The Mycotoxin Fumonisin B1 Induces Metabolic and Molecular Perturbations Leading to Cell Death in Arabidopsis Cell Culture

Fumonisin B1 (FB1) is a fungal toxin produced by Fusarium spp. able to exert pleiotropic toxicity in plants. FB1 is known to be a strong inducer of the programmed cell death (PCD); however, the exact mechanism underling the plant-toxin interactions and the molecular events that lead to PCD are still unclear. Therefore, in this work we provided a comprehensive investigation of the response of the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana at the nuclear, transcriptional, and biochemical level after the treatment with FB1 at two different concentrations, namely 1 and 5µM during a time-course of 96 h. FB1 induced oxidative and nitrosative bursts and a rapid cell death in Arabidopsis cell cultures, which resembled a HR-like PCD event. Different genes involved in the regulation of PCD, antioxidant metabolism, photosynthesis, resistance, and sugar transport were upregulated, especially during the late treatment time and with higher FB1 concentration. Among the antioxidant enzymes and compounds studied, only glutathione appeared to be highly induced in both treatments, suggesting that it might be an important defense molecule induced during FB1 exposure. Collectively, these findings highlight the complexity of the defense network of A. thaliana and provide important information for the understanding of the physiological, molecular, and biochemical responses to counteract FB1-induced toxicity.

Dislocation of the penis: a rare case of genital trauma

Traumatic dislocation of the penis is one of the rarest types of genital trauma. This type of injury is accompanied by a violation of the integrity of the skin and the penile ligamentous apparatus, with the dislocation of the penis into the scrotum under the skin of the thigh, or the area of the pubic joint. The low occurrence frequency of such injuries and the small number of observations described in the literature entails the absence of generally accepted treatment tactics for this category of patients. The article describes a clinical case of successfully treated traumatic dislocation of the penis with penile transposition into the pubic joint area and the formation of subcutaneous urinary leakage after late treatment of the patient for medical care.

THE PROBLEM OF THE SURGICAL TREATMENT OF NON-SPECIFIC CHRONIC PLEURAL EMPYEMA: LITERATURE REVIEW

Despite the rapid development of thoracic surgery, the problem of the surgical treatment of non-specific chronic pleural empyema remains relevant. The variability of the proposed treatment methods: puncture and drainage interventions aimed at pleural cavity sanitation, minimally invasive videothoracoscopic surgeries and traditional lung decortication, dictates the need for case-by-case surgical tactics and determining the stages and duration of the above methods. Treatment outcomes are significantly worsened by the presence of bronchial fistulas, which either cause the development of chronic pleural empyema or develop as a result of its presence and late treatment. Some answers to these key questions are provided in this paper, which aims to identify them in the Ukrainian and foreign literature.

Problems of metastasis (literature review)

Despite significant successes in the development of medical sciences, the study of oncopathology issues still occupies a leading place due to the identification of a large number of advanced cases of the disease. Firstly, this may be due to the rapid growth of a malignant tumor, for example, against the background of immunodeficiency. Secondly, with late treatment of patients, when they already have distant metastases. The success of treatment of any oncological process primarily depends on the timing of the diagnosis: the earlier the tumor is diagnosed, the greater the chance of a positive outcome and an increase in the life expectancy of the cancer patient. The most formidable complication of oncopathology and the main cause of death from it is metastasis, which often reduces to zero all the effects of therapy. Metastasis remains a mystery today. So, despite the large number of various theories, the question of the spread of the tumor throughout the body has not yet been resolved. There is no definite answer to the question: do metastases metastasize? The mechanisms of the influence of hormones on the processes of metastasis have not been fully studied. Difficulties in diagnosis are associated with the lack of clinical manifestations before the appearance of metastases, the inability to track and compare changes in tissues and organs in vivo, the non-specificity of the results of available research methods, and the lack of control of the spread of metastases throughout the body. Experimental studies on laboratory animals can provide answers to these and many other questions. In a review of the literature, a study of the main issues of metastasis is conducted.

A Comprehensive HPV-STI NGS Assay for Detection of 29 HPV Types and 14 non-HPV Sexually Transmitted Infections

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are prevalent throughout the world and impose a significant burden on individual health and public health systems. Missed diagnosis and late treatment of STIs can lead to serious complications such as infertility and cervical cancer. Although sexually transmitted co-infections are common, most commercial assays target one or a few STIs. The HPV-STI ChapterDx Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) assay detects and quantifies 29 HPVs and 14 other STIs in a single-tube and single-step PCR reaction and can be applied to tens to thousands of samples in a single sequencing run. The assay was evaluated in this study, and the limit of detection was 100% at 50 copies for all targets, and 100%, 96%, 88% at 20 copies for 34, 8, and 1 target, respectively. The performance of this assay has been compared to Roche cobas HPV test, showing an overall agreement of 97.5% for hr-HPV, and 98.5% for both, HPV16 and HPV18. The assay also detected all HPV-infected CIN2/3 with 100% agreement with Roche cobas HPV results. Moreover, several co-infections with non-HPV STIs, such as C. trachomatis, T. vaginalis, M. genitalium, and HSV2 were identified. The Chap-terDx HPV-STI NGS assay is a user-friendly, easy to automate and cost-efficient assay, which provides accurate and comprehensive results for a wide spectrum of HPVs and STIs.

The role of antiviral treatment in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic: a modeling study.

Despite the development of safe and effective vaccines, effective treatments for COVID-19 disease are still desperately needed. Recently, two antiviral drugs have shown to be effective in reducing hospitalizations in clinical trials. In the present work, we use an agent-based mathematical model to assess the potential population impact of the use of antiviral treatments in four countries, corresponding to four current levels of vaccination coverage: Kenya, Mexico, United States (US) and Belgium, with 1.5, 38, 57 and 74% of their populations vaccinated. For each location, we varied antiviral coverage and antiviral effect in reducing viral load (25, 50, 75 or 100% reduction). Irrespective of location, widespread antiviral treatment of symptomatic infections (≥50% coverage) is expected to prevent the majority of COVID-19 deaths. Furthermore, even treating 20% of adult symptomatic infections, is expected to reduce mortality by a third in all countries, irrespective of the assumed treatment efficacy in reducing viral load. Our results suggest that early antiviral treatment is needed to mitigate transmission, with early treatment (within two days of symptoms) preventing 50% more infections compared to late treatment (started on days 3 to 5 after developing symptoms). Our results highlight the synergistic effect of vaccination and antiviral treatment: as vaccination rate increased, antiviral treatment had a bigger impact on overall transmission. These results suggest that antiviral treatments can become a strategic tool that, in combination with vaccination, can significantly control SASRS-CoV-2 transmission and reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths.

Derotational Osteotomies for The Late Treatment of Brachial Plexus Injury

Obstetric brachial plexus palsy [OBBP] can affect the function of the upper extremity. Most of the injuries are limited to the upper spinal nerves and heals spontaneously. However, some of them will have incomplete recovery after OBBP often results in weakness of the external rotators [teres minor and infraspinatus] muscles compared to the internal rotators [teres major, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi] muscles. The predominance of the internal rotators and adductor muscles over external rotators leads to an internal rotation contracture. The development of internal rotational deformity may progress to increased glenoid retroversion and posterior humeral head subluxation. If the surgeon does not repair internal rotation deformity, the humeral head is forced into a posterior position causing a complete posterior dislocation. Many procedures are performed to treat these deformities: In the young child, improving the remodeling of the glenohumeral joint, capsulectomy, and subscapular release are introduced. Tendon transfers of the shoulder have good results for motion but fail to restore the glenohumeral joint. The failure of improving joint alignment may represent the loss in clinical improvement over time. In older children, a humeral osteotomy can be an alternative to realign the limb into external rotation, improve appearance, and enhance eating, washing hair, and scratching the back of the neck. We will discuss all the techniques along with their advantages and disadvantages.

Peningkatan Pengetahuan tentang Kanker Serviks pada Kader sebagai Upaya Peningkatan Cakupan Deteksi Dini Kanker Serviks

Cervical cancer is still a scourge for women in the world. The low coverage of early detection of cervical cancer is one of the causes of high mortality due to late treatment. One factor influencing women's participation of childbearing age in cervical cancer early detection is access to information and cadres' role. This community service aims to increase the knowledge of health cadres about early detection of cervical cancer as a requirement for health promotion to women. The methods used in this activity were lectures, question and answer, and discussion. The participants were 13 health cadres in Sumberrahayu Village, Limbangan District. The result is an increase in good category knowledge (15.5 to 76.9%). Increasing cadres' knowledge can be used as a model for community empowerment in upgrading the childbearing age women's knowledge about early detection of cervical cancer.

Refractory Bell’s palsy responding to late treatment with high-dose intravenous steroids

Bell’s palsy is an acute peripheral facial paralysis with no detectable cause. Although the prognosis of Bell’s palsy is generally good, some patients experience poor recoveries and there is no established treatment for those that do not recover even after receiving the conventional treatment. Here we present two cases of refractory Bell’s palsy with facial nerve enhancement in magnetic resonance imaging who showed symptomatic improvement after the late administration of high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone.