Diagnostic Markers of Severe COVID-19 and Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Children From Southern India.

COVID-19 severely impacts children in India, with many developing severe pneumonia or multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). Concurrently, non-COVID-19 respiratory viruses causing community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) have resurged. These conditions present similarly, challenging accurate diagnosis.

Changes in Availability and Affordability on the University Food Environment: The Potential Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the eating habits of the general population, among other reasons, because it has affected access to commercial establishments since some of them closed. This study aimed to describe potential changes that occurred between 2019 and 2022 in the availability and affordability of food and beverages in the food environment of a Brazilian public university.

Methods: Cross-sectional and descriptive study conducted at a public university located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Acute Ingestion of Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) Infusion Does Not Modify Endothelial Function, Hemodynamics, or Heart Rate Variability: A Randomized Crossover Clinical Trial.

Background And Aims: Herbal plants may contribute to reducing the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Yerba mate (YM) emerges as a candidate to improve endothelial function, hemodynamics, and heart rate variability (HRV) due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, potentially decreasing cardiovascular risk. Therefore, studies are needed to assess the effect of YM ingestion on these parameters.

Risk of Bleed During Pregnancy in Women with Epilepsy Due to Cerebral Vascular Malformations.

Background: Cerebral vascular malformations are rare but important causes of epilepsy in young women. The risk of bleed during pregnancy and delivery as well as the fetal outcomes are important concerns for women with epilepsy (WWE) due to cerebral vascular malformations (EVM).

Objectives: We compared the maternal and fetal outcomes of a cohort of EVM with women with focal epilepsy due to other causes (ENVM).

Outcomes of A2/A2B to B Deceased Donor Kidney Transplantation: A Retrospective Study.

Background A2/A2B to B kidney transplantation has the potential to increase transplant access for traditionally disadvantaged blood group B minority candidates. Despite prior reports of positive post-transplant safety and clinical success, A2/A2B to B kidney transplantation remains underutilized in the United States. This study aims to investigate the post-transplant outcomes of A2/A2B to B kidney transplants performed at our center.

Development and Validation of a Novel Tool to Measure Medication Adherence for Noncommunicable Diseases in India: Protocol for an Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Multicentric Study.

Background: In high-income countries, only 50% of patients treated for chronic diseases adhere to the prescribed treatment. This issue is even more pronounced in resource-limited countries. Medication adherence scales are simple, low-cost approaches to identify nonadherence in clinical practice.

Association of Smoking with Disease Progression in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis Undergoing Autologous Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: A Single-Center Experience.

Background: Smoking remains a significant issue that increases the prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) and its progression to secondary progressive forms. Objectives: The goal is to identify the relationship between smoking and disease progression in MS patients who have undergone autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT) at the Centro de Hematología y Medicina Interna, Clínica Ruiz, Puebla, Mexico. Methods: This retrospective study involved MS patients treated with auto-HSCT, followed for 12 months.

Wells Syndrome: A Rare Skin Manifestation of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Eosinophilic cellulitis, also known as Wells syndrome, presents a wide range of morphological spectrum, from pruritic erythematous papules, nodules, and pustules to urticarial and bullous lesions. This is a rare dermatological condition and is known to develop after treatment of hematological malignancy. Here, we report a case of Wells syndrome that was the initial presentation of lymphoma, preceding all other symptoms by six months.

Peritoneal dialysis-related peritonitis due to in Australia.

Domestic animals are common in Australian households; however, there is little research into the potential risks these animals pose to patients undergoing in-home peritoneal dialysis (PD). Cats and dogs are known to carry many potential pathogens, including . We reviewed the ANZDATA Peritoneal Dialysis Peritonitis Registry for cases of peritonitis due to between 2011 and 2023.

From RNA to DNA: Emergence of reverse transcriptases from an ancestral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.

The transition from RNA as the informational molecule of primordial biological systems to the DNA genomes of modern organisms represents one of the greatest evolutionary transitions in the history of life. One way to understand this transition is to comprehend the origin of the enzymes responsible for the metabolism of nucleic acid polymers. In the present work, we reconstructed the ancestral sequence of RNA-dependent DNA polymerase (RdDp) and modeled its structure.

A Proposal for the RNAome at the Dawn of the Last Universal Common Ancestor.

From the most ancient RNAs, which followed an RNY pattern and folded into small hairpins, modern RNA molecules evolved by two different pathways, dubbed Extended Genetic Code 1 and 2, finally conforming to the current standard genetic code. Herein, we describe the evolutionary path of the RNAome based on these evolutionary routes. In general, all the RNA molecules analysed contain portions encoded by both genetic codes, but crucial features seem to be better recovered by Extended 2 triplets.

Functional hearing impairment common in Parkinson's disease: Insights from a pilot study.

Introduction: Hearing impairments in Parkinson's Disease (PD) have received limited attention in the past, possibly because PD patients often report no perceived hearing disability, yet negative consequences of hearing impairment might aggravate communication difficulties and social withdrawal.

Objective: Our aim was to investigate functional hearing (speech in noise recognition) in PD and evaluate its relationship to neuropsychiatric symptoms, cognition and quality of life.

Methods: Participants with PD were recruited in a tertiary movement disorder clinic.

Learning to be a colour-blind doctor.

Colour-vision deficiency is common among medical students, doctors and their patients. Although it can influence choice of careers, it can also put patient safety at risk if not recognised and adapted to early in a health professional's working life. Simple recommendations to support medical students, doctors and their patients are provided to support better health outcomes.

Absolute cardiovascular risk assessment using 'real world' clinic blood pressures compared to standardized unobserved and ambulatory methods: an observational study.

Clinic blood pressure (BP) is recommended for absolute cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment. However, in 'real-world' settings, clinic BP measurement is unstandardised and less reliable compared to more rigorous methods but the impact for absolute CVD risk assessment is unknown. This study aimed to determine the difference in absolute CVD risk assessment using real-world clinic BP compared to standardised BP methods.

In Vitro and In Vivo Analysis of Neuronal Polarity.

Neuronal development is characterized by the unidirectional flow of signal from the axon to the dendrites via synapses. Neuronal polarization is a critical step during development that allows the specification of the different neuronal processes as a single axon and multiple dendrites both structurally and functionally, allowing the unidirectional flow of information. Along with extrinsic and intrinsic signaling, a whole network of molecular complexes involved in positive and negative feedback loops play a major role in this critical distinction of neuronal processes.

Healthcare costs attributable to diabetes in pregnancy: A cost of illness study in Tasmania, Australia.

Aims: To estimate the direct costs during the prenatal, delivery and postpartum periods in mothers with diabetes in pregnancy, compared to those without.

Methods: This study used a population-based dataset from 2004 to 2017, including 57,090 people with diabetes and 114,179 people without diabetes in Tasmania, Australia. Based on diagnostic codes, delivery episodes with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) were identified and matched with delivery episodes without diabetes in pregnancy.

Co-precipitation synthesis of highly pure and Mg-doped CdO nanoparticles: from rod to sphere shapes.

This study reports a facile approach for examining surface morphology transitions in semiconductor nanoparticles (NPs), with a focus on pristine and magnesium-doped cadmium oxide NPs. Mg-doped CdO NPs are synthesized co-precipitation, and their composition, structure, and elemental distribution are analyzed through X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectra, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), along with optical characterization and impedance analysis. Doping with Mg changes the morphology from rod-like to quasi-spherical, reduces the crystallite size, and impacts their structural and functional properties.