Most Viewed Articles

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of extracorporeal shock waves combined with traditional Chinese medicine bone-setting manipulation for external humeral epicondylitis. Methods: Ninety-two patients with external humeral epicondylitis were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group. Patients in the control group were treated with extracorporeal shock waves while those in the observation group with traditional Chinese medicine bone-setting manipulation based on the control group. Patients in both groups were evaluated by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Mayo Elbow Performance Score (MEPS), and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand Questionnaire (DASH) before and after treatment. The inflammatory factors such as IL-6, IL-10, TNF-ɑ, and clinical outcomes were contrasted before and after treatment. Results: There were statistically significant differences in VAS score, MEPS score, and DASH score between the two groups before and after treatment (p < 0.05). The observation group exhibited a more pronounced improvement in each score compared to the control group. Post-treatment, the inflammatory factors of both groups were significantly lower than pre-treatment levels (p < 0.05), with the observation group showing a more noticeable decrease. The overall effectiveness of the observation group was higher than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The combination of extracorporeal shock wave therapy and traditional Chinese medicine bone-setting manipulation can effectively alleviate pain symptoms and improve dysfunction caused by external humeral epicondylitis, while also reducing inflammatory factor expression. This combined treatment may prove more effective than extracorporeal shock wave therapy alone.Clinical Trial: Registration: ChiCTR2200066075.

Citrus sinensis is a rich source of bioactive compounds  and has attracted attention due to its medicinal benefits. Historically regarded as agricultural waste, orange peel is rich in flavonoids, polyphenols, tannins, and essential oils with antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant qualities. The phytochemicals in Citrus sinensis peel were used as natural reducing and stabilizing agents in the green synthesis method used in this work to create silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). This method is an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional nanoparticle production, eliminating the need for hazardous chemicals. Based on the study’s results, green-synthesized silver nanoparticles derived from Citrus sinensis peel extract offer a sustainable and biocompatible substitute for biomedical applications. The pharmaceutical and healthcare industries may find therapeutic uses for them due to their exceptional antibacterial, antioxidant, and anticancer properties.

West Africa’s population is projected to reach 500 million by 2050, exacerbating the need for reliable drought detection and management strategies to ensure food and water security. This study investigated drought detection in West Africa using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). The objective is to evaluate the performance of SPI and SPEI in detecting droughts and compare their strengths and limitations. The results revealed that both indices detected droughts effectively, but SPEI was more sensitive to evapotranspiration and temperature change. The findings offer valuable insights into climate change impacts, drought monitoring, and sustainable water resource management in the regions under investigation in West Africa.

Left ventricular thrombus (LVT) is a life threatening complication following acute coronary syndromes but in modern era its incidence has reduced since the introduction of primary percutaneous intervention. LVT is associated with higher morbidity and mortality due to its thromboembolic events and major adverse cardiac events (MACE). This is a case report of 30-year-old male  who presented with acute abdomen and left ventricular thrombus. CECT abdomen revealed superior mesenteric artery (SMA) thrombosis and echocardiography revealed severe ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction, EF<30%) with global hypokinesia and LVT. SMA thrombosis is fatal and if left unattended can lead to intestinal ischemia and gangrene, hence immediate intervention is warranted. This patient had undergone emergency laparotomy under general anesthesia for the resection of gangrenous jejunal segment with mucous fistula . This case report discusses perioperative management considerations in such cases.

Laccase catalyzes oxidation of lignin and aromatic compound with similar structure to this one. Their low substrate specificity results on degradation of similar phenolic compounds. In this context, Molecular Docking was performed with different ligands suggesting potential bio-degradation. Binding active-sites prediction of fungal laccase (access number uniprotkb: A0A166P2X0), from Ganoderma weberianum was performed using machine learning algorithm based on Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (DeepSite-CNNs chemoinformatic tool). Herein, ligands like 2,4 - dichlorophenol, benzidine, sulfisoxazole, trimethoprim and tetracycline were analyzed and two additional reference controls which were 2,2 – azinobis 3 – ethylbenzothiazoline – 6 - sulfonic acid (ABTS) and 2,6 - dimetoxyphenol (2,6 DMP) were used in comparison with the other former mentioned ligands based on high laccase affinity. The five ligands were carried out because their potential biotechnological interest: the antibiotics sulfisoxazole, trimethoprim and tetracycline, and xenobiotics 2,4 - dichlorophenol and benzidine. Molecular docking experiments returned Gibbs free energy of binding (FEB or affinity) for laccase-ligand complexes. The best docking binding-interaction from each laccase-ligand conformation complexes suggest great ability of these ligands to interact with the laccase active-binding site. Herein, FEB values (kcal/mol) were obtained with higher affinity values for reference controls like 2,6 - dimethoxyphenol with -4.8 Kcal/mol and ABTS with -7.1 Kcal/mol. Furthermore, the FEB values were -4.7, -6.5, -6.8, -5.2 and -6.5 Kcal/mol, for 2,4 - dichlorophenol, benzidine, sulfisoxazole, tetracycline and trimethoprim respectively with high prevalence of hydrophobic interaction with functional laccase binding residues. Lastly, this study presents for first time at the bioinformatics field a molecular docking approach for the prediction of potential substrate of laccase from Ganoderma weberianum towards biotechnological application.

The incidence of obstetric acute renal failure remains significant in developing countries. The aim of our study is to define the risk factors involved in the occurrence of ARF during pregnancy or during the immediate postpartum period and to evaluate its evolutionary profile in terms of epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, and therapeutic management over the years in Morocco. This is a retrospective study conducted in the maternal-infant resuscitation service of the Ibn Rochd University Hospital of Casablanca, over the period from January 2020 to August 2023, including 95 patients. The current incidence in our series over this period was 22.2%. The mean age of our population was 33 ± 7.74 years [18-43 years], 67.3% of patients were in the gestational period, compared to 33.7% in the immediate postpartum period. Fourteen patients were primiparous (8.6%), 27.4% had a history of miscarriage, and 10.7% had a history of pre-eclampsia. Oligo-anuria was initially identified in 24 patients. The most frequent etiology was pre-eclampsia (56.7%), followed by hemorrhage (27%) and sepsis (19.3%). The evolution was marked by recourse to hemodialysis in 62% of cases, with a maternal mortality of 26%. The existence of heart disease, the context of pre-eclampsia, and the use of diuretics and vasoactive drugs were significantly correlated with maternal survival. No factor was correlated with secondary recovery from ARF. The development of health structures and the optimization of screening strategies are the keywords for prevention.

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.

Pachydermoperiostosis, also known as Primary Hypertrophic Osteoarthropathy (PHO), is a rare genetic disorder. The three main features are: enlarged fingertips (clubbing), thickened facial skin (pachydermia), and excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis). PHO is characterized by problems with skin and bone growth. Patients with PHO usually have coarse facial features with oily, thick, grooved skin on the face, joint pain, enlarged fingertips and toes, and hyperhidrosis of the hands and feet. Symptoms vary individually; however, men generally present with more severe manifestations. X-rays can help check for features that are not noticeable to the naked eye. There are two genes that are associated with PHO: the HPGD gene, located on the long arm of chromosome 4 at 4q34.1, and the SLCO2A1 gene, located on the long arm of chromosome 3 at 3q22.1 - q22.2. Mutations in the HPGD gene are inherited in an autosomal recessive manner, and the condition is sometimes abbreviated as PHOAR1 or Touraine-Solente-Gole syndrome.

Introduction: Cognitive impairment is defined as a new deficit in at least two areas of cognitive functioning. These may include disturbances in memory, executive functioning, attention or speed of information processing, perceptual motor abilities, or language. It has been shown that cognitive impairment is associated with the severity of kidney disease. Methods: The study was a descriptive research design, with participants purposively sampled from the general chronic kidney disease population which included haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Hundred and fifty-one participants (76 hemodialysis & 75 peritoneal dialysis patients), 58% were males, and 42% were females aged 19-61 years. To establish the prevalence of cognitive impairment by testing the level of cognition the Mini-Mental State Examination was utilized to provide a brief screening test to quantitatively assess the cognitive abilities and cognitive changes of patients while on dialysis. Results: Ninety-nine percent (99%) of the recruited population reported no cognitive impairment, irrespective of dialysis modality, demographic characteristics, and socio-economic status. Conclusion: Despite the findings highlighting that the majority of the chronic kidney disease population at Steve Biko Academic Hospital reported no cognitive impairment, it is crucial to increase awareness of the potential effects of cognitive impairment on daily activities, quality of life, and treatment adherence. Early detection and management of cognitive impairment can significantly impact the quality of life and adherence to treatment among these patients. Further research is needed to understand the prevalence and impact of cognitive impairment in different populations and to develop effective interventions for its prevention and management.

Familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia (FHH) is one of the rare reasons for hypercalcemia. FHH is an autosomal dominant disease that is inheritable. The most common calcium sensitive receptors (CaSR) develop because of the inactivation of. In addition, they also develop due to the function loss of AP2S1 and GNA11. The FHH sickness is characterized by hypercalcemia, hypocalciuria, the regular or increased level of the parathyroid hormone, and normal renal function. The symptoms of hypercalcemia are usually not observed. It is often diagnosed by calculating the calcium/creatine clearance ratio of a 24-hour urine sample, and then genetically looking at it. FHH is usually a benign disorder, and when symptomatic and rarely complications develop, calcimimetics are used or parathyroidectomy can be performed. In conclusion, FHH is a benign and genetically transmitted, moderate cause of hypercalcemia. It is rare and usually asymptomatic.