RESUMEN

This study aimed to estimate lung and breast doses for individual patients using the size-specific dose estimate (SSDE) method, as well as calculating effective doses, in patients who underwent chest CT scans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer risk incidence was estimated using excess relative risk (ERR), excess absolute risk (EAR), and lifetime attributable risk (LAR) models from the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation Report VII (BEIR-VII). Data from about 570 patients who underwent CT scans for COVID-19 screening were utilized for this study. Using the header of the CT images in a Python script, SSDE and effective dose were calculated for each patient. The SSDE obtained by water equivalent effective diameter (wSSDE) was considered as lung and breast dose, and applied in organ-specific cancer risk estimation. The mean wSSDE value for females (13.3 mGy) was slightly higher than that for males (13.1 mGy), but the difference was not statistically significant (P value = 0.41). No significant differences were observed between males and females in terms of calculated EAR and ERR for lung cancer at 5 and 30 years after exposure (P value = 0.47, 0.46, respectively). Similarly, there was no significant difference in lung cancer LAR values between females and males (P value = 0.48). The results also indicated a decrease in LAR values for both lung and breast cancers with increasing exposure age. In accordance with the ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) principle, it is important for medical staff and the general public to consider the benefits of CT imaging in detecting such infections. Additionally, imaging medical physicists and CT scan experts should optimize imaging protocols and strike a balance between image quality for detecting abnormalities and radiation dose, all while adhering to the ALARA principle.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

INTRODUCTION: MRI is preferred for brain tumor assessment, while CT is used for radiotherapy simulation. This study evaluated immobilization equipment's impact on CT-MRI registration accuracy and MR image quality in RT setup. METHODS: We included CT and MR images from 11 patients with high-grade glioma, all of whom were immobilized with a thermoplastic mask and headrest. T1- and T2-weighted MR images were acquired using an MR head coil in a diagnostic setup (DS) and a body matrix coil in RT setup. To assess MR image quality, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were considered in some dedicated regions of interest. We also evaluated the impact of immobilization equipment on CT-MRI rigid registration using line profile and external contour methods. RESULTS: The CNR and SNR reduction was in the RT setup of imaging. This was more evident in T1-weighted images than in T2-weighted ones. The SNR decreased by 14.91% and 12.09%, while CNR decreased by 25.12% and 20.15% in T1- and T2-weighted images, respectively. The immobilization equipment in the RT setup decreased the mean error in rigid registration by 1.02 mm. The external contour method yielded Dice similarity coefficients (DSC) of 0.84 and 0.92 for CT-DS MRI and CT-RT MRI registration, respectively. CONCLUSION: The image quality reduction in the RT setup was due to the imaged region's anatomy and its position relative to the applied coil. Furthermore, optimizing the pulse sequence is crucial for MR imaging in RT applications. Although the use of immobilization equipment may decrease the image quality in the RT setup, it does not affect organ delineation, and the image quality is still satisfactory for this purpose. Also, the use of immobilization equipment in the RT setup has increased registration accuracy.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Literature shows that healthcare and medical education are associated with the countries/institutes' developments, and reviewing the global patterns can shed light on various aspects of this competition. The study aims to investigate the current research aspects on the internationalization of healthcare and medical education and assess its trends worldwide. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this descriptive study, based on documents in Web of Science (n = 609), PubMed (n = 395), and Scopus (n = 6598), scientometric methods and knowledge visualization techniques were applied to evaluate global scientific production and trends from 1900 to 2020. Results were preprocessed in BibExcel (version 2016-02-20) to create a mapping file, and word co-occurrence analysis was applied to evaluate the publications. Scientific maps, authors' networks, and countries'/institutes' contributions were depicted using VOS (Visualization of Similarity) viewer and NetDraw. For trend analysis, highly frequent words were examined at intervals before 2000, 2000-2004, 2005-2009, 2010-2014, and 2015-2019. RESULTS: Altogether, 129 countries and 14536 (co)authors with 7007 affiliations contributed to the production of 6895 documents. Of the 2378 journals, the top 20 journals published 1298 (18.83%) articles. The top 20 authors together contributed to 247 papers (3.58%). High-income countries made up the most prolific nations. Also, institutes from North America, Europe, and Oceania pioneered production and cooperation. Highly co-occurring words were international cooperation, medical education, medical school, curriculum, medical research, and medical students. CONCLUSION: The countries/institutions' efforts in internationalizing healthcare and medical education are reflected in the publications in the databases of Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus. Thus, the findings offer evidence-based information about past and present trends and help researchers and policymakers understand their global impact.

RESUMEN

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have more than 200 nucleotides and do not encode proteins. At the same time, they can regulate various biological functions and therefore play an essential role as oncogenes or tumor suppressors in human cancers. MAFG-AS1 is an antisense RNA of MAF BZIP Transcription Factor G (MAFG) located at chromosome 17q25.3 head-to-head with the MAFG encoding gene containing a transcript size of 1895 bp. Accumulating evidence shows that MAFG-AS1 is overexpressed in many cancers, functions as an oncogene, and is significantly associated with poor clinical characteristics and prognosis. In this review, we first discuss the recent literature regarding the role of MAFG-AS1 in different cancers as well as its diagnostic and prognostic values. Then we will provide insights into its biological functions, such as its role in cancer progression, competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) activity, regulation of EMT, glycolysis, energy metabolism, transcription factors, proteasomal degradation, and signaling pathways.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

With the onset of Covid 19 disease, the vertical transmission of the disease from mother to neonate was unknown. In this case, a mother affected by a severe Covid 19 a few days before delivery, was examined whether her baby get the disease without breastfeeding and close contact with his mother or not. Finally, the case study show corona virus did not transmitted through blood from mother to the baby and he was completely healthy.

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: As nonnative speakers of English, Iranian health researchers/authors often need to publish in English; however, published manuscripts may reflect a need for language editing. The study is aimed to investigate the language accuracy of Persian authors' articles published in Iranian health journals, and to explore whether these journals take steps towards an acceptable level of Standard written English. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this descriptive study, fifty original articles were selected from five health journals (from April 2017 to April 2018) with nonnative editors/proofreaders based on convenience sampling in 2019. The articles were carefully read several times; errors were identified according to Gass and Selinker's model and classified into four categories and further expanded into 22 subcategories. RESULTS: The results showed 4322 errors in the 50 articles, where the "grammatical errors" obtained the highest frequency, with punctuation errors (n = 989) ranking first, and errors in using auxiliary verbs (n = 19) the last in frequency. The descending order of the errors emerged as follows: the grammatical, mechanical, lexical, and discoursal errors. CONCLUSION: All categories of errors contributed to textual unintelligibility, attributable to either the authors' inadequate English proficiency or their native language interference. Most errors could have been corrected by the journal editors. Professional development courses and hands-on workshops are advised for both nonnative authors and journal editors/proofreaders in Iran to help authors keep to the conventions of scientific writing.

RESUMEN

INTRODUCTION: The cultural diversity of ethnic groups in Iranian academic contexts highlights the importance of enhancing cultural awareness and minimizing cultural conflicts. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the intercultural intelligence of the university personnel in interacting with students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was a correlational research conducted on 136 employees in Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The participants were selected by randomized clustered sampling. The data on intercultural intelligence were collected using Earley and Ang's Questionnaire and were analyzed in SPSS using descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: Mean score of intercultural intelligence in the education-research staff, secretarial staff, and student-cultural staff was 41 ± 9, 35.6 ± 8.3, and 44.2 ± 7.7, respectively. ANOVA showed a significant difference in the overall scores of intercultural intelligence across the three groups (P = 0.001); the scores of subsections were also statistically different, the student-cultural staff showing higher intelligence scores than the other groups. Furthermore, the overall intercultural intelligence scores varied significantly across the participants' educational levels so that the score of the staff with bachelor's degree was 37.8 ± 8.7 and those with master's degree was 45 ± 7.8 (P = 001), especially in their metacognitive and cognitive subsection scores. CONCLUSION: The scores of intercultural intelligence were moderate to low in the staff of different working sections of the university. Moreover, the level of education shows impacts on intercultural encounters in this academic setting. The results highlight the need to develop programs in order to raise intercultural understanding in staff.

RESUMEN

Objective : Mental disorders are often accompanied by serious problems in personal and social communication, including marital problems. In this regard, women whose spouses have mental disorders are less likely to express their mental experiences and emotions due to the cultural barriers of the community. This study aimed to identify and explain the shared mental experiences of women whose spouses suffered from psychotic disorders. Method : This was a qualitative study with a content analysis approach. In total, 15 women whose spouses were admitted to the psychiatric ward of a hospital due to psychotic disorders were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews on experiences of women regarding their spouses' psychotic disorder. Data were analyzed using conventional content analysis techniques. Results: In this study, 28 subcategories and 7 main categories (lack of intimacy, social constraints, dual emotions, confusion and mental exhaustion, fear and concern, coping strategies, and life problems) were developed. Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, women whose spouses suffered from psychotic disorders experienced various psychological challenges. Therefore, it is recommended that the health care staff take such psychological challenges into consideration to design and implement effective strategies to solve the related problems.

RESUMEN

.

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)