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Abstract The widespread presence of microplastics in the environment has raised significant concerns regarding their potential impact on human and animal health. Among various microplastic types, polyethylene microplastics (PE-MPs) are particularly prevalent due to the extensive use in packaging and consumer products. Exploring the uncharted therapeutic potentials of naringin, this study delves into its mitigating effects on disruptions in kallikrein-3 levels, steroidal-thyroidal hormone balance, and antioxidant defense triggered by PE-MPs exposure, paving the way for novel interventions in environmental toxin-induced endocrine and oxidative stress disorders. Male Wistar rats (n = 24) were randomly grouped into four: Control, PE-MPs (1.5 mg/kg), PE-MPs + NAR (1.5 mg/kg PE-MPs + 100 mg/kg NAR), and NAR (100 mg/kg). Hormonal and antioxidant parameters were assessed after 28 days of exposure. PE-MPs exposure caused a significant increase(p

Abstract Sodium-glucose cotransporter (SGLT) 2 inhibition is a well-known target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, renal disease and chronic heart failure. The protein SGLT2 is encoded by SLC5A2 (Solute Carrier Family 5 Member 2), which is highly expressed in renal cortex, but also in the testes where glucose uptake may be essential for spermatogenesis and androgen synthesis. We postulated that in healthy males, SGLT2 inhibitor therapy may affect gonadal function. We examined the impact on gonadal and steroid hormones in a post-hoc analysis of a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled research including 26 healthy males who were given either placebo or empagliflozin 10 mg once daily for four weeks. After one month of empagliflozin, there were no discernible changes in androgen, pituitary gonadotropin hormones, or inhibin B. Regardless of BMI category, the administration of empagliflozin, a highly selective SGLT2 inhibitor, did not alter serum androgen levels in men without diabetes. While SGLT2 is present in the testes, its inhibition does not seem to affect testosterone production in Leydig cells nor inhibin B secretion by the Sertoli cells.

Abstract This study investigated the dynamics in pyrethriod resistance and the presence/frequencies of L1014F knockdown resistance mutant allelles in Culex quinquefasciatus vector populations from Uruan Local Government Area of AkwaIbom State, Southern Nigeria between the months of March and November, 2021. Uruan LGA is among the endemic LGAs for lymphatic filariasis in AkwaIbomState. Female Anopheles mosquitoes from Eman Uruan, Ituk Mbang and Idu Uruan were exposed to permethrin, deltamethrin and alphacypermethrin in CDC insecticide coated bottles for susceptibility bioassay following standard protocols. The mosquitoes were obtained as aquatic forms from the study sites and reared under laboratory conditions to adults. The adult mosquitoes were used for this study. All the mosquitoes used for the insecticide susceptibility bioassay were morphologically identified. Standard Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for authenticating the Culex quinquefasciatus species. A portion of the vgsc (917 bp) gene spanning the entire intron and the exon containing the L1014F mutation associated with knockdown resistance (kdr) in the vectorswere amplified using Allele-SPECIFIC POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (AS-PCR) in order to detect target site insensitivity in the vectors from the study sites. Results obtained revealed that vectors from all the study sites were resistant to permethrin insecticide (mortality rate: 18–23%). Suspected resistance (mortality rate: 90–93%) to deltamethrin and low resistance (mortality rate: 82–85%) to alphacypermethrin insecticides were detected. knockdown was more rapid with deltamethrin and alphacypermethrin than with permethrin across the study sites considering their KDT50 and KDT95. The frequency of the resistant phenotypes ranged from 35.14 to 55.3% across the study sites with a net of 45.1% resistant phenotype recorded in this study. The 1014F allelic frequency calculated from Hardy–Weinberg principle for vector populations across the study sites ranged from 0.500 (50.00%) to 0.7763 (77.63%). All populations witnessed significant (p

Abstract The finite element method has often been used to assist analyzing local flaps in terms of deformation and stress measurements as it takes into account complex skin properties. We, herein, present an isotropic two-dimensional finite element skin model applied to the W-plasty method to demonstrate that the good outcomes of W-plasty should be attributed to the geometry itself, as it generates lower stresses. The skin was modeled as a two-dimensional (2D) planar geometry. The model was created and solved as a plane stress problem. The model was based on simulation of the loading and stitching of W-plasties of various angles. Each central triangular flap was segmented in nine triangular elements. The stitching was modeled with one suture at the top of each triangular flap with the center of the opposite corner. X- and Y-axis stresses and shearing stresses Txy in the elements involved in the broken stitching line, show lower stresses than the elements behind the stitching line. Interestingly, in the triangular flaps, the stresses were clearly lower than those of their neighboring areas. The maximum compressive stresses in the 2D model we used, correspond to the dog ears. We conclude that the effectiveness of W-plasty should be attributed not only to the scar orientation in relation to the relaxed tension skin lines but also to the special design of the triangular flaps used. This finding assists the general understanding of the method and should be taken into account by the clinician during flap designing.

Abstract Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) has been linked with body image (BI) impairment and reduced quality of life (QoL). We sought to evaluate the associations between Cutaneous Body Image Scale (CBIS) and disease severity in HS patients.Between July 2020 and January 2022, a cross-sectional study was carried out including consecutive HS patients above the age of 16 who attended a Tertiary Referral Hospital in Greece. Disease Severity was graded with the Hurley stage, HS-Physician’s Global Assessment (HS-PGA) scale, and the Modified Sartorius scale (MSS). Patients completed at their first visit ten survey instruments including Patients’ Severity of disease, pain and pruritus scale, CBIS, Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ) including 5 subscales: Appearance Evaluation (AE), Appearance Orientation (AO), Body Areas Satisfaction Scale (BASS), Overweight Preoccupation (OWP), and Self Classified Weight (SCW) , Dermatology Quality of Life Index (DLQI), Skindex-16, EQ5D 5L, EQ- visual analogue scale (VAS), PHQ9, and GAD7. In total, 70 HS patients above 16 years old participated, mean [SD] age, 34.44 [11.64] years; 49/70 (70%) males and 21/70 (30%) females. Mean ± SD CBI, DLQI, Skindex-16 total, EQ-5D-5L, EQ VAS, PHQ9 and GAD7 were 5.59 ± 1.58, 11.70 ± 8.88, 52.90 ± 27.75, 0.75 ± 0.21, 62.48 ± 21.12, 7.64 ± 5.56, 7.87 ± 5.23 respectively. Moderate to severe CBI dissatisfaction was reported by 36/70 (51.42%) patients. CBI was correlated with appearance evaluation (AE) (p

Abstract Onchocerciasis is a parasitic disease transmitted by black flies. Human onchocerciasis is a public health and socioeconomic problem in Nigeria. Its prevalence and morbidity have reduced over the years because of control efforts especially, Mass Drug Administration with ivermectin. The current goal is to eliminate the disease transmission by 2030. Understanding the changes in transmission patterns in Cross River State is critical to elimination of onchocerciasis in Nigeria. This study was designed to determine the transmission dynamics of onchocerciasis in Cross River State after over two decades of mass ivermectin distribution in endemic communities. Agbokim, Aningeje, Ekong Anaku and Orimekpang are four endemic communities from three Local Government Areas of the State selected for this study. Transmission indices such as infectivity rates, biting rates and transmission potentials, parity rates and diurnal biting activities were determined. A total of 15,520 adult female flies were caught on human baits, Agbokim (2831), Aningeje (6209), Ekong Anaku (4364) and Orimekpang (2116). A total of 9488 and 5695 flies were collected during the rainy and dry seasons respectively in the four communities studied. The differences in relative abundance among the communities were statistically significant (P

Abstract Astrocytes, a subtype of glial cells with a complex morphological structure, are active players in many aspects of the physiology of the central nervous system (CNS). However, due to their highly involved interaction with other cells in the CNS, made possible by their morphological complexity, the precise mechanisms regulating astrocyte function within the CNS are still poorly understood. This knowledge gap is also due to the current limitations of existing quantitative image analysis tools that are unable to detect and analyze images of astrocyte with sufficient accuracy and efficiency. To address this need, we introduce a new deep learning framework for the automated detection of GFAP-immunolabeled astrocytes in brightfield or fluorescent micrographs. A major novelty of our approach is the applications of YOLOv5, a sophisticated deep learning platform designed for object detection, that we customized to derive optimized classification models for the task of astrocyte detection. Extensive numerical experiments using multiple image datasets show that our method performs very competitively against both conventional and state-of-the-art methods, including the case of images where astrocytes are very dense. In the spirit of reproducible research, our numerical code and annotated data are released open source and freely available to the scientific community.

Abstract CYP2E1 encodes an enzyme that participates in the activation of several carcinogenic substances. Thus, numerous studies have investigated the association between CYP2E1 polymorphisms and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, but inconclusive results have been obtained. We performed a meta-analysis to precisely evaluate the relationship of CYP2E1 rs2031920, rs3813867, and rs6413432 polymorphisms with the susceptibility to CRC. Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed databases were searched to identify eligible studies, and the association between the polymorphisms and CRC risk was then quantitatively synthesized using different genetic models. Eighteen studies with 23,598 subjects were selected for inclusion into the analysis. Significant association between rs2031920 and an increased CRC risk was observed in homozygous (OR = 1.496, 95% CI 1.177–1.901, P = 0.001), recessive (OR = 1.467, 95% CI 1.160–1.857, P = 0.001) and allele (OR = 1.162, 95% CI 1.001–1.349, P = 0.048) models. Significant association was not found for rs3813867 and rs6413432 (P > 0.05). In conclusion, our results suggest that rs2031920, but not rs3813867 and rs6413432, is associated with the risk of CRC.

Abstract Loop-mediated isothermal amplification is known for its high sensitivity, specificity and tolerance to inhibiting-substances. In this work, we developed a device for performing real-time colorimetric LAMP combining the accuracy of lab-based quantitative analysis with the simplicity of point-of-care testing. The device innovation lies on the use of a plastic tube anchored vertically on a hot surface while the side walls are exposed to a mini camera able to take snapshots of the colour change in real time during LAMP amplification. Competitive features are the rapid analysis (