The Association between Presence of Comorbidities and COVID-19 Severity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Aim: Several studies reported the accompaniment of severe COVID-19 with comorbidities. However, there is not a systematic evaluation of all aspects of this association. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to assess the association between all underlying comorbidities in COVID-19 infection severity. Methods: Electronic literature search was performed via scientific search engines. After the removal of duplicates and selection of articles of interest, 28 studies were included. A fixed-effects model was used; however, if heterogeneity was high (I2 > 50) a random-effects model was applied to combine the data. Results: A total of 6,270 individuals were assessed (1,615 severe and 4,655 non-severe patients). The median age was 63 (95 confidence interval CI: 49-74) and 47 (95% CI: 19-63) years in the severe and non-severe groups, respectively. Moreover, about 41% of patients had comorbidities. Severity was higher in patients with a history of cerebrovascular disease: OR 4.85 (95% CI: 3.11-7.57). The odds of being in a severe group increase by 4.81 (95% CI: 3.43-6.74) for a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This was 4.19 (95% CI: 2.84-6.19) for chronic lung disease and 3.18, 95% CI: 2.09-4.82 for cancer. The odds ratios of diabetes and hypertension were 2.61 (95% CI: 2.02-3.3) and 2.37 (95% CI: 1.80-3.13), respectively. Conclusions: The presence of comorbidities is associated with severity of COVID-19 infection. The strongest association was observed for cerebrovascular disease, followed by CVD, chronic lung disease, cancer, diabetes, and hypertension. © 2021 S. Karger AG, Basel. All rights reserved

Pelvic floor dysfunction and polycystic ovary syndrome

Objectives: To compare the prevalence of pelvic floor muscle dysfunction (PFMD) in patients with and without polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS); to test PFMD in women with different PCOS phenotypes. Methods: This was a case-control study of 202 women who were recruited in an infertility clinic in Hormozgan, Iran: PCOS (n=103) and control groups who were healthy women whose husbands were diagnosed with male infertility (n=99). According to the presence or absence of menstrual dysfunction (M), hyperandrogenism (HA) and polycystic ovaries on ultrasonoghraphy (PCO), patients with PCOS were divided into three phenotypes: HA+PCO, M+PCO and M+HA+PCO. PFMD was assessed by the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory-20 (PFDI-20. Results: The reported PFMD symptoms were higher in PCOS (P=0.05) than the non-PCOS group. The mean PFDI score in the HA+M+PCO was higher compared to other phenotypes, although the difference did not reach significance level (P>0.05). The mean LH level was higher in HA+M+PCO than the two other phenotypes. There was a significant positive correlation between LH level and PFDI score (P<0.04). Conclusion: The findings suggest that a high level of LH may cause PFMD. Further studies are needed to determine the precise role of LH levels and potential treatment options in women with PCOS and PFMD. Keywords: polycystic ovary syndrome, pelvic floor distress inventory, pelvic floor muscle dysfunctio

On the constraints violation in forward dynamics of multibody systems

It is known that the dynamic equations of motion for constrained mechanical multibody systems are frequently formulated using the Newton-Euler’s approach, which is augmented with the acceleration constraint equations. This formulation results in the establishment of a mixed set of partial differential and algebraic equations, which are solved in order to predict the dynamic behavior of general multibody systems. The classical resolution of the equations of motion is highly prone to constraints violation because the position and velocity constraint equations are not fulfilled. In this work, a general and comprehensive methodology to eliminate the constraints violation at the position and velocity levels is offered. The basic idea of the described approach is to add corrective terms to the position and velocity vectors with the intent to satisfy the corresponding kinematic constraint equations. These corrective terms are evaluated as function of the Moore-Penrose generalized inverse of the Jacobian matrix and of the kinematic constraint equations. The described methodology is embedded in the standard method to solve the equations of motion based on the technique of Lagrange multipliers. Finally, the effectiveness of the described methodology is demonstrated through the dynamic modeling and simulation of different planar and spatial multibody systems. The outcomes in terms of constraints violation at the position and velocity levels, conservation of the total energy and computational efficiency are analyzed and compared with those obtained with the standard Lagrange multipliers method, the Baumgarte stabilization method, the augmented Lagrangian formulation, the index-1 augmented Lagrangian and the coordinate partitioning method.The first author expresses his gratitude to the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology through the PhD grant (PD/BD/114154/2016). This work has been supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology with the reference project UID/EEA/04436/2013, by FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) with the reference project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006941.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hierarchical structure of cascade of primary and secondary periodicities in Fourier power spectrum of alphoid higher order repeats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Identification of approximate tandem repeats is an important task of broad significance and still remains a challenging problem of computational genomics. Often there is no single best approach to periodicity detection and a combination of different methods may improve the prediction accuracy. Discrete Fourier transform (DFT) has been extensively used to study primary periodicities in DNA sequences. Here we investigate the application of DFT method to identify and study alphoid higher order repeats.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We used method based on DFT with mapping of symbolic into numerical sequence to identify and study alphoid higher order repeats (HOR). For HORs the power spectrum shows equidistant frequency pattern, with characteristic two-level hierarchical organization as signature of HOR. Our case study was the 16 mer HOR tandem in AC017075.8 from human chromosome 7. Very long array of equidistant peaks at multiple frequencies (more than a thousand higher harmonics) is based on fundamental frequency of 16 mer HOR. Pronounced subset of equidistant peaks is based on multiples of the fundamental HOR frequency (multiplication factor <it>n </it>for <it>n</it>mer) and higher harmonics. In general, <it>n</it>mer HOR-pattern contains equidistant secondary periodicity peaks, having a pronounced subset of equidistant primary periodicity peaks. This hierarchical pattern as signature for HOR detection is robust with respect to monomer insertions and deletions, random sequence insertions etc. For a monomeric alphoid sequence only primary periodicity peaks are present. The 1/<it>f</it>^{<it>β </it>}– noise and periodicity three pattern are missing from power spectra in alphoid regions, in accordance with expectations.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>DFT provides a robust detection method for higher order periodicity. Easily recognizable HOR power spectrum is characterized by hierarchical two-level equidistant pattern: higher harmonics of the fundamental HOR-frequency (secondary periodicity) and a subset of pronounced peaks corresponding to constituent monomers (primary periodicity). The number of lower frequency peaks (secondary periodicity) below the frequency of the first primary periodicity peak reveals the size of <it>n</it>mer HOR, i.e., the number <it>n </it>of monomers contained in consensus HOR.</p

Investigation of Fungi in Drinking Water Resources as a Source of Contamination Tap Water in Sari, Iran

Background and purpose: One of the most prominent concerns for the water consumers is pathogenic microorganism contamination. Wells and underground water resources are the main resources of drinking water in Sari city, Iran. The main objectives of the research project were to explore the distribution and frequency of mycoflora in wells and underground water resources of the city and their contamination effects on humans. Materials and methods: Three reservoirs and 18 wells or underground water resources were analyzed. Water samples were then filtered and analyzed according to the World Health Organization guidelines. Each filter and 0.2 ml of suspension inoculated on SDA+CG media. For fungal growth, plates were incubated at 27&rsquo;C for 7-10 days. The fungi were identified by standard mycological techniques. Results: Fungal colonies were isolated from all samples. From total of 160 fungal colonies isolated from wells water, 14 species of fungi were distinguished. Rhodotorula (54.4%), Monilinia (13.7%), Alternaria (6.9%) were the most commonly isolated. Drechslera, Rhizopus, and Exserohilum (0.6%) had the lowest frequency. There was no significant difference between fungal elements isolated from three major reservoirs (P>0.05). Conclusion: This study revealed that resources of drinking water from an area have to monitored and if its fungal CFU be greater than a certain value, medical and health preventive measures should be taken before the water is used by human. In this context, public and private awareness should also be provided through the media, broadcasting, teachers and scholars

Treatment Results of Combined Surgery and Brachytherapy, and the Rate of Recurrence in Patients with Recurrent Keloid Scars

Background: Several options are described to treat keloid scars, none of them being 100% successful. Radiotherapy is suggested to have the most significant effect on recurrence rate. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of&nbsp; High-dose brachytherapy combined with surgery and to evaluate patient satisfaction. Methods and Material: We retrospectively enrolled 5 patients with 10 keloids, treated by surgical excision and high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy. Total dose was 12 Gy in 3 fractions. Results: The median size of the lesions before brachytherapy was 153.48 mm2. The improvement of scars of scoring POSAS by observer and patient were 17.1&plusmn;3.2 (11-32) and 20.8&plusmn;11.5 (5-51), respectively. Mean of recurrent time was 26.3&plusmn;0.9 months. With a median follow-up of 60 months, the overall recurrence-free response rate for all keloids was 20%. Except for one patient, in other patients seen no complications. Conclusion: It seems that keloid excision followed by HDR brachytherapy is effective in the eradication of keloids in treatment. It also resulted in a good cosmetic rate and relief of symptoms.&nbsp;&nbsp

Psychosocial factors and glycemic control in insulin-naïve and insulin-experienced people with type 2 diabetes: a path analysis model

The purpose of this study was to compare the status of psychosocial factors and glycemic control in insulin-naïve and insulin-experienced people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). In this observational study on people with T2D, demographic, self-care behavior, resources, and affective variables as well as health-related quality of life were assessed and compared in insulin-naïve and insulin-experienced considering the number of oral glucose-lowering drugs (OGLDs). Measured variable path analysis was used to test the association among variables and their effect on HbA1c in both groups. In total, 215 insulin-naïve and 165 insulin-experienced patients were recruited in this study. The mean duration of diabetes was 11.7 ± 7.0 years in insulin-experienced and 6.8 ± 5.4 years in insulin-naïve (p < 0.001). The mean hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was significantly higher in insulin-experienced subjects irrespective of the number of OGLDs 68 ± 20 mmol/mol (8.4 ± 1.8%) vs. 56 ± 16 mmol/mol (7.3 ± 1.4%); p < 0.001. Moreover, insulin-experienced subjects had significantly higher level of diabetes-related distress (2.2 ± 0.9 vs. 1.9 ± 0.8), depression (9.5 ± 5.5 vs. 8.1 ± 5.1), anxiety (18.3 ± 12.0 vs. 15.1 ± 10.5), and lower knowledge of insulin use considering the results of 9-item insulin-use subscale of Michigan diabetes knowledge test (mean 3.9 ± 1.8) compared to insulin-naïve subjects (p < 0.05). Higher levels of distress, depression, and anxiety are found in insulin-experienced people with T2D. Therefore, one should be aware that, at the time of insulin need/initiation, people with T2D have reached a more vulnerable state and this should be taken into consideration when implementing a complex insulin initiation plan. © 2017, Research Society for Study of Diabetes in India