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This study explored Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) growth from tongue swabs, both experimentally infected after sampling from healthy controls, or sampled from patients with smear-microscopy confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). For both, we evaluated the performance of NALC-NaOH/MGIT960 (MGIT), Kudoh-Ogawa (KO), and cetylpyridinium chloride-Löwenstein-Jensen (CPC/LJ) culture processing methods. Experimentally spiked swabs from 20 participants exhibited 94.4% MTB growth when inoculated within 7 days of CPC exposure, declining significantly after 14-21 days (p<0.00001). KO-processed specimens showed 100% MTB growth, with a non-significant reduction after storage (94.1%; p=0.21), and all spiked swabs yielded growth in MGIT. In the field evaluation on 99 PTB patients, MGIT isolated MTB from 89% of tongue swabs, with an 8% contamination rate, compared to 99% MGIT positivity from sputum. Solid media had lower positivity, 62% for KO and 49% for CPC/LJ, suggesting MGIT as optimal for growing MTB from tongue swabs. Further testing of presumptive PTB patients is recommended., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None of the authors have a competing interest in this research to declare., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: Respiratory arrest plays an important role in sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). Adenosine is of interest in SUDEP pathophysiology due to its influence on seizures and breathing. The objective of this investigation was to examine the role of adenosine in seizure severity, seizure-induced respiratory disruption, and seizure-induced death using mouse models. Understanding adenosinergic contributions to seizure cessation and seizure-induced death may provide insights into how SUDEP can be prevented while avoiding increased seizure severity., Methods: Our approach was to examine: (1) seizure severity and seizure-induced death after 15 mA electroshock seizures and during repeated pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) administration in wild-type mice (Adk +/+ ) and transgenic mice with reduced adenosine metabolism (Adk +/- ); (2) the postictal hypercapnic ventilatory response (HCVR) in wild-type mice (the postictal HCVR could not be examined in Adk +/- mice due to their high mortality rate); and (3) the effects of adenosinergic drugs on seizure severity and seizure-induced death following maximal electroshock (MES)., Results: Adk +/- mice were more vulnerable to seizure-induced death in the 15 mA electroshock and repeated PTZ models. Despite increased mortality, Adk +/- mice had comparable seizure severity in the PTZ model and reduced seizure severity in the 15 mA electroshock model. Breathing and HCVR were suppressed by 15 mA electroshock seizures in wild-type mice. Pharmacological inhibition of adenosine metabolism decreased MES seizure severity but did not increase mortality. A 1 selective and nonselective adenosine receptor antagonists increased seizure-induced death following MES., Significance: Adenosine has opposing effects on seizure severity and seizure-induced death. On the one hand, our seizure severity data highlight the importance of adenosine in seizure suppression. On the other hand, our mortality data indicate that excessive extracellular adenosine signaling can increase the risk of seizure-induced respiratory arrest., (© 2024 The Author(s). Epilepsia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International League Against Epilepsy.)

Objective: This cross-sectional study examined whether religious coping buffered the associations between racial discrimination and several modifiable cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors-systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), body mass index (BMI), and cholesterol-in a sample of African American women and men., Methods: Participant data were taken from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity Across the Life Span study (N = 815; 55.2% women; 30-64 years old). Racial discrimination and religious coping were self-reported. CVD risk factors were clinically assessed., Results: In sex-stratified hierarchical regression analyses adjusted for age, socioeconomic status, and medication use, findings revealed several significant interactive associations and opposite effects by sex. Among men who experienced racial discrimination, religious coping was negatively related to systolic BP and HbA1c. However, in men reporting no prior discrimination, religious coping was positively related to most risk factors. Among women who had experienced racial discrimination, greater religious coping was associated with higher HbA1c and BMI. The lowest levels of CVD risk were observed among women who seldom used religious coping but experienced discrimination., Conclusion: Religious coping might mitigate the effects of racial discrimination on CVD risk for African American men but not women. Additional work is needed to understand whether reinforcing these coping strategies only benefits those who have experienced discrimination. It is also possible that religion may not buffer the effects of other psychosocial stressors linked with elevated CVD risk., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: We have previously demonstrated that double homeobox 4 centromeric (DUX4C) encoded for a functional DUX4c protein upregulated in dystrophic skeletal muscles. Based on gain- and loss-of-function studies we have proposed DUX4c involvement in muscle regeneration. Here, we provide further evidence for such a role in skeletal muscles from patients affected with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD)., Methods: DUX4c was studied at RNA and protein levels in FSHD muscle cell cultures and biopsies. Its protein partners were co-purified and identified by mass spectrometry. Endogenous DUX4c was detected in FSHD muscle sections with either its partners or regeneration markers using co-immunofluorescence or in situ proximity ligation assay., Results: We identified new alternatively spliced DUX4C transcripts and confirmed DUX4c immunodetection in rare FSHD muscle cells in primary culture. DUX4c was detected in nuclei, cytoplasm or at cell-cell contacts between myocytes and interacted sporadically with specific RNA-binding proteins involved, a.o., in muscle differentiation, repair, and mass maintenance. In FSHD muscle sections, DUX4c was found in fibers with unusual shape or central/delocalized nuclei (a regeneration feature) staining for developmental myosin heavy chain, MYOD or presenting intense desmin labeling. Some couples of myocytes/fibers locally exhibited peripheral DUX4c-positive areas that were very close to each other, but in distinct cells. MYOD or intense desmin staining at these locations suggested an imminent muscle cell fusion. We further demonstrated DUX4c interaction with its major protein partner, C1qBP, inside myocytes/myofibers that presented features of regeneration. On adjacent muscle sections, we could unexpectedly detect DUX4 (the FSHD causal protein) and its interaction with C1qBP in fusing myocytes/fibers., Conclusions: DUX4c upregulation in FSHD muscles suggests it contributes not only to the pathology but also, based on its protein partners and specific markers, to attempts at muscle regeneration. The presence of both DUX4 and DUX4c in regenerating FSHD muscle cells suggests DUX4 could compete with normal DUX4c functions, thus explaining why skeletal muscle is particularly sensitive to DUX4 toxicity. Caution should be exerted with therapeutic agents aiming for DUX4 suppression because they might also repress the highly similar DUX4c and interfere with its physiological role., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background and Objectives : Taiwan is among the nations with the highest rates of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and Hypertension (HTN). As more cases are reported each year, there is a rise in hospital admissions for people seeking medical attention. This creates a burden on hospitals and affects the overall management and administration of the hospitals. Hence, this study aimed to develop a machine learning (ML) model to predict the Length of Stay (LoS) and mortality among T2DM and HTN inpatients. Materials and Methods : Using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), this cohort study consisted of 58,618 patients, where 25,868 had T2DM, 32,750 had HTN, and 6419 had both T2DM and HTN. We analyzed the data with different machine learning models for the prediction of LoS and mortality. The evaluation was done by plotting descriptive statistical graphs, feature importance, precision-recall curve, accuracy plots, and AUC. The training and testing data were set at a ratio of 8:2 before applying ML algorithms. Results : XGBoost showed the best performance in predicting LoS (R2 0.633; RMSE 0.386; MAE 0.123), and RF resulted in a slightly lower performance (R2 0.591; RMSE 0.401; MAE 0.027). Logistic Regression (LoR) performed the best in predicting mortality (CV Score 0.9779; Test Score 0.9728; Precision 0.9432; Recall 0.9786; AUC 0.97 and AUPR 0.93), closely followed by Ridge Classifier (CV Score 0.9736; Test Score 0.9692; Precision 0.9312; Recall 0.9463; AUC 0.94 and AUPR 0.89). Conclusions : We developed a robust prediction model for LoS and mortality of T2DM and HTN inpatients. Linear Regression showed the best performance for LoS, and Logistic Regression performed the best in predicting mortality. The results showed that ML algorithms can not only help healthcare professionals in data-driven decision-making but can also facilitate early intervention and resource planning.

Clinical research conducted to Good Clinical Practice (GCP) standards is increasingly being undertaken in resource-constrained low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) settings. This presents unique challenges that differ from those faced in high-income country (HIC) contexts, due to a dearth of infrastructure and unique socio-cultural contexts. Field experiences by research teams working in these LMIC contexts are thus critical to advancing knowledge on successful research conduct in these settings. The Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has operated in The Gambia, a resource-constrained LMIC for over 70 years and has developed numerous research support platforms and systems. The unit was the lead clinical collaborator in a recently completed Expanded Program on Immunization Consortium (EPIC) study, involving a multicountry collaboration across five countries including the USA, Canada, Belgium, Papua New Guinea and The Gambia. The EPIC study recruited and completed follow-up of 720 newborn infants over 2 years. In this paper, we provide in-depth field experience covering challenges faced by the Gambian EPIC team in the conduct of this study. We also detail some reflections on these challenges. Our findings are relevant to the international research community as they highlight practical day-to-day challenges in conducting GCP standard clinical research in resource-constrained LMIC contexts. They also provide insights on how study processes can be adapted early during research planning to mitigate challenges., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Environmental quality has become a growing concern for Chinese society since the last 2 decades in China. The large contribution of different pollutants severely affected the environmental quality that untimely affects life expectancy in the country. In this backdrop, the present study investigates the impact of environmental quality and public spending on the environment for life expectancy in China using the period 1999Q1-2017Q4. We employ nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) approach for the empirical assessment. The outcomes of the study reveal the existence of a long-run relationship between environmental quality, public spending on the environment and life expectancy in China. The empirical finding reported that life expectancy reacts differently in response to positive and negative shocks of environmental quality both in the long- and short-run. Environmental quality and spending on the environment increase the life expectancy, furthermore, population has a positive and significant association with life expectancy only in short run while in long run it does not affect. Hence, the government needs to roll out policies to enhance environmental quality and ensure adequate funding for environmental preservation, to achieve both longevity of society and sustainability of the eco-system., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The trimellar pregnancy on bicicatricial uterus is a rare situation. It can be associated with many maternal-fetal complications. Given these risks, some teams opt for an embryonic reduction. We report a case of spontaneous trimellar pregnancy on bicicatricial uterus. This was a 38 year-old patient, third pregnancy, second birth, 2 alive with a history of 2 caesareans. The evolution of the pregnancy was marked by a urinary tract infection at 34 weeks of gestation. The caesarean section performed at 36 weeks of gestation allowed the birth of 3 newborns, 2 of which were females in 2000 and 1900 grams, and one male weighing 2400 grams. The postpartum was marked by a rapidly resolved eclampsia crisis., (Le comité de rédaction se réserve le droit de renvoyer aux auteurs avant toute soumission à l'avis des lecteurs les manuscrits qui ne seraient pas conformes à ces modalités de présentation. En outre il leur conseille de conserver un exemplaire du manuscrit, des figures et des tableaux.)

Sexual assault on college campuses is a public health issue. However varying research methodologies (e.g., different sexual assault definitions, measures, assessment timeframes) and low response rates hamper efforts to define the scope of the problem. To illuminate the complexity of campus sexual assault, we collected survey data from a large population-based random sample of undergraduate students from Columbia University and Barnard College in New York City, using evidence based methods to maximize response rates and sample representativeness, and behaviorally specific measures of sexual assault to accurately capture victimization rates. This paper focuses on student experiences of different types of sexual assault victimization, as well as sociodemographic, social, and risk environment correlates. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression were used to estimate prevalences and test associations. Since college entry, 22% of students reported experiencing at least one incident of sexual assault (defined as sexualized touching, attempted penetration [oral, anal, vaginal, other], or completed penetration). Women and gender nonconforming students reported the highest rates (28% and 38%, respectively), although men also reported sexual assault (12.5%). Across types of assault and gender groups, incapacitation due to alcohol and drug use and/or other factors was the perpetration method reported most frequently (> 50%); physical force (particularly for completed penetration in women) and verbal coercion were also commonly reported. Factors associated with increased risk for sexual assault included non-heterosexual identity, difficulty paying for basic necessities, fraternity/sorority membership, participation in more casual sexual encounters ("hook ups") vs. exclusive/monogamous or no sexual relationships, binge drinking, and experiencing sexual assault before college. High rates of re-victimization during college were reported across gender groups. Our study is consistent with prevalence findings previously reported. Variation in types of assault and methods of perpetration experienced across gender groups highlight the need to develop prevention strategies tailored to specific risk groups.