Bilateral Facial Nerve Palsy in a Young Woman From West Bengal: Do Not Forget Lyme Neuroborreliosis.

Borrelia burgdorferi can affect the nervous system in various ways, which can generate significant confusion and dilemma regarding diagnosis. From India, a country until recently known to be a nonendemic zone for Lyme disease, several cases and one study of Lyme neuroborreliosis have been published. The aim of this study was to describe a young woman with bilateral facial nerve palsy as the presenting manifestation of Lyme neuroborreliosis.

Mapping each pre-existing condition's association to short-term and long-term COVID-19 complications.

Understanding the relationships between pre-existing conditions and complications of COVID-19 infection is critical to identifying which patients will develop severe disease. Here, we leverage ~1.1 million clinical notes from 1803 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and deep neural network models to characterize associations between 21 pre-existing conditions and the development of 20 complications (e.

Real-time analysis of a mass vaccination effort confirms the safety of FDA-authorized mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.

Background: As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination campaign unfolds, it is important to continuously assess the real-world safety of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-authorized vaccines. Curation of large-scale electronic health records (EHRs) enables near-real-time safety evaluations that were not previously possible.

Methods: In this retrospective study, we deployed deep neural networks over a large EHR system to automatically curate the adverse effects mentioned by physicians in over 1.

Pre-existing conditions are associated with COVID-19 patients' hospitalization, despite confirmed clearance of SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Background: Consecutive negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR test results are being considered to estimate viral clearance in COVID-19 patients. However, there are anecdotal reports of hospitalization from protracted COVID-19 complications despite such confirmed viral clearance, presenting a clinical conundrum.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 222 hospitalized COVID-19 patients to compare those that were readmitted post-viral clearance ( = 49) with those that were not re-admitted post-viral clearance ( = 173) between February and October 2020.

Benchmarking evolutionary tinkering underlying human-viral molecular mimicry shows multiple host pulmonary-arterial peptides mimicked by SARS-CoV-2.

The hand of molecular mimicry in shaping SARS-CoV-2 evolution and immune evasion remains to be deciphered. Here, we report 33 distinct 8-mer/9-mer peptides that are identical between SARS-CoV-2 and the human reference proteome. We benchmark this observation against other viral-human 8-mer/9-mer peptide identity, which suggests generally similar extents of molecular mimicry for SARS-CoV-2 and many other human viruses.

Value of spectral detector computed tomography for assessment of pancreatic lesions.

Purpose: Dual energy CT (DECT) can contribute to the diagnosis of benign and malignant pancreatic lesions. This study examined whether a novel, detector-based spectral CT scanner (SDCT) may improve subjective assessment of different types of pancreatic lesions and if various quantitative maps may improve lesion contrast and differentiation.

Materials And Methods: 61 consecutive patients who underwent clinical, contrast-agent enhanced, abdominal SDCT scans and showed pancreatic lesions of different origins were included.

Machine Learning Algorithm Helps Identify Non-Diagnosed Prodromal Alzheimer's Disease Patients in the General Population.

Background: Recruiting patients for clinical trials of potential therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains a major challenge, with demand for trial participants at an all-time high. The AD treatment R and D pipeline includes around 112 agents. In the United States alone, 150 clinical trials are seeking 70,000 participants.

Quantifying uncertainty in the measurement of arsenic in suspended particulate matter by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry with hydride generator.

Arsenic is the toxic element, which creates several problems in human being specially when inhaled through air. So the accurate and precise measurement of arsenic in suspended particulate matter (SPM) is of prime importance as it gives information about the level of toxicity in the environment, and preventive measures could be taken in the effective areas. Quality assurance is equally important in the measurement of arsenic in SPM samples before making any decision.

Cytotoxic and protective DNA damage of three new diterpenoids from the brown alga Dictoyota dichotoma.

Three new diterpenes Amijiol acetate (3), dolabellane, Dolabellatrienol (4), and dolastane, Amijiol-7, 10-diacetate (9) were isolated together with the previously described Pachydictyol A (1), Isopachydictyol A (2), 8β-hydroxypachydictyol A (5), Amijiol (6), Isodictyohemiacetal (7) and Dictyol C (8) from the Red Sea brown alga Dictyota dichotoma var. implexa. The structures and relative stereochemistry of the new diterpenoids were proposed on the basis of their spectral data.

Monitoring the trace metals concentration in rice by flame atomic absorption spectrometer and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer.

The objective of this study was to monitor the concentration of trace metals in rice. Eight different commercial rice samples were collected from retail market and among these samples Fe, Cd, Cr and Zn metal concentrations were determined by using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (FAAS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrophotometer (ICP-AES). The powdered rice samples were digested by wet chemical method.

Application of chemically modified rice husk for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solution.

The removal efficiency of lead, cadmium and zinc from aqueous solution on adsorption by using rice husk, a non-conventional material in its natural and chemically modified form has been presented in this paper. It has been observed that rate of adsorption is dependent on the nature of the adsorbent, adsorbent dose, particle size of the adsorbent, concentration, pH, contact time, temperature, etc. Under identical experimental condition chemically modified rice husk was found to possess greater adsorption capacity for all metals than untreated rice husk and chemically modified rice husk ash.

Determining the fate of Microcystis aeruginosa cells and microcystin toxins following chloramination.

The cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa can produce potent toxins known as microcystins. While many studies have focussed on the chlorination of microcystin toxins, little work has been conducted with respect to the chloramination of the microcystins. In addition, no studies have been reported on the effect of chloramination on intact Microcystis cells.

Optimising water treatment practices for the removal of Anabaena circinalis and its associated metabolites, geosmin and saxitoxins.

The cyanobacterium Anabaena circinalis has the ability to co-produce geosmin and saxitoxins, compounds which can compromise the quality of drinking water. This study provides pertinent information in optimising water treatment practices for the removal of geosmin and saxitoxins. In particular, it demonstrates that pre-oxidation using potassium permanganate could be applied at the head of water treatment plants without releasing intracellular geosmin and saxitoxins from A.

Investigating the fate of saxitoxins in biologically active water treatment plant filters.

The saxitoxins are potent neurotoxins, which can be produced by freshwater cyanobacteria. This study assessed the fate of five saxitoxins variants through biologically active laboratory filters containing media sourced from the filters beds of two water treatment plants (WTPs). Decreases in the concentration of the less toxic variants coincided with increases in the concentrations of the more toxic variants through the filters containing anthracite sourced from two different WTPs.

Selective masking and demasking for the stepwise complexometric determination of aluminium, lead and zinc from the same solution.

Background: A complexometric method based on selective masking and de-masking has been developed for the rapid determination of aluminium, lead and zinc from the same solution in glass and glass frit samples. The determination is carried out using potassium cyanide to mask zinc, and excess disodium salt of EDTA to mask lead and aluminium. The excess EDTA was titrated with standard Mn(II)SO(4 )solution using Erichrome Black-T as the indicator.

Stepwise complexometric determination of aluminium, titanium and iron concentrations in silica sand and allied materials.

Background: This study aimed at measuring the quantities of Al, Ti and Fe in silica sand and allied materials employing a complexometric method in the same analyte and a stepwise indirect titration with EDTA. The method involves the complexation of Al, Ti and Fe with excess EDTA and the selective de-complexation of TiO-EDTA and Al-EDTA complexes with tartaric acid and NaF respectively. In addition to its simplicity, rapidity and accuracy, the proposed method does not require the use of a separation technique or any sophisticated instrumentation.

Synthesis, X-ray crystal structure, anti-fungal and anti-cancer activity of [Ag2(NH3)2(salH)2] (salH2=salicylic acid).

[Ag(2)(NH(3))(2)(salH)(2)] (salH(2)=salicylic acid) was synthesised from salicylic acid and Ag(2)O in concentrated aqueous NH(3) and the dimeric Ag(I) complex was characterised using X-ray crystallography. The complex is centrosymmetric with each metal coordinated to a salicylate carboxylate oxygen and to an ammonia nitrogen atom in an almost linear fashion. The two [Ag(NH(3))(salH)] units in the complex are linked by an Ag-Ag bond.