Childcare needs as a barrier to healthcare among women in a safety-net health system.

Background: Childcare needs are an understudied social determinant of health. The effect of childcare needs on access to healthcare must be understood to inform health system interventions and policy reform. This study sought to characterize childcare needs, access to childcare, and prior experience with navigating childcare needs in healthcare settings among women in a safety-net population.

Associations of Preconception Body Weight, Body Mass Index, and Hypertension with Preeclampsia.

Maximizing preconception health is an important strategy to prevent preeclampsia in pregnancy. Preeclampsia remains a significant cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. We examined the associations between preconception maternal body weight, body mass index (BMI), and blood pressure with preeclampsia and its related outcomes.

Observational longitudinal study to assess the outcome of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myositis using validated tools.

Introduction: There have been major changes in the classification and treatment of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myositis (IIM) in the last 2 decades. A major challenge is to identify the parameters that can affect the outcome and prognosis of these patients. Here, we have longitudinally followed a well-characterized cohort of IIM patients in a rheumatology center and reported the outcome using the validated tools.

Reduction in preterm birth among COVID-19-vaccinated pregnant individuals in the United States.

Background: Most studies investigating preterm birth and COVID-19 vaccination have suggested no difference in preterm birth rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant individuals; however, 1 recent study suggested a protective effect of COVID-19 vaccination on preterm birth rates in Australia.

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether a similar association and protective effect of COVID-19 vaccination on preterm birth would be found in our multistate, US cohort.

Study Design: A cohort study was conducted using the Vizient Clinical Database, which included data from 192 hospitals in 38 states.

The relationship between COVID-19 vaccination status in pregnancy and birthweight.

Background: Despite findings that maternal COVID-19 infection in pregnancy is associated with low birthweight (weight of ≤2500 g), previous studies demonstrate no difference in low birthweight risk between COVID-19 vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant persons. Few studies, however, have examined the association between unvaccinated, incomplete vaccination, and complete vaccination on low birthweight, and they have been limited by small sample sizes and lack of adjustment for covariates.

Objective: We sought to address key limitations of prior work and evaluate this association between unvaccinated, incomplete, and complete COVID-19 vaccination status in pregnancy and low birthweight.

Interpretation of Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Using European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) and Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) Breakpoints: Analysis of Agreement.

Objectives: Breakpoints provided by European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) are now being used in many countries. This study was planned to ascertain the agreement in antimicrobial susceptibility using the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) and EUCAST breakpoints during the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method.

Methods:  This was a prospective observational study.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease: an interview-based survey.

Patients with a systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease (AIRD) are vulnerable to SARS Cov-2 infection. Vaccination against this infection can prevent the patients from developing severe disease. But vaccine hesitancy in this group can emerge as a hurdle.

Myositis-specific and myositis-associated autoantibodies in a large Indian cohort of inflammatory myositis.

Background: The Idiopathic Inflammatory Myositis (IIM) are heterogenous with distinct clinical phenotypes associated with specific myositis specific antibodies (MSA) and myositis associated antibodies (MAA).

Objectives: To evaluate the frequency, pattern and associations of MSA/MAA in a large Indian cohort of IIM.

Methods: Adult and juvenile IIM (2017 ACR/EULAR criteria), were recruited in the MyoCite cohort between 2017and 2020 at a tertiary center in Northern India.

Hospital-based study on demographic, hematological, and biochemical profile of lung cancer patients.

Background: Lung cancer is considered as the most commonly diagnosed cancer. It is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Smoking and environmental pollutants act as important risk factors in majority of lung cancer cases (80%-90%).

Association of cytokines levels with epidermal growth factor receptor mutation in lung cancer patients.

Background: Lung cancer is one of the most frequent types of cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a receptor tyrosine kinase (TK) being highly expressed in lung cancers. Activation of EGFR through oncogenic mutations leads to upregulation of gene expression that may heighten the inflammatory response in certain situations.

Hereditary C1 inhibitor deficiency associated with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Here, we report a family with two children (the elder son and younger daughter) diagnosed with juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and the father diagnosed with hereditary angioedema. Serum C1 inhibitor (C1-INH) levels were low, and clinical exome next-generation sequencing detected a frameshift mutation in the gene in all three patients. The mother had neither of the clinical phenotypes.

Vitamin D, C-reactive protein, and oxidative stress markers in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Systemic inflammation and oxidant/antioxidant imbalance has been seen to play a key role in pathogenesis of COPD. The present study investigated the levels of inflammatory and antioxidant/oxidative stress biomarker in COPD patients and healthy subjects.

Association of inflammatory biomarkers with lung cancer in North Indian population.

Background: Lung cancer is characterized by uncontrolled cell growth of the lung tissues. It is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.

Objectives: The study aimed to determine the circulating CRP, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 levels in lung cancer and healthy control and also established association between these biomarkers with the smoking status as well as the stages of the disease.

Serum procalcitonin levels in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients in North Indian Population.

Background: Exacerbations in Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have a considerable impact on morbidity, mortality, and quality of life. Procalcitonin (PCT) a polypeptide normally produced in neuroendocrine cells of the thyroid and lungs is a marker of systemic inflammation and bacterial infection.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the levels of PCT in serum of acute exacerbation of COPD patients (AECOPD) and stable COPD patients in North Indian population.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with Anemia as Comorbidity in North Indian Population.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an increasing cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Anemia is seen as a common comorbidity in COPD patients associated with reduced functional capacity, impaired quality of life, greater likelihood of hospitalization, and early mortality. The aim is to study the prevalence of anemia in patients with COPD and to study its association with different parameters.

Mutation Detection and Its Association With Clinicopathological Characters of Lung Cancer Patients.

Background: Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer worldwide with an estimation of 1.82 million new cancer cases diagnosed; and it is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a receptor tyrosine kinase identified as being highly expressed in cancer cells including lung cancers.

Effect of administration of a probiotic preparation on gut microbiota and immune response in healthy women in India: an open-label, single-arm pilot study.

Background: Probiotics have been shown to be useful for the treatment of many disease conditions. These beneficial effects are believed to be mediated by change in the composition of gut microbiota and modulation of the host immune responses. However, the available data on the effect of probiotics on these parameters are quite limited.

IL-27 levels are low in enthesitis-related arthritis category of juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Objectives: Enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) is associated with the increase in frequency of Th17 cells and synovial fluid IL-17 levels. Recently, IL-15 and IL-18 has been shown to augment and IL-27 to suppress IL-17 production in autoimmune disease, and thus we studied these cytokines in ERA patients.

Methods: Serum samples were collected from 55 patients with ERA, 21 with other categories of JIA and 21 healthy controls.

Natural killer cell and gamma delta T cell alterations in enthesitis related arthritis category of juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Enthesitis related arthritis (ERA) is associated with increased frequency of Th17 cells and synovial fluid (SF) IL-17 levels. Natural killer (NK) and gamma delta T cells have been recently shown to produce IL-17, thus we studied the NK and gamma delta-T cells in peripheral blood (PB) of 50 ERA, 16 other JIA patients and 19 healthy controls. We have analyzed the frequency of NK (total, CD56dim, CD56bright) and gamma delta-T cells, perforin and KIR3DL1/2 expression on NK cells and IL-17 and IFN-gamma production by them using flow cytometry.

Tenascin-C Levels, A Toll-like Receptor 4 Ligand, in Enthesitis-related Arthritis Category of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: A Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Study.

Objective: Monocytes of children with enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) show Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) overexpression. Tenascin-C (TNC) is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein and acts as an endogenous TLR4 ligand. Thus, we studied the serum and synovial fluid (SF) levels of TNC in children with ERA.

TLR4 endogenous ligand MRP8/14 level in enthesitis-related arthritis and its association with disease activity and TLR4 expression.

Objective: Enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) is an inflammatory disease of childhood that lacks autoantibodies. Overexpression of surface-expressed Toll-like receptors (TLRs) has been found in ERA. Myeloid-related proteins (MRPs) 8 and 14 are calcium binding proteins that act as an endogenous ligand of TLR4.