Objectives To derive and validate risk prediction algorithms to estimate the risk of covid-19 related mortality and hospital admission in UK adults after one or two doses of covid-19 vaccination. Design Prospective, population based cohort study using the QResearch database linked to data on covid-19 vaccination, SARS-CoV-2 results, hospital admissions, systemic anticancer treatment, radiotherapy, and the national death and cancer registries. Settings Adults aged 19-100 years with one or two doses of covid-19 vaccination between 8 December 2020 and 15 June 2021. Main outcome measures Primary outcome was covid-19 related death. Secondary outcome was covid-19 related hospital admission. Outcomes were assessed from 14 days after each vaccination dose. Models were fitted in the derivation cohort to derive risk equations using a range of predictor variables. Performance was evaluated in a separate validation cohort of general practices. Results Of 6 952 440 vaccinated patients in the derivation cohort, 5 150 310 (74.1%) had two vaccine doses. Of 2031 covid-19 deaths and 1929 covid-19 hospital admissions, 81 deaths (4.0%) and 71 admissions (3.7%) occurred 14 days or more after the second vaccine dose. The risk algorithms included age, sex, ethnic origin, deprivation, body mass index, a range of comorbidities, and SARS-CoV-2 infection rate. Incidence of covid-19 mortality increased with age and deprivation, male sex, and Indian and Pakistani ethnic origin. Cause specific hazard ratios were highest for patients with Down’s syndrome (12.7-fold increase), kidney transplantation (8.1-fold), sickle cell disease (7.7-fold), care home residency (4.1-fold), chemotherapy (4.3-fold), HIV/AIDS (3.3-fold), liver cirrhosis (3.0-fold), neurological conditions (2.6-fold), recent bone marrow transplantation or a solid organ transplantation ever (2.5-fold), dementia (2.2-fold), and Parkinson’s disease (2.2-fold). Other conditions with increased risk (ranging from 1.2-fold to 2.0-fold increases) included chronic kidney disease, blood cancer, epilepsy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, thromboembolism, peripheral vascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. A similar pattern of associations was seen for covid-19 related hospital admissions. No evidence indicated that associations differed after the second dose, although absolute risks were reduced. The risk algorithm explained 74.1% (95% confidence interval 71.1% to 77.0%) of the variation in time to covid-19 death in the validation cohort. Discrimination was high, with a D statistic of 3.46 (95% confidence interval 3.19 to 3.73) and C statistic of 92.5. Performance was similar after each vaccine dose. In the top 5% of patients with the highest predicted covid-19 mortality risk, sensitivity for identifying covid-19 deaths within 70 days was 78.7%. Conclusion This population based risk algorithm performed well showing high levels of discrimination for identifying those patients at highest risk of covid-19 related death and hospital admission after vaccination.

The results suggest a strong relationship between the severity of adult periodontitis and the increasing GCF levels of IL-1beta and decreasing levels of IL-1ra.

This study identified frequently reported musculoskeletal, skin and respiratory symptoms in hairdressers. This points to a need to develop training that not only deals with risk assessment but also informs hairdressers about the health risks of their work.

Bone-specific expression of the osteocalcin gene is transcriptionally controlled. Deletion analysis of osteocalcin promoter sequences by transient transfection of osseous (ROS 17/2.8) and nonosseous (R2 fibroblast) cells revealed that the most proximal 108 nucleotides are sufficient to confer tissue-specific expression. By gel mobility shift assays with wild-type and mutated oligonucleotides and nuclear extracts from several different cell lines we identified a novel transcription factor complex which exhibits sequence-specific interactions with the primary transcriptional element, the OC box (nt -99 to -76). This OC box binding protein (OCBP) is present only in osteoblast-like cells. Methylation interference demonstrated association of the factor with OC box sequences overlapping the Msx homeodomain consensus binding site. By assaying several mutations of the OC box, both in gel shift and transient transfection studies using ROS 17/2.8, we show the following. First, binding of OCBP correlates with osteocalcin promoter activity in ROS 17/2.8 cells. Increased binding leads to a 2-3-fold increase in transcription, while decreased binding results in transcription 30-40% of control. Second, homeodomain protein binding suppresses transcription. However, Msx expression is critical for full development of the bone phenotype as determined by antisense studies. Last, we show that one of the mutations of the OC box permits expression of osteocalcin in non-osseous cell lines. In summary, we demonstrate association of at least two classes of tissue-restricted transcription factors with the OC box element, the OCBP and Msx proteins, supporting the concept that these sequences contribute to defining tissue specificity.

The biosynthesis of osteocalcin (OC), a bone-specific, noncollagenous protein, is stringently regulated during differentiation of the osteoblast phenotype. Glucocorticoids, and also 1,25(OH)2D3, mediate the developmental regulation of OC gene transcription. In this study, we established that the -1097 to +23 promoter (pOCZCat) of the rat OC gene confers glucocorticoid responsiveness to both basal and vitamin D-induced OC expression. The presence of multiple glucocorticoid receptor (GR) binding sites in the proximal rat OC gene promoter was determined by the combined use of DNase I footprinting, dimethyl sulfate fingerprinting, and gel mobility shift analysis with glucocorticoid receptor protein. One glucocorticoid receptor binding element (GRE) resides immediately downstream of the TATA box (-16 to -1). In vivo activity was established by cotransfection of ROS 17/2.8 osteosarcoma cells with an OC-CAT construct in the presence of cloned GRE sequences (wild type or mutant) as competitors. A putative second, less protected GR binding site is located further upstream in the OC gene basal promoter within the region overlapping the TATA box. This is in direct contrast to the organization of GREs in the human OC proximal promoter wherein GR binding at the upstream GRE overlapping the TATA is stronger than at the downstream GRE. In addition, we detected sequence-specific binding of GR protein to another basal promoter element, the OC box (-99 to -76), which contains a central CCAAT motif. The presence of multiple GR binding sites in the rat OC gene proximal promoter indicates that regulation of basal and vitamin D-enhanced transcription by glucocorticoids may involve the integrated activities of multiple, independent GREs.

Minimally invasive harvesting is the most cost-effective method of harvesting the great saphenous vein and can significantly improve a patient's quality of life.

No abstract

The addition of ATP, but not ADP or AMP, to the culture media of bovine nasal cartilage explants caused an acceleration in the rate of proteoglycan loss from the tissue. The ATP-stimulated loss of proteoglycan was not inhibited by the IL1-receptor antagonist protein, but was partially inhibited by the presence of ADP or AMP. The proteolytic events resulting from the presence of ATP were found to be similar to those following treatment with IL1, in that inhibitors of the cysteine-peptidase cathepsin B, serine-proteinases with trypsin-like specificity, and of some of the matrixins, could all prevent proteoglycan loss, which was mediated, at least in part, by the action of 'aggrecanase'. In contrast to its effects on nasal cartilage, ATP inhibited basal and stimulated proteoglycan release from articular cartilage. Both ADP and AMP had no effect on proteoglycan release in articular cartilage but enhanced the response to ATP when added concurrently. We conclude that extracellular ATP, probably acting via P2-purinoceptors, stimulates proteoglycan breakdown from bovine nasal cartilage and thus, may have a role in diseases which primarily involve destruction of non-articular cartilage. Extracellular ATP has, in contrast, a chondroprotective effect on bovine articular cartilage.