Diagnostic value of Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE) and Cancer Antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) in the Diagnosis of Pleural effusions

Introduction: Pleural effusion diagnosis plays an important role in determining treatment strategies. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic capacity of tumor markers CA 15-3 and NSE solely or in combination in differentiating the nature of pleural fluid. Methods and Materials: In this cross-sectional study we evaluated 93 patients with pleural effusions (44 malignant and 49 benign). NSE and CA 15-3 serum and pleural levels were measured simultaneously using immunoenzyme assay kits. Diagnosis was established on the basis of cytological study. Results: Sensitivity and specificity of CA 15-3 serum and pleural level measurement were 70.4%, 49.0%, and 79.5% and 49.0%, respectively. Serum NSE levels had 75.0% sensitivity and 69.4% specificity while the respective pleural figures were 75.0% and 73.5%. The combination of NSE and CA 15-3 serum and pleural levels had the highest sensitivity (93.2%), although combined serum levels had the lowest sensitivity (47.7%). With an accuracy of 74.2%, pleural levels of NSE had the highest diagnostic potential. Conclusion: Measuring NSE and CA 15-3 tumor markers is a suitable approach to distinguish the nature of pleural effusions, with NSE pleural levels demonstrating the highest diagnostic accuracy

Survivin c.-31G>C (rs9904341) gene transversion and urinary system cancers risk: A systematic review and a meta-analysis

Aim: To investigate the possible association between survivin c.-31G>C (rs9904341) gene polymorphism and urinary system cancers by a meta-analysis approach. Methods: Standard electronic literature databases were searched to find eligible studies. The odds ratios (ORs) with 95 CIs were estimated to find the associations possibility. Results: Overall meta-analysis revealed significant associations between c.-31G>C transversion and risk of urinary tract cancers in dominant (OR: 1.34; 95 CI: 1.02-1.75; p = 0.035), recessive (OR: 1.52; 95 CI: 1.33-1.74; p C transversion might be a risk factor for urinary system cancers. However, more articles with different ethnicities will help to obtain a more accurate conclusion. © 2018 Future Medicine Ltd

Toward bridging future irrigation deficits utilizing the shark algorithm integrated with a climate change model

Climate change is one of the most effectual variables on the dam operations and reservoir water system. This is due to the fact that climate change has a direct effect on the rainfall–runoff process that is influencing the water inflow to the reservoir. This study examines future trends in climate change in terms of temperature and precipitation as an important predictor to minimize the gap between water supply and demand. In this study, temperature and precipitation were predicted for the period between 2046 and 2065, in the context of climate change, based on the A1B scenario and the HAD-CM3 model. Runoff volume was then predicted with the IHACRES model. A new, nature-inspired optimization algorithm, named the shark algorithm, was examined. Climate change model results were utilized by the shark algorithm to generate an optimal operation rule for dam and reservoir water systems to minimize the gap between water supply and demand for irrigation purposes. The proposed model was applied for the Aydoughmoush Dam in Iran. Results showed that, due to the decrease in water runoff to the reservoir and the increase in irrigation demand, serious irrigation deficits could occur downstream of the Aydoughmoush Dam

Electrochemical Oxidation Assessment and Interaction of 2-aminoethanol and N, N-diethylethanamine Propagation in Acidic Medium

Electro�oxidation and inhibitor performance of copper specimens in 1 M hydrochloric acid solu� tion was investigated at room temperature by linear potentiodynamic polarization and gravimetric method in the presence of 2�aminoethanol (A) and N, N�diethylethanamine (D) as an inorganic inhibitor. The effect of the inhibitory concentration on the corrosion behavior of copper was studied over 288 hrs at 298°K. The inhibitory efficiency rise up to 96% for single induced and 98% for synergistic behavior. The adsorption mechanism characteristic was supported by SEM/EDX analysis and adsorption isotherm. From all indica� tion, the inhibitive efficiency of these compounds majorly depends on their molecular structure and concen� tration. The blocking effects of the surface interface were also explained on the basis of the inhibitor active action. 2�aminoethanol and N, N�diethylethanamine inhibits copper in 1 M HCl by strictly affecting both the anodic and cathodic sites. Portion of the surface covered calculated was also found to follow Langmuir adsorption isotherm

Improving the Muskingum flood routing method using a hybrid of particle swarm optimization and bat algorithm

Flood prediction and control are among the major tools for decision makers and water resources planners to avoid flood disasters. The Muskingum model is one of the most widely used methods for flood routing prediction. The Muskingum model contains four parameters that must be determined for accurate flood routing. In this context, an optimization process that self-searches for the optimal values of these four parameters might improve the traditional Muskingum model. In this study, a hybrid of the bat algorithm (BA) and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, i.e., the hybrid bat-swarm algorithm (HBSA), was developed for the optimal determination of these four parameters. Data for the three different case studies from the USA and the UK were utilized to examine the suitability of the proposed HBSA for flood routing. Comparative analyses based on the sum of squared deviations (SSD), sum of absolute deviations (SAD), error of peak discharge, and error of time to peak showed that the proposed HBSA based on the Muskingum model achieved excellent flood routing accuracy compared to that of other methods while requiring less computational time

Relationship between serum IgE level and migraine headache

Background: Migraine is a pulsatile, unilateral headache usually with nausea, vomiting, photophobia and fatigue. Considering the prevalence of Migraine headache and the suggested role of allergens in its appearance, the relationship between serum level of IgE and Migraine headache was scrutinized in this study. Materials and Methods: Fifty known cases of Migraine headache and 100 control cases were selected from the patients referred to neurology clinic of Shahid Beheshti Hospital and private neurology clinic. Demographic data including age, sex, and family history of headache were recorded and matched in both groups. Two cubic centimeters (cc) of venous blood obtained from each case and tested for serum level of IgE with Eliza. Data analyzed with Chi-Square Test, T test, CI, and OR Tests. Results: Out of 50 Migraine patients 35 (70%) were female and 15 (30%) male, and of 100 control group 70 (70%) female and 30 (30%) male. Most of the patients were in age range of 31-45 years old (34%), and so the control group was selected from the same range. Mean serum IgE level in Migraine patients was 109.55 ± 77.32 IU/ML and in control group 83.38 ± 54.8 IU/ML and in all controls and cases it was 92.1 ± 64.14 IU/ML. The difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). There was no difference in age between the groups. The difference in family history between case and control groups was significant (p<0.05), and the difference in serum IgE level was also significant between case and control groups with and without positive family history (p<0.05). There was no meaningful difference between other variables. Conclusion: Based on the differences of IgE serum level between Migraine headache patients and normal cases there may be a cause and effect relationship which must be further evaluated. This may be helpful in prophylaxis and treatment of Migrain

Designing trauma registry system using a logical framework approach.

While trauma registries provide the mechanisms to collect comprehensive, timely and accurate data related to the injuries and evaluate trauma care systems, they have not been established in most developing countries. On the other hand, in complex projects that have large aims, a logical framework approach (LFA) can help summarize and describe the multiple branches of the project systematically, and elucidate the main goals, extensive objectives, activities and expected outcomes. Therefore a LFA can be used to design and guide trauma registry project management, to integrate the cultural, clinical and capacity variations among countries; and to ensure early alignment of the project's design and evaluation

Effects of 12 weeks of interval versus continuous aerobic exercise on some new risk factors of cardiovascular disease in overweight female students

History and objectives: Inactivity is one of the major factors that lead to many health problems particularly cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of participation in an interval versus continuous aerobic exercise on weight reduction in addition to some selected components of serum blood including CRP and Fibrinogen of female subjects. For this purpose, a total of 45 volunteer subjects were randomly assigned into three groups of interval, continuous and control groups. The subjects in the exercising condition participated in 12 weeks of exercise program while the control groups did not participate in any regular physical activity. One day prior to the start of the exercise protocol, the subjects attended a lab where blood sample was collected. After the termination of the exercise program, similar procedure was used to collect blood sample. The exercise program was performed three times per week. The interval condition included 4 distances of 200 meters interspaced by periods of 1 to 3 minutes of active rest, whereas the continuous group ran the same distance continuously. The exercise intensity was set to 65 to 75 percent of maximum heart rate. The running distance was increased by 200 meter per week. SPSS: PC version 14 was employed to analyze the data by using one-way analysis of variance test. The results of analysis showed that despite the changes in the levels of both CRP and fibrinogen, the differences were not significant. However, there was a significant decrease in body weight of the exercising group compared to the control group. It was concluded that 12 weeks of exercise program regardless of interval or continuous activity is not sufficient to decrease the level of CRP and fibrinogen in young female subjects

Synovial fluid adenosine deaminase and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein activity in differentiating monoarthritis

It is proposed that synovial fluid biomarkers may help in differentiating the type of arthritis. The aim of study is to determine whether synovial fluid adenosine deaminase (ADA) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) can be useful in this regard. A total of 75 patients with knee monoarthritis that were admitted in Shahid Beheshti Kashan hospital in 2009 included in the study. There were 18 rheumatoid arthritis, 13 crystal-induced arthritis, 3 septic arthritis and 41 osteoarthritis. Inflammatory arthritis was diagnosed if more than 2,000 white blood cells existed in per milliliter of the synovial fluid. There was statistically significant difference in mean synovial fluid ADA and hs-CRP concentration between inflammatory (26.06 ± 8.96 IU/l, 12.72 ± 9.25 μg/ml) and non-inflammatory arthritis (14.8 ± 2.79 IU/l, 2.36 ± 2.7 μg/ml) (P values = 0.00, 0.00). There was statistically significant difference in mean synovial fluid ADA and hs-CRP concentration when rheumatoid arthritis (23.77 ± 4.58 IU/l, 10.47 ± 6.99 μg/ml), crystal-induced arthritis (22.76 ± 3.65 IU/l, 14.37 ± 11.58 μg/ml) and septic arthritis (49.66 ± 8.96 IU/l, 18.25 ± 5.37 μg/ml) were compared with osteoarthritis (14.58 ± 2.63 IU/l, 1.91 ± 1.31 μg/ml) (All P values = 0.00). There was statistically significant difference in mean synovial fluid ADA concentration between septic and rheumatoid arthritis and also between septic arthritis and crystal-induced arthritis (P values = 0.00, 0.00). This study showed that synovial fluid ADA and hs-CRP can properly differentiate inflammatory from non-inflammatory arthritis. Synovial fluid ADA is a useful marker in differentiating septic from rheumatoid and crystal-induced arthritis. © 2010 Springer-Verlag