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Background: There are very few studies are done on interstitial lung diseases (ILD) in India. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 30 patients of high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) proven interstitial lung diseases in tertiary care centre. Results: Most common etiological causes of ILD were occupational (46.62%), Rheumatoid Arthritis (13.32%), and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (33.33 %). Majority were in age group 40-49 years (mean age-45.23 years) and 66.5% male patients. Common symptoms were breathlessness on exertion (100%), dry cough (43.29%), anorexia (50%) and joint pain (16.65%). Clubbing and bilateral crepitations were present in 50% and 63.27% of patients respectively. X- ray chest showed reticulo-nodular pattern (60%). Restrictive pattern (96.57%) was present in majority patients in spirometry. Conclusion: Availability of non-invasive investigations like HRCT chest has increased our early recognitions of ILDs. Association of ILD in patients with autoimmune diseases must be ruled out.

Purpose of Review: Depression during the perinatal or antenatal period affects at least 1 in 10 women worldwide, with long term health implications for the mother and child. Concurrently, there is increasing evidence associating maternal exposure to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to adverse pregnancy outcomes. We reviewed the body of evidence examining both the associations between PFAS exposure and perturbations in the maternal metabolome, and the associations between the maternal metabolome and perinatal/antenatal depression. Through this, we sought to explore existing evidence of the perinatal metabolome as a potential mediation pathway linking PFAS exposure and perinatal/antenatal depression., Recent Findings: There are few studies examining the metabolomics of PFAS exposure-specifically in pregnant women-and the metabolomics of perinatal/antenatal depression, let alone studies examining both simultaneously. Of the studies reviewed (N = 11), the majority were cross sectional, based outside of the US, and conducted on largely homogenous populations. Our review identified 23 metabolic pathways in the perinatal metabolome common to both PFAS exposure and perinatal/antenatal depression. Future studies may consider findings from our review to conduct literature-derived hypothesis testing focusing on fatty acid metabolism, alanine metabolism, glutamate metabolism, and tyrosine metabolism when exploring the biochemical mechanisms conferring the risk of perinatal/antenatal depression due to PFAS exposure. We recommend that researchers also utilize heterogenous populations, longitudinal study designs, and mediation approaches to elucidate key pathways linking PFAS exposures to perinatal/antenatal depression., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction and Objectives: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease worldwide and can progress to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and, ultimately, cirrhosis. Clostridioides difficile is the most common nosocomial cause of diarrhea and is associated with worse clinical outcomes in other liver diseases, including cirrhosis, but has not been extensively evaluated in concomitant NAFLD/NASH., Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the National Inpatient Sample database from 2015 to 2017. Patients with a diagnosis of CDI, NAFLD, and NASH were identified using International Classification of Diseases (Tenth Revision) codes. The outcomes of our study include length of stay, hospitalization cost, mortality, and predictors of mortality., Results: The CDI and NASH cohort had a higher degree of comorbidity burden and prevalence of peptic ulcer disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes mellitus, and cirrhosis. Patients with NASH and CDI had a significantly higher mortality rate compared to the CDI only cohort (mortality, 7.11 % vs. 6.36 %; P = 0.042). Patients with CDI and NASH were at increased risk for liver-related complications, acute kidney injury, and septic shock (P < 0.001) compared to patients with CDI only. Older age, intestinal complications, pneumonia, sepsis and septic shock, and liver failure conferred an increased risk of mortality among the CDI and NASH cohort., Conclusions: Patients with NASH had a higher rate of liver-related complications, progression to septic shock, and mortality rate following CDI infection compared to the CDI only cohort., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest None., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U.)

Prenatal per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure may influence gestational outcomes through bioactive lipids─metabolic and inflammation pathway indicators. We estimated associations between prenatal PFAS exposure and bioactive lipids, measuring 12 serum PFAS and 50 plasma bioactive lipids in 414 pregnant women (median 17.4 weeks' gestation) from three Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Program cohorts. Pairwise association estimates across cohorts were obtained through linear mixed models and meta-analysis, adjusting the former for false discovery rates. Associations between the PFAS mixture and bioactive lipids were estimated using quantile g-computation. Pairwise analyses revealed bioactive lipid levels associated with PFDeA, PFNA, PFOA, and PFUdA ( p < 0.05) across three enzymatic pathways (cyclooxygenase, cytochrome p450, lipoxygenase) in at least one combined cohort analysis, and PFOA and PFUdA ( q < 0.2) in one linear mixed model. The strongest signature revealed doubling in PFOA corresponding with PGD2 (cyclooxygenase pathway; +24.3%, 95% CI: 7.3-43.9%) in the combined cohort. Mixture analysis revealed nine positive associations across all pathways with the PFAS mixture, the strongest signature indicating a quartile increase in the PFAS mixture associated with PGD2 (+34%, 95% CI: 8-66%), primarily driven by PFOS. Bioactive lipids emerged as prenatal PFAS exposure biomarkers, deepening insights into PFAS' influence on pregnancy outcomes.

Background: This paper describes the protocols for a randomized controlled trial using a parallel-group trial design that includes an intervention designed to address social isolation and loneliness among people experiencing homelessness known as Miracle Friends and an intervention that combines Miracles Friends with an economic poverty-reduction intervention known as Miracle Money. Miracle Friends pairs an unhoused person with a volunteer "phone buddy." Miracle Money provides guaranteed basic income of $750 per month for 1 year to Miracle Friends participants. The study will examine whether either intervention reduces social isolation or homelessness compared to a waitlist control group., Methods: Unhoused individuals who expressed interest in the Miracle Friends program were randomized to either receive the intervention or be placed on a waitlist for Miracle Friends. Among those randomized to receive the Miracle Friends intervention, randomization also determined whether they would be offered Miracle Money. The possibility of receiving basic income was only disclosed to study participants if they were randomly selected and participated in the Miracle Friends program. All study participants, regardless of assignment, were surveyed every 3 months for 15 months., Results: Of 760 unhoused individuals enrolled in the study, 256 were randomized to receive Miracle Friends, 267 were randomized to receive Miracle Money, and 237 were randomized to the waitlist control group. In the two intervention groups, 360 of 523 unhoused individuals were initially matched to a phone buddy. Of the 191 study participants in the Miracle Money group who had been initially matched to a volunteer phone buddy, 103 were deemed to be participating in the program and began receiving monthly income., Discussion: This randomized controlled trial will determine whether innovative interventions involving volunteer phone support and basic income reduce social isolation and improve housing outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. Although we enrolled unhoused individuals who initially expressed interest in the Miracle Friends program, the study team could not reach approximately 30% of individuals referred to the study. This may reflect the general lack of stability in the lives of people who are unhoused or limitations in the appeal of such a program to some portion of the unhoused population., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05408884 (first submitted on May 26, 2022)., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Research with administrative records involves the challenge of limited information in any single data source to answer policy-related questions. Record linkage provides researchers with a tool to supplement administrative datasets with other information about the same people when identified in separate sources as matched pairs. Several solutions are available for undertaking record linkage, producing linkage keys for merging data sources for positively matched pairs of records. In the current manuscript, we demonstrate a new application of the Python RecordLinkage package to family-based record linkages with machine learning algorithms for probability scoring, which we call probabilistic record linkage for families (PRLF). First, a simulation of administrative records identifies PRLF accuracy with variations in match and data degradation percentages. Accuracy is largely influenced by degradation (e.g., missing data fields, mismatched values) compared to the percentage of simulated matches. Second, an application of data linkage is presented to compare regression model estimate performance across three record linkage solutions (PRLF, ChoiceMaker, and Link Plus). Our findings indicate that all three solutions, when optimized, provide similar results for researchers. Strengths of our process, such as the use of ensemble methods, to improve match accuracy are discussed. We then identify caveats of record linkage in the context of administrative data., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Prindle et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Objective: To measure the interrater reliability of assessing the frequency of vegetable intake using mobile photos and descriptions., Design: Repeated measures design., Setting: A Midwestern university., Participants: Undergraduate students ( N  = 165)., Measurable Outcome/analysis: Number of times each of these vegetable subgroups were consumed daily: dark green vegetables, beans and peas, starchy vegetables, and other vegetables. Analysis: Two raters independently coded meals using mobile photos and descriptions of meals. Cohen κ was calculated to determine interrater reliability., Results: A value of κ  = 0.9 ( p  < .001) was obtained, indicating an almost perfect agreement between the two raters. Nearly 92% of participants complied with providing photos along with descriptions of their meals., Conclusions and Implications: A frequency method using mobile photos and descriptions of meals is a reliable strategy to assess vegetable consumption. This frequency method can improve data quality, reduce participant burden, and minimize recall bias in college nutrition programs.

Carbon xerogels were synthesized using a soft-template route with resorcinol as the carbon source and sodium carbonate as the catalyst. The influence of the resorcinol to catalyst ratio in the range of 500-20,000 on pore structure, graphitic domains, and electronic conductivity of as-prepared carbon xerogels, as well as their performance in an aluminium ion battery (AIB), was investigated. After carbonization steps of the polymers up to 800 °C, all carbon samples exhibited similar specific volumes of micropores (0.7-0.8 cm³ g -1 ), while samples obtained from mixtures with R/C ratios lower than 2000 led to carbon xerogels with significantly higher mesopore diameters up to 6 nm. The best results, in terms of specific surface (1000 m² g -1 ), average pore size (6 nm) and reversible capacity in AIB cell (28 mAh g -1 @ 0.1 A g -1 ), were obtained with a carbon xerogel sample synthetized at a resorcinol to catalyst ratio of R/C = 500 (CXG 500 ). Though cyclic voltammograms of carbon xerogel samples did not exhibit any sharp peaks in the applied potential window, the presence of both oxidation and a quite wide reduction peak in CXG 500-2000 cyclic voltammograms indicated pseudocapacitance behaviour induced by diffusion-controlled intercalation/de-intercalation of AlCl 4 - ions into/from the carbon xerogel matrix. This was confirmed by shifting of the (002) peak towards lower 2θ angle values in the XRD pattern of the CXG 500 electrode after the charging step in AIB, whereas the contribution of pseudocapacitance, calculated from half-cell measurements, was limited to only 6% of overall capacitance.

The Children's Data Network (CDN) is a data and research collaborative focused on the linkage and analysis of administrative records. In partnership with public agencies, philanthropic funders, affiliated researchers, and community stakeholders, we seek to generate knowledge and advance evidence-rich policies that improve the health, safety, and well-being of the children of California. Given our experience negotiating access to and working with existing administrative data (and importantly, data stewards), the CDN has demonstrated its ability to perform cost-effective and rigorous record linkage, answer time-sensitive policy- and program-related questions, and build the public sector's capacity to do the same. Owing to steadfast and generous infrastructure and project support, close collaboration with public partners, and strategic analyses and engagements, the CDN has promoted a person-level and longitudinal understanding of children and families in California and in so doing, informed policy and program development nationwide. We sincerely hope that our experience-and lessons learned-can advance and inform work in other fields and jurisdictions., Competing Interests: Statement on conflicts of interest: The authors do not have any conflicts of interest to report.

Living in a neighborhood with high levels of intergenerational mobility is associated with better childhood cognition and behavior as well as adult health. Nevertheless, it is unclear if such differences originate earlier, and thus if neighborhood intergenerational mobility is associated with health differences at birth. To address this question, we examined whether neighborhood intergenerational mobility, independent of neighborhood poverty, was associated with low birth weight (LBW) in a population-based cohort of singleton children born in California in 2017 (n = 426,873). Although increased neighborhood mobility was associated with a decreased likelihood of LBW, it was no longer associated with LBW (OR = 0.98, CI = 0.96, 1.00) after adjusting for neighborhood poverty. Meanwhile, neighborhood poverty was associated with LBW (OR = 1.04, CI = 1.02, 1.05) after accounting for mobility, with the odds of LBW 9.4% higher among children born where neighborhood poverty was in the 90th percentile compared with children born where neighborhood poverty was in the 10th percentile. Findings indicate that neighborhood poverty, but not intergenerational mobility, is a robust and independent correlate of increased LBW births, and thus early developmental health. These findings also suggest that the role of neighborhood intergenerational mobility in child and adult health outcomes may emerge later in development, independent of LBW, or that the role of neighborhood intergenerational mobility in LBW may be indirectly mediated through exposure to neighborhood poverty., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) with bilateral pedicle screw instrumentation is a well-accepted technique in lumbar degenerative disc disorder. Unilateral instrumentation in TLIF has been reported in the literature. This study aims to compare the clinical and radiological outcomes of unilateral and bilateral instrumented TLIF in a selected series of patients., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients operated with unilateral pedicle screw fixation in TLIF (UPSF TLIF) or with bilateral pedicle screw fixation in TLIF (BPSF TLIF) with a minimum of 2 years of follow-up. Patients were evaluated at regular intervals for functional and radiological outcomes. Functional outcome was assessed using the Oswestry disability index (ODI) and visual analog score (VAS) preoperatively and at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after surgery. Fusion rates were assessed using Bridwell interbody fusion grading., Results: Our study shows that there was a significant improvement in VAS and ODI in both groups at 2 years follow-up, and there was no significant difference in improvements between the groups. The complication rates between the groups were similar. The fusion rate in UPSF TLIF was 97.3% and was 98.34% in BPSF TLIF; this was not statistically significant between groups. There is a significant difference in terms of blood loss, duration of surgery, and average duration of hospital stay between the groups ( P < .001), favoring UPSF TLIF., Conclusions: Unilateral pedicle screw fixation in open TLIF is comparable with bilateral pedicle screw fixation in terms of patient-reported clinical outcomes, fusion rates, and complication rates with the additional benefits of less operative time, less blood loss, shorter hospitalization, and less cost in selective cases., Level of Evidence: 4., (This manuscript is generously published free of charge by ISASS, the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery. Copyright © 2021 ISASS.)

Bacillus licheniformis TT42 produced a low-molecular weight anionic biosurfactant that reduced the surface tension of water from 72 to 27 mN/m and the interfacial tension from 12 to 0.05 mN/m against crude oil. We have earlier reported significant enhancement in oil recovery in laboratory sand pack columns and core flood studies, by biosurfactant-TT42 compared to standard strain, Bacillus mojavensis JF2. In the context of this application of the biosurfactant-TT42, its characterization was deemed important. In the preliminary studies, the biosurfactant-TT42 was found to be functionally stable at under conditions of temperature, pH, and salinity generally prevalent in oil reservoirs. Furthermore, the purified biosurfactant-TT42 was found to have a CMC of 22 mg/l. A newly developed activity staining TLC method was used for the purification of biosurfactant-TT42. Structural characterization of biosurfactant-TT42 using TLC, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), GC-MS, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF)/TOF suggested that it was a mixture of lipopeptide species, all having a common hydrophilic cyclic heptapeptide head with the sequence, Gln-Leu/Ileu-Leu/Ileu-Val-Asp-Leu/Ileu-Leu/Ileu linked to hydrophobic tails of different lengths of 3β-OH-fatty acids bearing 1043, 1057 and 1071 Da molecular weight, where 3β-OH-C19 fatty acid was predominant. This is the longest chain length of fatty acids reported in a lipopeptide.

The present investigation was an attempt to elucidate oxidative stress induced by bisphenol A on erythrocytes and its amelioration by green tea extract. For this, venous blood samples from healthy human adults were collected in EDTA vials and used for preparation of erythrocytes suspension. When erythrocyte suspensions were treated with different concentrations of BPA/H2O2, a dose-dependent increase in hemolysis occurred. Similarly, when erythrocytes suspensions were treated with either different concentrations of H2O2 (0.05-0.25 mM) along with BPA (50 μg/mL) or 0.05 mM H2O2 along with different concentrations of BPA (50-250 μg/mL), dose-dependent significant increase in hemolysis occurred. The effect of BPA and H2O2 was found to be additive. For the confirmation, binding capacity of bisphenol A with erythrocyte proteins (hemoglobin, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase) was inspected using molecular docking tool, which showed presence of various hydrogen bonds of BPA with the proteins. The present data clearly indicates that BPA causes oxidative stress in a similar way as H2O2 . Concurrent addition of different concentrations (10-50 μg/mL) of green tea extract to reaction mixture containing high dose of bisphenol A (250 μg/mL) caused concentration-dependent amelioration in bisphenol A-induced hemolysis. The effect was significant (P < 0.05). It is concluded that BPA-induced oxidative stress could be significantly mitigated by green tea extract.

Diversity among biosurfactant producing Bacillus spp. from diverse habitats was studied among 77 isolates. Cluster analysis based on phenotypic characteristics using unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMAs) method was performed. Bacillus isolates possessing high surface tension activity and five reference strains were subjected to amplified 16S rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA). A correlation between the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Bacillus spp. is explored. Most of the oil reservoir isolates showing high surface activity clustered with B. licheniformis and B. subtilis, the hot water spring isolates clustered in two ingroups, while the petroleum contaminated soil isolates were randomly distributed in all the three ingroups. Present work revealed that diversity exists in distribution of Bacillus spp. from thermal and hydrocarbon containing habitats where majority of organisms belonged to B. licheniformis and B. subtilis group. Isolate B. licheniformis TT42 produced biosurfactant which reduced the surface tension of water from 72 mNm(-1) to 28 mNm(-1), and 0.05 mNm(-1) interfacial tension against crude oil at 80°C. This isolate clustered with B. subtilis and B. licheniformis group on the basis of ARDRA. These findings increase the possibility of exploiting the Bacillus spp. from different habitats and their possible use in oil recovery.

The selective plugging strategy of microbial enhanced oil recovery involves the use of microbes that grow and produce exopolymeric substances, which block the high permeability zones of an oil reservoir, thus allowing the water to flow through the low permeability zones leading to increase in oil recovery. Bacillus licheniformis TT33, a hot water spring isolate, is facultatively anaerobic, halotolerant, and thermotolerant. It produces EPS as well as biosurfactant and has a biofilm-forming ability. The viscosity of its cell-free supernatant is 120 mPas at 28 degrees C. Its purified EPS contained 26% carbohydrate and 3% protein. Its biosurfactant reduced the surface tension of water from 72 to 34 mN/m. This strain gave 27.7+/-3.5% oil recovery in a sand pack column. Environmental scanning electron microscopy analysis showed bacterial growth and biofilm formation in the sand pack. Biochemical tests and amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis confirmed that the oil recovery obtained in the sand pack column was due to Bacillus licheniformis TT33.

Bacillus licheniformis K125, isolated from an oil reservoir, produces an effective bioemulsifier. The crude bioemulsifier showed 66% emulsification activity (E(24)) and reduced the surface tension of water from 72 to 34 mN/m. It contains substantial amount of polysaccharide, protein and lipid. This bioemulsifier is pseudoplastic non-Newtonian in nature. It forms oil in water emulsion which remains stable at wide range of pH, temperature and salinity. It gave 43+/-3.3% additional oil recovery upon application to a sand pack column designed to simulate an oil reservoir. This is 13.7% higher than that obtained from crude lipopeptide biosurfactants produced by the standard strain, Bacillus mojavensis JF2 and 8.5% higher than hot water spring isolate, Bacillus licheniformis TT42. The increased oil recovery obtained by using the crude bioemulsifier can be attributed to its combined surface and emulsification activity. Its mechanism of oil recovery must be similar to the mechanism exhibited by surfactant-polymer flooding process of chemical enhanced oil recovery.