Evidence from the literature suggests an association between the microbiome and asthma developmen... more Evidence from the literature suggests an association between the microbiome and asthma development. Here, we aimed to identify the current evidence for the association between asthma and the upper airway, lower airway and/or the gut microbiome. An electronic systemic search of PubMed, EBSCO, Science Direct and Web of Science was conducted until February 2022 to identify the eligible studies. The Newcastle–Ottawa Scale and the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory Animal Experimentation risk of the bias tools were used to assess quality of included studies. Twenty-five studies met the inclusion criteria. Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were identified as being significantly higher in the asthmatic children compared with the healthy controls. The high relative abundance of Veillonella, Prevotella and Haemophilus in the microbiome of the upper airway in early infancy was associated with a higher risk of asthma development later in life. The gut microbiome analyses indicated that a high...
comprising data related to demographic, microbial profile and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of w... more comprising data related to demographic, microbial profile and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of wound infection-suspected cases. Results: A total of 305 wound swabs were collected; of which 56.1% showed microbial growth. Among 187 microbial isolates, 62% were gram-negative bacteria, 30.5% were gram-positive bacteria and 7.5% were fungi. Staphylococcus aureus was the prevailing isolates 17.1%, Original Article followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, each with 13.9% and Escherichia coli with 12.8 %. Providencia sp with 0.1% was the least isolated bacteria. Out of 173 bacterial isolates, 46.8% were sensitive to antimicrobial agents tested, while 53.2% were resistant to one and more drug tested. Of these isolates, 22% were found to be the MDR bacteria. The highest MDR percentages was noted among Acinetobacter baumannii (70%) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (53.9%), Escherichia coli (25%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19.2%) and the least by (12.5%) by Staphylococcus aureus. Conclusion: The microbial isolation rates from wound infection was high, with Staphylococcus aureus being the most prevalent. Considerable antimicrobial resistance rate to the commonly used antibiotics was discovered. Thus, regular monitoring of microbial profile and their antimicrobial sensitivity pattern in the study region in attempt to contain antimicrobial resistance is highly recommended.
Introduction Immune function reaches an optimum level in young adults. However, young adults are ... more Introduction Immune function reaches an optimum level in young adults. However, young adults are more likely to adopt potentially harmful habits that may pose a risk to their long-term health and immune fitness, and which eventually may put a substantial burden on the healthcare system. This study aimed to assess the status of medical students’ immune fitness, using the immune status questionnaire (ISQ) and exploring the association with the commonly adopted lifestyle habits hypothesized to have an impact on immune functions. Methods A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among preclinical students attending the medical school of King Abdulaziz University. An online self-reported questionnaire was used to assess the immune status (ISQ), perceived (momentary) immune fitness, general health, lifestyle habits and students’ perception of these lifestyle-associated impacts on immune fitness. Descriptive, Spearman’s correlation and stepwise linear regression analyses were perf...
Background: In addition to developing effective therapeutic approaches, the maintenance of health... more Background: In addition to developing effective therapeutic approaches, the maintenance of health also constitutes lifestyle and behavioral aspects related to being more resilient in the event of future illness. Reduced immune health has been linked to reports of more frequent and severe infections as well as a variety of non-communicable diseases, both of which may eventually place a significant burden on the healthcare system. Several lifestyles and behaviors can influence immune health, both positively and negatively. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate the immune health status and investigate its relationship with widely practiced lifestyle behaviors that are thought to affect immunological functioning. Design and method: Saudi Arabian citizens and international residents of the Western Province were invited to participate in this cross-sectional web-based survey through an online advertisement. The integrated questionnaire on lifestyle (Arab Teens Lifestyle Study) and immune health status (Immune Status Questionnaire (ISQ)) was completed in November 2022 by 1230 participants. Descriptive analysis, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square, or Fisher's exact test was utilized to investigate the relationships between study variables and immune health status groups. Spearman's or Pearson's correlation coefficients were used to determine correlations between the overall ISQ scores and study variables. Results: Of the 925 study participants, 34.7% scored below 6 on the ISQ. Of the respondents, 50% had a body mass index of 25 or higher, and 46.3% reported sleeping less than four hours each night. Of the participants, 62-82% did not engage in any form of physical activity. The associations between the ISQ score and weight (p = 0.006), total sleep time per night (p = 0.001), duration of household activities (p < 0.001), and smoking status (p = 0.001) were statistically significant. Conclusions: According to the data presented here, reduced immune health as measured by ISQ < 6 was prevalent among residents of Saudi Arabia's Western Province and correlated significantly with obesity, sleep duration, and smoking status. Various measures to mitigate the negative impact of an unhealthy lifestyle on public health and to reverse the observed poor immune health and their economic consequences are highly required.
Equid herpesvirus-1 infections cause respiratory, neurological and reproductive syndromes. Despit... more Equid herpesvirus-1 infections cause respiratory, neurological and reproductive syndromes. Despite preventive treatments with vaccines, resurgence of EHV-1 infection still constitutes a major threat to equine industry. However, no antiviral compound is available to treat infected horses. In this study, 2891 compounds were screened against EHV-1 using impedance measurement. 22 compounds have been found to be effective in vitro against EHV-1. Valganciclovir, ganciclovir, decitabine, aphidicolin, idoxuridine and pritelivir (BAY 57-1293) are the most effective compounds identified, and their antiviral potency was further assessed on E. Derm, RK13 and EEK cells and against 3 different field strains of EHV-1 (ORF30 2254 A/G/C). We also provide evidences of synergistic interactions between valganciclovir and decitabine in our in vitro antiviral assay as determined by MacSynergy II, isobologramm and Chou-Talalay methods. Finally, we showed that deoxycytidine reverts the antiviral effect of decitabine, thus supporting some competition at the level of nucleoside phosphorylation by deoxycytidine kinase and/or DNA synthesis. Deoxycitidine analogues, like decitabine, is a family of compounds identified for the first time with promising antiviral efficacy against herpesviruses.
The name of the person presenting the paper is shown in bold type. All authors have certified tha... more The name of the person presenting the paper is shown in bold type. All authors have certified that, these appropriate, studies have been conducted with the approval of the relevant Human Ethics Committee or Animal Experimental Review Committee.
Sepsis, a severe systemic inflammatory response to an infection that can be bacterial, viral or f... more Sepsis, a severe systemic inflammatory response to an infection that can be bacterial, viral or fungal in origin, remains a serious condition with high mortality. The dynamics in the immune response (immune activation, over activation and exhaustion) during development and progression of sepsis pose a problem in the design of new treatment approaches. This review focuses on the understanding of molecular interactions that lead to the formation of cellular aggregates in sepsis and puts novel treatment targets in the context of these interactions.
Sepsis, a severe systemic inflammatory response to an infection, is a global health problem with ... more Sepsis, a severe systemic inflammatory response to an infection, is a global health problem with significant economic burden. Platelet leukocyte aggregates (PLAs) are extensively formed in sepsis, and correlate with severity of disease. Molecular interactions that lead to the formation and adherence of these cellular aggregates to endothelial cells might represent novel targets to use for therapy. Whole blood stimulation assays and flow cytometry are widely used to study the formation of PLA aggregates in an in vitro approach to understand the acute inflammatory reaction in the bloodstream to the presence of pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs, most commonly LPS) during septicaemia. However, these assays are limited by the lack of robust and physiologically relevant conditions. Most importantly, the extent of spontaneous aggregate formation is unclear in most assays, as cells outside the body may aggregate, forming PLA. The aim of this work was to assess extent of spontane...
<b>Images Of Research 2017 Winners:</b> Andrew Blain - "Mauna Kea Panorama"... more <b>Images Of Research 2017 Winners:</b> Andrew Blain - "Mauna Kea Panorama" - Winner of the Best Image from the College of Science and Engineering Christopher Nedza - "A Slice of Fish" - People's Choice Award Oliver Williams – "The Price of Inequality: Health is a Social Issue" - Winner of the Best Image from the College of Life Sciences Dr Clare Gunby and Dr Rebecca Barnes - "Coercive control" - Winner of the Best Image from the College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities and Winner of the Best Staff Image Tim Hannigan - "Dervla: dog, book, beer" - Winner of the Best PGR Image <br> <b>Images Of Research 2017 successful submissions:</b> Amanda Gillam - "1700s Europe - An early example of Angel/ Russian map-work collaboration" Andy Beardmore - "Lord of the Rings - Return of the King" Angela Stienne - "Not a mummy: behind the scene at the British Museum" Azzah Alharbi - "In vitro modelling of inflammatory platelet leukocyte aggregates in sepsis" Chanhyo Jeong - "Pictures of incongruity in organisational space" Charlotte Van Pegenmortel - "A Fort with a View: Panakton overlooking the Oinoe Plain" Charly Feldman - "Fun at PANTER, MPE, Germany" Christian Faber - "How to feed a supermassive black hole" Clare Anderson - "Convict Graveyard, Abashiri, Japan" Daryl Blanks - "What Lies Beneath" Diane Urquhart - "The Prison Puzzle: In search of the missing pieces" Emily Williams - "Stories in Stone (and Bone)" Emma Parker – "Joe Orton: 50 Years On" Eva Krockow – "Pick 'n' Mix Antibiotics" Georgios Patsiaouras – "Protest Art for Social Change" Gina Fox – "The 'Dissertation Journey: Thinking Out Loud' project" Ian Powley – "Immune Landing" Javier Williams – "Early medieval germanic jewellery: ornament or symbol?" Jun Li – "The city with a public garden" Lanzhou Luo – "Reconstructing The Nation" Laura O'Regan – "Super-resolution imaging: breaking the diffraction barrier to understand how cells work" Layal Jambi – "Giant steps into medical imaging" Magdalena Brzeska - "Homelessness amongst polish migrants in leicester and de [...]
<b>Images Of Research 2017 Winners:</b> Andrew Blain - "Mauna Kea Panorama"... more <b>Images Of Research 2017 Winners:</b> Andrew Blain - "Mauna Kea Panorama" - Winner of the Best Image from the College of Science and Engineering Christopher Nedza - "A Slice of Fish" - People's Choice Award Oliver Williams – "The Price of Inequality: Health is a Social Issue" - Winner of the Best Image from the College of Life Sciences Dr Clare Gunby and Dr Rebecca Barnes - "Coercive control" - Winner of the Best Image from the College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities and Winner of the Best Staff Image Tim Hannigan - "Dervla: dog, book, beer" - Winner of the Best PGR Image <br> <b>Images Of Research 2017 successful submissions:</b> Amanda Gillam - "1700s Europe - An early example of Angel/ Russian map-work collaboration" Andy Beardmore - "Lord of the Rings - Return of the King" Angela Stienne - "Not a mummy: behind the scene at the British Museum" Azzah Alharbi - "In vitro modelling of inflammatory platelet leukocyte aggregates in sepsis" Chanhyo Jeong - "Pictures of incongruity in organisational space" Charlotte Van Pegenmortel - "A Fort with a View: Panakton overlooking the Oinoe Plain" Charly Feldman - "Fun at PANTER, MPE, Germany" Christian Faber - "How to feed a supermassive black hole" Clare Anderson - "Convict Graveyard, Abashiri, Japan" Daryl Blanks - "What Lies Beneath" Diane Urquhart - "The Prison Puzzle: In search of the missing pieces" Emily Williams - "Stories in Stone (and Bone)" Emma Parker – "Joe Orton: 50 Years On" Eva Krockow – "Pick 'n' Mix Antibiotics" Georgios Patsiaouras – "Protest Art for Social Change" Gina Fox – "The 'Dissertation Journey: Thinking Out Loud' project" Ian Powley – "Immune Landing" Javier Williams – "Early medieval germanic jewellery: ornament or symbol?" Jun Li – "The city with a public garden" Lanzhou Luo – "Reconstructing The Nation" Laura O'Regan – "Super-resolution imaging: breaking the diffraction barrier to understand how cells work" Layal Jambi – "Giant steps into medical imaging" Magdalena Brzeska - "Homelessness amongst [...]
Vitamin D deficiency and sepsis are both significant global health problems. Insufficient vitamin... more Vitamin D deficiency and sepsis are both significant global health problems. Insufficient vitamin D is considered to be a pathogenically relevant factor of sepsis-related deaths; however, a causal relationship has not yet been demonstrated. Recently, vitamin D has been an exciting field of research owing to the identification of vitamin D receptors on many extra skeletal tissues and cells, suggesting an unexpected role on body physiology, beyond its effects on bone homeostasis. However, while the role of vitamin D on bone health is widely understood and has been successfully translated into clinical applications and public health policies, recent evidence supporting its role in other physiological and pathological processes has not been fully established. In sepsis, there is an induction of local intracellular vitamin D activity by most immune cells, including lymphocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells, as well as vascular endothelial cells, to ensure efficient clearance of infective microorganisms and mediate anti-inflammatory and tolerogenic effects. The literature suggests an association between low vitamin D levels and sepsis, but clinical trials have yielded contradictory results. A greater understanding of this role may improve disease management. This article reviews the available knowledge regarding vitamin D in immune function, emerging literature regarding the association between its deficiency and sepsis, as well as presenting its potential effect on platelet leukocyte aggregations (PLAs), a significant pathology in sepsis. It also summarizes clinical trials involving vitamin D supplementation during critical illness and sepsis and addresses the impact of relevant factors of sepsis pathogenesis on the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation, which could contribute to the reported inconsistencies. Looking ahead, further studies are required to uncover the possible modulatory relationship between vitamin D and sepsis to define better cutoffs for its levels, proper timing of its administration, and the optimum dosage for best management.
Septicaemia is an acute inflammatory reaction in the bloodstream to the presence of pathogen-asso... more Septicaemia is an acute inflammatory reaction in the bloodstream to the presence of pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Whole blood stimulation assays capture endotoxin-induced formation of aggregates between platelets and leucocytes using flow cytometry. We wanted to assess extent of spontaneous aggregate formation in whole blood stimulation assays and compare the effects of endotoxin and heat-killed, clinically relevant, bacterial pathogens on aggregate formation and then on adhesion of aggregates to TNFα-stimulated endothelial cells. We found that endotoxin (from Escherichia coli or Salmonella enteritidis) was not a suitable stimulus to provoke platelet-leucocyte aggregates in vitro, as it did not further increase the extent of aggregates formed spontaneously in stasis of hirudin-anticoagulated blood. Specifically, whole blood samples stimulated with or without LPS produced aggregates with a mean surface area of 140.97 and 117.68 μm 2 , respectively. By contrast, incubation of whole blood with heat-killed Klebsiella pneumoniae or Staphylococcus aureus produced significantly enhanced and complex cellular aggregates (with a mean surface area of 470.61 and 518.39 μm 2 , respectively) which adhered more frequently to TNFα (and free fatty acid)-stimulated endothelial cells. These were reliably captured by scanning electron microscopy. Adhesion of cellular aggregates could be blocked by incubation of endothelial cells with a commercial P-selectin antibody and an angiopoietin-2 ligand trap. In conclusion, we have developed an in vitro method that models the acute inflammatory reaction in whole blood in the presence of sepsis-relevant bacterial pathogen surfaces.
Background and objects: In systemic lupus erythematosus, circulating immune complexes activate co... more Background and objects: In systemic lupus erythematosus, circulating immune complexes activate complement and, when trapped in renal capillaries, cause glomerulonephritis. Mouse models have been used in the preclinical assessment of targeting complement activation pathways to manage chronic inflammation in lupus. Properdin is the only known positive regulator of complement activation, but its role in the severity of lupus nephritis has not been studied yet. Materials and Methods: Fully characterized properdin-deficient mice were crossed with lupus prone MRL/lpr mice on C57Bl/6 background. Results: Compared to MRL/lpr properdin wildtype mice, MRL/lpr properdin-deficient mice had significantly lower anti-DNA antibody titres, TNFα and BAFF levels in serum. The qualitative glomerulonephritic score was less severe and there was significantly less serum creatinine in MRL/lpr properdin-deficient mice compared to MRL/lpr properdin wildtype littermate mice. Conclusion: Properdin plays a sign...
Evidence from the literature suggests an association between the microbiome and asthma developmen... more Evidence from the literature suggests an association between the microbiome and asthma development. Here, we aimed to identify the current evidence for the association between asthma and the upper airway, lower airway and/or the gut microbiome. An electronic systemic search of PubMed, EBSCO, Science Direct and Web of Science was conducted until February 2022 to identify the eligible studies. The Newcastle–Ottawa Scale and the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory Animal Experimentation risk of the bias tools were used to assess quality of included studies. Twenty-five studies met the inclusion criteria. Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were identified as being significantly higher in the asthmatic children compared with the healthy controls. The high relative abundance of Veillonella, Prevotella and Haemophilus in the microbiome of the upper airway in early infancy was associated with a higher risk of asthma development later in life. The gut microbiome analyses indicated that a high...
comprising data related to demographic, microbial profile and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of w... more comprising data related to demographic, microbial profile and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of wound infection-suspected cases. Results: A total of 305 wound swabs were collected; of which 56.1% showed microbial growth. Among 187 microbial isolates, 62% were gram-negative bacteria, 30.5% were gram-positive bacteria and 7.5% were fungi. Staphylococcus aureus was the prevailing isolates 17.1%, Original Article followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, each with 13.9% and Escherichia coli with 12.8 %. Providencia sp with 0.1% was the least isolated bacteria. Out of 173 bacterial isolates, 46.8% were sensitive to antimicrobial agents tested, while 53.2% were resistant to one and more drug tested. Of these isolates, 22% were found to be the MDR bacteria. The highest MDR percentages was noted among Acinetobacter baumannii (70%) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (53.9%), Escherichia coli (25%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19.2%) and the least by (12.5%) by Staphylococcus aureus. Conclusion: The microbial isolation rates from wound infection was high, with Staphylococcus aureus being the most prevalent. Considerable antimicrobial resistance rate to the commonly used antibiotics was discovered. Thus, regular monitoring of microbial profile and their antimicrobial sensitivity pattern in the study region in attempt to contain antimicrobial resistance is highly recommended.
Introduction Immune function reaches an optimum level in young adults. However, young adults are ... more Introduction Immune function reaches an optimum level in young adults. However, young adults are more likely to adopt potentially harmful habits that may pose a risk to their long-term health and immune fitness, and which eventually may put a substantial burden on the healthcare system. This study aimed to assess the status of medical students’ immune fitness, using the immune status questionnaire (ISQ) and exploring the association with the commonly adopted lifestyle habits hypothesized to have an impact on immune functions. Methods A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among preclinical students attending the medical school of King Abdulaziz University. An online self-reported questionnaire was used to assess the immune status (ISQ), perceived (momentary) immune fitness, general health, lifestyle habits and students’ perception of these lifestyle-associated impacts on immune fitness. Descriptive, Spearman’s correlation and stepwise linear regression analyses were perf...
Background: In addition to developing effective therapeutic approaches, the maintenance of health... more Background: In addition to developing effective therapeutic approaches, the maintenance of health also constitutes lifestyle and behavioral aspects related to being more resilient in the event of future illness. Reduced immune health has been linked to reports of more frequent and severe infections as well as a variety of non-communicable diseases, both of which may eventually place a significant burden on the healthcare system. Several lifestyles and behaviors can influence immune health, both positively and negatively. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate the immune health status and investigate its relationship with widely practiced lifestyle behaviors that are thought to affect immunological functioning. Design and method: Saudi Arabian citizens and international residents of the Western Province were invited to participate in this cross-sectional web-based survey through an online advertisement. The integrated questionnaire on lifestyle (Arab Teens Lifestyle Study) and immune health status (Immune Status Questionnaire (ISQ)) was completed in November 2022 by 1230 participants. Descriptive analysis, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square, or Fisher's exact test was utilized to investigate the relationships between study variables and immune health status groups. Spearman's or Pearson's correlation coefficients were used to determine correlations between the overall ISQ scores and study variables. Results: Of the 925 study participants, 34.7% scored below 6 on the ISQ. Of the respondents, 50% had a body mass index of 25 or higher, and 46.3% reported sleeping less than four hours each night. Of the participants, 62-82% did not engage in any form of physical activity. The associations between the ISQ score and weight (p = 0.006), total sleep time per night (p = 0.001), duration of household activities (p < 0.001), and smoking status (p = 0.001) were statistically significant. Conclusions: According to the data presented here, reduced immune health as measured by ISQ < 6 was prevalent among residents of Saudi Arabia's Western Province and correlated significantly with obesity, sleep duration, and smoking status. Various measures to mitigate the negative impact of an unhealthy lifestyle on public health and to reverse the observed poor immune health and their economic consequences are highly required.
Equid herpesvirus-1 infections cause respiratory, neurological and reproductive syndromes. Despit... more Equid herpesvirus-1 infections cause respiratory, neurological and reproductive syndromes. Despite preventive treatments with vaccines, resurgence of EHV-1 infection still constitutes a major threat to equine industry. However, no antiviral compound is available to treat infected horses. In this study, 2891 compounds were screened against EHV-1 using impedance measurement. 22 compounds have been found to be effective in vitro against EHV-1. Valganciclovir, ganciclovir, decitabine, aphidicolin, idoxuridine and pritelivir (BAY 57-1293) are the most effective compounds identified, and their antiviral potency was further assessed on E. Derm, RK13 and EEK cells and against 3 different field strains of EHV-1 (ORF30 2254 A/G/C). We also provide evidences of synergistic interactions between valganciclovir and decitabine in our in vitro antiviral assay as determined by MacSynergy II, isobologramm and Chou-Talalay methods. Finally, we showed that deoxycytidine reverts the antiviral effect of decitabine, thus supporting some competition at the level of nucleoside phosphorylation by deoxycytidine kinase and/or DNA synthesis. Deoxycitidine analogues, like decitabine, is a family of compounds identified for the first time with promising antiviral efficacy against herpesviruses.
The name of the person presenting the paper is shown in bold type. All authors have certified tha... more The name of the person presenting the paper is shown in bold type. All authors have certified that, these appropriate, studies have been conducted with the approval of the relevant Human Ethics Committee or Animal Experimental Review Committee.
Sepsis, a severe systemic inflammatory response to an infection that can be bacterial, viral or f... more Sepsis, a severe systemic inflammatory response to an infection that can be bacterial, viral or fungal in origin, remains a serious condition with high mortality. The dynamics in the immune response (immune activation, over activation and exhaustion) during development and progression of sepsis pose a problem in the design of new treatment approaches. This review focuses on the understanding of molecular interactions that lead to the formation of cellular aggregates in sepsis and puts novel treatment targets in the context of these interactions.
Sepsis, a severe systemic inflammatory response to an infection, is a global health problem with ... more Sepsis, a severe systemic inflammatory response to an infection, is a global health problem with significant economic burden. Platelet leukocyte aggregates (PLAs) are extensively formed in sepsis, and correlate with severity of disease. Molecular interactions that lead to the formation and adherence of these cellular aggregates to endothelial cells might represent novel targets to use for therapy. Whole blood stimulation assays and flow cytometry are widely used to study the formation of PLA aggregates in an in vitro approach to understand the acute inflammatory reaction in the bloodstream to the presence of pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs, most commonly LPS) during septicaemia. However, these assays are limited by the lack of robust and physiologically relevant conditions. Most importantly, the extent of spontaneous aggregate formation is unclear in most assays, as cells outside the body may aggregate, forming PLA. The aim of this work was to assess extent of spontane...
<b>Images Of Research 2017 Winners:</b> Andrew Blain - "Mauna Kea Panorama"... more <b>Images Of Research 2017 Winners:</b> Andrew Blain - "Mauna Kea Panorama" - Winner of the Best Image from the College of Science and Engineering Christopher Nedza - "A Slice of Fish" - People's Choice Award Oliver Williams – "The Price of Inequality: Health is a Social Issue" - Winner of the Best Image from the College of Life Sciences Dr Clare Gunby and Dr Rebecca Barnes - "Coercive control" - Winner of the Best Image from the College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities and Winner of the Best Staff Image Tim Hannigan - "Dervla: dog, book, beer" - Winner of the Best PGR Image <br> <b>Images Of Research 2017 successful submissions:</b> Amanda Gillam - "1700s Europe - An early example of Angel/ Russian map-work collaboration" Andy Beardmore - "Lord of the Rings - Return of the King" Angela Stienne - "Not a mummy: behind the scene at the British Museum" Azzah Alharbi - "In vitro modelling of inflammatory platelet leukocyte aggregates in sepsis" Chanhyo Jeong - "Pictures of incongruity in organisational space" Charlotte Van Pegenmortel - "A Fort with a View: Panakton overlooking the Oinoe Plain" Charly Feldman - "Fun at PANTER, MPE, Germany" Christian Faber - "How to feed a supermassive black hole" Clare Anderson - "Convict Graveyard, Abashiri, Japan" Daryl Blanks - "What Lies Beneath" Diane Urquhart - "The Prison Puzzle: In search of the missing pieces" Emily Williams - "Stories in Stone (and Bone)" Emma Parker – "Joe Orton: 50 Years On" Eva Krockow – "Pick 'n' Mix Antibiotics" Georgios Patsiaouras – "Protest Art for Social Change" Gina Fox – "The 'Dissertation Journey: Thinking Out Loud' project" Ian Powley – "Immune Landing" Javier Williams – "Early medieval germanic jewellery: ornament or symbol?" Jun Li – "The city with a public garden" Lanzhou Luo – "Reconstructing The Nation" Laura O'Regan – "Super-resolution imaging: breaking the diffraction barrier to understand how cells work" Layal Jambi – "Giant steps into medical imaging" Magdalena Brzeska - "Homelessness amongst polish migrants in leicester and de [...]
<b>Images Of Research 2017 Winners:</b> Andrew Blain - "Mauna Kea Panorama"... more <b>Images Of Research 2017 Winners:</b> Andrew Blain - "Mauna Kea Panorama" - Winner of the Best Image from the College of Science and Engineering Christopher Nedza - "A Slice of Fish" - People's Choice Award Oliver Williams – "The Price of Inequality: Health is a Social Issue" - Winner of the Best Image from the College of Life Sciences Dr Clare Gunby and Dr Rebecca Barnes - "Coercive control" - Winner of the Best Image from the College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities and Winner of the Best Staff Image Tim Hannigan - "Dervla: dog, book, beer" - Winner of the Best PGR Image <br> <b>Images Of Research 2017 successful submissions:</b> Amanda Gillam - "1700s Europe - An early example of Angel/ Russian map-work collaboration" Andy Beardmore - "Lord of the Rings - Return of the King" Angela Stienne - "Not a mummy: behind the scene at the British Museum" Azzah Alharbi - "In vitro modelling of inflammatory platelet leukocyte aggregates in sepsis" Chanhyo Jeong - "Pictures of incongruity in organisational space" Charlotte Van Pegenmortel - "A Fort with a View: Panakton overlooking the Oinoe Plain" Charly Feldman - "Fun at PANTER, MPE, Germany" Christian Faber - "How to feed a supermassive black hole" Clare Anderson - "Convict Graveyard, Abashiri, Japan" Daryl Blanks - "What Lies Beneath" Diane Urquhart - "The Prison Puzzle: In search of the missing pieces" Emily Williams - "Stories in Stone (and Bone)" Emma Parker – "Joe Orton: 50 Years On" Eva Krockow – "Pick 'n' Mix Antibiotics" Georgios Patsiaouras – "Protest Art for Social Change" Gina Fox – "The 'Dissertation Journey: Thinking Out Loud' project" Ian Powley – "Immune Landing" Javier Williams – "Early medieval germanic jewellery: ornament or symbol?" Jun Li – "The city with a public garden" Lanzhou Luo – "Reconstructing The Nation" Laura O'Regan – "Super-resolution imaging: breaking the diffraction barrier to understand how cells work" Layal Jambi – "Giant steps into medical imaging" Magdalena Brzeska - "Homelessness amongst [...]
Vitamin D deficiency and sepsis are both significant global health problems. Insufficient vitamin... more Vitamin D deficiency and sepsis are both significant global health problems. Insufficient vitamin D is considered to be a pathogenically relevant factor of sepsis-related deaths; however, a causal relationship has not yet been demonstrated. Recently, vitamin D has been an exciting field of research owing to the identification of vitamin D receptors on many extra skeletal tissues and cells, suggesting an unexpected role on body physiology, beyond its effects on bone homeostasis. However, while the role of vitamin D on bone health is widely understood and has been successfully translated into clinical applications and public health policies, recent evidence supporting its role in other physiological and pathological processes has not been fully established. In sepsis, there is an induction of local intracellular vitamin D activity by most immune cells, including lymphocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells, as well as vascular endothelial cells, to ensure efficient clearance of infective microorganisms and mediate anti-inflammatory and tolerogenic effects. The literature suggests an association between low vitamin D levels and sepsis, but clinical trials have yielded contradictory results. A greater understanding of this role may improve disease management. This article reviews the available knowledge regarding vitamin D in immune function, emerging literature regarding the association between its deficiency and sepsis, as well as presenting its potential effect on platelet leukocyte aggregations (PLAs), a significant pathology in sepsis. It also summarizes clinical trials involving vitamin D supplementation during critical illness and sepsis and addresses the impact of relevant factors of sepsis pathogenesis on the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation, which could contribute to the reported inconsistencies. Looking ahead, further studies are required to uncover the possible modulatory relationship between vitamin D and sepsis to define better cutoffs for its levels, proper timing of its administration, and the optimum dosage for best management.
Septicaemia is an acute inflammatory reaction in the bloodstream to the presence of pathogen-asso... more Septicaemia is an acute inflammatory reaction in the bloodstream to the presence of pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Whole blood stimulation assays capture endotoxin-induced formation of aggregates between platelets and leucocytes using flow cytometry. We wanted to assess extent of spontaneous aggregate formation in whole blood stimulation assays and compare the effects of endotoxin and heat-killed, clinically relevant, bacterial pathogens on aggregate formation and then on adhesion of aggregates to TNFα-stimulated endothelial cells. We found that endotoxin (from Escherichia coli or Salmonella enteritidis) was not a suitable stimulus to provoke platelet-leucocyte aggregates in vitro, as it did not further increase the extent of aggregates formed spontaneously in stasis of hirudin-anticoagulated blood. Specifically, whole blood samples stimulated with or without LPS produced aggregates with a mean surface area of 140.97 and 117.68 μm 2 , respectively. By contrast, incubation of whole blood with heat-killed Klebsiella pneumoniae or Staphylococcus aureus produced significantly enhanced and complex cellular aggregates (with a mean surface area of 470.61 and 518.39 μm 2 , respectively) which adhered more frequently to TNFα (and free fatty acid)-stimulated endothelial cells. These were reliably captured by scanning electron microscopy. Adhesion of cellular aggregates could be blocked by incubation of endothelial cells with a commercial P-selectin antibody and an angiopoietin-2 ligand trap. In conclusion, we have developed an in vitro method that models the acute inflammatory reaction in whole blood in the presence of sepsis-relevant bacterial pathogen surfaces.
Background and objects: In systemic lupus erythematosus, circulating immune complexes activate co... more Background and objects: In systemic lupus erythematosus, circulating immune complexes activate complement and, when trapped in renal capillaries, cause glomerulonephritis. Mouse models have been used in the preclinical assessment of targeting complement activation pathways to manage chronic inflammation in lupus. Properdin is the only known positive regulator of complement activation, but its role in the severity of lupus nephritis has not been studied yet. Materials and Methods: Fully characterized properdin-deficient mice were crossed with lupus prone MRL/lpr mice on C57Bl/6 background. Results: Compared to MRL/lpr properdin wildtype mice, MRL/lpr properdin-deficient mice had significantly lower anti-DNA antibody titres, TNFα and BAFF levels in serum. The qualitative glomerulonephritic score was less severe and there was significantly less serum creatinine in MRL/lpr properdin-deficient mice compared to MRL/lpr properdin wildtype littermate mice. Conclusion: Properdin plays a sign...
Uploads
Papers by azzah alharbi