Recent Articles

Urinary tract infection is defined as the presence of microorganism in the urine that cannot be accounted by contamination. First line treatments for UTI are antibiotics. Antibiotic stewardship is the coordinated intervention designed to improve and measure the appropriate use of antibiotic agents, by promoting the selection of optimal antibiotic drug regimen including dosing, duration of therapy and route of administration.

Biofilms are complex sessile microbial community extremely resistant to antibiotics. They typically form on both biotic and abiotic surfaces and are usually associated with high rates of mortality and morbidity in patients in hospital settings. Nosocomial infections are the major cause of infections seen worldwide. Bacterial Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) represent the most common type of nosocomial infection that affect different parts of the urinary tract in both males and females.

Snoring is a concomitant of sleeping. This phenomenon is not only considered annoying, but also often taboo because it affects the privacy of those affected. In addition, however, snoring can be the cause of sometimes life-threatening diseases, such as hypertension, stroke and myocardial infarction.

The present study aimed at the dietary supplementation of zinc oxide nanoparticles on growth, haematological and biochemical parameters of Koi carp. The zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized using UV-VIS, SEM, EDAX, and FTIR. Six feeds were prepared with different quantities of synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (F1 - Control, F2 -20 mg, F3 – 40mg, F4 – 60mg, F5-80mg and F6 – 100mg) and feed ingredients are fish meal, groundnut oilcake, wheat flour, and tapioca flour.

Malignant infarction of the middle cerebral artery territory is a serious clinical form with a mortality rate of approximately 80%. Several large studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of decompressive hemicraniectomy in reducing mortality and functional impairment following malignant infarction of the middle cerebral artery. The aim of this work was to assess the mortality and functional prognosis of patients who underwent decompressive hemicraniectomy surgery for malignant infarction of the middle cerebral artery from 2009 to May 2016 at the Regional University Hospital of Besançon.

The ability to measure structural and functional alterations in cellular and tissue lipids with small footprint, accessible instrumentation has sparked interest in their role in disease pathology. However, various lipidomic analytical tools tend to be cumbersome and time-consuming. A rapid, accurate, and straight forward peak alignment software routine would greatly facilitate the analysis of large datasets, such as those produced by matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Herein, we describe a novel Rapid Peak Alignment Method (RPAM) which allows untargeted analysis of lipids expressed in brain white matter following chronic ethanol exposure in an established experimental model. The RPAM outputs data comparable to manual peak alignments but the processing time requires only 90 minutes instead of 8-10 hours. This method is readily adapted to a broad range of models, tissue types, and human diseases.

Dietary treatment for patients with gout/hyperuricemia places emphasis on avoidance of excess intake of certain types of food. However, foods that help to reduce serum uric acid levels and gout risk have recently been recognized: thus should be considered for their positive influence. In the present study, food factors known to decrease serum uric acid level and gout flare risk were reviewed.

This investigation studies the potential use of infrared (IR) sensing technology to answer key questions of scalding. In particular, scalding incidents are frequently plagued by conflicting recollections, uncertain details, and litigation. Questions often relate to how a scalding spill occurred, how hot the liquid was, the direction of liquid flow, and the connection between burn patterns and spill patterns. Flow patterns, among others are sometimes, challenging to determine after a spill incident. Nevertheless, IR technology can be used for event reconstruction and can help identify the typical burn patterns that result from spills. Here, IR imaging is applied to common scald situations. The IR imaging provides temperature information that is continuous in both space and time and can be used with currently available burn models to predict burn depths and patterns. The IR images are used to generate a burn-depth map superimposed on the patient’s body. This study shows that IR imaging leads to reproducible results that can be used to predict burn-depth patterns based on situation specific spills.

Self-assessment (SA) of English speaking ability by patients has been an important reference for the health workforce, and in the past 10 years, research examining health literacy in the USA has continued to emphasize the patient. In the current study, 338 Health Care Workers (HCWs) (82% female and 63% nurses) reported on their current communications with patients (one year into the COVID-19 pandemic) and recalled what communication was like at the onset of the pandemic. Through SA as a way for HCWs to analyze communication, this study investigated information available from community and healthcare facilities, oral communication with patients, and the training of healthcare professionals.

African region is thought to contribute to >50% of deadly cases of pertussis worldwide, however surveillance and available data on Bordetella pertussis circulation are limited. Currently, pertussis vaccination schedule in most African countries is restricted to a primary immunization consisting of three doses during the first year of life using whole pertussis vaccines for which effectiveness is not known.

E-cigarettes (ECs) can affect several organs in the body. On the liver, it causes toxic and immunological effects associated with many inflammatory processes and oxidative stress. E-cigarettes may cause hepatic fibrosis, steatosis, cell dysfunction, injury with the elevation of liver enzymes, and cancer. On the other hand, it also causes hepatic DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction. Nicotine affects both cellular and humoral immune responses.

Herein, we aimed to compare the neurologic improvement, postoperative complications, and changes of Cobb’s angle between four main surgical approaches, including anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF), laminoplasty (LAMP), laminectomy (LC), and anterior controllable antedisplacement and fusion (ACAF), to treat cervical ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL).

Tuberculosis still remains a public health priority, especially with the emergence of HIV. It is more and more revealing of the HIV infection. The objective of this study is to analyze the clinical, epidemiological, and therapeutic aspect of tuberculosis in patients infected with HIV.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a respiratory sleep disorder characterized by episodes of occlusion of the upper respiratory tract, resulting in intermittent chronic hypoxia and sleep fragmentation. Clinical studies have described an association between OSAS and arterial hypertension (SAH), with CPAP being the treatment of choice. The use of CPAP in the treatment of OSAS makes it possible to avoid blocking the passage of air to the lungs. The primary underlying mechanism of hypertension in individuals with OSAS is the activation of the sympathetic nervous system triggered by episodes of apnea. Currently, there are no studies that correlate the use of CPAP and the decrease in the use of antihypertensive agents in patients with OSAS.

Glyoxal (G) and methylglyoxal (MG) have received cautions for their roles in the atmospheric chemistry and formation of secondary organic aerosol. Mostly they come from the photochemical transformation of precursors like isoprene, aromatic compounds, acetylene and acetone etc. Here these two compounds were studied in Wanqingsha, the central sector of Pearl River Delta (PRD), south China, in deep-autumn from 2008-2011.

Hb SC disease is a type of hemoglobinopathy that can be viewed as a hybrid of hemoglobin S and C. In this disorder there is co-inheritance of one Hbs gene and one HbC gene resulting in a milder phenotype than sickle cell anemia (SCA). Whereas SCA clinical features have been extensively studied, very few studies have been dedicated specifically to HbSC disease as most cases are reported to be silent or of mild severity. As the pandemic continues to evolve with the novel Sars-CoV-2 virus we have learned it can lead to thrombotic complications which could be fatal if not detected early. Of those requiring admission to the intensive care unit, most carry multiple comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes mellitus etc.) leading to worse clinical outcomes. Here, we present a case of a young adult patient with silent hemoglobin SC disease who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 leading to multiple infarcts, splenic sequestration and respiratory failure. The concurrence of a hemoglobinopathy and COVID-19 should warrant heightened clinical suspicion for unusual outcomes. Hence, providers must remain vigilant while treating any patient with any hemoglobinopathy in the setting of COVID-19.

During early embryonic development in female mammals, one copy of the X chromosome is randomly inactivated in a process known as X chromosome inactivation. In X chromosome inactivation, approximately 70% of genes on the short arm and nearly all of the genes on the long arm of the designated chromosome are inactivated. RNA activation is known to RNAs activating gene expression; however its roles in X chromosome inactivation have not been determined.

Melanoma is one of the most fatal disorders dermatologists have to diagnose and treat. Despite its prevalence and seriousness, there has been no protocol with consensus suggesting systematic approach for diagnosis and treatment of pigmented lesions. A series of 141 melanomas diagnosed and managed over five years in an Australian dermatology clinicare presented. Also a systematic approach has been suggested for the management of suspicious pigmented lesions and melanomas. It is hoped that this paper provides a platform to open discussion for the development of the best systematic approach.

When cancer is terminal and cancer-directed therapy has no value, the goal of treatment is to improve the quality of life (QoL). The current work proposed to assess the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) on QoL in patients with terminal cancer