Role of Epidemiological Studies in Disease Prevention

Today's society is full of disease that are of different natures including genetic, infectious and metabolic etc. Every disease has its own mechanisms of affecting humans and different prevention mechanisms as per disease nature. These factors are included in epidemiology of disease. Other factors include prevalence and incidence of diseases in different populations. Exactly knowing about disease epidemiology helps governing authorities to prevent the disease. Unfortunately, under-developed and developing nations are not focusing on diseases epidemiology. On the other hand, all developing nations developed best public health practices based on diseases epidemiology data. These studies may vary from basic epidemiological surveys to identification of microorganism strains etc

A Linear Epitope in the N-Terminal Domain of CCR5 and Its Interaction with Antibody.

The CCR5 receptor plays a role in several key physiological and pathological processes and is an important therapeutic target. Inhibition of the CCR5 axis by passive or active immunisation offers one very selective strategy for intervention. In this study we define a new linear epitope within the extracellular domain of CCR5 recognised by two independently produced monoclonal antibodies. A short peptide encoding the linear epitope can induce antibodies which recognise the intact receptor when administered colinear with a tetanus toxoid helper T cell epitope. The monoclonal antibody RoAb 13 is shown to bind to both cells and peptide with moderate to high affinity (6x10^8 and 1.2x107 M-1 respectively), and binding to the peptide is enhanced by sulfation of tyrosines at positions 10 and 14. RoAb13, which has previously been shown to block HIV infection, also blocks migration of monocytes in response to CCR5 binding chemokines and to inflammatory macrophage conditioned medium. A Fab fragment of RoAb13 has been crystallised and a structure of the antibody is reported to 2.1 angstrom resolution

Mindfulness and Creative Process Engagement: The Mediating Role of Workplace Relational Systems

Purpose Despite widespread recognition of the importance of mindfulness in organizational science literature, little is known about how mindfulness motivates individuals to configure information processing and team member exchange relationships to increase creative process engagement. Drawing on motivated information processing theory, this study conceptualizes and empirically examines whether and how mindfulness motivates individuals toward creative process engagement. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data through an online survey from 311 respondents working in the Research and Development (R&D) departments of organizations in multiple industries in Pakistan. For analytical purposes, the authors have applied the structural equation modeling technique. Findings This study advances a different view of individual mindfulness on the creative process engagement in the following ways. First, mindfulness enables individuals to self-regulate in specific situations and become effective in fostering creative process engagement. Second, this study extends research on relational information processing by linking it to mindfulness and creative process engagement. Relational information processing partially mediates the relationship between mindfulness and creative process engagement. Third, this study highlights that mindfulness motivates individuals to focus more on developing quality working relationships, but they seem less willing to participate in idea generation and problem-solving solutions. Originality/value The study findings provide implications for research on mindfulness, creativity and motivated information processing to enhance individuals’ creative process engagements. The authors also discuss the implications for executives on the relational and creative benefits of mindfulness

Development of a Flexible MIP-Based Biosensor Platform for the Thermal Detection of Neurotransmitters

We have developed high affinity Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) for neurotransmitters such as dopamine, noradrenaline and caffeine. These polymer particles are mixed within the bulk of screen-printed ink allowing masss-producible bulk modified MIP Screen-Printed Electrodes (MIP-SPEs) to be realised. We have explored different SPE supporting surfaces, such as polyester, tracing paper and household-printing paper. The performance of those MIP-SPEs is studied using the Heat-Transfer Method (HTM), a patented thermal method. With the combination of screen-printing techniques and thermal detection, it is possible to develop a portable sensor platform that is capable of low-cost and straightforward detection of biomolecules on-site. In the future, this unique sensor architecture holds great promise for the use in biomedical devices

Neutrophils restrain allergic airway inflammation by limiting ILC2 function and monocyte-dendritic cell antigen presentation

Neutrophil mobilization, recruitment, and clearance must be tightly regulated as overexuberant neutrophilic inflammation is implicated in the pathology of chronic diseases, including asthma. Efforts to target neutrophils therapeutically have failed to consider their pleiotropic functions and the implications of disrupting fundamental regulatory pathways that govern their turnover during homeostasis and inflammation. Using the house dust mite (HDM) model of allergic airway disease, we demonstrate that neutrophil depletion unexpectedly resulted in exacerbated T helper 2 (T 2) inflammation, epithelial remodeling, and airway resistance. Mechanistically, this was attributable to a marked increase in systemic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) concentrations, which are ordinarily negatively regulated in the periphery by transmigrated lung neutrophils. Intriguingly, we found that increased G-CSF augmented allergic sensitization in HDM-exposed animals by directly acting on airway type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) to elicit cytokine production. Moreover, increased systemic G-CSF promoted expansion of bone marrow monocyte progenitor populations, which resulted in enhanced antigen presentation by an augmented peripheral monocyte-derived dendritic cell pool. By modeling the effects of neutrophil depletion, our studies have uncovered previously unappreciated roles for G-CSF in modulating ILC2 function and antigen presentation. More broadly, they highlight an unexpected regulatory role for neutrophils in limiting T 2 allergic airway inflammation

Art therapy with refugee children: a qualitative study explored through the lens of art therapists and their experiences

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Art Therapy on 9-11-2018, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/17454832.2018.1533571This article sets out to explore the use of art therapy with refugee children, from the perspective of art therapists and their experiences. Three semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain insights by capturing experiences and stories. Using thematic analysis, five themes were identified: (1) giving voice; (2) rebuilding trust, opening wounds; (3) sharing stories, healing pain; (4) exploring identity, discovering new-self; and (5) understanding art therapy. Upon reflection, two key aspects of art therapy were established, these were identified as: (1) providing refugee children with a safe space to heal and discover new-self, and (2) giving refugee children a voice to express and share stories. Despite the last of the five themes (understanding art therapy) being established as a factor that limits the use of art therapy, this has created an avenue for further research. From the findings, it was concluded that art therapy can be a useful form of psychotherapy for refugee children. Art therapy can provide these children with a safe space to heal, and give them a voice to be heard

The development of novel LTA4H modulators to selectively target LTB4 generation

The pro-inflammatory mediator leukotriene B4 (LTB4) is implicated in the pathologies of an array of diseases and thus represents an attractive therapeutic target. The enzyme leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H) catalyses the distal step in LTB4 synthesis and hence inhibitors of this enzyme have been actively pursued. Despite potent LTA4H inhibitors entering clinical trials all have failed to show efficacy. We recently identified a secondary anti-inflammatory role for LTA4H in degrading the neutrophil chemoattractant Pro-Gly-Pro (PGP) and rationalized that the failure of conventional LTA4H inhibitors may be that they inadvertently prevented PGP degradation. We demonstrate that these inhibitors do indeed fail to discriminate between the dual activities of LTA4H, and enable PGP accumulation in mice. Accordingly, we have developed novel compounds that potently inhibit LTB4 generation whilst leaving PGP degradation unperturbed. These novel compounds could represent a safer and superior class of LTA4H inhibitors for translation into the clinic