Loss of Taste: A Case of Unusual Tonsillectomy Complication Resolved with Empiric Zinc Supplementation.

Post-tonsillectomy loss of taste is an uncommon, yet significant complication. The author reports a case of post-tonsillectomy loss of taste, for six months. Zinc deficiency was thought to be the cause, it resolved with zinc supplementation.

Chromosome Missegregation Triggers Tumor Cell Pyroptosis and Enhances Anti-Tumor Immunotherapy in Colorectal Cancer.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy is a promising anti-tumor therapeutic strategy; however, its efficacy in solid tumors is limited. Chromosome missegregation is common in various solid tumors; however, its role in tumor progression remains poorly understood, and its correlation with ICI is yet to be explored. Here, it is found that increased chromosome missegregation promotes tumor immune microenvironment, and eventually immunotherapeutic efficacy, by triggering pyroptosis.

Field-Based cDNA-Biosensor for Accurate Detection of Canine Distemper Virus in Tissue Samples.

Canine distemper, a viral disease with a global impact on various animals including dogs, foxes, wolves, lions, and leopards, requires early diagnosis for effective treatment and outbreak control. Common laboratory methods, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, polymerase chain reaction, and viral isolation, face challenges such as extended turnaround times, high costs, and the expertise required. This study has developed a field-based biosensor for detecting the canine distemper virus (CDV), utilising a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) and a computer-assisted portable potentiostat.

Understanding patient experiences to improve care for females groin hernia.

Background: Thousands of females undergo inguinal hernia repair annually, yet females have been excluded from prior clinical trials evaluating inguinal hernia repairs. Research shows females face worse outcomes after hernia repair compared to males, including higher recurrence rates, increased chronic pain, and limited data to guide treatment. Prospective studies focused on optimizing outcomes for females are critically needed.

Context Matters: Internet Usage and Loneliness Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: Later life is often categorized by higher-than-average levels of loneliness, but individual differences are vast and not well understood. Emerging evidence indicates that broad-based contextual factors such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic-and the use of the internet throughout-are differentially associated with the experience of loneliness. We, therefore, target internet usage and loneliness among middle-aged and older adults during the pandemic and examine the moderating role of age, gender, and limiting illness therein.

YY2/BUB3 Axis promotes SAC Hyperactivation and Inhibits Colorectal Cancer Progression via Regulating Chromosomal Instability.

Spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) is a crucial safeguard mechanism of mitosis fidelity that ensures equal division of duplicated chromosomes to the two progeny cells. Impaired SAC can lead to chromosomal instability (CIN), a well-recognized hallmark of cancer that facilitates tumor progression; paradoxically, high CIN levels are associated with better therapeutic response and prognosis. However, the mechanism by which CIN determines tumor cell survival and therapeutic response remains poorly understood.

PFAS Contamination in Europe: Generating Knowledge and Mapping Known and Likely Contamination with "Expert-Reviewed" Journalism.

While the extent of environmental contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has mobilized considerable efforts around the globe in recent years, publicly available data on PFAS in Europe were very limited. In an unprecedented experiment of "expert-reviewed journalism" involving 29 journalists and seven scientific advisers, a cross-border collaborative project, the "Forever Pollution Project" (FPP), drew on both scientific methods and investigative journalism techniques such as open-source intelligence (OSINT) and freedom of information (FOI) requests to map contamination across Europe, making public data that previously had existed as "unseen science". The FPP identified 22,934 known contamination sites, including 20 PFAS manufacturing facilities, and 21,426 "presumptive contamination sites", including 13,745 sites presumably contaminated with fluorinated aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) discharge, 2911 industrial facilities, and 4752 sites related to PFAS-containing waste.

The two sides of chromosomal instability: drivers and brakes in cancer.

Chromosomal instability (CIN) is a hallmark of cancer and is associated with tumor cell malignancy. CIN triggers a chain reaction in cells leading to chromosomal abnormalities, including deviations from the normal chromosome number or structural changes in chromosomes. CIN arises from errors in DNA replication and chromosome segregation during cell division, leading to the formation of cells with abnormal number and/or structure of chromosomes.

The Emerging Roles of the Metabolic Regulator G6PD in Human Cancers.

Metabolic reprogramming, especially reprogrammed glucose metabolism, is a well-known cancer hallmark related to various characteristics of tumor cells, including proliferation, survival, metastasis, and drug resistance. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is the first and rate-limiting enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), a branch of glycolysis, that converts glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) into 6-phosphogluconolactone (6PGL). Furthermore, PPP produces ribose-5-phosphate (R5P), which provides sugar-phosphate backbones for nucleotide synthesis as well as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), an important cellular reductant.

NeuroD1-GPX4 signaling leads to ferroptosis resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Cell death resistance is a hallmark of tumor cells that drives tumorigenesis and drug resistance. Targeting cell death resistance-related genes to sensitize tumor cells and decrease their cell death threshold has attracted attention as a potential antitumor therapeutic strategy. However, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood.

Healthcare experiences among Black and White sexual and gender minority cancer survivors: a qualitative study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore healthcare experiences of Black and White sexual and gender minority (SGM) cancer survivors across the cancer care continuum.

Methods: This was a qualitative analysis of two focus groups and eight individual interviews completed as part of a larger initiative using a community-engaged research approach to reduce cancer disparities in marginalized communities. There was a total of 16 participants in the study (9 were White, 7 were Black) and data were collected between 2019 and 2020.

Challenges of establishing an emergency medical team in Papua New Guinea.

Problem: Papua New Guinea (PNG) is situated in the Pacific Ocean and has experienced multiple natural disasters and disease outbreaks. However, PNG lacks the ability to rapidly and systematically deploy trained personnel to provide surge capacity in response to major national disasters. It was therefore decided to establish a national emergency medical team (EMT) in PNG.

Temperature variations in pharmaceutical storage facilities and knowledge, attitudes, and practices of personnel on proper storage conditions for medicines in southern Malawi.

Objective: We assessed the temperature variations in pharmacies and medicine storage areas in southern Malawi and conducted a knowledge, attitude and practices survey for personnel who manage medicine stores in various health facilities.

Methods: This was a longitudinal study design that used installed Tempmate thermometers in 27 selected health facilities to record temperatures every 15 min for a period of 9 months. In addition, a questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding good pharmaceutical storage.

Life after "no": barriers to behavior change for persons declined hernia repair due to high-risk features.

Introduction: Delaying an elective operation to mitigate risk factors improves patient outcomes. Elective ventral hernia repair is one such example. To address this issue, we developed a pre-operative optimization clinic to support high-risk patients seeking elective ventral hernia repair.

Targeting Transcription Factor YY1 for Cancer Treatment: Current Strategies and Future Directions.

Cancer represents a significant and persistent global health burden, with its impact underscored by its prevalence and devastating consequences. Whereas numerous oncogenes could contribute to cancer development, a group of transcription factors (TFs) are overactive in the majority of tumors. Targeting these TFs may also combat the downstream oncogenes activated by the TFs, making them attractive potential targets for effective antitumor therapeutic strategy.

YY2-DRP1 Axis Regulates Mitochondrial Fission and Determines Cancer Stem Cell Asymmetric Division.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are associated with tumor progression, recurrence, and therapeutic resistance. To maintain their pool while promoting tumorigenesis, CSCs divide asymmetrically, producing a CSC and a highly proliferative, more differentiated transit-amplifying cell. Exhausting the CSC pool has been proposed as an effective antitumor strategy; however, the mechanism underlying CSC division remains poorly understood, thereby largely limiting its clinical application.

Validation of the Nelwan Score as a screening tool for the diagnosis of typhoid fever in adults in Indonesia.

Introduction: Typhoid fever diagnosis is challenging for clinicians in areas with limited laboratory facilities. Scoring methods based on signs and symptoms are useful for screening for probable cases of typhoid fever. The Nelwan Score variables are derived from the clinical signs and symptoms of patients with suspected typhoid.

Naloxone analogy and opioid overdose terminology preferences among rural caregivers: Differences by race.

Background: Despite national and state policies aimed at increasing naloxone access via pharmacies, opioid overdose death rates rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among Blacks and American Indians (AIs) in rural areas. Caregivers, or third parties who can administer naloxone during an overdose event, are important individuals in the naloxone administration cascade, yet no studies have explored rural caregivers' opioid overdose terminology and naloxone analogy preferences or whether these preferences differ by race.

Objectives: To identify rural caregivers' overdose terminology and naloxone analogy preferences and determine whether preferences differ by race.

Access to inclusive and culturally sensitive mental healthcare in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color pharmacy students and residents.

Purpose: Disparities in accessing culturally sensitive mental healthcare exist and may be exacerbated in pharmacy trainees. The purpose of this study was to identify barriers to culturally sensitive mental healthcare and how to improve access for racially and ethnically minoritized pharmacy students and residents.

Methods: This institutional review board-exempt study included in-person and virtual focus groups.

Application of Flow Vermimetry for Quantification and Analysis of the Caenorhabditis elegans Gut Microbiome.

The composition of the gut microbiome can have a dramatic impact on host physiology throughout the development and the life of the animal. Measuring compositional changes in the microbiome is crucial in identifying the functional relationships between these physiological changes. Caenorhabditis elegans has emerged as a powerful host system to examine the molecular drivers of host-microbiome interactions.

Diabetic Cardiomyopathy: Pathophysiology and Novel Therapies.

Diabetes mellitus and heart failure have a bidirectional relationship and can affect one another. Ventricular dysfunction that occurs in the absence of coronary atherosclerosis and hypertension in patients with diabetes mellitus is termed diabetic cardiomyopathy. Lipotoxicity, increased oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction are a few of the mechanisms implicated in diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Community-Driven Identification and Adaptation of a Cancer Caregiving Intervention for LGBTQIA Populations.

Background: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other LGBTQIA cancer patients experience significant disparities in cancer-related outcomes. Their relationships may not be acknowledged in care systems designed to serve primarily heterosexual and cisgender (H/C) patients, and resources for partners and caregivers of H/C patients may not address the needs of LGBTQIA caregivers. Tailored interventions are needed to address disparities in LGBTQIA patients and caregivers.

Rare cardiac complication of toxoplasmosis in immunocompetent host.

Myocarditis is a rare complication of toxoplasmosis, especially in immunocompetent individuals. We present a case of a 28-year-old man with a history of fever and chest pain suggestive of myocarditis. Fever, along with lymphadenopathy, electrocardiography, imaging, and serologic testing, showed as the probable etiology.

Modulation of sensory perception by hydrogen peroxide enables Caenorhabditis elegans to find a niche that provides both food and protection from hydrogen peroxide.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is the most common chemical threat that organisms face. Here, we show that H2O2 alters the bacterial food preference of Caenorhabditis elegans, enabling the nematodes to find a safe environment with food. H2O2 induces the nematodes to leave food patches of laboratory and microbiome bacteria when those bacterial communities have insufficient H2O2-degrading capacity.