Significance Of Previous Studies Research Articles

P125 MIG (CXCL9) and IL22 are key biomarkers that discriminates between paediatric IBD patients and non-IBD patients in a novel biomarker model

Abstract Background The current gold standard for diagnosis of Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is based on clinical and endoscopic evaluation as well as histologic and radiologic evaluation. However, endoscopic evaluation can be uncomfortable and carry some risks, especially in the paediatric population that requires general anesthesia in order to perform the procedure. Our aim was to investigate whether serum biomarkers can differentiate between paediatric patients with and without IBD. Secondary aims were to determine whether there are biomarkers that can differentiate between Crohn's disease (CD) and Ulcerative colitis (UC), and whether we can predict progression to biologic treatment within one year from diagnosis using these biomarkers. Methods Paediatric patients undergoing a first diagnostic colonoscopy at British Columbia Children's Hospital (BCCH) between December 2019 and June 2022 were invited to participate in the study. A 2 ml blood sample was taken from each participant at the time of colonoscopy. Demographic and clinical data were collected from each patient. Blood samples were analyzed using the LegendplexTM flow cytometry kits investigating 12 different inflammatory cytokines and chemokines associated with IBD. Eleven of them were found most significant in an initial analysis performed on 100 patients using 50 biomarkers, and CCL7 was added due to significance in previous studies. A prediction model was built via a supervised learning method to determine how well we can predict the different groups. Results Two hundred and forty-six paediatric patients participated in the study. Median age was 13.03 years, 92 were females (37.4%) and 155 (63.01%) were diagnosed with IBD, with 103 (66.45%) diagnosed with Crohn's disease. The AUROC using SPLS-DA classification was 0.805. MIG and Il22 were found to be the key biomarkers to discriminate between pediatric IBD patients and non-IBD patients. In a random forest analysis MIG, Il8 and Il22 were found most important for discrimination. On a univariate analysis MIG and Il18 were found statistically significant as a predictor of CD (p=0.016 for both). CXCL1 was predictive to progression to biologic treatment within one year of diagnosis (p=0.039). However, the prediction model did not predict well the subclasses nor progression to biologic treatment. Conclusion Using serum biomarkers can predict the diagnosis of Paediatric IBD. MIG and Il22 were found to be the key biomarkers in the prediction model.

Machine-Learning-Based Classification of Urban Voids: Case Study of “Balat and Fener, Istanbul, Turkey”

Climate change is one of the most significant challenges humanity is facing today. As major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, cities have a crucial role in mitigating its effects. One resource that cities can leverage in this fight is their Urban Voids (UVs) - undermanaged spaces that, when adequately repurposed, can provide a range of benefits, such as supporting urban biological ecosystems and helping to address climate change. This study proposes a machine-learning-based classification of UVs in “Balat” and “Fener” in Istanbul, Turkey. By classifying UVs based on their ability to assist ecological restoration and community growth, this study offers a valuable tool for urban planners and policymakers to prioritise their efforts and spend resources more efficiently in the fight against climate change. The classification in this study is based on five factors - Ownership, Debris, Economic activity, Seal, and Leisure facilities - which were selected based on their significance in previous studies of UVs. A decision tree algorithm was employed to classify the UVs into six categories, and an artificial neural network (ANN) was used to validate the classification with an accuracy of 97%. Overall, this study offers insights into the potential of machine learning in UV classification and provides a valuable tool for urban planners and policymakers to manage and activate UVs effectively.

Validity of the patient health questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) for the detection of depression in primary care in Colombia

BackgroundThe PHQ-2 is a screening test for major depressive disorder (MDD) derived from PHQ-9, which has shown to be useful in the detection of cases of clinical significance in previous studies. The psychometric properties of PHQ-2 in the Colombian population are unknown. MethodsPHQ-2 were assessed in 243 patients in general medical consultations using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) as the gold standard. Internal consistency, convergent validity and criterion validity were calculated by analyzing the Receptor Operating Characteristics (ROC) and the area under the curve (AUC). ResultsCronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega coefficients were 0.71. Spearman's rho coefficients for correlations with PHQ-9 and HADS-D scores were 0.63 and 0.59 (p<0.01). AUC was 0.89. The optimal cut point was ≥2 with the following indicators: sensitivity 0.87 specificity 0.74; Youden index 0.60; PPV 0.47; NPV 0.95; (LR+) 3.24; (LR-) 0.18 (95% CI 0.09-0.37). Kappa coefficient between PHQ-2 and MINI for depression was .458 and 0.46 for HADS-D. LimitationsSince this study was done with people attending hospital, which could has implications for the prevalence of depression, affecting the validity indicators of the instrument. ConclusionsPHQ-2 show an acceptable test performance in the context of the study. However, the test could yield a considerable amount of false positives that would require specialized evaluation to establish a reliable diagnosis.

Post JCPOA

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of U.S.’ coercive diplomacy policy towards Iran carried out through the (re)implementation of sanctions regime after its withdrawal from the so called multilateral agreement ‘JCPOA’ on 8 May 2018. Unsatisfied with the terms of the Agreement, the U.S. administration decided to pull out from the Agreement and immediately implemented sanctions regime against Tehran. Despite the significance of previous studies regarding U.S.’ implementation of sanctions against Iran, I did not found any study that used a specific theory to indicate factors or conditions favoring the success of U.S. sanctions against Iran. In particular, I did not found any literature that analyzes the effectiveness U.S.’ sanctions against Iran after its withdrawal from JCPOA using a specific theory. This paper will fill that gap in the literature by examining the case study using a theory-driven research. The Analytical framework that I apply in this paper is coercive diplomacy theory developed by Tom Sauer which I elaborate into five main variables: objective, demand, threat, time-pressure, and motivation. By examining those factors, this paper argues that U.S.’ coercive diplomacy policy against Iran has been ineffective because of the lack of U.S.’ calculation and considerations to the five variables.This paper analyzes the effectiveness of U.S.’ coercive diplomacy policy towards Iran carried out through the (re)implementation of sanctions regime after its withdrawal from the so called multilateral agreement ‘JCPOA’ on 8 May 2018. Unsatisfied with the terms of the Agreement, the U.S. administration decided to pull out from the Agreement and immediately implemented sanctions regime against Tehran. Despite the significance of previous studies regarding U.S.’ implementation of sanctions against Iran, I did not found any study that used a specific theory to indicate factors or conditions favoring the success of U.S. sanctions against Iran. In particular, I did not found any literature that analyzes the effectiveness U.S.’ sanctions against Iran after its withdrawal from JCPOA using a specific theory. This paper will fill that gap in the literature by examining the case study using a theory-driven research. The Analytical framework that I apply in this paper is coercive diplomacy theory developed by Tom Sauer which I elaborate into five main variables: objective, demand, threat, time-pressure, and motivation. By examining those factors, this paper argues that U.S.’ coercive diplomacy policy against Iran has been ineffective because of the lack of U.S.’ calculation and considerations to the five variables.&#x0D; &#x0D;

Identification of recurrent BRCA1 mutation and its clinical relevance in Chinese Triple-negative breast cancer cohort.

Triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 15–20% of all newly diagnosed breast cancers, and is enriched for germline mutation of BRCA. In Asian patients diagnosed with breast cancer, 268 deleterious mutations of BRCA1 and 242 of BRCA2 have been identified so far, including a reported BRCA1 frameshift mutation (rs80350973), apparently found only in Asian people, with a low prevalence of 0.3–1.7% in different breast cancer cohorts. Here, we reported the high prevalence (7.2%) of rs80350973 among 125 Chinese patients with TNBC, which implies its mutational predilection for certain breast cancer subtypes. Although its low prevalence had not indicated any particular clinical significance in previous studies, our results associated rs80350973 mutation with cell checkpoint malfunction, and was found to be more common in TNBC patients with high Ki‐67 indices (P = 0.004). As Ki‐67 overexpression is a predictor of poor prognosis in TNBC, inclusion of this mutation into genetic assessments may improve the clinical management of Chinese patients with TNBC.

Genetic risk variants for metabolic traits in Arab populations

Despite a high prevalence of metabolic trait related diseases in Arabian Peninsula, there is a lack of convincingly identified genetic determinants for metabolic traits in this population. Arab populations are underrepresented in global genome-wide association studies. We genotyped 1965 unrelated Arab individuals from Kuwait using Cardio-MetaboChip, and tested SNP associations with 13 metabolic traits. Models based on recessive mode of inheritance identified Chr15:40531386-rs12440118/ZNF106/W->R as a risk variant associated with glycated-hemoglobin at close to ‘genome-wide significant’ p-value and five other risk variants ‘nominally’ associated (p-value ≤ 5.45E-07) with fasting plasma glucose (rs7144734/[OTX2-AS1,RPL3P3]) and triglyceride (rs17501809/PLGRKT; rs11143005/LOC105376072; rs900543/[THSD4,NR2E3]; and Chr12:101494770/IGF1). Furthermore, we identified 33 associations (30 SNPs with 12 traits) with ‘suggestive’ evidence of association (p-value < 1.0E-05); 20 of these operate under recessive mode of inheritance. Two of these ‘suggestive’ associations (rs1800775-CETP/HDL; and rs9326246-BUD13/TGL) showed evidence at genome-wide significance in previous studies on Euro-centric populations. Involvement of many of the identified loci in mediating metabolic traits was supported by literature evidences. The identified loci participate in critical metabolic pathways (such as Ceramide signaling, and Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase/Extracellular Signal Regulated Kinase signaling). Data from Genotype-Tissue Expression database affirmed that 7 of the identified variants differentially regulate the up/downstream genes that mediate metabolic traits.

Who Should Be Offered a Sentinel Node Biopsy for Melanoma Less Than 1 mm in Thickness?

Who Should Be Offered a Sentinel Node Biopsy for Melanoma Less Than 1 mm in Thickness?

Determinants of Left Ventricular Geometric Alterations and Related Clinical and Metabolic Factors in a General Population

Left ventricular (LV) remodeling has been shown to impart prognostic significance in previous studies. However, the underlying exact mechanisms involved and interactions between LV geometry alterations and age with other clinical and biochemical variables in general population have not been well established. A total of 406 consecutive subjects were enrolled in a health evaluation center-based population study (mean age, 51.5 ± 10.9 years; 42% women). Data including baseline characteristics, echocardiography, biochemistry and biomarkers were all collected and evaluated. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis was performed to test the relationship between relative wall thickness (RWT) and other variables. We also divided the subjects into older and younger groups, compared RWT between the two groups, and analyzed the distribution of LV geometry in these groups. The prevalence of diabetes and hypertension in our study population was relatively small (11.6% and 16.5%, respectively). The most common type of LV geometry in our study was normal (67.5%) and concentric remodeling (30.3%) compared with a relatively small proportion of concentric LV hypertrophy (1.5%) and eccentric hypertrophy (< 1%). Of all 406 subjects evaluated, age, uric acid, height, systolic blood pressure and serum insulin level were all independent factors associated with RWT in a multivariate regression model. In our study, we revealed that aging, together with baseline blood pressure and serum biochemistries, were associated with LV geometric alterations. These data suggest that the LV remodeling process actually involves dynamic and complex interactions with multiple metabolic factors in an unselected general population in Taiwan.

The Response of Evidential Breath Alcohol Testing Instruments with Subjects Exposed to Organic Solvents and Gases

The concentration of white spirit vapour in the breathing zone of a volunteer engaged in domestic painting activities has been investigated. Air was continuously sampled and analysed using an infra-red gas analyser (Miran) during painting experiments. Both indoor and outdoor painting tasks were undertaken using commercial paints in a wide variety of situations. For each task the time weighted average (TWA) exposure has been determined. In no case did the TWA exposure exceed the Occupational Exposure Limit-Long Term Exposure Limit (OEL-LTEL) of 100 ppm. The results have been used to discuss the significance of previous studies in which volunteers were exposed to white spirit vapour in an exposure chamber to test for possible interference in breath alcohol testing.