Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic and progressive disease without treatment that leads to death. Therefore, to control its progression to pulmonary hypertension is still a challenge. Moreover, there is no study that has investigated the Renin-Angiotensin System in patients with IPF. Objective: Verify the plasma concentrations of Angiotensin I, Angiotensin II (AngII), Angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang- (1-7)] and Alamandine in patients with IPF. Methods: Ten IPF patients, with or without PH, were included, and ten controls matched by sex and age. Quantitative plasma peptide concentrations (PPC) were expressed as mean and standard deviation or median and interquartile range. The Student Newman-Keuls t test was used for parametric data, Mann-Whitney for nonparametric data and, to compare proportions, the Fisher exact test was performed. The associations between clinical variables and the PPC were evaluated by Pearson or Spearman correlation coefficients. A p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The Alamandine plasma concentration was significantly (365%) lower in the IPF group and positively associated (r = 0.876) with pulmonary artery pressure (PAP). In addition, only in control group, the forced expiratory volume (FEV1%) was positively associated (p = 0.758) with Ang-(1-7). Conclusion: This study showed, for the first time, that there is a decrease in Alamandine participation in patients with IPF. The ACE-AngII-AT1 axis may be more active in this disease. In addition, our results suggest that Alamandine might be compensating the increase in PAP, as well as the Ang-(1-7) is improving the forced expiratory volume.

Objective: To identify the risk factors for marginal cord insertion (MCI). Material and Methods: This case-control study was carried out between 1st February and 30th June 2019. Singletons with and without MCI at delivery were recruited. Main variables analyzed included maternal age, parity, number of previous dilatation and curettage (D&C) or manual vacuum aspiration (MVA), time interval between each procedure and conception, cord insertion. Fisher’s exact test, t-test and logistic regression were used to compare data from both groups. Results: We found 60 cases of MCI (4.1%). The significant (p < 0.05) risk factors for MCI were past-history of D&C (aOR 5.97, 95% CI 1.95-18.25) particularly when conception occurred ˂ 5 months after D&C (OR 10.5, 95% CI 1.36-81.05), fetal female sex (aOR 3.82, 95% CI 1.41-10.32), parity ≥ 4 (aOR 2.63, 95% CI 1.05-12.71) and past-history of MVA (aOR 2.06, 95% CI 1.23-8.76). Conclusion: Women should be advised to conceive at least five months after D&C.

Hallucinogenic fishes are fishes that can create hallucinations if their tissue is ingested. These incorporate certain types of fish found in a several parts of the tropics. The impacts of eating hallucinogenic fishes are rumored to be comparative in a few viewpoints to lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or dimethyltryptamine (DMT). The encounters may incorporate distinctive sound-related and visual hallucinations. This has offered ascend to the collective common name “dream fish” for hallucinogenic fish. Sarpa salpa, a species of sea bream, is commonly claimed to be hallucinogenic. In 2006, two men who apparently ate the fish experienced mind flights going on for a few days. It is misty whether the poisons are delivered by the fish themselves or by marine algae in their diet.

Two experimental feeding trials were conducted concurrently to study the growth response of African catfish Clarias gariepinus fingerlings to graded levels (0, 5, 10, 15 or 20%) of clupeids in Danish fish meal (DFM) based diets. Chemical analysis of the DFM and clupeids fish meal (CFM) was carried out. Completely randomized design with triplicated groups of fingerlings were used for both trials in an indoor and out-door concrete tanks for six and twelve weeks respectively. The study aimed at achieving a cost effective fish meal from local aquatic resources (clupeids fish) highly prolific and abundant in Nigeria water bodies to replace foreign fish meal in West Africa Region. A project supported by West African Agricultural Productivity Project (WAAPP) in NIFFR, Nigeria. The results of proximate, amino acid profile, mineral and fatty acid composition analysis of CFM indicated values which are very close to those of the DFM. The proximate analysis revealed CFM to contain 70.6% crude protein while DFM contains 72%. There were no significant difference between the treatments with respect to final weight, feed consumed, feed conversion ratio, digestibility and survival (P>0.05) although there was significant difference in specific growth rate (P<0.05) with the highest value obtained in the diets with both fish meal at ratio 1:1. There were no significant difference in haematological parameters (P>0.05). However the lymphocytes were high in all the groups which might not be particularly due to the treatments. The high proliferation of the body defence cells by the fish could be a mechanism of survival in the aqua-medium which is likely to be high in microbial load due to waste materials. Feed Cost/Kg for DFM was N260.16 while for CFM was N227.16. The results of chemical analysis and feeding trials indicated positive replacement of the DFM with CFM in fish feeds without negative effect on growth performance

Five experimental feeding trials were conducted to investigate the performance of Heterobranchus Bidorsalis fingerlings to graded levels (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) of Sphenostylis Stenocarpa seed meal diets. Complete randomized design with triplicate groups of fingerlings was used for the study for ten weeks. The proximate, anti-nutritional factor and amino acid profile of the S. stenocarpa was analysed. The study showed that treatment C with 50% inclusion of Sphenostylis Stenocarpa meal was significantly different (p < 0.05) and performed best among other treatments in terms of the net weight gain, standard growth rate, and survival. The feed conversion ratio was best in treatment C but not significantly different (p > 0.05) to other treatments.

Background: Pulmonary fibrosis is a clinical problem with an enigmatic etiology with no effective therapy. Current therapies for lung fibrosis are ineffective for progression of lung fibrosis and preventing respiratory failure. Objectives: The aim of this study is to explore the expression of Desmin, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and the telomerase subunit: human telomerase reverse transcriptase (h-TERT) in a spectrum of lung tissue samples consist of lung fibrosis, lung cancer, and healthy controls. Materials and Methods: The expression of Desmin, α-SMA and hTERT were studied in samples of 15 pulmonary fibrosis samples, 16 samples of lung cancer and 14 healthy controls investigated. We evaluated Desmin, α-SMA as well as the expression of components of telomerase (TERT), by methods: RNA Extraction and cDNA synthesis, Real-Time quantitative PCR, Immunohistochemistry, all prepared from lung tissue paraffin blocked. Results: α-SMA marker detected 1(8.3%) of healthy control and 11(91.7%) of lung fibrosis samples. The difference between groups was significant (p<0.001). Also the difference between healthy control 1(6.7%) and lung cancer 14 (93.3%) for α-SMA marker was a significant (P<0.001). It was a significant difference between healthy control and lung cancer for TERT expression (P=.005). TERT was not positive in any sample of neither healthy control nor lung fibrosis. For TERT, it was a significant difference between lung fibrosis and lung cancer by Fisher’s Exact Test (P=.004). Expression of TERT and α-SMA between small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was not statistically significant (P=.700, P=0758), respectively. Conclusions: We recommend more investigation to regard α-SMA, Desmin in patients with lung fibrosis and follow them for possible cancer risk. Also, more study is needed to regard TERT as a marker in lung cancer. Assessment of these markers may have future implication to explain the same way of pathogenesis and carcinogenesis of fibrosis and cancer and for prevention or treatment

This review gives a brief introduction to the microarray technology and its experimental design and data analysis and a discussion of recent global progress in research using microarray technology in fish biology and aquaculture. DNA microarrays have been reported to have been used for the analysis of gene expression during various physiological, developmental or cellular processes in fish. During the recent past, investigators have begun to use microarrays on fish to address ecological, evolutionary and environmental questions including the variability of gene expression in natural populations, speciation, ecotype diversity, environmental remediation and host-pathogen interactions. The study suggests that a lot of gene expression studies have been conducted on salmon and zebrafish in Europe and USA. The same may be applied on Indian Major Carps and Catfishes to augment productivity from aquaculture sector. 

ATPases is known to be a crucial in many biological activities of organisms. In this study, physicochemical properties and modeling of ATPases protein of fish was analysed using In silico approach. ATPases a protein selected from fish species, including Gold fish (Carassius auratus auratus), Zebra fish (Hypancistrus zebra), White fishes (Coregonus autumnalis), Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and Anabas testudineus (Koi) were used in this study. Physicochemical characteristics showed with molecular weight (25045.58-25148.57Da), theoretical isoelectric point (9.30-9.97), extinction coefficient(26470-34950), aliphatic index(147.31-150.35), instability index(32.84-42.67), total number of negatively charged residues and positively charged residues (5/7-6/8), and grand average of hydropathicity (1.014-1.151) were computed. All proteins were classified as transmembrane proteins. In secondary structure prediction, all proteins were composed of random coils as predominant, followed by extended strands, alpha helix and beta turn. Three dimensional structure of protein were predicted and verified as good structures. All model structures were evaluated being accepted and reliable based on structural evaluation and stereo chemical analysis.

Fifty nine isolates belonging to six species of Enterococci namely, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus raffinosus, Enterococcus durans, Enterococcus mundtiiand Enterococcus avium (n = 35, 15, 4, 3, 1 and 1 isolates, respectively) were obtained from different clinical specimens including urine, pus, blood, wound, sputum and synovial fluid. The highest numbers of Enterococci were recorded from the pus (20 isolates, 33.90%) followed by urine (12 isolates, 20.34%) while the lowest frequency was observed with synovial fluid samples (2 isolates, 3.39%). These isolates showed different multidrug resistant patterns with the lowest resistant for linezolid (n = 5, 8.48%), followed by teicoplanin (n = 14, 23.73%) and vancomycin (n = 20, 33.90%) while they exhibited the highest resistant against penicillin (n = 53, 89.83%), oxacillin (n = 50, 84.75%), erythromycin (n = 49, 83.05%) and streptomycin (n = 47, 79.66 %). On the other hand, a free living marine bacterium under isolation code ESRAA3010 was isolated from seawater samples obtained from the fishing area Masturah, Red Sea, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, 16S rRNA gene analyses and phylogenetic data proved that isolate ESRAA3010 is very close to Bacillus subtilis and then it was designated as Bacillus subtilis ESRAA3010. It gave the highest antagonistic activity against all clinical Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus raffinosus, Enterococcus durans, Enterococcus mundtiiand Enterococcus avium isolates under study with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranged from 4 to 56 µg/mL, 4 to 12 µg/mL, 4 to 8 µg/mL, 4 to 8 µg/mL, 8 µg/mL and 4 µg/mL, respectively as well as minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) (8 to 64 µg/mL, 4 to 16 µg/mL, 4 to 12 µg/mL, 4 to 16 µg/mL, 12 µg/mL and 8 µg/mL, respectively). Moreover it showed anti-proliferative activity against colon (HCT-116), liver (HepG-2), breast (MCF-7) and lung (A-549) carcinomas with IC50 equal to 39, 50, 75 and 19 µg/mL, respectively which indicates its prospective usage in the upcoming decades.

Shellfish are extensively consumed worldwide because of their nutritional value. In general they are good sources of low-fat protein rich in several essential vitamins and minerals as well as in the essential nutrients omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFAs) [1]. Shellfish belongs to “The Big 8” food groups causing allergy, which often does not outgrow during childhood. However, increase in IgE – mediated sea food allergy has been linked to shellfish. Seafood- associated shellfish include crustaceans & molluskans [2]. These may cause mild local symptoms & lead to severe systemic anaphylactic reactions by ingestion, inhalation, or contact. Globally, the prevalence of shellfish allergy estimated to be 0.5% to 2.5% of the general population [3]. There are limited data showing the prevalence of shellfish allergy in children. A study on US pediatric population showed 1.3% of shellfish allergy. Children were more allergic to crustacean (1.2%) than mollusks (0.5%) [4]. Tropomyosin is the major allergen.

Water resources play an integral part in the life of a living being. The various water resources that are present on the earth’s surface are in the form of oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, ponds, waterfalls etc. Among these water resources Lakes and reservoirs are vital for people’s life, industrial activities and many other day to day activities. These water resources help in obtaining water for drinking after being treated. They also provide water for agriculture and industrial usage, fishery resource, flood control functions and many other activities. Due to the closed nature of lakes’, the waste material from sewage, agricultural effluents, domestic and industrial fields, gets accumulated around the surface of these water resources and once the water gets polluted, it gets strenuous to improve the quality of the water. In the study, the authors have examined different effective ways by which the quality of lake water can be improved.

Dissecting aortic aneurysm with ST segment elevation, and pulmonary embolism with ST segment elevation are two of a number of clinical entities which can simulate ST segment elevation myocardial infarction. Objective: The purpose of this review is to analyse clinical features in anecdotal reports of 138 dissecting aortic aneurysm patients with STEMI-like presentation, and 102 pulmonary embolism patients with STEMI-like presentation in order to generate insights which might help to optimise triage of patients with STEMI-like clinical presentation. Methods: Reports were culled from a literature search covering the period January 2000 to March 2020 using Googlescholar, Pubmed, EMBASE and MEDLINE. Reports were included only if there was a specification of the location of ST segment elevation and an account of the clinical signs and symptoms. Search terms were “ST segment elevation”,”aortic dissection”, “pulmonary embolism”, “myocardial infarction”, and “paradoxical embolism”. Fisher’s exact test was utilised for two-sided comparison of proportions. Proportion was calculated for each group as the number of patients with that parameter relative to the total number of patients assessed for that parameter. Findings: There were 138 patients with aortic dissection, 91 of whom were either fast-tracked to coronary angiography (81 patients) or fast-tracked to thrombolytic treatment (10 patients). There were 47 patients managed with neither of those strategies. There were 102 patients with pulmonary embolism, 71 of whom were fast tracked to coronary angiography, and 31 who did not receive that evaluation. Compared with their dissecting aortic aneurysm counterparts, those dissecting aortic aneurysm patients initially managed by percutaneous coronary intervention or by thrombolysis were significantly (p = 0.0003) more likely to have presented with chest pain, and significantly (p = 0.018) less likely to have presented with breathlessness. The preferential fast-tracking to coronary angiography prevailed in spite of comparable prevalence of back pain in fast tracked and in non-fast tracked subjects. Use of transthoracic echocardiography was also comparable in the two subgroups of dissecting aortic aneurysm patients. Pulmonary embolism patients fast tracked to percutaneous coronary intervention were significantly (p = 0.0008) more likely to have presented with chest pain than their pulmonary embolism counterparts who were not fast-tracked. The prevalence of paradoxical embolism was also significantly (p = 0.0016) higher in fast-tracked patients than in counterparts not fast-tracked. Cardiac arrest was significantly (p = 0.0177) less prevalent in fast-tracked pulmonary embolism patients than in pulmonary embolism patients who were not fast-tracked. Preferential fast-tracking to coronary angiography prevailed in spite of the fact that prevalence of documented deep vein thrombosis was comparable in fast-tracked subjects and in subjects not fast-tracked. The prevalence of use of transthoracic echocardiography was also similar in fast-tracked pulmonary embolism patients vs counterparts not fast tracked. Overall, however, transthoracic echocardiography had been utilised significantly (p = 0.007) less frequently in dissecting aneurysm patients than in pulmonary embolism patients. Conclusion: Given the high prevalence of STEMI-like presentation in aortic dissection there is a need for greater use of point-of-care transthoracic echocardiography to mitigate risk of inappropriate percutaneous coronary intervention(which might delay implementation of aortic repair surgery) and inappropriate thrombolysis(which might precipitate hemorrhagic cardiac tamponade) (75) during triage of patients presenting with ST segment elevation simulating ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Furthermore, during triage of patients with STEMI-like clinical presentation, the combined use of point-of -care echocardiography and evaluation for deep vein thrombosis will facilitate the differentiation between acute myocardial infarction, STEMI-like aortic dissection, and STEMI-like pulmonary embolism. Among STEMI-like patients in whom DAA has been ruled out by point of care TTE, fast tracking to PCI might generate an opportunity to identify and treat paradoxical coronary artery embolism by thrombectomy. Thereby mitigating the mortality risk associated with coronary occlusion. Concurrent awareness of PE as the underlying cause of paradoxical embolism also generates an opportunity to relieve the clot burden in the pulmonary circulation, either by pulmonary embolectomy or by thrombolysis. Above all, frontline clinicians should have a greater awareness of the syndrome of STEMI-like presentation of aortic dissection and STEMI-like pulmonary embolism so as to mitigate the risk of inappropriate thrombolysis and inappropriate percutaneous coronary angiography which seems to prevail even in the presence of red flags such as back pain (for aortic dissection) and deep vein thrombosis(for pulmonary embolism). 

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.

Objective: To verify whether preterm premature rupture of membranes has effect on neurodevelopmental outcome of Infant among preterm infants born at Hawassa Comprehensive Specialized Hospital of Sidama region, Ethiopia, 2022.Methods and materials: A prospective cohort study design will be conducted for 2 years and 6 months from March 1/2022 to August 30/2024. A total of 12 Midwives. 6 supervisors and 1 pediatric neurologist or psychiatrist will be involved in the data collection process. All preterm infants will be recruited consecutively from preterm infants admitted to neonatal intensive care unit from March 1/2022 to August 30/2022. The preterm infants will be categorized into Exposed group (preterm infants born after preterm PROM) and non-exposed group (preterm infants born after spontaneous preterm labour) and followed until 2 years of age to assess neurodevelopmental outcome of infants The data will be entered into Epidata software and exported to SPSS software for windows version 23. For analysis. Descriptive statistics will be computed. One-way Anova and post hoc comparisons with Scheffe’s procedure will be used X2 test or Fisher’s exact test will be used to compare categorical variables.

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is a common clonal neoplasm of small, mature B-lymphocytes. CLL is a heterogeneous disease with different clinical presentation, response to treatment and survival. This heterogeneity could be explained by the different genetic aberrations in CLL [1]. The most important chromosomal defects correlated to a poor prognosis are 17p13.1 deletion (loss of TP53) or 11q22.3 deletion (loss of ATM) [1,2]. In the era of new drugs in CLL it is mandatory to perform the interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) test in order to assess these aberrations, before starting any lines of therapy [3]. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that complex karyotype (CK) with structural chromosomal aberrations identified by using chromosome-banding analysis may be relevant to better define CLL prognosis. It is known that 80% of CLL patients harbor at cytogenetic aberrations [3].

Evaluation of semen characteristics is an important and prior for semen preservation. The aim of this study was to collection and evaluation of indigenous buck semen in the coastal region of Bangladesh. The semen was collected from bucks through artificial vagina method. The colour, odour, volume, viscosity, mass activity, consistency, concentration and individual sperm motility were analysed and recorded after collection from pre-selected four bucks. The colour and odour of all buck (B) semen were creamy white to milky white and fishy smell, respectively. In this study, we found that the average volume of B-1, B-2, B-3 and B-4 were 0.74, 0.98, 0.42 and 0.60 ml, respectively. The average grading of viscosity of B-1, B-2, B-3 and B-4 were 3.2, 3.8, 2.6 and 3.0, respectively. The average grading of mass activity of B-1, B-2, B-3 and B-4 were 3.6, 3.2, 2.4 and 3.4, respectively. The consistency of B-1, B-2, B-3 and B-4 were 4.2, 4.8, 2.8 and 4.0, respectively. The concentration of B-1, B-2, B-3 and B-4 were 1.58, 1.94, 0.62 and 1.54 ×109 per ml of semen volume. The average percentage of individual sperm motility of B-1, B-2, B-3 and B-4 were 81, 71, 66 and 80%, respectively. Viscosity, mass activity, consistency, concentration and individual sperm motility were significantly (p < 0.05) correlate with each other. It may be concluded that the data about semen of the bucks are in acceptable level for preservation. Further study will be designed for the evaluation of viability and motility of sperm before and after freezing as liquid semen.

Fish-borne parasitic zoonoses are primarily found in people living in developing and underdeveloped countries. The parasites that cause such zoonoses like Trichinella and Taenia are well-known in developed nations, but few people are familiar with fish-borne parasitic zoonoses, which are largely caused by helminths and protozoans. In general, parasitic zoonoses transmitted by fish are rarely life-threatening, although cases and reports of such infestations have increased over the world. The list of parasitic organisms is extensive. This article attempts to provide a complete overview of the many fish-borne parasites that can cause zoonosis among humans and animals alike.

Soft-bodied is the intermediate host of helminthiases, in the body of which several development stages of larval forms of helminths occur. There is the highest population density of mollusks in the areas of ruminant grazing, which leads to mass infection of animals with trematodes. To destroy the intermediate host of helminths in agricultural production, molluscicidal remedies of synthetic and plant origin are used. The work aimed to determine the molluscicidal effectiveness of a plant remedy based on Silene Latifolia in conditions of natural pastures. The material for work was the green mass of the plant S. Latifolia obtained in the warm season from roots, leaves, stems, flowers, and seeds. By grinding this plant, a powder with a particle size of 1-3 mm was obtained. Then, the powder was extracted with ethyl alcohol. The obtained product (concentrate) was an amorphous gel-like mass of dark green color with a specific smell and well soluble in water. Fieldwork in natural pastures was carried out on 5 biotopes with an area of 4-25 m2. Three species of gastropods were recorded from freshwater mollusks in the biotopes: Planorbis planorbis, Planorbarius corneus, Physa fontinalis, Lymnaea truncatula, and L. palustris. The results of experiments conducted in the conditions of pastures indicate a high molluscicidal activity of the studied plant agent on pond fish, intermediate hosts of trematodes pathogens. The effectiveness of the developed molluscicide on gastropods, when treated with a working solution (10.0 g/l) is from 98.1 to 100%.

Background: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is one of the most feared complications after brain tumor surgery. Despite several factors being considered to influence bleeding, an increasing number of clinical studies emphasize that hemostatic disorders, developed during surgical aggression and tumor status, could explain unexpected ICH. The objective of this prospective study was to evaluate the influence of perioperative D-dimer levels on ICH after brain tumor surgery. Methods: This prospective, observational, 18-month study, at a single third-level hospital, included all consecutive adults operated on brain tumors and postoperative stay in an intensive care unit. Three blood samples evaluated D-dimer levels (A-baseline, B-postoperative and C-24 hours after surgery). The normal range considered was 0-500ng/ml. ICH, as a primary outcome, was defined as bleeding that generates radiological signs of intracranial hypertension either by volume or by mass effect on the routine CT scan 24 hours after surgery. Other tumor features and hemostasis variables were analyzed. Chi-squared and Fisher’s exact test were used in the inferential analysis for qualitative variables and Wilcoxon and T-Test for quantitative ones. P-value < 0.05 was considered significant for a confidence interval of 95%. Results: A total of 109 patients operated on brain tumor surgery were finally included, 69 male (63,30%) and 40 female (36,70%), with a mean age of 54,60 ± 14,75 years. ICH was confirmed in 39 patients (35,78%). Their average of DDimer was A-1.526,70 ng/dl, B-1.061,88 ng/dl, and C-1.330,91 ng/dl (A p0.039, B p0,223 C p0.042, W-Wilcoxon test). The male group was also associated with ICH (p0,030 X2 test). Of those 39 patients with ICH, 30 in sample A (76,9%), 20 in sample B (51,28%) and 35 in sample C (89,74%) had a D-dimer > 500 ng/dl (p0,092, p1, p0,761 X2 test) and the relative risk of developing a postoperative hematoma in this patients was increased 0,36-fold presurgery, 0,25-fold postsurgery and 0,40-fold 24hours after surgery. D-dimer variation, had no statistical significance (p0,118, p0,195, p0,756 T-test). Platelets and prothrombin activity were associated with D-dimer levels only in sample A (p 0,02 and p 0,20, W Wilson). Conclusion: High levels of perioperative D-dimer could be considered a risk marker of ICH after brain tumor surgery. However, more studies would be worthwhile to confirm this association and develop primary prevention strategies for stroke. 

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in public health measures and fewer viral infections, which trigger the nephrotic syndrome. Our objectives were to characterize the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with nephrotic syndrome. This single-center retrospective chart review compared children with nephrotic syndrome one year before the pandemic with the first wave of the pandemic. Epidemiologic events, clinical characteristics, and health care utilization were compared using paired t-tests, Fisher’s exact tests and Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests. Among 96 children the mean age was 10.7 ± 5.28 years. The distribution was minimal change disease (16.7%), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (12.5%), membranous nephropathy (1%) and not biopsied (69.8%). Medication responsiveness was steroid-sensitive (25%), frequently relapsed (54%) and steroid-resistant (20.8%). There were 14 new diagnoses of nephrotic syndrome pre-pandemic and 18 during the pandemic. Fewer relapses during the pandemic were likely due to fewer viral illnesses from public health measures during the pandemic.