Transient Neonatal Cholestasis Secondary to Coagulase-negative Staphylococci Septicemia: A Case Report

Transient neonatal cholestasis (NC) is characterized by early-onset cholestasis and normalization of clinical and biochemical parameters at follow-up. The causes are multifactorial and include immature bile secretion (as in the case of prematurity) and other perinatal causes. Sepsis is responsible for 20% of cases of NC. It is mandatory to rule out other causes of NC before labeling the neonate as having transient NC. The use of ursodeoxycholic acid in cholestasis has been advocated to bring a faster decline in direct bilirubin levels in neonates. Neonates have to be evaluated early considering associated risk factors so that early intervention could prevent complications and yield better outcomes

Effect of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Decreasing Muscle Tone of Spastic Cerebral Palsy Kids to Improve Motor Activity – A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that predominantly affects the kids' motor activity. The mainstay of treatment for the motor deficit in CP is conventional physical therapy. Due to the advancement in medical technology, a non-invasive stimulation of brain parenchyma like repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is found to be an effective therapy for motor deficits in spastic CP kids Objective: To assess the efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in spastic CP kids. Methodology: Data sources: PubMed and Google Scholar were systematically searched until June 2024. Study selection: The meta-analysis included all published Randomized controlled trials that investigated the efficacy of rTMS over conventional physical therapy in children up to 18 years of age. Data extraction was guided by a predetermined checklist. Results: Data extraction was guided by a predetermined checklist using Revman 5 software. Mean and standard deviation were evaluated and analysed. A total of 8 articles were selected, of which 5 articles were assessed quantitatively and the remaining 3 articles were taken for qualitative assessment. The primary outcome (Modified Ashworth scale) favours the usage of rTMS in Spastic Cerebral palsy kids (Mean standard deviation = - 0.37, 95% CI -0.64, -0.09 P < 0.00001). The secondary outcome (Gross motor function measure) included 156 patients (Mean standard deviation = - 0.62, 95% CI -0.96, -0. 27 P < 0.00001). Both primary and secondary outcomes are in favour of rTMS or its combination with conventional therapy. Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated that rTMS has a beneficial effect in reducing spasticity in CP kids compared to the control group under conventional therapy. Keywords: Cerebral palsy, Spasticity, Conventional therapy, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, Developmental delay

A cross-sectional investigation of regional patterns of diet and cardio-metabolic risk in India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The role of diet in India's rapidly progressing chronic disease epidemic is unclear; moreover, diet may vary considerably across North-South regions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The India Health Study was a multicenter study of men and women aged 35-69, who provided diet, lifestyle, and medical histories, as well as blood pressure, fasting blood, urine, and anthropometric measurements. In each region (Delhi, n = 824; Mumbai, n = 743; Trivandrum, n = 2,247), we identified two dietary patterns with factor analysis. In multiple logistic regression models adjusted for age, gender, education, income, marital status, religion, physical activity, tobacco, alcohol, and total energy intake, we investigated associations between regional dietary patterns and abdominal adiposity, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Across the regions, more than 80% of the participants met the criteria for abdominal adiposity and 10 to 28% of participants were considered diabetic. In Delhi, the "fruit and dairy" dietary pattern was positively associated with abdominal adiposity [highest versus lowest tertile, multivariate-adjusted OR and 95% CI: 2.32 (1.03-5.23); P_trend= 0.008] and hypertension [2.20 (1.47-3.31); P_trend< 0.0001]. In Trivandrum, the "pulses and rice" pattern was inversely related to diabetes [0.70 (0.51-0.95); P_trend= 0.03] and the "snacks and sweets" pattern was positively associated with abdominal adiposity [2.05 (1.34-3.14); P_trend= 0.03]. In Mumbai, the "fruit and vegetable" pattern was inversely associated with hypertension [0.63 (0.40-0.99); P_trend= 0.05] and the "snack and meat" pattern appeared to be positively associated with abdominal adiposity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Cardio-metabolic risk factors were highly prevalent in this population. Across all regions, we found little evidence of a Westernized diet; however, dietary patterns characterized by animal products, fried snacks, or sweets appeared to be positively associated with abdominal adiposity. Conversely, more traditional diets in the Southern regions were inversely related to diabetes and hypertension. Continued investigation of diet, as well as other environmental and biological factors, will be needed to better understand the risk profile in this population and potential means of prevention.</p

Consensus Recommendation for Mouse Models of Ocular Hypertension to Study Aqueous Humor Outflow and Its Mechanisms.

Due to their similarities in anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology to humans, mice are a valuable model system to study the generation and mechanisms modulating conventional outflow resistance and thus intraocular pressure. In addition, mouse models are critical for understanding the complex nature of conventional outflow homeostasis and dysfunction that results in ocular hypertension. In this review, we describe a set of minimum acceptable standards for developing, characterizing, and utilizing mouse models of open-angle ocular hypertension. We expect that this set of standard practices will increase scientific rigor when using mouse models and will better enable researchers to replicate and build upon previous findings

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Decision Support Credit Scoring Model to Improve Loan Default Prediction in Financial Institutions

Credit scoring plays a vital role in assessing the creditworthiness of loan applicants thus speeding up the approval process. Credit score models however rely on the accuracy of classification models for their performance. This accuracy performance depends not only on the choice of data mining process; it is heavily influenced by the quality of data as well. Although no techniques can be favored over the other, it has been evidenced that logistic regression has been widely employed as an industrial technique for its comprehensive simplicity. This study proposes a SEMMA-based credit scoring model developed with an improved Logistic Regression (LR) model. Improvements are by exclusion of irrelevant features and adjusting the partition ratios. The model has been compared with the predominant models and proved to contain outstanding results with minimal credit decision errors.</jats:p