Effect of Fusion to the LTB Carrier Protein on Coronavirus Spike Protein Vaccine Candidates Produced in Maize.

Coronaviruses continue to disrupt health and economic productivity worldwide. Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a devastating swine disease and SARS-CoV-2 is the latest coronavirus to infect the human population. Both viruses display a similar spike protein on the surface that is a target of vaccine development.

Differences in Characteristics of Peripartum Patients Who Did and Did Not Require an Upgrade to the Intensive Care Unit: A Propensity Score Matching Study.

This study sought to identify predictors for peripartum patients admitted to non-intensive care wards who later upgraded to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This was a retrospective observational study of patients admitted to the Maternal Fetal Ward between 01/2017 and 12/2022, who later upgraded to the ICU. Upgraded patients were 1:1 propensity score matched with those who remained on the Maternal Fetal Ward (control).

A new approach for assessing the radioecological risk associated with the legacy discharge of oil derived natural radioactivity in the UK North Sea.

Although oil and gas (O&G) derived produced waters and drill cuttings are known to contain enhanced levels of naturally occurring radium-228 (Ra) and radium-226 (Ra), most relevant ecological impact assessments have excluded radiological hazards and focus on other important contaminants, such as hydrocarbons and metals. Also, due to restricted access to the delimiting safety zone around operational O&G platforms, the few previous radioecological risk assessment studies have been conducted using seawater samples collected far from the main discharge point and applying default dilution and transfer factors to estimate concentrations of contaminants in biota. In this case study, sediment cores were collected close to a former O&G platform, Northwest Hutton (NWH), that used to be in the UK North Sea (61.

A randomized sequential cross-over trial evaluating five purportedly ICP-lowering drugs in idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Objective: To gain initial insight into the efficacy to lower intracranial pressure (ICP), side effects, and effects on cognition of five drugs commonly used to treat idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH).

Background: Limited clinical data exist for the treatment for IIH. Impaired cognition is recognized in IIH and can be exacerbated by medications.

Assessing the Effects of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors on Bone Utilizing Machine Learning-assisted Opportunistic Quantitative Computed Tomography.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are widely used in cancer treatment, yet their impact on bone health remains unclear. This study aimed to perform a retrospective cohort study utilizing routine computed tomography (CT) scans from patients with melanoma to perform opportunistic quantitative CT (QCT) analysis to investigate the effects of ICI treatment on skeletal health, including volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) measurements and osteoarthritis (OA) parameters. A previously established machine-learning assisted opportunistic QCT pipeline was used to estimate lumbar spine vBMD from baseline and 12-month follow-up CT scans in patients with melanoma treated with ICI therapy and those not treated with ICI therapy.