Ischemia-modified albumin: is it a promising marker in acute coronary syndrome?

Background: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a type of coronary heart disease (CHD), which is responsible for one-third of total deaths in people older than 35 years. Even though cardiac troponin is the gold standard for myocardial necrosis it is blind for ischemia without necrosis. Studies demonstrate that Ischaemia Modified Albumin (IMA) is more sensitive in diagnosing ischemic chest pain compared to cardiac troponin T and electrocardiogram, and its combination with these tests significantly increases the sensitivity for diagnosing unstable angina, non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), or ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), with high positive and negative predictive values, making it a valuable tool for ruling out ACS in patients with inconclusive diagnoses in the emergency department.

Unravelling the impact of climate change on honey bees: An ensemble modelling approach to predict shifts in habitat suitability in Queensland, Australia.

Honey bees play a vital role in providing essential ecosystem services and contributing to global agriculture. However, the potential effect of climate change on honey bee distribution is still not well understood. This study aims to identify the most influential bioclimatic and environmental variables, assess their impact on honey bee distribution, and predict future distribution.

Evidence-based intrapartum care during vaginal births: Direct observations in a tertiary care hospital in Central Sri Lanka.

Background: Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an effective approach to improve maternal and newborn outcomes at birth.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the current intrapartum practices of a tertiary care hospital in Central Province, Sri Lanka, during vaginal births. The benchmark for this assessment was the World Health Organisation's (WHO) recommendations on intrapartum care for a positive childbirth experience.

Predictors of liver disease progression in people living with HIV-HBV co-infection on antiretroviral therapy.

Background: In people living with HIV-HBV, liver fibrosis progression can occur even with suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART). We investigated the relationship between liver fibrosis and biomarkers of inflammation, apoptosis, and microbial translocation.

Methods: In this observational cohort study adults living with HIV-HBV already on effective ART were recruited in Australia and Thailand and followed for 3 years including 6 monthly clinical review and blood tests and annual transient elastography.

Recalibration of Framingham risk for a local population of Sri Lanka.

Background: Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) account for the highest number of deaths and disability globally and within Sri Lanka. A CVD risk prediction tool is a simple means of early identification of high-risk groups which is a cost-effective preventive strategy, especially for resource-poor countries. Distribution of risk factor levels varies in different regions even within the same country, thus a common risk estimation tool for the country may give false local predictions.

Sustainability practices and organizational performance during the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis: A case of apparel and textile industry in Sri Lanka.

The apparel and textile industry is the backbone of the Sri Lankan economy, contributing significantly to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which also triggered the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka, has a profound effect on the organizational performance of apparel sector firms in Sri Lanka. In this context, the study examines the impact of multi-dimensional corporate sustainability practices on organizational performance in the said sector.

Prospective comprehensive profiling of immune responses to COVID-19 vaccination in patients on zanubrutinib therapy.

Zanubrutinib-treated and treatment-naïve patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) or Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia were recruited in this prospective study to comprehensively profile humoral and cellular immune responses to COVID-19 vaccination. Overall, 45 patients (median 72 years old) were recruited; the majority were male (71%), had CLL (76%) and were on zanubrutinib (78%). Seroconversion rates were 65% and 77% following two and three doses, respectively.

HIV DNA persists in hepatocytes in people with HIV-hepatitis B co-infection on antiretroviral therapy.

Background: HIV can infect multiple cells in the liver including hepatocytes, Kupffer cells and infiltrating T cells, but whether HIV can persist in the liver in people with HIV (PWH) on suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains unknown.

Methods: In a prospective longitudinal cohort of PWH and hepatitis B virus (HBV) co-infection living in Bangkok, Thailand, we collected blood and liver biopsies from 18 participants prior to and following ART and quantified HIV and HBV persistence using quantitative (q)PCR and RNA/DNAscope. Antiretroviral (ARV) drug levels were quantified using mass spectroscopy.

Neurotoxicity with high-dose disulfiram and vorinostat used for HIV latency reversal.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine whether administering both vorinostat and disulfiram to people with HIV (PWH) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) is well tolerated and can enhance HIV latency reversal.

Design: Vorinostat and disulfiram can increase HIV transcription in PWH on ART. Together, these agents may lead to significant HIV latency reversal.

The impact of immune checkpoint therapy on the latent reservoir in HIV-infected individuals with cancer on antiretroviral therapy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to quantify HIV-specific immunological and virological changes in people with HIV (PWH) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) with malignancy who received immune checkpoint blockade (ICB).

Design: An observational cohort study.

Methods: Blood samples were collected before and after four cycles of ICB in HIV-positive adults on ART.

An asynchronous Mesozoic marine revolution: the Cenozoic intensification of predation on echinoids.

Predation traces found on fossilized prey remains can be used to quantify the evolutionary history of biotic interactions. Fossil mollusc shells bearing these types of traces provided key evidence for the rise of predation during the Mesozoic marine revolution (MMR), an event thought to have reorganized global marine ecosystems. However, predation pressure on prey groups other than molluscs has not been explored adequately.

Impact of Anti-PD-1 and Anti-CTLA-4 on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Reservoir in People Living With HIV With Cancer on Antiretroviral Therapy: The AIDS Malignancy Consortium 095 Study.

Background: Antibodies to programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) may perturb human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) persistence during antiretroviral therapy (ART) by reversing HIV latency and/or boosting HIV-specific immunity, leading to clearance of infected cells. We tested this hypothesis in a clinical trial of anti-PD-1 alone or in combination with anti-CTLA-4 in people living with HIV (PLWH) and cancer.

Methods: This was a substudy of the AIDS Malignancy Consortium 095 Study.

A randomized trial of vorinostat with treatment interruption after initiating antiretroviral therapy during acute HIV-1 infection.

Objective And Design: A randomized, open-label pilot study in individuals treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART) since acute HIV infection (AHI) with a regimen including a histone deacetylase inhibitor to induce HIV from latency and control HIV replication during subsequent treatment interruption (TI).

Methods: Fifteen participants who initiated ART at AHI were randomized to vorinostat/hydroxychloroquine/maraviroc (VHM) plus ART (n ​= ​10) or ART alone (n ​= ​5). The VHM arm received three 14-day vorinostat cycles within 10 weeks before TI.

Hypertension Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice in Adult Hypertensive Patients at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Sri Lanka.

Objective: Hypertension (HTN) remains a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases globally. Despite considerable improvement in increasing awareness, treatment, and control of HTN, undiagnosed and uncontrolled HTN remains a major public health challenge. Our focus was on studying the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding HTN in adult hypertensive patients at a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka.

Diverse effects of interferon alpha on the establishment and reversal of HIV latency.

HIV latency is the major barrier to a cure for people living with HIV (PLWH) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) because the virus persists in long-lived non-proliferating and proliferating latently infected CD4+ T cells. Latently infected CD4+ T cells do not express viral proteins and are therefore not visible to immune mediated clearance. Therefore, identifying interventions that can reverse latency and also enhance immune mediated clearance is of high interest.

Pain Level, Range of Motion, and Foot Volume Do Not Differ in Recurrent and First-Time Ankle Sprains.

. This study aims to describe the clinical features in terms of pain perception, ankle range of motion, and foot volume in participants with recurrent ankle sprains compared with first-time sprains. .

Study protocol: a pilot randomized controlled trial to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of a counseling intervention, delivered by nurses, for those who have attempted self-poisoning in Sri Lanka.

Background: Deliberate self-harm in the form of non-fatal self-poisoning is a major public health problem in Sri Lanka. Previous work suggests that many nurses in Sri Lanka-particularly those who work in primary care in the medical treatment of persons who attempt self-poisoning-already approach their role in a holistic fashion and consider "advising" or "counseling" patients after self-poisoning to be a part of their nursing role. But there is no formal training given to such nurses at present nor has the efficacy or feasibility of such an intervention been assessed in Sri Lanka.

Analysis and identification of symptoms and risk factors in a cohort of chronic hypertensive patients in a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka.

Background: Hypertension (HT) is identified as a highly prevalent cardiovascular risk factor and also as a separate disease entity, leading to significant mortality and morbidity. The rate of HT is increasing worldwide with a faster rate identified in developing countries. Thus, it is important to evaluate epidemiological patterns of chronic HT in a developing country like Sri Lanka.

Variation in cell-associated unspliced HIV RNA on antiretroviral therapy is associated with the circadian regulator brain-and-muscle-ARNT-like-1.

Objective(s): To determine whether variation in cell-associated unspliced (CA-US) HIV RNA in HIV-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy (ART) has a circadian basis.

Methods: Prospective observational study of HIV-infected individuals on ART. Blood was collected on three occasions and CA-US HIV RNA and mRNA of the circadian-locomotor-output-cycles-kaput (CLOCK)-associated genes quantified by real time PCR.

Value of peripheral blood count for dengue severity prediction.

Objective: This retrospective study was conducted in 2017 with the objective of evaluating the value of acute phase peripheral blood parameters in predicting dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF). Patients, who were admitted to Teaching Hospital Peradeniya between January and August 2017 due to dengue illness, were recruited into this study.

Results: A total of 515 patients participated in the study.

The effect of antiretroviral intensification with dolutegravir on residual virus replication in HIV-infected individuals: a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial.

Background: Whether ongoing virus replication occurs in HIV-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy (ART) is unclear; therefore, whether residual virus replication is a barrier to achieving a cure for HIV is also unknown. We aimed to establish whether ART intensification with dolutegravir would reveal or affect residual virus replication in HIV-infected individuals on suppressive treatment.

Methods: In this randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial, we enrolled HIV-infected adults (aged 18 years and older) receiving combination ART (at least three agents) for at least 3 years from the Alfred Hospital and Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.