F1000Research最新文献

Background: Current treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) mainly focused on treating symptoms. Exosome from Adipose-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell (Ad-MSC) have been shown to delay degenerative process. This study aimed to investigate the clinical, radiological and histological impact of combined intra-articular (IA) hyaluronic acid (HA) and exosome Ad-MSCs in-vivo using a larger animal model with low-grade OA.

Methods: Eighteen male Ovies aries sheep underwent total lateral meniscectomy and conventional radiography was performed to confirm low-grade OA after 6 weeks. The sheep were divided into three groups, Group 1 (G1; n=6) received thrice exosome injections, G2 (n=6) received twice HA injection, and G3 (n=6) received both treatments with a 1-week interval after 10 days of meniscectomy. Clinical evaluations were conducted using the Clinical Lameness Score (CLS), radiographic with X-ray using OA score by Innes et al, while macroscopic evaluation by Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) scores.

Results: Lameness parameter scored lowest in G3 significantly (2.0±0.0 VS 2.7±0.52 VS 2.7±0.52; p=0.024) at the second month although the overall CLS score did not significantly differ at the 3 ^rd month. The best improvement of conventional total OA radiographic score at the 3 ^rd month compared to all groups (5.2±1.17 vs 6.3±0.82 vs 6.7±1.03; p=0.053). Macroscopic OARSI evaluation showed no difference (p=0.711).

Conclusions: Combined repeated exosome Ad-MSC and HA IA injection proven to delay OA progression, however longer duration of follow up is required to evaluate its long-term effect.

Introduction: Health systems worldwide are struggling to ensure the affordability of medicines. Prescription, dispensing, and pharmaceutical expenditures are key variables that highlight the need to understand how global scientific evidence is generated against factors (implicit and non-explicit) that influence these variables.

Objectives: Explore and provide a detailed description of the characteristics of the global scientific production of Open Access articles related to the prescription, dispensing and pharmaceutical expenditure faced by health systems worldwide.

Methods: A five-stage scientometric mapping was performed based on a systematic search of 8 databases. The five stages are: i) retrieval, ii) migration, iii) analysis, iv) visualization and v) interpretation.

Results: A corpus of evidence from 103 systematic literature reviews was obtained, screened and sifted, visualizing the countries, authors, databases, journals, institutions and time periods that contributed most to evidence generation. Central research themes are identified and phenomena related to article publication are discussed.

Conclusions: The analysis reveals a clear leadership of the United Kingdom and the United States in scientific production on prescribing, dispensing and pharmaceutical expenditure in health systems worldwide. This scientific production is mainly focused on financing policies, pharmaceutical incentives and interventions, and rational use of medicines. There is also evidence of the scarcity of scientific production in Latin American publications and authors, which could generate interest for future research.

Background: Ethiopia's potato seed system is currently hindered by a disjointed regulatory framework, insufficient quality assurance processes, and a lack of collaboration among stakeholders, which collectively impede agricultural productivity and food security. The regulatory environment is characterized by inconsistent seed certification practices and a dependence on informal seed sources, negatively affecting the quality of potato seeds available to farmers. Although potatoes play a crucial role in global food security by providing high yields compared to other staple crops, the sector grapples with significant challenges due to bureaucratic inefficiencies, limited technical expertise, and the widespread presence of counterfeit seeds throughout the value chain.

Methods: To tackle these challenges, this mini-review outlines potential improvements, stressing the necessity for a unified regulatory framework tailored to the unique issues of vegetatively propagated crops. For this reason, we have used different literature source from web of science, Pubmed, Google Scholar, ResearchGate and other scientific websites. We have documented the most relevant information focusing on potato seed system, regulatory frameworks, quality assurance bottlenecks and pathways for improvement across the seed value chain.

Results: our paper highlights key recommendations that includes enhancing training for regulatory staff, investing in research for disease-resistant varieties, and bolstering public-private partnerships to encourage innovation and resource sharing. Furthermore, improving traceability in the seed supply chain is essential for maintaining seed quality and integrity.

Conclusions: This review calls for a comprehensive strategy that fosters stakeholder engagement and promotes sustainable practices to rejuvenate Ethiopia's potato seed system, thereby supporting the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers and strengthening national food security through integrated seed sector development and capacity improvement of the seed regulatory body as well as smallholder farmers.

Background: Although observational studies demonstrate that higher levels of vascular risk factors are associated with an increased risk of dementia, these associations might be explained by confounding or other biases. Mendelian randomization (MR) uses genetic instruments to test causal relationships in observational data. We sought to determine if genetically predicted modifiable risk factors (type 2 diabetes mellitus, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, and circulating glucose) are associated with dementia by meta-analysing published MR studies. Secondary objectives were to identify heterogeneity in effect estimates across primary MR studies and to compare meta-analysis results with observational studies.

Methods: MR studies were identified by systematic search of Web of Science, OVID and Scopus. We selected primary MR studies investigating the modifiable risk factors of interest. Only one study from each cohort per risk factor was included. A quality assessment tool was developed to primarily assess the three assumptions of MR for each MR study. Data were extracted on study characteristics, exposure and outcome, effect estimates per unit increase, and measures of variation. Effect estimates were pooled to generate an overall estimate, I ² and Cochrane Q values using fixed-effect model.

Results: We screened 5211 studies and included 12 primary MR studies after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. Higher genetically predicted body mass index was associated with a higher odds of dementia (OR 1.03 [1.01, 1.05] per 5 kg/m ² increase, one study, p=0.00285). Fewer hypothesized vascular risk factors were supported by estimates from MR studies than estimates from meta-analyses of observational studies.

Conclusion: Genetically predicted body mass index was associated with an increase in risk of dementia.

Background: Machine learning and AI promise to revolutionize the way we leverage medical imaging data for improving care but require large datasets to train computational models that can be implemented in clinical practice. However, processing large and complex medical imaging datasets remains an open challenge.

Methods: To address this issue, we developed Med-ImageTools, a new Python open-source software package to automate data curation and processing while allowing researchers to share their data processing configurations more easily, lowering the barrier for other researchers to reproduce published works.

Use cases: We have demonstrated the efficiency of Med-ImageTools across three different datasets, resulting in significantly reduced processing times.

Conclusions: The AutoPipeline feature will improve the accessibility of raw clinical datasets on public archives, such as the Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA), the largest public repository of cancer imaging, allowing machine learning researchers to process analysis-ready formats without requiring deep domain knowledge.

Background: Hormonal changes in pregnancy and their induced effect on periodontal health are well documented. The present study is aimed at the potential repercussions of multiple pregnancies on periodontal health.

Materials and methods: Our study utilized data from key sections of the NHANES. All the pertaining and relevant data for the study is collected. Our exposure variable was the number of pregnancies, and the outcome variable was periodontal disease. The number of pregnancies is classified as one, two, three, four, or more. Age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, poverty/income ratio, marital status, and other variables. Multiple logistic regression models were employed to assess the impact of multiple pregnancies on periodontal disease.

Result: The crude and multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that none of the variables were significantly associated with the prevalence of periodontitis. In univariate analysis, patients with one or two pregnancies had higher odds of experiencing periodontitis (OR 1.154, 95% CI 0.748-1.779), (OR 1.464, 95% CI 0.864-2.483) respectively. However, these associations did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusion: Within the limitation of the study, there is no significant relationship between parity and the prevalence of periodontitis, the longitudinal study may be warranted to delve deeper into any potential associations.

Elizabethkingia meningoseptica is an uncommon nosocomial pathogen that causes meningitis, pneumonia, and sepsis in neonates and in immunocompromised individuals. It exhibits resistance to many commonly employed first-line antibiotics used to treat gram-negative pathogens. Herein, we present three cases of late-onset sepsis with multi-drug resistant (MDR) Elizabethkingia meningoseptica in high-risk neonates. Case 1 was a one-day-old preterm low-birth-weight infant who presented with respiratory distress syndrome and septic shock. The patient was intubated and administered empirical broad-spectrum antibiotics and antifungal agents. Blood culture grew Candida krusei, hence Amphotericin B was initiated. Repeat blood culture on day 27 showed gram-negative bacilli, identified as Elizabethkingia meningoseptica by MALDI-TOF . Antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) revealed resistance to Piperacillin/Tazobactam, but sensitivity to Vancomycin, Levofloxacin, and Minocycline. IV Vancomycin was administered, which resulted in clinical improvement and negative blood culture results. Case 2 was an eleven-day-old preterm, low-birth-weight baby who presented with fever. Initial investigations revealed normal complete blood counts (CBC) parameters and elevated CRP levels. Blood and CSF cultures isolated Elizabethkingia meningoseptica with a similar AST pattern. Intravenous Ciprofloxacin was initiated with clinical improvement and negative follow-up blood cultures. Case 3 was a one-day-old preterm baby, appropriate-to-gestational age, presenting with respiratory distress syndrome. The infant was intubated and started on inotropic support and intravenous antibiotics. Blood cultures on day 4 showed Elizabethkingia meningoseptica and Vancomycin was started. Follow-up cultures on days 6 and 14 grew Acinetobacter baumannii. A combination of Levofloxacin and Colistin was added, and blood cultures were negative after seven days, with clinical improvement. Elizabethkingia meningoseptica is a significant cause of hospital-acquired infections, especially in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), leading to outbreaks. Clinicians must have a high degree of suspicion of E. meningoseptica for gram-negative bacilli causing sepsis and meningitis in high-risk patients. Recent technological advances have enabled accurate speciation to guide therapy and reduce morbidity and mortality rates.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to instructions and suggestions from governments and experts to maintain social (physical) distance between people to prevent aerosol transmission of the virus, which is now becoming the norm. Thus, we examined whether the pandemic extended the distance between personal belongings.

Methods: We recruited 68 university students and instructed them to place their belongings on a long table following another participant (i.e., confederate). We measured the physical distance between the two belongings (i.e., the participant's and the confederate's). We collected data between June 10, 2022 and January 23, 2023. Pre-pandemic data was from Ariga (2016). Analysis was completed with one-tailed t-tests.

Results: Compared with the pre-pandemic results, via one-tailed t-test, the distance between the two belongings during the pandemic was significantly longer. Our results supported the hypothesis that the psychological framework for processing people's belongings has dramatically changed during this pandemic.

Conclusion: This change may have been driven by social distancing practices or an increase in perceived vulnerability to disease. Our results provide new implications for future public spatial design, in other words, not only the distance between people, but also the distance between their belongings.

Background: Sudden death is an important global public health issue. An autopsy is an important source of epidemiological data, as the considerable causes of sudden death remain hermetic until postmortem examination. This study is devoted to evaluating the sociodemographic, behavioral, clinical and pathological characteristics of sudden deaths of various ages in Ethiopia.

Methods: This is an observational, prospective, descriptive study that included all sudden deaths observed over 1 year at St. Paul's Hospital and Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Results: Sudden death (n = 568) accounted for 11.5% (95% CI: 10.6-12.4) of all autopsied cases. There were 482 males and 86 females (M:F ratio of 5.6:1) and a mean age of 44.8±17.349. The peak age group was the fourth and fifth decades, accounting for 43.9% of the cases. Chronic substance abuse and a history of prior illness were declared in 40.1% and 38% of cases of sudden death, respectively. Cardiovascular (36.1%), respiratory (32.6%), and gastrointestinal system (19.5%) pathologies were the most common causes. The leading underlying causes of sudden death were ischemic heart disease and pneumonia. Most (86.6%) sudden deaths occurred outside of a hospital setting.

Conclusions: Most of the causes of sudden death in Ethiopia can be prevented and treated. The majority of sudden deaths are silent without preexisting symptoms. Therefore, it is vital to develop public health measures that will help educate the community about the importance of recognizing the manifestation of various clinical conditions and the need to seek immediate clinical help. Furthermore, efforts should be made to make healthcare facilities accessible and affordable with adequate diagnostic and management capacity. Documentation of autopsy-based data could provide important epidemiological information to guide medical services, prevention efforts, and control measures.

Background: Botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A) represents a major threat to global public health because of its most potent toxicity with the longest persistence. Several camelid single-domain antibodies (or VHHs) have been reported to exhibit high neutralizing activity against the receptor binding domain (H _C) of the BoNT/A subtype used to generate them. However, it remains unclear if these VHHs can neutralize effectively H _C of other BoNT/A subtypes. This study aimed to generate H _C domains of all eight BoNT/A subtypes and to screen for VHHs with broad reactivity against these domains.

Methods: H _C domains of BoNT/A1-A8 were recombinantly produced in Escherichia coli. The bont/H _CA1 fragment was amplified from sludge sample and cloned into pET45b vector by Gibson assembly. Expression vectors for H _C domains of BoNT/A2-A8 were derived from pET45b-H _CA1 by site-directed mutagenesis and/or in-house gene synthesis. Similarly, VHHs were synthesized and cloned into pET22b vector. Recombinant protein were purified by Ni-NTA spin columns and analyzed by SDS-PAGE. ELISA was used to confirm the antigenicity of H _C domains and to evaluate the reactivity of VHHs to these domains.

Results: SDS-PAGE analysis and ELISA results with commercial polyclonal antibody demonstrated the H _C domains of all eight BoNT/A subtypes were correctly produced. ELISA results using a VHH panel indicated that, apart from ciA-C2, a well-characterized VHH specific for H _C of BoNT/A1, two new VHHs were found to recognize the H _C domains of all BoNT/A subtypes, of which VHH-A3 displayed EC ₅₀ values for these domains close to those of ciA-C2.

Conclusion: This study provided a resource to comprehensively identify antitoxins conferring broad protection against BoNT/A.