{"title":"Understanding COVID-19: An overview of the virus, variants, vaccines, and treatment strategies","authors":"Asia Manzoor, Umme-e -Aiman, Maqsood Maryam","doi":"10.55976/dt.3202412169-19","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55976/dt.3202412169-19","url":null,"abstract":"The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has greatly impacted society and health care worldwide. This narrative review provides an in-depth understanding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), including its structure, life cycle, possible origins and mechanisms of infection. The potential pathophysiology of COVID-19 disease and the comparison of various detection techniques are discussed, highlighting the effectiveness of RT-PCR tests. In particular, this paper examined the treatments options available for COVID-19, with a focus on antiviral agents and immune modulators. Vaccine strategies are discussed, with mRNA vaccines, particularly Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, being the most promising. Finally, the review analyzed the emergence of new variants and their impacts on the effectiveness of immunization against this specific pandemic disease. We can only understand COVID-19 when we unmask its intricacies in our fight against it, which requires a multi-pronged approach, such as continued research into viral variants and targeted therapeutics while maintaining effective therapies and mass vaccination campaigns in addition to other public health interventions aimed at controlling the pandemic.","PeriodicalId":93744,"journal":{"name":"Diagnostics and therapeutics","volume":" September","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141823625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"RECSAE: An interactive model of relevance cognitive load, spatial memory, ADHD and EEG for special educators and mental health professionals","authors":"Subhagata Chattopadhyay","doi":"10.55976/dt.3202412081-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55976/dt.3202412081-8","url":null,"abstract":"The cognitive load (CL) increases as the brain is confronted with high-volume audiovisual and other multimodal information from the external environment. Spatial memory is a broad term for recording and recovery of this information. It has three dimensions, such as sensory memory, which is responsible for information capture and preprocessing, working memory, which is responsible for information processing and output generation, and long-term memory, which is responsible for registration/encoding and retrieval/decoding of what has been learned after the information processing. Cognitive training for long-term memory formation is a complex task that is conducted by analysing the \"relevance\" of the information. Relevance refers to the degree of meaningfulness of the input information based on logic, beliefs and perceptions. A high degree of relevance promotes the firing of the reentrant circuit for capturing similar information to create memory in the brain. An electroencephalogram (EEG) measures brain activities by using electrodes to deliver waveform signals through the scalp at a particular duration. This article proposes an interactive RECSAE model for the formation of relevant long-term memory through CL training and attempts to corroborate it with the EEG signals. The model is finally explained and correlated with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) as a real-world use case. The proposed model is generic and would help psychologists, neurophysiologists, EEG researchers and special educators to evaluate CL training and memory dysfunctions by using EEG waves.","PeriodicalId":93744,"journal":{"name":"Diagnostics and therapeutics","volume":"46 24","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139451838","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Leonardo Mesa Torres, Alejandro Alberto Bordelois Cayamo, Jorge Luis Garcia Rodriguez
{"title":"Magnetic bed for the treatment of different somatic diseases: design and simulation","authors":"Leonardo Mesa Torres, Alejandro Alberto Bordelois Cayamo, Jorge Luis Garcia Rodriguez","doi":"10.55976/dt.22023115841-46","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55976/dt.22023115841-46","url":null,"abstract":"At present, sports injuries that occur during the practice of a sport or physical exercise are becoming more and more common, due to a series of predisposing factors that make an individual more susceptible to suffer these injuries. In Cuba there is a high prevalence of articular affections of knees and ankles, with a high prevalence in people older than 60 years old and soft tissue injury consultations are in the order of 45%. One of the applications of the electromagnetic field is in the treatment of different pathologies of the osteomuscular system (Soma). The objective of this work lies in the design of a magnetic bed with permanent magnets, in analogy to a circular Halbach type configuration for the treatment of different diseases of the soma, which consists of three main parts: the magnetic system, which generates magnetic induction for therapeutic purposes, the opening and closing system of the magnetic system, which allows the radial variation of the magnetic system and the patient-support bed system, which allows the positioning of the patient in the treatment area. The principle of operation is that the therapist selects the induction of the magnetic field and the homogeneity of the magnetic field, depending on the pathology(s) to be treated, through a software that controls the movement of the opening and closing system of the magnetic system and the patient-bed support system, which is coupled to a stepper motor reducer that ensures a precise and accurate positioning of the sample (or patient) according to the area to be treated, which allows more than 80% effectiveness of the therapy with respect to conventional treatment.","PeriodicalId":93744,"journal":{"name":"Diagnostics and therapeutics","volume":"42 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135904588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Ummey, Habiba Musfika, H. M. Jamil, T. Siddiqua, Md. Shakilur Rahman, A. Moinul, Haque Meaze
{"title":"Measurements of photoneutron dose rate for 15 MV photon beam from medical linear accelerator using neutron survey meter","authors":"M. Ummey, Habiba Musfika, H. M. Jamil, T. Siddiqua, Md. Shakilur Rahman, A. Moinul, Haque Meaze","doi":"10.55976/dt.22023117434-40","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55976/dt.22023117434-40","url":null,"abstract":"High-energy medical linear accelerators (>10MV) are increasingly used in the medical field to treat cancer patients depending on the treatment organ and patient physic. Medical linear accelerators (Linacs) operating above 10 MV photon beam produce unwanted neutrons (photoneutron) by means of photonuclear reaction (γ, n) between bremsstrahlung photon beams and constituent materials of Linac head. This study involved the measurement of the neutron dose rate from photon beam of medical linear accelerator (Elekta Synergy) operated at 15 MV photon. For the measurement of dose rate, a neutron survey meter LB 6411 probe was used. Neutron dose rate was obtained as a function of delivered dose, field size and detector position. In the study neutron dose rate was found 13.14 mSv/h at a field size of 10 × 10 cm2 at position (0,90,0) cm for 350 cGy and 9.26 mSv/h at 5 × 5 cm2 field size at position (0,80,0) cm for 200 cGy photon dose delivery. The dose rate varied with respect to detector position in an irregular manner; 2.95 mSv/h at position (-100,0,0) cm -on the side of maze entrance and 4.85 mSv/h at position (100,0,0) cm -off side of maze entrance.","PeriodicalId":93744,"journal":{"name":"Diagnostics and therapeutics","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42319080","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Assessment of bio-accessibility of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, and As) through consumption of medicinal plants collected from different regions in Nyamira- Kenya","authors":"R. Mogwasi, K. Olale, Salome Osunga, E. Kenanda","doi":"10.55976/dt.22023113516-33","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55976/dt.22023113516-33","url":null,"abstract":"Background: In this study, the total and bio-accessible levels of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and arsenic (As) in 19 Kenyan medicinal plants from two regions (Manga and Borabu) are presented.\u0000Methods: Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to determine the total and bio-accessed heavy metals in plants. The NIST 1647 plant reference material was used to study the performance of the method. The method offered excellent quality parameters in terms of detection and quantification limits of 0.08 and 0.24 µg/kg, 0.5 and 1.5 µg/kg, and 3.1 and 9.5 µg /kg, linearity (r2 > 0.997) and recoveries of 95%, 99% and 93% for Cd, Pb, and As, respectively.\u0000Results: The dry weights of the plants from Manga and Borabu showed low concentrations of Cd (270 ± 20 and 260 ± 20), As (320 ± 20 and 480 ± 40), and Pb (1230 ± 110 and 1160 ± 100) µg/kg. Significantly higher mean concentrations of Cd, Pb, and As (0.45 ± 0.11, 0.46 ± 0.12 and 0.37 ± 0.10 µg/kg) than (0.32 ± 0.07, 0.34 ± 0.11 and 0.26 ± 0.08 µg/kg) were bioaccessible enzymatically than aquatically from dry weight (p<0.05). The percentage bioaccessibility of the elements from the plants ranged from 0.08 to 10.66% and 0.02 to 2.56% for the enzymatic and aquatic procedures, respectively. \u0000Conclusion: The low bioaccessible concentrations of heavy (toxic) elements in plants justify their therapeutic use.","PeriodicalId":93744,"journal":{"name":"Diagnostics and therapeutics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47410868","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"MiR-16 is promising to be a therapy target to alleviate atherosclerosis","authors":"Feiqun Yao, Zhewei Shi","doi":"10.55976/dt.22023116113-15","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55976/dt.22023116113-15","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93744,"journal":{"name":"Diagnostics and therapeutics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46275444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bio-accessibility of iron and copper from seven Kenyan anti-anaemia medicinal plants","authors":"R. Mogwasi","doi":"10.55976/dt.220231911-12","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55976/dt.220231911-12","url":null,"abstract":"Anaemia is a blood disorder which is widespread among populations of the world. In this study, seven medicinal plants used by one hundred and sixty herbalists from Nyamira County to manage anaemia were evaluated for iron and copper bio-accessibility. The competence of four hundred herbalists was assessed, of which 160 participated in the study. Twenty-one different medicinal plants were reported to be used by various herbalists to manage a number of ailments afflicting their communities in three sub-counties in Kenya. A total of ten different medicinal plants were found to be used by the herbalists to manage anemia which is endemic in the country. Seven of the medicinal plants, Aloe Vera, Carissa edulis, Croton macrostachyus, Clerodendrum myricoides, Melia azedrach, Toddalia asiatica and Warburgia ugandensis, were studied by all herbalists. The seven medicinal plants were prepared according to the herbalists' procedure and analyzed for iron and copper through flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The mean iron level in Carissa edulis from Borabu was the highest (2635.48 ± 17.33 mg/kg), while that in Warburgia ugandensis from the Nyamira study area was the lowest (175.76 ± 5.03 mg/kg). The highest mean copper level (9.2 ± 1.24 mg/kg) was reported in Melia azedrach from Ekerenyo, while the lowest (2.12 ± 0.02 mg/kg) was reported in Carissa edulis from the Nyamira study area. Fractionation results indicated that the proportion of iron potentially released (bio-accessible) from all the medicinal plants was quite small. Clerodendrum myricoides had the highest mean iron release and solubility (16.4 mg/kg), while Warburgia ugandensis had the lowest (5.94 mg/kg) among the medicinal plants. More iron and copper were extracted enzymatically as compared to the aqueous extraction. The amount of iron extracted in the intestinal mimicked phase was more than that extracted in the gastric phase, while the reverse was observed for copper. The levels of bio-accessible iron and copper from the medicinal plants, especially those released in enzymatic extraction are quite high and the plants can be used in the management of anaemia.","PeriodicalId":93744,"journal":{"name":"Diagnostics and therapeutics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43929515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Diagnostic methods for Plasmodium knowlesi: performance, limitations and recommendations","authors":"J. H. Tan, Y. Lau","doi":"10.55976/dt.1202216411-22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55976/dt.1202216411-22","url":null,"abstract":"Malaria is a life-threatening disease which causes an economic and public health burden in endemic regions. Plasmodium knowlesi is a zoonotic malaria caused by the bite of P. knowlesi-infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. The disease poses risks of complications owing to the short replication cycle of the parasite. Sensitive and specific diagnostic methods are needed to detect the presence of P. knowlesi infection in knowlesi-endemic regions. This paper reviews and compares the performance of various diagnostic techniques as well as highlights the limitations and challenges of the current diagnostic tools for P. knowlesi. Recommendations for further improvement of the P. knowlesi diagnostic tools are also included.","PeriodicalId":93744,"journal":{"name":"Diagnostics and therapeutics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48672495","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The lymphatic vasculature associated with the peripheral nervous system: structures and functions","authors":"Senrui Li, Nan Zhou","doi":"10.55976/dt.120221606-12","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55976/dt.120221606-12","url":null,"abstract":"The lymphatic vasculature is widely considered to be a unidirectional transport system, which can collect excess fluid and metabolic waste in the interstitial space, and mediate immune cell transport, the absorption of certain special substances (such as lipids) and other functions. In clinical and basic research, the lymphatic vasculature appears to have generally received less attention than the blood vascular system. However, recent research on lymphatic vessels has greatly enriched our knowledge and directed our attention to the lymphatic vasculature. Furthermore, lymphatic vessels are not only widely distributed, but also have important functions in the cardiovascular, reproductive, respiratory, digestive, and central nervous systems (CNS), and their dysfunction may be the basis for the pathogenesis of various diseases. In the CNS, the existence and role of lymphatic vessels have been well confirmed and revealed. Although from a traditional point of view, the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is different from the CNS, there have something in common in some structures. We reviewed recent research on lymphatic vessels in the PNS, aiming to confirm the existence and to understand the structures and functions in the physiological and pathological processes of peripheral nerves. This review is intended to help open up a new field of research prospectively.","PeriodicalId":93744,"journal":{"name":"Diagnostics and therapeutics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49401908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
F. Reggiani, M. Ambrosio, Alessandra Forlani, A. Morabito, A. Amaro, U. Pfeffer
{"title":"The biology of uveal melanoma – next challenges","authors":"F. Reggiani, M. Ambrosio, Alessandra Forlani, A. Morabito, A. Amaro, U. Pfeffer","doi":"10.55976/dt.120221702-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55976/dt.120221702-5","url":null,"abstract":"Uveal melanoma (UM), a rare cancer of the eye, has been deeply characterized for its molecular lesions in terms of chromosomal copy number alterations (CNAs), gene expression, somatic mutations and DNA methylation (for reviews see [1, 2]). It shows a very limited number of somatic mutations, very few of which are recurrent [3] (probable initiator mutations in GNAQ [4], GNA11 [5], CYSLTR2 [6] and PLCB4 [7], all acting in the same G-protein coupled receptor signaling pathway, mutations in BAP1 [8] and SF3B1 [9] that drive metastasis and mutations in EIF1AX [10] that apparently are involved in tumor formation but not progression). A few CNAs (monosomy of chromosome 3 [11] chr8q gain [12] and chr6p gain [13]), global gene expression profiles or an expression analysis of a number of genes that have been included in a prognostic signature [14] as well as whole genome DNA methylation similarly distinguish two to four classes of UM [15]. It is possible to predict the propension to develop metastases based on each of these molecular domains. Approaches to fuse these data in order to develop a combined molecular predictor have not significantly improved prognostic assessment [16]. Our present knowledge on the mutational landscape of UM indicates that a single mutation in one of the four known “initiator” genes (GNAQ, GNA11, CYSLTR2, and PLCB4) is enough to form a tumor and a single further mutation in either BAP1 [8] or SF3B1 [9] is enough to drive metastasis. These mutations are almost perfectly segregated from the classes defined by gene expression profiling or by CNA. All these approaches yield two clearly distinct classes with each two subclasses with different metastatic potential. This clear distinction can be taken for evidence of non-continuous risk distribution, yet a recent single cell transcriptomics-based analysis hints at a mixture of class-1 low risk and class-2 high risk cells within a single tumor whereby the proportion of these two cell types finally determines the real risk of metastasis [17]. It is not clear how this cell admixture model can explain the clearly distinct risk-associated molecular classes and further research is needed to clear that point. The few driver mutations, even if assisted by secondary drivers [18], are best compatible with a linear tumor evolution model, but recent evidence introduced the punctuated equilibrium model (or the big bang model) to UM [19]. This model postulates a phase of high genomic instability followed by the outgrowth of stabilized clones into a heterogenous tumor [20, 21]. Tumor heterogeneity has not systematically been addressed for UM. Given the paucity of mutations, heterogeneous subpopulations are unlikely to be traceable by exome sequencing but CNA analyses might help. A recent large-scale analysis of CNA revealed much more cytogenetic events with a discrete frequency than heretofore believed [22]. Still we do not know the deletions of which genes on chromosome 3 except for BAP1 are importa","PeriodicalId":93744,"journal":{"name":"Diagnostics and therapeutics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42520723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}