Alcohol‐Associated Liver Disease Before and After COVID‐19 – An Overview and Call for Ongoing Investigation

The Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exacted a heavy toll on patients with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). The collective burden of ALD and AUD was large and growing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is accumulating evidence that this pandemic has had a large direct effect on these patients and is likely to produce indirect effects via delays in care, psychological strain, and increased alcohol use. Now a year into the pandemic, it is important that clinicians fully understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with ALD and AUD. To fill existing gaps in knowledge, the scientific community must set research priorities for patients with ALD regarding their risk of COVID-19, prevention/treatment of COVID-19, changes in alcohol use during the pandemic, best use of AUD treatments in the COVID-19 era, and downstream effects of this pandemic on ALD. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has already inflicted disproportionate harms on patients with ALD and ongoing, focused research efforts will be critical to better understand the direct and collateral effects of this pandemic on ALD

Effect of Dexamethasone in Neospora Caninum Seropositive Calves

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Dexamethasone (DXM) on clinical parameters, absolute and differential leukocyte count, specific IgG titers, IFN-γ production and parasitemia in beef calves seropositive to Neospora caninum. Fifteen calves were assigned to four experimental groups as follow: group A: 4 sero- positive calves treated with DXM; group B: 4 seropositive calves without DXM; group C: 3 seronegative calves treated with DXM, and group D: 4 seronegative calves without DXM treatment. The absolute leukocyte count was higher in both groups A and C in the 3rd day after the first dose of DXM mainly due to a significant neutrophilia (p0.05). Similarly, IFN-γ levels did not change among experimental groups (p>0.05). DNA was de- tected in calves from groups A and B at 7 Days Post Administra- tion (dpa) and from group A at 14 dpa. Even when DXM adminis- tration induced hemotological parameter changes, no reactivation of Neospora-infection was observed according to specific IgG titers and presence of the parasite on leukocytes in naturally seropositive beef male calves.Fil: Idarraga Bedoya, S.. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Armendano, Joaquín Ignacio. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Gual, Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Hecker, Yanina Paola. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Leunda, M. R.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Pereyra, S.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Verna, Andrea Elizabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Campero, C. M.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Odeón, Anselmo Carlos. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Moore, Dadin Prando. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma: Management after the transplant

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153700/1/ajt15697.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153700/2/ajt15697_am.pd

\u27Struggling with Language\u27 : Indigenous movements for Linguistic Security and the Politics of Local Community

In this article, I explore the relationship between linguistic diversity and political power. Specifically, I outline some of the ways that linguistic diversity has served as a barrier to the centralization of power, thus constraining, for example, the political practice of empire-formation. A brief historical example of this dynamic is presented in the case of Spanish colonialism of the 16th-century. The article proceeds then to demonstrate how linguistic diversity remains tied to struggles against forms of domination. I argue that in contemporary indigenous movements for linguistic security, the languages themselves are not merely conceived of as the object of the political struggle, but also as the means to preserve a space for local action and deliberation – a ‘politics of local community’. I show that linguistic diversity and the devolution of political power to the local level are in a mutually reinforcing relationship. Finally, I consider the implications of this thesis for liberal theorizing on language rights, arguing that such theory cannot fully come to terms with this political-strategic dimension of language struggles

Review: Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle injection for cancer therapy: The evolving role of therapeutic endoscopic ultrasound

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is central to the diagnosis and staging of many malignancies, but now has an evolving role in cancer therapy. EUS-guided fine needle injection (FNI) is already used for palliative interventions such as treatment of pain through nerve blockade and to guide biliary decompression when conventional ERCP is not possible. More recently, EUS-FNI has been used to deliver specific anti-tumor agents for pancreatic cyst ablation and local control of tumor growth in patients with unresectable solid malignancies. The agents used to date include ethanol, brachytherapy seeds, and chemotherapeutic agents such as paclitaxel. In addition, FNI of new immunomodulating cell cultures such as mixed lymphocyte and dendritic cell cultures has also been reported, as has FNI of several different viral vectors for antitumor therapy. Although experience with these agents remains preliminary, EUS-FNI is a minimally invasive approach to deliver local antitumor agents, and is likely to have an expanding role in cancer therapy

Association Between Renal Function Pattern and Mortality in Patients With Cirrhosis

Background & aimsRenal dysfunction increases risk of death for patients with cirrhosis. We investigated whether mortality differs significantly among patients with acute kidney injury (AKI), chronic kidney disease (CKD), and both.MethodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of all non-status 1 adults on the waitlist for liver transplantation for at least 90 days, collected from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network registry from July 1, 2007 through July 1, 2014. We assigned patients to groups of AKI (an increase of ≥0.3 mg/dL or ≥50% in serum creatinine in the last 7 days or fewer than 72 days of hemodialysis), CKD (an estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/min/1.73 m2 for 90 days with a final rate ≥30 ml/min/1.73 m2 or ≥72 days of hemodialysis), AKI and CKD (meet both definitions), or normal (meet neither definition). We performed competing risk analyses to associate patterns of renal dysfunction with waitlist mortality, accounting for liver transplantation, with renal pattern as a time-dependent covariate. Logistic regression for 6-month mortality determined the added benefit of including renal function pattern in the assessment.ResultsThere were 22,680 patients in the cohort; they spent a median 1.6 years (range, 0.7-3.1 years) on the waitlist and a median 5 years (range, 2-9 years) undergoing assessments of renal function. In competing risk analysis, even after adjusting for confounders including final model for end-stage liver disease sodium (MELD-Na) scores, the pattern of renal function was significantly associated with waitlist mortality: AKI and CKD (subhazard ratio [SHR], 2.86; 95% CI, 2.65-3.10), AKI (SHR, 2.42; 95% CI 2.22-2.64), CKD (SHR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.45-1.67) compared with normal. The area under the curve values, based on MELD-Na score at time of placement on the waitlist, were 0.80 with renal function pattern and 0.71 without (P < .001).ConclusionIn competing risk analysis, even after adjusting for confounders including final MELD-Na score, we found the pattern of renal dysfunction to associate with mortality in patients with cirrhosis. Including information on type of renal dysfunction could improve risk analysis