Search

A case study of 12-year-old female is presented with a past medical history of serine protease related hereditary pancreatitis and multiple admissions for recurrent acute pancreatitis who was admitted to the hospital with abdominal pain. Topics include examines she did not have any additional significant past medical or surgical history.

Purpose of Review: To review large cohort genome wide association studies for erectile dysfunction. Recent Findings: Two recent genome wide association studies using the Genetic Epidemiology Research in Adult Health and Aging cohort, UK Biobank, and the Partners HealthCare Biobank have identified an association between unique single nucleotide polymorphisms involved in the regulatory activity of single-minded homolog 1 (SIM1) and risk of erectile dysfunction. SIM1 is involved in the leptin-melanocortin pathway and may contribute to centrally mediated erectile dysfunction. Summary: Identification of novel loci associated with erectile function from genome wide association studies will help expand the understanding of the breadth of pathways that contribute to erectile dysfunction. This will help accelerate studies of novel therapies for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Microsurgical intussusception vasoepididymostomy (VE) is well-established treatment option for obstructive azoospermia due to epididymal obstruction. In this study, we evaluated patency rates and complications of our modified longitudinal intussusception technique of microsurgical VE. We have modified the intussusception technique by taking only adventitia of epididymal tubule. Methods: This was a prospective, single-center (tertiary care center) study conducted from February 2008 to January 2016. Study patients were men aged more than 18 years with infertility due to azoospermia. All participants underwent microscopic VE with our modified intussusception technique. Patency rates, complications, and improvement in semen quality were assessed. Results: A total of 42 patients were included in the study and underwent unilateral VE using longitudinal intussusceptions technique. The mean age of the patients was 30.21 years. Of these 42 patients, 40 patients had congenital obstruction. Average operative time was 130.42 min. A total of 36 (85.7%) patients had motile sperms in the epididymal fluid. Patency at 3 months was observed in 25 (62.5%) patients with an average sperm count of 17.1 million/mL. Only two patients (5%) had hemotoma at the site of surgery. Conclusion: Our modified technique of microsurgical longitudinal intussusception VE using epididymal adventitial stitch showed a reasonable patency rate after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Episodic (recurrent) macroscopic hematuria in patients with IgA nephropathy is usually associated with a benign prognosis, although some patients experience a transient fall in glomerular filtration rate during the episodes. We present a 15-year-old girl with mild IgA nephropathy who had multiple episodes of macroscopic hematuria associated with severe but transient decreases in estimated glomerular filtration rate, low levels of serum uric acid, and marked increases in fractional excretion of uric acid. Ultrasound studies showed marked inflammatory changes in the bladder, especially involving the trigone. Cystoscopic findings were consistent with these changes. We hypothesize that the macroscopic hematuria may have resulted, at least in part, from hyperuricosuria causing acute irritation of the bladder mucosa in the trigone area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cognitive fatigue (CF) is a common, yet poorly understood symptom in neurological disorders (e.g., multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, stroke). Studies show that reward plays a central role in CF. For instance, introducing or increasing reward often improves task performance. It is less clear, however, how reward affects subjective (self-reported) CF (SCF). This study examined the effect of reward type (monetary or performance feedback) and frequency (infrequent or frequent) on SF. Participants and Methods: In an online between-subjects study, 400 participants completed a computerized cognitive switching task and were randomly grouped into one of the five possible groups based on reward condition: [1] infrequent monetary reward, [2] frequent monetary reward, [3] infrequent performancefeedback reward, [4] frequent performance feedback reward, and [5] a no-reward group. SCF was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale of Fatigue (VAS-F) during the task. Mixed effects models were used to estimate the influence of reward type and frequency on task performance and SCF. Results: We found that the monetary groups were significantly faster (p<.001) compared to the feedback and no-reward groups, and that the frequent group was faster (p=.05) compared to the infrequent group. Reward type and frequency did not have a significant effect on VAS-F scores. However, when we looked at each reward group, we found that the monetary-infrequent reward group was associated with a decrease in VAS-F scores on average compared to the no-reward group (p=.04). Conclusions: The type and frequency of reward influence aspects of task performance (response time but not accuracy). Findings suggest that money had a greater effect on response time and may decrease SCF in cognitively healthy individuals when provided infrequently. Future studies should examine how these findings translate to clinical populations. Continued work is needed to understand how and which specific behavioral reward manipulations reduce fatigue, which could eventually lead to improved assessment and our ability to target fatigue across clinical populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Azo dyes are potent synthetic carcinogens that are widely used in the textile industries and their discharge into the surface water has detrimental consequences for human and ecosystem health. Oxidoreductases have been found to be involved in the metabolism of various xenobiotic compounds including azo dyes. Therefore, in this study shotgun metagenomic sequencing (SGMS) was used to bioprospect novel oxidoreductase genes in the biofilm of a fixed-film bioreactor treating raw textile effluent. According to the SGMS taxonomic and functional annotation, the bacteria found to be dominant in the bioreactor biofilm exhibited versatility and possessed genes that are capable of degrading azo dyes as well as other xenobiotics. A novel azoreductase gene (BM-AzoR) derived from the bioreactor biofilm metagenome was found to encode a previously uncharacterized FMN-dependent NADH azoreductase. In silico analysis of BM-AzoR gene encoded enzyme suggests that it is a thermostable and hydrophilic monomeric protein. The purified BM-AzoR is a flavin protein showing an optimal enzyme activity at pH 5 and 55 °C, respectively. The purified enzyme showed a specific azoreductase activity of 1.348 ± 0.12 U mg−1 in the presence of flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and preferred nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) over nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) as an electron donor. A molecular docking analysis validated the in vitro results by identifying Methyl Red as the best substrate for the BM-AzoR. The purified enzyme retained its activity in a variety of metal ions and solvents, indicating its potential application in azo dye bioremediation. • Various xenobiotic degradation pathways were identified in bioreactor-biofilm metagenome. • Biofilm-metagenome derived azoreductase BM-AzoR was cloned and biochemically characterized. • Purified BM-AzoR was an oxygen insensitive monomeric flavin containing azoreductase. • Enzymatic activity of BM-AzoR showed tolerance towards various metal ions and organic solvents. • Molecular docking analysis revealed Methyl red as an optimal substrate for BM-AzoR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report 3 patients with coronavirus disease who had a decline in respiratory status during their hospital course that responded well to intravenous steroids and interleukin-6 receptor antagonist therapy. These patients later showed development of persistent hypoxia with increased levels of d-dimer levels and were given a diagnosis of pulmonary embolisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the cases of 2 infants with congenital babesiosis born to mothers with prepartum Lyme disease and subclinical Babesia microti infection. The infants both developed anemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia, and 1 infant required red blood cell transfusion. Both infants recovered with treatment. Additional studies are warranted to define the optimal management strategy for pregnant women with early Lyme disease in geographic areas in which B microti infection is endemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]