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Animals are companions that have continued to hold importance in the average American household. Traditional animals like dogs and cats are often treated as family members due to the human-animal bond. Although it seems as if there are many benefits to having animals in the home, it comes at a price—pet-borne illnesses. Compared to adults, the pediatric population is at a greater risk for these types of illnesses. Animals are natural reservoirs for many bacteria that may be passed to children, especially those who are immunocompromised. The goal of this article is to educate parents on the risks and symptoms of common pet-borne illnesses that are difficult to prevent from coming into the home.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is thought to be the most common neurodegenerative disease with movement disorder. The key motor symptoms are rigidity, tremor, akinesis/hypokinesia/bradykinesia, and postural instability. However, in our day-to-day clinical practice we tend to see several other symptoms which may be motor or non-motor. Non-motor symptoms (NMS) are quite common and debilitating. The pathological hallmarks of PD are loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNPc) and accumulation of unfolded or misfolded alpha-synuclein. Diagnosis of PD is difficult in the pre-motor stage. Late diagnosis renders a substantial loss of dopaminergic neurons in SNPc and spread of disease in other parts of the brain. This may manifest as either full blown symptoms requiring multiple medications or may even lead to life threatening condition due to lack of early diagnostic tools and techniques. Biomarkers are required to diagnose PD at a very early stage when prevention is possible. Hence, we see a lot of interest among researchers involved in finding a biomarker specific to the disease. Biomarkers may be clinical, image based, genetic, and biochemical. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum markers which may correlate with disease pathophysiology are of great significance. One such molecule which recently gained a lot of attention is neuron-specific enolase (NSE). The main aim of this paper is to highlight the role of NSE in predicting neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation ultimately reflecting damage of brain cells in PD.

Forensic laboratories face a backlog of case files, affecting service delivery, causing delays. The backlog points to underfunding, poor planning, and inadequate support, hindering deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis. Resolving casework backlogs may initially seem like a straightforward and attainable measure to improve the arrest of offenders and promote justice. Longer turnaround times impede investigative leads, emphasising the need for efficient strategies and a comprehensive approach to address and prevent backlogs in forensic laboratories. No study has been published on the forensic DNA backlogs in South Africa. The article explicitly addresses one aspect of a Doctor of Philosophy study and aims to ascertain the impact of backlogs in forensic DNA case entries. The study article’s research questions included the following: “What cases are considered as backlog?”; “What is the current backlog in forensic DNA case entries in South Africa?” and “What are the main reasons for the backlog of cases involving forensic DNA?” The prompt processing of DNA evidence is vital not only for safeguarding individuals falsely accused of crimes based on circumstantial evidence but also for aiding prosecutors and providing justice for crime victims.

Background: Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disorder in childhood. Asthmatic attacks are described and classified according to the type of wheezing to Non –atopic and Atopic asthma (IgE mediated wheezing). The aim of this review is to determine the onset of clinical diagnosis in relation to clinical presentation of asthma in children and obstacles related to delay of Asthma diagnosis. Methods: This review highlights the results of studies done regarding clinical diagnosis in relation to clinical presentation and of asthma in children. An extensive search has been conducted for researches about asthma in children. This search based on the publications posted on the National Center for Biotechnology Information PubMed or by Google Scholar. Key words used for the research: Asthma, clinical diagnosis, children. Results and Conclusion: Diagnosing asthma in young children is difficult because children often cough and wheeze with colds and chest infections, but this is not necessarily asthma. Miss diagnosis of asthma in children occurs when physicians diagnose patients with asthma from the clinical diagnosis in the first attack without excluding other asthma mimickers which can be any other respiratory problem. There is over-diagnosis of asthma due to the symptoms which mimic other respiratory infections. First episodes of cough, runny nose and fever that happen in cold/flu season- fall/winter/early spring is likely not asthma. If the child has several more episodes of wheeze and cough, it is likely to be asthma. Since there is no diagnostic test available for children younger than 6 years of age, making a diagnosis in this age group is more difficult than in older children. Over the age of about 6 years it is possible for a child to have a spirometer test

Permanent pacemaker implantation is conventionally done via upper limb veins. But in 1% - 6% cases, usual sub clavicular approach is either not possible or contraindicated due to complete occlusion of superior vena cava (SVC) or bilateral subclavian vein and/or bilateral implant site infection or thin skin [1]. Alternative approaches are warranted, including leadless pacemaker or complex lead extraction techniques, before considering surgical epicardial lead placement as a last resort because it has own hazards. We report a patient with complete heart block, total SVC obstruction, and a previously implanted malfunctioning epicardial lead presenting with pacemaker end of life. In view of exhaustion of the surgical option and in a resource constrained situation for lead extraction or leadless pacemaker, transiliac endocardial pacemaker implantation was done and a repeat surgery was averted. Learning objective: Complete venous occlusion is not very often encountered after pacemaker/ICD implantation. Apart from the risk of general anesthesia and invasive surgery, epicardial leads increase battery drain, and have a shorter operating life compared to an endocardial lead. The sparingly utilized iliac venous approach for permanent pacemaker implantation is a valuable, safe and minimally invasive alternative, when the conventional percutaneous access is unavailable, and surgery is undesirable or not possible. 

Purpose: There are uncertainties about whether general or central obesity is the more important determinant for blood pressure and hypertension in young Chinese. We aim to investigate the association between adiposity measures and blood pressure and hypertension in young medical students. Methods: A total of 380 medical students were recruited from the 2012 batch in the Clinical College of Dali University. Anthropometric measures and office blood pressure were measured. Blood pressure status was defined by Chinese hypertension guidelines and ACC/AHA 2017 hypertension guidelines, respectively. We examined the associations of adiposity measures (body weight, body mass index [BMI], waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio [WHR], waist-to-height ratio [WHtR], ponderal index [PI], body adiposity index (BAI) and conicity index [CI]) with blood pressure and hypertension by sex. Results: In 380 subjects (women 66.6%, mean age 21.5 years), the prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2) was 2.1%, and the prevalence of hypertension was 2.6% (≥ 140/90 mmHg) and 24.5% (≥ 130/80 mmHg), respectively. In correlation analyses and multivariable-adjusted linear regression analyses, most adiposity measures of central obesity were significantly associated with blood pressure in men, while in women, either adiposity measures of central or general obesity were associated with blood pressure. The predictive power of adiposity measures for hypertension was generally low in men. However, adiposity measures of either general obesity or central obesity were predictive for hypertension defined by Chinese hypertension guidelines in women. Conclusion: There are gender-specific associations of central and general obesity with blood pressure and hypertension in young Chinese medical students.

Bladder carcinomas have a great propensity for divergent differentiation with more that 90% being Transitional cell carcinoma. Several histological variants have been have described so far; they are not only morphologically unique but also have significant prognostic and therapeutic differences making their timely identification of paramount importance. Osteoclastic giant cell variant of urothelial carcinoma is very rare type with controversial management. Studies from China have documented higher incidence and severity of illness in COVID-19 positive cancer patients. We report an unusual case of Osteoclastic giant cell variant of urothelial carcinoma in a 63 yrs old male patient associated with simultaneous COVID-19 infection.

Introduction: Dead Sea Salt, rich in minerals and ionic compositions and low in Sodium Chloride (NaCl) has many reported unique properties that set it apart from other salts. Objectives: To evaluate the composition of Dead Sea Salt and assess its in vitro cytotoxicity, and efficacy against oral bacterial leukotoxins, oral endotoxins and oral glucan sucrase. Methods: The cytotoxicity was evaluated in an established cell line (solution at 5000 µg/mL of culture medium) using positive and negative control groups. The effect on oral bacterial leukotoxin (LtxA) and different concentrations of lipopolysaccharide and glucan sucrase was established at 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, and 96 hours using the HPLC method (high-performance liquid chromatography). Results: The most predominant elements detected were the water of crystallization (H2O, water that is found in the crystalline framework of salt and which is not directly bonded ), magnesium chloride (MgCl2), potassium chloride (KCl), sodium chloride (NaCl), calcium chloride (CaCl2), bromide (Br -) and sulfates (SO4). In vitro, Dead Sea Salt presented no cytotoxicity and was highly effective against leukotoxin, endotoxin, and glucan sucrase enzyme. Conclusion and clinical significance: We believe that rinsing with Dead Sea Salt has the potential to contribute to the prevention of periodontal, peri-implant and dental disease and merits clinical research.

Purpose: Exercise has a positive regulatory effect on gut microbiota and is also involved in regulating multiple physiological functions of the human body. This article tested the effects of basketball exercises at different exercise intensities on the gut microbiota of college students. Methods: Athlete research subjects (male, aged 18 - 25) were selected from the basketball team and trained at different intensities to obtain a total of 101 fresh fecal samples. DNA was extracted by a DNA extraction kit and bacterial 16S rRNA gene V3-V4 region high-throughput sequencing using the Illumina Hiseq platform. The downstream data were spliced, filtered and de-trimerized and then used to study the difference in gut microbiota. Results: Key bacterial taxa in the gut that responded to exercise intensity differed among athletes of different exercise intensities but most belonged to Firmicutes. With increasing exercise intensity, Butyricicoccus, Anaerostipes, Oxalobacter and Clostridium_IV in basketball players enrich. Further analysis of the functional prediction revealed that carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, metabolism of xenobiotics and glycans and metabolism were significantly expressed in the gut microbiota of basketball athletes with high intensity. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that after long-term professional training, the gut microbiota of athletes adapts to exercise stimulators and can quickly respond to changes in exercise intensity. In high-intensity training, the organism is protected from harm by enriching some beneficial bacteria.

Ventricular assist device is a portable machine which is also called an artificial heart for the patients who have terminal heart failure. The device maintains the heart’s vital functions until the suitable donor is found for the heart transplantation. It can be applied to either ventricles or both (biventricular). Although the device provides independence for the patient, it also has life-threatening complications. Such as infection, stroke secondary to thromboembolism, hemorrhage depending on anticoagulant use, right heart failure… and most of the time it is really hard to manage those complications. We will present a case, who had ischemic stroke as a complication of VAD even though he has been using aspirin, warfarin and had effective INR value.