The Use of "Cancer Ratio" in Differentiating Malignant and Tuberculous Pleural Effusions: Protocol for a Prospective Observational Study.

Background: Differentiating between tuberculosis and malignancy as the cause of an exudative lymphocyte predominant pleural effusion is difficult due to similarities in the cellular and biochemical characteristics of the pleural fluid in both conditions. Microbiological tests in tubercular pleural effusions have a poor diagnostic yield, and the long turnaround time for results prevents an early diagnosis. The diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is hampered by a variable yield of pleural fluid cytology and closed pleural biopsy and the fact that thoracoscopy may not be readily available or feasible in each patient.

Candida parapsilosis intracerebral abscess and intralesional amphotericin B: a novel treatment approach to a rare infection. Illustrative case.

Background: Candida parapsilosis has been implicated in central nervous system (CNS) infections (i.e., meningitis or ventriculitis) but has not been previously reported to cause intracerebral abscesses.

Clinical usefulness of nebulized dexmedetomidine for conscious sedation in daycare flexible bronchoscopy in Southern India.

Background: Sedative agents used in bronchoscopy require trained personnel to administer and monitor the patient. This increases the procedure cost, duration, and inpatient stay. Inhalational administration of sedative agents can be a practical solution to the issue.

RV in COPD - The complicated matters of the heart - Correlation of ECHO and biomarker with COPD severity and outcome.

Background: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have an increased risk of cardiovascular involvement, which is among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Echocardiography (ECHO) could be a reliable, non-invasive tool for predicting the risk of cardiovascular modalities in patients with COPD. Combining the ECHO parameters with highly selective cardiac troponin could predict the severity and outcome of patients with COPD.

Daylight driven vertical migration of mesozooplankton in the Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal.

Diurnal vertical migration (DVM) of mesozooplankton in the Deep Scattering Layer (DSL) of the Indian seas is poorly studied. This cyclical vertical migration substantially controls the carbon sequestration in the ocean. The present research is a comprehensive examination to analyse the factors affecting the DVM pattern of the zooplankton community in the Arabian Sea (AS) and the Bay of Bengal (BoB).

Mental health and quality of life among patients with chronic respiratory failure on domiciliary oxygen: a prospective cohort study from a tertiary care centre in India.

Objectives: The study aims to assess the prevalence of anxiety, depression and the quality of life among patients with chronic respiratory failure and the changes in anxiety and depression scores after initiating domiciliary oxygen.

Design And Setting: Prospective, single-centre cohort study conducted in a tertiary care hospital in India.

Participants: Patients of Indian origin with chronic respiratory failure who visited the hospital where domiciliary oxygen is indicated were included in the study.

A silent march-Post covid fibrosis in asymptomatics - A cause for concern?

We report a case series of patients presenting with undiagnosed pulmonary fibrosis as a primary manifestation. On evaluation, after excluding other causes, the fibrosis was attributed to asymptomatic or mild COVID illness in the past. This case series serves to highlight the difficulties posed to clinicians while evaluating pulmonary fibrosis in the post-COVID era, more so in mild to asymptomatic COVID-19.

Year-to-year variability of oil pollution along the Eastern Arabian Sea: The impact of COVID-19 imposed lock-downs.

This study investigated the year-to-year variability in the occurrence, abundance and sources of oil spills in the Eastern Arabian Sea (EAS) using sentinel-1 imagery and identified the potential oil spills vulnerable zones. The four consecutive year's data acquired from 2017 to 2020 (March-May) reveal three oil spill hot spot zones. The ship-based oil spills were dominant over zone's-1 (off Gujarat) and 3 (off Karnataka and Kerala), and the oil field based over zone-2 (off Maharashtra).

Clinical usefulness of intermediate-dose dexmedetomidine (0.75 μg/kg) in flexible bronchoscopy - A prospective, randomized, double-blinded study.

Background: Dexmedetomidine, although an effective drug for conscious sedation during flexible bronchoscopy, has occasional side effects on the cardiovascular system which need to be addressed.

Materials And Methods: Patients between 18 and 65 years, requiring diagnostic flexible bronchoscopy, found eligible, after screening, were randomized to either receive 0.75 μg/kg intravenous dexmedetomidine over 10 min or intravenous midazolam 0.

Fate of MV Wakashio oil spill off Mauritius coast through modelling and remote sensing observations.

This study aims at assessing the fate of MV Wakashio oil spill, and the driving forces responsible for possible environmental consequences of polluted coastal region. GNOME simulations were performed, considering various meteo-oceanographic forcings such as (i) winds and currents, (ii) only winds, and (iii) only winds with different diffusion coefficients, and validated with the satellite images. The results revealed that the simulations performed with 'only winds' reasonably match with the satellite observations, indicating that winds are the primary driving forces.

Structural and binding studies of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 with NU6140 inhibitor.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) is an established target protein for therapeutic intervention in various diseases, including cancer. Reported inhibitors of CDK2 target the ATP-binding pocket to inhibit the kinase activity. Many small molecule CDK2 inhibitors have been discovered, and their crystal structure with CDK2 or CDK2-cyclin A complex has been published.

Estimate the Unknown Environment with Biosonar Echoes-A Simulation Study.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have shown great potential in various applications such as surveillance, search and rescue. To perform safe and efficient navigation, it is vitally important for a UAV to evaluate the environment accurately and promptly. In this work, we present a simulation study for the estimation of foliage distribution as a UAV equipped with biosonar navigates through a forest.

Transarticular Fixation Following Mobilization of "High-Riding" Vertebral Artery.

Background And Importance: The article identifies the feasibility of transarticular screw fixation after mobilizing the vertebral artery in cases where it is in a "high-riding" location.

Clinical Presentation: A 42-yr-old male patient had a 4-yr history of progressive quadriparesis. Investigations revealed severe basilar invagination.

A simulation framework for bio-inspired sonar sensing with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

We introduce a unified simulation framework that generates natural sensing environments and produces biosonar echoes under various sensing scenarios. This framework produces rich sensory data with environmental information completely known, thus can be used for the training of robotic algorithms for biosonar-based Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. The simulated environment consists of random trees with full geometry of the tree foliage.

Structure of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) in complex with the specific and potent inhibitor CVT-313.

CVT-313 is a potent CDK2 inhibitor that was identified by screening a purine-analogue library and is currently in preclinical studies. Since this molecule has the potential to be developed as a CDK2 inhibitor for cancer therapy, the potency of CVT-313 to bind and stabilize CDK2 was evaluated, together with its ability to inhibit aberrant cell proliferation. CVT-313 increased the melting temperature of CDK2 by 7°C in thermal stabilization studies, thus indicating its protein-stabilizing effect.

Ternary complex formation of AFN-1252 with Acinetobacter baumannii FabI and NADH: Crystallographic and biochemical studies.

Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic Gram-negative bacterial pathogen, associated mostly with hospital-acquired infections. The emergence of drug resistance strains made it necessary to explore new pathways for the development of more effective antibiotics. Enoyl CoA reductase (FabI), a key enzyme in the fatty acid biosynthesis (FAS) pathway, has emerged as a potential target for antibacterial drug development.

Opioid-induced hypogonadism: Pathophysiology, clinical and therapeutics review.

Opioids are pivotal therapeutics in the management of escalated chronic pain (moderate-severe). In the last two decades, the increased prescription rate and the prolonged usage of opioids shed light on opioid-induced endocrinopathy. Opioid-induced hypogonadism (OHG) results upon long-term opioid therapy.

Unplanned Removal of Medical Devices in Critical Care Units in North West England Between 2011 and 2016.

Background: The unplanned removal of medical devices poses a risk of harm to critically ill patients.

Objective: To determine rates, causes, and consequences of unplanned medical device removal, as well as factors mitigating harm to patients, in critical care units in the United Kingdom by reviewing patient safety incident reports.

Methods: Incidents of unplanned medical device removal in critical care units in North West England between 2011 and 2016 were retrospectively reviewed and classified.

Patient Safety Incidents Describing Patient Falls in Critical Care in North West England Between 2009 and 2017.

Aim: The aim of the study was to review reported falls in critical care units to see whether the causes and results were different from those described in a general hospital population.

Methods: We reviewed and classified patient safety incidents describing falls from critical care units in the North West of England between 2009 and 2017. The classification reviewed patient and staff factors contributing to the fall, the environment of the fall, and the reported consequences.

Establishing the use of a safety attitudes questionnaire to assess the safety climate across a critical care network.

Aims: We aimed to measure the safety culture across a network of critical care units to compare units, track temporal changes and to present easy to interpret information back to staff.

Methods: We provided adapted paper versions of the short ICU 'Safety attitude questionnaire' to 14 critical care units annually between 2015 and 2017. The responses were analysed to establish scores for individual safety domains.

Characterization of vascular permeability using a biomimetic microfluidic blood vessel model.

The inflammatory response in endothelial cells (ECs) leads to an increase in vascular permeability through the formation of gaps. However, the dynamic nature of vascular permeability and external factors involved is still elusive. In this work, we use a biomimetic blood vessel (BBV) microfluidic model to measure in real-time the change in permeability of the EC layer under culture in physiologically relevant flow conditions.