Abstract There is increasing interest in employing Single-Cell Analysis (SCA) technologies to improve the efficiency of renal disease diagnosis and treatment. Nevertheless, comprehensive studies summarizing and analyzing research trends in the field are lacking. There is increasing interest in employing Single-Cell Analysis (SCA) technologies to improve the efficiency of renal disease diagnosis and treatment. Nevertheless, comprehensive studies summarizing and analyzing research trends in the field are lacking. This article discusses the use of bibliometric analysis to evaluate the progress and potential of Single-Cell Analysis (SCA) technologies in the field of kidney disease. The study identified 1,606 articles and reviews published between 1999 and 2023, involving 11,737 authors from 2,317 institutions across 67 countries or regions. The major contributors to SCA in kidney disease were highlighted, including top authors, institutes, countries, and journals. Research hotspots included molecular and pathological aspects, with disease-, molecular-, and pathological-related keywords such as expression, EGFR, gene-expression, activation, gene, cell, protein, mechanism, mutation, inflammation, resistance, apoptosis, and T-cell. Key kidney-related disease keywords included SLE, AKI, CKD, renal fibrosis, diabetic kidney disease, nephrotic syndrome, IgA nephropathy, and kidney transplantation. The authors note that the field of SCA in kidney-related disease research is rapidly growing, with the potential for further expansion. SCA technologies could provide novel diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic approaches and support routine clinical diagnosis and individualized treatment.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has shown unexpected viral infection traits. Initially thought to affect respiratory health primarily, it also involves the gastrointestinal system. However, many complications during the pandemic were caused by the virus, including neurological, cardiovascular, dermatological, and metabolic issues. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has also been linked to cardiac complications, such as myocardial infarction, in individuals without cardiovascular risk factors. SARS-CoV-2 vaccines exacerbated the situation with possible adverse events (AEs). Vaccine side effects, like thromboembolic events, can be life-threatening or simply bothersome. Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a nonlethal cardiac complication seen with COVID-19 and its vaccines. In this review, we summarized the POTS-COVID-19 relationship comprehensively.

A document by Ali Pourshaban-Shahrestani. Click on the document to view its contents.

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is known to exert anti-tumor immune effects by promoting the activation and proliferation of T cells and NK cells within the immune system. However, clinical trials have observed systemic toxicity associated with the administration of IL-12. This has shelved development plans for its use as a cancer therapeutic drug. Therefore, it is critical that we perform a systematic evaluation of the toxicity and safety of repeated IL-12 administration. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the toxicity and safety of repeated IL-12 administration in rhesus monkeys by assessing its effects on the immune system, organ function, and vital signs. Our findings provide accurate dosage selection and administration plans that minimize the risk of adverse reactions in patients while ensuring therapeutic efficacy.

Objective: To evaluate both short and mid-term effects of maternal COVID-19 on cardiac functions of fetuses and children. Methods: The present case-control study was conducted on 36 pregnant women who had COVID-19 infection in the second trimester of pregnancy and 30 pregnant women as healthy controls. Fetal, neonatal and infant cardiac functions were compared between the groups. Assessment of fetal cardiac functions were performed in the last trimester of the pregnancy at least 6 weeks after the recovery of infection. The first postnatal echo was performed within the first two weeks and the follow-up (second) echo was performed in the 6-8 weeks of life. Results: The demografic data were similar between groups. Interventricular septum and left ventricular posterior wall end-diastolic dimensions were significantly higher in the study group in both fetal, neonatal and infant periods. Impaired diastolic functions of right and left ventricles were detected and myocardial performance indexes with tissue doppler imaging of both lateral walls and septum were significantly higher than controls at all periods. Conclusion: Maternal COVID-19 seems to have a global impact on cardiac functions of babies in the short and mid-term periods after maternal recovery.

BACKGROUND: Colour M–mode propagation velocity (Vp) is an echocardiographic parameter that represents relaxation of the left ventricular (LV) and the ratio of peak E-wave velocity and flow propagation velocity (E/Vp) can be used to measure pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) estimation which is almost equivalent to invasively measured PCWP. The correlation between propagation velocity (Vp) with standard left ventricular diastolic function parameters and E/Vp with PCWP in patients with acute heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) has not been widely studied. This study aimed to determine the correlation of Vp in the assessment of left ventricular diastolic function in acute heart failure patients with HFpEF. METHODS: This research is an observational analytical study using a cross–sectional study design conducted from April to June 2022. The subjects of this study were patients diagnosed with acute HFpEF and treated at Dr. Soetomo General Academic Hospital, Surabaya. Patients with heart rhythm disturbances, moderate to severe valvular heart disease, and congenital heart defects were excluded from this study. Patients were measured for diastolic function including mitral valve early mitral inflow velocity (MV E Velocity), mitral peak velocity of early filling (E’) (E’ Septal and E’ Lateral), left atrial volume index (LAVI), The maximal tricuspid regurgitation velocity (TR V Max), Vp, the ratio of early diastolic mitral inflow velocity to early diastolic mitral annulus velocity (E/E’), the ratio between early and late ventricular filling velocity (E/A) and E/Vp Ratio. N-terminal-pro hormone B-type natriuretic peptide (NT–ProBNP) examination was also performed on study subjects as an additional diagnosis of acute heart failure. RESULTS: There were 33 patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in our study. There were 26 patients (78.8%) with grade I diastolic dysfunction, 4 patients (12.1%) with grade II diastolic dysfunction, and 3 patients (9.1%) with grade III diastolic dysfunction. There is a strong positive correlation between Vp with parameters E’ Septal (p = < 0.001; r = 0.636) and E’ Lateral (p = < 0.001; r = 0.650). Vp is negatively correlated with the ratio E/E’ (p = 0.029; r = –0.37). The PCWP estimate with E/Vp ratio had a strong correlation with the NT–Pro BNP value > 300 pg/ml in acute HFpEF patients (p = < 0.001; r = 0.726) compared to the PCWP estimate with E/E’ (p = < 0.001; r = 0.549). There is no correlation between Vp value and degree of diastolic dysfunction in patients with acute HFpEF. CONCLUSION: Vp has a strong correlation in the assessment of left ventricular diastolic function parameters with acute HFpEF. PCWP estimation using E/Vp ratio has a strong correlation with NT–ProBNP > 300 pg/ml. Measurement of Vp value and E/Vp ratio can be used to assess diastolic function and estimate PCWP in patients with acute HFpEF.

The brain-network correlates of personality traits in major depressive disorder (MDD) have not yet been investigated. Furthermore, it is still unclear whether personality traits relate to the depressive episode. This study assessed network properties, depression severity, and personality traits in patients with MDD (n=25) compared with age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n=22). MDD patients with different character traits exhibited significant differences in terms of depression diagnosis and severity of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores compared to the controls. The MDD patients also exhibited reduced resting state network activity between the posterior default mode network, right putamen, and right frontal pole, while self-directness (SD) was significantly less frequently diagnosed in MDD patients. In evaluating the network correlates, differences in the SD traits were significantly associated with critical brain network alterations that were not evident in other traits. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to provide preliminary evidence of an anomalous connectome in the SD trait in MDD, thus providing strong evidence for personalized antidepressant treatment strategies in MDD.

Cursive text detection is essential in various fields, includ- ing document analysis, scene character and optical charac- ter recognition (OCR). Despite technological advancements, accurate detection and recognition of cursive text in natu- ral scene images continued to be difficult because of differ- ences in font sizes, styles, orientations, alignments, resolu- tions, blurriness, complex backgrounds and appearance of multilingual text. Urdu is a cursive language widely spoken in many South-Asian countries. There has been a persistent need for Urdu text recognition because of its appearance in natural scenes such as signboards, car number plates, news- papers, magazines, etc. Moreover, Urdu text detection is challenging due to its complex writing style, which includes joined writing, variations in the same characters, numerous ligatures, multiple baselines, and other factors. This paper proposes two hybrid models for resolution-free cursive text detection and recognition. Firstly, a convolutional neural net- work (CNN) is used for text detection, which is repeated with the Visual Geometry Group (VGG-16). Secondly, for text recognition, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model is used on the extracted features from CNN and VGG-16 separately. The proposed hybrid models CNN in combination with LSTM and VGG-16 in combination with LSTM outperform the ex- isting ones by achieving 91% and 96% accuracy, respectively.

Understanding wildlife behavior is crucial for effective conservation and management. However, studying the behavior of diverse species presents challenges due to their complexity and the availability of data. To address this, we present a universal indicator for assessing the ease of humans learning wildlife behavior. This indicator incorporates species familiarity, behavioral complexity, and data availability, providing a standardized framework for evaluating learnability. Applying the indicator to a diverse range of species reveals insights into research priorities and knowledge gaps. The indicator enables researchers, educators, and policymakers to prioritize efforts, enhance conservation strategies, and facilitate effective wildlife management and education initiatives. Its application has the potential to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of wildlife behavior on a global scale. While the indicator is a valuable tool, its limitations necessitate ongoing data collection and refinement. The universal indicator advances our understanding of wildlife behavior and informs evidence-based conservation and management strategies.

Active suspension plays a pivotal role in modern vehicles. In this paper, an adaptive PID controller of active suspension systems based on RBF neural network (RBF-NN) is developed. A quarter-car suspension system with two degrees of freedom is demonstrated. The values of proportional, integral, and derivate components are obtained by using Ziegler-Nichols(Z-N) tuning method and RBF-NN methods. The suspension system is perturbed using the sine function. Simulated in the Simulink environment is the quarter-car model. Passive suspension systems, adaptive PID controller utilizing the Z-N tuning approach, and adaptive PID based on the RBF-NN method for active suspension systems are compared. The active suspension with PID control based on the RBF-NN outperformed the active suspension with PID control utilizing the Z-N tuning approach and passive suspension, according to simulation data. The comparison demonstrates the proposed control method’s superior features

Exponential model for population growth (exponential model) is a cornerstone to evaluate population dynamics in Population Ecology field. Here, we used a didactic experiment to teach exponential model for an undergraduate course of Population Ecology. We built nine populations of weevils with three different initial sizes: eight, 16, and 32 individuals with three replicates each. We furnish them equal food resource availability, and count their sizes weekly across 12 weeks. We estimated the intrinsic and population growth rates (i.e., r and dN/dt parameters) by trials and errors with an exponential model build in an Excel spreadsheet. Replicates with eight and 16 individuals reached the highest values of r and dN/dt, while replicates with 32 individuals reached the lowest values. Beyond of exponential model, we observed two density dependency issues acting in populations. First, in the lowest initial population sizes we observed the effect of demographic stochasticity acting in diminishing the number of individuals in one population. Second, we observed the intraspecific competition reducing r values in largest initial populations. Therefore, we highlight the importance of didactic experiment into learning exponential model in Population Ecology course.

Phenols are ubiquitous substructures in natural products and bioactive compounds. However, practical methods for the direct construction of phenols under mild conditions remains challenging. Herein, a photocatalytic acceptorless dehydrogenative aro-matization of cyclohexanones or cyclohexenones at room temperature has been developed. The reaction features the visible-light and cobalt co-catalyzed sequential dehydrogenation of in-situ formed enol silyl ethers, which are regarded as a challenging process. This operationally simple method enables the synthesis of a series of phenols with diverse substitution patterns from cyclohexanones or cyclohexenones. Moreover, diverse substituted 1,2-, 1,3-, and 1,4-benzenediols were obtained from cyclo-hexanediones, providing a general and straightforward method for the synthesis of phenols from simple starting materials un-der mild conditions

Background: Food-induced immediate response of the esophagus (FIRE) is a new phenomenon that has been described in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) patients. It is suspected when unpleasant symptoms occur suddenly on contact of the triggering food with the esophageal surface and recur with repeated exposures. It can often be mistaken for pollen-food allergy syndrome (PFAS) and solid food dysphagia. Data on FIRE is limited to one survey study and case reports, and there are no screening studies conducted on either adults or children with EoE. In this study, we aimed to screen children aged ≥7 years old with EoE for FIRE. Methods: Demographic data were collected from medical records. A questionnaire about FIRE was applied to all participants. Skin prick tests (SPTs) were done on suspected patients to identify the triggering foods. FIRE is defined as suitable clinical symptoms with suspected food allergen exposure. Results: Seventy-eight patients (74.4% male, median age: 13.5 years) were included. Unpleasant and recurrent symptoms distinct from dysphagia with specific foods were reported in %16.7 of the patients, all of whom had concomitant allergic rhinitis (AR). The symptoms described by almost all patients were oropharyngeal itching and tingling (PFAS: 15.3%) excluding only one patient reporting retrosternal narrowing and pressure after specific food consumption (FIRE: 1.2%). Conclusions: Although definitive conclusions regarding the true prevalence of FIRE cannot be made, it does not seem to be common as PFAS. However, it deserves questioning particularly in the presence of concurrent AR and/or PFAS in children with EoE.

Tropical urban environments reveal a strong association of CD45RBloCD161+ Th2 subset to allergic rhinitis To the Editor:Allergic airway diseases such as allergic rhinitis (AR) affects more than 400 million individuals worldwide and afflicts substantial health and economic morbidity. [1] AR is strongly associated with a type 2 response, characterized by the cytokines IL-5, IL-4 and IL-13. However, the key drivers behind AR immunopathogenesis remained to be elucidated. This study aims to identify critical pathogenic cell populations associated with AR using the Singapore System Immunology Cohort (SSIC) [2] and a clinician-diagnosed paediatric cohort with active AR manifestation (Supplementary Table 1 ). In both cohorts, the eosinophilic nature of AR was confirmed by higher blood eosinophil numbers (Supplementary Figure 1 ).Whole blood gene expression analysis revealed a total of 23 probes representing 20 unique genes were associated with AR in the SSIC (Table 1A ). To account for ethnicity and environmental influences we validated our findings in BAMSE population-based cohort comprising of Swedish adolescents. Table 1B shows 11 DEGs which was also associated with AR, confirming the transferability of our findings to other populations. For the top DEGs that reached nominal significance in the SSIC we performed an Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Supplementary Table 2 revealed important pathways related to hypersensitivity and inflammation and also functional enrichment for eosinophils, basophils and mast cells. In particular, functional activation of Th2 was highlighted as a key pathway for AR pathogenesis. As CRTH2 was reported to be expressed by cell types involved in the eosinophilic response, [3] an unsupervised cluster analysis was performed on the CRTH2+ subset in PBMC of individuals from SSIC (Figure 1 A and B ) to determine CRTH2+ subsets associated with AR. We found that CD161+Th2 subsets in particularly to be strongly associated with AR (Figure 1C and D ) (Supplementary Figure 2 ). Further characterization found that the marker CD45RB to be significantly downregulated on CD161+Th2 cells of AR individuals (Figure 1E ). Low CD45RB expression on T cells is indicative of a mature phenotype. Interestingly, significantly higher circulatory plasma IL-5 levels (Figure 1F) . Furthermore we could also demonstrate AR individuals produced significantly higher IL-5 in an in vitro PMA-stimulation assay (Figure 1G ).While we noted a small population of IL-5 secreting conventional CD161-Th2 (cTh2), IL-5 secretion was significantly elevated in CD161+Th2 cells (Figure 1H ). Strikingly, IL-5 was found to be predominantly secreted by CD45RBlo subset in both cTh2 and CD161+Th2 (Figure 1H and I ). There was also a significant increase in the IL-5 producing CD45RBloCD161+Th2 population from the AR individuals (Figure 1I ). These findings confirm CD45RBloCD161+Th2 as the main producers of IL-5.We further validated our findings in a second paediatric cohort with clinically diagnosed active AR manifestations. To further refine CD161+Th2 subset that is associated with AR, we performed unsupervised PhenoGraph and UMAP clustering on CD161+Th2 (Supplementary Figure 3A and B ). Amongst the UMAP clusters, “cluster 3” was found to be significantly associated with active AR (Supplementary Figure 3C and D ). Deep characterization reveals “cluster 3” to be an IL-5 secreting CD45RBlopopulation, confirming our earlier observation (Supplementary Figure 3E ). Furthermore, this cluster appeared to be a highly differentiated population of mature CD161+Th2 cells with an activated phenotype secreting IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-9 and IL-13 concomitantly (Supplementary Figure 3E and F ). Thus, the severity of eosinophilic airway allergies such as AR seems to be driven by an activated terminally differentiated CD161+Th2 subset that is able to secrete a complex set of inflammatory cytokines.The presence of CD45RBloCD161+Th2 population in both cohorts shows the persistence and pertinence of this population in the pathogenesis of AR. Both cohorts described in this study were collected in Singapore, whereby majority of the individuals are sensitized against HDM. HDM is a perennial allergen in tropical nations such as Singapore, thus T cells in atopic individuals undergo constant stimulation. This could explain the strong association observed between CD45RB expression on CD161+Th2 cells and atopy markers despite the fact that not all subjects demonstrated active AR symptoms during the collection of SSIC cohort. Taken together, our current study unifies the markers previously reported for allergic-specific Th2 subsets and provides clarity for the pathogenic Th2 subset previously reported in different allergic diseases.[4-6] Neutralizing the CD45RBloCD161+Th2 subset should disrupt the allergic response pathway, thus providing a target for lasting therapeutic interventions. Moreover, these cells may also be leveraged as a biomarker for the effectiveness of immunotherapy as well as a potential biomarker of public health surveillance of allergic individuals.

This study investigated an alternative approach to valorizing canola proteins by hydrolyzing them to generate amino acids (AAs). Pre-treatment of cold-pressed (CP) cake and desolventized-toasted (DT) meal with ethanol (99%, v/v) followed by protein separation was studied as process optimizations to maximize protein recovery with higher purity. The optimum ethanol pre-treatment conditions to achieve a meal containing less than 1% oil was reached at a meal-to-ethanol ratio of 1:4 (w:w) and 50°C for 30 min extraction. The protein recovery reached the maximum at pH 12 and a meal-to-solvent ratio of 1:10 (w:v), yielding 73% and 33% recovery from ethanol pre-treated CP and DT meals, respectively, in a single extraction. Untreated and ethanol pre-treated meals were hydrolyzed with 6 M HCl (protein-to-acid ratio of 5 mg:2 mL) for 24 h at 110°C. The ethanol pre-treatment improved AA recovery and released 373 mg AA/g dry CP meal biomass (dbm) compared to 279 mg AA/g untreated CP cake dbm. However, no improvement in AA recovery upon ethanol pre-treatment of DT meal. H2SO4 was examined as an alternative acid. More than 80% of the total AAs of CP proteins were released with 3 M H2SO4, while for DT meal proteins, a 5 M concentration was needed to achieve the same. Commercial canola meals can be utilized for generating free AAs; however, the meal processing history may affect the yield.

Introduction Fibromyalgia (FM) is defined as a “syndrome of central sensitisation with dysfunction of the neuronal circuits involved in the perception, transmission and processing of nociceptive afferents, with pain predominantly expressed in the musculoskeletal system”1. It is an incurable syndrome of unknown origin with signs and symptoms often similar and overlapping with those of other syndromes. This condition, unfortunately with high frequency, delays its diagnosis. The pathogenetic mechanism underlying the clinical picture is alteration of the nociceptive system.Several hypotheses have been proposed concerning the pathogenesis of FM and the management of FM patients requires a multidisciplinary approach.Accumulating evidence suggests that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a non-invasive modality with lasting efficacy to treat FM2. HBOT is defined by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) as a treatment in which a patient intermittently breathes 100% oxygen while the treatment chamber is pressurised to above sea level pressure (1 atmosphere absolute, 1 ATA = 760 mmHg)3. HBOT is able to induce many interesting effects on plasma oxygen concentration. Based on Henry’s Law, increased pressure will cause more gas to go into solution, and therefore,more oxygen will be transported in the plasma. As a result a lot of oxygen becomes available for the microcirculation, resulting in significant improvement of all metabolic parameters, which have also been shown in several works to influence neurological functions4. We report about a case of woman affected by FM and treated with HBOT as adjuvant, experimental and non conventional therapy.Case PresentationIn January 2021 a 54-year-old Caucasian woman with a negative medical past history reported pain in her left arm 24 hours after receiving the first dose of the Pfizer SARS-Covid 19 vaccine. Localised pain in the injection zone (the triceps muscle of the left arm) was accompanied by the onset of high fever (40°C), intense headache with vomiting and abdominal pain. After 48 hours there was defervescence with return to normo-thermia but progressive appearance of fatigue. Subsequently patient report a relief of pain in the left arm with progressive development of constant, severe and persistent pain in occipital and back neck area, low back and legs with a marked sense of heaviness in the lower limbs. The patient also complained of progressive difficulty in walking, for which the use of nordic walking sticks was necessary. Furthermore, she reported stiffening of the facial muscles with pain defined as intense, mental fogginess, severe short-term memory involvement and progressive depression, symptoms that had undoubtedly caused a significant impairment in her quality of life.The patient underwent routine blood sample tests (blood count, ESR, PCR, protein electrophoresis, AST, ALT, gamma GT), as well as more specific immuno-enzymatic tests (serum kappa and lambda chains, IgG, IgA, IgM, anti-nuclear antibodies, ENA, ANA with subclasses). The exams showed no values outside the standard range. Only a slight increase in ESR and a reduction in 25-OH-vitamin D levels was shown. The patient also performed total body CTs, spine MRI, femoral and lumbar bone densitometry from which no structural morphological alteration was highlighted except for an initial picture of osteoporosis. The exclusion of inflammatory disease, although some rheumatic diseases could coexist, suggested a possible diagnosis of FM and thus rheumatologists have sought its diagnostic criteria5. The persistence of pain was well over 3 months (the patient reported the onset of symptoms about 18 months ago).The following questionnaires were administered: Widespread Pain Index (WPI), Symptom Severity Scale (SSS), Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PHQI), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener (GAD-7), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Fatigue (FACIT-F). The scores reported from each individual questionnaires carried out before the start of HBOT were as follows: WPI=18, SSS=10, FIQR=96, PHQI=17, GAD-7=14, FACIT=12.Thus she started a multidisciplinary therapeutic course based on antalgic therapy, physiotherapy, psychological support, relaxation techniques and healthy nutrition.Among the various therapies, HBOT was indicated as an experimental non-conventional treatment. The patient underwent forty sessions of HBOT at 2.4 ATA (absolute atmospheres), total oxygen time 60 minutes per session, once a day, five times a week, performed at the multi-place chamber (Sistemi Iperbarici Integrati-Camera Iperbarica Mod 2000) of the Hyperbaric Medicine Centre of ARNAS Ospedale Civico Di Cristina Benfratelli, Palermo, Italy. Therapy started in the first week of September and ended in mid-November 2022. Throughout each session, the patient showed stable vital parameters (blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation and body temperature). Blood tests, markers of flogosis and haematochemical examinations carried out at mid term and at the end showed no change in values outside the normal range.The patient underwent 40 sessions of HBOT. The clinical improvement achieved was evident and affected all symptom areas reported before treatment. In particular, there was a complete recovery of mobility with the avoidance of walking sticks, an increase in muscular strength evidenced by the ability to climb several flights of stairs and to walk long distances independently. The patient reported a drastic reduction in pain symptoms evident from the moment she woke up in the morning, a significant improvement in sleep quality, previously reported as light, non-restorative and with multiple breaks. The highly debilitating sense of fatigue was reported after treatment as markedly reduced and in any case easily manageable. In addition, a significant change in cognitive abilities was reported, with disappearance of mental fogginess and recovery of short-term memory. In summary, there was a significant improvement in quality of life with the disappearance of the depression into which the patient had plunged, a condition confirmed by psychological advice at the end of the hyperbaric treatment. The scores reported by each individual test at the end of HBOT are shown below: WPI=6, SSS=3, FIQR=13, PHQI=2, GAD-7=3, FACIT=42.

A rare presentation of an adult with un-diagnosed coarctation of the aorta: A case report

Leukemoid Reaction in a young woman following a TAH-BSO with severe hemorrhage: A case report

Introduction Vascular anomalies are alterations in angiogenesis and endothelial proliferation, respectively, that can generate not only aesthetic problems, but also functional disorders in fetuses and newborns. Other alterations in the regression of blood vessels can generate vascular malformations such as persistent left superior vena cava. Case report We present the case of a

Phospholipase D2 (PLD2) enzymes are expressed on the cytoplasmic membrane of bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals and have been linked to many critical cellular processes. Recently there are lots of research results about PLD2 that are associated with chronic inflammation activity of cells. To evaluate the potential influence of PLD2 on asthma, a self-made protein including the main functional domains of PLD2, named recombinant human phospholipase D2 (rhPLD2), was designed in our lab. The effects of rhPLD2 on mucosal inflammation were examined by hematoxylin and eosin staining in an ovalbumin (OVA) induced murine model of asthma. Cytokine concentrations in BALF obtained from mice were measured using ELISA kits. The ratio of T-bet and GATA-3 expression level in spleen and lymph nodes after rhPLD2 administration was also assessed through RT-PCR. It demonstrated OVA-induced mice exhibited elevated pulmonary eosinophilia and allergic inflammation in the airways along with increased expression of IFN-γ, IL-4 in the lung BALF. RhPLD2 could alleviate lung inflammation and reduce significantly the number of eosinophils in peripheral blood and BALF. RhPLD2 could reverse IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio in lymphocytes of BALF, lung, spleen, lymph nodes of asthma mice on genetic level. Treatment of asthma mice with rhPLD2 in vivo directly increased the frequency not only of IL-10+Treg cells, but also of CD25+ Treg cells in peripheral blood. From a therapeutic point of view, rhPLD2 alleviates allergic airway Inflammation via balancing Th1/Th2 Homeostasis and increasing Treg cells and has been shown to function in immunoregulatory activities in OVA-induced asthma mice.

A document by Simone Moretti. Click on the document to view its contents.

Background: Information about the concentration of unbound paclitaxel over time following administration of albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) and its proportion to total paclitaxel in plasma remains unavailable. The aim of this study was to establish a population pharmacokinetic (PK) model to evaluate the dynamic relationship between total and unbound concentrations of paclitaxel in Chinese patients with metastatic breast cancer. Method: A total of 653 concentrations corresponding to total and 334 to unbound paclitaxel were analyzed in 24 subjects who received two cycles of a single nab-paclitaxel dose of 260 mg/m2/cycle. The time course of the fraction of unbound paclitaxel was analyzed by Monte Carlo simulation. Results: A three-compartment model with first-order elimination was selected to describe the PK of total paclitaxel. A mechanism-based model incorporating linear dissociation of nab-paclitaxel and saturated binding of free paclitaxel to plasma components was established to describe the relationship between total and unbound paclitaxel. Unbound paclitaxel fraction was expressed as a function of nab-paclitaxel concentration. Dissociation coefficient of nab-paclitaxel was estimated to be 4.60%, while a maximum unbound fraction value of 2.76% was reached at the end of infusion due to nonlinear binding kinetics of unbound paclitaxel. Conclusion: This is the first study to determine relationship between total and unbound nab-paclitaxel concentrations using a semi-mechanical population PK model. The model established in this study can be used to elucidate the dissociation process of nab-paclitaxel and provide a basis for studies investigating the relationship between unbound paclitaxel and toxicity as well as efficacy against metastatic breast cancer.

Rice, being a widely grown food crop, often suffers from nutrient imbalances, hindering its production, which suffers from a lack of certain nutrients like potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Identifying the potential nutrient deficiency in the rice crop can pose a challenging task because the leaves of rice plants affected by these nutritional shortages may have disorders such as colour and shape changes. The classification of nutrient deficits can be done visually by examining the colour and shape of the leaves. However, it is expensive, time-consuming, and requires greater expertise. To tackle this issue, this work proposes a computer vision-based deep learning approach called CAR-Capsnet, an enhanced version of the capsule network (Capsnet) that utilises contextual attention routing (CAR) for classifying nutrient deficiencies in rice crops. The dataset required for training and evaluation is obtained from the freely available Kaggle data repository. Pre-processing techniques, such as the Wiener filter and adaptive Otsu segmentation, are applied to the dataset. Unlike traditional routing approaches, CAR-Capsnet utilises contextual attention routing to improve the model’s capability to handle complex visual features and patterns associated with nutrient deficiencies in rice crops. In the evaluation, the proposed model’s performance is compared with two other existing models, CNN and the original Capsnet. Experimental results demonstrate that CAR-Capsnet outperforms both models, achieving a testing accuracy of 97.1% and exhibiting superior performance compared to the baseline models. Additionally, comparing the classifier’s results with previous research findings confirms that the proposed CAR-Capsnet model is superior to alternative approaches in classifying nutrient deficiencies in rice crops.

Background: Bronchiolitis is a viral respiratory illness most commonly caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). COVID-19 disrupted typical patterns of viral transmission. Our study aimed to compare low value care for bronchiolitis in a tertiary emergency department (ED) in the United States over the previous five years. Methods: This was a descriptive cohort study through a retrospective chart review from 2017-2022 analyzing ED visits for bronchiolitis including disposition, disease severity, chest radiographs, albuterol, and high flow nasal cannula. A year was a 12 month period from March to February. Results: In the three years prior to the pandemic, there were over 2000 ED visits for bronchiolitis per year (3.1% of all ED visits), which decreased to 450 visits for bronchiolitis (1% of all visits) in 2020. Human rhino/enterovirus was the most common virus detected (92%). Admission rates, albuterol use, high flow nasal cannula use, and chest radiographs were all higher during the first year of the pandemic. The summer of 2021 had the highest visits across the 5 study years (2743, 4.0% of all visits) with a return to previous rates of resource utilization. Conclusions: During the early pandemic, measures to halt the spread of COVID-19 also altered the transmission of RSV and emergency visits for bronchiolitis. There was an increase in lower value care while the volume was low and rhinovirus was the dominant virus detected. As restrictions lifted in 2021, there was a large resurgence of RSV in the atypical summer months with a return of previous rates of resource utilization.