Skaarupahmed3264

rn when compared with younger onset patients.

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of ketogenic diet (KD) in Chinese children with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) due to structural etiology.

We retrospectively analyzed data from 23 pediatric patients with DRE due to structural etiology who were treated with KD at Department of Neurology, between May 2014 and December 2020. Based on etiological classifications, the patients were divided into a neonatal brain injury (Group 1), an intracranial infection group (Group2) and a group that showed malformations of cortical development (MCDs) (Group 3).

The 23 patients remained on the KD for a mean duration of 15.3±9.7 months. The response rates for the control of seizures were 60.9% (14/23), 52.2 % (12/23), 47.8% (11/23) at 3, 6 and 12 months, respectively. Subjective improvements in cognition were observed in 87.0% (20/23) of the children during follow-up. Reductions in the frequency of seizures of >50% were more commonly achieved by patients in group 1 (75.0%, 9/12) compared n patients with a history of neonatal brain injury. Patients with DRE secondary to HIE may be particularly responsive to the KD therapy, and so KD should be considered earlier in those patients.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased mortality worldwide and those with chronic conditions may have been disproportionally affected. However, it is unknown whether the pandemic has changed mortality rates for people with epilepsy. We aimed to compare mortality rates in people with epilepsy in Wales during the pandemic with pre-pandemic rates.

We performed a retrospective study using individual-level linked population-scale anonymised electronic health records. We identified deaths in people with epilepsy (DPWE), i.e. those with a diagnosis of epilepsy, and deaths associated with epilepsy (DAE), where epilepsy was recorded as a cause of death on death certificates. We compared death rates in 2020 with average rates in 2015-2019 using Poisson models to calculate death rate ratios.

There were 188 DAE and 628 DPWE in Wales in 2020 (death rates 7.7/100,000/year and 25.7/100,000/year). The average rates for DAE and DPWE from 2015 to 2019 were 5.8/100,000/year and 23.8/100,000/year, respectively. Death rate ratios (2020 compared to 2015-2019) for DAE were 1.34 (95%CI 1.14-1.57, p<0.001) and for DPWE were 1.08 (0.99-1.17, p=0.09). The death rate ratios for non-COVID deaths (deaths without COVID mentioned on death certificates) for DAE were 1.17 (0.99-1.39, p=0.06) and for DPWE were 0.96 (0.87-1.05, p=0.37).

The significant increase in DAE in Wales during 2020 could be explained by the direct effect of COVID-19 infection. Non-COVID-19 deaths have not increased significantly but further work is needed to assess the longer-term impact.

The significant increase in DAE in Wales during 2020 could be explained by the direct effect of COVID-19 infection. Non-COVID-19 deaths have not increased significantly but further work is needed to assess the longer-term impact.

The likelihood of valproate (VPA) induced thrombocytopenia increases with higher VPA levels. In critically ill patients, the biological active free VPA level cannot be predicted from the total serum level. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between trough free VPA serum levels and concomitant platelet counts and assessed risk factors for the development of thrombocytopenia with the aim of generating a formula specifying the probabilities of developing thrombocytopenia based on trough free serum VPA levels.

Trough free VPA levels and concomitant platelet counts were collected from a large cohort of patients who participated in a prospective VPA monotherapy trial. Significant variables associated with thrombocytopenia in a univariate analysis were evaluated in a multivariate model. A receiver operator curve was performed to compute the trough free VPA levels with the greatest discriminating power in predicting thrombocytopenia.

844 trough free VPA levels and concomitant platelet counts obtained from 264 patients were analyzed. In a multivariate analysis, trough free VPA levels, gender, and baseline platelet counts were significantly associated with thrombocytopenia. Using stepwise regression and multivariate logistic regression analyses, we generated gender-specific formulas for predicting platelet counts and probabilities of developing thrombocytopenia. The trough free VPA with the greatest discriminating power to predict platelet values ≤ 100,000/μL was 16.65µg/mL.

The generated model was based on trough free VPA levels and achieved high sensitivity and specificity. Our results are therefore generalizable and can be applied to estimate the probability of developing thrombocytopenia in critically ill patients.

The generated model was based on trough free VPA levels and achieved high sensitivity and specificity. Our results are therefore generalizable and can be applied to estimate the probability of developing thrombocytopenia in critically ill patients.VectorBase (VectorBase.org) is part of the VEuPathDB Bioinformatics Resource Center, providing free online access to multi-omics and population biology data, focusing on arthropod vectors and invertebrates of importance to human health. VectorBase includes genomics and functional genomics data from bed bugs, biting midges, body lice, kissing bugs, mites, mosquitoes, sand flies, ticks, tsetse flies, stable flies, house flies, fruit flies, and a snail intermediate host. Tools include the Search Strategy system and MapVEu, enabling users to interrogate and visualize diverse 'omics and population-level data using a graphical interface (no programming experience required). Users can also analyze their own private data, such as transcriptomic sequences, exploring their results in the context of other publicly-available information in the database. Help Desk help@vectorbase.org.

In parallel with growing consumer interest in reducing sugar intake, manufacturers have increased availability of food and beverage products containing nonnutritive sweeteners (NNSs). However, emerging evidence indicates that specific NNS types have differential effects on cardiometabolic health.

This study examined overall changes in the presence of NNSs, sugar alcohols, and free sugars in the Australian food supply and the use of specific NNS types.

Data for 21,051 products in 2015 and 21,366 products in 2019 were extracted from The George Institute's FoodSwitch database.

The proportion of products containing NNSs, sugar alcohols, free sugars, and a combination of these, as well as proportion of products containing specific NNS types.

Changes between 2015 and 2019 were examined using Pearson χ

tests.

Between 2015 and 2019, there was a significant increase in the proportion of food and beverage products containing NNSs (from 3.8% to 4.3%; P < .001) and a significant decrease in products containing free sugars (from 62.7% to 59.9%; P < .001),) driven primarily by nondairy beverages. There were changes in the use of specific NNS types between 2015 and 2019, with a large increase in the use of steviol glycosides (from 33.7% to 50.2%) and a large decrease in the use of sucralose (from 42.4% to 30.5%), aspartame (from 21.0% to 14.4%), and acesulfame K (from 57.4% to 27.7%) (P < .05 for all).

These findings on the use of different NNS, sugar alcohol, and free sugar ingredients and combinations provide important research insights and will be useful in informing government policies that address sugars and other sweeteners in Australian foods.

These findings on the use of different NNS, sugar alcohol, and free sugar ingredients and combinations provide important research insights and will be useful in informing government policies that address sugars and other sweeteners in Australian foods.In this study, we report on an easy-to-assemble amperometric electrochemical biosensor incorporating thylakoid membranes for the detection of photosynthetic herbicides. These molecules interfere with the light-induced photosynthetic electron transport occurring at the level of the photosystems within the thylakoid membranes, thus reducing the current of the associated bioelectrode. Thylakoid membranes isolated from pea plants were adsorbed directly on a bare carbon paper working electrode and placed in the measurement cell in the absence of any electrochemical mediator, obtaining a fully environmental-friendly biodevice capable of photocurrent densities up to 14 μA/cm2. Three photosynthetic herbicides inhibiting Photosystem II and belonging to different chemical classes, namely diuron, terbuthylazine and metribuzin, were detected by measuring the electrode photocurrent, which decreased reproducibly in a concentration-dependent manner in a range between 10-7 - 5 × 10-5 M of each herbicide. The limit of detection for the three herbicides was between 4-6 × 10-7 M. Storage stability tests revealed for the biosensor a half-life longer than 15 days at 4 °C and full stability up to 4 months at -80 °C. This study provides a simple, environmental-friendly and cost-effective procedure for the fabrication of a mediatorless carbon paper-based electrochemical biosensor characterized by high photocurrents, long storage stability, reproducible detections and good sensitivity.As an answer to alternative non-animal testing, biosensors dedicated to the ex vivo skin explants monitoring are a challenge to study physiological-like behavior and optimize new topical products. Because of the skin viscoelastic behavior, mechanical tests are commonly based on macroscopic measurement and give global descriptors of its state. Other techniques, including photoacoustic ones, are more focused on the molecular scale. There is a gap to fill in the mesoscopic range to get information about the microstructure of the skin. This article presents the proof-of-concept of a biosensor coupling a thickness shear-mode transducer with human skin explants kept in life-like state for a week. Thanks to a multifrequency analysis of the transducer impedance, this biosensor is able to monitor the viscoelastic properties of the skin. To extract the complex shear modulus and the microstructural evolutions, a mechanical model based on fractional calculus is used. GS-0976 mouse As a preliminary results, the sensitivity of the sensor to probe the skin viscoelasticity in lifelike state and the impact of its culture medium are presented. A suitable microstructural coefficient is also extracted in order to identify mechanical breaches in the skin barrier after the application of peeling products.The conversion of solar energy into electrical current by photosynthetic organisms has the potential to produce clean energy. Bio-photoelectrochemical cells (BPECs) utilizing unicellular photosynthetic microorganisms have been studied, however similar harvesting of electrons from more evolved intact photosynthetic organisms has not been previously reported. In this study, we describe for the first time BPECs containing intact live marine macroalgae (seaweeds) in natural seawater or saline buffer. The BPECs produce electrical currents of >50 mA/cm2, from both light-dependent (photosynthesis) and light-independent processes. These values are significantly greater than the current densities that have been reported for single-cell microorganisms. The photocurrent is inhibited by the Photosystem II inhibitor 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea, indicating that the source of light-driven electrons is from photosynthetic water oxidation. The current is mediated to the external anode via NADPH and possibly other reduced molecules.