Archives of Clinical and Biomedical Research

IntroductionPremature Ovarian Failure (POF) being a heterogeneous genetic disease involves the interaction of multiple genetic defects and environmental factors and has been associated with several chromosomal abnormalities, single gene mutations, and genetic polymorphisms. BMP15 is a member of the transforming growth factor {beta} (TGF-{beta}) family. BMP15 gene product (protein) have 3 domians, mature domain (c-terminal region) of BMP15 binds to receptors located on granulosa cell surface to participate in key steps regarding ovarian function, such as granulosa cell proliferation and follicle maturation, ovulation rate modulation, oocyte competence determination and regulating granulosa cell sensitivity to FSH. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the BMP-15 gene are associated with POF. Materials & Methods30 POF patients and 30 healthy age matched controls were recruited for cytogenetic and molecular analysis. 10 ml whole blood was collected for karyotyping and PCR and PCR was performed for known SNPs of BMP-15 gene (-9C>G, 538G>A, 788insTCT and 852C>T) respectively. Amplified PCR products were sequenced commercially. Observation/ResultThirty cases (mean age 30 years) and thirty healthy controls (mean age 23 years) were recruited for the study. On cytogenetic analysis 2 cases had a 45, XO chromosomal complement. One case was heterozygous for the SNP (-9C>G) and one control was homozygous for the same SNP. DiscussionThe prevalence of this SNP was about 10.7% in cases & 3.3% in healthy controls. This polymorphism in promoter region may cause altered expression of the gene and results in POF.

BackgroundRising fear and panic among public during COVID19 pandemic increase concern regarding anxiety cases in Kuwait. Media capture our attention during this period looking for daily virus update lead to more fear. Our purpose of this study to examine the relationship between anxiety and media exposure among Kuwaiti during COVID19 outbreak Methodcross sectional study among Kuwaiti citizen between age23-55yrs old was conducted from April,21,2020 to May,15,2020 using online survey. Total of 1230 participants involve in the current study after exclusion criteria removed. Beside demographic data and media exposure anxiety was assessed using generalized anxiety disorder scale GAD-7, multivariable regression was used to identify the correlation between anxiety and media exposure Resultthe result show that there is positive correlation between media exposure and anxiety during COVID19 outbreak in Kuwait (p<.001), furthermore it revealed that there is significant relationship between the frequency of exposure and anxiety(<.001) Conclusionfrom this study we can understand that during COVID19 pandemic exposure to media can cause anxiety therefore measures should be taken by the governments to fight misinformation and physician should pay more attention to mental health disease during this period.

The emergence and the widespread of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) demands an accurate detection method to establish a diagnosis. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) is accounted for the perfect point of reference in detecting this virus. The notion that this virus also invades the male reproductive tract requires further investigation to prove the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the semen. This investigation was designed to detect SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 survivors semen. This study design was a cross-sectional examination and conducted between November 2020 and March 2021 in the Andrology Unit of Dr. Soetomo General Hospital and Professor Nidom Foundation, both located in the City of Surabaya, Indonesia. The sample was 34 male participants aged above 18 years old and had been confirmed COVID-19 by nasopharyngeal swab PCR test. Part of the semen was taken for real-time PCR testing with the QuantStudio 5 Applied Biosystem (AB) PCR machine and the kits utilized were the STANDARD M nCOV Real-Time Detection Kit and mBioCov-19 RT-PCR Kit. Furthermore, the mean of participants ages was 35.74 years old with 25% of them had had a history of primary infertility and 21.8% of secondary infertility. From the real-time PCR COVID-19 of the semen examination, this investigation found that 27 participants had been negatives (74.4%), six inconclusive (17.6%), and one positive (3%) of SARS CoV-2. In summary, SARS-CoV-2 could be found in the semen of COVID-19 survivors. This should be a concern for the potential impact of COVID-19 in male fertility and the possibility of transmission reproductively.

The newly proposed method of processing cell suspensions for spermatozoa recovery is based on differential centrifugation and allows obtaining male germ cells from biopsy samples and using them for fertilization, especially if they are critically low in number and conventional methods for sperm recovery do no work or are inefficient.

Twitter is one of the worlds biggest social media platforms for hosting abundant number of user-generated posts. It is considered as a gold mine of data. Majority of the tweets are public and thereby pullable unlike other social media platforms. In this paper we are analyzing the topics related to mental health that are recently (June, 2020) been discussed on Twitter. Also amidst the on-going pandemic, we are going to find out if covid-19 emerges as one of the factors impacting mental health. Further we are going to do an overall sentiment analysis to better understand the emotions of users. Executive SummeryNovel Corona viruss spread and its impact on various aspects of national and individuals well-being has been at the center of lot of discussions across micro-blogging sites and various social media platforms ever since it commenced in December 2019. Users are voicing their opinions on several topics related to covid-19. Social distancing as prescribed by Government and Local Administration We all are aware that the Novel Corona virus has significantly affected our physical health; however the current social distancing norms are taking a toll on the psychological well-being of individuals. The research paper presents a two-phased analysis of most recent 2000 tweets related to mental health pulled out twice over a span of one month on 28 June 2020 and 28 July2020 respectively, thereby analyzing 4000 tweets in total. The second phase analysis was conducted exactly after a gap of one month to validate the results generated by the first analysis. The intention is to analyze to what extent people have discussed about mental health in the past few months based on the information disseminated on Twitter. Data was extracted using Twitters search application programming interface (API) and Pythons tweepy library. A predefined keyword like mental health was given to find out if Covid-19 emerges as a reason for the same. Several natural language processing (NLP) techniques like tokenization, removing URL and stop words, stemming and lemmatization were used to pre-process the text data and make it ready for analysis. These collected tweets were analyzed using word frequencies of single and double words (unigram, bigram). A very unique feature of this analysis includes a network diagram that shows interconnections between the set of most common words used in to its and the connections (if any) are represented through links. Topic modeling technique in NLP visualizes the top concerns of tweeters through a word cloud. At present we have many methods to do topic modeling. In this paper we are using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) method which is a probabilistic approach of modeling given by Prof David H.B in 2003. This model deals with distribution of topics to tweets and allocation of those topics to documents and words to topics. Finally a sentiment analysis is done using text mining techniques to analyze the sentiment of the tweets in the form of positive, negative and neutral.

BACKGRAUNDHomeobox (HOX) transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR) and HOX genes are reported to be more expressed in various cancers in humans in recent studies. The role of HOTAIR and HOXD genes in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is not well known. MATERIALS AND METHODSIn this study, expression levels of HOXD8, HOXD9 and HOXD11 from HOXD gene family and HOTAIR were determined from peripheral blood samples of 30 AML and 30 CML patients and 20 healthy volunteers by quantitative Real Time PCR. RESULTSWe determined that the expression levels of HOXD9 and HOXD11 in the AML patients were significantly lower than the control group (p<0.001 and p=0.002, respectively). There was no significant difference in the expression levels of HOTAIR and HOXD8 when compared to the control group. In the CML patients there was a significant increase in the expression level of HOTAIR when compared to the control group (p=0.002). The expression levels of HOXD9 and HOXD11 were found to be significantly lower than the control group (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONOur study showed that HOTAIR may not be a biomarker in the diagnosis and is not significantly correlated with the clinicopathological prognostic characteristics of AML. Additionally; it can be said that HOTAIR is oncogenic by suppressing the expression of HOXD9 and HOXD11 but not HOXD8 in CML patients. The expression profiles of HOTAIR may be a potential biomarker in the diagnosis of CML patients in predicting and monitoring drug resistance.

BackgroundThe purpose of this protocol is to provide a updated systematic review and meta-analysis to prove the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicine in the treatment for the patients with varicocele. MethodThis protocol conforms to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) and the recommendations of the Cochrane Collaboration Handbook. We selected qualified studies published as of May 1, 2022, and systematically searched 6 English database (Embase, Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Central of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Clinicaltrials.gov) and 5 Chinese database (China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, Wanfandata, SinoMed, and Chinese Clinical Trial Registry). At the same time, relevant reviews and a list of references included in the study were retrieved, and Epistemonikos.org, ISI Web of Science and OpenGrey were manually searched to screen any other studies not included in the previous search. There will be no language restrictions. The inclusion criteria were clinical randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving the use of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of varicocele. The main results were fertility rate, adverse events, semen quality and scrotal pain score after 3 months, 6 months and 1 year follow-up. Bias analysis and evaluation will be performed based on risk of bias (ROB) assessment tool provided by the Cochrane Handbook. And use GRADEpro GDT to grade, evaluate and score the quality of the evidence. Heterogeneity will be judged by I2 value. At the same time, report bias assessment, subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were carried out. According to the Cochrane Manual of Systematic Evaluation of Interventions (Higgins 2011), if the data showed sufficiently high quality and some degree of similarity, we included the data for the meta-analysis. For dichotomy data, we selected an effect scale relative risk (RR) represented by a 95% confidence interval (CI). The continuous data is expressed as mean difference (MD) or standardized mean difference (SMD). ResultThis study will provide high-quality evidence for the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal medicine in the treatment of varicocele in subfertile men. ConclusionThis study will provide an effective and safe choice for Chinese herbal medicine to improve the fertility of patients with varicocele. EthicsThe data of this study are based on published studies and do not require additional ethical approval. We will publish our findings through peer-reviewed journals. PROSPERO database registration number: CRD42022331218

BackgroundAge-related differences in Multiple Myeloma (MM) are studied in clinical and genomic context, however, transcriptome changes have not yet been determined. The aim of this study is to identify the genes that are expressed differently in young and old patient groups and to examine the relationship of these genes with biological pathways and the drugs that can be used. MethodsThe MMRF CoMMpass cohort RNA-Seq data (n=634) was used to analyze differentially expressed genes between young and old patients. GO term and KEGG gene-set enrichment analysis were conducted using R packages. Drug-gene interactions were detected using DGIdb. ResultsGlobally, 523 genes (366 upregulated, 157 downregulated) were differentially expressed (p < 0.05) in young patients. Totally 220 GO terms, mostly related to immune regulation pathways were enriched. "Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction" gene-set was enriched in KEGG GSEA. Among the highest expression difference, genes involved in immune regulation (FCGR1A, FCER1G, TLR2), known proto-oncogenic genes (BCL2, FGR) and genes under investigation for association with various cancers (RGL4, MT-RNR1, ETS2, ENPP3, FUT7, NTNG2, PRAM1) were identified. Drugs associated with the pathways affected by these genes were identified. ConclusionsFurther investigation of differentially expressed genes in young patients may shed light on new treatment options.

The use of computed tomography (CT) for the diagnostics of COVID-19 in the Russian Federation led to significant changes in the structure of X-ray diagnostics and levels of medical exposure of the patients. This study was aimed at the preliminary operative assessment of changes in the structure and collective dose from CT examinations in several representative hospitals, regions and on the level of the Russian Federation. The results of the study indicate that during the transformation of hospitals from general medical practice into dedicated COVID-19 facilities, the number of CT examinations increased up to 30%; the collective dose from CT exams increased up to a factor of 1.5. During a partial transformation of a medical facility into the hospital with separate COVID-19 departments, the increase in the number of CT examinations in the facility was more significant (up to a factor of 2 or more). These numbers correspond to 1.5 - 2.5 chest CT examinations (from 1 to 6) per patient admitted to hospital with COVID-19 diagnosis; and 1.2 chest CT examinations per patient in outpatient facilities, including a mandatory CT scan for the staging of COVID-19. The collective dose from CT examinations in the Russian Federation for March-June period of 2020 increased by the factor of 2 (from 16k man-Sv to 32k man-Sv); the collective dose of COVID-19 patients was about 12k man-Sv. For a more detailed and reliable assessment of the dynamics of changes in the structure of diagnostic radiology and levels of radiation exposure of patients in the Russian Federation, data collection in the regions of the Russian Federation and individual medical facilities will continue.

BackgroundThe Kisspeptin system plays a critical regulatory role in female reproductive functions. However, its role is not yet investigated in primary female infertility (PFI). Materials and MethodsThis is a case-control study of consenting primarily infertile (54) and fertile (50) Nigerian females aged between 20 and 44 years who sought consult at University College Hospital, Ibadan. Basic clinical and demographic data were obtained from the participants using a clinical proforma. Five ml of blood were collected by venepuncture for kisspeptin, KISS1, and KISS1R gene expression analysis within the plasma using ELISA and RT-qPCR techniques. The menarcheal age and BMI of the cases and controls were also investigated as possible predictors of PFI. ResultThere was no significant change in the relative expression of Kisspeptin, KISS1, and KISS1R genes (p>0.05) in the plasma of the primarily infertile women (PIW) compared to the fertile women (FW). PIW with early menarche showed a significantly lower level of Kisspeptin compared to PIW with normal menarche (p=0.03). Plasma Kisspeptin levels in PIW showed a weak negative correlation (r = -.305; p=0.039) and a good predictive model for KISS1 gene expression (p=0.001; r=0.458). There was a significant difference in KISS1 gene expression in PIW when compared based on their menarcheal age categories (p=0.04). ConclusionKisspeptin levels, KISS1, and KISS1R gene expression levels in the blood may not be useful for diagnosing PFI. However, menarcheal age should be investigated as an additional diagnostic indicator for PFI.

BackgroundFragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability and autism. Gene therapy may offer an efficient method to ameliorate symptoms of the disorder. MethodsAn AAVphp.eb-hSyn-mFMR1IOS7 vector and an empty control were injected in the tail vein of Fmr1 knock out (KO) mouse and wildtype (WT) controls. KO mice were injected with 2 x 1013 vg/kg of the construct. Control KO and WT mice were injected with empty vector. After treatment the animals underwent a battery of tests: open field, marble burying, rotarod, and fear conditioning. Mouse brains were studied for levels of the Fmr1 product, FMRP. ResultsSignificant levels of FMRP were not found outside the CNS in treated animals. The gene delivery was highly efficient, where it exceeded the control FMRP levels in all tested brain regions. There was also improved performance in the rotarod test and partial improvements on other tests in the treated KO animals. ConclusionThese experiments demonstrate efficient, brain-specific delivery of Fmr1 via peripheral administration in adult mice. The gene delivery led to partial alleviation of the Fmr1 KO phenotypical behaviors. FMRP oversupply may explain why not all behaviors were significantly affected. Since AAV.php vectors are less efficient in humans than the mice used in the current experiment, studies to determine the optimal dose and using human suitable vectors will be necessary to further demonstrate feasibility.

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, resulting due to chromosomal aberration t(9;22) through formation of oncogenic BCR-ABL fusion oncogene. Modern BCR-ABL inhibitors, called TKIs, have revolutionized CML treatment. CML has three stages: chronic, accelerated, and blast crisis. TKIs work well in CP-CML, where patients survive as long as the normal population, but they dont work in AP- and BC-CML. Even with advances in treatment, BC-CML has an average overall survival of less than a year, giving oncologists little time to clinically intervene. Oncologists can delay or prevent CML advancement by detecting patients at risk of disease progression early and making timely treatment decisions, especially with third and fourth generation TKIs. However, no universal molecular biomarkers exist to diagnose CML patient groups at risk of disease progression. A recent study found that all BC-CML patients have mutant FANCD2. Our study was designed to detect mutant FANCD2 in AP-CML (early progression phase) to investigate its potential as a novel biomarker of early CML progression from chronic phase to accelerated phase due to the urgent need for such a biomarker. Our study comprised of 123 CP-CML (control group) and 60 AP-CML patients (as experimental group) from Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan, from Jan 2020 to July 2023. DNA was extracted from the patients and FANCD2 gene was sequenced using Illumina next generation sequencer (NGS) Illumina MiSeq sequencer. NGS analysis revealed a unique splice site mutation in FANCD2 gene (c. 2022-5C>T). This mutation was detected in all CP-CML patients but in none of CP-CML. The mutation was confirmed by Sanger sequencing. FANCD2 is member of Fanconi anemia (FA-) pathway gene involved in DNA repair and genomic instability. Therefore, our studies show that FANCD2 (c. 2022-5C>T) mutation as a very specific molecular biomarker for early CML progression. We recommend to clinical validate this biomarker is prospective clinical trials.

There have been concerning reports about people experiencing new onset persistent complications (greater than 30 days) following approved SARS-CoV-2 vaccines (BNT162b2 (Pfizer), mRNA-1273 (Moderna), Janssen (Johnson and Johnson), and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AstraZeneca)). We sought to determine the immunologic abnormalities in these patients and to investigate whether the potential etiology was similar to Post-Acute Sequalae of COVID (PASC), or long COVID. We studied 50 individuals who received one of the approved COVID-19 vaccines and who experienced new onset PASC-like symptoms along with 45 individuals post-vaccination without symptoms as controls. We performed multiplex cytokine/chemokine profiling with machine learning as well as SARS-CoV-2 S1 protein detection on CD16+ monocyte subsets using flow cytometry and mass spectrometry. We determined that post-vaccination individuals with PASC- like symptoms had similar symptoms to PASC patients. When analyzing their immune profile, Post-vaccination individuals had statistically significant elevations of sCD40L (p<0.001), CCL5 (p=0.017), IL-6 (p=0.043), and IL-8 (p=0.022). Machine learning characterized these individuals as PASC using previously developed algorithms. Of the S1 positive post-vaccination patients, we demonstrated by liquid chromatography/ mass spectrometry that these CD16+ cells from post-vaccination patients from all 4 vaccine manufacturers contained S1, S1 mutant and S2 peptide sequences. Post-COVID vaccination individuals with PASC-like symptoms exhibit markers of platelet activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine production, which may be driven by the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 S1 proteins in intermediate and non-classical monocytes. The data from this study also cannot make any inferences on epidemiology and prevalence for persistent post-COVID vaccine symptoms. Thus, further studies and research need to be done to understand the risk factors, likelihood and prevalence of these symptoms. SummarySARS CoV-2 S1 Protein in CD16+ Monocytes Post-Vaccination

IntroductionSeizure in children with the prevalence of 4 to 6 cases in 1000 is the most common neurological disorder in pediatrics. This study aimed to determine the causes of seizures in children admitted to Kerman hospitals in 2017 Materials and methodsIn this retrospective study, 250 hospitalized children suffering from seizure were selected through census method. Data collection tool was a checklist. The obtained data was analyzed employing SPSS24 software, using chi-square, and correlation coefficient statistical tests at the significant level P < 0.05. ResultsOut of 250 children studied, 55.6%were male and 44.4%were female. The mean age of the children was 10.54 {+/-} 3.7 years. 80.4%were born with vaginal delivery and 19.6%were born with cesarean section. 44%of the patients had febrile seizure, 23.2%epilepsy, 12.4%infection, 10%gastroenteritis, 5.2%static encephalopathy, 2.8%meningitis, 1.6%hypocalcaemia, 0.4 %metabolic disorders and 0.4 %tumor. That underlying factors of febrile seizure were upper respiratory infection (43.6%), gastroenteritis (15.7%), shigellosis (10.5%), urinary infection (9.9%), pneumonia (8.1%), unidentified fever (7.8%), otitis (3%) and dental abscess (1.4%) respectively. ConclusionAccording to this study, the most common cause of the seizure is a febrile seizure, which confirms the results of other studies. Common seizure require diagnosis, planning, and special treatments that can be obtained by taking a complete history, accurate examination, and effective Para clinical evaluations.

In the present study, three basic aspects related to COVID-19 are presented. O_LIThe occurrence of coronavirus infection is analyzed statistically as number of coronaviruses infected alveolar cells compared to normal alveolar cells in human lungs. The mole concept is used to estimate the number of normal alveolar cells per human lung. The number of coronavirus infections in infected alveolar cells is estimated from the published Lower Respiratory Tract (LRT) load data. The Poisson probability distribution is aptly applied to imply the incubation period of the coronavirus infection to be within day-3 to day-7, with the cumulative probability of 75%. The incubation period within day-0 to day-10 has a cumulative probability of 98%. It implies a 10-day quarantine to isolate an uninfected individual as a precautionary measure. C_LIO_LIThree vaccines to combat COVID-19, which adopt distinct paradigms while preparing them, are analyzed. These are Modernas mRNA-1273, Oxford-AstraZenecas ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and Bharat BioTechs COVAXIN. The mole concept is used to estimate the antigen mass density per dose of each of these vaccines as 10 g cm-3, 0.1 g cm-3 and 1 g cm-3, respectively. The vaccines are deemed to be compatible to neutralize the infection. C_LIO_LIA statistical analysis is performed of the Modernas mRNA-1273 vaccine efficacy of 94.1% and Oxfords ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine efficacy of 62.1% in terms of groups of volunteers testing negative to vaccine by chance. In the Moderna vaccination testing scenario, since the probability of negative response of vaccine is small, the Poisson probability distribution for 95% cumulative probability is used to describe the vaccination testing in 300 samples of 47 volunteers each. Thus, 87% of samples have average group of 3 volunteers testing negative to vaccine. About 6% of samples have all volunteers testing positive to vaccine. In the Oxford vaccination testing scenario, since the probability of negative response of vaccine is finite, the Gaussian probability distribution for 95% probability is used to describe the vaccination testing in 75 samples of 120 volunteers each. Thus, 68% of samples have average group of 45 volunteers testing negative to vaccine. No sample has all volunteers testing positive to vaccine. A vaccine, irrespective of its efficacy being high or low, is necessary for mass immunization. C_LI

BackgroundDuring video fluoroscopic procedures in pediatric patients, a considerable number of individuals, including occupationally exposed professionals (OEP) and patient companions, must be present, exposing themselves to radiation. ObjectiveTo determine safety areas for OEP to receive the lowest absorbed dose during the examination, as shown in isodose maps. MethodTechnical parameters used in the examination were obtained by reviewing exams conducted during the years 2021 and 2022. Subsequently, a procedure was conducted to simulate these data using an anthropomorphic phantom and taking measurements at different points and levels of the examination room to create a map with dose zones in three dimensions. A Geiger Muller ionization chamber was used to measure the doses. ResultsIt was found that the points closest to the patient at pelvic level of the professional had the highest doses. ConclusionOEP who must remain close to the patient have an essential obligation to comply with the use of radiological protection elements, and the relocation of elements in the room could be considered.

BackgroundA major risk of herbal medicine is the potential for toxicity and serious side effects. Unlike orthodox medicine, herbs are usually consumed without prior safety assessment via clinical studies. This means the clinical effects of herbs may be detected only through an assessment of health parameters of consumers. ObjectiveTo evaluate participants renal profile, comparing that of herb users with non-users, thereby identifying any differences between the two groups. DesignCross-sectional study. SettingPrimary care clinic of a teaching hospital in Nigeria Participants341 patients participated in the study. Of these, 60% were female and 80 % were of Hausa/Fulani ethnicity. All adult patients attending the clinic were eligible. Very sick patients were excluded from the research. Primary outcomeestimated glomerular filtration rate, microalbuminuria and proteinuria among patients who reported using herbs and those who did not report any use. Secondary outcomeelectrolyte, urea, and creatinine levels among study participants. ResultsThe mean eGFR for participants who used herbs was 87.47 {+/-} 25.44 ml/min/1.73m2 and 84.76 {+/-} 25.49 ml/min/1.73m2 for those who never used herbs (P value 0.48). Proteinuria [&ge;]0.3g/l was present in 29(8.50%) of participants, and microalbuminuria [&ge;]30mg/l in 138 (40.47%). There was no statistically significant difference in the renal parameters of both groups. ConclusionThe study could not establish harmful effect of the herbs reported on kidney function. Further studies in human subjects of the effect of herbal medicine on the kidney and other systems are suggested. Article SummaryO_ST_ABSStrengths and LimitationsC_ST_ABSO_LIThis study provides empiric evidence to compare renal function among users of herbal medicine and others. C_LIO_LIThe study provides a detailed evaluation of renal function in the participants using estimated glomerular filtration rate, as well as urine protein and microalbumin estimation. C_LIO_LIIt identifies the common herbs used in a primary care clinic in the most populous black nation. C_LIO_LIA major limitation of the study is that the quantity and frequency of herbal medicine use were not measured. C_LI

More than 30 blood group systems have been recognized by International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT). ABO blood group is one of the most studied blood group system. ABO blood group system consist of three alleles A, B and O, out which A and B are co-dominant and O is recessive. Many researchers and investigators have found association between ABO blood group and cancer risk. It was found from the recent data that blood group A and AB is associated with increased pancreatic and gastric cancer risk. In the present study data of ABO blood group of 243 patients, both males and females, with confirmed cases of cancer was obtained from Sir Sunderlal hospital, Institute of Medical Science (IMS), Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and Apex hospital, DLW Road, Varanasi. 250 Samples of both males and females were taken as control. Out of 243 cancer patients 117 were males and 126 were females. In 243 cases enrolled in present study, highest number of cases were of breast cancer among women and lowest were rectal cancer. It was found that A blood group was associated with breast cancer, oral cancer, liver cancer and ovarian cancer as compared to other blood group and blood group O was associated with lung cancer, gastric cancer, colon cancer, skin cancer and endometrial cancer.

BackgroundBurnout syndrome has adverse consequences for individuals, causing a variety of cognitive, affective, physical, behavioural and motivational problems. We aim to assess burnout in Portuguese radiation therapists, for who high levels of contact with patients may potentially lead to burnout. MethodsRadiation therapists working in Portugal were invited via e-mail to participate in the study by filling in a survey. The latter had two components: a social-demographic questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey. ResultsA total of 103 people responded to the survey, 95 of which employed as radiation therapists. The mean burnout scores were 20.60 {+/-} 11.21, 7.43 {+/-} 5.34 and 35.02 {+/-} 6.02, for the emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment subscales, respectively. In the same order, the total of radiation therapists presenting high levels of burnout were 29%, 14.9% and 29.3% for the different dimensions. The mean scores of burnout did not differ significantly regarding gender, civil status, working in the public or private sector and years of service. Radiation therapists aged 40 years or older presented greater scores of burnout, though with no statistical significance. ConclusionRadiation therapists working in Portugal were seen to have average scores of burnout in the emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment subscales.

IntroductionInfertility is highly stressful to married couple and has various social and psychological problems leading adverse impact on quality of life. The study examined the quality of life and factors associated with quality of life among infertile and non-infertile women. Materials and MethodsCase control study was carried out among infertile and non-infertile women to compare their QoL using the World Health Organisation Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire. Altogether 92 married women of reproductive age 20-49 facing infertility/subfertility problems were selected as cases and controls were selected in 1:1 ratio with cases after matching.The written and verbal inform consent was taken from patients and ethical approval was taken from NHRC. Epi-data was used for data entry and data was analyzed using SPSS. The data collection in this study was from May 20 2019 to June 20 2019. Multivariable analysis was applied to the variable after bivariate analysis for the adjustment. ResultsThe prevalence of infertility was found 9.1%, among then 43.5% had primary and 56.5% secondary infertility. The mean age of marriage of infertile women was significantly higher than that of non-infertile women (p 0.001).The average BMI score of infertile women was significantly higher than that of non-infertile women (p 0.001). Similarly the average perceived stress score among infertile women (28.9{+/-}4.61) and non infertile women (25.27{+/-}3.36), average anxiety score among infertile women (8.71{+/-}3.0) and among non-infertile (7.78{+/-}2.89), and average depression score among infertile women (8.14{+/-}2.67) and among non-infertile (6.86{+/-}2.49) were significantly higher in infertile women than non-infertile women. The total and subscale wise perceived social support score of infertile women was significantly lower than non-infertile women (p<0.001). The overall and inter-domain QoL score of infertile women was significantly lower than non-infertile women (p<0.001). Family planning methods used before first child (AOR-16.59, p=0.025), occupation (AOR-16.88, p=0.023) and induced abortion (AOR-0.086, p=0.047) were found as significant determinants of infertility at 95% CI. Among infertile women, only two factors, perceived stress (AOR-10.13, 95% CI: 3.52-29.18) and perceived social support (AOR-3.412, 95% CI: 1.15-10.101) found as important determinants of quality of life among infertile women, where as moderate to severe level of depression (AOR-14.61, 95% CI: 2.37-89.96); mild level of depression (AOR-3.42, 95% CI: 1.08-10.86), perceived social support (AOR-4.94, 95% CI: 1.51-16.14) and RH problems (AOR-3.539, 95% CI: 1.01-12.46) found as the determinants of quality of life among control (non-infertile women). ConclusionThe findings of this study revealed that the overall and inter domain quality of life of infertile women were lower than that of non-infertile women. A community-based and multicultural study involving more districts may shed more light on this topic in future research. Health service strengthening, priority to infertility in RH programs and counseling sessions should be incorporated as part of the holistic approach in the day-to-day management of the infertile women.