Assessing the effectiveness of the Pregnancy And Newborn Diagnostic Assessment system on the quality of antenatal care in Burkina Faso: A cluster-randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: The Pregnancy and Newborn Diagnostic Assessment (PANDA) system is a mobile application designed to facilitate diagnosis and decision-making by healthcare staff in antenatal care (ANC). This study aimed to evaluate its effectiveness in improving the quality of ANC.

Methods: This randomised controlled trial implemented the PANDA system in two groups of health facilities (intervention and comparison groups) using a matched-pair method in the Koupéla health district, Burkina Faso.

Domestic Accidents of Children in the Orodara District of Burkina Faso: Mothers' Knowledge of First-Aid Practices.

First-aid practices after a domestic accident are not always known, especially in Africa. This study aimed to measure mothers' knowledge of emergency procedures and attitudes in the event of domestic accidents in children. We conducted a cross-sectional study in the Orodara health district, Kénédougou province, Burkina Faso, among mothers of children aged 0-14 years.

The Incredible Adventure of Omalizumab.

The basis of our current understanding of allergies begins with the discovery of IgE in the mid-1960s. The whole theory of the physiology and pathophysiology of allergic diseases, including rhinitis and asthma, dates from that period. Among the key regions of IgE identified were the FAB (fragment antigen binding) portion that has the ability to capture allergens, and the Cε3 domain, through which IgE binds to its membrane receptor.

Unmet needs for modern contraceptive methods among sexually active adolescents and young women in Togo: a nationwide cross-sectional study.

Background: The unmet need for modern contraceptives among sexually active adolescent and young women (AYW) in Africa contributes to high morbidity and mortality. To investigate the prevalence of unmet need for modern contraceptives and its associated factors among AYW in Togo, we performed a secondary analysis of data from the MICS-62017 survey.

Method: We extracted data from sexually active AYW aged 15-24  years for the analysis and used multi-level logistic regression models to identify factors associated with unmet need for modern contraceptives.

Potential impact of mepolizumab in stepping down anti-osteporotic treatment in corticosteroid-dependent asthma.

Oral corticosteroids (OCS) are commonly used for the acute management of severe asthma exacerbations or as maintenance therapy; however, chronic use is associated with significant toxicities, e.g., osteoporosis.

Pigmentation and TYRP1 expression are mediated by zinc through the early secretory pathway-resident ZNT proteins.

Tyrosinase (TYR) and tyrosinase-related proteins 1 and 2 (TYRP1 and TYRP2) are essential for pigmentation. They are generally classified as type-3 copper proteins, with binuclear copper active sites. Although there is experimental evidence for a copper cofactor in TYR, delivered via the copper transporter, ATP7A, the presence of copper in TYRP1 and TYRP2 has not been demonstrated.

Prevalence, T2 Biomarkers, and Cost of Severe Asthma in the Era of Biologics: The BRAVO-1 Study.

Background And Objectives: Background: The last decade has seen new classifications of the pathophysiology of asthma that have changed the treatment options available. Objectives: To update data on the prevalence of T2 asthma, comorbidities, biomarker characterization, and costs of severe asthma in patients aged ≥12 years, taking into account new classifications and treatment options.

Methods: Retrospective, observational, nationwide study using a top-down approach.

Lemierre's Syndrome as a Sexually Transmitted Disease Due to Porphyromonas asaccharolytica Suspected to Be Caused by Pharyngitis Due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Epstein-Barr Virus.

rarely causes Lemierre's syndrome (LS), which is characterised by sepsis and thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein. An 18-year-old man presented with fever and a sore throat after sexual contact containing oral sex, and his blood sample was positive for atypical lymphocytes. Infectious mononucleosis was suspected initially.

Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis During Convalescence From Severe COVID-19 Treated With Oral Itraconazole: A Report of Two Cases.

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) has been reported to occur secondary to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the condition has been termed COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA). We diagnosed two severe COVID-19 cases with multiple cavitary lung lesions and chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) on days 58 and 48 of admission, respectively, with gradual improvement in the respiratory status. Both patients were positive for precipitating antibodies (APAb).

Early-Onset Drug Hypersensitivity Syndrome in a Man With Pneumonia Due to Pre-sensitization to Olanzapine.

Drug hypersensitivity syndrome (DHS) generally starts two weeks to two months after administration of certain drugs. Olanzapine has been reported to cause drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), but rarely causes drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DIHS). A 49-year-old schizophrenic man was hospitalized for pneumonia and developed DIHS/DRESS 10 days after starting olanzapine.

Zinc transport via ZNT5-6 and ZNT7 is critical for cell surface glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored protein expression.

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins play crucial roles in various enzyme activities, cell signaling and adhesion, and immune responses. While the molecular mechanism underlying GPI-anchored protein biosynthesis has been well studied, the role of zinc transport in this process has not yet been elucidated. Zn transporter (ZNT) proteins mobilize cytosolic zinc to the extracellular space and to intracellular compartments.

Dual Monoclonal Antibody Therapy for a Severe Asthma Patient.

Introduction: Omalizumab, the first biological treatment for severe allergic bronchial asthma, has been on the market for more than a decade. Omalizumab was initially considered to be an IgE-blocking agent, and therefore, an inhibitor of the Th2 (allergic or adaptive) cascade. More recently, other monoclonal antibodies for severe eosinophilic asthma have become available, which exert an anti-eosinophilic effect basically by blocking IL5 or its receptor.

Correction to: As-needed ICS-LABA in Mild Asthma: What Does the Evidence Say?

Abstract, fourth to last sentence, which currently reads.

As-needed ICS-LABA in Mild Asthma: What Does the Evidence Say?

For the last three decades, the guidelines for asthma management have supported a stepwise therapeutic approach, based on the administration of controller medications (especially inhaled corticosteroids) complemented by on-demand use of rescue medication. Classically, the rescue medication recommended comprised short-acting β agonists (SABA). Some years ago, the use of Symbicort Maintenance and Reliever Therapy (SMART) demonstrated the benefits of a combination of budesonide-formoterol, an inhaled corticosteroid, and a long-acting β agonist (ICS-LABA) as rescue medication in moderate and severe asthma.

Identification of Pen m 4 as a potential cause of occupational asthma to Gammarus shrimp.

We present the case of a 34-year-old male patient employed for 8 years in a company manufacturing and packaging animal feed. The patient developed occupational asthma to dry Gammarus powder. The diagnosis was confirmed by specific bronchial provocation test.

A step-down protocol for omalizumab treatment in oral corticosteroid-dependent allergic asthma patients.

Aims: There are no specific criteria for a step-down or withdrawal dose of omalizumab (OMA). Our purpose was to evaluate the viability of a protocol for OMAlizumab DOse REduction (the OMADORE study) in severe allergic asthma (SAA).

Methods: The study population included 35 SAA patients treated during a minimum period of 1 year with oral corticosteroids (OC) equivalent to a mean daily dose of 4 mg of methyl-prednisolone.

Omalizumab Is Equally Effective in Persistent Allergic Oral Corticosteroid-Dependent Asthma Caused by Either Seasonal or Perennial Allergens: A Pilot Study.

Omalizumab is marketed for chronic severe asthma patients who are allergic to perennial allergens. Our purpose was to investigate whether omalizumab is also effective in persistent severe asthma due to seasonal allergens. Thirty patients with oral corticosteroid-dependent asthma were treated with Omalizumab according to the dosing table.

Influence of dynamic leaks in volume-targeted pressure support noninvasive ventilation: a bench study.

Introduction: The effect of leaks on volume-targeted pressure support noninvasive ventilation mode has only been tested with continuous simulated leaks. The objective of the study was to assess the influence of random leaks occurring either during inspiration or expiration.

Methods: Analysis of the volume-targeted pressure support mode in 6 commercial ventilators with single-limb circuits and intentional leak in a bench study (restrictive model).

Effect of dynamic random leaks on the monitoring accuracy of home mechanical ventilators: a bench study.

Background: So far, the accuracy of tidal volume (VT) and leak measures provided by the built-in software of commercial home ventilators has only been tested using bench linear models with fixed calibrated and continuous leaks. The objective was to assess the reliability of the estimation of tidal volume (VT) and unintentional leaks in a single tubing bench model which introduces random dynamic leaks during inspiratory or expiratory phases.

Methods: The built-in software of four commercial home ventilators and a fifth ventilator-independent ad hoc designed external software tool were tested with two levels of leaks and two different models with excess leaks (inspiration or expiration).

Effect of leak and breathing pattern on the accuracy of tidal volume estimation by commercial home ventilators: a bench study.

Background: New home ventilators are able to provide clinicians data of interest through built-in software. Monitoring of tidal volume (VT) is a key point in the assessment of the efficacy of home mechanical ventilation.

Objective: To assess the reliability of the VT provided by 5 ventilators in a bench test.

Home mechanical ventilation monitoring software: measure more or measure better?

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in knowing the consequences of the patient-ventilator interaction in non-invasive mechanical ventilation. Therefore, several ventilator manufacturers have incorporated into their devices the possibility to monitor ventilation on-line and download the data stored in their internal memories. However, there is not a consensus as to how these data should be presented, and said devices have still not been sufficiently validated to be used systematically in clinical practice.

Delayed fertilization and pollen-tube growth in pistils of Fagus japonica (Fagaceae).

In contrast to most angiosperms, in which fertilization occurs 1 or 2 days after pollination, in some plant orders, including the Fagales, fertilization is delayed from 4 days to more than 1 year, raising questions regarding why fertilization is delayed and where and how pollen tubes remain in the pistil during the delay. To answer these questions, we investigated pollen-tube growth in pistils of Fagus japonica (Fagaceae), which are tricarpellate and have six ovules, using light, fluorescence, and scanning electron microscopy. The ovules were immature at the time of pollination and required 5 weeks to become fully developed.

Phylogeography of the genus Cardiandra based on genetic variation in cpDNA sequences.

We investigated the phylogenetic relationships within the genus Cardiandra based on plastid DNA sequences. The phylogenetic tree showed that Cardiandra populations from the Ryukyu Islands (Japan) and Taiwan were monophyletic (Ryukyu-Taiwan clade), whereas taxa from China and mainland Japan were sisters to this clade. The divergence time between the Ryukyu-Taiwan clade and the other species was estimated to be 0.