Balkan Medical Journal

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BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has urgently necessitated effective therapeutic solutions, with a focus on rapidly identifying and classifying potential small-molecule drugs. Given traditional methods' labor-intensive and time-consuming nature, deep learning has emerged as an essential tool for efficiently processing and extracting insights from complex biological data. AIMS: This study aims to utilize deep learning techniques, particularly deep neural networks (DNN) enhanced with the synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE), to enhance the classification of binding activities in anti-SARS-CoV-2 molecules across various bioassays...

Functional or non-secretory ectopic pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNET) can form around the sella turcica during the development of the adenohypophysis by differentiating and detaching from the pharyngeal roof. These tumors usually appear in the sphenoid sinus, clivus, cavernous sinus, infundibulum, and suprasellar cistern. Ectopic PitNETs typically display the characteristic magnetic resonance imaging findings of pituitary adenomas. However, preoperative diagnosis of PitNETs is usually challenging because of the variety of clinical and imaging presentations, locations, and sizes...

BACKGROUND: The fetal monogenic causes of early pregnancy losses (EPLs) are mainly unknown, with only a few articles on the subject published. In our previous study of EPLs using whole-exome sequencing analysis, we confirmed a genetic diagnosis of CPLANE1 -related Joubert syndrome (JS) in three EPLs from two couples and identified a relatively common CPLANE1 allele among our population (NM_001384732.1:c.1819delT;c.7817T>A, further after referred as "complex allele"). Pathogenic variants in the CPLANE1 (C5orf42) gene are reported to cause JS type 17, a primary ciliopathy with various system defects...

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have mainly focused on individual mental disorders, and there is no study addressing the total burden of mental disorders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). AIMS: This study evaluated the burden of mental disorders in the MENA region from 1990 to 2019. STUDY DESIGN: Epidemiological. METHODS: We utilized global burden of disease data to examine the burden of 12 mental disorders from 1990 to 2019 across age groups, genders, and the 21 MENA countries...

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BACKGROUND: The changes in risk scores of inflammatory markers among patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unknown. AIMS: To investigate the relationship between the inflammation risk score and other contributing factors and the prognostic outcomes in patients with moderate and advanced hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study. METHODS: A total of 174 patients with moderate and advanced HBV related HCC were recruited to investigate the impact of stratified inflammatory risk scores and other associated risk factors on disease prognosis...

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The testis develops in the abdominal cavity and descends into the scrotum. Although numerous theories have been proposed, the mechanism of descent and the reason for its inhibition remain unknown. Furthermore, none of the explanations account for the other occurrences related to the descent, such as failed obliteration of the processus vaginalis, or the reasons for the decrease in fertility and increase in the risk of malignancy associated with an undescended testis. The gubernaculum is a primitive mesenchymal tissue that was first described in 1786...

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BACKGROUND: Anemia remains a significant public health concern in Gabon, particularly among children, adolescents, and females. Gabon is also home to two major species of filarial worms, Loa and Mansonella spp., which cause microfilaremia. The epidemiological nexus between hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations and microfilaremia in Gabonese first-time blood donors remains unknown. AIMS: This study aimed to understand better the epidemiological relationship between anemia and microfilaremia to improve donor selection and management protocols...