Assessment of Initial Oxygenation Levels of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Their Impact on Basis and Vital Tools: Retrospective Cohort Study From India.

Introduction Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a significant contributor to global morbidity and mortality. Despite well-established management protocols, treatment remains suboptimal due to high costs and mortality rates. This study aims to compare the impact of initial oxygenation status, Dyspnea, Eosinopenia, Consolidation, Acidemia, and Atrial Fibrillation (DECAF), and National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) scores on management outcomes in COPD patients.

Scrub Typhus and Bilateral Lateral Rectus Palsy: An Uncommon Manifestation.

Scrub typhus is a zoonotic disease that typically presents as an acute febrile illness. It is caused by the rickettsial organism , which is prevalent in the Asian region. The clinical manifestations of scrub typhus can vary significantly, ranging from mild febrile illness to severe multiorgan dysfunction syndrome.

A Splenic Infarct in Scrub Typhus: A Rare Entity.

Scrub typhus is a zoonotic feverish condition that can range from mild to severe, potentially life-threatening symptoms. Common signs include fever, headache, muscle pain, and a skin rash. Although rare, splenic infarction is a known complication of scrub typhus, with only a limited number of cases documented in medical literature.

Neurotensin orchestrates valence assignment in the amygdala.

The ability to associate temporally segregated information and assign positive or negative valence to environmental cues is paramount for survival. Studies have shown that different projections from the basolateral amygdala (BLA) are potentiated following reward or punishment learning. However, we do not yet understand how valence-specific information is routed to the BLA neurons with the appropriate downstream projections, nor do we understand how to reconcile the sub-second timescales of synaptic plasticity with the longer timescales separating the predictive cues from their outcomes.

Next generation sequencing in lung cancer: An initial experience from India.

Introduction: Approximately 35% of NSCLC patients in East Asia have EGFR mutations. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) provides a comprehensive mutational profile in lung cancer patients.

Material And Method: Clinicopathologic characteristics and mutational profiling data was analyzed from nonsmall cell lung carcinoma /Adenocarcinoma over a duration of 42 months (October 2014 to March 2018) using next-generation sequencing Ion Ampliseq Cancer Hotspot panel v2 (Ampliseq, Life Technologies) on the Ion torrent PGM platform.

Effects of 3D culturing conditions on the transcriptomic profile of stem-cell-derived neurons.

Understanding neurological diseases requires tractable genetic systems. Engineered 3D neural tissues are an attractive choice, but how the cellular transcriptomic profiles in these tissues are affected by the encapsulating materials and are related to the human-brain transcriptome is not well understood. Here, we report the characterization of the effects of culturing conditions on the transcriptomic profiles of induced neuronal cells, as well as a method for the rapid generation of 3D co-cultures of neuronal and astrocytic cells from the same pool of human embryonic stem cells.

Systemic Delivery of AAVB1-GAA Clears Glycogen and Prolongs Survival in a Mouse Model of Pompe Disease.

Pompe disease is an autosomal recessive glycogen storage disorder caused by deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA). GAA deficiency results in systemic lysosomal glycogen accumulation and cellular disruption in muscle and the central nervous system (CNS). Adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy is ideal for Pompe disease, since a single systemic injection may correct both muscle and CNS pathologies.

Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome: A Circumventable Emergency.

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is characterized by multiple hamartomatous polyps in the gastrointestinal tract and mucocutaneous pigmentation. Here we present, a case of multiple gastrointestinal hamartomatous polyps in a 22-year-old male who had been operated for intestinal obstruction due to ileocolic intussusception. Resection of the affected segment was done with proximal ileostomy and distal mucous fistula formation.

Massively parallel single-nucleus RNA-seq with DroNc-seq.

Single-nucleus RNA sequencing (sNuc-seq) profiles RNA from tissues that are preserved or cannot be dissociated, but it does not provide high throughput. Here, we develop DroNc-seq: massively parallel sNuc-seq with droplet technology. We profile 39,111 nuclei from mouse and human archived brain samples to demonstrate sensitive, efficient, and unbiased classification of cell types, paving the way for systematic charting of cell atlases.

Critically Ill Obstetric Patients in a General Critical Care Unit: A 5 Years' Retrospective Study in a Public Teaching Hospital of Eastern India.

Background: Critical care services are essential for the subset of obstetric patients suffering from severe maternal morbidity. Studies on obstetric critical care are important for benchmarking the issues which need to be addressed while managing critically ill obstetric patients. Although there are several published studies on obstetric critical care from India and abroad, studies from Eastern India are limited.

Multiplex gene editing by CRISPR-Cpf1 using a single crRNA array.

Targeting of multiple genomic loci with Cas9 is limited by the need for multiple or large expression constructs. Here we show that the ability of Cpf1 to process its own CRISPR RNA (crRNA) can be used to simplify multiplexed genome editing. Using a single customized CRISPR array, we edit up to four genes in mammalian cells and three in the mouse brain, simultaneously.

Effect of pioglitazone on nerve conduction velocity of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel in type 2 diabetes patients.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of pioglitazone pharmacotherapy in median nerve electrophysiology in the carpal tunnel among type 2 diabetes patients.

Methods: The study was executed in patients with type 2 diabetes, treated with oral drugs, categorized under pioglitazone or non-pioglitazone group (14 in each group), and who received electrophysiological evaluation by nerve conduction velocity at baseline and 3 mo.

Results: At 3 mo, pioglitazone-category had inferior amplitude in sensory median nerve [8.

In Vivo Selection Yields AAV-B1 Capsid for Central Nervous System and Muscle Gene Therapy.

Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors have shown promise as a platform for gene therapy of neurological disorders. Achieving global gene delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) is key for development of effective therapies for many of these diseases. Here we report the isolation of a novel CNS tropic AAV capsid, AAV-B1, after a single round of in vivo selection from an AAV capsid library.

Airway accidents in critical care unit: A 3-year retrospective study in a Public Teaching Hospital of Eastern India.

Background: Although tracheal tubes are essential devices to control and protect airway in a critical care unit (CCU), they are not free from complications.

Aims: To document the incidence and nature of airway accidents in the CCU of a government teaching hospital in Eastern India.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of all airway accidents in a 5-bedded (medical and surgical) CCU.

Viral vectors for therapy of neurologic diseases.

Neurological disorders - disorders of the brain, spine and associated nerves - are a leading contributor to global disease burden with a shockingly large associated economic cost. Various treatment approaches - pharmaceutical medication, device-based therapy, physiotherapy, surgical intervention, among others - have been explored to alleviate the resulting extent of human suffering. In recent years, gene therapy using viral vectors - encoding a therapeutic gene or inhibitory RNA into a "gutted" viral capsid and supplying it to the nervous system - has emerged as a clinically viable option for therapy of brain disorders.

Widespread Central Nervous System Gene Transfer and Silencing After Systemic Delivery of Novel AAV-AS Vector.

Effective gene delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) is vital for development of novel gene therapies for neurological diseases. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors have emerged as an effective platform for in vivo gene transfer, but overall neuronal transduction efficiency of vectors derived from naturally occurring AAV capsids after systemic administration is relatively low. Here, we investigated the possibility of improving CNS transduction of existing AAV capsids by genetically fusing peptides to the N-terminus of VP2 capsid protein.

Unilateral, Linear Blue Rubber Bleb Nevus Syndrome (Bean's syndrome): An Unfamiliar Presentation: First Case from India.

Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome (BRBNS) also called Bean's syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by multiple cutaneous venous malformations in association with visceral lesions, most commonly affecting the gastrointestinal tract. We report here, a 21-year-old woman patient, who presented with unilateral, blaschkoid distribution of cutaneous venous malformations along with blue rubber bleb nevus and recurrent episodes of hematochezia due to vascular lesions in the sigmoid colon; likely to be a case of BRBNS. The unusual unilateral, blaschkoid distribution of BRBNS prompted this present report.

Survey of knowledge-attitude-practice concerning insulin use in adult diabetic patients in eastern India.

Objectives: The study was conducted to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding insulin use among diabetic patients in tertiary care hospitals.

Materials And Methods: Type 1 and 2 diabetic patients, aged 18 years and above, attending the Medicine/Endocrinology out-patient department or admitted as in-patients in three hospitals in and around Kolkata were enrolled. A pretested structured questionnaire comprising of 51 items was administered through face-to-face interview.

Keratoacanthoma centrifugum marginatum: unresponsive to oral retinoid and successfully treated with wide local excision.

We describe a case of a 65-year-old male presenting with a large plaque with a rolled-out interrupted margin, atrophic center, and island of normal skin over the left arm. It grew peripherally with central healing, and there was a history of recurrence after inadequate excision. Investigations ruled out other clinical mimickers; namely, squamous cell carcinoma, lupus vulgaris, botryomycosis, and blastomycosis-like pyoderma.