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Background: Retinopathy of prematurity is a leading cause of blindness especially in developing countries where the accessibility to screening may not be available. Therefore, early prediction could help reallocate the resources for those at high risk. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the retinopathy of prematurity score (ROPScore) and serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) for predicting treatment-requiring retinopathy of prematurity. Methods: This prospective cohort study included 87 preterm neonates (≤ 32 weeks). Neonates were screened using digital fundus photography with indirect ophthalmoscopy performed when retinopathy of prematurity changes was detected. Serum insulin-like growth factor-1 was measured in the 3rd week of life. Results: Nine cases (10.3%) developed treatment-requiring retinopathy of prematurity, while 78 patients had mild retinopathy of prematurity. According to logistic regression analysis, lower birth weight and longer duration of assisted ventilation were independent risk factors for treatment-requiring retinopathy of prematurity. At the 2nd week of life, cut-off value of 14.95 for the retinopathy of prematurity score showed a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 67.9% for predicting treatment-requiring retinopathy of prematurity. Moreover, serum insulin-like growth factor-1 was significantly lower in patients with treatment-requiring retinopathy of prematurity (p < 0.001). Conclusions: ROPScore applied at week 2 and week 6 of life showed the same sensitivity and specificity to predict treatment-requiring retinopathy of prematurity. Furthermore, serum insulin-like growth factor-1 in the 3rd week of life was significantly lower in patients with treatment-requiring retinopathy of prematurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

De novo mutations in the synaptic GTPase activating protein (SynGAP) are associated with neurological disorders like intellectual disability, epilepsy, and autism. SynGAP is also implicated in Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Although pathogenic variants are highly penetrant in neurodevelopmental conditions, a substantial number of them are caused by missense mutations that are difficult to diagnose. Hence, in silico mutagenesis was performed for probing the missense effects within the N-terminal region of SynGAP structure. Through extensive molecular dynamics simulations, encompassing three 150-ns replicates for 211 variants, the impact of missense mutations on the protein fold was assessed. The effect of the mutations on the folding stability was also quantitatively assessed using free energy calculations. The mutations were categorized as potentially pathogenic or benign based on their structural impacts. Finally, the study introduces wild-type-SynGAP in complex with RasGTPase at the inner membrane, while considering the potential effects of mutations on these key interactions. This study provides structural perspective to the clinical assessment of SynGAP missense variants and lays the foundation for future structure-based drug discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The red cell distribution width (RDW) is a measure of the range of variation in the red blood cell size. It reflects red blood cell volume heterogeneity and is a part of the whole blood cell count. The use of the RDW in the diagnosis of malignant tumors has recently attracted much attention. Related research has mainly focused on endometrial cancer, lung cancer, and liver cancer. Aim of the Study: This study investigated the correlation between the RDW and ovarian cancer by observing changes in the RDW in patients with different stages of ovarian cancer. Patients and Methods: A case-control study involving 50 females with ovarian cancer and 50 healthy females conducted at Baghdad Oncology Teaching Hospital, and Al-Imamian Al-Kadhimiyain Medical City from January 1, 2022, to December 30, 2022. Data collection included demographic data, complete blood count with the calculation of platelets to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), transferrin saturation, and cancer antigen 125 (CA-125). Adult females with histologically proven ovarian cancer were included in this research. Patients with conditions that affect red blood cells were excluded from the study. Results: The mean age was 52.6 ± 10.4 years old for the cases and 50.0 ± 11.4 years for the control group. Platelets count (PLT), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), PLR, NLR, RDW, and CA-125 were significantly higher in the women with ovarian cancer in comparison to the control group (P < 0.001). RDW values were found to be positively correlated with white blood cell, PLT, ANC, NLR, PLR, and CA-125 values (P < 0.001). RDW values were also positively associated with cancer stage; thus, higher values of RDW are to be expected with a higher stage of cancer (P < 0.001). The optimal cutoff point for RDW was found to be 14.6% with a sensitivity of 92%, specificity of 90%, and an area under the curve of 96%. Conclusion: The RDW is increased with ovarian cancer, and a clear cutoff point for the prediction of ovarian cancer has been observed. Furthermore, RDW was positively correlated with cancer stage and inflammatory markers including PLT, ANC, PLR, NLR, and a tumor marker CA-125. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explored the changes that digital privacy rights have witnessed in this era which includes a substantial technological boom that has infiltrated individuals’ public and private lives through modern means of communication. To achieve this purpose, the researcher conducted a meta-analysis that included reviewing the previous studies that dealt with the topic and examined the aspects of accordance and differences between them and the most prominent results to be reached. The paper reviewed all studies published during the period from 2011 to 2023 that addressed the issues of privacy rights considering advertisers targeting of them. Focusing only on relevant studies, the total number reached twenty-five, findings revealed that various factors influence consumers. Acceptance to be targeted by personalized online advertising such as privacy concerns, perceived risks, and benefits are the essential aspects of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving high solubilization capacity with the aid of polymeric micelles (PM) is still a major challenge. To address this shortcoming, novel poly(jasmine lactone) (PJL)-based PM were developed and compared with Soluplus® and poly(lactide) copolymer. The presence of "ene" groups on PJL's backbone offers a unique opportunity to insert functional groups. We introduced -COOH and phenyl groups onto the PJL copolymer and observed a ∼334-fold increment in aqueous solubility of clotrimazole with -COOH-terminated PJL copolymer compared to Soluplus. We thus successfully demonstrated that the presence of appropriate free functional groups on the polymer chain can facilitate the solubilization potential of PM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aimed at assessing nurse’s knowledge regarding infection of the peripheral cannula. Descriptive, hospital-based study was conducted in Al-Basrah city in Al-Basrah Teaching Hospital from October 24th, 2019, to June 11th, 2020. The study included nurses in the hospital; they were (60) nurses. The instrument used for the study was a self-administrated questionnaire; the data were presented in a pre-designed questionnaire firstly. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: socio-demographic characteristics and knowledge about the infection of a peripheral intravenous cannula. Inferential and descriptive statistics have been utilized for the analysis of data. Data were analyzed manually and then through the use of the statistical package for social science (SPSS, v. 23). The results of the study present that the high percent (61.7%) of the study sample are male, (66.7%) of them at the (20-29) year age group, (45.0%) of them nursing institute, (61.7% ) their years of work experience were arranged between (1-9 year), most of them (60.0%) don’t have previous training about cannula infection. There has been a significant correlation between nurses’ knowledge, previous training in infection of a peripheral cannula, and level of education, and there has not been any significant correlation between nurses’ knowledge and nurses’ gender, age group, and years of experience. Recommendation: This study recommended establishing a regular training program and workshops about infection control measures, especially for an invasive procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: to assess the nurses’ knowledge and practices about personal protective equipment (PPE). Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional design study has been carried out in Basrah teaching hospital, A purposive (non-probability) sample consist of (34) nurses who worked in the units of hemodialysis, the study started from 18th of October, 2019 to 12th of July, 2020. The instrument of the present study contains three parts, first part: It is concerned with the nurse’s demographic data, second part: it is composed of (10) multiple choice questions (MCQs) related to the nurses knowledge, and third part: it consists of (14) items for nurses practice about personal protective equipment. The validity of the instrument had been achieved by 8 experts from different scientific branches. Statistical programs such as SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) v. 23 were used to analyze the data. Result: the findings revealed that majority of nurses had poor knowledge and practice about personal protective equipment and there has been a significant relationship between the nurse’s knowledge about personal protective equipment and their level of education at a p<0.05 level. Recommendation: Provide training programs for the hemodialysis nurses on the promotion of higher standards of the hand hygiene and potential uses of the personal protective equipment during working in hemodialysis centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aimed to identify the risk factors that may predispose preterm neonates to develop aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity (APROP). Methods: This retrospective case control study included 16 infants with APROP in zone 1 or posterior zone 2. Thirty-four gestational age and birth weight-matched controls with stage 2 or less ROP were included. We reviewed medical records on infant birth and postnatal characteristics. Results: Patients who developed APROP had a significantly longer duration of caffeine therapy, were significantly more likely to be small for gestational age (SGA), and were more likely to have a positive blood culture than patients who developed less severe ROP. Patients with APROP who required retreatment had received inotropes for a longer duration of time, had received more plasma transfusions, were more likely to have IVH, and had a greater decrease in the serum hemoglobin during hospitalization. Conclusion: Being SGA, receiving caffeine for a longer duration, and having culture-proven sepsis were associated with APROP. IVH, a low serum hemoglobin, the need for more plasma transfusions, and a longer duration of inotropes were associated with APROP which required retreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: For respiratory support in premature newborns, there has been a trend toward less tracheal intubation, less mechanical ventilation, and more nasal respiratory support which can result in the improvement of successful extubation rate. The two commonly known types of nasal respiratory support after extubation are the nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and high flow nasal cannula (HFNC). The current study aimed to investigate and compare successful extubation using HFNC and conventional nasal CPAP after a period of endotracheal positive pressure ventilation and detect which of these two methods is better for successful extubation with fewer side effects. Methods: This randomized controlled study was conducted on 210 preterm newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Gynecology and Obstetrics Department of Qasr El Eyni Hospital. Post extubation failure rates were compared between the two groups, namely (HFNC) and (nasal CPAP). The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 20). Results: Neonates who needed re-intubation within 72 h after initial extubation were higher in the HFNC group (72.7%) versus (27.3%) in the CPAP group (P-value=0.063). Moreover, 45.8% of neonates in the HFNC group needed re-intubation within 1 week of initial extubation versus 54.2% in CPAP (P-value=0.970). The mean duration of respiratory support using HFNC was 3.7 days, compared to 6.5 days using CPAP (P-value= 0.001). Among neonates who suffered from nasal trauma, 90.6% of neonates belonged to the CPAP group, while 9.4% of cases belonged to the HFNC group (P-value= 0.001). Conclusion: The use of CPAP and HFNC after the extubation of preterm mechanically ventilated neonates was statistically equal regarding extubation failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]