A Comparative Study of Acute Invasive Fungal Sinusitis During the First and Second Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

We aimed to compare the demography, clinical profile, histopathology, fungal culture, radiology, surgery performed, medical therapy and outcomes of patients with acute invasive fungal sinusitis seen during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic by retrospectively reviewing their case records. Of 238 patients, 43(18.1%) presented during the first wave and 195(81.

Does apneic oxygenation with nasopharyngeal cannula during intubation improve the oxygenation in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure compared to the standard bag valve mask preoxygenation? An open-labeled randomized control trial.

Objectives: In the context of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF), ensuring effective preoxygenation and apneic oxygenation emerges as the pivotal approach ensuring for averting hypoxemic adverse events during endotracheal intubation. To investigate this, we conducted an open-label randomized controlled trial, aiming to assess the comparative effectiveness of nasopharyngeal high-flow oxygenation in conjunction with Bag-Valve-Mask (BVM) versus standard BVM preoxygenation in patients experiencing AHRF within the emergency department (ED).

Methods: This prospective single-center, open-labeled, randomized controlled trial enrolled patients aged 18 years and above requiring rapid sequence intubation due to AHRF in the ED.

Prospective review of 188 cases of epistaxis presenting to the emergency department: Etiology and outcome.

Background: Due to a myriad of risk factors, epistaxis is a very frequent presentation to the emergency room (ER). This study aims to ascertain the prevalence of epistaxis in our population, risk factors, effectiveness of ER treatment, complications, and ER outcome.

Materials And Methods: This was a prospective observational study performed in the ER of a referral tertiary care center in south India.

Fluorine-Substituted Halide Solid Electrolytes with Enhanced Stability toward the Lithium Metal.

The high ionic conductivity and good oxidation stability of halide-based solid electrolytes evoke strong interest in this class of materials. Nonetheless, the superior oxidative stability compared to sulfides comes at the expense of limited stability toward reduction and instability against metallic lithium anodes, which hinders their practical use. In this context, the gradual fluorination of LiZrClF (0 ≤ ≤ 1.

Comparison of Phenytoin and Fosphenytoin in Treatment of Active Seizures in the Emergency Department.

Background And Objective: Ongoing seizure in the Emergency Department is a medical emergency and its aggressive management is essential. Prompt antiepileptic therapy with early cessation of seizure would minimize the morbidity and risk of recurrence. To compare time to seizure control with fosphenytoin to phenytoin protocol in the ED.

Molecular Mechanisms of Antifungal Resistance in Mucormycosis.

Mucormycosis is one among the life-threatening fungal infections with high morbidity and mortality. It is an uncommon and rare infection targeting people with altered immunity. This lethal infection induced by fungi belonging to the Mucorales family is very progressive in nature.

The adverse effects of Ketamine on Procedural Sedation and Analgesia (PSA) in the Emergency Department.

Background: Procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) in the emergency department (ED) is mainly used for wound irrigation, reduction of fractures, and wound closure. Ketamine is one of the most commonly used drugs for PSA in the ED. The study was conducted in the ED of a large tertiary care hospital in southern India to evaluate the adverse effects of Ketamine on PSA.

Medication - A boon or bane: Emergencies due to medication-related visits.

Background: Medication-related visits (MRV) to the Emergency Department (ED) are substantial though weakly recognized and intervened. Data from developing countries on the prevalence of MRV-related ED admissions are scanty. This study is first of its kind in India to estimate the prevalence of MRV, its severity and the factors contributing to these visits.

Aspiration during Rapid Sequence Induction: Prevalence and Risk Factors.

Background: Securing definitive airway with minimal complications is a challenging task for high-volume emergency departments (ED) that deal with patients with compromised airway.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study between September 2019 and March 2020. Cohort of adults presenting to the ED requiring rapid sequence induction (RSI) were recruited to determine the prevalence and risk factors for the development of aspiration pneumonia(AP) in patients intubated in the ED.

and Evaluation of Carboxymethyl Cellulose Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering Applications.

The present study involves the development of citric acid-cross-linked carboxymethyl cellulose (C3CA) scaffolds by a freeze-drying process. Scaffolds were fabricated at different freezing temperatures of -20, -40, or -80 °C to investigate the influence of scaffold pore size on bone regeneration. All three scaffolds were porous in structure, and the pore size was measured to be 74 ± 4, 55 ± 6, and 46 ± 5 μm for -20, -40, and -80 °C scaffolds.

Type II interferon signaling in the brain during a viral infection with age-dependent pathogenesis.

Viral infections of the central nervous system (CNS) often cause disease in an age-dependent manner, with greater neuropathology during the fetal and neonatal periods. Transgenic CD46+ mice model these age-dependent outcomes through a measles virus infection of CNS neurons. Adult CD46+ mice control viral spread and survive the infection in an interferon gamma (IFNγ)-dependent manner, whereas neonatal CD46+ mice succumb despite similar IFNγ expression in the brain.

Engineered Ovarian Cancer Cell Lines for Validation of CAR T Cell Function.

A set of genetically engineered isogenic cell lines is developed to express either folate receptor alpha or mesothelin, and a control cell line negative for both antigens. These cell lines also express fluorescent and bioluminescent reporter transgenes. The cell lines are used to authenticate specificity and function of a T-cell biofactory, a living vector that is developed to express proportionate amounts of engineered proteins upon engaging with disease cells through their specific antigenic biomarkers.

Last Breath in the Emergency Department.

Background: Early and aggressive time to intervention has been shown to increase the odds of survival and decrease mortality in critically ill patients. Since emergency medicine is a nascent specialty in India, a review and assessment of the mortality profile in the Emergency Department (ED) would help improve the quality of care.

Aims: The aim of the study is to determine the mortality profile and causes of preventable deaths at large ED in South India.

Nanowires of polyaniline festooned silver coated paper electrodes for efficient solid-state symmetrical supercapacitors.

This paper demonstrates a facile strategy for the development of nanosilver decorated polyaniline coated (PAg) paper-based electrodes for the fabrication of solid-state symmetrical supercapacitors. PAg based printing paper was developed through a two-step process involving initial silver nucleation and growth on the paper followed by aniline polymerization. The developed electrically conductive paper exhibited a highly porous structure and excellent mechanical stability.

Profile and Outcome of Near-hanging Patients Presenting to Emergency Department in a Tertiary Care Hospital in South India - A Retrospective Descriptive Study.

Background: Hanging is one of the common modes of deliberate self-harm presenting to emergency departments (EDs) across the world. Early intervention and aggressive resuscitation can decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with near-hanging. Our aim was to study the profile of patients presenting with near-hanging and their outcome to our adult ED.

The neonatal anti-viral response fails to control measles virus spread in neurons despite interferon-gamma expression and a Th1-like cytokine profile.

Neonates are highly susceptible to viral infections in the periphery, potentially due to deviant cytokine responses. Here, we investigated the role of interferon-gamma (IFNγ), a key anti-viral in the neonatal brain. We found that (i) IFNγ, which is critical for viral control and survival in adults, delays mortality in neonates, (ii) IFNγ limits infiltration of macrophages, neutrophils, and T cells in the neonatal brain, (iii) neonates and adults differentially express pathogen recognition receptors and Type I interferons in response to the infection, (iv) both neonates and adults express IFNγ and other Th1-related factors, but expression of many cytokines/chemokines and IFNγ-responsive genes is age-dependent, and (v) administration of IFNγ extends survival and reduces CD4 T cell infiltration in the neonatal brain.

Interferon Gamma: Influence on Neural Stem Cell Function in Neurodegenerative and Neuroinflammatory Disease.

Interferon-gamma (IFNγ), a pleiotropic cytokine, is expressed in diverse neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory conditions. Its protective mechanisms are well documented during viral infections in the brain, where IFNγ mediates non-cytolytic viral control in infected neurons. However, IFNγ also plays both protective and pathological roles in other central nervous system (CNS) diseases.

Interferon gamma protects neonatal neural stem/progenitor cells during measles virus infection of the brain.

Background: In the developing brain, self-renewing neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPC) give rise to neuronal and glial lineages. NSPC survival and differentiation can be altered by neurotropic viruses and by the anti-viral immune response. Several neurotropic viruses specifically target and infect NSPCs, in addition to inducing neuronal loss, which makes it difficult to distinguish between effects on NSPCs that are due to direct viral infection or due to the anti-viral immune response.

Effective depletion of regulatory T cells allows the recruitment of mesothelin-specific CD8 T cells to the antitumor immune response against a mesothelin-expressing mouse pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Vaccine-induced CD8(+) T-cell responses can eradicate developing tumors in vivo in mouse models. Translating these successes into approved treatments for cancer patients has been challenging, since many of these models lack expression of clinically proven/relevant tumor antigens. We have shown that mesothelin is a clinically relevant CD8(+) T-cell target in human pancreas cancer, which is also highly conserved among species.