Severity of Psoriasis Associates With Aortic Vascular Inflammation Detected by FDG PET/CT and Neutrophil Activation in a Prospective Observational Study.

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Heart Association via http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.115.306460OBJECTIVE: To understand whether directly measured psoriasis severity is associated with vascular inflammation assessed by (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography computed tomography. APPROACH: In-depth cardiovascular and metabolic phenotyping was performed in adult psoriasis patients (n=60) and controls (n=20). Psoriasis severity was measured using psoriasis area severity index. Vascular inflammation was measured using average aortic target-to-background ratio using (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography computed tomography. RESULTS: Both the psoriasis patients (28 men and 32 women, mean age 47 years) and controls (13 men and 7 women, mean age 41 years) were young with low cardiovascular risk. Psoriasis area severity index scores (median 5.4; interquartile range 2.8-8.3) were consistent with mild-to-moderate skin disease severity. Increasing psoriasis area severity index score was associated with an increase in aortic target-to-background ratio (β=0.41, P=0.001), an association that changed little after adjustment for age, sex, and Framingham risk score. We observed evidence of increased neutrophil frequency (mean psoriasis, 3.7±1.2 versus 2.9±1.2; P=0.02) and activation by lower neutrophil surface CD16 and CD62L in blood. Serum levels of S100A8/A9 (745.1±53.3 versus 195.4±157.8 ng/mL; P<0.01) and neutrophil elastase-1 (43.0±2.4 versus 30.8±6.7 ng/mL; P<0.001) were elevated in psoriasis. Finally, S100A8/A9 protein was related to both psoriasis skin disease severity (β=0.53; P=0.02) and vascular inflammation (β=0.48; P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Psoriasis severity is associated with vascular inflammation beyond cardiovascular risk factors. Psoriasis increased neutrophil activation and neutrophil markers, and S100A8/A9 was related to both skin disease severity and vascular inflammation.JMT is supported by a Wellcome Trust research training fellowship (104492/Z/14/Z) and the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. JHFR is part-supported by the HEFCE, the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, the British Heart Foundation, and the Wellcome Trus

Sero-prevalence and risk factors for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 infection in women and children in a rural district of Bangladesh: A cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Bangladesh reported its first COVID-19 case on March 8, 2020. Despite lockdowns and promoting behavioural interventions, as of December 31, 2021, Bangladesh reported 1.5 million confirmed cases and 27 904 COVID-19-related deaths. To understand the course of the pandemic and identify risk factors for SARs-Cov-2 infection, we conducted a cohort study from November 2020 to December 2021 in rural Bangladesh. METHODS: After obtaining informed consent and collecting baseline data on COVID-19 knowledge, comorbidities, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle, we collected data on COVID-like illness and care-seeking weekly for 54 weeks for women (n = 2683) and their children (n = 2433). Between March and July 2021, we tested all participants for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using ROCHE's Elecsys® test kit. We calculated seropositivity rates and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) separately for women and children. In addition, we calculated unadjusted and adjusted relative risk (RR) and 95% CI of seropositivity for different age and risk groups using log-binomial regression models. RESULTS: Overall, about one-third of women (35.8%, 95% CI = 33.7-37.9) and one-fifth of children (21.3%, 95% CI = 19.2-23.6) were seropositive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. The seroprevalence rate doubled for women and tripled for children between March 2021 and July 2021. Compared to women and children with the highest household wealth (HHW) tertile, both women and children from poorer households had a lower risk of infection (RR, 95% CI for lowest HHW tertile women (0.83 (0.71-0.97)) and children (0.75 (0.57-0.98)). Most infections were asymptomatic or mild. In addition, the risk of infection among women was higher if she reported chewing tobacco (RR = 1.19,95% CI = 1.03-1.38) and if her husband had an occupation requiring him to work indoors (RR = 1.16,  95% CI = 1.02-1.32). The risk of infection was higher among children if paternal education was >5 years (RR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.10-1.71) than in children with a paternal education of ≤5 years. CONCLUSIONS: We provided prospectively collected population-based data, which could contribute to designing feasible strategies against COVID-19 tailored to high-risk groups. The most feasible strategy may be promoting preventive care practices; however, collecting data on reported practices is inadequate. More in-depth understanding of the factors related to adoption and adherence to the practices is essential

Influence of reaction time and synthesis temperature on the physical properties of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by the hydrothermal method

Influence of synthesis temperature and reaction time on the structural and optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by the hydrothermal method was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, and UV–visible and fluorescence spectroscopy. The XRD pattern and HR-TEM images confirmed the presence of crystalline hexagonal wurtzite ZnO nanoparticles with average crystallite size in the range 30–40 nm. Their energy gap determined by fluorescence was found to depend on the synthesis temperature and reaction time with values in the range 2.90–3.78 eV. Thermal analysis, thermogravimetric and the differential scanning calorimetry were used to study the thermal reactions and weight loss with heat of the prepared ZnO nanoparticles

Antibacterial and anticancer activity of loaded quinazolinone polypyrrole/chitosan silver chloride nanocomposite

<p>Polypyrrole/chitosan-silver chloride core shell nanocomposite (AgCl@PPC) was prepared by <i>in situ</i> oxidative polymerization of pyrrole (Py) using ferric chloride in the presence of chitosan (CS) and silver nitrate to develop a carrier and controlled release system for 3-amino-2-phenyl-4(3H)-quinazolinone (I). For sake of comparison, polypyrrole chitosan core shell nanoparticles (PPC) were prepared and loaded by (I). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and thermal gravimetric analysis confirm that I was loaded into PPC and AgCl@PPC core shell nanocomposites respectively, through physical interaction. Results revealed that loaded AgCl@PPC and PPC exhibited excellent antibacterial and anticancer efficacy against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells.</p

GlycA Is a Novel Biomarker of Inflammation and Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease in Psoriasis.

RATIONALE: GlycA, an emerging inflammatory biomarker, predicted cardiovascular events in population-based studies. Psoriasis, an inflammatory disease associated with increased cardiovascular risk, provides a model to study inflammatory biomarkers in cardiovascular disease (CVD). Whether GlycA associates with psoriasis and how it predicts subclinical CVD beyond hsCRP in psoriasis is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationships between GlycA and psoriasis, and between GlycA and subclinical CVD. METHODS AND RESULTS: Psoriasis patients and controls (n=412) participated in a two-stage study. We measured GlycA by NMR spectroscopy. NIH participants underwent 18-FDG PET/CT scans to assess vascular inflammation (VI) and coronary CT angiography to quantify coronary artery disease (CAD) burden. Psoriasis cohorts were young (mean age=47.9), with low cardiovascular risk and moderate skin disease. HsCRP and GlycA were increased in psoriasis compared to controls [GlycA: (PENN: 408.8±75.4 vs. 289.4±60.2, p<0.0001, NIH: 415.8±63.2 vs. 346.2±46, p<0.0001)] and demonstrated a dose-response with psoriasis severity. In stage 2, VI (β=0.36, p<0.001) and CAD (β=0.29, p=0.004) associated with GlycA beyond CV risk factors in psoriasis. In ROC analysis, GlycA added value in predicting VI (p=0.01) and CAD (p<0.01). Finally, initiating anti-TNF therapy (n=16) reduced psoriasis severity (p<0.001), GlycA (463.7±92.5 vs. 370.1±78.5; p<0.001) and VI (1.93±0.36 vs. 1.76±0.19; p<0.001), while GlycA remained associated with VI (β=0.56, p<0.001) post-treatment. CONCLUSIONS: GlycA associated with psoriasis severity and subclinical CVD beyond traditional CV risk and hsCRP. Moreover, psoriasis treatment reduced GlycA and VI. These findings support the potential utility of GlycA in subclinical CVD risk assessment in psoriasis and potentially other inflammatory diseases