INA gene inactivation in isolated strains from frozen leaves and its effects on plant freezing

Freezing is a major environmental stress, which limits plant’s distribution, growth and productivity. Ice nucleation active bacteria can catalyze ice formation at temperatures as high as -2°C. A membrane protein confer the ability of ice nucleation, called ice-nucleating proteins (INPs), which is encoded by a single gene. Mutation in this gene will lead to delaying of ice nucleation. In this study, leaf tissues of several plants with freezing symptoms were collected from different locations and 40 bacterial isolates with yellow circular colonies and regular margins were isolated from samples. Finally, total of 12 isolates belong to Xanthomonas were selected for ice nucleate activity (INA) by Dropletfreezing test and presence of INA gene was surveyed by PCR. According to the obtained results, isolate 28 was targeted to mutagenesis by using Tn5 transposon. After mutagenesis, isolates with ability to grow on kanamycin, which lack of INAx gene in PCR were considered as mutated isolates and their freezing effects were evaluated on bean seedlings. Results showed that isolates with mutated INA gene cannot induce freezing on bean seedlings, while primary identified isolate (isolate 28) could do it. These results show that if we could replace wild type ice nucleation active bacteria with mutated forms (just different in ice nucleation activity), we could, probably, prevent freezing and subsequent economic losses

Ultrasound-based techniques as alternative treatments for chronic wounds: A comprehensive review of clinical applications

Ultrasound (US) waves have been recently developed for the treatment of different chronic wounds with promising therapeutic outcomes. However, the clinical efficacy of these techniques is still not fully understood and standard guidelines on dose ranges and possible side effects should be determined. This paper aims to comprehensively review the recent advances in US techniques for chronic wound treatment, their therapeutic efficacies, and clinical considerations and challenges. The databases of PubMed (1985-2017), EMBASE (1985-2017), Web of Sciences (1985-2017), Cochrane central library (1990-2017), and Google Scholar (1980-2017) were searched using the set terms. The obtained results were screened for the title and abstract by two authors and the relevant papers were reviewed for further details. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown strong evidence on the therapeutic efficiency of US in chronic wounds. The main limitation on developing clinical standard protocols of US for treatment of wounds is the lack of definite dose-response for each wound. However, spatial average temporal average is the main parameter for defining US dosage in wound treatment. The range of 0.5 to 3 W/cm2 is a range of dose exerting significant therapeutic outcomes and minimum adverse effects. Low-frequency US waves can accelerate the healing speed of open wounds as well as deep-tissue injuries. In addition, US waves show promising therapeutic efficacy for chronic wounds. To develop clinical US protocol for each wound type, further in vitro and in vivo preclinical and clinical trials are needed to reach an exact dose-response for each wound type

Dataset of acute repeated sessions of bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation for treatment of intractable tinnitus: A randomized controlled trial

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has reportedly shown promising therapeutic effects for tinnitus (Forogh et al., 2016; Joos et al., 2014) 1,2. Studies are ongoing to determine optimum treatment protocol and the site of stimulation. Findings of the early studies are heterogeneous and most studies have focused on single session tDCS and short follow-up periods. There is no study on repeated sessions of tDCS with long term follow-up. This study presents the results of a randomized clinical trial investigating the therapeutic effects of acute multi-session tDCS over dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on tinnitus symptoms and comorbid depression and anxiety in patients with chronic intractable tinnitus. The dataset includes the demographic information, audiometric assessments, tinnitus specific characteristics, and the response variables of the study. The response variables included the scores of tinnitus handicap inventory (THI), tinnitus loudness and tinnitus related distress based on 0�10 numerical visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, beck depression inventory (BDI-II) and beck anxiety inventory (BAI) scores. The dataset included the scores of THI pre and immediately post intervention, and at one month follow-up; the tinnitus loudness and distress scores prior to intervention, and immediately, one hour, one week, and at one month after the last stimulation session. In addition, the BDI-II, and BAI scores pre and post intervention are included. The data of the real (n=25) and sham tDCS (n=17) groups are reported. The main manuscript of this dataset is �Acute repeated sessions of bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation for treatment of intractable tinnitus: a randomized controlled trial� (Bayat et al., submitted for publication) 3]. © 2017 The Author

Dataset of acute repeated sessions of bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation for treatment of intractable tinnitus: A randomized controlled trial

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has reportedly shown promising therapeutic effects for tinnitus (Forogh et al., 2016; Joos et al., 2014) 1,2. Studies are ongoing to determine optimum treatment protocol and the site of stimulation. Findings of the early studies are heterogeneous and most studies have focused on single session tDCS and short follow-up periods. There is no study on repeated sessions of tDCS with long term follow-up. This study presents the results of a randomized clinical trial investigating the therapeutic effects of acute multi-session tDCS over dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on tinnitus symptoms and comorbid depression and anxiety in patients with chronic intractable tinnitus. The dataset includes the demographic information, audiometric assessments, tinnitus specific characteristics, and the response variables of the study. The response variables included the scores of tinnitus handicap inventory (THI), tinnitus loudness and tinnitus related distress based on 0�10 numerical visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, beck depression inventory (BDI-II) and beck anxiety inventory (BAI) scores. The dataset included the scores of THI pre and immediately post intervention, and at one month follow-up; the tinnitus loudness and distress scores prior to intervention, and immediately, one hour, one week, and at one month after the last stimulation session. In addition, the BDI-II, and BAI scores pre and post intervention are included. The data of the real (n=25) and sham tDCS (n=17) groups are reported. The main manuscript of this dataset is �Acute repeated sessions of bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation for treatment of intractable tinnitus: a randomized controlled trial� (Bayat et al., submitted for publication) 3]. © 2017 The Author

The Role of Doctor-Patient Communication Skills in Predicting Treatment Adherence

Background and Objective: The level of patient adherence to treatment and medication orders is one of the important factors influencing the effectiveness of medical treatments. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between doctor-patient communication skills and the level of adherence to medication orders after discharge from the hospital. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 284 patients admitted to the surgery and urology departments of Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Babol, where at least 48 hours had passed since their admission. Patients completed two questionnaires of doctor-patient communication skills (range 21-70) and Burton communication skills (range 18-90) in the hospital. Then, two weeks after discharge, the patients answered the two questionnaires of general adherence and the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale online or by telephone contact, and the results were analyzed. Findings: The mean age of the participating patients was 50.65±18.20 years and the score of general adherence to treatment orders was 24.26±5.77 (range 7-30) and medication adherence was 8.54±2.91 (range 1-11). 222 patients (78.2%) had high adherence to treatment orders. Stepwise regression analysis showed that doctors’ communication skills were a positive factor in medication adherence (p<0.001, ß=0.336) and adherence to treatment orders (p<0.001, ß=0.331). Moreover, patients’ communication skills had a positive effect on medication adherence (p=0.01, ß=0.137) and general adherence to treatment orders (p<0.001, ß=0.205). Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the communication skills of doctors and patients is a positive predictor of adherence to treatment and medication orders after discharge from the hospital

The Role of Doctor-Patient Communication Skills in Predicting Treatment Adherence

Background and Objective: The level of patient adherence to treatment and medication orders is one of the important factors influencing the effectiveness of medical treatments. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between doctor-patient communication skills and the level of adherence to medication orders after discharge from the hospital. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 284 patients admitted to the surgery and urology departments of Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Babol, where at least 48 hours had passed since their admission. Patients completed two questionnaires of doctor-patient communication skills (range 21-70) and Burton communication skills (range 18-90) in the hospital. Then, two weeks after discharge, the patients answered the two questionnaires of general adherence and the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale online or by telephone contact, and the results were analyzed. Findings: The mean age of the participating patients was 50.65±18.20 years and the score of general adherence to treatment orders was 24.26±5.77 (range 7-30) and medication adherence was 8.54±2.91 (range 1-11). 222 patients (78.2%) had high adherence to treatment orders. Stepwise regression analysis showed that doctors’ communication skills were a positive factor in medication adherence (p<0.001, ß=0.336) and adherence to treatment orders (p<0.001, ß=0.331). Moreover, patients’ communication skills had a positive effect on medication adherence (p=0.01, ß=0.137) and general adherence to treatment orders (p<0.001, ß=0.205). Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the communication skills of doctors and patients is a positive predictor of adherence to treatment and medication orders after discharge from the hospital

Health-related fitness as a predictor of anxiety levels among school adolescents: an observational cross-sectional study

Background: There is an inverse association between cardiorespiratory fitness and general anxiety levels in adolescents. Obesity also is associated with a higher risk of anxiety in this population. However, little is known about the association between other health-related fitness elements with anxiety symptoms in this population. The authors explored the relationship between health-related fitness and anxiety symptoms in a large sample of Brazilian youth. Methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study with a sample comprised of 257 school adolescents, who were 136 girls (52.9%) and 121 boys (47.1%). The health-related fitness elements were evaluated by FitnessGram® test and anxiety levels by Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children - 39. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to determine the association between health-related fitness elements and anxiety symptoms in both sexes. Results: In male adolescents, only the cardiorespiratory fitness was significantly associated with anxiety symptoms (F(1, 119) = 6.472; P = 0.012; R2 = 0.052; adjusted R2 = 0.044). In turn, the anxiety symptoms showed an inverse small relationship with cardiorespiratory fitness (r = - 0.227; P < 0.01). However, in female adolescents, no association was found between health-related fitness elements and anxiety symptoms. Conclusion: The level of cardiorespiratory fitness may represent a marker of anxiety in male adolescents

Use of multidimensional item response theory methods for dementia prevalence prediction: an example using the Health and Retirement Survey and the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study.

BACKGROUND: Data sparsity is a major limitation to estimating national and global dementia burden. Surveys with full diagnostic evaluations of dementia prevalence are prohibitively resource-intensive in many settings. However, validation samples from nationally representative surveys allow for the development of algorithms for the prediction of dementia prevalence nationally. METHODS: Using cognitive testing data and data on functional limitations from Wave A (2001-2003) of the ADAMS study (n = 744) and the 2000 wave of the HRS study (n = 6358) we estimated a two-dimensional item response theory model to calculate cognition and function scores for all individuals over 70. Based on diagnostic information from the formal clinical adjudication in ADAMS, we fit a logistic regression model for the classification of dementia status using cognition and function scores and applied this algorithm to the full HRS sample to calculate dementia prevalence by age and sex. RESULTS: Our algorithm had a cross-validated predictive accuracy of 88% (86-90), and an area under the curve of 0.97 (0.97-0.98) in ADAMS. Prevalence was higher in females than males and increased over age, with a prevalence of 4% (3-4) in individuals 70-79, 11% (9-12) in individuals 80-89 years old, and 28% (22-35) in those 90 and older. CONCLUSIONS: Our model had similar or better accuracy as compared to previously reviewed algorithms for the prediction of dementia prevalence in HRS, while utilizing more flexible methods. These methods could be more easily generalized and utilized to estimate dementia prevalence in other national surveys

Global mortality from dementia : Application of a new method and results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Introduction Dementia is currently one of the leading causes of mortality globally, and mortality due to dementia will likely increase in the future along with corresponding increases in population growth and population aging. However, large inconsistencies in coding practices in vital registration systems over time and between countries complicate the estimation of global dementia mortality. Methods We meta-analyzed the excess risk of death in those with dementia and multiplied these estimates by the proportion of dementia deaths occurring in those with severe, end-stage disease to calculate the total number of deaths that could be attributed to dementia. Results We estimated that there were 1.62 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 0.41-4.21) deaths globally due to dementia in 2019. More dementia deaths occurred in women (1.06 million [0.27-2.71]) than men (0.56 million [0.14-1.51]), largely but not entirely due to the higher life expectancy in women (age-standardized female-to-male ratio 1.19 [1.10-1.26]). Due to population aging, there was a large increase in all-age mortality rates from dementia between 1990 and 2019 (100.1% [89.1-117.5]). In 2019, deaths due to dementia ranked seventh globally in all ages and fourth among individuals 70 and older compared to deaths from other diseases estimated in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. Discussion Mortality due to dementia represents a substantial global burden, and is expected to continue to grow into the future as an older, aging population expands globally.Peer reviewe

Anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2018

Anemia is a globally widespread condition in women and is associated with reduced economic productivity and increased mortality worldwide. Here we map annual 2000–2018 geospatial estimates of anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age (15–49 years) across 82 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), stratify anemia by severity and aggregate results to policy-relevant administrative and national levels. Additionally, we provide subnational disparity analyses to provide a comprehensive overview of anemia prevalence inequalities within these countries and predict progress toward the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) to reduce anemia by half by 2030. Our results demonstrate widespread moderate improvements in overall anemia prevalence but identify only three LMICs with a high probability of achieving the WHO GNT by 2030 at a national scale, and no LMIC is expected to achieve the target in all their subnational administrative units. Our maps show where large within-country disparities occur, as well as areas likely to fall short of the WHO GNT, offering precision public health tools so that adequate resource allocation and subsequent interventions can be targeted to the most vulnerable populations