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Purpose: To investigate public understanding of the importance of folic acid intake in young women aged 18-24 years. Data sources: A written questionnaire designed by the researcher was administered to 138 young women aged 18-24 years attending college or those seeking care in the county health facility. A total of 88 complete questionnaires were used for the data analysis. Conclusions: Young women were not aware of the importance of folic acid, were not taking multivitamins containing folic acid, and were not consuming enough folic acid in their diets. No relationship existed between pregnancy intention and folic acid intake, suggesting that those who were planning a pregnancy in the near future were not consuming adequate amounts of folic acid. Implications for practice: A lack of knowledge regarding the importance of folic acid may lead to poor pregnancy outcomes. Many educational opportunities exist and should be developed in clinics, physician's offices, and classes which involve young women in this age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Admissions to hospital have declined markedly during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. This may be due to patients not presenting with acute illness or managing their chronic illness at home. We reviewed a cohort admitted to the Acute Medical Unit of the Royal Melbourne Hospital during and before the pandemic and found admissions were more acutely unwell and more comorbid. This may lead to worse outcomes for those not presenting, as well as those presenting late. We recommend a public health campaign to encourage Australians to present to hospital if unwell., (© 2020 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.)

Translocations of the mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) gene occur in 60% to 80% of all infant acute leukemias and are markers of poor prognosis. MLL-AF9 and other MLL fusion proteins aberrantly recruit epigenetic regulatory proteins, including histone deacetylases (HDAC), histone methyltransferases, bromodomain-containing proteins, and transcription elongation factors to mediate chromatin remodeling and regulate tumorigenic gene expression programs. We conducted a small-molecule inhibitor screen to test the ability of candidate pharmacologic agents targeting epigenetic and transcriptional regulatory proteins to induce apoptosis in leukemic cells derived from genetically engineered mouse models of MLL-AF9-driven acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We found that the CDK inhibitor dinaciclib and HDAC inhibitor panobinostat were the most potent inducers of apoptosis in short-term in vitro assays. Treatment of MLL-rearranged leukemic cells with dinaciclib resulted in rapidly decreased expression of the prosurvival protein Mcl-1, and accordingly, overexpression of Mcl-1 protected AML cells from dinaciclib-induced apoptosis. Administration of dinaciclib to mice bearing MLL-AF9-driven human and mouse leukemias elicited potent antitumor responses and significantly prolonged survival. Collectively, these studies highlight a new therapeutic approach to potentially overcome the resistance of MLL-rearranged AML to conventional chemotherapies and prompt further clinical evaluation of CDK inhibitors in AML patients harboring MLL fusion proteins., (©2015 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Objective: To investigate the folic acid intake of young women ages 18-24., Design: Nonexperimental, descriptive survey., Setting: Small private college in western North Carolina., Participants: A convenience sample of 42 female college students ages 18-24., Main Outcome Measures: Survey of demographics, folic acid intake, knowledge of folic acid, and pregnancy contemplation., Results: All participants were found to have an inadequate diet and an inadequate intake of folic acid. Only 33.3% reported taking daily multivitamins. These findings may be attributed to the participants' lack of knowledge about folic acid and the birth defects it helps to prevent., Conclusion: Inadequate folic acid intake is common in young women ages 18-24. These young women frequently have poor nutritional habits and are usually noncontemplators of pregnancy.