Background: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss is an acute hearing disorder typically managed using steroids. However, prognostic factors of diabetes mellitus (DM) patients undergoing intra-tympanic steroid injections (ITSIs) are unclear. We explored the prognostic factors for ITSI in DM patients with unilateral SSNHL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMinimally invasive mitral valve surgery (MIMVS) has become a well-established alternative to traditional median sternotomy at high-volume surgical centers. Advancements in surgical instruments have led to further refinement of MIMVS. However, MIMVS remains limited to select patients in select settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn aerobic life forms, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced by the partial reduction of oxygen during energy-generating metabolic processes. In plants, ROS production increases during periods of both abiotic and biotic stress, severely overloading the antioxidant systems. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) plays a central role in cellular redox homeostasis and signaling by oxidising crucial cysteines to sulfenic acid, which is considered a biologically relevant post-translational modification (PTM).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPDA J Pharm Sci Technol
December 2024
Establishing a Contamination Control Strategy (CCS) is a requirement per EU Annex 1 (Aug 2022). Once a CCS is established, the challenge becomes; "how do I ensure appropriate lifecycle management and effectiveness monitoring for my CCS?" According to Annex 1, "The CCS should be actively reviewed and, where appropriate, updated and should drive continual improvement of the manufacturing and control methods. Its effectiveness should form part of the periodic management review.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There is great interest in intensive primary care interventions to address high utilization among medically and socially complex patients. How patients experience these interventions has received less attention.
Objective: To better understand patients' experience of intensive primary care, we interviewed patients receiving care from the Streamlined Unified Meaningfully Managed Interdisciplinary Team (SUMMIT), an ambulatory intensive care intervention at an urban federally qualified health center.
Compaction of sustained release coated pellets into multi-unit pellet system (MUPS) tablets has been associated with damage to the functional polymer layer, leading to a loss in desired sustained release function. Many filler materials and complex processes have been studied on their ability to mitigate compaction-induced pellet coat damage. Among these, native or unprocessed starches included in the filler material have not been explored well despite being a simple strategy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is a new awareness of the widespread nature of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and its connection to cardiovascular disease (CVD). This has catalyzed collaboration between cardiologists, hepatologists, endocrinologists, and the wider multidisciplinary team to address the need for earlier identification of those with MASLD who are at increased risk for CVD. The overlap in the pathophysiologic processes and parallel prevalence of CVD, metabolic syndrome, and MASLD highlight the multisystem consequences of poor cardiovascular-liver-metabolic health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiffusion of mobile charge carriers, such as ferredoxin and plastocyanin, often constitutes a rate-determining step in photosynthetic energy conversion. The diffusion time scales typically exceed that of other primary bioenergetic processes and remain beyond the reach of direct simulation at the molecular level. We characterize the diffusive kinetics of ferredoxin and plastocyanin upon the photosystem I-rich domain of , the most abundant phototroph on Earth by mass.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/purpose: Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is a pathogen with a negative economic impact on the global swine industry. In 2019, a suspected highly pathogenic strain, NPUST-108-929/2019 (108-929), was isolated from a pig farm in Pingtung with an outbreak of high mortality and analyzed. The characteristics of PRRSV 108-929 have barely been studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: People in prison face a disproportionate risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), but there is a paucity of evidence on trends in STIs in prisons in England. This study aims to describe trends in chlamydia test-positivity and syphilis prevalence by using two different methodologies in prison settings.
Design/methodology/approach: This study used routinely collected chlamydia surveillance data reported by all primary diagnostic laboratories in England from 2018 to 2022 to identify tests undertaken in prisons.
Background And Objectives: To compare the diagnostic performance of an immunoassay for plasma concentrations of phosphorylated tau (p-tau) 217 with visual assessments of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose [F]FDG-PET in individuals who meet appropriate use criteria for Alzheimer dementia (AD) biomarker assessments.
Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of individuals with early-onset (age <65 years at onset) and/or atypical dementia (features other than memory at onset), who were evaluated at a tertiary care memory clinic. All participants underwent measurements of CSF biomarkers (Aβ42, p-tau181, and total tau levels), as well as [F]FDG-PET scans, amyloid-PET scans, and plasma p-tau217 quantifications.
Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is commonly attributed to neuro-cognitive deficits of genetic and/or prenatal/perinatal environmental origins. Sonuga-Barke proposed an alternative formulation, suggesting that ADHD behaviors are functional expressions of delay aversion-a strong motivational disposition to avoid or escape negative affective states evoked by delay. It is hypothesized that the strength of this disposition, though neuro-biologically rooted, is exacerbated by early negative social interactions during waiting-related encounters.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Effective vector control interventions, notably insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) are indispensable for malaria control in Tanzania and elsewhere. However, the emergence of widespread insecticide resistance threatens the efficacy of these interventions. Monitoring of insecticide resistance is, therefore, critical for the selection and assessment of the programmatic impact of insecticide-based interventions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Antimicrob Agents
December 2024
The nasal airway comprises a complex network of passages and chambers and plays an important role in regulating the respiratory system's functions. The nasal vestibule is the first chamber of the nasal airway. While variations in nasal vestibule geometries are known to exist between humans, details of their implications on how they may affect the efficacy of nasal drug delivery devices are less clear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To develop and pilot-test a novel training programme for nurses in acute care settings to improve their decision-making support skills, knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in conducting advance care planning (ACP).
Methods: A single-group repeated measures design was employed. This study was conducted in two phases.
Objectives: To develop a tool to 'risk score' the potential harm of a medication error by estimating the probability of a range of potential consequences, and assess its feasibility, validity, and reliability.
Methods: The risk score tool described five levels of potential harm developed from an existing risk matrix. Judges estimated the likelihood of harm matching each level, from which a risk score (0-10) was calculated.
Introduction: Long-term data on metachronous advanced adenoma (AA) recurrence after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) remain scarce, leading to a lack of a standardized surveillance strategy. This study aims to evaluate the long-term risk of recurrent AA after ESD.
Materials And Methods: A longitudinal retrospective cohort study with propensity-score matching was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Hong Kong.
Cell Host Microbe
December 2024
Approximately 20% of patients with shingles develop postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). We investigated the role of gut microbiota in shingle- and PHN-related pain. Patients with shingles or PHN exhibited significant alterations in their gut microbiota with microbial markers predicting PHN development among patients with shingles.
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