BMC Research Notes最新文献

Objective: Primary tumors of the brain and a large percent of malignant brain tumors are gliomas. Gliomas comprise high-grade gliomas like glioblastoma multiforme (GBMs), many of which have mutation in the tumor suppressor p53 gene and low-grade gliomas (LGGs). LGGs can progress to GBMs due to various factors. The available treatment options for GBMs and LGGs include surgical resection, radiation and chemotherapy. The chemotherapeutic drug available in the clinic is temozolomide (TMZ). However, TMZ can cause damage to DNA if taken for prolonged period. This warrants the discovery of drugs that would potentially elicit less adverse side effects while maintaining anticancer activity. To this end, we evaluated the impact of cinnamaldehyde (CA), a single, purified component of the natural product cinnamon.

Results: The elucidation of the mechanism of action revealed the impact of CA on reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Moreover, its effect on the extrinsic programmed cell death pathway resulted in the increase of apoptotic cell populations, invoking multicaspase. Notably, the cell survival/death pivotal molecule Bcl-2 was impacted. These effects were observed in both the types of brain tumor cells studied: GBMs, represented by U251 cells (p53 mutated cell line) and LGGs represented by H4 cells. Results from the current study suggest potential for CA as a therapeutic option as it is expected to have fewer adverse side effects due to it being a component of a natural product and possibly deter the progression of LGGs to GBMs.

Background: Clinical competence and emotional intelligence are both essential factors for the success of nursing students in their profession. Due to the inconsistent findings regarding the relationship between clinical competence and emotional intelligence in nursing students, this study aims to investigate this relationship among nursing students at Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Iran.

Methods: In this descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional study, 220 nursing students from the 2nd to the 8th semester were included in the study by census method. The data were collected using a questionnaire comprising three sections: demographic information, clinical competence assessment, and emotional intelligence assessment. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics with SPSS software version 22, at a significance level of P ≤ 0.05.

Results: Out of 220 nursing students, 176 completed the questionnaires. The mean score of participants' clinical competence was 102.58 ± 19.94, indicating a moderate level. The emotional intelligence of the students also showed a moderate level, with a mean score of 81.16 ± 7.04. A significant positive correlation was observed between clinical competence and emotional intelligence (P < 0.001). The predictive role of three dimensions of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, and relationship management) was confirmed (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: In this study, a positive and significant correlation was observed between clinical competence and emotional intelligence, indicating that higher emotional intelligence is associated with greater clinical competence. Accordingly, it is recommended to design and implement interventional studies aimed at enhancing students' emotional intelligence and evaluating the effectiveness of such interventions on their emotional intelligence and clinical competence.

Objective: In this work, singularly perturbed time dependent delay parabolic convection-diffusion problem with Dirichlet boundary conditions is considered. The solution of this problem exhibits boundary layer at the right of special domain. In this layer the solution experiences steep gradients or oscillation so that traditional numerical methods may fail to provide smooth solutions. We developed oscillation free parameter uniform exponentially spline numerical method to solve the considered problem.

Results: In the temporal direction, the implicit Euler method is applied, and in the spatial direction, an exponential spline method with uniform mesh is applied. To handle the effect of perturbation parameter, an exponential fitting factor is introduced. For the developed numerical scheme, stability and uniform error estimates are examined. It is shown that the scheme is uniformly convergent of linear order in the maximum norm. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the theoretical findings.

The study examines the concentrations of heavy metals in agricultural soil, compost from landfills, maize plants, and spinach crops. The results show that compost from landfills had levels exceeding EU requirements for Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn. However, agricultural soil contained trace amounts of heavy metals. The order of metal absorption by plants was Cd > Pb > Cu > Ni > Cr > Zn > Fe > Mn. This highlights potential health risks associated with consuming crops grown in compost or soil tainted with heavy metals.

Objective: Sierra Leone, a country where onchocerciasis is endemic in 14 of the 16 districts, was the focus of our investigation. Despite 17 rounds of annual ivermectin treatment since 2005, a report circulated by a local politician indicated an increase in cases of suspected onchocerciasis-related vision impairment in two villages (Mangobo and Petifu) in Tonkolili district. In response, the National Neglected Tropical Disease Program conducted a comprehensive investigation. Ophthalmological, parasitological, and serological tests were conducted using standard procedures to determine the relationship between self-reported vision loss and onchocerciasis in adults. In addition, serological tests were carried out on children aged 5 to 9 years to assess the recent status of exposure to onchocerciasis in the two villages.

Results: Reported vision loss in 37 patients was mainly due to cataracts (35.1%), allergic conjunctivitis (18.9%), refractive error (10.8%), and other conditions not related to onchocerciasis. There were 40.7% of all adults (N = 54) tested and 29.0% of 31 persons with self-reported vision loss who were positive for Ov-16 IgG4 antibodies, suggesting a history of exposure to onchocerciasis. However, otoscopic eye examinations and microscopic skin snip tests were all negative for Onchocerca volvulus microfilariae, indicating no active or low-intensity infection among adults and a low or zero risk of serious ocular morbidity in the two villages. Onchocerciasis may no longer be a major cause of blindness in these two villages. Apparently, 4.6% of 153 children aged 5 to 9 years tested positive for Ov-16 IgG4 antibodies, suggesting that onchocerciasis transmission is likely still ongoing in the two villages. The data presented here suggest that more annual rounds of mass treatment with ivermectin with high coverage are needed to eliminate onchocerciasis transmission in this area.

Background: Thyroid cancer is one of the most common cancers of the endocrine system. The incidence of this cancer has increased in many countries. Many cases of thyroid cancer do not have any symptoms. This cancer has different risk factors. Some of them are unchangeable and some can be changed and modified. So, it is necessary to identify these risk factors. Therefore, this global study was conducted for the first time to investigate the correlation between the age-standardized incidence rate of thyroid cancer (ASIR) and some modifiable risk factors worldwide.

Methods: The data of this global ecological research has been collected on the official website of health data ( https://www.healthdata.org/ ) for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the correlation. Finally, statistical modeling was done using Generalized Additive Model (GAM). Statistical analyzes were performed using R version 4.2.2 software.

Results: ASIR of thyroid cancer has a positive and significant correlation with tobacco, Secondhand smoke (SHS), mean BMI, and low physical activity. Multiple GAM showed that gender, alcohol consumption, smoking, SHS, mean BMI, and low physical activity have a statistically significant relationship with the ASIR of thyroid cancer (All Relative Risk > 1).

Conclusion: This study showed that the risk of thyroid cancer is higher in women than men. Smoking, alcohol, obesity, and low physical activity may be risk factors for ASIR of thyroid cancer. Also, this study, for the first time globally, hypothesized an association between exposure to secondhand smoke and ASIR of thyroid cancer. To prevent and accurately control thyroid cancer, there is a need to increase awareness about the modifiable risk factors of this cancer.

Background and objective: The coronavirus pandemic, with a wide range of clinical manifestations, is considered a serious emergency in increasing anxiety for vulnerable groups of young people such as students. The purpose of this study is to look into how COVID-19 affects depression and anxiety in students at Damghan University. It also aims to determine how non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) education affects COVID-19 anxiety and related aspects.

Methods: This is a descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study conducted on 276 students from Northeast Iran in 2022 using the convenience sampling method. The data were collected by posting the standard electronic questionnaire of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) on the study site's popular social media platforms. Participants were also given online access to the data collection (NPI) training protocols. Data were analyzed using SPSS-22 statistical software and descriptive and inferential statistical tests.

Results: 42.3% of participants in the study did not use or used very little of the Infection Prevention and Control (NPI) education, and considering participants' concerns about contracting COVID-19, 7.97% were somewhat concerned, while 58.3% were considered highly concerned. This result indicates that not using (NPI) education leads to increased anxiety. Most participants reported being highly compliant with using NPI trainings and COVID-19 prevention guidelines (57.6%), and 68.4% believed that COVID-19 will soon be eradicated. This result shows that (NPI) education lead to increased hope and decreased anxiety.

Conclusion: In the near future, these findings may be helpful in the creation and execution of preventative initiatives and coping mechanisms.

Publication of articles in international scientific journals has been one of the main strategies for the communication of scientific findings and ideas. Prepublication peer review is a fundamental aspect of the publishing process in indexed scientific journals and, associated with the large growth in journals and articles, there has been a recent challenge in having adequate peer reviewers for international journals. In this article, we provide a short overview of the publishing process, give recommendations to early career researchers about writing peer reviews of adequate quality, and discuss some possibilities for the future.

Objective: Multiple-Locus Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (VNTR) Analysis (MLVA) is widely used to subtype pathogens causing foodborne and waterborne disease outbreaks. The MLVAType shiny application was previously designed to extract MLVA profiles of Vibrio cholerae isolates from whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data, and provide backward compatibility with traditional MLVA typing methods. The previous development and validation work was conducted using short (pair-end 300 and 150 nt long) reads from Illumina MiSeq and Hiseq sequencing. In this study, the MLVAType application was validated using long reads generated by Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) sequencing platforms. In silico MLVA profiles of V. cholerae isolates (n = 9) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo were generated using the MLVAType application on Nanopore WGS data. The WGS-derived in silico MLVA profiles were extracted from Canu (v.2.2) assemblies obtained through MinION and GridION sequencing by ONT. The results were compared to those obtained from SPAdes assemblies (v3.13.0; k-mer 175) generated from short-read (pair-end 300-bp) reference data obtained by MiSeq sequencing, Illumina.

Results: For each isolate, the in silico MLVA profiles were concordant across all three sequencing methods, demonstrating that the MLVAType application can accurately predict the MLVA profiles from assembled genomes generated by long-reads ONT sequencers.

Objective: Fin clipping is the standard DNA sampling technique for whole genome sequencing (WGS) of small fish. The collection of fin clips requires anaesthesia or even euthanisation of the individual. Swabbing may be a less invasive, non-lethal alternative to fin-clipping. Whether skin and gill swabs are comparable to fin clips in terms of DNA extraction quality and sequence read mapping performance from WGS was tested here on Eurasian minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus).

Results: Of 49 fin clips, all met the DNA concentration threshold of 20 ng/μl, whereas 43 of 88 swabs met this requirement. Preserving swabs in ATL buffer and treatment with Proteinase K during DNA extraction consistently raised skin swab DNA concentrations above the cut-off. All samples passed the A260/A280 absorbance ratio cut-off of 1.3. Ultimately, 93.88% of the fin clips, 30.61% of the skin, and 7.69% of the gill swabs were suitable for sequencing. Mapping performances of all three tissues were comparable in reads passing quality filtering, percentage of reads mapping to the P. phoxinus reference genome, and coverage. Overall, skin swabs treated with Proteinase K during extraction, can match fin clips in WGS performance and represent a viable non-invasive DNA sampling alternative.