Bioreduction-Mediated Food-Drug Interactions: Opportunities for Oncology Nutrition

Chemical and biochemical processes underlying food–drug interactions in cancer therapy have not been well addressed with a systematic focus, even though they offer significant potential for enhancing the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy. Bioreductive anticancer drugs are metabolically activated by reductase enzymes. The levels and activities of relevant metabolic enzymes are regulated by transcription factors, which are under the control of chemical interactions with small molecules, including bioactive food components (BFCs) such as minerals, vitamins, and a variety of phytochemicals. One important and well-established process is the upregulation of enzymes involved in xenobiotic metabolism and redox regulation. Thus, BFCs might help to over come resistances of some cancer cells towards anticancer agents or to increase efficacy by sensitizing cancer cells towards synergistic drugs. By understanding chemical and biochemical processes involved in food–drug interactions, not only can the risk of harmful food–drug interactions be diminished, but appropriate nutritional recommendations for cancer patients can be made and new functional foods with specific benefits in anticancer therapy may be developed

SNSF Career Tracker Cohorts (CTC) Newsletter 2022/1

This newsletter shows the first results of a longitudinal analysis of the CTC-18 cohort, which consists of people who applied for Early Postdoc.Mobility and Postdoc.Mobility in fall 2018. The following results are preliminary as the data preparation has not been completed ye

SNSF Career Tracker Cohorts (CTC) Newsletter 2022/2

As in our previous newsletter, we explore our first longitudinal dataset to give insights on working conditions and changes of professional values in the last years. The data include the first four waves (2018–2021) of the CTC-18 cohort, which consists of people who applied for Early Postdoc.Mobility or Postdoc.Mobility in fall 201

SNSF Career Tracker Cohorts (CTC) Newsletter 2023/1

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the CTC study, and we are looking forward to continuing with the monitoring. Before we start the spring surveys, we are preparing the data collected last fall (2022), when 633 study participants completed a CTC monitoring survey, resulting in an overall response rate of 59%

MAMAP – a new spectrometer system for column-averaged methane and carbon dioxide observations from aircraft: instrument description and performance analysis

Abstract. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and Methane (CH4) are the two most important anthropogenic greenhouse gases. CH4 is furthermore one of the most potent present and future contributors to global warming because of its large global warming potential (GWP). Our knowledge of CH4 and CO2 source strengths is based primarily on bottom-up scaling of sparse in-situ local point measurements of emissions and up-scaling of emission factor estimates or top-down modeling incorporating data from surface networks and more recently also by incorporating data from low spatial resolution satellite observations for CH4. There is a need to measure and retrieve the dry columns of CO2 and CH4 having high spatial resolution and spatial coverage. In order to fill this gap a new passive airborne 2-channel grating spectrometer instrument for remote sensing of small scale and mesoscale column-averaged CH4 and CO2 observations has been developed. This Methane Airborne MAPper (MAMAP) instrument measures reflected and scattered solar radiation in the short wave infrared (SWIR) and near-infrared (NIR) parts of the electro-magnetic spectrum at moderate spectral resolution. The SWIR channel yields measurements of atmospheric absorption bands of CH4 and CO2 in the spectral range between 1.59 and 1.69 μm at a spectral resolution of 0.82 nm. The NIR channel around 0.76 μm measures the atmospheric O2-A-band absorption with a resolution of 0.46 nm. MAMAP has been designed for flexible operation aboard a variety of airborne platforms. The instrument design and the performance of the SWIR channel, together with some results from on-ground and in-flight engineering tests are presented. The SWIR channel performance has been analyzed using a retrieval algorithm applied to the nadir measured spectra. Dry air column-averaged mole fractions are obtained from SWIR data only by dividing the retrieved CH4 columns by the simultaneously retrieved CO2 columns for dry air column CH4 (XCH4) and vice versa for dry air column CO2 (XCO2). The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the SWIR channel is approximately 1000 for integration times (tint) in the range of 0.6–0.8 s for scenes with surface spectral reflectances (SSR)/albedo of around 0.18. At these integration times the ground scene size is about 23 × 33 m2 for an aircraft altitude of 1 km and a ground speed of 200 km/h. For these scenes the actual XCH4 or XCO2 dry air column retrieval precisions are typically about 1% (1 σ). Elevated levels of CH4 have been retrieved above a CH4 emitting landfill. Similarly the plume of CO2 from coal-fired power plants can be well detected and tracked. The measurements by the MAMAP sensor could enable estimates of anthropogenic, biogenic and geological emissions of localized intense CH4 and CO2 sources such as anthropogenic fugitive CH4 emissions from oil and gas industry, coal mining, disposal of organic waste, CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants, steel production or geologic CH4 and CO2 emissions from seepage and volcanoes. Appropriate analysis of the measurements of MAMAP potentially also yields natural CH4 emissions from less intense but extensive sources such as wetlands

Heterogeneity of emergency treatment practices in wheezing preschool children

Aim Our aim was to survey treatment practices used for preschool children with wheezing in emergency rooms (ER) focussing on inhalation device choice and handling, face mask use, salbutamol dosing and written instructions. We sought to assess whether current protocols are in line with published evidence and guidelines. Methods This is a cross-sectional survey done in paediatric ER units located in Finnish municipalities with more than 10 000 inhabitants. Results Of the 100 units contacted, 50% responded. More than 50% of the units used nebulisers. Only 13% of the units administered salbutamol in single puffs. More than 30% of the units lacked criteria on face mask use. Poor co-operation had no effect on the dose of salbutamol in 62% of the units. Ensuring tight mask-to-face seal was included in the training in 20% of the units. A written action plan was provided to the caregivers in 28% of the units. Conclusion ER treatment guidelines for preschool children with wheezing are poorly endorsed. Research is needed to identify approaches to guideline implementation that are specific for primary care. Clinical research should focus on strengthening recommendations that are currently not embraced. ER treatment protocols need to be updated and adherence to guidelines should be re-evaluated.Peer reviewe