Laboratory changes during dupilumab treatment for atopic dermatitis.

Introduction: Dupilumab is an IL-4 / IL-13 inhibitor monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) with remarkable safety and efficacy profiles. However, former studies have reported an increase in serum eosinophils during treatment, with undetermined clinical significance.

The Objective: of this study is to evaluate changes in blood eosinophils and other laboratory parameters while on dupilumab.

Bowel-Associated Dermatosis-Arthritis Syndrome: A Report of a Rare Case.

A 31-year-old female, recently discharged after improvement of an exacerbation of ulcerative colitis, returned to the hospital due to fever, polyarthralgia affecting the knees and ankles, and symmetric violaceous papulopustular lesions on her arms, trunk, and lower limbs. Histological examination revealed superficial dermal edema and perivascular invasion of neutrophils with leukocytoclasia, consistent with neutrophilic dermatosis, and a diagnosis of bowel-associated dermatosis-arthritis syndrome (BADAS) was established. BADAS is a rare, characteristic neutrophilic dermatosis and arthritis mainly associated with intestinal inflammatory disease due to bacterial overgrowthand subsequent immune complex formation and deposition.

Using systems mapping to understand the constraints and enablers of solutions to plastic pollution.

Plastic pollution is now considered globally ubiquitous, irreversible, and a planetary boundary threat. Solutions are urgently needed but their development and application are hampered by the complexity and scale of the issue. System dynamics is a technique used to understand complex behaviours of systems through model building and is useful for conceptualising the relationships between various interacting, dynamic factors, and identifying potential intervention points within the system where specific policies or innovations might have the greatest impact or meet with the greatest resistance.

Chemotherapy-Induced Cutaneous Sclerosis: A Rare Clinical Finding.

Scleroderma-like cutaneous sclerosis has been reported as a rare adverse reaction to several drugs, including the chemotherapeutical agent paclitaxel, used in therapeutic regimens for several malignancies. The sclerosis is usually limited to the skin, most commonly presenting in the lower limbs after weeks to months of therapy but is often refractory to treatment and progresses even after discontinuation of the offending agents, with significant resulting morbidity. We report a rare case of severe cutaneous sclerosis secondary to chemotherapy with nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine, which did not respond to treatment and led to discontinuation of chemotherapy.

The Promotion of Hearing Health through Wikipedia Campaigns: Article Quality and Reach Assessment.

This case study examined the feasibility, reach, and potential impact of using Wikipedia as a tool for hearing health promotion. Activities involved editing existing Portuguese-language Wikipedia hearing health articles, as well as translating English-language hearing health articles to Portuguese during the and online campaigns. The Wikipedia efforts that took place in Brazil were carried out by 10 volunteer undergraduate students in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, in Brazil.

Anthropogenic emission inventory and spatial analysis of greenhouse gases and primary pollutants for the Galapagos Islands.

Climate change and air pollution are critical challenges that humanity is currently facing. Understanding the sources of emissions released into the atmosphere is of great importance to evaluate the local footprint, the impacts of human activities, and the opportunities to develop and implement solutions to mitigate emissions and adapt to climate change particularly in vulnerable places like the Galapagos Islands. In this study, we present an anthropogenic emissions inventory for Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, and Isabela Islands in which emissions were spatially mapped for greenhouse gasses (GHGs) and primary pollutants (PP).

Shedding a light on the importance of photopatch testing: A 12-year experience in a dermatology unit.

Background: Photopatch testing has been standardized for diagnosing photoallergic contact dermatitis but is still infrequently used.

Objectives: To characterize photopatch test (PPT) results and their clinical relevance.

Methods: We collected retrospective data from patients photopatch tested in our Dermatology Unit (2010-2021), using the European PPT 'baseline' series, other allergens, and patient's own products, when appropriate.

Non-Ionizing Radiation Measurements for Trajectography Radars.

This work presents a Non-Ionizing Radiation (NIR) measurement campaign and proposes a specific measurement method for trajectography radars. This kind of radar has a high gain narrow beam antenna and emits a high power signal. Power density measurements from a C-band trajectography radar are carried out using bench equipment and a directional receiving antenna, instead of the commonly used isotropic probe.

Can water composition and weather factors predict fecal indicator bacteria removal in retention ponds in variable weather conditions?

Retention ponds provide benefits including flood control, groundwater recharge, and water quality improvement, but changes in weather conditions could limit the effectiveness in improving microbial water quality metrics. The concentration of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), which is used as regulatory standards to assess microbial water quality in retention ponds, could vary widely based on many factors including local weather and influent water chemistry and composition. In this critical review, we analyzed 7421 data collected from 19 retention ponds across North America listed in the International Stormwater BMP Database to examine if variable FIB removal in the field conditions can be predicted based on changes in these weather and water composition factors.

Evaluation of Acoustic Noise Level and Impulsiveness Inside Vehicles in Different Traffic Conditions.

Recently, the issue of sound quality inside vehicles has attracted interest from both researchers and industry alike due to health concerns and also to increase the appeal of vehicles to consumers. This work extends the analysis of interior acoustic noise inside a vehicle under several conditions by comparing measured power levels and two different models for acoustic noise, namely the Gaussian and the alpha-stable distributions. Noise samples were collected in a scenario with real traffic patterns using a measurement setup composed of a Raspberry Pi Board and a microphone strategically positioned.

Diffuse dermal angiomatosis: a rare cause of painful ulceration in renal insufficiency.

Diffuse dermal angiomatosis is a rare, benign, reactive cutaneous vascular proliferation that has been reported in the context of end-stage renal failure and can rarely be associated with arteriovenous fistulas. We report a striking clinical resolution following prompt diagnosis and subsequent arteriovenous fistula reversal. This case further demonstrates that accurate diagnosis is particularly rewarding since correct therapeutic approach can be curative.

Oligosecretory multiple myeloma: a devastating presentation of a difficult diagnosis.

A 57-year-old man with lumbar pain and fever was diagnosed with spondylodiscitis. Afterward, he acquired full paraplegia. Image studies showed a mass extending from D9 to the vertebral canal, plus numerous adjacent osteolytic lesions.

Neutrophil dysfunction in cystic fibrosis.

Background: Excessive neutrophil inflammation is the hallmark of cystic fibrosis (CF) airway disease. Novel technologies for characterizing neutrophil dysfunction may provide insight into the nature of these abnormalities, revealing a greater mechanistic understanding and new avenues for CF therapies that target these mechanisms.

Methods: Blood was collected from individuals with CF in the outpatient clinic, CF individuals hospitalized for a pulmonary exacerbation, and non-CF controls.

Assessment of Maternal and Neonatal SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load, Transplacental Antibody Transfer, and Placental Pathology in Pregnancies During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Importance: Biological data are lacking with respect to risk of vertical transmission and mechanisms of fetoplacental protection in maternal severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

Objective: To quantify SARS-CoV-2 viral load in maternal and neonatal biofluids, transplacental passage of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody, and incidence of fetoplacental infection.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study was conducted among pregnant women presenting for care at 3 tertiary care centers in Boston, Massachusetts.