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The postpandemic evaluation and future planning should involve surgical services as an essential part to maintain appropriate surgical care for the population during an outbreak. Surgical delivery, owing to its cross-cutting nature and synergistic effects on health systems at large, needs to be built into the WHO agenda for national health planning. CONCLUSION Patients are being deprived of surgical access, with uncertain loss of function and risk of adverse prognosis as a collateral effect of the pandemic. Surgical services need a contingency plan for maintaining surgical care in an ongoing or postpandemic phase. © 2020 The Authors. British Journal of Surgery published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of BJS Society Ltd.OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to utilise wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) as a sentinel species to study levels of environmental contamination with N. caninum and T. gondii in South Australia, and to examine associations with rainfall, climate and land use. DESIGN Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), an apicomplexan parasite, causes the clinical disease toxoplasmosis, which can affect sheep as well as humans and many other animals. Neosporosis, the clinical disease caused by closely related Neospora caninum (N. caninum), causes abortions in cattle, with large economic impacts to cattle industries. METHODS Aliquots of wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) serum were obtained from twelve sites across South Australia over a period of eighteen years, with a total of 2114 samples. An in-house Modified Agglutination Test (MAT) was developed, and samples were screened for the specific antibodies against both T.gondii and N. caninum. RESULTS Overall, 9.9% of samples screened for T. gondii tested positive and 6.1% of samples screened for N. caninum tested positive. There was no difference observed in seroprevalence of T.gondii specific antibodies between samples collected throughout summer, autumn, winter or spring. By contrast, a significantly higher (p=0.030) seroprevalence of N. caninum specific antibodies was observed in spring than any other season. T. gondii and N. caninum antibodies were discovered at sites across a broad area of South Australia, indicating these environments maybe infected with both parasites. CONCLUSION Results provide evidence that suggests N. caninum oocysts may have different survival characteristics, such as varying tolerances to low relative humidity, than T. gondii oocysts. © 2020 Australian Veterinary Association.Ageing is driven by the inexorable and stochastic accumulation of damage in biomolecules vital for proper cellular function. Although this process is fundamentally haphazard and uncontrollable, genetic and extrinsic factors influence senescent decline and ageing. Numerous gene mutations and treatments have been shown to extend the lifespan of organisms ranging from the unicellular Saccharomyces cerevisiae to primates. Most such interventions ultimately interface with cellular stress response mechanisms, suggesting that longevity is intimately related to the ability of the organism to counter both intrinsic and extrinsic stress. Mitochondria, the main energy hub of the cell, are highly dynamic organelles, playing essential roles in cell physiology. Mitochondrial function impinges on several signalling pathways modulating cellular metabolism, survival and healthspan. Maintenance of mitochondrial function and energy homeostasis requires both generation of new healthy mitochondria and elimination of the dysfunctional ones. Here, we survey the mechanisms regulating mitochondrial number in cells, with particular emphasis on neurons. We, further, discuss recent findings implicating perturbation of mitochondrial homeostasis in cellular senescence and organismal ageing as well as in age-associated neurodegenerative diseases. Cysteine Protease inhibitor This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.BACKGROUND Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) is an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) for the treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2)-positive breast cancer. T-DM1 is based on the trastuzumab antibody, and delivers a toxic agent into breast cancer cells through endocytic mechanism. This study evaluated whether T-DM1 can be used in HER-2-positive colon cancer cells which harbor KRAS/ BRAF mutation with limited treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS LS174T and HT-29 which are KRAS and BRAF mutant HER-2-positive colon cancer cells, were used in this study. Cells were first treated with T-DM1; cetuximab and trastuzumab were applied for comparison, the effect of drug sensitivity was determined. Cells were then transfected with plasmid to overexpress HER-2 or the endocytic protein, caveolin-1, or furthermore pretreated with metformin to examine the effect of T-DM1 efficacy. Finally, a xenograft mouse model was used to evaluate the drug efficacy in vivo. RESULTS The results showed that T-DM1 had better inhibitory effect than cetuximab and trastuzumab on LS174T and HT-29 cells. HER-2 or caveolin-1 overexpression with plasmid in the cells to increase T-DM1 recognition or internalization can increase the sensitivity to T-DM1. When cells were pretreated with metformin, caveolin-1 expression was induced and promoted T-DM1 uptake and enhanced cell toxicity. In xenograft mouse model, combined treatment of T-DM1 and metformin had apparent inhibitory effect on subcutaneous tumor growth. CONCLUSION The results of this study suggested that T-DM1 has potential in the treatment of HER-2-positive colon cancer cells, and application of metformin has therapeutic benefits during T-DM1 treatment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Discoid Lupus Erythematosus (DLE) is an autoimmune disorder with a poorly defined etiology. Despite epidemiologic gender and ethnic biases, a clear genetic basis for DLE remains elusive. In this study, we used exome and RNA sequencing technologies to characterize a consanguineous Lebanese family with four affected individuals who presented with classical scalp DLE and generalized folliculitis. Our results unraveled a novel biallelic variant c.1313C > A leading to a missense substitution p.(Thr438Asn) in TRAF3IP2(NM_147200.3). Expression studies in cultured cells revealed mis-localization of the mutated protein. Functional characterization of the mutated protein showed significant reduction in the physical interaction with the interleukin 17-A receptor (IL17RA), while interaction with TRAF6 was unaffected. By conducting a differential genome-wide transcriptomics analysis between affected and non-affected individuals, we showed that the hair follicle differentiation pathway is drastically suppressed, whereas cytokine and inflammation responses are significantly upregulated. Furthermore, our results were highly concordant with molecular signatures in patients with DLE from a public dataset. In conclusion, this is the first report on a new putative role for TRAF3IP2 in the etiology of DLE. The identified molecular features associated with this gene could pave the way for better DLE-targeted treatment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been reported to be associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). However, the evidence is limited to the seroepidemiological study. There is a lack of evidence showing the HBV infection and integration in NHL cells. Here, we reported that in the Shanghai area, the positive rates of serum HBsAg (OR 3.11; 95% CI 2.20-4.41) and HBeAg (OR 3.99; 95% CI 1.73-9.91) were significantly higher in patients with NHL. HBsAg, HBcAg and HBV DNA were detected in 34.4%, 45.2% and 47.0% of the NHL tissues, respectively. Furthermore, by using a high-throughput viral integration detection approach (HIVID), integrated HBV DNA was identified from 50% (6/12) HBV-related NHL tissues. There were a total of 313 HBV integration sites isolated from the NHL tissues, among which four protein-coding genes (FAT2, SETX, ITGA10 and CD63) were interrupted by HBV DNA in their exons. Seven HBV preferential target genes (ANKS1B, HDAC4, EGFLAM, MAN1C1, XKR6, ZBTB38 and CCDC91) showed significantly altered expression levels in NHL, suggesting a potential role of these genes in NHL development. Taken together, HBV integration is a common phenomenon in NHL. This finding opens up a new direction of research into the mechanistic link between HBV infection and NHL. © 2020 UICC.INTRODUCTION There remains a need for a non-invasive, low cost and easily accessible way of identifying women at risk of developing hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. This study evaluated the predictive value of longitudinal salivary uric acid measurement. MATERIAL AND METHODS Pregnant women (N = 137) from 20 weeks of gestation were recruited at St. Richards Hospital, Chichester, UK, for this prospective cohort study. Weekly samples of salivary uric acid were analyzed until delivery. Information regarding pregnancy and labor were obtained from the patient's record after delivery. Independent t-tests were used to compare mean levels of salivary uric acid in women with hypertensive complications and adverse fetal outcomes to women with normal pregnancies. Main outcome measures were pre-eclampsia, pregnancy-induced hypertension, spontaneous preterm delivery and babies small-for-gestational-age. RESULTS From 21 weeks of gestation until delivery, levels of salivary uric acid increased significantly in women who ery. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.BACKGROUND AND AIMS chemerin is an adipokine with an emerging role in the cross-talk between adipose tissue and immune system. It is overexpressed in severe obesity, affects adipogenesis and glucose homeostasis and it correlates with early vascular damage. The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between circulating levels of chemerin and early vascular damage in subjects with severe obesity, before and after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). METHODS fifty-six obese subjects eligible for LSG were enrolled in the study. The following parameters were evaluated body mass index (BMI), glycemia, insulinemia, glycated hemoglobin, lipid profile, plasma chemerin levels, and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT). Fifty-four subjects were evaluated 1 year after the intervention. RESULTS univariate analysis showed a direct and significant correlation between chemerin and waist circumference, insulin resistance, glycated hemoglobin and cIMT. Chemerin was a better predictor of intima-media thickening than waist circumference and glycated haemoglobin at the ROC curve analysis, with a cut-off value for chemerin of 140 ng/mL. The reduction of chemerin are independently associated with the reduction of cIMT and the improvement of insulin sensitivity after LSG. CONCLUSION chemerin is involved in the development and progression of early vascular damage and insulin resistance in subjects with severe obesity, and in their healing after bariatric surgery. Chemerin could also have a role in the assessment of cardiovascular risk in subjects with severe obesity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.PURPOSE Surgi-cal repair of post-traumatic complex urethral stricture poses a major challenge to urologists. Here, we report six patients with irreparable urethral strictures who were successfully treated by using the appendix as conduit for urinary diversion. MATERIALS AND METHODS Six patients who had underwent urinary diversion using an appendix during 2015 to 2019 were included in our study. All patients had a history of one or more failed attempts of urethral reconstruction in the past. Mean follow-up for patients was 29 months. Continency was defined as being completely dry for at least3 hours. RESULTS Mean age of patients was 40.1 years old (range 20-70 years). Intermittent catheterization through the conduit was easily performed for every patient without any stomal stenosis. Mild stomal incontinence only occurred in one case which was resolved after a few months. All patients were continent during day and night. CONCLUSION Based on the results of our study, Mitrofanoff's technique is a valuable procedure for managing patients with serious complicated urethral strictures who cannot be treated with common standard approaches.