Prognostic heterogeneity of adult B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia patients with t(1;19)(q23;p13)/TCF3-PBX1 treated with measurable residual disease-oriented protocols

The prognosis of t(1;19)(q23;p13)/transcription factor 3-pre-B-cell leukaemia homeobox 1 (TCF3-PBX1) in adolescent and adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) treated with measurable residual disease (MRD)-oriented trials remains controversial. In the present study, we analysed the outcome of adolescent and adult patients with t(1;19)(q23;p13) enrolled in paediatric-inspired trials. The patients with TCF3-PBX1 showed similar MRD clearance and did not have different survival compared with other B-cell precursor ALL patients. However, patients with TCF3-PBX1 had a significantly higher cumulative incidence of relapse, especially among patients aged ≥35 years carrying additional cytogenetic alterations. These patients might benefit from additional/intensified therapy (e.g. immunotherapy in first complete remission with or without subsequent haematopoietic stem cell transplantation). 40 __ $u https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0

Revisiting Family Leisure Research and Critical Reflections on the Future of Family-Centered Scholarship

In this special issue of Leisure Sciences, we examine the progress made and challenges ahead in research on leisure and families—20 years revisited. We consider what advancements have been made in family leisure research and potential new directions that family-centered scholars can look towards. We also consider the dominance of particular theoretical perspectives and methodological designs, and the limitations and consequences of such perspectives, to understand the complexities, diversity, and richness of the lived family experience. Emphasis is placed on the need for scholarship that explores diverse constructions of family and to provide a call to action for family-centered scholars to engage with broader global social issues

Roma populations and health inequalities : a new perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the emergence of “Roma health and wellbeing” as a focus of attention in European research and in policy and the possible detrimental consequences of action founded on a generic representation of “Roma health” Design/methodology/approach Based on discussions with and research conducted by scholars who work directly with Roma communities across European regions from a wide range of academic disciplines it suggests how future research might inform: a more nuanced understanding of the causes of poor health and wellbeing among diverse Roma populations and; actions that may have greater potential to improve the health and wellbeing among these populations. Findings In summary, the authors promote three types of research: first critical analyses that unpick the implications of current and past representations of “Roma” and “Roma health.” Second, applied participatory research that meaningfully involves people from specific self-defined Roma populations to identify important issues for their health and wellbeing. Third, learning about processes that might impact on the health and wellbeing of Roma populations from research with other populations in similarly excluded situations. Originality/value The authors provide a multidisciplinary perspective to inform research that does not perpetuate further alienation and prejudice, but promotes urgent action to redress the social and health injustices experienced by diverse Roma populations across Europe

A survey of security issue in multi-agent systems

Multi-agent systems have attracted the attention of researchers because of agents' automatic, pro-active, and dynamic problem solving behaviors. Consequently, there has been a rapid development in agent technology which has enabled us to provide or receive useful and convenient services in a variety of areas such as banking, transportation, e-business, and healthcare. In many of these services, it is, however, necessary that security is guaranteed. Unless we guarantee the security services based on agent-based systems, these services will face significant deployment problems. In this paper, we survey existing work related to security in multi-agent systems, especially focused on access control and trust/reputation, and then present our analyses. We also present existing problems and discuss future research challenges. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V 2011

Bedside Sublingual Video Imaging of Microcirculation in Assessing Bacterial Infection in Cirrhosis

Bacterial infections are common in cirrhosis and can lead to life-threatening complications. Sidestream dark-field (SDF) imaging has recently emerged as a noninvasive tool for capturing real-time video images of sublingual microcirculation in critically ill patients with sepsis. The objective of this study was to assess the utility of SDF in determining underlying infection in patients with cirrhosis. Sublingual microcirculation was compared among patients with compensated cirrhosis (Group A, n = 13), cirrhosis without sepsis (Group B, n = 18), cirrhosis with sepsis (Group C, n = 14), and sepsis only (Group D, n = 10). The blood flow was semi-quantitatively evaluated in four equal quadrants in small (10–25 mm); medium (26–50 mm); and large (51–100 mm) sublingual capillaries. The blood flow was described as no flow (0), intermittent flow (1), sluggish flow (2), and continuous flow (3). The overall flow score or microvascular flow index (MFI) was measured for quantitative assessment of microcirculation and predicting power for concurrent infection in cirrhosis. Marked impairment was observed at all levels of microvasculature in Groups B and C when compared with Group A. This effect was restricted to small vessels only when Group B was compared with Group C. MFI < 1.5 was found to have highest sensitivity (100%) and specificity (100%) for infection in decompensated cirrhosis. SDF imaging of sublingual microcirculation can be a useful bedside diagnostic tool to assess bacterial infection in cirrhosis

Transcendental-Phenomenological Proof and Descriptive Metaphysics

Following P.F. Strawson's reading of Kant, the majority of the literature on transcendental arguments seeks to divorce such arguments from their original Kantian context. This thesis is concerned with Mark Sacks's recent defence of transcendental arguments, which takes a different approach. A critique is given of Sacks's work and extensions and modifications of his approach are recommended. It is proposed that certain difficulties encountered by Kant's transcendentally-ideal approach can be overcome with Hegelian solutions

Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis Is Associated with Inflammation and Bacterial Translocation in Mice with CCl4-Induced Fibrosis

BACKGROUND: Gut is the major source of endogenous bacteria causing infections in advanced cirrhosis. Intestinal barrier dysfunction has been described in cirrhosis and account for an increased bacterial translocation rate. HYPOTHESIS AND AIMS: We hypothesize that microbiota composition may be affected and change along with the induction of experimental cirrhosis, affecting the inflammatory response. ANIMALS AND METHODS: Progressive liver damage was induced in Balb/c mice by weight-controlled oral administration of carbon tetrachloride. Laparotomies were performed at weeks 6, 10, 13 and 16 in a subgroup of treated mice (n = 6/week) and control animals (n = 4/week). Liver tissue specimens, mesenteric lymph nodes, intestinal content and blood were collected at laparotomies. Fibrosis grade, pro-fibrogenic genes expression, gut bacterial composition, bacterial translocation, host's specific butyrate-receptor GPR-43 and serum cytokine levels were measured. RESULTS: Expression of pro-fibrogenic markers was significantly increased compared with control animals and correlated with the accumulated dose of carbon tetrachloride. Bacterial translocation episodes were less frequent in control mice than in treated animals. Gram-positive anaerobic Clostridia spp count was decreased in treated mice compared with control animals and with other gut common bacterial species, altering the aerobic/anaerobic ratio. This fact was associated with a decreased gene expression of GPR43 in neutrophils of treated mice and inversely correlated with TNF-alpha and IL-6 up-regulation in serum of treated mice along the study protocol. This pro-inflammatory scenario favoured blood bacterial translocation in treated animals, showing the highest bacterial translocation rate and aerobic/anaerobic ratio at the same weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Gut microbiota alterations are associated with the development of an inflammatory environment, fibrosis progression and bacterial translocation in carbon tetrachloride-treated mice

Free-standing polyelectrolyte membranes made of chitosan and alginate

Free-standing films have increasing applications in the biomedical field as drug delivery systems for wound healing and tissue engineering. Here, we prepared free-standing membranes by the layer-by-layer assembly of chitosan and alginate, two widely used biomaterials. Our aim was to produce a thick membrane and to study the permeation of model drugs and the adhesion of muscle cells. We first defined the optimal growth conditions in terms of pH and alginate concentration. The membranes could be easily detached from polystyrene or polypropylene substrate without any postprocessing step. The dry thickness was varied over a large range from 4 to 35 μm. A 2-fold swelling was observed by confocal microscopy when they were immersed in PBS. In addition, we quantified the permeation of model drugs (fluorescent dextrans) through the free-standing membrane, which depended on the dextran molecular weight. Finally, we showed that myoblast cells exhibited a preferential adhesion on the alginate-ending membrane as compared to the chitosan-ending membrane or to the substrate side.This work was financially supported by Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the Scholarship SFRH/BD/64601/2009 granted to S.G.C. C.M. is indebted to Grenoble INP for financial support via a postdoctoral fellowship. This work was supported by the European Commission (FP7 Program) via a European Research Council starting grant (BIOMIM, GA 259370 to C.P.). C.P. is also grateful to Institut Universitaire de France and to Grenoble Institute of Technology for financial support. We thank Isabelle Paintrand for her technical help with the confocal apparatus and Patrick Chaudouet for his help with SEM imaging

Building Slavery-free Communities: A Resilience Framework

There is growing interest in the use of community-based approaches to address the causes of modern slavery and the related goal of building anti-slavery 'resilience'. However, the concept of resilience is often poorly understood and applied without attention to the specific challenges of anti-slavery policy and practice. This paper provides a conceptual framework for understanding the process and outcomes of building resilience against contemporary forms of slavery within place-based communities. Inspired by established ecological models of resilience, we propose an adaptive 'resilience cycle' that activists and policymakers can draw upon to inform the process of designing and delivering policy interventions. This process is combined with a review of evidence about the multi-level social determinants of modern slavery to suggest a framework of topic areas for local review and measurement, as a means to assess existing gaps and assets, enable comparative learning and measure progress towards goals. We also outline a future research agenda exploring locally-grounded perspectives on modern slavery risk and resilience, to improve understanding of the factors underpinning resilience across different social and economic contexts. This article will assist policy-makers by clarifying the concept of anti-slavery resilience, which can in turn inform policy design and implementation, and help to make connections between disparate initiatives from multiple actors. By combining a process for building resilience with an overview of social determinants underpinning a slavery-free community, we offer a basis for gap-analysis and ongoing measurement. The research agenda that we outline to better understand factors underpinning resilience would make a valuable contribution to improving anti-slavery governance and assist in developing a better understanding of the linkages between achieving SDG 8.7 and wider sustainable development goals