Small molecule inhibitor of TLR4 inhibits ovarian cancer cell proliferation: new insight into the anticancer effect of TAK-242 (Resatorvid)

Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology - Despite all advances in the treatment of ovarian cancer (OC), it remains the most lethal gynecological malignancy worldwide. There are growing amounts of...     

Predicting addiction potential based on sensation-seeking,psychological hardiness and assertiveness in students in western Iran: an analytical study

ABSTRACT

Background: Addiction has been reported as a major personal, social and political challenge in people of different strata and education levels in all countries. The present study was conducted to predict addiction potential based on sensation-seeking, psychological hardiness and assertiveness in students.

Methods: The present correlational study was conducted in 2018 on a statistical population comprising all the students of the School of Medicine in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran. Convenience sampling was used to select 200 subjects. The data collection tools included the sensation-seeking scale, the psychological hardiness questionnaire, the assertion inventory and the addiction potential scale. The data collected were analyzed in SPSS using the statistical methods of the Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis.

Results: Analyzing the findings showed the total scores of addiction potential and active addiction potential are positively associated with the total score of sensation-seeking and negatively and significantly correlated with that of psychological hardiness.

Conclusions: Given the role of sensation-seeking, psychological hardiness and assertiveness in addiction potential, university authorities are recommended to hold workshops and seminars to enhance the awareness of students of the personality traits conducive to addiction.     

An in vitro comparison of bacterial leakage of three common restorative materials used as an intracoronal barrier

The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate quantitatively the effectiveness of three different restorative materials used as an intracoronal barrier to prevent microleakage of endodontically treated teeth. Fifty-five extracted human single-canal teeth were used in this study. The teeth were endodontically prepared and obturated. Forty-five teeth were randomly assigned to three experimental groups: group 1: sealed with Ketac-Cem (3M ESPE, St Paul, MN) (n = 15), group 2: sealed with Clearfil Protect Bond/Clearfil AP-X (Kuraray, New York, NY) (n = 15), and group 3: sealed with Maxcem (Kerr, Orange, CA) (n = 15). Ten teeth were also randomly assigned to a negative control group (n = 5) and a positive control group (n = 5). Microleakage was tested by using a sterile two-chamber bacterial method and Enterococcus faecalis was used as a microbial marker. Samples were incubated aerobically at 37 degrees C for 120 days. Bacterial leakage was determined by change in turbidity in the medium. Statistical analysis was performed using a Wald chi-square test. No significant difference (p > 0.05) in bacterial leakage was found between the three experimental groups tested. All positive controls leaked within 60 days and broth of the negative control group remained clear throughout the entire experimental period.     

Generality of genomic findings on blood pressure traits and its usefulness in precision medicine in diverse populations: A systematic review

Remarkable findings from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on blood pressure (BP) traits have made new insights for developing precision medicine toward more effective screening measures. However, generality of GWAS findings in diverse populations is hampered by some technical limitations. There is no comprehensive study to evaluate source(s) of the non-generality of GWAS results on BP traits, so to fill the gap, this systematic review study was carried out. Using MeSH terms, 1545 records were detected through searching in five databases and 49 relevant full-text articles were included in our review. Overall, 749 unique variants were reported, of those, majority of variants have been detected in Europeans and were associated to systolic and diastolic BP traits. Frequency of genetic variants with same position was low in European and non-European populations (n = 38). However, more than 200 (>25%) single nucleotide polymorphisms were found on same loci or linkage disequilibrium blocks (r² ≥ 80%). Investigating for locus position and linkage disequilibrium of infrequent unique variants showed modest to high reproducibility of findings in Europeans that in some extent was generalizable in other populations. Beyond theoretical limitations, our study addressed other possible sources of non-generality of GWAS findings for BP traits in the same and different origins.     

Top-Cited Articles in Rehabilitation

Shadgan B, Roig M, HajGhanbari B, Reid WD. Top-cited articles in rehabilitation.

Objective

To identify the 100 top-cited articles ever published in rehabilitation journals and to analyze their characteristics as a quantitative approach to investigating the quality and evolution of rehabilitation research.

Data Sources

The Institute for Scientific Information Web of Knowledge Database and the 2007 and 2008 Journal Citation Report Science Editions were used to retrieve the 100 top-cited articles from 30 rehabilitation dedicated journals.

Study Selection

The 100 top-cited articles included randomized controlled trials, case-control studies, case series studies, case reports, methodologic studies, systematic reviews, narrative reviews, and expert opinions.

Data Extraction

Two independent reviewers performed data extraction from the retrieved articles and compared their results. The Sackett's initial rules of evidence were used to categorize the type of study design as well as to evaluate the level of evidence provided by the results of the 100 top-cited articles.

Data Synthesis

Among the 45,700 articles published in these journals, the 100 top-cited articles were published between 1959 and 2002 with an average of 200 citations an article (range, 131-1109). Top-cited articles were all English-language, primarily from North America (United States=67%; Canada=11%) and published in 11 journals led by the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Eighty-four percent of the articles were original publications and were most commonly prospective (76%) case series studies (67%) that used human subjects (96%) providing level 4 evidence. Neurorehabilitation (41%), disability (19%), and biomechanics (18%) were the most common fields of study.

Conclusions

We demonstrated that methodologic observational studies performed in North America and published in English have had the highest citations in rehabilitation journals.