Transcription Factors behind MYB98 Regulation: What Does the Discovery of SaeM Suggest?

MYB98 is master regulator of the molecular network involved in pollen tube attraction. Until recently, it was unclear how this gene exhibits exclusively synergid cell-specific expression in ovule. Our recent study has established that a 16-bp-long SaeM element is crucial for its synergid cell-specific expression in ovule, and an 84-bp-long fragment harboring SaeM is sufficient to drive the process. In this study, we have developed a workflow to predict functional roles of potential transcription factors (TFs) putatively binding to the promoter region, taking MYB98 promoter as a test subject. After sequential assessment of co-expression pattern, network analysis, and potential master regulator identification, we have proposed a multi-TF model for MYB98 regulation. Our study suggests that ANL2, GT-1, and their respective homologs could be direct regulators of MYB98 and indicates that TCP15, TCP16, FRS9, and HB34 are likely master regulators of the majority of the TFs involved in its regulation. Comprehensive studies in the future are expected to offer more insights into such propositions. Developed workflow can be used while designing similar regulome-related studies for any other species and genes.

Supplemental phosphorus can be completely replaced with microbial phytase in White Leghorn layer diets.

1. A study was conducted to assess the possibility of totally replacing supplemental phosphorus sources in White Leghorn (WL) layer diets (aged 28 to 45 weeks of age) with microbial phytase supplementation. One thousand commercial layers (HyLine White) of 28 weeks of age were housed in California cages fitted in open-sided poultry shed at the rate of 20 layers in each replicate. Ten replicates were randomly allotted to each treatment, and the respective diet was fed from 28 to 45 weeks of age.2. A control diet (CD) containing the recommended levels of non-phytate phosphorus (3.6 g/kg NPP) and four other test diets (2-5) having sub-optimal levels of NPP (2.4, 2.0, 1.6 and 1.2 g/kg), but with supplemental microbial phytase (600 FTU/kg) were prepared and fed for the trial duration.3. The layers fed with lower levels of NPP with phytase had the same laying performance as the group fed the CD. Egg production, feed efficiency, egg mass, shell defects, egg density, shell weight, shell thickness, ash content and breaking strength of the tibia and sternum were not affected by feeding the lowest concentration of NPP (1.2 g/kg) plus microbial phytase.4. Phytase supplementation in diets with sub-optimal levels of NPP (2.4, 2 and 1.6 g/kg) significantly improved the Haugh unit score compared to those fed the CD.5. It was concluded that supplemental phosphorus can be completely replaced with microbial phytase (600 FTU/kg) in a diet without affecting egg production, shell quality or bone mineral variables in WL layers (28 to 45 weeks).

The Nasal Microarchitecture: How Does Tracheostomy Affect it?

This study aims to evaluate the histological changes in the nasal mucosa post Tracheostomy. A prospective observational study was done on 30 patients undergoing Tracheostomy after obtaining written informed consent from patients/legally accepted representatives. Prior to Tracheostomy, anterior rhinoscopy was done, and findings were noted; nasal mucosal biopsy was obtained from the inferior turbinate. The patients enrolled were followed up for four weeks, and in the patients still having Tracheostomy, repeat inferior turbinate biopsies were taken and compared. Statistically significant atrophy of lining epithelium was seen in 80% of the subjects, i.e., pseudostratified lining epithelium at Baseline with multilayered appearance changed to a single layer of flattened cells at follow-up. There was also a marked reduction in the number of seromucinous glands in the stroma at follow-up in 80% of the subjects. Additionally, fibrosis in the stroma was noted in 43.3% of subjects at follow-up. The results from this study indicate that Tracheostomy, likely as a result of nasal airflow deprivation, brings about significant changes in the microanatomy of the nasal airway. The extent of this causation and its implication in nasal pathology must be studied in larger populations with extended follow-up periods.

Modeling relaxed policies for discontinuation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus contact precautions.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the economic costs of reducing the University of Virginia Hospital's present "3-negative" policy, which continues methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) contact precautions until patients receive 3 consecutive negative test results, to either 2 or 1 negative. DESIGN: Cost-effective analysis. SETTINGS: The University of Virginia Hospital. PATIENTS: The study included data from 41,216 patients from 2015 to 2019. METHODS: We developed a model for MRSA transmission in the University of Virginia Hospital, accounting for both environmental contamination and interactions between patients and providers, which were derived from electronic health record (EHR) data. The model was fit to MRSA incidence over the study period under the current 3-negative clearance policy. A counterfactual simulation was used to estimate outcomes and costs for 2- and 1-negative policies compared with the current 3-negative policy. RESULTS: Our findings suggest that 2-negative and 1-negative policies would have led to 6 (95% CI, -30 to 44; P < .001) and 17 (95% CI, -23 to 59; -10.1% to 25.8%; P < .001) more MRSA cases, respectively, at the hospital over the study period. Overall, the 1-negative policy has statistically significantly lower costs ($628,452; 95% CI, $513,592-$752,148) annually (P < .001) in US dollars, inflation-adjusted for 2023) than the 2-negative policy ($687,946; 95% CI, $562,522-$812,662) and 3-negative ($702,823; 95% CI, $577,277-$846,605). CONCLUSIONS: A single negative MRSA nares PCR test may provide sufficient evidence to discontinue MRSA contact precautions, and it may be the most cost-effective option.

Using neural networks to calibrate agent based models enables improved regional evidence for vaccine strategy and policy.

Distribution and administration strategy are critical to successful population immunization efforts. Agent-based modeling (ABM) can reflect the complexity of real-world populations and can experimentally evaluate vaccine strategy and policy. However, ABMs historically have been limited in their time-to-development, long runtime, and difficulty calibrating. Our team had several technical advances in the development of our GradABMs: a novel class of scalable, fast and differentiable simulations. GradABMs can simulate million-size populations in a few seconds on commodity hardware, integrate with deep neural networks and ingest heterogeneous sources. This allows for rapid and real-world sensitivity analyses. Our first epidemiological GradABM (EpiABMv1) enabled simulation interventions over real million-scale populations and was used in vaccine strategy and policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Literature suggests decisions aided by evidence from these models saved thousands of lives. Our most recent model (EpiABMv2) extends EpiABMv1 to allow improved regional calibration using deep neural networks to incorporate local population data, and in some cases different policy recommendations versus our prior models. This is an important advance for our model to be more effective at vaccine strategy and policy decisions at the local public health level.

Using spectral characterization to identify healthcare-associated infection (HAI) patients for clinical contact precaution.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a major problem in hospital infection control. Although HAIs can be suppressed using contact precautions, such precautions are expensive, and we can only apply them to a small fraction of patients (i.e., a limited budget). In this work, we focus on two clinical problems arising from the limited budget: (a) choosing the best patients to be placed under precaution given a limited budget to minimize the spread (the isolation problem), and (b) choosing the best patients to release when limited budget requires some of the patients to be cleared from precaution (the clearance problem). A critical challenge in addressing them is that HAIs have multiple transmission pathways such that locations can also accumulate 'load' and spread the disease. One of the most common practices when placing patients under contact precautions is the regular clearance of pathogen loads. However, standard propagation models like independent cascade (IC)/susceptible-infectious-susceptible (SIS) cannot capture such mechanisms directly. Hence to account for this challenge, using non-linear system theory, we develop a novel spectral characterization of a recently proposed pathogen load based model, 2-MODE-SIS model, on people/location networks to capture spread dynamics of HAIs. We formulate the two clinical problems using this spectral characterization and develop effective and efficient algorithms for them. Our experiments show that our methods outperform several natural structural and clinical approaches on real-world hospital testbeds and pick meaningful solutions.

Differences in Symptom Severity and Quality of Life among Patients with Cancer Using Conventional Therapies with/without Herbal Medicines in Uganda: A Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with cancer experience numerous symptoms related to cancer and treatment side effects that reduce their quality of life (QOL). Although herbal medicine (HM) is used to manage such symptoms by patients in sub-Saharan Africa, data on patients' perceived clinical outcomes are limited. We compared differences in QOL and symptom severity between patients with cancer using HM plus conventional therapies (i.e., chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, radiotherapy, surgery) and those using conventional therapies alone. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included patients with cancer aged >18 years who were consecutively sampled and completed a researcher-administered questionnaire between December 2022 and January 2023. Specifically, data was collected using The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MDASI-TCM). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square and logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Of 400 participants (67.5% female), 49% (n=195) used HM plus conventional therapies and 51% (n=205) used conventional therapies alone. Most participants were aged >38 years (73.3%; median age 47 years). A univariate analysis showed the HM plus conventional therapies group had better mean scores for most QOL and symptom severity measures than the conventional therapies alone group. However, only role functioning significantly differed (p=0.046) in the bivariate analysis. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups after confounder adjustment for all others measures of symptom severity and QOL. CONCLUSION: HM plus conventional therapies may offer minimal benefits or differences for clinical outcomes among patients with cancer. However, our findings have clinical, research, and public health implications for Uganda and other sub-Saharan African settings.

Meningioma brain tumor detection and classification using hybrid CNN method and RIDGELET transform.

The detection of meningioma tumors is the most crucial task compared with other tumors because of their lower pixel intensity. Modern medical platforms require a fully automated system for meningioma detection. Hence, this study proposes a novel and highly efficient hybrid Convolutional neural network (HCNN) classifier to distinguish meningioma brain images from non-meningioma brain images. The HCNN classification technique consists of the Ridgelet transform, feature computations, classifier module, and segmentation algorithm. Pixel stability during the decomposition process was improved by the Ridgelet transform, and the features were computed from the coefficient of the Ridgelet. These features were classified using the HCNN classification approach, and tumor pixels were detected using the segmentation algorithm. The experimental results were analyzed for meningioma tumor images by applying the proposed method to the BRATS 2019 and Nanfang dataset. The proposed HCNN-based meningioma detection system achieved 99.31% sensitivity, 99.37% specificity, and 99.24% segmentation accuracy for the BRATS 2019 dataset. The proposed HCNN technique achieved99.35% sensitivity, 99.22% specificity, and 99.04% segmentation accuracy on brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in the Nanfang dataset. The proposed system obtains 99.81% classification accuracy, 99.2% sensitivity, 99.7% specificity and 99.8% segmentation accuracy on BRATS 2022 dataset. The experimental results of the proposed HCNN algorithm were compared with those of the state-of-the-art meningioma detection algorithms in this study.

Physiological and Psychological Effects of Medically Supervised Fasting in Young Female Adults: An Observational Study.

Background Large-scale empirical and observational studies confirm the safety and efficacy of short-term intermittent fasting; however, prolonged fasting (fasting for more than two days or more) is not well studied. This study investigated the safety, physiological, and psychological effects of a medically supervised fasting (MSF) regimen on healthy volunteers. Methods In this observational study, 117 female participants with an average age of 21.02 (± 1.45) years underwent 10 days of medically supervised fasting. Daily symptom scores and 24-hour food recalls were collected, along with serum levels of vitamin D and calcium, a complete blood count, anthropometric measurements, quality of life (QoL), and subjective mood, anxiety, and depression scores, at the baseline and at the end of fasting. Results Compared to baseline, significant improvements were observed in vitamin D levels (z = -8.79, p = 0.000), calcium levels (z = -4.08, p = 0.000), red blood cell count (z = -4.61, p = 0.000), and hemoglobin levels (z = -5.57, p = 0.00). Improvements were observed in physical QOL (t (116) = -4.51, p = 0.000); psychological QOL (t (116) = -4.70, p = 0.000); and social QOL (t (116) = -2.68, p = 0.008). We also observed significant reductions in body weight (55.83 (±11.38), 52.99 (±10.94); p = 0.00) and other anthropometric measures. More than 80% (n = 94) experienced at least one symptom associated with fasting. The symptoms associated with fasting changed significantly (p<0.05), with most symptoms peaking from day 3 to day 7 of fasting with remission from day 8 onwards. Conclusion Our findings suggest that MSF is associated with significant improvements in physiological and psychological variables. The symptoms associated with MSF are to be considered in clinical decision-making, and follow-up of patients on fasting therapy, particularly during the peaking of symptoms, may be warranted.

Feed emulsifier improves the performance and nutrient digestibility in broiler chicken fed diets without antibiotic growth promoter.

1. A study was conducted to assess the impact of supplementing-graded concentrations of emulsifier on the production performance, gut microbial count, and digestibility of nitrogen and energy in broiler chicken fed diets without AGP.2. Male broiler chicks (n = 1500; Vencobb-430), aged one-day-old, were randomly allocated into six dietary groups each with 10 replicates of 25 birds each. A maize-soybean and meat and bone meal-based basal diet without antibiotic (AGP) growth promoter served as negative control (NC). The basal diet was supplemented with BMD (AGP, bacitracin methylene disalicylate-BMD 100 g/T), which served as the positive control (PC). Emulsifier was added to the NC diets at either 250 g/ton in all phases (250-All), 250 g in starter and grower phases, and 500 g in the finisher phase (250:250:500), 250 g in starter and 500 g in both grower and finisher phases (250:500:500) and 500 g in all phases (500 g-All).3. Two broilers per replicate were slaughtered to record carcase traits and gut microbial count on day 43. There was significant improvement in body weight gain (BWG) and reduced FCR in broilers fed 250:250:500 and 250:500:500 g emulsifiers compared to other treatment groups. Carcase traits and faecal microbial count did not differ among treatments. The inclusion of BMD significantly improved nitrogen (N) digestibility compared to the NC group. The digestibility of emulsifier-supplemented groups was similar to those fed by the BMD group except for the 500-All group, which was an intermediary between NC and other emulsifier-fed groups.4. It was concluded that supplementation with emulsifier (250:250:500 or 250:500:500) without antibiotic growth promoter significantly improved FCR and body weight gain similar to broilers receiving antibiotic growth promoter, which was associated with increased ileal digestibility of N and energy.

The Long-Term Impact of Therapeutic Fasting on Primary Dysmenorrhea in Young Female Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background and objective Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is one of the leading health issues among women. According to reports, nutrition/diet significantly affects the severity and course of PD. The present study aimed to evaluate the role of therapeutic fasting in alleviating the symptoms associated with PD, improving quality of life (QoL), and reducing absenteeism among young female adults with PD. Methods A total of 52 participants aged between 18 and 24 years were included in the study and randomly classified into two groups of 26 each. The study group (fasting group) was assigned to undergo a 10-day fasting regimen (≤500 kcal/day) while the control group was to follow a normal dietary routine. The severity of pain, associated distress symptoms, QoL, and sleep quality were measured at baseline and on the fifth day of the first, second, and third menstruation cycles after the intervention, using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire, and Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index. We also recorded the rate of absenteeism among the study participants during menstruation cycles. Results We observed a significant reduction in pain (p<0.001), cramps (p=0.001), nausea/vomiting (p=0.02), dizziness (p=0.007), and mood changes (p=0.005) in the study group compared to the control group. The effects were persistent in most of the variables at the second and third follow-ups as well. The physical (p=0.005) and psychological (p<0.001) QoL significantly improved in the first month, and we observed a similar trend at the second (physical p=0.03; psychological p=0.001) and third follow-ups (psychological p=0.002) except for physical QoL, which was significant only at the second follow-up. The fasting group had significantly lower absenteeism compared to the controls during the first follow-up (p=0.001). Conclusion Therapeutic fasting may be considered a safe and effective option in the management of PD. Future trials should examine the long-term sustainability of the results.

Higher concentrations of folic acid reduced the dietary requirements of supplemental methionine for commercial broilers.

Objective: An experiment was conducted to study the effect of supplementing DL methionine (DL Met) at graded concentrations on performance, carcass variables, immune responses and antioxidant variables in broiler chicken fed folic acid (FA) fortified (4mg/kg) low-methionine diet. Methods: A basal diet (BD) without supplemental DL Met, but with higher level (4 mg/kg) of FA and a control diet (CD) with the recommended concentration of methionine (Met) were prepared. The BD was supplemented with DL Met at graded concentrations (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50% supplemental DL Met of CD). Each diet was fed ad libitum to 10 replicates of 5 broiler male chicks in each from 1 to 42 d of age. Results: Body weight gain (BWG) reduced, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) increased in broilers fed low-Met BD. At 30 and 20% inclusion of DL Met, the BWG and FCR were similar to those fed the CD. Similarly, supplementation of 10% DL Met to the BD significantly increased ready to cook meat yield and breast meat weight, which were similar to those of the CD fed broilers. Lipid peroxidation reduced, the activity of antioxidant enzymes (GSHPx and GSHRx) in serum increased and lymphocyte proliferation increased with increased supplemental DL Met level in the BD. The concentrations of total protein and albumin in serum increased with DL Met supplementation to the BD. Conclusion: Based on the data, it can be concluded that supplemental Met can be reduced to less than 50% in broiler chicken diets (4.40, 3.94 and 3.39g/kg, respectively in pre-starter, starter and finisher phases) containing 4 mg/kg FA.

The meaning of caring for patients with cancer among traditional medicine practitioners in Uganda: A grounded theory approach.

Traditional medicine practitioners (TMPs) are a critical part of healthcare systems in many sub-Saharan African countries and play vital roles in caring for patients with cancer. Despite some progress in describing TMPs' caring experiences in abstract terms, literature about practice models in Africa remains limited. This study aimed to develop a substantive theory to clarify the care provided by TMPs to patients with cancer in Uganda. This study adhered to the principal features of the modified Straussian grounded theory design. Participants were 18 TMPs caring for patients with cancer from 10 districts in Uganda, selected by purposive and theoretical sampling methods. Researcher-administered in-depth interviews were conducted, along with three focus group discussions. Data were analyzed using constant comparative analysis. The core category that represented TMPs' meaning of caring for patients with cancer was "Restoring patients' hope in life through individualizing care." TMPs restored patients' hope through five main processes: 1) ensuring continuity in the predecessors' role; 2) having full knowledge of a patient's cancer disease; 3) restoring hope in life; 4) customizing or individualizing care, and 5) improving the patient's condition/health. Despite practice challenges, the substantive theory suggests that TMPs restore hope for patients with cancer in a culturally sensitive manner, which may partly explain why patients with cancer continue to seek their services. The findings of this study may guide research, education, and public health policy to advance traditional medicine in sub-Saharan Africa.

Empirical networks for localized COVID-19 interventions using WiFi infrastructure at university campuses.

Infectious diseases, like COVID-19, pose serious challenges to university campuses, which typically adopt closure as a non-pharmaceutical intervention to control spread and ensure a gradual return to normalcy. Intervention policies, such as remote instruction (RI) where large classes are offered online, reduce potential contact but also have broad side-effects on campus by hampering the local economy, students' learning outcomes, and community wellbeing. In this paper, we demonstrate that university policymakers can mitigate these tradeoffs by leveraging anonymized data from their WiFi infrastructure to learn community mobility-a methodology we refer to as WiFi mobility models (WiMob). This approach enables policymakers to explore more granular policies like localized closures (LC). WiMob can construct contact networks that capture behavior in various spaces, highlighting new potential transmission pathways and temporal variation in contact behavior. Additionally, WiMob enables us to design LC policies that close super-spreader locations on campus. By simulating disease spread with contact networks from WiMob, we find that LC maintains the same reduction in cumulative infections as RI while showing greater reduction in peak infections and internal transmission. Moreover, LC reduces campus burden by closing fewer locations, forcing fewer students into completely online schedules, and requiring no additional isolation. WiMob can empower universities to conceive and assess a variety of closure policies to prevent future outbreaks.

Exploratory study of ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation and age of onset of bipolar disorder.

BACKGROUND: Sunlight contains ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation that triggers the production of vitamin D by skin. Vitamin D has widespread effects on brain function in both developing and adult brains. However, many people live at latitudes (about > 40 N or S) that do not receive enough UVB in winter to produce vitamin D. This exploratory study investigated the association between the age of onset of bipolar I disorder and the threshold for UVB sufficient for vitamin D production in a large global sample. METHODS: Data for 6972 patients with bipolar I disorder were obtained at 75 collection sites in 41 countries in both hemispheres. The best model to assess the relation between the threshold for UVB sufficient for vitamin D production and age of onset included 1 or more months below the threshold, family history of mood disorders, and birth cohort. All coefficients estimated at P ≤ 0.001. RESULTS: The 6972 patients had an onset in 582 locations in 70 countries, with a mean age of onset of 25.6 years. Of the onset locations, 34.0% had at least 1 month below the threshold for UVB sufficient for vitamin D production. The age of onset at locations with 1 or more months of less than or equal to the threshold for UVB was 1.66 years younger. CONCLUSION: UVB and vitamin D may have an important influence on the development of bipolar disorder. Study limitations included a lack of data on patient vitamin D levels, lifestyles, or supplement use. More study of the impacts of UVB and vitamin D in bipolar disorder is needed to evaluate this supposition.

Feed withdrawal influences egg production, egg quality and antioxidant variables in White Leghorn layers reared during the tropical summer season.

1. An experiment was conducted with White Leghorn layers (Babcock BV 300) to optimise the feed withdrawal schedule for egg-laying hens (67 to 80 weeks) reared in open-sided poultry houses during the tropical summer season.2. Four feeding schedules (1. ad libitum access to the layer feed, 2. feed withdrawal from 9 AM-5 PM, 3. 11 AM-5 PM, and 4. 1 PM-5 PM followed by free access to the layer feed) were examined. Each feeding schedule was offered to 12 replicates consisting of 12 layers housed in four adjacent cages (45.7 × 35.6 × 43.2 cm).3. Fasting the layers from 1-5 pm reduced egg production compared to layers fasting from 9 or 11 am. The FI/egg or unit egg mass was highest in layers fasted from 1-5 pm. In the 9 am-5 pm fasted group, the cloacal temperature (CT) increased significantly at 11 am and gradually reduced at 3 pm. In the 1-5 pm fasted group, the CT remained higher at 3 pm and 5 pm.4. The cell-mediated immune response in layers fasted from 9 am or 11 am was higher than those fed ad libitum or 1-5 pm fasted group. Lipid peroxidation was higher in layers 1-5 pm fasted group, and significantly lower LP was found in groups that fasted from 9 am or 11 am. In general, the activities of serum antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase) were higher in layers that fasted from 9 am or 11 am compared to those that had ad libitum feed or fasted from 1-5 pm.5. It was concluded that the feed withdrawal should be initiated during the forenoon (9 AM/11 am-5 pm) for optimum production and to reduce oxidative stress in egg-laying hens reared during summer in the tropical region.

Stakeholders' perspective on the daily regimen of tuberculosis treatment- A qualitative approach.

INTRODUCTION: In the context of changing over from an intermittent treatment regimen to a daily regimen, it becomes crucial to understand the impact of a daily regimen on the treatment process and outcome. It enables health professionals to strengthen strategies, to enhance the quality of treatment as well as the quality of life of TB patients. The perspective of each stakeholder involved in the process is important in assessing the impact of the daily regimen. OBJECTIVES: To understand patients' and providers' perspectives on the daily regimen of Tuberculosis treatment. METHODOLOGY: A qualitative study was conducted between March 2020 to June 2020, including in-depth interviews with TB patients on treatment and DOT providers, and Key Informant Interview(KII) with TB Health Visitors(TBHV) and family members of TB patients. A thematic-network analysis approach was utilized to get the results. RESULTS: Two sub-themes emerged: (i) Acceptance of the daily regimen of treatment; (ii) operational difficulties of the daily regimen. No injections in the regimen, fewer side effects of drugs as dose depends on weight band, family members can be treatment supporter, awareness about disease and treatment, the drugs are as same as private drugs available, adherence has improved, monthly DBT were found to some of the enablers in the study. The Barriers found in the study were traveling daily to get drugs, loss of daily wages, accompanying patients daily, tracing private patients, pyridoxine is not given free in this regimen, increased workload for treatment providers, etc. CONCLUSION: The study points out that acceptance of the patient to the daily regimen is better as they have lesser side effects. The operational difficulties in the implementation of the daily regimen can be addressed by providing family members as treatment supporters.

Predictors of weight loss during the intensive phase of tuberculosis treatment in patients with drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis in South India.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is well-known for causing wasting. Patients on treatment gain weight and weight loss is associated with unfavorable treatment outcomes. There is limited description of weight loss and its predictors during intensive treatment phase. The objective of this study was to assess the predictors of weight loss during intensive phase and to see if there is any association exists with sputum conversion at the end of intensive phase of treatment. METHODS: Data collected as a part of the prospective TB cohort (Regional Prospective Observational Research for TB India Phase 1) conducted in Pondicherry, Cuddalore and Viluppuram districts of Tamil Nadu were used for this study. Sputum smear and body weight comparison were made in the baseline and at the end of second month of treatment. RESULTS: In all, 726 participants had weight measurements at the two time points and 18.7% had weight loss; mean weight lost being 2.3 kg (SD 3.05). Mean weight loss was more among males (2.4 kg, SD 3.2), diabetics (2.8 kg, SD 3.9) and alcoholics (2.1 kg, SD 2.4). Alcohol consumption was the only predictor of weight loss after adjusting for age, diabetes, marital status and BMI (aRR 1.52, P 0.02). Weight loss was not associated with sputum conversion at the end of second month. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol use emerged as the major predictor for weight loss during intensive phase.

Effect of dietary supplementation of organic and inorganic Se on performance and antioxidant response in commercial broiler chickens.

1. The study was carried out to determine the effects of supplementing organic (OG) or inorganic (IOG) Se to record the performance, immune and anti-oxidant response in broiler chickens.2. One-day-old Vencobb-400 (50.1 ± 0.84 g; n = 280) male broiler chicks were allocated randomly into seven treatments to give eight replicates containing five chicks each and housed in deep littered floor pens (76 cm × 91 cm) for a period of 42 d.3. The control diet (CD) was formulated without any Se supplementation (diet I), CD plus 0.15, 0.30 or 0.45 mg/kg OG Se (diets II, III and IV, respectively) and CD plus 0.15, 0.30 or 0.45 mg/kg IOG Se (diets V, VI and VII, respectively).4. Feed intake (FI), body weight gain (BWG), immune variables and mRNA expression profile of hepatic selenoproteins (SepW, GSHPx1, TrxR and GSHPx3) genes were determined. The BWG, FI and feed conversion ratio did not differ among various dietary treatments.5. The lipid peroxidation and activity of RBC catalase were lower (P < 0.05) in groups fed diets supplemented OG Se compared to those fed IOG Se and CD. The activity of GSH Px was higher among the groups fed diet supplemented OG Se compared to those groups fed OG Se and CD. However, supplementing diets with OG or IOG Se did not affect humoral or cell mediated immune responses.6. The expression levels of SepW were higher (P < 0.01) among the groups supplemented with OG Se. Expression levels of GSH-Px1, TrxR and GSHPx3 were higher (P < 0.01) among the groups supplemented with OG Se compared to those groups fed IOG Se or CD.7. Supplementing OG Se improved the activities of anti-oxidant enzymes and hepatic expression of selenoproteins genes in the present study. However, supplementing OG or IOG Se did not affect growth performance and immune variables in broiler chickens.

Evaluation of FluSight influenza forecasting in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons with a new target laboratory-confirmed influenza hospitalizations.

Accurate forecasts can enable more effective public health responses during seasonal influenza epidemics. Forecasting teams were asked to provide national and jurisdiction-specific probabilistic predictions of weekly confirmed influenza hospital admissions for one through four weeks ahead for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 influenza seasons. Across both seasons, 26 teams submitted forecasts, with the submitting teams varying between seasons. Forecast skill was evaluated using the Weighted Interval Score (WIS), relative WIS, and coverage. Six out of 23 models outperformed the baseline model across forecast weeks and locations in 2021-22 and 12 out of 18 models in 2022-23. Averaging across all forecast targets, the FluSight ensemble was the 2nd most accurate model measured by WIS in 2021-22 and the 5th most accurate in the 2022-23 season. Forecast skill and 95% coverage for the FluSight ensemble and most component models degraded over longer forecast horizons and during periods of rapid change. Current influenza forecasting efforts help inform situational awareness, but research is needed to address limitations, including decreased performance during periods of changing epidemic dynamics.