Dipeptidyl peptidase IV expression in cancer and stromal cells of human esophageal squamous cell carcinomas,adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinoma cell lines

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) is a transmembrane serine protease which is involved in the process of tumor invasion and development of metastases in human cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of DPPIV in cancer and stromal cells of both esophageal adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Tissue material from 159 patients was analyzed using immunohistochemistry. Western blotting was performed on cell lines and fresh frozen tissue sections. Results were compared with clinicopathological features. Evaluation of the immunohistochemical findings revealed significant differences between DPPIV expression in carcinoma cells and stromal cells, depending on the histological tumor type. A significantly higher level of DPPIV was found in adenocarcinomas compared to SCCs while no DPPIV was detected in normal esophageal epithelium. Overexpression of DPPIV in patients with adenocarcinoma was additionally associated with distant metastases. Thus, differences of DPPIV level in esophageal carcinomas compared with normal epithelium showed that esophageal malignancies were associated with an increased amount of cell surface‐bound DPPIV. Radiotherapy in patients had no impact on DPPIV expression in analyzed tissue samples. There was no correlation between DPPIV expression in cancer or stromal cells and survival of the patients.     

Noise in society: A public health problem?

Noise pollution is an ever-increasing problem in modern technologicalsociety. It is well documented that repeated exposure to evenmoderate levels of noise can be injurious to health, but oftenunappreciated are the more pervasive physiological and psychologicaleffects. This review examines the questions of noise pollutionand its effects on mental health, and its relation to chronicsleep disorders and to cardiovascular problems. Although contradictionsabound in the literature, it seems clear that physiologicaland psychological adaptation to prolonged noise exposure doesnot occur. In view of these issues, the question of how thecommunity should respond to noise exposure is discussed.     

Blood flow in dermal allergen-induced immediate and late-phase reactions

Changes in local skin blood flow after prick-tests with histamine and allergen challenge were evaluated using laser doppler flowmetry. Two series of measurements were performed; each included 11 subjects with seasonal allergic rhinitis. In the first series vascular reactions were registered intermittently for a period of 6 hr. This was then repeated with additional registrations after 14 and 24 hr. Registrations were made in the skin close to where the test substances were applied which was in the area of the initial weal reaction. Pre-loaded skin-prick test needles were used for the histamine and allergen tests. Controls using 'blank' needles were also set on the same occasion. The control induced a transient increase in blood flow which had disappeared after 1 hr. After histamine challenge, the initial rapid increase in blood flow was followed by a slow return to baseline within 1 hr, and no further changes were noticed during the registration period. A different blood flow response was seen after the application of allergen. After an initial increase, the blood flow remained at this higher level for more than 6 hr. Thereafter a slow decrease towards baseline was seen within 24 hr. The pronounced difference between the histamine- and allergen-induced responses in the later part of the registrations after similar initial peak responses indicates that actions other than an initial burst of released histamine are responsible for the changes in dermal blood flow observed after allergen. Furthermore, our results suggest that an allergen challenge induces a continuous change in blood flow for up to 24 hr, rather than a biphasic response, in only some subjects which might be suspected from the visual reappearance of redness and induration of the skin which characterizes a dermal late-phase reaction.     

Identifying Opportunities to Strengthen the Public Health Informatics Infrastructure: Exploring Hospitals’ Challenges with Data Exchange

Policy Points

• Even though most hospitals have the technological ability to exchange data with public health agencies, the majority continue to experience challenges.
• Most challenges are attributable to the general resources of public health agencies, although workforce limitations, technology issues such as a lack of data standards, and policy uncertainty around reporting requirements also remain prominent issues.
• Ongoing funding to support the adoption of technology and strengthen the development of the health informatics workforce, combined with revising the promotion of the interoperability scoring approach, will likely help improve the exchange of electronic data between hospitals and public health agencies.

ContextThe novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has highlighted significant barriers in the exchange of essential information between hospitals and local public health agencies. Thus it remains important to clarify the specific issues that hospitals may face in reporting to public health agencies to inform focused approaches to improve the information exchange for the current pandemic as well as ongoing public health activities and population health management.MethodsThis study uses cross‐sectional data of acute‐care, nonfederal hospitals from the 2017 American Hospital Association Annual Survey and Information Technology supplement. Guided by the technology‐organization‐environment framework, we coded the responses to a question regarding the challenges that hospitals face in submitting data to public health agencies by using content analysis according to the type of challenge (i.e., technology, organization, or environment), responsible entity (i.e., hospital, public health agency, vendor, multiple), and the specific issue described. We used multivariable logistic and multinomial regression to identify characteristics of hospitals associated with experiencing the types of challenges.FindingsOur findings show that of the 2,794 hospitals in our analysis, 1,696 (61%) reported experiencing at least one challenge in reporting health data to a public health agency. Organizational issues were the most frequently reported type of challenge, noted by 1,455 hospitals. The most common specific issue, reported by 1,117 hospitals, was the general resources of public health agencies. An advanced EHR system and participation in a health information exchange both decreased the likelihood of not reporting experiencing a challenge and increased the likelihood of reporting an organizational challenge.ConclusionsOur findings inform policy recommendations such as improving data standards, increasing funding for public health agencies to improve their technological capabilities, offering workforce training programs, and increasing clarity of policy specifications and reporting. These approaches can improve the exchange of information between hospitals and public health agencies.