Knowledge, attitude and practice of haemovigilance amongst healthcare professionals in Nashik, Maharashtra, India

Background: Haemovigilance Programme of India was launched in 2012 with the purpose to identify, analyse and learn the complications related to transfusion and blood donation, in order to avoid such complications in future. Though it is essential to identify the Adverse Transfusion Reactions (ATR) to reduce the incidence and make transfusion easier; there are rare reports available about knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of Healthcare Professionals (HCP) for haemovigilance.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, pre-validated questionnaire designed for assessing the KAP, the possible ways to improve transfusion reaction reporting and causes of underreporting were distributed among 220 Healthcare Professional (HCP) in Nashik, Maharashtra.Results: The response rate of the study was 93%. Amongst them 58% HCP had poor knowledge while only 9% had good knowledge about haemovigilance. According to respondents, training to the HCP, CME’s, making reporting compulsory and launching of a toll-free helpline number will mark a milestone in improving transfusion reaction reporting. Legal liability issue and lack of time & knowledge were the main factors which discouraged them from reporting.Conclusions: Overall, most of HCP in Nashik have a positive attitude towards transfusion reaction reporting but knowledge regarding the haemovigilance concept is poor and the majority of them never reported ATR. Hence, our study demands increased awareness and continued training to strengthen the haemovigilance system, especially ATR reporting

Bias in Student Ratings of Instruction: A Systematic Review of Research from 2012 to 2021

Student ratings of instruction (SRI) are commonly used to evaluate courses and teaching in higher education. Much debate about their validity in evaluating teaching exists, which is due to concerns of bias by factors unrelated to teaching quality (Spooren et al., 2013). Our objective was to identify peer-reviewed original research published in English from January 1, 2012, to March 10, 2021, on potential sources of bias in SRIs. Our systematic review of 63 articles demonstrated strong support for the continued existence of gender bias, favoring male instructors and bias against faculty with minority ethnic and cultural backgrounds. These and other biases must be considered when implementing SRIs and reviewing results. Critical practices for reducing bias when using SRIs include implementing bias awareness training and avoiding use of SRIs as a singular measure of teaching quality when making decisions for teaching development or hiring and promotion

Spectral analysis of Gene co-expression network of Zebrafish

We analyze the gene expression data of Zebrafish under the combined framework of complex networks and random matrix theory. The nearest neighbor spacing distribution of the corresponding matrix spectra follows random matrix predictions of Gaussian orthogonal statistics. Based on the eigenvector analysis we can divide the spectra into two parts, first part for which the eigenvector localization properties match with the random matrix theory predictions, and the second part for which they show deviation from the theory and hence are useful to understand the system dependent properties. Spectra with the localized eigenvectors can be characterized into three groups based on the eigenvalues. We explore the position of localized nodes from these different categories. Using an overlap measure, we find that the top contributing nodes in the different groups carry distinguished structural features. Furthermore, the top contributing nodes of the different localized eigenvectors corresponding to the lower eigenvalue regime form different densely connected structure well separated from each other. Preliminary biological interpretation of the genes, associated with the top contributing nodes in the localized eigenvectors, suggests that the genes corresponding to same vector share common features.Comment: 6 pages, four figures (accepted in EPL

The International Research Institute for Climate and Society: why, what and how

A climate-informed and climate-ready world is possible. Large investments are being made toward adaptation and resilience to climate change, but many of those investments are separated from the more immediate climate-related vulnerabilities and opportunities that society faces. Information is increasingly available that could be used to guide action; however, information alone is not sufficient. Research at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) since 1996 has led to the identification of the several guiding principles to scope and address climate-related challenges to decision- and policy-makers at local-to-regional scale. These include climate-related information, such as assessment of the main vulnerabilities to climate variability and change in countries or regions, and the provision of climate information, products and tools to support decisions, including financial tools that are appropriate to the climate-related risk and that can mediate residual risk. The guiding principles also include identifying the technologies and practices that optimize results in coming years, demonstration of the usefulness of climate information to support climate-related decisions, training and capacity building, and partnerships for research and implementation. This essay introduces the evolution of the IRI and its work that is then elaborated through a series of articles that constitute a special issue of Earth Perspectives: Transdisciplinarity Enabled. The collection of articles provides insight into the science and process that lead to better climate-informed choices. Part of the collection of articles in the special issue covers specific stories of local-to-regional engagement with partners to address climate-related problems. Other articles represent how we do what we do, in particular highlighting the research, the climate forecast effort, and the IRI Data Library. Finally, there are two papers offered from partners that have long-time engagement with the IR

The International Research Institute for Climate and Society: why, what and how

A climate-informed and climate-ready world is possible. Large investments are being made toward adaptation and resilience to climate change, but many of those investments are separated from the more immediate climate-related vulnerabilities and opportunities that society faces. Information is increasingly available that could be used to guide action; however, information alone is not sufficient. Research at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) since 1996 has led to the identification of the several guiding principles to scope and address climate-related challenges to decision- and policy-makers at local-to-regional scale. These include climate-related information, such as assessment of the main vulnerabilities to climate variability and change in countries or regions, and the provision of climate information, products and tools to support decisions, including financial tools that are appropriate to the climate-related risk and that can mediate residual risk. The guiding principles also include identifying the technologies and practices that optimize results in coming years, demonstration of the usefulness of climate information to support climate-related decisions, training and capacity building, and partnerships for research and implementation. This essay introduces the evolution of the IRI and its work that is then elaborated through a series of articles that constitute a special issue of Earth Perspectives: Transdisciplinarity Enabled. The collection of articles provides insight into the science and process that lead to better climate-informed choices. Part of the collection of articles in the special issue covers specific stories of local-to-regional engagement with partners to address climate-related problems. Other articles represent how we do what we do, in particular highlighting the research, the climate forecast effort, and the IRI Data Library. Finally, there are two papers offered from partners that have long-time engagement with the IR

Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (alloHSCT) Following Blinatumomab-Induced Remission in Pediatric Patients with Relapsed/Refractory (r/r) B-Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL): Preliminary Results from a Phase I/II Stud

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Phase I/Phase II study of blinatumomab in pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Purpose Blinatumomab is a bispecific T-cell engager antibody construct targeting CD19 on B-cell lymphoblasts. Weevaluated the safety, pharmacokinetics, recommended dosage, and potential for efficacy of blinatumomab in children with relapsed/refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL). Methods This open-label study enrolled children , 18 years old with relapsed/refractory BCP-ALL in a phase I dosage-escalation part and a phase II part, using 6-week treatment cycles. Primary end points were maximum-tolerated dosage (phase I) and complete remission rate within the first two cycles (phase II). Results We treated 49 patients in phase I and 44 patients in phase II. Four patients had dose-limiting toxicities in cycle 1 (phase I). Three experienced grade 4 cytokine-release syndrome (one attributed to grade 5 cardiac failure); one had fatal respiratory failure. The maximum-tolerated dosage was 15 mg/m2d. Blinatumomab pharmacokinetics was linear across dosage levels and consistent among age groups. On the basis of the phase I data, the recommended blinatumomab dosage for children with relapsed/refractory ALL was 5 mg/m2d for the first 7 days, followed by 15 mg/m2d thereafter. Among the 70 patients who received the recommended dosage, 27 (39%; 95% CI, 27% to 51%) achieved complete remission within the first two cycles, 14 (52%) of whom achieved complete minimal residual disease response. The most frequent grade $ 3 adverse events were anemia (36%), thrombocytopenia (21%), and hypokalemia (17%). Three patients (4%) and one patient (1%) had cytokine-release syndrome of grade 3 and 4, respectively. Two patients (3%) interrupted treatment after grade 2 seizures. Conclusion This trial, which to the best of our knowledge was the first such trial in pediatrics, demonstrated antileukemic activity of single-agent blinatumomab with complete minimal residual disease response in children with relapsed/refractory BCP-ALL. Blinatumomab may represent an important new treatment option in this setting, requiring further investigation in curative indications

Targeting survivin and p53 in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Despite advances in treatment and outcomes for patients with pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), there continue to be subsets of patients who are refractory to standard chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Therefore, novel gene targets for therapy are needed to further advance treatment for this disease. RNA interference technology has identified survivin as a potential therapeutic target. Survivin, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins and chromosome passenger complex, is expressed in hematologic malignancies and overexpressed in relapsed pediatric ALL. Our studies show that survivin is uniformly expressed at high levels in multiple pediatric ALL cell lines. Furthermore, silencing of survivin expression in pediatric ALL cell lines as well as primary leukemic blasts reduces viability of these cells. This includes cell lines derived from patients with relapsed disease featuring cytogenetic anomalies such as t(12;21), Philadelphia chromosome t(9;22), t(1;19) as well as a cell line carrying t(17;19) from a patient with de novo ALL. Furthermore, inhibition of survivin increases p53-dependent apoptosis that can be rescued by inhibition of p53. Finally, a screen of randomly selected primary patient samples confirms that survivin-specific small interfering RNA and survivin-targeted drug, YM155, effectively reduce viability of leukemic blasts

Microglia regulate learning and memory through NF-κB

Resumen del póster presentado al 19th Meeting Spanish Society of Neuroscience, celebrado en Lleida del 3 al 5 de noviembre de 2021.Microglia, the resident immune cells of the CNS, have been implicated in brain plasticity and function. However, the mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we show that Cre-dependent removal of the RelA subunit of the NF-κB transcription factor from adult microglia results in impaired learning and long-term potentiation. Depletion of RelA elicits changes in chromatin accessibility and transcriptome landscapes of microglia associated with specific gene regulatory programs driving the activation of specific microglia phenotypes. Our findings suggest that NF-κB gene products drive specific microglia phenotypes modulating neuronal circuits for learning and memory.Peer reviewe