Macular Edema Ranibizumab v. Intravitreal anti-inflammatory Therapy (MERIT) Trial-24-week Outcomes of Uveitic Macular Edema Retreatment.

Purpose: Evaluation of longer-term effectiveness of three intravitreal therapies (methotrexate, ranibizumab, or dexamethasone implant) for participants enrolled in the randomized comparative effectiveness trial the Macular Edema Ranibizumab versus Intravitreal anti-inflammatory Therapy (MERIT) Trial followed for24 weeks.

Design: Multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial with masked evaluation of retinal thickness and visual acuity.

Participants: Patients with persistent or recurrent uveitic macular edema.

Examining hydrogen peroxide-containing organelles in seaweeds.

Seaweeds, particularly the red seaweed , produce and sequester bromomethanes, which are known for mitigating methane emissions in ruminants when used as a feed supplement. Bromomethane synthesis requires hydrogen peroxide (H O ). We developed a staining assay utilizing 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB) for identifying H O in three groups of seaweeds (red, brown, and green), including intensely pigmented species.

Cutaneous Dermatologic Manifestations of Cardiovascular Diseases: A Narrative Review.

Cardiovascular diseases represent the largest worldwide cause of morbidity and mortality. Common signs and symptoms of cardiovascular disease are well characterized and taught in medical curricula, allowing clinicians to quickly recognize and diagnose the more acute and emergent cardiovascular diseases. Dermatological features associated with cardiovascular diseases are less understood but very valuable to appreciate in clinical practice.

The Physiology of Enteric Glia.

Enteric glia are the partners of neurons in the enteric nervous system throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Roles fulfilled by enteric glia are diverse and contribute to maintaining intestinal homeostasis through interactions with neurons, immune cells, and the intestinal epithelium. Glial influences optimize physiological gut processes such as intestinal motility and epithelial barrier integrity through actions that regulate the microenvironment of the enteric nervous system, the activity of enteric neurons, intestinal epithelial functions, and immune response.

Contextual barriers to infection prevention and control program implementation in hospitals in Latin America: a mixed methods evaluation.

Background: Infection prevention and control (IPC) programs are essential to prevent and control the spread of multidrug-resistant organisms in healthcare facilities (HCFs). The current implementation of these programs in Latin America remains largely unknown.

Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods evaluation of IPC program implementation in HCFs from Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador, and Argentina, March-July 2022.

The Effect of Acute Sleep Extension on Blood Pressure Is Dependent on the Change in Sleep Efficiency.

The present study investigated the effect of acute sleep extension on blood pressure and microvascular vasodilation. Sleep and daily physical activity were objectively measured at home for two weeks using wrist actigraphy in 22 adults (60 ± 15 y). Vascular measurements were made in the morning on the 8th and 15th day.

Avian influenza overview June-September 2024.

Between 15 June and 20 September 2024, 75 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5) and A(H7) virus detections were reported in domestic (16) and wild (59) birds across 11 countries in Europe. Although the overall number of detections in Europe continued to be low compared to previous epidemiological years, an increase in cases along the Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic coasts was notable, particularly an increase in the detection of HPAI viruses in colony-breeding seabirds. Besides EA-2022-BB and other circulating genotypes, these detections also included EA-2023-DT, a new genotype that may transmit more efficiently among gulls.

Bullous Herpes Zoster in a Lupus Nephritis Patient Treated with Rituximab: A Case Report.

Herpes zoster is a clinical syndrome associated with reactivation of varicella zoster virus (VZV), often occurring years after VZV infection, and characterized typically by painful grouped vesicles in a dermatomal distribution. Bullous herpes zoster, an atypical presentation of herpes zoster, is a relatively rare phenomenon; to the authors' knowledge, there have only been eight reports in worldwide literature. We present a case of a 59-year-old female with lupus nephritis who presented with multiple grouped vesicles evolving into large tender bullae filled with serosanguinous fluid on the lateral aspect of the right leg, and dorsal and medial aspects of the right foot, four days after the first dose of 1g of rituximab therapy.

Endothelial ENaC-α Restrains Oxidative Stress in Lung Capillaries in Murine Pneumococcal Pneumonia-associated Acute Lung Injury.

Infection of lung endothelial cells with pneumococci activates the superoxide-generating enzyme NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2), involving the pneumococcal virulence factor pneumolysin (PLY). Excessive NOX2 activity disturbs capillary barriers, but its global inhibition can impair bactericidal phagocyte activity during pneumococcal pneumonia. Depletion of the α subunit of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) in pulmonary endothelial cells increases expression and PMA-induced activity of NOX2.

Inhibition of choroidal osteoma progression using bisphosphonate and RANKL-inhibitory treatment.

Purpose: To describe the use of anti-osteoclastic medications (i.e., bisphosphonates and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa beta (RANK) ligand inhibitors) in treating choroidal osteoma.

Efficient utilization of xylose requires CO fixation in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942.

Cyanobacteria show great promise as autotrophic hosts for the renewable biosynthesis of useful chemicals from CO and light. While they can efficiently fix CO, cyanobacteria are generally outperformed by heterotrophic production hosts in terms of productivity and titer. Photomixotrophy, or co-utilization of sugars and CO as carbon feedstocks, has been implemented in cyanobacteria to greatly improve productivity and titers of several chemical products.

CHARMM at 45: Enhancements in Accessibility, Functionality, and Speed.

Since its inception nearly a half century ago, CHARMM has been playing a central role in computational biochemistry and biophysics. Commensurate with the developments in experimental research and advances in computer hardware, the range of methods and applicability of CHARMM have also grown. This review summarizes major developments that occurred after 2009 when the last review of CHARMM was published.

Insights into undergraduate medical student selection tools: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: Evaluating medical school selection tools is vital for evidence-based student selection. With previous reviews revealing knowledge gaps, this meta-analysis offers insights into the effectiveness of these selection tools.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted applying the following criteria: peer-reviewed articles available in English, published from 2010 and which include empirical data linking performance in selection tools with assessment and dropout outcomes of undergraduate entry medical programs.

Multiple Anterior Chamber Paracenteses May Be Needed to Identify Cytomegalovirus Anterior Uveitis.

Purpose: To demonstrate cases of anterior uveitis requiring more than one anterior chamber paracenesis to elucidate CMV as the causative etiology.

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Methods: Patients were seen at the Francis I.

Modeling the current and future habitat suitability of in the dry forest of northern Peru under climate change scenarios to 2100.

The development of anthropic activities and climate change effects impact worldwide species' ecosystems and habitats. Habitats' adequate prediction can be an important tool to assess current and future trends. In addition, it allows strategies development for their conservation.

Association Between Baseline Macular Morphologic Features on Optical Coherence Tomography and Visual Outcomes in Patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease.

Purpose: The choroidal thickening and serous retinal detachments that characterize Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease can be imaged in detail using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Whether specific qualitative and quantitative SD-OCT features at presentation were associated with visual outcomes in a randomized controlled trial comparing methotrexate to mycophenolate for steroid-sparing control of uveitis were evaluated.

Methods: An exploratory subanalysis of data from the FAST trial in which SD-OCT images from VKH participants were analyzed for presence/absence of bacillary detachments, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) folds, and internal limiting membrane (ILM) fluctuations was performed.

Deep sequencing as a diagnostic tool in patients with suspected primary vitreoretinal lymphoma.

Purpose: To compare the diagnostic utility of metagenomic deep sequencing (MDS) to cytology, flow cytometry and gene rearrangement by PCR in ocular samples of patients with suspected vitreoretinal lymphoma (VRL).

Methods: Patients with suspected VRL underwent ocular sampling of one or both eyes at the Emory Eye Center from September 2017 to June 2022. Ocular samples were evaluated with MDS and conventional diagnostics.

Mimicking lightning-induced electrochemistry on the early Earth.

To test the hypothesis that an abiotic Earth and its inert atmosphere could form chemically reactive carbon- and nitrogen-containing compounds, we designed a plasma electrochemical setup to mimic lightning-induced electrochemistry under steady-state conditions of the early Earth. Air-gap electrochemical reactions at air-water-ground interfaces lead to remarkable yields, with up to 40 moles of carbon dioxide being reduced into carbon monoxide and formic acid, and 3 moles of gaseous nitrogen being fixed into nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium ions, per mole of transmitted electrons. Interfaces enable reactants (e.

Healthcare Encounters and Outcomes of Filipino Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Managed at a Tertiary COVID-19 Referral Center.

Objective: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has limited healthcare delivery for patients with chronic diseases, including Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). This study aims to describe the outcomes of patients with SLE in a national COVID-19 referral center in the Philippines.

Methods: A review of records of all adult patients with SLE seen in the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) from March 2020 to December 2021 was done.

Noninvasive Diagnostic Method to Objectively Measure Olfaction and Diagnose Smell Disorders by a Molecularly Targeted Fluorescence Imaging Agent.

Despite the recent advances in understanding the mechanisms of olfaction, no tools are currently available to noninvasively identify loss of smell. Because of the substantial increase in patients presenting with coronavirus disease 2019-related loss of smell, the pandemic has highlighted the urgent need to develop quantitative methods. Our group investigated the use of a novel fluorescent probe named Tsp1a-IR800 as a tool to diagnose loss of smell.