Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis, a Masquerader: Unveiling a Case of Nonresolving Pneumonia in an Asthmatic Patient.

Background: Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is an immune-mediated hypersensitivity reaction to a common environmental fungus. It is typically seen in asthmatic patients and those with cystic fibrosis. Lack of clinical suspicion and misdiagnosis often make the management of this condition difficult.

Mobility matters: a protocol to improve mobility and reduce length of stay in hospitalised older adults.

Functional decline in hospitalised older adults aged 65 and above is a significant clinical problem. Despite its adverse outcomes, the problem of not mobilising older adult patients in clinical settings remains. Existing evidence suggests that a mobility protocol can be effective in addressing this concern.

Clinical and demographic profiling of snakebite envenomation in a tertiary care centre in northern India.

Background: Snake bites are a major cause of emergency visits in tropical countries like India, with actual mortality and morbidity likely higher due to underreporting. The aim of the study was to analyze the clinical and demographic profiles of snake bites at the Department of Emergency Medicine, AIIMS Rishikesh, over two years (July 2021 to July 2023).

Methods: Patients aged over 18 with witnessed or suspected snake bites were included.

Highlights of 2024. Broadening anti-cancer immunotherapy modalities with antibody-drug conjugates: emerging insights from clinical studies.

In this article for the "Highlights of 2024" series, we discuss antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which are an emerging class of targeted cancer therapies that harness the specificity of monoclonal antibodies to deliver cytotoxic agents directly to tumor cells. ADCs bind to tumor-associated antigens, undergo internalization via receptor-mediated endocytosis, and release their cytotoxic payload intracellularly, reducing systemic toxicity. This highly selective mechanism has led to significant advancements in oncology, improving treatment efficacy while minimizing adverse effects.

Micelle nanogel-based drug delivery system for lutein in ocular administration.

Recent studies have demonstrated that antioxidants like lutein considerably lower the prevalence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which has been connected to blindness in numerous older adults. By halting oxidation, antioxidants reduce the damage that free radicals do. However, the short residence time, low stability, and poor solubility of lutein limit their ocular bioavailability following topical application.

A Practical Approach to Quantitatively Assessing Equilibrium-Constant Accuracy from a Single Binding Isotherm.

Equilibrium constants are essential for understanding and predicting the behavior of chemical systems across various scientific disciplines. Traditionally, these constants are computed via nonlinear regression of reaction isotherms, which show the dependence of the unreacted fraction of one reactant on the total concentration of another reactant. However, while these equilibrium constants can be precise (with small random errors), they may also be grossly inaccurate (with large systematic errors), leading to potential misinterpretations.

Functional Roles and Host Interactions of Non-Structural Proteins During Replication.

, a genus encompassing arthropod-borne, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses in the family, represents clinically relevant viruses that pose significant threats to human and animal health worldwide. With warming climates and persistent urbanization, arthropod vectors and the viruses they transmit continue to widen their geographic distribution, expanding endemic zones. Flaviviruses such as dengue virus, Zika virus, West Nile virus, and tick-borne encephalitis virus cause debilitating and fatal infections globally.

Effect of 6,6-Substitution on 2,2'-Bipyridine and Probing Biomolecular Interaction Through Experimental and Computational Studies Towards Anticancer Potency.

The current study focuses on the cytotoxicity assessment of 6,6'-substituted 2,2'-bipyridine derivatives containing functional groups, namely methyl (-CH, L1), acid (-COOH, L2), ester (-COOCH, L3), semicarbozone (-CONHNH, L4). The ligands exhibited high solubility in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and moderately soluble in dimethyl formamide (DMF), acetonitrile (ACN) and low solubility in water. The ligands display a significant π→π* transition in the region of 270 nm to 305 nm.

Transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) inhibitors screened from an Fv-antibody library for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Fv-antibodies targeting the transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) were screened from an Fv-antibody library for inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 infection. Fv-antibodies were derived from the variable region of heavy-chain immunoglobulin G (IgG), which consisted of three complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) and frame regions (FRs). The Fv-antibody library was prepared through site-directed mutagenesis of CDR3 region.

Zika virus NS1 drives tunneling nanotube formation for mitochondrial transfer and stealth transmission in trophoblasts.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is unique among orthoflaviviruses in its vertical transmission capacity in humans, yet the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here, we show that ZIKV induces tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) in placental trophoblasts which facilitate transfer of viral particles, proteins, mitochondria, and RNA to neighboring uninfected cells. TNT formation is driven exclusively via ZIKV non-structural protein 1 (NS1).

Impact of infrapatellar fat pad injury severity on subsequent patellofemoral cartilage degeneration following acute ACL tear.

Objective: The infrapatellar fat pad (IFP) is important in the homeostasis of the knee joint due to its structural and immune-modulating properties. This study investigates the relationship between IFP injury severity during acute Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears, and the future development of Patellofemoral Compartment (PFC) chondrosis.

Methods: Adult participants aged 18-45 years old who were known to have first-time ACL tears between 01/01/2009 and 10/1/2022 were included.

Hyaluronic acid-based hesperidin nanostructured lipid carriers loaded dissolving microneedles: A localized delivery approach loaded for the management of obesity.

Obesity, a persistent imbalance of calories, has become one of the major clinical factors that result in many metabolic disorders. Despite excellent anti-obesity properties, the poor aqueous solubility of hesperidin (HES), a flavonoid, hampers its applicability. To resolve this issue and conquer oral administration's drawbacks, our study has concentrated on encapsulating HES in nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) and incorporating the NLCs into microneedles (MNs).

Multimodal Diagnostic Imaging of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: Noninvasive Analyses by Photoacoustic Ultrasound and Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Chronic diseases of the liver are major public health concerns worldwide. Steatosis and steatohepatitis associated with alcoholic liver disease, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease/nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and hepatitis B and C contribute to chronic diseases of the liver. Liver fibrosis occurs in all forms of advanced chronic diseases of the liver, the confirmation of which is typically performed by needle biopsy.

The Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Velocity Time Integral as a Predictor of Fluid Responsiveness in Patients With Sepsis-Related Acute Circulatory Failure.

Background: Sepsis is a major contributor to global morbidity and mortality. Effective fluid resuscitation is essential for managing septic shock, but it must be carefully monitored to avoid fluid overload and related complications. Recent studies have demonstrated that both inadequate and excessive fluid resuscitation are linked to poor outcomes.

Urine-Stable Aptamer-Conjugated Gold Nanorods for the Early Detection of High-Grade Bladder Cancer Residual Disease.

The limitations of current diagnostic imaging techniques and therapies for bladder cancer are associated with and responsible for the recurrence and progression of residual disease, with an impact on social costs and quality of life of patients. This study delivers a cost-effective solution for the detection of bladder cancer residual disease, which is represented by the early detection of bladder cancer lesions < 1 mm. Urine-stable 34-mer SH-terminated 2'F-Py-RNA aptamer that recognizes the integrin α5β1, expressed by 81% of human high-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, is developed.

Screening of deoxyribonuclease I inhibitors from autodisplayed Fv-antibody library.

Deoxyribonuclease (DNase) I inhibitors have been developed based on proteins, nucleotides and synthetic compounds. In this work, amino acid sequences with the activity of DNase I inhibitor were screened from an Fv-antibody library expressed on the outer membrane of Escherichia coli. The Fv-antibody indicated the heavy chain variable region (V) of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and the Fv-antibody library was generated with a randomized complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3).

Prognostic Modeling for Bone Sarcomas Based on a Large Prospective Cohort From a Tertiary Care Cancer Center in India.

Purpose: Outcomes of adolescents and young adults (AYA) with bone sarcomas including osteosarcoma (OGS) and Ewing sarcoma (ES) are affected by various factors including inadvertent previous treatment and poor compliance. We aimed to develop a risk-scoring system derived and validated at a tertiary care cancer center in India.

Methods: All AYA OGS and ES cases treated at our institute with OGS-12 and Ewing's family of tumors-2001 (EFT-2001) protocols from 2011 to 2021 and 2013 to 2018, respectively, were prospectively analyzed.

Safety and efficacy of satralizumab in patients with generalised myasthenia gravis (LUMINESCE): a randomised, double-blind, multicentre, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial.

Background: Evidence from preclinical studies suggests that IL-6 signalling has the potential to modulate immunopathogenic mechanisms upstream of autoantibody effector mechanisms in patients with generalised myasthenia gravis. We aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of satralizumab, a humanised monoclonal antibody targeting the IL-6 receptor, in patients with generalised myasthenia gravis.

Methods: LUMINESCE was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre, phase 3 study at 105 sites, including hospitals and clinics, globally.

Enhancing waste classification accuracy with Channel and Spatial Attention-Based Multiblock Convolutional Network.

Municipal waste classification is significant for effective recycling and waste management processes that involve the classification of diverse municipal waste materials such as paper, glass, plastic, and organic matter using diverse techniques. Yet, this municipal waste classification process faces several challenges, such as high computational complexity, more time consumption, and high variability in the appearance of waste caused by variations in color, type, and degradation level, which makes an inaccurate waste classification process. To overcome these challenges, this research proposes a novel Channel and Spatial Attention-Based Multiblock Convolutional Network for accurately classifying municipal waste that utilizes a unique attention mechanism for enhancing feature learning and waste classification accuracy.

Growth dynamics of Indian infants using latent trajectory models in pooled survey datasets.

Background: National survey data show that age- and sex-standardized weight and length measurements decline early in Indian children. In population-level longitudinal data, early detection of growth trajectories is important for the implementation of interventions. We aimed to identify and characterize distinct growth trajectories of Indian children from birth to 12 months of age residing in urban and rural areas.

Graduate nurses caring for people living with dementia: A scoping review.

Background: Adequate dementia care knowledge of graduate nurses is essential for the wellbeing of both people living with dementia as well as the graduate nurses caring for them. Little is known about the dementia care knowledge, experience or confidence of graduate nurses caring for people living with dementia. This paper aims to review the available literature on graduate nurses caring for people living with dementia.

PEGylated Platinum Nanoparticles: A Comprehensive Study of Their Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Effects.

Pain and inflammation are common symptoms of a majority of the diseases. Chronic pain and inflammation, as well as related dreadful disorders, remain difficult to control due to a lack of safe and effective medications. In this work, biocompatible platinum nanoparticles with significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory action were synthesized through a wet chemical method using polyethylene glycol-400 as a capping agent and sodium borohydride as a reducing agent.