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COVID-19 vaccines distribution and access must be equitable and not politicized.

Visceral leishmaniasis, also known on the Indian subcontinent as kala-azar, is a fatal form of leishmaniasis caused by the protozoan parasite

and transmitted by the bites of the vector sandfly

. To achieve and sustain elimination of visceral leishmaniasis, the transmission potential of individuals exposed to

from across the infection spectrum needs to be elucidated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relative infectiousness to the sandfly vector of patients with visceral leishmaniasis or post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis, before and after treatment, and individuals with asymptomatic infection.

In this prospective xenodiagnosis study done in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar, India, we included patients with clinically confirmed active visceral leishmaniasis or post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis who presented to the Kala-Azar Medical Research Center. These participants received treatment for

infection. We also included asymptomatic individuals identified through a serosurvey of 17 254 peophese individuals as infection reservoirs. An important role for asymptomatic individuals in the maintenance of the transmission cycle is not supported by these data.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Cannabis is among the most frequently used substance in United States (U.S.). Studies evaluating the association between cannabis use and inflammation in humans have been few and have not explored potential sex-dependent effects.

To examine the relationship between self-reported cannabis use and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), Interleukin 6 (IL-6) and fibrinogen.

We used Wave 1 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) – a nationally representative sample of adults in the U.S. Weighted linear regression models were used to determine associations of self-reported cannabis use with natural log-transformed hs-CRP, IL-6 and fibrinogen adjusting for sociodemographic and psychosocial factors.

Self-reported cannabis use, particularly cannabis use within the past 30 days, was associated with lower levels of each biomarker of systemic inflammation, although findings were imprecise. Specifically, in multivariable models, the associations between respondents who self-reported cannabis use in the past 30 days compared to never use was imprecise for hs-CRP (β= -0.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.32, 0.00), IL-6 (β= – 0.02, 95% CI -0.10, 0.05) and fibrinogen (β= – 0.01, 95% CI -0.04, 0.02). We did not find that these associations differed significantly by sex.

Data from this nationally representative study suggest potential anti-inflammatory effects of recent cannabis use. Additional studies that biologically measure the THC and CBD concentrations of the cannabis used and employ prospective and or experimental study designs investigate cannabis and inflammation associations are needed.

Data from this nationally representative study suggest potential anti-inflammatory effects of recent cannabis use. Additional studies that biologically measure the THC and CBD concentrations of the cannabis used and employ prospective and or experimental study designs investigate cannabis and inflammation associations are needed.The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 appeared in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and quickly spread around the world and is considered a global pandemic. This disease, which is pre-infected with respiratory and cardiovascular system symptoms, can also occur in many organ systems. Since the beginning of the pandemic, cases related to neurological involvement have been reported in the literature and studies coercing neurological findings and complications have been published. COVID-19 can cause wide spectrum of neurological phenotypes from severe to milder. To the best of our knowledge, our case is the first report describing the chorea in a patient associated with COVİD-19. In this article, we aim to present a patient who was admitted with chorea on the 3rd day of the COVID-19 followed by Sydenham chorea, which had already improved. This report expands the phenotypic spectrum of COVID-19 and suggests that COVID-19 can be associated with or trigger chorea.The transition from quiescence to activation in radial neural stem cells (rNSCs) is a key first step in the process of adult neurogenesis, which can be monitored in the context of circuit activation in live tissue by whole-cell patch-clamp recording of membrane potentials of rNSCs in acute brain slices. However, membrane recordings in small non-neuronal cells such as rNSCs can be challenging. learn more Here, we describe the preparation of materials, recording and stimulation protocols, and analyses necessary to evaluate the efficacy of activity-dependent control of rNSC behavior. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Asrican et al. (2020).Since the discovery of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), numerous strategies have been established to efficiently derive cardiomyocytes from hiPSCs (hiPSC-CMs). Here, we describe a cost-effective strategy for the subsequent massive expansion (>250-fold) of high-purity hiPSC-CMs relying on two aspects removal of cell-cell contacts and small-molecule inhibition with CHIR99021. The protocol maintains CM functionality, allows cryopreservation, and the cells can be used in downstream assays such as disease modeling, drug and toxicity screening, and cell therapy. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Buikema (2020).In this protocol, we provide step-by-step instructions for dissection and culture of primary murine dorsal root ganglia (DRG), which provide an opportunity to study the functional properties of peripheral sensory neurons in vitro. Further, we describe the analysis of neuropeptide release by ELISA as a possible downstream application. In addition, isolated DRGs can be used directly for immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, RNA sequencing or proteomic approaches, electrophysiology, and calcium imaging. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Perner et al. (2020).