Salivary PCR detection of Helicobacter pylori DNA in Egyptian patients with dyspepsia

Several methods are available for detecting Helicobacter pylori infection: (1) invasive methods based on gastric biopsies, (2) non invasive methods like Urea Breath Test (UBT), serology and stool antigen tests. Importance of salivary PCR in detection of H. pylori is still questionable. To evaluate the role of salivary PCR technique in detecting H. pylori gastric affection in Egyptian patients with dyspepsia and in differentiating between functional dyspepsia and acid-ulcer syndrome. This study included 60 patients with dyspepsia classified into three groups: (Group 1) patients with gastric H. pylori and ulcers or erosions (n= 20), (Group 2) patients with gastric H. pylori and no ulcers or erosions and had functional dyspepsia (n= 20), (Group 3) patients without H. pylori and had functional dyspepsia (n= 20). All underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with biopsies, rapid urease test and salivary samples for H. pylori PCR. Significant difference between the three groups regarding salivary PCR values. No significant difference between Group 1 and Group 2 but both had significant difference with Group 3, significant difference between gastric H. pylori positive patients (n= 40) and negative ones (n= 20). Salivary PCR test had sensitivity of 85%, specificity of 70% in diagnosing H. pylori. PCR value of 534000 Iu/ml had best sensitivity (75%) and specificity (100%) for diagnosing H. pylori, highly significant positive correlation between H. pylori gastric affection and salivary PCR values. No significant difference between patients with acid ulcer syndrome (n=20) and those with functional dyspepsia (n= 40) as regard salivary PCR mean values. Salivary PCR test showed sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 50% in differentiating between patients with acid ulcer syndrome and those with functional dyspepsia. PCR value of 440000 Iu/ml had best sensitivity (100%) and specificity (55%) in differentiating acid ulcer syndrome from functional dyspepsia with non significant. H. pylori salivary PCR may be of value in diagnosing H. pylori gastric affection and is strongly correlated with it but it is of limited value in differentiating between acid ulcer syndrome and functional dyspepsia.Keywords: Salivary PCR; Helicobacter pylori; Functional dyspepsia; Acid ulcer syndrom

Several non-linear models in estimating air-overpressure resulting from mine blasting

This research presents several non-linear models including empirical, artificial neural network (ANN), fuzzy system and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) to estimate air-overpressure (AOp) resulting from mine blasting. For this purpose, Miduk copper mine, Iran was investigated and results of 77 blasting works were recorded to be utilized for AOp prediction. In the modeling procedure of this study, results of distance from the blast-face and maximum charge per delay were considered as predictors. After constructing the non-linear models, several performance prediction indices, i.e. root mean squared error (RMSE), variance account for (VAF), and coefficient of determination (R2) and total ranking method are examined to choose the best predictive models and evaluation of the obtained results. It is obtained that the ANFIS model is superior to other utilized techniques in terms of R2, RMSE, VAF and ranking herein. As an example, RMSE values of 5.628, 3.937, 3.619 and 2.329 were obtained for testing datasets of empirical, ANN, fuzzy and ANFIS models, respectively, which indicate higher performance capacity of the ANFIS technique to estimate AOp compared to other implemented methods

A new model based on gene expression programming to estimate air flow in a single rock joint

This paper is aimed to introduce and validate a gene expression programming (GEP) model to estimate the rate of air flow in triaxial conditions at various confining pressures incorporating cell pressure, air inlet pressure and air outlet pressure. To achieve the aim of this study, a series of laboratory experiments were designed and carried out and then a database comprising 47 datasets was prepared to develop new predictive models. A gene expression programming (GEP) model for prediction of air flow was proposed using the prepared datasets. In this regard, a series of sensitivity analyses were performed to choose the best GEP model. For comparison purposes, multiple regression (MR) analysis was also employed for air flow estimation. Several performance indices, i.e., coefficient of determination (CoD), mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE) and variance account for (VAF) were considered and calculated to evaluate the performance prediction of the developed models. Considering both training and testing datasets, the developed GEP model can provide higher performance prediction of rate of air flow in comparison to the MR model

Telemedicine retinopathy of prematurity severity score (TeleROP-SS) versus modified activity score (mROP-ActS) retrospective comparison in SUNDROP cohort

Abstract Identifying and planning treatment for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) using telemedicine is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, necessitating a grading system to help caretakers of at-risk infants gauge disease severity. The modified ROP Activity Scale (mROP-ActS) factors zone, stage, and plus disease into its scoring system, addressing the need for assessing ROP’s totality of binocular burden via indirect ophthalmoscopy. However, there is an unmet need for an alternative score which could facilitate ROP identification and gauge disease improvement or deterioration specifically on photographic telemedicine exams. Here, we propose such a system (Telemedicine ROP Severity Score [TeleROP-SS]), which we have compared against the mROP-ActS. In our statistical analysis of 1568 exams, we saw that TeleROP-SS was able to return a score in all instances based on the gradings available from the retrospective SUNDROP cohort, while mROP-ActS obtained a score of 80.8% in right eyes and 81.1% in left eyes. For treatment-warranted ROP (TW-ROP), TeleROP-SS obtained a score of 100% and 95% in the right and left eyes respectively, while mROP-ActS obtained a score of 70% and 63% respectively. The TeleROP-SS score can identify disease improvement or deterioration on telemedicine exams, distinguish timepoints at which treatments can be given, and it has the adaptability to be modified as needed