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OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the independent and combined effects of different levels of monetary incentives and a theory-based educational intervention on return for tuberculosis (TB) skin test reading in a sample of active injection drug and crack cocaine users. Prevalence of TB infection in this sample was also determined. METHODS: Active or recent drug users (n = 1004), recruited via street outreach techniques, were skin tested for TB. They were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 levels of monetary incentive ( $5 and $ 10) provided at return for skin test reading, alone or in combination with a brief motivational education session. RESULTS: More than 90% of those who received$10 returned for skin test reading, in comparison with 85% of those who received $ 5 and 33% of those who received no monetary incentive. The education session had no impact on return for skin test reading. The prevalence of a positive tuberculin test was 18.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Monetary incentives dramatically increase the return rate for TB skin test reading among drug users who are at high risk of TB infection.

Purpose: Cisplatin/5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is an accepted palliative chemotherapy treatment for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, improving quality of life but not overall survival. Capecitabine in place of 5-FU removes the morbidity of an infusional regime with potential benefit in patient well-being. This study looks at outcomes for cisplatin plus capecitabine (PX) outside of a trial setting. Methods: Consecutive patients receiving this treatment in a single centre were retrospectively analysed. Cisplatin (mean dose 75 mg/m 2 ) was given on day 1 of a 3-week cycle and capecitabine (mean dose 808 mg/m 2 twice daily) on days 1-14, for up to 6 cycles. Results: Sixty-five patients (median age 58.6 years) received a median of 4 cycles of chemotherapy. The overall response rate was 30.7%, with a median overall survival of 7.3 months. Treatment was well tolerated with a 10.7% grade 3 and a 1.5% grade 4 neutropenia rate, with no other grade 4 toxicities. One patient died of neutropenic sepsis whilst on treatment. Twenty-seven percent of patients stopped treatment early due to chemotherapy-related side effects. Conclusion: PX is well tolerated outside the trial setting with outcomes similar to historical published literature. Ease of administration and benefit to patient convenience make it an attractive alternative to standard palliative treatment.

Despite the advances made in understanding the pathophysiology of oral mucositis OM and the variety of treatment options available, clinical teams still struggle to address OM in a consistent manner. The United Kingdom Oral Mucositis in Cancer Care (UKOMiC), was founded 3 years ago to address the challenges of oral complications secondary to disease and treatment in the cancer and supportive care setting. Having developed oral care guidelines, which have been widely used in the United Kingdom and other countries, the group continue to deliver educational opportunities for clinical staff. This presentation will address the content, the learning and the evaluations from 3 study days which were delivered in London, Glasgow and Manchester. The days were attended by over 230 delegates including, radiographers, nurses, oncologists, dentists, pharmacists, oral surgeons, therapists and educators. Using a combination of learning approaches including, lectures, case studies and interactive workshops led by experts, the content of each day covered the key principles of good oral care based on accurate assessment, good care, instigating prevention measures and correct treatment. Each interactive session focussed on an aspect of oral mucositis including, anatomy and physiology of the oral cavity, pathophysiology of OM, pharmacology, nutrition, dysphagia, pain management and the patient experience. Each day was carefully evaluated and each attendee was asked to consider how they would put the learning into practice. The learning from each study day has not only informed further educational events but has been used to develop the work of the expert group.

From 1970 through 1979, availability of northern anchovies Engraulis mordax, the major food source for breeding brown pelicans Pelecanus occidentalis californicus, was the most important determinant of fledging success. Once the birds are constrained to a breeding area, a weak relationship exists between large scale indices of anchovy abundance in the Southern California Bight (about 105 km2) and mean pelican fledging rates. This relationship becomes much stronger if pelican feeding behavior and more localized areas associated with their breeding colonies (about 8× 103 km2) are considered separately. Anchovy abundance over small areas (about 2× 103 km2) showed no relationship to pelican reproduction. This suggests that events which influence large geographic areas (such as weather-patterns) affect reproduction through prey levels. Yet, pelican reproductive output is more precisely related to local aspects of prey availability and abundance. Fledging rates are a suitable indicator of local food conditions because pelicans are constrained to more local feeding areas during breeding. High levels of annual variation in food supply result in high annual variations in pelican reproductive performance. Anchovy densities are greater near the two island areas where pelicans most commonly breed than mean density over the entire Southern California Bight. Other regions of high density in prey also exist during the pelican breeding season but they are probably not available to breeders. The locations of traditional breeding colonies most likely represent environmental situations where the combination of nesting substrate and attainable food supplies occur together with consistency. /// С 1970 по 1979 гг. доступность калифорнийского анчоуса (Engraulis mordax), основной пищи гнездующихся пеликанов Pelicanus occidentalis californicus была наиболее важным детерминантом процесса оперения. Однажды птицы задержались на участке гнездования, при этом обнаружена слабая зависимость между обилием анчоусов и скоростью оперения птенцов на широкомасштабной шкале в Южной Калифорнийской Бухте (около 105 к m2). Эта зависимость становится более строгой, если пищевое поведение пеликанов и участки локализации гнездующихся колоний (около 8× 103 к m2) рассматриваются отдельно. Плотность анчоусов на небольших участках (около 2× 103 к m2) не зависит от активности размножения пеликанов. Это показает, что факторы, действующие на больших территориях географических районов (такие, как погодные условия) влияют на размножение через плотность жертв. Таким образом эффективность размножения у пеликанов более четко определяется локальными условиями доступности и обилия жертв. Скорость оперения - эффективный индикатор локальных условий питания, так как пеликаны задерживаются на строго ограниченных участках в период гнездования. Высокий уровень колебаний пищевых резервов в разные годы приводит к сильным колебаниям активности размножения у пеликанов. Ллотность анчоусов выше вблизи двух островных участков, где пеликаны чаше всего гнездуются, нежели их средняя плотность на всей территории Юхной Калифорнийской Бухты. В сезон размножения пеликанов существуют также другие очаги высокой плотности жертв, но они очевидно недоступны для гнездующихся птиц. Распределение постоянно гнездующихся колоний наиболее четко отражает экологическую ситуацию, когда наличие субстрата для строительства гнезд сочетается с доступным запасом пищи.

We report the predictions of different Monte Carlo event generators including HIJING, Pythia, and QGSJETII in comparison with the experimental data measured by the CMS Collaboration at CERN in proton-proton (\\(pp\\)) collisions at center-of-mass energy \\(s\\) = 0.9 and 2.36 TeV. The CMS experimental transverse momentum (\\(p_T\\) or \\(p_\\)) spectra of charged hadrons were measured for pseudorapidity range 0 \\(\\) \\(\\) \\(\\) 2.4 with bin width of \\(\\) = 0.2 (for \\(p_T\\) from 0.1 to 2 GeV/\\(c\\)) and a single bin of \\(\\) for$\\lvert$ $\\eta$ $\\rvert\\( \\)<\\( 2.4 (for \\)p_T\\( from 0.1 to 4 GeV/\\)c\\(). Pythia reproduced the \\)p_T\\( spectra with reasonable agreement for most of the \\)p_T\\( range. It depicts better results in the case of the \\)|\\eta|<\\( 2.4 than HIJING and QGSJETII which could reproduce the spectra in a limited \\)p_T\\( range. Furthermore, to analyze the \\)p_T\\( spectra of charged hadrons measured by the CMS Collaboration, we used a three component function (structured from the Boltzmann distribution) and the \\)q\\(-dual function (from the \\)q\\(-dual statistics) to extract parameter values relevant for the study of bulk properties of hadronic matter at high energy. We have also applied the two analytic functions over the model predictions. The values extracted by the functions from the HIJING and Pythia models are closer to the experimental data than the QGSJETII model. Although the models could reproduce the \\)p_T\\( spectra of all charged particles in some of the \\)p_T\\( range but none of them could reproduce the distributions over the entire \\)p_T$range and in all the pseudorapidity regions.

The use of nuclear transparency effect of ^--mesons in proton, and deuteron induced interactions with carbon nuclei at 4.2A GeV/c, to get information about the properties of nuclear matter, is presented in this work. Half angle (_1/2) technique is used to extract information on nuclear transparency effect. The _1/2 divides the multiplicity of charged particles into two equal parts depending on their polar angle in the lab. frame in pp interactions. Particles with angle smaller than (incone particles) and greater than (outcone particles) _1/2 are considered separate. The average values of multiplicity, momentum and transverse momentum of the ^--mesons are analyzed as a function of a number of identified protons in an event. We observed evidences in the data which could be considered as transparency effect. For quantitative analysis, the results are compared with cascade model. The observed effects are categorized into leading effect transparency and medium effect transparency. The transparency in the latter case could be the reason of collective interactions of grouped nucleons with the incident particles.

Acetyl-CoA synthetase (Acs) generates acetyl-coenzyme A (Ac-CoA) but its excessive activity can deplete ATP and lead to a growth arrest. To prevent this, Acs is regulated through Ac-CoA-dependent feedback inhibition executed by Ac-CoA-dependent acetyltransferases such as AcuA in Bacillus subtilis . AcuA acetylates the catalytic lysine of AcsA turning the synthetase inactive. Here, we report that AcuA and AcsA form a tightly intertwined complex – the C-terminal domain binds to acetyltransferase domain of AcuA, while the C-terminus of AcuA occupies the CoA-binding site in the N-terminal domain of AcsA. Formation of the complex reduces AcsA activity in addition to the well-established acetylation of the catalytic lysine 549 in AcsA which we show can disrupt the complex. Thus, different modes of regulation accomplished through AcuA adjust AcsA activity to the concentrations of the different substrates of the reaction. In summary, our study provides detailed mechanistic insights into the regulatory framework underlying acetyl-CoA biosynthesis from acetate. Here the authors investigate the regulatory mechanisms of acetyl-CoA (Ac-CoA) biosynthesis in Bacillus subtilis , probing the interaction between acetyl-CoA synthetase (AcsA) and acetyltransferase (AcuA). They capture a stable AcsA-AcuA complex that inhibits AcsA activity in the absence of Ac-CoA.

Background/Objective: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and therapy-resistant cancer cells represent major clinical challenges, necessitating the development of novel therapeutic strategies. This study explores the use of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) and colistin-conjugated selenium nanoparticles (Col-SeNPs) as a dual-function nanotherapeutic against multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, antifungal-drug-resistant Candida spp., and human breast carcinoma (MCF-7) cells. Methods: SeNPs were synthesized and characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), confirming their nanoscale morphology, purity, and stability. Results: The antimicrobial activity of SeNPs and Col-SeNPs was assessed based on the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and bacterial viability assays. Col-SeNPs exhibited enhanced antibacterial effects against P. aeruginosa, along with significant downregulation of the mexY efflux pump gene, which is associated with colistin resistance. Additionally, Col-SeNPs demonstrated superior antifungal activity against Candida albicans, C. glabrata, and C. krusei compared to SeNPs alone. The anticancer potential of Col-SeNPs was evaluated in MCF-7 cells using the MTT assay, revealing dose-dependent cytotoxicity through apoptosis and oxidative stress pathways. Although MCF-7 is not inherently drug-resistant, this model was used to explore the potential of Col-SeNPs in overcoming resistance mechanisms commonly encountered in cancer therapy. Conclusions: these findings support the promise of Col-SeNPs as a novel approach for addressing both antimicrobial resistance and cancer treatment challenges. Further in vivo studies, including pharmacokinetics and combination therapies, are warranted to advance clinical translation.