•Prevalence of HPV in a Scottish Cohort of Penile Cancers was 43 %.•The HPV component did not change over a 10 year period.•The rise in Penile Cancer is unlikely to be solely attributable to the HPV ...associated component.
Penile cancer (PeC) is a highly morbid disease which is rising in certain settings including Scotland. A component of PeC is associated with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) although its influence on clinical outcomes is debatable as is whether the fraction attributable to HPV is increasing.
A total of 122 archived tissue samples derived from patients diagnosed with PeC between 2006–2015 were collated and tested for HPV DNA using molecular PCR. HPV positivity was determined for the overall population and by calendar year of diagnosis to determine any temporal trends. The influence of age, deprivation, smoking, tumour stage and tumour grade on likelihood of HPV positivity was determined by logistic regression. In addition, the influence of HPV status and the other clinical and demographics variables on all-cause death and death from PeC was assessed.
HPV was detected in 43 % (95 % CI: 34–52) of penile cancers and the majority of infections were HPV 16. The HPV component of PeC did not increase over the time period (p for linear trend – 0.226). No demographic or clinical variables were associated with HPV positivity neither was HPV status associated with improved all-cause or cancer-specific survival during the follow up period.
The rise in PeC in Scotland may not be attributable to a rise in HPV-associated cancer; this is consistent with oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) in the UK where there is an increase in both HPV positive and negative cancer. This work calls for a larger multi centre study to enable further detailed investigation into the implications of HPV infection in PeC.
Considering the effort and funding devoted to a company's success, understanding Intellectual Property rights patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and licensing is essential. Establishing appropriate ...internal policies from the outset can prevent companies from learning a costly and painful lesson in the courtroom. With Intellectual Property in the Food Technology Industry, currently the only book of its kind focusing specifically on the food industry, one will learn what to consider throughout the various creative phases of a product's lifespan from initial research and development initiatives through post-production. Readers will have an understanding of the intellectual property protections afforded to U.S. corporations, methods to pro-actively reduce potential problems, and guidelines for future considerations to reduce legal spending, prevent IP theft, and allow for greater profitability from corporate innovation and inventiveness.
The development and application of chiral phase-transfer catalysis (PTC) for the enantioselective synthesis of optically active α-amino acid derivatives using achiral Schiff base esters developed in ...the author's laboratory and by others is reviewed. Phase-transfer catalysts derived from the Cinchona alkaloids have been exploited as inexpensive and attractive organocatalysts in the chiral PTC process. The recent evolution and use of these and other catalytic systems is described.
Freshly squeezed orange juice was sonicated at various amplitude levels (40%, 70%, 100%), treatment times (2, 6 and 10 min) at a constant frequency of 20 kHz. Samples were stored for periods of up to ...30 days at 10 °C. The combined effect of amplitude level, treatment time and storage period on pH, oBrix, titratable acidity, colour values (L*, a*, b*), non-enzymatic browning (NEB), cloud value and ascorbic acid content were investigated. Second order polynomial models were employed to investigate the effect of independent variables. No significant differences (P < 0.05) in oBrix and titratable acidity were observed. Significant changes were observed in juice pH and colour values. During storage NEB increased while both cloud value and ascorbic acid content decreased. Predictive models developed for colour values, cloud value, NEB and ascorbic acid content were highly significant and were closely correlated to experimental data. Degradation mechanisms are proposed for the key quality parameters.
Many of the documented outbreaks of
Cronobacter sakazakii have been linked to infant formula. The aims of this work are to monitor the inactivation kinetics of
C.
sakazakii NCTC 08155 and ATCC 11467 ...and to determine quantitatively the effectiveness of ultrasonic treatments as an alternative to heat processing of reconstituted infant milk formula before feeding of infants at highest risk. Inactivation studies of
C.
sakazakii inoculated in reconstituted infant formula were performed at the combined conditions of temperature, i.e., 25
°C, 35
°C, 50
°C and amplitude, i.e., 24.4, 30.5, 42.7, 54.9, 61
μm and the kinetics were described by a range of inactivation models. The dependency of the specific inactivation rate with respect to the product of temperature and amplitude was described by a modified Bigelow type model. Ultrasound combined with temperature was efficient to reduce significantly the microbial levels of
C.
sakazakii.
C.
sakazakii strain NCTC 08155 was at the same range of temperature and amplitude resistance as strain ATCC 11467. Application of ultrasound is an alternative process for the production of safe reconstituted infant formula. This study contributes on the quantitative assessment of the resistance of
C.
sakazakii.
Acute kidney injury (AKI) limits cisplatin use. We tested whether urine cystatin C (uCyC) and neutrophil gelatinase‐associated lipocalin (uNGAL) can preidentify patients at risk for AKI. Patients ...initiating cisplatin‐based chemotherapy were prospectively enrolled. uNGAL/uCyC were measured pre/post‐cisplatin administration and compared with serum creatinine (sCr). AKI was defined as sCr increase ≥50% or ≥0.3 mg/dL above baseline. In all, 102 patients were enrolled; 95 provided evaluable data. Twenty‐five patients developed AKI. Median baseline and pre‐cisplatin uNGAL levels were significantly higher in AKI patients. Although immediate changes in uNGAL/uCyC 2 h after cisplatin were not detectable, post‐cisplatin peak values over the course of therapy were markedly and significantly elevated in AKI patients. In multivariate modeling with age, baseline glomerular filtration rate, and histology, maximum uCyC was a significant independent AKI predictor. These findings suggest pre‐cisplatin uNGAL and peak uCyC levels can identify patients with increased AKI risk, potentially allowing for tailored modification of cisplatin‐based treatment regimens.
There is growing interest in the use of the ketogenic diet (KD) to treat inherited metabolic diseases including mitochondrial disorders. However, neither the mechanism whereby the diet may be ...working, nor if it could benefit all patients with mitochondrial disease, is known. This study focusses on decanoic acid (C10), a component of the medium chain triglyceride KD, and a ligand for the nuclear receptor PPAR-γ known to be involved in mitochondrial biogenesis. The effects of C10 were investigated in primary fibroblasts from a cohort of patients with Leigh syndrome (LS) caused by nuclear-encoded defects of respiratory chain complex I, using mitochondrial respiratory chain enzyme assays, gene expression microarray, qPCR and flow cytometry. Treatment with C10 increased citrate synthase activity, a marker of cellular mitochondrial content, in 50 % of fibroblasts obtained from individuals diagnosed with LS in a PPAR-γ-mediated manner. Gene expression analysis and qPCR studies suggested that treating cells with C10 supports fatty acid metabolism, through increasing
ACADVL
and
CPT1
expression, whilst downregulating genes involved in glucose metabolism (
PDK3
,
PDK4
).
PCK2
, involved in blocking glucose metabolism, was upregulated, as was
CAT
, encoding catalase. Moreover, treatment with C10 also decreased oxidative stress in complex I deficient (rotenone treated) cells. However, since not all cells from subjects with LS appeared to respond to C10, prior cellular testing in vitro could be employed as a means for selecting individuals for subsequent clinical studies involving C10 preparations.
Exertional dyspnea increases when the mechanical output of the respiratory muscles becomes uncoupled from increases in neural respiratory drive. Combining measurements of inspiratory constraints and ...ventilatory inefficiency may better uncover the role of mechanical-ventilatory abnormalities on exertional dyspnea than the currently-recommended approach, i.e., a low breathing reserve.
We determined the presence of a low breathing reserve (1-(peak ventilation (V̇E)/estimated maximal voluntary ventilation) x 100 < 15%), critical inspiratory constraints (tidal volume (VT)/exercise inspiratory capacity (ICdyn) > 0.7) and ventilatory inefficiency (V̇E/CO2 output (V̇CO2) nadir>34) in 284 subjects (161 males) with “disproportionate dyspnea” (N = 148), “dyspnea with multiple potential causes” (N = 93) and “dyspnea without an apparent cause.
The agreement between breathing reserve and assessment of inspiratory constraints was only “fair” (kappa confidence interval (CI) = 0.264 0.169–0.358). Attainment of critical inspiratory constraints and an upward inflection in dyspnea ratings systematically preceded a low breathing reserve. Of note, ~55% (93/167) of subjects with normal breathing reserve showed critical inspiratory constraints despite largely preserved lung function. Regardless of the breathing reserve, subjects showing critical inspiratory constraints and/or poor ventilatory efficiency reported higher dyspnea and more impaired exercise tolerance compared to their counterparts (p < 0.05). Poor ventilatory efficiency strongly predicted a high dyspnea/work rate in subjects without critical inspiratory constraints regardless of the breathing reserve (odds ratio 95% CI = 4.21 2.01–6.42; p < 0.001).
An integrated analysis of inspiratory constraints and ventilatory inefficiency is key to uncover physiological abnormalities germane to dyspnea in clinical populations in whom the origins of this distressing symptom are uncertain.
•~55% of subjects with dyspnea of unclear origin showed inspiratory constraints.•These subjects, however, had normal breathing reserve.•Inspiratory constraints plus ventilatory inefficiency predicted dyspnea burden and exercise intolerance.•These measurements should be routinely used in the assessment of dyspnea of unclear origin.
Abstract Strong evidence exists for rehabilitation programmes following a cancer diagnosis, although little is known about their cost. The effects of an 8-week, physiotherapy-led, structured group ...intervention during the early survivorship phase were evaluated. Significant changes in quality of life and fatigue, and promising changes in fitness were found. The overall cost for this programme was €196 per participant, including the salaries of the clinicians, overheads and equipment costs. The modest costs associated with this programme may support more routine ‘cancer rehabilitation’, although more robust analyses are required.
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