The ultrafast snap of a finger is mediated by skin friction.

The snap of a finger has been used as a form of communication and music for millennia across human cultures. However, a systematic analysis of the dynamics of this rapid motion has not yet been performed. Using high-speed imaging and force sensors, we analyse the dynamics of the finger snap.

Antibiotic resistance in patients with chronic ear discharge awaiting surgery in Nepal.

Setting: Biratnagar Eye Hospital, Biratnagar, Nepal, which offers ear surgery for chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM).

Objective: In patients with CSOM awaiting surgery, to determine the 1) sociodemographic characteristics 2) bacterial isolates and their antibiotic resistance patterns and 3) characteristics of those refused surgery, including antibiotic resistance.

Design: A cohort study using hospital data, January 2018-January 2020.

Vitamin D repletion in primary hyperparathyroid patients undergoing parathyroidectomy leads to reduced symptomatic hypocalcaemia and reduced length of stay: a retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency co-exists with and can confuse the diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). Vitamin D replete (VDR) status may prevent significant postparathyroidectomy hypocalcaemia; however, reports from previous studies are conflicting. This study aimed to assess differences in early and/or late postoperative hypocalcaemia and length of stay (LOS) postparathyroidectomy between VDR and vitamin D non-replete (VDNR) PHPT patients.

Delayed Onset Minimal Change Disease as a Manifestation of Lupus Podocytopathy.

Lupus podocytopathy (LP) is an uncommon manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and is not included in the classification of lupus nephritis. The diagnosis of LP is confirmed by the presence of diffuse foot process effacement in the absence of capillary wall deposits with or without mesangial immune deposits in a patient with SLE. Here we describe a 13-year-old female who presented with nephrotic syndrome (NS) seven years after the diagnosis of SLE.

Ayurveda intervention for brass-induced heavy metal toxicity: A report from the single-arm pilot study.

Background: Brass is a copper-zinc alloy that also contains additional elements, including lead. Industrial operations on brass produce dust and fumes that can be harmful to an individual's health. Ayurveda recommends Dadima Svarasa and Triphala Churna for the management of symptoms caused due to brass toxicity.

Association between the place of abortion and post-abortion contraceptive adoption and continuation: the case of India.

The unmet need for contraception is documented as a significant determinant of unintended pregnancies and high number of induced abortions. The period immediately after an abortion is recognised as a unique opportunity to offer contraceptive services. This paper explores the association between place of abortion and women's post-abortion contraceptive behaviour.

Disparities in Pediatric Patient Portal Activation and Feature Use.

Objective: Disparities in adult patient portal adoption are well-documented; however, less is known about disparities in portal adoption in pediatrics. This study examines the prevalence and factors associated with patient portal activation and the use of specific portal features in general pediatrics.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed electronic health record data from 2012 to 2020 in a large academic medical center that offers both parent and adolescent portals.

Exploring the role of epidermal growth factor receptor variant III in meningeal tumors.

Meningioma is the second most common type of intracranial brain tumor. Immunohistochemical techniques have shown prodigious results in the role of epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGFR vIII) in glioma and other cancers. However, the role of EGFR vIII in meningioma is still in question.

Discovery of the Oxadiazine FRM-024: A Potent CNS-Penetrant Gamma Secretase Modulator.

The recent approval of aducanumab for Alzheimer's disease has heightened the interest in therapies targeting the amyloid hypothesis. Our research has focused on identification of novel compounds to improve amyloid processing by modulating gamma secretase activity, thereby addressing a significant biological deficit known to plague the familial form of the disease. Herein, we describe the design, synthesis, and optimization of new gamma secretase modulators (GSMs) based on previously reported oxadiazine .

Immune-related adverse events are associated with improved response, progression-free survival, and overall survival for patients with head and neck cancer receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Background: The authors hypothesized that patients developing immune-related adverse events (irAEs) while receiving immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) for recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer (HNC) would have improved oncologic outcomes.

Methods: Patients with recurrent/metastatic HNC received ICI at 2 centers. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression, Kaplan-Meier methods, and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to associate the irAE status with the overall response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) in cohort 1 (n = 108).

Land use/land cover change and ecosystem services in the Bagmati River Basin, Nepal.

Delivery of ecosystem services is strongly affected by changes in the land use/land cover (LULC) of an area. In this study, we analyze spatiotemporal changes in LULC of the rapidly changing Bagmati River Basin (BRB) of Nepal during 1988-2018 using Landsat satellite images. We also quantify carbon storage in different physiographic regions and LULC classes using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model and assess economic valuation of carbon using the benefit transfer method.

Tumor Cell IDO Enhances Immune Suppression and Decreases Survival Independent of Tryptophan Metabolism in Glioblastoma.

Purpose: Glioblastoma (GBM) is an incurable primary brain tumor that has not benefited from immunotherapy to date. More than 90% of GBM expresses the tryptophan (Trp) metabolic enzyme, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO). This observation supported the historical hypothesis that IDO suppresses the antitumor immune response solely through a mechanism that requires intratumoral Trp depletion.

Risk Factors of Preterm Birth in Nepal: A Hospital-Based Matched Case-Control Study.

Preterm birth is a significant cause of neonatal death globally. Nepal is in the 20th position in the world, with the highest rate of preterm deliveries. The risk factors of preterm birth have not been fully identified and established in Nepal.

An Unusual Occurrence of Erythrocytosis in a Child with Nephrotic Syndrome and Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease.

Anemia is common in patients with nephrotic syndrome (NS) for various reasons. Furthermore, anemia can occur in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) predominantly owing to inappropriately low erythropoietin (EPO) production relative to the degree of anemia. However, erythrocytosis is uncommon in patients with NS and advanced CKD who are not treated with exogenous erythropoietin stimulating agents, and when present, will necessitate exploration of the other etiologies.

Fluid resuscitation and outcomes in heart failure patients with severe sepsis or septic shock: A retrospective case-control study.

Background: The use of ≥30 mL/Kg fluid bolus in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients presenting with severe sepsis or septic shock remained controversial due to the paucity of data.

Methods: The retrospective case-control study included 671 adult patients who presented to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital from January 01, 2017 to December 31, 2019 with severe sepsis or septic shock. Patients were categorized into the CHF group and the non-CHF group.

Waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio and BMI percentiles in children aged 5 to 19 years in India: A population-based study.

Objective: Nationally representative percentiles for waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height-ratio (WHtR), and body mass index (BMI) are not available for children and adolescents in India.

Methods: Using LMS method, age- and gender-specific reference growth charts were constructed for WC ( = 68,261), WHtR ( = 68,261), and BMI ( = 67,741) from children/adolescents aged 5-19 years who participated in a nationally representative survey. General obesity, indicating overall obesity, was defined as age-sex-specific BMI -scores ≥ 95th percentile.

Hydrolytically stable citrate capped FeO@UiO-66-NH MOF: A hetero-structure composite with enhanced activity towards Cr (VI) adsorption and photocatalytic H evolution.

Design and facile fabrication of a magnetically separable hetero-structure photocatalyst as well as an adsorbent having dual green benefits towards energy conversion and pollutant remediation are quite indispensable in the current scenario. In this regard, a composite of citrate capped FeO and UiO-66-NH has been designed to remediate Cr (VI) by adsorption and harvest photons from visible light for clean energy (H) conversion. The material was prepared by the union of citrate capped FeO (CCM) and versatile aqueous stable Zr-based MOF (UiO-66-NH) through in-situ solvothermal method.

Mapping of a novel major effect Hessian fly field partial-resistance locus in southern soft red winter wheat line LA03136E71.

Hessian fly resistance has centralized around resistance loci that are biotype specific. We show that field resistance is evident and controlled by a single locus on chromosome 7D. Hessian flies (Mayetiola destructor Say) infest and feed upon wheat (Triticum aestivum L) resulting in significant yield loss.

Enrichment of Crystal Field Modification via Incorporation of Alkali K Ions in YVO:Ho/Yb Nanophosphor and Its Hybrid with Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Optical, Advanced Anticounterfeiting, Uranyl Detection, and Hyperthermia Applications.

In this work, we report a polyol route for easy synthesis of upconversion (UC) phosphor nanoparticles, YVO:Ho-Yb-K, which enables large-scale production and enhancement of luminescence. Upon 980 nm laser excitation, the UC emission spectrum shows a sharp bright peak at ∼650 nm of Ho ion; and the luminescence intensity increases twofold upon K codoping. Upon 300 nm excitation, the downconversion emission spectrum shows a broad peak in the 400-500 nm range (related to the charge transfer band of V-O) along with Ho peaks.

Brilliant Nonlinear Optical Response of Ho and Yb Activated YVO Nanophosphor and Its Conjugation with FeO for Smart Anticounterfeit and Hyperthermia Applications.

YVO:Ho/Yb nanophosphors prepared by an effective polyol-mediated route show dual-mode behavior in photoluminescence. Upon 980 nm excitation, the upconversion red emission spectrum exhibits a bright red peak at ∼650 nm, characteristic of the electronic transition of the Ho ion involvement of two-photon absorption, which has been confirmed by the power-dependent luminescence study. Moreover, at 300 nm excitation, downconversion emission peaks are observed at 550, 650, and ∼755 nm.

Structural insights into the mechanism of pH-selective substrate specificity of the polysaccharide lyase Smlt1473.

Polysaccharide lyases (PLs) are a broad class of microbial enzymes that degrade anionic polysaccharides. Equally broad diversity in their polysaccharide substrates has attracted interest in biotechnological applications such as biomass conversion to value-added chemicals and microbial biofilm removal. Unlike other PLs, Smlt1473 present in the clinically relevant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strain K279a demonstrates a wide range of pH-dependent substrate specificities toward multiple, diverse polysaccharides: hyaluronic acid (pH 5.

Socio-economic inequality in anthropometric failure among children aged under 5 years in India: evidence from the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey 2016-18.

Background: Conventional indicators used to access the nutritional status of children tend to underestimate the overall undernutrition in the presence of multiple anthropometric failures. Further, factors contributing to the rich-poor gap in the composite index of anthropometric failure (CIAF) have not been explored. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of CIAF and quantify the contribution of factors that explain the rich-poor gap in CIAF.

Willingness of a Multiethnic Immigrant Population to Donate Biospecimens for Research Purposes.

This cross-sectional study explores the willingness to donate biospecimens for research purposes among six refugee communities in North Texas (spanning Myanmar, Central Africa, Somalia, Nepal, Arabic speaking countries, and others). Participants were asked four questions about biospecimen donation: (1) previously asked to donate, (2) ever agreed to donate, (3) willingness to donate for future research, and (4) what samples they would be willing to donate. Most participants (77%) were willing to donate biosamples for medical research; 58% were willing to donate samples.

Efficacy and safety of corticosteroids in acute respiratory distress syndrome: An overview of meta-analyses.

Background: Evidence-based recommendations on the efficacy and safety of corticosteroids in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remain a therapeutic challenge. Findings from several systematic reviews and meta-analyses are inconsistent. We aimed to assess the published meta-analyses through a systematic review approach and provide further insight into the current uncertainty and also to perform an updated meta-analysis from all the available primary studies.

Probing the solute-drag effect and its role in stabilizing the orthorhombic phase in bulk La-doped HfO by X-ray and gamma ray spectroscopy.

The recent observation of ferroelectricity in ultra thin films of hafnium oxide (HfO2) has been attributed to the orthorhombic (o) phase of HfO2 with space group Pca21. Although this oxide is polymorphic in nature, this polar o-phase is known to be stabilized in the doped thin film oxide. The objective of the present experiment is to stabilize the o-phases in La doped bulk polycrystalline HfO2 and investigate their evolution with the doping concentration through Time Differential Perturbed Angular Correlation (TDPAC), X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) and Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) measurements.