shafi

Pheniramine is an over-the-counter antihistamine drug. Its accessibility and low cost made it more popular among drug abusers in Pakistan. In this study, pheniramine was quantified in both conventional and alternative specimens of twenty chronic drug abusers, aged 16-50 years, who were positive for pheniramine in comprehensive toxicological screening for drugs by gas chromatography with mass spectral detection in positive electron impact mode. Pheniramine was extracted from biological specimens using solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was employed for quantification...

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the clinical outcomes at the minimum and maximum levels of hematocrit (HCT) during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in low-risk patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 85 patients who underwent CABG with an ejection fraction of greater than 35% were selected. Based on the HCT range during CPB, patients were divided into two groups: minimum HCT: HCT = 16-18% and maximum HCT: HCT = 25-27%...

Segmental bone defects, often clinically treated with nondegradable poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) in multistage surgeries, present a significant clinical challenge. Our study investigated the efficacy of 3D printed biodegradable polycaprolactone fumarate (PCLF)/PCL spacers in a one-stage surgical intervention for these defects, focusing on early bone regeneration influenced by spacer porosities. We compared nonporous PCLF/PCL and PMMA spacers, conventionally molded into cylinders, with porous PCLF/PCL spacers, 3D printed to structurally mimic segmental defects in rat femurs for a 4-week implantation study...

BACKGROUND: Cancer, the second leading cause of death worldwide following cardiovascular diseases, presents a formidable challenge in clinical settings due to the extensive toxic side effects associated with primary chemotherapy drugs employed for cancer treatment. Furthermore, the emergence of drug resistance against specific chemotherapeutic agents has further complicated the situation. Consequently, there exists an urgent imperative to investigate novel anticancer drugs. Steroidal saponins, a class of natural compounds, have demonstrated notable antitumor efficacy...

Advanced neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are associated with a poor prognosis. A regimen of 4 cycles of 177 Lu-DOTATATE has been shown to improve both progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced NETs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in the United States to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of additional cycles of 177 Lu-DOTATATE therapy in patients with progressive NETs. Methods: This was a retrospective chart review of adults with advanced NETs...

Proteins are considered magic molecules due to their enormous applications in the health sector. Over the past few decades, therapeutic proteins have emerged as a promising treatment option for various diseases, particularly cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and others. The formulation of protein-based therapies is a major area of research, however, a few factors still hinder the large-scale production of these therapeutic products, such as stability, heterogenicity, immunogenicity, high cost of production, etc...

We have developed a visible-light-driven method for thioester synthesis that relies on the unique dual role of thiobenzoic acids as one-electron reducing agents and reactants leading to the formation of sulfur radical species. This synthetic process offers a wide scope, accommodating various thioacid and thiol substrates without the need for a photocatalyst.

Identifying and recognizing the food on the basis of its eating sounds is a challenging task, as it plays an important role in avoiding allergic foods, providing dietary preferences to people who are restricted to a particular diet, showcasing its cultural significance, etc. In this research paper, the aim is to design a novel methodology that helps to identify food items by analyzing their eating sounds using various deep learning models. To achieve this objective, a system has been proposed that extracts meaningful features from food-eating sounds with the help of signal processing techniques and deep learning models for classifying them into their respective food classes...

BACKGROUND: Metformin is commonly prescribed to treat polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients, but in some cases, it may not be effective even at high doses or may cause intolerable side effects. Therefore, recent studies have examined the impact of combining metformin with other antidiabetic medications. METHODS: A systematic search was performed in Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase up to 30 June 2023. All interventional studies that assessed the efficacy of different antidiabetic agents were included...

Spinal injuries or diseases necessitate effective fusion solutions, and common clinical approaches involve autografts, allografts, and various bone matrix products, each with limitations. To address these challenges, we developed an innovative moldable click chemistry polymer cement that can be shaped by hand and self-cross-linked in situ for spinal fusion. This self-cross-linking cement, enabled by the bioorthogonal click reaction, excludes the need for toxic initiators or external energy sources. The bioactivity of the cement was promoted by incorporating nanohydroxyapatite and microspheres loaded with recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor, fostering vascular induction and osteointegration...

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Left-digit bias is a behavioral heuristic or cognitive "shortcut" in which the leftmost digit of a number, such as patient age, disproportionately influences surgical decisions. PURPOSE: To determine if left-digit bias in patient age influences the decision to perform arthrodesis with instrumentation vs. decompression in lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). DESIGN: Retrospective cohort. PATIENT SAMPLE: Patients with an ICD-10 diagnosis of lumbar stenosis or spondylolisthesis identified in the 2017-2021 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database...

INTRODUCTION: The pathways like Wingless-related integration (Wnt/β-catenin) and PI3K play an important role in colorectal cancer (CRC) development, however, their roles are distinct in the process of oncogenesis. Despite their differences, these pathways interact through feedback mechanisms and regulate the common effectors both in the upstream as well as the downstream processes in normal and pathological conditions. Their ability to reciprocally control each other is a primary resistance mechanism for the selective inhibitors in CRC...

INTRODUCTION: The burden of chronic viral hepatitis (CVH) in the UK Nepali population is unknown. We aimed to determine knowledge of liver disease (LD) and prevalence of CVH in this community. METHODS: This was a mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) study guided by a multidisciplinary stakeholder group. Focus groups (FG) led by Nepali community leaders explored LD knowledge. Thereafter, a prospective community-based cohort study utilising dried-blood spot testing was conducted...

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE: The life expectancy of patients treated with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) is heterogeneous. Knowledge of life-expectancy may focus care decisions on near-term versus long-term goals. The current tools are limited and focus on near-term mortality. Here, we develop and assess potential utility for predicting near-term mortality and long-term survival on MHD. STUDY DESIGN: Predictive modeling study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: 42,351 patients contributing 997,381 patient months over 11 years, abstracted from the electronic health record (EHR) system of midsize, nonprofit dialysis providers...

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer, a genetically intricate disease with diverse subtypes, exhibits heightened incidence globally. In this study, we aimed to investigate blood-based microRNAs (miRNAs) as potential biomarkers for breast cancer. The primary objectives were to explore the role of miRNAs in cancer-related processes, assess their differential expression between breast cancer patients and healthy individuals, and contribute to a deeper understanding of the molecular underpinnings of breast cancer...

COVID-19, stemming from SARS-CoV-2, poses a formidable threat to global healthcare, with a staggering 77 million confirmed cases and 690,067 deaths recorded till December 24, 2023. Given the absence of specific drugs for this viral infection, the exploration of novel antiviral compounds becomes imperative. High-throughput technologies are actively engaged in drug discovery, and there is a parallel effort to repurpose plant-based molecules with established antiviral properties. In this context, the review meticulously delves into the potential of plant-based folk remedies and existing molecules...

Identifying key causal genes is critical for unraveling the genetic basis of complex economic traits, yet it remains a formidable challenge. The advent of large-scale sequencing data and computational algorithms, such as transcriptome-wide association studies (TWASs), offers a promising avenue for identifying potential causal genes. In this study, we harnessed the power of TWAS to identify genes potentially responsible for milk production traits, including daily milk yield (MY), fat percentage (FP), and protein percentage (PP), within a cohort of 100 buffaloes...

PURPOSE: Several studies have examined the relationship between sleep quality and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). However, there are a lack of generalizable data on this association in Singapore. Our study aimed to (1) investigate the association between sleep quality and HRQOL and (2) examine whether age moderated these associations. METHODS: Data were obtained from nationwide Singapore Mental Health Study 2016 (n = 6126, response rate = 69...

The emergence of federated learning (FL) technique in fog-enabled healthcare system has leveraged enhanced privacy towards safeguarding sensitive patient information over heterogeneous computing platforms. In this paper, we introduce the FedHealthFog framework, which was meticulously developed to overcome the difficulties of distributed learning in resource-constrained IoT-enabled healthcare systems, particularly those sensitive to delays and energy efficiency. Conventional federated learning approaches face challenges stemming from substantial compute requirements and significant communication costs...

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation and quarantine have become commonplace across the world. IoT health monitoring solutions eliminate the need for regular doctor visits and interactions among patients and medical personnel. Many patients in wards or intensive care units require continuous monitoring of their health. Continuous patient monitoring is a hectic practice in hospitals with limited staff; in a pandemic situation like COVID-19, it becomes much more difficult practice when hospitals are working at full capacity and there is still a risk of medical workers being infected...