Articles

The presence of heavy metals (HMs) on Earth is essential to all forms of life. These metals are essential for plant and animal development but can have numerous negative effects on the living environment. In this review, we looked at where HMs come from, why they are harmful, and how they affect plants. Articles indexed in Google Scholar, PubMed, Research Gate, Science Direct, and a few books on heavy metals were consulted for this study. Heavy metals are essential for plant development and growth. According to this analysis, the hazardous effects of HMs are on the rise all throughout the globe, and this trend may be attributed mostly to human activity. Because of its impact on agricultural productivity and environmental changes, soil pollution caused by HMs is among the most crucial elements. Plants have evolved very sophisticated defense systems to deal with these environmental challenges. The threat that HM stress poses to plants has attracted a lot of attention worldwide because it could stunt agriculture’s long-term expansion. In spite of their importance for plants, this study found that HMs pose a significant threat to plant life. The novelty of this review lies in its detailed examination of both the beneficial and detrimental roles of HMs, providing a balanced perspective often overlooked in current literature. The significance of this work is underscored by its potential to inform sustainable agricultural practices and environmental management strategies, as it highlights the delicate balance required to harness the benefits of HMs while mitigating their risks. Despite their necessity for plant development, this review underscores the significant risks HMs pose to plant health and ecosystems.Less than 10 cases have been reported in the literature of the association of germline BRCA1 and Squamous cell Carcinoma – the esophagus. The article focuses on the probable pathogenesis of BRCA1 mutation with non-classic malignancies and the response of Poly adenosine diphosphate ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARP) inhibitors in such a scenario. We report an unusual manifestation of the BRCA1 gene with second primary oesophageal squamous cell cancer occurring five years later to triple-negative breast cancer.

Urine typically has an amber-yellow color due to the amorphous pigment urochrome, a distinct scent, and an average pH of 6.0, which is somewhat acidic. Green urine can result from drug intake, dyes, infections, adverse drug reactions, and other causes. Less than 1% of propofol users experience green urine, a rare and benign side effect. The green tint in urine is caused by the phenolic metabolites of propofol. In this case, a 33-year-old man diagnosed with organophosphorus poisoning and aspiration pneumonia had been given a modest dose of propofol sedation for six hours and began to exhibit green urine. After five hours of halting the propofol infusion, the urine returned to its usual color. Healthcare practitioners should be aware of this unusual but safe side effect of propofol.

Introduction: There has been growing interest in determining the influence of post-operative immobilization posture and rehabilitation protocol on healing rates and clinical outcomes. Current consensus calls for the use of an immobilization device post-operatively, which commonly comes in the form of a standard sling or an abduction brace with the arm positioned in varying degrees of abduction. There is a lack of high-level evidence in the literature to recommend one type of immobilization device or arm position over another. Objectives: This study aimed to summarize the current clinical and biomechanical evidence for the optimal postoperative positioning and bracing of the arm following arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. Methods: A comprehensive search of the electronic databases EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PubMed was performed using a combination of the following keywords and medical subject heading (MeSH) terms: ‘arthroscopic’, ‘rotator cuff repair’, ‘sling’, ‘brace’ and ‘immobilization’. This systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRIMSA) guidelines. Two reviewers performed an independent assessment of the methodological quality of each eligible clinical study using the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS).Results: Based on current biomechanical evidence, placement of the arm into an abducted position following rotator cuff repair was found to be favorable. An abduction angle of 30° was associated with lower strain on the repair while maintaining appropriate contact pressure at the footprint. However, the use of an abduction brace did not result in a clinically significant improvement in long-term PROM, ROM, and re-tear rates when compared to a traditional sling in clinical studies.Conclusion: Despite observing favorable outcomes with abduction bracing after rotator cuff repair in biomechanical studies these findings were not reproduced in clinical studies. However, current clinical studies are comprised of small sample sizes, varying tear sizes, and significant heterogeneity in both, the degree of abduction and forearm rotation. Future studies should be directed towards prospectively investigating the effect of immobilization position among patients with similar rotator cuff tear sizes.

Spin-depending internal magnetic interactions in oxygen are crucial for the chemistry and photobiology of this molecule. Photosynthesis, respiration, and many other life-supporting oxygen reactions are governed by enzymes that use fine magnetic forces to overcome the spin-forbidden character of all aerobic metabolism. Life on Earth occurs on the border between combustion and oxidative phosphorylation, and this balance is largely dependent on reactive oxygen species. ROS can cause apoptosis or cell necrosis, and ROS also controls homeostasis through numerous signaling functions. Until recently, biochemists had not paid attention to internal magnetic interactions that influence the chemical activity of such ROS as superoxide ion, singlet oxygen, peroxynitrite, and many others. The role of superoxide dismutase, the oldest enzyme on the Earth, which provides superoxide concentration control, stresses the importance of the O2-• species as the precursor of many other ROS. Spin-orbit coupling in O2-• and O2 species are the main internal magnetic interactions that could influence cancer growth and be connected with cancer therapy.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), a rare malignancy originating from bile duct epithelial cells, often presents a challenging prognosis due to its rarity, delayed diagnosis, and early recurrence post-curative-intent treatments. Additional complexities include difficulties in achieving R0 resection during surgical intervention and the lack of effective second-line treatments following the failure of first-line regimens, particularly in unresectable advanced cases.In this case study, we demonstrate a durable response to a combination regimen of pembrolizumab and lenvatinib in a patient with distal CCA. Despite the regimen’s interim median Progression-Free Survival (PFS) of 6.1 months (95% CI, 2.1-6.4), our patient achieved a clinical and radiological PFS of approximately two years. The underlying mechanisms, potentially involving the upregulation of immune response pathways through undisclosed means or influenced by lenvatinib’s activation of T cells, might augment the sensitivity to PD-1 antibodies like pembrolizumab, contributing to the patient’s sustained response over two years.This case also highlights the significance of the patient’s initial good health condition, multidisciplinary care, and the potential impact of molecular subtyping on treatment selection in a patient with distal CCA who underwent numerous diagnostic procedures, intricate surgical interventions, and subsequent treatment regimens over seven years. Additionally, we underscore significant landmark trials and emerging combination therapies, including chemotherapies, immunotherapy, and targeted treatments in this report.

More than 60 million persons all over the world are living with the diagnosis of “Autism”, in accordance with the UNO. According to the WHO, almost every hundredth child is a sufferer of ASD. Such figures emphasize globalization of the problem, and its impact not only on the child’s family but also on the economies of entire countries.Autism diagnosis is difficult and based on the general symptoms in kids. Today, the neuroimaging techniques (methods of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and MRI tractography), Electroencephalography (EEG), evoked cognitive potentials and dynamic monitoring of the results help with an objective evaluation of stem cell therapy.Treatment options in modern pharmacology and rehabilitation psychotherapy for ASD kids are limited. Therapy methods do not ensure a full integration into social life and personality awareness. To alleviate likely problems in society, different therapeutic approaches exist that might reduce the manifestation of the various autism symptoms. FSC therapy is one such innovative method that has recently become enough popular.We inform about the clinical case of successful treatment using fetal stem cells for a child with autism followed by the period of 1-year follow-up showing significant clinical results. Over one year, the positive changes that had been proved by the ATEC questionnaire, the EEG results, and MRI-tractography were noted by the patient’s family. As emphasized in the clinical case report, fetal stem cell  therapy is a promising and efficient treatment for children with autism. All that was sufficiently confirmed by the results acquired because we saw an overall improvement in this patient.

A 61-year-old patient with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (Irazabal class 1E) in whom renal function had decreased and kidney size had increased over the past 3 years (change in serum creatinine, 1.3 mg/dL to 1.5 mg/dL; change in total kidney volume, 5632 cm3 to 7301 cm3) was treated with tolvaptan 60 mg/day. After 8 years of tolvaptan treatment, serum creatinine remained at 1.51 mg/dL, and total kidney volume was at 6812 cm3. Adequate salt intake and good weight control may have resulted in good outcomes, even in patients with treatment-resistant giant cystic kidney disease.

Introduction: Extracellular Traps (ETs) are fibers composed of chromatin and cytoplasmic proteins, which can trap and kill pathogens by the phenomenon called ETosis. They are released by neutrophils, macrophages, and monocytes, and can be found in semen. The aim of this presentation is to evidence of the indirect effect of SARS-CoV-2 in semen by ETs.Patients and methods: Experimental design: retrospective descriptive observational study.Semen samples from two groups were studied following WHO guidelines: 1) SARS-CoV-2 infected donors (n: 5; at 7, 15, 30, 60, and 90 days after PCR diagnosis); 2) COVID-19 positive patients assisted in our laboratory between 2021 and 2022 (n: 70). They were observed in fresh and in Papanicolaou-stained smears by CASA and light microscopy; the presence of macrophages, spermiophages, ETs and hyperviscosity were recorded while neutrophilic concentration was calculated. Two control groups were designed: a) Patients belonging to group 2, studied before de pandemia (n: 13); b) Culture-negative semen samples (n: 28).Results: In the first group, ETs were observed in all the samples, while only 18% had leucospermia. Macrophages, spermiophages, and hyperviscosity were recorded in 68%, 27%, and 36% of the studied cases respectively.In the second group, ETs were present 100% in the acute phase (< 90 days after diagnosis) and decreased to 71% in the later stage (90 to 270 days). The trapped sperm were non-progressive motile or immotile alive or dead.No traps were found in either control group.Conclusion: In our study ETs were the most sensitive seminal marker of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Iin 2015 we obtained non-hermitian extensions of Heisenberg type and Schrödinger type uncertainty relations for generalized metric adjusted skew information or generalized metric adjusted correlation measure and gave the results of Dou-Du in 2013 and 2014 as corollaries. In this paper, we define generalized quasi-metric adjusted Q skew information for different two generalized states and obtain corresponding uncertainty relation. The result is applied to the inequalities related to fidelity and trace distance for different two generalized states which were given by Audenaert, et al. in 2009 and 2008; and Powers-Strmer in 1970. 2010 Mathematics Subject Classification: 15A45, 47A63, 94A17.

Background: Because of a possible risk of induction of Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) by defibrillation of atrial fibrillation (AF) postulated by LOWN and coworkers, synchronized cardioversion is used worldwide. This prospective, randomized study assessed the efficacy and safety between R-wave controlled cardioversion and defibrillation of AF at 2 study centers in Cologne, Germany. Hypothesis: Defibrillation is not significantly different from cardioversion primarily in the occurrence of VF or sustained Ventricular Tachycardia (VT) and secondarily in restoring sinus rhythm, inducing non-sustained VT, asystole, or bradycardia.Methods: 146 patients at an outpatient practice and 122 at the university hospital were randomized to cardioversion (n = 140) or defibrillation (n = 124).Results: Cardioversion was successful in 92.1% of cases and defibrillation in 87.1%. The difference in efficacy was not statistically significant. In n = 1 patients receiving defibrillation, VF occurred after the first shock (200J) and immediate defibrillation (200J) restored sinus rhythm. In the n = 1 case, asystole occurred during cardioversion which terminated spontaneously. In n = 1 patients cardioverted and n = 2 who were defibrillated, sinus bradycardia occurred requiring Atropine in two cases. There were no thromboembolic events within 10 days. N = 9 patients reverted to AF within two hours. No patients died. Conclusion: Electrical conversion of AF can be performed with similar results and low risk with both R-wave-triggered cardioversion and defibrillation. In particular, defibrillation with higher energies (> 100J) can be performed as effectively and safely without a statistically significant increased risk of VF or VT. There was no difference in efficacy and risk between electrotherapy performed in the outpatient and inpatient settings.