LamB

For many years, transrectal ultrasound-guided (TRUS) prostate biopsies have been performed to establish a histological diagnosis of prostate cancer. This has been the recommended standard of care procedure, but has always carried risks, in particular the risk of post-procedural sepsis, and the associated antibiotic burden and risk of development of antibiotic resistance. Transperineal (TP) prostate biopsies performed under local anaesthetic (LA) have been proposed as a possible solution to these issues, with potentially lower infectious complications, and avoidance of need for antibiotic prophylaxis...

BACKGROUND: Conflict situations, armed or not, have been associated with emergence and transmission of infectious diseases. This review aims to identify the pathways through which infectious diseases emerge within conflict situations and to outline appropriate infectious disease preparedness and response strategies. METHODS: A systematic review was performed representing published evidence from January 2000 to October 2023. Ovid Medline and Embase were utilised to obtain literature on infectious diseases in any conflict settings...

Infection by gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN), particularly Haemonchus contortus, can be detrimental to sheep health and performance. Genetic susceptibility to GIN varies between breeds, with those lacking high levels of natural resistance often requiring frequent anthelmintic treatment when facing parasitic challenge. Genetic technology can serve as a tool to decrease GIN susceptibility via selection for sheep with reduced fecal egg count (FEC) estimated breeding values (EBVs). However, the physiological changes that result from implementation of this strategy are not well described...

To characterize fatigue crack, an analytical calculation and finite element (FE) simulation of Lamb wave propagating through the region of a breathing crack in a two-dimensional(2D) isotropic plate were studied. Contact surface boundary conditions between the two surfaces of the vertical crack were considered to study contact acoustic nonlinearity (CAN) from the breathing contact crack in conjunction with the modal decomposition method, Fourier transform, and variational principle-based algorithm. Reflection and transmission coefficients in the fundamental frequency and second harmonic frequency were calculated and analyzed quantitatively...

Increasing evidence suggests that urban health objectives are best achieved through a multisectoral approach. This approach requires multiple sectors to consider health and well-being as a central aspect of their policy development and implementation, recognising that numerous determinants of health lie outside (or beyond the confines of) the health sector. However, collaboration across sectors remains scarce and multisectoral interventions to support health are lacking in Africa. To address this gap in research, we conducted a mixed-method systematic review of multisectoral interventions aimed at enhancing health, with a particular focus on non-communicable diseases in urban African settings...

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) may present with specific skin lesions, such as leukaemia cutis, which is a well known poor prognostic marker of leukaemia with a high risk of acute leukaemic transformation. However, less is known regarding non-specific cutaneous manifestations of MDS including the prevalence, types and their prognostic and therapeutic significance, which we aimed to determine through this systematic review. We searched electronic databases (PubMed, Medline and EMBASE) from inception up to 26 January 2023 for studies reporting cutaneous manifestations of MDS...

BACKGROUND: Perinatal inflammation increases the risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm neonates, but the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms remain largely unknown. Given their anti-inflammatory and regenerative capacity, multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPC) are a promising cell-based therapy to prevent and/or treat the negative pulmonary consequences of perinatal inflammation in the preterm neonate. Therefore, the pathophysiology underlying adverse preterm lung outcomes following perinatal inflammation and pulmonary benefits of MAPC treatment at the interface of prenatal inflammatory and postnatal ventilation exposures were elucidated...

Avian influenza viruses (AIV) remain prevalent among wild bird populations in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA), leading to significant illness in and death of birds. Transmission between bird and mammal species has been observed, particularly in fur animal farms, where outbreaks have been reported. While transmission from infected birds to humans is rare, there have been instances of exposure to these viruses since 2020 without any symptomatic infections reported in the EU/EEA. However, these viruses continue to evolve globally, and with the migration of wild birds, new strains carrying potential mutations for mammalian adaptation could be selected...

Methane is both a significant and short-lived greenhouse gas compared to CO2 , and reducing methane emissions from natural gas distribution systems may offer cost-effective reduction opportunities. We report substantial new direct leak rate measurements from customer meter set assemblies (MSAs) in Southern California. In a novel way, emission factors are defined in terms of aboveground Hazardous and Nonhazardous leak categories, which take direct advantage of readily available industry leak data. We also studied leaks that were not detected as part of normal leak survey procedures...

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major health threat in Canada. In British Columbia (BC) province, 1.6% of the population had been exposed to HCV by 2012. Prevalence and incidence of HCV are very high in populations of people who use drugs (PWUD) and sex workers (SW), who may experience unique barriers to healthcare. Consequently, they are less likely to be treated for HCV. Overcoming these barriers is critical for HCV elimination. This research sought to explore the healthcare experiences of PWUD and SW and how these experiences impact their willingness to engage in healthcare in the future, including HCV care...

BACKGROUND: Autoantibodies are a hallmark feature of Connective Tissue Diseases (CTD). Their presence in patients with idiopathic interstitial lung disease (ILD) may suggest covert CTD. We aimed to determine the prevalence of CTD autoantibodies in patients diagnosed with idiopathic ILD. METHODS: 499 patient sera were analysed: 251 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), 206 idiopathic non-specific interstitial pneumonia (iNSIP) and 42 cryptogenic organising pneumonia (COP)...

In our ongoing project, which focuses on the introgression of Booroola/FecB gene and the myostatin (MSTN) gene into purebred Moghani sheep, we assessed the performance of second-generation Moghani crossbreds such as second crossbreds (F2) and initial backcross generation (BC1). These crossbreds were generated through different mating systems, including in-breeding, outcrossing, first paternal backcrossing (PBC1), and first maternal backcrossing (MBC1). Notably, F2 strains exhibited lean tail, woolly fleece and a higher percentage of white coat color compared to BC1...

Long-term application of biosolids to agricultural soils results in the slow accumulation of potentially toxic elements (PTEs), which are regulated by maximum permitted limit values to protect human health and the environment. Two programmes of UK government-funded (MAFF/DoE) research were commissioned in the 1990s to investigate the safety of the controls on PTEs in relation to the potential transfer to the food chain via the animal ingestion route by sheep grazing biosolids-amended soil. Here, we re-examine this evidence in the light of other recent research and revised food quality standards, to determine the significance of lead (Pb) accumulation in soil from the agricultural use of biosolids...

Early diagnosis of biliary atresia (BA) is crucial for improving the chances of survival and preserving the liver function of pediatric patients with BA. Herein, we performed proteomics analysis using data-independent acquisition (DIA) and parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) to explore potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of BA compared to other non-BA jaundice cases. Consequently, we detected and validated differential protein expression in the plasma of patients with BA compared to the plasma of patients with intrahepatic cholestasis...

Tail docking in lambs is associated with an acute inflammatory and ischemic response correlated to pain. The present study sought to quantify these responses by utilizing infrared thermographic imaging (IRT) after tail docking lambs. Images were taken for each lamb before tail docking (T0), within a minute after the band was placed (T1), at 5 minutes (T5), and 15 minutes (T15) respectively and analyzed for pixel intensity in areas on the lamb's rump, tail base, and two locations below the docking band. The pixel intensity at 2 cm below the docking band did significantly decrease ( p  < 0...

In this report, we describe the case of a 28-year-old female with bilateral breast cancer in the setting of a BRCA1 mutation, who presented to dermatology with an eczematous reaction, ultimately diagnosed as a cutaneous immune-related adverse event (cirAE) secondary to an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI), pembrolizumab. Our case report highlights a novel therapeutic option for an eczematous cirAE: the topical JAK 1/2 inhibitor, ruxolitinib. CirAEs can occur in up to 55% of patients on ICIs, a class of medications seeing rapidly increasing use in cancer therapy, and prior research has demonstrated that ICI-induced dermatitis may involve different pathways than traditionally observed in their spontaneous counterparts...

Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker hypothesized to capture evolutionarily and ecologically important physiological costs of reproduction, infection and immunity. Few studies have estimated the relationships among infection status, immunity, TL and fitness in natural systems. The hypothesis that short telomeres predict reduced survival because they reflect costly consequences of infection and immune investment remains largely untested. Using longitudinal data from a free-living Soay sheep population, we tested whether leucocyte TL was predicted by infection with nematode parasites and antibody levels against those parasites...

BACKGROUND: Novel therapies are needed for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) because no effective treatment exists. Mesenchymal stromal cell extracellular vesicles (MSC-sEVs) have therapeutic efficacy in a mouse pup neonatal hyperoxia BPD model. We tested the hypothesis that MSC-sEVs will improve lung functional and structural development in mechanically ventilated preterm lambs. METHODS: Preterm lambs (~129d; equivalent to human lung development at ~28w gestation) were exposed to antenatal steroids, surfactant, caffeine citrate, and supported by mechanical ventilation for 6-7d...

INTRODUCTION: Boerhaave syndrome is a rare clinical entity associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Early recognition of the symptoms, and identification of the site and extension of the injury are key in improving the prognosis. METHODS: This study presents data on the mortality, morbidity and length of hospital stay in patients diagnosed with Boerhaave syndrome. The data were retrieved from a prospectively collected database in a single surgical unit between 2012 and 2022...

Since the 1970s, maternal corticosteroid therapy has been used successfully to induce labor. This allows for better monitoring of parturients and provision of first aid to neonates, improving neonatal viability, as this treatment induces maturation in a variety of fetal tissues, thereby reducing morbidity and mortality. Although the effects of corticosteroids are well known, few studies have investigated the influence of this therapy in Santa Inês sheep. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of dexamethasone at two doses (8 and 16 mg) to induce lambing in Santa Inês ewes at 145 days of gestation and assess its effects on neonatal vitality...