Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT) is an artificial intelligence (AI) language model developed by OpenAI. It is trained to process vast amounts of text and engage in human-like conversational interaction with users. Being accessible by all, it is widely used and its capabilities range from language translation, summarising long texts and creative writing. This article explores the potential role of ChatGPT in medical education and the possible concerns about the misuse of this technology through a conversation with ChatGPT itself via text prompts. The implications of this technology in medical education as told by ChatGPT are interesting and seemingly helpful for both the students and the tutors. However, this could be a double-edged sword considering the risks of compromised students' integrity and concerns of over-reliance. This also calls for counter strategies and policies in place to mitigate these risks.
Introduction: Congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV), commonly known as the ‘club foot’ is a developmental disorder of the lower limb that is related with socioeconomic difficulties. Ponseti method is considered as the most popular and successful method of treatment for CTEV children. This study was aimed to evaluate the severity and monitoring the progress of initial treatment of CTEV children.
Materials and methods: Forty two patients with 58 idiopathic CTEV feet treated at a hospital outpatient clinic from January 2017 to February 2018 were included in the study. Ponseti method and Pirani score system were used and the results were calculated after wearing brace for three months duration at the end of serial casting.
Results: The patients in the study were in the age range of 14 days to 12 months. The mean number of changing of casting was 7.2 times. Casts were changed 1.9 times more in the severe cases than mild cases. Thirty six (85.7%) cases needed percutaneous tenotomy. There was no need to perform tenotomy for the mild cases. The initial achievement rate was 90.5 % and there were 9.5 % relapsed cases because of incorrect wearing of the brace. Statistically significant score differences were seen before and after treatment (P-value
Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, defined as CD161++TCR iVα7.2+ T cells, play an important role in the innate defense against bacterial infections, and their functionality is impaired in chronic viral infections. Here, we investigated the frequency and functional role of MAIT cells in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The peripheral CD3+CD161++TCR iVα7.2+ MAIT cells in chronic HBV-infected patients and healthy controls were phenotypically characterized based on CD57, PD-1, TIM-3, and CTLA-4, as well as HLA-DR and CD38 expression. The frequency of MAIT cells was significantly decreased among chronic HBV-infected individuals as compared to controls. Expression of CD57, PD-1, CTLA-4, as well as HLA-DR and CD38 on MAIT cells was significantly elevated in chronic HBV-infected individuals relative to controls. The percentage of T cell receptor (TCR) iVα7.2+ CD161+ MAIT cells did not correlate with HBV viral load but inversely with HLA-DR on CD4+ T cells and MAIT cells and with CD57 on CD8+ T cells suggesting that decrease of MAIT cells may not be attributed to direct infection by HBV but driven by HBV-induced chronic immune activation. The percentage and expression levels of PD-1 as well as CTLA-4 on MAIT cells inversely correlated with plasma HBV-DNA levels, which may suggest either a role for MAIT cells in the control of HBV infection or the effect of HBV replication in the liver on MAIT cell phenotype. We report that decrease of TCR iVα7.2+ MAIT cells in the peripheral blood and their functions were seemingly impaired in chronic HBV-infected patients likely because of the increased expression of PD-1.
Tuberculosis (TB) treatment monitoring is paramount to clinical decision-making and the host biomarkers appears to play a significant role. The currently available diagnostic technology for TB detection is inadequate. Although GeneXpert detects total DNA present in the sample regardless live or dead bacilli present in clinical samples, all the commercial tests available thus far have low sensitivity. Humoral responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) antigens are generally low, which precludes the use of serological tests for TB diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment monitoring. Mtb-specific CD4+ T cells correlate with Mtb antigen/bacilli burden and hence might serve as good biomarkers for monitoring treatment progress. Omics-based techniques are capable of providing a more holistic picture for disease mechanisms and are more accurate in predicting TB disease outcomes. The current review aims to discuss some of the recent advances on TB biomarkers, particularly host biomarkers that have the potential to diagnose and differentiate active TB and LTBI as well as their use in disease prognosis and treatment monitoring.
The dynamics of host-virus interactions, and impairment of the host's immune surveillance by dengue virus (DENV) serotypes largely remain ambiguous. Several experimental and preclinical studies have demonstrated how the virus brings about severe disease by activating immune cells and other key elements of the inflammatory cascade. Plasmablasts are activated during primary and secondary infections, and play a determinative role in severe dengue. The cross-reactivity of DENV immune responses with other flaviviruses can have implications both for cross-protection and severity of disease. The consequences of a cross-reactivity between DENV and anti-SARS-CoV-2 responses are highly relevant in endemic areas. Here, we review the latest progress in the understanding of dengue immunopathogenesis and provide suggestions to the development of target strategies against dengue.