Journal of Advances in Medical and Biomedical Research
Volume:29 Issue: 132, Jan Feb 2021

Currently, efforts have focused on dealing with the emerging coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide. Hopefully, information technology can be applied to meet the challenges related to the pandemic and biosurveillance. Free and open-source software (FOSS) model has emerged as an effective tool against these challenges. The main objective of this study was to determine and summarize the application of FOSS in published and released resources and materials against COVID-19. This review includes projects that were available through GitHub and SourceForge reliable web-based materials. All projects were identified between January 1 and April 10, 2020. Search terms in GitHub and SourceForge were based on clinical terminologies, such as COVID-19, COVID, Covid19, and Corona Virus. Inclusion or exclusion criteria were used to filter the results. Finally, a screening procedure was followed to achieve the most related records. We identified 46,426 records in GitHub and seven projects in SourceForge. The top 40 projects were included. The results show that a high percentage of FOSS projects against COVID-19 were related to visual dashboards. The open dataset and analytical methods made a significant contribution to this context. Previously learned lessons from FOSS have shown that the explained projects would play important roles in future epidemics by forking and joining in new projects, which formed around a specific problem.

 Migraine is an occasional headache that represents neurological and gastrointestinal symptoms, as well as changes in the autonomic nervous system. Biofeedback is a non-pharmacological technique used to treat migraine headaches and is proven to reduce headaches and improve performance. The present study aimed to compare the efficacy of biofeedback and pharmacological treatments to find the best treatment strategy for migraine headaches. 

 This randomized clinical trial was performed on 86 patients who referred to Noor Psychiatric Clinic and Neurology Clinic of Valiasr Hospital, Zanjan, Iran. Patients were divided into two groups of daily treatment with medication and treatment with medicine and biofeedback. Cases were monitored every two months using interviews and questionnaires.

 The study was carried out on 86 migraine patients with the age range of 31-45 years for 3 months. Most of the patients were female, including 90.7% of the individuals in the case group and 81.4% of the control group. The frequency distribution of medication use was not different between the two groups (P=0.744). Most of the participants had a history of more than 1 year of headache. During the treatment, the frequency and severity of attacks reduced obviously until the 8th week. The decrease in the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) score was more significant in the biofeedback group, except in the 10th and 12th weeks. However, the decline in the MIDAS score was not significant. Moreover, the reduction in the frequency of attacks remained significant until the end of the study. 

 It can be concluded that the combination of biofeedback treatment and medication therapy provides a more rapid response than pharmacological treatment alone. Therefore, biofeedback is an effective add-on therapy, which can be taken into consideration for diminishing all aspects of migraine headache attacks.

 Diabetes vascular complications are the leading cause of death in the world. Therefore, we investigated the effect of pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) on the formation of atheromatous plaque and renal function in atherosclerotic rats.

 Forty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups of normal, atherosclerotic, and two similar groups under PLP treatment. Atherosclerosis was induced in rats by an atherogenic diet and all groups were treated with 0.18% of PLP in drinking water daily for three months. Hematoxylin and eosin stain was applied to assess the histopathological changes in the aorta of subjects. Insulin resistance index, the activity of the glyoxalase (GLO) system, lipid profile, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation markers, advanced oxidation protein products, and inflammatory markers, such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and TGF-β1 were examined in all rats. In addition, serum creatinine levels and urinary protein excretion of all animals were measured.

 Atheromatous lesions were not observed in the aorta of PLP-treated atherosclerotic rats. Furthermore, PLP seemed to improve insulin function, lipid profile, kidney function parameters, GLO system activity, and inflammation. We found that PLP treatment decreased the formation of LDL oxidation products both in vitro and in vivo (P<0.001).

 According to our findings, PLP imposed a beneficial effect on vascular complications in atherosclerotic rats, which could be attributed to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Moreover, PLP has positive impacts on insulin function, dyslipidemia, and GLO system activity.

 Patients undergoing a caesarean section (CS) frequently experience shoulder pain, which is often neglected. However, there are some recommendations to prevent or relieve this pain. This study examined the effect of intravenous dexamethasone and ketamine on reducing shoulder pain in patients who underwent a CS under spinal anesthesia.

 The cohort of this prospective study comprised 231 subjects, all of whom were candidates for a CS during 2016. The patients were evaluated based on the type of medication received. After undergoing spinal anesthesia, the first group received 0.5 mg/kg ketamine intravenously and the second group received 0.1 mg/kg dexamethasone intravenously. The patients in these two groups were compared with a control group made up of patients who had not received any medication. Levels of pain severity during and immediately after, as well as 1 h, 6 h, 12 h, 18 h, and 24 h after the CS, were recorded based on the visual analogue scale (VAS). The amount of pethidine consumed was also documented.

 Compared to the control group, the intravenous administration of ketamine and dexamethasone significantly reduced shoulder pain resulted from CS under spinal anesthesia (P<0.05). In addition, the number of pethidine recipients in the control group was significantly higher (P<0.001).

 The results showed that prophylactic administration of dexamethasone and ketamine is effective in relieving shoulder pain after a CS.

 Melissa officinalis (MO) was shown to possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and is traditionally believed to have anti-hyperglycemic effects. This study aims to evaluate the protective effects of MO on streptozotocin (STZ) induced pancreatic damage and thereupon diabetes in rats.

 To induce diabetes mellitus (DM) in rats, STZ (60 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally. Forty eight rats were randomly divided into four groups: control 1 (C1) consisted of healthy rats, control 2 (C2) consisted of non-treated diabetic rats, and treatment groups 1 and 2 (T1, T2) were the diabetics orally treated with 150 and 300 mg/kg MO for 14 days, respectively. After euthanizing the animals, their pancreases were extracted and sent for stereological evaluations. Volume density (Vv; %), the absolute volume of the islets (mm3), numerical density of beta cells (Nv; per mm3), and their total number (×106), were measured. P-value<0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

 The treatment groups showed significant improvements in volume density and total volume of the islets as well as the numerical density and the total number of the beta cells (P<0.001). The treatment groups also had significantly lower blood sugar compared to the untreated group (P=0.008).

 According to our results, MO has shown promising effects on the pancreatic beta cells against toxic chemicals such as STZ. However, further studies are needed to examine the beneficial effects and possible adverse effects of MO in laboratory models and also in humans.

Tolosa-Hunt syndrome (THS) is a painful ophthalmoplegia associated with granulomatous inflammation of the cavernous carotid artery and surrounding tissues which responds to corticosteroid. Other causes of painful ophthalmoplegia must be ruled out. We present a case of THS in which the course of the disease suggested this idiopathic condition which occurred after wide mastoidectomy. The patient was diabetic and had a huge pituitary gland adenoma. Partial petrosectomy, laboratory tests, and imaging studies were normal. We named this condition ‘Tolosa-Hunt-Like Syndrome’.

 Pathophysiology of Ischemia/Reperfusion (Isc/R) can cause renal and hepatic damages. Naringenin (NAR) is a flavonoid with potent antioxidant properties. In the present study, the effects of NAR on the liver after the renal Isc/R procedure were investigated.

 Sixty-four Wistar rats were divided into eight groups. The animals in the control group received dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Group 2 as the Isc/R group went under the Isc/R procedure. Groups 3, 4, and 5 as the NAR groups received 20, 50, and 100 mg/kg of NAR, respectively. Groups 6, 7, and 8 were the Isc/R+NAR groups. The NAR was administrated for four consecutive weeks orally. Levels of the expression of p53, Bcl2, and Bax genes were assessed. The histomorphometric features, Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC), nitric oxide (NO), inflammatory cytokines, and hepatic enzymes were analyzed.

 We observed that Isc/R increased inflammatory cytokines, NO level, histomorphometric parameters, the expression of p53 and Bax genes, and enzymes, compared to the control group (P<0.05). On the other hand, the latter intervention decreased TAC and Bcl2 gene expression significantly (P<0.05), in comparison with the control group. All values significantly (P<0.05) diminished in the NAR and NAR+Isc/R groups, compared to the Isc/R group. However, the TAC level and Bcl2 were higher in the NAR and NAR+Isc/R groups than the Isc/R group.   

 The NAR could recover the liver damage resulting from Isc/R. This impact could be attributed to the antioxidant effects.

 Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has three key features, i.e., disorders in social interactions, reciprocal communication problems, and restricted, repetitive behavioral patterns. A child with ASD affects parents and could create tension for parents. Making meaning in life can help parents cope with stressful events. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess the effectiveness of group logotherapy on the meaning of life of mothers of children with ASD.

 This study was a randomized clinical trial incorporating a pre-test, post-test, and control group. To this end, 40 mothers of children with ASD were selected and randomly allocated into two experimental (n=20) and control groups (n=20). The Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) was used to collect data. The research group received ten sessions of 90 minutes logotherapy twice per week, and the control group received a routine intervention. Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS software, along with descriptive statistical, mean, chi-square, Levene’s, and t tests.

 The results demonstrated significant differences between the experimental and control groups in the mean score of meaning in life after administering logotherapy intervention (P<0.001).

 The results indicated that group instruction using the logotherapy approach affected the meaning in life of mothers of children with ASD.