Most Viewed Articles

The finite element method (FEM) is an engineering resource used to predict the stresses in structures that have complex geometries, specific material properties and are subject to complex loading patterns, being widely used in medical and biological research. It has the advantage of being a noninvasive and accurate method, which provides quantitative and detailed data about the physiological reactions that can occur in the tissues [1-5].

Forensic analysts are more than ever facing challenges upon conducting their deep investigative analysis on digital devices due to the technological progression. Of these are the difficulties present upon analyzing web browser artefacts as this became more complicated when web browser companies introduced private browsing mode, a feature aiming to protect users’ data upon opening a private browsing session, by leaving no traces of data on the local device used. Aiming to investigate whether the claims of web browser companies are true concerning the protection private browsing provides to the users and whether it really doesn’t leave any browsing data behind, the most popular desktop browsers in Windows were analyzed after surfing them regularly and privately. The results shown in this paper suggest that the privacy provided varies among different companies since evidence might be recovered from some of the browsers but not from others.

Background: In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the health crisis left in its wake, our goal is to develop extensive machine-learning techniques to provide a clear picture of the treatment, and possible mistreatment, of specific patient demographics during hospital triaging.Objective: We aim to reveal whether a patient’s treatment and hospital disposition is related to the following attributes - Emergency Severity Index (ESI), gender, employment status, insurance status, race, or ethnicity which our 100 MB dataset included.Materials and methods: Our work is separated into two parts - the classification task and data analysis. As part of the classification task, we used the k-Nearest-Neighbor classifier, the F1-score, and a random forest. We then analyze the data using SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) values to determine the importance of each attribute.Results: Our findings show that significance varies for each attribute. Notably, we found that patients with private insurance programs receive better treatment compared to patients with federal-run healthcare programs (e.g. Medicaid, Medicare). Furthermore, a patient’s ethnicity has a greater impact on treatment for patients under 40 years of age for any given ESI level. Surprisingly, our findings show language is not a barrier during treatment.Discussion and conclusion: We, therefore, conclude that although hospitals may not be doing so intentionally, there is a systemic bias in hospital triaging for specific patient demographics. For future works, we hope to aggregate additional patient data from hospitals to find whether specific demographics of patients receive better healthcare in different parts of the United States.

Due to extensive COVID-19 prevention measures, millions of tons of chemicals penetrated the natural environment. Alterations of viruses in the environment, the neglected perceiver of environmental fluctuations, remain obscure. Chemicals especially trihalomethane restrained the virus community diversity. Segments of SARS-CoV-2 RNA have been detected near hospitals that suggesting the environment as a missing link in the transmission route. Human viruses lurking in the environment were potentially activated by pandemic prevention chemicals, warning an overlooked burden to human health. This letter warns of the risk of activation of human viruses in the environment following the overuse of COVID-19 prevention devices and emphasizes the long-term monitoring of environmental viruses in the post-pandemic period.

Strongyloidiasis is an intestinal parasitic infection caused by the nematode Strongyloides stercoralis. It is endemic in rural tropical and subtropical areas with a prevalence of 100 million people worldwide [1]. In Spain, we find endemic areas at several points on the Mediterranean coast [2].

Aims: There is no study in the literature about ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) levels in amniotic fluid for Down syndrome cases. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of IMA and HGF in Down syndrome cases at 16-20 weeks of gestation compared to normal fetuses.Methods: For this prospective case-control study, following reaching the number of 20 women (study group) who had the prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, maternal and gestational age-matched pregnant women with normal constitutional karyotype were selected for the control group (n = 74) from the stored amniotic fluid samples. Results: Mean women and gestational ages were comparable between the two groups. Amniotic fluid IMA (1.32 ± 0.13 vs. 1.11 ± 0.11 ABSU, respectively, p < 0.001) and HGF (2743.53 ± 1389.28 vs. 2160.12 ± 654.63 pg/mL, respectively, p = 0.008). Levels were significantly higher in pregnant women having Down syndrome fetuses compared with women having normal fetuses. The amniotic fluid IMA levels for the diagnosis of Down syndrome, and the sensitivity and specificity were calculated as 95.0% and 71.6% for the limit value 1.171 cm3, respectively. Conclusion: In cases with suspected Down syndrome, the diagnosis of Down Syndrome may be made in approximately 1 hour with high sensitivity and specificity by measuring the IMA level in the amniotic fluid sample taken for fetal karyotyping.

A clinical case of treatment of two severe intrabony defects on the aesthetic zone is reported and followed for one year. The biomaterial of choice was enamel matrix derivative (Emdogain®; Straumann™) alone with a preservation papilla flap and a minimally invasive surgical technique. After surgical treatment, the patient was kept in a supportive periodontal therapy programme with 6-month interval between appointments. In the one year after surgery appointment, clinical and radiographic changes were observed, showing periodontal health and stability. 

The relevance of this work is due to the insufficient number of modern studies on the treatment of patients with paranoid schizophrenia with non-suicidal autoaggressive actions or in short: “NSAA”, who have had a coronavirus infection. The aim of the study was to study the role of buspirone in the complex therapy of patients with paranoid schizophrenia with NSAA who had a coronavirus infection. Materials and research methods: 99 patients with paranoid schizophrenia meeting ICD-10 criteria were examined by a continuous, non-randomized clinical method. Fisher’s test was used for statistical evaluation. Results: It was established that the consequence of the coronavirus infection was an increase in the proportion of residual organic changes in the form of manifestations of the dysphoric syndrome, specific changes in the cognitive sphere, and the autonomic nervous system. The manifestations of dysphoria included an increase in the frequency of openly manifested aggression, anxiety, impulsivity, and the implementation of NSAA by the type of affective discharge. The structure of acquired cognitive impairments consisted of changes in thinking by the type of thoroughness, and rigidity of perseveration. Changes in the autonomic nervous system are presented in the form of diencephalic crises. Also, psychotic states not characteristic of the previously examined patients were noted, such as twilight stupefaction, delusional symptoms of Cappgras, Fregoli, and tactile hallucinosis. It has been established that the use of buspirone as part of complex therapy with neuroleptics, compared with monotherapy with neuroleptics, increases the effectiveness of therapy in relation to these clinical manifestations in the studied individuals. Conclusion: The use of buspirone in combination with neuroleptic drugs increases the effectiveness of therapy in relation to the leading psychopathological manifestations in patients with paranoid schizophrenia with NSAA who have undergone coronavirus infection.

Although intussusception occurs in children and adults with celiac disease, it is a relatively uncommon symptom. Even more rare is the occurrence of intussusception as the presenting symptom of the disease. In the two cases we report here, transient intussusception, occurring at three years of age, was the first and only physical sign of celiac disease, and lead to a timely diagnosis by immunoserology and histology, followed by implementation of a gluten-free diet before sequelae such as significant anemia or Failure to Thrive (FTT) developed. In both cases, neither immunoserological nor physical signs of disease were present at the follow-up examination after 6 months on a gluten-free diet. In addition, genetic screening of the patients’ families revealed HLA-DQ2 positivity in two cases, leading to the additional diagnosis of celiac disease in the pregnant mother of one of the patients.

Objective: To report our experience in the management of gastric cancers at the Kara University Hospital (Togo).Materials and methods: This was a retrospective and prospective study which was conducted from January 1, 2018, to July 31, 2021, in the general surgery and hepato-gastroenterology department of the Kara University Hospital (Togo). This study involved all patients treated for gastric cancer during the study period at CHU Kara (Togo).Results: We recorded 32 gastric cancers out of the 218 cases of cancer diagnosed during the study period. We had 20 men and 12 women with a sex ratio (M/F = 1.7). The average age was 58 years with the extremes ranging from 17 to 85 years. The pattern of the consultation was dominated by epigastralgia (100%) and deterioration in general condition (100%). Upper digestive endoscopy with biopsies was performed in all our patients. The antral localization was the most found in 62.5% of cases. The most common macroscopic appearance was ulcers-budding (90.6%) and the dominant histological type was moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma (87.5%). The extension assessment found liver metastasis in 10 cases, multiple regional lymphadenopathies of the hepatic pedicle and celiac trunk in 26 cases, ascites related to peritoneal carcinomatosis in 26 cases. Therapeutically, a 4/5 gastrectomy with D1 dissection was performed in 6 cases; gastrojejunal anastomosis in one case and palliative treatment in 25 cases. Survival at 1 year is 50% (3 patients) among operated patients. All the other patients (78.1%) who received palliative treatment all died within 3 months.Conclusion: Improving the prognosis of stomach cancer like other cancers requires early diagnosis to perform a gastrectomy, the only guarantee of long survival.