Acquired Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Drug Resistance in Rhode Island, USA, 2004-2021.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) acquired drug resistance (ADR) compromises antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Methods: We aggregated all HIV-1 protease-reverse transcriptase-integrase sequences over 2004-2021 at the largest HIV center in Rhode Island and evaluated ADR extent, trends, and impact using Stanford Database tools. Trends were measured with Mann-Kendall statistic, and multivariable regressions evaluated resistance predictors.

Coupling redox flow desalination with lithium recovery from spent lithium-ion batteries.

Electrochemical redox flow desalination is an emerging method to obtain freshwater; however, the costly requirement for continuously supplying and regenerating redox species limits their practical applications. Recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries is a growing challenge for their sustainable utilization. Existing battery recycling methods often involve massive secondary pollution.

Double-photoelectrode redox desalination of seawater.

High energy consumption and low salt removal rate are key barriers to realizing practical electrochemical seawater desalination processes. Here, we demonstrate a novel solar-driven redox flow desalination device with double photoelectrodes to achieve efficient desalination without electrical energy consumption. The device consists of three parts: one photoanode unit, one photocathode unit, and one redox flow desalination unit sandwiched between the two photoelectrode units.

Isolated Ocular Mpox without Skin Lesions, United States.

We report a case of a 53-year-old HIV-negative patient in San Francisco, California, USA, with no classic mpox prodromal symptoms or skin lesions who experienced fulminant, vision-threatening scleritis, keratitis, and uveitis. Deep sequence analysis identified monkeypox virus RNA in the aqueous humor. We confirmed the virus on the cornea and sclera by PCR.

Characterization of HIV-Related Stigma in Myanmar.

Characterizing HIV-related stigma and its impacts are important for interventions toward their elimination. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 to evaluate enacted and internalized stigma among adult people living with HIV (PLWH) across four cities in Myanmar using the India Stigma Index questionnaire. Multivariable regression analyses were performed to determine differences in measured enacted and internalized stigma outcomes.

The multi-functional system of electrochemical desalination, RhB degradation and Cr (VI) removal.

: The single function of salt removal limits the further development of the CDI system. A multi-function CDI device is proposed to achieve electrochemical desalination, organics degradation and dichromate ion removal.

High-Performance Photoelectrochemical Desalination Based on the Dye-Sensitized BiO Anode.

In this work, a solar-driven redox flow desalination system is reported, which combines a solar cell based on a BiO photoanode and a redox flow desalination cell through an integrated electrode. The BiO film was prepared through a simple one-step water bath deposition method and served as a photoanode after the coating of the N719 dye. The activated carbon (AC)-coated graphite paper served as both the integrated electrode and counter electrode.

Photo-Assisted Rechargeable Battery Desalination.

Herein, we propose a novel design of photo-assisted battery desalination, which provides the tri-function within a single device including the photo-assisted charge (electrical energy saving), energy storage, and desalination (salt removal). The photoelectrode (N719/TiO) is directly integrated into the zinc-iodide (Zn-I) battery with the desalination stream in the middle portion of the device. This architecture can provide a reduced energy consumption up to 50%, an energy output of 42 W h mol, and a desalination rate of 13 μg/cm min.

Statewide Longitudinal Trends in Transmitted HIV-1 Drug Resistance in Rhode Island, USA.

Background: HIV-1 transmitted drug resistance (TDR) remains a global challenge that can impact care, yet its comprehensive assessment is limited and heterogenous. We longitudinally characterized statewide TDR in Rhode Island.

Methods: Demographic and clinical data from treatment-naïve individuals were linked to protease, reverse transcriptase, and integrase sequences routinely obtained over 2004-2020.

Stigma Determines Antiretroviral Adherence in Adults With HIV in Myanmar.

Introduction: Understanding social and structural barriers that determine antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence can improve care. Assessment of such factors is limited in Myanmar, a country with high HIV prevalence and increasing number of people living with HIV initiating ART.

Methods: Questionnaires were administered to adults with HIV across 4 Myanmar cities to estimate adherence and its potential determinants, including HIV knowledge, social support, barriers to care, enacted and internalized stigma, and engagement in peer-to-peer HIV counseling (PC).

Evaluation of peer-to-peer HIV counseling in Myanmar: a measure of knowledge, adherence, and barriers.

In Myanmar, an Asian country with one of the highest HIV-1 prevalence rates, counseling prior to initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) is standard care, either by a healthcare worker (standard counselor, SC) or trained counselor who is also living with HIV (peer counselor, PC). PC is commonly utilized in Myanmar and other resource-limited settings. However, its benefit over SC is unclear.

Treatment of Fatty Liver Disease: The Present and the Future.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) progressing to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease (ESRD), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is emerging as a global epidemic. Obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome are some of the leading risk factors for NAFLD. The most prevalent treatment to stop the progression is aimed at dietary modification and lifestyle changes.

Celiac Disease and the Autoimmune Web of Endocrinopathies.

Gluten-sensitive enteropathy or Celiac disease (CD) is a disease that has become very prevalent in most parts of the globe especially in the western world. Resulting from a chaotic interplay between the backgrounds of autoimmunity and genetics, this disorder targets primarily the gastrointestinal tract with ominous extraintestinal counterparts that have a very discrete presentation. Among those counterparts, the one that has been reviewed in this article is the involvement of the endocrine system as concurrence of hormonal disorders with CD possesses numerous challenges that lead to a refractory treatment and a dull prognosis.

Role, Effectiveness, and Outcome of Decompressive Craniectomy for Cerebral Venous and Dural Sinus Thrombosis (CVST): Is Surgery Really an Option?

Cerebral venous and dural sinus thrombosis (CVST) is predominantly a disease of young people. It accounts for 0.5% of all strokes, and patients usually have good outcomes.

Evaluating HIV Viral Rebound Among Persons on Suppressive Antiretroviral Treatment in the Era of "Undetectable Equals Untransmittable (U = U)".

Background: Studies have demonstrated that persons with HIV (PWH) maintaining viral suppression do not transmit HIV to HIV-negative partners through condomless sex, leading to the "Undetectable = Untransmittable (U = U)" prevention campaign. However, few studies have examined the durability of suppression in the era of U = U.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in Providence, Rhode Island.

Remdesivir Use Compared With Supportive Care in Hospitalized Patients With Severe COVID-19: A Single-Center Experience.

Background: The US Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization for remdesivir use in patients with severe COVID-19.

Methods: We utilized data from 2 quaternary acute care hospitals. The outcomes of interest were the impact of remdesivir on in-hospital death by day 28 and time to recovery, clinical improvement, and discharge.

Predictors of COVID-19 severity: A literature review.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a rapidly evolving global emergency that continues to strain healthcare systems. Emerging research describes a plethora of patient factors-including demographic, clinical, immunologic, hematological, biochemical, and radiographic findings-that may be of utility to clinicians to predict COVID-19 severity and mortality. We present a synthesis of the current literature pertaining to factors predictive of COVID-19 clinical course and outcomes.

Hydroxychloroquine use in hospitalised patients with COVID-19: An observational matched cohort study.

Aim: To assess the efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine with or without azithromycin) in hospitalized adult patients with COVID-19.

Methods: We utilized a hospital based prospective data registry. The primary end point was to assess the impact of hydroxychloroquine with or without azithromycin, on outcome, length of hospitalization, and time to clinical improvement.

SARS-CoV-2 and HIV coinfection: clinical experience from Rhode Island, United States.

Introduction: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected >6 million people worldwide since December 2019. Global reports of HIV/SARS-CoV-2 coinfection are limited. To better understand the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on persons with HIV and improve their care, we present an outpatient and inpatient clinical experience of HIV/SARS-CoV-2 coinfection from Rhode Island, US.

Self-Sustained Visible-Light-Driven Electrochemical Redox Desalination.

The freshwater scarcity and increasing energy demand are two challenging global issues. Herein, we propose a new route for desalination, self-sustained visible-light-driven electrochemical redox desalination. We propose a novel device architecture involving internal integration of a quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell and continuous redox-flow desalination units with a bifunctional platinized-graphite-paper electrode.

The Experiences and the Needs of Caregivers of Patients With Head and Neck Cancer: An Integrative Review.

Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a devastating disease, and its corresponding treatments can result in substantial functional challenges for patients. These patients require a considerable amount of care, and the tasks of caregiving can be challenging for the caregivers. To date, there is no published literature review on the experiences and the needs of caregivers of patients with HNC.

COVID-19 in a Patient Presenting with Syncope and a Normal Chest X-ray.

SARS-CoV-2 is a novel virus that has now affected hundreds of thousands of individuals across the world. Amidst this global pandemic, maintaining a high index of suspicion, rapid testing capacity, and infection control measures are required to curtail the virus' rapid spread. While fever and respiratory symptoms have been commonly used to identify COVID-19 suspects, we present an elderly female who arrived to the hospital after a syncopal episode.

Disseminated Mucormycosis with Positive Galactomannan.

We describe a case of disseminated mucormycosis () diagnosed on autopsy, in a man who had been working in construction with undiagnosed neutropenia from hairy-cell leukemia, which is rarely associated with invasive mold infections. Galactomannan values in both blood and bronchoalveolar lavage were strongly positive. There is an unmet need for accurate noninvasive fungal diagnostic tests.

Rapid Reversal of Complete Binocular Blindness With High-Dose Corticosteroids and Lumbar Drain in a Solid Organ Transplant Recipient With Cryptococcal Meningitis and Immune Reconstitution Syndrome: First Case Study and Literature Review.

Blindness is a rare, devastating, usually permanent complication of cryptococcal meningitis (CM). We present the first case of complete vision loss in a solid organ transplant recipient with CM treated with placement of a lumbar drain who had a dramatic visual recovery that started after 3 doses of high-dose steroids.