Trained Immunity for Personalized Cancer Immunotherapy: Current Knowledge and Future Opportunities

Memory formation, guided by microbial ligands, has been reported for innate immune cells. Epigenetic imprinting plays an important role herein, involving histone modification after pathogen-/danger-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs/DAMPs) recognition by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). Such “trained immunity” affects not only the nominal target pathogen, yet also non-related targets that may be encountered later in life. The concept of trained innate immunity warrants further exploration in cancer and how these insights can be implemented in immunotherapeutic approaches. In this review, we discuss our current understanding of innate immune memory and we reference new findings in this field, highlighting the observations of trained immunity in monocytic and natural killer cells. We also provide a brief overview of trained immunity in non-immune cells, such as stromal cells and fibroblasts. Finally, we present possible strategies based on trained innate immunity that may help to devise host-directed immunotherapies focusing on cancer, with possible extension to infectious diseases

Improved Risk Prediction in Human Papillomavirus-Associated Endocervical Adenocarcinoma Through Assessment of Binary Silva Pattern-based Classification: An International Multicenter Retrospective Observational Study Led by the International Society of Gynecological Pathologists (ISGyP)

Endocervical adenocarcinomas (EACs) are a group of malignant neoplasms associated with diverse pathogenesis, morphology, and clinical behavior. As a component of the International Society of Gynecological Pathologists International Endocervical Adenocarcinoma Project, a large international retrospective cohort of EACs was generated in an effort to study potential clinicopathological features with prognostic significance that may guide treatment in these patients. In this study, we endeavored to develop a robust human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated EAC prognostic model for surgically treated International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IA2 to IB3 adenocarcinomas incorporating patient age, lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) status, FIGO stage, and pattern of invasion according to the Silva system (traditionally a 3-tier system). Recently, a 2-tier/binary Silva pattern of invasion system has been proposed whereby adenocarcinomas are classified into low-risk (pattern A/pattern B without LVSI) and high-risk (pattern B with LVSI/pattern C) categories. Our cohort comprised 792 patients with HPV-associated EAC. Multivariate analysis showed that a binary Silva pattern of invasion classification was associated with recurrence-free and disease-specific survival (P < 0.05) whereas FIGO 2018 stage I substages were not. Evaluation of the current 3-tiered system showed that disease-specific survival for those patients with pattern B tumors did not significantly differ from that for those patients with pattern C tumors, in contrast to that for those patients with pattern A tumors. These findings underscore the need for prospective studies to further investigate the prognostic significance of stage I HPV-associated EAC substaging and the inclusion of the binary Silva pattern of invasion classification (which includes LVSI status) as a component of treatment recommendations

The Mental Health of Refugee and Migrant Youth after Settlement: Outcomes of a Multinational Study

Being of immigrant background is a risk factor for poor mental health among youth. In OECD countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States, both immigration and youth are a policy-focus as these countries are popular destinations for immigrants. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mental health of immigrant youth to better support their acculturation and mental health. This study compared the mental health of immigrant youth in Australia, Canada and the United States, and refugee and migrant youth within each country. It also explored numerous factors that were previously reported to impact the mental health of immigrant youth needing to acculturate to their settlement country. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, a global mental health screen, was used to evaluate 1063 participants recruited through communities in California, Ontario and South Australia. Twenty-four predictor variables were explored, and multivariable linear regression models accounted for substantial proportions of variance in the mental health of immigrant youth in each country. Perceived discrimination, family functioning and resilience were predictive of the mental health of immigrant youth across Australia, Canada and the United States. Additional predictors differed between each settlement country. Similarities and differences in the findings between Australia, Canada and the United States were discussed, and the study provided specific recommendations for policy and practice related to the needs of immigrant youth in the three settlement countries. This study was a timely contribution to the area of youth mental health, whose purpose was to support the acculturation and mental health of youth in OECD countries where great diversity exists due to immigration.Doukessa Lerias, Tahereh Ziaian, Nancy Arthur, Martha Augoustinos, Tara Pir, Emily Mille

The Role of Acculturative Stress on the Mental Health of Immigrant Youth: A Scoping Literature Review

Acculturation after settlement has been identifed as a risk factor afecting the mental health of immigrant youth. Increasing rates of immigration and expanding populations of immigrant youth mean that addressing their mental is a priority. Acculturative stress is the stress-response resulting from the efects of multiple stressors that result from the need to acculturate. Among youth within the developmental stages of late adolescence and emerging adulthood, increased sensitivity to stress, and developmental demands, impact their mental health. The efects of acculturative stress place an additional burden on the mental health of immigrant youth. This scoping review examined existing literature that investigated a variety of relationships between acculturative stress and youth mental health. A comprehensive search strategy that focused on studies involving youth, mainly aged between 15-24, with a proximal history of international migration, published between 2012-2022, resulted in a collection of ffty-three studies. This review examined signifcant relationships between acculturative stress and major depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance misuse, behavioural problems and poor psychological wellbeing. This scoping review was truly explorative as it included youth from immigrant minorities, had no geographical limits, and included various study designs. Acculturative stress continues to be an important contributor to the mental health of youth who have a proximal history of international migration. This review provided an exploration of the state of research, identifed the importance of the settlement context, and provided recommendations for the direction of future studies, supportive policies, and practice considerations, related to the mental health of immigrant youth.Doukessa Lerias, Tahereh Ziaian, Emily Miller, Nancy Arthur, Martha Augoustinos, Tara Pi

Stochastic investigation of long-term persistence in two-dimensional images of rocks

Determining the geophysical properties of rocks and geological formations is of high importance in many fields such as geotechnical engineering. In this study, we investigate the second-order dependence structure of spatial (two-dimensional) processes through the statistical perspective of variance vs. scale (else known as the climacogram) instead of covariance vs. lag (e.g. autocovariance, variogram etc.) or power vs. frequency (e.g. power spectrum, scaleogram, wavelet transform etc.) which traditionally are applied. In particular, we implement a two-dimensional (visual) estimator, adjusted for bias and for unknown process mean, through the (plot of) variance of the space-averaged process vs. the spatial scale. Additionally, we attempt to link the climacogram to the type of rocks and provide evidence on stochastic similarities in certain of their characteristics, such as mineralogical composition and resolution. To this end, we investigate two-dimensional spatial images of rocks in terms of their stochastic microstructure as estimated by the climacogram. The analysis is based both on microscale and macroscale data extracted from greyscale images of rocks. Interestingly, a power-law drop of variance vs. scale (or else known as long-term persistence) is detected in all scales presenting a similar power-exponent. Furthermore, the strengths and limitations of the climacogram as a stochastic tool are discussed and compared with the traditional tool in spatial statistics, the variogram. We show that the former has considerable strengths for detecting the long-range dependence in spatial statistics. © 2018 Elsevier B.V

Process integration for paperless delivery using EPC compliance technology

The purpose of this paper is to outline the research work of managing returnable assets such as pallets by radio frequency identification (RFID) methods on a national scale. Design/methodology/approach - The project is an extension of an earlier project which tracks pallets and cartons through a fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) supply chain. This extension project investigates how RFID information can be applied for integrating business processes. The project team developed a national business information network with electronic product code (EPC) compliance devices and systems. To implement an effective pallet management business process, the project team carried out detailed process modelling study of the effect of RFID processes and measured the improvement in performance and efficiency. Findings - The key to success in the extension project is the adoption of EPC compliance technology that enables efficient communication of business data across platforms and companies. The proje found that there is an average 18 per cent improvement in system efficiency should an EPC compliance technology be adopted for supporting paperless proof of delivery. There are also additional administrative and unquantifiable savings in support systems and services