Purpose: Individuals who exercise commonly consume commercial beverages for rehydration and performance maintenance. Nevertheless, differences in carbohydrate and sodium content can influence hydration efficacy. This study aims to compare the effects of demineralized water (DW), sweetened tea (ST), and electrolyte-containing beverage (EB) on rehydration after exercise-induced dehydration. Methods: A three-way, randomized, crossover design was applied in nine healthy male participants (age, 24.9 ± 1.8 years; body mass index, 21.1 ± 0.9 kg/m 2 ). Participants performed cycling exercise in a hot environment to induce approximately 2% body mass loss during the dehydration stage. During the rehydration stage, participants consumed DW, ST, or EB in volumes equivalent to body mass loss under temperature-controlled conditions. ST contained 7.8% carbohydrate and 1.59 mEq/L sodium; EB contained 3.8% carbohydrate and 23.73 mEq/L sodium, while DW contained neither. Hydration status was assessed using body mass, blood, and urine parameters. Results: Participants lost 2% of body mass within 84.4 ± 8.5 minutes. During the rehydration stage, plasma volume increased earlier in the EB group, with a significant increase observed at 60 minutes (5.4 ± 5.0%, p < 0.05). Blood sodium levels in the DW group were significantly lower than those in the ST and EB groups at 60 minutes and remained lower than in the EB group until 180 minutes (p < 0.05). The EB group exhibited a higher median fluid retention (86.6 [66.5; 91.0]) than the DW group (84.3 [65.5; 89.7]) and ST group (83.8 [75.7; 87.9]), but these differences were not significant. Conclusion The EB group showed earlier plasma volume recovery than the DW and ST groups, and maintained higher blood sodium levels than the DW group. These findings suggest a supportive role of EB in early post-exercise rehydration and electrolyte balance.Future studies should investigate the effects of increased fluid volumes and prolonged rehydration durations.

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) is a multifunctional protein involved in diverse cellular functions, notably DNA damage repair. Pharmacological inhibition of PARP1 has therapeutic benefits for various pathologies. Despite the increased use of PARP inhibitors, challenges persist in achieving PARP1 selectivity and effective blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration. The development of a PARP1-specific positron emission tomography (PET) radioligand is crucial for understanding disease biology and performing target occupancy studies, which may aid in the development of PARP1-specific inhibitors. In this study, we leverage the recently identified PARP1 inhibitor, AZD9574, to introduce the design and development of its ¹⁸F-isotopologue ([¹⁸F]AZD9574). Our comprehensive approach, encompassing pharmacological, cellular, autoradiographic, and <i>in vivoi> PET imaging evaluations in non-human primates, demonstrates the capacity of [¹⁸F]AZD9574 to specifically bind to PARP1 and to successfully penetrate the BBB. These findings position [¹⁸F]AZD9574 as a viable molecular imaging tool, poised to facilitate the exploration of pathophysiological changes in PARP1 tissue abundance across various diseases.

Malunion of recurrent fractures in Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) patients causes limb length discrepancy and malrotation. These cause added difficulty for OI patients to ambulate. Lengthening with distraction osteogenesis using an external fixator in OI patients is challenging. Acute lengthening with autologous bone graft is a known method in a normal bone but not a known procedure in OI patients. We present two clinic cases of adolescent OI patients with limb length discrepancy and externally rotated lower limb that underwent acute lengthening and rotational correction using a locked intramedullary nail and ipsilateral autologous iliac bone graft. Both patients obtained union and improvement of ambulatory capability without recurrence of fracture within five years of follow-up. Acute lengthening by 2cm and rotational correction with intramedullary nail improved the gait efficiency in the OI patients. Harvesting large amounts of the tricortical iliac bone graft, followed by controlled weight-bearing is a safe procedure.

Background: The thoracic retrolaminar block (TRLB) is a relatively new regional analgesia technique that can be used as an alternative to the thoracic paravertebral block. This study aimed to evaluate the postoperative analgesia effects of ultrasound-guided TRLB in children undergoing open cardiac surgery via median sternotomy incision. Methods: Sixty-six patients aged 2–8 years were recruited. In the TRLB group, 0.25% bupivacaine 0.4 ml/kg was injected into the retrolaminar space on both sides at the level of the T4 lamina. Patients in the control group were injected with 0.9% saline. The primary outcome measure was fentanyl consumption in the first 24 h post-extubation. The secondary outcome measures were the total intraoperative fentanyl consumption, postoperative modified objective pain score (MOPS), and time to extubation. Results: The total intraoperative fentanyl requirements and fentanyl consumption in the first 24 h post-extubation were significantly lower (P < 0.001) in the TRLB group (9.3 ± 1.2; 6.9 ± 2.1 μg/kg, respectively) than in the control group (12.5 ± 1.4; 16.6 ± 2.8, respectively). The median (Q1, Q3) time to extubation was significantly shorter (P < 0.001) in the TRLB group (2 [1, 3] h) than in the control group (6 [4.5, 6] h). The MOPS was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the TRLB group than in the control group at 0, 2, 4, 8, 12 and 16 h post-extubation. Conclusions Bilateral ultrasound-guided TRLB is effective in providing postoperative analgesia in children undergoing open cardiac surgery via median sternotomy incision.

Background: In the Philippines, 34 Filipinos are killed daily due to road injuries. Of the reported road traffic fatalities, 25% in the world, 34% in South East Asia, and 53% in the Philippines are riders of motorized two- or three-wheeled vehicles. Objectives: Considering that motorcycle drivers are most affected by road-related injuries in Metro Manila, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of helmet use, identify the factors affecting the intent to use helmets, and determine the factors associated with consistent helmet use among motorcycle drivers in District IV, Quezon City. Methods: Eight barangays were included in the sample and respondents were chosen through systematic random sampling. Results: A self-administered questionnaire was used. There were 421 respondents with a prevalence for consistent helmet-use of 67.46% (CI 95%: 62.81-71.78). It was found that the aggregate belief score was associated with the intention to use helmets. Meanwhile, every unit increase in knowledge score increased the odds of consistent helmet use by 1.21 (95% CI: 1.06-1.37). In addition, those with intention were 7.48 times more likely to consistently wear helmets than those who do not (95% CI: 2.80- 19.97). Conclusion Various sub-factors such as experience, formal driving education, perceived behavioral control, benefits, and ergonomic barriers may have contributed to the result; however, further studies are needed to establish these relationships.
Intention ; Health Belief Model ; Theory of Planned Behavior

Introduction: A dilemma arises when a bone graft or fracture fragment is accidentally dropped on the operation theatre floor and becomes contaminated. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of simple and readily available antiseptic solutions in disinfecting contaminated bones. Materials and methods: This experimental study involved 225 bone specimens prepared from discarded bone fragments during a series of 45 knee and hip arthroplasty surgeries. The bone fragments were cut into five identical cubes and were randomly assigned to either control (positive or negative), or experimental groups (0.5% chlorhexidine, 10% povidone-iodine or 70% alcohol). The control negative was to determine pre-contamination culture. All bone specimens, except the control negative group were uniformly contaminated by dropping on the operation theatre floor. Subsequently, the dropped bone specimens except for the control positive group, were disinfected by immersing in a respective antiseptic solution for 10 minutes, before transported to the microbiology laboratory for incubation. Results: The incidence of a positive culture from a dropped bone fragment was 86.5%. From the 37 specimens sent for each group, the incidence of positive culture was 5.4% (2 specimens) after being disinfected using chlorhexidine, 67.6% (25 specimens) using povidone-iodine and 81.1% (30 specimens) using alcohol. Simple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that chlorhexidine was significantly effective in disinfecting contaminated bones (p-value <0.001, odd ratio 0.009). Povidone-iodine and alcohol were not statistically significant (p-value 0.059 and 0.53, respectively). Organisms identified were Bacillus species and coagulase negative Staphylococcus. No gram-negative bacteria were isolated. Conclusion: A total of 0.5% chlorhexidine is effective and superior in disinfecting contaminated bones.

Introduction: Aedes albopictus is known for its aggressiveness towards human and recently expanded to more countries outside the native regions. Thus, the demographic parameters of Aedes albopictus are important to determine the characteristics of this species mosquitoes in terms of the reproduction rates and dispersal distance. Materials and Methods: This study, was performed using a Shah Alam strain of Aedes albopictus originally collected in twenty district areas of the central zone of Shah Alam. This research applies field work-study with a cross-sectional design to investigate the demographic parameters of Aedes albopictus. The demographic evaluation of Aedes albopictus was conducted under the control environment in insectarium. Results: Investigation on the demographic parameters of Aedes albopictus clearly showed that there is a significance different observed in the total number of mosquito eggs produced in both high and low incidence rate IR areas (p=0.03). In contrast, other parameters showed insignificant value between high and low IR areas. Conclusion: The key to control the mosquito vectors population is by tracking the vector’s life cycle including its survival. Therefore, the outcome of this study may provide as a baseline to estimate the dengue outbreak in the current episystem.

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by the Plasmodium sp. parasite. Infection results in heightened pro-inflammatory response which contributes to the pathophysiology of the disease. To mitigate the overwhelming cytokine response, host-directed therapy is a plausible approach. Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β), a serine/threonine kinase plays a pivotal role in the regulation of inflammatory response during pathogenic infections. The present study was conducted to investigate the chemo-suppressive and cytokine-modulating effects of insulin administration in malaria-infected mice and the involvement of GSK3β. Intraperitoneal administrations of 0.3 and 0.5 U/kg body weight insulin each for four consecutive days into Plasmodium berghei NK65 (PbN)-infected mice resulted in chemo-suppression exceeding 60% and improved median survival time of infected mice (20.5 days and 19 days respectively compared to 15.5 days for non-treated control). Western analysis revealed that pGSK3β (Ser9) intensity in brain samples from insulin-treated (0.3 and 0.5 U/kg body weight) infected mice each were 0.6 and 2.2 times respectively than that in control. In liver samples, pGSK3β (Ser9) intensity from insulin-treated infected mice were significantly higher (4.8 and 16.1 fold for 0.3 and 0.5 U/kg bw respectively) than that in control. Insulin administration decreased both brain and liver pNF-κB p65 (Ser536) intensities (to 0.8 and 0.6 times for 0.3 U/kg bw insulin; and to 0.2 and 0.1 times for 0.5 U/kg bw insulin respectively compared to control). Insulin treatment (0.5 U/kg bw) also significantly decreased the serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α (3.3 times) and IFN-γ (4.9 times)) whilst significantly increasing the levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4 (4.9 fold) and IL-10 (2.1 fold)) in PbN-infected mice. Results from this study demonstrated that the cytokinemodulating effects of insulin at least in part involve inhibition of GSK3β and consequent inhibition of the activation of NF-κB p65 suggesting insulin as a potential adjunctive therapeutic for malaria.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the result of a complicated interplay between genetic and non-genetic, or “environmental,†factors acting on the foetus and one of those environmental factors is maternal hyperglycemia. Maternal diabetes has teratogenic effects on the evolution of the foetal cardiovascular system; as a consequence, cardiovascular malformations are the most common anomalies in infants of diabetic mothers with transposition of the great arteries, tricuspid atresia and truncus arteriosus being some of the common cardiac malformations encountered. Thus, it is important to perform a detailed heart examination at autopsy of perinatal deaths in order to ascertain related anomalies. We present a case of stillbirth in a woman with Type 1 Diabetes mellitus on insulin therapy who claims she was unaware about her pregnancy.
Heart Defects, Congenital ; Diabetes, Gestational ; Transposition of Great Vessels

Gastric duplication cysts (GDCs) are rare congenital anomalies. Presentation of GDCs varies from an asymptomatic abdominal mass to fulminant or massive gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Herein, we describe a case of a GDC in a 10-month-old infant presenting with unexplained massive GI hemorrhage and hematemesis. An abdominal ultrasound was negative, while computerized tomography was, initially, inaccessible. Through a series of repeated esophagogastroduodenoscopies, we documented penetration of the GDC into the gastric cavity that was later confirmed by computerized tomography. The patient was treated successfully with surgical resection.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Endoscopy ; Endoscopy, Digestive System ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; Hematemesis ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Infant ; Ulcer ; Ultrasonography