Precision medicine: Driving the evolution of biobanking quality

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 102-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca O. Barnes ◽  
Peter H. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Data Quality ◽  
Precision Medicine ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Biological Samples ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Quality Requirements ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Research Domain

The promise of precision medicine will only be realized if the healthcare system adapts to meet some key infrastructure needs. Among these needs are adequate biobanking practices, capable of producing the biological samples and data that precision medicine relies upon in both the research and clinical phases. Within the research domain, there have been significant improvements to biobanking processes over the past two decades, driven by increased understanding of the impact of pre-analytical variability and the critical role of biospecimen and data quality. In the era of precision medicine, biobanking to support clinical needs has similar quality requirements. The extensive knowledge and resources that have been developed by the research biobanking community are available for adoption by clinical biobanking. The challenge and opportunity now presented to the healthcare system is to adopt or adapt these resources, for example, external biobanking standards and verification programs.

Pupil with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-25
Author(s):  
Karolina Diallo
Keyword(s):  
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽  
School Performance ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Detrimental Effect ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
The Past ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact

Pupil with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Over the past twenty years childhood OCD has received more attention than any other anxiety disorder that occurs in the childhood. The increasing interest and research in this area have led to increasing number of diagnoses of OCD in children and adolescents, which affects both specialists and teachers. Depending on the severity of symptoms OCD has a detrimental effect upon child's school performance, which can lead almost to the impossibility to concentrate on school and associated duties. This article is devoted to the obsessive-compulsive disorder and its specifics in children, focusing on the impact of this disorder on behaviour, experience and performance of the child in the school environment. It mentions how important is the role of the teacher in whose class the pupil with this diagnosis is and it points out that it is necessary to increase teachers' competence to identify children with OCD symptoms, to take the disease into the account, to adapt the course of teaching and to introduce such measures that could help children reduce the anxiety and maintain (or increase) the school performance within and in accordance with the school regulations and curriculum.

History and Morality

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Bloxham
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Country ◽  
Moral Thought ◽  
Majority Opinion ◽  
The Past ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Moral Judgements ◽  
Value Judgements ◽  
The Impact

Against majority opinion within his profession, Donald Bloxham argues that it is legitimate, often unavoidable, and frequently important for historians to make value judgements about the past. History and Morality draws on a wide range of historical examples, and its author’s insights as a practising historian. Examining concepts like impartiality, neutrality, contextualization, and the use and abuse of the idea of the past as a foreign country, Bloxham’s book investigates how the discipline has got to the point where what is preached can be so inconsistent with what is practised. It illuminates how far tacit moral judgements infuse works of history, and how strange those histories would look if the judgements were removed. Bloxham argues that rather than trying to eradicate all judgemental elements from their work historians need to think more consistently about how, and with what justification, they make the judgements that they do. The importance of all this lies not just in the responsibilities that historians bear towards the past—responsibilities to take historical actors on those actors’ own terms and to portray the impact of those actors’ deeds—but also in the role of history as a source of identity, pride, and shame in the present. The account of moral thought in History and Morality has ramifications far beyond the activities of vocational historians.

scholarly journals NLRP7 Promotes Choriocarcinoma Growth and Progression through the Establishment of an Immunosuppressive Microenvironment

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2999
Author(s):  
Deborah Reynaud ◽  
Roland Abi Nahed ◽  
Nicolas Lemaitre ◽  
Pierre-Adrien Bolze ◽  
Wael Traboulsi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Major Gene ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Orthotopic Model ◽  
Independent Manner ◽  
Maternal Immune Response ◽  
The Impact

The inflammatory gene NLRP7 is the major gene responsible for recurrent complete hydatidiform moles (CHM), an abnormal pregnancy that can develop into gestational choriocarcinoma (CC). However, the role of NLRP7 in the development and immune tolerance of CC has not been investigated. Three approaches were employed to define the role of NLRP7 in CC development: (i) a clinical study that analyzed human placenta and sera collected from women with normal pregnancies, CHM or CC; (ii) an in vitro study that investigated the impact of NLRP7 knockdown on tumor growth and organization; and (iii) an in vivo study that used two CC mouse models, including an orthotopic model. NLRP7 and circulating inflammatory cytokines were upregulated in tumor cells and in CHM and CC. In tumor cells, NLRP7 functions in an inflammasome-independent manner and promoted their proliferation and 3D organization. Gravid mice placentas injected with CC cells invalidated for NLRP7, exhibited higher maternal immune response, developed smaller tumors, and displayed less metastases. Our data characterized the critical role of NLRP7 in CC and provided evidence of its contribution to the development of an immunosuppressive maternal microenvironment that not only downregulates the maternal immune response but also fosters the growth and progression of CC.

The Role of UBI in Mitigating the Effects of Psychosocial Stressors: A Review and Proposal

2021 ◽  
pp. 003329412110051
Author(s):  
Rashmi Gupta ◽  
Jemima Jacob ◽  
Gaurav Bansal
Keyword(s):  
Role Stress ◽  
Psychosocial Stressors ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Economic Stability ◽  
The Past ◽  
Individual Outcomes ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
The Impact

Psychosocial stressors and social disadvantages contribute to inequalities in opportunities and outcomes. In the current paper, we use an epidemiological perspective and highlight the role stress plays on individuals by reviewing the outcomes of major stressors such as poverty and unemployment. We further analyzed the psychological and physical cost of these stressors and their long-term impact. We examined the role of universal basic income and closely looked at income experiments that were implemented in the past, in terms of their effectiveness in enhancing the community as well as individual outcomes and propose the UBI as a tool for alleviating the impact of these stressors. At a time when a major pandemic (e.g., COVID-19) threatens economic stability and health globally, we believe the UBI is relevant now, more than ever.

scholarly journals Specialized Pro-Resolving Lipid Mediators in Neonatal Cardiovascular Physiology and Diseases

Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 933
Author(s):  
Andrea Gila-Diaz ◽  
Gloria Herranz Carrillo ◽  
Pratibha Singh ◽  
David Ramiro-Cortijo
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Repair ◽  
Cardiovascular Health ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Lipid Mediators ◽  
Physiological Effects ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Long Chain

Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Unresolved inflammation plays a critical role in cardiovascular diseases development. Specialized Pro-Resolving Mediators (SPMs), derived from long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs), enhances the host defense, by resolving the inflammation and tissue repair. In addition, SPMs also have anti-inflammatory properties. These physiological effects depend on the availability of LCPUFAs precursors and cellular metabolic balance. Most of the studies have focused on the impact of SPMs in adult cardiovascular health and diseases. In this review, we discuss LCPUFAs metabolism, SPMs, and their potential effect on cardiovascular health and diseases primarily focusing in neonates. A better understanding of the role of these SPMs in cardiovascular health and diseases in neonates could lead to the development of novel therapeutic approaches in cardiovascular dysfunction.

New Agendas for Special Education Policy: What the National Reports Haven't Said

1987 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marleen Pugach ◽  
Mara Sapon-Shevin
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Educational Reform ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Special Education Policy ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The calls for educational reform that have dominated the professional and lay literature for the past few years have been decidedly silent in discussing the role of special education either as a contributor or a solution to the problems being raised. As an introduction to this “Special Focus” on the relationship between general educational reform and special education, this article summarizes some of the more prominent reports with regard to their treatment (and nontreatment) of special education. The impact of proposed reforms for the conceptualization and operation of special education is the subject of the five articles that follow.

scholarly journals COVID-19 as an “Infodemic” in Public Health: Critical Role of the Social Media

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debanjan Banerjee ◽  
K. S. Meena
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The Impact

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has emerged as a significant and global public health crisis. Besides the rising number of cases and fatalities, the outbreak has also affected economies, employment and policies alike. As billions are being isolated at their homes to contain the infection, the uncertainty gives rise to mass hysteria and panic. Amidst this, there has been a hidden epidemic of “information” that makes COVID-19 stand out as a “digital infodemic” from the earlier outbreaks. Repeated and detailed content about the virus, geographical statistics, and multiple sources of information can all lead to chronic stress and confusion at times of crisis. Added to this is the plethora of misinformation, rumor and conspiracy theories circulating every day. With increased digitalization, media penetration has increased with a more significant number of people aiding in the “information pollution.” In this article, we glance at the unique evolution of COVID-19 as an “infodemic” in the hands of social media and the impact it had on its spread and public reaction. We then look at the ways forward in which the role of social media (as well as other digital platforms) can be integrated into social and public health, for a better symbiosis, “digital balance” and pandemic preparedness for the ongoing crisis and the future.

scholarly journals Public policy, public utility and citizens: The impact of privatization

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Μαντώ Λαμπροπούλου (Manto Lampropoulou)
Keyword(s):  
Public Utility ◽  
Network Industries ◽  
Public Enterprises ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
The Past ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Over the past two decades, utilities policy in Greece has been steadily shifting towards privatization and liberalization. This shift signified a critical reconsideration of the boundaries and the dynamics of the relationship between the state and the market in network industries. Public debate usually focuses on issues of ownership of public enterprises and economic performance. On the contrary, this book places the emphasis on the socio-economic implications of utilities policy for citizens. A key issue is the impact of privatization on the relationship between government (state), public enterprises (market) and citizens (society). The study covers the period from the post-war state monopolies to the current circumstances of mixed/private ownership of public enterprises and liberalized markets. The main questions addressed in this book are the following: What is the rationale (legitimization) for government intervention in the utilities sector? What are the politics of nationalization and privatization? How different policy contexts affect the institutional, organizational and regulatory framework of the utilities sector? Who are the key-stakeholders and policy actors? What is the role of citizens? What is the (re)distribution of utilities policy costs and benefits among stakeholders?

scholarly journals Inferring recent evolutionary changes in speech sounds

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1824) ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Moran ◽  
Nicholas A. Lester ◽  
Eitan Grossman
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Language Evolution ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Past ◽  
Evolutionary Changes ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact

In this paper, we investigate evolutionarily recent changes in the distributions of speech sounds in the world's languages. In particular, we explore the impact of language contact in the past two millennia on today's distributions. Based on three extensive databases of phonological inventories, we analyse the discrepancies between the distribution of speech sounds of ancient and reconstructed languages, on the one hand, and those in present-day languages, on the other. Furthermore, we analyse the degree to which the diffusion of speech sounds via language contact played a role in these discrepancies. We find evidence for substantive differences between ancient and present-day distributions, as well as for the important role of language contact in shaping these distributions over time. Moreover, our findings suggest that the distributions of speech sounds across geographic macro-areas were homogenized to an observable extent in recent millennia. Our findings suggest that what we call the Implicit Uniformitarian Hypothesis, at least with respect to the composition of phonological inventories, cannot be held uncritically. Linguists who would like to draw inferences about human language based on present-day cross-linguistic distributions must consider their theories in light of even short-term language evolution. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Reconstructing prehistoric languages’.

scholarly journals Brain Tumor Biobank Development for Precision Medicine: Role of the Neurosurgeon

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilie Darrigues ◽  
Benjamin W. Elberson ◽  
Annick De Loose ◽  
Madison P. Lee ◽  
Ebonye Green ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Tumor ◽  
Next Generation Sequencing ◽  
Precision Medicine ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
First Year ◽  
Histopathological Diagnosis ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Cancer Predisposition Syndrome ◽  
Generation Sequencing

Neuro-oncology biobanks are critical for the implementation of a precision medicine program. In this perspective, we review our first year experience of a brain tumor biobank with integrated next generation sequencing. From our experience, we describe the critical role of the neurosurgeon in diagnosis, research, and precision medicine efforts. In the first year of implementation of the biobank, 117 patients (Female: 62; Male: 55) had 125 brain tumor surgeries. 75% of patients had tumors biobanked, and 16% were of minority race/ethnicity. Tumors biobanked were as follows: diffuse gliomas (45%), brain metastases (29%), meningioma (21%), and other (5%). Among biobanked patients, 100% also had next generation sequencing. Eleven patients qualified for targeted therapy based on identification of actionable gene mutations. One patient with a hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome was also identified. An iterative quality improvement process was implemented to streamline the workflow between the operating room, pathology, and the research laboratory. Dedicated tumor bank personnel in the department of neurosurgery greatly improved standard operating procedure. Intraoperative selection and processing of tumor tissue by the neurosurgeon was integral to increasing success with cell culture assays. Currently, our institutional protocol integrates standard histopathological diagnosis, next generation sequencing, and functional assays on surgical specimens to develop precision medicine protocols for our patients. This perspective reviews the critical role of neurosurgeons in brain tumor biobank implementation and success as well as future directions for enhancing precision medicine efforts.

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