Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 2019 Feb 19. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Institute of Cellular Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, NE2 4HH, UK. Electronic address:

One of the main feature of chronic kidney disease is the development of renal fibrosis. Heparan Sulfate (HS) is involved in disease development by modifying the function of growth factors and cytokines and creating chemokine gradients. In this context, we aimed to understand the function of HS sulfation in renal fibrosis. Read More

Elife 2019 Feb 22;8. Epub 2019 Feb 22.

Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Pyomyositis is a severe bacterial infection of skeletal muscle, commonly affecting children in tropical regions, predominantly caused by . To understand the contribution of bacterial genomic factors to pyomyositis, we conducted a genome-wide association study of cultured from 101 children with pyomyositis and 417 children with asymptomatic nasal carriage attending the Angkor Hospital for Children, Cambodia. We found a strong relationship between bacterial genetic variation and pyomyositis, with estimated heritability 63. Read More

Epidemiology 2019 Feb 15. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Burden of Disease Epidemiology, Equity, and Cost-Effectiveness (BODE), Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.

Background: The net impact on population health and health system costs of vaporized nicotine products is uncertain. We modeled, with uncertainty, the health and cost impacts of liberalizing the vaporized nicotine market for a high-income country, New Zealand (NZ).

Methods: We used a multi-state life-table model of 16 tobacco-related diseases to simulate lifetime quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and health system costs at a 0% discount rate. Read More

Nat Commun 2019 Feb 20;10(1):880. Epub 2019 Feb 20.

Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.

Asthma is a complex disease with striking disparities across racial and ethnic groups. Despite its relatively high burden, representation of individuals of African ancestry in asthma genome-wide association studies (GWAS) has been inadequate, and true associations in these underrepresented minority groups have been inconclusive. We report the results of a genome-wide meta-analysis from the Consortium on Asthma among African Ancestry Populations (CAAPA; 7009 asthma cases, 7645 controls). Read More

BMC Nephrol 2019 Feb 20;20(1):60. Epub 2019 Feb 20.

Division of Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19103, PA, USA.

Background: Insulin resistance contributes to the metabolic syndrome, which is associated with the development of kidney disease. However, it is unclear if insulin resistance independently contributes to an increased risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression or CKD complications. Additionally, predisposing factors responsible for insulin resistance in the absence of diabetes in CKD are not well described. Read More

Lancet Neurol 2019 Mar 12;18(3):231-233. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Penn Center for Brain Injury and Repair, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Blood 2019 Feb 19. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

HIV & AIDS Malignancy Branch, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), NCI, Bethesda, MD, United States;

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is an aggressive HIV-associated lymphoma with a relatively poor prognosis in the era of effective HIV therapy. Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) is the etiologic agent, and approximately 80% of tumors are Epstein Barr virus (EBV) co-infected. A better understanding of how KSHV-related immune dysregulation contributes to the natural history of PEL will improve outcomes. Read More

Plant Dis 2006 Sep;90(9):1239-1246

The Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH 44691.

A field evaluation of a warning system for Phomopsis cane and leaf spot of grape (Vitis spp.), caused by Phomopsis viticola, was conducted in Ohio over 3 years (2002 to 2004) by applying fungicides and fungicide-adjuvant combinations based on predicted infection events. Three different criteria for risk-light, moderate, and high-were evaluated with the warning system. Read More

Plant Dis 2006 Sep;90(9):1195-1200

Department of Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster 44691.

Efficacy of application of the fungicides calcium polysulfide or fixed copper during the dormant period on control of Phomopsis cane and leaf spot of grape (Vitis spp.), caused by Phomopsis viticola, was examined under field conditions during the 2003 and 2004 growing seasons in Ohio. Dormant-period fungicide applications were made either in the fall (after leaf drop and periderm tissue formation on the first-year canes, mid-November), or spring (at bud-swell, mid-April), or both. Read More

Plant Dis 2006 Jul;90(7):974

Department of Entomology, Soils, and Plant Sciences, Clemson University, Blackville, SC 29817.

Target spot of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) caused by Corynespora cassiicola (Berk. Read More

Plant Dis 2006 Jul;90(7):891-897

Botanical Resources Australia Pty. Ltd., 44-46 Industrial Drive, Ulverstone, Tasmania, 7315, Australia.

The incidence of Phoma ligulicola in Tasmanian pyrethrum seed and methods of managing seedborne mycoflora were determined. Fourteen different fungi were regularly isolated from seed, including Alternaria tenuissima, Stemphylium botryosum, and P. ligulicola, which have been documented as pathogens of pyrethrum. Read More

Plant Dis 2007 Nov;91(11):1397-1406

Department of Plant Pathology, Iowa State University, Ames 50011.

Foliar disease due to ray blight (Phoma ligulicola) in pyrethrum was quantified at three locations over 2 years in Tasmania, Australia. To obtain a range of ray blight disease intensities, replicated plots were treated with fungicides that varied in efficacy to control ray blight. Visual disease assessments and measurement of canopy reflectance were made at least once during spring (September through December). Read More

Plant Dis 2007 Sep;91(9):1116-1121

Department of Plant Pathology, Iowa State University, Ames 50011, USA.

The efficacy of newly implemented fungicide recommendations on reducing the intensity of ray blight disease caused by Phoma ligulicola to achieve site-specific attainable yield potentials in Tasmanian pyrethrum fields was quantified over two seasons in 46 and 51 fields during the 2003 and 2004 growing seasons, respectively. Disease intensity and yield in two plots (10 × 24 m), one following the commercial fungicide protocol recommendations and the second receiving no fungicide, were assessed in each pyrethrum field. The commercial fungicide protocol consisted of one application of azoxystrobin at 150 g a. Read More

Nat Genet 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Body-fat distribution is a risk factor for adverse cardiovascular health consequences. We analyzed the association of body-fat distribution, assessed by waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index, with 228,985 predicted coding and splice site variants available on exome arrays in up to 344,369 individuals from five major ancestries (discovery) and 132,177 European-ancestry individuals (validation). We identified 15 common (minor allele frequency, MAF ≥5%) and nine low-frequency or rare (MAF <5%) coding novel variants. Read More

Eur J Hum Genet 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.

Hexokinase 1 (HK1) phosphorylates glucose to glucose-6-phosphate, the first rate-limiting step in glycolysis. Homozygous and heterozygous variants in HK1 have been shown to cause autosomal recessive non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia, autosomal recessive Russe type hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy, and autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP). We report seven patients from six unrelated families with a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with developmental delay, intellectual disability, structural brain abnormality, and visual impairments in whom we identified four novel, de novo missense variants in the N-terminal half of HK1. Read More

Microb Genom 2019 Feb 19. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

10​Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

Campylobacter jejuni is the most common cause of bacterial diarrheal disease in the world. Clinical outcomes of infection can range from asymptomatic infection to life-threatening extraintestinal infections. This variability in outcomes for infected patients has raised questions as to whether genetic differences between C. Read More

J Am Heart Assoc 2019 Feb;8(4):e011295

7 Department of Veterans Affairs Atlanta Medical Center Atlanta GA.

Background Diabetes mellitus is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) and has been associated with 2- to 4-fold higher mortality. Diabetes mellitus-related mortality has not been reassessed in individuals receiving routine care in the United States in the contemporary era of CVD risk reduction. Methods and Results We retrospectively studied 963 648 adults receiving care in the US Veterans Affairs Healthcare System from 2002 to 2014; mean follow-up was 8 years. Read More

Med J Aust 2018 Jul;209(1):11-12

University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS.

J Clin Invest 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Internal Medicine, and.

We identified 2 genes, histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) and HDAC2, contributing to the pathogenesis of proteinuric kidney diseases, the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease. mRNA expression profiling from proteinuric mouse glomeruli was linked to Connectivity Map databases, identifying HDAC1 and HDAC2 with the differentially expressed gene set reversible by HDAC inhibitors. In numerous progressive glomerular disease models, treatment with valproic acid (a class I HDAC inhibitor) or SAHA (a pan-HDAC inhibitor) mitigated the degree of proteinuria and glomerulosclerosis, leading to a striking increase in survival. Read More

J Nutr 2019 Feb 15. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Departments of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

Background: Novel oils high in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and low in saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are an alternative to partially hydrogenated oils high in trans-unsaturated fatty acids. There is widespread use of high-MUFA oils across the food industry; however, limited knowledge of their cardiovascular impact exists.

Objectives: We investigated the effects of diets containing canola oil, high-oleic acid canola oil (HOCO), and a control oil blend (diet formulated to emulate a Western fat profile) on lipids, lipoproteins, and apolipoproteins (apos), as secondary outcomes of the trial. Read More

Thromb Res 2019 Feb 4;176:27-29. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

Wingate University School of Pharmacy, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Internal Medicine, Wake Forest Baptist Health, 515 N Main St, Wingate, NC 28174, United States of America. Electronic address:

Hepatol Commun 2019 Feb 28;3(2):220-226. Epub 2018 Dec 28.

Liver and Energy Metabolism Unit, Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases National Institutes of Health Bethesda MD.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common liver disorder in the developed world. Although typically reflecting caloric overload, it can also be secondary to drug toxicity. We aimed to describe the incidence and risk factors for steatosis during chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Read More

J Clin Exp Hepatol 2019 Jan-Feb;9(1):74-98. Epub 2018 Sep 3.

Department of Pediatrics and Pediatric Liver GI and Nutrition Center and Mowat Labs, King's College Hospital, London, UK.

Clinical practice guidelines for Wilson's disease (WD) have been published by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and European Association for the Study of the Liver in 2008 and 2012, respectively. Their focus was on the hepatic aspects of the disease. Recently, a position paper on pediatric WD was published by the European Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition. Read More

Vaccine 2019 Feb 9. Epub 2019 Feb 9.

Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Background: Ontario implemented a publicly-funded rotavirus (RV) immunization program in 2011. Our objectives were to evaluate its impact on hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits for acute gastroenteritis (AGE) five years after implementation.

Methods: We performed a population-based longitudinal retrospective cohort study to identify hospitalizations and ED visits for RV-AGE and overall AGE in all age groups using ICD-10 codes between August 1, 2005 and March 31, 2016. Read More

Arthritis Res Ther 2019 Feb 14;21(1):57. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

The University of Melbourne, 41 Victoria Parade Fitzroy, Melbourne, Victoria, 3065, Australia.

Background: Up to 12% of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) have anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA). However, the majority of these patients do not manifest ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and the significance of ANCA in these patients is unclear. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of ANCA in a well-characterised SSc cohort and to examine the association between ANCA and SSc clinical characteristics, other autoantibodies, treatments and mortality. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2019 Feb 14;19(1):159. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Ministry of Health and Population, Cairo, Egypt.

Background: Egypt ranks fifth for the burden of viral hepatitis worldwide. As part of Egypt's renewed national strategy for the elimination of viral hepatitis, surveillance for acute viral hepatitis (AVH) was re-established during 2014-2017 to describe the current epidemiology and associated risk factors, and changes from surveillance conducted during 2001-2004.

Methods: Patients with suspected AVH were enrolled, completed a questionnaire, and provided blood for testing for hepatitis viruses A (HAV), B (HBV), C (HCV), D, and E (HEV) infections by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2019 Feb 14;19(1):161. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, PO, Box 9600, 2300 RC, Leiden, the Netherlands.

Background: A reduction in duration of antibiotic therapy is crucial in minimizing the development of antimicrobial resistance, drug-related side effects and health care costs. The minimal effective duration of antimicrobial therapy for febrile urinary tract infections (fUTI) remains a topic of uncertainty, especially in male patients, those of older age or with comorbidities. Biomarkers have the potential to objectively identify the optimal moment for cessation of therapy. Read More

Alcohol 2018 Aug 24;77:11-18. Epub 2018 Aug 24.

Department of Surgery, Alcohol Research Program, Burn & Shock Trauma Research Institute, Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Division, Maywood, IL, United States. Electronic address:

On January 26, 2018, the 23rd annual Alcohol and Immunology Research Interest Group (AIRIG) meeting was held at the University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado. The meeting consisted of plenary sessions with oral presentations and a poster presentation session. There were four plenary sessions that covered a wide range of topics relating to alcohol use: Alcohol and Liver Disease; Alcohol, Inflammation and Immune Response; Alcohol and Organ Injury; Heath Consequences and Alcohol Drinking. Read More

J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2019 Feb 14. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Neurodegeneration Imaging Group, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, 125 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London, SE5 9NU, UK.

The dementia spectrum encompasses a range of disorders with complex diagnosis, pathophysiology and limited treatment options. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging provides insights into specific neurodegenerative processes underlying dementia disorders in vivo. Here we focus on some of the most common dementias: Alzheimer's disease, Parkinsonism dementias including Parkinson's disease with dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal syndrome, and frontotemporal lobe degeneration. Read More

Nat Commun 2019 Feb 13;10(1):732. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, Medical School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.

Angiogenesis requires co-ordination of multiple signalling inputs to regulate the behaviour of endothelial cells (ECs) as they form vascular networks. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is essential for angiogenesis and induces downstream signalling pathways including increased cytosolic calcium levels. Here we show that transmembrane protein 33 (tmem33), which has no known function in multicellular organisms, is essential to mediate effects of VEGF in both zebrafish and human ECs. Read More

Risk Anal 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Community, Environment and Policy, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.

Understanding healthcare viral disease transmission and the effect of infection control interventions will inform current and future infection control protocols. In this study, a model was developed to predict virus concentration on nurses' hands using data from a bacteriophage tracer study conducted in Tucson, Arizona, in an urgent care facility. Surfaces were swabbed 2 hours, 3. Read More

Cell Tissue Res 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Centre for Biological Engineering, Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Epinal Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease involving joint damage, an inadequate healing response and progressive deterioration of the joint architecture that commonly affects the knee and/or hip joints. It is a major world public health problem and is predicted to increase rapidly with an ageing population and escalating rate of obesity. Autologous blood-derived products possess much promise in the repair and regeneration of tissue and have important roles in inflammation, angiogenesis, cell migration and metabolism in pathological conditions, including OA. Read More

Sleep Breath 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L Levy Place, Box 1232, New York, NY, 10029, USA.

Purpose: Evidence suggests that snoring is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Limited data exists pertaining to this association among African Americans. We therefore examined the association between self-reported habitual snoring and incident CVD in the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), a population-based cohort study of African Americans. Read More

J Immunol Res 2019 10;2019:4103819. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

Department of Biology, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614, USA.

Worldwide, an estimated 12 million people are infected with spp. and an additional 350 million are at risk of infection. Leishmania are intracellular parasites that cause disease by suppressing macrophage microbicidal responses. Read More

Environ Int 2019 Apr 10;125:437-444. Epub 2019 Feb 10.

Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address:

Introduction: Lead (Pb) crosses the placenta and can cause oxidative stress, reduced fetal growth and neurological problems. The principal source of oxidative stress in human cells is mitochondria. Therefore, disruption of normal mitochondrial function during pregnancy may represent a primary mechanism behind the adverse effects of lead. Read More

J Nutr 2019 Feb 8. Epub 2019 Feb 8.

Division of HIV, Infectious Disease, and Global Medicine.

Background: Food insecurity and mental health negatively affect the lives of women in the United States. Participants in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) provided the opportunity to understand the association of food insecurity with depression and mental well-being over time.

Objective: We investigated the association between current and persistent food insecurity and depression among women at risk of or living with HIV in the United States. Read More

FEMS Microbiol Rev 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia 5005.

Plasmodium spp. parasites that cause malaria disease remain a significant global-health burden. With the spread of parasites resistant to artemisinin combination therapies in Southeast Asia, there is a growing need to develop new antimalarials with novel targets. Read More

J Inherit Metab Dis 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Heidelberg, INF 410, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.

Objective: Urinary copper excretion rates and non-caeruloplasmin associated copper concentrations are increased in patients with Wilson disease. However, there is little literature describing the monitoring of these parameters over the long term.

Methods: This is a monocentric retrospective study including data collected between 2003 and 2015 from 321 patients with Wilson disease by chart review. Read More

Br J Cancer 2019 Feb 12;120(4):435-443. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

Department of Breast cancer, Endocrine tumors and Sarcoma, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.

Background: Heterogeneity and low incidence comprise the biggest challenge in sarcoma diagnosis and treatment. Chemotherapy, although efficient for some sarcoma subtypes, generally results in poor clinical responses and is mostly recommended for advanced disease. Specific genomic aberrations have been identified in some sarcoma subtypes but few of them can be targeted with approved drugs. Read More

Cardiovasc Revasc Med 2019 Jan 24. Epub 2019 Jan 24.

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast, United Kingdom.

Background: Competitive flow from saphenous vein grafts (SVG) that remain patent following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of the native vessel may compromise durability of the reconstructed vessel. SVG sacrifice has been advocated, but the safety and longer-term outcomes of this are unknown.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all post-bypass patients who following successful PCI of the native vessel underwent attempted saphenous vein graft (SVG) closure between January 2014 and July 2018 in two institutions. Read More

PLoS One 2019 11;14(2):e0211738. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research (UCAIR), Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America.

Purpose: Dynamic contrast enhanced MRI of the heart typically acquires 2-4 short-axis (SA) slices to detect and characterize coronary artery disease. This acquisition scheme is limited by incomplete coverage of the left ventricle. We studied the feasibility of using radial simultaneous multi-slice (SMS) technique to achieve SA, 2-chamber and/or 4-chamber long-axis (2CH LA and/or 4CH LA) coverage with and without electrocardiography (ECG) gating using a motion-robust reconstruction framework. Read More

Oncogene 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University, Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK.

Stem cell characteristics have been associated with treatment resistance and poor prognosis across many cancer types. The ability to induce and regulate the pathways that sustain these characteristic hallmarks of lethal cancers in a novel in vitro model would greatly enhance our understanding of cancer progression and treatment resistance. In this work, we present such a model, based simply on applying standard pluripotency/embryonic stem cell media alone. Read More

AJR Am J Roentgenol 2019 Feb 11:1-7. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

1 Department of Medical Imaging, Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University, 1001 Decarie Blvd, Rm B02.7005, Montreal, QC H4A 3J1, Canada.

Objective: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a multisystemic genetic disease in which patients develop benign tumors including optic nerve gliomas (ONG). Optic nerve thickening and tortuosity are radiologic markers of tumors but can also be present in children with NF1 who do not have gliomas, thus complicating screening and diagnosis. We undertook this study to retrospectively determine quantitative and qualitative diagnostic criteria using MRI of the orbits for ONG in children with NF1. Read More

J Inherit Metab Dis 2019 Jan;42(1):86-92

Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme, LabPlus, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand.

When screening for carnitine uptake disorder (CUD), the New Zealand (NZ) newborn screening (NBS) service identified infants as screen-positive if they had initial and repeat free carnitine (C0) levels of less than 5.0 μmol/L. Since 2006, the NBS service has identified two infants with biochemical and genetic features consistent with neonatal CUD and nine mothers with features consistent with maternal CUD. Read More

Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2019 Jan 31. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, USA. Electronic address:

Objective: To determine the feasibility, safety and tolerability of lumbar punctures (LPs) in research participants with early Parkinson disease (PD), subjects without evidence of dopaminergic deficiency (SWEDDs) and healthy volunteers (HC).

Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis is becoming an essential part of the biomarkers discovery effort in PD with still limited data on safety and feasibility of serial LPs in PD participants.

Design/methods: Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI) is a longitudinal observation study designed to identify PD progression biomarkers. Read More

Crit Care 2019 Feb 8;23(1):40. Epub 2019 Feb 8.

Emergency Department, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IdISSC), Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain.

Background: There is a lack of validated tools to assess potential disease progression and hospitalisation decisions in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with a suspected infection. This study aimed to identify suitable blood biomarkers (MR-proADM, PCT, lactate and CRP) or clinical scores (SIRS, SOFA, qSOFA, NEWS and CRB-65) to fulfil this unmet clinical need.

Methods: An observational derivation patient cohort validated by an independent secondary analysis across nine EDs. Read More

J Surg Res 2019 Feb 5;238:23-28. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Clinical Research Fellow, Department of General Surgery, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Sheffield, UK. Electronic address:

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common dysrhythmia that can occur after major physiological stress including surgery (postoperative AF). There are few data on postoperative AF after abdominal surgery. We set out to define the incidence of de novo postoperative AF after abdominal surgery and associated risk factors. Read More

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2019 Feb;100(2):351-356

Yale Partnerships for Global Health, Department of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.

Hookworm infection causes anemia, malnutrition, and growth delay, especially in children living in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization recommends periodic mass drug administration (MDA) of anthelminthics to school-age children (SAC) as a means of reducing morbidity. Recently, questions have been raised about the effectiveness of MDA as a global control strategy for hookworms and other soil-transmitted helminths (STHs). Read More

Nat Immunol 2019 Mar;20(3):374

The Francis Crick Institute, Laboratory of Immunoregulation and Infection, London, UK.

In the version of this article initially published, the Supplementary Data file was an incorrect version. The correct version is now provided. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF version of the article. Read More

Eur J Immunol 2019 Feb 6. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

The John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

Mutation of Dedicator of cytokinesis 8 (DOCK8) has previously been reported to provide resistance to the Th17 cell dependent EAE in mice. Contrary to expectation, we observed an elevation of Th17 cells in two different DOCK8 mutant mouse strains in the steady state. This was specific for Th17 cells with no change in Th1 or Th2 cell populations. Read More