The use of probiotics and prebiotics in decolonizing pathogenic bacteria from the gut; a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical outcomes.

Repeated exposure to antibiotics and changes in the diet and environment shift the gut microbial diversity and composition, making the host susceptible to pathogenic infection. The emergence and ongoing spread of AMR pathogens is a challenging public health issue. Recent evidence showed that probiotics and prebiotics may play a role in decolonizing drug-resistant pathogens by enhancing the colonization resistance in the gut.

Deeper Pathways for Recruitment Efforts: Identifying Opportunities for Undergraduate and Medical Student Involvement in Infectious Diseases.

Background: Only 74% of infectious diseases (ID) training positions were filled in the 2022 fellowship match, indicating a need to find increasingly novel and creative solutions for ID recruitment and outreach.

Methods: The websites of 2321 universities and 181 medical schools across the United States were manually searched for the presence of undergraduate clubs and interest groups, respectively, for multiple medical specialties and subspecialties, including ID. Geographic data were used to compare the proximity of ID fellowships to undergraduate institutions.

Conjunctival infiltrates and cytokines in an experimental immune-mediated blepharoconjunctivitis rat model.

Purpose: To characterize the histopathological and immunological findings of a rat model of allergic blepharoconjunctivitis (BC) and demonstrate its potential utility for the assessment of BC therapies.

Methods: Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were immunized with ovalbumin (OVA) and topically challenged with OVA (BC group) or PBS (control group), while a corticosteroid group was pre-treated with triamcinolone acetate 24 h before the challenge. Morphological features were evaluated and tissues were harvested for histological, flow cytometry and cytokine analysis.

Functional proteomic profiling links deficient DNA clearance with increased mortality in individuals with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

The factors that influence survival during severe infection are unclear. Extracellular chromatin drives pathology, but the mechanisms enabling its accumulation remain elusive. Here, we show that in murine sepsis models, splenocyte death interferes with chromatin clearance through the release of the DNase I inhibitor actin.

Global burden and temporal trends of lower urinary tract symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common complaint in urology practice and affecting the quality of life for patients. This article aims to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis on the global prevalence of LUTS overall, and according to different patient characteristics.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE and Embase for population-based epidemiological studies reporting the prevalence of LUTS from inception to 1 Jan 2021.

Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Asian Countries: A Trend Analysis.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the updated burden and temporal trends of cancer incidence and mortality in Asian countries.

Methodology: The data used in this study were retrieved from the Global Cancer Observatory, volumes I-XI, and the mortality database. These data were used to calculate the Average Annual Percentage Change (AAPC), with a 95% confidence interval (CI) by joinpoint regression analysis to determine the epidemiological trend in the past decade.

Distribution, Risk Factors, and Temporal Trends for Lung Cancer Incidence and Mortality: A Global Analysis.

Background: Lung cancer ranks second for cancer incidence and first for cancer mortality. Investigation into its risk factors and epidemiologic trends could help describe geographical distribution and identify high-risk population groups.

Research Question: What is the global incidence, mortality, associated risk factors, and temporal trends of lung cancer by sex, age, and country?

Study Design And Methods: Data on incidence and mortality were retrieved from the Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN), Cancer Incidence in Five Continents series I-X, World Health Organization (WHO) mortality database, the Nordic Cancer Registries (NORDCAN), and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER).

Global distribution, risk factors, and recent trends for cervical cancer: A worldwide country-level analysis.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the most updated worldwide distribution, risk factors, and temporal trends of cervical cancer for different countries and age groups.

Methods: The Global Cancer Observatory database was retrieved for the age-standardized rates (ASRs, per 100,000 persons) for incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in 2018. The associations with risk factors were examined by multivariable regression analysis, adjusting for human development index (HDI) and gross domestic products (GDP) per capita.

Healthcare Voucher Scheme for Screening of Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Population-Based Study.

The present study aimed to evaluate the factors associated with unwillingness to join a healthcare voucher scheme for screening of cardiovascular risk factors in a Chinese population. We conducted a telephone survey by random selection of 1200 subjects who were aged 45 years or above in Hong Kong. We collected data on their attitude, perception, and perceived feasibility of a healthcare voucher scheme.

Downregulation of exhausted cytotoxic T cells in gene expression networks of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) presents with fever, inflammation and pathology of multiple organs in individuals under 21 years of age in the weeks following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Although an autoimmune pathogenesis has been proposed, the genes, pathways and cell types causal to this new disease remain unknown. Here we perform RNA sequencing of blood from patients with MIS-C and controls to find disease-associated genes clustered in a co-expression module annotated to CD56CD57 natural killer (NK) cells and exhausted CD8 T cells.

Validation of the American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Vermilion Lip.

Background: The vermilion lip is a unique anatomical junction between cutaneous and mucosal surfaces. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the vermilion lip (vlSCC) was previously classified as oral SCC (oSCC) under the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 7th edition (AJCC7), but has been recategorized as a cutaneous SCC of the head and neck (HNcSCC) in the AJCC 8th edition (AJCC8). We investigated the locoregional control (LRC), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) for the various pathological T categories and disease stages of vlSCC as per AJCC8.

Colon Adenocarcinoma during Pregnancy: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) during pregnancy presents an estimated incidence of 1 : 13,000, and it is associated with diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Here, we present the case of a 38-year-old woman, 25 weeks and 5 days pregnant, who was transferred to our Obstetrics and Gynecology Department from a local hospital with the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) showed marked distension with hydroaerial levels of the enterocolic loops upstream of a concentric parietal thickening of the descending colon, stenosing, extended longitudinally for about 4 cm.

Cytotoxic lymphocytes are dysregulated in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) presents with fever, inflammation and multiple organ involvement in individuals under 21 years following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. To identify genes, pathways and cell types driving MIS-C, we sequenced the blood transcriptomes of MIS-C cases, pediatric cases of coronavirus disease 2019, and healthy controls. We define a MIS-C transcriptional signature partially shared with the transcriptional response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and with the signature of Kawasaki disease, a clinically similar condition.

Uterine artery pseudoaneurysm: A case of late intra-abdominal haemorrhage after caesarean section.

Uterine artery pseudoaneurysm (UAP) is a rare acquired vascular malformation associated with vaginal bleeding or intraabdominal haemorrhage occurring after pelvic surgery. Pseudoaneurysm may present with delayed, severe haemorrhage after a seemingly uncomplicated initial postoperative period. Treatment is therefore necessary to prevent further complications.

Case Report of Rare Type Submucosal Polyp-Angiolipofibroma of Sigmoid Colon.

Most of the colonic submucosal mesenchymal polyps are benign tumors. They are formed by more than one type of mesenchymal tissue. The diagnosis of angiolipofibroma depends on the histological findings with the proliferation of vascular, fatty, and fibrous connective tissues.

Toll-like receptor 2-mediated NF-kappa B pathway activation in ocular surface epithelial cells.

Background: Gram-positive bacteria stimulate Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and then activate the pro-inflammatory nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway. As the human ocular surface is heavily colonised by gram-positive cocci bacteria, a balance of activation/repression of NF-κB target genes is essential to avoid uncontrolled infection or autoimmune-related inflammation. It is advantageous to test NF-κB targeting molecules in an ocular surface culture system that allows assessment of temporal NF-κB activation in a longitudinal fashion without destruction of cells.

Social dominance alters nutrition-related gene expression immediately: transcriptomic evidence from a monomorphic queenless ant.

Queen-worker differentiation in eusocial organisms may have originated from decoupling of maternal care and reproductive behaviours. Recent advances in sequencing techniques have begun to elucidate the molecular basis of queen-worker differentiation. However, current knowledge of the molecular basis of caste differentiation is limited, especially to species with morphological castes.

In vitro secretomics study of pterygium-derived fibroblasts by iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomics strategy.

Pterygium is a triangular shaped ocular fibrous surface lesion growing from conjunctiva towards central cornea, causing ocular irritation, astigmatism, and visual disturbance. The condition is characterized by epithelial proliferation, fibrovascular growth, chronic inflammation, and prominent extracellular matrix remodeling. Studies have suggested that aberrant extracellular proteins secreted by fibroblasts lead to abnormal matrix production and tissue invasion contributing to the development of the disease.

Comparative transcriptomics reveals the conserved building blocks involved in parallel evolution of diverse phenotypic traits in ants.

Background: Reproductive division of labor in eusocial insects is a striking example of a shared genetic background giving rise to alternative phenotypes, namely queen and worker castes. Queen and worker phenotypes play major roles in the evolution of eusocial insects. Their behavior, morphology and physiology underpin many ecologically relevant colony-level traits, which evolved in parallel in multiple species.

Caste-Specific and Sex-Specific Expression of Chemoreceptor Genes in a Termite.

The sophisticated colony organization of eusocial insects is primarily maintained through the utilization of pheromones. The regulation of these complex social interactions requires intricate chemoreception systems. The recent publication of the genome of Zootermopsis nevadensis opened a new avenue to study molecular basis of termite caste systems.

Museum samples reveal rapid evolution by wild honey bees exposed to a novel parasite.

Understanding genetic changes caused by novel pathogens and parasites can reveal mechanisms of adaptation and genetic robustness. Using whole-genome sequencing of museum and modern specimens, we describe the genomic changes in a wild population of honey bees in North America following the introduction of the ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor. Even though colony density in the study population is the same today as in the past, a major loss of haplotypic diversity occurred, indicative of a drastic mitochondrial bottleneck, caused by massive colony mortality.

Hemithoracic radiation therapy after extrapleural pneumonectomy for malignant pleural mesothelioma: Toxicity and outcomes at an Australian institution.

Introduction: We aim to report the outcome of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma who underwent extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) and adjuvant hemithoracic radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy at a single Australian institution.

Method: Between July 2004 and March 2013, 53 patients were referred for radiation treatment following EPP, of whom 49 were suitable for adjuvant treatment. Radiation treatment initially involved a 3D conformal, mixed electron/photon technique, delivering 45-50.