Topical Tacrolimus in Vitiligo: Consensus Paper from the Pigmentary Disorders Society.

Background: Tacrolimus, a topical calcineurin inhibitor (TCI) with immunomodulatory effects, is considered a viable treatment option for vitiligo. A consensus building exercise was undertaken to determine the role and clinical utility of topical tacrolimus in the management of vitiligo using input from experts in the field of dermatology.

Methods: Seventeen experts collaborated to create consensus statements using a modified Delphi methodology.

State-wise variation and inequalities in caesarean delivery rates in India: analysis of the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-2021) data.

Background: India's caesarean delivery (CD) rate of 21.5% suggests adequate national access to CD but may mask significant disparities. We examined variation in CD rates across states (geography), wealth, and health care sector (public versus private).

Regulating the regulators: long non-coding RNAs as autophagic controllers in chronic disease management.

The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and their associated morbidities demands a deeper understanding of underlying mechanism and causative factors, with the hope of developing novel therapeutic strategies. Autophagy, a conserved biological process, involves the degradation of damaged organelles or protein aggregates to maintain cellular homeostasis. Disruption of this crucial process leads to increased genomic instability, accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), decreased mitochondrial functions, and suppression of ubiquitination, leading to overall decline in quality of intracellular components.

Adaptive Compression and Reconstruction for Multidimensional Medical Image Data: A Hybrid Algorithm for Enhanced Image Quality.

Spatial regions within images typically hold greater priority over adjacent areas, especially in the context of medical images (MI) where minute details can have significant clinical implications. This research addresses the challenge of compressing medical image dimensions without compromising critical information by proposing an adaptive compression algorithm. The algorithm integrates a modified image enhancement module, clustering-based segmentation, and a variety of lossless and lossy compression techniques.

Epidemiology of chronic and acute pancreatitis in India (EPICAP-India): protocol for a multicentre study.

Introduction: Acute and chronic pancreatitis (CP) are inflammatory conditions of the pancreas that cause local and systemic complications. The epidemiology of these conditions are not well-known in India.

Methods And Analysis: We describe the protocol and procedures of a multicentre study for delineating the epidemiology of pancreatitis in India.

Measuring up: Ensuring Intra- and Interobserver Reliability in Stretched Penile Length with the SPLINT Technique.

Background: A discrepancy between the true and measured value of stretched penile length (SPL) may be a result of errors that can either be systematic or random. Hence, it becomes important to focus on the quality of measurements to prevent any iatrogenic harm to the patients.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the magnitude of intra- and interobserver variations in the measurement of SPL with the SPLINT technique.

Exploring the antidiabetic activity of potential probiotic bacteria isolated from traditional fermented beverage.

Type 2 Diabetes continues to be one of the major public health issues worldwide without any sustainable cure. The modulation of gut microbiota is believed to be caused by probiotic bacteria and several probiotic strains have previously shown antidiabetic activity. The present study aims to isolate potential probiotic bacteria from traditionally used fermented rice beer of Assam, India and to investigate its anti-hyperglycemic effect.

Anti-Aging Effect of Traditional Plant-Based Food: An Overview.

Aging is a complex process that involves many physiological mechanisms that gradually impair normal cellular and tissue function and make us more susceptible to diseases and death. It is influenced by intrinsic factors like cellular function and extrinsic factors like pollution and UV radiation. Recent scientific studies show that traditional plant-based foods and supplements can help mitigate the effects of aging.

The role of ACE inhibitors and ARBs in preserving cognitive function via hypertension Management: A critical Update.

Hypertension poses a significant risk to cognition-related disorders like dementia. As the global population ages, age-related neurological illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease are becoming increasingly prevalent. The primary hypertension treatments, angiotensin receptor blockers, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, exhibit neuroprotective properties.

Deep Fungal Infections of Skin and Role of Histopathology in Diagnosis.

Introduction: Deep mycoses acquired by penetrating trauma to the skin can have varied and sometimes atypical morphological presentations resulting in diagnostic dilemmas and delay in treatment onset. Histopathology can be a useful tool in not only diagnosing but also differentiating various deep mycoses.

Aims And Objectives: To observe various morphological presentations and histopathological features of deep fungal infections.

Ethidium Bromide Degradation by Cold Atmospheric Plasma in Water and the Assessment of Byproduct Toxicity for Environmental Protection.

Ethidium bromide (Et-Br) is a widely used fluorescent dye in molecular biology and biotechnology laboratories for visualizing nucleic acids in agarose gel electrophoresis. However, concerns have been raised about its environmental impact and potential health risks due to its persistence and toxicity. The potential accumulation and long-term effects on the environment necessitate the removal of Et-Br from water.

Recent advances on artificial intelligence-based approaches for food adulteration and fraud detection in the food industry: Challenges and opportunities.

Food adulteration is the deceitful practice of misleading consumers about food to profit from it. The threat to public health and food quality or nutritional valuable make it a major issue. Food origin and adulteration should be considered to safeguard customers against fraud.

Optimal adaptive SMART designs with binary outcomes.

In a sequential multiple-assignment randomized trial (SMART), a sequence of treatments is given to a patient over multiple stages. In each stage, randomization may be done to allocate patients to different treatment groups. Even though SMART designs are getting popular among clinical researchers, the methodologies for adaptive randomization at different stages of a SMART are few and not sophisticated enough to handle the complexity of optimal allocation of treatments at every stage of a trial.

Unveiling the fibrotic puzzle of endometriosis: An overlooked concern calling for prompt action.

Endometriosis is a benign, estrogen-dependent, persistent chronic inflammatory heterogeneous condition that features fibrotic adhesions caused by periodic bleeding. The characteristic ectopic lesions are marked by a widely spread dense fibrotic interstitium comprising of fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, collagen fibers, extracellular proteins, inflammatory cells, and active angiogenesis. Fibrosis is now recognized as a critical component of endometriosis because of which current treatments, such as hormonal therapy and surgical excision of lesions are largely ineffective with severe side effects, high recurrence rates, and significant morbidity.

Microplastics and human health: unveiling the gut microbiome disruption and chronic disease risks.

Microplastics (MPs), defined as plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, are increasingly recognized as environmental contaminants with potential health risks. These emerge as breakdown products of larger plastics and are omnipresent in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems. They are primarily composed of polymers such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and additives that enhance their performance.

Beyond Decay: Exploring the Age-associated Variations in and in Dental Caries.

Background: and play an important role in the etiopathogenesis and progression of dental caries (DC). Their quantification and identification may be helpful for epidemiological and early intervention measures.

Objectives: We conducted the study to evaluate the colony counts of and with the location of DC and correlate their prevalence with the age of the patient.

Integrating one health strategies for rabies control: Insights from Jackal-mediated human rabies in Northeast India.

Introduction: Rabies is an ancient, lethal zoonotic disease caused by viruses of the genus Lyssavirus, affecting a wide variety of mammals. Though domestic dogs are the main vectors of rabies transmission to humans, other domestic and wildlife species also contribute to the spread of the disease in endemic regions like India. This report presents a case of human rabies following jackal exposure in India, along with the molecular characterization of the rabies virus (RABV) from both the jackal and the affected human patient.

Indian Trial of Tranexamic acid in Spontaneous Intracerebral Haemorrhage (INTRINSIC TRIAL) Study Protocol.

Rationale: Early mortality in intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) is due to haematoma volume (HV) expansion and there are no effective treatments available other than reduction in blood pressure. Tranexamic acid (TXA) a hemostatic drug which is widely available and safe can be a cost-effective treatment for ICH, if proven efficacious.

Hypothesis: Administration of TXA in ICH patients when given within 4.

Service delivery in postpandemic period for routine childhood immunization in Assam following capacity building with BRIDGE IPC Skill tool.

Background: For COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors, around 25 million children missed routine immunization in 2021. NFHS-5 for Assam reported 67% coverage with routine immunization in 2019-21 which is below national average (77%) and lowest among Indian States/UTs. Lack of knowledge and skill among provider can reduce coverage.

Development and Validation of a Novel Tool to Measure Medication Adherence for Noncommunicable Diseases in India: Protocol for an Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Multicentric Study.

Background: In high-income countries, only 50% of patients treated for chronic diseases adhere to the prescribed treatment. This issue is even more pronounced in resource-limited countries. Medication adherence scales are simple, low-cost approaches to identify nonadherence in clinical practice.