Epidemiology of Haemophilus influenzae Serotype a, North American Arctic, 2000–2005

Serotype a is now the most common seen in the North American Arctic; highest rates occur in indigenous children

Epidemiology of Haemophilus influenzae Serotype a, North American Arctic, 2000–2005

Serotype a is now the most common seen in the North American Arctic; highest rates occur in indigenous children

The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

AIM: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery. METHODS: This was an international prospective cohort study of consecutive colorectal cancer patients with a decision for curative surgery (January-April 2020). Surgical delay was defined as an operation taking place more than 4 weeks after treatment decision, in a patient who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. A subgroup analysis explored the effects of delay in elective patients only. The impact of longer delays was explored in a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was complete resection, defined as curative resection with an R0 margin. RESULTS: Overall, 5453 patients from 304 hospitals in 47 countries were included, of whom 6.6% (358/5453) did not receive their planned operation. Of the 4304 operated patients without neoadjuvant therapy, 40.5% (1744/4304) were delayed beyond 4 weeks. Delayed patients were more likely to be older, men, more comorbid, have higher body mass index and have rectal cancer and early stage disease. Delayed patients had higher unadjusted rates of complete resection (93.7% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.032) and lower rates of emergency surgery (4.5% vs. 22.5%, P < 0.001). After adjustment, delay was not associated with a lower rate of complete resection (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.90-1.55, P = 0.224), which was consistent in elective patients only (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.69-1.27, P = 0.672). Longer delays were not associated with poorer outcomes. CONCLUSION: One in 15 colorectal cancer patients did not receive their planned operation during the first wave of COVID-19. Surgical delay did not appear to compromise resectability, raising the hypothesis that any reduction in long-term survival attributable to delays is likely to be due to micro-metastatic disease

The human PIN1 peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase gene maps to human chromosome 19p13 and the closely related PIN1L gene to 1p31

Campbell, Hugh D.; Webb, Graham C.; Fountain, Shelley; Young, Ian G

Australian population data for the twenty Promega PowerPlex 21 short tandem repeat loci

<div><p>This paper describes the analysis of population data typed using the Promega PowerPlex 21 multiplex for the three major sub populations within Australia. Samples from 1427 declared Australian Aboriginal, 546 Pure Aboriginals from the Northern Territory, 990 Asian, and 1707 Caucasian individuals representing were analysed. Departures from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) and linkage equilibrium (LE) were assessed using exact tests. The Aboriginal populations were shown to display significant departures from equilibrium. All four subpopulation databases are of suitable size for the purpose of estimating allele frequencies.</p></div

Fliih, a Gelsolin-Related Cytoskeletal Regulator Essential for Early Mammalian Embryonic Development

The Drosophila melanogaster flightless I gene is required for normal cellularization of the syncytial blastoderm. Highly conserved homologues of flightless I are present in Caenorhabditis elegans, mouse, and human. We have disrupted the mouse homologue Fliih by homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells. Heterozygous Fliih mutant mice develop normally, although the level of Fliih protein is reduced. Cultured homozygous Fliih mutant blastocysts hatch, attach, and form an outgrowing trophoblast cell layer, but egg cylinder formation fails and the embryos degenerate. Similarly, Fliih mutant embryos initiate implantation in vivo but then rapidly degenerate. We have constructed a transgenic mouse carrying the complete human FLII gene and shown that the FLII transgene is capable of rescuing the embryonic lethality of the homozygous targeted Fliih mutation. These results confirm the specific inactivation of the Fliih gene and establish that the human FLII gene and its gene product are functional in the mouse. The Fliih mouse mutant phenotype is much more severe than in the case of the related gelsolin family members gelsolin, villin, and CapG, where the homozygous mutant mice are viable and fertile but display alterations in cytoskeletal actin regulation