Focus and Application Options

LIAISE Policy Brief No. 5 on "Scientific tools in Europe: focus and application options" has just been published. Policy Impact Assessment (IA) has been an obligatory procedure in the legislative process within the EU since 2002. It has to identify the likely impacts on sustainable development (specifically the social, environmental and economic impacts) of all major policy strategies and instruments prior to actual implementation. The link between IA and sustainable development is rooted in the 2006 renewed Sustainable Development Strategy. IA also provides the legal basis to feed scientific evidence into the policy process and to base policy-making on scientifically robust tools and results. In line with the recognition of the importance of IA for sound sustainable policies, the EC (DG Research and Innovation) has funded through the Framework Programmes (FP) 6 and 7 research supporting knowledge creation in this field. This policy brief presents an analysis of tools developed in the context of FP6 and FP7 undertaken by the LIAISE project. This assessment focused on the following interests of IA practitioners as tool users: Which policy area(s) do the tools address? Which impact area(s) are covered by the tools? Which jurisdictional level(s) can the tools be applied at? How can the tools be categorized? There exists a wide variety of tools that comprises: Quantitative and qualitative tools, such as models, scenarios, multi-criteria analysis and participatory tools, Tool components, such as indicators, databases and comprehensive analytic methods, Evaluation frameworks, toolboxes and platforms etc. serving as a higher level system for tool selection or tool linkage. These results are based on an analysis of 203 research projects designing tools for IA funded in FP6 and 7. The results shall contribute to addressing the science-policy interface of IA by identifying possible challenges for tool users and tool suppliers with respect to tool development and selection

Gemtuzumab-Ozogamicin-Related Impaired Hemoglobin-Haptoglobin Scavenging as On-Target/Off-Tumor Toxicity of Anti-CD33 AML Therapy : A Report of Two Cases

Gemtuzumab-ozogamicin (GO) is a humanized anti-CD33 antibody, which is conjugated to a cytotoxic calicheamicin. It is used to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in combination with chemotherapy. We describe here two GO-treated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cases: both patients suffered from a toxic syndrome, which manifested as impaired hemoglobin-haptoglobin scavenging and accumulation of hemolysis-related products. Our observations and earlier reports indicated that the reaction was caused by GO-targeted destruction of CD33 + CD163+ monocytes/macrophages, which are responsible for the clearance of hemoglobin-haptoglobin complexes. The rise of plasma lactate dehydrogenase was an early sign of the reaction, and both patients had high levels of free plasma hemoglobin, but plasma haptoglobin and bilirubin levels were paradoxically normal. Symptoms included septic fever and abnormalities in cardiac tests and in the case of the first patient, severe neurological symptoms which required intensive care unit admittance. Therapeutic plasma exchanges supported the patients until the recovery of normal hematopoiesis. The symptoms may be easily confounded with infectious complications-related organ damage. Regarding the increasing use of gemtuzumab-ozogamicin and other emerging CD33-targeted cell therapies, we want to highlight this mostly unknown and probably underdiagnosed toxicity.Peer reviewe

Seeking a new normality: Masculinity, interaction and a gluten free diet

From earlier studies, men diagnosed with celiac disease are known to be less troubled by their experiences of living with the disease than are diagnosed women. Previous studies, concentrating on men with celiac disease have been mostly quantitative, and have a bio-medical emphasis. The aim of this study was to explore the social experience of young men with screening-detected celiac disease and to highlight daily life situations five years after diagnosis. Seven young men, diagnosed with celiac disease when they were 13 years-olds through a large Swedish school-based celiac screening-study, were interviewed. The semi-structured interviews were analyzed from a gender perspective which resulted in three themes; being subjected to changes, striving for normality and emphasizing commitment. These were underpinned by several sub-themes. The young men dissociated themselves from being seen as a person with a life-long chronic disease. The analysis also showed that the young men's daily experiences of living with celiac disease largely depended on their use of characteristics known to be associated with masculinity: such as being self-assured, demanding, and behaving authoritatively. In food situations, where the young men had the ability to make use of such characteristics in their informal group, they experienced fewer negative aspects of the disease. If the young men did not hold a strong position in their informal group, their situation was insecure and vulnerable and this could lead to avoidance of contacts and social meal situations. Science and Education Publishing.div_BaM4pub4662pub

Modernising meat inspection using risk-based approaches

A workshop at the SafePork Conference in 2023 delved deeply into the concepts and practicalities of risk-based meat inspection. Such approaches could significantly improve food safety while making the process more efficient and cost-effective

Asparaginase-Associated Pancreatitis in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia : Results From the NOPHO ALL2008 Treatment of Patients 1-45 Years of Age

PURPOSE Asparaginase-associated pancreatitis (AAP) is common in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but risk differences across age groups both in relation to first-time AAP and after asparaginase re-exposure have not been explored. PATIENTS AND METHODS We prospectively registered AAP (n = 168) during treatment of 2,448 consecutive ALL patients aged 1.0-45.9 years diagnosed from July 2008 to October 2018 and treated according to the Nordic Society of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (NOPHO) ALL2008 protocol. RESULTS Compared with patients aged 1.0-9.9 years, adjusted AAP hazard ratios (HRa) were associated with higher age with almost identical HRa (1.6; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.3; P = .02) for adolescents (10.0-17.9 years) and adults (18.0-45.9 years). The day 280 cumulative incidences of AAP were 7.0% for children (1.0-9.9 years: 95% CI, 5.4 to 8.6), 10.1% for adolescents (10.0 to 17.9 years: 95% CI, 7.0 to 13.3), and 11.0% for adults (18.0-45.9 years: 95% CI, 7.1 to 14.9; P = .03). Adolescents had increased odds of both acute (odds ratio [OR], 5.2; 95% CI, 2.1 to 13.2; P = .0005) and persisting complications (OR, 6.7; 95% CI, 2.4 to 18.4; P = .0002) compared with children (1.0-9.9 years), whereas adults had increased odds of only persisting complications (OR, 4.1; 95% CI, 1.4 to 11.8; P = .01). Fifteen of 34 asparaginase-rechallenged patients developed a second AAP. Asparaginase was truncated in 17/21 patients with AAP who subsequently developed leukemic relapse, but neither AAP nor the asparaginase truncation was associated with increased risk of relapse. CONCLUSION Older children and adults had similar AAP risk, whereas morbidity was most pronounced among adolescents. Asparaginase re-exposure should be considered only for patients with an anticipated high risk of leukemic relapse, because multiple studies strongly indicate that reduction of asparaginase treatment intensity increases the risk of relapse. (C) 2019 by American Society of Clinical OncologyPeer reviewe

Proteomics of industrial fungi: trends and insights for biotechnology

Filamentous fungi are widely known for their industrial applications, namely, the production of food-processing enzymes and metabolites such as antibiotics and organic acids. In the past decade, the full genome sequencing of filamentous fungi increased the potential to predict encoded proteins enormously, namely, hydrolytic enzymes or proteins involved in the biosynthesis of metabolites of interest. The integration of genome sequence information with possible phenotypes requires, however, the knowledge of all the proteins in the cell in a system-wise manner, given by proteomics. This review summarises the progress of proteomics and its importance for the study of biotechnological processes in filamentous fungi. A major step forward in proteomics was to couple protein separation with high-resolution mass spectrometry, allowing accurate protein quantification. Despite the fact that most fungal proteomic studies have been focused on proteins from mycelial extracts, many proteins are related to processes which are compartmentalised in the fungal cell, e.g. β-lactam antibiotic production in the microbody. For the study of such processes, a targeted approach is required, e.g. by organelle proteomics. Typical workflows for sample preparation in fungal organelle proteomics are discussed, including homogenisation and sub-cellular fractionation. Finally, examples are presented of fungal organelle proteomic studies, which have enlarged the knowledge on areas of interest to biotechnology, such as protein secretion, energy production or antibiotic biosynthesis