Change in liking following reduction in sweetness level of carbonated beverages: a randomized controlled parallel trial.

Despite recommendations to reduce sweet-tasting foods and beverage consumption, there is limited understanding of our ability to adapt to a less sweet diet and the optimal method for doing so. Thus, we conducted two parallel, double-blind, randomized controlled trials in the USA and Mexico to investigate whether different methods of reducing sweetness could change sweetness preferences. Over 6 months, habitual consumers of full-sugar sweetened (FSS-CSD) or low-calorie sweetened carbonated soft drinks (LCS-CSD) consumed a full sweetness CSD (Control), CSD with gradually decreasing sweetness levels (StepR), and a reduced sweetness test CSD (DirR).

A structural and metabolic framework for classifying pre-clinical tuberculosis infection phenotypes using 18F-FDG PET-CT: a prospective cohort analysis following exposure.

Tuberculosis (TB) control efforts are limited by ineffective characterisation of tuberculosis infection (TBI) -a heterogeneous spectrum of pre-clinical infection states, invisible to tools of routine clinical screening, that are associated with variable risk of progression to TB disease. In this prospective study, we use positron emission tomography-CT (PET-CT) as a high-resolution imaging modality to characterise and classify structural and metabolic features observed in 16 asymptomatic household TB contacts with normal chest radiographs. We identify four feature patterns that associate with distinct clinical and microbiological outcomes, supporting potential utility of PET-CT for objective classification of TBI phenotypes.

Clinical genomics expands the link between erroneous cell division, primary microcephaly and intellectual disability.

Primary microcephaly is a rare neurogenic and genetically heterogeneous disorder characterized by significant brain size reduction that results in numerous neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) problems, including mild to severe intellectual disability (ID), global developmental delay (GDD), seizures and other congenital malformations. This disorder can arise from a mutation in genes involved in various biological pathways, including those within the brain. We characterized a recessive neurological disorder observed in nine young adults from five independent consanguineous Pakistani families.

Prevalence and Associated Factors Related to Tobacco Consumption Among University Students in Malaysia.

Tobacco consumption is one of the major public health concerns worldwide. Moreover, alternative tobacco and nicotine products (ATNPs) are growing in popularity, especially among young adults in the past decade. The study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated sociodemographic factors of tobacco consumption among university students.

Genetic-Guided Pharmacotherapy for Coronary Artery Disease: A Systematic and Critical Review of Economic Evaluations.

Background: Genetic-guided pharmacotherapy (PGx) is not recommended in clinical guidelines for coronary artery disease (CAD). We aimed to examine the extent and quality of evidence from economic evaluations of PGx in CAD and to identify variables influential in changing conclusions on cost-effectiveness.

Methods And Results: From systematic searches across 6 databases, 2 independent reviewers screened, included, and rated the methodological quality of economic evaluations of PGx testing to guide pharmacotherapy for patients with CAD.

Gaza disaster: we need a permanent ceasefire, now!

Another year ends with multiple humanitarian crises ongoing simultaneously across the globe. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 9 of the 22 Member States and territory are considered fragile or conflict-affected, with severe health consequences for the population.

PET-CT-guided characterisation of progressive, preclinical tuberculosis infection and its association with low-level circulating Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in household contacts in Leicester, UK: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Incipient tuberculosis, a progressive state of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection with an increased risk of developing into tuberculosis disease, remains poorly characterised. Animal models suggest an association of progressive infection with bacteraemia. Circulating M tuberculosis DNA has previously been detected in pulmonary tuberculosis by use of Actiphage, a bacteriophage-based real-time PCR assay.

Percutaneous Robotics in Interventional Radiology.

The accuracy of the robotic device not only relies on a reproducible needle advancement, but also on the possibility to correct target movement at chosen checkpoints and to deviate from a linear to a nonlinear trajectory. We report our experience in using the robotic device for the insertion of trocar needles in CT guided procedures. The majority of procedures were targeted organ biopsies in the chest abdomen or pelvis.

Enhancing COVID-19 Classification Accuracy with a Hybrid SVM-LR Model.

Support ector achine (SVM) is a newer machine learning algorithm for classification, while logistic regression (LR) is an older statistical classification method. Despite the numerous studies contrasting SVM and LR, new improvements such as bagging and ensemble have been applied to them since these comparisons were made. This study proposes a new hybrid model based on SVM and LR for predicting small events per variable (EPV).

Thromboprophylaxis in Patients Admitted to the Surgical Ward: Clinical Audit.

Background: Hospital-acquired thrombosis (HAT) is associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and financial burden globally. Following trusted guidelines for VTE prevention has shown effective, safe, and satisfactory results. This prompts national collaborative efforts to maintain a consensus approach for the safe risk assessment of inpatients and the prescription of thromboprophylaxis.

Association of IL-17F rs2397084 (E126G), rs11465553 (V155I) and rs763780 (H161R) variants with rheumatoid arthritis and their effects on the stability of protein.

Interleukin-17F (IL-17F), considered a pro-inflammatory cytokine, has been shown to contribute to skeletal tissue degradation and hence chronic inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this study we utilized bioinformatics tools to analyze the effect of three exonic SNPs (rs2397084, rs11465553, and rs763780) on the structure and function of the IL-17F gene, and evaluated their association with RA in Pakistani patients. The predicted deleterious and damaging effects of identified genetic variants were assessed through the utilization of multiple bioinformatics tools including PROVEAN, SNP&GO, SIFT, and PolyPhen2.

PET-CT for characterising TB infection (TBI) in immunocompetent subjects: a systematic review.

There is emerging evidence of a potential role for PET-CT scan as an imaging biomarker to characterise the spectrum of tuberculosis infection (TBI) in humans and animal models. Synthesis of available evidence from current literature is needed to understand the utility of PET-CT for characterising TBI and how this may inform application of PET-CT in future TBI research. The aims of this review are to summarise the evidence of PET-CT scan use in immunocompetent hosts with TBI, and compare PET-CT features observed in humans and animal models.

Immunoinformatics and Reverse Vaccinology Driven Predication of a Multi-epitope Vaccine against and Validation through Cloning and Immune Simulation.

Background: Borrelia burgdorferi is regarded as an extremely dangerous bacteria causing infectious disease in humans, resulting in musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, fever and cardiac symptom. Because of all alarming concerns, no such prophylaxis setup has been available against Borrelia burgdorferi till now. In fact, vaccine construction using traditional methods is so expensive and time-consuming.

Validity and reliability of the Indonesian version of the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms.

Background: Negative symptoms have long been conceptualized as a core aspect of schizophrenia. Despite widespread recognition of the status of these symptoms as independent dimensions of schizophrenia, they are sometimes difficult to distinguish from depression or cognitive impairment. Therefore, objective assessment of schizophrenia symptoms is critical by obtaining a valid and reliable Indonesian version of the SANS instrument.

Corrigendum to "A new innovative breakthrough in the production of salt from bittern using a spray dryer" [Heliyon 8 (10) (2022) e11060].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.

A new innovative breakthrough in the production of salt from bittern using a spray dryer.

Spray dryer had long been used to dry liquid materials and produce dry crystalline products. However, the drying of the bittern to produce quality salt crystals has not been widely published. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of drying conditions of the bittern using a spray dryer to produce salt with a high natrium chloride (NaCl) content.

Tracheal resection and reconstruction: A 3-year case series of 14 patients.

Introduction: Tracheal resection and reconstruction is one of the most challenging procedures and is seldom performed due to its complexity. Despite being a life-saving procedure, only a handful of centres are performing this procedure in Malaysia. We report our 3 years' experience in Hospital Kuala Lumpur performing tracheal resection and reconstruction in 14 patients.

Molecular Characterization and Assessment of Risk Factors Associated with Infection.

is a tick-associated parasite that causes tropical theileriosis in livestock and is responsible for huge economic losses. Studies have been neglected on the effect of spp. on cattle in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan.

Corrigendum: Estimated Sweetness in US Diet Among Children and Adults Declined From 2001 to 2018: A Serial Cross-Sectional Surveillance Study Using NHANES 2001-2018.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2021.

Genetic-Guided Pharmacotherapy for Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic and Critical Review of Economic Evaluations.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the extent and quality of evidence from economic evaluations (EEs) of genetic-guided pharmacotherapy (PGx) for atrial fibrillation (AF) and to identify variables influential in changing base-case conclusions.

Methods: From systematic searches, we included EEs of existing PGx testing to guide pharmacotherapy for AF, without restrictions on population characteristics or language. Articles excluded were genetic tests used to guide device-based therapy or focused on animals.

Prediction of Novel Drug Targets and Vaccine Candidates against Human Lice (Insecta), Acari (Arachnida), and Their Associated Pathogens.

The emergence of drug-resistant lice, acari, and their associated pathogens (APs) is associated with economic losses; thus, it is essential to find new appropriate therapeutic approaches. In the present study, a subtractive proteomics approach was used to predict suitable therapeutics against these vectors and their infectious agents. We found 9701 proteins in the lice ( var.

The Prebiotic Effects of Oats on Blood Lipids, Gut Microbiota, and Short-Chain Fatty Acids in Mildly Hypercholesterolemic Subjects Compared With Rice: A Randomized, Controlled Trial.

Phytochemicals derived from oats are reported to possess a beneficial effect on modulating dyslipidemia, specifically on lowering total and LDL cholesterol. However, deeper insights into its mechanism remain unclear. In this randomized controlled study, we assigned 210 mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects from three study centers across China (Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai) to consume 80 g of oats or rice daily for 45 days.