Pathological Symptoms Research Articles

Validation of a Farsi version of the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory (F-EPSI) among Iranian adolescents

PurposeLimited research has validated eating pathology assessments in Iranian adolescent boys and girls. In particular, the measures that have been validated do not capture both boys’ and girls’ eating behaviors in adolescence. The purpose of the current study was to validate a Farsi version of the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory (F-EPSI) for use in Iranian adolescents.MethodsParticipants (N = 913; 85.3% girls) were adolescents who completed a battery of questionnaires including the F-EPSI. In addition, F-EPSI data for Iranian adolescents were compared with those of previously published data of adult Iranian college students.ResultsConfirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) indicated that the F-EPSI had an acceptable fit to the data and supported the eight-factor model. The scale was invariant by gender, weight status, eating disorder, and age groups. Boys reported higher scores than girls on the Excessive Exercise, Muscle Building, Body Dissatisfaction, and Binge Eating subscales. Adolescents with higher weight and eating disorder symptoms endorsed higher scores on the F-EPSI subscales. Older adolescents and adults reported higher scores than younger adolescents and adolescents, respectively. Adolescents had higher scores than adults on Restricting and Excessive Exercise subscales. The F-EPSI demonstrated good convergent validity through correlations with other eating pathology symptoms. The F-EPSI subscales were associated with depression and body mass index (zBMI) in expected directions that indicate criterion validity of the scale.ConclusionsFindings suggest that the F-EPSI is a reliable and valid measure in Iranian non-clinical adolescents. The F-EPSI will enable researchers to examine a broad array of eating pathology symptoms in adolescents for whom Farsi is their official language.Level of evidenceLevel V; Cross-sectional descriptive study.

Symptoms of liver pathology in geriatric practice

Worldwide, liver disease occupies a significant place among the causes of disability and mortality. Liver pathology is quite common in the work of a general practitioner. The variety and nonspecificity of clinical manifestations dictates the need for knowledge and strict adherence to diagnostic algorithms for a timely and complete diagnosis.

Vzaiemozviazok mizh problemamy zi somatychnym zdoroviam u ditei doshkilnoho viku ta porushenniamy psykhomotornoho rozvytku

Introduction. Multiple studies show the presence of interconnection between co-morbidity and psychomotor development disorders in children. The aim of the study. To identify the relationships between the problems with somatic health in preschool children (3-7 years old) and disorders of their psychomotor development. Materials and methods. Clinical and laboratory examination of 70 children was carried out in a randomized manner with preliminary stratification according to the presence of psychomotor development disorders regarding the somatic and infectious diseases and birth defects they had at the time of the examination and in the anamnesis. The examined group consisted of 70 children of preschool age (3-7 years) with psychomotor development disorders. Statistical processing included calculations using R. E. Fisher’s angular transformation and correlation analysis. Results. The results of the multiple conducted researches prove that the frequency of comorbidities, primarily somatic, in children with psychomotor development disorders is higher than in the general population. The combined influence of adverse environmental conditions, perinatal factors, nutritional disorders, nutritional behavior, reduced motor activity, neuroinflammation, immune response disorders, abnormalities in the quantitative and qualitative species composition of the intestinal microbiota, the phenomenon of an abnormally high microbial load on the organism, violations of interaction in the brain-gut axis, autonomic and mitochondrial dysfunctions, oxidative stress, sensory hypersensitivity, behavioral problems, sleep disorders, increased anxiety and irritability inherent in this children, can be the main reason for this. It is also worth to mention the presence of atopy and dyspeptic manifestations in many examined children, which, presumably, can be components of the food allergy complex of symptoms. It is worth noting, that in most of the subgroups we selected, there were children with physical development disorders, in all subgroups cases of infectious diseases were found in the anamnesis of children, as well as burdened family and allergic anamnesis, which can be caused by both adverse environmental factors and peculiarities, inherent in children with psychomotor development disorders. Among somatic diseases, respiratory ailments dominate in all studied subgroups. There is also a significant share of children with a burdened family and allergy history, atopic dermatitis, lesions of the ears and throat. We found full dependence, as well as medium strength and weak direct reliable correlation between somatic and infectious diseases, present in a significant part of the examined children with psychomotor development disorders, burdened allergic anamnesis and burdened family anamnesis (which conforms with a higher susceptibility to allergic diseases in children with psychomotor development disorders, in particular with mental retardation and ASD) in all subgroups, and also physical development disorders. It is necessary to include a personalized approach into the complex of rehabilitation of children with psychomotor development disorders, with simultaneous correction of existing comorbid pathological symptoms and neurological disorders, inherent in this category of children. Conclusions. Correlation between respiratory infections and a number of somatic and infectious diseases, disorders of physical development, burdened allergic and family history among the examined children in all the subgroups selected by us, which consists in the detection of complete dependence and a reliable correlation of varying strength, have been established.

Efectiveness and safety of colonoscopic polypectomy

<b>Introduction.</b> Colonoscopy is now widely accepted as a gold standard for detection of pre-malignant lesions, mainly adenomatous polyps. Their removal reduces the risk for colorectal cancer in patients with adenomatous polyps. <b>Aim.</b> This study aimed at evaluating the efficiency and safety of colonoscopic polypectomies which were performed between 2001 and 2007. <b>Materials and methods.</b> A retrospective analysis of the course and results of polypectomies which were performed during 2970 colonoscopies on patients admitted to hospital with symptoms of colorectal pathology. <b>Results and discussion.</b> Total colonoscopy, i.e. with caecal intubation, was performed in 2602 (91%) cases. Colonoscopic polypectomies were performed during 628 (21.5%) examinations. Single polyps were found in 346 (55.1%) cases and multiple polyps in 282 (44.9%). The total number of removed polyps amounted to 901. Out of that number 690 (76.5%) were adenomas and 173 (23.5%) presented features of the so-called advanced pathology. In 26 (2.8%) cases, the detected adenomas coexisted with colorectal cancer and were removed preoperatively. Post-polypectomy bleeding occurred in 15 (2.3%) cases but only 2 patients required surgical treatment because of the inability to stop the bleeding by an endoscopic procedure. Moreover, out of 268 rectal polyps, 19 (7%) unpedunculated polyps were removed surgically (18 of them by trans-anal excision). <b>Conclusions.</b> The effectiveness of this method was high. Polyps were detected and removed in the course of more than 20% of colonoscopic examinations. Polypectomies were relatively complications-free, although in 2 (0.28%) cases surgical treatment was necessary to stop post-polypectomy bleeding due to the inability to stop the bleeding from the polyp stalk endoscopically. Some rectal polyps (7%) had to be removed surgically. Preoperative endoscopic clearance of large bowel polyps, coexisting with neoplastic tumours, facilitated the adjustment of the resection margin in the subsequent colorectal cancer surgery.

Interferon inductors: clinical efficacy and regulation of inflammatory responses in paediatric respiratory infections

Introduction. The study of the set of mechanisms of inflammation regulation plays an important role in shaping understanding of the local and general protective and adaptive processes in paediatric respiratory infections. The cytokine system is taken as universal, pleiotropic regulators of the cascade of inflammatory, immune and metabolic processes. Nowadays, the drugs with the potential for effecting the course of cytokine reactions are of great interest.Aim. To evaluate the efficacy of the impact of low molecular weight interferon inducers with a wide range of biological activity on the severity of clinical symptoms and the level of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines of peripheral blood in paediatric respiratory infections.Materials and methods. 98 children with ARVI aged 4 to 11 years were examined, of which 57 children received meglumine acridone acetate as etiotropic antiviral therapy at recommended age-related doses and were included in the treatment group. 41 children receiving only symptomatic treatment were included in the comparison group.Results and discussions. Clinically, the use of meglumine acridone acetate resulted in decreased duration of the major symptoms of acute viral respiratory infections among children, reduced risk of complications, and decreased inflammatory manifestations. It was shown that the minimum levels of interleukin-1, -4 and -8 were typical for healthy children, which confirmed the activation of cytokine reactions only in the process of development of pathological symptoms from various organs and systems. An increase in all the studied cytokine levels was observed in ARVI, while the dominance in growth of pro-inflammatory cytokines with underlying slightly increased level of anti-inflammatory interleukin-4 was observed in severe general toxic syndrome and catarrhal signs. In similar cases, a balanced decrease in the levels of anti- and pro-inflammatory cytokines and a relatively rapid regression of clinical symptoms was noted during the meglumine acridone acetate therapy.Conclusions. The use of meglumine acridone acetate contributes to the rapid relief of the major clinical symptoms of acute respiratory viral infections, and shortens the duration of the disease. The nature of cytokine reactions can serve as a marker of an unfavourable course of ARVI. The prescription of low-molecular interferon inducers balances an increase in the levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines of peripheral blood.

A Tailored Artificial DNase Blocks Sensor Activation and Prevents Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Diseases

AbstractExcessive self‐DNAs recognized by intracellular DNA sensors can initiate innate immunity to express disordered TNF‐α or type I IFN resulting in several autoimmune diseases. Cationic polymers have been profoundly proved to alleviate the inflammatory symptoms by removing the debris of cell‐free DNA (cfDNA). However, clinical applications of cationic materials have been impeded by concerns of their toxicity and the fate of cfDNA in polymer‐cfDNA complex. Herein, it is showed that PEGylated polyimidazoles as a biomimetic DNase potently alleviate pathologic symptoms of self‐DNA‐associated rheumatoid arthritis (RA) rats and Trex1 (DNase III) deficient Aicardi‐Goutiéres syndrome (AGS) mice. The mechanism studies demonstrate that the polyimidazole efficiently attacks the phosphodiester linkages of NAs and cleavages them into small pieces. As imidazole unit is a much weaker organic base that occurs in natural proteins, the polyimidazoles are less toxic to cells and tissues, as manifested by the IC50 values larger than 1000 µg mL−1. This work suggests that synthetic tailored DNase can be a new and safe therapeutic agent to treat chronic autoimmune and refractory inflammatory diseases by degradation of excessive nucleic acids.

Isocorydine Ameliorates IL-6 Expression in Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages and Acute Lung Injury Induced by Lipopolysaccharide.

Isocorydine (ICD) is a type of isoquinoline alkaloid originating from Corydalis edulis, which has been used to relieve spasm, dilate blood vessels, and treat malaria as well as hypoxia in clinic. However, its effect on inflammation and underlying mechanisms remains unclear. The aim of our study was to determine the potential effects and mechanisms of ICD on pro-inflammatory interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) and acute lung injury mouse model. A mouse model of acute lung injury was established by intraperitoneal injection of LPS and treated with different doses of ICD. The body weight and food intake of mice were monitored to determine the toxicity of ICD. The tissue samples of lung, spleen and blood were taken to assess the pathological symptoms of acute lung injury and the expression levels of IL-6. Further, BMDMs isolated from C57BL/6 mice were cultured in vitro and treated with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), LPS and different doses of ICD. CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry were performed to assess the viability of BMDMs. The expression of IL-6 was detected by RT-PCR and ELISA. RNA-seq was carried out to detect the differential expression genes of ICD-treated BMDMs. Western blotting was used to detect the change in MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways. Our findings show that ICD ameliorates IL-6 expression and attenuates phosphorylation of p65 and JNK in BMDMs, and can protect mice from acute lung injury.

HEMIN ATTENUATED LPS-INDUCED ACUTE LUNG INJURY IN MICE VIA PROTECTING PULMONARY EPITHELIAL BARRIER AND REGULATING HO-1/NLRP3-MEDIATED PYROPTOSIS.

Pulmonary epithelial barrier injury contributes to acute lung injury, accelerating exudate formation, and resulting alveolar edema. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) plays an important role in ameliorating the pathological symptoms of acute lung injury (ALI). Using an ALI mouse model induced by LPS inhalation, the present study explored the potential molecular regulatory effect of hemin (a potent HO-1 inducer) against ALI epithelial damage. Lipopolysaccharide challenge triggered dysfunction of the alveolar epithelial barrier, impaired tight junctions, and disrupted alveoli fluid clearance, while these pathological changes were effectively reversed by hemin treatment. Furthermore, HO-1 elevation inhibited the activation of the nucleotide-binding domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and oxidative stress in alveolar epithelia, leading to the suppression of inflammatory responses and epithelial pyroptosis, as indicated by the decreased levels of NLRP3 and apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD domain (ASC), repressed cleavage of caspase-1 and gasdermin D, and reduced expression levels of inflammatory cytokine IL-1β. In contrast, protoporphyrin IX zinc (II) (ZnPP, an HO-1 inhibitor) treatment had no protective effect on LPS inhalation-induced ALI in mice. In summary, HO-1 induction serves a critical role in maintaining airway epithelium homeostasis through the inhibition of NLRP3/ASC/caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis and inflammation in the occurrence of ALI.

Is late-life depression associated with Alzheimer's disease? Evidence from epidemiological, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging perspectives

In 2021, the FDA approved Aducanumab (Aduhelm™), an anti-amyloid antibody intravenous (IV) infusion therapy approved for Alzheimer's disease (AD) that is the first treatment shown to ameliorate neuropathological changes due to AD in the brain. It is well-established that depression increases the risk of future cognitive decline and dementia, but whether depression is specifically associated with AD is unclear, because many of the earlier epidemiological studies employed a relatively short interval (< 5 years) between observation of depression and AD diagnosis. Since neuropathological changes in the brain due to AD may occur years prior to onset of clinical memory symptoms and AD diagnosis, depression that begins late in life may thus represent a non-cognitive prodromal feature of AD. Moreover, the association between depression in older adults and AD biomarkers is also unclear, with some studies suggesting that amyloid-beta, one of the main neuropathological hallmarks of AD, may be reduced in older adults with depression. With the availability of a disease-altering treatment for AD and knowledge that the neuropathological process for AD begins years before onset of clinical memory symptoms, a logical next step in the near future will be to examine whether anti-amyloid therapies can prevent development of AD in high-risk populations. Thus, it is timely to clarify the relationship between depression and dementia. Specifically, is depression an independent risk factor for AD, or is depression associated with dementia more generally? What is the evidence for a distinct form of dementia subtype due to depression?This symposium will address the question of whether major depressive disorder is an independent risk factor for dementia due to AD or other dementia subtypes by presenting evidence from the epidemiological, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging literature. Dr. Linda Mah will begin by presenting an overview of the epidemiological data on the association between depression and AD or dementia subtypes, focusing on differences in the strength of the association as a function of measurement of exposure, follow-up interval, and dementia subtype outcome. Dr. Scott Mackin will present recent work comparing neuropsychological and neuroimaging data including cortico-limbic volume and amyloid-beta burden in older adults with depression versus non-depressed older adults, which provides evidence for late-life depression as having distinct neurodegenerative features independent of AD. Dr. Jennifer Gatchel will present results from a multi-modal neuroimaging study in non-demented older adults with major depressive disorder, which demonstrates a relationship between tau pathology and depression symptoms and decreased interest-motivation-drive, while in contrast, mood symptoms were not associated with either amyloid-beta or medial temporal lobe atrophy. Dr. Benoit Mulsant will serve as discussant for the symposium. Drawing upon the PACt-MD study (“Preventing Alzheimer's dementia with cognitive remediation plus transcranial direct current stimulation in mild cognitive impairment and depression”), Dr. Mulsant will highlight some of the baseline AD biomarker data in the remitted major depressive disorder + mild cognitive impairment group, which suggest that this phenotype may be associated with a distinct dementia subtype. Implications for the clinical management of late-life depression and future research priorities will be discussed.

Land Planning, Agro-forest Systems, and Implications for Ecosystem Services: Insights from Northern Italy

Negative environmental changes generally addressed as ‘syndromes’ areevaluated in the context of Soil Degradation (SD) and interpreted by usinga ‘Land-Use/Land Cover Changes’ (LULCCs) framework in order to dis-entangle ‘past trajectories’, ‘present patterns’, and ‘future changes’. Thisapproach allows to discuss the potential impact on SD processes and itrepresents an informed basis for identifying measurable outcomes of SD.This study focuses on the case of Emilia Romagna, a region located inthe North of Italy with high-value added agricultural productions. A multi-temporal analysis of land-use changes between 1954 and 2008 has been proposed, discussing the evolution of associated SD syndromes in EmiliaRomagna. The contributing information have been used as a baseline forSustainable Land Management (SLM) strategies. This framework of analysisprovides useful tools to investigate and to monitor the effects of SD in theMediterranean basin where several regions underwent common developmentpatterns yelding global pathological symptoms of environmental degradation.

TRPV4 channels promote vascular permeability in retinal vascular disease

This study aimed to determine the role of transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4), a calcium (Ca2+)-permeable cation channel, in the pathophysiology of retinal vascular disease. The retinal vein occlusion (RVO) murine model was created by irradiating retinal veins using lasers. TRPV4 expression and localization were evaluated in RVO mice retinas. In addition, we examined the effects of TRPV4 antagonists (RQ-00317310, HC-067047, GSK2193874, and GSK2798745) on retinal edema, blood flow, and ischemic areas in RVO mice. Furthermore, changes in the retinal expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and aquaporin4 (AQP4) by RQ-00317310 were analyzed using Western blot. We also assessed the barrier integrity of epithelial cell monolayers using trans-endothelial electrical resistance (TEER) in Human Retinal Microvascular Endothelial Cells (HRMECs). The expression of TRPV4 was significantly increased and co-localized with glutamine synthetase (GS), a Müller glial marker, in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) of the RVO mice. Moreover, RQ-00317310 administration ameliorated the development of retinal edema and ischemia in RVO mice. In addition, the up regulation of TNF-α and down-regulation of AQP4 were lessened by the treatment with RQ-00317310. Treatment with GSK1016790A, a TRPV4 agonist, increased vascular permeability, while RQ-00317310 treatment decreased vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)- or TRPV4-induced retinal vascular hyperpermeability in HRMECs. These findings suggest that TRPV4 plays a role in the development of retinal edema and ischemia. Thus, TRPV4 could be a new therapeutic target against the pathological symptoms of retinal vascular diseases.

Degradation of 2,4-diclorophenol via coupling zero valent iron and hydrodynamic cavitation for sulfite activation: A turbulence modeling

The 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) is an important chemical precursor that can affect human endocrine system and induce pathological symptoms. This research reports the degradation of 2,4-DCP using lab-scale hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) approach, which is considered a green and effective method. To promote the degradation efficiency, the zero-valent iron (Fe0) as the catalyst for sulfate radical (SO4•−) generation via activation of sulfite (SO32−) salts was simultaneously used. Degradation efficiency was favorable in acidic pH than the alkaline pH due to higher production of active radicals and was dependent on the dose of Fe0 and SO32−. Under optimal condition, degradation efficiency by Fe0/HC/sulfite (96.67 ± 2.90%) was considerably enhanced compared to HC alone (45.37 ± 2.26%). Quenching experiments suggested that SO4•−, •OH, 1O2, and O2•− radicals were involved in the degradation of 2,4-DCP by Fe0/HC/sulfite process, but the dominant role was related to •OH (70.09% contribution) and SO4•− (29.91% contribution) radicals. From the turbulence model, turbulent pressure at venturi throat decreased from −0.42 MPa to −2.02 MPa by increasing the inlet pressure from 1.0 to 4.0 bar and increase in pressure gradient has intensified bubble collapse due to higher turbulence tension.

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILE AND ASSOCIATION OF VARYING HABITS WITH PRECANCER AND OSCC IN POPULATION OF NORTH INDIA

Objective: The pathologic appearances and clinical symptoms of Oral Premalignant Disorders (OPMDs) and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) vary across different patient populations. This is possibly due to behaviours and cultural influences such as excess tobacco use. We aim to evaluate the epidemiological profile and clinical characteristics of OPMDs and OSCC in the North Indian population. Methods: This was a retrospective study of 600 subjects including 200 OSCC cases, 200 OPMDs and 200 matched controls. Medical records and clinical and histopathological diagnosis of OSCC and oral precancer patients were included. The data was analysed using SPSS. Results: Two third of the OSCC patients were males and one third were females and mean age of 48.5 y. Maximum incidence of total cases was observed in age groups from 30-70 y and was more in males. Buccal mucosa is found to be the most affected location (67%) in both men and women. We found a significant association between size of the tumor, the number of nodes involved, and degree of differentiation and gender. Significant association was observed between gender and tobacco use, pattern of smoking and alcohol consumption, while no association was observed with fluoride use by habit and gender. Significant results were found between prevalence of OSCC and OPMDs with chewing tobacco and pattern of smoking. Also, pattern of smoking was significantly associated with gender in OPMD and OSCC subjects. Conclusion: This study could help in educating the people and support the healthcare workers in implementing preventive measures against OPMDs and OSCC.

Effect of Carvacrol on histological analysis and expression of genes involved in an animal model of multiple sclerosis.

The most common non-traumatic neurological disease in young- and middle-aged adults is multiple sclerosis (MS), leading to central nervous system (CNS) atrophy and neurological disorders with loss of myelin and axonal degeneration. Due to the inadequate efficiency of common treatments, some natural products with antioxidant properties such as Carvacrol have been considered. the present study aimed to investigate carvacrol's anti-inflammatory and therapeutic effects on MS symptoms in healthy and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced female Lewis rats. The study was performed in three groups of Lewis rats: control group, EAE model, and EAE treated with carvacrol (carvacrol-treated group). The treatment group received 25mg/kg of carvacrol intraperitoneally daily. Histologic examination and expression analysis of pro-inflammatory genes (Interleukin-1 and 17 (IL-1 and IL-17), Nuclear Factor Kappa B Cells (NF-κB) and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α)), myelin repair, and also regeneration genes (Myelin basic protein (MBP), Oligodendrocyte Transcription Factor 2 (OLIG2) and Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Receptor α (PDGFR-α)) were carried out. Gene studies, Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E), and Luxol fast blue stain were performed in the lumbar region of the spinal cord. The EAE clinical scores in the carvacrol-treated group were lower than in untreated rats (P<0.001). The expression of two genes, IL-17 and MBP, was confirmed using fluorescence immunohistochemistry (FIHC). A significant decrease was observed in NF-κB and IL-17, and IL-1 gene expression. The MBP and OLIG2 gene expression was increased in the carvacrol-treated group (p<0.001). In EAE, PDGFR-α expression increased about four times. However, carvacrol administration did not affect PDGFR-α and TNF-α gene expression. In this treatment, H&E staining of spinal cord regions showed a significant decrease in inflammatory cell infiltration. Moreover, immunostaining analysis demonstrated a considerable increase in MBP and a reduction in IL-17 secretion. The results showed that carvacrol administration reduces the entry of inflammatory cells into the CNS by stimulating myelination-related processes employing increasing the expression of genes involved in myelin repair and reducing the expression of inflammatory genes. Our findings confirm that carvacrol improves the clinical and pathological symptoms of EAE through its therapeutic and modification properties as a potential adjunctive therapy and needs to be studied more.

Peranan Korban Dalam Terjadinya Kejahatan Seksual Terhadap Anak Ditinjau dari Perspektif Viktimologi

Recently, crimes of sexual abuse against children have often occurred. Sex crimes among children stem from a number of circumstances, such as pornographic shows that are easily accessible recently, as well as the inability of victims of harassment to report perpetrators of sexual crimes that occur to children. Victims who were victimized did not dare to sue the perpetrators. The problem in this article is how the author views the role of the victim in sexual crimes. The methodology used in this review includes the use of a qualitative appr oach using sources from literature reviews, such as those related to the topics discussed. The conclusion from this study is that some child victims of sexual abuse may also have no clear symptoms. The effects of sexual harassment are very serious and can manifest in a variety of pathological symptoms and behaviors. There is almost no area of general symptoms that is not related to a history of sexual abuse. Age and various abuse-related factors can influence the nature and severity of symptoms.

Interplay of Gut Microbiota in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: Role of Gut Microbiota, Mechanistic Pathways and Potential Treatment Strategies.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) comprises a set of symptoms that pose significant risk factors for various diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Effective and safe methods to treat all the pathological symptoms of PCOS are not available. The gut microbiota has been shown to play an essential role in PCOS incidence and progression. Many dietary plants, prebiotics, and probiotics have been reported to ameliorate PCOS. Gut microbiota shows its effects in PCOS via a number of mechanistic pathways including maintenance of homeostasis, regulation of lipid and blood glucose levels. The effect of gut microbiota on PCOS has been widely reported in animal models but there are only a few reports of human studies. Increasing the diversity of gut microbiota, and up-regulating PCOS ameliorating gut microbiota are some of the ways through which prebiotics, probiotics, and polyphenols work. We present a comprehensive review on polyphenols from natural origin, probiotics, and fecal microbiota therapy that may be used to treat PCOS by modifying the gut microbiota.

Deep learning-based hemorrhage detection for diabetic retinopathy screening

Diabetic retinopathy is a retinal compilation that causes visual impairment. Hemorrhage is one of the pathological symptoms of diabetic retinopathy that emerges during disease development. Therefore, hemorrhage detection reveals the presence of diabetic retinopathy in the early phase. Diagnosing the disease in its initial stage is crucial to adopt proper treatment so the repercussions can be prevented. The automatic deep learning-based hemorrhage detection method is proposed that can be used as the second interpreter for ophthalmologists to reduce the time and complexity of conventional screening methods. The quality of the images was enhanced, and the prospective hemorrhage locations were estimated in the preprocessing stage. Modified gamma correction adaptively illuminates fundus images by using gradient information to address the nonuniform brightness levels of images. The algorithm estimated the locations of potential candidates by using a Gaussian match filter, entropy thresholding, and mathematical morphology. The required objects were segmented using the regional diversity at estimated locations. The novel hemorrhage network is propounded for hemorrhage classification and compared with the renowned deep models. Two datasets benchmarked the model’s performance using sensitivity, specificity, precision, and accuracy metrics. Despite being the shallowest network, the proposed network marked competitive results than LeNet-5, AlexNet, ResNet50, and VGG-16. The hemorrhage network was assessed using training time and classification accuracy through synthetic experimentation. Results showed promising accuracy in the classification stage while significantly reducing training time. The research concluded that increasing deep network layers does not guarantee good results but rather increases training time. The suitable architecture of a deep model and its appropriate parameters are critical for obtaining excellent outcomes.

Qiangjing tablets ameliorate asthenozoospermia via mitochondrial ubiquitination and mitophagy mediated by LKB1/AMPK/ULK1 signaling

Context Therapeutic effects of Qiangjing tablets (QJT) on sperm vitality and asthenozoospermia (AZS) have been confirmed. However, the mechanism of action remains unclear. Objective This study investigates the effects of QJT on AZS and the underlying mechanism of action. Materials and methods Sixty Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups: Control, ORN (ornidazole; 200 mg/kg), ORN + QJT-low (0.17 g/mL), ORN + QJT-middle (0.33 g/mL), ORN + QJT-high (0.67 g/mL), and ORN + QJT + Radicicol (0.67 g/mL QJT and 20 mg/kg radicicol) groups. Pathological evaluation and analysis of mitophagy were conducted by H&E staining and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. Reactive oxygen species were detected by flow cytometry. Protein expression was determined by Western blotting. Results QJT significantly improved ORN-treated sperm motility and kinematic parameters, as well as the pathological symptoms of testicular and epididymal tissues. In particular, QJT mitigated impaired mitochondrial morphology, and increased the PHB, Beclin-1, LC3-II protein, and ROS levels (p < 0.05), and reduced the protein expression levels of LC3-I and p62 (p < 0.05). Mechanistically, QJT antagonized the downregulation of SCF and Parkin protein levels (p < 0.05). Furthermore, QJT significantly increased the protein expressions levels of LKB1, AMPKα, p-AMPKα, ULK1 and p-ULK1 (p < 0.05). The ameliorative effect of QJT on pathological manifestations, mitochondrial morphology, and the expressions of mitophagy and mitochondrial ubiquitination-related proteins was counteracted by radicicol. Discussion and conclusions QJT improved AZS via mitochondrial ubiquitination and mitophagy mediated by the LKB1/AMPK/ULK1 signaling pathway. Our study provides a theoretical basis for the treatment of AZS and male infertility.

Weakly supervised learning analysis of Aβ plaque distribution in the whole rat brain.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a great challenge for the world and hardly to be cured, partly because of the lack of animal models that fully mimic pathological progress. Recently, a rat model exhibiting the most pathological symptoms of AD has been reported. However, high-resolution imaging and accurate quantification of beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques in the whole rat brain have not been fulfilled due to substantial technical challenges. In this paper, a high-efficiency data analysis pipeline is proposed to quantify Aβ plaques in whole rat brain through several terabytes of image data acquired by a high-speed volumetric imaging approach we have developed previously. A novel segmentation framework applying a high-performance weakly supervised learning method which can dramatically reduce the human labeling consumption is described in this study. The effectiveness of our segmentation framework is validated with different metrics. The segmented Aβ plaques were mapped to a standard rat brain atlas for quantitative analysis of the Aβ distribution in each brain area. This pipeline may also be applied to the segmentation and accurate quantification of other non-specific morphology objects.

A retrospective case-control study of facial emotion recognition in male veterans with chronic schizophrenia and its correlation with interpersonal communication

ObjectiveTo understand the facial emotion recognition of male veterans with chronic schizophrenia and the relationship between facial emotion recognition and interpersonal communication to provide a reference for designing social skills training programmes.MethodFifty-six eligible male patients with chronic schizophrenia who were admitted to our hospital from October 2020 to April 2021 were selected, and 24 healthy people were selected as controls. Facial emotion recognition, social communication skills and self-perceived interpersonal disturbance were assessed using a facial emotion recognition stimulus manual, the Social Skills Checklist (SSC) and the Interpersonal Relationship Integrative Diagnostic Scale (IRIDS). Disease status was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale.ResultsBoth the control group and the patient group had the highest recognition accuracy for neutral faces. The recognition rate for neutral expression was higher in the control group than in the patient group (p = 0.008). The rate of neutral expressions identified as happiness was higher in the patient group than in the control group (p = 0.001). The identification of anger as happiness was higher in the control group than in the patient group (p = 0.026), and the pattern of misidentification was similar between the control group and the patient group. The accuracy of facial emotion recognition was negatively associated with the age of onset (p < 0.05). The recognition accuracy for happiness was negatively associated with negative symptoms, general pathological symptoms and total scale scores (p < 0.05). The total score for expression recognition was negatively associated with the negative symptom subscale scores (p < 0.05), and there was no correlation between expression recognition and positive symptoms (p > 0.05). The recognition accuracy for happiness was negatively correlated with the IRIDS conversation factor (p < 0.05). The recognition accuracy for happiness and anger and the total scores for facial emotion recognition were negatively correlated with the SSC subscale score and the total score (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively). The main influencing factors on facial emotion recognition were the SSC total score (p < 0.001) and the positive factor score (p = 0.039).ConclusionVeterans with chronic schizophrenia have facial emotion recognition impairments affected by negative symptoms. There is a correlation between facial emotion recognition and interpersonal communication.Highlights1. There are extensive facial expression recognition disorders in schizophrenia.2. The pattern of misidentification was similar in both the control group and the patient group, with the tendency for happiness to be identified as a neutral emotion, anger as happiness, and fear as neutral emotion and anger.3. Based on the comprehensive assessment of social cognitive impairment in patients with schizophrenia, prospective studies of standardised interventions are designed to provide support for clinical practice.