Validation of tuna Potential Fishing Zone advisories of Lakshadweep with a note on tuna habitat preferences and biology

Validation of tuna Potential Fishing Zone advisories of Lakshadweep with a note on tuna habitat preferences and biolog

The age of computational cardiology and future of long-term ablation target prediction for ventricular tachycardia

Ventricular arrhythmias, particularly ventricular tachycardia, are ubiquitously linked to 300,000 deaths annually. However, the current interventional procedure-the cardiac ablation-predict only short-term responses to treatment as the heart constantly remodels itself post-arrhythmia. To assist in the design of computational methods which focuses on long-term arrhythmia prediction, this review postulates three interdependent prospectives. The main objective is to propose computational methods for predicting long-term heart response to interventions in ventricular tachycardia Following a general discussion on the importance of devising simulations predicting long-term heart response to interventions, each of the following is discussed: (i) application of "metabolic sink theory" to elucidate the "re-entry" mechanism of ventricular tachycardia; (ii) application of "growth laws" to explain "mechanical load" translation in ventricular tachycardia; (iii) derivation of partial differential equations (PDE) to establish a pipeline to predict long-term clinical outcomes in ventricular tachycardia

Effect of Smartphone Use on Sleep in Undergraduate Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Smartphone use, particularly at night, has been shown to provoke various circadian sleep–wake rhythm disorders such as insomnia and excessive daytime tiredness. This relationship has been mainly scrutinized among patient groups with higher rates of smartphone usage, particularly adolescents and children. However, it remains obscure how smartphone usage impacts sleep parameters in adults, especially undergraduate college students. This study sought to (1) investigate the association between smartphone use (actual screen time) and four sleep parameters: Pittsburgh sleep quality score (PSQI), self-reported screen time, bedtime, and rise time; (2) compare the seven PSQI components between good and poor sleep quality subjects. In total, 264 undergraduate medical students (aged 17 to 25 years) were recruited from the Government Doon Medical College, Dehradun, India. All participants completed a sleep questionnaire, which was electronically shared via a WhatsApp invitation link. Hierarchical and multinomial regression analyses were performed in relation to (1) and (2). The average PSQI score was 5.03 ± 0.86, with approximately one in two respondents (48.3%) having a poor sleep index. Smartphone use significantly predicted respondents’ PSQI score (β = 0.142, p = 0.040, R2 = 0.027), perceived screen time (β = 0.113, p = 0.043, R2 = 343), bedtime (β = 0.106, p = 0.042, R2 = 045), and rise time (β = 0.174, p = 0.015, R2 = 0.028). When comparing poor-quality sleep (PSQI ≥ 5) to good-quality sleep (PSQI 0.05), five PSQI components declined significantly: subjective sleep quality (β = −0.096, p < 0.001); sleep latency (β = −0.034, p < 0.001); sleep duration (β = −0.038, p < 0.001); sleep disturbances (β = 1.234, p < 0.001); and sleep dysfunction (β = −0.077, p < 0.001). Consequently, public health policymakers should take this evidence into account when developing guidelines around smartphone use—i.e., the when, where, and how much smartphone use—to promote improved sleep behaviour and reduce the rate of sleep–wake rhythm disorders

The age of computational cardiology and future of long-term ablation target prediction for ventricular tachycardia

Ventricular arrhythmias, particularly ventricular tachycardia, are ubiquitously linked to 300,000 deaths annually. However, the current interventional procedure—the cardiac ablation—predict only short-term responses to treatment as the heart constantly remodels itself post-arrhythmia. To assist in the design of computational methods which focuses on long-term arrhythmia prediction, this review postulates three interdependent prospectives. The main objective is to propose computational methods for predicting long-term heart response to interventions in ventricular tachycardia Following a general discussion on the importance of devising simulations predicting long-term heart response to interventions, each of the following is discussed: (i) application of “metabolic sink theory” to elucidate the “re-entry” mechanism of ventricular tachycardia; (ii) application of “growth laws” to explain “mechanical load” translation in ventricular tachycardia; (iii) derivation of partial differential equations (PDE) to establish a pipeline to predict long-term clinical outcomes in ventricular tachycardia

Association between pregnancy and severe COVID-19 symptoms in Qatar: A cross-sectional study.

There is inconclusive evidence whether pregnancy exacerbates COVID-19 symptoms or not, and scarce data from the Middle East and North Africa region. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between pregnancy and COVID-19 symptoms in Qatar. This cross-sectional study was carried out using data of all women with confirmed COVID-19, comparing women of child-bearing age (18-49 years). Data of all COVID-19 cases were collected by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in Qatar, between March and September 2020. Symptoms were compared by pregnancy status and classified into moderate and severe. Multivariable logistic and Poisson regression was carried out to investigate the association between pregnancy and severity of COVID-19 symptoms. During the study period, 105 744 individuals were diagnosed with COVID-19, of which 16 908 were women of childbearing age. From that sample, 799 women were pregnant (mean age 29.9 years (SD 5.2)) and 16109 women were not pregnant (mean age 33.1 years (SD 7.8)). After multivariable logistic regression, pregnancy was associated with 1.4-fold higher odds of reporting any symptoms of COVID-19 (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.18-1.68), and 1.3-fold higher odds of reporting shortness of breath (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.02-1.63). In a multivariable Poisson regression, pregnancy was also associated with a higher count of symptoms (IRR 1.03, 95%CI 0.98-1.08), although with weak evidence against the null hypothesis. Our findings suggest that, in this setting, pregnant women are more likely to have symptomatic COVID-19, and shortness of breath, compared to women with no pregnancy

Autoantibodies to Agrin in Myasthenia Gravis Patients

To determine if patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) have antibodies to agrin, a proteoglycan released by motor neurons and is critical for neuromuscular junction (NMJ) formation, we collected serum samples from 93 patients with MG with known status of antibodies to acetylcholine receptor (AChR), muscle specific kinase (MuSK) and lipoprotein-related 4 (LRP4) and samples from control subjects (healthy individuals and individuals with other diseases). Sera were assayed for antibodies to agrin. We found antibodies to agrin in 7 serum samples of MG patients. None of the 25 healthy controls and none of the 55 control neurological patients had agrin antibodies. Two of the four triple negative MG patients (i.e., no detectable AChR, MuSK or LRP4 antibodies, AChR-/MuSK-/LRP4-) had antibodies against agrin. In addition, agrin antibodies were detected in 5 out of 83 AChR+/MuSK-/LRP4- patients but were not found in the 6 patients with MuSK antibodies (AChR-/MuSK+/LRP4-). Sera from MG patients with agrin antibodies were able to recognize recombinant agrin in conditioned media and in transfected HEK293 cells. These sera also inhibited the agrin-induced MuSK phosphorylation and AChR clustering in muscle cells. Together, these observations indicate that agrin is another autoantigen in patients with MG and agrin autoantibodies may be pathogenic through inhibition of agrin/LRP4/MuSK signaling at the NMJ

Concurrent Proinflammatory and Apoptotic Activity of a Helicobacter pylori Protein (HP986) Points to Its Role in Chronic Persistence

Helicobacter pylori induces cytokine mediated changes in gastroduodenal pathophysiology, wherein, the activated macrophages at the sub-mucosal space play a central role in mounting innate immune response against the antigens. The bacterium gains niche through persistent inflammation and local immune-suppression causing peptic ulcer disease or chronic gastritis; the latter being a significant risk factor for the development of gastric adenocarcinoma. What favors persistence of H. pylori in the gastric niches is not clearly understood. We report detailed characterization of a functionally unknown gene (HP986), which was detected in patient isolates associated with peptic ulcer and gastric carcinoma. Expression and purification of recombinant HP986 (rHP986) revealed a novel, ∼29 kDa protein in biologically active form which associates with significant levels of humoral immune responses in diseased individuals (p<0.001). Also, it induced significant levels of TNF-α and Interleukin-8 in cultured human macrophages concurrent to the translocation of nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB). Further, the rHP986 induced apoptosis of cultured macrophages through a Fas mediated pathway. Dissection of the underlying signaling mechanism revealed that rHP986 induces both TNFR1 and Fas expression to lead to apoptosis. We further demonstrated interaction of HP986 with TNFR1 through computational and experimental approaches. Independent proinflammatory and apoptotic responses triggered by rHP986 as shown in this study point to its role, possibly as a survival strategy to gain niche through inflammation and to counter the activated macrophages to avoid clearance

May Measurement Month 2018: a pragmatic global screening campaign to raise awareness of blood pressure by the International Society of Hypertension

Aims Raised blood pressure (BP) is the biggest contributor to mortality and disease burden worldwide and fewer than half of those with hypertension are aware of it. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global campaign set up in 2017, to raise awareness of high BP and as a pragmatic solution to a lack of formal screening worldwide. The 2018 campaign was expanded, aiming to include more participants and countries. Methods and results Eighty-nine countries participated in MMM 2018. Volunteers (≥18 years) were recruited through opportunistic sampling at a variety of screening sites. Each participant had three BP measurements and completed a questionnaire on demographic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. In total, 74.9% of screenees provided three BP readings. Multiple imputation using chained equations was used to impute missing readings. 1 504 963 individuals (mean age 45.3 years; 52.4% female) were screened. After multiple imputation, 502 079 (33.4%) individuals had hypertension, of whom 59.5% were aware of their diagnosis and 55.3% were taking antihypertensive medication. Of those on medication, 60.0% were controlled and of all hypertensives, 33.2% were controlled. We detected 224 285 individuals with untreated hypertension and 111 214 individuals with inadequately treated (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg) hypertension. Conclusion May Measurement Month expanded significantly compared with 2017, including more participants in more countries. The campaign identified over 335 000 adults with untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. In the absence of systematic screening programmes, MMM was effective at raising awareness at least among these individuals at risk

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder with AQP4‐IgG presenting as area postrema syndrome and progressing to myelitis: A rare case report

Key Clinical Message Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders can less commonly present with area postrema syndrome progressing to myelitis. Management involves intravenous glucocorticoids, plasma exchange, and preventive immunotherapy. Abstract Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders can less commonly present with area postrema syndrome progressing to myelitis. The majority of patients have positive AQP4‐Ab. Diagnosis is based on clinical and imaging findings. These patients can be treated with intravenous glucocorticoids, plasma exchange, and preventive immunotherapy