Challenges faced by the caregivers of the elderly: a cross-sectional survey from India.

Background: Older people often require support due to age-related health issues, thereby increasing their dependency on caregivers. The caregivers often experience burdens of varying nature.

Objective: To assess the dependency level of the elderly and the challenges faced by their caregivers.

Observational Study of Best Supportive Care With or Without Oral Capecitabine in Patients With Metastatic Gallbladder Carcinoma at a Tertiary Center in India.

Purpose: To compare overall survival (OS), toxicity, and quality of life (QOL) in patients with metastatic gallbladder cancer receiving oral capecitabine (X) with best supportive care (BSC) and BSC alone.

Materials And Methods: Patients with metastatic gallbladder cancer and Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) ≥70 were accrued and assigned to either arm A or B. Assignment to these two arms was based on physician/patient discretion.

Antibodies to watch in 2025.

The commercial development of antibody therapeutics is a global enterprise involving thousands of biopharmaceutical firms and supporting service organizations. To date, their combined efforts have resulted in over 200 marketed antibody therapeutics and a pipeline of nearly 1,400 investigational product candidates that are undergoing evaluation in clinical studies as treatments for a wide variety of diseases. Here, we discuss key events in antibody therapeutics development that occurred during 2024 and forecast key events related to the late-stage clinical pipeline that may occur in 2025.

A Randomized Study of Consolidation Chemoradiation (CTRT) versus Observation after first line chemotherapy (CT) in Advanced Gall bladder Cancers (GBC):RACE-GB study.

Purpose: CT is the standard of care for patients presenting with unresectable advanced GBC but their prognosis remains poor. The value of consolidation CTRT after initial CT is uncertain. We therefore conducted a single centre open label randomised trial evaluating consolidation CTRT versus Observation after four cycles of CT in patients whose disease did not progress during CT (partial responders/stable disease).

How I Manage My Patients with Gall Bladder Cancer?

The author outlines his philosophy and practice of management of gall bladder cancer based on his more than three-decade experience at a large tertiary level super-specialty referral hospital attached to a university-status teaching institution at Lucknow in northern India where GBC is very common.

Evaluation of stormwater runoff pollutant distributions combined with land-use information in a regional karst aquifer in Texas, USA.

Fast urbanization can result in significant stormwater runoff pollution due to changes in land use. A 3-year study on the distribution and temporal variations of urban water pollutants in stormwater runoff was conducted, with a specific focus on the influence of land-use patterns in the recharge zone of a regional karst aquifer in Texas (Edwards Aquifer). The presence and concentration of various water pollutants including total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), nutrients (nitrite, nitrate, ammonia and phosphate), total carbon (TC) and total organic carbon (TOC), oil and grease (O&G), and eight heavy metals (Fe, Mg, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Cr, Cd) were measured in stormwater samples collected from three bioswales.

Field performance of two stormwater bioretention systems for treating heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from urban runoff.

The increasing urbanization and land development poses significant water quality challenges in urban areas. Stormwater control measures, such as bioretention basins, are implemented to mitigate these issues by managing storm volumes and improving water quality. Despite their widespread use, the effectiveness of bioretention basins in removing pollutants, particularly heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), remains unclear.

Religious Disaffiliation and Sexually Minoritised Groups: A Scoping Review of the Literature.

Religious teachings and beliefs often convey an understanding of sexuality that excludes and marginalizes sexually minoritised people. This PRISMA-compliant scoping review selected 29 peer-reviewed papers about the religious disaffiliation of sexually minoritised people for full-text analysis and synthesis. With the use of reflexive thematic and bibliometric analysis, the review found that current research highlights the complicated relationship between religious and LGBTQIA+ identities.

Intercellular nanotube-mediated mitochondrial transfer enhances T cell metabolic fitness and antitumor efficacy.

Mitochondrial loss and dysfunction drive T cell exhaustion, representing major barriers to successful T cell-based immunotherapies. Here, we describe an innovative platform to supply exogenous mitochondria to T cells, overcoming these limitations. We found that bone marrow stromal cells establish nanotubular connections with T cells and leverage these intercellular highways to transplant stromal cell mitochondria into CD8 T cells.

Water fetching and musculoskeletal health across the life-course in Sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review.

The world is experiencing a global water crisis and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is expected to be a hotspot for increasing global water scarcity in years to come. Water is quintessentially a gendered issue; indeed, sociocultural norms hold women responsible for household water collection, requiring them to travel far distances while carrying water. This paper reports the findings of a scoping review of peer-reviewed and grey literature that examines the relationship between water fetching and the musculoskeletal (MSK) health of women in SSA.

Are Two Gliflozins Different: A Prospective Multicenter Randomized Study to Assess Effect of Remogliflozin Compared With Empagliflozin on Biomarkers of Heart Failure in Indian Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus with Chronic Heart Failure (REMIT-HF Study).

There is limited data comparing two gliflozins on their effect on biomarkers in diabetic patients with chronic heart failure. A prospective, multicenter, active controlled, double-arm, investigator-initiated, interventional study enrolled 250 adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and comorbid congestive heart failure (CHF; left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] <40%; N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide [NT-proBNP] >600 pg/mL). A total of 125 patients were allocated each to a remogliflozin (R) and empagliflozin (E) group and followed up for 24 weeks.

Assessing the removal of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and occurrence of metal resistance genes and antibiotic resistance genes in a stormwater bioretention system.

Bioretention basins are extensively used in urban areas to manage stormwater by reducing peak flows and pollution. This study evaluated the performance of a bioretention basin in removing heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and oil and grease. Using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), the presence of metal resistance genes (MRGs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the basin's soil was analyzed.

Is Popliteus Tendon a Redundant Structure in Total Knee Arthroplasty?

Background: Many studies have shown that injury to the popliteus tendon has little consequence for the static stability of the knee following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, very few studies have evaluated the effect of intraoperative iatrogenic popliteus tendon injury on the patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) following TKA. This study aimed to determine the incidence of iatrogenic popliteus tendon injury in our subset of the population and to find out its effect on PROMs.

Characteristics of Bilateral Adrenal Lesions: Experience from an Indian Tertiary Care Centre.

Introduction: The aetiologies in unilateral and bilateral adrenal lesions can be different with different clinical implications and management guidelines, the latter having aetiologies like hyperplasia, infections, infiltrative lesions and neoplasia. Bilateral tumours are more likely to have hereditary/syndromic associations. There is limited data on the clinical and pathological profile of bilateral adrenal lesions.

Biomarkers in Acute Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) stands as a significant contributor to traumatic death and disability worldwide. In recent years, researchers have identified biomarkers to gauge useful outcomes in TBI patients. However, the enigma of timely sample collection to measure the biomarkers remains a controversial point in the case of TBI, unlike other degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, where we can collect the sample at any point in time.

A comparative evaluation of marginal fit and microleakage of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing-milled zirconia and prefabricated posterior occlusal veneers: An in vitrostudy.

Aims: The aim of this study was to compare the marginal fit of prefabricated occlusal veneers with computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM)-milled zirconia occlusal veneers in the posterior teeth.

Settings And Design: Forty extracted human maxillary premolars were divided into two groups of 20 each. Group 1 was prepared to receive prefabricated occlusal veneers, and Group 2 was prepared to receive CAD-CAM-milled zirconia occlusal veneers.

Salivary gland tumors: an audit from a tertiary care centre in Northern India.

Salivary gland tumors are relatively rare and can exhibit various clinical behaviors. The study aims to understand the natural history, pathology, diagnostic workup, and treatment strategies for these tumors to improve patient outcomes. The audit included patients with salivary gland tumors detected through radiology or cytology.

Metagenomic Analysis of Biliary Microbial Flora in Patients with Gallbladder Cancer or Gallstones-Associated Chronic Cholecystitis.

Biliary dysbiosis is associated with gallbladder cancer (GBC). We aimed to look for biliary bacteria specifically detected in GBC patients. We used 16S rRNA-based metagenomic analysis to elucidate biliary microbiota in 30 GBC and 30 gallstones-associated chronic cholecystitis patients.

Art of Cross-Linking In Situ Bulk Perovskites for Efficient and Stable Photovoltaics.

Perovskites are hybrid materials containing templating organic linkers and inorganic halides with efficiencies that have superseded the efficiency of silicon-based photovoltaic devices (PVs) in a very short period of 10 years. Nevertheless, low ambient stability due to traps and ion migration caused hysteresis to remain the bottlenecks on the way to achieving higher operational stability with bulk perovskite-based PVs. In this context, herein we highlight the prospects of in situ cross-linking of linkers within the perovskite lattice either mediated by thermal means or attained photochemically that can maneuver the ambient as well as operational stability for enhanced power conversion efficiency for PV applications or could improve the conductivity of this hybrid semiconductor.

Predictors of Toxicity in a Randomized Study of Consolidation Chemoradiation Versus Observation After First Line Chemotherapy in Advanced Gall Bladder Cancers.

Purpose: Gall bladder cancers (GBC) usually presents in advanced stage. First-line chemotherapy (CT) is the standard of care, and there is no other option for responders than to wait for disease progression. We conducted a randomized study of consolidation chemoradiation (CTRT) versus observation in responders to first line CT (NCT05493956), which showed an improvement in overall survival by 6 months and therefore is practice changing.

Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of VEGF, PDGF-B, and HER2/neu expression in gallbladder cancer.

Aim: Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is usually diagnosed in advanced stages with poor survival. The molecular mechanisms of GBC still remain unexplored. Several angiogenesis factors play a pivotal role in tumor progression.

Polygenic risk scores, radiation treatment exposures and subsequent cancer risk in childhood cancer survivors.

Survivors of childhood cancer are at increased risk for subsequent cancers attributable to the late effects of radiotherapy and other treatment exposures; thus, further understanding of the impact of genetic predisposition on risk is needed. Combining genotype data for 11,220 5-year survivors from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study and the St Jude Lifetime Cohort, we found that cancer-specific polygenic risk scores (PRSs) derived from general population, genome-wide association study, cancer loci identified survivors of European ancestry at increased risk of subsequent basal cell carcinoma (odds ratio per s.d.