The impact of the Oakland sugar-sweetened beverage tax on price promotions of sugar-sweetened and alternative beverages.

The goal of sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes is to raise the prices of SSBs to decrease consumption. Price promotions play an important role in the sales of SSBs and could potentially be used by manufacturers to weaken the impact of such taxes. The purpose of this study is to determine how price promotions changed after the introduction of the 2017 Oakland SSB tax.

Outcomes of Left Main Revascularization in Patients with Anemia: Gulf Left Main Registry.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of baseline anemia and anemia following revascularization on outcomes in patients with unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) disease.

Methods: This was a retrospective, multicenter, observational study conducted between January 2015 and December 2019. The data on patients with ULMCA who underwent revascularization through percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) were stratified by the hemoglobin level at baseline into anemic and non-anemic groups to compare in-hospital events.

Does Gender Affect the Outcomes of Myocardial Revascularization for Left-Main Coronary Artery Disease?

Currently, gender is not considered in the choice of the revascularization strategy for patients with unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) disease. This study analyzed the effect of gender on the outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) vs coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with ULMCA disease. Females who had PCI (n = 328) were compared with females who had CABG (n = 132) and PCI in males (n = 894) was compared with CABG (n = 784).

Impact of left ventricular ejection fraction on outcomes after left main revascularization: g-LM Registry.

Aims: The impact of left ventricular dysfunction on clinical outcomes following revascularization is not well established in patients with unprotected left main coronary artery disease (ULMCA). In this study, we evaluated the impact of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) on clinical outcomes of patients with ULMCA requiring revascularization with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with coronary artery bypass graft (CABG).

Methods: The details of the design, methods, end points, and relevant definitions are outlined in the Gulf Left Main Registry: a retrospective, observational study conducted between January 2015 and December 2019 across 14 centres in 3 Gulf countries.

Unprotected Left Main Revascularization in the Setting of Non-coronary Atherosclerosis: Gulf Left Main Registry.

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in revascularization of left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease has been evaluated in previous studies. However, there has been minimal study of the relationship between co-existing non-coronary atherosclerosis (NCA) and LMCA disease revascularization. We aim to examine this relationship.

One Versus Two Stents Strategies for Unprotected Left Main Intervention: Gulf Left Main Registry.

The optimal stenting strategy for unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) disease remains debated. This retrospective observational study (Gulf Left Main Registry) analyzed the outcomes of 1 vs 2 stents in patients with unprotected left main percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Overall, 1222 patients were evaluated; 173 had 1 stent and 1049 had 2 stents.

Outcomes of Myocardial Revascularization in Diabetic Patients With Left Main Coronary Artery Disease: A Multicenter Observational Study From Three Gulf Countries.

Background: Real-world data for managing patients with diabetes and left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease are scarce. We compared percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) outcomes versus coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in diabetes and LMCA disease patients.

Methods: We retrospectively studied patients with LMCA presented to 14 centers from 2015 to 2019.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Vs Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery for Unprotected Left Main Coronary Disease: G-LM Registry.

Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) has been the standard of care for revascularization for patients with obstructive unprotected left main coronary disease (ULMCA). There have been multiple randomized and registry data demonstrating the technical and clinical efficacy of PCI in certain patients with ULMCA. The purpose of this study is to evaluate clinical outcomes of ULMCA PCI as compared to CABG in patients requiring revascularization in three Gulf countries.

Egg production, fertility, hatchability and immune responses of some chicken strains under high ambient temperatures.

This experiment was designed to investigate and compare the egg production, fertility, hatchability and immune responses of some local developed Egyptian chicken strains under high ambient temperatures. A total of 108 (26 weeks old) laying hens of Matrouh, Silver Montazah, Mandarah and Inshas (9 hens × 3 replicates × 4 strains) were used to evaluate the impact of thermal stress (24-34ºC) during summer season (June, July and August) on egg production, fertility, hatchability and immune responses. The obtained results revealed that final body weight (FBW/g) and body weight change (BWC/g) among different chicken strains were not affected.

Clinical efficacy of direct-acting antiviral therapy for recurrent hepatitis C virus infection after liver transplantation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection of transplanted liver allografts is universal in patients with detectable HCV viremia at the time of transplantation. Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy has been adopted as the standard of care for recurrent HCV infection in the post-transplant setting. However, there are insufficient data regarding its efficacy in liver transplant (LT) recipients with a history of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and the risk of HCC recurrence after DAA therapy is unknown.

STEMI and COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia.

The COVID-19 pandemic had significant impact on health care worldwide which has led to a reduction in all elective admissions and management of patients through virtual care. The purpose of this study is to assess changes in STEMI volumes, door to reperfusion, and the time from the onset of symptoms until reperfusion therapy, and in-hospital events between the pre-COVID-19 (PC) and after COVID-19 (AC) period. All acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) cases were retrospectively identified from 16 centers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 period from January 01 to April 30, 2020.

An Assessment of Food Store Compliance With the Cook County Sweetened Beverage Tax.

To examine the correct application of the $0.01/ounce Cook County, Illinois, Sweetened Beverage Tax on sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages, a total of 111 beverage products were purchased from 28 food stores in September and November 2017. Purchases were categorized by taxable (sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened soda and juice drinks) and nontaxable (100% fruit juice and sparkling water) beverage type, store type (limited service vs supermarket/grocery), and area median household income (lower vs higher).

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection in Relation to Physical and Emotional Stress: A Retrospective Study in 4 Arab Gulf Countries.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) has emerged as an important cause of acute coronary syndrome and sudden cardiac death. The triggers for SCAD often do not include traditional atherosclerotic risk factors. The most commonly reported triggers are extreme physical or emotional stress.

Newly isolated marine bacterial exopolysaccharides enhance antitumor activity in HepG2 cells via affecting key apoptotic factors and activating toll like receptors.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was accompanied by high incidence of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Apoptosis is a vital biological process playing a critical role in cancer. Besides, toll like receptors were reported to regulator the innate immune response against cancer development.

The importance of propolis in alleviating the negative physiological effects of heat stress in quail chicks.

Heat stress is one of the most detrimental confrontations in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, causing considerable economic losses in poultry production. Propolis, a resinous product of worker honeybees, possesses several biological activities that could be used to alleviate the deleterious effects of high environmental temperature on poultry production. The current study was aimed at evaluating the effects of propolis supplementation to Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) diets on the production performance, intestinal histomorphology, relative physiological and immunological parameters, and selected gene expression under heat stress conditions.

Precision annotation of digital samples in NCBI's gene expression omnibus.

The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) contains more than two million digital samples from functional genomics experiments amassed over almost two decades. However, individual sample meta-data remains poorly described by unstructured free text attributes preventing its largescale reanalysis. We introduce the Search Tag Analyze Resource for GEO as a web application (http://STARGEO.

PKC-ѳ is dispensable for OX40L-induced TCR-independent Treg proliferation but contributes by enabling IL-2 production from effector T-cells.

We have previously shown that OX40L/OX40 interaction is critical for TCR-independent selective proliferation of Foxp3 Tregs, but not Foxp3 effector T-cells (Teff), when CD4 T-cells are co-cultured with GM-CSF derived bone marrow dendritic cells (G-BMDCs). Events downstream of OX40L/OX40 interaction in Tregs responsible for this novel mechanism are not understood. Earlier, OX40L/OX40 interaction has been shown to stimulate CD4 T-cells through the formation of a signalosome involving TRAF2/PKC-Ѳ leading to NF-kB activation.

Intact Toll-like receptor 9 signaling in neutrophils modulates normal thrombogenesis in mice.

Background: Deletion of Toll-like receptor 9 (Tlr9) signaling, which is important for sterile inflammatory processes, results in impaired resolution of venous thrombosis (VT) in mice. The purpose of this study was to determine if deletion of Tlr9 affected sterile necrosis, apoptosis, and neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) production in VT.

Methods: Stasis and nonstasis murine models of VT were used in wild-type (WT) and Tlr9 mice, with assessment of thrombus size and determination of NETs, necrosis, and apoptosis markers.

Age-dependent divergent effects of OX40L treatment on the development of diabetes in NOD mice.

Earlier, we have shown that GM-CSF derived bone marrow (BM) dendritic cells (G-BMDCs) can expand Foxp3(+) regulatory T-cells (Tregs) through a TCR-independent, but IL-2 dependent mechanism that required OX40L/OX40 interaction. While some reports have shown suppression of autoimmunity upon treatment with an OX40 agonist, others have shown exacerbation of autoimmune disease instead. To better understand the basis for these differing outcomes, we compared the effects of OX40L treatment in 6-week-old pre-diabetic and 12-week-old near diabetic NOD mice.

Production of hydroxy marilone C as a bioactive compound from.

Hydroxy marilone C is a bioactive metabolite produced from the culture broth of isolated from Egyptian soil. Hydroxy marilone C was purified and fractionated by a silica gel column with a gradient mobile phase dichloromethane (DCM):methanol then Sephadex LH-20 column using methanol as a mobile phase. It was subjected to many procedures such as infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Mass spectroscopy (MS) and UV spectroscopy for elucidation of its structure.

Molecular and cytogenetic assessment of Dipterygium glaucum genotoxicity.

The aim of the present study is to assess the genotoxicity of Dipterygium glaucum grows widely in Saudi Arabia desert to produce safety herbal products. This work is considered the first and pioneer report so far due to the lack and poor evaluated reports of the plant species for their mutagensity, genotoxicity and cytogenetics effects. Cytogenetic effects of D.

Divergent effects of Tlr9 deletion in experimental late venous thrombosis resolution and vein wall injury.

Deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) resolves via a sterile inflammatory response. Defining the inflammatory response of DVT may allow for new therapies that do not involve anticoagulation. Previously, we have shown that Toll-like receptor 9 (Tlr9) gene deleted mice had impaired venous thrombosis (VT) resolution.

Unintended Harm and Benefit of the Implantable Defibrillator in an Unfortunate 19-Year-Old Male: Featuring a Sequence of Rare Life-threatening Complications of Cardiac Procedures.

All procedures have inherent risk. Our patient endured a sequence of rare life-threatening complications from commonly preformed procedures. The sequence of these complications was; large pericardial effusion post implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation with echocardiographic signs of tamponade, left main narrowing post radiofrequency ablation, and late stent thrombosis post coronary intervention with a bare metal stent.

Cardiac remodeling caused by transgenic overexpression of a corn Rac gene.

Rac1-GTPase activation plays a key role in the development and progression of cardiac remodeling. Therefore, we engineered a transgenic mouse model by overexpressing cDNA of a constitutively active form of Zea maize Rac gene (ZmRacD) specifically in the hearts of FVB/N mice. Echocardiography and MRI analyses showed cardiac hypertrophy in old transgenic mice, as evidenced by increased left ventricular (LV) mass and LV mass-to-body weight ratio, which are associated with relative ventricular chamber dilation and systolic dysfunction.