Heliyon

BackgroundSelenium is a trace element essential for the normal functions of different human body systems and its deficiency has been associated with different disease states. In recent years, many systematic reviews of randomized clinical trials in humans have demonstrated various properties of selenium such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, increased immunity, blocking tumour invasion and metastasis in various pathological conditions. Therefore, there is need to summarize these recent findings...

BackgroundSince the first year of the COVID-19 global pandemic, a hypothesis concerning the possible protection/immunity of beta-thalassemia carriers remains in abeyance. MethodsThree databases (Pubmed Central, Scopus and Google Scholar) were screened and checked in order to extract all studies about incidence of confirmed COVID-19 cases OR mortality rate OR severity assessment OR ICU admission among patients with beta-thalassemia minor, were included in this analysis. The language was limited ...

The curvilinear relationship between a screening tests positive predictive value (PPV) and its target disease prevalence is proportional. In consequence, there is an inflection point of maximum curvature in the screening curve defined as a function of the sensitivity (a) and specificity (b) beyond which the rate of change of a tests PPV declines sharply relative to disease prevalence ({phi}). Herein, we demonstrate a mathematical model exploring this phenomenon and define the prevalence threshol...

BackgroundTrans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is commonly used for patients with large, un-resectable tumors or bridge therapy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prior to liver transplantation. We evaluated the response to TACE treatment in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma according to modified RECIST criteria and determined the prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). MethodsPatients with definitive diagnosis of HCC referred for TACE were studied. The re...

ObjectiveDistinguishing undifferentiated-type (diffuse-type) from differentiated-type (intestinal-type) cancer is crucial for determining the indication of endoscopic resection for gastric cancer. This study aimed to evaluate on-site diagnostic performance of conventional white-light endoscopy (WLE) and magnifying narrow-band imaging (M-NBI) in determining the subtype of gastric cancer. DesignWe conducted a multicenter prospective single-arm trial. Patients who planned to undergo treatment for ...

ObjectiveTo investigate the correlation between postoperative anastomotic leakage (AOL) and dynamic changes in systemic immune inflammatory index (SII) scores in esophageal cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NAC-CA) after surgery. MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on 247 esophageal cancer patients who underwent NAC-CA surgery at Fujian Medical University Union Hospital and Yantai Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University (two centers) from January 2021...

IntroductionUmbilical cord blood contains stem cells which are useful in chemotherapy, implantation; however, cord RBC is considered as a waste product. It is necessary to use the umbilical cord blood for neonatal blood transfusion to avoid diseases. Nowadays, nanoparticles are used in biomedical and pharmaceutical industry. Nanoparticles interact with blood via different routes. In addition, these nanoparticles used in biomedicine, drug delivery, bioimaging, and to increase the shelf life of RB...

MethodsGastric cancer between May 2002 and December 2020 and who had undergone resection of the primary cancer. We analyzed these patients to study the association between survival and tumor size by Cox proportional hazards model and restricted cubic splines. ResultsA total of 1708 patients met the inclusion criteria, with a median age of 58 years. The distribution of tumor size was correlated with patients underwent different D2+ gastrectomy (P<0.001) and located different tumor site(P=0.002)....

Background68Ga-Pentixafor positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is an emerging method for the classifying primary aldosteronism (PA). How to use this method for PA classification is still controversial. MethodsA retrospective study was conducted in patients with PA who underwent PET/CT. These patients had a classification diagnosis of unilateral PA (UPA) or bilateral PA (BPA) based on adrenal venous sampling or post-surgical outcomes. Area under the receiver operating charac...

BackgroundAnastomotic leakage is a critical postoperative complication after gastric cancer surgery. Previous studies have not specified radiological findings of anastomotic leakage. We investigated the potential burden caused by postoperative anastomotic leakage and explored the objective appearances of anastomotic leakage on computed tomography (CT) examination. MethodsGastric cancer patients who underwent curative gastrectomy and had a CT examination after surgery were included in this study...

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the etiological agent for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). It is possible that vaccine failure could be related to the events involved at the origin of HIV/AIDS. In this work the role of the adjuvant activation hypothesis on the origin and on the failure of vaccines, as well as other effects is evaluated by means of a simulation using a mathematical analysis, differential equations and an Excel spreadsheet. The results show that the adjuvant activa...

IntroductionDiabetes is an independent risk factor for the development of severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and associated with pneumonia-related hospitalization as well as mortality. Here, we assessed several selected biomarkers to determine their predictive value for progression to severe CAP among diabetic patients. Research design and methodsA retrospective cohort study of diabetic patients with CAP was conducted at a tertiary teaching hospital. The prediction model group (N=100) co...

ObjectiveThe ratio of monocyte to apolipoprotein A1 (MAR) is a new diagnostic indicator of some chronic diseases, but there have been no reports on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to explore the predictive value of MAR in HCC. MethodsA total of 270 patients with HCC, 540 hepatitis B patients and 540 healthy volunteers were included. Laboratory data including monocyte counts and apolipoprotein A1 levels were retrospectively collected from electronic medical records. The truncati...

BackgroundToday humanity is facing another infectious threat: a newly emerging virus SARS-CoV-2 causing COVID-19. It was already described that COVID-19 mortality among elderly people and people with such underlying conditions as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes s increased. Dysregulation of the immune responses vital for antiviral defense, which are typical for chronic inflammation, led us to a hypothesis that chronic inflammation is the main ...

BackgroundThe collection of blood samples in different vacutainers can affect the result of serum lithium estimation due to the presence of distinct additives added in the blood collection vacutainer for enhancing the clot formation process. The presence of these additives has proven to interfere with laboratory results of biochemical analytes. In this case, both the pre-analytical and the analytical phases have a significant impact on the accuracy and precision of the test result. Thus, it has ...

Background/ObjectivePolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrinopathies during reproductive age, affecting up to 25% of women worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Time Restricted Eating (TRE) as an alternative to traditional hormonal therapy in patients with PCOS. MethodsA prospective, longitudinal, comparative clinical study was conducted. A total of 16 patients, diagnosed with PCOS, were divided into three groups to assess combined and isola...

Background: According to the biodiversity hypothesis, interaction with microbially rich natural environments reduces the risk of immune-mediated diseases, such as atopy, allergies, and asthma. Urban environments have been associated with a higher prevalence of these diseases, and beneficial immunological and microbiological changes have been observed when contact with microbiologically diverse materials has been re-established in intervention studies. Methods: The current study is the first larg...

BackgroundRed blood cells transfusions (RBCT) are utilized to restore normal values of hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit percentage in anemic patients. As expected, RBCT often leads to local and global alteration of blood flow (BF) and blood/tissue oxygenation which could have local deleterious consequences. This complicates its use and its dosage and there is no consensus on liberal versus restrictive RBCT in critically ill patients. Blood gas sampling is utilized to bring objectivity to ...

Interleukin-6 (IL6) and Interleukin-8 (IL8) are cytokines related to general immune function, but within Sickle Cell Anemia (SCA) patients, their overproduction tends to cause auto-immune reactions. These vital cytokines engage in the pathophysiology of SCA, but the extent to which they are associated with the genetics of the disease requires further exploration. This research paper seeks to further the study of IL6 and IL8 in SCA patients as well as the possibilities to predict their presence i...

ObjectivePatients hospitalized in the intensive care unit are usually under stress due to severe diseases and infections, which may lead to a decrease in the level of micronutrients in them. Among micronutrients, the assessment of serum selenium and zinc status in critically ill patients is of great importance, because these two minerals play a vital role in maintaining health and immune system function. Therefore, this study examines the status of serum zinc and selenium in adults hospitalized ...