Daily low-dose prednisolone to prevent relapse of steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome in children with an upper respiratory tract infection: PREDNOS2 RCT.

Background: Most children with steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome have relapses that are triggered by upper respiratory tract infections. Four small trials, mostly in children already taking maintenance corticosteroid in countries of different upper respiratory tract infection epidemiology, showed that giving daily low-dose prednisone/prednisolone for 5-7 days during an upper respiratory tract infection reduces the risk of relapse.

Objectives: To determine if these findings were replicated in a large UK population of children with relapsing steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome on different background medication or none.

Early Pregnancy in Jennies in the Caribbean: Corpus Luteum Development and Progesterone Production, Uterine and Embryo Dynamics, Conceptus Growth and Maturation.

We aimed to characterize early embryo development and changes in corpus luteum (CL) development and progesterone profile in pregnant vs. non-pregnant jennies. Eight jennies were enrolled in the study.

A Review on the Structure and Anti-Diabetic (Type 2) Functions of -Glucans.

Type 2 diabetes, a long-term chronic metabolic disease, causes severe and increasing economic and health problems globally. There is growing evidence that -glucans can function as bioactive macromolecules that help control type 2 diabetes with minimal side effects. However, conflicting conclusions about the antidiabetic activities of -glucans have been published, potentially resulting from incomplete understanding of their precise structural characteristics.

Lung function and atherosclerosis: a cross-sectional study of multimorbidity in rural Uganda.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of global mortality. In high-income settings, the presence of cardiovascular disease among people with COPD increases mortality and complicates longitudinal disease management. An estimated 26 million people are living with COPD in sub-Saharan Africa, where risk factors for co-occurring pulmonary and cardiovascular disease may differ from high-income settings but remain uncharacterized.

Liver fibrosis alters the molecular structures of hepatic glycogen.

Liver fibrosis (LF) leads to liver failure and short survival. Liver glycogen is a hyperbranched glucose polymer, comprising individual β particles, which can bind together to form aggregated α particles. Glycogen functionality depends on its molecular structure.

The effect of high-amylose resistant starch on the glycogen structure of diabetic mice.

Glycogen is a complex branched glucose polymer found in many tissues and acts as a blood-glucose buffer. In the liver, smaller β glycogen particles can bind into larger composite α particles. In mouse models of diabetes, these liver glycogen particles are molecularly fragile, breaking up into smaller particles in the presence of solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO).

Impact of Pharmacist-Driven Transitions of Care Interventions on Post-hospital Outcomes Among Patients With Coronary Artery Disease: A Systematic Review.

Transitions of care (ToC) aim to provide continuity while preventing loss of information that may result in poor outcomes such as hospital readmission. Readmissions not only burden patients, they also increase costs. Given the high prevalence of coronary artery diseases (CAD) in the United States (US), patients with CAD often make up a significant portion of hospital readmissions.

Evaluation of Daily Low-Dose Prednisolone During Upper Respiratory Tract Infection to Prevent Relapse in Children With Relapsing Steroid-Sensitive Nephrotic Syndrome: The PREDNOS 2 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: In children with corticosteroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome, many relapses are triggered by upper respiratory tract infections. Four small studies found that administration of daily low-dose prednisolone for 5 to 7 days at the time of an upper respiratory tract infection reduced the risk of relapse, but the generalizability of their findings is limited by location of the studies and selection of study population.

Objective: To investigate the use of daily low-dose prednisolone for the treatment of upper respiratory tract infection-related relapses.

Hedgehog-Interacting Protein is a multimodal antagonist of Hedgehog signalling.

Hedgehog (HH) morphogen signalling, crucial for cell growth and tissue patterning in animals, is initiated by the binding of dually lipidated HH ligands to cell surface receptors. Hedgehog-Interacting Protein (HHIP), the only reported secreted inhibitor of Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signalling, binds directly to SHH with high nanomolar affinity, sequestering SHH. Here, we report the structure of the HHIP N-terminal domain (HHIP-N) in complex with a glycosaminoglycan (GAG).

Duration of viral shedding and culture positivity with postvaccination SARS-CoV-2 delta variant infections.

Isolation guidelines for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are largely derived from data collected prior to the emergence of the delta variant. We followed a cohort of ambulatory patients with postvaccination breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections with longitudinal collection of nasal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 viral load quantification, whole-genome sequencing, and viral culture. All delta variant infections in our cohort were symptomatic, compared with 64% of non-delta variant infections.

Navigation-Guided Transnasal Endoscopic Delineation of the Posterior Margin for Maxillary Sinus Cancers: A Preclinical Study.

Background: The resection of advanced maxillary sinus cancers can be challenging due to the anatomical proximity to surrounding critical anatomical structures. Transnasal endoscopy can effectively aid the delineation of the posterior margin of resection. Implementation with 3D-rendered surgical navigation with virtual endoscopy (3D-SNVE) may represent a step forward.

Efficacy and Side Effects of Low Single Doses of Cloprostenol Sodium or Dinoprost Tromethamine to Induce Luteolysis in Donkeys.

Due to the limited literature available evaluating doses of Prostaglandin F2α in donkeys, doses for horses have been extrapolated and used as guidelines. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and side effects of four different cloprostenol sodium and dinoprost tromethamine doses to induce luteolysis in jennies. Sixty-three cycles of seven Jennies (nine cycles per jenny) were used in this study.

Hospital admissions for stress-related presentations among school-aged adolescents during term time versus holidays in England: weekly time series and retrospective cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Schools are a potential stressor for adolescents and may contribute to emergency hospital admissions.

Aims: We describe rates of stress-related presentations (SRPs) among school-aged adolescents (11-17 years) during school terms and holidays, and explore differences by age and gender.

Method: Using national administrative hospital data, we defined an SRP as an emergency hospital admission with a primary diagnosis related to pain, psychosomatic symptoms (e.

Augmented Reality and Intraoperative Navigation in Sinonasal Malignancies: A Preclinical Study.

Objective: To report the first use of a novel projected augmented reality (AR) system in open sinonasal tumor resections in preclinical models and to compare the AR approach with an advanced intraoperative navigation (IN) system.

Methods: Four tumor models were created. Five head and neck surgeons participated in the study performing virtual osteotomies.

Effect of nutritionally modified infant formula on academic performance: linkage of seven dormant randomised controlled trials to national education data.

Objective: To compare differences in academic performance between adolescents who were randomised in infancy to modified or standard infant formula.

Design: Linkage of seven dormant randomised controlled trials to national education data.

Setting: Five hospitals in England, 11 August 1993 to 29 October 2001, and schools in England, September 2002 to August 2016.

Who's slipping through the cracks? A comprehensive individual, clinical and health system characterization of people with virological failure on first-line HIV treatment in Uganda and South Africa.

Objectives: HIV virological failure remains a major threat to programme success in sub-Saharan Africa. While HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) and inadequate adherence are the main drivers of virological failure, the individual, clinical and health system characteristics that lead to poor outcomes are not well understood. The objective of this paper is to identify those characteristics among people failing first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Regional Recurrences and Hyams Grade in Esthesioneuroblastoma.

 The aim of this study is to determine if Hyams grade may help predict which patients with esthesioneuroblastoma (ENB) tumors are likely to develop regional recurrences, and to determine the impact of tumor extent on regional failure in ENB patients without evidence of nodal disease at presentation.  The study was designed as a retrospective review for ENB patients.  The study was prepared at tertiary care academic center for ENB patients.

Ectopic vortex veins and varices in Donnai Barrow syndrome.

Background: Donnai Barrow Syndrome (DBS) is a rare, multi-system autosomal recessively inherited disorder of relevance to ophthalmologists. To aim to describe the ocular phenotype using multimodal imaging for two cases of genetically confirmed DBS and compare against the published phenotype.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective case series of two unrelated patients with DBS and review of the literature.

Resistance Testing for Management of HIV Virologic Failure in Sub-Saharan Africa : An Unblinded Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Virologic failure in HIV predicts the development of drug resistance and mortality. Genotypic resistance testing (GRT), which is the standard of care after virologic failure in high-income settings, is rarely implemented in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: To estimate the effectiveness of GRT for improving virologic suppression rates among people with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa for whom first-line therapy fails.

Understanding the Binding of Starch Fragments to Granule-Bound Starch Synthase.

Granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS) plays a major role, that of chain elongation, in the biosynthesis of amylose, a starch component with mostly (1 → 4)-α connected long chains of glucose with a few (1 → 6)-α branch points. Chain-length distributions (CLDs) of amylose affect functional properties, which can be controlled by changing appropriate residues on granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS). Knowing the binding of GBSS and amylose at a molecular level can help better determine the key amino acids on GBSS that affect CLDs of amylose for subsequent use in molecular engineering.

Effect of processing on the solubility and molecular size of oat β-glucan and consequences for starch digestibility of oat-fortified noodles.

White wheat salted noodles containing oats have a slower digestion rate those without oats, with potential health benefits. Oat β-glucan may play an important role in this. Effects of sheeting and shearing during noodle-making and subsequent cooking on β-glucan concentration, solubility, molecular size and starch digestibility were investigated.

Impact of empagliflozin on right ventricular parameters and function among patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibition reduces cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and is associated with a reduction in left ventricular (LV) mass index. However, the impact on right ventricular (RV) remodeling is unknown. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to assess the impact of SGLT2 inhibition on RV parameters and function in T2DM and coronary artery disease (CAD).

Production and Use of Gesicles for Nucleic Acid Delivery.

Over-expression of the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSVG) in mammalian cells can induce the formation of VSVG-pseudotyped vesicles (named "gesicles") from membrane budding. Its use as a nucleic acid delivery tool is still poorly documented. Naked-plasmid DNA can be delivered in animal cells with gesicles in presence of hexadimethrine bromide (polybrene).