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Ellagic acid ameliorates neuroinflammation and demyelination in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis: Involvement of NLRP3 and pyroptosis
No full textMultiple sclerosis (MS) is presented as the most common autoimmune and demyelinating neurological disorder with incapacitating complications and with no definite therapy. Most treatments for MS mainly focus on attenuation of its severity and recurrence. To model MS reliably to study pathogenesis and efficacy of possible chemicals, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) condition is induced in rodents. Ellagic acid is a neuroprotective polyphenol that can protect against demyelination. This study was planned and conducted to assess its possible beneficial effect in MOG-induced EAE model of MS with emphasis on uncovering its modes of action. Ellagic acid was given p.o. (at doses of 10 or 50 mg/kg/day) after development of clinical signs of MS to C57BL/6 mice immunized with MOG35�55. Results showed that ellagic acid can ameliorate severity of the disease and partially restore tissue level of TNFα, IL-6, IL-17A and IL-10. Besides, ellagic acid lowered tissue levels of NLRP3 and caspase 1 in addition to its mitigation of neuroinflammation, demyelination and axonal damage in spinal cord specimens of EAE group. As well, ellagic acid treatment prevented reduction of MBP and decreased GFAP and Iba1 immunoreactivity. Taken together, ellagic acid can decrease severity of EAE via amelioration of astrogliosis, astrocyte activation, demyelination, neuroinflammation and axonal damage that is partly related to its effects on NLRP3 inflammasome and pyroptotic pathway. © 2020 Elsevier B.V
Potential biomarkers for testicular germ cell tumour: Risk assessment, diagnostic, prognostic and monitoring of recurrence
No full textTesticular germ cell tumour (TGCT) is considered a relatively rare malignancy usually occurring in young men between 15 and 35 years of age, and both genetic and environmental factors contribute to its development. The majority of patients are diagnosed in an early-stage of TGCTs with an elevated 5-year survival rate after therapy. However, approximately 25 of patients show an incomplete response to chemotherapy or tumours relapse. The current therapies are accompanied by several adverse effects, including infertility. Aside from classical serum biomarker, many studies reported novel biomarkers for TGCTs, but without proper validation. Cancer cells share many similarities with embryonic stem cells (ESCs), and since ESC genes are not transcribed in most adult tissues, they could be considered ideal candidate targets for cancer-specific diagnosis and treatment. Added to this, several microRNAs (miRNA) including miRNA-371-3p can be further investigated as a molecular biomarker for diagnosis and monitoring of TGCTs. In this review, we will illustrate the findings of recent investigations in novel TGCTs biomarkers applicable for risk assessment, screening, diagnosis, prognosis, prediction and monitoring of the relapse. © 2021 Wiley-VCH Gmb
A trend study of preterm infant mortality rate in developed and developing countries over 1990 to 2017
Get PDFBackground: Preterm birth is the most important in children under 5 yr mortality. In this study, we used the Global Burden of Disease Data (GBD) to evaluate the trend of preterm infant mortality rate for all countries from 1990 to 2017 and to assess the effect of development factors on this trend. Methods: The preterm infant mortality rate data from 196 countries of the world, from 1990 to 2017, were extracted from the GBD database. To study the trend of preterm infant mortality rate, a mixed-effects log-linear regression model was fitted separately for each IHME super-region. In the next step of data analysis, the development factor was included in the model to determine its effect on this trend for all countries under study. Results: The average rate mortality rate has declined about 2 per year throughout the world over the mentioned period. The highest and lowest decreasing trends were observed in high-income countries (about 4.0) and Sub-Saharan Africa (about 1.0), respectively. Including the effect of development factor in the mentioned model revealed that in 1990, the rate of preterm infant mortality in developed countries was 2.2 times of this rate in developing countries and this rate ratio has increased to 2.69 in year 2017. Conclusion: Although the preterm infant mortality rate were decreasing in all super regions, there is a remarkable gap in this rate between developing and developed countries yet. Therefore, preventative strategies are needed to reduce preterm birth and its burden, especially in the developing world. © 2021 Sefidkar et al
Job Stress among Iranian Nurses: A Meta-Analysis
Get PDFBackground: Job stress is one of the most important factors in reducing the organizational productivity. Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to determine the prevalence of job stress among nurses in Iran. Methods: All articles published on the prevalence of job stress among Iranian nurses from January 1, 2004, to April 31, 2020, were searched in six databases. The reference lists of the articles were also checked for additional relevant studies. Finally, 25 articles were analyzed through Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software. Heterogeneity of studies was checked using the I2index, Q-test and the possibility of publication bias by the Egger test. Metaregression was performed to assess the variables suspected to affect the heterogeneity at a significance level of 0.05. The outcomes of the study were combined using the random-effects model. Results: The overall prevalence of job stress in Iranian nurses was 37.5 (95 confidence interval CI: 28.5, 47.4). The highest prevalence was 96.4% in Tehran city in 2016 (95% CI: 90.3, 98.7), and the lowest prevalence was 2% in Kashan city in 2011 (95% CI: 0.7, 5.3). A significant correlation was observed between the prevalence of job stress and year (P = 0.0001), mean age (P = 0.002), and sample size (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Job stress affects over a third of Iranian nurses. Health-care policy-makers and managers should decrease this stress by adopting appropriate strategies such as increasing welfare facilities, reconsidering job descriptions for different levels of nursing, providing support, increasing nurses' involvement in the decision-making process, improving communication between managers and nurses, and teaching problem-solving skills to them. © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved
Incidence and Risk Factors of Colorectal Cancer in the Iranian Population: a Systematic Review
No full textPurpose: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers in the world. The aim of this study was to investigate its incidence and risk factors in the Iranian population. Methods: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, SID, and Magiran from inception until 2019. Studies that reported the incidence rate and risk factors of colorectal cancer were included in this review. Results: Twenty-one articles that reported the incidence rate and 13 that reported the risk factors were included. The incidence rate was different according to the population type, gender, age, and study year in different regions. The main risk factors for colorectal cancer were high consumption of red meat and fried food and low intake of fruits and vegetables, diabetes, a positive family history, and obesity. Conclusion: The incidence of CRC has a marked variation in different parts of Iran, and various risk factors are associated with colorectal cancer. According to incidence rate and various risk factors, precise planning is needed to control colorectal cancer in the future. © 2021, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
The Effect of Preoperative Oral Versus Parenteral Dextrose Supplementation on Pain, Nausea, and Quality of Recovery After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy
No full textPurpose: Earlier studies suggest that carbohydrate loading is effective in reducing preoperative nausea. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of preoperative oral versus parenteral carbohydrate loading on the postoperative pain, nausea, and quality of recovery (QoR). Design: Three-arm randomized, single-blind clinical trial. Methods: In this study, 95 adult patients scheduled for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy were randomly assigned into three groups of preoperative intravenous dextrose 10 infusion, oral carbohydrate (OCH)�rich drink, and control. The pain and nausea severity scores were measured during recovery, 6 hours, and 24 hours thereafter. The 40-item QoR score was evaluated the day after surgery. Findings: In recovery, nausea severity was comparable among three groups, whereas pain score in the OCH group was significantly less than the controls (P = .009). Pain score in patients who received intravenous dextrose was mediocre and not statistically different from two other groups. Six and 24 hours after surgery, nausea and pain scores in OCH and dextrose infusion groups were significantly lower than the control group (P < .05). The 40-item QoR score was significantly higher in intervention groups than control participants (P < .05). Blood glucose levels were comparable in three groups before and after surgery. Conclusions: Preoperative carbohydrate loading significantly improves the QoR after laparoscopic cholecystectomy without significant effect on blood glucose levels. Oral route more effectively controls nausea and pain than parenteral dextrose administration. © 2020 American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurse
Multiphysics Simulation of Magnetically Actuated Robotic Origami Worms
No full textMultiphysics simulation of magnetically actuated origami robots promises a range of applications such as synthetic data generation, design parameter optimization, predicting the robot's performance, and implementing various control algorithms, but it has rarely been explored. This letter presents a realistic multiphysics simulation of magnetically actuated origami robots with focus on real-time interactions between the origami and magnets. Due to the interaction between multiple magnets, the complex motion dynamics of a worm-like robot are generated and analyzed. We further show the possibility of accurately simulating origami structures made of different materials and permanent magnets of different shapes, sizes, and magnetic strength. The simulation's unknown parameters are determined by conducting similar practical and simulated experiments and comparing their characteristics. Further, we show the close resemblance between the real and simulated behavior of the origami robot. © 2021 IEEE. © 2021 Tsinghua University Press. All rights reserved
Trend analysis of cardiovascular disease mortality, incidence, and mortality-to-incidence ratio: results from global burden of disease study 2017
Get PDFBackground: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are one of the global leading causes of concern due to the rising prevalence and consequence of mortality and disability with a heavy economic burden. The objective of the current study was to analyze the trend in CVD incidence, mortality, and mortality-to-incidence ratio (MIR) across the world over 28 years. Methods: The age-standardized CVD mortality and incidence rates were retrieved from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2017 for both genders and different world super regions with available data every year during the period 1990�2017. Additionally, the Human Development Index was sourced from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) database for all countries at the same time interval. The marginal modeling approach was implemented to evaluate the mean trend of CVD incidence, mortality, and MIR for 195 countries and separately for developing and developed countries and also clarify the relationship between the indices and Human Development Index (HDI) from 1990 to 2017. Results: The obtained estimates identified that the global mean trend of CVD incidence had an ascending trend until 1996 followed by a descending trend after this year. Nearly all of the countries experienced a significant declining mortality trend from 1990 to 2017. Likewise, the global mean MIR rate had a significant trivial decrement trend with a gentle slope of 0.004 over the time interval. As such, the reduction in incidence and mortality rates for developed countries was significantly faster than developing counterparts in the period 1990�2017 (p < 0.05). Nevertheless, the developing nations had a more rather shallow decrease in MIR compared to developed ones. Conclusions: Generally, the findings of this study revealed that there was an overall downward trend in CVD incidence and mortality rates, while the survival rate of CVD patients was rather stable. These results send a satisfactory message that global effort for controlling the CVD burden was quite successful. Nonetheless, there is an urgent need for more efforts to improve the survival rate of patients and lower the burden of this disease in some areas with an increasing trend of either incidence or mortality. © 2021, The Author(s)
Effects of COVID-19 prevention procedures on other common infections: a systematic review
Get PDFIntroduction: Since the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) began, necessary measures to prevent virus transmission and reduce mortality have been implemented, including mandatory public use of masks, regular hand-sanitizing and hand-washing, social distancing, avoidance of crowds, remote work, and cancellation of public events. During and after the introduction of COVID-19 lockout, we performed a systematic review of available published literature to investigate the incidence of seasonal influenza and other respiratory viral infections. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Research Gate, and the World Health Organization databases and websites were systematically searched for original studies concerning the impact of COVID-19 prevention means and measures on other common respiratory infectious diseases during the pandemic published by March 2021. Results: The findings showed that the adherence to health protocols to prevent COVID-19 could help to reduce the incidence of other infectious diseases such as influenza, pneumonia, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Conclusion: The implemented prevention measures and protocols might have reduced the incidence of influenza and some other common respiratory infections. However, controversies exist on this matter and future large population-based studies might provide further information to address these controversies. © 2021, The Author(s)
Comparison of electronic versus conventional assessment methods in ophthalmology residents; a learner assessment scholarship study
Get PDFBackground: Assessment is a necessary part of training postgraduate medical residents. The implementation of methods located at the �shows how� level of Miller�s pyramid is believed to be more effective than previous conventional tools. In this study, we quantitatively compared electronic and conventional methods in assessing ophthalmology residents. Methods: In this retrospective study, eight different conventional methods of assessment including residents� attendance, logbook, scholarship and research skills, journal club, outpatient department participation, Multiple Choice Question (MCQ), Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), and professionalism/360-degree (as one complex) were used to assess 24 ophthalmology residents of all grades. Electronic media consisting of an online Patient Management Problem (e-PMP), and modified electronic OSCE (me-OSCE) tests performed 3 weeks later were also evaluated for each of the 24 residents. Quantitative analysis was then performed comparing the conventional and electronic assessment tools, statistically assessing the correlation between the two approaches. Results: Twenty-four ophthalmology residents of different grades were included in this study. In the electronic assessment, average e-PMP scores (48.01 ± 12.40) were much lower than me-OSCE (65.34 ± 17.11). The total average electronic score was 56.67 ± 11.28, while the total average conventional score was 80.74 ± 5.99. Female and male residents� average scores in the electronic and conventional method were (59.15 ± 12.32 versus 83.01 ± 4.95) and (55.19 ± 10.77 versus 79.38 ± 6.29), respectively. The correlation between modified electronic OSCE and all conventional methods was not statistically significant (P-value >0.05). Correlation between e-PMP and six conventional methods, consisting of professionalism/360-degree assessment tool, logbook, research skills, Multiple Choice Questions, Outpatient department participation, and Journal club active participation was statistically significant (P-value < 0.05). The overall correlation between conventional and electronic methods was significant (P-value = 0.017). Conclusion: In this study, we conclude that electronic PMP can be used alongside all conventional tools, and overall, e-assessment methods could replace currently used conventional methods. Combined electronic PMP and me-OSCE can be used as a replacement for currently used gold-standard assessment methods, including 360-degree assessment. © 2021, The Author(s)