Medication adherence in geriatric patients attending medical outpatient department.

Background: Adherence to medication represents a challenge in managing chronic conditions in the geriatric population. This study assessed adherence rates and factors affecting adherence of geriatric patients attending the Helen Joseph Hospital outpatient department.

Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study of 130 patients aged 65 years and older, with at least two chronic conditions.

Associations Between Prematurity, Birthweight, and Adolescence Blood Pressure in a Nationwide Cohort.

Introduction: Prematurity is associated with incomplete nephrogenesis and an increased incidence of acute kidney injury, that may increase the risk of future kidney disease, including hypertension, proteinuria and reduced glomerular filtration rate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of hypertension or proteinuria in adolescents born prematurely or small for gestational age, in a nationwide cohort.

Methods: The study cohort included potential recruits examined in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) medical facilities, between November 2005 and October 2018.

Dephosphorylation of Y228 and Y217 and phosphorylation of Y335 in p120 catenin activate convergent extension during zebrafish gastrulation.

Background: The cadherin-associated protein p120 catenin regulates convergent extension through interactions with cadherin proteins, Cdc42, and Rac1, as we previously showed in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Phosphorylation of p120 catenin changes the nature of its activity in vitro but is virtually unexplored in embryos. We used our previously developed antisense RNA splice-site morpholino targeted to endogenous p120 catenin-δ1 to cause defects in axis elongation probing the functions of three p120 catenin tyrosine-phosphorylation sites in gastrulating zebrafish embryos.

Host plant specificity of the monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The preference-performance hypothesis explains host specificity in phytophagous insects, positing that host plants chosen by adults confer the greatest larval fitness. However, adults sometimes oviposit on plants supporting low larval success because the components of host specificity (adult preference, plant palatability, and larval survival) are non-binary and not necessarily correlated. Palatability (willingness to eat) is governed by chemical cues and physical barriers such as trichomes, while survival (ability to complete development) depends upon nutrition and toxicity.

Burden of comorbidities in South Africans with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Introduction: To investigate the prevalence and spectrum of comorbidities in South Africans with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Patients And Methods: A nested case-control study of a known alive group (AG) and deceased group (DG) of 200 and 40 patients, respectively, matched for age and sex, attending a tertiary Lupus Clinic. Comorbidities that were documented included, but not restricted to, those listed in the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI).