Kinetics of peroxidases in guinea pig bone marrow under immunostimulation

AbstractEosinophil peroxidase and myeloperoxidase play an important role in the host defense. Both enzymes are present in bone marrow, synthesized by blood progenitor cells. This research investigated the kinetic properties of peroxidases under immunostimulation in guinea pig bone marrow. Results suggest that there are at least two myeloperoxidase isozymes and at least three eosinophil peroxidase isozymes in guinea pig bone marrow and that some of these isozymes are expressed upon immunostimulation

Streaming algorithms for line simplification under the Fréchet distance

We study the following variant of the well-known linesimplification problem: we are getting a possibly infinite sequence of points p0, p1, p2, . . . defining a polygonal path, and as we receive the points we wish to maintain a simplification of the path seen so far. We study this problem in a streaming setting, where we only have a limited amount of storage so that we cannot store all the points. We analyze the competitive ratio of our algorithm, allowing resource augmentation: we let our algorithm maintain a simplification with 2k (internal) points, and compare the error of our simplification to the error of the optimal simplification with k points

Impairment of perceptual closure in autism for vertex- but not edge-defined object images

One of the characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is atypical sensory processing and perceptual integration. Here, we used an object naming task to test the significance of deletion of vertices versus extended contours (edges) in naming fragmented line drawings of natural objects in typically developing and ASD children. The basic components of a fragmented image in perceptual closure need to be integrated to make a coherent visual perception. When vertices were missing and only edges were visible, typically developing and ASD subjects performed similarly. But typically developing children performed significantly better than ASD children when only vertex information was visible. These results indicate impairment of binding vertices but not edges to form a holistic representation of an object in children with ASD

Survey of behavioral problems and sensory processing in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Objectives: All individuals need to have the ability of appropriate sensory processing for proper functioning in the environment and participation in daily activities. Moreover, behavioral functions can be affected by sensory processing problems. This study aimed to determine the relationship between behavioral problems and sensory processing in 7 to 10 years old children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Methods: This descriptive (cross-sectional) study included 60 children with ADHD aged 7 to 10 years, who were referred to a comprehensive psychiatric center. Short Sensory Profile (SSP) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) questionnaires were used for assessing the patterns of sensory processing and behavioral problems in the patients. Results: There was a negative correlation between internalizing behavioral problems (r=-0.426) and externalizing behavioral problems (r=-0.465), and the total score of sensory processing in ADHD children (P<0.05). Discussion: The findings of this study showed that some behaviors in children with ADHD could be due to certain defects in their sensory processing

Evaluation of service quality from patients' viewpoint

Background: Measuring patients' perception from health service quality as an important element in the assessment of service quality has attracted much attention in recent years. Therefore, this study was conducted to find out how the patients evaluated service quality of clinics at teaching hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Tehran in 2017 and 400 patients were randomly selected from four hospitals. Data were collected using a questionnaire, the validity and reliability of which were confirmed in previous study. In order to analyze the data, T-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient were calculated using SPSS 23. Results: The results indicated that among eight dimensions of health service quality, the patients were more satisfied with physician consultation, services costs and admission process. The highest and lowest mean scores were related to physician consultation (Mean = 4.17), and waiting time (Mean = 2.64), in that order. The total mean score of service quality was 3.73 (± 0.51) out of 5. Outpatient services were assessed as good, moderate and weak by 57.5, 40 and 2.5 of the patients, respectively. There was a significant relationship between the positive perception of service quality and reason for admission, source of recommendation, gender, education level, health status, and waiting time in the clinics (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The majority of the patients had a positive experience with visiting clinics and perceived service provision as good. In fact, patients' perceptions of physician consultation, provision of information to patients and the environment of delivering services, are the most important determinants of service quality in clinics. © 2019 The Author(s)

Studies on combination of oxaliplatin and dendrosomal nanocurcumin on proliferation, apoptosis induction, and long non-coding RNA expression in ovarian cancer cells

Drug resistance remains a major challenge in the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer. Therefore, the development of new anticancer drugs is a clinical priority to develop more effective therapies. New approaches to improve clinical outcomes and limit the toxicity of anticancer drugs focus on chemoprevention. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of dendrosomal nanocurcumin (DNC) and oxaliplatin (Oxa) and their combination on cell death and apoptosis induction in human ovarian carcinoma cell lines analyzed by MTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The synergism effect of Oxa and DNC was analyzed using the equation derived from Chou and Talalay. In addition, real-time PCR was used to measure the effect of this combination on the expression levels of long non-coding RNAs with different expression in ovarian cancer and normal ovaries. Our data showed that the effect of DNC on cell death is more than curcumin alone in the same concentration. The greatest cell death effect was observed in combination of Oxa with DNC, while Oxa was added first, followed by DNC at 4 h interval (0/4 h). The findings indicated that DNC induced apoptosis significantly in both cell lines as compared to control groups; however, combination of both agents had no significant effect in apoptosis induction. In addition, combination of both agents significantly affects the relative expression of long non-coding RNAs investigated in the study as compared with mono therapy. © 2018, Springer Nature B.V

Preliminary data on COVID-19 in patients with hemoglobinopathies : A multicentre ICET-A study

Objectives: This study aims to investigate, retrospectively, the epidemiological and clinical characteristics, laboratory results, radiologic findings, and outcomes of COVID-19 in patients with transfusion-dependent β thalassemia major (TM), β-thalassemia intermedia (TI) and sickle cell disease (SCD). Design: A total of 17 Centers, from 10 countries, following 9,499 patients with hemoglobinopathies, participated in the survey. Main outcome data: Clinical, laboratory, and radiologic findings and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 were collected from medical records and summarized. Results: A total of 13 patients, 7 with TM, 3 with TI, and 3 with SCD, with confirmed COVID-19, were identified in 6 Centers from different countries. The overall mean age of patients was 33.7±12.3 years (range:13-66); 9/13 (69.2%) patients were females. Six patients had pneumonia, and 4 needed oxygen therapy. Increased C-reactive protein (6/10), high serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH; 6/10), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR; 6/10) were the most common laboratory findings. 6/10 patients had an exacerbation of anemia (2 with SCD). In the majority of patients, the course of COVID-19 was moderate (6/10) and severe in 3/10 patients. A 30-year-old female with TM, developed a critical SARS-CoV-2 infection, followed by death in an Intensive Care Unit. In one Center (Oman), the majority of suspected cases were observed in patients with SCD between the age of 21 and 40 years. A rapid clinical improvement of tachypnea/dyspnea and oxygen saturation was observed, after red blood cell exchange transfusion, in a young girl with SCD and worsening of anemia (Hb level from 9.2 g/dl to 6.1g/dl). Conclusions: The data presented in this survey permit an early assessment of the clinical characteristics of COVID 19 in different countries. 70% of symptomatic patients with COVID-19 required hospitalization. The presence of associated co-morbidities can aggravate the severity of COVID- 19, leading to a poorer prognosis irrespective of age

ENIGMA and global neuroscience: A decade of large-scale studies of the brain in health and disease across more than 40 countries

This review summarizes the last decade of work by the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) Consortium, a global alliance of over 1400 scientists across 43 countries, studying the human brain in health and disease. Building on large-scale genetic studies that discovered the first robustly replicated genetic loci associated with brain metrics, ENIGMA has diversified into over 50 working groups (WGs), pooling worldwide data and expertise to answer fundamental questions in neuroscience, psychiatry, neurology, and genetics. Most ENIGMA WGs focus on specific psychiatric and neurological conditions, other WGs study normal variation due to sex and gender differences, or development and aging; still other WGs develop methodological pipelines and tools to facilitate harmonized analyses of "big data" (i.e., genetic and epigenetic data, multimodal MRI, and electroencephalography data). These international efforts have yielded the largest neuroimaging studies to date in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. More recent ENIGMA WGs have formed to study anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts and behavior, sleep and insomnia, eating disorders, irritability, brain injury, antisocial personality and conduct disorder, and dissociative identity disorder. Here, we summarize the first decade of ENIGMA's activities and ongoing projects, and describe the successes and challenges encountered along the way. We highlight the advantages of collaborative large-scale coordinated data analyses for testing reproducibility and robustness of findings, offering the opportunity to identify brain systems involved in clinical syndromes across diverse samples and associated genetic, environmental, demographic, cognitive, and psychosocial factors

Streaming algorithms for line simplification

We study the following variant of the well-known line-simplification problem: we are getting a (possibly infinite) sequence of points p 0,p 1,p 2,… in the plane defining a polygonal path, and as we receive the points, we wish to maintain a simplification of the path seen so far. We study this problem in a streaming setting, where we only have a limited amount of storage, so that we cannot store all the points. We analyze the competitive ratio of our algorithms, allowing resource augmentation: we let our algorithm maintain a simplification with 2k (internal) points and compare the error of our simplification to the error of the optimal simplification with k points. We obtain the algorithms with O(1) competitive ratio for three cases: convex paths, where the error is measured using the Hausdorff distance (or Fréchet distance), xy-monotone paths, where the error is measured using the Hausdorff distance (or Fréchet distance), and general paths, where the error is measured using the Fréchet distance. In the first case the algorithm needs O(k) additional storage, and in the latter two cases the algorithm needs O(k 2) additional storage. Keywords: Line simplification - Streaming algorithms

A study on the factor structure, construct validity and reliability of the activities of daily living of iranian children (Adlic) scale

Background: The first and most basic area of occupational performance is the activities of daily living. These activities of life highly depend on the contextual and ecological (environmental) factors. Cultural values, parental expectations, social routines, and physical environment influence acquisition time of a child�s daily activities. At present, there is no comprehensive and adapted-culturally tool to evaluate the daily life activities of Iranian children aged 3-6 years. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the factor structure, construct validity, and reliability of the Activities of Daily Living in Iranian Children (ADLIC) scale. Methods: The participants were 470 Iranian parents of children among the ages from 3 to 6. Exploratory factor analysis, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were conducted for data analysis. Convergent validity was measured by correlation to the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI). Results: The results indicated that ADLIC has excellent reliability due to internal consistency (Cronbach�s alpha 0.96). Furthermore, the temporal stability of ADLIC was supported using the Intra-class correlations coefficient, which ranged between 0.95 and 0.98. Convergent validity between the ADLIC and two subscales of PEDI, including self-care (0.88) and mobility (0.80), was good. The ADLIC scale showed a clear factor structure with five main components and ten factors based on the findings. Conclusions: ADLIC has excellent psychometric properties, including internal consistency and temporal stability, and can be used as a reliable and valid measure to assess the daily living activities of children aged 3-6 years. © 2021, Middle East Journal of Rehabilitation and Health Studies