Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT in evaluating ovarian physiological FDG uptake. We also prospect future research. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Nuclear Medicine Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University. Sample: female patients who underwent simultaneous [18F]-FDG PET/CT and [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT examinations in the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University from September of 2020 to January of 2021. Methods: We reviewed the data of 78 female patients who underwent [18F]-FDG and [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT scanning within 3 days and selected those whose ovaries showed abnormal FDG activity. Patients with ovarian lesions confirmed by pathological biopsy or clinical follow-up were excluded, and the uptake of imaging agents was semi-quantitatively analyzed. Main outcome measures: Characteristics of ovarian imaging agent uptake on 18F-FDG and 68Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT images, pathological data, and clinical follow-up evidence. Results: This study included 14 patients who were diagnosed with physiological ovarian FDG uptake by pathology or at least 6 months follow-up. The average age was 38.6 years old (range, 19-52). Physiological ovarian uptake of FDG was more common in unilateral cases, with a median SUVmax of 4.8±1.8 (range, 2.7-8.2). There was no ovarian uptake of the imaging agent on FAPI imaging. Conclusion: Our study showed that FDG, but not FAPI, uptake increased in normal ovaries due to the influence of the menstrual cycle. [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT has a unique advantage in differentiating the ovarian physiological [18F]-FDG uptake and can better identify ovarian lesions.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether there is a relationship with serum decorin levels in second and third trimester pregnant women with PPROM. DESIGN: After this study was approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital all subjects included in the study signed informed consent forms that they agreed to participate in the study. SETTING: We collected all biochemical and demograpfic characteristics of patients. Decorin levels of plasma samples were measured using the Human Decorin Elisa Kit. POPULATION: 35 patients who were diagnosed with PPROM from the outpatient clinic with the complaint of sudden gush of amniotic fluid and 35 patients without any obstetric problem were included in our study. METHODS: This study is a prospective controlled study. All statistical analyzes were performed using IBM SPSS 26.0 statistical package program and Microsoft Excel V 2019. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The mean plasma decorin level was 14.7 ng/ml in the PPROM group and it was not found to be statistically significantly lower than the control group with the mean plasma decorin level of 17.5 ng/ml (p=0.339). RESULTS: A significant correlation was found between plasma decorin levels and BMI in both groups (p<0.05). In the PPROM group, no significant correlation was found between the latent time from sampling to delivery of the pregnant woman (p=0.153). CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that the approach to diagnose or predict PPROM by determining the serum decorin levels that we aimed in our study is not currently possible.

Background: The influenza vaccine (IV) is considered the most effective strategy to prevent seasonal influenza infection and annual vaccination of healthcare workers (HCWs) is recommended by the World Health Organization given their high mixing with patients. We assessed IV uptake among HCWs in the 2018–2019 season and explored their knowledge and attitudes regarding influenza immunization. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 150 representative Tunisian health facilities from March to May 2019. We recruited 1,231 HCWs with direct patient contact using self-weighted multistage sampling. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses permitted to assess the factors associated with IV uptake in the 2018–2019 influenza season. Results: Among 1,231 health professionals enrolled in this study, less than half (36.6%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 33.9-39.4) received the IV at least once in their lives and only 15.3% (CI: 13.3-17.4) were vaccinated against influenza in the 2018–2019 influenza season. High confidence regarding IV efficacy, belief about the mandatory character of influenza vaccination for HCWs, and IV uptake in the 4 years preceding the 2018–2019 influenza season were independently associated with higher IV uptake by multivariate analysis. However, participants with high educational level were less likely to receive the IV than those with the lowest educational level. Conclusions: Our study revealed a low vaccination rate among Tunisian HCWs confirming the importance of tailored education programs targeting this population.

Congenital left atrial appendage aneurysm is an extremely rare heart malformation. Some researchers also call it left atrial appendage diverticulum. Here, we report a patient who was hospitalized due to paroxysmal palpitations that became worse for 2 months. Transthoracic echocardiography and contrast echocardiography suggest a left atrial appendage aneurysm with thrombosis. Magnetic resonance imaging showed long T2 and slightly short T1 signal at the top of the left atrial appendage aneurysm. Computed tomography examination showed that the left atrium was connected to the giant left atrial appendage. The patient refused surgery despite the high risk of thromboembolism. Key words: left atrial appendage aneurysm, congenital heart malformation, thrombus

The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters play a key role in drug pharmacokinetics. These membrane transporters are present in several physiological barriers and they can be a source of pharmacokinetic variability. Changes in ABC transporter expression and functionality may consequently affect drug disposition resulting in different drug exposure. Inflammation, present in several acute and chronic diseases, has been identified as a source of modulation in drug transporter expression leading to variability in drug response. Its regulation may be particularly dangerous for drugs with a narrow therapeutic index. In this context, numerous in vitro and in -vivo models have shown up- or downregulation in the expression and functionality of ABC transporters under inflammatory conditions. Nevertheless, the existence of nonagreed data and the lack of standardization for the models used have led to a more complex interpretation of these data. Thereby, the standardization of study models is crucial to increase the relevance of data. In addition, current data are not sufficient and further studies should be performed to provide new evidence using additional techniques such as mass spectrometry that will give more accurate quantitative information about ABC transporter expression during inflammation.

The pitfalls in the enzymatic characterization of LwCas13a we encountered may trouble other colleagues in the future, and we hope to share this unpleasant experience regarding the issue of leakages in ion-exchange chromatography

Introduction: The rapidly expanding era of “omics” research is highly dependent on the availability of quality-proven biological material, especially for rare conditions such as pediatric malignancies. Professional biobanks provide such material, focusing on standardized collection and handling procedures, distinctive quality measurements, traceability of storage conditions, and accessibility. For pediatric malignancies traditional tumor biobanking is challenging due to the rareness and limited amount of tissue and blood samples. The higher molecular heterogeneity, lower mutation rates, and unique genomic landscapes, however, renders biobanking of this tissue even more crucial. Aim: The aim of this study was to test and establish methods for a prospective and centralized biobank for infants, children and adolescents up to 18 years of age diagnosed with cancer in Norway. Methods: Obtain judicial and ethical approvals and administration through a consortium, steering committee and advisory board. Develop pipelines including SOPs for all aspects in the biobank process, including collection, processing and storing of samples and data, as well of quality controlling, safeguarding, distributing and transport. Results: The childhood cancer biobanking started at Oslo University Hospital (OUH) in March 2017 and was from 2019 run as a national Norwegian Childhood Cancer Biobank (NCCB). Informed consent and biological samples are collected regionally and stored centrally. Approximately 12000 samples from 510 patients and have been included by 01.01.2021, representing a 96% consent and participation rate among our newly diagnosed patients. Conclusion: A well functioning nationwide collection and centralized biobank with standardized procedures and national storage for pediatric malignancies has been established with a high acceptance among families.

Rationale, aims and objectives: Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an important tool for facilitating the uptake of research findings in physiotherapy. It is the best way in which clinicians can meet the ethical imperative of providing the best available care for patients. Translation of evidence into practice requires training, resources and commitment by health care professionals as well as policy formulation and implementation. This study explored the perspectives and experiences of physiotherapists regarding evidence-based practice in Nigeria Methods: The study utilized an exploratory qualitative design. Twenty-seven physiotherapists from seven selected public hospitals in Nigeria were purposively selected for the study. Four sessions of Focus Group Discussions were conducted with six to eight participants in each session at three different hospitals. A developed focus guide was used during the focus group discussions. An individual knowledgeable in the techniques of focus group discussion moderated the FGDs. Data collected were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using content thematic analysis. Results: A total of five themes and twelve sub-themes emerged from the study. The themes are knowledge /understanding of evidence-based practice, access to evidence, experiences in implementation of evidence based practice, perceived challenges and possible solutions for evidence translation. Some of the participants with postgraduate degrees and recent graduates of Physiotherapy had fair knowledge of evidence-based practice. Participants experienced difficulties accessing and implementing evidence; some of which were personal and other challenges were context specific Conclusion: Physiotherapists in Nigeria have fair knowledge of evidence-based practice but lack adequate skill, resources and policy for evidence-based practice implementation. Poor remuneration and high workload are serious challenges, which will not encourage implementation of evidence-based practice even when skills and resources are available. There is need for context specific solutions through the government policy and Physiotherapy regulatory board for effective implementation of evidence based practice in Nigeria

Background : Tuberculosis is still an important world health problem. The parietal chest wall site in children is a extremely rare form of tuberculosis. Its diagnosis is often so difficult requiring a surgical biopsy. Case presentation : We report the case of 1.5-year-old infant, with no family history of active tuberculosis, who had a swelling of the anterior chest wall for two months. Physical examination found a swelling measuring 1.5 cm by 1 cm in relation to the second parasternal intercostal space, fluctuating in its center, with an inflammatory skin which fistulized giving a bud-like appearance with a purulent exudate. Chest X-ray was normal. The thoracic computed tomography showed a sternal mass responsible for a bone lysis with an infiltration. Pathology examination of biopsies of the parietal mass confirmed the diagnosis of caseo-follicular tuberculosis with lesion of tuberculosis osteitis. Human immunodeficiency virus serology was negative, early morning gastric aspirates performed on two consecutive days were negative for acid-fast bacilli, and quantiferon TB Gold in tube test resulted was also negative. Antitubercular therapy was started with prolonged regimens for 12 months. She has allowed a favorable outcome with healing of the thoracic parietal lesion after 6 months. Conclusions : Diagnosis of chest well tuberculosis is still challenging even if we are in endemic area and it must be conducted early, his management is based on both surgey and antitubercular therapy for having a complete recovery. Prompt diagnosis and treatment are important to prevent serious complications.

Endobronchial mucoepidermoid tumors are rare neoplasms but most cases are reported in children. Due to nonspecific symptoms, diagnosis can be challenging, but early diagnosis and treatment are crucial for prognosis. We present the case of a boy, with chronic respiratory insufficiency due to bronchiolitis obliterans, that presented worsening exertional dyspnea at 12 years. Spirometry showed a frank deterioration of respiratory function and CT scan revealed an obstructive polypoid mass in the intermediate bronchus. Given the severe basal ventilatory compromise and risk associated with surgical treatment, rigid bronchoscopy and laser excision, and photocoagulation were performed, with clinical and functional improvement. The histological examination revealed a low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma. The option for a minimally invasive procedure requires careful follow-up due to the risk of tumor recurrence.

While it is often assumed that oncogenic process in metazoans can influence biotic interactions, empirical evidence for that is lacking. Here, we use the cnidarian Hydra oligactis to experimentally explore the consequences of tumor associated phenotypic alterations for the hydra’s predation efficiency, the relationship with commensal ciliates and the vulnerability to predators. Unexpectedly, the efficiency of hydra predation on prey was higher in tumorous polyps compared to non-tumorous ones. Commensal ciliates colonized preferentially tumorous hydras than non-tumorous ones, and had a higher replication rate on the former. Finally, in a choice experiment, tumorous hydras were preferentially eaten by a fish predator. This study, for the first time, provides evidence that neoplastic growth has the potential, through effect(s) on host phenotype, to alter biotic interactions within ecosystems and should thus be necessarily taken into account by ecologists.

Carcinoid heart disease is a rare condition that occurs in half of patients with carcinoid syndrome. The disease mostly affects right-sided heart valves; however, in 5-10%, it can also involve left-sided valves. This case illustrates the most complicated form of the disease with involvement of four heart valves.

Papillary fibroelastomas are rare benign heart tumors, with the most common involvement of heart valves. We will present an extremely rare localization of a large Valsalva sinus fibroelastoma, with occasional left coronary artery ostial obstruction, which is presented as an acute coronary syndrome. The tumor was removed surgically and histologically confirmed as papillary fibroelastoma. This review points to the crucial importance of multidisciplinary team decision and multimodality imaging method for diagnosis of the fibroelastoma, determination of size, and localization, which avoided complications of fatal embolizations during an invasive procedure.

In this work, we study a parallel Schwarz method for a class of elliptic variational inequalities. The domain is split into m sub-domains with overlapping nonmatching grids. The principal result of this investigation is to prove the error estimate in L∞-norm, making use of a geometrical convergence, and the uniform convergence.

The Nagumo equation describes a reaction-diffusion system in biology. Here, it is coupled to Burgers equation, via including convection, which is, namely; Burgers-Nagumo equation BNE. The first objective of this work is to present a theorem to reduce the different versions of the fractional time derivatives FTD to “non autonomous” ordinary ones, that is ordinary derivatives with time dependent coefficients. The second objective is to find the exact solutions of the fractal and fractional time derivative -BNE, that is to solve BNE with time dependent coefficient. On the other hand FTD can be transformed to BNE with constant coefficients via similarity transformations. The unified and extended unified method are used. Self-similar solutions are also obtained. It is found that significant fractal effects hold for smaller order derivatives. While significant fractional effects hold for higher-order derivatives. The solutions obtained show solitary, wrinkle soliton waves, with double kinks, undulated, or with spikes. Further It is shown that wrinkle soliton wave, with double kink configuration holds for smaller fractal order. While in the case of fractional derivative, this holds for higher orders.

Background: Epstein-Barr virus associated smooth muscle tumors (EBV-SMT) are rare neoplasms that occur in immunocompromised individuals. Although generally less aggressive in adults, data in pediatric solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients suggest these malignancies may be more difficult to manage. As pediatric SOT becomes more common, the occurrence of EBV-SMT is likely to increase. Understanding what incites and drives these tumors is paramount. Design/Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the electronic health record (EHR) of 152 pediatric cardiac transplant recipients at our single institution between 1985-2017. Three patients were identified as having EBV SMT. We reviewed their demographics, time to malignancy, histology, treatment, and subsequent course. Results: Of the 152 cardiac transplant recipients reviewed at our institution between 1985-2017, three were identified to have EBV SMT (confirmed by EBER CISH). In our series, the average time to diagnosis was approximately 32 months following transplant. Liver was the most common site of EBV SMT. Two patients were diagnosed with EBV SMT after a known PTLD diagnosis. All three patients had elevated EBV titers at (or around) time of diagnosis, and there was one patient with EBV donor/recipient mismatch. Treatment was individualized and varied case by case. Conclusion: EBV-SMTs are rare in pediatric SOT and are difficult to manage in the setting of required immunosuppression. While there is some literature to suggest the use of mTOR inhibition and CTL therapy is helpful in treatment of EBV SMT, data remains limited given the paucity of cases. At current, there remains no standard of care for treatment of pediatric EBV SMT.

We present a new least squares based diamond scheme for anisotropic diffusion problems on polygonal meshes. This scheme introduces both cell-centered unknowns and vertexunknowns. The vertex unknowns are intermediate ones and are expressed aslinear combinations with the surrounding cell-centeredunknowns by a new vertex interpolation algorithm which is alsoderived in least squares approach. The least squares approach is very flexible due to that theleast squares method can solve overdetermined linear system. Both of the new scheme and the vertex interpolation algorithmare applicable to diffusion problems with discontinuous andanisotropic diffusion tensor on polygonal meshes. Besides, they are linearity-preserving under givenassumptions, and the optimal converge rates for both L2 errorand H1 error are observed in numerical experiments. More interesting is that a very robust performance of the newvertex interpolation algorithm on random meshes compared withthe algorithm LPEW2 can be found from the numerical tests.

Aspergillosis causes invasive pulmonary disease in patients with hematological malignancies. Children with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) usually have non-specific radiographic findings unlike cavitary lesions commonly seen in adults. Pneumothorax due to rupture of peripheral fungal lesion may be a severe complication in patients with neutropenia. Here, we describe three children during induction chemotherapy for B-lymphoblastic leukemia with pneumothorax as a presenting feature of pulmonary aspergillosis.

Here, we report a lethal case of natural infection with the H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus of clade 2.3.4.4 in a mandarin duck. Pathological findings revealed that neurological clinical signs were attributable to neurotropic infection. The potential role of mandarin ducks in HPAIV dissemination should be re-evaluated.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric cancer patients are considered one of vulnerable group for covid-19 infections and its associated complication. We assessed in this study, covid-19 prevalence and implications in pediatric cancer patients of North-East India METHODS: A total of sixty three pediatric cancer patients were tested for covid-19 by RT-PCR between July 2020 to September 2020. All the patients received chemotherapy as per their cancer types. Patients within age group one year to eighteen years were included. Retrospectively medical records of pediatric cancer patients were analyzed for clinical outcome between COVID positive and negative group. RESULTS: Among sixty three patient, 19(30%) were found positive for COVID-19. Among COVID-19 positive patients, fourteen patients have hematological malignancies. Fever was the main presenting symptom along with cough and sore throat there were no statistically significant association observed between COVID-19 positive and negative group for gender, cancer type, total WBC count and absolute neutrophil count. Survival outcome has shown statistically significant association (p=0.0065) between COVID-19 positive and negative pediatric cancer patients. Four deaths occurred in COVID-19 positive patients but there was no death in COVID-19 negative patients. Statistically significant association was also observed between COVID-19 positivity in patients being symptomatic (p=0.0001). CONCLUSION: We conclude from our present study that among pediatric cancer patients of North-East India, COVID-19 positivity was significantly high in symptomatic patients compared to asymptomatic. Among COVID-19 positive pediatric cancer patients risk of death was significantly higher compared to COVID-19 negative patients.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) and invertebrate-derived DNA (iDNA) have been increasingly recognized as a powerful tool for biodiversity assessment and conservation management. However, because of uncertainties on the efficiency of eDNA/iDNA approach in comparison to conventional methods, its use to assess the vertebrate diversity is still rare. Here we assessed the efficiency of eDNA/iDNA in comparison to conventional methods to survey vertebrate diversity across several type of samplers, vertebrate groups, and location (tropical vs temperate zones), as well as its efficiency to be used as a proxy for relative abundance or biomass across different molecular methods (qPCR and metabarcoding) and types of experiments (in the lab or in the field). The metanalysis showed that, in general, there is no difference in the number of species detected or number of sites that a target species was detected when using eDNA/iDNA or conventional methods, suggesting that eDNA/iDNA and conventional methods were equally efficient in characterizing the biodiversity. However, for water sampler and fish, separately, the risk of not finding a species was greater using conventional method than eDNA, suggesting that eDNA/iDNA was more efficient in finding the target species. Abundance and biomass showed similar correlation patterns, and there was a positive correlation between eDNA/iDNA and abundance/biomass data, suggesting that eDNA/iDNA can be used as a proxy for abundance and biomass. Therefore, eDNA/iDNA has proved to be an efficient tool to assess vertebrate diversity in terms of both diversity of species and abundance or biomass.

The aim of present study was to characterize the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase sub unit 1 gene (COI) from Apis dorsata population inhabited at different geo-locations of southern India. A. dorsata worker bees were obtained randomly from the natural colonies in urban location, malnad, semi-arid and arid locations. Thorax was used for subsequent DNA extraction and was amplified by PCR, followed by Sanger sequencing. The mt-DNA COI nucleotides were matched with BLAST to obtain sequences from the NCBI that have high levels of homology (>90%). The gene was amplified using universal primers. Surprisingly, phylogenetic tree of A. dorsata derived from different geo-locations indicated interesting outcome. Nevertheless, the mt- COI sequences of A. dorsata derived from arid and semi-arid locations were lying on the same clade and showing 90% similarity however, mt-DNA COI sequences of A. dorsata from malnad location lies in another clade, but mt-DNA COI sequences of A. dorsata from urban location showed close relation to AY58841511-321. Moreover, the evolutionary relationship indicated 58% similarity between A. dorsata populations live in malnad and urban locations. Interestingly, the urban location has shown significant variation in nucleotide sequence compared to other geo locations based on neighbor joining and maximum likelihood methods and thus, sequence divergence existed among the A. dorsata population.

Using whole mitochondrial DNA sequences from 89 white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) sampled from Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Denmark and Estonia between 1990-2018, we investigate the mitogenomic variation within and between countries. We show that there is a substantial population differentiation between the countries, reflecting similar major phylogeographic patterns obtained previously for the control region of the mitochondria, which suggested two main refugia during the last glacial period of Ice Age. Distinct mitogenomic lineages are observed within countries which divergence times exceeds the time since last glacial period of Ice Age ended. The lineages appear to have been maintained by natural selection. An excess of segregating amino acids in comparison with number of fixations, as revealed by the neutrality index suggests a load of deleterious mutations. The maintenance of mtDNA lineages within countries inflates our estimates of effective national population sizes and the times of their divergence.

Background: Embryonal tumor with multilayered rosettes (ETMR) are a heterogenous group clinically, pathologically and topographically. Due to limited cases, data regarding its molecular genetics, pathology and prognostic factors is evolving. We retrospectively analysed our cohort of ETMR over last decade in order to study their clinicopathological characteristics and outcome. Methods: Our cohort consisted of patients diagnosed with Embryonal tumor with abundant neuropil and true rosettes (ETANTR)/Ependymoblastoma (EBL)/ Medulloepithelioma (MEPL) over the past decade. Clinical details, including outcome and imaging data was retrieved. Histological analysis including immunohistochemical work-up was performed. Results: Cohort included 15 patients with age range between 1-28 years and M:F ratio of 1.5:1. Supratentorial location predominated in comparison to tumors arising in posterior fossa. ETANTR and EBL patterns were equally distributed (40% each), followed by one case each of mixed pattern (EBL+ETANTR), MEPL and embryonal tumor, unclassified. All tumors readily expressed LIN 28A and INI-1 was retained. Recurrence with evidence of glial and rhabdoid differentiation was noted in a single patient 9 months following resection. Follow-up period ranged from 1-31 months, with overall median survival of 6.4 months. Eight patients were planned for adjuvant treatment following surgery, of which only four could complete it. All patients, except for one, succumbed to the disease. Conclusions: ETMR have a heterogenous morphology and gathers ETANTR, EBL, MEPL within its spectrum. Following treatment, the recurrent tumor may feature glial/rhabdoid differentiation. LIN28A is expressed in all cases, however should be interpreted in context of histology. Prognosis of ETMR remains dismal despite multimodal therapy.