Biomedicine (Journal)
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Frequency of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in infants screened for ROP: Two years follow-up results of a single center in Turkey
No full textAim: The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in infants referred to our clinic for screening ROP.
Material and Method: The data of 729 infants who were referred to the ROP outpatient clinic of the Ophthalmology Unit of Erzincan Binali Yildirim University, Turkey between April 2018 and March 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. The gestational age and weight of the infants, stay in the neonatal intensive care unit, duration of oxygen therapy, and detailed ophthalmologic examination findings were recorded in the study.
Findings and Results: Of the 729 babies screened for ROP,122 (16.7%) of them had ROP. Infants with gestational age of ≤28 weeks constitute 3.3% of all infants and ROP rate was significantly higher than infants with older gestational age(PPPP=0.001),and duration of oxygen(O2) therapy(OR:34.309, 95% CI:2.043-28.235,P=0.004) were detected the independent risk factors for ROP.
Conclusion: Although infants with ≤1000 grams gestational weight and ≤28 weeks gestational age are more likely to have ROP, it is clear that screening for all infants at risk, regardless of gestational weight and age, is very important in preventing ROP-related vision loss. In addition, it is also recommended to control the duration of staying in neonatal intensive care unit and oxygen therapy to as little as needed
Predicting mental health of prisoners by artificial neural network
No full textIntroduction: Maintaining and improving prisoners’ health and their rehabilitation can be effective steps towards eliminating health inequalities and approaching the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Accordingly, identifying protective factors and health barriers of this vulnerable group and changing the prison into an environment that can deliver health interventions tailored to the needs of inmates can provide the basis for attaining justice in health.
Purpose: This study builds on an artificial neural network model to determine the effect of demographic, psychological, criminological, and physical activity factors on prisoners’ general health.
Methods: The study detected the patterns between variables using a neural network with nine inputs and one output. To determine the neural network with the minimum sum of squared errors, we evaluated the performance of all neural networks using varying algorithms and numbers of neurons in the hidden layer. For this purpose, the analysis of the data of 149 prisoners aged between 16 and 61 years was performed using SPSS-22 software.
Results: The optimal neural network model was useful in predicting prisoners’ general health. In this model, the variables of occupation, life expectancy, age, and hope of acceptance were identified as the first most significant factors with 19.25, 17.45, 15.98, and 15.16 percentages, respectively, whereas the cause of incarceration, education level, type of drug misuse, and physical activity were the second most important factors with 8.82, 8.38, 7.91, and 7.04 percentages, respectively.
Conclusion: Experiencing psychosocial pressures related to incarceration is more severe for the marginalized and disadvantaged individuals, persons in very young or old age ranges, and those with no history of incarceration, which can increase the likelihood of impaired health for these inmates. Consideration of the prisoners’ needs in proportion to their characteristics and provision of emotional and spiritual support of the inmates, especially in the early stages of incarceration, can help shape an effective adjustment process and select appropriate and efficient strategies
Inhibitory effects of Nigella sativa seed oil on the testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia in rats
No full textBackground: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most prevalent disease of the prostate in elderly men. Since Nigella sativa has been reported to show various pharmacological effects, this study was conducted to examine the effect of N. sativa seed oil on experimental BPH.
Methods: The oil was extracted using the cold-pressing method. Fifty rats were divided into five groups of 10 each as follows: Group 1 orally (p.o.) received normal saline; groups 2-5 were castrated and subcutaneously received 5 mg/kg testosterone propionate for four weeks. Group 2, namely, BPH model, underwent no further treatment, Groups 3 and 4 were treated with 400 mg/kg and 800 mg/kg N. sativa seed oil, Group 5 received finasteride (0.5 mg/kg, p.o.) for 28 days. All groups received repeated testosterone injections for the following four weeks after BPH induction. After the treatments, rats were sacrificed and the prostate tissues removed. Wet weight, prostatic volume (PV) and prostatic index (PI) were determined. Serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), malondialdehyde (MDA) and antioxidant levels were determined.
Results: Our results showed that oral treatment with 400 and 800 mg/kg N. sativa oil led to a significant decrease in PI, PV, DHT concentration, PSA, and serum MDA level, and also significantly increased serum antioxidant capacity.
Conclusions: The study demonstrated that the oil seed exerted anti-BPH effects which may be associated with its antioxidant properties in vivo
Study of the D-dimer, C-reactive protein, and autoantibodies markers among HBV infected patients in Babylon province, Iraq
No full textBackground: Hepatitis B can be defined as one of the dangerous diseases caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV), which infects the liver and causes liver failure, cirrhosis, and death.
Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the D-dimer, C-reactive protein (CRP), and autoantibodies markers among HBV- infected patients in Babylon province, Iraq, compared to a healthy control group.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all patients referred to GIT and liver centers in Merjan Medical City, Babylon, Iraq from January 2016 to January 2018 were screened for HBV infection by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Antinuclear antibody (ANA), dsDNA, D-dimer, and CRP markers were examined using fluorescence technique in randomly selected patients and some healthy individuals as control group. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS program.
Results: In this study, 424 HBV patients from different areas of Babylon province, Iraq were enrolled. A total of 40 patients and 15 healthy participants were selected for evaluation of D-dimer, CRP, ANA, and dsDNA levels. The results of the distribution of HBV-infected patient by gender per area revealed that males accounted for a higher percentage than females in all parts of Babylon provinces. Also, a highly significant increase in serum levels was observed in the patients compared to the control subjects for all the studied parameters D-dimer, ANA, dsDNA, and CRP. Overall, 5.5 % of HBV patients (3/40) had a positive ANA titer. None of the HBV patients had a positive dsDNA titer.
Conclusion: This study showed that, HBV-infected patients had elevated levels of D-dimer and CRP compared to the control group. Also, the seropositivity titers of ANA and anti-dsDNA autoantibodies were low in Iraqi HBV patients
Konjac glucomannan polysaccharide and inulin oligosaccharide ameliorate dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis and alterations in fecal microbiota and short-chain fatty acids in C57BL/6J mice
No full textBackground: Konjac glucomannan polysaccharide (KGM), inulin oligosaccharide (inulin) and their mixture has been shown to modulate the gut-associated lymphoid tissue immunity.
Aims: The present study was mainly to determine effects of a low-level (2% w/w) KGM and inulin and their combination on dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis. We also determine the potential mechanisms mediating these effects of dietary fibers.
Methods: C57BL/6J mice (6 weeks of age, eight per group) were randomly assigned to consume one of the following diets: control (DSS group) or control diet supplemented with 2% (w/w) of KGM (KGM group), 2% (w/w) of inulin oligosaccharide (degree of polymerization=8)(inulin group) or KGM+Inulin (1%, w/w each (K+I group)) for 29 days, combined with the DSS drinking water (2% w/v) treatment on days 21-26. Another group served as vehicle was fed the control diet and given regular drinking water throughout the study. Fresh feces were collected on days 26-29. Mice were killed on day 30 after fasting. Segments of colon tissues were processed for histological procedure. The remaining tissues were processed to determine the gene expressions of cytokines, tight junction proteins and antioxidant enzymes.
Results: The present study indicated that DSS resulted in colonic dysplasia, severe leukocyte infiltration and enhanced gene expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines. All fiber treatments ameliorated these indices of colitis. DSS treatment reduced the colonic gene expressions of tight junction proteins and antioxidant enzymes, which were ameliorated or normalized with fiber supplementation. In addition, all fiber treatments prevented the DSS-induced alterations in the fecal microbiota and short-chain acid levels.
Conclusion: Supplementation of low-level, 2% (w/w), of KGM polysaccharide, inulin oligosaccharide and K + I reduced the DSS-induced colitis and mucosal barrier dysfunction, which was likely to be mediated by the prebiotic effects
Electronic Medical Record-Based Deep Data Cleaning and Phenotyping Improve the Diagnostic Validity and Mortality Assessment of Infective Endocarditis: Medical Big Data Initiative of CMUH
No full textBackground
International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code–based claims databases are often used to study infective endocarditis (IE). However, the quality of ICD coding can influence the reliability of IE research. The impact of complementing the ICD-only approach with data extracted from electronic medical records (EMRs) has yet to be explored.
Methods
We selected the information of adult patients with discharge ICD codes for IE (ICD-9: 421, 112.81, 036.42, 098.84, 115.04, 115.14, 115.94, 424.9; ICD-10: I33, I38, I39) during 2005–2016 in China Medical University Hospital. Data extraction was conducted on the basis of the modified Duke criteria to establish a reference group comprising patients with definite or possible IE. Clinical characteristics and in-hospital mortality were compared between ICD-identified and Duke-confirmed cases. The positive predictive value (PPV) was used to quantify the IE identification performance of various phenotyping algorithms.
Results
A total of 593 patients with discharge ICD codes for IE were identified, only 56.7% met the modified Duke criteria. The crude in-hospital mortality for Duke-confirmed and Duke-rejected IE were 24.4% and 8.2%, respectively. The adjusted in-hospital mortality for ICD-identified IE was lower than that for Duke-confirmed IE by a difference of 5.1%. The best PPV was achieved (0.90, 95% CI 0.86–0.93) when major components of the Duke criteria (positive blood culture and vegetation) were integrated with ICD codes.
Conclusion
Integrating EMR data can considerably improve the accuracy of ICD-only approaches in phenotyping IE, which can improve the validity of EMR-based studies and their applications, including real-time surveillance and clinical decision support
Polymorphisms of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor -2578C/A rs699947 are Risk Factors for Diabetic Retinopathy in Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients in Bali, Indonesia
No full textBackground: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the complications in diabetes mellitus (DM) which caused by microvascular damage in the retina due to long term metabolic changes in diabetes. To date, there has been much research targeted on the determinant of genetic identification in DR patients. In DR, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) gene is accountable for breaking down the blood-retinal barrier and implicated in the role of neovascularization. It is thought that the polymorphism of VEGF -2578C/A (rs699947) contributed to the development of diabetic retinopathy in type 2 DM.
Aim: To determine whether the polymorphisms of VEGF-2578C/A are the risk factors for DR in type 2 DM patients in Bali, Indonesia.
Methods: This study is a case-control model comparing 33 cases DR patients in type-2 diabetes mellitus and 35 cases of non-DR as controls in Balinese ethnic. Polymorphisms of VEGF-2578C/A were examined by PCR analysis and DNA sequencing on rs699947 to identify any variation in A/C/T allele distribution. Chi-square test was used to analyze the data and determine the relation of polymorphism and DR.
Results: This research showed the genetic variation existence in VEGF-2578C/A polymorphism significantly (p=0,000) with C allele was higher in the DR group, in contrast, A and T allele were greater in the non-DR group compared to DR group. The result showed that C allele in VEGF-2578 contributed as a risk factor (OR=13.05; 95% CI= 2.69-63.18; p=0.001) for DR in type-2 DM (T2DM) patients in Bali, Indonesia.
Conclusion: Polymorphism of VEGF-2578C/A (rs699947) allele distribution can be concluded as a risk factor of DR within T2DM patients in Bali, Indonesia. This study may also be used to expand the knowledge in managing DR patients at an earlier stage to avoid further complications
Comparison of pregnancy complications in unintended and intended pregnancy: A prospective follow-up study
No full textBackground and Objectives: Unintended pregnancy, as a pregnancy that is mistimed, unplanned or unwanted at the time of conception, is a common experience worldwide that puts mothers at risk for mental stress and its pregnancy complications. The aim of this study was to compare three common pregnancy complications, including preeclampsia, preterm labor, and low birth weight, between unintended and intended pregnancies in Sabzevar, northeast Iran in 2019.
Materials and Methods: This prospective follow-up study was conducted on 200 pregnant women (100 intended and 100 unintended pregnancies) who were between 18 and 35 years old and were referred for delivery to Shahidan Mobini Hospital, Sabzevar, Iran. Data was collected using a questionnaire and the subjects were recruited based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Preeclampsia, preterm labor, and low birth weight were recorded after delivery and were statistically analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS software) version 22 at the statistical significance of \u3c 0.05.
Results: The mean age and gravidity was significantly higher in the unintended pregnancy group compared to intended pregnancy group. The most common complication overall was low birth weight (25% of unintended and 16% of the intended pregnancies) followed by preterm labor (12% of unintended and 11% of intended pregnancies) and preeclampsia (5% of unintended and 1% of intended pregnancies). No significant relationship was found between the time of delivery and type of pregnancy (P=0.50).
Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that unintended pregnancy can be a risk factor for pregnancy complications including preeclampsia and low birth weight and that sophisticated monitoring should be performed for better management of these complications
Comparison of Multiple Imputation Algorithms and Verification Using Whole-Genome Sequencing in the CMUH Genetic Biobank
No full textA genome-wide association study (GWAS) can be conducted to systematically analyze the contributions of genetic factors to a wide variety of complex diseases. Nevertheless, existing GWASs have provided highly ethnic specific data. Accordingly, to provide data specific to Taiwan, we established a large-scale genetic database in a single medical institution at the China Medical University Hospital. With current technological limitations, microarray analysis can detect only a limited number of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with a minor allele frequency of \u3e1%. Nevertheless, imputation represents a useful alternative means of expanding data. In this study, we compared four imputation algorithms in terms of various metrics. We observed that among the compared algorithms, Beagle5.2 achieved the fastest calculation speed, smallest storage space, highest specificity, and highest number of high-quality variants. We obtained 15,277,414 high-quality variants in 175,871 people by using Beagle5.2. In our internal verification process, Beagle5.2 exhibited an accuracy rate of up to 98.75%. We also conducted external verification. Our imputed variants had a 79.91% mapping rate and 90.41% accuracy. These results will be combined with clinical data in future research. We have made the results available for researchers to use in formulating imputation algorithms, in addition to establishing a complete SNP database for GWAS and PRS researchers. We believe that these data can help improve overall medical capabilities, particularly precision medicine, in Taiwan
The effect of melatonin on quality of sleep in patients with sleep disturbance admitted to post coronary care units: a randomized controlled trial
No full textBackground and Objectives: Patients with cardiovascular disease who required to be admitted in coronary care units (CCU) would have sleep deprivation. During the admission, some factors such as continuous ambient light exposure can suppress melatonin release, in consequence sleep deprivation will be occurred and hinder the progress of patients\u27 treatment. The aim of study was to evaluate the effect of melatonin on the sleep quality of patients admitted to post-CCU.
Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial was carried out on 110 patients admitted to post-CCU at SayyadeShirazi Hospital, Gorgan, Iran. Patients with a poor sleep quality (Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) global score\u3e5) were randomly allocated into two intervention and placebo groups. Patients in the intervention group received melatonin (3 mg; 30 minutes before bedtime), and the placebo group received placebo for 2 weeks, and their sleep quality was re-evaluated after the end of intervention. Data were analyzed using paired t test, Wilcoxon, and Chi-square tests by SPSS version 21.
Results:The results showed that mean of the patients’ PSQI scores decreased significantly in intervention group (from 14.95±1.48 to 11.65±1.50, P
Conclusion: The melatonin can improve the sleep quality of the patients admitted to post-CCU who suffer from sleep disturbance