bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Pattern of Substance Use in the Elderly
Authors: Karahda Aarti , Singh Priti , Gupta Rajiv , Prasad Shobhit Kumar 
Published: May 2024

Background:
There are many unique features related to substance abuse in the elderly, which is an underestimated problem in society.

Objectives:
A cross-sectional exploratory study was conducted in a North Indian tertiary care setting to assess the pattern of substance use in the elderly.

Materials and Methods:
Fifty cases were included in the study via purposive sampling; a Drug Abuse Monitoring System pro forma and a semistructured pro forma designed to gather information on sociodemographic and substance use characteristics were used. Descriptive statistics were applied. Continuous variables were summarized as means and standard deviations and categorical variables as counts and percentages.

Results:
The mean age of the samples was 64.12 ± 4.54 years. Alcohol use was noted in 66% of the cases, tobacco use in 76%, opioid use in 16%, cannabinoid use in 4%, and sedative/hypnotic use in 4%. Majority of the cases were married, studied up to high school, self-employed, and living in joint family. Majority of the cases had initiation of substance use in young age due to peer pressure, and the reason for change in pattern were in majority mainly family issues and tolerance. Majority of the cases were brought by family members for treatment seeking.

Conclusions:
The issue of substance abuse in elderly population is underestimated, and studies are scarce in finding the exact prevalence in the society.
Remdesivir Effects on COVID-19 Infection in Adult Patients
Authors: Sahib Zena Hasan , Al-Zurfi Hasan R. , Al-Masoodi Ali Talib M. , Baay Ali , Al-Muhktar Entisar 
Published: May 2024

Introduction:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a serious pandemic affecting the global world since 2019 with heavy impacts on the social, economy, and normal daily life; one of the promising antiviral treatment used frequently all over the world is the remdesivir.

Aim:
The aim was to study the effect of 3–5 days remdesivir treatment course, regarding its starting time on clinical status and the fate of patients with COVID-19, with monitoring of the side effects.

Materials and Methods:
A prospective observational study involved 90 patients with COVID-19 who received remdesivir 5 days course; all were hospitalized, diagnosed by computerised tomography (CT) chest and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at Merjan Teaching Hospital from August 2020 to October 2020. Those 90 patients’ age ranged from 25 to 88 years. Sixty-two patients received convalescent plasma with remdesivir against 13 patients who not received it. Tocilizumab was added for 18 patients, whereas 57 were not treated with it. Clinical state (SpO2, subjective dyspnea, respiratory rate (RR), fever, and the type of O2 supplements) of the patients was assessed three times. Regarding the time of starting remdesivir treatment during the course of disease, patients were assessed in three groups: patients received remdesivir within <10 days, patients received it between 10 and 15 days, and patients received it >15 days. Mean of the duration of patients discharge was recorded.

Results:
It showed an extremely significant difference (P < 0.001) between the discharged and both referred to respiratory care unit (RCU) and death patients. There were significant differences (P < 0.05) in the clinical state (SpO2, subjective dyspnea, RR, fever, and the type of O2 supplements) of the patients in all three times of assessments with significant correlation (P < 0.01) between means of the clinical state (SpO2 and subjective dyspnea score) and the fate (discharge, admission to RCU, and death) of patient who received it. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between means of time of starting therapy and the fate of patients. At the same time, no significant differences (P > 0.05) were seen in the mean of liver function test. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between the fate of patients who received convalescent plasma with remdesivir, but a significant disadvantage (P < 0.001) was seen in the fate of patient who received tocilizumab.

Conclusion:
We can conclude that remdesivir improves the clinical state of patients with COVID-19 regardless of the time of its starting during the course of disease.
Study the Profile of Some Antioxidant Markers in Diabetic Mellitus and Non-Diabetic Patients with Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Zainal Israa Ghassan 
Published: May 2024

Background:
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) claim the lives of millions worldwide.

Objective:
Evaluate the levels of some antioxidant biomarkers in sera of patients with CVDs with and without diabetes mellitus type 2.

Materials and Methods:
Includes 100 samples in 68 patients (40 with CVDs and 28 CVDs with diabetic), and 32 healthy subjects.

Results:
Serum (Albumin, thiol, thiol/T.protein, amine, free amine/ T.protein, carbonyl, carbonyl/ T.protein, and Ischemia modified albumin (IMA)) showed a stronger response, a significant rise in carbonyl and carbonyl/TP, and a significant reduction in thiol and thiol/TP in the patients with CVDs with T2D compared to CVDs may be a good factor to differentiate them or predict more serious complications.

Conclusions:
Oxidation markers may be useful in monitoring CVDs with and without diabetes.
Mycological Profile of Acute Invasive Fungal Rhinosinusitis during COVID-19 Pandemic at a Tertiary Care Hospital
Authors: Chauhan Jyoti , Kaur Narinder , Kumar Harit , Bala Rosy , Chauhan Shubham 
Published: May 2024

Introduction:
During the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, a surge in acute invasive fungal rhinosinusitis (AIFRS) cases with high mortality was reported in India.

Objective:
The objective was to study the spectrum of fungus associated with AIFRS during the pandemic of COVID-19.

Materials and Methods:
A total of 51 patients who were clinically diagnosed as cases of acute invasive rhinosinusitis in the department of ear, nose and throat (ENT) were included in the study. The clinical data along with demographic details were noted, and fungal identification was done using a conventional method.

Results:
Out of 51 patients, 66.6% were males and 33.4% females. Predominantly affected age group was 41–50 years. Out of 51 patients, 92.15% (47/51) had suffered from COVID-19 and 7.8% (4/51) did not have COVID-19 infection previously. Thirty-seven patients out of 51 (72.54%) were diabetics. Out of 51 samples collected from patients, 94.11% (48/51) were fungal culture-positive and only 5.8% (3/51) were culture-negative. A total of 52 fungi were isolated from the 48 culture-positive samples. Mucormycetes were predominantly isolated from the samples followed by Aspergillus species and Candida species. Among mucormycetes, Rhizopus species was the predominantly isolated.

Conclusion:
Patients with COVID-19, especially those at high risk, need to undergo an ENT examination once they recover because an early identification of AIFRS and a strong clinical suspicion of the disease are crucial for a successful course of treatment and to improve patient prognosis.
Relationship between Vitamin D3 Level and Body Mass Index in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Patients
Authors: Al Obeidy Barrak F. , Zobair Alya A. , Jawher Nazar M. T. , Zheng Fang 
Published: May 2024

Background:
Many studies have shown a relation between vitamin D3 deficiency and breast cancer, others estimated an inverse correlation between vitamin D3 and obesity.

Objectives:
This study aimed to verify the relation between vitamin D3 level and obesity in postmenopausal breast cancer patients.

Materials and Methods:
This is a cross-sectional study included seventy-six postmenopausal patients with breast cancers who were diagnosed in the period from January 2020 to February 2022 who were divided into two groups: patients with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 and those patients with BMI <30. Vitamin D3 level was estimated and compared between the two groups. We studied the correlation between vitamin D3 level with the age of the patients and the parity.

Results:
the mean age of the included patients was 61 ± 7.7 years and the mean BMI was 32.3 ± 4.3g/m2. The mean value of vitamin D3 was 15. 0 ± 5. 4 for the patients with BMI ≥ 30 while it was 18.2 ± 4.3 for those patients with BMI <30 and there was a significant difference between the two groups with P = 0.007. Furthermore, patients’ vitamin D3 levels showed significant inverse correlations with their age (P = 0.008) and BMI (P = 0.001).

Conclusion:
There is consistent evidence that deficiency of vitamin D3 is associated with obesity in breast cancer postmenopausal patient; also, vitamin D3 level has a negative correlation with the age and parity of the patients.
Retrospective Study about Fear from COVID-19 That Makes the Patients Reluctant to Present to Otolaryngology Outpatients Clinic in Medina of Basra Province in Iraq
Authors: Saeed Haider Kadhem , Tawfeek Firas , Abbasi Ahmed Al , Sultan Safaa Sahib Naji , Taq Majed Mohammed 
Published: May 2024

Objective:
The objective of the study was to assess the difference in numbers and nature of otolaryngology outpatient clinic presentation during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) era.

Materials and Methods:
A retrospective comparative study was performed in a single hospital (Medina General Hospital); all data were obtained by reviewing outpatient clinic data records for March, April, and May 2020. The corresponding period from 2019 was also collected for comparison.

Results:
A total of 551 patients were seen in the otolaryngology department of the outpatient clinic during the COVID-19 era of March, April, and May 2020, compared to 1837 patients who were seen in the same period of 2019 making around 70% drop in the total number of patients visiting ENT outpatient clinic during the COVID-19 era of 2020.

Conclusion:
Fear of getting COVID-19 infection along with enforcement of quarantine and social distancing resulted in a great drop in the quantity and quality of patients consulting outpatient clinic in Medina General Hospital during March, April, and May 2020.
Effect of Carbohydrate Intake on Glycemic Control Among Adult Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Attending Diabetes and Endocrine Diseases Center in Babel, 2022
Authors: Albadri Ali Mousa Essa , Al-Diwan Jawad K. 
Published: May 2024

Background:
Diabetes mellitus is a well-known chronic, metabolic disease characterized by elevated levels of blood glucose (BG) due to obsolete or relative insulin deficiency among other pathophysiological defects. Carbohydrates have the greatest effect on BG and restriction of carbohydrate, resulting in greater reductions in BG. Poor glycemic control was related to excessive eating of refined grains.

Objective:
The aim of this article is to assess sociodemographic characteristics and some anthropometric measures among the study group and to estimate the effect of carbohydrates intake on glycemic control.

Materials and Methods:
One hundred patients with type 2 diabetes mellites (T2DM) were included in a cross-sectional study. The level of HbA1c was taken as an index to study the glycemic control of patients. Glycemic control was examined, among patients, on the basis of their glycemic index (GI) of foods eaten. A 24-h dietary recall technique was used to analyze the diet of the patients.

Results:
The study revealed 87% poorly controlled vs. 13% with good control. It was found that starch and refined grains intake was highly associated with glycemic control (P = 0.000). Glycemic control was highly significant in association with the intake of high GI (P = 0.000) foods. In contrast, there was no association with vegetables, fruits, and milk. Added sugar and other sweetened beverages were statistically associated with HbA1c (P = 0.002).

Conclusion:
There was a statistically significant association between foods of high GI and poor glycemic control. Starch, refined grains, and added sugar showed a significant association with poor glycemic control.
Gene Expression and Plasma Level of CuZn and Mn Superoxide Dismutase in Iraqi Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Authors: Nawar Aghras Sabah , Alwan Zeena H. O. , Sheikh Qaiser I. 
Published: May 2024

Background:
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrinopathy disorder that affects women worldwide and is linked to an etiological factor as well as pathophysiology.

Objective:
The purpose of this study was to determine the association between superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) and superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) gene expressions and SOD enzyme activity in PCOS patients. In this study, 75 women were diagnosed with PCOS by Rotterdam criteria, and control healthy women with normal menstrual cycles and no signs of hyperandrogenism were included. Patients were separated into two subgroups according to their administration of metformin drug.

Materials and Methods:
CuZn SOD and MnSOD enzymes activity was determined based on the ability of the enzyme to inhibit the autoxidation of pyrogallol, and total oxidant status (TOS) was examined in the plasma using Erel method. mRNA level of SOD1 and SOD2 was evaluated in the blood sample via qPCR.

Results:
SOD enzyme activity was significantly higher in the patients’ group than in the controls (P < 0.0001), along with a significant increase in SOD2 gene expression (P < 0.01). In patients treated with metformin, gene expression of SOD2 was significantly increased (P ≤ 0.05) comparing with patients without treatment, with increased enzyme activity (not significant). However, the SOD1 activity was significantly decreased (P < 0.01) with increased SOD1 expression in patients treated with metformin. In addition, TOS was increased in the patients’ group than in the controls and decreased in patients treated with metformin than in untreated patients with metformin.

Conclusion:
The results revealed a significant association between PCOS and a higher level of enzyme activity and expression. Treatment with metformin drug was related to a higher level of activity and expression of SOD2, while lowering the expression of SOD1, which suggests that oxidative stress might be involved in the development of this syndrome.
Separation, Purification, and Phylogenetic Characterization of Detergent-Compatible Protease Produced by Penicillium Species
Authors: Shalal Omar Sadik 
Published: May 2024

Background:
Filamentous fungal forms are said to secrete multiple peptidases with portent detergent capabilities in addition to their usage in food, beverages, and pharmaceutical industries.

Objective:
The current study isolated and purified fungal isolates from clinical samples and studied their capability as caseinolytic and in removing blood stains from fabrics.

Materials and Methods:
The present work isolated nine isolates, which are protease-positive and out of them eight belong to Penicillium sp. From the IS2 region, amplification of the isolates concluded their match using Blastn as Penicillium citrinum in majority.

Results:
The enzyme extract (P18), which was found effective in removing blood stains with good caseinolytic activity, was found to belong to P. citrinum as from Blastn studies. In addition, these proteases extracted were highly compatible with commercially available detergents. P4 was found to remove blood stains from fabrics in less than 30 min (P<0.02) when compared with other extracts (P1 and P4).

Conclusion:
The ability to secrete protease in promising amounts along with its potential usage as detergent makes these enzymes useful in industries, especially for the laundry industry.
The Prognostic Value of Serum Uric Acid in St-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Mohammed Sulaiman Yaseen , Rasool Mohammed Tahir 
Published: May 2024

Background and Objective:
Acute myocardial infarction is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity across the world. Acute myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation has been considered a common cardiac emergency and has considerable morbidity and mortality. The role of uric acid (UA) in the mortality rate of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) was examined in the present study.

Materials and Methods:
In this prospective study, 107 patients diagnosed with STEMI aged 18 years and older in the coronary care unit at Azadi Teaching Hospital, Duhok, Iraq from April 20, 2017 to December 20, 2017 were followed up for 1 month to determine the 30-day mortality in relation to serum UA level.

Results:
The mean age of patients was 55.27±13.59 years. The inferior type of STEMI was the most prevalent one among the patients (45.1%). Serum UA was not significantly different in both the groups (P > 0.05).

Conclusion:
The study did not show UA as a risk factor for mortality in patients with STEMI.
Circulating Cell Adhesion Molecules Level in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Its Correlation with Glycemic Control and Metabolic Syndrome
Authors: Abdullah Reber Ali , Abdulrahman Ibtesam Salih 
Published: May 2024

Background:
Early detection of high levels of endothelial biomarkers may help in the design of new strategies to prevent many disease complications, as these biomarkers could enable early prediction of endothelial dysfunction and activation.

Objectives:
This study aimed to detect the level of circulating cell adhesion molecules (ICAM-1, VCAM-1) in diabetic patients and to investigate its relation to glycemic control, duration of diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome.

Materials and Methods:
Age and sex-matched case-control study design was adopted, the case group involved (type 2 diabetes mellitus on oral hypoglycemic agent only and free from other medical problems), and the control group was (the healthy people without a family history of diabetes mellitus). The samples were collected between November 2021 and May 2022. Both ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 were measured in both groups.

Results:
A total of 160 individuals were involved (80 cases and 80 controls). The level of both ICAM-1/VCAM-1 was higher in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with a value of P <0.0001. There was a strong association between ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and HbA1c. As the duration of the disease increases, the level of these molecules increases. The level of VCAM-1 in patients with metabolic syndrome was very high, whereas for ICAM-1 a slight increase was observed.

Conclusion:
Circulating cell adhesion molecules can be considered as a marker for detecting the risk of occurrence of diabetes mellitus and the level of these markers can be helpful in follow-up of cases with diabetes and giving a guide for risk of occurrences of metabolic syndrome.
Relationship of Serum Ghrelin, Amylase and Lipase with Insulin Level in Type 2 Diabetes mellitus patients
Authors: Abdulhakeem Zahraa Raad , Odda Atheer Hameid , Abdulsattar Sura Ahmed 
Published: May 2024

Background:
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder known as hyperglycemia, which is brought on by impaired insulin secretion, inefficient insulin utilization, or both.

Objectives:
This study’s aim was to assess the lipase and amylase amylase pancreatic enzymes levels in sera of (T2DM) patients and healthy control subjects.

Materials and Methods:
A case-control research was conducted from December 2021 to March 2022 at the Hilla District Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology in Babylon, Iraq. It included a group of 39 patients with type 2 DM and 39 healthy people between the ages of 35 to 60 years.

Results:
Results were indicating a significant difference in FBS among groups, The mean levels of FBS for DM was (203.7 ± 72.3) mg/dL which was significantly greater than it was for the control group (88.6 ± 7.64) mg/dL,(P ≤ 0.001). The mean of HbA1c for DM (9.5 ± 2.35) was significantly higher than for control (4.9 ± 0.48), P ≤ 0.001. The mean levels of the Amylase and Lipase activity in the DM patients group were (71.4 ± 29.11) and (49.7 ± 14.69) (U/L). When compared to the control group’s mean values, which were (72.7 ± 27.19) and (42.0 ± 7.35) (U/L). The mean levels of Lipase activity were shown a significant difference in T2DM patients compared to the healthy control group, (P < 0.05).

Conclusion:
Increased serum level of lipase without any symptoms of pancreatitis was indicated in type II diabetes mellitus patients.
Hepcidin Level in Sera of Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Virus in Babylon Province
Authors: Salman Amjed Hameed , Ali Zinah Abbass , Selman Nihad Abdallah 
Published: May 2024

Background:
The most prevalent disease in the world, is chronic hepatitis B virus (CHB). It has several causes like, drugs, alcohol consumption, toxicity and auto-immune disease, but in most cases it is caused by hepatitis viruses (viral hepatitis). Hepcidin regulates the body iron negatively by binding to the cellular iron exporter ferroportin in target cells, like macrophages, enterocytes and making its internalization and deprivation, thus reducing iron efflux into plasma causing decrease serum iron level and an elevated in intracellular iron.

Materials and Methods:
One hundred subjects; 50 diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B virus and 50 healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. Age ranged between (20–60) years (for patients and control). Hepcidin and ferritin level in serum were estimated by enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique, while serum iron concentration was calculated by the Siemens Dimension by Direct method (Ferene).

Results:
In chronic hepatitis B virus group serum hepcidin, ferritin and iron levels significantly elevated compared with control group (P < 0.01). On the other hand, the current study observed significant (p value <0.05) positive correlation for hepcidin with ferritin and iron in (CHB) patients.

Conclusion:
Among chronic hepatitis B patients in Babylon province, increase the level of some iron regulatory parameters; indicate the significant linked with the progression of chronic hepatitis B virus.
Follicular Fluid Thyroid Hormones (T4 and T3) Levels and ICSI Outcomes
Authors: Swadi Noor Nadhom , Edan Ban Jabir , Rahim Ali Ibrahim , Ali Rihab Abbas 
Published: May 2024

Background:
Whether through spontaneous conception or through the use of assisted reproductive technologies, thyroid dysfunction is prevalent in women of childbearing age and may negatively impact fertility and pregnancy. As follicular fluid (FF) more accurately depicts the milieu surrounding the developing oocyte, it most likely offers a better assessment of exposures that might have an impact on reproductive outcomes.

Objective:
The purpose of this study is to examine the correlation of FF thyroid hormone (TH) (T4 and T3) levels with the intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes.

Materials and Methods:
The study was designed as an analytic cross-sectional study. Fifty subfertile couples from the in-vitro fertilization center attenders were involved in the study in whom ICSI was done for them and then compared between outcomes in relation to FF-T4 and FF-T3.

Results:
FF-T4 correlates positively with metaphase II (MII) and 2-PN with a P-value=0.04 and 0.03, respectively, in a statistically significant way, whereas FF-T3 correlates positively with oocyte number: MII in a statistically significant way (P-value=0.01) for both and with 2-PN in a statistically significant way (P-value=0.0). Additionally, there was a significant positive association between FF-T4 and anti-mullerian hormone and follicle stimulating hormone with a P-value of 0.05 and between FF-T3 and E2 with a P-value of 0.02.

Conclusion:
Folliculogenesis and oogenesis may be significantly influenced by THs. The FF also contains T3 and T4, which could have an immediate impact on the oocyte.