Comparing three data mining algorithms for identifying associated risk factors of Type 2 Diabetes

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) shows increasing prevalence and global health burden, causing a concern among health service providers and health administrators. The current study is aimed at developing and comparing some statistical models that are useful in measuring or establishing such associations. The three particular statistical methods investigated in this study are artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machines (SVM) and multivariate logistic regression (MLR) using demographic, anthropometric and biochemical characteristics on a sample of 9528 individuals from Mashhad city. Methods: The statistical methods involved in this study are also known as machine learning algorithms and require dividing the available data in to training and testing dataset. This study has randomly selected 70% cases (6654 cases) for training and reserved the remaining 30% (2874 cases) for testing. The three methods are compared with help of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: The prevalence rate of T2DM is 14% in our population. The ANN model has 78.7% , accuracy, 63.1% sensitivity and 81.2% specificity. Values of these three parameters are 76.8%, 64.5% and 78.9% respectively for SVM and 77.7%, 60.1% and 80.5%, respectively for MLR. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) is 0.71 for ANN, in SVM model was 0.73 for SVM, and 0.70 for MLR.  Conclusion: The overall conclusion is that ANN performs better than two models and can be used effectively to identify associated risk factors of T2DM. &nbsp

Serum Hsp70 antigen: Early diagnosis marker in perinatal asphyxia

BACKGROUND: Perinatal asphyxia is an important cause of mortality and permanent neurological and developmental deficit. Early and accurate diagnosis would help to establish the likely prognosis and may also help in determining the most appropriate treatment. Studies in experimental animal models suggest that a protein called Hsp70 may be a good and potentially useful marker of cellular stress that may be clinically useful in determining the presence of neonatal asphyxia. OBJECTIVES: Regarding the importance of early and accurate diagnosis of asphyxia, we conducted this study, which is the first investigation of the comparison of the serum Hsp70 antigen level between asphyxiated and healthy infants. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this observational study, the serum concentrations of Hsp70 antigen were compared between neonates suffering from perinatal asphyxia (n = 50) and normal neonates (n = 51). The inclusion criteria for the cases were neonates who had reached term and had at least two clinical criteria of asphyxia. Exclusion criteria were babies with gestational age < 37 weeks, infants with congenital abnormalities or positive blood culture. Exclusion criteria in this group were the requirement to hospital stay during first week of the life or babies whose mothers had difficulties during pregnancy or delivery. Term neonates without major anomalies who had asphyxia during delivery were enrolled in the first six hours after delivery, and control group consisted of healthy term neonates without problems and normal delivery process in the first week of life. The cord blood was taken during labor to measure Hsp70 antigen level by using an in-house ELISA (The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). RESULTS: The median values of serum anti Hsp70 titers were significantly higher in asphyxiated neonates compared with non-asphyxiated neonates (0.36 [0.04 - 1.14] vs 0.24 [0.01 - 0.63]). At cutoff point = 0.3125 ng/mL, sensitivity was 58% and specificity 76% based on ROC curve. CONCLUSIONS: A significant difference between the serum concentrations of Hsp70 of the control and patient group was observed in this study. It is inferred serum concentrations of Hsp70 antigen may be a useful marker for the early diagnosis of that prenatal hypoxia

Applying decision tree for detection of a low risk population for type 2 diabetes: A population based study

Introduction: The aim of current study was to create a prediction model using data mining approach, decision tree technique, to identify low risk individuals for incidence of Type 2 diabetes (T2DM), using the Mashhad Stroke and Heart Atherosclerotic Disorders (MASHAD) Study program. Methods: a prediction model was developed using classification by the decision tree method on 9528 subjects recruited from MASHAD database. Moreover, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was applied. Results: The prevalence rate of T2DM was ~14% in our population. For decision tree model, the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity value for identifying the related factors with T2DM were 78.7%, 47.8% and 83%, respectively. In addition, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) value for recognizing the risk factors associated with T2DM was 0.64. Moreover, we found that subjects with family history of T2DM, age&gt;=48, SBP&gt;=130, DBP&gt;=81, HDL&gt;=29, LDL&gt;=148 and occupation=other have more than 59% chance of this disorder, while the chance of T2DM in subjects without history with TG&gt;=184, age&gt;=48 and hs-CRP&gt;=2.2, have approximately 51% chance. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that decision tree analysis, using routine demographic, clinical, anthropometric and biochemical measurements, which combined with other risk score models, could create a simple strategy to predict individuals at low risk for type 2 diabetes in order to decrease substantially the number of subjects needing for screening and recognition of subject at high risk

Comparison of new Biomarkers in the Diagnosis of Perinatal Asphyxia

&nbsp; Objectives Precise and early diagnosis of neonatal asphyxia may improve its outcomes. New studies aim to identify diagnostic biomarkers in neonates at risk for brain damage. The current study was designed to evaluate the diagnostic value of new biomarkers neonatal asphyxia. Materials &amp; Methods This prospective study was conducted with an available sampling of infants upper 35 weeks of gestational age, including neonates with asphyxia (case group) and healthy controls, 2014-2022, in Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad, Iran. Data collection was performed utilizing a researcher-made questionnaire, including maternal and neonatalcharacteristics, as well as clinical and laboratory evaluation. Serum umbilical cord levels of interleukin-6 (IL6), interleukin-1-beta (IL- 1β), pro-oxidant-antioxidant balance (PAB), and heat shock protein-70 (HSP70), as well as nucleated red blood cells count (NRBC), were determined. Data were analyzed by t-test, Chi-square, receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and regression models. Results Variables interleukin-6(IL6) (P&lt;0.0001), IL1β (P&lt;0.0001), PAB (P&lt;0.0001), NRBC/100WBC (P&lt;0.0001) and HSP70 (P&lt;0.0001) in the two groups, the difference was statistically significant. In the diagnosis of asphyxia, the most sensitive marker (89%) was IL1β more than 2.39 pg/ml and HSP 70 upper than 0.23 ng/ml while IL6 higher than 9pg/ml determined as the most specific marker (85%). For the diagnosis of asphyxia, combination of HSP + PAB and IL6 + lL1b + PAB + NRBC/100WBC possesses the prediction power of 93.2% and 87.3% respectively. Conclusion According to data analysis, the combination of new biochemical markers (NRBC count, IL6, IL1β, PAB, HSP 70) could be a reliable marker for the diagnosis of infants with asphyxia. The composition of the HSP + PAB indicators is more valid predictions 93.2% compared to the other combined indicators for the diagnosis of asphyxiated neonates. PAB values correlate with the severity of asphyxia. &nbsp

Hybrid poly‐l‐lactic acid/poly(ε‐caprolactone) nanofibrous scaffold can improve biochemical and molecular markers of human induced pluripotent stem cell‐derived hepatocyte‐like cells

A suitable alternative strategy for liver transplantation is the use of nanofibrous scaffolds together with stem cells. In this study, a random hybrid of poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) was used as a three-dimensional (3D) culture for hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) differentiation and compared with routine culture (2D). The expression of the endodermal marker, FOXA2, was assessed on day 3 and the hepatic markers; albumin (ALB), alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT), and cytokeratin-18 (CK-18) were evaluated on day 18 by (qPCR). As well as, albumin, alpha-fetoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) uptake were evaluated by immunocytochemistry; moreover Periodic Acid-Schiff and Oil red were done by cell staining. In addition, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and urea production were evaluated by chemiluminescence and colorimetric assays. Light and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) microscope showed changes in the cells in 2D and 3D models. The gene expression of hepatic markers werewas significantly higher in the three-dimensional cultures. In addition, immunocytochemistry and cell staining showed that albumin, alpha-fetoprotein, LDL-uptake, Periodic Acid-Schiff, and Oil red were expressed in both cells derived on 2D and 3D. Furthermore, the evaluation of alpha-fetoprotein and urea secretion was significantly different between 2D and 3D strategies. These findings suggest that functionally cells cultured on a PLLA/PCL scaffold may be suitable for cell therapy and regenerative medicine

Obesity paradox versus frailty syndrome in first-ever ischemic stroke survivors

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Dietary behaviors in relation to prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome in adolescent girls.

BACKGROUNDS AND AIMS There is limited evidence regarding the relationship between dietary behaviors and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This study aimed to explore the association between diet-related practices and prevalence of IBS. METHODS The study was conducted among 988 adolescent girls living in Iran. Dietary behaviors were pre-defined and assessed in nine domains using a pre-tested questionnaire. To investigate the association between diet-related practices and the presence of IBS, we used logistic regression analysis in crude and adjusted models. RESULTS The prevalence of IBS was 16.9% in this population. Compared with individuals who did not consume fluid with their meal, those who always consumed fluid with meals had a greater chance of IBS (OR: 2.91; P: 0.01). We found a direct relationship between a greater intake of spicy food and IBS prevalence (OR: 5.28; P: 0.02). The individuals who ate fried foods every day also had a greater risk of IBS compared with those who did not consume fried foods (OR: 1.65; P: 0.01). The subjects who had lost ≥5 teeth had 2.23 times greater odds for IBS than the individual who had lost ≤1 tooth (OR: 2.23; P: 0.01) was a significant inverse relationship between the chewing sufficiency and the risk of IBS (OR: 4.04; P: 0.02). These associations remained significant after controlling for potential confounder CONCLUSIONS: Intra-meal fluid intake, chewing insufficiency, higher tooth loss and the consumption of spicy and fried food were associated with increased risk of IBS. Prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings

Design, construction and evaluation of 1a/JFH1 HCV chimera by replacing the intergenotypic variable region

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Overweight and obesity are potential risk factors for disrupted nocturnal sleep in Iranian adults: a cross-sectional study

Objectives: Obesity is a risk factor for several chronic conditions, including sleep disorders. We aimed to analyze the relationship between BMI, body fat percentage (FAT%), hip and waist circumference, and weight on the duration of nocturnal sleep. Methods: This study was part of the MASHAD cohort study. In all participants BMI and FAT% were measured. BMI was used to categorize individuals as obese, overweight, and normal subjects. FAT% was used to categorize individuals into tertile: tertile 1 (low) 41. The level of nightly sleep duration was categorized into three groups: 8 h. Results: There was a significant inverse association between body weight and duration of sleep (p < 0.05). Obese and overweight participants had 1.152 OR (CI:1.083–1.225) and 1.126 OR (CI:1.063–1.194) for a short duration of nocturnal sleep, respectively, relative to those with a normal BMI. Conclusion: BMI was an independent determinant of nocturnal sleep duration; obesity and overweight may have negative consequences on sleep duration. Weight control should be considered as a factor in adjusting sleep quality

A novel causative functional mutation in GATA6 gene is responsible for familial dilated cardiomyopathy as supported by in silico functional analysis

Funding Information: This study was supported by grants from the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (Grant Number 980955). The authors thank the management of advanced computational centre, Khayyam Innovation Ecosystem, Mashhad, Iran for providing the facilities and encouragement to carry out this research work.Peer reviewedPublisher PD