Chronic liver disease is an important risk factor for worse outcomes in acute pancreatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Chronic liver diseases (CLD) affect 1.5 billion patients worldwide, with dramatically increasing incidence in recent decades. It has been hypothesized that the chronic hyperinflammation associated with CLD may increase the risk of a more severe course of acute pancreatitis (AP).

Design and Stability Analysis of an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS)-Based Pacemaker Controller in MATLAB Simulink.

We present the design and stability analysis of an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS)-based controller of a pacemaker in MATLAB Simulink. ANFIS uses learning and speed properties of fuzzy and neural networks. Based on body states and preprogrammed situations of patients (age and sex, etc.

The flow pattern effects of hydrodynamic cavitation on waste activated sludge digestibility.

The disintegration of raw sludge is of importance for enhancing biogas production and facilitates the degradation of substrates for microorganisms so that the efficiency of digestion can be increased. In this study, the effect of hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) as a pretreatment approach for waste activated sludge (WAS) was investigated at two upstream pressures (0.83 and 1.

Interval Type 2 Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System-Based Artificial Pacemaker Design and Stability Analysis.

This paper presents the design and simulation of an Interval type 2 fuzzy system (IT2FS) based, adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) pacemaker controller in MATLAB. After designing the type 1 fuzzy logic model, the stability of the designed system has been verified in the time-domain (unit step response). In previous works, the type 1 (IT1FS) model step response was analyzed.

On the application of hydrodynamic cavitation on a chip in cellular injury and drug delivery.

Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) is a phase change phenomenon, where energy release in a fluid occurs upon the collapse of bubbles, which form due to the low local pressures. During recent years, due to advances in lab-on-a-chip technologies, HC-on-a-chip (HCOC) and its potential applications have attracted considerable interest. Microfluidic devices enable the performance of controlled experiments by enabling spatial control over the cavitation process and by precisely monitoring its evolution.

New Nanofiber Composition for Multiscale Bubble Capture and Separation.

Bubble dynamics inside a liquid medium and its interactions with hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces are crucial for many industrial processes. Electrospinning of polymers has emerged as a promising fabrication technique capable of producing a wide variety of hydrophobic and hydrophilic polymer nanofibers and membranes at a low cost. Thus, knowledge about the bubble interactions on electrospun hydrophobic and hydrophilic nanofibers can be utilized for capturing; separating; and transporting macro-, micro-, and nanobubbles.

An ecologically friendly process for graphene exfoliation based on the "hydrodynamic cavitation on a chip" concept.

Tremendous research efforts have recently focused on the synthesis of graphene from graphitic materials, while environmental issues, scalability, and cost are some of the major challenges to be surmounted. Liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) of graphene is one of the principal methods for this synthesis. Nevertheless, sufficient information about the mechanisms of exfoliation has yet to emerge.

A novel information sharing framework for people living with type-2 diabetes in the context of a group education program.

Purpose: Online health communities (OHCs) offer opportunities for people with type-2 diabetes to share information and experiences for self improvement. This study is to introduce a novel framework for identifying the potential of online diabetes communities' practices and outcomes in empowering people living with diabetes.

Method: : Using a qualitative tradition, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 members of these communities, attempting to answer research question: how an online framework for diabetes community can be outlined for empowering patients in their self-management in the context of DGEP.

Assessing the Effect of Zinc Supplementation on the Frequency of Migraine Attack, Duration, Severity, Lipid Profile and hs-CRP in Adult Women.

Unlabelled: Migraine is a widespread incapacitating neurologic disorder with debilitating headaches which are usually throbbing due to inefficacy and several side effects, complementary therapies recommended as possible alternatives. The current randomized controlled trial was carried out to evaluate the effect of zinc gluconate supplementation on migraine-related symptoms, serum level of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and lipid profile in migraineurs. Present study was designed as randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Association of quality of life with physical activity, depression, and demographic characteristics and its predictors among medical students.

Background: Medical students face a variety of challenges during their years of medical education that can affect their quality of life (QOL). This study aimed to investigate the association of QOL with physical activity (PA), depression, and demographic characteristics, as well as to determine its predictors among medical students in different stages of education.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 186 medical students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in different educational stages including basic sciences, physiopathology, externship, and internship using stratified random sampling method.

Cost and effectiveness analysis of the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches of group A Streptococcus pharyngitis management in Iran.

Background: A sore throat is one of the common causes behind visits to the physician and antibiotic overtreatment in the world, especially in Iran. There are six ways of approaching pharyngitis patients. It is necessary to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis and find the best approach in all situations on group A (GAS) pharyngitis management to propose a pharyngitis guideline.

MicroRNAs as Diagnostic, Prognostic, and Therapeutic Biomarkers in Prostate Cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most prevalent nonskin cancer and a major cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing is routinely used for screening and early detection of prostate cancer; however, it does not reduce death from prostate cancer. Moreover, PSA is not specific for prostate cancer and results in high false-positive rates, and it is poorly correlated with cancer stage.

A New Method for Intense Cavitation Bubble Generation on Layer-by-Layer Assembled SLIPS.

The importance of surface topology for the generation of cavitating flows in micro scale has been emphasized during the last decade. In this regard, the utilization of surface roughness elements is not only beneficial in promoting mass transportation mechanisms, but also in improving the surface characteristics by offering new interacting surface areas. Therefore, it is possible to increase the performance of microfluidic systems involving multiphase flows via modifying the surface.

Immune therapy of melanoma: Overview of therapeutic vaccines.

Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer which develops from the occurrence of genetic mutations in the melanocytes. Based on the features of melanoma tumors such as location, genetic profile and stage, there are several therapeutic strategies including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. However, because of the appearance resistance mechanisms, the efficiency of these treatments strategies may be reduced.

Micro-RNAs as critical regulators of matrix metalloproteinases in cancer.

Metastasis is known to be one of the important factors associated with cancer-related deaths worldwide. Several cellular and molecular targets are involved in the metastasis process. Among these targets, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play central roles in promoting cancer metastasis.

Keratins and epidermolysis bullosa simplex.

Keratin intermediate filaments play an important role in maintaining the integrity of the skin structure. Understanding the importance of this subject is possible with the investigation of keratin defects in epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS). Nowadays, in addition to clinical criteria, new molecular diagnostic methods, such as next generation sequencing, can help to distinguish the subgroups of EBS more precisely.

Stem cell- and gene-based therapies as potential candidates in Alzheimer's therapy.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, which is associated with impairments of memory, thinking, language, and reasoning. Despite extensive research aiming at the treatment of AD, durable and complete remissions are rare. Hence, new therapeutic approaches are required.

Swimming Exercise Induced Reversed Expression of miR-96 and Its Target Gene NaV1.3 in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy in Rats.

Diabetes is a common metabolic disease which leads to diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Recently, the role of microRNA-96 (miR-96) in alleviating neuropathic pain by inhibiting the expression of NaV1.3, an isoform of voltage-gated sodium channels, has been shown.

Distributed Sensor Coordination Algorithms for Efficient Coverage in a Network of Heterogeneous Mobile Sensors.

The main focus of this work is directed towards distributed coordination algorithms for coverage in a mobile sensor network. The sensors are assumed to have nonidentical sensing ranges, and it is desired to move them in such a way that the total sensing coverage increases as much as possible. To this end, the field is partitioned using the multiplicatively weighted Voronoi cells, and then different geometric methods are developed to find new locations for the sensors such that the coverage is improved.

The Prevalence of Pronator Teres among Patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Cross-sectional Study.

The aim of conducting this study was to determine the prevalence of PTS among patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. The study was conducted from March 2014 to April 2015 in the EDX ward and clinic of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the university hospital; Baqiytallah, a large referral practice and research center in Tehran. We included patients with clinical symptoms and signs of CTS.

Cemented versus uncemented hemiarthroplasty in patients with displaced femoral neck fractures.

Objective: This study compared functional outcomes and preoperative between cemented and uncemented bipolar hemiarthroplasty in patients older than 65 years with subcapital displaced femoral neck fracture.

Methods: Fifty one patients with displaced femoral neck fracture were enrolled in this study. Twenty nine patients underwent uncemented bipolar hemiarthroplasty and 22 underwent cemented bipolar hemiarthroplasty.

An Energy-Efficient Target-Tracking Strategy for Mobile Sensor Networks.

In this paper, an energy-efficient strategy is proposed for tracking a moving target in an environment with obstacles, using a network of mobile sensors. Typically, the most dominant sources of energy consumption in a mobile sensor network are sensing, communication, and movement. The proposed algorithm first divides the field into a grid of sufficiently small cells.

Edge-preserving ultrasonic strain imaging with uniform precision.

Ultrasound elastography involves measuring the mechanical properties of tissue, and has many applications in diagnostics and intervention. A common step in different elastography methods is imaging the tissue while it undergoes deformation and estimating the displacement field from the images. A popular next step is to estimate tissue strain, which gives clues into the underlying tissue elasticity modulus.

Toward Autonomous Mobile Sensor Networks Technology.

Mobile sensor networking technology has attracted considerable attention in various research communities in recent years due to their widespread applications in civilian and military environments. One objective when using mobile sensors is to obtain maximum field coverage by properly deploying sensor nodes. In many real-world applications a priori knowledge about the best deployment position for the sensors is not available.

Maximum Lifetime Strategy for Target Monitoring with Controlled Node Mobility in Sensor Networks with Obstacles.

In this paper, an efficient technique is proposed for a mobile sensor network used to monitor a moving target in a field with obstacles while the network lifetime is maximized. The main sources of energy consumption of the sensors in the network are sensing, communication, and movement. A graph is constructed and its edges are weighted properly based on the remaining energy of each sensor.