Acta Informatica Medica最新文献

Background: Immune-mediated inflammatory injury among systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) individuals may be involved by dendritic cells (DCs) abnormality though the underlying mechanism remains incompletely understood.

Objective: This study aimed to elaborate MSCs' potential in suppressing abnormal DCs cell function on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) among SLE patients.

Methods: MSCs were isolated from human umbilical cord blood. On the other side, human PBMCs were isolated from 20 active SLE patients and 5 healthy controls. The PBMCs of SLE patients were divided into 5 groups: sham (Sh) and control (C) groups were treated with standard medium, and the treatment groups (T1, T2 and T3) was co-cultured with hUC-MSC at doses of 1:1, 1:25, and 1:50 (MSCs:PBMCs). The expression of CD11c in DCs was analyzed using flow cytometry, while the level of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6 and IL-10 was analyzed using cytometric bead array (CBA).

Results: The MSCs significantly downregulates CD11c of dendritic cells in all treatment groups. MSCs also significantly suppress the level of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6 and the significantly enhance IL-10 level in all treatment groups.

Conclusion: Therefore, MSCs could suppress DCs through regulating the proinflammatory milieu in PBMCs of SLE patients.

Bckground: The diagnosis of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is confirmed by subjectively assessing a patient's complaints and objectively by a computed tomography scan (CT scan) and nasoendoscopic examination. The Lund Mackay (LM) score on paranasal sinus CT scans and the Modified Lund Kennedy (MLK) nasoendoscopic score have more advantages than other scores.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between the LM score on paranasal sinus CT scans and the nasoendoscopic MLK score in patients with CRS at Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital Bandung.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional analytical observational study conducted on 70 adult CRS patients with nasoendoscopy and paranasal sinus CT scans at Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital Bandung. The Lund Mackay score and nasoendoscopic MLK score were collected, and the data were analyzed using Spearman's correlation.

Results: In this study, 51.4% were males and 48.6% were females, and most subjects were without polyps (72.9%). This study found a strong positive correlation in subjects with polyps (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient 0.7) in LM score with nasoendoscopic MLK score and a very small correlation in subjects without polyps.

Conclusion: There is a significant correlation between Lund Mackay score on paranasal sinus CT scan and nasoendoscopic Modified Lund Kennedy score in CRS patients with polyps in Dr. Hasan Sadikin Bandung General Hospital.

Background: All viral genomes, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus, mutate over time, and some of these mutations can affect the characteristics of the virus, such as the ease of spread, the severity of the patient's clinical picture, or the effect of vaccines, therapeutic drugs, diagnostic tools or other measures of public health and social protection. Because of all the above, it is imperative to carry out continuous sequencing of this pathogen.

Objective: The main goal of this research was to obtain the highest quality genomic sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, to compare the obtained sequences with the reference Wuhan-Hu-1 sequence and to obtain a high-quality genomic alignment in order to reconstruct the appropriate phylogenetic tree.

Methods: For the purposes of this research, a next-generation semiconductor sequencing method was chosen. In this research, a total of 47 samples of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs from patients from the human population of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a clinical diagnosis of COVID-19 were collected.

Results: In the processed 47 samples, there are several monophyletic groups on the constructed phylogenetic tree, of which one sample belongs to the same monophyletic group as the Wuhan-Hu-1 reference sequence.

Conclusion: The greater number of samples is needed for a more comprehensive approach. Therefore, the results of this research can act as a guideline for the design of effective measures and strategies in order to solve problems regarding future pandemics as efficiently as possible.

Background: This study brings innovation oriented to the development of e-health services to improve the performance of healthcare and hospital care in free-living activities.

Objective: This article seeks to propose an innovative mobile software that enables the contextualization of clinical data, while integrating the fundamental functionalities and usability criteria of a mobile health (mhealth) system.

Methods: We examine the utility of a context-sensitive mobile electrocardiogram (ECG) collection system for the detection of cardiovascular diseases for patients in free-living conditions.

Results: We propose an mhealth system that reinforces conventional healthcare systems in which electronic health records are limited by access and processing of data, limiting clinical-medical decision-making. This study highlights the importance of mobile applications for self-care and their usefulness for both patients and healthcare providers. The proposal offers an avenue for the study of contextualized ECG collection methods that can be used to create context-specific actions that reduce false alarms in computer-aided diagnosis of ambulatory ECG.

Conclusion: Mobile applications for health care and monitoring improve the quality of life of people with cardiovascular diseases.

Background: Acne vulgaris is one of the most common dermatological diseases, especially in adolescents and young adults.

Objective: The current study aimed to compare teledermatology versus face-to-face consultation in the follow-up of patients with mild-to-moderate acne.

Methods: In this investigator-initiated, parallel arms, open-label, randomized clinical trial, after screening, participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to be followed up through teledermatology or standard face-to-face consultations for a period of 6 months. The primary endpoint was the cumulative time spent by physician for consultations or online assessments.

Results: Out of 24 patients (21 females and 3 males; mean age 23.0 ± 3.3 years) underwent randomization in the two study groups. In intention-to-treat analysis, the cumulative time spent by physician was higher in the teledermatology group compared to face-to-face consultations with an average difference of 8:24 mm:ss (95% CI: 1:17-15:31). However, the cumulative time spent by the patient was significantly lower in the teledermatology group (mean difference 1:21:39 hh:mm:ss; 95% CI: 41:51-2:01:27). An optimal reduction of acne-severity was observed in both groups, without significant differences between them. The patient's satisfaction did not change significantly over time and between groups, and was generally quite high. AEs were reported by one patient in the teledermatology group and four patients in the consultation group.

Conclusion: Acne might be an optimal disease to be followed up using a teledermatology platform, to relieve the burden on patients and medical staff. However, it is necessary to implement more user-friendly platforms in order to achieve the best possible results in the treatment and follow-up of acne patients.

Background: Langerhans The information technology is present in every aspect of private, social, and professional sphere and is constantly evolving whilst remaining vulnerable to security alerts and attacks. The healthcare sector contains sensitive information and can be compromised causing even fatal delays to healthcare delivery, loss of reputation of the organizations, and traumatic experiences for patients who might be stigmatized by the disclosure of their medical files. Infosec practices that are applied by nurses can make the difference in defending or compromising healthcare data.

Objective: The aim of this research is to investigate the Infosec practices which are applied by nurses who work in Greek hospitals. Correlation between the Infosec practices, the knowledge on Infosec policies, and attitude towards Infosec policies will be further examined.

Methods: The KAP model is applied and the HAIS-Q tool consisted of 45 items in five areas of interest was used. A sample of 277 nurses was collected. Confidentiality issues and consent were respected. IBM SPSS 25.0 was used for the statistical analysis. Descriptive analysis (mean, st. dev.) and inferential statistics, ANOVA, and Pearson Corerelations were conducted. The significance level was set up to 0.05.

Results: A strong correlation between knowledge on Infosec policies and attitude towards Infosec policies, attitude towards Infosec policies and Infosec practices, and knowledge on Infosec policies and Infosec practices was established. Nurses apply good Infosec practices in three out of five areas of interest, while their practices concerning the report of security violations and their practices related to the Internet usage are average. Overall, nurses' Infosec awareness is good.

Conclusion: The findings showed that nurses demonstrate average to good knowledge on Infosec policies, good attitude towards Infosec policies, good to average Infosec practices and good total Infosec awareness.The most vulnerable area is the Internet usage.

Background: We previously conducted bibliometric analysis of 6 North American neurosurgical journals.

Objective: To perform a bibliometric analysis of 6 European neurosurgical journals to build on our previous studies.

Methods: We searched Web of Science for articles published in Acta Neurochirurgica, British Journal of Neurosurgery, Child's Nervous System, Journal of Neurological Surgery Part A: Central European Neurosurgery, Journal of Neurosurgical Sciences, and Neurosurgical Review between 2011 and 2020. We analyzed bibliometric parameters related to total annual document distribution, author metrics, journal metrics, country and continental distribution, institution, keywords, and journal impact.

Results: European countries provided the greatest contributions. Acta Neurochirurgica followed by Child's Nervous System published the greatest number of articles and had the highest h-index and number of citations. From 2018 to 2020, total documents increased 79.6%, original articles increased 86.5%, review articles increased 103.6%, citations increased 79.6%, number of publishing authors increased 72.1%, number of authors in multi-author documents increased 72.4%, and author's keywords and keywords plus increased 72.4% and 27.0%, respectively. The collaboration index decreased 5.3% from 4.49 to 4.25. Annual published documents and citations were lower for European journals versus North American journals.

Conclusion: Several parameters of the European journals increased by 2020. One interesting finding is that growth for the 6 journals dramatically increased in the 2 years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. While neurosurgeon free time during lockdowns may account for much of the increase in 2020, the trend began before this. Our analysis did not identify a cause for the pre-COVID increases.

Background: Among various visual functions, stereoacuity, or the ability to perceive depth, is the most sophisticated binocular function. Many publications discuss the influence of retinal image formation by multifocal intraocular lenses on glare and contrast sensitivity, but only a few present results of testing binocular vision in patients with multifocal intraocular lenses.

Objective: This article is designed to review the results of testing binocular vision in patients with multifocal intraocular lenses implanted in cataract surgery.

Methods: This article was performed based on a literature review and Internet search through scientific databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar.

Results: Some reports found that patients implanted with the monofocal lens, when measured with a near addition, presented statistically significant better stereoacuity scores than those implanted with any of the multifocal intraocular lens types. When the TNO test was used for measurement, statistically significant better stereoacuity was disclosed with the refractive multifocal intraocular lens than with the diffractive-based multifocal intraocular lens design. Stereoacuity scores, even within the same types of lenses, were significantly better with the Titmus test than with the TNO test.

Conclusion: Stereoacuity is not affected by multifocality-induced retinal blur as it is by other causes of image degradation such as small residual refractive error very early opacification of ocular media or dry eye. Multifocal intraocular lenses do not cause more functional aniseikonia than would be expected with a monofocal intraocular lens. Since stereoacuity is compromised with unilateral multifocal intraocular lens implantation bilateral implantation should be attempted.

Background: Osteoporosis, demonstrated as an associated disease with more than 30 gene disorders, is a polygenic disorder, and it's also implicated in bone mineral density (BMD) regulations. Lipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide levels significantly increased and vice versa the antioxidant enzymes decreased such as Glutathione S-Reductase GSR was found in female postmenopausal females.

Objective: This research was done in order to find out the effect of rs2978663 genotypes on the progression of osteoporosis.

Methods: First, blood samples were used to extract DNA for analysis. Molecular examination was achieved using PCR, RFLP, and UV imaging after electrophoresis in an agarose gel, and these results were analyzed by SPSS (version 23).

Results: The genotypes differed in healthy people, and the proportions varied, as they were: the highest percentage was represented by the GA genotype (78%), followed by the AA genotype (16%), and the GG genotype (6%). For case samples, the highest percentage was represented by the GA genotype (51%), followed by the AA genotype (30%), and the GG genotype (19%). There are significant associations between GA genotype and restriction of fragility disease. The risk of having osteoporosis was significantly lower in those with the GA genotype (OR = 0.1946; 95% CI = 0.04-0.95; P = 0.03). The A allele frequency of the GSR gene (rs2978663) did not change significantly between study groups (OR: 0.9965, 95% CI: 0.5547-1.7816, P value: 0.9905).

Conclusion: Overall, it is safe to say that GSR-int3 (rs-2678663) was shown to have no association with osteoporosis in this research of Iraqi women. Inherent variation in the GSR gene (rs-2678663) is associated with decreased osteoporosis risk.

Background: Radiotherapy is one of the primary treatment options in cancer management, together with surgery and chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is technologically complex discipline involving professionals with various specialties, and using high energy radiation in treatment of wide range of different cancer types. Technical complexity, increasing number of patients, large workload, and delivery of radiation therapy treatment with lack of human, technical and financial resources in low and middle income countries creates environment with great potential to develop incidents. Emerging need of modern radiation therapy is to develop preventive approach to risk management i to improve the patient safety.

Objective: The objective of this research is to identify and assess risk associated with radiation therapy practice in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Methods: An anonymous, voluntary electronic on-line radiation therapy incident reporting system (IRS) was created. IRS consists of four sections containing questions about working environment, incident occurrence, root causes and contributing factors, and incident severity assessment. Data collected using IRS were used to create taxonomy of incidents in radiation therapy. Risk assessment was made using Risk Matrix method. Research was made using the data collected from first 60 incidents reported to IRS.

Results: Based on probability and frequency of incident occurrence and severity of consequences, it was assessed that 41.7% of incidents had low risk level (L), 50% of incidents had moderate risk level (M), and 8.3% of incidents had high risk level (H). Radiation therapy risk profile based on risk assessment results clearly shows that incidents with low frequency, low occurrence probability, but high consequences severity level have highest level of risk.

Conclusion: The results of this research confirm that the electronic on-line radiation therapy IRS allows the identification and classification of the most significant risk factors in radiotherapy and prevention of serious incidents occurrence.