Prevalence of Osteosarcopenia and Frailty in Patients with Chronic Liver Disease.

Introduction: Chronic liver disease (CLD) can have a significant impact on the nutritional status of patients. Malnutrition is an under-recognized condition in patients with cirrhosis. Malnutrition increases the incidence and severity of decompensation, increases the risk of infections, and increases mortality.

A 59-Year-Old Man with a Rash and Hearing Loss.

AbstractMorning Report is a time-honored tradition where physicians-in-training present cases to their colleagues and clinical experts to collaboratively examine an interesting patient presentation. The Morning Report section seeks to carry on this tradition by presenting a patient's chief concern and story, inviting the reader to develop a differential diagnosis and discover the diagnosis alongside the authors of the case. This report examines the story of a 59-year-old man who initially had a sore throat, a truncal rash, and fever.

Des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin and alpha-fetoprotein levels as biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma and their correlation with radiological characteristics.

Background: Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), a commonly used biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is normal in up to one-third of patients.

Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of des-gamma-carboxy-prothrombin (DCP) alone and in combination with AFP.

Methods: In this study, 202 patients with radiologically proven HCC were enrolled, and their DCP and AFP levels were evaluated for their diagnostic performance.

Correlation of serum kisspeptin and leptin with non-obstructive azoospermia: A cross-sectional study in a subset of Karachi population.

Objective: To determine the association of serum kisspeptin, leptin, and other hormonal profile with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) in infertile male subjects.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Australian Concept Infertility Medical Center, and Ziauddin University, Karachi from March 2018 to March 2020. The duration of the study was two years.

Orchestration and Management of Adaptive IoT-centric Distributed Applications.

Current Internet of Things (IoT) devices provide a diverse range of functionalities, ranging from measurement and dissemination of sensory data observation, to computation services for real-time data stream processing. In extreme situations such as emergencies, a significant benefit of IoT devices is that they can help gain a more complete situational understanding of the environment. However, this requires the ability to utilize IoT resources while taking into account location, battery life, and other constraints of the underlying edge and IoT devices.

Getting a "SMART START" to gestational diabetes mellitus education: a mixed-methods pilot evaluation of a knowledge translation tool in primary care.

Background: South Asian people living in Canada face higher rates of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) compared to national trends. The objective of this study was to design and pilot test a knowledge translation (KT) tool to support GDM prevention counselling in primary care.

Methods: This study is a mixed-methods pilot evaluation of the "SMART START" KT tool involving 2 family physicians in separate practices and 20 pregnant South Asians in Ontario, Canada.

Social Determinants of Health and Pediatric Emergency Department Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.

Study Objective: Social determinants of health contribute to disparities in pediatric health and health care. Our objective was to synthesize and evaluate the evidence on the association between social determinants of health and emergency department (ED) outcomes in pediatric populations.

Methods: This review was conducted in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses-Equity Extension guidelines.

Natural language processing to assess the epidemiology of delirium-suggestive behavioural disturbances in critically ill patients.

There is no gold standard approach for delirium diagnosis, making the assessment of its epidemiology difficult. Delirium can only be inferred though observation of behavioural disturbance and described with relevant nouns or adjectives. We aimed to use natural language processing (NLP) and its identification of words descriptive of behavioural disturbance to study the epidemiology of delirium in critically ill patients.

Emergence of an apparent yield phenomenon in the mechanics of stochastic networks with inter-fiber cohesion.

In this work we investigate the contribution of inter-fiber cohesion to defining the mechanical behavior of stochastic crosslinked fiber networks. Fibers are athermal and store energy primarily in their bending and axial deformation modes. Cohesion between fibers is defined by an interaction potential.

Natural language processing diagnosed behavioural disturbance phenotypes in the intensive care unit: characteristics, prevalence, trajectory, treatment, and outcomes.

Background: Natural language processing (NLP) may help evaluate the characteristics, prevalence, trajectory, treatment, and outcomes of behavioural disturbance phenotypes in critically ill patients.

Methods: We obtained electronic clinical notes, demographic information, outcomes, and treatment data from three medical-surgical ICUs. Using NLP, we screened for behavioural disturbance phenotypes based on words suggestive of an agitated state, a non-agitated state, or a combination of both.

Kia Tīmata Pai (Best Start): a study protocol for a cluster randomised trial with early childhood teachers to support children's oral language and self-regulation development.

Introduction: Oral language skills are associated with children's later self-regulation and academic skills; in turn, self-regulation in early childhood predicts successful functioning later in life. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the separate and combined effectiveness of an oral language intervention (Enhancing Rich Conversations, ENRICH) and a self-regulation intervention (Enhancing Neurocognitive Growth with the Aid of Games and Exercise, ENGAGE) with early childhood teachers and parents for children's oral language, self-regulation and academic functioning.

Methods And Analysis: The Kia Tīmata Pai (Best Start) study is a cluster randomised controlled trial with teachers and children in approximately 140 early childhood centres in New Zealand.

Environmentally relevant doses of endocrine disrupting chemicals affect male fertility by interfering with sertoli cell glucose metabolism in mice.

The growing global deterioration in several aspects of human health has been partly attributed to hazardous effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) exposure. Therefore, experts and government regulatory agencies have consistently advocated for studies on the combined effects of EDCs that model human exposure to multiple environmental chemicals in real life. Here, we investigated how low concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA), and phthalates compounds affect the Sertoli cell glucose uptake/lactate production in the testis and male fertility.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to HIV testing and condom use among two-spirit, gay, bisexual, and queer (2SGBQ+) men in Manitoba.

This cross-sectional online survey (n = 347) examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to HIV testing and condom use among Two-Spirit, gay, bisexual, and queer (2SGBQ+) men in Manitoba. Logistic regression assessed the relationship between socio-demographics and the impact of COVID-19 on access to HIV testing and condom use. Among those who answered a question on testing (n = 282), 27.

A comprehensive health effects assessment of the use of sanitizers and disinfectants during COVID-19 pandemic: a global survey.

COVID-19 has affected all aspects of human life so far. From the outset of the pandemic, preventing the spread of COVID-19 through the observance of health protocols, especially the use of sanitizers and disinfectants was given more attention. Despite the effectiveness of disinfection chemicals in controlling and preventing COVID-19, there are critical concerns about their adverse effects on human health.

Co-application of ACC deaminase-producing rhizobial bacteria and melatonin improves salt tolerance in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) through ion homeostasis.

A comprehensive body of scientific evidence indicates that rhizobial bacteria and melatonin enhance salt tolerance of crop plants. The overall goal of this research was to evaluate the ability of Rhizobium leguminoserum bv phaseoli to suppress salinity stress impacts in common bean treated with melatonin. Treatments included bacterial inoculations (inoculated (RI) and non-inoculated (NI)), different salinity levels (non-saline (NS), 4 (S1) and 8 (S2) dS m of NaCl) and priming (dry (PD), melatonin (PM100) and hydro (PH) priming) with six replications in growing media containing sterile sand and perlite (1:1).

Relationship between sociodemographics, loss of income, and mental health among two-spirit, gay, bisexual, and queer men in Manitoba during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study examined the relationship between loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic and worsening mental health among a sample of 366 Two-Spirit, gay, bisexual, queer (2SGBQ+) men in Manitoba. Data were drawn from a cross-sectional online survey among 2SGBQ+ men in Manitoba. Logistic regression assessed the relationship between sociodemographics, loss of income due to COVID-19 (independent variable) and worsening of mental health (analytic outcome).

Tailoring TiO/AlO heterolayers as optical filters for the visible region.

Optical filters operating in the visible region of the spectrum are highly desired for applications ranging from optical communication and sensing to fluorescence microscopy and skin therapy. However, complex fabrication procedures and/or inferior performance, limit the practical applications of previously reported thin-film-based optical filters. Herein, we describe the structual design concepts and facile fabrication of vertically stacked heterolayers of TiO/AlO to obtain a bandpass filter and a longwave pass edge filter operating in the spectral range 410-600 nm and 400-597 nm, respectively.

Biallelic variants in CHST3 cause Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia with joint dislocations in three Pakistani kindreds.

Background: Skeletal dysplasia is a heterogeneous group of disorders. Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasias comprise one subgroup. Deficiency of carbohydrate sulfotransferase 3 has been reported in a small number of patients with recessively inherited spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia with joint dislocation, short stature and scoliosis.

Pain and Opioid-Induced Gut Microbial Dysbiosis.

Opioid-induced dysbiosis (OID) is a specific condition describing the consequences of opioid use on the bacterial composition of the gut. Opioids have been shown to affect the epithelial barrier in the gut and modulate inflammatory pathways, possibly mediating opioid tolerance or opioid-induced hyperalgesia; in combination, these allow the invasion and proliferation of non-native bacterial colonies. There is also evidence that the gut-brain axis is linked to the emotional and cognitive aspects of the brain with intestinal function, which can be a factor that affects mental health.

Integral effects of brassinosteroids and timber waste biochar enhances the drought tolerance capacity of wheat plant.

Drought stress is among the major threats that affect negatively crop productivity in arid and semi-arid regions. Probably, application of some additives such as biochar and/or brassinosteroids could mitigate this stress; however, the mechanism beyond the interaction of these two applications is not well inspected. Accordingly, a greenhouse experiment was conducted on wheat (a strategic crop) grown under deficit irrigation levels (factor A) i.

A Combined Use of Rhizobacteria and Moringa Leaf Extract Mitigates the Adverse Effects of Drought Stress in Wheat ( L.).

Less nutrient availability and drought stress are some serious concerns of agriculture. Both biotic and abiotic stress factors have the potential to limit crop productivity. However, several organic extracts obtained from moringa leaves may induce immunity in plants under nutritional and drought stress for increasing their survival.