Microbial Metabolic Genes Crucial for Biofilms: An Insight From Re-analysis of Publicly Available Microarray Datasets.

Bacterial biofilms are microbial lifestyles found in all environments. Up to 80% of human infections and 60-70% of hospital-acquired infections have a biofilm origin, with one of the leading causes of these infections. Microorganisms in biofilms exhibit significant antimicrobial resistance which poses important treatment challenges, hence the urgent need to identify novel antibiofilm strategies.

Biofloc Technology: Emerging Microbial Biotechnology for the Improvement of Aquaculture Productivity.

With the significant increases in the human population, global aquaculture has undergone a great increase during the last decade. The management of optimum conditions for fish production, which are entirely based on the physicochemical and biological qualities of water, plays a vital role in the prompt aquaculture growth. Therefore, focusing on research that highlights the understanding of water quality and breeding systems' stability is very important.

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health associated trauma, admissions and fractures at a London major trauma centre.

Introduction: Non-injury-related factors have been extensively studied in major trauma and have been shown to have a significant impact on patient outcomes. Mental illness and associated medication use has been proven to have a negative effect on bone health and fracture healing.

Materials And Methods: We collated data retrospectively from the records of orthopaedic inpatients in a non-COVID and COVID period.

Comparison of acute and chronic effects of Bacopa monnieri, Ginkgo biloba, and Lavandula angustifolia and their mixture on learning and memory in mice.

Forty-seven million people are living with memory-related disorders worldwide. Phytomedicines are gaining extensive interest in the treatment of these ailments. Memory-enhancing (acute and chronic) potentials of commercial grade extracts of Bacopa monnieri (200 mg/kg, po), Ginkgo biloba (150 mg/kg, po), and Lavandula angustifolia (200 mg/kg, po) and their mixture (B.

Association of thyroid hormones with blood pressure and arterial stiffness in the general population: The Dali study.

Thyroid dysfunction plays a role in blood pressure (BP) regulation. However, the associations between thyroid function and BP and arterial stiffness in the general Chinese population without thyroid disease are unknown. This population-based cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the association between thyroid function and peripheral and central BP and arterial stiffness in Chinese individuals.

Practical, open source, GPU-accelerated, high-fidelity phase retrieval by simultaneous propagations.

Phase retrieval is a highly useful technique that allows the calculation of the complex electric field of a beam of spatially coherent radiation based only on recordings of intensity profiles with a camera. In this work, we demonstrate what we believe, to the best of our knowledge, is a new technique for single-beam multiple-intensity phase retrieval based on simultaneous propagations that provides improved fidelity results compared to standard methods (0.9931 compared to 0.

Mouse Embryonic Fibroblast Adipogenic Potential: A Comprehensive Transcriptome Analysis.

Our understanding of adipose tissue has progressed from an inert tissue for energy storage to be one of the largest endocrine organs regulating metabolic homoeostasis through its ability to synthesize and release various adipokines that regulate a myriad of pathways. The field of adipose tissue biology is growing due to this association with various chronic metabolic diseases. An important process in the regulation of adipose tissue biology is adipogenesis, which is the formation of new adipocytes.

Knowledge and perceptions about the health effects of environmental hazards among students from Hamdard University, Karachi: A cross sectional study.

Environmental hazards increase the health morbidity and mortality burden. This study compared the knowledge and perceptions about the health effects of environmental hazards among medical and engineering students of Hamdard University Karachi. A total of 263 (44.

Oxycodone attenuates vascular leak and lung inflammation in a clinically relevant two-hit rat model of acute lung injury.

Background: Oxycodone is a synthetic opioid receptor agonist that exerts antinociceptive activity via κ-, μ- and δ-opioid receptors (KOR, MOR and DOR, respectively). Activation of MOR has been reported to provide protection against acute lung injury (ALI). We hypothesized that pretreatment with oxycodone would attenuate lung injury at the level of alveolar tight junctions (TJs) and aquaporins (AQPs) and investigated this possibility in a two-hit model of ALI induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and mechanical ventilation (MV).

Novel biomarkers for the prediction of COVID-19 progression a retrospective, multi-center cohort study.

A pandemic designated as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is spreading worldwide. Up to date, there is no efficient biomarker for the timely prediction of the disease progression in patients. To analyze the inflammatory profiles of COVID-19 patients and demonstrate their implications for the illness progression of COVID-19.

A biomarker based severity progression indicator for COVID-19: the Kuwait prognosis indicator score.

Background: COVID-19 is a worldwide pandemic that is mild in most patients but can result in a pneumonia like illness with progression to acute respiratory distress syndrome and death. Predicting the disease severity at time of diagnosis can be helpful in prioritizing hospital admission and resources.

Methods: We prospectively recruited 1096 consecutive patients of whom 643 met the inclusion criterion with COVID-19 from Jaber Hospital, a COVID-19 facility in Kuwait, between 24 February and 20 April 2020.

Interleukin-11 is important for vascular smooth muscle phenotypic switching and aortic inflammation, fibrosis and remodeling in mouse models.

Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFβ1) is a major driver of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotypic switching, an important pathobiology in arterial disease. We performed RNA-sequencing of TGFβ1-stimulated human aortic or arterial VSMCs which revealed large and consistent upregulation of Interleukin 11 (IL11). IL11 has an unknown function in VSMCs, which highly express the IL11 receptor alpha, suggestive of an autocrine loop.

COVID-19: Impact of obesity and diabetes on disease severity.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is straining the healthcare system, particularly for patients with severe outcomes requiring admittance to the intensive care unit (ICU). This study investigated the potential associations of obesity and diabetes with COVID-19 severe outcomes, assessed as ICU admittance. Medical history, demographic and patient characteristics of a retrospective cohort (1158 patients) hospitalized with COVID-19 were analysed at a single centre in Kuwait.

Microplastics in freshwater ecosystems: a recent review of occurrence, analysis, potential impacts, and research needs.

The utilization of plastics has now become a threat to the environment as it generates microplastic particles (<5 mm in size). The increasing studies on the occurrence of microplastics in different environmental compartments have raised concern about the potential effects on ecosystems and living organisms. Of these, numerous studies are focused on marine environments.

Evaluation of root and canal morphology of maxillary permanent first molars in an Emirati population; a cone-beam computed tomography study.

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the root and canal morphology of the maxillary permanent first molars in an Emirati population using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).

Methods: Two hundred and sixty-one CBCT scans were acquired. The data were extracted and anonymized to remove all patient identifiers.

COVID-19 clinical outcomes and nationality: results from a Nationwide registry in Kuwait.

Background: In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have flagged racial and ethnic differences in health outcomes in western countries as an urgent global public health priority. Kuwait has a unique demographic profile with two-thirds of the population consisting of non-nationals, most of which are migrant workers. We aimed to explore whether there is a significant difference in health outcomes between non-Kuwaiti and Kuwaiti patients diagnosed with COVID-19.

Encapsulation of pectinase within polyacrylamide gel: characterization of its catalytic properties for continuous industrial uses.

Pectinase as a biocatalyst play a significant role in food and textile industries. In this study, the pectinase was immobilized by encapsulation within polyacrylamide gel to enhance its catalytic properties and ensure the reusability for continuous industrial processes. 9.

Effect of sleeve gastrectomy on the expression of meteorin-like (METRNL) and Irisin (FNDC5) in muscle and brown adipose tissue and its impact on uncoupling proteins in diet-induced obesity rats.

Background: Bariatric surgery is well established as a treatment for obesity and associated complications. This procedure improves metabolic homeostasis through changes in energy expenditure. We hypothesized that sleeve gastrectomy (SG) improves metabolic homeostasis by modulating energy expenditure and enhancing thermogenesis through increasing the expression level of meteorin-like protein (METRNL) and fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5 (FNDC5/Irisin) through uncoupling proteins 1/2/3 (UCP1, UCP2, and UCP3).

Perceptions, Knowledge, and Behaviors Related to COVID-19 Among Social Media Users: Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Social media is one of the most rapid and impactful ways of obtaining and delivering information in the modern era.

Objective: The aim of this study was to rapidly obtain information on public perceptions, knowledge, and behaviors related to COVID-19 in order to identify deficiencies in key areas of public education.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design, a survey web link was posted on the social media and messaging platforms Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp by the study investigators.

Characteristics, risk factors and outcomes among the first consecutive 1096 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Kuwait.

Background: In Kuwait, prior to the first case of COVID-19 being reported in the country, mass screening of incoming travelers from countries with known outbreaks was performed and resulted in the first identified cases in the country. All COVID-19 cases at the time and subsequently after, were transferred to a single center, Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Hospital, where the patients received standardized investigations and treatments. The objective of this study was to characterize the demographics, clinical manifestations, and outcomes in this unique patient population.