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Category: biotech/medical – Page 182

Multisectoral approaches for combating antimicrobial resistance — dr. amal al-maani — director general, diseases surveillance & control, ministry of health oman.

Dr. Amal Al-Maani, MD is Director General for Diseases Surveillance and Control at the Ministry of Health of Oman (https://moh.gov.om/en/hospitals-direc…), senior consultant in pediatric infectious diseases in the Sultanate, and is the focal point for the Global Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Surveillance System (GLASS) and is responsible for Oman national surveillance system for AMR (OMASS) and the national Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) program.

Dr. Al-Maani completed her medical degree from Sultan Qaboos University, Oman and passed the London School diploma in tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM\&H) during her internship period. Followed by her postgraduate training at the University of Toronto, she achieved her fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Canada. She has the Certificate In Infection Control from the Certification Board of Infection Control \& Epidemiology, a certificate in global health from Dalla Lana School of Public Health the Centre for International Health in the University of Toronto (UFT), and the Patient Safety \& Quality Improvement certificate from the center for patient safety in UFT.

Dr. Al-Maani has participated in many national and International Conferences and presented many papers. She received Dr Susan King Award at the Canadian AMMI conference 2011 and in 2021 the WHA Sasakawa health development award for her work in AMR and IPC. She published many papers in the field of infectious diseases and infection control with a focus on Antimicrobial resistance and emerging resistant pathogens. She had been a co-author in multiple positional statements for the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID) group in infection control, including most recently about the Global Antimicrobial Stewardship with a Focus on Low-and Middle-Income Countries and on the Prevention of Clostridioides.

#AntimicrobialResistance #AMR #AmalAlMaani #DiseasesSurveillance #MinistryOfHealth #Oman #SultanQaboosUniversity #WHO #WorldHealthOrganization #OneHealth #Antibiotics #Vaccines #TropicalMedicine #Hygiene #VancomycinResistantEnterococcus #MethicillinResistantStaphylococcus #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Technology #Science #Research

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Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulties in communication and social behavior. Approximately 20% of cases are linked to a specific genetic mutation, but the origin of the remaining 80%, known as idiopathic autism, remains a mystery.

A team of scientists led by Drs. Raúl Méndez and Xavier Salvatella at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) has identified a that explains why certain alternations of the neuronal protein CPEB4 are associated with idiopathic autism.

The study is based on previous work published in 2018 that identified CPEB4 as a key protein in the regulation of neuronal proteins related to autism.

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Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine and collaborating institutions report in the journal Cell the discovery of BHB-Phe, a novel compound produced by the body that regulates appetite and body weight through interactions with neurons in the brain.

Until now, BHB has been known as a compound produced by the liver to be used as fuel. However, in recent years, scientists have found that BHB increases in the body after fasting or exercise, prompting interest in investigating potential beneficial applications in obesity and diabetes.

In the current study, the team at Stanford University led by co-corresponding author Dr. Jonathan Z. Long, associate professor of pathology, discovered that BHB also participates in another metabolic pathway. In this case, an enzyme called CNDP2 joins BHB to amino acids. Furthermore, the most abundant BHB-amino acid, BHB-Phe, can influence body weight and metabolism in animal models.

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A new Science Advances study demonstrates a vaccine for cancer immunotherapy that would speed up the efficiency of messenger RNA translation in cytoplasm—and effectively inhibited tumor growth.

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Acute kidney injury (AKI) often occurs as a result of ischemia, which is a condition in which blood flow to part of the body is restricted, depriving tissues of oxygen and nutrients. This damage is commonly followed by reperfusion (that is, the restoration of blood flow), but this process can sometimes exacerbate injury through oxidative stress and inflammation. This is called ischemia-reperfusion injury.

AKI remains a significant clinical challenge with limited treatment options and poor outcomes. Recent studies suggest that proteinuria, where protein leaks into the urine, is a common feature and associated with poor long-term renal prognosis after AKI. However, the mechanisms underlying proteinuria and its links to kidney cell damage are still unclear.

In a new study published in Nature Communications, researchers in Japan led by Dr. Motoko Yanagita focused on the role of podocytes, which are specialized kidney cells crucial to filtering blood. In particular, they looked at the energy requirements of these cells during .

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In a recent study published in the journal Cell Reports, researchers used the machine learning (ML)-based Variational Animal Motion Embedding (VAME) segmentation platform to analyze behavior in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) mouse models and tested the effect of blocking fibrinogen-microglia interactions. They found that AD models showed age-dependent behavioral disruptions, including increased randomness and disrupted habituation, largely prevented by reducing neuroinflammation, with VAME outperforming traditional methods in sensitivity and specificity.

Background

Behavioral alterations, central to neurological disorders, are complex and challenging to measure accurately. Traditional task-based tests provide limited insight into disease-induced changes. However, advances in computer vision and ML tools, such as DeepLabCut, SLEAP, and VAME, now enable the segmentation of spontaneous mouse behavior into postural units (motifs) to uncover sequence and hierarchical structure, offering scalable, unbiased measures of brain dysfunction.

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The integration of quantum computing into personalized medicine holds great promise for revolutionizing disease diagnosis, treatment development, and patient outcomes. Quantum computers have the potential to process vast amounts of genetic data much faster than classical computers, enabling researchers to identify patterns and correlations that may not be apparent with current technology. This could lead to breakthroughs in understanding the genetic basis of complex diseases and developing targeted treatments.

Quantum computing also has the potential to revolutionize medical imaging by enabling the simulation of complex magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans. Quantum algorithms can efficiently process large-scale imaging data, enabling researchers to reconstruct high-resolution images that reveal subtle details about tissue structure and function. This has significant implications for disease diagnosis and treatment, where accurate imaging is critical for developing effective treatments.

The use of quantum computing in personalized medicine raises important ethical considerations, such as concerns about privacy and informed consent. The ability to rapidly analyze large amounts of genetic data also raises questions about how this information should be used and shared with patients. Regulatory frameworks will play a crucial role in shaping the development and deployment of quantum computing in personalized medicine, balancing the need to promote innovation with the need to protect patient safety and privacy.

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Results from a recent clinical trial led by physicians at Emory University and Grady Health System indicate that a twice-yearly injection of Lenacapavir offers a 96% reduced risk of HIV infection overall, significantly more effective than the daily oral PrEP.

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