Biological Effects of Weak Electromagnetic Field on Healthy and Infected Lime (Citrus aurantifolia) Trees with Phytoplasma

Exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) has become an issue of concern for a great many people and is an active area of research. Phytoplasmas, also known as mycoplasma-like organisms, are wall-less prokaryotes that are pathogens of many plant species throughout the world. Effects of electromagnetic fields on the changes of lipid peroxidation, content of H2O2, proline, protein, and carbohydrates were investigated in leaves of two-year-old trees of lime (Citrus aurantifolia) infected by the Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifoliae. The healthy and infected plants were discontinuously exposed to a 10 KHz quadratic EMF with maximum power of 9 W for 5 days, each 5 h, at 25°C. Fresh and dry weight of leaves, content of MDA, proline, and protein increased in both healthy and infected plants under electromagnetic fields, compared with those of the control plants. Electromagnetic fields decreased hydrogen peroxide and carbohydrates content in both healthy and infected plants compared to those of the controls

The prophylactic effect of hydroxychloroquine on the severity of COVID-19 infection in an asymptomatic population: A randomized clinical trial

Background: Laboratory and observational data suggest that hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has biological activity against SARS-CoV-2, potentially permitting its use for disease prevention. This study aimed to evaluate the hydroxychloroquine effect as prophylaxis for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: In this double-blind randomized controlled trial,  1000  healthy people without any signs and symptoms of COVID-19 were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either 800 mg hydroxychloroquine or placebo (four 200 mg tablets in two divided doses on day 1 of the first week, followed by 200 mg (in a single dose) weekly for the next 6 weeks). Results: Among 871 participants who remained and followed within 10 weeks 97(11.1%) became SARS-CoV-2 positive. there were statistically significant differences between infected or non-infected in the hydroxychloroquine (36 of 97 [37.1%]) and placebo (61 of 97 [62.9 %]) groups with a risk ratio of 2.1 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01 - 3.21; p = 0.005). The incidence of severe forms of COVID-19 ( hospitalized in the coronavirus ward or the ICU) was 2 of 97 (0.02 %) in participants who received a placebo compared to hydroxychloroquine. The proportion of non-infected people who received hydroxychloroquine prophylaxis was nearly twice higher than that of placebo users (1.87, 95% CI: 1.19 - 2.84, p = 0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding side effects (1.1% vs. 0.9%), and no severe adverse reactions were observed. Conclusion: Pre-exposure therapy with hydroxychloroquine appears to prevent moderate and severe illness caused by COVID-19 in asymptomatic persons

Diagnostic Performance of Ultrasonography for Identification of Small Bowel Obstruction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Introduction: Small bowel obstruction (SBO) is known as a common cause of acute abdominal complaints in the emergency department (ED). The modality of choice for the diagnosis of SBO has not yet been established. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the accuracy of ultrasonography for the diagnosis of SBO. Methods: Systematic search was performed on five electronic databases including Medline, Scopus, Web of Sciences, Embase, and Cochrane Library, and the retrieval period was from the inception of each database to November 2023. The quality of the included studies were investigated using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS-2). The pooled values of diagnostic characteristics for ultrasonography were estimated using meta-Disc and Stata statistical software. Results: Twenty-one studies with a total of 1977 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled estimate for sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the summary ROC curve of ultrasonography for diagnosing SBO were 0.93 (95% CI: 0.91–0.95), 0.8 (95% CI: 0.77–0.83), 5.69 (95% CI: 3.64–8.89), 0.1 (95% CI: 0.07–0.16), 83.51 (95% CI: 18.12–182.91) and 0.96, respectively. Conclusion: The findings of this meta-analysis showed that the utilization of ultrasonography holds promise as a diagnostic imaging for SBO with high accuracy. However, additional worldwide studies are essential to get more evidence on the value of ultrasonography for the diagnosis of SBO

Design and implementation of improved sliding mode controller on 6R manipulator

In this work, we present an improved sliding mode control (ISMC) technique designed and implemented for control of 6R manipulator. Sliding mode control (SMC) is a well-known nonlinear robust method for controlling systems in the presence of uncertainties and disturbances and systems with complex dynamics as in manipulators. Despite this good property, it is difficult to implement this method for the manipulator with a complex structure and more than three degree-of-freedom because of the complicated and massive equation and chattering phenomenon as a property of SMC in control inputs. Here, the chattering phenomenon is eliminated by using an effective algorithm called ISMC and implemented to 6R manipulator by using a low-cost control board based on an ARM microcontroller with high accuracy and memory. The carrying load is considered as the uncertainty for the manipulator, while the dynamic load carrying capacity (DLCC) is considered as a robot performance criterion showing robustness of the controller. The results of simulations and experiments show that the proposed approach has a good performance and is suitable and practical to be applied for manipulators

The novel role of pyrvinium in cancer therapy

Pyrvinium pamoate (PP) is a quinoline-derived cyanine dye which was officially approved by FDA for its anthelmintic properties and therapeutic function against animal-like protists such as Cryp-tosporidium parvum and Plasmodium falciparum in the 1950 s. In the last 10 years, several studies have shown the novel activity of pyrvinium in tumor therapy. Some investigations have indicated that pyrvinium could delay or inhibit tumor cell proliferation in cancer models including colon, breast, lung and prostate cancer and some hematological malignancies. In this review, we discuss multiple critical signaling pathways and mechanisms underlying the anticancer effects of PP. In details, pyrvinium acts through the following main mechanisms: i) energy and autophagy depletion, and ii) inhibition of Akt and Wnt-β-catenin-dependent pathways. Interestingly, pyrvinium has also shown potent anti-cancer stem cell activity. The overwhelming insights into the mechanism of anticancer properties of PP can help establishing novel and future anti-tumor treatment strategies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Validation of the online version of the sharenting evaluation scale (SES) in Iranian parents: Psychometric properties and concurrent validity

Abstract Introduction This study examines the psychometric properties of the online version of the sharenting evaluation scale (SES) with a sample of Iranian parents. Methods A sample population of 240 parents (25% fathers and 75% mothers) with an average age of 39.63 (standard deviation = 10.41) were selected by convenience sampling method and completed the Persian version of the SES online. Results Findings showed that concurrent validity of the SES with social comparison and social well being was within the acceptable range. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the SES was 0.92, and for the subscales of self‐control, social behavior, and implications were, respectively, 0.84, 0.71, and 0.70, which indicated good internal consistency between the items. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the Persian version of this scale same as the English version. The Persian version of the SES demonstrated psychometric properties of validity and reliability within the acceptable range (α = .70 and .84). In the present study, the results of convergent validity showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between sharing and constructs, such as social comparison, self‐control, implications, and social behaviors, but no significant relationship was found between social well being and sharing. Conclusions Persian version of the SES is a suitable scale to measure the degree to which parents share their children's sensitive content on the Internet and social media

Muscular and hepatosplenic candidiasis in a patient with acute myeloblastic leukemia: A case report and literature review

Key Clinical Message Muscular and subcutaneous candidiasis is a rare entity in immunocompromised patients, but it should be kept in mind when we see multiple cystic soft tissue masses in addition to target‐shaped hepatosplenic lesions in neutropenic patients. US and MRI are useful imaging modalities for the diagnosis and follow‐up of these patients. Abstract Soft tissue candidiasis is an opportunistic infection in immunocompromised patients and must always be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. In this case report, the patient is a 14‐year‐old boy with acute myeloid leukemia M3‐type who presented with numerous soft tissue and hepatosplenic candidal abscesses

Drug-use disorders in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a glance at GBD 2019 findings

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate drug use disorders which are a major cause of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). Methods: This article is a part of the global burden of diseases (GBD), injuries, and risk factors 2019 study. The GBD modeling approach was used to estimate population-level prevalence of drug use disorders. We combined these estimates with disability weights to calculate years of life lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 1990–2019. Results: It is estimated that in 2019 in EMR around 3.4 million people have drug use disorder which has increased by 137% compared to 1990. Also, in 2019, DALY number for drug use disorders was 1217.9 (95% UI: 940.4, 1528.9) thousand years and 7645 (95% UI: 6793.7, 8567.9) deaths occurred. The DALY rate increased 39.6% in the region since1990, whereas the global rate increased by 24.4%. United Arab Emirates, Libya, and Iran were most affected by drug use disorders with the highest rates of age-standardized DALY in EMR in 2019. The most prevalent drug use disorder in the region is opioid use which is accountable for 80% of all drug use disorders DALYs. Conclusion: Despite many interventions, drug use disorders are still responsible for high rates of DALY in the region which has increased since 1990 in both males and females; more comprehensive policies, better control measures and proper education could reduce the adverse effects