A survey on utilization of data mining approaches for dermatological (skin) diseases prediction

Due to recent technology advances, large volumes of medical data is obtained. These data contain valuable information. Therefore data mining techniques can be used to extract useful patterns. This paper is intended to introduce data mining and its various techniques and a survey of the available literature on medical data mining. We emphasize mainly on the application of data mining on skin diseases. A categorization has been provided based on the different data mining techniques. The utility of the various data mining methodologies is highlighted. Generally association mining is suitable for extracting rules. It has been used especially in cancer diagnosis. Classification is a robust method in medical mining. In this paper, we have summarized the different uses of classification in dermatology. It is one of the most important methods for diagnosis of erythemato-squamous diseases. There are different methods like Neural Networks, Genetic Algorithms and fuzzy classifiaction in this topic. Clustering is a useful method in medical images mining. The purpose of clustering techniques is to find a structure for the given data by finding similarities between data according to data characteristics. Clustering has some applications in dermatology. Besides introducing different mining methods, we have investigated some challenges which exist in mining skin data

Compare the effect of Consumption CoQ10 Supplement on aerobic power, anaerobic and Muscle soreness in athletes and non athletes

زمینه و هدف: کوآنزیم Q10 یک ماده شبه ویتامین محلول در چربی است که حامل ضروری الکترون در میتوکندری می باشد و در تولید انرژی و فعالیت ضد اکسیدانی، نقش مهمی بر عهده دارد. هدف این مطالعه پژوهشی نیمه تجربی، مقایسه اثر مکمل کوآنزیم Q10 بر توان هوازی، بی هوازی و برخی از شاخص های منتخب کوفتگی عضلانی تأخیری پسران ورزشکار و غیر ورزشکار بود. روش بررسی: 60 پسر دانش آموز داوطلب، به روش نمونه در دسترس انتخاب که از بین آن ها و به طور تصادفی 20 نفر با میانگین سن، قد و وزن به ترتیب (80/0±30/16 سال، 6±172 سانتی متر، 55/7±76/62 کیلوگرم) انتخاب که در دو گروه ورزشکار (10 =n) و غیر ورزشکار (10 =n) طبقه بندی شدند. از هر دو گروه 4 مرتبه خونگیری (هر بار 5 سی سی مایع از ورید پیش آرنجی) طی دو مرحله (قبل و بعد از مکمل دهی) به عمل آمد که سطح پایه و تغییرات شاخص های کوفتگی تأخیری (LDH و CK)، با کیت آزمایشگاهی پارس آزمون و با دستگاه اتوآنالایزر AT- آلفا کلاستیک مورد ارزیابی قرار گرفت. قراردادهای ورزشی پژوهش، بروس (با استفاده از نوارگردان، جهت ارزیابی VO2max) و فالکنر (با استفاده از نوارگردان- 9/12 V= کیلومتر بر ساعت و 20 g=، جهت ارزیابی توان بی هوازی) بود. ضریب پایایی آزمون بروس و فالکنر به ترتیب در حدود 95/0 تا 99/0 و 76/0 تا 91/0 است. جهت بررسی تفاوت در مراحل مختلف نمونه گیری، تفاوت های درون گروهی و برون گروهی، از آزمون های آنالیز تحلیل واریانس (ANOVA)، SPSS، تی وابسته و تی مستقل در سطح معنی داری 05/0≥P استفاده شد. یافته ها: یافته های پژوهش نشان داد که مصرف کوتاه مدت مکمل CoQ10 منجر به عدم تغییر معنی دار CK (19/0P=)، LDH (12/0P=)، توان بی هوازی (17/0P=) و توان هوازی (43/0P=) هر دو گروه ورزشکار و غیر ورزشکار شد. نتیجه گیری: به طور کلی نتایج بیانگر این بودند که سطح آمادگی بدنی (مقایسه ورزشکار یا غیر ورزشکار بودن)، تأثیری در اثر مکمل کوآنزیم Q10 بر توان هوازی، بی هوازی و کوفتگی عضلانی نداشت و هر دو گروه به یک اندازه از مکمل بهره بردند

Designing a customized clinical practice guideline regarding antibiotic prophylaxis for Iranian general dentists.

BACKGROUND: Clinical practice guidelines produced by developed countries seemed to be not completely feasible for developing countries due to their different local context. In this study, we designed a customized guideline about antibiotic prophylaxis before dental procedures for Iranian general dentists. METHODS: This study was conducted of two parts, including a qualitative part and a cross-sectional analytic part. A multidisciplinary team searched for related guidelines and other documents, selected the most updated and high quality ones, customized their recommendations based on available antibiotics in Iran, prepared a draft adapted guideline and summarized its recommendations in 3 flowcharts. An expert panel (20 specialists of four Iranian dental universities) participated in a consensus process, afterwards to determine the relevance and clarity of the flowcharts and their items. Then the Content Validity Indices (CVIs) were calculated and any items with CVI higher than 0.79 remained. RESULTS: The adapted recommendations were summarized in flowcharts A to C. Two separate groups of patients who need antibiotic prophylaxis were presented in flowchart A; including those with high risk for distant-site infection (infective endocarditis and prosthetic joint infection) and those at risk for poor healing and orofacial infection (due to impaired immunologic function). Flowcharts B and C described antibiotic regimen and also the dental procedures where antibiotic prophylaxis was needed for mentioned groups. The content validity indices and the percentages of agreement between the expert panel members were considerably high. CONCLUSIONS: A localized, clear and straight forward guideline that addresses all groups of dental patients who need antibiotic prophylaxis has been produced for Iranian general dentists

Evaluation of diagnostic value of soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor in sepsis

Background: Sepsis is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in the intensive care units (ICUs). It is difficult to accurately differentiate sepsis from similar diseases rapidly. Therefore, it becomes critical to identify any biomarker with the ability of differentiation between sepsis and nonsepsis conditions. The urokinase plasminogen activator receptor has been implicated as an important factor in regulation of leukocyte adhesion and migration. Objectives: In this study, we evaluated the value of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), erythrocyte sedimentation (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) serum levels in terms of their value for sepsis diagnosis in ICU patients. Patients and Methods: We enrolled 107 ICU patients; 40 with sepsis, 43 with systemic inflammatory response syndrome, and 24 as control group. Serum soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor, ESR, white blood cell (WBC), and CRP levels were measured on the day of admission. Results: The group with sepsis had higher suPAR, ESR, and CRP levels compared with the group with noninfectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) (P = 0.01, 0.00 and 0.00, respectively). CRP concentrations and ESR were higher in the sepsis group than in the non-SIRS group (P = 0.00 and 0.00, respectively). In a receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis, ESR, CRP and suPAR had an area under the curve larger than 0.65 (P = 0.00) in distinguishing between septic and noninfectious SIRS patients. CRP, ESR and suPAR had a sensitivity of 87, 71 and 66 and a specificity of 59, 76 and 74 respectively in diagnosing infection in SIRS. Conclusions: The diagnostic values of CRP and ESR were better than suPAR and WBC count in patients with sepsis. © 2015, Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center

Techniques, perspectives, and challenges of bioactive peptide generation: A comprehensive systematic review

Due to the digestible refractory and absorbable structures of bioactive peptides (BPs), they could induce notable biological impacts on the living organism. In this regard, the current study was devoted to providing an overview regarding the available methods for BPs generation by the aid of a systematic review conducted on the published articles up to April 2019. In this context, the PubMed and Scopus databases were screened to retrieve the related publications. According to the results, although the characterization of BPs mainly has been performed using enzymatic and microbial in-vitro methods, they cannot be considered as suitable techniques for further stimulation of digestion in the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, new approaches for both in-vivo and in-silico methods for BPs identification should be developed to overcome the obstacles that belonged to the current methods. The purpose of this review was to compile the recent analytical methods applied for studying various aspects of food-derived biopeptides, and emphasizing generation at in vitro, in vivo, and in silico. © 2020 Institute of Food TechnologistsÂ

Diagnostic performance of brain natriuretic peptide in patients suspected to Sepsis

Background: One of the main components involving in the pathogenesis and prognosis of sepsis and septic shock is natriuretic peptide. Hemodynamic changes in sepsis or septic shock might explain increased plasma levels of these peptides circulations. Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the value of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in prediction of sepsis state and its related morbidity. We also attempted to determine the best cutoff point of BNP for diagnosis of sepsis state in those with critical illnesses, admitted to the hospital. Patients and Methods: In a cross-sectional study on critically ill patients referred to infections unit of Hazrat Rasoul Akram Hospital, the enrolled patients were assigned to one of the sepsis (n = 30) and nonsepsis (n = 30) groups, based on their results of blood culture and clinical manifestations. Plasma level of BNP was measured by immunoassay. Results: In-hospital mortality was only observed in one patient suffering from sepsis. Hospital length of stay (LOS) was significantly longer in the sepsis group compared with the nonsepsis one (17.47 ± 10.10 days versus 7.93 ± 2.92 days). The plasma BNP level, as a marker, was significantly higher in the sepsis group than the nonsepsis one (786.87 ± 164.11 ng/mL versus 154.57 ± 44.67 ng/mL, P = 0.039). The BNP level was significantly correlated with some baseline variables including respiratory rate (beta = 0.295, P = 0.022) and ESR measurement (beta = 0.296, P = 0.022), but not with other characteristics. Through multivariable linear regression analysis, having other patients' variables information including demographics and hemodynamic parameters, the BNP level was significantly higher in the sepsis group compared with the nonsepsis one (odds ratio = 1.008, P = 0.046). According to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, BNP measurement had an acceptable value for discriminating sepsis and nonsepsis states (c = 0.734, 95 CI: 0.605-0.864, P = 0.002). The optimal cutoff point of BNP for discriminating sepsis and nonsepsis states was 170 ng/mL, yielding a sensitivity of 66.7 and a specificity of 60.0. Conclusions: Elevated BNP level was associated with a significantly increased risk of sepsis state in critically ill patients. © 2013, Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center

Generating GHZ state in 2m-qubit spin network

We consider a pure 2m-qubit initial state to evolve under a particular quantum me- chanical spin Hamiltonian, which can be written in terms of the adjacency matrix of the Johnson network J(2m;m). Then, by using some techniques such as spectral dis- tribution and stratification associated with the graphs, employed in [1, 2], a maximally entangled GHZ state is generated between the antipodes of the network. In fact, an explicit formula is given for the suitable coupling strengths of the hamiltonian, so that a maximally entangled state can be generated between antipodes of the network. By using some known multipartite entanglement measures, the amount of the entanglement of the final evolved state is calculated, and finally two examples of four qubit and six qubit states are considered in details.Comment: 22 page

A general algorithm for manipulating non-linear and linear entanglement witnesses by using exact convex optimization

A generic algorithm is developed to reduce the problem of obtaining linear and nonlinear entanglement witnesses of a given quantum system, to convex optimization problem. This approach is completely general and can be applied for the entanglement detection of any N-partite quantum system. For this purpose, a map from convex space of separable density matrices to a convex region called feasible region is defined, where by using exact convex optimization method, the linear entanglement witnesses can be obtained from polygonal shape feasible regions, while for curved shape feasible regions, envelope of the family of linear entanglement witnesses can be considered as nonlinear entanglement witnesses. This method proposes a new methodological framework within which most of previous EWs can be studied. To conclude and in order to demonstrate the capability of the proposed approach, besides providing some nonlinear witnesses for entanglement detection of density matrices in unextendible product bases, W-states, and GHZ with W-states, some further examples of three qubits systems and their classification and entanglement detection are included. Also it is explained how one can manipulate most of the non-decomposable linear and nonlinear three qubits entanglement witnesses appearing in some of the papers published by us and other authors, by the method proposed in this paper. Keywords: non-linear and linear entanglement witnesses, convex optimization. PACS number(s): 03.67.Mn, 03.65.UdComment: 37 page

The Prevalence of Nosocomial Infections in Iranian Hospitals

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Nosocomial infections are one of the major health problems. As the length of stay in the hospital increases, the risk of mortality and morbidity increases, which ultimately increases the cost of treatment. Therefore, the present study was performed as a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the prevalence of nosocomial infections in Iran. METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed in the range of the years 2001 – 2017. Articles related to the topic were assessed using Persian keywords “nosocomial infections”, “hospital”, and “Iran”, and their English equivalent in descriptive and cross sectional studies by searching online databases of SID & Magiran, PubMed and Scopus, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. Analytical and interventional studies were excluded from the study list. FINDINGS: 578 articles had the preliminary inclusion criteria, and with the removal of 568 unrelated or low quality articles during secondary analyses, 10 articles were finally included in the process of meta-analysis. The overall prevalence of nosocomial infections in Iranian hospitals was 4.6% (CI-95%: 2.6 – 8.1). The highest prevalence of nosocomial infections was in Sanandaj with 15.6% (CI-95%: 10.22–82.1) and the lowest prevalence was in Urmia with 0.4% (CI-95%: 0.1–1.01). CONCLUSION: The results of the study showed that nosocomial infection has a low prevalence in Iran, but more attention and control over nosocomial infections in Iranian hospitals is necessary to reach standard levels