Publications by authors named "Michael Farid"
Objective: Traumatic spinal injury (TSI) involves diverse etiologies, posing different risks among patient populations worldwide. Discrepancies in TSI treatment and outcomes between high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries highlight the critical necessity for tailored management approaches for this global challenge. This study delves into the presentation, management, and outcomes of TSI in Africa.
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- - MultiPerturb-seq is a new CRISPR screening platform that combines single-nucleus chromatin accessibility, transcriptome analysis, and guide RNA capture to enhance the profiling of genetic information.
- - This high-throughput method utilizes advanced techniques like combinatorial indexing and droplet microfluidics to efficiently process and integrate multiple forms of data from single cells.
- - The research identified critical differentiation genes in a rare pediatric cancer, highlighting ZNHIT1 as a promising target for developing reprogramming therapies for cancer treatment.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to profile pediatric patients with tight filum terminale (TFT) or fatty filum terminale (FFT) who experienced retethering after surgery and identify risk factors for this occurrence.
- After reviewing multiple medical databases, eleven studies involving 1167 patients were included, revealing a retethering rate of 3.4%, with lower-extremity weakness and bowel or bladder dysfunction being common symptoms.
- Key predictors for retethering were identified as postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage and preoperative sensory changes, while having a low-lying conus was not a significant risk factor.
Article Synopsis
- Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common type of leukemia in adults and is hard to treat because everyone's disease can be different.
- The main treatment has been the same for a long time, but researchers are studying how different cancer drugs work together to find better options.
- Some newer drugs showed good results when used with others, while an older drug caused problems when mixed with different medicines, making it clear that treatment success can depend on the specific type of AML.
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- A study evaluates the effects of a new digital reimbursement system at a student-run clinic serving uninsured NYC residents, analyzing data from 94 patients over several years.
- Patients were categorized into in-person and digital groups, revealing that those using the digital system requested more refunds, received larger amounts, and were reimbursed faster compared to the in-person group.
- After implementing digital refunds, the clinic saw a significant increase in monthly reimbursement volume, number of refunds, and overall patients utilizing the service, indicating that digital systems can enhance medication reimbursement for uninsured individuals.
Objective: The influence of social determinants of health on health disparities is substantial. However, their impact on postsurgical outcomes in spine can be challenging to ascertain at the community level. This study aims to explore the interplay between presurgical attitudes, area deprivation index (ADI), income, employment status, and body mass index (BMI) on postsurgical outcomes at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after elective spine surgery.
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- This study investigates the prevalence and treatment of pediatric hydrocephalus in Africa, highlighting under-researched aspects in this region.
- A systematic review included 74 studies covering over 12,000 pediatric patients, revealing key demographics such as a majority being male (53.8%) and commonly presenting with macrocephaly (80.2%).
- The findings show that ventriculoperitoneal shunting (83.1%) and endoscopic third ventriculostomy (54.1%) are prevalent surgical interventions, with notable postoperative complications like infections and a revision rate of 9% for shunt patients.
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- The challenge of measuring cardiomyocyte (CM) maturity is a key hurdle in assessing adult-like CMs made from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs).
- This article introduces a method to quantify CM maturity using a metric called "entropy score," which is derived from single-cell RNA sequencing.
- The protocol includes specific steps and customized R code for generating the entropy score, applicable to PSC-CMs and potentially other cell types, with further details found in the referenced study by Kannan et al.
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- Antibiotic resistance is a growing global health issue causing longer hospital stays, higher rates of illness and death, and skyrocketing healthcare costs due to slow testing of bacterial infections.
- A new technology called RUSD (Rapid Ultra-Sensitive Detection) has been developed to quickly and accurately identify pathogenic bacteria, allowing for faster and more effective treatment.
- The RUSD system includes a novel AST method named iFAST (in-Fiber-Antibiotic-Susceptibility-Testing) that provides quick results on antibiotic effectiveness in just one to three hours, improving clinical decision-making and helping combat antibiotic resistance.
Article Synopsis
- - The study addresses the challenge of immature pluripotent stem cell (PSC)-derived tissues in biomedical applications by developing a method to assess their maturation status using transcriptomic entropy.
- - A novel approach was created to analyze over 45 single cell RNA-sequencing datasets, allowing direct comparison of PSC-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs) with their in vivo counterparts.
- - This entropy-based model not only quantifies PSC-CM maturation but is also applicable to evaluate other cell types, providing a valuable metric for tissue engineering research.
Article Synopsis
- - Bacteriophages and bacterial toxins show promise as effective treatments for infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, with real-world applications reported in several studies showing successful outcomes.
- - A concern with using bacteriophages is the potential for bacteria to evolve resistance over time, which could limit their effectiveness as a treatment.
- - The study focuses on understanding the fitness landscape of a specific bacterial protein called TolC, which plays a role in how bacteria can resist the effects of treatments like colicin E1 toxin and TLS phage.
Article Synopsis
- * The Rapid Ultrasensitive Detector (RUSD) can identify very low concentrations of bacteria, detecting as few as 20 cells, making it much more sensitive than traditional methods.
- * RUSD can quickly test bacteria for antibiotic effectiveness within 2 to 4 hours, even with small sample sizes, offering a simple, affordable, and adaptable diagnostic tool for healthcare settings.
Article Synopsis
- The compound 2-(5-Chloro-1,3-diphenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-ylmethylene)-malononitrile (1a) can react with various arylidenes and active methylene compounds to produce a range of triaryl-5-chloropyrazole derivatives (3a-d), depending on the specific reactants used.
- Additionally, it can react with different types of compounds like pyridazinones and thiazolinones, resulting in products such as phthalazinone (16) and pyrano[2,3-d]thiazoles (20a-c).
- The newly synthesized compounds demonstrate moderate molluscicidal activity