Liver Disease is one of the most common diseases which can be prevented by early diagnosis and up-todate treatment. Advances in machine learning and intelligence techniques have led to the effective diagnosis and prediction of diseases to improve the treatment of patients and reduce the cost of treatment. Whale Optimization Algorithm is a swarm intelligent technique, inspired by the social behavior of whales. One of the effective classification algorithms is K-Nearest Neighbor which is employed for pattern recognition. This paper was designed to investigate the prediction of Liver Disease using a hybrid algorithm including KNN andWOA. In order to evaluate the efficiency of hybrid algorithm, two datasets of liver disease including BUPA and ILPD were used. The results showed that 81.24% and 91.28% of accuracy was gained by the proposed algorithm for BUPA and ILPD, respectively. Experimental results showed that the hybrid WON-KNN is a better classifier to predict the liver diseases Received on 01 December 2018; accepted on 15 December 2018; published on 18 March 2019
Background and purpose: Many observations showed that hypercholesterolemia can disrupts immune response. Statin drugs that were used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia patients can interfere in regulation of the immune response and cytokine secretion. The primary aim of the current study was to investigate the immune response among hypercholesterolemia patients, who were treatment-naïve and healthy subjects. The secondary goal of the study was to determine whether atorvastatin can reverse the detrimental effect of hypercholesterolemia on the immune system. Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from 50 patients afflicted with hypercholesterolemia who were treatment-naïve along with 50 sexand age-matched hypercholesterolemia patients receiving atorvastatin and 50 sexand age-matched healthy subjects. Quantitative PCR and ELISA methods were used for gene and protein expression analysis of T helper 1 (Th1) and Th2 related cytokines. Additionally, the expression of the cluster of differentiation (CD) markers on T, B, and NK cells were measured by flow cytometry method. Results: The results showed that hypercholesterolemia and atorvastatin downregulated the expression of Th1related cytokines and elevated the levels of Th2-related cytokines. The expression of cell surface markers, CD25 and CD69, was significantly decreased in the treatment-naïve, and atorvastatin groups. Conclusion: It seems that atorvastatin is not able to repair the deleterious effects of hypercholesterolemia on the immune system, and elevated levels of cholesterol along with the administration of atorvastatin tilt the Th1/Th2 balance in favor of Th2 and reduce T cell activation.
Objective: To investigate the efficacy of (Commiphora molmol(Myrrh)) extract as alternative treatment in hamsters against giardiasis. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the new compound (Commiphora molmol(Myrrh)), as agent a natural product extracted from the roots of Zingiber officinal, on Giardia lamblia infection as anti-protozoal and to study the parasitological and Histopathological impact of this treatment on the duodenal mucosa of infected hamsters. Fifty hamsters were divided into five groups: Group (A): normal control. Group (B): Giardia lamblia infected and untreated hamsters served as control. Group (C): infected with Giardia lamblia and treated with metronidazole in dose (120 μg/kg body weight twice daily for 7 successive days). Group (D) Giardia lamblia infected and orally treated with Myrrh (500 mg/Kg for 1 week). Group (E): Giardia lamblia infected and orally treated with combination 1/3 dose of (120 μg/kg body weight) metronidazole and Myrrh (250 mg/Kg) for 1 week). After 2 weeks of the treatment, hamsters were sacrificed. The highest percentages of reduction in the number of Giardia lamblia cysts and trophozoites were in the group receiving combined metronidazole and myrrh. Histopathological examination revealed complete healing of intestinal mucosa after the combined treatment, while partial healing of the lining epithelium of the intestine was noticed after metronidazole and either myrrh plant treatment.
Trachoma is the leading cause of infectious blindness in the world. After baseline surveys demonstrated that Sudan was endemic for trachoma, the Sudan Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) Trachoma Control Program conducted trachoma prevention and treatment interventions in endemic localities. The Sudan FMOH conducted population-based trachoma prevalence surveys between September 2016 and April 2017 in seven localities across five states of Sudan to document current trachoma prevalence estimates and measure water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) indicators. Children aged 1-9 years were examined for five clinical signs of trachoma, and participants of all ages were examined for trachomatous trichiasis (TT). A household questionnaire was administered to gather demographic and WASH-related information. The prevalence of trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) in children aged 1-9 years ranged from 0.4% (95% CI: 0.1-1.1%) to 6.4% (95% CI: 3.3-11.9%). Trachomatous trichiasis in those aged 15 years and older ranged from 0.1% (95% CI: 0.0-0.6%) to a high of 4.4% (95% CI: 2.1-9.1%). Of seven localities surveyed, four localities had achieved the elimination threshold of less than 5% TF in children aged 1-9 years. Six localities still required interventions to achieve less than 0.2% TT in those aged 15 years and older. The presence of latrine ranged from a low of 10.8% (95% CI: 5.2-21.1%) to 88.4% (CI: 81.5-93.0%) and clean face among children ranged between 69.5% (95% CI: 63.5-75.0%) and 87.5% (95% CI: 81.2-91.9%). These results demonstrate that Sudan is within reach of eliminating trachoma as a public health problem.
Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) is a common vaginal infection which could affect the quality of life, romantic relationships, and sexual performance. There is some evidence that psychological problems result in an increased incidence of RVVC by changing the immune systems of individuals. The aim of this study was to determine the association of sexual function and psychological factors including depression, anxiety, and stress in women with RVVC.