Topical Antibiotic-Induced Otomycosis - a Systematic Review of Aetiology and Risk Factors.

Otomycosis is a chronic or subacute fungal infection of external ear accounting to 5 to 20% of external ear infection worldwide. Literature has suggested multiple local and environmental host factors associated with otomycosis, but their strength of association is not well established. We did this review to analyse otomycosis with respect to it's various common predisposing factors.

A Hemangiopericytoma in the External Auditory Canal: A Rare Clinical Presentation and Management.

Hemangiopericytomas (HPCs) are rare vascular tumors originating from pericytes, with a predilection for the musculoskeletal system and occasional occurrence in the head and neck region. HPCs arising in the external auditory canal (EAC) are exceptionally rare, making their diagnosis and management a clinical challenge. A 71-year-old male presented with a six-month history of a painless, progressively enlarging mass in his right EAC, accompanied by tinnitus and hearing loss.

Insights into links between redox cycling of dissolved organic matter ranked by molecular weight and methanogen-bacteria symbiosis-driven methane production.

Molecular weight (MW) of dissolved organic matter (DOM) governs its redox capacity, playing pivotal roles in methanogen-bacteria symbiosis-driven CH production. However, the effect of redox capacity of DOM ranked by MW on these symbiotic associations during anaerobic digestion have never been investigated. The electron-donating (EDC) and -accepting capacity (EAC) of DOM with different MW were quantified, elucidating their impacts on bacteria-methanogen symbiosis-driven CH production.

p53 mutation biases squamocolumnar junction progenitor cells towards dysplasia rather than metaplasia in Barrett's oesophagus.

Background: While p53 mutations occur early in Barrett's oesophagus (BE) progression to oesophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), their role in gastric cardia stem cells remains unclear.

Objective: This study investigates the impact of p53 mutation on the fate and function of cardia progenitor cells in BE to EAC progression, particularly under the duress of chronic injury.

Design: We used a BE mouse model (L2-IL1β) harbouring a mutation (R172H) to study the effects of p53 on Cck2r cardia progenitor cells.

Utilizing a high-throughput visualization screening technology to develop a genetically encoded biosensor for monitoring 5-aminolevulinic acid production in engineered Escherichia coli.

5-Aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is a non-protein amino acid widely used in agriculture, animal husbandry and medicine. Currently, microbial cell factories are a promising production pathway, but the lack of high-throughput fermentation strain screening tools often hinders the exploration of engineering strategies to increase cell factory yields. Here, mutant ACH was screened from libraries of saturating mutants after response-specific engineering of the transcription factor AsnC of L-asparagine (Asn).

Evaluation of the review models and approval timelines of authorities participating in the East African Medicine Regulatory Harmonisation initiative: alignment and strategies for moving forward.

Introduction: Medicines regulatory harmonisation has been embraced by many national regulatory authorities (NRAs) to improve public health through faster availability of safe, high-quality, and effective medical products to patients and enhanced standardisation of technical guidelines and work sharing, leading to reduced cost to pharmaceutical companies. After ten years of implementing regulatory harmonisation by the East African Community Medicines Registration Harmonization (EAC-MRH) initiative, it is now imperative for participating NRAs to rely on each other to minimise duplication of use of limited resources. Major challenges in implementing reliance are the lack of clear registration processes and delays in the approval.

A Lightweight Convolutional Neural Network-Reformer Model for Efficient Epileptic Seizure Detection.

A real-time and reliable automatic detection system for epileptic seizures holds significant value in assisting physicians with rapid diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy. Aiming to address this issue, a novel lightweight model called Convolutional Neural Network-Reformer (CNN-Reformer) is proposed for seizure detection on long-term EEG. The CNN-Reformer consists of two main parts: the Data Reshaping (DR) module and the Efficient Attention and Concentration (EAC) module.

Lean project planning - Bridging last planner system and earned value management.

Earned Value Management (EVM) has become a standard for project planning after decades of applications worldwide, and most industry contracts that require some of the reporting features of EVM. However, EVM has shortcomings such as too early release of work and no process perspective to facilitate improvements. The Last Planner System (LPS) was developed to overcome the shortcomings of EVM utilizing insights from lean manufacturing.

Prehospital Management of Postpartum Hemorrhage-A National, Cross-Sectional Study in Norway.

Introduction: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a critical birth complication, and is stated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as among the five most frequent causes of death during pregnancy. External aortic compression (EAC) is recommended by the WHO as an intervention to achieve temporary bleeding control. An increasing number of births outside hospital underlines the importance of competence in handling potential birth complications, such as PPH.

Analytical Validation of Esopredict, an Epigenetic Prognostic Assay for Patients with Barrett's Esophagus.

Esopredict is a prognostic assay that risk-stratifies Barrett's esophagus patients to predict future progression to high-grade dysplasia (HGD) or esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Established based on foundational studies at Johns Hopkins University, a risk algorithm was developed and clinically validated in two independent studies ( = 320). Esopredict is currently offered as a clinical test under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) guidelines.

Inhibition of Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 Receptor/Insulin Receptor Signaling by Small-Molecule Inhibitor BMS-754807 Leads to Improved Survival in Experimental Esophageal Adenocarcinoma.

The insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin axes are upregulated in obesity and obesity-associated esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) is a contemporary nanotechnology-based paclitaxel (PT) bound to human albumin, ensuring its solubility in water rather than a toxic solvent. Here, we examined the benefits of inhibiting insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor/insulin receptor (IGF-1/IR) signaling and the enhancement of nab-paclitaxel effects by inclusion of the small-molecule inhibitor BMS-754807 using both in vitro and in vivo models of EAC.

Local Invasion Patterns Characterized by SARIFA and Tumor Budding Differ and Have Distinct Prognostic Significance in Esophageal Adenocarcinoma and Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Both esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESQCC) and adenocarcinoma (EAC) are known to have poor prognosis. We aimed to investigate the invasion front areas of 57 ESQCC and 43 EAC cases to find histological signs of metastatic progression. Tumor cell clusters with different cell counts, including tumor buds (TBs) and poorly differentiated clusters (PDCs), were assessed.

Lactate Suppresses Growth of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Patient-Derived Organoids through Alterations in Tumor NADH/NAD+ Redox State.

Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a common precancerous lesion that can progress to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). There are significant alterations in the esophageal microbiome in the progression from healthy esophagus to BE to EAC, including an increased abundance of a variety of lactate-producing bacteria and an increase of lactate in the tumor microenvironment, as predicted by metabolic modeling. The role of bacterial lactate in EAC is unknown.

AMPK Activation Serves as a Common Pro-Survival Pathway in Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Cells.

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is a subtype of esophageal cancer that is difficult to treat, with overall poor survival and frequent recurrence despite curative-intent treatment strategies. There is limited understanding of EAC resistance mechanisms to chemotherapy or radiation. We have found that the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) can serve a pro-survival function in EAC cells in response to cytotoxic treatments.

The viral load monitoring cascade in HIV treatment programmes in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.

Background: The United Nations' 95-95-95 (95% of people with HIV being aware of their diagnosis, 95% of those aware of their diagnosis being on treatment and 95% achieving viral suppression) target aims to reduce morbidity and mortality of HIV. However, with 60% of new HIV infections occurring in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), achieving this target in the region is challenging. Viral load (VL) monitoring is the gold-standard approach of assessing treatment efficacy, and its implementation into national health systems is a global health priority if elimination of HIV as a public health threat is to be achieved by 2030.

Frequency dependence and harmonic distortion of stapes displacement and intracochlear pressure in response to very high level sounds.

Previous reports have suggested that intracochlear pressures (P) measured at the base of the cochlea increase directly proportionally with stapes displacement (D) in response to moderately high (<130 dB SPL) level sounds. Consistent with this assumption, we have reported that for low frequency sounds (<1 kHz), stapes displacement and intracochlear pressures increase linearly with sound pressure level (SPL) for moderately high levels (<130 dB SPL), but saturate at higher exposure levels (>130 dB SPL). However, the magnitudes of each response were found to be frequency dependent, thus the relationship between D and P may vary at higher frequencies or higher levels.

Endoscopic Cartilage Myringoplasty with Anterior Margin Preservation for Repairing Large Anterior Perforations.

This study compared the graft outcomes and complications of endoscopic cartilage inlay myringoplasty with preservation of anterior margins (IPAM) and the cartilage underlay technique with raising the tympanomeatal flap (CUTF) for repairing large anterior perforations. In total, 55 patients with large anterior perforations were recruited and allocated to the IPAM (n = 28) or the CUTF (n = 27) group. The graft success rate, hearing gain, operation time, and postoperative complications were compared between the groups at 12 months.

Comparative Evaluation of Mediated Electrochemical Reduction and Chemical Redox Titration for Quantifying the Electron Accepting Capacities of Soils and Redox-Active Soil Constituents.

The electron accepting capacity (EAC) of soil plays a pivotal role in the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and transformation of redox-labile contaminants. Prior EAC studies of soils and soil constituents utilized different methods, reductants, and mediators, making cross-study comparison difficult. This study was conducted to quantify and compare the EACs of two soil constituents (hematite and Leonardite humic acid) and 12 soils of diverse composition, using chemical redox titration (CRT) with dithionite as the reductant and mediated electrochemical reduction (MER) with diquat as the mediator.

Comparing the prognosis of esophageal adenocarcinoma with bone and liver metastases: A competing risk analysis.

Background: About half of the patients with esophageal cancer are presenting with metastasis at initial diagnosis. However, few studies have concerned on the prognostic factors of metastatic esophageal adenocarcinoma (mEAC). This research aimed to investigate the effects of single bone metastasis (BM) and single liver metastasis (LM) on prognosis of mEAC patients.