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Extended reality (XR) refers to an umbrella of methods that allows users to be immersed in a three-dimensional (3D) or a 4D (spatial + temporal) virtual environment to different extents, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). While VR allows a user to be fully immersed in a virtual environment, AR and MR overlay virtual objects over the real physical world. The immersion and interaction of XR provide unparalleled opportunities to extend our world beyond conventional lifestyles. While XR has extensive applications in fields such as entertainment and education, its numerous applications in biomedicine create transformative opportunities in both fundamental research and healthcare. This Primer outlines XR technology from instrumentation to software computation methods, delineating the biomedical applications that have been advanced by state-of-the-art techniques. We further describe the technical advances overcoming current limitations in XR and its applications, providing an entry point for professionals and trainees to thrive in this emerging field.

The core idea behind precision medicine is to pinpoint the subpopulations that differ from one another in terms of disease risk, drug responsiveness, and treatment outcomes due to differences in biology and other traits. Biomarkers are found through genomic sequencing. Multi-dimensional clinical and biological data are created using these biomarkers. Better analytic methods are needed for these multidimensional data, which can be accomplished by using artificial intelligence (AI). An updated review of 80 latest original publications is presented on four main fronts—preventive medicine, medication development, treatment outcomes, and diagnostic medicine—All these studies effectively illustrated the significance of AI in precision medicine. Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized precision medicine by swiftly analyzing vast amounts of data to provide tailored treatments and predictive diagnostics. Through machine learning algorithms and high-resolution imaging, AI assists in precise diagnoses and early disease detection. AI’s ability to decode complex biological factors aids in identifying novel therapeutic targets, allowing personalized interventions and optimizing treatment outcomes. Furthermore, AI accelerates drug discovery by navigating chemical structures and predicting drug-target interactions, expediting the development of life-saving medications. With its unrivaled capacity to comprehend and interpret data, AI stands as an invaluable tool in the pursuit of enhanced patient care and improved health outcomes. It’s evident that AI can open a new horizon for precision medicine by translating complex data into actionable information. To get better results in this regard and to fully exploit the great potential of AI, further research is required on this pressing subject.

Digital health is a field that aims to improve patient care through the use of technology, such as telemedicine, mobile health, electronic health records, and artificial intelligence. The aim of this review is to examine the challenges and potential solutions for the implementation and evaluation of digital health technologies. Digital tools are used across the world in different settings. In Australia, the Digital Health Translation and Implementation Program (DHTI) emphasizes the importance of involving stakeholders and addressing infrastructure and training issues for healthcare workers. The WHO's Global Task Force on Digital Health for TB aims to address tuberculosis through digital health innovations. Digital tools are also used in mental health care, but their effectiveness must be evaluated during development. Oncology supportive care uses digital tools for cancer patient intervention and surveillance, but evaluating their effectiveness can be challenging. In the COVID and post-COVID era, digital health solutions must be evaluated based on their technological maturity and size of deployment, as well as the quality of data they provide. To safely and effectively use digital healthcare technology, it is essential to prioritize evaluation using complex systems and evidence-based medical frameworks. To address the challenges of digital health implementation, it is important to prioritize ethical research addressing issues of user consent and addressing socioeconomic disparities in access and effectiveness. It is also important to consider the impact of digital health on health outcomes and the cost-effectiveness of service delivery.

Breast Cancer Stem Cells (BCSCs), unlike normal breast cells, exhibit the potential for self-regeneration and tumour formation and express unique markers. Studies have highlighted their role in tumour progression, recurrence, and treatment resistance. BCSCs can be one of the reasons that resistance is encountered despite recent advances in the treatment of breast cancer (BC). This review underlines the clinical implications at the molecular level of different cellular pathways, cellular level interactions in Tumour Micro Environment (TME), and types of markers and receptors involved in tumorigenesis. It accentuates the importance of comprehensive targeted treatment options available for BCSCs so that targeted modalities can be introduced to deal with treatment resistance. Stem cells (SCs) are a developing field, and limited data is available from our country to use stem cell-targeted treatment plans as a therapeutic option. Therefore, this literature review will provide insight for future research in this domain. Continued...

Permanent junctional reciprocating tachycardia (PJRT) is a rare form of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) due to a retrograde slow conducting decremental accessory pathway (AP) which is often incessant and can lead to tachycardia‐induced cardiomyopathy (TIC). We report the challenging clinical course of a pregnant adolescent with PJRT due to an atypical retrograde slow conducting decremental left posterolateral AP. Pregnancy is known to exacerbate supraventricular arrhythmias and can lead to adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. To the best of our knowledge, there are no prior reports on the clinical course of rare incessant and difficult‐to‐treat arrhythmias such as PJRT in a pregnant adolescent patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the propagation of COVID-19 worldwide, its new strains are also emanating. Consequently, the healthcare workers are persistently monitoring these mutations with grave concern.1 Epsilon variant also called as CAL.20C which is new strain of SARs-COV-2 virus originated and was first detected in California, United States of America (USA) in July 2020 .2,3 Originated from California, this variant is currently in approximately more than 35 countries and was prevalent in the United States.4,5 After processing 23 samples in a reference lab of the Provincial Government, Punjab, it was corroborated by the Health Authority about the existence of the novel variant. Out of 23 samples, five were validated as positive with California Epsilon strain reported in Lahore. According to the medical experts, the patient takes several weeks to recuperate from Epsilon strain in contrast with the other types of infections. Medical pantheons opine that this Epsilon variant found in Lahore is highly contagious and communicable as the Delta variant and this variant is said to be 20 per cent more transmissible. Epsilon strain identified in Lahore, --- city of Pakistan --- was highly contagious and highly communicable as the its counterpart, the Delta variant. Sarah Aslam serving as Secretary Punjab Primary & Secondary Healthcare Department admonished about the menacing situation of the novel California Epsilon strain unearthed in Lahore. Adding her stance, she stated that her department accumulated 23 suspicious samples of which five of them were detected positive for Epsilon. She commended to abide by the SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) to avert from this strain.6 Though Epsilon is new to South Asia, it is considered to be the second-most dominant variant in New York.5 According to the researchers at the University of Washington it was discovered that this variant is more resistant to vaccines.3 According to peer-reviewed journal Science, Epsilon strain can entirely disappear synthetic antibodies and minimize the potency antibody generates in the plasma of vaccinated people.3 This strain of COVID-19 has five defining variations, one of which incorporates a mutation in spike protein L452R.3 This L452R mutation augments spike strength, viral infectivity, viral fusogenicity, and viral replication.7 Looking at the current scenario and susceptivity of Epsilon variant, the Government of Punjab is working diligently. Primary Health Secretary has released a notice of smart lockdown in various regions of Lahore. All civic vicinities such as market-places, shopping centers, eateries, offices including public and private will remain closed until the situation dwindles. All types of gathering whether social, political or religious shall remain banned.8 In addition, the government has called for moratorium on all intra and inter-city transports.9 According to Punjab Health Minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid, the government has commenced door to door vaccination campaign to restraint the escalation of cases after the emergence of Epsilon variant along with Delta Variant.8

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus (MERS-CoV), identified in 2012, causes a highly lethal pneumonia with a 34.5% mortality rate (https://www. who.int/emergencies/mers-cov). As of July 31, 2019, a total of [...]

The pulverized manifestation of Pedalium murex seeds, excerpted by Soxhlets apparatus after treating with n-hexane. Oil sample was well scrutinized by EI-GC-MS, utilizing the full scan technique within mass ranges lies from 40-700 m/z. 73compounds were recognized among them, 63 compounds were identified and 10 were marked as unidentified (8, 22, 27, 43, 47, 61, 62, 64, 68 and 69). The method was executed by the conventional system of Mass spectroscopy and the data interpreted by considerable match factor =95 inspected by NIST library. Antidiabetic activity was carried out by Accu-Chek glucometer. Healthy albino mice were selected to perform antidiabetic activity of seed oil at 100mg/Kg and 200mg/Kg with a standard drug glibenclamide at 5mg/Kg. Antidiabetic activity was observed on 1st, 7th, 14th, 21th, 27th and 30th days. Statistical calculations and significant outcomes were obtained by One-way and Two-way analysis of variance, followed by Tuckey's test. The phytochemical n-hexadecanoic acid (19.53%) might be responsible for antidiabetic activity of the seed oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite ongoing efforts in cardiovascular research, the acquisition of high-resolution and high-speed images for the purpose of assessing cardiac contraction remains challenging. Light-sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) offers superior spatiotemporal resolution and minimal photodamage, providing an indispensable opportunity for the in vivo study of cardiac micro-structure and contractile function in zebrafish larvae. To track the myocardial architecture and contractility, we have developed an imaging strategy ranging from LSFM system construction, retrospective synchronization, single cell tracking, to user-directed virtual reality (VR) analysis. Our system enables the four-dimensional (4D) investigation of individual cardiomyocytes across the entire atrium and ventricle during multiple cardiac cycles in a zebrafish larva at the cellular resolution. To enhance the throughput of our model reconstruction and assessment, we have developed a parallel computing-assisted algorithm for 4D synchronization, resulting in a nearly tenfold enhancement of reconstruction efficiency. The machine learning-based nuclei segmentation and VR-based interaction further allow us to quantify cellular dynamics in the myocardium from end-systole to end-diastole. Collectively, our strategy facilitates noninvasive cardiac imaging and user-directed data interpretation with improved efficiency and accuracy, holding great promise to characterize functional changes and regional mechanics at the single cell level during cardiac development and regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sparfloxacin is a quinolone carboxylic acid derivative that shows activity as an antimicrobial agent, against a wide range of Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms. It is clinically useful for the treatment of urinary tract infections, respiratory tract infections and gynecological infections. In this study in vitro drug-drug interaction of sparfloxacin has been carried out with famotidine and ranitidine. For these studies a two-component spectrophotometric process has been developed for sparfloxacin assay in the presence of famotidine or ranitidine. The reproducibility of the method is within ±5%. The technique has been applied to the development of sparfloxacin in methanol. The interaction studies of sparfloxacin with ranitidine and famotidine were carried out in methanol and methanol: Water mixtures (30:70, v/v; 50:50, v/v) and the kinetics of sparfloxacin degradation were evaluated in the presence and absence of famotidine and ranitidine. The decrease in the rate of degradation of sparfloxacin in the presence of famotidine or ranitidine, compared to that of sparfloxacin alone, indicated the possibility of interaction between the sparfloxacin and famotidine or ranitidine. The Thin layer chromatography (TLC) of the degraded solution showed the presence of a degradation product of sparfloxacin. The studies show that complexation with famotidine or ranitidine may affect the bioavailability of sparfloxacin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distribution of the messenger RNAs of parathyroid hormone-related proteins (PTHrPs), PTH/PTHrP and the RaKCaR kidney calcium receptor was analyzed via reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RT-PCR analysis of complementary DNA from dissected rat nephron segments indicated the presence of RaKCaR messenger RNA (mRNA) in the medullary and cortical ascending limbs. On the other hand, PTHrP mRNA was expressed in the glomeruli and lower levels of the proximal convoluted tubules.