Mixed messages: Do automated messages in general practice tell parents they are open for unwell children in the covid-19 era?

© 2020, JMN Medical Education Ltd. All rights reserved. Background-Across the UK there has been a reduction in children and young people (CYP) presenting acutely to hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Automated telephone messages have been used as a tool by General Practice to direct service users to the correct service or point of care for some time. As such, it is unsurprising that automated messages may be used to try to address some questions about the pandemic prior to speaking t impossible o a call handler at a practice. Aim-To investigate the initial advice that parents and carers may be receiving from their first point of contact when telephoning their local General Practice (GP) and whether this considered CYP specifically. Design and Setting-This descriptive study was conducted in response to rapid changes which GP have had to undergo in response to the current global pandemic. Method-GPs within four Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in England were telephoned and the researches recorded whether they had automated messaging and whether certain key pieces of information were given in these messages. It was particularly noted whether any age segmentation was applied in the advice given. Results-Of the 537 practices included, 81.9% (n=440) had an automated message, and of those, 65.9% (n=290) mentioned ‘coronavirus’ or ‘COVID-19’ in their message. Only 1.1% (n=5) practices mentioned children specifically. Conclusion-Adapting the messaging that parents receive when they first contact GP to include CYP would be possible and may reduce the number of unwell CYP who have delays in receiving medical care

An intermittent hypercaloric diet alters gut microbiota, prefrontal cortical gene expression and social behaviours in rats

Objectives: Excessive consumption of high fat and high sugar (HFHS) diets alters reward processing, behaviour, and changes gut microbiota profiles. Previous studies in gnotobiotic mice also provide evidence that these gut microorganisms may influence social behaviour. To further investigate these interactions, we examined the impact of the intermittent access to a HFHS diet on social behaviour, gene expression and microbiota composition in adolescent rats. Methods: Male rats were permitted intermittent daily access (2 h / day) to a palatable HFHS chow diet for 28 days across adolescence. Social interaction, social memory and novel object recognition were assessed during this period. Following testing, RT-PCR was conducted on hippocampal and prefrontal cortex (PFC) samples. 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing was used for identification and relative quantification of bacterial taxa in faecal samples. Results: We observed reduced social interaction behaviours, impaired social memory and novel object recognition in HFHS diet rats compared to chow controls. RT-PCR revealed reduced levels of monoamine oxidase A (Maoa), catechol-O-methyltransferase (Comt) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) mRNA in the PFC of HFHS diet rats. Faecal microbiota analysis demonstrated that the relative abundance of a number of specific bacterial taxa differed significantly between the two diet groups, in particular, Lachnospiraceae and Ruminoccoceae bacteria. Discussion: Intermittent HFHS diet consumption evoked physiological changes to the brain, particularly expression of mRNA associated with reward and neuroplasticity, and gut microbiome. These changes may underpin the observed alterations to social behaviours

An intermittent hypercaloric diet alters gut microbiota, prefrontal cortical gene expression and social behaviours in rats.

Objectives: Excessive consumption of high fat and high sugar (HFHS) diets alters reward processing, behaviour, and changes gut microbiota profiles. Previous studies in gnotobiotic mice also provide evidence that these gut microorganisms may influence social behaviour. To further investigate these interactions, we examined the impact of the intermittent access to a HFHS diet on social behaviour, gene expression and microbiota composition in adolescent rats. Methods: Male rats were permitted intermittent daily access (2 h / day) to a palatable HFHS chow diet for 28 days across adolescence. Social interaction, social memory and novel object recognition were assessed during this period. Following testing, RT-PCR was conducted on hippocampal and prefrontal cortex (PFC) samples. 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing was used for identification and relative quantification of bacterial taxa in faecal samples. Results: We observed reduced social interaction behaviours, impaired social memory and novel object recognition in HFHS diet rats compared to chow controls. RT-PCR revealed reduced levels of monoamine oxidase A (Maoa), catechol-O-methyltransferase (Comt) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) mRNA in the PFC of HFHS diet rats. Faecal microbiota analysis demonstrated that the relative abundance of a number of specific bacterial taxa differed significantly between the two diet groups, in particular, Lachnospiraceae and Ruminoccoceae bacteria. Discussion: Intermittent HFHS diet consumption evoked physiological changes to the brain, particularly expression of mRNA associated with reward and neuroplasticity, and gut microbiome. These changes may underpin the observed alterations to social behaviours

Process development and safety evaluation of ABCB5+ limbal stem cells as advanced-therapy medicinal product to treat limbal stem cell deficiency

Background: While therapeutic success of the limbal tissue or cell transplantation to treat severe cases of limbal stem cell (LSC) deficiency (LSCD) strongly depends on the percentage of LSCs within the transplanted cells, prospective LSC enrichment has been hampered by the intranuclear localization of the previously reported LSC marker p63. The recent identification of the ATP-binding cassette transporter ABCB5 as a plasma membrane-spanning marker of LSCs that are capable of restoring the cornea and the development of an antibody directed against an extracellular loop of the ABCB5 molecule stimulated us to develop a novel treatment strategy based on the utilization of in vitro expanded allogeneic ABCB5+ LSCs derived from human cadaveric limbal tissue. Methods: We developed and validated a Good Manufacturing Practice- and European Pharmacopeia-conform production and quality-control process, by which ABCB5+ LSCs are derived from human corneal rims, expanded ex vivo, isolated as homogenous cell population, and manufactured as an advanced-therapy medicinal product (ATMP). This product was tested in a preclinical study program investigating the cells’ engraftment potential, biodistribution behavior, and safety. Results: ABCB5+ LSCs were reliably expanded and manufactured as an ATMP that contains comparably high percentages of cells expressing transcription factors critical for LSC stemness maintenance (p63) and corneal epithelial differentiation (PAX6). Preclinical studies confirmed local engraftment potential of the cells and gave no signals of toxicity and tumorgenicity. These findings were sufficient for the product to be approved by the German Paul Ehrlich Institute and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to be tested in an international multicenter phase I/IIa clinical trial (NCT03549299) to evaluate the safety and therapeutic efficacy in patients with LSCD. Conclusion: Building upon these data in conjunction with the previously shown cornea-restoring capacity of human ABCB5+ LSCs in animal models of LSCD, we provide an advanced allogeneic LSC-based treatment strategy that shows promise for replenishment of the patient’s LSC pool, recreation of a functional barrier against invading conjunctival cells and restoration of a transparent, avascular cornea

BEssere VErkehrsInformation (BEVEI-2). Phase 2 Abschlussbericht

SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: DtF QN1(38,21) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman

Costs of Storing Reserve Stocks of Corn in Country Elevators, at Bin Sites, and on Farms

Excerpts from the report Summary: This report covers the findings of a study, made in Iowa during 1952 and 1953, of costs of storing reserves of corn at country elevators, at bin sites, and on farms. The objective of this study was to measure and compare the costs of storing corn in alternative locations and types of structures. The problem was one of measuring storage costs in existing plants rather than one of minimizing costs or maximizing storage income within the plants. The data collected included information on volume and costs but not on profits or margins. Consequently, the study provides no basis for a comparison of the marginal productivity of resources allocated to the storage operation or to other departments within the elevator plants studied. It was not designed to do so. Total and average storage costs are assumed to be continuous functions of plant volume which are not constant over the entire volume range. Therefore, this study was directed toward the description of the shape as well as the level of cost curves associated with the storage function