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Aims We sought to characterize sex-related differences in cardiovascular magnetic resonance-based cardiovascular phenotypes and prognosis in patients with idiopathic non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy (NICM). Methods and results Patients with NICM enrolled in the Cardiovascular Imaging Registry of Calgary (CIROC) between 2015 and 2021 were identified. Z -score values for chamber volumes and function were calculated as standard deviation from mean values of 157 sex-matched healthy volunteers, ensuring reported differences were independent of known sex-dependencies. Patients were followed for the composite outcome of all-cause mortality, heart failure admission, or ventricular arrhythmia. A total of 747 patients were studied, 531 (71%) males. By Z -score values, females showed significantly higher left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF; median difference 1 SD) and right ventricular (RV) EF (difference 0.6 SD) with greater LV mass (difference 2.1 SD; P < 0.01 for all) vs. males despite similar chamber volumes. Females had a significantly lower prevalence of mid-wall striae (MWS) fibrosis (22% vs. 34%; P < 0.001). Over a median follow-up of 4.7 years, 173 patients (23%) developed the composite outcome, with equal distribution in males and females. LV EF and MWS were significant independent predictors of the outcome (respective HR [95% CI] 0.97 [0.95–0.99] and 1.6 [1.2–2.3]; P = 0.003 and 0.005). There was no association of sex with the outcome. Conclusion In a large contemporary cohort, NICM was uniquely expressed in females vs. males. Despite similar chamber dilation, females demonstrated greater concentric remodelling, lower reductions in bi-ventricular function, and a lower burden of replacement fibrosis. Overall, their prognosis remained similar to male patients with NICM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although officer proximity to a grade 2 (non-emergency) incident is the primary metric used by dispatchers to allocate officers from deployment, other (informal) factors may influence the decision. The purpose of this research was to identify additional metrics that could be used to better match officer attributes to incident characteristics. Using a form of grounded theory, interviews with dispatchers in a single constabulary were used to identify 14 additional metrics that could be used in a formal decision-making process implemented through software assistance. The metrics broadly fell into the three categories of response time, officer attributes, and incident attributes. Dispatchers generally considered the introduction of a greater range of metrics implemented as software assistance to be beneficial but considered software decision-making tools to be unacceptable. We conclude that the weighting attached to each new metric relative to others should be tailored to the constabulary and operation group with which the dispatcher works. Overall, it is considered desirable to introduce a wider range of metrics through which dispatch of officers to non-emergency incidents may be managed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of CD4+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) pathogenesis remains incompletely understood. Although it has been shown that Tregs can be infected with HIV-1, the consequences of infection on a per-cell basis are still unknown. In vitro HIV-GFP infected and noninfected Tregs were isolated by flow-based cell-sorting to investigate Treg suppressive capacity and gene expression profiles. Our data show that HIV-1-infected Tregs were significantly less suppressive than noninfected Tregs and demonstrated down-regulation of genes critical to Treg function. This impaired function may have detrimental consequences for the control of generalized immune activation and accelerate HIV disease progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are potent immune modulators, but their role in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) pathogenesis remains poorly understood. We performed a detailed analysis of the frequency and function of Tregs in a large cohort of HIV-1–infected individuals and HIV-1 negative controls. While HIV “elite controllers” and uninfected individuals had similar Treg numbers and frequencies, the absolute numbers of Tregs declined in blood and gut-associated lymphoid tissue in patients with chronic progressive HIV-1 infection. Despite quantitative changes in Tregs, HIV-1 infection was not associated with an impairment of ex vivo suppressive function of flow-sorted Tregs in both HIV controllers and untreated chronic progressors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A letter to the editor and a reply are presented in response to the article "New therapeutic products and difficult decisions: The case of recombinant factor VIII in the management of haemophilia A" in the 1998 issue.

A letter to the editor and a reply are presented in response to the article "Body mass index: a comparison between self-reported and measured height and weight" in the 1988 issue.