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Background: Leishmania infantum is the only prevalent Leishmania species in Europe and manifesting predominantly as cutaneous or visceral leishmaniasis, whereas new world species like Leishmania (L.) braziliensis are well known pathogens in mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. Mucosal leishmaniasis caused by L. infantum is a rare clinical condition with only few cases described in literature. In contrast to our case, mostly immunocompromised patients with no history of leishmaniasis are affected. Case presentation: We describe the case of a 77-year-old German male who developed an ulcerous lesion of the tongue. As oral cancer was suspected, the patient underwent surgery. After suspected diagnosis of Leishmania spp. in histopathology, the patient was referred to our department for further diagnostics and treatment. Relapse from a cutaneous leishmaniasis acquired in Spain is likely, as L. infantum could be identified as the causative agent. The patient recovered after treatment. Conclusions: Mucosal leishmaniasis caused by L. infantum is rare and usually mistaken for malignancy. As demonstrated, it can be preceded by cutaneous leishmaniasis of the immunocompetent. Due to possible dissemination systemic treatment should be applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Filarial pathogens are described to inhabit and affect subcutaneous and lymphatic tissues of the human host. To date, little is known on how much oral health might be affected by filarial infections, even though involvement of the oro-facial region is pathophysiologically possible. Therefore, we conducted this systematic review of the literature to help reduce the current evidence gap. First, we reviewed the existing literature related to oro-facial filariasis and summarized all confirmed cases in detail. Second, we presented the demographic clinical characteristics of published oro-facial filariasis cases using descriptive statistics. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted using PubMed and Google Scholar to identify scholarly articles on oro-facial filariasis (PROSPERO: CRD42024551237). Clinical trial registries of clinicaltrials.gov and the Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR) were checked for ongoing studies on oro-facial filariasis. From clinical articles on filariasis and oro-facial health, patient-specific information was ascertained such as country of diagnosis, age, sex and symptoms of the patient, location of filarial disease manifestation, filarial worm species diagnosis, main clinical diagnosis, as well as main pathology and lastly therapy. Descriptive statistics were computed. Results: The systematic search was conducted on 18.06.2024. Initially a total of 1,064 publications was identified. No registered study on oro-facial filariasis was found on large clinical trial registers. After sequentially assessing abstracts and full-texts for eligibility, the analysis population was reduced to 68 articles amounting to 111 cases of oro-facial filariasis. Published articles which were identified and ultimately selected consisted solely of case reports, or case series; not a single epidemiological study was found in the published body of literature. Published data on oro-facial filariasis was identified from as early as 1864 until 2022. The median age of oro-facial filariasis cases was 39 years (range: 1 year to 80 years) and evenly distributed between the two sexes (49% [54/110] female and 51% [56/110]; sex not reported for one case). The vast majority of identified cases was on oro-facial dirofilariasis (92% [102/111]), followed by lymphatic filariasis (2.5% [3/111]), lymphatic filariasis with squamous carcinoma (2.5% [3/111]), and lastly by onchocerciasis (1% [1/111]). Although in 34% (38/111) of articles there was no clear description of the main pathology of oro-facial filariasis, all of the remaining 73 articles described nodules or swellings. Asymptomatic manifestations constituted almost 75% (55/73) and only about 25% (18/73) of articles described a symptomatic case. Conclusion: Although filarial diseases are to date not generally regarded as being associated with oral health problems this assumption might not be justified. This comprehensive systematic review was conducted to detect and collate all published studies on oro-facial filariasis. The fact that only case reports, or case series were identified suggests that this constitutes a neglected field of research. Cases identified in the published literature indicate that the vast majority of published oro-facial, filarial case reports were cases of dirofilariasis. Among the published studies, oro-facial filariasis manifested exclusively as nodules or swellings in different tissue locations. These nodules and swellings were mostly asymptomatic and therefore, cancer is an important differential diagnosis. Author summary: Although, filarial parasites can in theory affect the oro-facial space little is to date known on whether oro-facial involvement occurs in the course of filarial infection. Therefore, we conducted a review of the published scientific literature to provide a first estimate on the characteristics of oro-facial filariasis. We identified 68 articles published between 1864 and 2022 totaling up to 111 cases, which we further summarized and described in detail. The fact that the article type 'case report' was the solely published study design suggests that this constitutes a neglected research topic. The vast majority of patients had oro-facial dirofilariasis which manifested exclusively as nodules or swellings in different tissue locations. These nodules and swellings were mostly asymptomatic and therefore, cancer is an important differential diagnosis. Further prospective studies are now needed to understand better the frequency, nature, and public health impact of oro-facial filariasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Sleep‐disordered breathing is common in patients with coronary artery disease undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Sleep‐disordered breathing is associated with increased perioperative morbidity, arrhythmias (e.g. atrial fibrillation) and mortality. This study investigated the impact of sleep‐disordered breathing on the postoperative course after coronary artery bypass grafting, including development of atrial fibrillation. This prospective single‐centre cohort study included adults undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. All were screened for sleep‐disordered breathing (polygraphy) and atrial fibrillation (electrocardiogram) preoperatively; those with known sleep‐disordered breathing or atrial fibrillation were excluded. Endpoints included new‐onset atrial fibrillation, duration of mechanical ventilation, time in the intensive care unit, and postoperative infection. Regression analysis was performed to identify associations between sleep‐disordered breathing and these outcomes. A total of 508 participants were included (80% male, median age 68 years). The prevalence of any (apnea–hypopnea index ≥ 5 per hr), moderate (apnea–hypopnea index = 15–30 per hr) and severe (apnea–hypopnea index > 30 per hr) sleep‐disordered breathing was 52.9%, 9.3% and 10.2%, respectively. All‐cause 30‐day mortality was 0.98%. After adjustment for age and sex, severe sleep‐disordered breathing was associated with longer respiratory ventilation support (crude odds ratio [95% confidence interval] 5.28 [2.18–12.77]; p < 0.001) and higher postoperative infection rates (crude odds ratio 3.32 [1.45–7.58]; p < 0.005), but not new‐onset atrial fibrillation or mortality. New‐onset atrial fibrillation was significantly associated with postoperative infection and prolonged hospital stay. The significant associations between sleep‐disordered breathing and several adverse outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting support the need for preoperative sleep‐disordered breathing screening in individuals undergoing cardiac surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Schistosome egg deposition in pregnant women may affect the placenta of infected mothers and cause placental schistosomiasis (PS). Histopathological examination of placental tissue is an inadequate detection method due to low sensitivity. So far, there has not been any systematic review on PS. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search on PubMed, EMBASE, and Medline and included all publications that reported microscopically confirmed cases of PS, as well as the relevant secondary literature found in the citations of the primarily included publications. Results: Out of 113 abstracts screened we found a total of 8 publications describing PS with a total of 92 cases describing egg deposition of dead and/or viable eggs and worms of S. haematobium and S. mansoni in placental tissue. One cross-sectional study investigating the prevalence of PS and its association with adverse birth outcomes, found 22% of placentas to be infested using a maceration technique but only <1% using histologic examination. Additionally, no direct link to deleterious pregnancy outcomes could be shown. Conclusions: PS is a highly unattended and underdiagnosed condition in endemic populations, due to a lack of awareness as well as low sensitivity of histopathological examinations. However, PS may play an important role in mediating or reinforcing adverse birth outcomes (ABO) such as fetal growth restriction (FGR) in maternal schistosomiasis, possibly by placental inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biotechnology is a field that demands a high level of innovation and research quality. Therefore, it is vital to ensure that research firms have a high level of organizational capabilities and resources that can support innovation potential development and lead to high quality of project delivery. In the current study, the researcher has focused on Australian sector or biotechnology research firms in order to analyze how organizational capabilities of such firms, their innovation potential, and the quality of their project teams can lead to better commercialization of their research processes and products. In order to fulfill the objectives of the study, the researcher collected data from professionals working within the Australian biotechnology industry. The researcher conducted a survey with these respondents and analyzed the collected data using one way ANOVA regression. Innovation potential and project team quality were found to be significantly and directly impacting the commercialization performance of biotechnology research firms in a positive direction. However, it is found that organizational capabilities do not lead to directly impacting commercialization performance of biotechnology research firms. Therefore, in the future, there is a need to focus on strategies that can lead to enhancing the impact of organizational capabilities and resources on the commercialization and other types of performance of research firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing is limited in rural sub-Saharan Africa. We evaluated the performance of the Siemens CLINITEST® rapid coronavirus disease 2019 antigen test under real-life conditions during the pandemic in rural Gabon. From August 2021 to February 2022, 277 participants were tested in Sindara and Lambaréné, Gabon, via outpatient mobile services. Of these participants, 54.6% were female, with a median age of 29 years (interquartile range: 12-55). The test performance was analyzed for the main population and for SARS-CoV-2 infected sub-populations at both study sites (Lambaréné and Sindara). We further evaluated subpopulations with higher viral loads using a cycle threshold (Ct) value restricted to <35, 30, 25, and 20. Overall test sensitivity in the main population was 33.3% (95% CI: 23.6-44.3%), improving to 83.3% (95% CI: 35.9-99.6%) with a Ct value of <20. Specificity across all populations was 100% (190/190; 95% CI: 98.1-100%). The prevalence of polymerase chain reaction-defined SARS-CoV-2 was 31.4%. The positive predictive value was 100% (95% CI: 88.1-100%), and negative predictive value was 76.6% (95% CI: 70.8-81.7%). Sensitivity in Sindara was 71.4% (95% CI: 29-96.3%) and 30% (95% CI: 20.3-41.3%) in Lambaréné. The Siemens CLINITEST® demonstrated high specificity but low sensitivity overall. However, it exceeded the WHO-defined quality criteria of 80% in participants with high viral loads, making it a useful tool in resource-limited settings.