Effect of Boswellia serrata extract on tissue inflammation and white blood cells responses of spinal cord injury in rat model

Introduction: The severe inflammatory responses that occurs after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is with great strength related to the further tissue damage. As such, developmental strategies have been investigated, aimed at restricting inflammation and encouraging regeneration of injured neural tissue. One of those encouraging strategies is administration of traditional medicinal plants. The current study was conducted to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of Boswellia serrata extract on the neuronal tissue inflammation and white blood cells (WBCs) responses in rats with SCI. Methods: Forty adult female rats were randomly assigned into 2 equal groups as experimental and control groups. Under general inhalation anesthesia, in both groups, SCI was created, at T9-10 level of the column. On the third day after the operation, an oral supplement of B. serrata extract was administered to the experimental group at 100 mg/kg/d. The histology of the site of injury and changes in the WBCs were examined in both groups at different pre-surgical and post-surgical times. Results: The total population of WBCs in the current study was significantly less in the experimental group, compared to the control group at third and fourth weeks of the study which could be related to the anti-inflammatory effects of B. serrata extract. Histopathological evaluation of lesion sites confirmed the reduced inflammatory responses in the experimental group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The decrease in the number of inflammatory cells after oral consumption of B. serrata extract and the histopathological results confirm the neuroprotective effects of this extract

Statistical and Deep Learning Models for Reference Evapotranspiration Time Series Forecasting: A Comparison of Accuracy, Complexity, and Data Efficiency

Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is an essential variable in agricultural water resources management and irrigation scheduling. An accurate and reliable forecast of ETo facilitates effective decision-making in agriculture. Although numerous studies assessed various methodologies for ETo forecasting, an in-depth multi-dimensional analysis evaluating different aspects of these methodologies is missing. This study systematically evaluates the complexity, computational cost, data efficiency, and accuracy of ten models that have been used or could potentially be used for ETo forecasting. These models range from well-known statistical forecasting models like seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) to state-of-the-art deep learning (DL) algorithms like temporal fusion transformer (TFT). This study categorizes monthly ETo time series from 107 weather stations across California according to their length to better understand the forecasting models\u27 data efficiency. Moreover, two forecasting strategies (i.e., recursive and multi-input multi-output) are employed for machine learning and DL models, and forecasts are assessed for different multi-step horizons. Our findings show that statistical forecasting models like Holt-Winters\u27 exponential smoothing perform almost as well as complex DL models. Unlike statistical models, DL models generally suffer from low data efficiency and perform well only when enough data is available. Importantly, although the computational costs of most DL models are higher than statistical methods, this is not the case for all. Considering computational cost, data efficiency, and forecasting accuracy, our findings point to the superiority of the neural basis expansion analysis for interpretable time series forecasting (N-BEATS) architecture for univariate ETo time series forecasting. Moreover, our results suggest Holt-Winters and Theta methods outperform SARIMA – the most employed statistical model for ETo forecasting in the literature – in accuracy and efficiency

Early feeding and growth pattern in infants:Using a three-variate longitudinal model derived from Gaussian copula function

Background: The Gaussian copula model was used to generate joint distributions for continuous longitudinal variables on infant types of feeding and longitudinal measures of height, weight and head circumference  Methods: The study was performed longitudinally in rural areas of southern part of Iran, on children from birth to 9 months of age. Out of 319 infants with serial anthropometric measurements from birth, and 2, 4, 6, 7 and 9 months old, 120 were included. Infants were divided into three groups (breast fed, formula fed and both milk types). A three-variate longitudinal model including Copula function was used to estimate the effect of feeding on growth pattern. All the analyses were performed using SAS version 9.4 (Proc NLmix).  Results: Ninety infants (75%) were breastfed, sixteen (13.3%) were formula fed and fourteen (11.7%) had combined feeding. Copula model showed that, breast fed children had a better weight gain (β=0.627 95% CI 0.217-1.038 P = 0.003), height (β=2.603 95% CI 1.023-4.183 P = 0.001) and head circumference (β=0.8 95% CI 0.069- 1.531 P = 0.0) as compared to formula fed children. R2 for Copula model was (wt=0.52, ht=0.96, hc=0.84).  Conclusions: Implication of Copula model was easy to perform. Estimation of the parameters in copula model indicated that, breast milk consumption had a positive effect on the growth of infants

Seizure following removal of Swan Ganz Catheter

Venous air embolism (VAE) is an infrequent incident with fatal consequences during insertion or removal of central venous catheters. It is befalling when air or gas arrives at the vascular system. In this case report, we present a case of a 38-year-old female patient with an air embolism after removal of the Swan Ganz catheter that caused the seizure and cardiac arrest. There is an overview of the causes and ways to prevent VAE in the patien

Early feeding and growth pattern in infants: Using a three-variate longitudinal model derived from Gaussian copula function

Background: The Gaussian copula model was used to generate joint distributions for continuous longitudinal variables on infant types of feeding and longitudinal measures of height, weight and head circumference&nbsp; Methods: The study was performed longitudinally in rural areas of southern part of Iran, on children from birth to 9 months of age. Out of 319 infants with serial anthropometric measurements from birth, and 2, 4, 6, 7 and 9 months old, 120 were included. Infants were divided into three groups (breast fed, formula fed and both milk types). A three-variate longitudinal model including Copula function was used to estimate the effect of feeding on growth pattern. All the analyses were performed using SAS version 9.4 (Proc NLmix).&nbsp; Results: Ninety infants (75%) were breastfed, sixteen (13.3%) were formula fed and fourteen (11.7%) had combined feeding. Copula model showed that, breast fed children had a better weight gain (β=0.627 95% CI 0.217-1.038 P = 0.003), height (β=2.603 95% CI 1.023-4.183 P = 0.001) and head circumference (β=0.8 95% CI 0.069- 1.531 P = 0.0) as compared to formula fed children. R2 for Copula model was (wt=0.52, ht=0.96, hc=0.84).&nbsp; Conclusions: Implication of Copula model was easy to perform. Estimation of the parameters in copula model indicated that, breast milk consumption had a positive effect on the growth of infants.&nbsp

Readiness of Teaching Hospitals to Attract Medical Tourists Based On Organization-Oriented Standards of Joint Commission International (JCI): a case study

Background & Objectives: The ability to attract tourists in international health markets depends on the quality standards. The aim of this study was to determine the state of educational hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences based on organization-oriented standards of joint commission international. Methods: This Descriptive study was performed in four selected teaching hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran. Data collection was carried out using the questionnaires of the organization-oriented standards of joint commission international including 76 questions in 6 areas of improving quality and patient safety, infection prevention and control, leadership and guidance, safety and facility management, training and staff competence and information and communication management. Descriptive statistics were used as mean and percentage. Data were entered into SPSS20 software. Results: The compliance rate of organization-oriented standards in the hospitals was 81.2% that indicated the relative readiness with regard to the standards of joint commission international in attracting medical tourists. The highest compliance rate of standards was related to safety and facility management (84.4%) and the lowest compliance rate was related to quality improvement and patient safety (75.2 %). Conclusion: Hospitals should pay more attention to the quality improvement and patient safety in order to meet international standards and obtain an international accreditation certificate, and they are supposed to improve standards in this area through corrective actions. Key¬words: Medical Tourism, Joint Commission International, Quality Assurance, Organization-Oriented Standards, Teaching Hospital Citation: Zarei E, Ahmadi Kashkoli S, Khezeli MJ, Fazli Ouchhesar F, Azizi A, Shamsadini Lori A. Readiness of Teaching Hospitals to Attract Medical Tourists Based On Organization-Oriented Standards of Joint Commission International (JCI): a case study. Journal of Health Based Research 2017; 3(3): 253-265

Einschätzung der Folgen der demografischen Entwicklung

Entwicklungen, die sich langsam und kontinuierlich vollziehen, liegen oft im Windschatten der öffentlichen Aufmerksamkeit – selbst, wenn sie von großer Tragweite sind. Das gilt ausgeprägt für den demografischen Wandel, der das Land zunehmend verändert und insbesondere die sozialen Sicherungssysteme vor große Herausforderungen stellt. Nur eine kleine Minderheit der Bürger setzt sich jedoch intensiv mit diesem Thema auseinander. 15 Prozent beschäftigt dieses Thema sehr, 53 Prozent nur begrenzt und die übrigen kaum oder gar nicht