Current status and future directions for the diagnosis and management of mild cognitive impairment in Southeast Asia: A SEACURE consensus paper.

Global aging populations are facing increased prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) - the preclinical stage of dementia characterized by single/multi-domain neurocognitive decline that does not impair an individual's normal daily functioning. Asian populations are at increased risk of developing MCI and dementia, and many cases go undetected in Southeast Asia (SEA), resulting in increased burden on patients, caregivers and national healthcare systems. There is an urgent need for efficient and scalable diagnostic and management strategies across SEA.

Bedaquiline Resistance and Treatment Outcomes Among Patients With Tuberculosis Previously Exposed to Bedaquiline in India: A Multicentric Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Bedaquiline (BDQ) resistance presents a critical challenge in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), particularly multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains. The emergence of resistance to BDQ, a key drug in treating MDR-TB, poses significant threats to TB treatment effectiveness.

Methods: The National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases in Delhi and the Médecins Sans Frontières clinic in Mumbai provide BDQ, delamanid, and carbapenem-based regimens for patients with suspected or confirmed treatment failure.

Research quality and dissemination of paediatric randomised controlled trials with and without patient and family engagement: systematic review.

Objectives: Authentic patient and family engagement in child health research is defined as researchers working in partnership with patients and families on all aspects of the research process, including refining the research question, tailoring the intervention, devising study procedures and disseminating study findings. While there is good evidence of a positive impact of patient engagement on the research process, on research teams and on patient partners, there are few empirical data on the impact of patient and family engagement on research quality and dissemination. We conducted a systematic review to compare research quality and dissemination metrics for paediatric randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that engaged patients and families in the research process with trials that did not.

Polyphosphatases have a polyphosphate-independent influence on the virulence of .

an invasive basidiomycete fungal pathogen, causes one of the most prevalent, life-threatening diseases in immunocompromised individuals and accounts for ~19% of AIDS-associated deaths. Therefore, understanding the pathogenesis of and its interactions with the host immune system is critical for developing therapeutics against cryptococcosis. Previous studies demonstrated that cells lacking polyphosphate (polyP), an immunomodulatory polyanionic storage molecule, display altered cell surface architecture but unimpaired virulence in a murine model of cryptococcosis.

Mobile Stroke Units Address Socioeconomic Disparities in Care.

Background And Objectives: Strokes disproportionately affect underprivileged populations. Mobile stroke units (MSUs) bring diagnostic and treatment tools for stroke directly to patients. This study assessed how MSUs in Rochester, New York, address disparities in stroke care.

Astrocytes as Key Regulators of Neural Signaling in Health and Disease.

Astrocytes, traditionally viewed as supportive cells within the central nervous system (CNS), are now recognized as dynamic regulators of neural signaling and homeostasis. They actively engage in synaptic transmission and brain health by releasing gliotransmitters such as glutamate, GABA, ATP, adenosine, lactate, and d-serine. Astrocytes also play a critical role in ion homeostasis and immune response through cytokine modulation and reactive oxygen species regulation.

Nanoscale Metal-Organic Frameworks: An Emerging Versatile Tool for Next-Generation Photodynamic Therapy.

Photodynamic therapy has emerged as a potent strategy for treatment of cancer due to its non-invasiveness, minimal toxicity, high spatial selectivity, and potential for combination therapies. However, self-aggregation of photosensitizers, tumour hypoxia and low penetration depth of excitation photons remain prominent challenges towards its clinical application. Nanoscale metal-organic frameworks have emerged as one of the most promising materials due to their tunable composition which allows the adjustment of optical and chemical properties by changing the metal ions or organic linkers.

Comparative Analysis of Artificial Intelligence Platforms in Generating Post-Operative Instructions for Rhinologic Surgery.

Recently, artificial intelligence (AI) platforms such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini have progressed at a rapid pace. To allow for optimal medical outcomes and patient safety, it is crucial that patients have clearly written post-operative instructions. Patients are increasingly turning to AI platforms for medical information.

Late pandemic COVID-19 positivity at the time of thrombectomy is associated with poor outcomes and tandem carotid pathology.

Objectives: COVID-19 is an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke. Studies from early in the pandemic show increased rates of unfavorable recanalization, poor outcomes, and mortality in patients who were COVID-19 positive at the time of mechanical thrombectomy. However, there are currently no studies examining these parameters during the later pandemic when circulating variants were less virulent.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Colorectal Cancer: An Eternal Fire in a Beautiful Garden.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), encompassing Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, significantly increases the risk of colitis-associated cancer (CAC). Chronic inflammation, a key contributor to carcinogenesis, disrupts immune surveillance, induces deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage, and alters genetic and epigenetic pathways. Molecular pathways such as STAT3, mTOR, and NF-κB drive CAC progression, while unique microbiome alterations-loss of and increases in and species-exacerbate the inflammatory milieu.

Hypoxia-Inducible Factor Prolyl Hydroxylase Inhibitors for Treatment of Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease: Guidelines for South Asia.

This guideline addresses the use of hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors (HIF-PHIs) in patients >18 years with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and anemia in South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka). It also summarizes recommendations for anemia treatment for individual HIF-PHI molecules under two categories: dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis-dependent CKD patients. The recommendations do not apply to pediatric (≤12 years) and adolescent (12 to 18) patients or those with primary anemia or anemia secondary to other causes such as blood loss, cancer (any type), polycystic kidney disease and infectious diseases.

Virtual Health Care Encounters for Lung Cancer Screening in a Safety-Net Population: Observations From the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted normal mechanisms of health care delivery and facilitated the rapid and widespread implementation of telehealth technology. As a result, the effectiveness of virtual health care visits in diverse populations represents an important consideration. We used lung cancer screening as a prototype to determine whether subsequent adherence differs between virtual and in-person encounters in an urban, safety-net health care system.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Children: Current Diagnosis and Treatment Strategies.

Pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, has emerged as a significant global health challenge with rising incidence rates. Unlike adult inflammatory bowel disease, PIBD presents complexities, including growth impairment, nutritional deficiencies, and psychosocial challenges that necessitate tailored management strategies. This article reviews current diagnostic and emerging treatment strategies to highlight the evolution from traditional therapies such as aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, and immunomodulators to advanced biologic agents like infliximab and adalimumab.

Risk of Cytomegalovirus Viremia Following Transplantation of Hepatitis C-Viremic Donor Kidneys Into Uninfected Recipients: A Multi-Center Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Several studies have suggested an increased risk of cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia among Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-uninfected recipients of kidney transplants from HCV-RNA+ deceased donors (HCV D+/R-), but these studies featured small sample sizes and limited ability to address confounding variables.

Methods: We assembled a retrospective cohort of adult kidney transplant recipients at five US centers between 4/1/2015 and 12/31/2020 to determine the association between HCV D+/R- transplants and the outcomes of CMV viremia (> 1000 IU/mL), death-censored graft failure, and mortality in the first posttransplant year compared to HCV D-/R- transplants. We generated highly similar matched cohorts of HCV D+/R- and HCV D-/R- recipients based on attributes that affect the risk of CMV viremia.

Nanoparticles alter locust development and behaviour.

Locusts, among the world's most destructive migratory pests, threaten food security by devastating crops and pastures. Conventional chemical insecticides pose environmental and health risks, highlighting the need for sustainable alternatives. We demonstrate the efficacy of nickel ferrite (NiFeO) nanoparticles (36 ± 10 nm), as a safe, cost-effective insecticide for locust management.

Search for Magnetic Monopole Pair Production in Ultraperipheral Pb+Pb Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.36 TeV with the ATLAS Detector at the LHC.

This Letter presents a search for highly ionizing magnetic monopoles in 262  μb^{-1} of ultraperipheral Pb+Pb collision data at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.36  TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. A new methodology that exploits the properties of clusters of hits reconstructed in the innermost silicon detector layers is introduced to study highly ionizing particles in heavy-ion data.

INDIVIDUAL DYNAMIC PREDICTION FOR CURE AND SURVIVAL BASED ON LONGITUDINAL BIOMARKERS.

To optimize personalized treatment strategies and extend patients' survival times, it is critical to accurately predict patients' prognoses at all stages, from disease diagnosis to follow-up visits. The longitudinal biomarker measurements during visits are essential for this prediction purpose. Patients' ultimate concerns are cure and survival.

A new cure model accounting for longitudinal data and flexible patterns of hazard ratios over time.

With the advancement of medical treatments, many historically incurable diseases have become curable. An accurate estimation of the cure rates is of great interest. When there are no clear biomarker indicators for cure, the estimation of cure rate is intertwined with and influenced by the specification of hazard functions for uncured patients.

A Multicenter Training and Interrater Reliability Study of the BASED Score for Infantile Epileptic Spasms Syndrome.

Purpose: The best possible outcomes in infantile epileptic spasms syndrome require electroclinical remission; however, determining electrographic remission is not straightforward. Although the determination of hypsarrhythmia has inadequate interrater reliability (IRR), the Burden of AmplitudeS and Epileptiform Discharges (BASED) score has shown promise for the reliable interictal assessment of infantile epileptic spasms syndrome. Our aim was to develop a BASED training program and assess the IRR among learners.

Astrocyte-Specific Phenotyping of FAD as an Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Model.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease, characterized by memory decline and behavioral changes. Its pathological features include senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and reactive gliosis, comprising abnormal accumulations of β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau protein surrounded by reactive astrocytes and microglia. Recently, it has emerged that severe reactive astrocytes and MAOB-dependent production of GABA and HO are the real causes of learning and memory impairment and neurodegeneration.

Development and Performance Evaluation of Enhanced Piezo-Electric Sensor Cum Energy Harvester Based on Flexural Strain Amplification in Real-Life Field Conditions.

Driven by technological advancements and accelerated infrastructure development, an increase in the need to monitor the performance of prominent structures such as bridges, metro-corridors, and sea-link bridges is being advocated by experts to predict and minimize any hazards resulting from the degradation of the structures over time. However, accessing and replacing the batteries becomes problematic and expensive when the sensors are instrumented in remote areas of the bridge structures, especially when the sensors are embedded. For these reasons, a strong case can be made for harvesting and storing ambient energy from the surroundings to drive the sensors for structural health monitoring (SHM).

The HOPS and vCLAMP protein Vam6 connects polyphosphate with mitochondrial function and oxidative stress resistance in .

is considered one of the most dangerous fungal threats to human health, and the World Health Organization recently ranked it in the critical priority group for perceived public health importance. Proliferation of within mammalian hosts is supported by its ability to overcome nutritional limitations and endure stress conditions induced by the host immune response. Previously, we reported that the Vam6/Vps39/TRAP1-domain protein Vam6 was crucial for vacuolar morphology, iron acquisition, and virulence.