A census of young stellar populations in the warm ULIRG PKS1345+12

We present a detailed investigation of the young stellar populations(YSP) in the radio-loud ultra luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) PKS1345+12, based on high resolution HST imaging and long slit spectra taken with the WHT. While the images clearly show bright knots suggestive of super star clusters(SSC), the spectra reveal the presence of YSP in the diffuse light across the full extent of the halo of the merging-double nucleus system. Spectral synthesis modelling has been used to estimate the ages of the YSP for both the SSC and the diffuse light sampled by the spectra. For the SSC we find ages t{SSC} < 6 Myr with reddenings 0.2 < E(B-V) < 0.5 and masses 10e6 < M{SSC} < 10e7 M{solar}. However, in some regions of the galaxy we find that the spectra of the diffuse light component can only be modelled with a relatively old post-starburst YSP (0.04 - 1.0 Gyr) or with a disk galaxy template spectrum. The results demonstrate the importance of accounting for reddening in photometric studies of SSC, and highlight the dangers of focussing on the highest surface brightness regions when trying to obtain a general impression of the star formation activity in the host galaxies of ULIRGs. The case of PKS1345+12 provides clear evidence that the star formation histories of the YSP in ULIRGs are complex. Intriguingly, our long-slit spectra show line splitting at the locations of the SSC, indicating that they are moving at up to 450km s-1 with respect to the local ambient gas. Given their kinematics, it is plausible that the SSC have been formed either in fast moving gas streams/tidal tails that are falling back into the nuclear regions as part of the merger process, or as a consequence of jet-induced star formation linked to the extended, diffuse radio emission detected in the halo of the galaxyComment: accepted for publication in MNRA

Chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis is associated with detrimental bacterial dysbiosis.

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal mucosal injury (mucositis), commonly affecting the oral cavity, is a clinically significant yet incompletely understood complication of cancer chemotherapy. Although antineoplastic cytotoxicity constitutes the primary injury trigger, the interaction of oral microbial commensals with mucosal tissues could modify the response. It is not clear, however, whether chemotherapy and its associated treatments affect oral microbial communities disrupting the homeostatic balance between resident microorganisms and the adjacent mucosa and if such alterations are associated with mucositis. To gain knowledge on the pathophysiology of oral mucositis, 49 subjects receiving 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or doxorubicin-based chemotherapy were evaluated longitudinally during one cycle, assessing clinical outcomes, bacterial and fungal oral microbiome changes, and epithelial transcriptome responses. As a control for microbiome stability, 30 non-cancer subjects were longitudinally assessed. Through complementary in vitro assays, we also evaluated the antibacterial potential of 5-FU on oral microorganisms and the interaction of commensals with oral epithelial tissues. RESULTS: Oral mucositis severity was associated with 5-FU, increased salivary flow, and higher oral granulocyte counts. The oral bacteriome was disrupted during chemotherapy and while antibiotic and acid inhibitor intake contributed to these changes, bacteriome disruptions were also correlated with antineoplastics and independently and strongly associated with oral mucositis severity. Mucositis-associated bacteriome shifts included depletion of common health-associated commensals from the genera Streptococcus, Actinomyces, Gemella, Granulicatella, and Veillonella and enrichment of Gram-negative bacteria such as Fusobacterium nucleatum and Prevotella oris. Shifts could not be explained by a direct antibacterial effect of 5-FU, but rather resembled the inflammation-associated dysbiotic shifts seen in other oral conditions. Epithelial transcriptional responses during chemotherapy included upregulation of genes involved in innate immunity and apoptosis. Using a multilayer epithelial construct, we show mucositis-associated dysbiotic shifts may contribute to aggravate mucosal damage since the mucositis-depleted Streptococcus salivarius was tolerated as a commensal, while the mucositis-enriched F. nucleatum displayed pro-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic capacity. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, our work reveals that chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis is associated with bacterial dysbiosis and demonstrates the potential for dysbiotic shifts to aggravate antineoplastic-induced epithelial injury. These findings suggest that control of oral bacterial dysbiosis could represent a novel preventive approach to ameliorate oral mucositis

A Multicenter Pilot Evaluation of the National Institutes of Health Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease (cGVHD) Therapeutic Response Measures: Feasibility, Interrater Reliability, and Minimum Detectable Change

The lack of standardized criteria for measuring therapeutic response is a major obstacle to the development of new therapeutic agents for chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus criteria for evaluating therapeutic response were published in 2006. We report the results of four consecutive pilot trials evaluating the feasibility and estimating the inter-rater reliability and minimum detectable change of these response criteria

Moving forwards? Palynology and the human dimension

For the greater part of the last century, anthropogenic palynology has made a sustained contribution to archaeology and to Quaternary science in general, and pollen-analytical papers have appeared in Journal of Archaeological Science since its inception. The present paper focuses selectively upon three areas of anthropogenic palynology, enabling some assessment as to whether the field is advancing: land-use studies, archaeological site study, and modelling. The Discussion also highlights related areas including palynomorph identification and associated proxies. There is little doubt that anthropogenic palynology has contributed to the vitality of pollen analysis in general, and although published research can be replicative or incremental, site- and landscape-based studies offer fresh data for further analysis and modelling. The latter allows the testing of both palynological concepts and inferences and can inform archaeological discovery and imagination. Archaeological site studies are often difficult, but palynology can still offer much to the understanding of occupation sites and the discernment of human behaviour patterns within sites

Systematic review of basic oral care for the management of oral mucositis in cancer patients and clinical practice guidelines

Purpose: The aim of this study was to update the clinical practice guidelines for the use of basic oral care (BOC) interventions for the prevention and/or treatment of oral mucositis (OM). Methods: A systematic review was conducted by the Mucositis Study Group of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer/International Society for Oral Oncology (MASCC/ISOO). The body of evidence for each intervention in each cancer treatment setting was assigned an evidence level. The findings were added to the database used to develop the 2013 MASCC/ISOO clinical practice guidelines. Based on the evidence level, one of the following three guideline determinations was possible: Recommendation, Suggestion, No guideline possible. Results: A total of 17 new papers across six interventions were examined and merged with a previous database. Based on the literature, the following guidelines were possible. The panel suggests that the implementation of multi-agent combination oral care protocols is beneficial for the prevention of OM during chemotherapy, head and neck (H&N) radiation therapy (RT), and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (Level of Evidence III). The panel suggests that chlorhexidine not be used to prevent OM in patients undergoing H&N RT (Level of Evidence III). No guideline was possible for professional oral care, patient education, saline, and sodium bicarbonate, and expert opinion complemented these guidelines. Conclusions: The evidence supports the use of multi-agent combination oral care protocols in the specific populations listed above. Additional well-designed research is needed on the other BOC interventions prior to guideline formulation

The psychological needs of patients receiving chemotherapy: an exploration of nurse perceptions

This study explored the perceptions of a group of registered oncology nurses about the psychological needs of patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy and how the nurses meet these. Eight nurses who provided chemotherapy and were working in a local oncology centre participated. A semi-structured interview was used to explore nurses’ perceptions, and how they meet these patients’ needs. The analysis of interview transcripts revealed that these nurses agreed that patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy had psychological needs. Moreover, they were conscious that some of the physical side-effects could have a psychological impact on the patients. Although nurses did not use any assessment tool for psychological assessment, they identified two main stages during the treatment when patients needed more psychological support: at the beginning and at the end of the chemotherapy. They explained how they tried to meet patients’ psychological needs but they also mentioned several factors that influenced the psychological support that patients received

Nursing the clinic vs. nursing the patient: nurses' experience of a day hospital chemotherapy service

Aims and objectives. This study sought to explore the nurses' experience of a day hospital chemotherapy service in an acute general hospital in Northern Ireland and how this compared with their experience of working in an inpatient setting. Background. Despite the many changes taking place in cancer care delivery, little research has been conducted on nurses' experience of working in more acute cancer treatment settings. Research conducted to date has tended to focus on the role of nurses in wards, hospices and palliative care settings. Design. This Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenological study explored nurses' lived experience of day hospital chemotherapy service. Method. Face-to-face focused in-depth interviews were conducted with the total population of nurses who worked in the day hospital at the time of data collection (n = 10). Data analysis involved a two-staged approach, the analysis of narratives and narrative analysis, based on the work of Polkinghorne (1995). Conclusions. The nurses' viewed their experience of the chemotherapy day hospital as having both positive and negative dimensions. The positive dimensions included an increased sense of autonomy and the challenge of developing new skills, while the negative dimension included a perceived decrease in their caring role: (i) The individual characteristics of the nurse were seen to have a key influence on caring experience; (ii) Role changes led to a perceived dichotomy between their actual and aspired role and their caring and clinical role. Relevance to clinical practice. There is a need to achieve a balance between delivering a clinical role (administering chemotherapy) while maintaining the centrality of the nurse–patient relationship. This can be likened to achieving a balance between 'nursing the clinic' alongside 'nursing the patient'. These findings have implications for the discourse on caring within other outpatient type clinics and discourse on cancer nursing as therapy and the culture of the cancer clinic