Longrush6131

To determine whether C-reactive protein and liver function tests can serve as severity markers for dengue fever.

The cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015-16 in Karachi and comprised patients with dengue fever visiting a tertiary care hospital. mTOR inhibitor World Health Organisation classifications 1997 and 2009 were used to categorise patients according to clinical signs and symptoms. Receiver Operating Characteristics curve was used to determine discriminative ability and optimum cut-off value of biochemical markers. Comparisons were done through one-way analysis of variance using SPSS 17.

Of the 218 patients, 133(61%) were males and 85(39%) were females. The overall mean age was 35.07±15.96 years. Levels of C-reactive protein and total bilirubin were significantly higher for dengue haemorrhagic fever compared to dengue fever; dengue shock syndrome compared to dengue fever; dengue shock syndrome compared to dengue haemorrhagic fever; and dengue shock syndrome compared to dengue fever / dengue haemorrhagic fever (p<0.05 each). Levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase were significantly higher for dengue shock syndrome compared to dengue fever; dengue shock syndrome compared to dengue haemorrhagic fever; and dengue shock syndrome compared to dengue fever / dengue haemorrhagic fever (p<0.05 each). Levels of C-reactive protein, total bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatise in patients with severe dengue were significantly higher compared to non-severe dengue.

C-reactive protein and liver function tests were found to be effective biochemical markers in assessing dengue fever severity.

C-reactive protein and liver function tests were found to be effective biochemical markers in assessing dengue fever severity.

To determine correlation between emotional intelligence and academic stress.

The quantitative correlational study was conducted in 2016 at the Khyber College of Dentistry, Peshawar, Pakistan, and comprised undergraduate dental students in the 2015-16 session regardless of age, gender and the academic year. Emotional intelligence and dental environmental stress were calculated and compared. Data was analysed using SPSS 20.

Of the 298 students, 98(32.89%) were males and 200(67.11%) were females. The overall mean emotional intelligence score was 81.23±22.8, while the overall mean dental environmental stress score was 109.54±19.5 with a trend of decreasing stress levels from first to final year. A Pearson correlation test was run. Significant negative relationship was found between emotional intelligence and academic stress (p<0.05).

The gradual increase of emotional intelligence from first to final year showed the importance of teaching and learning methods that incorporate certain emotional intelligence trends.

The gradual increase of emotional intelligence from first to final year showed the importance of teaching and learning methods that incorporate certain emotional intelligence trends.

To evaluate the effect of positioning on gross motor function and spasticity in spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy children with Gross Motor Function Classification System level IV and V.

A quasi-experimental study was conducted at two Paediatric Physical Therapy Centres from November 2018 to July 2019. The study comprised of seventy four children with quadriplegic cerebral palsy aged between 3 to 8 years. Data was obtained and gross motor functional abilities and spasticity were assessed by GMFM-88 and Modified Ashworth Scale, respectively. Twenty four-hour positioning in specific seats, night positioning and standing frames for six months. The child was being positioned 24 hours according to his challenges for the period of six months. Semi reclined positioning was performed to manage aspiration, oral leak and to develop retention. Prone positioning was done to develop righting reactions, functional sitting position was used in the treatment regime to attain better upright position and neutral pelvic standing using standing frames. SPSS 24 was used to analyse the data.

Paired t-test reported significant improvement in the test scores in lying position, rolling, sitting position, crawling, kneeling, standing, walking or running. Fifty-nine subjects exhibited improvement in spasticity before and after interventional procedures, while 15 showed no improvement (p<0.05).

Twenty-Four-hour proper body positioning and postural techniques improved gross motor functioning in all five dimensions of functioning. The overall spasticity in quadriplegic cerebral palsy children was also reduced due to appropriate positioning techniques.

Twenty-Four-hour proper body positioning and postural techniques improved gross motor functioning in all five dimensions of functioning. The overall spasticity in quadriplegic cerebral palsy children was also reduced due to appropriate positioning techniques.

To investigate the expressions of immunohistochemical markers P63, P27, P57, Ki-67 and CD146 in hydropic and molar specimens in order to explore their role in the pathogenesis of molar gestations.

The retrospective study was conducted at the Kırıkkale Medical University, Turkey, and comprised data from 2011 to 2018 related to patients with a definitive pathological diagnosis of hydropic abortus, complete hydatidiform moles and partial hydatidiform moles. Immunoreactivity using antibodies against P63, P27, P57, Ki-67 and CD146 was scored by evaluating the percentage of distinctly stained cells. Data was analysed using SPSS 15.

Of the 37 specimens, 10(27%) were hydropic abortus, 17(46%) partial hydatidiform moles and 10(27%) complete hydatidiform moles. Patients with complete hydatidiform moles severe cytologic atypia in CD146-positive extravillous trophoblastic column and florid syncytiotrophoblast proliferation. P57 immunostaining was negative in 9(90%) patients with complete hydatidiform moles, whereas all patients in the two other groups showed positive immunostaining, and they also showed P63 and Ki-67 overexpression in cytotrophoblasts. P27 was expressed in differentiated, non-dividing syncytiotrophoblasts but did not yield any diagnostic aid.

The proliferative activity location varied between molar and nonmolar pregnancies.

The proliferative activity location varied between molar and nonmolar pregnancies.

To compare the effect of Pakistani and American almonds on serum concentration of liver enzymes in coronary artery disease patients.

The randomised controlled trial was conducted at the Cardiology Clinics of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from February to July, 2012, and comprised patients who were randomised into intervention PA and AA groups and the control NI groups. Subjects in the intervention groups were provided Pakistani and American varieties of almonds 10g/day respectively with instructions to soak them overnight, remove the skin and eat them before breakfast for 12 weeks. The control group underwent no intervention. Serum concentrations of aspartate transaminase, Alanine transaminase and gamma-glutamyl transferase were analysed and compared.

Of the 150 subjects, 110(73.3%) completed the study. Of them, there were 38(34.5%) in PA group, 41(37.3%) in AA, and 31(28.2%) in the NI group. Dietary almonds significantly reduced serum concentrations of aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase and gamma-glutamyl transferase in the two intervention groups compared to the controls group (p<0.05) at 12-week follow-up.

A low dose of almonds was found to be an effective strategy to protect the liver.

A low dose of almonds was found to be an effective strategy to protect the liver.BACKGROUND Short stature is the second most common reason for referral to a pediatric endocrinology clinic. Numerous genetic causes have been identified. Weill-Marchesani syndrome (WMS) is one of the rare genetic disorders that cause short stature. It is caused by homozygous mutations in the FBN1 gene, ADAMTS10 gene, ADAMTS17 gene, or LTBP2 gene. Despite genetic heterogeneity, WMS is clinically homogeneous. It is characterized by short stature, brachydactyly, joint stiffness, ocular abnormalities, mainly microspherophakia and glaucoma, and occasionally cardiac defects. CASE REPORT A 9-year-old boy had bilateral narrow-angle glaucoma with lens subluxation, elevated intraocular pressure, and severe myopia since early childhood. He had phenotypic dysmorphic features and radiological findings consistent with WMS. He underwent lensectomy and scleral-fixated intraocular lens implantation as well as drug treatment to control the intraocular pressure. He was a slow grower, and his growth parameters showed disproportionate short stature with brachydactyly and joint stiffness. Growth hormone provocation tests were subnormal with a peak value of 7.89 ng/mL. CONCLUSIONS The constellation of clinical presentation, radiological findings, and the molecular examination confirmed a homozygous familial variant of the ADAMTS10 gene identified by carrier gene testing. This known familial variant creates a premature termination codon classified as a likely pathogenic cause of WMS. In this syndrome, glaucoma treatment is considered the greatest challenge. The disease-causing mechanism in WMS is not known but thought to be due to abnormal actin distribution and organization in fibroblasts as a result of impaired connections between extracellular matrix components and the cytoskeleton.

This study aims to determine the diagnostic performance of superb microvascular imaging (SMI) and shear wave elastography methods in evaluating breast lesions. We will also compare the effectiveness of the stiffness, velocity, and vascular index (VI) parameters in distinguishing malignancy.From January to June 2019, 121 patients with 121 solid breast masses (category 4 and 5 lesions according to the Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System) detected during the routine grayscale sonographic examination were included in the study. Stiffness and velocity values were obtained using shear wave elastography for all lesions, and VI was obtained using SMI. The receiver operating characteristic curves were obtained to set the best cutoff values for the stiffness, velocity, and VI to differentiate patients with malignant breast lesions.All 121 lesions were pathologically verified by US-guided core needle biopsy. Forty-seven (38.9%) of the lesions were malignant, and 74 (61.1%) were benign. Median stiffness, velocity,itative data are beneficial in differentiating malignant from benign masses, stiffness is the best parameter to be used.

This study evaluated the technical feasibility of 2-dimensional transvaginal shear wave elastography to quantify cervical stiffness in nonpregnant and pregnant women and established normal values in each group. With institutional review board approval, we performed a prospective study with an age-matched historical control design. Sixteen premenopausal nonpregnant women without cervical pathology and 17 low-risk pregnant women (gestational age 17-33 weeks) were enrolled. Cervical shear wave speeds were measured on a SuperSonic Aixplorer machine. The mean shear wave speeds of anterior cervix were 4.96 ± 1.96 m/s in nonpregnant women and 1.92 ± 0.31 m/s in pregnant women. No significant stiffness difference was found between the anterior and posterior cervix (P = 0.15). The upper cervix was stiffer than the lower cervix in the pregnant women (P = 0.00012). Transvaginal shear wave elastography reveals that cervix at a midterm gestation is significantly softer than nonpregnant cervix (P < 0.0001) and suggests a spatial stiffness gradient along the length of the cervix, consistent with histopathology and limited elastography literature.