Nevin Manimala

World J Surg. 2021 Jun 26. doi: 10.1007/s00268-021-06188-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Surgery for colon or rectal cancer is associated with a high incidence of complications, especially in patients with a low aerobic fitness. Those patients might benefit from a comprehensive preoperative workup including prehabilitation. However, time between diagnosis and treatment is often limited due to current treatment guidelines. To date, it is unclear whether the treatment interval can be extended without compromising survival.

METHODS: A systematic review concerning the association between treatment intervals and survival in patients who underwent elective curative surgery for colon or rectal cancer was performed. A search up to December 2020 was conducted in PubMed, Cinahl and Embase. Original research articles were eligible. Quality assessment was performed using the Downs and Black checklist.

RESULTS: Eleven observational studies were included (897 947 patients). In colon cancer, treatment intervals that were statistically significant associated with reduced overall survival or cancer-specific survival ranged between > 30 and > 84 days. In rectal cancer, only one out of four studies showed that treatment intervals > 49 days was associated with reduced cancer-specific survival.

CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review identified that studies investigating the association between treatment intervals and survival are heterogeneous with regard to treatment interval definitions, treatment interval time intervals and used outcome measures. These aspects need standardization before a reliable estimate of an optimal treatment interval can be made. In addition, further research should focus on establishing optimal treatment intervals in patients at high risk for postoperative complications, as particularly these patients might benefit from extended diagnosis to treatment intervals permitting comprehensive preoperative preparation.

PMID:34175967 | DOI:10.1007/s00268-021-06188-z

West Afr J Med. 2021 Jun 26;38(6):544-548.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The involvement of community pharmacists (CPs) in oral health promotion is increasingly recognized and encouraged. However, a large proportion of interactions in community pharmacies take place with pharmacy counter assistants (PCAs) rather than the pharmacist. The study aimed to compare the knowledge and dispositions of PCAs and CPs in Plateau State, Nigeria, towards oral health.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study of community pharmacies in the state. PCAs (n=164) and CPs (n=119) were involved in the study. The PCAs and CPs were given a questionnaire containing 24-items on knowledge of oral health and other variables. One sample and independent sample t-tests were used to assess knowledge scores and mean differences between knowledge scores of PCAs and CPs.

RESULTS: The knowledge scores for CPs were between 11- 21, mean of 17.27±2.44. PCAs had a range of 6-21, mean of 16.05±2.56. Two PCAs had poor knowledge. Taking 16 (out of 24) as the minimum pass score, a one-sample t-test showed good knowledge for CPs: M=17.2, SD=2.44, t(118)=5.67, p<.001 but not PCAs M=16.1, SD=2.56, t(163)=.244, p=.808. Also, there was a statistically significant difference between the mean knowledge score of CPs and PCAs t(281) = -4.06, p<.001. Nearly all the CPs (93.9%) and the PCAs (96.3%) were willing to serve as oral health agents.

CONCLUSION: PCAs are not as knowledgeable as CPs on oral health in Plateau state though they both perceived a role for themselves in promoting oral health. Their disposition towards oral health could serve as a platform to help propagate oral health care and awareness in their communities.

PMID:34174804

Turk J Med Sci. 2021 Jun 27. doi: 10.3906/sag-2104-68. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND/AIM: In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of antioxidant iloprost (ILO) and ß3 adrenergic receptor agonist (BRL) on transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) and transient receptor potential canonical 1 (TRPC1) ion channels on an experimental ischemia and reperfusion injury model in 30 male Wistar albino rats aged 8?10 weeks.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wistar Albino rats aged were divided into 5 equal groups. Group I Sham operation, Group II IR (ischemia-reperfusion) procedure, Group III IR + intravenous ILO administration, Group IV IR + intraperitoneal BRL administration, Group V IR + intravenous ILO + intraperitoneal BRL administration group. 2ng/kg/min ILO intravenous infusion was applied to the ILO group. A single dose of 5 mcg/kg BRL intraperitoneal was applied to BRL group. TOS (total oxidant status), TRPA1 and TRPC1 levels were measured with ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) in serum, immunohistochemical staining in musculus quadriceps femoris tissue.

RESULTS: Compared with the sham group, the IR group had a statistically significant increase in serum levels of TOS (p = 0.004), TRPA1 (p = 0.002), and TRPC1 (p = 0.008) along with TRPA1- and TRPC1-immunoreactivity (p = 0.005, each) in the tissue. When compared with the IR group in terms of serum levels of TRPA1 and tissue TRPA1-immunoreactivity, although there was no statistically significant difference in the IR+Ilo (p = 0.257 and p = 0.429, respectively), IR+Brl (p = 0.024 and p = 0.177, respectively), and IR+Ilo+Brl (p = 0.024 and p = 0.329, respectively) groups, serum levels of TOS and TRPC1 along with tissue TRPC1-immunoreactivity were statistically significantly reduced in the IR+Ilo (p = 0.002, p = 0.008, and p = 0.004, respectively), IR+Brl (p = 0.004, p = 0.008, and p = 0.004, respectively), and IR+Ilo+Brl groups (p = 0.002, p = 0.008, and p = 0.004, respectively).

CONCLUSION: In IR group serum TOS, TRPA1 and TRPC1 levels and tissue TRPA1 and TRPC1 immunoreactivity were statistically significant increased when compared to sham group. In IR+ILO, IR+BRL and IR+ILO+BRL groups serum TRPA1 and tissue TRPA1 immunoreactivity did not change when compared to IR group. Serum TOS and TRPC1 levels, tissue TRPC1 immunoreactivty were statistically significant decreased when compared to IR group. More detailed and expanded population studies are needed to discuss our results.

PMID:34174803 | DOI:10.3906/sag-2104-68

Turk J Med Sci. 2021 Jun 27. doi: 10.3906/sag-2104-170. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: We evaluated the feasibility of producing splints with 3D printer technology to prevent contractures in burned children in our clinical prospective study.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: After approvals, children with burns greater than 2nd degree were included in the study. Age, gender, burn percentages, printing time, filament types, number of filament trials, splint suitability, patient and doctor comments, pre-clinical clinical trials? significances and financial impact were evaluated statistically.

RESULTS: Seventy-six trials were conducted on 18 patients. Fourteen of the patients are male and 4 are female. Average age of boys and girls are 5 and 3 respectively. Burn percentage was 36,9±13. PLAFlex, PolyFlex, nGenFlex, TPU were the main filaments that were used in the study. Printing time differs from 4 to 29 hours according to body regions. Splints were suitable for 81,25% in upper extremity, for 66,7% in lower extremity and for 100% in mouth. Burn percentage was significantly correlated with total number of filament (p=0,049). Other statistical evaluations were insignificant.

CONCLUSION: The 3D printer seems to be useful in children with burns. However, there difficulties caused by some reasons like production must be overcome. By increasing clinical experience, this emerging custom-made technology may become standard, and documented problems can be solved.

PMID:34174795 | DOI:10.3906/sag-2104-170

Turk J Med Sci. 2021 Jun 27. doi: 10.3906/sag-2012-270. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to investigate the administration of cinnamon extract that is known to be effective in decreasing the high blood glucose and the distribution of NGF and Trk-A receptor in pancreas with immunohistochemistry way. The experimental groups were defined as control, sham, cinnamon, diabetes, and diabetes-cinnamon. At the end of the experiment, the pancreatic tissue samples were obtained for the rats. The Hematoxylin- Eosin and triple staining were used to examine histology. The immunohistochemical methods were performed on the sections of pancreatic tissue. In all groups, the body weight and fasting blood glucose obtained from the male and female rats and the values were statistically evaluated. The NGF immunoreactivity was observed in acinus, excretory pars, excretorius ducts and islets of Langerhans for the pancreatic tissues of female and male rats in all groups. The Trk-A immunoreactivity was observed in acinus and islets of Langerhans for the pancreatic tissues of female and male rats in the control, sham and cinnamon groups. As a result, it was determined that the cinnamon, which is effective on blood glucose levels, has a positive effect on the NGF production in pancreas.

PMID:34174790 | DOI:10.3906/sag-2012-270

JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2021 Jun 17. doi: 10.2196/29060. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Innovative approaches to the dissemination of evidence-based COVID-19 health messages are urgently needed to counter social media misinformation about the pandemic. To this end, we designed a short, wordless, animated, global health communication video (CoVideo) that was rapidly distributed through social media channels to an international audience.

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to: 1) establish the CoVideo’s effectiveness in improving COVID-19 prevention knowledge, and 2) establish the CoVideo’s effectiveness in increasing behavioral intent toward COVID-19 prevention.

METHODS: In May and June 2020, we enrolled 15,163 online participants from the United States of America, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain. We randomized participants to (i) the CoVideo arm, (ii) an attention placebo control (APC) arm, and (iii) a do-nothing arm, and presented 18 knowledge questions about preventive COVID-19 behaviors, which was our first primary endpoint. To measure behavioral intent, our second primary endpoint, we randomized participants in each arm to five list experiments.

RESULTS: Globally, the video intervention was viewed 1.2 million times within the first 10 days of its release and more than 15 million times within the first four months. Knowledge in the CoVideo arm was significantly higher (mean = 16.95; 95% CI: 16.91, 16.99) than in the do-nothing (mean = 16.86; 95% CI: 16.83, 16.90; p < 0.001) arm. We observed high baseline levels of behavioral intent to perform many of the preventive behaviors featured in the video intervention. We were only able to detect a statistically significant impact of the CoVideo on one of the five preventive behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS: Despite high baseline levels, the intervention was effective at boosting knowledge of COVID-19 prevention. We were only able to capture a measurable change in behavioral intent towards one of the five COVID-19 preventive behaviors examined in this study. The global reach of this health communication intervention and the high voluntary engagement of trial participants highlight several innovative features that could inform the design and dissemination of public health messages. Short, wordless, animated videos, distributed by health authorities via social media, may be an effective pathway for rapid global health communication during health crises.

CLINICALTRIAL: The study and its outcomes were registered at the German Clinical Trials Register (www.drks.de) on May 12th, 2020: #DRKS00021582.

PMID:34174778 | DOI:10.2196/29060

Comput Biol Med. 2021 Jun 15;135:104567. doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104567. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The Cancer Genome Atlas database offers the possibility of analyzing genome-wide expression RNA-Seq cancer data using paired counts, that is, studies where expression data are collected in pairs of normal and cancer cells, by taking samples from the same individual. Correlation of gene expression profiles is the most common analysis to study co-expression groups, which is used to find biological interpretation of -omics big data. The aim of the paper is threefold: firstly we show for the first time, the presence of a “regulation-correlation bias” in RNA-Seq paired expression data, that is an artifactual link between the expression status (up- or down-regulation) of a gene pair and the sign of the corresponding correlation coefficient. Secondly, we provide a statistical model able to theoretically explain the reasons for the presence of such a bias. Thirdly, we present a bias-removal algorithm, called SEaCorAl, able to effectively reduce bias effects and improve the biological significance of correlation analysis. Validation of the SEaCorAl algorithm is performed by showing a significant increase in the ability to detect biologically meaningful associations of positive correlations and a significant increase of the modularity of the resulting unbiased correlation network.

PMID:34174761 | DOI:10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104567

Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Jun 23;170:112625. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112625. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Current knowledge of the distribution of sensitive seabirds is inadequate to safeguard seabird populations from impacts of oil spills in the Arctic. This gap is mainly driven by the fact that statistical models applied to survey data are coarse-scale and static with limited documentation of the distributional dynamics and patchiness of seabirds relevant to risk assessments related to oil spills. This paper describes a dynamic modelling framework solution for prediction of fine-scale densities and movements of seabirds in close-to-real time using fully integrated 3-D hydrodynamic models, dynamic habitat suitability models and agent-based models. The modelling framework has been developed and validated for the swimming migration of Brünnich’s Guillemot Uria lomvia in the Barents Sea. The results document that the distributional dynamics of Brünnich’s Guillemot and other seabird species to a large degree can be simulated with in-situ state variables and patterns reflecting the physical meteorology and oceanography and habitat suitability.

PMID:34174746 | DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112625

Nurse Educ Pract. 2021 Jun 17;54:103122. doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103122. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: To describe the undergraduate nursing students’ and nursing educators’ evidence-based practice beliefs, their extent of evidence-based practice implementation and their perspectives regarding organizational culture for evidence-based practice. To identify any relationship between the mentioned variables.

BACKGROUND: The integration of evidence-based practice in nursing curricula is crucial to educate nursing students to incorporate evidence-based practice in their future clinical practice. Therefore, to promote its integration within nursing education, it is important to deeply understand how prepared academic institutions are for teaching about and supporting evidence-based practice integration.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.

METHODS: Nursing educators and undergraduate nursing students from nine Portuguese nursing schools were invited to participate in this study through an electronic survey comprising socio-demographic questions and the scales.

RESULTS: Sixty-eight nursing educators replied to the survey. Most were female, have PhD and have evidence-based practice training. They showed mean scores of 88.92 ± 8.18 for evidence-based practice beliefs, 40.20 ± 18.93 for evidence-based practice implementation and 80.59 ± 17.52 for evidence-based practice organizational culture and readiness. Concerning nursing educator sample, there were moderate and statistically significant relationship between: evidence-based practice beliefs and implementation; and evidence-based practice beliefs and organizational culture and readiness for school-wide integration of evidence-based practice. Between evidence-based practice implementation and organizational culture and readiness for school-wide integration of evidence-based practice, there was a small relationship. One hundred and sixty-seven undergraduate nursing students answered the survey. Mostly, they were female and were in third or fourth year of their nursing degree. Similarly, to educators, students showed mean scores of 58.69 ± 6.92 for evidence-based practice beliefs, 32.37 ± 16.97 for evidence-based practice implementation and 84.20 ± 23.48 for evidence-based practice organizational culture and readiness. Regarding undergraduate nursing student sample, there were moderate and statistically significant relationship between the different variables.

CONCLUSIONS: Both nursing educators and undergraduate nursing students had strong evidence-based practice beliefs, but low levels of evidence-based practice implementation. In nursing educators’ and undergraduate nursing students’ perspectives, there were opportunities in their schools for the development of an evidence-based practice culture. Based on results, support for development and testing of interventions, specifically tailored for promoting evidence-based practice implementation in nursing educational contexts, is recommended.

PMID:34174719 | DOI:10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103122

J Psychosom Res. 2021 Jun 17;148:110551. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110551. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The literature on childhood-onset depression and future compromised vascular function is suggestive but limited. The objective of this study was to determine if arterial stiffness, a predictor of future cardiovascular disease (CVD), measured in young adulthood, is associated with childhood-onset depression.

METHODS: Cardiometabolic risk factors and pulse wave velocity (PWV), a measure of arterial stiffness, were cross-sectionally assessed in young adults with a history of childhood-onset depression (clinical diagnosis of major depressive episode or dysthymic disorder; N = 294 probands; initially recruited via child mental health facilities across Hungary; mean age of first depressive episode = 10.4 years), their never-depressed full biological siblings (N = 269), and never-depressed controls (N = 169). The mean ages of probands, siblings, and controls at the PWV visit were 25.6, 25.0, and 21.7 years, respectively, and 8.8% of the probands were in a current depressive episode.

RESULTS: Controlling for age, sex, age*sex, education, and family clusters, PWV (m/s) did not statistically differ across the groups (probands = 7.01; siblings = 6.98; controls = 6.81). However, after adjusting for key covariates, there were several across-group differences in CVD risk factors: compared to controls, probands and siblings had higher diastolic blood pressure and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, probands had higher triglycerides, and siblings had higher body mass index (all p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: We found limited evidence of an association between a history of childhood-onset depression and young adulthood arterial stiffness. However, our findings of elevated cardiovascular risk factors in those with childhood-onset depression suggest that pediatric depression may predispose to increased CVD risk later in life and warrants further investigation.

PMID:34174712 | DOI:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110551