A purified lectin with larvicidal activity from a woodland mushroom, Agaricus semotus Fr.

This study investigated the larvicidal activity on Culex quinquefasciatus of lectin purified from fresh fruiting bodies of woodland mushroom, Agaricus semotus. A. semotus lectin (ASL) was purified via ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose A-25 and size exclusion chromatography on Sephadex G-100 matrix. Molecular weight (16.6 kDa) was estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The effects of temperature, pH, metal chelation- and larvicidal activity of ASL were also investigated. The ASL indifferently agglutinated the erythrocytes of the human ABO blood system and was stable at acidic pH and below 50 °C whereas 66% of its activity was lost at 60 °C with complete inactivation at 70 °C. ASL is a metalloprotein requiring barium ion as chelation of metals by 50 mM EDTA rendered the lectin inactive, while the addition of BaCl2, among other metal salts, restored the activity. ASL showed larvicidal activity against C. quinquefasciatus larvae after 24 h with a mortality of 5 and 95% at 5 and 25 mg/mL respectively, and LC50 of 13.80 mg/mL. This study concluded that purified A. semotus lectin showed impressive larvicidal activity, which could be exploited in its development as an insecticidal agent

Higher algebraic KK-groups and D\mathcal D-split sequences

In this paper, we use $\mathcal D$-split sequences and derived equivalences to provide formulas for calculation of higher algebraic $K$-groups (or mod-$p$ $K$-groups) of certain matrix subrings which cover tiled orders, rings related to chains of Glaz-Vasconcelos ideals, and some other classes of rings. In our results, we do not assume any homological requirements on rings and ideals under investigation, and therefore extend sharply many existing results of this type in the algebraic $K$-theory literature to a more general context.Comment: 20 page

Global Associations between Air Pollutants and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Hospitalizations: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Exacerbations are key events in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), affecting lung function decline and quality of life. The effect of exposure to different air pollutants on COPD exacerbations is not clear. OBJECTIVE: To carry out a systematic review examining associations between air pollutants and hospital admissions for COPD exacerbations. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS & Science Citation Index, and the Air Pollution Epidemiology Database were searched from 1980 until September 2015. DATA EXTRACTION: Inclusion criteria focused on studies presenting solely a COPD outcome defined by hospital admissions, and a measure of gaseous air pollutants and particle fractions. The association between each pollutant with COPD admissions was investigated in metaanalyses using random-effects models. Analyses were stratified by geographical clusters to investigate the consistency of the evidence worldwide. SYNTHESIS: 46 studies were included and results for all the pollutants under investigation showed marginal positive associations; however the number of included studies was small with high heterogeneity between them and there was evidence of small-study bias. Geographical clustering of the effects of pollution on COPD hospital admissions was evident and reduced heterogeneity significantly. CONCLUSIONS: The most consistent associations was between a 1mg/m3 increase in carbon monoxide levels with COPD related admissions; Odds Ratio: 1.02 (95%CI: 1.01-1.03). The heterogeneity was moderate and there was a consistent positive association in both Europe and North America, although levels were clearly below WHO guideline values. There is mixed evidence on the effects of environmental pollution on COPD exacerbations. Limitations of previous studies included the low spatiotemporal resolution of pollutants, inadequate control for confounding factors, and the use of aggregated health data that ignore personal characteristics. The need for more targeted exposure estimates in a large number of geographical locations is evident.This research was funded by the Medical Research Council (MR/L019744/1 [B.B.]). It was also supported by the Medical Research Council-Public Health England (MRC-PHE) Centre for Environment and Health and the National Ins titute for Health Resear ch (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy’s and St . Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London

The value of standards for health datasets in artificial intelligence-based applications

Artificial intelligence as a medical device is increasingly being applied to healthcare for diagnosis, risk stratification and resource allocation. However, a growing body of evidence has highlighted the risk of algorithmic bias, which may perpetuate existing health inequity. This problem arises in part because of systemic inequalities in dataset curation, unequal opportunity to participate in research and inequalities of access. This study aims to explore existing standards, frameworks and best practices for ensuring adequate data diversity in health datasets. Exploring the body of existing literature and expert views is an important step towards the development of consensus-based guidelines. The study comprises two parts: a systematic review of existing standards, frameworks and best practices for healthcare datasets; and a survey and thematic analysis of stakeholder views of bias, health equity and best practices for artificial intelligence as a medical device. We found that the need for dataset diversity was well described in literature, and experts generally favored the development of a robust set of guidelines, but there were mixed views about how these could be implemented practically. The outputs of this study will be used to inform the development of standards for transparency of data diversity in health datasets (the STANDING Together initiative)

TRH: Pathophysiologic and clinical implications

Thyrotropin releasing hormone is thought to be a tonic stimulator of the pituitary TSH secretion regulating the setpoint of the thyrotrophs to the suppressive effect of thyroid hormones. The peptide stimulates the release of normal and elevated prolactin. ACTH and GH may increase in response to exogenous TRH in pituitary ACTH and GH hypersecretion syndromes and in some extrapituitary diseases. The pathophysiological implications of extrahypothalamic TRH in humans are essentially unknown. The TSH response to TRH is nowadays widely used as a diganostic amplifier in thyroid diseases being suppressed in borderline and overt hyperthyroid states and increased in primary thyroid failure. In hypothyroid states of hypothalamic origin, TSH increases in response to exogenous TRH often with a delayed and/or exaggerated time course. But in patients with pituitary tumors and suprasellar extension TSH may also respond to TRH despite secondary hypothyroidism. This TSH increase may indicate a suprasellar cause for the secondary hypothyroidism, probably due to portal vessel occlusion. The TSH released in these cases is shown to be biologically inactive

Predicting future left anterior descending artery events from non-culprit lesions:insights from the Lipid-Rich Plaque study

AIMS: The left anterior descending (LAD) artery is the most frequently affected site by coronary artery disease. The prospective Lipid Rich Plaque (LRP) study, which enrolled patients undergoing imaging of non-culprits followed over 2 years, reported the successful identification of coronary segments at risk of future events based on near-infrared spectroscopy-intravascular ultrasound (NIRS-IVUS) lipid signals. We aimed to characterize the plaque events involving the LAD vs. non-LAD segments. METHODS AND RESULTS: LRP enrolled 1563 patients from 2014 to 2016. All adjudicated plaque events defined by the composite of cardiac death, cardiac arrest, non-fatal myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, revascularization by coronary bypass or percutaneous coronary intervention, and rehospitalization for angina with >20% stenosis progression and reported as non-culprit lesion-related major adverse cardiac events (NC-MACE) were classified by NIRS-IVUS maxLCBI4 mm (maximum 4-mm Lipid Core Burden Index) ≤400 or >400 and association with high-risk-plaque characteristics, plaque burden ≥70%, and minimum lumen area (MLA) ≤4 mm2. Fifty-seven events were recorded with more lipid-rich plaques in the LAD vs. left circumflex and right coronary artery; 12.5% vs. 10.4% vs. 11.3%, P = 0.097. Unequivocally, a maxLCBI4 mm >400 in the LAD was more predictive of NC-MACE [hazard ratio (HR) 4.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.93-9.69); P = 0.0004] vs. [HR 2.56, 95% CI (1.06-6.17); P = 0.0354] in non-LAD segments. MLA ≤4 mm2 within the maxLCBI4 mm was significantly higher in the LAD (34.1% vs. 25.9% vs. 13.7%, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Non-culprit lipid-rich segments in the LAD were more frequently associated with plaque-level events. LAD NIRS-IVUS screening may help identify patients requiring intensive surveillance and medical treatment

Occupational health and safety and the National Public Health Institute of South Africa : deliberations from a national consultative meeting

On 11 November 2015, the National Department of Health (NDoH) published the National Public Health Institute of South Africa (NAPHISA) Draft Bill 2015 for public comment. The aim of the Draft Bill is: '[t]o provide for the establishment of the National Public Health Institute of South Africa in order to conduct disease and injury surveillance and to provide specialised public health services, public health interventions, training and research directed towards the major health challenges affecting the population of the Republic.'http://www.samj.org.zaam2016School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Pica associated with iron deficiency or depletion: clinical and laboratory correlates in 262 non-pregnant adult outpatients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are many descriptions of the association of pica with iron deficiency in adults, but there are few reports in which observations available at diagnosis of iron deficiency were analyzed using multivariable techniques to identify significant predictors of pica. We sought to identify clinical and laboratory correlates of pica in adults with iron deficiency or depletion using univariable and stepwise forward logistic regression analyses.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We reviewed charts of 262 non-pregnant adult outpatients (ages ≥18 y) who required treatment with intravenous iron dextran. We tabulated their sex, age, race/ethnicity, body mass index, symptoms and causes of iron deficiency or depletion, serum iron and complete blood count measures, and other conditions at diagnosis before intravenous iron dextran was administered. We excluded patients with serum creatinine >133 μmol/L or disorders that could affect erythrocyte or iron measures. Iron deficiency was defined as both SF <45 pmol/L and TS <10%. Iron depletion was defined as serum ferritin (SF) <112 pmol/L. We performed univariable comparisons and stepwise forward logistic regression analyses to identify significant correlates of pica.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were 230 women (184 white, 46 black; ages 19-91 y) and 32 men (31 white, 1 black; ages 24-81 y). 118 patients (45.0%) reported pica; of these, 87.3% reported ice pica (pagophagia). In univariable analyses, patients with pica had lower mean age, black race/ethnicity, and higher prevalences of cardiopulmonary and epithelial manifestations. The prevalence of iron deficiency, with or without anemia, did not differ significantly between patients with and without pica reports. Mean hemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) were lower and mean red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and platelet count were higher in patients with pica. Thrombocytosis occurred only in women and was more prevalent in those with pica (20.4% vs. 8.3%; p = 0.0050). Mean total iron-binding capacity was higher and mean serum ferritin was lower in patients with pica. Nineteen patients developed a second episode of iron deficiency or depletion; concordance of recurrent pica (or absence of pica) was 95%. Predictors of pica in logistic regression analyses were age and MCV (negative associations; p = 0.0250 and 0.0018, respectively) and RDW and platelet count (positive associations; p = 0.0009 and 0.02215, respectively); the odds ratios of these predictors were low.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In non-pregnant adult patients with iron deficiency or depletion, lower age is a significant predictor of pica. Patients with pica have lower MCV, higher RDW, and higher platelet counts than patients without pica.</p