Feature selection and prediction of heart disease using machine learning approaches

Heart Disease (HD) is the world's most serious illness that seriously impacts human life. The heart does not push blood to other areas of the body in cardiac disease. For the prevention and treatment of cardiac failure, accurate and timely diagnosis of heart disease is critical. The diagnosis of cardiac disease has been considered via conventional medical history. Non-invasive approaches like machine learning are effective and powerful to categorize healthy people and people with heart disease. In the proposed research, by using the cardiovascular disease dataset, we created a machine-learning model to predict cardiac disease. In this paper, it is capable of recognizing and classifying the heart disease patient from healthy people by using three standard machine learning algorithms: Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN). In addition, the Area Under Curve (AUC) value is calculated for each classification algorithms. In the proposed scheme, we also used the feature selection algorithm to reduce dimensions over a qualified heart disease dataset. After that, the whole structure for the classification of heart disease has been created. On complete features and reduced features, the performance of the proposed approach has been verified. The decrease in features affects the accuracy and time of execution of the classifiers. With the selected features, the highest classification accuracy is obtained for the KNN algorithm is about 93%, with a sensitivity is 0.9750 and specificity is 0.8529. Therefore, with the complete features, the classification accuracy is about 91%

Age- and sex-associated changes in prosaposin and its receptors in the lacrimal glands of rats.

Prosaposin, a saposin precursor, is a potent neurotrophic factor found in several tissues and various biological fluids. Saposin-deficient patients have different ophthalmic disorders, indicating a relationship between ocular health and prosaposin. However, there is little information about prosaposin on the ocular surface. Because ocular functions are diverse and depend on age and sex, we examined whether prosaposin and its receptors, G protein-coupled receptor 37 (GPR37) and GPR37L1, are expressed in the major ocular glands, the extra orbital lacrimal gland (ELG), and harderian gland (HG) of rats and whether sex and aging affect their expression. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed that prosaposin and its receptors were expressed in the ELGs and HGs of rats, although their expression varied based on the type of gland, age, and sex. Prosaposin, GPR37, and GPR37L1 were expressed in the basolateral membranes and cytoplasm of acinar cells of the ELGs, and their immunoreactivities were higher in female rats of menopausal age than age-matched male rats. However, such age- and sex-related differences in the immunoreactivities of prosaposin, GPR37, and GPR37L1 were not observed in the HGs. Triple immunofluorescence labelling revealed that prosaposin, GPR37, and GPR37L1 were co-localised in the acinar and ductal cells in the ELGs, although the degrees of colocalization varied according to the age and sex of the rats. Together, the present results showed that prosaposin and its receptors were expressed in the major ocular glands of rats, and their immunoreactivities to the ELGs differed considerably with age and sex

Bangladesh Liver Journal Review Article Chronic microbial infections: Manipulation of host immunity as interventional approach

Chronic viral infections represent major challenges in contemporary medicine, virology and pharmacology. The virus-bearing hosts are commonly found in every parts of the world and it is extremely difficult to manage these patients. In addition, considerable numbers of these patients develop progressive diseases and severe complications. Finally, most of these patients act as permanent reservoirs of virus. Understandings of viral life cycle during the last decade of 20th century and the first decade of 21st century have allowed development of hundreds of antiviral agents for different diseases. But, the clinical efficacy of these drugs is not yet satisfactory. In addition, virologists have provided conclusive evidences suggesting that eradication of most chronic virus from infected hosts may an unachievabl

Consumers' Preferences for Safe and Organic Food during and Post-COVID-19

Since January 2020, we have been experiencing a pandemic of a new strain of coronavirus, SARS-coronavirus-2 or COVID-19. There have already been 10 million confirmed cases with more than 0.5 million deaths, which have shuttered most types of businesses worldwide. As of June 2020, researchers had not yet developed an effective vaccine against COVID-19, and despite global efforts, an antiviral drug to treat infected patients had not been approved. These realities mean that there is a pressing need to explore all relevant factors relating to healthier lifestyles during the pandemic and for the post-COVID-19 era. The World Health Organization advises that maintaining a healthy diet is critical in preventing, fighting, and recovering from infections and supporting a strong immune system (https://www.who.int/campaigns/connecting-the-world-tocombat-coronavirus/healthyathome/healthyathome---healthy-diet). There has thus been increased focus on boosting host immunity, the only factor that has shown potential for containing and controlling the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic (Martinez MA. 2020. doi: 10.1128/AAC.00399-20). Previous studies highlighted that safe food and consumption of food under restricted stress conditions can positively modulate the immune system, allowing innate immunity to prevent SARSCoV-2 from passing from the upper to the lower respiratory tract and thus lowering the incidence of pneumonia (https:// www.healthline.com/health/coronavirus-pneumonia). Taken together, the evidence shows that the consumption of safe food may raise immunity and downregulate stress, which in combination may contain the spread of COVID-19 and block the development of infection-related complications. Maintaining a healthy diet is gaining more attention, and several surveys by e-marketing food companies, mostly in developed countries, released in the COVID-19 era have revealed consumers’ increasing interest in safe as well as organic food for boosting immunity. The changing food habits of consumers can be accelerated and continued by adopting practical measures at policy levels so that the simple message of the “new normal life” can be spread. While COVID-19 has had disastrous health and socioeconomic consequences, the pandemic has had a positive impact on the number of consumers and policymakers considering the need for providing more nutritious, safer food from “farm to fork.” Consumers may now be willing to pay more for safer food to build up immunity, depending on their incomes, job security, and likelihood of a long-term recession. However, challenges remain in delivering safe, high-quality products to consumers, particularly in resource-constrained economies where trust and transparency are issues. The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened the need to strengthen awareness of food safety and hygiene, although its implementation remains an ongoing global challenge. Studies show that practicing food safety hygiene is more important than ever, especially in relation to host immunity. If this can be properly addressed, it would help to fight other emerging novel pathogens in the future and be a potential value-adding activity for agribusiness enterprises

Peripheral Injection of Chicken Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone Inhibits Feeding Behavior in Chicks

Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), a stimulator of growth hormone (GH) secretion, is known to have several physiological roles such as the regulation of feeding behavior in mammals. Recently, we have reported that central injection of chicken GHRH decreased food intake in chicks, however, its peripheral role on feeding behavior has not been clarified. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of peripheral injection of GHRH on feeding behavior in chicks (Gallus gallus). Intraperitoneal (IP) injection of GHRH47 (1 nmol), full length form of chicken GHRH significantly decreased food intake in chicks although the injection of GHRH27 and GHRH27-NH2, short forms of chicken GHRH had no effect. The IP injection of GHRH47 did not induced any abnormal behavior, suggesting that GHRH47-induced anorexia might not be related to abnormal behavior such as sleeping, hyperactivity and convulsion. The anorexigenic effect of GHRH47 seemed not to be related to GH because IP injection of bovine GH did not affect feeding behavior in chicks. Collectively, these results suggest that peripheral GHRH is related to inhibit feeding behavior in chicks

Early neonatal loss of inhibitory synaptic input to the spinal motor neurons confers spina bifida-like leg dysfunction in a chicken model

Spina bifida aperta (SBA), one of the most common congenital malformations, causes lifelong neurological complications, particularly in terms of motor dysfunction. Fetuses with SBA exhibit voluntary leg movements in utero and during early neonatal life, but these disappear within the first few weeks after birth. However, the pathophysiological sequence underlying such motor dysfunction remains unclear. Additionally, because important insights have yet to be obtained from human cases, an appropriate animal model is essential. Here, we investigated the neuropathological mechanisms of progression of SBA-like motor dysfunctions in a neural tube surgery-induced chicken model of SBA at different pathogenesis points ranging from embryonic to posthatch ages. We found that chicks with SBA-like features lose voluntary leg movements and subsequently exhibit lower-limb paralysis within the first 2 weeks after hatching, coinciding with the synaptic change-induced disruption of spinal motor networks at the site of the SBA lesion in the lumbosacral region. Such synaptic changes reduced the ratio of inhibitory-to-excitatory inputs to motor neurons and were associated with a drastic loss of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic inputs and upregulation of the cholinergic activities of motor neurons. Furthermore, most of the neurons in ventral horns, which appeared to be suffering from excitotoxicity during the early postnatal days, underwent apoptosis. However, the triggers of cellular abnormalization and neurodegenerative signaling were evident in the middle- to late-gestational stages, probably attributable to the amniotic fluid-induced in ovo milieu. In conclusion, we found that early neonatal loss of neurons in the ventral horn of exposed spinal cord affords novel insights into the pathophysiology of SBA-like leg dysfunction

Prosaposin and its receptors GRP37 and GPR37L1 show increased immunoreactivity in the facial nucleus following facial nerve transection.

Neurotrophic factor prosaposin (PS) is a precursor for saposins A, B, C, and D, which are activators for specific sphingolipid hydrolases in lysosomes. Both saposins and PS are widely contained in various tissues. The brain, skeletal muscle, and heart cells predominantly contain unprocessed PS rather than saposins. PS and PS-derived peptides stimulate neuritogenesis and increase choline acetyltransferase activity in neuroblastoma cells and prevent programmed cell death in neurons. We previously detected increases in PS immunoactivity and its mRNA in the rat facial nucleus following facial nerve transection. PS mRNA expression increased not only in facial motoneurons, but also in microglia during facial nerve regeneration. In the present study, we examined the changes in immunoreactivity of the PS receptors GPR37 and GPR37L1 in the rat facial nucleus following facial nerve transection. Following facial nerve transection, many small Iba1- and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive cells with strong GPR37L1 immunoreactivity, including microglia and astrocytes, were observed predominately on the operated side. These results indicate that GPR37 mainly works in neurons, whereas GPR37L1 is predominant in microglia or astrocytes, and suggest that increased PS in damaged neurons stimulates microglia or astrocytes via PS receptor GPR37L1 to produce neurotrophic factors for neuronal recovery

Expression of prosaposin and its receptors in the rat cerebellum after kainic acid injection

Prosaposin (PSAP), a highly conserved glycoprotein, is a precursor of saposins A–D. Accumulating evidence suggests that PSAP is a neurotrophic factor that induces differentiation and prevents death in a variety of neuronal cells through the active region within the saposin C domain both in vivo and in vitro. Recently, GPR37 and GPR37L1 were recognized as PSAP receptors. In this study, we examined the alteration in expression of PSAP and its receptors in the cerebellum using rats injected with kainic acid (KA). The results show that PSAP was strongly expressed in the cytoplasm of Purkinje cells and interneurons in the molecular layer, and that PSAP expression in both types of neurons was markedly enhanced following KA treatment. Immunoblotting revealed that the expression of GPR37 was diminished significantly three days after KA injection compared with control rats; however, no changes were observed through immunostaining. No discernable changes were found in GPR37L1. These findings may help us to understand the role of PSAP and the GPR37 and GPR37L1 receptors in alleviating the neural damage caused by KA

Intracerebroventricular Administration of Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide-6 (GHRP-6) Inhibits Food Intake, but not Food Retention of Crop and Stomach in Neonatal Chicks

Growth hormone secretagogues (GHS), including ghrelin, are known to stimulate feeding behavior in mammals. In contrast, intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of rat or chicken ghrelin, strongly inhibits food intake in chicks. The difference prompted us to compare the effect of growth hormone releasing peptide-6 (GHRP-6), one of synthetic GHSs on feeding behavior of chicks with that of ghrelin. Gastric motility stimulating action of GHRP-6 was also examined in vivo measuring retention of food in digestive tracts. ICV injection of GHRP-6 (0.38nmol-1.5nmol) dose-dependently inhibited food intake of neonatal chicks under both ad libitum and fasting conditions. The anorexic effect of GHRP-6 was attenuated by D-Lys3-GHRP-6 (GHS receptor antagonist) in a dose dependent manner. Central injection of GHS agonist and/or antagonist did not affect food retention in crop, proventriculus and gizzard. These results suggest that central injection of synthetic GHS, GHRP-6 inhibits feeding behavior as dose ghrelin without affecting gastrointestinal motility in layer chicks