Alteration of maternal serum irisin levels in gestational diabetes mellitus

Objectives: The aim of our study was to compare serum irisin concentrations in pregnant women with and without ges­tational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Material and methods: This study was performed at the Tertiary Care Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecol­ogy, between January 2014 and April 2014. A total of 45 pregnant women with GDM (diabetes group) and 41 BMI- and age-matched healthy pregnant women (control group) were recruited. Maternal serum irisin levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit at 24–28 weeks of gestation. An association between maternal serum irisin lev­els and metabolic parameters was analyzed. Body mass index, serum levels of glucose, insulin and irisin were tested and analyzed in the study group and controls. Results: Pregnant women with GDM had significantly higher fasting plasma glucose (p = 0.001), first-hour OGTT glucose (p = 0.001), second-hour OGTT glucose (p = 0.001), and fasting insulin (p = 0.045) levels as compared to controls. Serum irisin levels were 1.04 ± 0.3 and 1.3 ± 0.2 in pregnant women with GDM and healthy pregnant controls, respectively (p = 0.001). Correlation analysis between irisin levels and anthropometric and biochemical parameters in patients with gestational diabetes revealed that none of the investigated parameters correlated with serum irisin level. Conclusions: Our results suggest that serum irisin levels might be introduced as a novel marker for GDM, with decreased levels of irisin being indicative of GDM

A rare congenital anomaly: Pulmonary atresia and abnormal origin of right pulmonary artery

2MAR2041

Evaluating ChatGPT-4’s performance as a digital health advisor for otosclerosis surgery

PurposeThis study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of ChatGPT-4, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, in providing accurate and comprehensible information to patients regarding otosclerosis surgery.MethodsOn October 20, 2023, 15 hypothetical questions were posed to ChatGPT-4 to simulate physician-patient interactions about otosclerosis surgery. Responses were evaluated by three independent ENT specialists using the DISCERN scoring system. The readability was evaluated using multiple indices: Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Gunning Fog Index (Gunning FOG), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG), Coleman-Liau Index (CLI), and Automated Readability Index (ARI).ResultsThe responses from ChatGPT-4 received DISCERN scores ranging from poor to excellent, with an overall score of 50.7 ± 8.2. The readability analysis indicated that the texts were above the 6th-grade level, suggesting they may not be easily comprehensible to the average reader. There was a significant positive correlation between the referees’ scores. Despite providing correct information in over 90% of the cases, the study highlights concerns regarding the potential for incomplete or misleading answers and the high readability level of the responses.ConclusionWhile ChatGPT-4 shows potential in delivering health information accurately, its utility is limited by the level of readability of its responses. The study underscores the need for continuous improvement in AI systems to ensure the delivery of information that is both accurate and accessible to patients with varying levels of health literacy. Healthcare professionals should supervise the use of such technologies to enhance patient education and care

A focusing study on radioprotective and antioxidant effects of Annona muricata leaf extract in the circulation and liver tissue: Clinical and experimental studies

Objectives: This study investigates the effect of Annona muricata (AM) leaf extract against irradiation-induced damage by the evaluation of hepatic tissue and the levels of oxidative and inflammatory stress in the circulation. Methods: An experimental study with 37 female Wistar albino rats randomized into four groups (controls and three intervention groups) was performed. The first interventional group (group 2) received 300 mg/kg of AM leaf extract by oral gavage once a day for 9 days, group 3 received a single dose of whole-body radiation (8.3 Gy) after a 9-day oral gavage treatment with saline, and the last group received the same irradiation of 8.3 Gy after being treated with 300 mg/kg of AM leaf extract by oral gavage once a day for 9 days. Results: Radiation was found to elevate reactive oxygen species parameters, and AM administration before irradiation was found to decrease total oxidant status (TOS), increase caspase 9, and improve hepatic damage when compared with the group that received only irradiation. Conclusion: The damage caused by irradiation may be ameliorated by the use of the AM extract, which appears to be effective in preventing oxidative stress and inflammatory activity. © 2022 Ozlem Elmas et al.Dunarea de Jos” University of GalatiUniversitatea 'Dunărea de Jos' Galați, UDJG, (RF 3621/2021)Funding text 1: Author contributions: O.E., H.H.K.S., H.O.T.: conceptualization and methodologyM.A., W.E., G.A.: validationG.A. and H.M.H.Z.: formal analysisO.E., H.H.K.S., B.G., H.O.T.: writing and reviewO.E., H.H.K.S., B.G., A.E., M.A., W.E.: investigationA.E.: funding acquisition through APC by “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, Romania through the grant no. RF 3621/2021.Funding text 2: Funding information: The work of Antoaneta ENE and the APC were supported by Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Romania through the grant no. RF 3621/2021

Clinical comprehensive and experimental assessment of the radioprotective effect of Annona muricata leaf extract to prevent cellular damage in the ileum tissue

We report the radioprotective attitude of Annona muricata (AM) leaf extract as antioxidant material to prevent cellular damage in the ileum tissue. The protective effects of an ethyl acetate extract of AM leaves are comprehensively investigated against radiation-induced ileal damage in numerous rats. Thirty-two adult female rats were separated into 4 groups (3 intervention groups and 1 control) as follows: controls received 0.01 mL/kg distilled water, the AM group received 300 mg/kg AM leaf extract, the ionizing radiation (IR) group received a single dose of whole body radiation (8.3 Gy) after 0.01 mL/kg saline treatment, and the AM + IR group received 300 mg/kg AM leaf extract treatment and were subjected to whole body radiation (8.3 Gy) 1 h after the last gavage. All treatments are administered by oral gavage once a day for 9 days. At the end of the experiment, biochemical total oxidant status (TOS, interleukin-6, and caspase) and histological examinations are performed on blood samples as well as ileum tissue. TOS levels are found to be significantly high in rats, which received irradiation, and those in the AM group when compared to controls. These findings suggest that AM has radioprotective effects on ileum tissue, likely because of its antioxidative properties. The findings of this research may contribute to the minimizing of major side effects induced by excessive radiation exposure in patients undergoing radiotherapy and may serve as a significant impetus for further assessments. However, future studies are highly recommended to confirm safety and to determine extraction technique and dosage before human use can be considered. © 2022 Ozlem Elmas et al.Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, (RF 3621/2021)Universitatea 'Dunărea de Jos' Galați, UDJGFunding text 1: Funding information: The work of Antoaneta ENE and the APC were supported by Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Romania through the grant no. RF 3621/2021.Funding text 2: Author contributions: O.E., H.H.K.S., and H.O.T.: – conceptualization and methodologyE.K., B.G., G.A., and R.U.E.: validationG.A. and H.M.H.Z.: formal analysisO.E., H.H.K.S., E.K., B.G., and H.O.T.: writing and reviewO.E., H.H.K.S., E.K., B.G., and A.E.: investigationA.E.: funding acquisition through APC by “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, Romania through the grant no. RF 3621/2021

Renal amyloidosis in children

Renal amyloidosis is a detrimental disease caused by the deposition of amyloid fibrils. A child with renal amyloidosis may present with proteinuria or nephrotic syndrome. Chronic renal failure may follow. Amyloid fibrils may deposit in other organs as well. The diagnosis is through the typical appearance on histopathology. Although chronic infections and chronic inflammatory diseases used to be the causes of secondary amyloidosis in children, the most frequent cause is now autoinflammatory diseases. Among this group of diseases, the most frequent one throughout the world is familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). FMF is typically characterized by attacks of clinical inflammation in the form of fever and serositis and high acute-phase reactants. Persisting inflammation in inadequately treated disease is associated with the development of secondary amyloidosis. The main treatment is colchicine. A number of other monogenic autoinflammatory diseases have also been identified. Among them cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS) is outstanding with its clinical features and the predilection to develop secondary amyloidosis in untreated cases. The treatment of secondary amyloidosis mainly depends on the treatment of the disease. However, a number of new treatments for amyloid per se are in the pipeline

Evaluation of Isolated Impact of Trans Fatty Acids on Short Dough Product

In this study, the effects of trans fatty acids (TFAs) on rheological properties of dough (elastic moduli (G'), loss moduli (G''), complex modulus (G*)) and textural properties of dough and cookie (hardness) were studied. Two different groups of fat samples having different TFA composition but similar solid fat content (SFC) were prepared. Samples of the first group (group 1) had TFA between 0.0 and 56.23 %, while the samples of the second group (group 2) contained trans isomers ranging from 0.0 to 44.40 %. Texture measurements of different doughs and cookies prepared with different fat samples were performed. Texture measurements indicated that hardness values of doughs increased from 3950 +/- 420 to 5498 +/- 506 g in group 1 and 4700 +/- 501 to 6787 +/- 369 g in group 2 with increased amounts of TFAs. A particularly high, almost three-fold increase in complex modulus values was observed in the dough samples containing the highest TFA levels compared with samples containing 0.0 % TFA. Although not significantly different, mean hardness and relative sound intensity values of cookies displayed an initial decreasing trend and then both parameters had maximum values when the TFA content was at maximum in both groups