Insight into the pathogenesis and nature of Central giant cell lesions of the jaws

Central giant cell lesions of the jaws are not uncommon. While the majority of these represent single, sporadic lesions, histologically identical lesions are seen in association with a number of other bone lesions, as well as in certain syndromes. This manuscript offers a brief update on recent developments in this area that provide new insight into the pathogenesis and nature of Central Giant Cell Lesions of the Jaws

Inflation, wages and equality: cross-disciplinary conversations

Rising inflation and a wave of strikes during 2022 have aroused echoes of the 1970s. In this article, experts from the fields of economics, sociology and social policy consider what has changed, what remains the same, and what the lessons might be – with a notable degree of agreement. Raising wages, particularly for the lower-paid groups in the public sector, is likely to reduce poverty and has a very low risk of generating further price inflation. Giving in on pay will be costly, and may have to be funded by taxes in the short term. In the longer run the only way out of our difficulties will be more effective growth generated through improved productivity

Exposing practical, psychological and pedagogical shadow sides of experiential learning

This paper is based first-person experience with Experiential Learning (EL) practices in an undergraduate introductory management course. We consider how a challenging EL activity, based on volunteering during recovery from a catastrophic flood event, exposed three shadow sides of EL. These shadow sides of EL, that often remain hidden to educators, are practical, psychological and pedagogical. We provide a characterisation of each of these shadow sides and outline strategies for managing them. We also discuss the general applicability of our insights, including tentative theoretical extensions to Kolb’s (1984) EL theory. We conclude by considering the potential for the shadow sides of EL to emerge in circumstances that are less confronting and extreme than those encountered by our students.PostprintPeer reviewe

Epidemiology of coinfection with soil transmitted helminths and Plasmodium falciparum among school children in Bumula District in western Kenya.

BACKGROUND: Many school children living in Africa are infected with plasmodia and helminth species and are consequently at risk of coinfection. However, the epidemiology of such coinfection and the implications of coinfection for children's health remain poorly understood. This study describes the epidemiology of Ascaris lumbricoides-Plasmodium and hookworm-Plasmodium coinfection among school children living in western Kenya and investigates the associated risk factors. METHODS: As part of a randomized trial, a baseline cross-sectional survey was conducted among school children aged 5-18 years in 23 schools in Bumula District. Single stool samples were collected to screen for helminth infections using the Kato-Katz technique and malaria parasitaemia was determined from a finger prick blood sample. Demographic and anthropometric data were also collected. RESULTS: Overall, 46.4% of the children were infected with Plasmodium falciparum while 27.6% of the children were infected with at least one soil transmitted helminth (STH) species, with hookworm being the most common (16.8%) followed by A. lumbricoides (15.3%). Overall 14.3% of the children had STH-Plasmodium coinfection, with hookworm-Plasmodium (9.0%) coinfection being the most common. Geographical variation in the prevalence of coinfection occurred between schools. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, hookworm was positively associated with P. falciparum infection. In stratified analysis, hookworm infection was associated with increased odds of P. falciparum infection among both boys (P < 0.001) and girls (P = 0.01), whereas there was no association between A. lumbricoides and P. falciparum. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate STH infections are still prevalent, despite the ongoing national deworming programme in Kenya, and that malaria parasitaemia is widespread, such that coinfection occurs among a proportion of children. A subsequent trial will allow us to investigate the implications of coinfection for the risk of clinical malaria

Apremilast, an oral phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor, in patients with psoriatic arthritis and current skin involvement: a phase III, randomised, controlled trial (PALACE 3)

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate apremilast treatment in patients with active psoriatic arthritis, including current skin involvement, despite prior therapy with conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and/or biologic agents. METHODS: Patients (N=505) were randomised (1:1:1) to placebo, apremilast 20 mg twice daily, or apremilast 30 mg twice daily. Rescue therapy with apremilast was designated at week 16 for placebo patients not achieving 20% improvement in swollen and tender joint counts. At week 24, the remaining placebo patients were then randomised to apremilast 20 mg twice daily or 30 mg twice daily. The efficacy and safety of apremilast were assessed over 52 weeks. RESULTS: At week 16, significantly more patients receiving apremilast 20 mg twice daily (28%) and 30 mg twice daily (41%) achieved 20% improvement in American College of Rheumatology response criteria versus placebo (18%; p=0.0295 and p \u3c 0.0001, respectively), and mean decrease in the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index score was significantly greater with apremilast 30 mg twice daily (-0.20) versus placebo (-0.07; p=0.0073). In patients with baseline psoriasis body surface area involvement \u3e /=3%, significantly more apremilast 30 mg twice daily patients achieved 50% reduction from baseline Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score (41%) versus placebo (24%; p=0.0098) at week 16. At week 52, observed improvements in these measures demonstrated sustained response with continued apremilast treatment. Most adverse events were mild to moderate in severity; the most common were diarrhoea, nausea, headache and upper respiratory tract infection. CONCLUSIONS: Apremilast demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements in psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis at week 16; sustained improvements were seen with continued treatment through 52 weeks. Apremilast was generally well tolerated and demonstrated an acceptable safety profile. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT01212770

Effect of Repeated Anthelminthic Treatment on Malaria in School Children in Kenya: A Randomized, Open-Label, Equivalence Trial.

BACKGROUND: School children living in the tropics are often concurrently infected with plasmodium and helminth parasites. It has been hypothesized that immune responses evoked by helminths may modify malaria-specific immune responses and increase the risk of malaria. METHODS: We performed a randomized, open-label, equivalence trial among 2436 school children in western Kenya. Eligible children were randomized to receive either 4 repeated doses or a single dose of albendazole and were followed up during 13 months to assess the incidence of clinical malaria. Secondary outcomes were Plasmodium prevalence and density, assessed by repeat cross-sectional surveys over 15 months. Analysis was conducted on an intention-to-treat basis with a prespecified equivalence range of 20%. RESULTS: During 13 months of follow-up, the incidence rate of malaria was 0.27 episodes/person-year in the repeated treatment group and 0.26 episodes/person-year in the annual treatment group (incidence difference, 0.01; 95% confidence interval, -.03 to .06). The prevalence and density of malaria parasitemia did not differ by treatment group at any of the cross-sectional surveys. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that repeated deworming does not alter risks of clinical malaria or malaria parasitemia among school children and that school-based deworming in Africa may have no adverse consequences for malaria. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: NCT01658774

The timescale of early land plant evolution

Establishing the timescale of early land plant evolution is essential for testing hypotheses on the coevolution of land plants and Earth's System. The sparseness of early land plant megafossils and stratigraphic controls on their distribution make the fossil record an unreliable guide, leaving only the molecular clock. However, the application of molecular clock methodology is challenged by the current impasse in attempts to resolve the evolutionary relationships among the living bryophytes and tracheophytes. Here, we establish a timescale for early land plant evolution that integrates over topological uncertainty by exploring the impact of competing hypotheses on bryophyte-tracheophyte relationships, among other variables, on divergence time estimation. We codify 37 fossil calibrations for Viridiplantae following best practice. We apply these calibrations in a Bayesian relaxed molecular clock analysis of a phylogenomic dataset encompassing the diversity of Embryophyta and their relatives within Viridiplantae. Topology and dataset sizes have little impact on age estimates, with greater differences among alternative clock models and calibration strategies. For all analyses, a Cambrian origin of Embryophyta is recovered with highest probability. The estimated ages for crown tracheophytes range from Late Ordovician to late Silurian. This timescale implies an early establishment of terrestrial ecosystems by land plants that is in close accord with recent estimates for the origin of terrestrial animal lineages. Biogeochemical models that are constrained by the fossil record of early land plants, or attempt to explain their impact, must consider the implications of a much earlier, middle Cambrian-Early Ordovician, origin

Deep Functional and Molecular Characterization of a High-Risk Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma.

Nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft-tissue sarcomas (STSs) are a class of 50+ cancers arising in muscle and soft tissues of children, adolescents, and adults. Rarity of each subtype often precludes subtype-specific preclinical research, leaving many STS patients with limited treatment options should frontline therapy be insufficient. When clinical options are exhausted, personalized therapy assignment approaches may help direct patient care. Here, we report the results of an adult female STS patient with relapsed undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) who self-drove exploration of a wide array of personalized Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIAs) level and research-level diagnostics, including state of the art genomic, proteomic