A meta-analysis of meta-analyses of the effectiveness of FIFA injury prevention programmes in soccer

FIFA has a Medical and Research Centre (F-MARC) which has designed a comprehensive programme targeting muscle strength, kinaesthetic awareness, and neuromuscular control during static and dynamic movements to decrease injury risk for soccer players. A number of meta-analyses now exist on how effective FIFA's programmes to prevent and reduce injury actually are, with various degrees of injury reduction reported. This research aimed to carry out a systematic review and to meta analyse the existing meta-analyses so that a conclusion can be drawn on how effective the injury programmes are. Relevant studies were identified by searching five databases for the period January 1990 till 1 July 2018. Results of each meta-analysis were combined together using risk ratios (RR) in a summary meta-analysis. QUOROM checklist and AMSTAR 2 assessment were used to assess the quality of reporting and methodology in the meta-analyses. Four meta-analyses met the inclusion criteria covering fifteen primary studies. All four meta-analyses scored quite highly on QUOROM, but two were rated by AMSTAR 2 as moderate quality and two were found to be of critically low quality. An overall risk reduction of 34% [RR= 0.66 (0.60 - 0.73)] for all injuries and a reduction of 29% [RR= 0.71 (0.63 - 0.81)] for injuries to the lower limbs were revealed by this meta-analysis of meta-analyses. Combining every previous meta-analysis into a single source in this paper produced decisive evidence that the risk of injuries while playing soccer is reduced as a result of FIFA's injury prevention programmes

Mutated N-ras does not induce p19arf in CO25 cell line

The mouse cell line (CO25) used in this study was transfected with a glucocorticoid inducible mutated human N-ras oncogene under transcriptional control of the steroid-sensitive promoter of the mouse mammary tumors virus long terminal repeat MMTV-LTR. This study was aimed to investigate the expression of p19arf and MDM2 genes under the effect of N-ras oncogene induction and to invent the role of p19arf, MDM2 in N-ras pathway during various periods (12, 24, 48, 72, 96 h) using western blotting method. The levels of â-actin proteins in the same periods were our control group. The observations showed no increase of p19arf protein expression in normal, cancer and differentiated CO25 cells. MDM2 was accumulated until 72 h and after 96 h, it showed a dramatical decrease while β-actin levels were increased correlated to the volume of protein loaded to the gel. Because of the role of p19arf as tumor suppressor and p53-MDM2 linker, it is highly recommended to  investigate the relationship between N-ras and p53 and MDM2 in the same system to recognize the molecule that may play a linker molecule between p53 and MDM2 in p19arf lack system.Key words: Oncogene, N-ras, p19arf, myoblast, CO25 cells, differentiation, MDM2

Experimental Study of Breast Cancer Detection Using UWB Imaging

Breast cancer detection using UWB imaging is presented in this paper. The study is performed experimentally. Homogeneous breast phantom is constructed using pure petroleum jelly. The tumor is modeled using mixture of water and wheat flour. The breast fatty tissue and tumor tissue are put in breast shaped glass which mimics the skin. The dielectric properties values are comparable to previous study. Neural Network (NN) was trained and tested using feature vector which is prepared by performing discrete cosine transform (DCT) of the received UWB signals. Very encouraging results were obtained. Up to 100 % tumor existence detection was achieved. Tumor size and location detection rate were 91.3% and 95.6% respectively

In vitro evaluation of electroporated gold nanoparticles and extremely-low frequency electromagnetic field anticancer activity against Hep-2 laryngeal cancer cells

Introduction. The extremely-low frequency electromagnetic field (ELFEMF) has been proposed for use in cancer therapy since it was found that magnetic waves interfere with many biological processes. Gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) have been widely used for drug delivery during cancer in vitro studies due to their low cytotoxity and high biocompatibility. The electroporation of cancer cells in a presence of Au-NPs (EP Au-NPs) can induce cell apoptosis, alterations of cell cycle profile and morphological changes. The impact of ELFEMF and EP Au-NPs on morphology, cell cycle and activation of apoptosis-associated genes on Hep-2 laryngeal cancer cell line has not been studied yet. Materials and methods. ELFEMF on Hep-2 cells were carried out using four different conditions: 25/50 mT at 15/30 min, while Au-NPs were used as direct contact (DC) or with electroporation (EP, 10 pulses at 200V, equal time intervals of 4 sec). MTT assay was used to check the toxicity of DC Au-NPs. Expression of CASP3, P53, BAX and BCL2 genes was quantified using qPCR. Cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to observe cell morphology. Results. Calculated IC50 of DC Au-NPs 24.36 μM (4.79 μg/ml) and such concentration was used for further DC and EP AuNPs experiments. The up-regulation of pro-apoptotic genes (CASP3, P53, BAX) and decreased expression of BCL2, respectively, was observed for all analyzed conditions with the highest differences for EP AuNPs and ELFEMF 50 mT/30 min in comparison to control cells. The highest content of cells arrested in G2/M phase was observed in ELFEMF-treated cells for 30 min both at 25 or 50 mT, while the cells treated with EP AuNPs or ELFEMF 50 mT/15 min showed highest ratios of apoptotic cells. HE staining of electroporated cells and cells exposed to ELFEMF’s low and higher frequencies for different times showed nuclear pleomorphic cells. Numerous apoptotic bodies were observed in the irregular cell membrane of neoplastic and necrotic cells with mixed euchromatin and heterochromatin. Conclusions. Our observations indicate that treatment of Hep-2 laryngeal cancer cells with ELFEMF for 30 min at 25–50 mT and EP Au-NPs can cause cell damage inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest

Experimental breast tumor detection using NN-based UWB imaging

This paper presents a system with experimental complement to a simulation work for early breast tumor detection. The experiments are conducted using commercial Ultrawide-Band (UWB) transceivers, Neural Network (NN) based Pattern Recognition (PR) software for imaging and proposed breast phantoms for homogenous and heterogeneous tissues. The proposed breast phantoms (homogeneous and heterogeneous) and tumor are constructed using available low cost materials and their mixtures with minimal e®ort. A specific glass is used as skin. All the materials and their mixtures are considered according to the ratio of the dielectric properties of the breast tissues. Experiments to detect tumor are performed in regular noisy room environment. The UWB signals are transmitted from one side of the breast phantom (for both cases) and received from opposite side diagonally repeatedly. Using discrete cosine transform (DCT) of these received signals, a Neural Network (NN) module is developed, trained and tested. The tumor existence, size and location detection rates for both cases are highly satisfactory, which are approximately: (i) 100%, 95.8% and 94.3% for homogeneous and (ii) 100%, 93.4% and 93.1% for heterogeneous cases respectively. This gives assurance of early detection and the practical usefulness of the developed system in near future

Structural and electrochemical studies of proton conducting biopolymer blend electrolytes based on MC:Dextran for EDLC device application with high energy density

This study shows preparation and characterization of solid biopolymer electrolyte based on glycerolized methylcellulose (MC): dextran-doped with ammonium thiocyanate (NH4SCN). The nature of electrolyte composition in terms of interaction is characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) technique. Lowering and shifting in the intensity of the bands are observed with increasing the quantity of glycerol as a plasticizer, confirming complexation between electrolyte components. Ion transport parameters are determined using both of the methods of EIS and FTIR where the parameters are found to be increased with glycerol concentration. The transport number measurement indicates that ions are the primary charge carrier in the conduction mechanism where tion is found to be 0.961. The maximum DC ionic conductivity value is achieved that found to be 1.63 � 10�3 S cm�1. The ESR values are ranged from 300 to 580 O throughout 450 cycles. The technique of linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) shows the electrochemical stability window of 2 V for the conducting samples. The response of cyclic voltammetry (CV) shows an almost rectangular shape without Faradaic peaks. A galvanostatic charge–discharge investigation has shown the initial specific capacitance, energy density, and power density are 133 F g�1, 18.3 Wh Kg�1, and 680 W Kg�1, respectively

Community pharmacists’ perspectives on cardiovascular disease pharmaceutical care in the United Arab Emirates: a questionnaire survey-based analysis

Background: Community pharmacists play an intermediary role between prescribing physicians and patients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and thus are responsible for ensuring that patients receive optimal cardiovascular disease (CVD) pharmaceutical care.Methods: we used a cross-sectional design to assess the perceptions and practices of community pharmacists concerning pharmaceutical care for patients with CVD. A trained researcher visited randomly selected community pharmacies and used a structured questionnaire to conduct in-person interviews with pharmacists. The questionnaire collected demographic data and information on perceptions and practices regarding CVD pharmaceutical care.Results: Five hundred and fifty-one participants were recruited. The average participant age (mean ± SD) was 35 ± 2.7 years. The average perception score regarding CVD prevention and management was 75.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 77.1%–74.2%), and the average practice score for CVD prevention and management was 87.1% (95% CI 76.5%–79.6%). Bivariate analysis revealed that gender (p = 0.001), education level (p < 0.001), pharmacy position (p = 0.004), work experience (p < 0.001), number of patients served per day (p < 0.001) and being trained on CVD prevention and management (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with perceptions about the prevention and management of CVD. Better practice scores were seen among older participants (OR 1.01; 95% CI 1–1.019), postgraduates (OR 1.77; 95% CI 1.66–1.89), workers at chain pharmacies (OR 1.24; 95% CI 1.11–1.39), pharmacists in charge (OR 1.22; 95% CI 1.01–1.47), pharmacists with >10 years of experience (OR 11.3; 95% CI 6.01–15.62), pharmacists with 6–10 years of experience (OR 4.42; 95% CI 3.90–5) and pharmacists trained on CVD prevention and management (OR 1.29; 95% CI 1.15–1.46).Conclusion: Pharmacy practitioners working in community pharmacies in the UAE actively engage in delivering pharmaceutical care to patients, playing a role in CVD management and prevention. However, they showed low levels of involvement in other healthcare services, specifically in screening and measuring patients’ weight, glucose levels, and blood pressure, monitoring treatment responses, maintaining medical records, and reviewing medication refill histories. Activities such as educating patients, providing medication counseling, offering support for treatment adherence, and fostering collaborative relationships with other healthcare providers should be encouraged among UAE community pharmacists to ensure the provision of high-quality patient care

Role of Nemolizumab and Omalizumab in management of atopic dermatitis: A review

BackgroundNemolizumab (CIM331) is a monoclonal antibody that binds the IL-31 receptor α component. This inhibits IL-31 from acting on neurons that constrains the initialization of the sense of pruritus in cases of atopic dermatitis.AimsTo summarize the results of reported studies evaluating the role of nemolizumab and omalizumab in management of atopic dermatitis.Methods This is a systematic review was carried out, including PubMed, Google Scholar, and EBSCO that examining randomized controlled trials, observational, and experimental studies which study role of nemolizumab in management of atopic dermatitis.Results The review included 8 randomized studies reported efficacy of both nemolizumab and omalizumab for management of atopic dermatitis.ConclusionOther studies with large numbers of patients with AD are necessary to define the adverse effects of both drugs in the treatment of AD