B-cell depletion with obinutuzumab for the treatment of proliferative lupus nephritis: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Objective: Randomised trials of type I anti-CD20 antibodies rituximab and ocrelizumab failed to show benefit in proliferative lupus nephritis (LN). We compared obinutuzumab, a humanised type II anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody that induces potent B-cell depletion, with placebo for the treatment of LN in combination with standard therapies.

Methods: Patients with LN receiving mycophenolate and corticosteroids were randomised to obinutuzumab 1000 mg or placebo on day 1 and weeks 2, 24 and 26, and followed through week 104.

Empagliflozin Treatment Is Associated With Improvements in Cardiac Energetics and Function and Reductions in Myocardial Cellular Volume in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular (CV) events and hospitalization for heart failure (HF) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Using CV MRI (CMR) and P-MRS in a longitudinal cohort study, we aimed to investigate the effects of the selective SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin on myocardial energetics and cellular volume, function, and perfusion. Eighteen patients with T2D underwent CMR and P-MRS scans before and after 12 weeks' empagliflozin treatment.

Autozygosity mapping in consanguineous Pakistani families identifies nine non-overlapping novel linkage intervals for autosomal recessive non-syndromic mental retardation (AR-NSMR); shows genetic heterogeneity for AR-NSMR.

Psychological disturbance (PD) or cerebral dysfunction (CD) covers several clinical areas, and has defining features of mental retardation. Recently, we conducted a study to investigate heritable heterogeneity in Pakistani consanguineous couples with recessive autosomal intellectual abnormalities. A cohort of three consanguineous families with multiple birth defects, belonging two to district lower Dir and one to district Lodhra, were selected for molecular analysis.

Presentation, treatment, and prognosis of colorectal adenosquamous carcinoma: A contemporary analysis of the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results database.

Introduction: Colorectal adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) represents <0.1% of colorectal cancers. Due to its rarity, there is paucity of data regarding its prognosis and treatment compared to other colorectal cancers.

Diclofenac toxicity in susceptible bird species results from a combination of reduced glomerular filtration and plasma flow with subsequent renal tubular necrosis.

Diclofenac caused the death of millions of vultures on the Asian subcontinent. Other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have since also been shown to be toxic to vultures with the exception of meloxicam. For this study, we evaluated the effect of diclofenac on renal uric acid transport and glomerulus filtration in an acute toxicity model.

Thyroid Disruptors: Extrathyroidal Sites of Chemical Action and Neurodevelopmental Outcome-An Examination Using Triclosan and Perfluorohexane Sulfonate.

Many xenobiotics are identified as potential thyroid disruptors due to their action to reduce circulating levels of thyroid hormone, most notably thyroxine (T4). Developmental neurotoxicity is a primary concern for thyroid disrupting chemicals yet correlating the impact of chemically induced changes in serum T4 to perturbed brain development remains elusive. A number of thyroid-specific neurodevelopmental assays have been proposed, based largely on the model thyroid hormone synthesis inhibitor propylthiouracil (PTU).

Supplementation with selenium nanoparticles alleviates diabetic nephropathy during pregnancy in the diabetic female rats.

The bioactivity of nanoparticles has engendered a promise in scientific communities for developing novel therapeutic strategies. This study investigated the protective effects of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) against kidney injury in streptozocin-induced diabetes during pregnant (DDP) rats. The female rats were separated into three groups (n = 8).

Clinical Outcomes in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients Treated With EGFR-Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors and Other Targeted Therapies Based on Tumor Versus Plasma Genomic Profiling.

Purpose: To compare clinical outcomes in a cohort of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with targetable genomic alterations detected using plasma-based circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) or tumor-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) assays treated with US Food and Drug Administration-approved therapies at a large academic research cancer center.

Methods: A retrospective review from our MD Anderson GEMINI database identified 2,224 blood samples sent for ctDNA NGS testing from 1971 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of advanced NSCLC. Clinical, treatment, and outcome information were collected, reviewed, and analyzed.

Solubility of vitamin A in supercritical CO: experimental study and thermodynamic modeling.

One of the best methods of extracting Vitamin A, as a helper of the immune body system and vision, was measured in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO); Mole fractions were gained at practical conditions in which the temperature was in the range of 303-323 K and the pressure range was 90-235 bar, respectively. Moreover, four Equation of States [Soave-Redlich-Kwong, Peng-Robinson, Stryjek-Vera and Dashtizadeh-Pazuki-Taghikhani-Ghotbi (DPTG)] were compared with the experimental data. Also, the mixing rules of Van der Waals (vdW1 and vdW2) selected to correlate the solubility data of vitamin A.

Total Neoadjuvant Therapy Versus Standard Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation in Patients with Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: A Comparison of Short- and Long-term Oncologic Outcomes.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of neoadjuvant multi-agent systemic chemotherapy and radiation (TNT) vs neoadjuvant single-agent chemoradiation (nCRT) and multi-agent adjuvant chemotherapy on overall survival (OS), tumor downstaging, and circumferential resection margin (CRM) status in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Summary Of Background Data: Outside of clinical trials and small institutional reports, there is a paucity of data regarding the short and long-term oncologic impact of TNT as compared to nCRT.

Methods: Adult patients with stage II-III rectal adenocarcinoma were identified in the National Cancer Database [2006-2015].

An Overview of Copper Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterisation and Anticancer Activity.

In this review, we summarised the different methods for copper nanoparticle synthesis, including green methods. We highlighted that the synthesis of the copper nanoparticles from green sources is preferable as they serve as stable and reducing entities. Furthermore, we critically reviewed the effectiveness of copper- based nanoparticles in oncogenic treatments emphasizing breast, lung, colorectal, and skin cancers.

Coumarin Exhibits Broad-Spectrum Antibiofilm and Antiquorum Sensing Activity against Gram-Negative Bacteria: and Investigation.

Quorum sensing (QS) and biofilm inhibition are recognized as the novel drug targets for the broad-spectrum anti-infective strategy to combat the infections caused by drug-resistant bacterial pathogens. Many compounds from medicinal plants have been found to demonstrate anti-infective activity. However, broad-spectrum anti-QS and antibiofilm efficacy and their mode of action are poorly studied.

The "Classification Pendulum" of Stage I Colorectal Cancer: A National Level Analysis of the Survival Difference Between T1 and T2 Colorectal Cancer.

Background: The eighth edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer classifies nonmetastatic, node-negative colorectal cancers invading the submucosa (T1) and muscularis propria (T2) as stage I tumors without additional subclassification.

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare survival of T1N0M0 versus T2N0M0 colorectal cancers and to investigate factors associated with decreased survival.

Design: This was an analysis of 2 large population-based data sets.

Discovery of Natural Compounds as Potential Inhibitors of Human Carbonic Anhydrase II: An Integrated Virtual Screening, Docking, and Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study.

Carbonic anhydrase II (CAII) is one of the zinc metalloenzymes that catalyze the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide, leading to the formation of bicarbonate and proton. CAII plays a significant role in health and disease. For example, CAII helps to maintain eye pressure while regulating the pH of the tumor microenvironment, and by extension, contributing to cancer progression.

Neuroprotective and antioxidant effect of Curcuma longa (Rhizome) methanolic extract on SH-SY5Y cells and Javanese medaka.

Diseases caused by oxidative stress can be prevented by antioxidant. Current treatments for those neurodegenerative diseases are not effective and cause many side effects. Thus, the search for alternative medicines is in high demand.

Male sex, ostomy, infection, and intravenous fluids are associated with increased risk of postoperative ileus in elective colorectal surgery.

Background: Postoperative ileus is a common and costly complication after elective colorectal surgery. Effects of intravenous fluid administration remain controversial, and the effect of ostomy construction has not been fully evaluated. Various restrictive intravenous fluid protocols may adversely affect renal function.

Episode of Hepatitis C viral infection in the people of Swat, Pakistan.

Infectious agents cause serious diseases in humans worldwide and are responsible for the high rate of morbidity and mortality. The prevalence and epidemiology of infectious disease (HCV) in the hospital visited patients referred by the physicians through the initial findings and their associated risk factors were studied in Swat. The data of 174 infected patients were collected during the period of 2015 to 2017 from two clinical laboratories of Tehsil Matta Swat.

Implementation of new ECMO centers during the COVID-19 pandemic: experience and results from the Middle East and India.

Purpose: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients has increased during the course of the pandemic. As uncertainty existed regarding patient's outcomes, early guidelines recommended against establishing new ECMO centers. We aimed to explore the epidemiology and outcomes of ECMO for COVID-19 related cardiopulmonary failure in five countries in the Middle East and India and to evaluate the results of ECMO in 5 new centers.

Mechanistic Computational Model for Extrapolating In Vitro Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Inhibition Data to Predict Serum Thyroid Hormone Levels in Rats.

High-throughput in vitro assays are developed to screen chemicals for their potential to inhibit thyroid hormones (THs) synthesis. Some of these experiments, such as the thyroid peroxidase (TPO) inhibition assay, are based on thyroid microsomal extracts. However, the regulation of thyroid disruption chemicals is based on THs in vivo serum levels.

Anticancer Potential of Biogenic Silver Nanoparticles: A Mechanistic Study.

The continuous loss of human life due to the paucity of effective drugs against different forms of cancer demands a better/noble therapeutic approach. One possible way could be the use of nanostructures-based treatment methods. In the current piece of work, we have synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using plant ( extract using AgNO3 as starting materials.

Nanomaterials-Based Sensors for Respiratory Viral Detection: A Review.

Contagious diseases are the principal cause of mortality, particularly respiratory viruses, a real menace for public health and economic development worldwide. Therefore, timely diagnosis and treatments are the only life-saving strategy to overcome any epidemic and particularly the ongoing prevailing pandemic COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2. A rapid identification, point of care, portable, highly sensitive, stable, and inexpensive device is needed which is exceptionally satisfied by sensor technology.