Navigating the Incidence of Postoperative Arrhythmia and Hospitalization Length: The Role of Amiodarone and Other Antiarrhythmics in Prophylaxis.

Antiarrhythmic drugs play a pivotal role in managing and preventing arrhythmias. Amiodarone, classified as a class III antiarrhythmic, has been used prophylactically to effectively prevent atrial fibrillation postoperatively in cardiac surgeries. However, there is a lack of consensus on the use of amiodarone and other antiarrhythmic drugs as prophylaxis to reduce the occurrence of all types of postoperative arrhythmias in cardiac and non-cardiac surgeries.

Asthma heterogeneity among Asian American children: The California Health Interview Survey.

Background: The Asian American (AsA) population is heterogenous and rapidly growing; however, little is known regarding childhood asthma burden among AsA ethnic groups. The relation between obesity and asthma in AsA ethnic groups also remains unclear.

Objective: To evaluate asthma prevalence and the relation of obesity to asthma risk among children in 7 AsA ethnic groups.

SARS-CoV-2 spike N-terminal domain modulates TMPRSS2-dependent viral entry and fusogenicity.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike N-terminal domain (NTD) remains poorly characterized despite enrichment of mutations in this region across variants of concern (VOCs). Here, we examine the contribution of the NTD to infection and cell-cell fusion by constructing chimeric spikes bearing B.1.

Disengagement From HIV Care and Failure of Second-Line Therapy in Nigeria: A Retrospective Cohort Study, 2005-2017.

Background: Understanding the correlates of disengagement from HIV care and treatment failure during second-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) could inform interventions to improve clinical outcomes among people living with HIV (PLHIV).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of PLHIV aged >15 years who started second-line ART at a tertiary center in Nigeria between 2005 and 2017. Participants were considered to have disengaged from care if they had not returned within a year after each clinic visit.

Deep sequencing of HIV-1 reveals extensive subtype variation and drug resistance after failure of first-line antiretroviral regimens in Nigeria.

Background: Deep sequencing could improve understanding of HIV treatment failure and viral population dynamics. However, this tool is often inaccessible in low- and middle-income countries.

Objectives: To determine the genetic patterns of resistance emerging in West African HIV-1 subtypes during first-line virological failure, and the implications for future antiretroviral options.

Age-related immune response heterogeneity to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine BNT162b2.

Although two-dose mRNA vaccination provides excellent protection against SARS-CoV-2, there is little information about vaccine efficacy against variants of concern (VOC) in individuals above eighty years of age. Here we analysed immune responses following vaccination with the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine in elderly participants and younger healthcare workers. Serum neutralization and levels of binding IgG or IgA after the first vaccine dose were lower in older individuals, with a marked drop in participants over eighty years old.

Optimization of recombination of milk at different fat levels in a small volume universal disperser unit.

Recombined milk (RM) can be prepared by blending of butteroil, skim milk powder and water and used for variety of purposes in dairy industry. The present work was undertaken to investigate the feasibility of a custom designed and fabricated universal disperser unit for the preparation of recombined milk. Water, SMP and butteroil were used to manufacture the recombined milk.

Sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 to mRNA vaccine-elicited antibodies.

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is uncontrolled in many parts of the world; control is compounded in some areas by the higher transmission potential of the B.1.1.

SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 sensitivity to mRNA vaccine-elicited, convalescent and monoclonal antibodies.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission is uncontrolled in many parts of the world, compounded in some areas by higher transmission potential of the B1.1.7 variant now seen in 50 countries.

SARS-CoV-2 evolution during treatment of chronic infection.

The spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is critical for virus infection through the engagement of the human ACE2 protein and is a major antibody target. Here we show that chronic infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to viral evolution and reduced sensitivity to neutralizing antibodies in an immunosuppressed individual treated with convalescent plasma, by generating whole-genome ultra-deep sequences for 23 time points that span 101 days and using in vitro techniques to characterize the mutations revealed by sequencing. There was little change in the overall structure of the viral population after two courses of remdesivir during the first 57 days.

Neutralising antibodies in Spike mediated SARS-CoV-2 adaptation.

SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein is critical for virus infection via engagement of ACE2, and amino acid variation in Spike is increasingly appreciated. Given both vaccines and therapeutics are designed around Wuhan-1 Spike, this raises the theoretical possibility of virus escape, particularly in immunocompromised individuals where prolonged viral replication occurs. Here we report chronic SARS-CoV-2 with reduced sensitivity to neutralising antibodies in an immune suppressed individual treated with convalescent plasma, generating whole genome ultradeep sequences by both short and long read technologies over 23 time points spanning 101 days.

Emergence of a Novel Protease Inhibitor Resistance Signature in HIV-1 Matrix.

Protease inhibitors (PIs) are the second- and last-line therapy for the majority of HIV-infected patients worldwide. Only around 20% of individuals who fail PI regimens develop major resistance mutations in protease. We sought to explore the role of mutations in - genotypic and phenotypic changes in viruses from six Nigerian patients who failed PI-based regimens without known drug resistance-associated protease mutations in order to identify novel determinants of PI resistance.

Performance Evaluation of the SAMBA II SARS-CoV-2 Test for Point-of-Care Detection of SARS-CoV-2.

Nucleic acid amplification for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in respiratory samples is the standard method for diagnosis. The majority of this testing is centralized and therefore has turnaround times of several days. Point-of-care (POC) testing with rapid turnaround times would allow more effective triage in settings where patient management and infection control decisions need to be made rapidly.

High prevalence of integrase mutation L74I in West African HIV-1 subtypes prior to integrase inhibitor treatment.

Objectives: HIV-1 integrase inhibitors are recommended as first-line therapy by WHO, though efficacy and resistance data for non-B subtypes are limited. Two recent trials have identified the integrase L74I mutation to be associated with integrase inhibitor treatment failure in HIV-1 non-B subtypes. We sought to define the prevalence of integrase resistance mutations, including L74I, in West Africa.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Viral Load Is Elevated in Individuals With Reverse-Transcriptase Mutation M184V/I During Virological Failure of First-Line Antiretroviral Therapy and Is Associated With Compensatory Mutation L74I.

Background: M184V/I cause high-level lamivudine (3TC) and emtricitabine (FTC) resistance and increased tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) susceptibility. Nonetheless, 3TC and FTC (collectively referred to as XTC) appear to retain modest activity against human immunodeficiency virus-1 with these mutations possibly as a result of reduced replication capacity. In this study, we determined how M184V/I impacts virus load (VL) in patients failing therapy on a TDF/XTC plus nonnucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-containing regimen.

Control of matting temperature during pressing of and its effect on quality.

An attempt was made to design, fabricate and evaluate a heat exchanger for controlling the matting temperature of during pressing. Based on preliminary investigations, the range of process parameters to be evaluated during the pressing of was selected as: pressure (2, 3, and 4 kg/cm), matting temperature (63, 66 and 69 °C) for pressing time of 8, 10 and 12 min. Experiments were designed in a central composite design for 20 runs and the was evaluated for its moisture content, hardness, springiness, chewiness, cohesiveness, bulk density, porosity and sensory attributes.

Baseline PI susceptibility by HIV-1 Gag-protease phenotyping and subsequent virological suppression with PI-based second-line ART in Nigeria.

Objectives: Previous work showed that gag-protease-derived phenotypic susceptibility to PIs differed between HIV-1 subtype CRF02_AG/subtype G-infected patients who went on to successfully suppress viral replication versus those who experienced virological failure of lopinavir/ritonavir monotherapy as first-line treatment in a clinical trial. We analysed the relationship between PI susceptibility and outcome of second-line ART in Nigeria, where subtypes CRF02_AG/G dominate the epidemic.

Methods: Individuals who experienced second-line failure with ritonavir-boosted PI-based ART were matched (by subtype, sex, age, viral load, duration of treatment and baseline CD4 count) to those who achieved virological response ('successes').

Active tracking of rejected dried blood samples in a large program in Nigeria.

Aim: To study the impact of rejection at different levels of health care by retrospectively reviewing records of dried blood spot samples received at the molecular laboratory for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) early infant diagnosis (EID) between January 2008 and December 2012.

Methods: The specimen rejection rate, reasons for rejection and the impact of rejection at different levels of health care was examined. The extracted data were cleaned and checked for consistency and then de-duplicated using the unique patient and clinic identifiers.