withdrawn 2017 hrs ehra ecas aphrs solaece expert consensus statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation

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Solid lipid nanoparticles and nanostructured lipid carrier-based nanotherapeutics in treatment of psoriasis: a comparative study

<p><b>Background</b>: The present work focuses on the development of ultra-small solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) encapsulating cyclosporine and calcipotriol, further incorporated into gel, increasing their penetration through the skin.</p> <p><b>Research design and methods</b>: Developed SLN and NLC were characterized regarding particle size, zeta potential, %entrapment efficiency and dispersed into carbopol 934P-NF gel. Gel was further characterized for rheological behavior and spreadability. <i>Ex vivo</i> dermatokinetic by tape stripping method, <i>in vitro</i> efficacy on HaCaT cell lines and <i>in vivo</i> efficacy on imiquimod induced psoriatic model in mice were evaluated.</p> <p><b>Results</b>: Ultra-small (size<100 nm) particles were formed with high entrapment efficiency and spherical morphology. <i>Ex vivo</i> dermatokinetic studies revealed deeper and confined drug penetration of lipid formulation gel in epidermal layers as compared to free drug. <i>In vitro</i> study on HaCaT cell lines depicted higher uptake and high efficacy owing to decrease in cell viability for NLC. The anti-psoriatic efficacy in BALB/c mice (evaluated on basis of cytokine levels and skin morphology) highlighted potential of drug-loaded NLC significantly higher as compared to drug loaded SLN and marketed formulation Betagel.</p> <p><b>Conclusions</b>: The study demonstrated that NLC gel had higher efficacy in psoriatic management and hold promise for further exploration.</p

Employing Socially Interactive Agents for Robotic Neurorehabilitation Training

In today's world, many patients with cognitive impairments and motor dysfunction seek the attention of experts to perform specific conventional therapies to improve their situation. However, due to a lack of neurorehabilitation professionals, patients suffer from severe effects that worsen their condition. In this paper, we present a technological approach for a novel robotic neurorehabilitation training system. It relies on a combination of a rehabilitation device, signal classification methods, supervised machine learning models for training adaptation, training exercises, and socially interactive agents as a user interface. Together with a professional, the system can be trained towards the patient's specific needs. Furthermore, after a training phase, patients are enabled to train independently at home without the assistance of a physical therapist with a socially interactive agent in the role of a coaching assistant.Comment: The 5th Workshop on Behavior Adaptation Interaction and Learning for Assistive Robotics (BAILAR

Deciphering the Neurosensory Olfactory Pathway and Associated Neo-Immunometabolic Vulnerabilities Implicated in COVID-Associated Mucormycosis (CAM) and COVID-19 in a Diabetes Backdrop&mdash;A Novel Perspective

Recent Mucorales-mediated outbreaks of infections and an association of fungal infection with COVID-19 cases, as observed for COVID-19-associated mucormycosis (CAM), have posed new challenges for the management of patients in critical care units. Diabetes and hyperglycemia are integrally linked to the severity of COVID-19, and uncontrolled diabetes mellitus and COVID-19 have recently been (independently or in combination) associated with the emergence of aggressive mucormycosis due to attendant defects in innate immune recognition pathways. Therefore, the identification of novel global cellular stressors upregulated during diabetes to understand the contribution of diabetes-associated metabolic vulnerabilities can help build a Metabolic-Stress-Associated Interactome (MSAI). This interactome can help reshape the metabolic inflammation (meta-inflammation) underlying the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 to facilitate the rational design of effective therapies for COVID-19 and CAM. Accordingly, an important area of research in COVID-19 therapeutics is engaged with identifying diabetes-associated pan-cellular stressors to understand their role in immune deregulation during COVID-19 and CAM, including investigating the distant trans-neuro-vascular&ndash;endocrine axis&rsquo;s role in coordinating cellular-stress recognition, transmission, compensation, and decompensation during inter-organ regulation of metabolic homeostasis in diabetes. We reviewed clinico-pathological and laboratory data to propose potential diabetes-linked novel neo-vulnerabilities that can reshape the olfactory mucosal immune landscape during airway infections such as COVID-19 and CAM

Atrial fibrillation: Utility of CHADS 2 and CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc scores as predictors of readmission, mortality and resource utilization

CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores are widely used for thromboembolic risk assessment in Atrial Fibrillation(AF) cohort, however further utilization to predict outcomes is understudied. HCUP's National Readmission Data(NRD) 2013 was queried for AF admissions using ICD-9-CM code 427.31 in principal diagnosis field. Patients with mitral valve disease or repair/or replacement were excluded to estimate population with non-valvular AF only. CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc were calculated for each patient. Hierarchical two-level logistic and linear models were used to evaluate study outcomes in terms of mortality, 30 or 90-day readmissions, length of stay(LOS) and cost. Of 116,450 principal non-valvular AF admissions(50.2% female and 43.1% age≥75years) 29,179 patients were readmitted, with total 40,959 readmissions. Higher CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc score were associated with increased mortality from 0.4% for CHADS2 of 0 to 3.2% for score of 6 and from 0.2% for CHA2DS2-VASc of 0 to 3.2% for score≥8. LOS increased from 2.20days for CHADS2 of 0 to 5.08days for score of 6, while cost increased from $7888 to$11,151. 30-day readmission rate increased from 8.9% for CHADS2 of 0 to 26.0% for score of 6, and 90-day readmission rate increased from 15.2% to 39%. CHA2DS2-VASc scoring similarly demonstrated a trend towards increasing readmission rate, LOS and cost for higher scores. Also, similar results were seen in hierarchical modeling with increment of CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores. CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores can be used as quick surrogate markers for predicting outcomes beyond thromboembolic risk. Physician familiarity with these systems makes them easy to use bedside clinical tools to improve outcomes and resource allocation