Investigating the benefits of molecular profiling of advanced non-small cell lung cancer tumors to guide treatments.

In this study we utilized data on patient responses to guided treatments, and we evaluated their benefit for a non-small cell lung cancer cohort. The recommended therapies used were predicted using tumor molecular profiles that involved a range of biomarkers but primarily used immunohistochemistry markers. A dataset describing 91 lung non-small cell lung cancer patients was retrospectively split into two. The first group's drugs were consistent with a treatment plan whereby all drugs received agreed with their tumor's molecular profile. The second group each received one or more drug that was expected to lack benefit. We found that there was no significant difference in overall survival or mortality between the two groups. Patients whose treatments were predicted to be of benefit survived for an average of 402 days, compared to 382 days for those that did not (P = 0.7934). In the matched treatment group, 48% of patients were deceased by the time monitoring had finished compared to 53% in the unmatched group (P = 0.6094). The immunohistochemistry biomarker for the ERCC1 receptor was found to be a marker that could be used to predict future survival; ERCC1 loss was found to be predictive of poor survival

A mediation approach to understanding socio-economic inequalities in maternal health-seeking behaviours in Egypt.

BACKGROUND: The levels and origins of socio-economic inequalities in health-seeking behaviours in Egypt are poorly understood. This paper assesses the levels of health-seeking behaviours related to maternal care (antenatal care [ANC] and facility delivery) and their accumulation during pregnancy and childbirth. Secondly, it explores the mechanisms underlying the association between socio-economic position (SEP) and maternal health-seeking behaviours. Thirdly, it examines the effectiveness of targeting of free public ANC and delivery care. METHODS: Data from the 2008 Demographic and Health Survey were used to capture two latent constructs of SEP: individual socio-cultural capital and household-level economic capital. These variables were entered into an adjusted mediation model, predicting twelve dimensions of maternal health-seeking; including any ANC, private ANC, first ANC visit in first trimester, regular ANC (four or more visits during pregnancy), facility delivery, and private delivery. ANC and delivery care costs were examined separately by provider type (public or private). RESULTS: While 74.2% of women with a birth in the 5-year recall period obtained any ANC and 72.4% delivered in a facility, only 48.8% obtained the complete maternal care package (timely and regular facility-based ANC as well as facility delivery) for their most recent live birth. Both socio-cultural capital and economic capital were independently positively associated with receiving any ANC and delivering in a facility. The strongest direct effect of socio-cultural capital was seen in models predicting private provider use of both ANC and delivery. Despite substantial proportions of women using public providers reporting receipt of free care (ANC: 38%, delivery: 24%), this free-of-charge public care was not effectively targeted to women with lowest economic resources. CONCLUSIONS: Socio-cultural capital is the primary mechanism leading to inequalities in maternal health-seeking in Egypt. Future studies should therefore examine the objective and perceived quality of care from different types of providers. Improvements in the targeting of free public care could help reduce the existing SEP-based inequalities in maternal care coverage in the short term

Exploring marine cyanobacteria for lead compounds of pharmaceutical importance.

The Ocean, which is called the "mother of origin of life," is also the source of structurally unique natural products that are mainly accumulated in living organisms. Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes used as food by humans. They are excellent source of vitamins and proteins vital for life. Several of these compounds show pharmacological activities and are helpful for the invention and discovery of bioactive compounds, primarily for deadly diseases like cancer, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), arthritis, and so forth, while other compounds have been developed as analgesics or to treat inflammation, and so forth. They produce a large variety of bioactive compounds, including substances with anticancer and antiviral activity, UV protectants, specific inhibitors of enzymes, and potent hepatotoxins and neurotoxins. Many cyanobacteria produce compounds with potent biological activities. This paper aims to showcase the structural diversity of marine cyanobacterial secondary metabolites with a comprehensive coverage of alkaloids and other applications of cyanobacteria

Cohort Profile: The Flu Watch Study

Influenza is a common, highly contagious respiratory virus which infects all age groups, causing a range of outcomes from asymptomatic infection and mild respiratory disease to severe respiratory disease and death.1 If infected, the adaptive immune system produces a humoral (antibody) and cell-mediated (T cell) immune response to fight the infection.2 Influenza viruses continually evolve through antigenic drift, resulting in slightly different ‘seasonal’ influenza strains circulating each year. Population-level antibody immunity to these seasonal viruses builds up over time, so in any given season only a proportion of the population is susceptible to the circulating strains. Occasionally, influenza A viruses evolve rapidly through antigenic shift by swapping genes with influenza viruses usually circulating in animals. This process creates an immunologically distinct virus to which the population may have little to no antibody immunity. The virus can result in a pandemic if a large portion of the population is susceptible and the virus is easily spread

Florid genital tuberculosis co-existing with adenomyosis and evading diagnosis

When tuberculosis affects genital organs of young females, the disease often remains silent or may present with symptoms which are common to other Gynaecological conditions as well. The diagnosis of genital tuberculosis is challenging and the diagnosis can be missed even with extensive investigations including molecular studies. A case of florid tuberculosis affecting the uterus, cervix, ovaries and tubes, co-existing with adenomyosis of the uterus and the cold abscess masquerading as bilateral ovarian endometriomas is reported

Role of Asbāb Sitta Ḍarūriyya in the Prevention and Control of Lifestyle Ailments: A Comprehensive Review

Background: Lifestyle diseases stem largely from recurring unhealthy behavioral patterns in daily life, which are developed from unhealthy lifestyle choices that are related to smoking, alcohol intake, drugs, and a sedentary lifestyle. These diseases include, but are not limited to, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and some forms of cancer. Since these diseases are linked to lifestyle and are not passed on by infected people, they are also called non-communicable diseases. The prevalence of lifestyle diseases is rapidly increasing worldwide. According to the WHO, lifestyle-related illnesses have become the primary contributors to global mortality around the world. The rise in prevalence due to sedentary lifestyle, use of tobacco, alcohol, smoking, and poor and unhealthy diet. To prevent such diseases, people are trying to adopt such modalities that can keep them fit and healthy. Unani medical theory attributes these disorders to a disruption in balancing six essential life factors, known as Asbāb Sitta Ḍarūriyya, (Six essential factors) over a long period, which are foundational to maintaining health and preventing disease. Objective: This review aims to explore the role of Asbāb Sitta Ḍarūriyya in the prevention and control of lifestyle Ailments. Methodology: A systematic review of classical Unani literature and peer-reviewed studies was conducted to analyze the impact of Asbāb Sitta Ḍarūriyya. A search of published articles was performed using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science to explore the relationship between Asbāb Sitta Ḍarūriyya and lifestyle diseases. Result: The findings suggested that optimizing these Asbāb Sitta Ḍarūriyya (six essential factors) contributes significantly to the prevention and management of lifestyle diseases. Conclusion: The Unani concept of Asbāb Sitta Ḍarūriyya provides a comprehensive and natural approach to managing lifestyle diseases. Incorporating these principles into modern healthcare can offer a sustainable and holistic strategy for disease prevention and management. Keywords: Asbāb Sitta Ḍarūriyya, Lifestyle, Unani Medicine, prevention and management

Population structure and diversity of the periphyton community in the glacier-fed stream Balkhila at Siron from Garhwal Himalaya

The stream Balkhila is a glacier-fed and originates at higher altitudes from the Lal Mati glacier, flows through the famous Mandal valley of Garhwal Himalaya and finally merges with the Alaknanda River in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. The present study aimed to assess the population structure, density and diversity of the periphyton community along with some detrimental ecological parameters in the glacier fed stream Balkhila for a period of two years on a monthly basis from November 2018 to October 2020. The stream Balkhila was represented by 17 periphytic genera belonging to 3 classes, namely, Bacillariophyceae, Chlorohyceae and Cyanophyceae. The class Bacillariophyceae was represented by 10 periphytic genera (Cymbella, Navicula, Fragilaria, Nitzschia, Ampohora, Diatoma, Synedra, Tabellaria, Cocconeis and  Meridion), and Chlorophyceae (green algae) was represented by 6 algal genera (Chlorella, Ulothrix, Zygnema, Oedogomium, Spirogyra and Stigeoclonium). The class Myxophyceae was represented by a single genus (Phormidium). The maximum periphytic density (individuals/cm2) was found to be 316.7±7.1 x 103 in January, and the minimum density (12.5±3.5 x 103) was recorded in August. The SIMPLER test indicated 18.58% dissimilarity of periphytic communities between the two years of study. The Shannon–Wiener diversity index values were high (2.358 and 2.388) in December and January and minimum (0.2484 and 0.3534) in July and August during the first and second years of the study, respectively. Multivariate canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) suggested that most of the periphytic genera were closely associated with the winter season (December, January and February). The various ecological parameters of our study indicated that the Balkhila stream is a conducive habitat for periphyton communities

Response and resistance to BET bromodomain inhibitors in triple-negative breast cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous and clinically aggressive disease for which there is no targeted therapy. BET bromodomain inhibitors, which have shown efficacy in several models of cancer have not been evaluated in TNBC. These inhibitors displace BET bromodomain proteins such as BRD4 from chromatin by competing with their acetyl-lysine recognition modules, leading to inhibition of oncogenic transcriptional programs. Here we report the preferential sensitivity of TNBCs to BET bromodomain inhibition in vitro and in vivo, establishing a rationale for clinical investigation and further motivation to understand mechanisms of resistance. In paired cell lines selected for acquired resistance to BET inhibition from previously sensitive TNBCs, we failed to identify gatekeeper mutations, new driver events or drug pump activation. BET-resistant TNBC cells remain dependent on wild-type BRD4, which supports transcription and cell proliferation in a bromodomain-independent manner. Proteomic studies of resistant TNBC identify strong association with MED1 and hyper-phosphorylation of BRD4 attributable to decreased activity of PP2A, identified here as a principal BRD4 serine phosphatase. Together, these studies provide a rationale for BET inhibition in TNBC and present mechanism-based combination strategies to anticipate clinical drug resistance

Effect of baclofen on physiotherapy in the management of spastic cerebral palsy via gross motor function measure

Background: Cerebral palsy is the most common cause of physical disability in children. The gross motor function measure-66 (GMFM-66) is an observational clinical measure designed to evaluate gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy (CP). The aim of this study was to explore pediatric physiotherapists’ experiences with the gross motor capacity with CP by implementing a short-term intervention.Methods: This study was performed in the Department of Anatomy and Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi and Kiran Society, Varanasi. Patients aged between 2 years to 14 years of both sexes satisfying the inclusion and exclusion criteria were randomly enrolled into two groups; Group A included 60 patients who received only physiotherapy and Group B included 60 patients who received baclofen along with physiotherapy. Ethical clearance was obtained from the concerned authority. Data management and statistical analysis were performed using MS excel.Results: Percentage of spastic diplegia were 20.0% and 16.6% and percentage of spastic quadriplegia were 31.6% and 26.6% in group A and group B respectively. Before treatment mean score of GMFM for group A was increased to after 3 months of treatment and which further increased to after 6 months of treatment when compared to group B as their baseline mean score of GMFM  was after 3 months of treatment and it increased after 6 months of treatment.Conclusions: The findings suggest the GMFM to be a useful and reliable instrument for assessing motor function and treatment outcome in CP

Steering a Historical Disease Forecasting Model Under a Pandemic: Case of Flu and COVID-19

Forecasting influenza in a timely manner aids health organizations and policymakers in adequate preparation and decision making. However, effective influenza forecasting still remains a challenge despite increasing research interest. It is even more challenging amidst the COVID pandemic, when the influenza-like illness (ILI) counts are affected by various factors such as symptomatic similarities with COVID-19 and shift in healthcare seeking patterns of the general population. Under the current pandemic, historical influenza models carry valuable expertise about the disease dynamics but face difficulties adapting. Therefore, we propose CALI-Net, a neural transfer learning architecture which allows us to 'steer' a historical disease forecasting model to new scenarios where flu and COVID co-exist. Our framework enables this adaptation by automatically learning when it should emphasize learning from COVID-related signals and when it should learn from the historical model. Thus, we exploit representations learned from historical ILI data as well as the limited COVID-related signals. Our experiments demonstrate that our approach is successful in adapting a historical forecasting model to the current pandemic. In addition, we show that success in our primary goal, adaptation, does not sacrifice overall performance as compared with state-of-the-art influenza forecasting approaches.Comment: Appears in AAAI-2