technology

Oral cancer has a tendency to be detected at late stage which is detrimental to the patients because of its high mortality and morbidity rates (survival rate 15-50% [1]). The incidence of oral cancer worldwide is approximately 3% of all malignancies, thus creating a significant worldwide health problem [2].

Background: The effect of salpingectomy on ovarian response is a matter of debate. Due to conflicting data, alternative techniques were developed to perform salpingectomy for treatment of hydrosalpinges in infertile patients. This study aims to evaluate the effect of salpingectomy on ovarian response after stimulation with gonadotropins. Methods: In a retrospective analysis, one hundred fifty-seven patients with tubal infertility were divided into three groups according to their surgical histories: bilateral salpingectomy (BS group); unilateral salpingectomy (US group); and no history of salpingectomy (NS group). Ovarian response and IVF outcomes were compared between groups by analysis of variance. Prognostic factors for ovarian response were estimated by linear regression models. Results: In the BS group, the total numbers of oocytes retrieved, and embryos obtained were significantly lower than those in the NS group (p = 0.02). Poor ovarian response was also more frequent in the BS group (p = 0.02). In the US group, follicle development was reduced on the operated side. This effect was more pronounced when salpingectomies were performed for hydrosalpinges than when performed for ectopic pregnancies, and significant decreases were observed in follicle recruitment (p = 0.005) and oocyte retrieval (p = 0.02) on the operated side. Conclusion: Salpingectomy could have a minor negative effect on ovarian response. This is particularly true with bilateral salpingectomies, in which the ovarian blood supply could be disrupted, with no possible compensation by the contralateral side.

The study was conducted in Ilu and Waliso districs of South West Shoa Zone to investigate the perception of dairy cattle producers on oestrus synchronization and mass artificial insemination services. A total of 122 respondents (38 from Ilu and 84 from Waliso districts) owning at least one lactating cow and participated in synchronization program were randomly selected and interviewed individually by using semi- structured questionnaire. Both primary and secondary data were used to generate reliable information on the intended topic. All collected data were analyzed using SPSS statistical package version 20 and the output was presented by descriptive statistics such as percentage and mean values in inform of graphs. Most of the respondents (67.15%) indicated that their satisfaction level towards synchronization and mass artificial insemination was low. Only few of them reported being satisfied as (medium-13.45%, good - 12.35% and very good - 7.05%). This might be because of shortage of feed, silent heat, poor performance of the inseminator and low awareness of farmers on the technology. From the study it was also noted that the overall percentage (26.22%) of calving rate to oestrus synchronization and mass artificial insemination was low. This might be due to heat detection problem (36%); A.I technician efficiency (29.25%), absence of A.I technician (23.9%) and distance of A.I center (10.25%). Therefore, the skill and knowledge based training should be given for both the farmers and implementers to enhance perception and adoption of the technology.

Aim and objectives: The primary aim was to measure the sperm DNA damage and to study the magnitude of sperm DNA damage. Secondary objective was to study the effect of sperm DNA fragmentation on Day 5 Blastocyst expansion (graded 1-5). Results: There is an increase in sperm DNA fragmentation with an increase in age. Increased sperm DNA fragmentation is also associated with abnormal motility and morphology in semen samples. However, there is no reduction in expansion or grade of blastocyst. Conclusion: Sperm DNA fragmentation testing is a useful investigation in unexplained infertility. However, Sperm DNA fragmentation has no significant association with Day 5 embryo grade in ICSI cycles. Thesis work of Fellowship in Reproductive Medicine student: Dr. Ramya Harish

Objective: This study aimed to investigating of the epidemiological aspects of infertility and related risk factors in infertile women. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study, carried out on 330 infertile women referred to two infertility treatment center of Imam Khomeini Hospital and Mother center in Sari, Iran, from April 2015 to March 2017. Results: 54.5% of these women were in the age of 30-39 years, infertility duration in 55.2% was 1-5 years, Body mass index (BMI) in 44.5% of samples was 26-30 kg/m2, 54.5% had diploma and associate degree. 63.6% lived in urban areas. 74.5 % of patients reported primary infertility. History of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOs) and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and poor ovarian reserve were the most common causes and risk factors for the infertility with prevalence 19.42%, 16.81% and 13.91%, respectively. Most underlying disease was thyroid disorders (54.5%). There was found statistically significant relationship between residents of urban areas and infertility duration, endometriosis and educational levels, miscarriage with thyroid. Data analysis performed using IBM SPSS 21 software and Chi-Square test (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The results showed that women with infertility in north of Iran were more likely to be older, less educated, and also had overweight. They are more possible to have ovarian disorders. In these area, thyroid disease more common like Iodine deficient regions. Future research should be focused on the reasons why majority of women don’t seek treatment for the underline significant diseases that may be effects on ovarian function and fertility.

Advanced technologies, such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), are a valuable tool which can enhance and simplify the industrial process monitoring if used correctly. State-of-the-art approaches for screening the cell growth of for example yeast during the brewing process still heavily rely on offline methods such as methylene blue or florescence dye-based staining, and/or the usage of flow cytometric measurements. These methods, while being accurate, are very time consuming and require heavy manual effort. Furthermore, the time span needed to obtain the counting result can lead to a time-delayed response signal and can impact the quality of the final product. In recent studies, applications of low-frequency EIS in the α-regime were used for the determination of cell counts and the metabolic state in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This method has proven to be a reliable tool which has also shown high potential in industrial scale applications. The online biomass monitoring, as well as viable cell count, for feasibility study was performed in-house at Stiegl Brewery in Salzburg/Austria founded in 1492.

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) considered as one of the major viral diseases threatening the poultry industry worldwide. The causative agent of the IBD is Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) which replicates in developing B lymphocytes in the bursa of Fabricius leading to its destruction and bursal inflammation. In this study, we investigated a technology to produce therapeutic recombinant antibodies against IBDV in bacteria by constructing a bacterial displayed recombinant scFv library from immunized chickens, followed by screening the scFv library by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) with FITC-labeled VP2. Twelve VP2-binding scFv clones with unique sequences were obtained, with overall amino acid homology of 81.53%. The complementarity determining region (CDR) 3 in the heavy chain displayed the lowest homology, while the amino acid sequences in framework regions and CDR2 of both chains and CDR1 of the heavy chain are relatively conserved. Twelve VP2-binding scFv clones were expressed in E.coli and purified through denaturation and denaturation of inclusion bodies. Our ELISA results showed that all scFvs exhibited binding ability and specificity to VP2 and various IBDV strains. In addition, two scFvs showed significant neutralizing activity to IBDV (B-87 strain) as these scFvs inhibited cytopathic effect of chicken embryo fibroblast (DF1) caused by IBDV. In conclusion, our study provides a lead candidate for further development of therapeutic antibodies for IBDV infection.

When I asked the students in my general Chemistry class whether grade is more important than knowledge, a majority of them opted for grades over knowledge and this answer did not surprise me a bit as the smart phones are available for them to think while their brains are corrupted or unused for most of the time. This brings one to the Einstein’s prediction that technology will develop to the point where there is no human interaction, which will be the day a new generation of idiots will emerge, and we are witnessing everywhere, including in the classrooms all over the world.

Background: Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disorder in childhood. Asthmatic attacks are described and classified according to the type of wheezing to Non –atopic and Atopic asthma (IgE mediated wheezing). The aim of this review is to determine the onset of clinical diagnosis in relation to clinical presentation of asthma in children and obstacles related to delay of Asthma diagnosis. Methods: This review highlights the results of studies done regarding clinical diagnosis in relation to clinical presentation and of asthma in children. An extensive search has been conducted for researches about asthma in children. This search based on the publications posted on the National Center for Biotechnology Information PubMed or by Google Scholar. Key words used for the research: Asthma, clinical diagnosis, children. Results and Conclusion: Diagnosing asthma in young children is difficult because children often cough and wheeze with colds and chest infections, but this is not necessarily asthma. Miss diagnosis of asthma in children occurs when physicians diagnose patients with asthma from the clinical diagnosis in the first attack without excluding other asthma mimickers which can be any other respiratory problem. There is over-diagnosis of asthma due to the symptoms which mimic other respiratory infections. First episodes of cough, runny nose and fever that happen in cold/flu season- fall/winter/early spring is likely not asthma. If the child has several more episodes of wheeze and cough, it is likely to be asthma. Since there is no diagnostic test available for children younger than 6 years of age, making a diagnosis in this age group is more difficult than in older children. Over the age of about 6 years it is possible for a child to have a spirometer test

Inferior vena cava (IVC) involvement by intraluminal extension of tumor is infrequent, occuring in 4% to 10% of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) [1-5]. Based on the cephalic extension of the thrombus, Mayo [6] described a classification of inferior vena cava thrombi in 4 categories, which has implications on surgical complexity, estimated blood loss (EBL) and peri-operative complications, but not cancer-specific survival [2,7]. Level III IVC thrombus is classified as being located in the retro-hepatic IVC below the diaphragm. Total resection of this tumor is the best chance of cure when no distant metastases are present [4,8]. Actually, open radical nephrectomy with concomitant thrombectomy is still the standard treatment. This procedure is technically challenging and involves a large incision and prolonged convalescence [9]. Recently, the feasibility of robotic IVC thrombectomy has been demonstrated, with potential lower EBL and shorter hospitalization and convalescence [7,10-14]. This surgery requires thorough knowledge of surgical anatomy, detailed pre-operative preparation and meticulous robotic technique [7]. The key point in the surgical management is the correct assessment of the extension of the endocaval thrombus, what is mainly based on radiological examinations [8]. Although Ultrasonography (US) and computerized tomography (CT) are useful in demonstrating the extent of the thrombus, CT is not always accurate in delineating the superior margin of the tumor in the IVC. More precisely, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can demonstrate a tumor thrombus and its extension, besides signs of wall invasion, being extremely useful to surgical procedure planning [8,15]. Vena cavography is not additive to US, CT, and MRI, and it increases the risk of contrast-associated renal injury [4,8]. However, new modern image technologies has emerged to help surgical planning, as three-dimensional visualization technique (3DVT) based on routine CT or MRI processed image data [16-20]. Recently, a comparative study showed advantage of 3DVT in management of complex renal tumor during laparoscopic partial nephrectomy [20]. This modality is able to demonstrate anatomy relations, allowing the surgeon to observe the relationship between targeted tumor and peripheral structure before surgery and perform virtual manipulation. This kind of preoperative accurate assessment can enhance surgeons confidence of surgical procedure and decrease surgical risk and incidence of complications [20]. There is no report in the literature of the use of this type of technology in cases of IVC tumor thrombus. We present the use of 3D holographic interactive reconstruction in a single case of robotic radical nephrectomy with level III IVC thrombectomy.

It is the dart that penetrates deep into my soul, every time I see with my own eyes how the incidence of cancer has grown in recent years. I am a pathologist. I am dedicated to diagnosing the disease from the cellular and tissue point of view. The answer to the question that haunts me may seem easy, simple, but I am not satisfied with knowing that advances in technology make it possible to diagnose a greater number of entities, many of them in early stages [1]. Of course, this statement is true. However, in recent years we have verified a greater number of cases with aggressive phenotypes, a fact that makes us ask ourselves certain questions. The first one is: Why? We know that cancer is a multifactorial disease in which genetics and different environmental factors participate. Are we witnessing the concurrence of factors that facilitate the greatest degree of neoplasms? Are habits the cause of this paradigm shift? On the table for debate is the therapeutic success of new strategies, of new drugs, of new algorithms, but the morphology is also changing. This change is exacerbated in the times of pandemic that we have lived through [2]. Pathologists attend a number of cancer diagnoses that have grown exponentially, as has the histological grade, not the staging, of it. And the initial question remains in the air, why? The fear of going to the hospital, the fear of self-exploration, the diversion of media attention to topics that arouse greater interest ... may be having a harmful effect on the health of patients [3]. I do not tell anything new, at least nothing that cannot be assumed by analyzing what happens every day in this new world, a world that will soon have to face, if not already, a cut in resources, research and other parameters that will negatively influence the answers to the eternal question: Why? In the era of personalized medicine, the same one that has reached or is close to reaching great milestones in the survival of once-deadly diseases, the microscope shows a parallel reality and allows, at least, to be pessimistic, or at least realistic: suffering…

Clinical applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare are relatively rare. The high expectations in relation to data analysis influencing general healthcare have not materialized, with few exceptions, and then predominantly in the field of rare diseases, oncology and pathology, and interpretation of laboratory results. While electronic health records, introduced over the last decade or so in the UK have increased access to medical and treatment histories of patients, diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images, laboratory and test results, these have potential for evidence-based tools that providers can use to make decisions about a patient’s care, as well as streamline workflow. In the following text, we review the advances achieved using machine learning and deep learning technology, as well as robot use and telemedicine in the healthcare of older people. Key points: 1. Artificial Intelligence use is extensively explored in prevention, diagnosis, novel drug designs and after-care. 2. AI studies on older adults include a small number of patients and lack reproducibility needed for their wider clinical use in different clinical settings and larger populations. 3. Telemedicine and robot assisted technology are well received by older service users. 4. Ethical concerns need to be resolved prior to wider AI use in routine clinical setting.

The present study was designed to measure the relationship between the consumption of Information Technology (IT) and anxiety among Pakistani youth. The inquiry included 200 conveniently selected Pakistani youth aged 16 to 24 years from 4 cities. The anxiety subscale of Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale was administered along with a demographic information questionnaire. It was hypothesized that higher use of IT would be positively correlated with higher levels of anxiety among Pakistani youth. The results significantly supported the hypothesis, and it was established that the excessive use of IT is positively and significantly correlated with anxiety. The results are consistent with similar studies carried out in countries other than Pakistan.

The use of Information Technology (IT) has made our live comfortable at present however, it has also generated certain health concerns. The disproportionate exercise of IT, with indication to accessible literature, has been consistently interrelated with psychopathological indications counting the problems of aggression as well. Although this issue was not much focused in Pakistan, this study was planned to determine the connection among the expenditure of IT and aggression in Pakistani youth. The query incorporated 200 conveniently chosen Pakistani youth between 16 to 24 years of age from 4 cities. The Aggression Scale of Buss & Perry was used along with a demographic information questionnaire. The study was hypothesized that among Pakistani youth elevated utilization of IT would be positively correlated with higher levels of aggression. It was significantly proved by the results that elevated utilization of IT is positively and significantly correlated with aggression. The findings of this study may be helpful to psychologists, counsellors, parents and teachers in diagnosing problems of the Facebook generation.

The so-called “biotechnological revolution” is changing the structure of the Pharmacopoeia [1]. The space of biological products, previously limited to blood products and vaccines, grew from the introduction of first recombinant therapeutics in the 1980s until attaining a 25% by value of the pharmaceutical market. This share is expected to reach 50% in the coming years. More than 80 biotechnology drugs have entered the market in the last ten years. It is estimated that there are more than 900 biological products on development for more than 100 diseases [2].

This review gives a brief introduction to the microarray technology and its experimental design and data analysis and a discussion of recent global progress in research using microarray technology in fish biology and aquaculture. DNA microarrays have been reported to have been used for the analysis of gene expression during various physiological, developmental or cellular processes in fish. During the recent past, investigators have begun to use microarrays on fish to address ecological, evolutionary and environmental questions including the variability of gene expression in natural populations, speciation, ecotype diversity, environmental remediation and host-pathogen interactions. The study suggests that a lot of gene expression studies have been conducted on salmon and zebrafish in Europe and USA. The same may be applied on Indian Major Carps and Catfishes to augment productivity from aquaculture sector. 

Background: The proposal that MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry could be used as a direct, rapid and affordable diagnostic tool in clinical laboratory medicine has moved from a theoretical possibility to a reality for Microbiology. Several studies have proposed the application of this technology in obstetric and gynaecological evaluation of patients. In particular, we have proposed that the adoption of MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry in examination of maternal pregnancy urine samples for the detection of Downs syndrome. Methods: A retrospective collection of 20 Down Syndrome and 100 non-aneuploid pregnancy urines at 12 to 14 weeks gestation, collected in 2007-2008 from high risk pregnancy cohorts, were examined by MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry in the mass/charge range between 1000 and 100000 m/z. Normalisation of spectral data was defined using mass bins of 100 m/z expressed as a percentage of the total ion count of the mass spectra from 2000 to 11000 m/z. Of the ninety 100 m/z bins, forty-six were identified as m/z bins at which statistically significant differences in spectra occurred between Downs and control/non-aneuploid samples. Based on the differences and variance, for values at these bins, weighted scores of the probability of being Downs were assigned. Comparative algorithms consisting of various mass bins were tested for ability to distinguish Down syndrome from non-aneuploid pregnancy. Results: Although various algorithms could distinguish Downs from non-aneuploid controls, it was found that gestational age was a confounding factor and that if separated into gestational age matched cohorts the ability to distinguish the groups improved dramatically e.g. whilst a 19 bins algorithm separated 100% of Downs from non-aneuploid pregnancies for a 9% false positive rate in the mixed gestational ages group; a two bin algorithm distinguished 100% of Downs for a 6% false positive rate for the 12 weeks gestational age pregnancies. Conclusion: Normalised MALDI-ToF mass spectra, at 2000 to 11000 m/z, of maternal urine gives rise to gestational age specific screening tests algorithms for Downs’s syndrome.

Today, there is a considerable increase in localizing adrenal bulks with the bringing radiologic diagnosis methods having high technology into use and improvement in diagnostic tests. Adrenal glands are vital tissues for the organism due to the hormones they secrete. Death is a natural result in the absence of adrenal cortex. Adrenal bulks can be seen with different clinical, laboratory and radiological data. These bulks are often benign and rarely malign. They can be functional or non-functional. Major treatment methods used fort he treatment of adrenal gland primary tumors or metastases are surgery, arterial embolisation, chemical ablation, radiofrequency ablation and radiotherapy [1-4]. Adrenal glands are one of the metastatic fields. In wide autopsy series, adrenal metastasis has been determined between the rates of 13-17% [5]. While unilateral metastasis is common, bilateral metastasis’ rate of incidence is between 4-20%. It has been stated that lung (35%), gastric (14%), esophageal (12%) and hepatobiliary (10%) primary carcinomas adrenal metastasis are prevalent most frequently [2]. Curative treatments are tested on patients having cancer with oligo metastasis limited with adrenal gland and primary source is under control because of the expectation of long-term survival, and the surgery is the first choice. These bulks can be treated with open and laparoscopic surrenalectomy in a curative way. It was reported in studies that overall survival was longer in resection of clinically isolated adrenal metastases when compared with nonsurgical therapy (including RFA, external beam radiotherapy, arterial embolization, radioembolization, chemical ablation, and cryoablation) [1,2,5,7]. Lo et al., found one-year survival as 73% and two-year survival as 40% in their study conducted on 52 patients having curative resection for solitary adrenal metastasis [3]. Tanvetyanon et al., demonstrated 5-year survival rates of 25% following resection of isolated synchronous adrenal metastases and reported 26% after resection of metachronous adrenal metastases in their study conducted on NSCLC patients developing solitary adrenal metastasis [4]. Conducted studies revealed that the rate of complication was 9-20% in patients having adrenalectomy for solitary adrenal metastasis [2-4,7]. In recent years, the use of radiotherapy, which is a treatment modality as effective as surgical resection, has become prevalent for the management of oligometastases. Today, three different modalities have been tested in the radiotherapy treatment of adrenal gland metastases. In the first one, total 50 Gy treatment dose with 3D-CRT as daily 2 Gy fraction dose is given [8]. The second one is IMRT implementations for adrenal gland metastases but it isn’t thought as suitable according to Practice Guidelines for Neuroendocrine Tumors published by NCCN in 2010. The third radiotherapy modality is stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). SBRT implementations have started to be preferred today since they are completed in a few fractions in addition to that they show close results to surgery for primary tumors and metastases. Holy et al., implemented SBRT to patients having 13 solitary adrenal metastases with NSCLC at 5 fractions and between 20 and 40 Gy total doses. They found disease-free survival as median 12 months, overall survival as median 23 months and local control rate as 77% [9]. In SBRT implementations for different cancer types determined 30 adrenal metastases, Chawla et al., reported the rates of one-year survival, local control and distant metastasis as 44%, 55% and 13% respectively [10]. In Casamassima et al.,’s study on this issue, the rate of two-year local control was found as 90% [11]. Second degree toxicity was seen in none of the above mentioned studies according to the RTOG toxicity classification. Wardak et al., reported that the patient having lung cancer that they implemented SBRT for bilateral adrenal metastases developed adrenal insufficiency depending on SBRT [6]. Ippolito et al., Reported that adrenal insuffiency may be due to both the tumor and the local treatment [12]. Incidence of symptomatic adrenal insufficiency were reported 4% [2,13]. Casamassima et al and Onishi et al studies, two grade 2 adrenal insuffiencies were reported [11,14]. Consequently, when all these data were evaluated, it is seen that SBRT use has gradually become prevalent for patients not suitable for surgery because of comorbid disease, for patients having oligometastatic cancer that are not suitable for surgery since it has vital risk to resect or that refuse surgery. However, it hasn’t been clear yet that local control will be provided with how many total doses and which fraction schema. There is no agreement on the examination of the adrenal hormone axes because of the short length of life. Besides, it should be kept in mind that adrenal insufficiency can develop in patients implemented SBRT because of bilateral adrenal metastasis developing as synchronous or metachronous. The hormone levels of these patients need to be followed. More researches should be done to lighten this matter.  

Socioeconomic barriers appears to be the greatest threat to dental care apart from considering the geographic location of the population. Access to need of care becomes primary consideration and through teleconsultation it is possible to overcome these barriers. As oral cavity being gateway to entry of health problems, dental treatment becomes a pivotal in health care system. Tele medicine and Tele dentistry becomes effective in treatment of health problems, reducing the chances of late stage detection of the abnormalities. It allows us to utilize our time better and screen more patients. This article aims to provide amazing technology of Tele dentistry involving all the dental specialties to reach all the populations of the society.

Introduction: Obesity is a global-level epidemic. Together with this disease, called chronic subclinical inflammatory disease, many other diseases, known as comorbidities, arise. Objective: To show that the association between low-level laser therapy and physical exercise is supported, by experimental and clinical studies, being an instrument that maximizes the treatment of obesity as well as its comorbidities. Conclusion: This manuscript brings a compendium of accomplished work by our group that allows understand the mechanism base of interaction between the photonic technology and the physical exercise, allowing to potentiate the treatment of the obesity.