Early tumor response to intraarterial or intravenous administration of carboplatin to treat naturally occurring lower urinary tract carcinoma in dogs.

BackgroundSurvival times and tumor responses associated with malignant neoplasia of the lower urinary tract are poor despite the vast array of current treatments. Therefore, the evaluation of alternative treatments, such as intraarterial administration of chemotherapy (IAC) should be considered.ObjectiveTo describe a technique for superselective catheterization for IAC and to evaluate initial tumor response by ultrasonography after both IAC and intravenous administration of chemotherapy (IVC).AnimalsClient-owned dogs with lower urinary tract neoplasia treated with either IVC (n = 15) or IAC (n = 11).MethodsRetrospective study. An arterial approach via the carotid or femoral artery was utilized to obtain superselective access and administer chemotherapy in the IAC cases. Medical record review was performed, data were recorded, and recorded variables were evaluated statistically.ResultsIntraarterial chemotherapy was successfully administered in all cases. There was a significantly greater decrease in longest unidimensional measurement in the IAC group as compared to the IVC group (P = .013). The IAC group was also significantly more likely to have a tumor response as assessed by modified RECIST guidelines (P = .049). Dogs in the IAC group were significantly less likely to develop anemia (P = .001), lethargy (P = .010) and anorexia (P = .024).Conclusion and clinical importanceThis study demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of performing IAC for lower urinary tract neoplasia. Further investigation is necessary as the follow-up time was short and the impact on long-term outcome and survival was not determined

Source partitioning using stable isotopes: coping with too much variation.

Final published version of the article deposited in accordance with SHERPA RoMEO guidelinesStable isotope analysis is increasingly being utilised across broad areas of ecology and biology. Key to much of this work is the use of mixing models to estimate the proportion of sources contributing to a mixture such as in diet estimation

Bundap Marram Durn Durn: Engagement with Aboriginal women experiencing comorbid chronic physical and mental health conditions

OBJECTIVE: To explore antecedents of health service engagement and experience among urban Aboriginal people with comorbid physical and mental health conditions. METHODS: Focus groups and interviews were conducted with Aboriginal people who had comorbid health conditions and were accessing Aboriginal and/or mainstream services. RESULTS: Nineteen participants, all women, were recruited. Participants' personal histories and prior experience of health services affected effective service utilisation. Participants' service experiences were characterised by long waiting times in the public health system and high healthcare staff turnover. Trusted professionals were able to act as brokers to other clinically and culturally competent practitioners. CONCLUSIONS: Many urban Aboriginal women attended health services with multiple comorbid conditions including chronic disease and mental health issues. Several barriers and enablers were identified concerning the capacity of services to engage and effectively manage Aboriginal patients' condition

Longitudinal variation in O6-alkylguanine DNA-alkyltransferase activity in the human colon and rectum

In a systematic study of O6-alkylguanine DNA-alkyltransferase activity in the human colon and rectum, tumours were found to occur in regions of low activity. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that O6-alkylguanine DNA-alkyltransferase levels and alkylating agent exposure may be important determinants of large bowel tumorigenesis

One More Awareness Gap? The Behaviour–Impact Gap Problem

Preceding research has made hardly any attempt to measure the ecological impacts of pro-environmental behaviour in an objective way. Those impacts were rather supposed or calculated. The research described herein scrutinized the ecological impact reductions achieved through pro-environmental behaviour and raised the question how much of a reduction in carbon footprint can be achieved through voluntary action without actually affecting the socio-economic determinants of life. A survey was carried out in order to measure the difference between the ecological footprint of “green” and “brown” consumers. No significant difference was found between the ecological footprints of the two groups—suggesting that individual pro-environmental attitudes and behaviour do not always reduce the environmental impacts of consumption. This finding resulted in the formulation of a new proposition called the BIG (behaviour–impact gap) problem, which is an interesting addition to research in the field of environmental awareness gaps

Changes in microphytobenthos fluorescence over a tidal cycle: implications for sampling designs

Intertidal microphytobenthos (MPB) are important primary producers and provide food for herbivores in soft sediments and on rocky shores. Methods of measuring MPB biomass that do not depend on the time of collection relative to the time of day or tidal conditions are important in any studies that need to compare temporal or spatial variation, effects of abiotic factors or activity of grazers. Pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry is often used to estimate biomass of MPB because it is a rapid, non-destructive method, but it is not known how measures of fluorescence are altered by changing conditions during a period of low tide. We investigated this experimentally using in situ changes in minimal fluorescence (F) on a rocky shore and on an estuarine mudflat around Sydney (Australia), during low tides. On rocky shores, the time when samples are taken during low tide had little direct influence on measures of fluorescence as long as the substratum is dry. Wetness from wave-splash, seepage from rock pools, run-off, rainfall, etc., had large consequences for any comparisons. On soft sediments, fluorescence was decreased if the sediment dried out, as happens during low-spring tides on particularly hot and dry days. Surface water affected the response of PAM and therefore measurements used to estimate MPB, emphasising the need for care to ensure that representative sampling is done during low tide

Rabies, Still Neglected after 125 Years of Vaccination

International audienceno abstrac

An Anti-Human ICAM-1 Antibody Inhibits Rhinovirus-Induced Exacerbations of Lung Inflammation

Human rhinoviruses (HRV) cause the majority of common colds and acute exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Effective therapies are urgently needed, but no licensed treatments or vaccines currently exist. Of the 100 identified serotypes, ∼90% bind domain 1 of human intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) as their cellular receptor, making this an attractive target for development of therapies; however, ICAM-1 domain 1 is also required for host defence and regulation of cell trafficking, principally via its major ligand LFA-1. Using a mouse anti-human ICAM-1 antibody (14C11) that specifically binds domain 1 of human ICAM-1, we show that 14C11 administered topically or systemically prevented entry of two major groups of rhinoviruses, HRV16 and HRV14, and reduced cellular inflammation, pro-inflammatory cytokine induction and virus load in vivo. 14C11 also reduced cellular inflammation and Th2 cytokine/chemokine production in a model of major group HRV-induced asthma exacerbation. Interestingly, 14C11 did not prevent cell adhesion via human ICAM-1/LFA-1 interactions in vitro, suggesting the epitope targeted by 14C11 was specific for viral entry. Thus a human ICAM-1 domain-1-specific antibody can prevent major group HRV entry and induction of airway inflammation in vivo

A general piecewise multi-state survival model: Application to breast cancer

Multi-state models are considered in the field of survival analysis for modelling illnesses that evolve through several stages over time. Multi-state models can be developed by applying several techniques, such as non-parametric, semi-parametric and stochastic processes, particularly Markov processes. When the development of an illness is being analysed, its progression is tracked periodically. Medical reviews take place at discrete times, and a panel data analysis can be formed. In this paper, a discrete-time piecewise non-homogeneous Markov process is constructed for modelling and analysing a multi-state illness with a general number of states. The model is built, and relevant measures, such as survival function, transition probabilities, mean total times spent in a group of states and the conditional probability of state change, are determined. A likelihood function is built to estimate the parameters and the general number of cut-points included in the model. Time-dependent covariates are introduced, the results are obtained in a matrix algebraic form and the algorithms are shown. The model is applied to analyse the behaviour of breast cancer. A study of the relapse and survival times of 300 breast cancer patients who have undergone mastectomy is developed. The results of this paper are implemented computationally with MATLAB and R.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad FQM-307European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) MTM2017-88708-PUniversity of Milano-Bicocca 2014-ATE-022