Burden of diseases attributable to excess body weight in the Middle East and North Africa region, 1990-2019.

High body mass index (BMI), or excess body weight (EBW), represents a significant risk factor for a range of diseases, including cardiovascular diseases and cancers. The study sought to determine the burden of diseases attributable to EBW in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region from 1990 and 2019. The analysis also included an exploration of this burden by age, sex, underlying cause, and sociodemographic index (SDI). We utilized publicly available data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2019 to identify the deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) of diseases associated with EBW in MENA, spanning the period from 1990 to 2019. The GBD estimated the mean BMI and the prevalence of EBW using hierarchical mixed-effects regression, followed by spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression to determine the most accurate BMI distribution through comparison with actual data. In 2019, there were an estimated 538.4 thousand deaths (95% UI 369.9-712.3) and 17.9 million DALYs (12.9-23.1) attributable to EBW in the region. The DALYs attributable to EBW were higher in men (9.3 million [6.5-12.4]) than in women (8.5 million [6.4-10.8]). The age-standardized death and DALY rates for the diseases associated with EBW increased by 5.1% (- 9.0-25.9) and 8.3% (- 6.5-28.8), respectively, during the study period which was not significant. Egypt had the highest age-standardized mortality rate due to EBW (217.7 [140.0, 307.8]), while Yemen (88.6 [45.9, 143.5]) had the lowest. In 2019, the highest number of DALYs occurred among individuals aged 60 to 64 years old. Furthermore, we found a positive association between a nation's SDI and the age-standardized DALY rate linked to EBW. Cardiovascular disease emerged as the leading contributor to the EBW burden in MENA. The disease burden attributable to EBW showed a non-significant increase in MENA from 1990 to 2019.

Reliability of respiratory-gated real-time two-dimensional cine incorporating deep learning reconstruction for the assessment of ventricular function in an adult population; a common mistake.

Reliability (repeatability or agreement) is assessed by different statistical tests including Pearson r or Spearman rho which is one of the common mistakes in reliability analysis. Pearson r or Spearman rho correlation coefficient only assesses the linearity between two continuous variables. Any shift in the regression line's location or scale, which leads to non-reliability, cannot be detected by these correlation coefficients. In reliability analysis, the individual approach should be considered instead of the global average. To correctly assess the reliability (agreement), for continuous variables, either the Bland -Altman plot or Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) absolute measure should be applied.

Comparison of pulse oximeter, cold test, and electric pulp test for assessment of pulp vitality in permanent immature teeth.

INTRODUCTION: Pulp sensitivity tests are commonly used for assessment of pulp vitality. However, indirect assessment of pulp vitality by evaluation of nerve response and subjective nature are the main limitations of these tests. Pulse oximetry is used for assessment of blood oxygen saturation in medicine, and its efficacy for assessment of pulp vitality needs to be evaluated.

Food frequency questionnaire is a valid assessment tool of quercetin and kaempferol intake in Iranian breast cancer patients according to plasma biomarkers.

In epidemiological and clinical studies, the most common nutritional tool to assess dietary flavonol intake is the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), which needs to contain a detailed list of plant-based foods and be previously validated. Our study aimed to assess the accuracy of dietary flavonol (quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin) intake from a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) compared to fasting plasma flavonol concentrations, as biomarkers of exposure, in breast cancer patients. In a consecutive case series, newly diagnosed patients with breast cancer (n = 140) were recruited at Nour-Nejat Hospital, Tabriz, Iran. Flavonol intake was assessed using a validated FFQ. Plasma flavonol concentrations were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection. The accuracy of dietary status was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and area under the ROC curve (AUC). Dietary status was shown in dichotomous using ROC-cutoff point. The plasma concentrations of quercetin were moderately correlated with dietary intake of quercetin (Spearman's correlation coefficient (rs) = 0.188, P < .05; rpartial= 0.330, P < .01) and plasma concentrations of isorhamnetin (rs = 0.337, P < .001). A linear correlation between dietary levels and plasma concentrations of kaempferol was attained (rpartial = 0.240, P < .05). Using a ROC-cutoff of 61.9 nmol/L for plasma quercetin (test reference), we were able to differentiate between lower and higher consumers of quercetin with an AUCROC-based reference =0.65 (P < .01, sensitivity = 61.8%, and specificity = 60.0%). Using a plasma kaempferol concentration of 60.1 nmol/L (ROC-cutoff), it was possible to detect significant differences between higher and lower intakes of kaempferol (AUCROC-based reference = 0.64, P < .05). The correlations and diagnostic performance with plasma concentrations could present a significant accuracy rate (validity), which seems acceptable for a nutritional questionnaire (FFQ) to assess intakes intake levels of quercetin and kaempferol. An improvement in the accuracy of the flavonol exposure can provide more precise relationship with health outcomes, which may increase their clinical significance.

Quantitative assessment of vascular density in diabetic retinopathy subtypes with optical coherence tomography angiography.

BACKGROUND: Quantitative assessment of vascular density (VD) of retinal and choriocapillaris (CC) in various stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR) using spectral domain optical coherence tomography angiography (SD OCTA). METHODS: 188 eyes of 97 participants were recruited in this cross-sectional study. The macular OCTA (3x3mm) scan was performed and the computer algorithm assessed VD at the level of superficial capillary plexus (SCP), deep capillary plexus (DCP) and CC. RESULTS: All measured parameters were decreased in retinal VD at the more extreme stages of DR, with the exception of SCP foveal VD. There was a constant pattern of decrease in VD of CC from normal cases to cases of NDR and NPDR and then a slight increase occurred in the PDR stage but never touching the normal quantities. Age, fasting blood sugar, and years of diabetes mellitus were correlated with reduced VD in different segments. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was positively correlated with parafoveal VD at SCP and VD of foveal area at CC. VD of all subfields of macular area except foveal DCP VD showed reduced levels in diabetic macular edema (DME) patients compared to those without DME. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the study endorse retina VD changes as a potential biomarker for DR development before retinopathy becomes clinically evident. It seems that parafoveal VD of SCP and foveal VD of CC are good biomarkers to predict VA in the diabetic patients.

Neurobehavioral assessment of rats exposed to pristine polystyrene nanoplastics upon oral exposure.

The increasing use of plastics has raised concerns about pollution of freshwater by these polymeric materials. Knowledge about their potential effects on environmental and public health is limited. Recent publications have suggested that the degradation of plastics will result in the release of nano-sized plastic particles to the environment. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to gain knowledge about whether and how nanoplastics affect living organisms. The present study aimed to analyse potential neurobehavioral effects of polystyrene nanoparticles (PS-NPs) after long-term exposure on rat. Potential effects of PS-NPs were investigated using four test dosages (1, 3, 6, and 10 mg PS-NPs/kg of body weight/day) administrated orally with adult Wistar male rats for five weeks. Neurobehavioral tests were chosen to assess a variety of behavioral domains. Particle diameters in test suspensions were determined through dynamic light scattering and showed an average hydrodynamic diameter of approximately 38.92 nm. No statistically significant behavioral effects were observed in all tests performed (p > 0.05). In the elevated plus maze, PS-NPs-exposed rats showed greater number of entries into open arms compared to controls. Also, PS-NPs had no significant influence on body weight of animals. Taking into account the subtle and transient nature of neurobehavioral consequences, however, these results underline the possibility of even pristine plastic nanoparticles to induce behavioral alteration in the rest of the food web, including for marine biota and humans. Indeed even though studied neurobehavioral effects in our study was not statistically significant, the observed subtle effects may be clinically considerable.