208Po populated through EC/β+decay

The structure of 208Po resulting from the EC/β + decay of 208At was studied at CERN’s ISOLDE Decay Station (IDS). The high statistics afforded by the high yield of 208At and the high efficiency HPGe clusters at the IDS allowed for greater insight into lower intensity transitions and thus significant expansion of the 208Po level scheme. Furthermore, investigation into the isomeric state yielded a new half life 377(9) ns in addition to uncovering new transitions populating the state.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 654002. As well as the Science and Technology Facilities Council (UK) through grants ST/P005314/1, ST/L005743/1, ST/J000051/1, ST/L005670/1, and ST/P004598/1 and (PHR) by the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) via the National Measurement System. Further funding was provided by the German BMBF under contract 05P18PKCIA and ”Verbundprojekt 05P2018” as well as the Spanish MINECO grant FPA2015-65035-P.Peer reviewe

Immune checkpoint inhibitor colitis: the flip side of the wonder drugs

Immune checkpoint inhibitors block the co-inhibitory receptors on T cells to activate their cytotoxic immune function and are rapidly being explored for the treatment of various advanced-stage malignancies. These novel drugs have already significantly increased survival rates. The first available immune checkpoint inhibitors were cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) inhibitors (such as ipilimumab), followed by programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death protein ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors (such as pembrolizumab and nivolumab). Anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 therapies have demonstrated better efficacy and tolerability and less severe adverse effects compared to anti-CTLA-4 agents. Idelalisib, a PI3Kδ isoform inhibitor, is another immunotherapeutic agent that is often classified separately and is currently used in treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Despite successful therapeutic responses, immune-related adverse events have been reported with the use of these agents. The gastrointestinal side effects, particularly diarrhea, are among the most commonly reported symptoms. The histologic features of immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated colitis show a spectrum of patterns of injury among various drug classes. There is significant overlap between immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated colitis and other colitides, making the differential diagnosis difficult—especially in the absence of clinical history. The histopathology data on immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated colitis are limited. Here we review clinical features as well as various histologic patterns of colitis associated with these groups of medications

Drug-Induced Colon Injury

Drug-induced injury of the colon is a relatively frequent though underestimated event. The histological manifestations are very variable and frequently mimic other disease entities with different etiologies. The pathologist should try to give to the clinician indications concerning a possible drug-related etiology of the injury, with a specification of the drug involved, if feasible. Careful clinicopatho-logical confrontation is important to distinguish drug-related injury from other diseases of the colon. The following section provides an overview of the different patterns that can be encountered in drug-induced colon injury, their relation to specific medications, and the possible differential diagnosis