Developmental delay and its associated factors among children of 9 months and of 18 months attending primary health facilities in an urban resettlement area of East Delhi.

Background: Early identification of developmental delay in children can help in making early intervention for its management. Routine developmental screening is not being practised in India due to lack of trained field workers, lack of awareness among parents and lack of feasible assessment screening tool. There is lack of studies that focuses on home environment provided to the children as it is associated with developmental delay.

Safety of COVID-19 Vaccine in Patients with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases.

Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of COVID-19 vaccine side effects in patients with rheumatic diseases and to examine any potential associations with medications, disease type, or comorbidities.

Methods: A multicentre cross-sectional study from rheumatology units in different hospitals in Iraq was carried out between 8 of August 2021 and 4th of August 2022. Patients were eligible for inclusion if they have a rheumatic disease and have taken one or more doses of any COVID-19 vaccine.

STA-21 regulates Th-17/Treg balance and synovial fibroblasts functions in rheumatoid arthritis.

JAK/STAT signaling pathway plays a significant role in cytokines and growth factors signaling involved in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). STAT3 is a major downstream signaling mediator of important pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in Th-17 cell differentiation playing a significant role in regulating Th-17/ Treg balance and the development of autoimmune diseases, especially RA. Studies also have reported the role of the STAT3 pathway in inflammatory and destructive functions of synovial fibroblasts (SFs) in RA.

Apprehensions of Morbidly Obese People Regarding Bariatric Surgery.

Introduction Obesity has emerged as a major public health issue in both developed and developing countries. The prevalence of obesity is on the rise. Bariatric surgery is acknowledged as the most effective and safe solution for this problem.

What is the best referral strategy for axial spondyloarthritis? A prospective multicenter study in patients with suspicious chronic low back pain.

Objective: To assess the value of referral strategies for axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) in patients with suspicious chronic inflammatory low back pain (LBP), to estimate the value of inflammatory back pain (IBP) for referral, and to identify the predictive factors of the final diagnosis of axSpA in Middle Eastern Arab countries.

Methods: The study was multicentric, prospective, and conducted in LBP first-line clinics (rheumatology, internal, family medicine, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, and neurology). Consecutive adult patients aged under 45years were included in case of LBP suspicious of inflammatory nature according to the first-line physician.

TRYBE®: an Fc-free antibody format with three monovalent targeting arms engineered for long in vivo half-life.

TrYbe® is an Fc-free therapeutic antibody format, capable of engaging up to three targets simultaneously, with long half-life conferred by albumin binding. This format is shown by small-angle X-ray scattering to be conformationally flexible with favorable 'reach' properties. We demonstrate the format's broad functionality by co-targeting of soluble and cell surface antigens.

Ex vivo mass cytometry analysis reveals a profound myeloid proinflammatory signature in psoriatic arthritis synovial fluid.

Objectives: A number of immune populations have been implicated in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) pathogenesis. This study used mass cytometry (CyTOF) combined with transcriptomic analysis to generate a high-dimensional dataset of matched PsA synovial fluid (SF) and blood leucocytes, with the aim of identifying cytokine production ex vivo in unstimulated lymphoid and myeloid cells.

Methods: Fresh SF and paired blood were either fixed or incubated with protein transport inhibitors for 6 hours.

Interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-18 Synergize to Promote MAIT Cell IL-17A and IL-17F Production Independently of IL-23 Signaling.

IL-23 is considered a critical regulator of IL-17 in Th17 cells; however, its requirement for inducing IL-17 production in other human immune subsets remains incompletely understood. Mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells uniformly express retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor gamma t (RORγt) but only a minor population have been shown to produce IL-17A. Here we show that IL-17F is the dominant IL-17 isoform produced by MAIT cells, not IL-17A.

Single-cell sequencing reveals clonal expansions of pro-inflammatory synovial CD8 T cells expressing tissue-homing receptors in psoriatic arthritis.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a debilitating immune-mediated inflammatory arthritis of unknown pathogenesis commonly affecting patients with skin psoriasis. Here we use complementary single-cell approaches to study leukocytes from PsA joints. Mass cytometry demonstrates a 3-fold expansion of memory CD8 T cells in the joints of PsA patients compared to peripheral blood.

Dual neutralisation of IL-17F and IL-17A with bimekizumab blocks inflammation-driven osteogenic differentiation of human periosteal cells.

Objectives: Interleukin (IL)-17 signalling has been shown to be a key regulator of disease in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) with several IL-17 blockers currently clinically approved. Despite this, the role of IL-17 in bone pathology is poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate IL-17 signalling in the context of pathological bone formation.

Presence, function, and regulation of IL-17F-expressing human CD4 T cells.

The pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-17A has been implicated in the immunopathology of inflammatory arthritis. IL-17F bears 50% homology to IL-17A and has recently been suggested to play a role in inflammation. We investigated the induction and cytokine profile of IL-17F CD4 T cells, and how IL-17F may contribute to inflammation.

Ventral tegmental area astrocytes orchestrate avoidance and approach behavior.

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a heterogeneous midbrain structure, containing neurons and astrocytes, that coordinates behaviors by integrating activity from numerous afferents. Within neuron-astrocyte networks, astrocytes control signals from distinct afferents in a circuit-specific manner, but whether this capacity scales up to drive motivated behavior has been undetermined. Using genetic and optical dissection strategies we report that VTA astrocytes tune glutamatergic signaling selectively on local inhibitory neurons to drive a functional circuit for learned avoidance.

The role of glial-neuronal metabolic cooperation in modulating progression of multiple sclerosis and neuropathic pain.

While the etiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) remains unclear, research from the clinic and preclinical models identified the essential role of inflammation and demyelination in the pathogenesis of MS. Current treatments focused on anti-inflammatory processes are effective against acute episodes and relapsing-remitting MS, but patients still move on to develop secondary progressive MS. MS progression is associated with activation of microglia and astrocytes, and importantly, metabolic dysfunction leading to neuronal death.

Effect of Bupivacaine on Postoperative Pain after Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.

Objective: To determine whether intraoperative local injection of 0.5% bupivacaine around port sites would decrease early postoperative pain after laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and the use of intravenous opioid analgesics postoperatively.

Study Design: Randomised controlled trial.

Generation of a Motor Nerve Organoid with Human Stem Cell-Derived Neurons.

During development, axons spontaneously assemble into a fascicle to form nerves and tracts in the nervous system as they extend within a spatially constrained path. However, understanding of the axonal fascicle has been hampered by lack of an in vitro model system. Here, we report generation of a nerve organoid composed of a robust fascicle of axons extended from a spheroid of human stem cell-derived motor neurons within our custom-designed microdevice.