Recent Articles

The current standard of care offers surgery as the most favored treatment modality for morbidly obese patients to achieve weight loss. The currently available surgical techniques have some limitations and introduction of novel techniques is inevitable. The aim of this study is to introduce the novel gastric partitioning bypass technique and assess its effectiveness and adverse effects.Thirty individuals were randomly recruited from a population who were eligible for bariatric surgery. The subjects had a baseline visit and were followed-up after surgery assessing weight loss and adverse effects related to the surgery.The study population included 30 patients (Mean age 41±5 and 93% female). Mean BMI and excess body weight at the baseline were 49±7 kg/m² and 79±15 Kg, respectively. Median follow-up time was 36 months and 27 (90%) patients completed the study. Excess weight loss was 54.76 ± 13.76 % and 60.43 ± 14.49% after 12 and 48 months, respectively. In post-operative period Two patients (6.6%) developed surgical site infection, other complications such as bleeding or anastomotic leakage, or any complication requiring emergent surgery were not detected.

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to examine the prevalence of psychological flag signs (yellow, black and blue) in workers who had sustained a low back injury and to examine the relationship between the presence and number of these signs and the level of pain, disability, anxiety, depression and ability to work. Methods: This study involved a review of the electronic files of injured workers with an active work-related claim related to the lumbar spine. The information on demographics, presence and number of psychosocial and workplace risk factors, level of disability as measured by the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), pain intensity as measured by the numeric pain rating scale (NPRS), and anxiety and depression as measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was extracted from standardized forms.

Since a common question arises toward the end of life about prognosis and that clinicians vary widely in the accuracy of their survival predictions, it is important that advancements be developed, one of which is to design or improve prognostic tools. To test the reliability of the new Prognostat tool for survival. Prospective multi-site mixed methods study with data collection, survey, and focus groups. prediction in palliative care patients. Prognostat form completed during first assessment by a palliative physician or nurse on admission to a palliative care unit or first ward or home consult.

The benefits of exercise have been known a long time ago, physical activity is an important factor to reduce the risk of unhealthy weigh. Certain types of foods, eating habits have been linked to weight and BMI. The purpose of the study was to identify the relationship between exercise, eating habits and BMI. This was an observational descriptive cross-sectional university-based study of 100 female medical students of Almaarefa Colleges from level 3 to 8, participants were chosen randomly and questionnaires were distributed among them and anthropometric measurements were taken for BMI calculations. Out of 100 female medical students, 52% were of a normal weight category at level 5-6. Obesity was only seen among level 3-4 (12%).57% of normal weight participants don’t eat very fast. 52% of normal weight participants exercise and 35% of them exercise 3 times or more a week. No obese participants were seen in those who exercise 3 times a week or more. 60% of overweight/obese participants exercise 2 times or less a week. This study revealed a strong association between physical activity and BMI, also fast eating was found to be associated with obesity.

An 11-year-old spayed female dog was presented for a large mass on the left proximal pelvic limb. The mass appeared three months prior to presentation in the location of a previous corticosteroid injection, Kenalog (0.05 mg/kg triamcinolone, CAS# 76-25-5). No vaccinations or injections had been previously given in this area. The mass spanned from the left stifle to the coxofemoral joint and was firm, circular, non-moveable, and diffusely mixed within the musculature of the thigh. A left external complete hemipelvectomy was performed. Histopathology was consistent with a Grade III fibromyxosarcoma. The dog died naturally at home five months after surgery. This is the first account of association of a corticosteroid injection with formation of a fibromyxosarcoma in a dog.

Introduction: Serum 14-3-3 eta provides diagnostic and prognostic information in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). It is coded by the YWHAH gene with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) linked to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. It was hypothesized that 6 previously described YWHAH SNPs might relate to markers of RA disease severity such as seropositivity or erosive changes. Association study performed at an academic hospital Rheumatology Clinic. Subjects studied were 18 years of age or older with RA. TaqMan analysis screened for YWHAH SNPs rs2246704, rs2853884, rs3747158, rs4820059, rs7291050, rs933226. Primary endpoint was presence of at least one copy of the YWHAH SNPs with the markers of RA disease severity.

The occurrence of cystic echinococcosis (CE) at a national level or in large regional areas is an issue difficult to determine in a cost-effective way, integrating both human and animal data, and thus leading to effective control measures. In Portugal, the abattoirs in north Douro region receive a large percentage of heads of cattle from the whole country which makes them ideal places for the implementation of a surveillance system for this zoonosis. Data was obtained for cattle slaughtered in 9 abattoirs in north region of Douro River, with visible CE-like cysts at meat inspection. An excel database was constructed with the records of condemned viscera due to hydatid cysts in cattle for 2008, 2009, 2010, and the first half of 2011. Most of the cysts were found in the lungs and livers (23.5%), only in livers (21.5%) or only in lungs (18.1%). Individual information concerning each animal contributed to the depiction of a distribution map by regions of the occurrence of positive cases in Portugal. From the 149 cases registered, it was possible to identify the place of infection in 93 cases (62.4%), in which the rate of distribution was 21 (22.6%) in the north, 14 (15.1%) in the center, 57 (61.3%) in Alentejo and 1 case (1.1%) in Algarve. This distribution of cases coincides with the location of human and animal cases reported before, with special focus on the Alentejo and in the northeast of the country.

The coexistence of chronic diseases has led to greater negativity in patients than the negativity of diseases individually speaking. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the body mass index on metabolic profile, isometric and isokinetic muscle strength, static and dynamic balance, and anaerobic capacity in dyslipidemia patients, as well as to emphasize what exercises should be recommended for recovering the experienced functional loss of the patients. Forty five patients (26 women, 19 men) between 40 and 75 years of age and who were newly diagnosed as dyslipidemia were enrolled into this study. The patients were divided into two groups according to their body mass indexes (BMI): group 1 (n:18) or those whose BMI was lower than 25 kg/m2, and group 2 (n:27) or those whose BMI was higher than 30 kg/m2. Biochemical blood sampling was done. The Get Up and Go, single leg stance, anaerobic capacity, and isometric as well as isokinetic muscle strength tests were performed in order to evaluate functional capacities. There were no statistically significant differences shown at gender distribution, age, or height (p>0.05) between groups. The weight and BMI’s between the groups were statistically significantly different (p

Hydrotherapy, as the name suggests is the most ancient method of treating diseases by using water in its various forms. The use of water for therapy has been around for hundreds of years. The cold wet sheet pack is one of the common hydrotherapy techniques used for reducing body weight. There have been no documented studies conducted to scientifically evaluate this effect. This study is an attempt to examine the effect of cold wet sheet pack on body temperature. Application of cold wet sheet pack for particular duration increases the body temperature by utilization of calories thus may leads to reduction of bodyweight. Thirty healthy volunteers were randomly selected from medical students enrolled in a naturopathic programme. The participants were of both sexes aged between 18 and 25 years under normal Body mass index (18.5-25). A cold (20 oC± 1 oC) wet sheet pack has given to each of the participants for one hour duration. The outcome measures were resting blood pressure, body temperature and pulse rate. 30 Participants were successfully completed the study, all participants have shown a raise in body temperature after intervention which was statistically significant (P=0.003). There is no significant change in blood pressure and pulse rate. Also there was a week positive correlation between body mass index and body temperature. A cold wet sheet pack for one hour has shown a raise in body temperature, which indicate that the cold wet sheet pack have a role in reducing body weight by utilizing the calories. However, these observations are based on a short term single arm pre-post design on healthy students. A cold wet sheet pack has been demonstrated in this study to have a significant effect in increasing body temperature and shows perspiration by utilization of calories. Large scale randomized control trials in obese patients over a longer period are warranted to conform the results which was uncovered in this study.

In this paper, we introduce the notion of a complex interval which is significant for interval-valued data and interval-based signal processing. First, we present the space of complex intervals and investigate the quasilinear structure of the space of complex intervals. We observe that this space is Hilbert quasilinear space with a set-valued inner product.

In order to detect if there is any correlation between the level of total and specific Chlamydia serology titre and the degree of tubal disease at laparoscopy in sub fertile women and to compare the results with a control group. A retrospective controlled clinical study was conducted in a hospital setting (both inpatient and outpatient clinic). A total of hundred and twenty two sub fertile women who underwent laparoscopy/tubal surgery in the period between January 2011-January 2014 were included. This included 40 women with positive Chlamydia Trachomatis specific titre (group 1), 40 with positive Chlamydia serology total titre only (group 2) and 42 women with negative Chlamydia serology titre (control group). Chlamydia serology titre was measured by ELISA. The differentiated Chlamydia specific titres were measured using Microscopic Immunofluorescence Assay (MIF) to determine the immunity status. The Chlamydia Trachomatis IgG titres were classified for the purpose of the study into normal (=1/64). Laparoscopic grading of tubal disease was performed into grades 1-3 according to the severity of the tubal damage which was compared to the Chlamydia titre. Pearson`s correlation test was used as a descriptive measure.

Realistic assessment of the yield and nutritional value of baobab as well as the elucidation of its inhibitory action against oxidative stress were the targets of the study. An average baobab tree can yield 80kg fruits, 14kg pulp, 23kg seeds and 130kg leaves per year. Despite considerable variability, the leaves outstrip in mean Ca (1241 mg/100g dry sample), Fe (40mg/100g dry sample) and ß-carotene (135μg/100g dry sample) content.

Background: Echocardiography and lung ultrasound are important tests for assessing left the ventricular function in patients presented to the emergency department with acute pulmonary edema. Chest ultrasound is becoming an important tool in diagnosing acute pulmonary edema. Aim: To investigate the relationship between the B profile on ultrasound chest and Spectral tissue Doppler echocardiography (E/e’ratio) in patients presented with the suspicion of acute pulmonary edema. Methods: This paper reports a prospective observational study of 61 consecutive patients, which was presented with symptoms and signs of pulmonary edema and B - profile detected by echocardiography with a 5 MHz curvilinear probe. Critical care physicians trained in ultrasound examination performed echocardiography and chest ultrasounds.

To determine the causes of wildlife morbidity and mortality in East Tennessee, we performed a retrospective analysis using 14,303 records from cases presented to the wildlife clinic of the University of Tennessee between 2000 and 2011. The cases were first categorized into herptile (includes reptiles and amphibians), mammal, or avian and then classified into 1 of 20 groups based on the primary admitting/presenting sign. The top reasons for presentation were trauma, found abandoned/orphaned, hit by automobile, cat-related injury, and dog-related injury. Overall mortality was 45.3% for the herptile cases, 57.6% for mammal cases, and 65.1% for avian cases. There are a variety of reasons animals were presented to the clinic, and some appear to be attributed to anthropogenic factors such as automobiles (n = 1253) and habitat destruction (n = 218), while the origin of others, such as trauma and disease remain unknown. This study confirms the importance of monitoring wildlife morbidity and mortality as an indicator of ecosystem health and of focusing efforts to reduce the anthropogenic threat on native habitats and resident wildlife populations.

Temperature and size dependence magnetic moment of zigzag (n, 0) (n= 4, 6, 8, 10) copper oxide nanotubes (CuO NTs) have been computed by using a standard density functional theory. The computational work carried out by employing spin polarized generalized gradient approximation with revised Perdew Burke Ernzerhoff type parameterization along ab-initio approach. Bond length, binding energy and total magnetic moment have been analyzed and found that the bond length decreases at first and become saturated with increasing size of the nanotube.

Aim: In the present study we aimed to determine the prevalence of thyroid cancer and the clinicopathological properties of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) in a patient population undergoing dialysis for end-stage renal failure (ESRF). Material and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all thyroid ultrasonography (USG) examinations performed between January 2007 and December 2015 to determine the incidence of nodular thyroid disease in ESRF and normal patient populations. For both patient groups, differences between patient and tumor characteristics were evaluated in patients diagnosed to have PTC.

Introduction: Yersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of plague, has caused major pandemics in human history and continues to be both a natural and bioterrorist threat to human populations. Plague exists in nature in either an epidemic or enzootic state. Geographic models of the epidemic state have primarily been developed using flea and reservoir species, however little is known of the enzootic state and potential cryptic reservoir species and few endemic models have been produced.

A food allergy usually occurs when the body reacts abnormally to a food. The symptoms of food allergy may range from mild to severe. The onset of food allergy usually begins in the childhood, but it can occur at any age. The onset of allergy may vary from minutes to several hours. Reactions to foods are not limited to ingestion reactions only, but even a tiny amount of the allergy-causing food can trigger signs and symptoms such as digestive problems, hives or asthma.

Chikungunya is a viral disease caused by positive sense single stranded RNA virus. High fever, myalgia, arthralgia, body rashes are the characteristic features of Chikungunya transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. We aim to demonstrate that dominant epitopes of envelope E2 protein can be used for diagnostic purposes as well as vaccine design. Multiple Antigenic Peptide (MAP) approach was used based on B and T cell epitopes of E2 protein. Humoral and cell mediated responses were studied in outbred and inbred H-2d mice. Different groups of mice were immunized intramuscularly with or without adjuvant (CpG ODN and murabutide) in PLGA microspheres. MAP entrapped in microspheres with CpG ODN showed highest IgG peak titer (2,98,000) with IgG subclass, mostly IgG2a/2b distribution. MAP’s antisera showed significant immunoreactivity with individual peptides. During thymidine incorporation assay for T cells, all the MAPs showed high lympho-proliferative response. Cytokine profile was dominated by Th1 and Th17 response. Thus, all the MAPs showed high humoral and cell mediated response with CpG/ murabutide adjuvant. MAP’s antisera showed significant in vitro neutralization of CHIKV strain in vero cells.

Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that require living cells in order to replicate. Cell culture for propagation and identification of viruses is an important component of the clinical virology laboratory. In general, diagnostic tests can be grouped into three categories: direct detection, virus isolation and serology. Direct examination methods can usually give a result either within the same or the next day. Immunofluorescence is widely used for the rapid diagnosis of virus infections by detection of virus antigen in clinical specimens and detection of virus-specific antibodies.