Health-related quality of life and medication adherence in elderly patients with epilepsy

© 2019 Polish Neurological Society. Objective. Considering the high prevalence of epilepsy in the elderly and the importance of maximising their quality of life (QoL), this study aimed to investigate the relationship between medication adherence and QoL, and the mediating effects of medication adherence on the association between serum antiepileptic drug (AED) level and seizure severity with QoL in elderly epileptics. Methods. In a longitudinal study, 766 elderly patients with epilepsy who were prescribed a minimum of one antiepileptic drug were selected by convenience sampling method. A Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS-5) questionnaire was completed at the baseline. Seizure severity and QoL were assessed after six months using the Liverpool Seizure Severity Scale (LSSS) and the QoL in Epilepsy (QOLIE-31) questionnaires respectively. Serum level of AED was also measured at six-month follow-up. Results. Medication adherence was significantly correlated with both seizure severity (β = -0.33, p < 0.0001) and serum AED level (β = 0.29, p < 0.0001) after adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics. Neither QoL nor its sub-classes were correlated with seizure severity. In addition, a significant correlation was not observed between serum AED level and QoL. However, medication adherence was significantly correlated with QoL (β = 0.30, p < 0.0001). The mediating effects of medication adherence on the association between serum AED level (Z = 3.39, p < 0.001) and seizure severity (Z = -3.47, p < 0.001) with QoL were supported by the Sobel test. Conclusion. This study demonstrates that medication adherence has a beneficial impact on QoL in elderly epileptics. Therefore, adherence to treatment should be monitored to improve their QoL

Differentiation between metastatic and tumour-free cervical lymph nodes in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma by grey-scale sonographic texture analysis

Purpose: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common thyroid cancer, and cervical lymph nodes (LNs) are the most common extrathyroid metastatic involvement. Early detection and reliable diagnosis of LNs can lead to improved cure rates and management costs. This study explored the potential of texture analysis for texture-based classification of tumour-free and metastatic cervical LNs of PTC in ultrasound imaging. Material and methods: A total of 274 LNs (137 tumour-free and 137 metastatic) were explored using the texture analysis (TA) method. Up to 300 features were extracted for texture analysis in three normalisations (default, 3sigma, and 1-99). Linear discriminant analysis was employed to transform raw data to lower-dimensional spaces and increase discriminative power. The features were classified by the first nearest neighbour classifier. Results: Normalisation reflected improvement on the performance of the classifier; hence, the features under 3sigma normalisation schemes through FFPA (fusion Fisher plus the probability of classification error POE + average correlation coefficients ACC) features indicated high performance in classifying tumour-free and metastatic LNs with a sensitivity of 99.27%, specificity of 98.54%, accuracy of 98.90%, positive predictive value of 98.55%, and negative predictive value of 99.26%. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.996. Conclusions: TA was determined to be a reliable method with the potential for characterisation. This method can be applied by physicians to differentiate between tumour-free and metastatic LNs in patients with PTC in conventional ultrasound imaging. © Pol J Radiol

Differentiation between metastatic and tumour-free cervical lymph nodes in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma by grey-scale sonographic texture analysis

Purpose: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common thyroid cancer, and cervical lymph nodes (LNs) are the most common extrathyroid metastatic involvement. Early detection and reliable diagnosis of LNs can lead to improved cure rates and management costs. This study explored the potential of texture analysis for texture-based classification of tumour-free and metastatic cervical LNs of PTC in ultrasound imaging. Material and methods: A total of 274 LNs (137 tumour-free and 137 metastatic) were explored using the texture analysis (TA) method. Up to 300 features were extracted for texture analysis in three normalisations (default, 3sigma, and 1-99). Linear discriminant analysis was employed to transform raw data to lower-dimensional spaces and increase discriminative power. The features were classified by the first nearest neighbour classifier. Results: Normalisation reflected improvement on the performance of the classifier; hence, the features under 3sigma normalisation schemes through FFPA (fusion Fisher plus the probability of classification error POE + average correlation coefficients ACC) features indicated high performance in classifying tumour-free and metastatic LNs with a sensitivity of 99.27%, specificity of 98.54%, accuracy of 98.90%, positive predictive value of 98.55%, and negative predictive value of 99.26%. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.996. Conclusions: TA was determined to be a reliable method with the potential for characterisation. This method can be applied by physicians to differentiate between tumour-free and metastatic LNs in patients with PTC in conventional ultrasound imaging. © Pol J Radiol

COVID-19: The Immune Responses and Clinical Therapy Candidates.

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with rising numbers of patients worldwide, presents an urgent need for effective treatments. To date, there are no therapies or vaccines that are proven to be effective against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Several potential candidates or repurposed drugs are under investigation, including drugs that inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication and block infection. The most promising therapy to date is remdesivir, which is US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for emergency use in adults and children hospitalized with severe suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Herein we summarize the general features of SARS-CoV-2's molecular and immune pathogenesis and discuss available pharmacological strategies, based on our present understanding of SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infections. Finally, we outline clinical trials currently in progress to investigate the efficacy of potential therapies for COVID-19

Development of Indirect Immunofluorescence Technique for the Identification of MRC5 Working Seed Cell

Diploid and continuous cell lines are used to propagate viral vaccines. At Human Viral Vaccine Department of Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, MRC5 diploid cell is used for the development of live attenuated measles, mumps, rubella, and three types of poliovirus vaccines.  Additionally, three continuous cell lines (i.e., RK13, HeLa, and Vero) are applied in quality control tests. Accordingly, cell cross-contamination can occur at cell culture labs, hence controlling the identity and specificity of cells is essential. Indirect immunofluorescence is a sensitive, specific, and simple test for cell identification. The present study was designed to develop the in-house indirect immunofluorescence test (IIF) as follows: homemade polyclonal anti-MRC5 serum was prepared in rabbits, and cross-reactive antibodies to RK13, HeLa, and Vero cells were eliminated. The diploid and continuous cell lines were fixed on Teflon slide using cold methanol and acetone. The reproducibility of the in-house IIF test was evaluated using the agreement Kappa test.  The purity of the three batches of MRC5 working seed cell at Human Viral Vaccine Department of Razi institute was verified using IIF and no contamination with continuous cell lines was detected

An Evaluation of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Perceived Social Distancing Policies in Relation to Planning, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy Meals: An Observational Study in 38 Countries Worldwide

Objectives: To examine changes in planning, selecting, and preparing healthy foods in relation to personal factors (time, money, stress) and social distancing policies during the COVID-19 crisis. Methods: Using cross-sectional online surveys collected in 38 countries worldwide in April-June 2020 (N = 37,207, Mage 36.7 SD 14.8, 77% women), we compared changes in food literacy behaviors to changes in personal factors and social distancing policies, using hierarchical multiple regression analyses controlling for sociodemographic variables. Results: Increases in planning (4.7 SD 1.3, 4.9 SD 1.3), selecting (3.6 SD 1.7, 3.7 SD 1.7), and preparing (4.6 SD 1.2, 4.7 SD 1.3) healthy foods were found for women and men, and positively related to perceived time availability and stay-at-home policies. Psychological distress was a barrier for women, and an enabler for men. Financial stress was a barrier and enabler depending on various sociodemographic variables (all p < 0.01). Conclusion: Stay-at-home policies and feelings of having more time during COVID-19 seem to have improved food literacy. Stress and other social distancing policies relate to food literacy in more complex ways, highlighting the necessity of a health equity lens. Copyright 2021 De Backer, Teunissen, Cuykx, Decorte, Pabian, Gerritsen, Matthys, Al Sabbah, Van Royen and the Corona Cooking Survey Study Group.This research was funded by the Research Foundation Flanders (G047518N) and Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HBC.2018.0397). These funding sources had no role in the design of the study, the analysis and interpretation of the data or the writing of, nor the decision to publish the manuscript.Scopu

Optimal preictal period in seizure prediction

Abstract. A statistical method for finding the optimal preictal period to be used in epileptic seizure prediction algorithms is presented. As supervised machine learning methods need labeled training samples, the adequate selection of preictal period plays a key role in the training of an efficient classifier employed in seizure prediction. The proposed method uses amplitude distribution histograms of a candidate feature extracted from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. The method is evaluated on 135 hours of intracranial EEG (iEEG) recordings related to 27 epileptic seizures

Chrysomya bezziana as a Causative Agent of Human Myiasis in Fars Province, Southern Iran

Myiasis is the invasion of body tissues of humans or animals by the larvae of the Diptera or two-winged flies. The vari­ous forms of myiasis may be classified from clinical or entomological point. This study describes the existence of Chry­somya bezziana (Diptera: Calliphoridae) cases as a causative agent of myiasis in 18 and 87 year-old men in two differ­ent regions in Fars Province. To our knowledge, this is the first observation of mentioned species in this prov­ince.

Value Of Fine Needle Aspiration In Diagnosing Abdominaland Retroperitoneal Masses Of Children

The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of fine needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis of abdominal and retroperitoneal masses in children on this study. In 53 cases of childhood abdominal and retroperitoneal masses within a 4 year period (1998-2001) preoperative fine needle aspiration was done under the guide of CT scan. 2 pathologists reviewed fine needle aspiration smears. In all of the cases the gold standard for diagnosis was the tissue specimen, which showed 37 malignant, 2 benign neoplastic and 12 nonneoplastic diseases.This study showed that the sensitivity and specificity of fine needle aspiration cytology for the diagnosis of malignancy and benignity (positive or negative for malignancy) is 97.2% and 81.2% respectively. It was 100% accurate for the diagnosis of cell type in neuroblastoma-ganglioneuroblastoma, hepatoblastoma and Wilm's tumor, 77% accurate for lymphoma and 57% for germ cell tumors. There was no complication in any of the cases after f! ine needle aspiration. So fine needle aspiration is a reliable and sensitive method for the preoperative diagnosis of malignant pediatric abdominal and retroperitoneal masses and we recommend doing FNA cytology as a routine method for the diagnosis of such cases

A Comprehensive Investigation on the Influence of Zeolite, Pumice, and Limestone Powder on the Characteristics of Eco-Friendly Calcium Aluminate Cement Mixes

The current research aims to investigate the influence of pumice, zeolite, and limestone powder as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) on the characteristics of calcium aluminate cement (CAC) composites. For this purpose, SCMs were used in substitution levels of 5%, 15%, 25%, 40%, and 60% of CAC. The results indicate that the active SCMs had a great influence on enhancing the characteristics of the cement composites. For instance, the mixtures with 40% pumice and zeolite outperformed the plain mixture in the compressive strength test by about 45% and 90% at 90 days, respectively. At the age of 90 days, the rapid chloride migration coefficient for the optimal mixture of Z40 (containing 40% zeolite) was reduced by about 93%, and the electrical resistance was increased by about 70% in comparison to the age of 28 days; however, at the same ages, for the plain mixture, the rapid chloride migration coefficient was increased by about 74%, and the electrical resistance was decreased by about 60%. At the age of 90 days, the electrical resistivity of the Z40 mixture was 685% higher compared to the plain mixture. The results show that the high cost of CAC composite could be significantly lowered by utilizing SCMs. Moreover, using SCMs could significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the tests including the modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, permeable pore space, XRD, and microstructural analyses were also carried out to study the mechanical and durability properties. It must be mentioned that the effect of high dosages of pumice and zeolite on the durability properties of this type of cement has not been studied previously, which can be considered an innovation of this study. Furthermore, the obtained results could be beneficial to develop applications of CAC