Health impacts, ozone and secondary organic aerosol formation potential of aromatic hydrocarbons (C-C) in the Central Himalayas and the Indo-Gangetic Plain.

The pristine Himalayas are sensitive to pollutants from different source regions, including its foothills that have adverse effects on air quality and climate. Despite this, there are no observations of aromatic hydrocarbons in the central Himalayas. Thus, online observations of aromatics (C-C, defined here as BTEX) were conducted for the first time at the mountain site (Nainital, 1958 m) in the central Himalayas during January 2017-December 2022 period.

A qualitative study of experiences among young adults who increased their cannabis use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Young adults face unique vulnerabilities during major life disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic contributed to increases in mental health challenges and substance use among young adults. This study explores the experiences of young adults who increased their cannabis use during the pandemic.

Bartter syndrome in a female infant: A rare case report from Syria.

Antenatal Bartter syndrome is a rare condition that affects approximately 1.2 individuals per million. It is caused by renal tubular dysfunction that impairs the reabsorption of sodium and chloride.

Identification of sources of coarse mode aerosol particles (PM) using ATR-FTIR and SEM-EDX spectroscopy over the Himalayan Region of India.

This study attempts to examine the morphological, elemental and physical characteristics of PM over the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) using FTIR and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) analysis. The study aimed at source identification of PM by exploring the inorganic ions, organic functional groups, morphology and elemental characteristics. The pollution load of PM was estimated as 63 ± 22 μg m; 53 ± 16 μg m; 67 ± 26 μg m and 55 ± 11 μg m over Mohal-Kullu, Almora, Nainital and Darjeeling, respectively.

A Comparison of Long-Term Outcomes in Patients Managed With Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in the First and Second Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United Kingdom.

Objectives: Early studies of venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in COVID-19 have revealed similar outcomes to historical cohorts. Changes in the disease and treatments have led to differences in the patients supported on venovenous ECMO in the first and second waves. We aimed to compare these two groups in both the acute and follow-up phase.

Comparison of ozonesonde measurements in the upper troposphere and lower Stratosphere in Northern India with reanalysis and chemistry-climate-model data.

The variability and trend of ozone (O) in the Upper troposphere and Lower Stratosphere (UTLS) over the Asian region needs to be accurately quantified. Ozone in the UTLS radiatively heats this region and cools the upper parts of the stratosphere. This results in an impact on relative humidity, static stability in the UTLS region and tropical tropopause temperature.

Anti-rituximab antibodies demonstrate neutralizing capacity, associate with lower circulating drug levels and earlier relapse in lupus.

Objectives: High rates of anti-drug antibodies (ADA) to rituximab have been demonstrated in patients undergoing treatment for SLE. However, little is known with regard to their long-term dynamics, impact on drug kinetics and subsequent implications for treatment response. In this study, we aimed to evaluate ADA persistence over time, impact on circulating drug levels, assess clinical outcomes and whether they are capable of neutralizing rituximab.

A longitudinal study of change in substance use from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic in young adults.

Introduction: We assessed change in substance use from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic in young adults and identified factors associated with initiation/increase in use.

Methods: The sample comprised young adults from a longitudinal investigation of 1294 youth recruited at ages 12-13 (1999-2000) in 10 Montréal-area high schools. Pre-pandemic data on use of cannabis, alcohol, combustible cigarette, e-cigarette and binge drinking were collected at ages 20.

Comparative effectiveness of nonsurgical interventions in the treatment of patients with knee osteoarthritis: A PRISMA-compliant systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: To find out, based on the available recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs), if the nonsurgical interventions commonly used for knee osteoarthritis patients are valid and quantify their efficiency.

Methods: The database of MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for RCTs evaluating nonsurgical treatment strategies on patients with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis. A Bayesian random-effects network meta-analysis was performed.

Remote sensing study of ozone, NO, and CO: some contrary effects of SARS-CoV-2 lockdown over India.

Escalating emissions of several air pollutants over South Asia could play a detrimental role in the regional and global atmosphere. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate these emissions within the boundary layer and at higher heights utilizing satellite data that are more inclusionary, where limited in situ observations are available. Here, we utilize the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI), Ozone Monitoring Instruments (OMI), TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), and Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME-2) hyperspectral satellite data to assess the changes in emission sources during Indian lockdown with a primary focus on the tropospheric profiles of ozone and carbon monoxide (CO).

A systematic review exploring the bidirectional relationship between puberty and autoimmune rheumatic diseases.

Background: Autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) are associated with a significant sex-bias, which becomes more evident post-puberty. This systematic review aims to elucidate the bidirectional relationship between puberty and ARD-related outcomes.

Methods: Studies published in English until October 2019 were identified using a systematic search of endocrinology and rheumatology literature.

Stratification of Patients With Sjögren's Syndrome and Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus According to Two Shared Immune Cell Signatures, With Potential Therapeutic Implications.

Objective: Similarities in the clinical and laboratory features of primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have led to attempts to treat patients with primary SS or SLE with similar biologic therapeutics. However, the results of many clinical trials are disappointing, and no biologic treatments are licensed for use in primary SS, while only a few biologic agents are available to treat SLE patients whose disease has remained refractory to other treatments. With the aim of improving treatment selections, this study was undertaken to identify distinct immunologic signatures in patients with primary SS and patients with SLE, using a stratification approach based on immune cell endotypes.

Increased apolipoprotein-B:A1 ratio predicts cardiometabolic risk in patients with juvenile onset SLE.

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of mortality in patients with juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE). Traditional factors for cardiovascular risk (CVR) prediction are less robust in younger patients. More reliable CVR biomarkers are needed for JSLE patient stratification and to identify therapeutic approaches to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in JSLE.

Characteristics of carbonaceous aerosols derived from long-term high-resolution measurements at a high-altitude site in the central Himalayas: radiative forcing estimates and role of meteorology and biomass burning.

Simultaneous observations (2014-2017) of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) are made over a high-altitude site (Nainital, 29.4°N, 79.5°E, 1958 m a.

COVID-19-associated hyperinflammation and escalation of patient care: a retrospective longitudinal cohort study.

Background: A subset of patients with severe COVID-19 develop a hyperinflammatory syndrome, which might contribute to morbidity and mortality. This study explores a specific phenotype of COVID-19-associated hyperinflammation (COV-HI), and its associations with escalation of respiratory support and survival.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we enrolled consecutive inpatients (aged ≥18 years) admitted to University College London Hospitals and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals in the UK with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 during the first wave of community-acquired infection.

COVID-19 infection in children and adolescents.

The COVID-19 pandemic has predominantly affected the adult population. The disease is less well-defined in children (≤18 years). This review summarises the current understanding of the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and management of COVID-19 in children and adolescents.

Disease-associated and patient-specific immune cell signatures in juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus: patient stratification using a machine-learning approach.

Background: Juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a rare autoimmune rheumatic disease characterised by more severe disease manifestations, earlier damage accrual, and higher mortality than in adult-onset SLE. We aimed to use machine-learning approaches to characterise the immune cell profile of patients with juvenile-onset SLE and investigate links with the disease trajectory over time.

Methods: This study included patients who attended the University College London Hospital (London, UK) adolescent rheumatology service, had juvenile-onset SLE according to the 1997 American College of Rheumatology revised classification criteria for lupus or the 2012 Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics criteria, and were diagnosed before 18 years of age.

Anomalous variations of VLF sub-ionospheric signal and Mesospheric Ozone prior to 2015 Gorkha Nepal Earthquake.

The subject of pre-earthquake ionospheric signatures has always been contentious and debatable. Some of the previous reports have documented unforeseen and unusual variations in some of the atmospheric and ionospheric parameters well before an earthquake. Here, we analyze the ionospheric response from the Indian Subcontinent to Nepal Gorkha Earthquakes occurred between April and May 2015, which were the most powerful and disastrous natural calamities in past ~80 years over the Himalayan region left ~9000 causalities and more than ~20000 people injured with the property damage of the order of several billion dollars.

Loss of crop yields in India due to surface ozone: an estimation based on a network of observations.

Surface ozone is mainly produced by photochemical reactions involving various anthropogenic pollutants, whose emissions are increasing rapidly in India due to fast-growing anthropogenic activities. This study estimates the losses of wheat and rice crop yields using surface ozone observations from a group of 17 sites, for the first time, covering different parts of India. We used the mean ozone for 7 h during the day (M7) and accumulated ozone over a threshold of 40 ppbv (AOT40) metrics for the calculation of crop losses for the northern, eastern, western and southern regions of India.

Chemical characterization of rainwater at a high-altitude site "Nainital" in the central Himalayas, India.

The present study investigates the chemical composition of rainwater (RW) from a high-altitude site "Nainital" (1958 m above msl) in the central Himalaya region, to understand the influence of local, regional, and long-range transport of pollutants. A total of 55 (2 in pre-monsoon and 53 in monsoon) RW samples were collected during the study period (June-September 2012) and were analyzed for major anions and cations using an ion chromatograph. The pH of precipitation events ranged from 4.

Seasonal, interannual, and long-term variabilities in biomass burning activity over South Asia.

The seasonal, interannual, and long-term variations in biomass burning activity and related emissions are not well studied over South Asia. In this regard, active fire location retrievals from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the retrievals of aerosol optical depth (AOD) from MODIS Terra, and tropospheric column NO2 from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) are used to understand the effects of biomass burning on the tropospheric pollution loadings over South Asia during 2003-2013. Biomass burning emission estimates from Global Fire Emission Database (GFED) and Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) are also used to quantify uncertainties and regional discrepancies in the emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx), and black carbon (BC) due to biomass burning in South Asia.