Cardiac damage after treatment of childhood cancer: A long-term follow-up

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>With improved childhood cancer cure rate, long term sequelae are becoming an important factor of quality of life. Signs of cardiovascular disease are frequently found in long term survivors of cancer. Cardiac damage may be related to irradiation and chemotherapy.</p> <p>We have evaluated simultaneous influence of a series of independent variables on the late cardiac damage in childhood cancer survivors in Slovenia and identified groups at the highest risk.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>211 long-term survivors of different childhood cancers, at least five years after treatment were included in the study. The evaluation included history, physical examination, electrocardiograpy, exercise testing and echocardiograpy. For analysis of risk factors, beside univariate analysis, multivariate classification tree analysis statistical method was used.</p> <p>Results and Conclusion</p> <p>Patients treated latest, from 1989–98 are at highest risk for any injury to the heart (73%). Among those treated earlier are at the highest risk those with Hodgkin's disease treated with irradiation above 30 Gy and those treated for sarcoma. Among specific forms of injury, patients treated with radiation to the heart area are at highest risk of injury to the valves. Patients treated with large doses of anthracyclines or concomitantly with anthracyclines and alkylating agents are at highest risk of systolic function defect and enlarged heart chambers. Those treated with anthracyclines are at highest risk of diastolic function defect. The time period of the patient's treatment is emerged as an important risk factor for injury of the heart.</p

Role of Surface Energy and Nano-Roughness in the Removal Efficiency of Bacterial Contamination by Nonwoven Wipes from Frequently Touched Surfaces

Healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) are responsible for substantial patient morbidity, mortality and economic cost. Infection control strategies for reducing rates of transmission include the use of nonwoven wipes to remove pathogenic bacteria from frequently touched surfaces. Wiping is a dynamic process that involves physicochemical mechanisms to detach and transfer bacteria to fibre surfaces within the wipe. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which systematic changes in fibre surface energy and nano-roughness influence removal of bacteria from an abiotic polymer surface in dry wiping conditions, without liquid detergents or disinfectants. Nonwoven wipe substrates composed of two commonly used fibre types, lyocell (cellulosic) and polypropylene, with different surface energies and nano-roughnesses, were manufactured using pilot-scale nonwoven facilities to produce samples of comparable structure and dimensional properties. The surface energy and nano-roughness of some lyocell substrates were further adjusted by either oxygen (O2) or hexafluoroethane (C2F6) gas plasma treatment. Static adpression wiping of an inoculated surface under dry conditions produced removal efficiencies of between 9.4% and 15.7%, with no significant difference (p < 0.05) in the relative removal efficiencies of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus or Enterococcus faecalis. However, dynamic wiping markedly increased peak wiping efficiencies to over 50%, with a minimum increase in removal efficiency of 12.5% and a maximum increase in removal efficiency of 37.9% (all significant at p < 0.05) compared with static wiping, depending on fibre type and bacterium. In dry, dynamic wiping conditions, nonwoven wipe substrates with a surface energy closest to that of the contaminated surface produced the highest E. coli removal efficiency, while the associated increase in fibre nano-roughness abrogated this trend with S. aureus and E. faecalis. Plasma modification of the nano-roughness and surface energy of fibres in nonwoven wipes was found to influence the relative removal efficiencies of common bacterial pathogens from model healthcare surfaces under dynamic wiping conditions

Immaturities in Reward Processing and Its Influence on Inhibitory Control in Adolescence

The nature of immature reward processing and the influence of rewards on basic elements of cognitive control during adolescence are currently not well understood. Here, during functional magnetic resonance imaging, healthy adolescents and adults performed a modified antisaccade task in which trial-by-trial reward contingencies were manipulated. The use of a novel fast, event-related design enabled developmental differences in brain function underlying temporally distinct stages of reward processing and response inhibition to be assessed. Reward trials compared with neutral trials resulted in faster correct inhibitory responses across ages and in fewer inhibitory errors in adolescents. During reward trials, the blood oxygen level–dependent signal was attenuated in the ventral striatum in adolescents during cue assessment, then overactive during response preparation, suggesting limitations during adolescence in reward assessment and heightened reactivity in anticipation of reward compared with adults. Importantly, heightened activity in the frontal cortex along the precentral sulcus was also observed in adolescents during reward-trial response preparation, suggesting reward modulation of oculomotor control regions supporting correct inhibitory responding. Collectively, this work characterizes specific immaturities in adolescent brain systems that support reward processing and describes the influence of reward on inhibitory control. In sum, our findings suggest mechanisms that may underlie adolescents’ vulnerability to poor decision-making and risk-taking behavior

Biased Saccadic Responses to Emotional Stimuli in Anxiety: An Antisaccade Study.

Research suggests that anxiety is maintained by an attentional bias to threat, and a growing base of evidence suggests that anxiety may additionally be associated with the deficient attentional processing of positive stimuli. The present study sought to examine whether such anxiety-linked attentional biases were associated with either stimulus driven or attentional control mechanisms of attentional selectivity. High and low trait anxious participants completed an emotional variant of an antisaccade task, in which they were required to prosaccade towards, or antisaccade away from a positive, neutral or threat stimulus, while eye movements were recorded. While low anxious participants were found to be slower to saccade in response to positive stimuli, irrespectively of whether a pro- or antisaccade was required, such a bias was absent in high anxious individuals. Analysis of erroneous antisaccades further revealed at trend level, that anxiety was associated with reduced peak velocity in response to threat. The findings suggest that anxiety is associated with the aberrant processing of positive stimuli, and greater compensatory efforts in the inhibition of threat. The findings further highlight the relevance of considering saccade peak velocity in the assessment of anxiety-linked attentional processing

&ldquo;Influence of Clinically Active Graves&rsquo; Ophthalmopathy on Spherical Equivalent and Visual Acuity&rdquo;

Jasenka Petrovic Jurcevic,1 Marko Jurcevic,2 Mateja Jagic,3 Anamarija Jazbec,4 Kresimir Mandic,5 Jelena Juri Mandic5 1Medical School University of Zagreb, PhD Candidate on the Programme “Biomedicine and Health”, Zagreb, Croatia; 2University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, Department of Electrical Engineering Fundamentals and Measurements, Zagreb, Croatia; 3Special Hospital „Svjetlost“, Department of Refractive Surgery, Zagreb, Croatia; 4University of Zagreb Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Department for Forest Inventory and Management, Zagreb, HR-10000, Croatia; 5Clinical Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb, CroatiaCorrespondence: Jasenka Petrovic Jurcevic, Medical School University of Zagreb, Šalata 4a, Zagreb, Croatia, Email [email protected]: Clinical experience regarding the fluctuations of the refractive error of the eye during the different stages of Graves’ ophthalmopathy observed through outpatient clinic frequent check-ups points towards an underestimated and often overlooked problem. Published data about it are sparse. The clinical manifestations of Graves’ ophthalmopathy can be understood from the perspective of “compartment syndrome” and literature implies how such changes can affect the refractive error and consequently, the visual acuity. The purpose of the study was to explore how the clinical activity score of Graves’ ophthalmopathy affects refractive error and visual acuity.Patients and Methods: The study was prospective and observational, including 60 eyes of 30 patients with clinically active Graves’ ophthalmopathy. All the patients were monitored and evaluated over a period of 36 months by the clinical activity score, spherical equivalent and visual acuity. All the observed parameters were statistically analyzed.Results: The mean values of spherical equivalent and visual acuity throughout the observed period showed continuous fluctuation. Repeated measure analysis of variance showed statistically significant differences in visual acuity and spherical equivalent over the observed period. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between visual acuity and clinical activity score. The correlation between spherical equivalent and clinical activity score was also positive but not statistically significant.Conclusion: A decrease in the clinical activity score is either the result of a spontaneously resolving course of Graves’ ophthalmopathy or a consequence of treatment, so lowering in fluctuation of refractive error and improved visual acuity may be associated with a reduction in orbital inflammation.Keywords: Graves’ ophthalmopathy, clinical activity score, refractive error, spherical equivalent, visual acuit

Hydrochemical characterization of arsenic contaminated alluvial aquifers in Eastern Croatia using multivariate statistical techniques and arsenic risk assessment

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Supplementary Material for: Cytokine, anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody and neutralizing antibody levels in conventional blood donors who have recovered from COVID-19

Background: At the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) containing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was suggested as a source of therapy. In the last three years, many trials have demonstrated the limited usefulness of CCP therapy. This led us to the hypothesis that CCP could contain other elements, along with the desired neutralizing antibodies, which could potentially prevent it from having a therapeutic effect, among them cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, clotting factors, and autoantibodies. Methods: In total, 39 cytokines were analyzed in the plasma of 190 blood donors, and further research focused on the levels of 23 different cytokines in CCP (sCD40L, eotaxin, FGF-2, FLT-3L, Fractalkine, GRO-α, IFNα2, IL-1β, IL-1RA, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12, IL-13, IL-15, IL-17E, IP 10, MCP-1, MIP-1b, PDGF-AA, TGFα, TNFα, and TRAIL). Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and neutralizing antibodies were detected in CCP. Results: We found no significant differences between CCP taken within a maximum of 180 days from the onset of the first COVID-19 symptoms and the controls. We also made a comparison of the cytokine levels between the low neutralizing antibodies (<160) group and the high neutralizing antibodies (≥160) group and found there were no differences between the groups. Our research also showed no correlation either to levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG Ab or to the levels of neutralizing antibodies. There were also no significant changes in cytokine levels based on the period after the start of COVID-19 symptoms. Conclusions: No elements which could potentially be responsible for preventing CCP from having a therapeutic effect were found

The Green Wave: Adding value through net zero energy strategy

Report at a glance What is the report about? The report explores new ways to address the challenge of reaching net zero carbon emissions. Specifically, how can we develop institutional net zero strategies that more deeply engage community and business partnerships to deliver greater trust, legitimacy and social value while maximising economic impact? In doing so, the project engaged with the net zero ambitions of three participating universities—University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Curtin University and Monash University. Why is it important? Universities are well established public-benefit institutions deeply embedded within geographic, innovation and thought-leadership communities. As such, they should be seen as critical enablers for seeding a net zero economy through their core activities of research and education. While the focus of the project was on university-based precincts with strong links to energy innovation, the project outputs are also broadly applicable to other organisations and other precincts. Using the process and examples presented in the report, organisations can develop net zero strategies and solutions that deeply intersect with their organisational objectives and strengthen economic participation, stimulating a ‘Green Wave’ to deliver complementary economic, social, and environmental value beyond each organisation’s boundaries. What did we do? Through background review, the project team developed a deep understanding of the net zero challenge, including best practice guidelines for net zero strategies. We also devised, applied, and refined a process for developing an institutional net zero plan that includes pathways for delivering additional complementary social and environmental values. Applying this process, we explored opportunities at the campuses of the three participating universities, particularly UTS and Curtin University. Several of these opportunities were further developed into case studies that can be emulated and adapted across other universities and business precincts. What difference will it make? The project contributed to the net zero strategies of both UTS and Curtin University. It also provides a foundation for both universities and a wide range of institutions to develop net zero strategies that deliver greater trust, legitimacy and value. The research project also outlines a longer-term research program to address the many technical and organisational challenges associated with making and meeting net zero commitments. What next? UTS and Curtin University will continue to develop their net zero strategies while implementing the opportunities identified through the project. The project also provides a template for other institutions to strategise their net zero response, while identifying key challenges and future research opportunities. Research opportunities include design of projects while incentivising the addition of complementary value for other stakeholders, incentivising more impactful investments to transition the energy system, and supporting institutions in meeting their net zero objectives

The Balassa–Samuelson Effect in Central Europe: A Disaggregated Analysis1

This paper aims to explain differences in inflation between six central European economies – Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia – and the euro area in terms of differences in productivity growth between tradable and non-tradable sectors. The coverage of tradable and non-tradable sectors is broader and more detailed than in previous studies and the data samples are larger, as quarterly data for up to 10 years are used. The main conclusion is that productivity differentials explain on average only between 0.2 and 2.0 percentage points of annual inflation differentials vis-à-vis the euro area. Productivity differentials also explain only a small proportion of domestic inflation in central European economies. Earlier studies that estimated the Balassa–Samuelson effect to be larger have often neglected to consider the impact of productivity differentials on inflation relative to the euro area, focusing instead only on their impact on domestic inflation. Many studies have also neglected the relatively high productivity growth in non-tradable industries. The estimates in this paper suggest that differences in productivity growth between EU accession countries and the euro area are unlikely to widen sufficiently to become a determining factor in the ability of these countries to satisfy the Maastricht inflation criterion. Comparative Economic Studies (2004) 46, 63–94. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ces.8100041