Category: Nevin Manimala

JMIR Cancer. 2022 Apr 10. doi: 10.2196/35020. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The advancement of cancer research has been facilitated through freely available cancer literature, databases and tools. The age of genomics and big data has given rise to the need for cooperation and data sharing in order to make efficient use of this new information in the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there are many databases for cancer research their access is not easy due to different ways of processing and managing the data. There is absence of a unified platform to manage all of them in a transparent and more comprehensible way.

OBJECTIVE: In the herein research effort, an improved integrated cancer research database and platform is provided facilitating a deeper statistical insight of correlation between cancer and COVID-19 pandemic, unifying the collection of almost all previous published cancer databases and defining a model web database for cancer research, scoring databases on the basis of the variety types of cancer, sample size, completeness of omics results, and user interface.

METHODS: Databases examined and integrated include Data Portal database, Genomic database, Proteomic database, Expression database, Gene database and Mutation database; and it is expected that this launch will sort, save, advance understanding and encourage the use of these resources in the cancer research environment.

RESULTS: To make it easy to search valuable information 85 cancer databases are provided in the form of table as well as the database of databases named Cancer research database (CRDB) has been built and herein presented. Furthermore, the CRDB has been herein equipped with unique navigation tools so that to be explored by three methods, i.e., any single database can be browsed by typing the name in the given search bar, while all Categories can be browsed by clicking on the name of the category, or image expression icon, a facility that could provide all the categories databases on a single click.

CONCLUSIONS: Moreover, the computational platform (PHP, HTML, CSS, and MySQL) is used to build CRDB for the cancer scientific community, which can be freely investigated and browsed by clicking at https://www.habdsk.org/crdb.php, and is planned to be updated timely. In addition, based on the proposed platform, the status and diagnoses statistics of cancer during COVID-19 pandemic has been herein thoroughly investigated through using CRDB, thus, providing an easy to manage and understandable framework that mining knowledge for future researchers.

PMID:35430561 | DOI:10.2196/35020

Orv Hetil. 2022 Apr 17;163(16):624-630. doi: 10.1556/650.2022.32440. Print 2022 Apr 17.

ABSTRACT

Összefoglaló. Bevezetés: A fejlett országok körében a hátsószegmens-betegségek számítanak a vakság és a gyengénlátás leggyakoribb okának az időskorú lakosság körében. Célkitűzés: Tanulmányunk célja a hátsószegmens-betegségek okozta látásromlás és vakság prevalenciájának meghatározása az 50 éves és annál idősebb korú lakosság körében Magyarországon. Módszer: A Központi Statisztikai Hivatal által kijelölt 105 lakókörzetben, az Elkerülhető Vakság Gyors Felmérése (Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness; RAAB) metodika segítségével végeztük a vizsgálatokat. Minden résztvevőnél direkt szemtükörrel szemvizsgálatot végeztünk. A látóélességet egyszerűsített Snellen-tábla segítségével, stenop lyukkal, illetve a nélkül vizsgáltuk. A cukorbeteg résztvevőkön pupillatágítást és szemfenéki vizsgálatot végeztünk indirekt binokuláris oftalmoszkóppal. Eredmények: Összességében 3675 alkalmas résztvevőből 3523 (95,9%) személyt vizsgáltunk, akik között a hátsószegmens-betegségek következtében kialakult kétoldali vakság és súlyos látásromlás prevalenciája 0,7% és 0,2% volt. A hátsó szegmens betegségei miatt kialakult összes látásromlás leggyakoribb okai gyakorisági sorrendben (prevalenciaértékkel) a következők voltak: öregkori maculadegeneratio (1,419%), glaucoma (0,397%), diabeteses retinopathia (0,341%) és rhegmatogen ideghártya-leválás (0,198%). A hátsószegmens-betegség okozta vakság leggyakoribb okai az öregkori maculadegeneratio (37,5%), a glaucoma (16,7%), a diabeteses retinopathia (8,3%), a nagyfokú myopia (8,3%), a rhegmatogen retinaleválás (8,3%) és a retinitis pigmentosa (8,3%) voltak. Következtetés: Hazánkban a súlyos látásromláshoz és vaksághoz vezető hátsószegmens-betegségek előfordulási gyakorisága más, korábban RAAB-felmérést végzett országokéhoz képest alacsonyabb, az egyes kórképek gyakorisági sorrendje pedig a fejlett országokéhoz hasonló. Az öregkori maculadegeneratiós, glaucomás, cukorbeteg és patológiás myop páciensek folyamatosan növekvő száma miatt javítani kellene a szemészeti ellátás hozzáférhetőségén és modernizálni a finanszírozását. Orv Hetil. 2022; 163(16): 624-630.

INTRODUCTION: Posterior segment diseases are the most common causes of blindness and visual impairment in developed countries among people aged 50 years and older in Hungary.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of visual impairment and blindness caused by posterior segment diseases in the population aged 50 years and older in Hungary.

METHOD: 105 census enumeration units were randomly selected with a probability proportional to size by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office. The standardised Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) method was used. Participants underwent eye examination with a direct ophthalmoscope. Participants underwent visual acuity testing with a Snellen tumbling E-chart with or without a pinhole. Dilated fundus examination was performed in diabetic participants using an indirect binocular ophthalmoscope.

RESULTS: In total, 3523 (95.9%) out of 3675 eligible people were examined, of whom the prevalence of bilateral blindness and severe visual impairment was 0.7% and 0.2%, respectively. The most common causes of visual impairment caused by posterior segment diseases were age-related macular degeneration (1.419%), glaucoma (0.397%), diabetic retinopathy (0.341%) and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (0.198%). The most common causes of blindness caused by posterior segment diseases were age-related macular degeneration (37.5%), glaucoma (16.7%), diabetic retinopathy (8.3%), high myopia (8.3%), rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (8.3%) and retinitis pigmentosa (8.3%).

CONCLUSION: Prevalence of severe visual impairment and blindness caused by posterior segment diseases was lower compared to results of RAAB surveys in other countries. The frequency order of different posterior segment diseases was in line with developed countries. Availability of eye care should be improved and financing should be modernized due to the continuously increasing number of patients with age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetes and pathologic myopia. Orv Hetil. 2022; 163(16): 624-630.

PMID:35430571 | DOI:10.1556/650.2022.32440

Nurse Educ Pract. 2022 Apr 1;62:103337. doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2022.103337. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: To identify the job expectations and intolerance to uncertainty in final-year nursing students from three Spanish universities and evaluate the differences between them.

DESIGN: Multicentre, mixed-methods study.

METHODOLOGY: We included nursing students from three universities in Spain (Lleida, A Coruña and Murcia). Questionnaires were used to collect data on sociodemographic variables, job expectations and intolerance to uncertainty. In addition, in-depth personal interviews were conducted to complement quantitative data. Descriptive statistics were calculated and comparison tests (ANOVA, chi-square) were performed to analyse the differences between universities and a content analysis was carried out for qualitative data.

RESULTS: The sample included 305 final-year nursing students enrolled in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 courses, of which 21 participants were interviewed for the qualitative phase. Findings were reported based on four main themes: Expected employment conditions, perceptions of working conditions, job uncertainty and increased chances of getting a job by continuing education after finishing the nursing degree. Results showed that 92.13% of the students were concerned about their future employment. Analysis of the in-depth interviews highlighted the uncertainty of finding a job as a nurse and the anticipated precarious employment conditions (i.e. lack of stability stemming from daily or weekly temporary contracts) in case they managed to find work. Moreover, it was shown that these perceptions affect their health, leading to situations of anxiety, stress and negativity during their time as nursing students. Overall, 65.57% considered migrating outside their town/region to increase their job opportunities and 97.0% wanted to continue their education after finishing their degree, motivated by their vocation, professional aspirations and to increase their possibilities of finding work.

CONCLUSION: Nursing students find themselves in a situation of great uncertainty before finishing their studies, anticipating a future with great stress and even frustration as a result of unemployment and job insecurity. They even consider the possibility of migrating when they finish their degree to increase their job opportunities. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the recruitment process of nurses in Spain through increased security and stability and thus contribute to reducing the stress and frustration of future nurses.

PMID:35430534 | DOI:10.1016/j.nepr.2022.103337

J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2022 Apr 12;131:105231. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2022.105231. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to assess the applicability of the Weibull model for resin-based composites (RBC) to predict the outcome of different flexural tests based on one another, while identifying the minimal sample number for a precise Weibull representation.

METHODS: Four RBCs underwent 3-point, 4-point and biaxial flexural testing (n = 480). Fracture surfaces of all specimens were assessed under optical microscope, while fracture modes of the uniaxial specimens were documented. Representative specimens for each fracture mode were further analyzed under scanning electron microscope. Since fracture predominantly originated from a surface flaw, the effective surface was used in the Weibull model. The analysis was performed on 20, then 30 and finally 40 specimens per group to assess the effect of the specimen size. Further statistical analysis was performed through uni- and multivariate ANOVA, Tukey’s post hoc test (α = 0.05), and Pearson’s correlation.

RESULTS: The Weibull model could predict the results of uniaxial tests within the standard deviation, with the correlation between calculated and measured values reaching values of R² = 0.985 and higher. Predictions for or based on the biaxial tests misestimated the measured values, with a weaker correlation (R² = 0.875) between measured and calculated flexural strength (FS). The fit of the data to the Weibull distribution improved with rising sample size resulting in better predictions of the FS when n = 40.

SIGNIFICANCE: The applicability of the Weibull model on RBCs allows accurate comparison between bending tests and their FS under consideration of the effective surface.

PMID:35430520 | DOI:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2022.105231

Forensic Sci Int. 2022 Apr 8;335:111303. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2022.111303. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to use instrumental neutron activation analysis and multivariate analysis to determine the provenance of Jamaican Cannabis sativa L. Sixty-three samples were collected from various areas in Jamaica, with no other data but their known or self-reported growing regions. The samples were analysed for Al, As, Br, Ca, Cd, Co, Cs, Fe, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Sr, V, and Zn. The resulting elemental data were statistically evaluated using agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis. Cluster analysis was able to group the samples into their known or reported growing regions with a high degree of accuracy. Principal component analysis was also able to elucidate some of the underlying geochemical factors that could explain the clustering. These included the underlying bauxitic geochemistry and the influence of fertilizer inputs. Of the analysed elements, Al, As, Cd, Co, Fe, K, La, Mg, Mn, Sc, Sm, V, and Zn appear to be most significant in identifying the growing regions of the cannabis samples. Results indicate the promise of this methodology with an increased dataset and potentially further refinement of the identifying elements.

PMID:35430503 | DOI:10.1016/j.forsciint.2022.111303

Environ Int. 2022 Apr 12;163:107242. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107242. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

RATIONALE: Transcriptome-wide analysis is powerful in studying systemic RNA changes following environmental exposures. However, impacts of ozone inhalation on circulating transcriptome have not yet been examined.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the impact of acute ozone exposure on circulating transcriptome using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq).

METHODS: We recruited 32 healthy young adults in a randomized, crossover, controlled exposure trial. Each participant completed two 2-h exposure sessions of ozone (200 ppb) and clean air, respectively. Blood samples were collected at the end of each session and were used for RNA-seq. The differentially expressed genes associated with ozone exposure were assessed using Bayesian adjusted statistics from linear models in the limma R package.

RESULTS: A total of 29 participants finished this trial and donated their blood samples for transcriptome analysis. The average concentration of ozone was 7.8 ± 2.6 ppb under clean air and 201.1 ± 1.7 ppb under ozone exposure session. A total of 1899 genes were significantly changed (1067 up-regulated and 832 down-regulated) by ozone exposure at a false discovery rate < 0.05, in which 403 genes had a fold change of > 1.2 or < 0.8. The top 10 terms of biological processes showed that most of the differentially expressed genes were related to various functions, such as neutrophil degranulation, immune response, and neutrophil activation. Pathway enrichment analysis showed dozens of pathways were dysregulated after ozone exposure, including mitochondrial dysfunction, and glucocorticoid receptor signaling.

CONCLUSION: For the first time this trial characterized the genome-wide changes of mRNA in response to ozone exposure. We identified a range of differentially expressed genes that were involved in dozens of biological processes and pathways, providing novel biological insights into the systemic health effects of ozone.

PMID:35430440 | DOI:10.1016/j.envint.2022.107242

Arch Iran Med. 2022 Mar 1;25(3):178-181. doi: 10.34172/aim.2022.30.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Rhinosinusitis involves inflammation within the paranasal sinuses and the nasal mucosa. It is a very common chronic health condition. This paper performs a validation process on the Persian translation of the rhinosinusitis quality-of-life questionnaire (RhinoQOL), for use in clinical assessment of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) patients. The Lund-Mackay score is also used widely in assessing CRS, and this study aims to describe its relationship to RhinoQOL.

METHODS: The Persian RhinoQOL adaptation was carried out on 110 CRS patients. A follow-up questionnaire was completed two weeks later. Psychometric properties were determined by statistical analysis (reliability, reproducibility, validity, responsiveness). A total of 45 patients were included for radiologic score calculation. The Spearman’s test was used for assessing the correlation between the RhinoQOL scores and Lund-Mackay score.

RESULTS: Internal reliability was excellent for the impact scale (Cronbach’s alpha=0.92). Cronbach’s alpha was 0.63 and 0.55 for frequency and irritation scales, which reflects lower internal consistency values. Temporal stability or Test-retest reliability was excellent across all three scales. ICC was 0.96, 0.97, and 0.99 for RhinoQOL frequency, irritation, and impact scales. No significant correlation was observed between the Lund-Mackay score and RhinoQOL scores in terms of frequency, irritation and impact scales.

CONCLUSION: The Persian version of RhinoQOL appears to be as reliable, valid, and sensitive to change as the English version.

PMID:35429960 | DOI:10.34172/aim.2022.30

Arch Iran Med. 2022 Mar 1;25(3):166-170. doi: 10.34172/aim.2022.28.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Laboratory analysis errors in procedure or interpretation may be seen during the process of completing physician test orders. They may also result in rejection of the requests due to some applicability reasons. Hence, this study was carried out to determine the rate and reasons for such rejections in clinical settings.

METHODS: This cross-sectional comparative study was performed on 104008 laboratory tests in a one-year period in terms of the percentage and type of errors that occurred in Shahid Bahonar Hospital in Kerman, Iran, in 2018. The types of studied errors included hemolysis, sample clotting, insufficient sample size, and mistakes in labels or absence of labels on the sample.

RESULTS: In this study, 104008 laboratory tests were performed, with 2299 (2.21%) sample rejections, 456 (32.31%) complete blood count (CBC) sample clotting; 417 (29.38 %) hemolysis; and 150 (17.47 %) inadequate sample volume as the majority of errors. There was no statistically significant relationship between pre-analysis errors and clinical aspects (P=0.124).

CONCLUSION: According to the results, it may be concluded that considering the high prevalence of laboratory errors in comparison with the majority of other studies, continuous training courses and determination of the causes of these errors are crucial to attaining better function and basic knowledge.

PMID:35429958 | DOI:10.34172/aim.2022.28

Environ Int. 2022 Apr 9;163:107235. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107235. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Prenatal phthalate exposure has been linked to reductions in fetal growth in animal and laboratory studies, but epidemiologic evidence is equivocal.

OBJECTIVE: Examine the association between prenatal phthalate metabolite mixtures and fetal growth and evaluate whether that association is modified by fetal sex or omega-3 intake during pregnancy.

METHODS: Analyses included 604 singleton pregnancies from TIDES, a prospective pregnancy cohort with spot urine samples and questionnaires collected in each trimester. Pregnancy-averaged phthalate exposure estimates were calculated as the geometric means of specific-gravity corrected phthalate metabolites. Fetal growth outcomes included birthweight and length, and ultrasound-derived size and velocity of estimated fetal weight, femur length, abdominal and head circumferences in the second and third trimesters. We used a novel application of quantile g-computation to estimate the joint association between pregnancy-averaged phthalate exposure and fetal growth, and to examine effect modification of that association by infant sex or omega-3 intake during pregnancy.

RESULTS: There were few statistically significant differences in birth size and fetal growth by exposure. A one-quartile increase in the phthalate mixture was modestly associated with reduced birthweight(β [95% confidence interval)]: -54.6 [-128.9, 19.7] grams; p = 0.15) and length (-0.2 [-0.6, 0.2] centimeters; p = 0.40). A one-quartile increase in the phthalate mixture was associated with reduced birth length in males (-0.5 [-1.0, 0.0] centimeters) but not for females (0.1 [-0.2, 0.3] centimeters); interaction p = 0.05. The phthalate metabolite mixture was inversely associated with ultrasound-derived fetal growth among those with adequate omega-3 intake. For example, a one-quartile increase in the phthalate mixture was associated with reduced abdominal circumference in the third trimesters in those with adequate omega-3 intake (-3.3 [-6.8, 0.1] millimeters) but not those with inadequate omega-3 intake (1.8 [-0.8, 4.5] millimeters); interaction p = 0.01.

CONCLUSION: Prenatal phthalate exposure was not significantly associated with fetal growth outcomes, with some exceptions for certain subgroups.

PMID:35429919 | DOI:10.1016/j.envint.2022.107235

Arch Iran Med. 2022 Feb 1;25(2):112-117. doi: 10.34172/aim.2022.18.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: There is limited evidence on the epidemiology and time trend analysis of incidence rates of gynecological cancer in Asia as a whole. We conducted this study to demonstrate breast and gynecological cancers incidence and trends in selected Asian populations.

METHODS: We conducted this ecological study using cancer and population data from cancer incidence in five continents (CI5). We extracted the data of breast, uterine, cervix and ovary cancers in selected Asian populations from 1998 to 2012 from CI5plus. We used Joinpoint regression model (version 4.8.0.1) to evaluate the annual percentage change (APC), which characterizes trends in cancer rates over time, and the average annual percent changes (AAPCs), which describes the average APCs over a period of multiple years. Results were considered statistically significant at P < 0.05.

RESULTS: Between breast and gynecological cancers, breast cancer has the highest incidence rates among women in Asia. The time trend of the incidence rates showed a constant growth in breast, ovary and corpus uteri cancers. This rising trend was obviously sharper for uterine cancer (AAPC 95% CI = 3.4 [3.0, 3.7]) followed by breast [AAPC 95% CI = 2.1 (2.0, 2.2)] and ovarian cancers (AAPC 95% CI = 0.5 [-0.4, 1.3]). The age-adjusted incidence rate (ASR) of cervical cancer displayed a declining trend from 1998 to 2012 (AAPC 95% CI = -1.4 [-2.4, -0.5]).

CONCLUSION: Incidence rates of breast and gynecological cancers have a rising trend in Asian countries. However, breast and gynecological cancers have different patterns of time trend.

PMID:35429948 | DOI:10.34172/aim.2022.18