Relationship and Difference of Levels Between Schadenfreude, Social Media Addiction and Social Comparison Among Adults and Adolescents

This study aims to explore the relationship and difference in levels of Social Media Addiction, Social Comparison and Schadenfreude among adults and adolescents. The study followed a quantitative, correlational survey design. The research was conducted with a sample size of 500 participants (Males n= 252 & Females n=248) aged between 13 to 25 years (M= 17.54, SD= 3.32). A purposive convenient sampling technique was used. Findings from statistical analysis revealed that social media addiction and Social Comparison have positive moderate correlation. This study also found that there is no significant difference between adolescents and adults in Social Media Addiction and Social Comparison, but the difference is manifested in Schadenfreude between adolescents and adults. This study highlighted the importance of identity exploration, virtue education, empathy as well as raising awareness regarding behavioral addiction that can reduce the later on negative consequences

An Overview of Genome-Wide Association Study for Genetics Novices: A Review

SNP chip-based genome-wide association studies (GWAS) is an inspiring and fast scanning method for mapping variations within the genome and associating them with specific diseases/trait. This association information has enhanced the chances of improvement in disease diagnosis, understanding the causative variants locations and associated gene hunting strategies. GWAS have laid foundation of an era in which both personalized medicine and pharmacogenomics would be reinforced along with better understanding of functional genomics aspects of modern molecular genetics. Since the advent of first GWAS in 2002, thousands of genome wide association studies have been published which have proven GWAS a successful methodology in identifying significant variants in disease/trait association but application of GWAS outcomes to clinical settings demands more evaluation for validity. Here, we have divided the GWAS approach into various aspects including history, development, analysis strategies, approaches, current scenario and different applications with brief description of major methodologies being used in scientific community to get associated SNP hits and narrowing down the search by functional variant filtration involved in subject disease, traits or physiological condition.Keywords: GWAS, Genetic Association, Linkage Disequilibrium, HapMap, PLIN

The new oral anti-coagulants and the phase 3 clinical trials - a systematic review of the literature

BACKGROUND:Anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists such as warfarin has historically been used for the long term management of patients with thromboembolic disease. However, these agents have a slow onset of action which requires bridging therapy with heparin and its analogues, which are available only in parenteral route. To overcome these limitations, new oral anticoagulants such as factor Xa inhibitors and direct thrombin inhibitors have been developed. The aim of this article is to systematically review the phase 3 clinical trials of new oral anticoagulants in common medical conditions.METHODS:We searched PubMed (Medline) from January 2007 to February 2013 using "Oral anticoagulants", "New oral anticoagulants", "Randomized controlled trial", "Novel anticoagulants", "Apixaban", "Rivaroxaban", "Edoxaban", "Dabigatran etexilate", "Dabigatran" and a combination of the above terms. The available evidence from the phase 3 RCTs was summarized on the basis of individual drug and the medical conditions categorized into "atrial fibrillation", "acute coronary syndrome", "orthopedic surgery", "venous thromboembolism" and "medically ill patients".RESULTS:Apixaban, rivaroxaban and dabigatran have been found to be either non-inferior or superior to enoxaparin in prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism in knee and hip replacement with similar bleeding risk, superior to warfarin for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation with significant reduction in the risk of major bleeding, non-inferior to aspirin for reducing cardiovascular death and stroke in acute coronary syndrome with significant increase in the risk of major bleed. Rivaroxaban and dabigatran are also superior to the conventional agents in the management of symptomatic venous thromboembolism. However, compared to enoxaparin, apixaban and rivaroxaban use lead to significantly increased bleeding risk in medically ill patients. Additional studies evaluating the specific reversal agents of these new drugs for the management of life-threatening bleeding or other adverse effects are necessary.CONCLUSION:Considering their pharmacological properties, their efficacy and bleeding complications, the new oral agents offer a net favourable clinical profile in orthopedic surgery, atrial fibrillation, acute coronary syndrome and increase the risk of bleeding in critically ill patients. Further studies are necessary to determine the long term safety and to identify the specific reversal agents of these new drugs.This item is part of the UA Faculty Publications collection. For more information this item or other items in the UA Campus Repository, contact the University of Arizona Libraries at [email protected]

Screening for metabolic bone diseases utilizing bone health screening panel

Background: Disturbances in mineral metabolism and bone disease are common, which if left unnoticed can lead to mineralization defects, fractures, nephrolithiasis and renal failure. Simultaneous biochemical testing with the several markers for bone health along with clinical history and examination improves the detection of a specific bone disorders and helps the physician in making important decisions. For this purpose a Bone Health Screening Panel was developed and an audit was conducted to determine its utility in identifying disorders of bone metabolism. Methods: An audit was conducted at section of Chemical Pathology, department of Pathology and Microbiology, Aga Khan University Hospital. Analysis was performed for biochemical parameters included in bone health screening panel done from January 2011 till November 2013. The low and high cut offs for all analytes were applied to assess the percentage of hypofunctioning and hyperfunctioning conditions. Results: A total of 524 subjects underwent bone health profile testing over a period of 35 months. Majority was females (61%) and mean age of study subjects was 44.5 ± 17 years. Of them nearly 8% had kidney dysfunction. Most common bone mineral disorder observed in subjects with normal kidney function was Vitamin D deficiency. Overall 31% (n=163) subjects had high parathyroid hormone levels, of them 20 subject had primary hyperparathyroidism and rest had secondary hyperparathyroidism. Hypoparathyroidism was seen in 4.2% (n=22) subjects. In four subjects with hypomagnesemia, only one subject had hypoparathyroidism. Alkaline phosphatase was raised in 14.6% of subjects, of them osteomalacia was seen in only 15 subjects. Disorders of calcium and phosphate were also observed. Conclusions: Bone health panel testing is useful in early diagnosis and management of metabolic bone disorders. Keywords: Vitamin D deficiency (VDD), Primary Hyperparathyroidism, Hypermagnesemia, Hypercalcemi

Disease activity correlates and functionality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis – real-world experience from a South Asian country

Introduction There is a lack of data assessing disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis from Pakistan. We sought to determine the correlation between Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28) and disease activity parameters and the modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (mHAQ). Secondarily, we evaluated the concordance of acute phase reactants with disease activity. Material and methods We prospectively studied 132 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as per the 2010 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism criteria, not in clinical remission. Based on the DAS28 score, the patients were divided into low, moderate, and high activity groups. The patients were also categorized according to the elevation of acute phase reactants to determine concordance and discordance with DAS28–ESR and DAS28–CRP. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation were computed. Results Complete demographics was available for 132 participants. The mean age was 46.2 ±12.8 years; there were 85.6% (n = 113) females. The mean disease duration was 5.7 ±6.4 years. The (Rephrase as mean ±SD) DAS28 and mHAQ scores were 3.4 ±1.8 and 0.77 ±0.68, respectively. A significant correlation was observed between DAS28 and tender and swollen joint count (r = 0.64; p < 0.001); DAS28 and mHAQ (r = 0.47; p-value < 0.001), DAS28 and patient’s global assessment (PGA) (r = 0.45; p-value < 0.001). A weak correlation was observed between mHAQ and CRP and ESR, with r = 0.242 and 0.225, respectively, p-value < 0.001. In comparison, no correlation of DAS28 with the rheumatoid factor (r = –0.035) or ACPA antibody (r = –0.094) was noted. A positive concordance between ESR and CRP was observed in severely active RA. Conclusions From an outpatient setting in a South Asian country, DAS28–ESR emerged as the preferred choice for an accurate assessment of disease severity in RA when combined with the mHAQ. Acute phase reactants increase positively in concordance with severely active RA, although discordant in low to moderately active disease

Development of Statistically Optimized Chemically Cross-Linked Hydrogel for the Sustained-Release Delivery of Favipiravir

Nowadays, the use of statistical approaches, i.e., Box&ndash;Bhenken designs, are becoming very effective for developing and optimizing pharmaceutical drug formulations. In the current work, a Box&ndash;Bhenken design was employed using Design Expert version 11 to develop, evaluate, and optimize a hydrogel-based formulation for sustained release of an antiviral drug, i.e., favipiravir. The hydrogels were prepared using the free radical polymerization technique. &beta;-Cyclodextrin (&beta;-CD), N,N&prime;-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA), acrylic acid (AA), and potassium per sulfate (KPS) were used as oligomer, crosslinker, monomer, and initiator, respectively. Three variables, including &beta;-CD (X1), MBA (X2), and AA (X3) were used at various concentrations for the preparation of hydrogels, followed by evaluation of a sol&ndash;gel fraction, swelling, porosity, chemical compatibilities, in vitro drug release, and entrapment efficiency. The results of the studies revealed that the degree of swelling was pH dependent, the best swelling being at pH 7.2 (1976%). On the other hand, for the low sol fraction of 0.2%, the reasonable porosity made the hydrogel capable of loading 99% favipiravir, despite its hydrophobic nature. The maximum entrapment efficiency (99%) was observed in optimized hydrogel formulation (F15). Similarly, in vitro drug release studies showed that the prepared hydrogels exhibited a good, sustained release effect till the 24th hour. The kinetic modelling of drug release data revealed that the Korsmeyer&ndash;Peppas model was best fit model, describing a diffusion type of drug release from the prepared hydrogels. Conclusively, the outcomes predict that the hydrogel-based system could be a good choice for developing a sustained-release, once-daily dosage form of favipiravir for improved patient compliance

Role of molecular biology in cancer treatment: a review article

Background: Cancer is a genetic disease and mainly arises due to a number of reasons include activation of onco-genes, malfunction of tumor suppressor genes or mutagenesis due to external factors.Methods: This article was written from the data collected from PubMed, Nature, Science Direct, Springer and Elsevier groups of journals.Results: Oncogenes are deregulated form of normal proto-oncogenes required for cell division, differentiation and regulation. The conversion of proto-oncogene to oncogene is caused due to translocation, rearrangement of chromosomes or mutation in gene due to addition, deletion, duplication or viral infection. These oncogenes are targeted by drugs or RNAi system to prevent proliferation of cancerous cells. There have been developed different techniques of molecular biology used to diagnose and treat cancer, including retroviral therapy, silencing of oncogenes and mutations in tumor suppressor genes.Conclusion: Among all the techniques used, RNAi, zinc finger nucleases and CRISPR hold a brighter future towards creating a Cancer Free World