.4 (95% confidence interval 29.3 to 33.7), 22.7 (20.7 to 25.0), and 39.6 (35.4 to 44.3) for cohorts from British Columbia, Scotland, and England, respectively. All cause mortality was considerably higher than the rate for the general population across all disease severity groups and settings; for example, all cause mortality was three times higher among people without cirrhosis in British Columbia (standardised mortality ratio 2.96, 95% confidence interval 2.71 to 3.23; P<0.001) and more than 10 times higher for patients with end stage liver disease in British Columbia (13.61, 11.94 to 15.49; P<0.001). In regression analyses, older age, recent substance misuse, alcohol misuse, and comorbidities were associated with higher mortality rates.Conclusion Mortality rates among people successfully treated for hepatitis C in the era of interferon-free, direct acting antivirals are high compared with the general population. Drug and liver related causes of death were the main drivers of excess mortality. These findings highlight the need for continued support and follow-up after successful treatment for hepatitis C to maximise the impact of direct acting antivirals

International genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new primary biliary cirrhosis risk loci and targetable pathogenic pathways.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a classical autoimmune liver disease for which effective immunomodulatory therapy is lacking. Here we perform meta-analyses of discovery data sets from genome-wide association studies of European subjects (n=2,764 cases and 10,475 controls) followed by validation genotyping in an independent cohort (n=3,716 cases and 4,261 controls). We discover and validate six previously unknown risk loci for PBC (Pcombined<5 × 10(-8)) and used pathway analysis to identify JAK-STAT/IL12/IL27 signalling and cytokine-cytokine pathways, for which relevant therapies exist

Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) Phase II Deployment and Commissioning

This paper presents the design and deployment of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) phase II system. HERA is designed as a staged experiment targeting 21 cm emission measurements of the Epoch of Reionization. First results from the phase I array are published as of early 2022, and deployment of the phase II system is nearing completion. We describe the design of the phase II system and discuss progress on commissioning and future upgrades. As HERA is a designated Square Kilometre Array pathfinder instrument, we also show a number of “case studies” that investigate systematics seen while commissioning the phase II system, which may be of use in the design and operation of future arrays. Common pathologies are likely to manifest in similar ways across instruments, and many of these sources of contamination can be mitigated once the source is identified

Effect of remote ischaemic conditioning on clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI): a single-blind randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Remote ischaemic conditioning with transient ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm has been shown to reduce myocardial infarct size in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). We investigated whether remote ischaemic conditioning could reduce the incidence of cardiac death and hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months. METHODS: We did an international investigator-initiated, prospective, single-blind, randomised controlled trial (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI) at 33 centres across the UK, Denmark, Spain, and Serbia. Patients (age >18 years) with suspected STEMI and who were eligible for PPCI were randomly allocated (1:1, stratified by centre with a permuted block method) to receive standard treatment (including a sham simulated remote ischaemic conditioning intervention at UK sites only) or remote ischaemic conditioning treatment (intermittent ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm through four cycles of 5-min inflation and 5-min deflation of an automated cuff device) before PPCI. Investigators responsible for data collection and outcome assessment were masked to treatment allocation. The primary combined endpoint was cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02342522) and is completed. FINDINGS: Between Nov 6, 2013, and March 31, 2018, 5401 patients were randomly allocated to either the control group (n=2701) or the remote ischaemic conditioning group (n=2700). After exclusion of patients upon hospital arrival or loss to follow-up, 2569 patients in the control group and 2546 in the intervention group were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. At 12 months post-PPCI, the Kaplan-Meier-estimated frequencies of cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure (the primary endpoint) were 220 (8·6%) patients in the control group and 239 (9·4%) in the remote ischaemic conditioning group (hazard ratio 1·10 [95% CI 0·91-1·32], p=0·32 for intervention versus control). No important unexpected adverse events or side effects of remote ischaemic conditioning were observed. INTERPRETATION: Remote ischaemic conditioning does not improve clinical outcomes (cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure) at 12 months in patients with STEMI undergoing PPCI. FUNDING: British Heart Foundation, University College London Hospitals/University College London Biomedical Research Centre, Danish Innovation Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, TrygFonden

Optimal ALT threshold for the automated diagnosis of MASLD: a population-based study using iLFT

Introduction and Objectives: Early diagnosis of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), especially with advanced fibrosis, is crucial due to increased risk of complications and mortality. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is commonly used; however, many patients have normal ranges (&lt;55 U/L) who may remain undetected. We investigated the clinical implications of a lower ALT cut-off (&gt;30 U/L) using intelligent liver function testing (iLFT) to identify MASLD patients with and without advanced fibrosis in primary care.Materials and Methods: All patients entering the iLFT diagnostic pathway had liver aetiological screening investigations if ALT &gt;30 U/L. In those with MASLD the proportions with and without advanced fibrosis at different ALT thresholds: 31-41 U/L, 42-54 U/L and ≥55 U/L were compared.Results: 16,373 patients underwent iLFT between March 2016 to April 2022. 762 (5%) patients had MASLD with abnormal fibrosis scores, while 908 (6%) had MASLD with normal fibrosis scores. 428 (56%) patients were assessed in liver clinics, where 169 (39%) had evidence of fibrosis. Of these, 22 (13%) had ALT 31-41 U/L, 31 (18%) had ALT 42-54 U/L and 116 (69%) had ALT ≥55 U/L. 145 (86%) patients had advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis, where 20 (14%) had ALT 31-41 U/L, 28 (19%) had ALT 42-54 U/L and 97 (67%) had ALT ≥55 U/L.Conclusions: 33% of MASLD patients with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis had ALT 31-54 U/L, who would have been missed using the conventional ALT range. This suggests that lowering the ALT cut-off improves diagnosis of MASLD with advanced fibrosis in primary care