Efficacy of SGLT2 inhibitors for anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity: a meta-analysis in cancer patients.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) lower anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity. PubMed and Google Scholar were searched until September 2023 for studies regarding SGLT2i for treating anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity. Overall mortality and cardiovascular events were considered.

Triple-Negative Sjogren's Syndrome and Recurrent Pneumothorax: An Uncommon Presentation of Autoimmune Disease.

Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is a chronic exocrinopathy caused by lymphocytic infiltration and is associated with numerous manifestations and morbidities. We discuss a case of a 60-year-old female who presented to the Acute Medical Assessment Unit complaining of progressive shortness of breath for one month, not associated with chest pain or lower limb swelling. She also reported joint pain involving both wrists and proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints, oral dryness, hair loss, and numerous tongue ulcerations.

Nanoparticle-based amplification for sensitive detection of β-galactosidase activity in fruits.

Development of fast and sensitive assays for enzyme activity detection has received a great deal of attention because of the wide spread applications in measurements of numerous clinical, food and environmental processes. Herein, a novel amplification approach to enhance the sensitivity of colorimetric assays for detection of β-galactosidase (β-Gal) activity is proposed. β-Gal detection is important in biomedical applications and in food industry, where it is associated with the ripening process of fruits.

Ocular surface: A route for SARS CoV-2 transmission- a case report.

SARS-CoV-2 infections are transmitted through droplets or through direct contact with secretions from an infected person. The transmission of the virus through tears and other body secretions remains controversial. PCR detection of Covid-19 in the samples/swabs taken from nasopharynx, CSF fluid, and tears, clarifies that the virus may be transmitted through the modes other than aerosol droplets or direct contact.

An unusual case of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in a patient with BCR-ABL positive chronic myeloid leukemia and Gaucher disease.

Background: Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a chronic myeloproliferative disease characterized by a massive overproduction of myeloid cells. It is associated with the Philadelphia chromosome [Ph1, t (9; 22) (q34; q11)] or BCR-ABL fusion gene. CML usually undergoes a triphasic clinical course ending in a blast crisis, an accelerated phase of blasts and promyelocyte production.

SARS-CoV-2 infection with pneumonia and stroke.

Background: Covid-19 pandemic has been manifested mainly as respiratory and constitutional symptoms. Though, it may demonstrate the involvement of other systems i.e.

Management of acute fever in children: Consensus recommendations for community and primary healthcare providers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Fever is one of the most common reasons for unwell children presenting to pharmacists and primary healthcare practitioners. Currently there are no guidelines for assessment and management of fever specifically for community and primary healthcare workers in the sub-Saharan Africa region. This multidisciplinary consensus guide was developed to assist pharmacists and primary healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa to risk stratify and manage children who present with fever, decide when to refer, and how to advise parents and caregivers.

Paper-Based Enzyme Biosensor for One-Step Detection of Hypoxanthine in Fresh and Degraded Fish.

Food freshness monitoring, which can reflect the quality of the product at the time of use, remains a great challenge for consumers and the food industry. Herein, we report the development of a cost-effective enzyme-based paper biosensor, which can monitor fish freshness and predict spoilage. The biosensor measures the release of hypoxanthine (HX), an indicator of meat and fish degradation, using the enzymatic conversion of HX by xanthine oxidase (XOD).

Acute allergic rhinitis.

Allergic rhinitis is a common and troubling condition. Basic management of this condition has been well described. However, acute exacerbations of the chronic condition allergic rhinitis are a seldom discussed or described problem despite the fact that even well-controlled patients frequently have exacerbations.

Successful antibiotic stewardship in hospitalised children in a developing nation.

Objectives: Increasing antimicrobial resistance has become a looming threat to paediatric health and, therefore, health facilities are obliged to practice antimicrobial stewardship. This study was undertaken to review stewardship adherence in the Department of Pediatrics at the Central Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa.

Methods: Antibiotic prescriptions of children admitted to hospital were reviewed for consistency with the national essential medicines list from January 2017 to January 2019.

Nanotechnology-based approaches for food sensing and packaging applications.

The rapid advancement of nanotechnology has provided opportunities for the development of new sensing and food packaging solutions, addressing long-standing challenges in the food sector to extend shelf-life, reduce waste, assess safety and improve the quality of food. Nanomaterials can be used to reinforce mechanical strength, enhance gas barrier properties, increase water repellence, and provide antimicrobial and scavenging activity to food packaging. They can be incorporated in chemical and biological sensors enabling the design of rapid and sensitive devices to assess freshness, and detect allergens, toxins or pathogenic contaminants.

Chemical and Biological Sensors for Food-Quality Monitoring and Smart Packaging.

The growing interest in food quality and safety requires the development of sensitive and reliable methods of analysis as well as technology for freshness preservation and food quality. This review describes the status of chemical and biological sensors for food monitoring and smart packaging. Sensing designs and their analytical features for measuring freshness markers, allergens, pathogens, adulterants and toxicants are discussed with example of applications.

DNA assay based on Nanoceria as Fluorescence Quenchers (NanoCeracQ DNA assay).

Functional nanomaterials with fluorescent or quenching abilities are important for the development of molecular probes for detection and studies of nucleic acids. Here, we describe a new class of molecular nanoprobes, the NanoCeracQ that uses nanoceria particles as a nanoquencher of fluorescent oligonucleotides for rapid and sensitive detection of DNA sequences and hybridization events. We show that nanoceria forms stable and reversible bionanoconjugates with oligonucleotides and can specifically recognize and detect DNA sequences in a single step.

Multifunctional Nanotechnology-Enabled Sensors for Rapid Capture and Detection of Pathogens.

Nanomaterial-based sensing approaches that incorporate different types of nanoparticles (NPs) and nanostructures in conjunction with natural or synthetic receptors as molecular recognition elements provide opportunities for the design of sensitive and selective assays for rapid detection of contaminants. This review summarizes recent advancements over the past ten years in the development of nanotechnology-enabled sensors and systems for capture and detection of pathogens. The most common types of nanostructures and NPs, their modification with receptor molecules and integration to produce viable sensing systems with biorecognition, amplification and signal readout are discussed.

Forms of Melanoplus bowditchi (Orthoptera: Acrididae) collected from different host plants are indistinguishable genetically and in aedeagal morphology.

The sagebrush grasshopper, Melanoplus bowditchi Scudder (Orthoptera: Acrididae), is a phytophilous species that is widely distributed in the western United States on sagebrush species. The geographical distribution of M. bowditchi is very similar to the range of its host plants and its feeding association varies in relation to sagebrush distribution.

Transient immune impairment after a simulated long-haul flight.

Introduction: Almost 2 billion people travel aboard commercial airlines every year, with about 20% developing symptoms of the common cold within 1 wk after air travel. We hypothesize that hypobaric hypoxic conditions associated with air travel may contribute to immune impairment.

Methods: We studied the effects of hypobaric hypoxic conditions during a simulated flight at 8000 ft (2438 m) cruising altitude on immune and stress markers in 52 healthy volunteers (mean age 31) before and on days 1, 4, and 7 after the flight.

Response surface methodology to obtain beta-estradiol biodegradable microspheres for long-term therapy of osteoporosis.

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the main and interaction effects of formulation factors on the drug encapsulation efficiency of beta-estradiol biodegradable microspheres by applying response surface methodology. A secondary purpose was to obtain an optimized formula for long-term therapy of osteoporosis. A three factor, three level Box-Behnken experimental design was used to get 15 experimental runs.

Anchorage control in bioprogressive vs straight-wire treatment.

Orthodontic techniques with different concepts and philosophies have emerged to provide adequate anchorage control. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of the Bioprogressive and Straight-wire techniques in the control of lower anchorage. Data were obtained from the records of 40 patients presenting Class I and II malocclusions treated with first bicuspid extractions.

Biodegradable microparticulates of beta-estradiol: preparation and in vitro characterization.

Beta-estradiol has been recommended for the long-term therapy of osteoporosis and its oral formulations are subjected to intensive first pass metabolism. The present investigation was aimed at preparing and characterizing biodegradable microparticles of beta-estradiol with polymers such as PLA, PLGA 85/15, PLGA 75/25, and their mixtures. The microparticles were prepared by solvent evaporation method using methylene chloride as a solvent and polyvinyl alcohol as a surfactant.

Pulmonary delivery of low molecular weight heparins.

Purpose: To investigate if pulmonary delivery of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) formulated with tetradecyl-beta-maltoside (TDM) or dimethyl-beta-cyclodextrin (DMbetaCD) could be a feasible alternative to subcutaneous injections for the treatment of pulmonary embolism.

Methods: The pulmonary absorption of two LMWHs and unfractionated heparin formulated with TDM or DMbetaCD was studied in cell culture and rodent model. The in vitro study was performed by measuring the transport of radiolabeled enoxaparin and mannitol across human bronchial epithelial cells (Calu-3) in the presence or absence of varying concentrations of TDM or DMbetaCD.

Alkanoylsucroses in nasal delivery of low molecular weight heparins: in-vivo absorption and reversibility studies in rats.

The efficacy of alkanoylsucroses in enhancing nasal absorption of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) and the time span of action of these agents on the nasal membrane has been investigated. In this regard, LMWH formulated with alkanoylsucroses was administered nasally to anaesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats and the absorption of LMWH was determined by measuring plasma antifactor Xa activity. The duration of action of these agents at the site of administration was investigated by an in-vivo reversibility study.

Chain length-dependent effects of alkylmaltosides on nasal absorption of enoxaparin.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the hydrophobic chain length of alkylmaltosides affects their efficacy as absorption promoters for nasally administered low-molecular-weight heparin and to study whether these agents enhance nasal absorption in a time-dependent manner without causing irreversible damage to the nasal epithelial membrane. For the nasal absorption studies, enoxaparin formulated with different alkylmaltosides was administered nasally to anesthetized rats and absorption of the drug was determined by measuring plasma anti-factor Xa activity. Reversibility studies were performed by administering enoxaparin at different time points after administration of alkylmaltosides.