All Articles in March, 2021

Internet has become an important part of our life, including during pregnancy where it is broadly used to find information (84%). The aims of this study were (1) to describe the proportion of women using Internet Social Networks (ISN) concerning their pregnancy, during pre or postpartum hospital stay, (2) to define how ISN users refer to their pregnancy and delivery on these social networks, (3) to compare anxiety level, social sustain level, sociodemographic characteristics of the both population (4) and to determine profiles of the ISN users with multiple correspondence analysis. Methods: 399 questionnaires were distributed in the postpartum wards of two academic hospitals in Paris, and 258 fully filled were retrieved. Tools: Anxiety scale (STAI- A and B), Cutrona Social Provisions Scale, sociodemographic and obstetrical questionnaire. Results: 76% (n = 195) were ISN users. We compared ISN users versus ISN non users women. Demographically, the two populations were comparable. Anxiety scores were similar in both groups, whereas social support scores showed a statistical difference in social integration. In the global population, 84% use Internet for information concerning pregnancy; this rate is higher for ISN users than ISN non users (tendency 0.058). ISN were used in priority for sharing with relatives, and 10% with other pregnant women. Concerning pregnancy, patients posted in priority the birth announcement (28%), the pregnancy announcement (23%), and the newborn’s pictures (12%). 6% posted their fetuses’ ultrasound pictures. Three clusters of ISN users were extracted with statistically different social support scores (p = 0.019) and comparable anxiety scores. The third one, with at risk profile, used ISN as social support. For all women, but specifically for younger and more socially fragile women, Internet gives to professional new perspectives to develop information and prevention tools during the perinatal period.

A term neonate was transferred from a Local Neonatal Unit to our surgical Neonatal Intensive Care Unit on Day 2 due to abdominal distension with radiological appearances suggestive of intestinal obstruction. He was born by Caesarean section with no risk factors for sepsis. He was intubated at birth for increased work of breathing and failed planned extubation on Day 1. 

Background: Recent years have seen chaos in the neonatology use of antibiotics with diverse opinions and recommendations in international guidelines and societies. This has created great uncertainty in which cases to use, for how long, and which tests apply to make these decisions. We conducted a retrospective cohort study about the use of antibiotics in the EpicLatino neonatal units and a Latin American network database, after noting these variations in the 2019 report. Methods: For the year 2019 using the EpicLatino database, we included cases (only first admission) ≤ 32 weeks gestational age at birth, excluding one unit that did not accept to participate. The number of cases and days receiving antibiotics were recorded as well as the progression for each unit. Inappropriate use of antibiotics was defined as greater than 3 days in patients with negative cultures (blood/CSF cultures) excluding: major malformations, urinary tract infections, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and cases with suspected chorioamnionitis in the mother (the latter two only during the course of diagnosis of NEC or chorioamnionitis). Results: A total of 6,543 days of antibiotics were observed, 49.5% of cases had at least one positive blood/CSF culture. A total of 595 days of antibiotics without justification were found in 72 courses in 61 cases: 19.4% had no diagnosis of infection in the database, 9.7% did not document any culture throughout their stay, and 51,4% obtained only one blood/CSF culture during their entire stay. In the 58 cases with diagnosis of infection: 41% were clinical sepsis and a diagnosis of pneumonia with a poor positive culture correlation was found. Furthermore, 74% of the unit’s didn´t use pneumonia as a justification to use antibiotics. Other diagnosis found: Conjunctivitis, NEC 1A and rotavirus NEC. Conclusion: Although the method of reviewing the use of antibiotics in a database has a number of limitations, especially the cause that motivated the use of antibiotics and other tools used for diagnosis of infections, the notable differences between units is striking. Although it is difficult to make recommendations to all units, it is important to control infections in some units and in others to reduce the excessive use of antibiotics, especially with diagnosis of pneumonia in neonates and negative blood/CSF cultures.

The major use of alternative light sources (ALS) in the evaluation of bloodstains has been primarily focused on detection of whole blood, with relatively little attention to visualization of blood serum. Serum may become separated from blood pools during clotting, and because it is relatively invisible on certain backgrounds, go undetected by a perpetrator attempting to clean up a crime scene. Recently, Ultraviolet 365 (UV 365) was shown to be an effective tool in blood evaluation, useful for detection of even minute quantities of blood serum. Here the effects of environmental conditions on blood serum stain appearance were evaluated, including temperature, pH, protease sensitivity, solubility, and aging. Interestingly, it was found that the UV fluorescence of serum increases upon exposure to heat, which was accompanied by color changes under visible light and decreased solubility in multiple solvents. The efficiency of visualization of serum stains was somewhat variable, depending on the type of material on which it was dried. Finally, the current study documents the effect of heating on formation of fluorescent serum halo rings in dried bloodstains. Taken together, these data demonstrate that blood serum detection may be affected by certain conditions that influence its visualization under both visible and UV light.

Paediatric hospitals frequently have to face the lack of commercially available medicines suitable or even licensed for their use in paediatrics. Thus, only one-third of all medicines approved by the European Medicines Agency over the period of 1995 to 2005 were licensed for use in children [1]. 

Knowing the possible origin of sexist attitudes in adolescents is essential when educating them to avoid gender violence derived from them. Nurses have an important role in education for the health of children and adolescents, so we must study the risk factors that lead to these attitudes and how to prevent them. Some studies such as Landripet, et al. have undertaken to study the association between frequency of pornography use and preference for violent and coercive content in male adolescents. Sexism and pornography use have been associated by various authors. Hostile sexism is the most obvious and traditional form, based on the supposed inferiority or difference of women as a group. According to benevolent sexism, women are understood as deserving of affection, respect and protection, as long as they are limited to certain traditional feminine roles. The second is even more difficult to detect. Our aim in this work is to evaluate ambivalent sexist attitudes in young adolescents in the province of Jaén and check whether there is a relationship between use of pornography and sexual content, and the kinds of sexism studied, in order to be able to prevent these attitudes as nurses through health education. The final sample was made up of 150 participants from all school years, belonging to the same secondary school, 74 male and 76 female. They were aged between 12 and 18 years old. One of the conclusions of this work has been that the use of new technologies is in addition starting at even younger ages due to the situation of online teaching due to the pandemic, and it has been observed that age at first use is a determining factor.

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is a common presenting complaint in paediatrics. Most often, the reason for admission into hospital is to initiate intravenous rehydration in patients with severe dehydration and inability to tolerate oral intake. We found that Ondansetron acts as a potent antiemetic to support an increased number of children receiving oral hydration, and subsequently leading to decreased rates of admission. This study aims to audit the use of Ondansetron to Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) on children with acute gastroenteritis, and its effect on admission rates from the emergency department in University Hospital, Limerick (UHL). Data collected over a 3-month period from June to August 2017 in which Ondansetron was not used was compared to another 3-month period when Ondansetron was used. Several outcomes were measured including admission to hospital. The rate of admission decreased by 15% [26/74 (35%) in 2017 to 16/81 (20%) in 2019 p = 0.22]. 81 patients received Ondansetron, of which 79% were successfully rehydrated orally. The administration of Ondansetron reduced the need for intravenous fluids and hospital admission overall in these children with AGE. This reduction ultimately accounted for lower costs incurred by the Health Services Executive per patient, and also suggested the anti-emetic use as a cost effective measure for managing and treating patients with AGE.

Background: Diarrhea and nutrient deficiency worsen each other, and zinc is recommended to be included in clinical management of diarrhea. Therefore, this investigation was done to assess zinc prescription practice to children with diarrhea, identify factors associated with zinc prescription, and assess caregivers’ zinc’s perceived cost and willingness to pay for. Methods: A health institution based cross-sectional study was done. Caretakers of 609 children with diarrhea attending health centers in Addis Ababa were included. Logistic regression was applied to identify variables associated with zinc prescription. Results: Zinc was prescribed to 62.1% of children. About 74.9% of the caregivers were willing to pay for zinc. Previous use of zinc (AOR = 2.3; 95% CI: 1.34-4.01), exposure to zinc related message (AOR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.53-4.60) and willingness to pay for zinc (AOR = 6.9; 95% CI: 3.84-12.66) were associated with zinc prescription. Conclusion: Zinc was not administered to considerable proportion of children with diarrhea. Previous use of zinc, exposure to zinc related message and willingness to pay for positively contributed to zinc prescription. Health care workers shall be encouraged on zinc prescription. Intervention to increase willingness to pay for zinc and zinc benefit communication shall be strengthened in parallel with operational researches.

Related COVID-19 and new Variant and treatment like vaccine it is relevant to deeply verify the immunologic implication and in a special way regarding the innate immune sensor system and the evasion of the immune system. This can be crucial to search for new strategies to fight this severe disease under a Toxicology-antidotes point of view. The rapid emergence of a new variant is under study by researchers because some of these show different responses to antibodies as reported in literature (vaccine efficacy?). In this article after a review part it is submitted a collection of hypothesis of solution to contrast COVID-19. Spread and mortality and project hypothesis. A new toxicological approach also in a viral respiratory disease can be a novelty to adequately fight this severe condition and this focusing not only towards specific immunity but also a specific measures. A toxicological approach in drug- vaccine like products designing makes it possible to get the clinical outcomes needed.

Biliary cystadenoma is a rare cystic tumor of the liver. It has a high recurrence rate and malignant transformation risk in middle-aged women. Pre-operative diagnosis is difficult because of the lack of clinical, biological and radiological specificity. The confirmation of the diagnosis is made by the histopathological examination. Complete surgical resection is preferred because of the high risk of malignant transformation and recurrence.

Important differences has been found in assessing the effects of obesity on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk [1]. Interestingly, accurate estimation of the body composition (BC) is highly relevant from a public health perspective [2], and it has the importance of being essential in establishing the impact of adiposity on increased myocardial infarction (MI) risk. However, in non-randomized studies, baseline differences of BC between groups to be compared may introduce bias in results.

Meigs syndrome is an uncommon presentation, where a benign ovarian neoplasia presents along with ascites and pleural effusion. About 1% of ovarian neoplasia can present as Meigs syndrome. Patients with Meigs’ syndrome and elevated serum CA-125 are not frequently reported. We report a case of a 50-year-old women who presented with shortness of breath, cough, weight loss of one and half month duration. Chest radiograph of the patient with clinical examination of patient confirms pleural effusion as cause of progressive shortness of breath. The presence of a pelvic mass and elevated serum CA-125, which raised the possibility of malignancy. After complete resection of tumor, the pathologic reports confirmed a benign ovarian neoplasia. We highlight the importance of suspicion, careful general examination, radiological assessment and histological tests to confirm the diagnosis of Meigs’ syndrome.

The Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome is the most severe form of congenital malformation of the inner female reproductive tract. It is diagnosed as such when the uterus, the upper vagina and optionally the Fallopian tubes are absent. It accounts for approximately 1 in 5000 live-born females and has been classified in two subtypes: type 1 in the presence of isolated uterovaginal aplasia and type 2 when associated in various combinations with extragenital malformations of the kidneys, skeleton, heart and auditory system. Most cases of MRKH syndrome are sporadic, although a significant number of many familial cases have been reported to date. Despite numerous studies, the genetics of the syndrome remains largely unknown and appears to be heterogeneous: chromosomal abnormalities and some candidate gene variants appear to be associated with a few cases; others have been suggested but not yet confirmed. To date, mainly the GREB1L gene appears to be a serious candidate. Among the remaining hypotheses, the controversial contribution of partial duplications of the SHOX gene is still puzzling, as the deficiency of this gene is a major cause of skeletal adysplasia syndromes. We have attempted to resolve this controversy in a study of 60 MRKH cases. Our results tend to show that SHOX duplications can be the origin of a genetic mechanism responsible for MRKH syndrome.

The outbreak of new coronavirus acute respiratory disease (SARS-CoV-2) has been a major global challenge for the scientific community to save humanity. While, the unviability of the vaccine keeps most classes of society, especially African countries, suffer from the healthcare problem. Conventional medicine plants become the alternative method for the therapeutic because it contains valuable bioactive compounds. This brief review devoted the importance of medicinal plants such as Citrus, olive, garlic, ginger, green tea, woad, broad-leaf privet, Japanese torreya, and saffron crocus, by their antiviral effects (anti-SARS coronavirus, anti-HSV, and anti-HIV diseases) and their promising uses as probable boosters of the immune and anti-inflammatory response from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Based on scientific reports, bioactive compounds could inhibit 3-chymotrypsin-like cysteine protease and human protein ACE2, where these facts can be attractive to develop effective drugs. 

Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is one of the main complications of spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage and one of its causes is the cortical spreading depolarizations (CSDs). Cortical spreading depolarizations are waves of neuronal and glial depolarizations in which there is loss of neuronal ionic homeostasis with potassium efflux and sodium and calcium influx. In damaged brain areas and brain areas at risk, such as those adjacent to subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), CSDs induce microvascular vasoconstriction and, therefore, hypoperfusion and spread of ischemia. Several studies have been devoted to minimize secondary injuries that occur hours to days after an acute insult. Ketamine, a drug until recently contraindicated in the neurosurgical population for potentially causing intracranial hypertension, has re-emerged as a potential neuroprotective agent due to its pharmacodynamic effects at the cellular level. These effects include anti-inflammatory mechanisms, and those of microthrombosis and cell apoptosis controls, and of modulation of brain excitotoxicity and CSDs. A literature review was performed at PubMed covering the period from 2002 to 2019. Retrospective studies confirmed the effects of ketamine on the control of CSDs and, consequently, of DCI in patients with SAH, but did not show improvement in clinical outcome. The influence of ketamine on the occurrence/development of DCI needs to be further confirmed in prospective randomized studies

Purpose: In an aspect of qualitative treatment, this research gathered lung cancer patients’ actual experiences to understand deeply, such as their expectation for treatment results, their difficulties during treatment, and their various requests to their family and medical teams. Methods: From May to June 2013, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 9 lung cancer patients. Data were collected through a tape-recorded in-depth interview. The analysis of the data was made through the qualitative method. Results: 124 themes regarding the experience were found. From these 35 concepts, 24 subcategories were emerged. The core category was enduring hardship of the treatment with the hope for full recovery. Six categories included ‘Wishing to be cured but concern about recurrence’, ‘Receiving radiation treatment with pleasure and difficult at the same time’. ‘Being sorry for their family’s full support and trying to stand alone‘, ‘Having confidence in their medical team’, ‘regretting for their old days’, and ‘Wanting to live a long life without illness and pain’. Conclusion: The results of this study would help oncology nurses to understand the lung cancer patients receiving concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (CCRT) and to develop a quality of life improvement program for physical, psychosocial, and spiritual aspects of nursing.

An experimental study of fluoride (F) accumulation in Abelmoschus esculentus var. Soh-198 and its effect on the growth and crop yield was conducted in a pot experiment. Eight different concentrations of F in the water were used for irrigation ranging from 2 to 14 ppm with distilled water as the control. Potentiometric determinations of the F content in different parts of the plant were made 45, 60, and 120 days after sowing the seeds (first, second, and third harvest, respectively). At the third harvest the highest mean plant part concentrations of F were recorded with 14 ppm F in the irrigation water: 9.0638 mg/kg in the roots, 5.6896 mg/kg in shoot, 4.5348 mg/kg in leaf and 3.563 mg/kg in fruit.

It is the dart that penetrates deep into my soul, every time I see with my own eyes how the incidence of cancer has grown in recent years. I am a pathologist. I am dedicated to diagnosing the disease from the cellular and tissue point of view. The answer to the question that haunts me may seem easy, simple, but I am not satisfied with knowing that advances in technology make it possible to diagnose a greater number of entities, many of them in early stages [1]. Of course, this statement is true. However, in recent years we have verified a greater number of cases with aggressive phenotypes, a fact that makes us ask ourselves certain questions. The first one is: Why? We know that cancer is a multifactorial disease in which genetics and different environmental factors participate. Are we witnessing the concurrence of factors that facilitate the greatest degree of neoplasms? Are habits the cause of this paradigm shift? On the table for debate is the therapeutic success of new strategies, of new drugs, of new algorithms, but the morphology is also changing. This change is exacerbated in the times of pandemic that we have lived through [2]. Pathologists attend a number of cancer diagnoses that have grown exponentially, as has the histological grade, not the staging, of it. And the initial question remains in the air, why? The fear of going to the hospital, the fear of self-exploration, the diversion of media attention to topics that arouse greater interest ... may be having a harmful effect on the health of patients [3]. I do not tell anything new, at least nothing that cannot be assumed by analyzing what happens every day in this new world, a world that will soon have to face, if not already, a cut in resources, research and other parameters that will negatively influence the answers to the eternal question: Why? In the era of personalized medicine, the same one that has reached or is close to reaching great milestones in the survival of once-deadly diseases, the microscope shows a parallel reality and allows, at least, to be pessimistic, or at least realistic: suffering…

A clinical case of treatment of two severe intrabony defects on the aesthetic zone is reported and followed for one year. The biomaterial of choice was enamel matrix derivative (Emdogain®; Straumann™) alone with a preservation papilla flap and a minimally invasive surgical technique. After surgical treatment, the patient was kept in a supportive periodontal therapy programme with 6-month interval between appointments. In the one year after surgery appointment, clinical and radiographic changes were observed, showing periodontal health and stability. 

Systemic arterial air embolism (SAAE) is a rare but serious complication of CT-guided hook wire localization of pulmonary nodule usually with catastrophic and poor outcome. Hook wire needle localization is done pre-operatively by placing wire around or into the pulmonary nodule to provide the thoracic surgeon accurate location guidance of the target nodule for Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) wedge resection with safety margins. Physicians should be aware of this possible complication during the procedure in order to rescue the patient promptly as it requires rapid diagnosis and management. We describe a 55-year-old male who underwent a CT-guided hook wire needle localization of left upper lobe lung cancer and left lower lobe pulmonary nodule prior to planned VATS wedge resection who developed altered mental status and bilateral lower extremities paralysis after wire placement was completed. His CT head demonstrated small air embolism in the left occipital area, confirming the diagnosis of cerebral air embolism and follow up CT and MRI of the head revealed multiple areas of brain infarction. In addition, he was diagnosed with anterior spinal cord syndrome (ACS), most likely due to anterior spinal artery ischemia from micro air embolism on the basis of clinical findings but with negative ischemic changes on MRI of the spinal cord. His mental status recovered but he remained paraplegic and transferred to inpatient rehabilitation service.

Introduction: Risk factors for systemic reactions (SRs) from hymenoptera venom (HV) allergy are well known in the adult population but they have been little studied in the pediatric one. Method: The aim of our study was to identify risk factors for SRs in a population of children allergic to HV, comparing a series of clinical (age, gender, atopy, asthma) and laboratory (total IgE, tryptase, venom-specific IgE levels) variables between patients with at least two large local reactions (LLRs) and patients with SRs of different severity for the identified insect. We selected a population of HV allergic children aged < 15 years with LLRs or SRs stratified according to Mueller grades after stinging. Results: The population included 80 children, 35 with at least 2 LLRs and 45 with SRs. The level of specific IgE for vespid (Polistes dominula, Vespula species) venoms was significantly higher (p = 0.0321) in children with SRs (Mueller grade II+III+IV) than in those with LLRs and the same significance was also found for specific IgE for Apis mellifera, considering SRs group (Mueller grade I+II+III+IV) in respect with LLRs group (p = 0.0001). Conclusion: The main difference in our pediatric population was the highest level of specific IgE in children with a history of SRs compared to those with a history of LLRs for both vespids and honey bees. These results, once confirmed on a larger population, could suggest the opportunity to follow the behavior of venom specific IgE in children with LLRs to reveal a risk to develop future more serious reactions.

In recent years there has been increasing concern about the growing burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in developing countries. Systemic hypertension remains the commonest form of CVD and is identified as a key modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular adverse events are public health priorities. This review highlights the potential barriers and challenges to hypertension care in Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, and proffers relevant recommendations.

The study attempted to answer several questions: Does the cultural and social background of immigrant youth from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) affect their use of addictive substances? Do these youth show distinctive patterns of drug and alcohol abuse? Do the addictive substances used by these teenagers share similar characteristics? Are the patterns of drug abuse and alcohol abuse different? Do students in different educational frameworks demonstrate different consumption patterns? Can “critical moments” explain the presence or absence of alcohol and drug abuse?

Background: The acaricidal action of Ozonized sunflower oil (OSO) has demonstrated in different clinical cases of different animal species, such as psoroptic rabbits and pig sarcoptic scabies and recently in demodesic goat. Objectives: This study evaluated the effectiveness of OSO as treatment for generalized demodicosis mange in dogs. Animals: Twenty dogs of different breeds, between six months and one year of age with generalized demodicosic mange that attended to Veterinary Clinic “José Luis Callejas” Havana, Cuba, during the year 2015, were included in the study. Methods: The demodicosis diagnostic was based on its clinical history, the mite’s presence by deep scraping and clinical signs. All cases had a history of receiving before conventional treatments without solution. OSO treatment was topically applied daily, every 12 hours, after shaving all affected areas. Monitoring of clinical signs, mite counting on scaling, pruritus and capillary regrowth (7, 14, 28, 56 and 84 days) were performed. Results: The results showed a significant reduction of mite counts, clinical signs and pruritus since the 7th day of application. The animals recovered the fur on more than 90% of the body surface. All the animals (100%) recovered from generalized demodesic mange in 84 days of treatment. Conclusion: The effectiveness and safety of OSO as election treatment of generalized demodicosis mange in dogs was demonstrated.

This article presents an overview of information regarding Acanthamoeba keratitis per epidemiology, host-pathogen interactions, clinical manifestations, risk factors, environmental implications, diagnosis, treatment and management as well as COVID-19 characteristics which may be taken into cognizance for suspected infected patients, researchers and ophthalmologic practitioners. Acanthamoeba spp. is pathogenetically ubiquitous in nature. Acanthamoeba keratitis is considerably an ocular-threatening and debilitating keratitis that exhibits contumacious characteristics which hinder or impede treatment or management. At inception, Acanthamoeba generally depicts atypical clinical features which are frequently misdiagnosed as other microbial keratitis. Fundamentally, it constitutes a rare corneal infection of which the aetiologic agent is the protozoon Acanthamoeba spp. in contact lens wearers, presenting features of severe ophthalmic distress, blurred vision, blepharospasm, ocular excoriation, extraneous entity sensation and photophobia culminating in aberrant visual functionality. These are perspicuously due to retarded prompt and adequate treatment and management. Personal and environmental hygiene, especially on the hands, face and ocular areas as advised for the COVID-19 protocol could prevent contamination and dissemination of Acanthamoeba keratitis infection. The differentiating relatedness of Acanthamoeba keratitis, COVID-19 ophthalmologic infections and other ocular problems may not have been clearly elucidated.

 23-year-old man had a 2-year history of ketamine abuse and presented intermittent abdominal pain, urinary urgency and dysuria for one year. Two weeks ago, laboratory analysis showed within normal limits. This time, he visited our emergency department due to hematuria and bilateral flank pain. CT scan and MRI revealed bilateral hydronephrosis, hydroureter, irregular thickened wall of urinary bladder, and fusiform common bile duct with distal stenosis

A 58-year-old hypertensive man presented to our insti-tution with acute chest pain and dizziness. Electrocardiogram revealed inferior wall myocardial infarction with suspected right ventricular involvement (Figure 1A). Computed tomographic aortography (CTA) depicted ascending aortic dissection (AAD) with involvement of bilateral carotid, subclavian, and right common iliac arteries (Figure 1B). Replacements of aortic valve and ascending aorta with CABG (Ao-RSVG1-LAD and Ao-RSVG2-RCA) were conducted. 

Advances in metagenomics have facilitated population studies of associations between microbial compositions and host properties, but strategies to minimize biases in these population analyses are needed. However, the effects of storage conditions, including freezing and preservation buffer, on microbial populations in fecal samples have not been studied sufficiently. In this study, we investigated metagenomic differences between fecal samples stored in different conditions. We collected 46 fecal samples from patients with lung cancer. DNA quality and microbial composition within different storage Methods were compared throughout 16S rRNA sequencing and post analysis. DNA quality and sequencing results for two storage conditions (freezing and preservation in buffer) did not differ significantly, whereas microbial information was better preserved in buffer than by freezing. In a metagenomic analysis, we observed that the microbial compositional distance was small within the same storage condition. Taxonomic annotation revealed that many microbes differed in abundance between frozen and buffer-preserved feces. In particular, the abundances of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes varied depending on storage conditions. Microbes belonging to these phyla differed, resulting in biases in population metagenomic analysis. We suggest that a unified storage Methods is requisite for accurate population metagenomic studies.

The research was conducted in the Gross section of Veterinary Anatomy laboratory with the aim of preparation and comparing some skeleton bones of local domestic turkey and guinea fowl. Samples were purchased, sacrifice, feather and excess flesh were removed and boiled using water to produce the bones. The duration of process was recorded. Comparative biometry study was conducted on some selected bones (scapular, coracoid, furcular and tibiotarsus) and the bones were mounted using wooden stand, copper wire, and adhesive gum with the aim of enhancing avian teaching. Based on the processes of the research. It was recommended to use plastic materials in production of skeletal models to avoid deterioration of bones for proper teaching in veterinary anatomy.

Cervical cancer constitutes an issue in public health, becoming the leading cause of death by cancer in women between 20-40 years of age in Latin America. In Argentina 5000 new cases are diagnosed each year, where more than 56% are in advanced stages. The aim of the present current opinion or critical review article is to remark the importance of the prognostic significance of the Central Tumor Size in stages IIB and IIIB cervical cancer, as well as to propose a new FIGO Staging System for Cervical cancer and trying to find out a role for the different therapeutic strategies for those cases.

Borderline Ovarian Tumors (BOT) tend to present more frequently nowadays, especially in younger women. Furthermore fertility preservation and laparoscopic management is often desired and therefore appropriate counselling is challenging and the treatment selection must be made on evidence based medicine. Adnexal mass could be a random finding when a typical gynecologic examination is performed. The diagnostic algorithm for possible BOT is the same as for any ovarian tumor, but the treatment options and techniques may vary based on patient’s willing to preserve her fertility or not. Laparoscopic or laparotomy approach has similar results although intraoperative findings and frozen section may redirect the primary treatment planning. When an initial conservative approach is chosen, a secondary approach including total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with staging should be considered. Hence a full counselling is recommended before any primary approach.

The economic inequalities associated with suicide risks among 50 states in the United States were identified in this paper to form the dynamic panel data set from 1981 to 2016. The effects of growing income inequalities on suicides in the Unites States were estimated using the Arellano–Bond method. This paper is the first to associate the social inequalities with suicides using the state-level dynamic panel data in America. It is found that the change of unemployment rates significantly and positively impact the changes of the overall suicides rates, female and male suicides rates. The changes of Top 10% income index are uniformly positive to the change of female, male and overall state-level suicide rates. The Gini index has positive correspondence within the overall and female groups, along with the insignificantly vague evidence within the male groups. The potential endogeneity problem inferring from the fixed effect estimation has been also investigated accordingly. JEL Classification: A13, A14, I18. 

The NIH has published treatment guidelines for treating COVID-19 patients in the hospital. However, as of this writing, there are no established protocols for treating COVID-19 positive patients in primary care. Accordingly, this investigator has taken on the task of reviewing the medical literature to be able to propose evidence-based protocols for treating COVID-19 positive patients in primary care. The CDC is advising people to do nothing when they find out they are positive for COVID-19 unless they have symptoms. The evidence from the literature irrefutably shows COVID-19 infection evokes a massive and deadly hyperinflammatory response called the “Cytokine storm” and that Cytokine levels in the blood have a predictive value in identifying an impending Cytokine storm. With such data primary care providers can effectively lower Cytokine levels and prevent critical illness and death. Accordingly, this paper presents identification of the problem of not having standard practices in primary care for people who are positive for COVID-19 and not knowing who is at risk. Moreover, the evidence shows that knowing vitamin D levels and correcting deficiencies can go a long way in reducing Cytokine levels. Additionally, the literature review presents evidence that undeniably shows the stark possibility that many of the COVID-19 related deaths can be prevented by identifying who is at risk for the Cytokine storm and other complications and providing early treatment even before symptoms appear.

The sequence-independent, single-primer amplification (SISPA) enables the random amplification of nucleic acids, allowing the detection and genome sequencing of different viral agents. This feature of SISPA method provides evidence for application of it in monitoring the presence of adventitious RNA viruses in cell cultures. We evaluated SISPA method for the detection of a challenge RNA virus representing adventitious agent in cell cultures. Besides, by optimizing the SISPA method in our laboratory, we found false-positive results on negative control lanes in electrophoresis gels. To investigate the sources of contamination, false-positive results of SISPA were cloned into Escherichia coli cells, sequenced, and phylogenetically analyzed. This data revealed that the SISPA method can be used as an adjunct method to confirm the absence of unexpected adventitious RNA viruses in cell cultures. The phylogenetic analysis of SISPA contaminant sequences showed that the false-positive results were caused by nucleic acid amplification of commercial cDNA synthesis kit reagents, probably tracing back to expression plasmids and host ribosomal sequences, used for the production of enzymes. Therefore, laboratories using random amplification methods must be constantly aware of the potentials of such contaminations, yielding false-positive results and background noise in the final NGS reads.

Here I contrast the skeletal and cardiac muscle in terms of the control muscle growth and of sarcomere component synthesis. The differences are major and reflect the long term needs of the two systems. With the skeletal system there is growth of both the number of myocytes and the sarcomere components within them dependent on demand made of the muscle. Unlike skeletal muscles the normal adult heart is greatly restricted in size, number of myocytes and their content of contractile proteins, i.e. there is little change on demand. Over time proteins get damaged or decay and for the normal heart this implies a strictly controlled maintenance synthesis of sarcomere components. From the studies of abnormal, mutated systems there is one thing inherent to and more pronounced in cardiac muscle, the FrankStarling Law of the Heart derived from the angiotensin ii type 1 receptor that my studies indicate is central to the control of sarcomere component synthesis.

During the last few decades painstaking efforts have been made to eliminate iodine deficiency through the world. Nowadays in regions where dietary iodine intake is adequate or borderline, the main focus is increasing dietary iodine supply in the target population during pregnancy and the first years of life. Severe iodine deficiency during pregnancy increases the risk of irreversible brain damage, intellectual disability, neurologic abnormalities, stunted growth, increased pregnancy loss, infant mortality, impairments in child development and cretinism. The potential effects of mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency are debated. Results from animal studies and observational human studies indicate that maternal mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency disturbs thyroid function in pregnancy and it also may affects fetal neurodevelopment. The effect of supplementation of iodine on thyroid function of pregnant women and their newborn, neurodevelopment of infants and cognitive performance of children have been investigated using iodine nutrition in pregnancy, based on median urinary iodine concentration. However they have found conflicting results regarding the benefits or harms of iodine supplementation in pregnancy. Although many epidemiological, interventional and clinical studies have supported the association between thyroid function in pregnant women and later psychomotor and mental development of their children, the effect of iodine supplementation in pregnant women on neurodevelopment of children is inconclusive. Even in areas with well-established universal salt iodization program, pregnancy could be at risk of having iodine deficiency and despite WHO/ICCIDD/UNICEF recommendation which believe that dietary iodine fortification during pregnancy depends primarily on the extent of pre-existing iodine deprivation, systematic dietary fortification needs to be implemented in this vulnerable group. However, iodine supplementation of mildly iodine deficient pregnant women may not have beneficial effects in their thyroid function or neurodevelopment of their children.

A 79 years old woman presented with one-day history of pain, redness, pain and swelling without discharge in her left ear, later her right ear started with the same symptoms as in her contralateral ear spreading around the scalp and the forehead (Figure 1), she denied fever, or other constitutional symptoms. 

Forensic analysts are more than ever facing challenges upon conducting their deep investigative analysis on digital devices due to the technological progression. Of these are the difficulties present upon analyzing web browser artefacts as this became more complicated when web browser companies introduced private browsing mode, a feature aiming to protect users’ data upon opening a private browsing session, by leaving no traces of data on the local device used. Aiming to investigate whether the claims of web browser companies are true concerning the protection private browsing provides to the users and whether it really doesn’t leave any browsing data behind, the most popular desktop browsers in Windows were analyzed after surfing them regularly and privately. The results shown in this paper suggest that the privacy provided varies among different companies since evidence might be recovered from some of the browsers but not from others.

Background: There is enough evidence to suggest that vancomycin increases the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) but the exact mechanism is not well understood. This study aims to understand the incidence of vancomycin-associated acute kidney injury (VA-AKI) among hospitalized patients and to identify the risk factors for VA-AKI. Methods: Patients aged 18 and above who received a minimum of 24 hours of intravenous vancomycin and who had serial creatinine measurements over a 13-month period were identified through electronic records. Patients with pre-existing AKI, or eGFR of less than 30ml/min, and patients with end stage kidney disease were excluded. Results were analyzed using t-test and Fisher’s test. A logistic regression model was used to identify the predictors for VA-AKI. Results: From the 598 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 70 developed AKI. Compared to those without AKI, patients with VA-AKI had higher mean serum vancomycin trough levels (22.6 mg/L vs. 14.6 mg/L), and a statistically significant longer duration of vancomycin use (6.7 vs. 5.2 days). Multivariate analysis revealed that serum vancomycin level of > 20 mg/L was associated with a six-fold increase in odds of VA-AKI when compared to those with vancomycin levels < 15 mg/L. The presence of hypotension, iodinated contrast use, and concomitant use of piperacillin-tazobactam were all associated with increased odds of VA-AKI. Conclusion: The incidence of VA-AKI in hospitalized patients with eGFR > 30 ml/min was 11.7%. Serum vancomycin levels of > 20 mg/L, hypotension and administration of iodinated contrast significantly increased the risk of VA-AKI. Piperacillin-tazobactam, when used with vancomycin, was noted to be an independent predictor of AKI, regardless of serum vancomycin trough levels, prompting a reevaluation of the safety of this widespread practice as empiric therapy. Close monitoring of kidney function, avoiding high serum vancomycin levels, maintaining hemodynamic stability, and avoiding unnecessary use of iodinated contrast seem to be essential for the prevention of VA-AKI.

Background: Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a rare and life-threatening complication of prostate carcinoma. Whether plasma exchange has a role in treatment remains a subject of debate. Here we present a case followed by a systematic review of the literature on this subject. Case report: We describe a 69-year old patient presenting with TMA, which was associated with an underlying metastatic prostate carcinoma. We conducted a search of similar cases in literature. Results: Our patient was treated and responded well on plasma exchange. Systematic review of the literature showed 17 additional cases of TMA associated with prostate carcinoma of which eleven were treated with plasma exchange with mostly good response. Conclusion: Based on current data we cannot exclude a potential role for plasma exchange in prostate cancer associated TMA.

Objective: This preliminary study focused on the description of some dysfunctional perceptions of the body image and eating habits in a sample of young. Methods: The results obtained by 55 amateur and professional volleyball players belonging to volleyball sports clubs located in the province of Reggio Emilia were examined. The age of the sample is in a range between 11 and 44 years. The participants completed the Pisa Survey for Eating Disorders (PSED), a questionnaire aimed at examining eating behavior and the perception of one’s body image. The athletes’ height and body weight were subsequently detected through direct measurement. Conclusion: The data collected through the self-evaluation questionnaire and the measurements carried out by the study made it possible to analyze the perception of the body image and the eating habits of the volleyball players belonging to the sample and to compare them with the data in the literature. The data, albeit preliminary, allow us to confirm the existence of the discrepancy between the real body image and the desired one, in a group of young athletes, who favors the adoption of non-adaptive coping strategies to control one’s own weight and body shapes typical of the vicious circle - strict diet, bingeing episodes, compensatory behaviors - which characterizes eating disorders (ED). It is therefore considered essential that body image assessment is a practice implemented in the assessment routine of these athletes, especially in consideration of the fact that body image disturbance is a very common feature in this category and is one of the main risk factors of EDs.

The RNA interference (RNAi) technique is a new modality for cancer therapy, and several candidates are being tested clinically. Nanotheranostics is a rapidly growing field combining disease diagnosis and therapy, which ultimately may add in the development of ‘personalized medicine’. Technologies on theranostic nanomedicines has been discussed. We designed and developed bioresponsive and fluorescent hyaluronic acid-iodixanol nanogels (HAI-NGs) for targeted X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging and chemotherapy of MCF-7 human breast tumors. HAI-NGs were obtained with a small size of ca. 90 nm, bright green fluorescence and high serum stability from hyaluronic acid-cystamine-tetrazole and reductively degradable polyiodixanol-methacrylate via nanoprecipitation and a photo-click crosslinking reaction. This chapter presents an over view of the current status of translating the RNAi cancer therapeutics in the clinic, a brief description of the biological barriers in drug delivery, and the roles of imaging in aspects of administration route, systemic circulation, and cellular barriers for the clinical translation of RNAi cancer therapeutics, and with partial content for discussing the safety concerns. Finally, we focus on imaging-guided delivery of RNAi therapeutics in preclinical development, including the basic principles of different imaging modalities, and their advantages and limitations for biological imaging. With growing number of RNAi therapeutics entering the clinic, various imaging methods will play an important role in facilitating the translation of RNAi cancer therapeutics from bench to bedside.

The article describes the interaction of anorexic patients, hospitalized in the Regional Pilot Psychiatric Service for the treatment of Anorexia in the Molinette Hospital of Turin, with the reading volunteering group. On the basis of said interaction, the Creative Self is searched for in patients and shows into be present in different ways. It seems anyway enhanced by the presence in the reading group.

From my desk I could be watching the wind blow or the horses running. Practicing Medicine in a rural setting has these advantages: from time to time you can take the time to admire the beauty that surrounds you in the form of an obligatory pause within a marathon working day, and rest helps refresh your mind of prejudices to continue with the inescapable task that awaits us after a few minutes, the only ones allowed to order our thoughts.

Acute and subacute ischemia of the lower limbs represents a major emergency with a high in-hospital mortality, complication, and leg amputation rates. Treatment options for acute limb ischemia include systemic anticoagulation, followed by various catheter based options including infusion of fibrinolytic agents (pharmacological thrombolysis), pharmacomechanical thrombolysis, catheter-mediated thrombus aspiration, mechanical thrombectomy, and any combination of the above or open surgical intervention (thromboembolectomy or surgical bypass). Minor and major bleeding complication during catheter directed thrombolysis (CDT) especially at access site are frequent. Bleeding complications require often an interruption or termination of CDT affecting clinical outcome of the patients. Recently we examined a new access site bleeding protection device during CDT.

Since the discovery of glare illuminators, considerable efforts have been devoted to achieving a breakthrough of high light intensity on the order of magnitude. In this paper, we prepared strong flash blinding agents for the first time by using aluminum powder, oxidant, and adhesive as the main materials, and tris-(8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum (Al2Q3), triazoindolizine, or nano zinc oxide, etc. as electronic output brightener after mixing and granulation according to the developed formulation. It was discovered that the luminescence intensity was related to the thermal effect of the substance while the brightener only served as an auxiliary brightening effect to achieve energy non-destructive conversion. With the same formula, the luminescence intensities of glaze agents with ADN and potassium perchlorate as oxidants were slightly higher than that of ammonium perchlorate oxidant; the brightening effect of nano-zinc oxide was slightly higher than those of tris-(8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum (Al2Q3) and triazoindolizine. The luminescence intensity of the substance with a high thermal effect value was high, but the luminescence time was slightly short. Under identical conditions, the luminescence effect of nano-aluminum powder was obviously better than that of micro-aluminum powder with the highest luminescence intensity of 3.9 × 1010 ~ 1.9 × 1011 cd and the luminescence time of 39 - 48 ms. The effects of shell material and structure and the effect of heat-induced mode on the luminescence intensity were also investigated. The luminescence intensity of the glare agent with a high shell strength was high, but the luminescence time was slightly short. Moreover, the energy level of the brightener is excited under the induction of high temperatures, which leads to a blue shift to promote the chemical reaction of the material in a favorable direction. Finally, the optical radiation of the thermally induced high-temperature combustion system was analyzed from the aspects of thermal effect, combustion temperature, and chemiluminescence effect. A way to improve the optical radiation intensity of a high-temperature combustion system was proposed.

Introduction: Obesity defined as increased fatty mass is progressively rising in recently, even though its affects begins to all systems in childhood and adolescence periods, the most important morbidity and mortality reason of obesity is its effects on the cardiovascular system. Researches point out endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis as the reason of the cardiovascular system disease in obesity. The studies conducted on childhood period related to this subject are highly limited and the results of these are also controversial. Therefore in our study the effects of obesity on endothelial functions in children and adolescents was assessed by flow mediated dilation (FMD) method. In addition to that, effects of epidemiological, biochemical, hormonal and clinical features of cases to FMD were investigated. Material and method: A total number of 104 cases were cover in this study. Obese group (group 1) was consisted of 59 children whose body mass index (BMI) was ≥ 95th percentile and mean age was 12 ± 2.8 years old. The control group (group 2) consisted of 45 children whose body mass index (BMI) was between 25th -84th percentil and mean age was 11.4 ± 2.9 years old. The detailed history, epidemiological data and physical examination were performed. The population classified three groups according to sport activities. 97th percentile and higher values were accepted as morbid obesity. The blood pressure was measured with a mercury sphygmomanometer with utilizing the proper size cuff in compliance with the criterion used by the “National High Blood Pressure Education Program Working Group”. The complete blood count and biochemistry tests (renal and liver function tests, electrolytes, lipids, hsCRP) of the cases were analysed with biochemistry Roche Cobas Integra 800 and hormon assays of the cases (thyroid function tests, diurnal cortisol, ACTH, 17 OHP, prolactin, DHEA-S) were analysed by ECLIA method on Roche Elecsys 2010 device in the laboratory of our hospital. IR-HOMA values > 2.5 in prepuberal and > 4 in pubertal were defined as the insulin resistance. Bone ages of cases were evaluated with left hand wrist X-ray by using Greulich and Pyle Bone Age Atlas. flow mediated dilation (FMD) was used to assess the endothelial functions of all cases. The brachial artery was evaluated with SPG 12 MHz surface probes by using GE voluson ultrasound system in this method. FMD was expresses as percent (%) increase according to the basal vein dimension. 7% mean value was taken as the limit in the comparisons. Results: The ratio of male and female was 20/39 in group 1 and 14/31 in group 2. 32.3% of the cases in group 1 and 47.6% of the cases in group 2 were prepubertal. The waist and hip circumferences ratio of the group 1 (0.86 ± 0.05) was significantly higher than group 2 (0.80 ± 0.07). While there was no difference between groups 1 and 2 in terms of the birth weight, using duration period of vitamin D and beginning time to additional nutrition, breastfeeding duration of group 1 (10.6 ± 7.8 months) was significantly shorter than group 2 (14 ± 7.4 months). BMIs of the mothers in group 1 were statistically higher than the mothers in group 2 (27.5 ± 4.8 kg/m² and 24.3 ± 3.2 kg/m² respectively. The mean of IR-HOMA was 4 ± 2.9 in group 1 and 1.9 ± 0.8 in group 2 and there was the insulin resistance in 51% of the obese cases. The dyslipidemia was diagnosed in 38.5% of the cases in group 1. The systolic and diastolic blood pressures in group 1 (117 ± 12.2 mmHg and 73.7 ± 9.4 mmHg respectively) were significantly higher than in group 2 (107.5 ± 9.1 mmHg and 68.2 ± 7.1 mmHg respectively). Hypertension was determined in 25% of the cases included in group 1. The minimum values of FMD in groups 1 and 2 were 1.01% and 3.1% respectively. The maximum values of FMD in groups 1 and 2 were 9.7% and 15% respectively. The mean values of FMD was %5 ± 2.3 in group 1 and %8.1 ± 3.5 in group 2. Compared with group 2, group 1 demonstrated significantly impaired FMD. There was no association between FMD and the birth weight, breastfeeding duration, physical exercises in two groups. A negative correlation was found between FMD and BMI (p < 0.01, r = -0.402). The correlation was determined between FMD and BMI of the mother (p = 0.017, r = -0.305) and the presence of obese individuals in the family (p = 0.021, r =-0.413). It was found that a significant negative correlation between FMD and waist-hip circumference ratio (p = 0.003, r = -0.421). When each groups were assessed in terms of biochemical and hormonal characteristics, there was low negative correlation between FMD and uric acid level and strong negative correlation between FMD and ALT level were determined in group 1. Conclusion: In our study showed that the obesity begins in the childhood period may cause to the endothelial dysfunction. For this reason, according to our opinion, recognition prior indicators of endothelial dysfunction in early time may be helpful both to take the precautions required and to prevent cardiovascular complications in childhood and influences to the adult period. The rising sizes of the waist and hip circumferences, positive family history for obesity and obesity of the parents were determined as the most important parameters negative affecting FMD. Unlike the literature, the association between endothelial dysfunction and GGT level the indicator of the hepatosteatosis in obese children was also found as well as FMD and ALT have also a close association independent from BMI in this study. Thus, a different point of view was formed since ALT may possibly have a predictor value in the assessment of the endothelial functions and it is also found as a highlighted risk factors for the endothelial dysfunction in this study. Because of this reason, it can be recommended that when the liver function tests carry out in obese children it does not show only hepatosteatosis but also can be used as an early indicator of the cardiovascular complications of obesity. Another important subject to be emphasize that the ALT level in the childhood period may be an early cardiovascular risk indicator in both obese and nonobese children.