Efficacy and Fate of RNA Interference Molecules in the Green Pea Aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a promising technology for controlling insect pests of agriculture. This technology is mediated through the application of double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs), which are processed within the insect cells into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). These molecules then target and reduce the expression of the insect-specific genes that can kill or reduce the performance of the pest.

Occurrence, Multidrug Resistance, SCCmec Typing of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus from Farmed Eggs and Environment.

A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on farmed eggs (n: 480) and environmental samples (n: 72; feed, water, and poultry droppings) from twenty-four deep litter and caged poultry layer farms across Punjab, India. The study noted a significantly higher occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus (31.67%; 95% CI 26.

Validation of the Blended Learning Usability Evaluation–Questionnaire (BLUE-Q) through an innovative Bayesian questionnaire validation approach.

Purpose: The primary aim of this study is to validate the Blended Learning Usability Evaluation–Questionnaire (BLUE-Q) for use in the field of health professions education through a Bayesian approach. As Bayesian questionnaire validation remains elusive, a secondary aim of this article is to serve as a simplified tutorial for engaging in such validation practices in health professions education.

Methods: A total of 10 health education-based experts in blended learning were recruited to participate in a 30-minute interviewer-administered survey.

Recommendations for the equitable integration of digital health interventions across the HIV care cascade.

Digital health interventions (DHIs) are being increasingly adopted to improve care outcomes and experiences for people living with HIV (PLHIV). Here, we highlight the importance of DHIs in the context of HIV management and recommendations for their equitable integration in the HIV care cascade.

Occurrence, Multidrug Resistance, and Multilocus Sequence Typing of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase/AmpC-Producing from Farmed Eggs.

The present study evaluated the occurrence, antibiogram profile, and sequence types (STs) of multidrug resistant (MDR) from freshly laid eggs ( = 480), feed ( = 24), water ( = 24), poultry droppings ( = 24), and hand swab samples ( = 10) collected from 24 deep litter (DL) and caged poultry layer farms (12 per category) across Punjab, India. The overall contamination rate in DL and cage farms was 32% (95% confidence intervals [CI], 26.6-37.

Patient-Reported Outcomes in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is the most common chronic liver disease worldwide and can progress to serious complications, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Predisposing risk factors for MASH include obesity, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome. Patients with MASH often experience significant impairments in their health-related quality of life and other patient-reported outcomes (PROs), particularly in physical functioning domains, fatigue, and vitality.

Quality of Life in People With HIV at the End of Life: Preliminary Results From the Last Gift Observational Cohort Study.

Background: As people living with HIV (PWH) age, they face new challenges that can have a negative impact on their quality of life (QOL) and mental health.

Setting: This study enrolled PWH at the end of life (EOL) who were actively engaged in cure-related research in Southern California, United States. EOL was defined as having a prognosis of 6 months or less to live.

Evaluation of the McGill-Tongji Blended Education Program for Teacher Leaders in General Practice: The importance of partnership and contextualization in International Primary Care Training Initiatives.

Purpose: Strong primary health care (PHC) systems require well-established PHC education systems to enhance the skills of general practitioners (GPs). However, the literature on the experiences of international collaboration in primary care education in low- and middle-income countries remains limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation and perceived impact of the McGill-Tongji Blended Education Program for Teacher Leaders in General Practice (referred to as the "Tongji Program").

Steatotic liver disease and HIV: an agenda for 2030.

People living with HIV are particularly susceptible to developing metabolic disorders, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and other forms of SLD. However, people living with HIV have been historically excluded from clinical trials and large cohort studies of SLD. Therefore, our understanding of the risk factors and natural history of SLD in this population is poor.

Local tumour control and patient survival after ruthenium-106 brachytherapy for small choroidal melanoma.

Aim: To report local tumour control, metastasis and survival rates of patients with small choroidal melanoma (CM) after treatment with ruthenium-106 (Ru-106) plaque brachytherapy.

Methods: Retrospective case series of 353 consecutive eyes with small CM (thickness ≤2.5 mm and largest basal diameter ≤16 mm) treated with Ru-106 brachytherapy at the London Ocular Oncology Service, between October 2004 and May 2019.

Safety and Immunogenicity of a 4-Component Generalized Modules for Membrane Antigens Shigella Vaccine in Healthy European Adults: Randomized, Phase 1/2 Study.

Background: We report data from stage 1 of an ongoing 2-staged, phase 1/2 randomized clinical trial with a 4-component generalized modules for membrane antigens-based vaccine against Shigella sonnei and Shigella flexneri 1b, 2a, and 3a (altSonflex1-2-3; GSK).

Methods: Europeans aged 18-50 years (N = 102) were randomized (2:1) to receive 2 injections of altSonflex1-2-3 or placebo at 3- or 6-month interval. Safety and immunogenicity were assessed at prespecified time points.

Lung mucosal immunity to NTHi vaccine antigens: Antibodies in sputum of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common chronic respiratory illness in older adults. A major cause of COPD-related morbidity and mortality is acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD). Bacteria in the lungs play a role in exacerbation development, and the most common pathogen is non-typeable (NTHi).

Application of Transthoracic Echocardiography for Cardiac Safety Evaluation in the Clinical Development Process of Vaccines Against Streptococcus pyogenes.

Superficial infections with Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A), pharyngitis and impetigo can induce acute rheumatic fever, an autoimmune sequela manifesting mostly with arthritis and rheumatic carditis. Valvular heart damage can persist or advance following repeated episodes of acute rheumatic fever, causing rheumatic heart disease. Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease disproportionately affect children and young adults in developing countries and disadvantaged communities in developed countries.

Putative correlates of protection against shigellosis assessing immunomarkers across responses to S. sonnei investigational vaccine.

Shigella spp. are a leading bacterial cause of diarrhea. No widely licensed vaccines are available and there is no generally accepted correlate of protection.

Impact of social determinants of health on time to antiretroviral therapy initiation and HIV viral undetectability for migrants enrolled in a multidisciplinary HIV clinic with rapid, free, and onsite B/F/TAF: 'The ASAP study'.

Objective: Multidisciplinary care with free, rapid, and on-site bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (B/F/TAF) dispensation may improve health outcomes among migrants living with HIV. However, models for rapid B/F/TAF initiation are not well studied among migrants living with HIV, and an understanding of how social determinants of health (SDH) may affect HIV-related health outcomes for migrants enrolled in such care models is limited.

Methods: Within a 96-week pilot feasibility prospective cohort study at a multidisciplinary HIV clinic, participants received free B/F/TAF rapidly after care linkage.

People with HIV at the end-of-life and their next-of-kin/loved ones are willing to participate in interventional HIV cure-related research.

Introduction: The Last Gift study at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), United States enrolls terminally ill people with HIV (PWH) in HIV cure research.

Methods: From 2017 to 2022, we conducted surveys with Last Gift participants and their next-of-kin/loved ones to evaluate willingness to participate in different types of HIV cure research at the end of life (EOL). We analyzed willingness data descriptively.

Tau as a diagnostic instrument in clinical trials to predict amyloid in Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of both amyloid and tau pathology. In vivo diagnosis can be made with amyloid and tau positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Emergent evidence supports that amyloid and tau accumulation are associated and that amyloid accumulation may precede that of tau.

Common Variable Immunodeficiency Enteropathy and Its Unpredictable Biopsy Findings: Not Everything Is Black and White.

Common variable immunodeficiency syndrome (CVID) is a diverse entity characterized by hypogammaglobinemia and a propensity for recurrent infections. Involvement of the gastrointestinal tract has a variable manifestation ranging from asymptomatic involvement to florid signs and symptoms. Due to these incongruous findings, multiple concurrent biopsies are to be done for tissue diagnosis.

Perceived risks and benefits of enrolling people with HIV at the end of life in cure research in Southern California, United States.

Introduction: Although current antiretroviral therapy allows most people with HIV (PWH) to experience normal longevity with a good quality of life, an HIV cure remains elusive due to HIV reservoir formation within deep tissues. An HIV cure remains highly desirable to the community of PWH. This study reports on the perceived risks and benefits of participation in the Last Gift study, a study aimed at characterizing HIV reservoirs via post-mortem autopsy, among PWH at the end of life (EOL) and their next-of-kin (NOK)/loved ones.

Detection of antimicrobial resistance genes in extended spectrum beta-lactamase-producing from milk of indigenous Beetal goats of Punjab.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a burning issue in the present era. Mastitis in dairy animals is one of the most important causes of huge production loss to dairy farmers. The study aims to find the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance profile, and resistance genes in the extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing in mastitic milk.

Monitoring of antimicrobial usage among adult bovines in dairy herds of Punjab, India: A quantitative analysis of pattern and frequency.

The present study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial usage (AMU) pattern in dairy herds of Punjab, India. The on-farm quantification of AMU in adult bovine animals by the manual collection of empty drug containers ("bin method") along with the records of the treatment was carried out in 38 dairy farms involving 1010 adult bovines for 1 year from July 2020 to June 2021. The farm owners were asked to record the antibiotic treatments as well as to deposit empty antibiotic packaging/vials into the provided bins placed at the farms.

Immunogenicity and safety of the non-typable - (NTHi-Mcat) vaccine administered following the recombinant zoster vaccine versus administration alone: Results from a randomized, phase 2a, non-inferiority trial.

A candidate AS01-adjuvanted vaccine containing four surface proteins from non-typable and (NTHi-Mcat) has been developed to help prevent exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Sequential administration of different vaccines containing the same AS01-adjuvant system could lead to immune interference. We compared administration of NTHi-Mcat following AS01-adjuvanted recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) versus NTHi-Mcat alone.

Real-time PCR has advantages over culture-based methods in identifying major airway bacterial pathogens in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Results from three clinical studies in Europe and North America.

Introduction: We compared the performance of real-time PCR with culture-based methods for identifying bacteria in sputum samples from patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in three studies.

Methods: This was an exploratory analysis of sputum samples collected during an observational study of 127 patients (AERIS; NCT01360398), phase 2 study of 145 patients (NTHI-004; NCT02075541), and phase 2b study of 606 patients (NTHI-MCAT-002; NCT03281876). Bacteria were identified by culture-based microbiological methods in local laboratories using fresh samples or by real-time PCR in a central laboratory using frozen samples.

Bulbar Dysfunction in Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: A Case Report.

Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is a rare condition characterized by pathologically enlarged ventricles and a normal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) opening pressure measured by lumbar puncture. NPH typically presents as a triad of cognitive decline, gait disturbance, and urinary incontinence. Rarely, NPH can present with bulbar involvement, particularly with difficulty swallowing.