BACKGROUNDLiquid biopsy is gaining increasing clinical utility in the management of cancer patients. The main components of a liquid biopsy are circulating nucleic acids, circulating tumour cells and ...extracellular vesicles such as exosomes. Circulating nucleic acids including cell free DNA (cfDNA) and circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) in particular have been the focus of recent attention as they have demonstrated excellent potential in cancer screening, provision of prognostic information and in genomic profiling of a tumour without the need for repeated tissue biopsies. The aim of this review was to explore the current evidence in relation to the use of liquid biopsy in the perioperative setting and identify ways in which liquid biopsy may be applied in the future. METHODSThis narrative review is based on a comprehensive literature search up to the 1st of June 2020 for papers relevant to the application of liquid biopsy in surgical oncology, focusing particularly on the perioperative period. RESULTSRecent evidence has demonstrated that perioperative liquid biopsy can accurately stratify patients' risk of recurrence compared to conventional biomarkers. Attention to the perioperative dynamics of liquid biopsy components can potentially provide new understanding of the complex relationship between surgery and cancer outcome. In addition, careful evaluation of liquid biopsy components in the perioperative window may provide important diagnostic and therapeutic information for cancer patients. CONCLUSIONThe rapidly evolving concept of the liquid biopsy has the potential to become the cornerstone for decision making around surveillance and adjuvant therapies the era of personalised medicine.
The ongoing pandemic has placed an unprecedented strain on global society, health care, governments, and mass media. Public dissemination of government policies, medical interventions, and ...misinformation has been remarkably rapid and largely unregulated during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in increased misinterpretations, miscommunication, and public panic. Being the first full-scale global pandemic of the digital age, COVID-19 has presented novel challenges pertinent to government advice, the spread of news and misinformation, and the trade-off between the accessibility of science and the premature public use of unproven medical interventions.
This study aims to assess the use of internet search terms relating to COVID-19 information and misinformation during the global pandemic, identify which were most used in six affected countries, investigate any temporal trends and the likely propagators of key search terms, and determine any correlation between the per capita cases and deaths with the adoption of these search terms in each of the six countries.
This study uses relative search volume data extracted from Google Trends for search terms linked to the COVID-19 pandemic alongside per capita case and mortality data extracted from the European Open Data Portal to identify the temporal dynamics of the spread of news and misinformation during the global pandemic in six affected countries (Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States). A correlation analysis was carried out to ascertain any correlation between the temporal trends of search term use and the rise of per capita mortality and disease cases.
Of the selected search terms, most were searched immediately following promotion by governments, public figures, or viral circulation of information, but also in relation to the publication of scientific resources, which were sometimes misinterpreted before further dissemination. Strong correlations were identified between the volume of these COVID-19-related search terms (overall mean Spearman rho 0.753, SD 0.158), and per capita mortality (mean per capita deaths Spearman rho 0.690, SD 0.168) and cases (mean per capita cases Spearman rho 0.800, SD 0.112).
These findings illustrate the increased rate and volume of the public consumption of novel information during a global health care crisis. The positive correlation between mortality and online searching, particularly in countries with lower COVID-19 testing rates, may demonstrate the imperative to safeguard official communications and dispel misinformation in these countries. Online news, government briefings, and social media provide a powerful tool for the dissemination of important information to the public during pandemics, but their misuse and the presentation of misrepresented medical information should be monitored, minimized, and addressed to safeguard public safety. Ultimately, governments, public health authorities, and scientists have a moral imperative to safeguard the truth and maintain an accessible discourse with the public to limit fear.
Dendritic cells (DC) are generally categorized as a group of rare antigen presenting cells that are to the crucial development of immune responses to pathogens and also of tolerance to self-antigens. ...Therefore, having the ability to identify DC in specific tissues and to test their functional abilities in the steady state are scientific gaps needing attention. Research on primary human DC is lacking due to their rarity and the difficulty of obtaining tissue samples. However, recent findings have shown that several different DC subsets exist, and that these subsets vary both by markers expressed and functions depending on their specific microenvironment. After discriminating from other cell types, DC can be split into myeloid and plasmacytoid fractions. While plasmacytoid DC express definite markers, CD123 and BDCA-2, myeloid DC encompass several different subsets with overlapping markers expressed. Such markers include the blood DC antigens BDCA-1 and BDCA-3, along with Langerin, CD1a and CD14. Marker specificity is further reduced when accounting for microenvironmental differences, as observed in the blood, primary lymphoid tissues, skin and lungs. The mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR) has been used to measure the strength of antigen presentation by specific DC subsets. Surface markers and MLR require standardization to enable consistent identification of and comparisons between DC subsets. To alleviate these issues, researchers have begun comparing DC subsets at the transcriptional level. This has allowed degrees of relatedness to be determined between DC in different microenvironments, and should be a continued area of focus in years to come.
The decreasing number of veteran trees in Europe threatens old‐growth habitats and the fauna they support. This includes rare taxa, such as the violet click beetle, Limoniscus violaceus (Müller, ...1821).
Samples of wood mould were taken from all beech trees in Windsor Forest previously confirmed to have contained L. violaceus larvae, and from trees where L. violaceus had not previously been detected, the latter categorised as having high, medium or low likelihood of containing the beetle during recent surveys. Habitat characteristics were measured, and volatile profiles determined using gas‐chromatography mass‐spectrometry.
Water content significantly differed between tree hollows of different violet click beetle status, high‐potential habitats having higher and relatively stable water content compared with habitats with medium or low potential of beetle occupancy. Several volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were significantly associated with L. violaceus habitats. No differences in other characteristics were detected.
The distinction in water regime between habitats highlights that recording this quantitatively could improve habitat surveys. Several potential L. violaceus attractant VOCs were identified. These could potentially be integrated into existing monitoring strategies, such as through volatile‐baited emergence traps or volatile‐based surveying of habitats, for more efficient population monitoring of the beetle.
Specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are significantly associated with rot‐holes containing the rare and threatened violet click beetle, Limoniscus violaceus.
The associated VOCs may be useful for non‐invasive population monitoring or surveying of the violet click beetle.
Limoniscus violaceus habitats have a high and relatively stable water content compared with other nearby rot‐holes.
In order to decrease the amount of accidents or mitigate the consequences of them, today's vehicles are being equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. The functionality and design of these ...systems is almost entirely based on research related to the driving concerns in Western countries. However, with the rapid motorization in developing countries such as China, there is an increasing need to investigate how these systems should be designed for new and growing markets. In order to address this need, research was conducted to discover the most common traffic problems facing Chinese drivers, how those problems differ from those for drivers in a country with a more developed driving culture (Sweden), and what consequences these differences will have for the design of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. Results show that, even though Swedish and Chinese traffic rules and regulations are similar, driver behavior is highly culturally mediated. Results also indicate that the type of assistance drivers need in different traffic situations depends a great deal on driver behavior. The observed differences between Swedish and Chinese drivers suggest that Advanced Driver Assistance Systems designed for roads in Sweden may not necessarily be optimal in other markets.
Punjab urial (
Ovis vignei punjabiensis
) is a wild sheep of Pakistan, considered a vulnerable species by IUCN. Major threats to urial populations include habitat loss and poaching, causing severe ...declines in its population. Nematode infections may also compromise urial survival, but little is known about Punjab urial gastrointestinal nematodes. In this study, a novel DNA barcoding approach was developed using
ITS-I
as a target region, with a primer pair designed to amplify frequently reported nematode species for small ruminants. The novel primer pair was validated in silico and in vitro and subsequently used to determine the presence of nematodes in Punjab urial samples from Kala Bagh Game Reserve, District Mianwali (Pakistan). DNA barcoding revealed a higher prevalence of
Haemonchus contortus
(73.91%),
Trichuris ovis
(16.30%) and
Trichostrongylus axei
(3.26%) in Punjab urial. This study demonstrates that the novel DNA barcoding approach is a robust tool to detect nematode parasites from faecal samples of Punjab urial. This method can be used to detect nematode infections in wild and domestic hosts for surveillance and population conservation.
Traditionally, human factors have tended to concentrate on making products ‘usable’—focusing on utilitarian, functional product benefits. This paper reports an interview-based study looking at the ...issue of ‘pleasure’ in product use. The study was a ‘first pass’ at addressing the hedonic and experiential benefits and penalties associated with product use, and at identifying the properties of a product that influence how pleasurable or displeasurable it is to use.
Feelings associated with using pleasurable products included security, confidence, pride, excitement and satisfaction. Displeasurable products, meanwhile, were associated with feelings that included annoyance, anxiety, contempt and frustration. The properties of products that were salient in terms of influencing the level of pleasure/displeasure with a product included features, usability, aesthetics, performance and reliability.
Responses to questions investigating behavioural correlates to pleasure in product use suggested that pleasurable products were used more regularly and that future purchase choices would be affected by the level of pleasure in product use.
It is concluded that the issue of pleasure in product use involves more than usability alone. As the user's representative in the product creation process, the human factors specialist should consider many other factors in order to ensure that the user's experience of product use is maximised.
We explore the role that interaction with products and services can play in the narratives that we develop about ourselves. We propose a four-level model, which seeks to explain this and use it as ...the basis for analyzing eight immersion studies. In each, we investigate the role that products and services play in shaping narratives, which in turn reflect our self-identity. We also look at archetypes - the various ideals that we can have about ourselves - and at how the alignment of narratives with these enhances our wellbeing. The model offers the potential to link narrative to design features and to identify new market opportunities. However, we recognize there may be challenges in enabling people to articulate narrative and identify their ideal archetype.
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