Search results for: ischaemic heart disease
3968 The Influence of Substrate and Temperature on the Growth of Phytophthora palmivora of Cocoa Black Pod Disease
Authors: Suhaida Salleh, Tee Yei Kheng
Abstract:
Black pod is the most commonly destructive disease of cacao (Theobroma cacao) which cause major losses to global production of cocoa beans. The genus of Phytophthora is the important pathogen of this disease worldwide. The species of P. megakarya causes black pod disease in West Africa, whereas P. capsici and P. citrophthora cause the incident in Central and South America. In Malaysia, this disease is caused by P. palmivora which infect all stages of pod development including flower cushion, cherelle, immature and mature pods. This pathogen destroys up to 10% of trees yearly through stem cankers and causes 20 to 30% pod damages through black pod rot. Since P. palmivora has a high impact on cocoa yield, it is crucial to identify some of the abiotic factors that can constrain their growth. In an effort to evaluate the effect of different substrates and temperatures to the growth of P. palmivora, a laboratory study was done under a different range of temperatures. Different substrate for the growth of P. palmivora were used which are corn meal agar (CMA) media and detached pod of cocoa. An agar plug of seven days old of P. palmivora growth was transferred on both substrates and incubated at 24, 27, 30, 33 and 36ᵒC, respectively. The diameter of lesion on pod and the cultural growth of pathogen was recorded for 7 consecutive days. The optimum incubation temperature of P. palmivora on both substrates is at 27ᵒC. However, the growth tends to be inhibited as the temperature increases. No lesion developed on pod surface incubated at 36ᵒC and only a small lesion observed at 33ᵒC. The sporulation with the formation of white mycelial growth on pod surface was only visible at optimum temperature, 27ᵒC. On CMA, the pathogen grew over the entire range of temperatures tested. The study is, therefore, concluded that P. palmivora grow the best at temperature of 27ᵒC on both substrates and their growth begin to inhibit when the temperature rises to more than 27ᵒC. The growth pattern of this pathogen is similar on both pod surface and cultural media.Keywords: cocoa, Phytophthora palmivora, substrate, temperature
Procedia PDF Downloads 1913967 The Enhancement of Training of Military Pilots Using Psychophysiological Methods
Authors: G. Kloudova, M. Stehlik
Abstract:
Optimal human performance is a key goal in the professional setting of military pilots, which is a highly challenging atmosphere. The aviation environment requires substantial cognitive effort and is rich in potential stressors. Therefore, it is important to analyze variables such as mental workload to ensure safe conditions. Pilot mental workload could be measured using several tools, but most of them are very subjective. This paper details research conducted with military pilots using psychophysiological methods such as electroencephalography (EEG) and heart rate (HR) monitoring. The data were measured in a simulator as well as under real flight conditions. All of the pilots were exposed to highly demanding flight tasks and showed big individual response differences. On that basis, the individual pattern for each pilot was created counting different EEG features and heart rate variations. Later on, it was possible to distinguish the most difficult flight tasks for each pilot that should be more extensively trained. For training purposes, an application was developed for the instructors to decide which of the specific tasks to focus on during follow-up training. This complex system can help instructors detect the mentally demanding parts of the flight and enhance the training of military pilots to achieve optimal performance.Keywords: cognitive effort, human performance, military pilots, psychophysiological methods
Procedia PDF Downloads 2313966 Signal Estimation and Closed Loop System Performance in Atrial Fibrillation Monitoring with Communication Channels
Authors: Mohammad Obeidat, Ayman Mansour
Abstract:
In this paper a unique issue rising from feedback control of Atrial Fibrillation monitoring system with embedded communication channels has been investigated. One of the important factors to measure the performance of the feedback control closed loop system is disturbance and noise attenuation factor. It is important that the feedback system can attenuate such disturbances on the atrial fibrillation heart rate signals. Communication channels depend on network traffic conditions and deliver different throughput, implying that the sampling intervals may change. Since signal estimation is updated on the arrival of new data, its dynamics actually change with the sampling interval. Consequently, interaction among sampling, signal estimation, and the controller will introduce new issues in remotely controlled Atrial Fibrillation system. This paper treats a remotely controlled atrial fibrillation system with one communication channel which connects between the heart rate and rhythm measurements to the remote controller. Typical and optimal signal estimation schemes is represented by a signal averaging filter with its time constant derived from the step size of the signal estimation algorithm.Keywords: atrial fibrillation, communication channels, closed loop, estimation
Procedia PDF Downloads 3783965 Geospatial Curve Fitting Methods for Disease Mapping of Tuberculosis in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
Authors: Davies Obaromi, Qin Yongsong, James Ndege
Abstract:
To interpolate scattered or regularly distributed data, there are imprecise or exact methods. However, there are some of these methods that could be used for interpolating data in a regular grid and others in an irregular grid. In spatial epidemiology, it is important to examine how a disease prevalence rates are distributed in space, and how they relate with each other within a defined distance and direction. In this study, for the geographic and graphic representation of the disease prevalence, linear and biharmonic spline methods were implemented in MATLAB, and used to identify, localize and compare for smoothing in the distribution patterns of tuberculosis (TB) in Eastern Cape Province. The aim of this study is to produce a more “smooth” graphical disease map for TB prevalence patterns by a 3-D curve fitting techniques, especially the biharmonic splines that can suppress noise easily, by seeking a least-squares fit rather than exact interpolation. The datasets are represented generally as a 3D or XYZ triplets, where X and Y are the spatial coordinates and Z is the variable of interest and in this case, TB counts in the province. This smoothing spline is a method of fitting a smooth curve to a set of noisy observations using a spline function, and it has also become the conventional method for its high precision, simplicity and flexibility. Surface and contour plots are produced for the TB prevalence at the provincial level for 2012 – 2015. From the results, the general outlook of all the fittings showed a systematic pattern in the distribution of TB cases in the province and this is consistent with some spatial statistical analyses carried out in the province. This new method is rarely used in disease mapping applications, but it has a superior advantage to be assessed at subjective locations rather than only on a rectangular grid as seen in most traditional GIS methods of geospatial analyses.Keywords: linear, biharmonic splines, tuberculosis, South Africa
Procedia PDF Downloads 2393964 Prebiotics and Essential Oils-Enriched Diet Can Increase the Efficiency of Vaccine against Furunculosis in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss)
Authors: Niki Hayatgheib, SéGolèNe Calvez, Catherine Fournel, Lionel Pineau, Herve Pouliquen, Emmanuelle Moreau
Abstract:
Furunculosis caused by infection with Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida has been a known disease found principally in salmonid aquaculture. Vaccination has been partly successful in preventing this disease, but outbreaks still occur. The application of functional feed additive found to be a promising yield to improve fish health against diseases. In this study, we tested the efficacy of prebiotics and plant essential oils-enriched diet on immune response and disease resistance in vaccinated and non-vaccinated rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) against furunculosis. A total of 600 fish were fed with the basal diet or supplement. On 4th week of feeding, fish were vaccinated with an autovaccine. Following 8 weeks, fish were challenged with Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida and mortalities were recorded for 3 weeks. Lysozyme activity and antibody titer in serum were measured in different groups. The results of this study showed that lysozyme and circulatory antibody titer in plasma elevated significantly in vaccinated fish fed with additive. The best growth rate and relative percentage survival (62%) were in fish fed with a supplement, while 15% in control fish. Overall, prebiotics and essential oils association can be considered as a potential component for enhancing vaccine efficacy against furunculosis by increasing the growth performance, immune responses and disease resistance in rainbow trout.Keywords: aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida, aquaculture, disease resistance, fish, immune response, prebiotics-essential oils feed additive, rainbow trout, vaccination
Procedia PDF Downloads 1203963 Thick Data Techniques for Identifying Abnormality in Video Frames for Wireless Capsule Endoscopy
Authors: Jinan Fiaidhi, Sabah Mohammed, Petros Zezos
Abstract:
Capsule endoscopy (CE) is an established noninvasive diagnostic modality in investigating small bowel disease. CE has a pivotal role in assessing patients with suspected bleeding or identifying evidence of active Crohn's disease in the small bowel. However, CE produces lengthy videos with at least eighty thousand frames, with a frequency rate of 2 frames per second. Gastroenterologists cannot dedicate 8 to 15 hours to reading the CE video frames to arrive at a diagnosis. This is why the issue of analyzing CE videos based on modern artificial intelligence techniques becomes a necessity. However, machine learning, including deep learning, has failed to report robust results because of the lack of large samples to train its neural nets. In this paper, we are describing a thick data approach that learns from a few anchor images. We are using sound datasets like KVASIR and CrohnIPI to filter candidate frames that include interesting anomalies in any CE video. We are identifying candidate frames based on feature extraction to provide representative measures of the anomaly, like the size of the anomaly and the color contrast compared to the image background, and later feed these features to a decision tree that can classify the candidate frames as having a condition like the Crohn's Disease. Our thick data approach reported accuracy of detecting Crohn's Disease based on the availability of ulcer areas at the candidate frames for KVASIR was 89.9% and for the CrohnIPI was 83.3%. We are continuing our research to fine-tune our approach by adding more thick data methods for enhancing diagnosis accuracy.Keywords: thick data analytics, capsule endoscopy, Crohn’s disease, siamese neural network, decision tree
Procedia PDF Downloads 1563962 Testing and Validation Stochastic Models in Epidemiology
Authors: Snigdha Sahai, Devaki Chikkavenkatappa Yellappa
Abstract:
This study outlines approaches for testing and validating stochastic models used in epidemiology, focusing on the integration and functional testing of simulation code. It details methods for combining simple functions into comprehensive simulations, distinguishing between deterministic and stochastic components, and applying tests to ensure robustness. Techniques include isolating stochastic elements, utilizing large sample sizes for validation, and handling special cases. Practical examples are provided using R code to demonstrate integration testing, handling of incorrect inputs, and special cases. The study emphasizes the importance of both functional and defensive programming to enhance code reliability and user-friendliness.Keywords: computational epidemiology, epidemiology, public health, infectious disease modeling, statistical analysis, health data analysis, disease transmission dynamics, predictive modeling in health, population health modeling, quantitative public health, random sampling simulations, randomized numerical analysis, simulation-based analysis, variance-based simulations, algorithmic disease simulation, computational public health strategies, epidemiological surveillance, disease pattern analysis, epidemic risk assessment, population-based health strategies, preventive healthcare models, infection dynamics in populations, contagion spread prediction models, survival analysis techniques, epidemiological data mining, host-pathogen interaction models, risk assessment algorithms for disease spread, decision-support systems in epidemiology, macro-level health impact simulations, socioeconomic determinants in disease spread, data-driven decision making in public health, quantitative impact assessment of health policies, biostatistical methods in population health, probability-driven health outcome predictions
Procedia PDF Downloads 73961 Internet of Things Based Patient Health Monitoring System
Authors: G. Yoga Sairam Teja, K. Harsha Vardhan, A. Vinay Kumar, K. Nithish Kumar, Ch. Shanthi Priyag
Abstract:
The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) has facilitated better device control and monitoring in the modern world. The constant monitoring of a patient would be drastically altered by the usage of IoT in healthcare. As we've seen in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's important to keep oneself untouched while continuously checking on the patient's heart rate and temperature. Additionally, patients with paralysis should be closely watched, especially if they are elderly and in need of special care. Our "IoT BASED PATIENT HEALTH MONITORING SYSTEM" project uses IoT to track patient health conditions in an effort to address these issues. In this project, the main board is an 8051 microcontroller that connects a number of sensors, including a heart rate sensor, a temperature sensor (LM-35), and a saline water measuring circuit. These sensors are connected via an ESP832 (WiFi) module, which enables the sending of recorded data directly to the cloud so that the patient's health status can be regularly monitored. An LCD is used to monitor the data in offline mode, and a buzzer will sound if any variation from the regular readings occurs. The data in the cloud may be viewed as a graph, making it simple for a user to spot any unusual conditions.Keywords: IoT, ESP8266, 8051 microcontrollers, sensors
Procedia PDF Downloads 873960 Effect of Tai-Chi and Cyclic Meditation on Hemodynamic Responses of the Prefrontal Cortex: A Functional near Infrared Spectroscopy
Authors: Singh Deepeshwar, N. K. Manjunath, M. Avinash
Abstract:
Meditation is a self-regulated conscious process associated with improved awareness, perception, attention and overall performance. Different traditional origin of meditation technique may have different effects on autonomic activity and brain functions. Based on this quest, the present study evaluated the effect of Tai-Chi Chuan (TCC, a Chines movement based meditation technique) and Cyclic Meditation (CM, an Indian traditional based stimulation and relaxation meditation technique) on the hemodynamic responses of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and autonomic functions (such as R-R interval of heart rate variability and respiration). These two meditation practices were compared with simple walking. Employing 64 channel near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), we measured hemoglobin concentration change (i.e., Oxyhemoglobin [ΔHbO], Deoxyhemoglobin [ΔHbR] and Total hemoglobin change [ΔTHC]) in the bilateral PFC before and after TCC, CM and Walking in young college students (n=25; average mean age ± SD; 23.4 ± 3.1 years). We observed the left PFC activity predominantly modulates sympathetic activity effects during the Tai-Chi whereas CM showed changes on right PFC with vagal dominance. However, the changes in oxyhemoglobin and total blood volume change after Tai-Chi was significant higher (p < 0.05, spam t-maps) on the left hemisphere, whereas after CM, there was a significant increase in oxyhemoglobin (p < 0.01) with a decrease in deoxyhemoglobin (p < 0.05) on right PFC. The normal walking showed decrease in Oxyhemoglobin with an increase in deoxyhemoglobin on left PFC. The autonomic functions result showed a significant increase in RR- interval (p < 0.05) along with significant reductions in HR (p < 0.05) in CM, whereas Tai-chi session showed significant increase in HR (p < 0.05) when compared to walking session. Within a group analysis showed a significant reduction in RR-I and significant increase in HR both in Tai-chi and walking sessions. The CM showed there were a significant improvement in the RR - interval of HRV (p < 0.01) with the reduction of heart rate and breath rate (p < 0.05). The result suggested that Tai-Chi and CM both have a positive effect on left and right prefrontal cortex and increase sympathovagal balance (alertful rest) in autonomic nervous system activity.Keywords: brain, hemodynamic responses, yoga, meditation, Tai-Chi Chuan (TCC), walking, heart rate variability (HRV)
Procedia PDF Downloads 3063959 A Service-Learning Experience in the Subject of Adult Nursing
Authors: Eva de Mingo-Fernández, Lourdes Rubio Rico, Carmen Ortega-Segura, Montserrat Querol-García, Raúl González-Jauregui
Abstract:
Today, one of the great challenges that the university faces is to get closer to society and transfer knowledge. The competency-based training approach favours a continuous interaction between practice and theory, which is why it is essential to establish real experiences with reflection and debate and to contrast them with personal and professional knowledge. Service-learning (SL) consists of an integration of academic learning with service in the community, which enables teachers to transfer knowledge with social value and students to be trained on the basis of experience of real needs and problems with the aim of solving them. SLE combines research, teaching, and social value knowledge transfer with the real social needs and problems of a community. Goal: The objective of this study was to design, implement, and evaluate a service-learning program in the subject of adult nursing for second-year nursing students. Methodology: After establishing collaboration with eight associations of people with different pathologies, the students were divided into eight groups, and each group was assigned an association. The groups were made up of 10-12 students. The associations willing to participate were for the following conditions: diabetes, multiple sclerosis, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, fibromyalgia, heart, lung, and kidney diseases. The methodological design consisting of 5 activities was then applied. Three activities address personal and individual reflections, where the student initially describes what they think it is like to live with a certain disease. They then express their reflections resulting from an interview conducted by peers, in person or online, with a person living with this particular condition, and after sharing the results of their reflections with the rest of the group, they make an oral presentation in which they present their findings to the other students. This is followed by a service task in which the students collaborate in different activities of the association, and finally, a third individual reflection is carried out in which the students express their experience of collaboration. The evaluation of this activity is carried out by means of a rubric for both the reflections and the presentation. It should be noted that the oral presentation is evaluated both by the rest of the classmates and by the teachers. Results: The evaluation of the activity, given by the students, is 7.80/10, commenting that the experience is positive and brings them closer to the reality of the people and the area.Keywords: academic learning integration, knowledge transfer, service-learning, teaching methodology
Procedia PDF Downloads 673958 Autoimmune Diseases Associated with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis: A Retrospective Study of 51 Patients
Authors: Soumaya Mrabet, Imen Akkari, Amira Atig, Elhem Ben Jazia
Abstract:
Introduction: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a cholestatic cholangitis of unknown etiology. It is frequently associated with autoimmune diseases, which explains their systematic screening. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence and the type of autoimmune disorders associated with PBC and to assess their impact on the prognosis of the disease. Material and methods: It is a retrospective study over a period of 16 years (2000-2015) including all patients followed for PBC. In all these patients we have systematically researched: dysthyroidism (thyroid balance, antithyroid autoantibodies), type 1 diabetes, dry syndrome (ophthalmologic examination, Schirmer test and lip biopsy in case of Presence of suggestive clinical signs), celiac disease(celiac disease serology and duodenal biopsies) and dermatological involvement (clinical examination). Results: Fifty-one patients (50 women and one men) followed for PBC were collected. The Mean age was 54 years (37-77 years). Among these patients, 30 patients(58.8%) had at least one autoimmune disease associated with PBC. The discovery of these autoimmune diseases preceded the diagnosis of PBC in 8 cases (26.6%) and was concomitant, through systematic screening, in the remaining cases. Autoimmune hepatitis was found in 12 patients (40%), defining thus an overlap syndrome. Other diseases were Hashimoto's thyroiditis (n = 10), dry syndrome (n = 7), Gougerot Sjogren syndrome (n=6), celiac disease (n = 3), insulin-dependent diabetes (n = 1), scleroderma (n = 1), rheumatoid arthritis (n = 1), Biermer Anemia (n=1) and Systemic erythematosus lupus (n=1). The two groups of patients with PBC with or without associated autoimmune disorders were comparable for bilirubin levels, Child-Pugh score, and response to treatment. Conclusion: In our series, the prevalence of autoimmune diseases in PBC was 58.8%. These diseases were dominated by autoimmune hepatitis and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Even if their association does not seem to alter the prognosis, screening should be systematic in order to institute an early and adequate management.Keywords: autoimmune diseases, autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, prognosis
Procedia PDF Downloads 2763957 Interval Functional Electrical Stimulation Cycling and Nutritional Counseling Improves Lean Mass to Fat Mass Ratio and Decreases Cardiometabolic Disease Risk in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: David Dolbow, Daniel Credeur, Mujtaba Rahimi, Dobrivoje Stokic, Jennifer Lemacks, Andrew Courtner
Abstract:
Introduction: Obesity is at epidemic proportions in the spinal cord injury (SCI) population (66-75%), as individuals who suffer from paralysis undergo a dramatic decrease in muscle mass and a dramatic increase in adipose deposition. Obesity is a major public health concern which includes a doubling of the risk of heart disease, stroke and type II diabetes mellitus. It has been demonstrated that physical activity, and especially HIIT, can promote a healthy body composition and decrease the risk cardiometabolic disease in the able-bodied population. However, SCI typically limits voluntary exercise to the arms, but a high prevalence of shoulder pain in persons with chronic SCI (60-90%) can cause increased arm exercise to be problematic. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) cycling has proven to be a safe and effective way to exercise paralyzed leg muscles in clinical and home settings, saving the often overworked arms. Yet, HIIT-FES cycling had not been investigated prior to the current study. The purpose of this study was to investigate the body composition changes with combined HIIT-FES cycling and nutritional counseling on individuals with SCI. Design: A matched (level of injury, time since injury, body mass index) and controlled trail. Setting: University exercise performance laboratory. Subjects: Ten individuals with chronic SCI (C5-T9) ASIA impairment classification (A & B) were divided into the treatment group (n=5) for 30 minutes of HIIT-FES cycling 3 times per week for 8 weeks and nutritional counseling over the phone for 30 minutes once per week for 8 weeks and the control group (n=5) who received nutritional counseling only. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the HIIT-FES group and the control group in mean body fat percentage change (-1.14 to +0.24) respectively, p = .030). There was also a statistically significant difference between the HIIT-FES and control groups in mean change in legs lean mass (+0.78 kg to -1.5 kg) respectively, p = 0.004. There was a nominal decrease in weight, BMI, total fat mass and a nominal increase in total lean mass for the HIIT-FES group over the control group. However, these changes were not found to be statistically significant. Additionally, there was a nominal decrease in the mean blood glucose levels for both groups 101.8 to 97.8 mg/dl for the HIIT-FES group and 94.6 to 93 mg/dl for the Nutrition only group, however, neither were found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: HIIT-FES cycling combined with nutritional counseling can provide healthful body composition changes including decreased body fat percentage in just 8 weeks. Future study recommendations include a greater number of participants, a primer electrical stimulation exercise program to better ready participants for HIIT-FES cycling and a greater volume of training above 30 minutes, 3 times per week for 8 weeks.Keywords: body composition, functional electrical stimulation cycling, high-intensity interval training, spinal cord injury
Procedia PDF Downloads 1163956 Resilience in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease in Hemodialysis
Authors: Gomes C. C. Izabel, Lanzotti B. Rafaela, Orlandi S. Fabiana
Abstract:
Chronic Kidney Disease is considered a serious public health problem. The exploitation of resilience has been guided by studies conducted in various contexts, especially in hemodialysis, since the impact of diagnosis and restrictions produced during the treatment process because, despite advances in treatment, remains the stigma of the disease and the feeling of pain, hopelessness, low self-esteem and disability. The objective was to evaluate the level of resilience of patients in chronic renal dialysis. This is a descriptive, correlational, cross and quantitative research. The sample consisted of 100 patients from a Renal Replacement Therapy Unit in the countryside of São Paulo. For data collection were used the characterization instrument of Participants and the Resilience Scale. There was a predominance of males (70.0%) were Caucasian (45.0%) and had completed elementary education (34.0%). The average score obtained through the Resilience Scale was 131.3 (± 20.06) points. The resiliency level submitted may be considered satisfactory. It is expected that this study will assist in the preparation of programs and actions in order to avoid possible situations of crises faced by chronic renal patients.Keywords: hemodialysis units, renal dialysis, renal insufficiency chronic, resilience psychological
Procedia PDF Downloads 2823955 Machine Learning Techniques for COVID-19 Detection: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Abeer A. Aljohani
Abstract:
COVID-19 virus spread has been one of the extreme pandemics across the globe. It is also referred to as coronavirus, which is a contagious disease that continuously mutates into numerous variants. Currently, the B.1.1.529 variant labeled as omicron is detected in South Africa. The huge spread of COVID-19 disease has affected several lives and has surged exceptional pressure on the healthcare systems worldwide. Also, everyday life and the global economy have been at stake. This research aims to predict COVID-19 disease in its initial stage to reduce the death count. Machine learning (ML) is nowadays used in almost every area. Numerous COVID-19 cases have produced a huge burden on the hospitals as well as health workers. To reduce this burden, this paper predicts COVID-19 disease is based on the symptoms and medical history of the patient. This research presents a unique architecture for COVID-19 detection using ML techniques integrated with feature dimensionality reduction. This paper uses a standard UCI dataset for predicting COVID-19 disease. This dataset comprises symptoms of 5434 patients. This paper also compares several supervised ML techniques to the presented architecture. The architecture has also utilized 10-fold cross validation process for generalization and the principal component analysis (PCA) technique for feature reduction. Standard parameters are used to evaluate the proposed architecture including F1-Score, precision, accuracy, recall, receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and area under curve (AUC). The results depict that decision tree, random forest, and neural networks outperform all other state-of-the-art ML techniques. This achieved result can help effectively in identifying COVID-19 infection cases.Keywords: supervised machine learning, COVID-19 prediction, healthcare analytics, random forest, neural network
Procedia PDF Downloads 923954 Budd-Chiari Syndrome: Common Presentation, Rare Disease
Authors: Aadil Khan, Yasser Chomayil, P. P. Venugopalan
Abstract:
Background: Budd-Chiari syndrome is caused by thrombosis of the hepatic veins and/or the thrombosis of the intrahepatic or suprahepatic IVC. The etiology remains idiopathic in 16% -35% of cases. Malignancy, rheumatological disorder, myeloproliferative disease, inheritable coagulopathy, infection or hyperestrogen state can be identified in many cases. Methodology: Review of case records of the patient presented to Aster Medcity, Emergency Department, Cochin. Introduction:17 years old female was presented to ED with fever, jaundice and abdominal distention since 1 week. O/E: Pallor+, icterus+. Abdomen- gross distension+, shifting dullness+, generalized anasarca+. USG abdomen showed hepatomegaly with mild coarse echotexture and moderate to gross ascites. CT abdomen and chest showed hepatomegaly with thrombosis of all three hepatic vein and moderate ascites suggestive of Budd-Chiari syndrome. Patient was taken for catheter vein thrombolysis. Venogram done the next day revealed almost > 50% opening of the right hepatic vein. Concurrent doppler showed colour and doppler signals in middle hepatic veins. She gradually improved and was discharged home on anticoagulant and adviced regular follow up. Conclusion: Being a rare disease in this young population, high suspicion is required when evaluating young patients with abdominal pain and jaundice.Keywords: Budd-Chiari syndrome, rare disease, abdominal pain, India
Procedia PDF Downloads 2773953 A Genetic Identification of Candida Species Causing Intravenous Catheter-Associated Candidemia in Heart Failure Patients
Authors: Seyed Reza Aghili, Tahereh Shokohi, Shirin Sadat Hashemi Fesharaki, Mohammad Ali Boroumand, Bahar Salmanian
Abstract:
Introduction: Intravenous catheter-associated fungal infection as nosocomial infection continue to be a deep problem among hospitalized patients, decreasing quality of life and adding healthcare costs. The capacity of catheters in the spread of candidemia in heart failure patients is obvious. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and genetic identification of Candida species in heart disorder patients. Material and Methods: This study was conducted in Tehran Hospital of Cardiology Center (Tehran, Iran, 2014) during 1.5 years on the patients hospitalized for at least 7 days and who had central or peripheral vein catheter. Culture of catheters, blood and skin of the location of catheter insertion were applied for detecting Candida colonies in 223 patients. Identification of Candida species was made on the basis of a combination of various phenotypic methods and confirmed by sequencing the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region amplified from the genomic DNA using PCR and the NCBI BLAST. Results: Of the 223 patients samples tested, we identified totally 15 Candida isolates obtained from 9 (4.04%) catheter cultures, 3 (1.35%) blood cultures and 2 (0.90%) skin cultures of the catheter insertion areas. On the base of ITS region sequencing, out of nine Candida isolates from catheter, 5(55.6%) C. albicans, 2(22.2%) C. glabrata, 1(11.1%) C. membranifiaciens and 1 (11.1%) C. tropicalis were identified. Among three Candida isolates from blood culture, C. tropicalis, C. carpophila and C. membranifiaciens were identified. Non-candida yeast isolated from one blood culture was Cryptococcus albidus. One case of C. glabrata and one case of Candida albicans were isolated from skin culture of the catheter insertion areas in patients with positive catheter culture. In these patients, ITS region of rDNA sequence showed a similarity between Candida isolated from the skin and catheter. However, the blood samples of these patients were negative for fungal growth. We report two cases of catheter-related candidemia caused by C. membranifiaciens and C. tropicalis on the base of genetic similarity of species isolated from blood and catheter which were treated successfully with intravenous fluconazole and catheter removal. In phenotypic identification methods, we could only identify C. albicans and C. tropicalis and other yeast isolates were diagnosed as Candida sp. Discussion: Although more than 200 species of Candida have been identified, only a few cause diseases in humans. There is some evidence that non-albicans infections are increasing. Many risk factors, including prior antibiotic therapy, use of a central venous catheter, surgery, and parenteral nutrition are considered to be associated with candidemia in hospitalized heart failure patients. Identifying the route of infection in candidemia is difficult. Non-albicans candida as the cause of candidemia is increasing dramatically. By using conventional method, many non-albicans isolates remain unidentified. So, using more sensitive and specific molecular genetic sequencing to clarify the aspects of epidemiology of the unknown candida species infections is essential. The positive blood and catheter cultures for candida isolates and high percentage of similarity of their ITS region of rDNA sequence in these two patients confirmed the diagnosis of intravenous catheter-associated candidemia.Keywords: catheter-associated infections, heart failure patient, molecular genetic sequencing, ITS region of rDNA, Candidemia
Procedia PDF Downloads 3323952 The Non-Motor Symptoms of Filipino Patients with Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Cherrie Mae S. Sia, Noel J. Belonguel, Jarungchai Anton S. Vatanagul
Abstract:
Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic progressive, neurodegenerative disorder known for its motor symptoms such as bradykinesia, resting tremor, muscle rigidity, and postural instability. Patients with PD also experience non-motor symptoms (NMS) such as depression, fatigue, and sleep disturbances that are most of the time unrecognized by clinicians. This may be due to the lack of spontaneous reports from the patients or partly because of the lack of systematic questioning from the healthcare professional. There is limited data with regards to these NMS especially that of Filipino patients with PD. Objectives: This study aims to determine the non-motor symptoms of Filipino patients with Parkinson’s disease. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective, cohort study involving thirty-four patients of Filipino-descent diagnosed with PD in three out-patient clinics in Cebu City from April to September 2014. Each patient was interviewed using the Non-Motor Symptom Scale (NMSS). A Cebuano version of the NMSS was also provided for the non-English speaking patients. Interview time was approximately ten to fifteen minutes for each respondent. Results: Of the thirty-four patients with Parkinson’s disease, majority was noted to be males (N=19) and the disease was noted to be more prevalent in patients with a mean age of 62 (SD±9) years old. Hypertension (59%) and diabetes mellitus (29%) were the common co-morbidities in the study population. All patients presented more than one NMS, with insomnia (41.2%), poor memory (23.5%) and depression (14.7%) being the first non-motor symptoms to occur. Symptoms involving mood/cognition (mean=2.21), and attention/memory (mean=2.05) were noted to be the most frequent and of moderate severity. Based on the NMSS, the symptoms that were noted to be mild and often to occur were those that involved the mood/cognition (score=3.84), attention/memory (score=3.50), and sleep/fatigue (score=3.00) domains. Levodopa-Carbidopa, Ropinirole, and Pramipexole were the most frequently used medications in the study population. Conclusion: Non-motor symptoms (NMS) are common in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). They appear at the time of diagnosis of PD or even before the motor symptoms manifest. The earliest non-motor symptoms to occur are insomnia, poor memory, and depression. Those pertaining to mood/cognition and attention/memory are the most frequent NMS and they are of moderate severity. Identifying these NMS by doing a questionnaire-guided interview such as the Non-Motor Symptom Scale (NMSS) before they can become more severe and affect the patient’s quality of life is a must for every clinician caring for a PD patient. Early treatment and control of these NMS can then be given, hence, improving the patient’s outcome and prognosis.Keywords: non motor symptoms, Parkinson's Disease, insomnia, depression
Procedia PDF Downloads 4483951 Laboratory Diagnostic Testing of Peste des Petits Ruminants in Georgia
Authors: Nino G. Vepkhvadze, Tea Enukidze
Abstract:
Every year the number of countries around the world face the risk of the spread of infectious diseases that bring significant ecological and social-economic damage. Hence, the importance of food product safety is emphasized that is the issue of interest for many countries. To solve them, it’s necessary to conduct preventive measures against the diseases, have accurate diagnostic results, leadership, and management. The Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) disease is caused by a morbillivirus closely related to the rinderpest virus. PPR is a transboundary disease as it emerges and evolves, considered as one of the top most damaging animal diseases. The disease imposed a serious threat to sheep-breeding when the farms of sheep, goats are significantly growing within the country. In January 2016, PPR was detected in Georgia. Up to present the origin of the virus, the age relationship of affected ruminants and the distribution of PPRV in Georgia remains unclear. Due to the nature of PPR, and breeding practices in the country, reemerging of the disease in Georgia is highly likely. The purpose of the studies is to provide laboratories with efficient tools allowing the early detection of PPR emergence and re-emergences. This study is being accomplished under the Biological Threat Reduction Program project with the support of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The purpose of the studies is to investigate the samples and identify areas at high risk of the disease. Georgia has a high density of small ruminant herds bred as free-ranging, close to international borders. Kakheti region, Eastern Georgia, will be considered as area of high priority for PPR surveillance. For this reason, in 2019, in Kakheti region investigated n=484 sheep and goat serum and blood samples from the same animals, utilized serology and molecular biology methods. All samples were negative by RT-PCR, and n=6 sheep samples were seropositive by ELISA-Ab. Future efforts will be concentrated in areas where the risk of PPR might be high such as international bordering regions of Georgia. For diagnostics, it is important to integrate the PPRV knowledge with epidemiological data. Based on these diagnostics, the relevant agencies will be able to control the disease surveillance.Keywords: animal disease, especially dangerous pathogen, laboratory diagnostics, virus
Procedia PDF Downloads 1153950 The Link of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus With the Progression of Multiple Sclerosis Disease
Authors: Sina Mahdavi
Abstract:
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive inflammatory autoimmune disease of the CNS that affects the myelination process in the central nervous system (CNS). Complex interactions of various "environmental or infectious" factors may act as triggers in autoimmunity and disease progression. The association between viral infections, especially human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and MS is one potential cause that is not well understood. This study aims to summarize the available data on human HIV infection in MS disease progression. In this study, the keywords "Multiple sclerosis", "Human immunodeficiency virus ", and "Central nervous system" in the databases PubMed, and Google Scholar between 2017 and 2022 were searched and 15 articles were chosen, studied, and analyzed. Revealed histologic signs of "MS-like illness" in the setting of HIV, which comprised widespread demyelination with reactive astrocytes, foamy macrophages, and perivascular infiltration with inflammatory cells, all of which are compatible with MS lesions. Human immunodeficiency virus causes dysfunction of the immune system, especially characterized by hypergammaglobulinemia and chronic activation of B cells. Activation of B cells leads to increased synthesis of immunoglobulin and finally to an excess of free light chains. Free light chains may be involved in autoimmune responses against neurons. There is a high expression of HIV during the course of MS, which indicates the relationship between HIV and MS, that this virus can play a role in the development of MS by creating an inflammatory state. Therefore, measures to modulate the expression of HIV may be effective in reducing inflammatory processes in demyelinated areas of MS patients.Keywords: multiple sclerosis, human immunodeficiency virus, central nervous system, autoimmunity
Procedia PDF Downloads 843949 Challenges of eradicating neglected tropical diseases
Authors: Marziye Hadian, Alireza Jabbari
Abstract:
Background: Each year, tropical diseases affect large numbers of tropical or subtropical populations and give rise to irreparable financial and human damage. Among these diseases, some are known as Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) that may cause unusual dangers; however, they have not been appropriately accounted for. Taking into account the priority of eradication of the disease, this study explored the causes of failure to eradicate neglected tropical diseases. Method: This study was a systematized review that was conducted in January 2021 on the articles related to neglected tropical diseases on databases of Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Ovid, Pro-Quest, and Google Scholar. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines as well as Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) for articles and AACODS (Authority, Accuracy, Coverage, Objectivity, Date, Significance) for grey literature (provides five criteria for judging the quality of grey information) were integrated. Finding: The challenges in controlling and eradicating neglected tropical diseases in four general themes are as follows: shortcomings in disease management policies and programs, environmental challenges, executive challenges in policy disease and research field and 36 sub-themes. Conclusion: To achieve the goals of eradicating forgotten tropical diseases, it seems indispensable to free up financial, human and research resources, proper management of health infrastructure, attention to migrants and refugees, clear targeting, prioritization appropriate to local conditions and special attention to political and social developments. Reducing the number of diseases should free up resources for the management of neglected tropical diseases prone to epidemics as dengue, chikungunya and leishmaniasis. For the purpose of global support, targeting should be accurate.Keywords: neglected tropical disease, NTD, preventive, eradication
Procedia PDF Downloads 1313948 Prevalence of Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei in Shrimp Cultured in Inland Saline Water
Authors: Naveen Kumar B. T., Anuj Tyagi, Prabjeet Singh, Shanthanagouda A. H., Sumeet Rai
Abstract:
Inland saline water resources are gaining the importance in expanding the aquaculture activities to mitigate the nutritional and food security issues of the world. For profitable and sustainable aquaculture practices, scientific farming, biosecurity measure, and best fish health management should be the integral part of developmental activities. Keeping in line with global awareness and trends, the Indian government has taken an innovative step to conduct disease surveillance and awareness programme for aquatic disease through network project. This ‘National Surveillance Programme for Aquatic Animal Diseases (NSPAAD)’ is being implemented in collaboration of national institutes and state agriculture universities with funding support from National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Govt. of India. Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana, an NSPAAD collaborator, has been actively engaged in disease surveillance in the Indian state of Punjab. Shrimp farming in inland saline areas of Punjab is expanding at a tremendous pace under the guidance of GADVASU along with the support of State Fisheries Department. Under this national disease surveillance programme, we reported Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) infection in the Litopenaeus vannamei cultured in the inland saline waters. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based diagnosis was carried out using the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) protocol. It was observed that out of 20 shrimp farms, two farms were 1st step PCR positive and two more farms were nested PCR positive. All the EHP positive ponds had shown the white faeces along with mortalities at very low rate. Therefore, implementation of biosecurity and continuous surveillance and monitoring program for finfish and shellfish aquaculture are in need of the hour to prevent and control the large-scale disease outbreaks and subsequent economic losses.Keywords: disease, EHP, inland saline water, shrimp culture
Procedia PDF Downloads 2623947 Suggested Role for Neutrophil Extracellular Traps Formation in Ewing Sarcoma Immune Microenvironment
Authors: Rachel Shukrun, Szilvia Baron, Victoria Fidel, Anna Shusterman, Osnat Sher, Netanya Kollender, Dror Levin, Yair Peled, Yair Gortzak, Yoav Ben-Shahar, Revital Caspi, Sagi Gordon, Michal Manisterski, Ronit Elhasid
Abstract:
Ewing sarcoma (EWS) is a highly aggressive cancer with a survival rate of 70–80% for patients with localized disease and under 30% for those with metastatic disease. Tumor-infiltrating neutrophils (TIN) can generate extracellular net-like DNA structures known as neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). However, little is known about the presence and prognostic significance of tumor-infiltrating NETs in EWS. Herein, we investigated 46 patients diagnosed with EWS and treated in the Tel Aviv Medical Center between 2010 and 2021. TINs and NETs were identified in diagnostic biopsies of EWS by immunofluorescent. In addition, NETs were investigated in neutrophils isolated from peripheral blood samples of EWS patients at diagnosis and following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The relationships between the presence of TINs and NETs, pathological and clinical features, and outcomes were analyzed. Our results demonstrate that TIN and NETs at diagnosis were higher in EWS patients with metastatic disease compared to those with local disease. High NETs formation at diagnosis predicted poor response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy, relapse, and death from disease (P < .05). NETs formation in peripheral blood samples at diagnosis was significantly elevated among patients with EWS compared to pediatric controls and decreased significantly following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. In conclusion, NETs formation seems to have a role in the EWS immune microenvironment. Their presence can refine risk stratification, predict chemotherapy resistance and survival, and serve as a therapeutic target in patients with EWS.Keywords: Ewing sarcoma, tumor microenvironment, neutrophil, neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), prognosis
Procedia PDF Downloads 643946 In silico Analysis towards Identification of Host-Microbe Interactions for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Linked to Reactive Arthritis
Authors: Anukriti Verma, Bhawna Rathi, Shivani Sharda
Abstract:
Reactive Arthritis (ReA) is a disorder that causes inflammation in joints due to certain infections at distant sites in the body. ReA begins with stiffness, pain, and inflammation in these areas especially the ankles, knees, and hips. It gradually causes several complications such as conjunctivitis in the eyes, skin lesions in hand, feet and nails and ulcers in the mouth. Nowadays the diagnosis of ReA is based upon a differential diagnosis pattern. The parameters for differentiating ReA from other similar disorders include physical examination, history of the patient and a high index of suspicion. There are no standard lab tests or markers available for ReA hence the early diagnosis of ReA becomes difficult and the chronicity of disease increases with time. It is reported that enteric disorders such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) that is inflammation in gastrointestinal tract namely Crohn’s Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) are reported to be linked with ReA. Several microorganisms are found such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella and Yersinia causing IBD leading to ReA. The aim of our study was to perform the in-silico analysis in order to find interactions between microorganisms and human host causing IBD leading to ReA. A systems biology approach for metabolic network reconstruction and simulation was used to find the essential genes of the reported microorganisms. Interactomics study was used to find the interactions between the pathogen genes and human host. Genes such as nhaA (pathogen), dpyD (human), nagK (human) and kynU (human) were obtained that were analysed further using the functional, pathway and network analysis. These genes can be used as putative drug targets and biomarkers in future for early diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of IBD leading to ReA.Keywords: drug targets, inflammatory bowel disease, reactive arthritis, systems biology
Procedia PDF Downloads 2753945 Targeting Matrix Metalloprotease-9 to Reduce Coronary Artery Manifestations of Kawasaki’s Disease
Authors: Mohammadjavad Sotoudeheian, Navid Farahmandian
Abstract:
Kawasaki disease (KD) is the primary cause of acquired pediatric heart disease as an acute vasculitis. In children with prolonged fever, rash, and inflammation of the mucosa KD must be considered as a clinical diagnosis. There is a persuasive suggestion of immune-mediated damage as the pathophysiologic cascade of KD. For example, the invasion of cytotoxic T-cells supports a viral etiology and the inflammasome of the innate immune system is a critical component in the vasculitis formation in KD. Animal models of KD propose the cytokine profiles, such as increased IL-1 and GM-CSF, which cause vascular damage. CRP and IFN-γ elevated expression and the upregulation of IL-6, and IL-10 production are also described in previous studies. Untreated KD is a critical risk factor for coronary artery diseases and myocardial infarction. Vascular damage may encompass amplified T-cell activity. SMAD3 is an essential molecule in down-regulating T-cells and increasing expression of FoxP3. It has a critical effect in the differentiation of regulatory T-cells. The discrepancy of regulatory T-cells and pro-inflammatory Th17 has been studied in acute coronary syndrome during KD. However in the coronary artery damaged lymphocytes and IgA plasma cells are seen at the lesion locations, the major immune cells in the coronary lesions are monocytes/macrophages and neutrophils. These cells secrete TNF-α, and activates matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-9, reducing the integrity of vessels and prompting patients to arise aneurysm. MMPs can break down the components of the extracellular matrix and assist immune cell movement. IVIG as an effective form of treatment clarified the role of the immune system, which may target pathogenic antigens and regulate cytokine production. Several reports have revealed that in the coronary arteries, high expression of MMP-9 in monocyte/macrophage results in pathologic cascades. Curcumin is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory molecule. Curcumin decreases the production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and inhibits transcription factors like AP-1 and NF-κB. Curcumin also contains the characteristics of inhibitory effects on MMPs, especially MMP-9. The upregulation of MMP-9 is an important cellular response. Curcumin treatment caused a reverse effect and down-regulates MMP-9 gene expression which may fund the anti-inflammatory effect. Curcumin inhibits MMP-9 expression via PKC and AMPK-dependent pathways in Human monocytes cells. Elevated expression and activity of MMP-9 are correlated with advanced vascular lesions. AMPK controls lipid metabolism and oxidation, and protein synthesis. AMPK is also necessary for the MMP-9 activity and THP-1 cell adhesion to endothelial cells. Curcumin was shown to inhibit the activation of AMPKα. Compound C (AMPK inhibitor) inhibits MMP-9 expression level. Therefore, through inactivating AMPKs and PKC, curcumin decreases the MMP-9 level, which results in inhibiting monocyte/macrophage differentiation. Compound C also suppress the phosphorylation of three major classes of MAP kinase signaling, suggesting that curcumin may suppress MMP-9 level by inactivation of MAPK pathways. MAPK cascades are activated to induce the expression of MMP-9. Curcumin inhibits MAPKs phosphorylation, which contributes to the down-regulation of MMP-9. This study demonstrated that the potential inhibitory properties of curcumin over MMP-9 lead to a therapeutic strategy to reduce the risk of coronary artery involvement during KD.Keywords: MMP-9, coronary artery aneurysm, Kawasaki’s disease, curcumin, AMPK, immune system, NF-κB, MAPK
Procedia PDF Downloads 3043944 Factors Influencing Health-related Quality of Life in Thai AMI Survivors
Authors: K. Masingboon, S. Duangpaeng, N. Chaiwong
Abstract:
Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the most common cause of death among Thai with coronary heart disease (CHD). Thai AMI survivors are most likely to have impaired health-related quality of life (HRQoL) due to their lifestyle, functional, and psychological problems. Guided by the Individual and Family Self-Management Theory, this study aimed to explore HRQoL and identify its predictors among Thai AMI survivors. 155 Thai AMI survivors were recruited by stratified random sampling from three hospitals located in eastern region of Thailand. HRQol was measured using the Short Form -12 Health Survey (SF-12). The Center for Epidemiologic studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was utilized to assess the presence of depression, and the Family Support questionnaire was administered to examine family support. Results revealed that 92 percent of Thai AMI survivors reported a generally high level of HRQoL and 80 percent of them reported higher level of HRQoL in physical health and mental health dimension. Depression and family support were significantly predicted HRQoL among Thai AMI survivors and accounted for 28.5 percent of variance (p < .001). Interestingly, depression was the most significant predictors of HRQoL (β = -.65, p < .001) In conclusion, depression is a significant predictor of HRQoL in Thai AMI survivors. Increasing awareness of depression among these survivors is important. Depressive symptoms in should be routinely assessed. In addition, intervention to improve HRQoL among Thai AMI survivors should be addressed through depressive symptom management and family collaboration.Keywords: health-related quality of life, AMI survivors, predictors, collaboration
Procedia PDF Downloads 3263943 COVID-19 Analysis with Deep Learning Model Using Chest X-Rays Images
Authors: Uma Maheshwari V., Rajanikanth Aluvalu, Kumar Gautam
Abstract:
The COVID-19 disease is a highly contagious viral infection with major worldwide health implications. The global economy suffers as a result of COVID. The spread of this pandemic disease can be slowed if positive patients are found early. COVID-19 disease prediction is beneficial for identifying patients' health problems that are at risk for COVID. Deep learning and machine learning algorithms for COVID prediction using X-rays have the potential to be extremely useful in solving the scarcity of doctors and clinicians in remote places. In this paper, a convolutional neural network (CNN) with deep layers is presented for recognizing COVID-19 patients using real-world datasets. We gathered around 6000 X-ray scan images from various sources and split them into two categories: normal and COVID-impacted. Our model examines chest X-ray images to recognize such patients. Because X-rays are commonly available and affordable, our findings show that X-ray analysis is effective in COVID diagnosis. The predictions performed well, with an average accuracy of 99% on training photographs and 88% on X-ray test images.Keywords: deep CNN, COVID–19 analysis, feature extraction, feature map, accuracy
Procedia PDF Downloads 793942 Functional Profiling of a Circular RNA from the Huntingtin (HTT) Gene
Authors: Laura Gantley, Vanessa M. Conn, Stuart Webb, Kirsty Kirk, Marta Gabryelska, Duncan Holds, Brett W. Stringer, Simon J. Conn
Abstract:
Trinucleotide repeat disorders comprise ~20 severe, inherited human neuromuscular and neurodegenerative disorders, which are a result of an abnormal expansion of repetitive sequences in the DNA. The most common of these, Huntington’s disease, results from the expansion of the CAG repeat region in exon 1 of the HTT gene via an unknown mechanism. Non-coding RNAs have been implicated in the initiation and progression of many diseases; thus, we focus on one circular RNA (circRNA) molecule arising from non-canonical splicing (back splicing) of HTT pre-mRNA. This circRNA and its mouse orthologue were transgenically overexpressed in human cells (SHSY-5Y and HEK293T) and mouse cells (Mb1), respectively. High-content imaging and flow cytometry demonstrated the overexpression of this circRNA reduces cell proliferation, reduces nuclear size independent of cellular size, and alters cell cycle progression. Analysis of protein by western blot and immunofluorescence demonstrated no change to HTT protein levels but altered nuclear-cytoplasmic distribution without impacting the expansion of the HTT repeat region. As these phenotypic and genotypic changes are found in Huntington’s disease patients, these results may suggest that this circRNA may play a functional role in the progression of Huntington’s disease.Keywords: cell biology, circular RNAs, Huntington’s disease, molecular biology, neurodegenerative disorders
Procedia PDF Downloads 1003941 Neuroprotective Effects of Rosmarinic Acid in the MPTP Mouse Model of Parkinson's Disease
Authors: Huamin Xu, Wenting Jia, Hong Jiang, Junxia Xie
Abstract:
Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a natural acid that is found in a variety of herbs, such as rosemary and has multiple biological activities such as antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and antiviral activities. In this study, we investigated the neuroprotective effects of RA on dopaminergic system in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) induced mouse model of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The mice received oral administration of RA before MPTP injection. Results showed that the tyrosine hydroxylase expression in SN reduced and the levels of dopamine and its metabolites in the striatum decreased in MPTP intoxicated PD mice. Pretreatment with RA significantly inhibited these changes. Further studies demonstrated that MPTP treatment increased the iron content, which was counteracted by pre-treatment with RA. In addition, RA could restore the decrease of superoxide dismutase (SOD) induced by MPTP. This study provides evidence that RA could suppress MPTP-induced degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system by regulating iron content and the expression of SOD. Thus, RA might be clinically evaluated for the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.Keywords: rosmarinic acid, Parkinson's disease, MPTP, dopaminergic system
Procedia PDF Downloads 2053940 The Effect of Reverse Trendelenburg Position on the Back Pain after Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions
Authors: Pramote Thangkratok
Abstract:
The aims of this experimental study were to investigate the effect of Reverse Trendelenburg Position on the Back Pain after Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. In addition, to compare bleeding and hematoma occurrences at the Access site between experimental and control groups. The randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in 70 patients who underwent Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions via the femoral artery and received post procedural care at the intermediate cardiac care unit, Bangkok Heart Hospital. From December 2015 to February 2016. The control group (35 patients) was to get standard care after the intervention, whereas the experimental group (35 patients) was Reverse Trendelenburg Position 30-45 degrees. The groups were not significantly different in terms of demographic characteristics, Age, Gender, BMI, blood pressure, heart rate. While not significantly different from each other, the intensity of back pain control group had a significantly higher pain score than experimental group. Vascular complications in terms of bleeding and hematoma were not significantly different between the control and experimental groups. The findings show that Reverse Trendelenburg Position after Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions would reduce or prevent the back pain without increasing the chance of bleeding and hematoma.Keywords: reverse trendelenburg position, back pain, cardiovascular angiography, cardiovascular interventions
Procedia PDF Downloads 2883939 Multi-Sectoral Prioritization of Zoonotic Diseases in Uganda, 2017: The Perspective of One Health Experts
Authors: Musa Sekamatte
Abstract:
Background: Zoonotic diseases continue to be a public health burden in countries around the world. Uganda is especially vulnerable due to its location, biodiversity, and population. Given these concerns, the Ugandan government in collaboration with the Global Health Security Agenda conducted a zoonotic disease prioritization workshop to identify zoonotic diseases of concern to multiple Ugandan ministries. Materials and Methods: The One Health Zoonotic Disease Prioritization tool, developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was used for prioritization of zoonotic diseases in Uganda. Workshop participants included voting members representing human, animal, and environmental health ministries as well as key partners who observed the workshop. Over 100 articles describing characteristics of these zoonotic diseases were reviewed for the workshop. During the workshop, criteria for prioritization were selected, and questions and weights relevant to each criterion were determined. Next steps for multi-sectoral engagement for the prioritized zoonoses were then discussed. Results: 48 zoonotic diseases were considered during the workshop. Criteria selected to prioritize zoonotic diseases in order of importance were (1) severity of disease in humans in Uganda, (2) availability of effective control strategies, (3) potential to cause an epidemic or pandemic in humans or animals, (4) social and economic impacts, and (5) bioterrorism potential. Seven zoonotic diseases were identified as priorities for Uganda: anthrax, zoonotic influenza viruses, viral hemorrhagic fevers, brucellosis, African trypanosomiasis, plague, and rabies. Discussion: One Health approaches and multi-sectoral collaborations are crucial in the surveillance, prevention, and control strategies for zoonotic diseases. Uganda used such an approach to identify zoonotic diseases of national concern. Identifying these priority diseases enables the National One Health Platform and the Zoonotic Disease Coordinating Office to address the diseases in the future.Keywords: national one health platform, zoonotic diseases, multi-sectoral, severity
Procedia PDF Downloads 194