Tag: pubmed

Sci Data. 2021 Aug 27;8(1):228. doi: 10.1038/s41597-021-01009-3.

ABSTRACT

Curated global climate data have been generated from climate model outputs for the last 120,000 years, whereas reconstructions going back even further have been lacking due to the high computational cost of climate simulations. Here, we present a statistically-derived global terrestrial climate dataset for every 1,000 years of the last 800,000 years. It is based on a set of linear regressions between 72 existing HadCM3 climate simulations of the last 120,000 years and external forcings consisting of CO₂, orbital parameters, and land type. The estimated climatologies were interpolated to 0.5° resolution and bias-corrected using present-day climate. The data compare well with the original HadCM3 simulations and with long-term proxy records. Our dataset includes monthly temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, and 17 bioclimatic variables. In addition, we derived net primary productivity and global biome distributions using the BIOME4 vegetation model. The data are a relevant source for different research areas, such as archaeology or ecology, to study the long-term effect of glacial-interglacial climate cycles for periods beyond the last 120,000 years.

PMID:34453060 | DOI:10.1038/s41597-021-01009-3

J Cosmet Dermatol. 2021 Aug 27. doi: 10.1111/jocd.14430. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In many cases, human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is self-limiting, as innate and adaptive cell-mediated immunity are needed for infection elimination; however, the inability of the immune system in some patients to clear the infection is a matter of debate. The interleukin-17 (IL-17) family cytokines play an important protective role in host immune response to infections, through maintaining immunity against specific pathogens, induction of antimicrobial proteins, and recruitment of neutrophils to sites of invasion. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) may be considered as a marker of viral infection as many studies reported its increased serum level in viral infections.

AIMS: To evaluate levels of serum Gal-3 and IL-17 in patients with verrucas, and to explore the potential role of these markers in the pathogenesis of the disease.

METHODS: Fifty patients suffering from HPV Infection, and fifty healthy controls were included in this study. Serum levels of Gal-3 and IL-17 were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS: The patients’ serum Gal-3 was significantly higher while IL 17 was significantly lower than that of the healthy controls (p-value < 0.001). Moreover, a statistically significant positive correlation was found between Gal-3 serum level and disease duration and number of warts. Significant negative correlation exists between IL-17 and Gal-3 levels.

CONCLUSION: Our results indicate a potential role of both IL-17 and Gal-3 in the pathogenesis of warts and open a new opportunity in targeting these markers in the future in treating warts.

PMID:34449950 | DOI:10.1111/jocd.14430

Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2021 Aug 26;23(5):21m02959. doi: 10.4088/PCC.21m02959.

ABSTRACT

Objective: As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak is the first pandemic to occur in the modern smartphone era, people universally rely on their electronic devices to stay current on the rapidly evolving circumstances. The objective of this study was to examine how daily screen time levels affect the mental health of health care workers attempting to stay up to date on the ever-changing COVID-19-related information available to them.

Methods: Health care workers at an academic teaching hospital were asked to participate in a 12-question online-based survey between the dates of May 30, 2020, and June 3, 2020. The questions included their sex, age range, occupation, department, daily screen time, changes in screen time in the last 4 weeks, and mental health outcomes such as sleep, mood, anxiety, and difficulty controlling worry.

Results: No association was found between age, sex, occupation, and screen time. There was a statistically significant association between the type of department and daily screen time hours (P = .012). A positive trend was noted between screen time and sleep disruption (P = .09). An increase in hours in the last 4 weeks was associated with age (P = .03). A positive trend was also noted for an increase in screen hours and sleep disruption (P = .11) and anxiety (P = .10).

Conclusions: A possible explanation for our finding of screen time not being associated with mental health outcomes could be that the knowledge that information was readily available through technology provided comfort to people as the pandemic evolved and brought changes to their daily lives.

PMID:34449985 | DOI:10.4088/PCC.21m02959

Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2021 Aug 26;23(5):20m02815. doi: 10.4088/PCC.20m02815.

ABSTRACT

Objective: To determine if superior temporal gyrus volumes are altered in patients with a social anxiety disorder.

Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was utilized to determine the superior temporal gyrus volume in 21 patients with a social anxiety disorder and 20 control subjects without a social anxiety disorder. The superior temporal gyrus volumes were measured by manual tracing method. The study was conducted between September 2019 and April 2020.

Results: The mean superior temporal gyrus volume for both sides was statistically significantly smaller than that of control subjects (left side: 11.38 ± 0.85 cm³ for patients and 12.73 ± 0.86 cm³ for controls, t=-5.064, P < .001; right side: 11.42 ± 0.84 mm³ for patients and 12.92 ± 0.85 cm³ for controls, t=-5.574, P < .001). Moreover, when comparing volumetric measurements for subregions, we detected that volumes of all subregions were also statistically significantly smaller than those of healthy comparisons (for both sides of the Heschl’s gyrus and planum temporale).

Conclusions: The study findings suggest that patients with social anxiety disorder seem to have smaller superior temporal gyrus volumes compared to healthy control subjects, although we do not know whether these results were in accordance with functional changes of the same region.

PMID:34449986 | DOI:10.4088/PCC.20m02815

Rev Med Virol. 2021 Aug 27:e2286. doi: 10.1002/rmv.2286. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:34449945 | DOI:10.1002/rmv.2286

J Cosmet Dermatol. 2021 Aug 27. doi: 10.1111/jocd.14400. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Midface rejuvenation is an important component of overall facial rejuvenation. Traditionally, midfacial skin laxity and volume loss have been addressed with surgical midfacial lifting and soft tissue augmentation with dermal fillers. We present a novel noninvasive approach to midface rejuvenation with a bipolar fractionated radiofrequency (FRF) device that addresses both volume loss and improves skin laxity.

METHODS: An institutional review board-approved retrospective review was performed and included subjects who received midfacial treatment with a bipolar FRF device. Follow-up photographs were objectively assessed by a blinded evaluator using a validated scale, the Facial Laxity Rating Scale. Paired t tests were used to evaluate the results for statistical significance.

RESULTS: A total of 15 subjects were included in the study. The average age was 64 and ranged from 48 to 73. The average midface laxity score prior to treatment was 5.6 and post-treatment was 6.3 (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION: Bipolar FRF is a promising noninvasive intervention for midface rejuvenation.

PMID:34449948 | DOI:10.1111/jocd.14400

Phytother Res. 2021 Aug 27. doi: 10.1002/ptr.7252. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

A systematic review and a meta-analytic approach were considered to investigate the effects of lemon balm as a medicinal herb on anxiety and depression in clinical trials and its side effects. All randomized clinical trials published up to October 30, 2020 that examined lemon balm in patients with symptoms of depression or anxiety, with acute or chronic manifestations, were searched in 12 online databases. Statistical analysis was performed using RevMan software. Continuous data were analyzed using standardized mean differences. Statistical heterogeneity was assessed using Chi² , I² , and p value tests. Based on meta-analysis results, lemon balm significantly improved mean anxiety and depression scores compared with the placebo (SMD: -0.98; 95% CI: -1.63 to -0.33; p = 0.003), (SMD: -0.47; 95% CI: -0.73 to -0.21; p = 0.0005) respectively, without serious side effects. Current evidence suggests that lemon balm may be effective in improving anxiety and depressive symptoms, particularly in the acute setting. Due to the high level of heterogeneity between studies, results should be interpreted with caution. The small number of clinical trials and differences between their methods were the limitations of the present study. Further high-quality studies are needed to firmly establish the clinical efficacy of the lemon balm.

PMID:34449930 | DOI:10.1002/ptr.7252

Eur J Neurosci. 2021 Aug 27. doi: 10.1111/ejn.15432. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) experience motor and non-motor symptoms, suggesting alterations of the motor and/or limbic system, or more probably of their communications. We hypothesized that the communication between the insula (part of the limbic system) and sensorimotor cortex in PD is altered and hemispheric asymmetric. Furthermore, that this asymmetry relates to non-motor symptoms, and specifically, that apathy-related asymmetry is unique to PD. To test these hypotheses, we used a novel multivariate time-frequency analysis method applied to resting-state functional MRI data of 28 controls and 25 participants with PD measured in their OFF medication state. The analysis infers directionality of coupling, that is, afferent or efferent, among four anatomical regions, thus defining directed pathways of information flow, which enables the extension of symmetry measures to include directionality. A major right asymmetry reduction of the dorsal-posterior insula efferent and a slight bilateral increase of insula afferent pathways were observed in participants with PD versus controls. Between-group pathways that correlated with mild cognitive impairments combined the central-executive and default-mode networks through the right insula. Apathy-correlated pathways of the posterior insula in participants with PD versus controls exhibited reduced right efferent and increased left afferent. Since apathy scores were comparable between the groups and effects of the other motor and non-motor symptoms were statistically removed by the analysis, the differences in apathy-correlated pathways were suggested as unique to PD. These pathways could be predictors in the pre-symptomatic phase in patients with apathy.

PMID:34449938 | DOI:10.1111/ejn.15432

Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2021 Aug 27. doi: 10.1002/ijgo.13904. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of headache, review variables believed to be associated and assess distress levels in pregnant women.

METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted on pregnant women who presented to a Training and Research Hospital in Sakarya, Turkey from 01.06.2020 to 01.12.2020. The study group consisted of 600 pregnant women who agreed to take part in the study. Chi-squared test and Logistic Regression Analysis were used to analyze the data. Statistical significance level was accepted as p ≤ 0.05.

RESULTS: The ages of pregnant women ranged from 19 to 44 with a mean age of 29.01 ± 5.27 years. Prevalence of headache during pregnancy was found to be 55.7% (n=334). The number of pregnant women under the risk of distress was found to be 144 (24.0%). There was no difference between women with and without headache and between severity of headache and prevalence of distress (p>0.05 for each).

CONCLUSION: Headache is an important health issue in pregnant women. There was no relationship between the presence and severity of headache and distress level.

PMID:34449878 | DOI:10.1002/ijgo.13904

Andrologia. 2021 Aug 27:e14232. doi: 10.1111/and.14232. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Elevated concentrations of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the semen can lead to oxidative protein damage as they react with the amino acids’ side chains in the protein, leading to the generation of carbonyl groups. This study aimed to investigate the effect of protein carbonyl (PC) concentration on sperm motility and the laboratory intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes. A total of 150 couples from the ICSI cycle were enrolled in this study and were divided into three groups (G) according to the PC concentration as following, G1 included samples with PC concentrations <0.65 nmol/mg, G2 included samples with 0.65≤PC≤2.23 nmol/mg and G3 included samples with PC>2.23 (nmol/mg). PC concentrations were measured in all semen samples, and the laboratory ICSI outcomes were evaluated for all injected oocytes. The Kruskal-Wallis p-values for the differences in the medians of sperm motility, fertilisation rate, embryo cleavage score and embryo quality score were <0.05. Furthermore, Dunn’s post hoc test showed a significant difference between all groups, p-values <0.05, except for the medians of embryo quality score between G2 and G3. In conclusion, our results showed that sperm motility and laboratory ICSI outcomes are affected negatively by higher concentrations of PC in the semen.

PMID:34449913 | DOI:10.1111/and.14232