Harnessing Code Interpreters for Enhanced Predictive Modeling: A Case Study on High-Density Lipoprotein Level Estimation in Romanian Diabetic Patients

Diabetes is a condition accompanied by the alteration of body parameters, including those related to lipids like triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), and high-density lipoproteins (HDLs). The latter are grouped under the term dyslipidemia and are considered a risk factor for cardiovascular events. In the present work, we analyzed the complex relationships between twelve parameters (disease status, age, sex, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, TG, HDL, LDL, glucose, HbA1c levels, and disease onset) of patients with diabetes from Romania. An initial prospective analysis showed that HDL is inversely correlated with most of the parameters; therefore, we further analyzed the dependence of HDLs on the other factors. The analysis was conducted with the Code Interpreter plugin of ChatGPT, which was used to build several models from which Random Forest performed best. The principal predictors of HDLs were TG, LDL, and HbA1c levels. Random Forest models were used to model all parameters, showing that blood pressure and HbA1c can be predicted based on the other parameters with the least error, while the less predictable parameters were TG and LDL levels. By conducting the present study using the ChatGPT Code Interpreter, we show that elaborate analysis methods are at hand and easy to apply by researchers with limited computational resources. The insight that can be gained from such an approach, such as what we obtained on HDL level predictors in diabetes, could be relevant for deriving novel management strategies and therapeutic approaches.

Mixture of Graphene Oxide/Phosphoric Acid/Melamine as Coating for Improved Fire Protective Performance and Enhancement of Surface Electrical Properties on Wood Chipboard

Looking for multifunctional materials, an assessment of the performances both as fire retardant and generator of electrically conductive surfaces for a three component mixture of graphene oxide, phosphoric acid and melamine applied on wood chipboard was performed. A simple approach was used to investigate the intumescent char formation and quantify the loss mass during vertical burning tests, in which the prepared samples were exposed for a certain time interval to a flame generated by an ethanol lamp in ambient conditions. Moreover, mass loss evolution and structural changes that occur during the burning process were more comprehensive investigated by differential thermal and thermogravimetric (DTA/TGA) techniques. By comparing the performances between the wood chipboard samples without any coverage and those covered with one or multiple component mixture, an increase of protection against the fire action was noticed when the three component mixture was used. Also, an improvement of the electrical properties was observed, after flame exposure of the samples covered with multiple layers (i.e., two and three), when the three component mixture was used. Morphological and structural investigations by microscopy (optical and electronic-SEMEDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and spectral (Raman, FTIR) methods are described. An assessment of market potential is also discussed.

Isothermal annealing study of the EH1 and EH3 levels in n-type 4H-SiC

Particle irradiation is known to give rise to several majority carrier traps in the band gap of n-type 4H-SiC, in the 0.4-1.6 eV energy range below the conduction band edge (E C). Among these traps, the EH1 (E C-0.4 eV) and the EH3 (E C-0.7 eV) are the least thermally stable ones and not much is known on their microscopic origin. In order to understand the nature of EH1 and EH3, their annealing kinetics was studied by means of deep level transient spectroscopy and the results were interpreted by invoking the diffusion-limited theory. It is found that EH1 and EH3 are two different charge states of the same defect, labeled EH-center, that anneals out with an activation energy of ∼1.1 eV and whose nature is related to a carbon interstitial. Our study shows that the EH-center is not the same as the S-center defect which was reported by previous studies found in the literature.

First trimester combined screening for fetal aneuploidies enhanced with additional ultrasound markers: an 8-year prospective study

OBJECTIVES

To describe our screening population and audit of the performance of first-trimester screening for Down syndrome, based on a combined test, enhanced with additional ultrasound markers, over the whole period of the study.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We performed a prospective study from 2009 to 2016, which included 1358 singleton fetuses with a crown-rump length of 45-84 mm. The risk of aneuploidy was calculated using nuchal translucency, fetal heart rate (FHR), and additional markers, such as nasal bone (NB), tricuspid flow (TF) and ductus venosus (DV), combined with maternal serum free β-human chorionic gonadotropin (fβ-hCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A).

RESULTS

87% of patients were evaluated using all the additional ultrasound markers and 97% of patients were assessed using at least two markers, in any combination. 70.5% of patients were also evaluated using maternal serum biochemistry. The most common risk calculation used nuchal translucency, FHR, all additional ultrasound markers, fβ-hCG and PAPP-A in 851 (62.7%) of cases. The adjusted risk of trisomy 21 was greater than 1:100 in 65 (4.8%) women. Of these patients, 58 (87.7%) chose to have an invasive test. There were 24 aneuploid fetuses (1.7%); and from these we identified 12 (50%) trisomy 21, 6 (25%) sex chromosome anomalies, with the remainder being triploidy and trisomy 18/13. The combined test detected 11 of the 12 cases as having trisomy 21, with a first trimester detection rate of 91.7%. 39 fetuses (2.8%) had various types of structural anomalies.

CONCLUSIONS

The combined test enhanced with all additional ultrasound markers did not show any substantial improvement in T21 detection rate, when compared with using only one of the additional markers.

Can Osteopontin Be Considered a Biomarker for Endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a multifactorial disease that is manifested by infertility and pelvic pain. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of progesterone treatment on the serum level of osteopontin, a multipotent cytokine, in patients with endometriosis. The study was prospective and we evaluated osteopontin levels that were measured in the serum of 40 patients with endometriosis and 12 healthy women using a standardized Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kit. Osteopontin seric levels were lower in endometriosis patients and increased after progesterone treatment. Because of the large dispersion of data even in the control group, we find the association between osteopontin and endometriosis questionable.

PSYCHO-SOCIAL ASPECTS OF QUALITY OF LIFE IN WOMEN WITH ENDOMETRIOSIS

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of endometriosis on the quality of life.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Study group of 205 women, aged between 18-45 years old, hospitalized in the "Cuza-Voda" Hospital of Iasi, between 2013-2015. We used the Fertility Problem Inventory, the Endometriosis Health Profile and the Beck Depression Inventory.

RESULTS

We first realized a descriptive analyses of patients' health related quality of life - 60% of women reported higher infertility distress associated with relationship issues caused by difficulties to conceive. The descriptive analysis over the quality of life in patients with endometriosis suggests that the high level of stress related factors, are: the loss over the control of the symptoms, dyspareunia and altered emotional status. Regarding the sexual aspect of life, almost a quarter of the women complained about an altered sexual status, due to both fear of failing in conceiving and dyspareunia caused by the endometriosis. The descriptive analysis over the infertility related stress suggests that the factors associated with a high level of stress are: sadness, pessimism, feeling of failure, irritability, lack of confidence, self-hatred and fatigue.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with endometriosis are dealing daily with a large spectrum of symptoms, including pain, dyspareunia, emotional instability and high levels of stress, which have a negative impact upon the quality of life, by lowering it on different levels. Also, within the present study we showed a significant presence of high infertility stress in patients of all ages that lead to depression and social anxiety.

Human Alveolar Macrophages Express Elafin and Secretory Leukocyte Protease Inhibitor

Elafin and secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) are two structurally related serine protease inhibitors present in the lung. The cellular origin of elafin in the alveolar space is unknown. It has been suggested that at least one alveolar leukocyte population express elafin. We therefore postulated that the alveolar macrophage, as the most numerous leukocyte in the alveolar space, express elafin. On the other hand, it is unclear whether human alveolar macrophages are a source of SLPI. In the present study, we showed by RT-PCR that human alveolar macrophages, but not peripheral blood monocytes, express elafin and SLPI transcripts. Elafin, but not SLPI, m RNA expression was increased time dependently in alveolar macrophages stimulated with Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula antigen (50 μg/ml), a causative agent of hypersensitivity pneumonitis, but not LPS (10 μg/ml). Intracellular or cell-associated elafin protein accumulated after 24 h of culture only in S. rectivirgula antigen-stimulated alveolar macrophages as shown by Western blot. In contrast, alveolar macrophages release 50 ± 6 pg/ml of SLPI in culture medium with no increase in function of time. Alveolar macrophages could be a source of elafin in the lung. In addition to lung structural cells, SLPI could also be derived from alveolar macrophages.