Application of single-cell RNA sequencing methodologies in understanding haematopoiesis and immunology.

The blood and immune system are characterised by utmost diversity in its cellular components. This heterogeneity can solely be resolved with the application of single-cell technologies that enable precise examination of cell-to-cell variation. Single-cell transcriptomics is continuously pushing forward our understanding of processes driving haematopoiesis and immune responses in physiological settings as well as in disease. Remarkably, in the last five years, a number of studies involving single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) allowed the discovery of new immune cell types and revealed that haematopoiesis is a continuous rather than a stepwise process, thus challenging the classical haematopoietic lineage tree model. This review summarises the most recent studies which applied scRNA-seq to answer outstanding questions in the fields of haematology and immunology and discusses the present challenges and future directions.The study was supported by Cancer Research UK grant number C45041/A14953 and European Research Council project 677501 – ZF_Bloo

Measuring Resident Perceptions of Economically Benefiting from Tourism

At the core of the resident attitudes literature is the general understanding that the more residents benefit financially from tourism, the more they tend to support it. While this relationship is a central tenet of the resident attitude literature, previous research has approached the measurement of resident perceptions of economically benefiting from tourism rather haphazardly using four disparate directions without a common reliable and valid scale. With this in mind, this study seeks to develop the Economic Benefit from Tourism Scale (EBTS). The scale’s development follows Churchill’s (1979) recommendations for scale development and uses three separate data collections across the United States of America and Poland to purify the scale and demonstrate its reliability and validity within an international context. Results from the confirmatory factor analyses confirm the EBTS’ international validity. Suggestions for how to include the scale within future data collections to strengthen Social Exchange Theory are presented

Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes – Current concepts of diagnosis and treatment

Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) is the most common focal epilepsy ofthe childhood and also one of the best known. It has a proclivity to start at a particular age and remit spontaneously before adolescence. Majority of patients may avoid long-term treatment, because of the mild course and very good outcome. Only few patients may present cognitive deficits if the proper treatment is not implied. BECTS is a part of heterogeneous group of syndromes that consists of Landau-Kleffner Syndrome (LKS), Continuous Spike-and-Wave during Sleep (CSWS) and Atypical benign partial epilepsy (ABPE). These syndromes may be also a result of various trajectories that BECTS may evolve to. Disease is suggested to have genetic origins, as some patients have relatives with different types of epilepsy. The discovery of the pathogenic mechanism of the disease and implementation of targeted therapy belong to the main challenges in the treatment of these patients

Self-efficacy mechanism at work : the context of environmental volunteer travel

This article contributes the first utilization of Bandura’s self-efficacy (SE) mechanism in the context of environmental volunteer travel demonstrating how environmental stewardship, hedonic experience, and environmental SE relate to one another in this particular settin

Single‐cell omics: Overview, analysis, and application in biomedical science

Single-cell sequencing methods provide the highest resolution insight into cellular heterogeneity. Owing to their rapid growth and decreasing cost, they are now widely accessible to scientists worldwide. Single-cell technologies enable analysis of a large number of cells, making them powerful tools to characterise rare cell types and refine our understanding of diverse cell states. Moreover, single-cell application in biomedical sciences helps to unravel mechanisms related to disease pathogenesis and outcome. In this Viewpoint, we briefly describe existing single-cell methods (genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, and mulitomics), comment on available analysis tools, and give examples of method applications in the biomedical field

Looking At Residents’ Attitudes towards Spring Break Tourism in Texas through the Lens of Community Attachment

The growth of spring break tourism in many destinations has become problematic, predominantly due to the excessive behaviour of college students. This paper examines residents’ attitudes toward spring break tourism in South Padre Island (located in Texas, USA) through the lens of community attachment. By understanding the attitudes of residents of the host communities, tourism planners and policy-makers can create policies to shape the character of tourism according to the residents’ needs. The findings suggest that, at this point in time, community residents perceive that the benefits of spring break tourism benefits exceed its’ costs. Also, the short and intense season of spring break tourism allows residents to better deal with social costs

How Biodegradable Polymers Can be Effective Drug Delivery Systems for Cannabinoids? Prospectives and Challenges

Jan Sobieraj,* Katarzyna Strzelecka,* Marcin Sobczak, Ewa Oledzka Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Biomaterials, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, 02-097, Poland*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ewa Oledzka, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Biomaterials, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Warsaw, 1 Banacha Street, Warsaw, 02-097, Tel +48-22-572-07-55, Email [email protected]: Cannabinoids are compounds found in and derived from the Cannabis plants that have become increasingly recognised as significant modulating factors of physiological mechanisms and inflammatory reactions of the organism, thus inevitably affecting maintenance of homeostasis. Medical Cannabis popularity has surged since its legal regulation growing around the world. Numerous promising discoveries bring more data on cannabinoids’ pharmacological characteristics and therapeutic applications. Given the current surge in interest in the medical use of cannabinoids, there is an urgent need for an effective method of their administration. Surpassing low bioavailability, low water solubility, and instability became an important milestone in the advancement of cannabinoids in pharmaceutical applications. The numerous uses of cannabinoids in clinical practice remain restricted by limited administration alternatives, but there is hope when biodegradable polymers are taken into account. The primary objective of this review is to highlight the wide range of indications for which cannabinoids may be used, as well as the polymeric carriers that enhance their effectiveness. The current review described a wide range of therapeutic applications of cannabinoids, including pain management, neurological and sleep disorders, anxiety, and cancer treatment. The use of these compounds was further examined in the area of dermatology and cosmetology. Finally, with the use of biodegradable polymer-based drug delivery systems (DDSs), it was demonstrated that cannabinoids can be delivered specifically to the intended site while also improving the drug’s physicochemical properties, emphasizing their utility. Nevertheless, additional clinical trials on novel cannabinoids’ formulations are required, as their full spectrum therapeutical potential is yet to be unravelled. Keywords: cannabinoids, drug delivery systems, cannabidiol, tetrahydrocannabinol, biodegradable polymers, nanomedicin