Identifying models of delivery, care domains and quality indicators relevant to palliative day services: a scoping review protoco

Abstract Background With an ageing population and increasing numbers of people with life-limiting illness, there is a growing demand for palliative day services. There is a need to measure and demonstrate the quality of these services, but there is currently little agreement on which aspects of care should be used to do this. The aim of the scoping review will be to map the extent, range and nature of the evidence around models of delivery, care domains and existing quality indicators used to evaluate palliative day services. Methods Electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) will be searched for evidence using consensus development methods; randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials; mixed methods; and prospective, longitudinal or retrospective case-control studies to develop or test quality indicators for evaluating palliative care within non-residential settings, including day hospices and community or primary care settings. At least two researchers will independently conduct all searches, study selection and data abstraction procedures. Meta-analyses and statistical methods of synthesis are not planned as part of the review. Results will be reported using numerical counts, including number of indicators in each care domain and by using qualitative approach to describe important indicator characteristics. A conceptual model will also be developed to summarise the impact of different aspects of quality in a palliative day service context. Methodological quality relating to indicator development will be assessed using the Appraisal of Indicators through Research and Evaluation (AIRE) tool. Overall strength of evidence will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system. Final decisions on quality assessment will be made via consensus between review authors. Discussion Identifying, developing and implementing evidence-based quality indicators is critical to the evaluation and continued improvement of palliative care. Review findings will be used to support clinicians and policymakers make decisions on which quality indicators are most appropriate for evaluating day services at the patient and service level, and to identify areas for further research

The development and psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the child oral health impact profile-short form (COHIP- SF 19)

BACKGROUND: This study aims to cross-culturally adapt the original English-language COHIP-SF 19 to Arabic culture and to test its psychometric properties in a community sample. METHODS: The Arabic COHIP-SF 19 was developed and its psychometric properties were examined in a population-based sample of 876 schoolchildren who were aged 12 years of age, in Benghazi, Libya. The Arabic COHIP-SF 19 was tested for its internal consistency, reproducibility, construct validity, factorial validity and floor as well as ceiling effects. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the mean scores of COHIP-SF 19 by participants' caries status and self-reported oral health rating, satisfaction and treatment need. RESULTS: The Arabic COHIP-SF 19 was successfully and smoothly developed. It showed an acceptable level of equivalence to the original version. Overall, the internal consistency and reproducibility were acceptable to excellent, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.84 and an intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.76. All hypotheses predefined to test construct validity were confirmed. That is, children who had active dental caries, and who rated their oral health as poor, were not satisfied with their oral health or indicated the need of treatment had lower COHIP-SF 19 scores (P < 0.05). Floor or ceiling effects were not observed. The exploratory Factorial analysis suggested a 4-component solution and deletion of one item. CONCLUSION: The Arabic COHIP-SF 19 was successfully developed. The measure demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity to estimate OHRQoL in a representative sample of 12-year-old schoolchildren

Maps, Memories and Manchester: The Cartographic Imagination of the Hidden Networks of the Hydraulic City

The largely unseen channelling, culverting and controlling of water into, through and out of cities is the focus of our cartographic interpretation. This paper draws on empirical material depicting hydraulic infrastructure underlying the growth of Manchester in mapped form. Focusing, in particular, on the 19th century burst of large-scale hydraulic engineering, which supplied vastly increased amounts of clean drinking water, controlled unruly rivers to eliminate flooding, and safely removed sewage, this paper explores the contribution of mapping to the making of a more sanitary city, and towards bold civic minded urban intervention. These extensive infrastructures planned and engineered during Victorian and Edwardian Manchester are now taken-for-granted but remain essential for urban life. The maps, plans and diagrams of hydraulic Manchester fixed particular forms of elite knowledge (around planning foresight, topographical precision, civil engineering and sanitary science) but also facilitated and freed flows of water throughout the city. The survival of these maps and plans in libraries, technical books and obscure reports allows the changing cultural work of water to be explored and evokes a range of socially specific memories of a hidden city. Our aetiology of hydraulic cartographics is conducted using ideas from science and technology studies, semiology, and critical cartography with the goal of revealing how they work as virtual witnesses to an 1 unseen city, dramatizing engineering prowess and envisioning complex and messy materiality into a logical, holistic and fluid network underpinning the urban machine. 1

Wnt5a stimulates chemotactic migration and chemokine production in human neutrophils

Wnt5a is a ligand that activates the noncanonical Wnt signaling pathways (??-catenin-independent pathways). Human neutrophils expressed several Wnt5a receptors, such as Frizzled 2, 5 and 8. Stimulation of human neutrophils with Wnt5a caused chemotactic migration and the production of two important chemokines, CXCL8 and CCL2. CCL2 production by Wnt5a was mediated by a pertussis toxin-sensitive G-protein-dependent pathway. Wnt5a also stimulated the phosphorylation of three mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs: ERK, p38 MAPK and JNK) and Akt. Inhibition of ERK, p38 MAPK or JNK by specific inhibitors induced a dramatic reduction in Wnt5a-induced CCL2 production. Supernatant collected from lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages induced neutrophil chemotaxis, which was significantly inhibited by anti-Wnt5a antibody. Our results suggested that Wnt5a may contribute to neutrophil recruitment, mediating the inflammation response.open4

Multiple populations in globular clusters. Lessons learned from the Milky Way globular clusters

Recent progress in studies of globular clusters has shown that they are not simple stellar populations, being rather made of multiple generations. Evidence stems both from photometry and spectroscopy. A new paradigm is then arising for the formation of massive star clusters, which includes several episodes of star formation. While this provides an explanation for several features of globular clusters, including the second parameter problem, it also opens new perspectives about the relation between globular clusters and the halo of our Galaxy, and by extension of all populations with a high specific frequency of globular clusters, such as, e.g., giant elliptical galaxies. We review progress in this area, focusing on the most recent studies. Several points remain to be properly understood, in particular those concerning the nature of the polluters producing the abundance pattern in the clusters and the typical timescale, the range of cluster masses where this phenomenon is active, and the relation between globular clusters and other satellites of our Galaxy.Comment: In press (The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review

HPV16 Oncoproteins Induce MMPs/RECK-TIMP-2 Imbalance in Primary Keratinocytes: Possible Implications in Cervical Carcinogenesis

Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women worldwide. Persistent infection with high-risk HPV types, principally HPV16 and 18 is the main risk factor for the development of this malignancy. However, the onset of invasive tumor occurs many years after initial exposure in a minority of infected women. This suggests that other factors beyond viral infection are necessary for tumor establishment and progression. Tumor progression is characterized by an increase in secretion and activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) produced by either the tumor cells themselves or tumor-associated fibroblasts or macrophages. Increased MMPs expression, including MMP-2, MMP-9 and MT1-MMP, has been observed during cervical carcinoma progression. These proteins have been associated with degradation of ECM components, tumor invasion, metastasis and recurrence. However, few studies have evaluated the interplay between HPV infection and the expression and activity of MMPs and their regulators in cervical cancer. We analyzed the effect of HPV16 oncoproteins on the expression and activity of MMP-2, MMP-9, MT1-MMP, and their inhibitors TIMP-2 and RECK in cultures of human keratinocytes. We observed that E7 expression is associated with increased pro-MMP-9 activity in the epithelial component of organotypic cultures, while E6 and E7 oncoproteins co-expression down-regulates RECK and TIMP-2 levels in organotypic and monolayers cultures. Finally, a study conducted in human cervical tissues showed a decrease in RECK expression levels in precancer and cancer lesions. Our results indicate that HPV oncoproteins promote MMPs/RECK-TIMP-2 imbalance which may be involved in HPV-associated lesions outcome

Body mass index and circulating oestrone sulphate in women treated with adjuvant letrozole

Background: Obesity is an independent adverse prognostic factor in early breast cancer patients, but it is still controversial whether obesity may affect adjuvant endocrine therapy efficacy. The aim of our study (ancillary to the two clinical trials Gruppo Italiano Mammella (GIM)4 and GIM5) was to investigate whether the circulating oestrogen levels during treatment with the aromatase inhibitor letrozole are related to body mass index (BMI) in postmenopausal women with breast cancer. Methods: Plasma concentration of oestrone sulphate (ES) was evaluated by radioimmunoassay in 370 patients. Plasma samples were obtained after at least 6 weeks of letrozole therapy (steady-state time). Patients were divided into four groups according to BMI. Differences among the geometric means (by ANOVA and ANCOVA) and correlation (by Spearman's rho) between the ES levels and BMI were assessed. Results: Picomolar geometric mean values (95% confidence interval, n=patients) of circulating ES during letrozole were 58.6 (51.0-67.2, n=150) when BMI was <25.0 kg m-2; 65.6 (57.8-74.6, n=154) when 25.0-29.9 kg m-2; 59.3 (47.1-74.6, n=50) when 30.0-34.9 kg m -2; and 43.3 (23.0-81.7, n=16) when 6535.0 kg m-2. No statistically significant difference in terms of ES levels among groups and no correlation with BMI were observed. Conclusions: Body mass index does not seem to affect circulating oestrogen levels in letrozole-treated patient

An exploration of men's experiences of undergoing active surveillance for favourable-risk prostate cancer: A mixed methods study protocol

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is one of the most common male cancers worldwide. Active Surveillance (AS) has been developed to allow men with lower risk disease to postpone or avoid the adverse side effects associated with curative treatments until the disease progresses. Despite the medical benefits of AS, it is reported that living with untreated cancer can create a significant emotional burden for patients. METHODS/DESIGN: The aim of this study is to gain insight into the experiences of men eligible to undergo AS for favourable-risk PCa. This study has a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design consisting of two phases: quantitative followed by qualitative. Phase 1 has a multiple point, prospective, longitudinal exploratory design. Ninety men diagnosed with favourable-risk prostate cancer will be assessed immediately post-diagnosis (baseline) and followed over a period of 12 months, in intervals of 3 month. Ninety age-matched men with no cancer diagnosis will also be recruited using peer nomination and followed up in the same 3 month intervals. Following completion of Phase 1, 10-15 AS participants who have reported both the best and worst psychological functioning will be invited to participate in semi-structured qualitative interviews. Phase 2 will facilitate further exploration of the quantitative results and obtain a richer understanding of participants' personal interpretations of their illness and psychological wellbeing. DISCUSSION: To our knowledge, this is the first study to utilise early baseline measures; include a healthy comparison group; calculate sample size through power calculations; and use a mixed methods approach to gain a deeper more holistic insight into the experiences of men diagnosed with favourable-risk prostate cancer