Effects of Dry Needling on Gastrocnemius Muscle Spasticity and Gait in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Spasticity is a common complication in patients with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical, biomechanical, and functional effects of dry needling (DN) in treating gastrocnemius muscle spasticity in pwMS.

Materials And Methods: A pilot single-blinded randomized controlled trial was carried out.

Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Data Preprocessing Techniques for Detecting, Predicting, and Monitoring Stress and Stress-Related Mental Disorders: Scoping Review.

Background: Mental stress and its consequent mental health disorders (MDs) constitute a significant public health issue. With the advent of machine learning (ML), there is potential to harness computational techniques for better understanding and addressing mental stress and MDs. This comprehensive review seeks to elucidate the current ML methodologies used in this domain to pave the way for enhanced detection, prediction, and analysis of mental stress and its subsequent MDs.

Modeling CO solubility in water using gradient boosting and light gradient boosting machine.

The growing application of carbon dioxide (CO) in various environmental and energy fields, including carbon capture and storage (CCS) and several CO-based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques, highlights the importance of studying the phase equilibria of this gas with water. Therefore, accurate prediction of CO solubility in water becomes an important thermodynamic property. This study focused on developing two powerful intelligent models, namely gradient boosting (GBoost) and light gradient boosting machine (LightGBM) that predict CO solubility in water with high accuracy.

The Prevalence of Hypertension and Obesity in Iranian Professional Drivers.

Background: Professional driving is associated with overworking, lack of physical activity, and high stress, which are susceptible to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). We aimed to determine the prevalence of hypertension and obesity in Iranian professional drivers.

Methods: Overall, 132,452 drivers were included by census sampling methods and those who did not pass periodic examinations were excluded.

Application of guar ( L.) gum in food technologies: A review of properties and mechanisms of action.

With the world continuing to push toward modernization and the consumption of processed foods growing at an exponential rate, the demand for texturizing agents and natural additives has also risen as a result. It has become increasingly common to use thickening agents in food products to modify their rheological and textural properties and enhance their quality characteristics. They can be divided into (1) animal derived (chitosan and isinglass), (2) fermentation produced (xanthan and curdlan), (3) plant fragments (pectin and cellulose), (4) seaweed extracts (agar and alginate), and (5) seed flours (guar gum and locust bean gum).

Modeling Viscosity of CO-N Gaseous Mixtures Using Robust Tree-Based Techniques: Extra Tree, Random Forest, GBoost, and LightGBM.

Carbon dioxide (CO) has an essential role in most enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods in the oil industry. Oil swelling and viscosity reduction are the dominant mechanisms in an immiscible CO-EOR process. Besides numerous CO applications in EOR, most oil reservoirs do not have access to natural CO, and capturing it from flue gas and other sources is costly.

Bystander Response Following High-Dose X-irradiation; Time-dependent Nature of GammaH2AX Foci and Cell Death Consequences.

Background: The paradigm shifts in target theory could be defined as the radiation-triggered bystander response in which the radiation deleterious effects occurred in the adjacent cells.

Objective: This study aims to assess bystander response in terms of DNA damage and their possible cell death consequences following high-dose radiotherapy. Temporal characteristics of gH2AX foci as a manifestation of DNA damage were also evaluated.

Evaluation of Capability and Relationship of Different Radiobiological Endpoints for Radiosensitivity Prediction in Human Tumor Cell Lines Compared with Clonogenic Survival.

Background: Establishing a predictive assay of radiosensitivity (as an appropriate, practical and cost-effective method) has been challenging.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the capability and relationship of various endpoints, including GammaH2AX, micronuclei; and apoptosis in determining the human tumor cell lines radiosensitivities compared with clonogenic survival.

Material And Methods: In an experimental in-vitro study, the response of carcinoma cell lines of HN5 and HeLa to 2 Gy of 6 MV photon beam was investigated via various assays.

Role of Spasticity Severity in the Balance of Post-stroke Patients.

Lower limb spasticity after stroke is common that can affect the balance, increase the risk of falling, and reduces the quality of life. First, evaluate the effects of spasticity severity of ankle plantar flexors on balance of patients after stroke. Second, to determine the relationship between the spasticity severity with ankle proprioception, passive ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM), and balance confidence.

A Study on the Effects of Dry Needling in Multiple Sclerosis Patients with Spasticity: Protocol of a Randomized Waitlist-Controlled Trial.

Background: Spasticity is a common symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS). Dry needling (DN) has been considered a useful method for the treatment of spasticity; however, there are no studies on the effects of DN on spasticity in patients with MS. We propose a study protocol aiming to investigate the effects of DN on spasticity in patients with MS.

Pregnant women's daily patterns of well-being before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland: Longitudinal monitoring through smartwatch technology.

Background: Technology enables the continuous monitoring of personal health parameter data during pregnancy regardless of the disruption of normal daily life patterns. Our research group has established a project investigating the usefulness of an Internet of Things-based system and smartwatch technology for monitoring women during pregnancy to explore variations in stress, physical activity and sleep. The aim of this study was to examine daily patterns of well-being in pregnant women before and during the national stay-at-home restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland.

Climate effects on the COVID-19 outbreak: a comparative analysis between the UAE and Switzerland.

The main aim of the present study is to disclose the similarities or differences of the climate effects on the COVID-19 outbreak in two countries, which have different climatic conditions. Using the correlation modeling, the results revealed that some climatic factors, such as the ULR, temperature, and CH in the UAE and aerosol index and NO in Switzerland have positive lagged correlations with the outburst of COVID-19 by intensifying role within - 9, - 7, and - 2 days. The mitigating role was also observed for ozone/solar radiation and temperature/long-wave radiation in the UAE and Switzerland, respectively.

The radioprotective effect of melatonin against radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks in radiology.

Objective: The objective of this study is to observe the effect of 100-mg melatonin in reducing the levels of double-strand breaks (DSB) induced by 10 mGy and 100 mGy X-ray in peripheral lymphocyte applying H2AX immunofluorescence microscopy and comparing the different efficacies of melatonin ingestion 1 and 2 h before irradiation.

Materials And Methods: Informed consent was obtained from five healthy males, nonathlete, and nonsmoking human volunteers aged between 25 and 35 years. Each volunteer was given a single oral dose of 100 mg melatonin at 9 a.

Translation and Cross-cultural Adaptation of the Fremantle Back Awareness Questionnaire into Persian language and the assessment of reliability and validity in patients with chronic low back pain.

Background: Chronic low back pain (LBP) causes some neuroplastic changes in the brain, which result in body perception impairment. The Fremantle Back Awareness Questionnaire (FreBAQ) is a suggested tool for the diagnosis and evaluation of back perception in people with LBP. The aim of this study is to translate and cross culturally adapt the FreBAQ into Persian language and to assess its reliability and validity in patients with chronic LBP (CLBP).

Enhanced response of radioresistant carcinoma cell line to heterogeneous dose distribution of grid; the role of high-dose bystander effect.

Purpose: The classical dogma that restricted the radiation effect to the directly irradiated cells has been challenged by the bystander effect. This off-target phenomenon which was manifested in adjacent cells via signaling of fully exposed cells might be involved in high-dose Grid therapy as well. Here, an in-vitro study was performed to examine the possible extent of carcinoma cells response to the inhomogeneous dose distribution of Grid irradiation in the context of the bystander effect.

Effect of Ankle Plantar Flexor Spasticity Level on Balance in Patients With Stroke: Protocol for a Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: The lower limb spasticity after stroke can affect the balance and gait of patients with stroke.

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the effects of ankle plantar flexor spasticity level on balance in patients with stroke.

Methods: Patients with stroke were recruited from neurology and physiotherapy clinics in Tehran, Iran.

Prediction of preterm labor by the level of serum magnesium using an optimized linear classifier.

This study investigates the possibility of predicting preterm labor by utilizing serum Magnesium level, BMI, and muscular cramp. In this case-control study, 75 preterm and 75 term labor women are included. Different factors such as serum magnesium level, mother's age, infant's sex, mother's Body Mass Index (BMI), infant's weight, gravid, and muscular cramp experience are measured.

Melatonin a Promising Candidate for DNA Double-Stranded Breaks Reduction in Patients Undergoing Abdomen-Pelvis Computed Tomography Examinations.

Background And Objective: Cancer incidence is 24% higher in children and young adults exposed to Computed Tomography (CT) scans than those unexposed. Non-repairing of ionizing radiation-induced DNA Double-Strand Breaks (DSBs) can initiate carcinogenesis. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the radioprotective potential of melatonin against DSBs in peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients undergoing abdomen-pelvis CT examinations.

Application of convolutional neural networks to breast biopsies to delineate tissue correlates of mammographic breast density.

Breast density, a breast cancer risk factor, is a radiologic feature that reflects fibroglandular tissue content relative to breast area or volume. Its histology is incompletely characterized. Here we use deep learning approaches to identify histologic correlates in radiologically-guided biopsies that may underlie breast density and distinguish cancer among women with elevated and low density.

Using Digital Pathology to Understand Epithelial Characteristics of Benign Breast Disease among Women Undergoing Diagnostic Image-Guided Breast Biopsy.

Delayed terminal duct lobular unit (TDLU) involution is associated with elevated mammographic breast density (MD). Both are independent breast cancer risk factors among women with benign breast disease (BBD). Prior digital analyses of normal breast tissues revealed that epithelial nuclear density (END) and TDLU involution are inversely correlated.

Enhanced cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of gadolinium-doped ZnO nanoparticles on irradiated lung cancer cells at megavoltage radiation energies.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the radiation dose enhancement effects of gadolinium-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles (Gd-doped ZnO NPs) under the megavoltage (MV) X-ray irradiation. ZnO NPs have preferred photocatalytic properties under UV light for cancer killing. UV light has limited applications in cancer treatment and it is necessary to use X-ray photons with MV energies.

Relationship of circulating insulin-like growth factor-I and binding proteins 1-7 with mammographic density among women undergoing image-guided diagnostic breast biopsy.

Background: Mammographic density (MD) is a strong breast cancer risk factor that reflects fibroglandular and adipose tissue composition, but its biologic underpinnings are poorly understood. Insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) are markers that may be associated with MD given their hypothesized role in breast carcinogenesis. IGFBPs sequester IGF-I, limiting its bioavailability.

Glucosamine Protects Rat Bone Marrow Cells Against Cisplatin-induced Genotoxicity and Cytotoxicity.

Background And Objective: Glucosamine is a widely prescribed dietary supplement used in the treatment of osteoarthritis. In the present study, the chemoprotectant ability of glucosamine was evaluated against cisplatin-induced genotoxicity and cytotoxicity in rat bone marrow cells.

Methods: Glucosamine was orally administrated to rats at doses of 75 and 150 mg/kg body weight for seven consecutive days.

Deep learning networks find unique mammographic differences in previous negative mammograms between interval and screen-detected cancers: a case-case study.

Background: To determine if mammographic features from deep learning networks can be applied in breast cancer to identify groups at interval invasive cancer risk due to masking beyond using traditional breast density measures.

Methods: Full-field digital screening mammograms acquired in our clinics between 2006 and 2015 were reviewed. Transfer learning of a deep learning network with weights initialized from ImageNet was performed to classify mammograms that were followed by an invasive interval or screen-detected cancer within 12 months of the mammogram.