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The ketogenic diet (KD) has demonstrated benefits in numerous clinical studies and animal models of disease in modulating the immune response and promoting a systemic anti-inflammatory state. Here we investigate the effects of a KD on systemic toxicity in mice following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our data indicate that under KD, SARS-CoV-2 reduces weight loss with overall improved animal survival. Muted multi-organ transcriptional reprogramming and metabolism rewiring suggest that a KD initiates and mitigates systemic changes induced by the virus. We observed reduced metalloproteases and increased inflammatory homeostatic protein transcription in the heart, with decreased serum pro-inflammatory cytokines (i.e., TNF-α, IL-15, IL-22, G-CSF, M-CSF, MCP-1), metabolic markers of inflammation (i.e., kynurenine/tryptophane ratio), and inflammatory prostaglandins, indicative of reduced systemic inflammation in animals infected under a KD. Taken together, these data suggest that a KD can alter the transcriptional and metabolic response in animals following SARS-CoV-2 infection with improved mice health, reduced inflammation, and restored amino acid, nucleotide, lipid, and energy currency metabolism.

Abstract Background Increasing affordability of artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) in the African retail sector could be critical to expanding access to effective malaria treatment, but must be balanced by efforts to protect the efficacy of these drugs. Previous research estimates ACT adherence rates among public sector patients, but adherence among retail sector purchasers could differ substantially. This study aimed to estimate adherence rates to subsidized, over-the-counter ACT in rural Uganda. Methods An intervention study was conducted with four licensed drug shops in Eastern Uganda in December 2009. Artemether-lumefantrine (AL) was made available for sale at a 95% subsidy over-the counter. Customers completed a brief survey at the time of purchase and then were randomly assigned to one of three study arms: no follow-up, follow-up after two days or follow-up after three days. Surveyors recorded the number of pills remaining through blister pack observation or through self-report if the pack was unavailable. The purpose of the three-day follow-up arm was to capture non-adherence in the sense of an incomplete treatment course ("under-dosing"). The purpose of the two-day follow-up arm was to capture whether participants completed the full course too soon ("over-dosing"). Results Of the 106 patients in the two-day follow-up sample, 14 (13.2%) had finished the entire treatment course by the second day. Of the 152 patients in the three-day follow-up sample, 49 (32.2%) were definitely non-adherent, three (2%) were probably non-adherent and 100 (65.8%) were probably adherent. Among the 52 who were non-adherent, 31 (59.6%) had more than a full day of treatment remaining. Conclusions Overall, adherence to subsidized ACT purchased over-the-counter was found to be moderate. Further, a non-trivial fraction of those who complete treatment are taking the full course too quickly. Strategies to increase adherence in the retail sector are needed in the context of increasing availability and affordability of ACT in this sector.

This book enters the growing field of museum accessibility publications, and makes note of them, citing the recent publication I The Art of Access: A Practical Guide for Museum Accessibility i by Heather Pressman and Danielle Schulz (2021), as well as established museum accessibility scholars like Richard Sandell. The COVID-19 pandemic spotlighted the need for museums to reimagine themselves, especially with regard to accessibility. Most important, and appreciated, is the repeated emphasis on the agency and autonomy of disabled people, and the idea that accessibility is an intersectional issue; disability is not the only identity marker people can experience, as Ciaccheri states: "When we look at people with disabilities as people who only need help, we undermine and penalize their autonomy" (51). [Extracted from the article]

Background: In multiple sclerosis (MS) and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), inflammation is perpetuated by both infiltrating leukocytes and astrocytes. Recent work implicated SUR1-TRPM4 channels, expressed mostly by astrocytes, in murine EAE. We tested the hypothesis that pharmacological inhibition of SUR1 during the chronic phase of EAE would be beneficial.Methods: EAE was induced in mice using myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) 35-55. Glibenclamide (10 μg/day) was administered beginning 12 or 24 days later. The effects of treatment were determined by clinical scoring and tissue examination. Drug within EAE lesions was identified using bodipy-glibenclamide. The role of SUR1-TRPM4 in primary astrocytes was characterized using patch clamp and qPCR. Demyelinating lesions from MS patients were studied by immunolabeling and immunoFRET.Results: Administering glibenclamide beginning 24 days after MOG35-55 immunization, well after clinical symptoms had plateaued, improved clinical scores, reduced myelin loss, inflammation (CD45, CD20, CD3, p65), and reactive astrocytosis, improved macrophage phenotype (CD163), and decreased expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), B-cell activating factor (BAFF), chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) and nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) in lumbar spinal cord white matter. Glibenclamide accumulated within EAE lesions, and had no effect on leukocyte sequestration. In primary astrocyte cultures, activation by TNF plus IFNγ induced de novo expression of SUR1-TRPM4 channels and upregulated Tnf, Baff, Ccl2, and Nos2 mRNA, with glibenclamide blockade of SUR1-TRPM4 reducing these mRNA increases. In demyelinating lesions from MS patients, astrocytes co-expressed SUR1-TRPM4 and BAFF, CCL2, and NOS2.Conclusions: SUR1-TRPM4 may be a druggable target for disease modification in MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study published in 2019 suggests that healthcare providers may use tattoos as a potential marker for mental health issues and risky behaviors. However, identifying tattoos as a risk factor for mental illness stigmatizes patients and imposes a mainstream cultural norm on diverse populations. Tattoos can have deep personal meaning or cultural significance, and using them as a marker for mental illness may lead to biased diagnoses. The medical community should be aware of the changing perception of tattoos and provide unbiased healthcare to all patients, regardless of whether they have tattoos or not. [Extracted from the article]

The article presents a study regarding the use of echolocation click train patterns in studying harbour porpoise behaviour. A description of the harbour porpoise, which are regarded as sensitive to human disturbance, is given. Particular focus is given to the possibility of identifying stereotyped inter-click interval click train patterns and their use to index various behaviours. The importance of acoustic monitoring devices for monitoring harbour porpoise is noted.

Guatemala is the largest source of internationally adopted children from the Americas. Widespread social problems resulting from a genocidal 36 year civil war and the country's history of violence against the Indigenous Mayan population have stymied development of social policies that give appropriate attention to child and family rights. This paper provides a multi-systemic analysis of the social, political, and economic circumstances in Guatemala that currently contribute to family vulnerability and problematic adoption practices. We also examine the questionable and sometimes coercive methods used to influence the relinquishment of parental rights of Indigenous and impoverished families-including the roles of attorneys, birth mother recruiters, and social workers. Also addressed are the current national and international laws and policies that are intended to protect the human rights of Guatemalan children from child trafficking and sale. Finally, we analyze the ethical responsibilities of social workers who work in international adoption systems, and we give policy practice recommendations for improving the current system in Guatemala. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]