Role of leptin and Insulin like growth Factor-1 In regulation of growth in children with congenital cyanotic heart disease.

Background: Congenital cyanotic heart disease (CHD) in children is associated with several complications, amongst these complications is growth retardation which is believed to be multifactorial.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to find out the role of leptin and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) in the growth of paediatric patients with cyanotic CHD of different anatomical defects.

Design/methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving thirty-nine children known to suffer from congenital cyanotic heart disease followed by the cardiology outpatient department, and forty-seven matched controls.

Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant causes severe pulmonary disease in K18-hACE-2 mice.

Owing to their continuous evolution, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern (VOCs) display disparate pathogenicity in mouse models. Omicron and its sublineages have been dominant worldwide. Compared to pre-Omicron VOCs, early Omicron subvariants reportedly cause attenuated disease in human ACE-2-expressing mice (K18-hACE-2).

Tuning the optical and photophysical characteristics of DR1 through mixing with JGB.

A dye mixture of Disperse red1 (DR1) and Janus green B (JGB) was prepared with different concentrations of the two dyes. The optical properties were studied for the two dyes and their mixtures in terms of the absorbance spectra. The direct optical energy gap in addition to the refractive index, extinction coefficient, dielectric constant and optical conductivity were estimated to the two dyes and their mixtures.

Upregulation of Neuroinflammation-Associated Genes in the Brain of SARS-CoV-2-Infected Mice.

Neurological manifestations are a significant complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the underlying mechanisms are yet to be understood. Recently, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-induced neuroinvasion and encephalitis were observed in K18-hACE2 mice, leading to mortality. Our goal in this study was to gain insights into the molecular pathogenesis of neurological manifestations in this mouse model.

Accelerated aging of skeletal muscle and the immune system in patients with chronic liver disease.

Patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) often present with significant frailty, sarcopenia, and impaired immune function. However, the mechanisms driving the development of these age-related phenotypes are not fully understood. To determine whether accelerated biological aging may play a role in CLD, epigenetic, transcriptomic, and phenotypic assessments were performed on the skeletal muscle tissue and immune cells of CLD patients and age-matched healthy controls.

Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on response to anti-tuberculosis therapy in patients with extrapulmonary tuberculosis.

Background: We aimed to assess serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) concentrations in extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) patients and to evaluate the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on their treatment course.

Methods: Serum 25(OH)D3concentrations were measured in 47 newly diagnosed EPTB patients and 42 controls. Vitamin D-deficient EPTB patients were randomly assigned to receive 50,000 IU of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) orally once a week for 6 weeks (total 300,000 IU), followed by maintenance doses of 1000 IU a day besides anti-TB drugs or the first line anti-TB treatment only.

EASL position paper on clinical follow-up after HCV cure.

Following the advent of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can be cured in almost all infected patients. This has led to a number of clinical questions regarding the optimal management of the millions of patients cured of HCV. This position statement provides specific guidance on the appropriate follow-up after a sustained virological response in patients without advanced fibrosis, those with compensated advanced chronic liver disease, and those with decompensated cirrhosis.

mRNA-encoded Cas13 can be used to treat dengue infections in mice.

Dengue is a major global health threat, and there are no approved antiviral agents. Prior research using Cas13 only demonstrated dengue mitigation in vitro. Here we demonstrate that systemic delivery of mRNA-encoded Cas13a and guide RNAs formulated in lipid nanoparticles can be used to treat dengue virus (DENV) 2 and 3 in mice.

Clinical Utility of Cytokeratins for Accurate Diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Among Hepatitis C Virus High-Risk Patients.

Objectives: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary malignancy of the liver and a global health problem. It is often diagnosed at advanced stage where hopeless for effective therapies. Identification of more reliable biomarkers for early detection of HCC is urgently needed.

A novel approach to designing viral precision vaccines applied to SARS-CoV-2.

Efficient precision vaccines against several highly pathogenic zoonotic viruses are currently lacking. Proteolytic activation is instrumental for a number of these viruses to gain host-cell entry and develop infectivity. For SARS-CoV-2, this process is enhanced by the insertion of a furin cleavage site at the junction of the spike protein S1/S2 subunits upstream of the metalloprotease TMPRSS2 common proteolytic site.

Diagnostic Performance of Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule for Early Detection of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Among HCV High-Risk Patients.

Objective: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is often diagnosed at advanced stage where hopeless for effective therapies. Identification of more reliable biomarkers for early detection of HCC is urgently needed. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) represent a unique liquid biopsy carrying comprehensive biological information of the primary tumor.

Different wavelengths of laser: are they significant for treatment of denture stomatitis?: an in-vitro study.

Background: Denture stomatitis (DS) is an inflammatory disorder that affects the mucosal surface underneath the dentures and frequently causes oral mucosal irritation, discomfort, and altered taste perception, which prevents people from consuming enough nutrients. One of the main causes of DS is an overgrowth of the fungus Candida albicans (C. albicans).

Evaluation of the role of FTO (rs9939609) and MC4R (rs17782313) gene polymorphisms in type 1 diabetes and their relation to obesity.

Objectives: This study aims to explore the effects of fat mass obesity-associated (FTO) (rs9939609) and melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) (rs17782313) gene polymorphisms in children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their relation to obesity.

Methods: Fat mass obesity-associated (FTO) (rs9939609) and melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) (rs17782313) gene polymorphisms were evaluated in 164 patients and 100 controls, and genotypes, alleles, and haplotype frequencies were compared between cases and controls.

Results: A significant association with T1D development was found with the , and genotypes and the allele of rs17782313.

Structure, optical properties, TD-DFT simulations for nanosecond and continuous laser irradiation of vanadium antimony borate glass doped with nickel ferrite.

Borate antimony glass doped with vanadium oxide VO encoded into a [BSV glass system] was prepared with the traditional melt quenching technique. The Nickel ferrite [NiFeO] was prepared using Flash auto-combustion and mixed at a fixed ratio of 0.05 gm into the glass matrix to form a BSV- composite glass system [BSV / NiFeO], which was also prepared using the traditional melt quenching technique.

The critical role of interleukin-6 in protection against neurotropic flavivirus infection.

West Nile virus (WNV) and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) are emerging mosquito-borne flaviviruses causing encephalitis globally. No specific drug or therapy exists to treat flavivirus-induced neurological diseases. The lack of specific therapeutics underscores an urgent need to determine the function of important host factors involved in flavivirus replication and disease progression.

Bilaterality of varicocele: The overlooked culprit in male infertility. Case series study.

Objectives: Varicocele is the most common correctable cause of male infertility that always has been a debatable subject as regards how it affects fertility and the best way to treat it. Proper assessment of the disease bilaterality is crucial not to miss one side and not to jeopardize treatment outcome. This study aimed to objectively assess varicocele bilaterality in infertile men aiming to improve treatment outcome in this cohort of patients.