Self-esteem and optimism in patients with major depression disorder: a cross-sectional study

Background

Depressive disorders are common mental illnesses characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and loss of interest in activities. Self-esteem refers to the appraisal of one's worth and personality, whereas optimism reflects a positive attitude and the expectation of positive outcomes. Therefore, the present study aims to determine the average self-esteem and optimism of patients with depression in 2022.

Methods

The present study is a single center and prospective descriptive-analytical study in which 121 patients out of 154 participants with major depression using convenience sampling were studied. Recruitment started on 10 June 2022 and ended on 12 July 2022. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT -R). Data analysis was performed using statistical tests and the Pearson correlation coefficient with SPSS software version 21.

Results

The mean and SD of patients' self-esteem scores were 14.68±1.30, and the mean and SD for optimism scores were 9.90±1.68. Pearson correlation analysis showed that educational level had a significant inverse relationship with patients' self-esteem scores (r=-0.009, P=0.03), and sex had a significant relationship with patients' optimism scores (r=0.175, P=0.008).

Conclusion

Considering the importance of self-esteem and optimism in the recovery and return to society of patients with major depression, it is necessary to take measures to strengthen and increase self-esteem and optimism in these patients.

Synergistic Effects of PI3K Inhibition on Arsenic Trioxide Cytotoxicity in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia Cells: A New Portrait of Idelalisib as an Adjuvant Therapy

The advent of small-molecule inhibitors targeting the components of oncogenic signaling pathways has revolutionized cancer treatment, where the pharmacological approaches have gone from an era of non-specific chemotherapeutic drugs to the golden age of targeted therapies. In the present study, we evaluated the therapeutic value of an isoform-specific inhibitor of PI3K (Idelalisib) in potentiating the anti-leukemic effects of arsenic trioxide (ATO), an eminent drug used in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). We found that the abrogation of the PI3K axis profoundly reinforced the anti-leukemic effects of the lower concentrations of ATO, as revealed by the superior reduction in the viability, cell number, and metabolic activity of APL-derived NB4 cells as compared to either agent alone. The cytotoxic effect of Idelalisib in combination with ATO was probably mediated through suppression of c-Myc that was coupled with the elevation in the intracellular level of reactive oxygen species and induction of caspase-3-dependent apoptosis. Notably, our results showed that the suppression of autophagy reinforced the ability of the drugs in eradicating the leukemic cells, suggesting that the compensatory activation of this system may probably overshadow the success of Idelalisib-plus-ATO in APL cells. All in all and given the significant efficacy of Idelalisib against NB4 cells, we proposed the application of this PI3K inhibitor as a foreseeable approach with a safe profile in the treatment of APL.

Frequency of Human Platelet Antigens -1 to -5 and -15 in Turkmen Blood Donors

Background

Due to the presence of platelet antigen polymorphisms, human platelet membrane glycoproteins can be identified as an alloantigen or autoantigen. The aim of this study was to determine the frequencies of human platelet antigens (HPAs)-1 to-5 and-15 in Turkmen blood donors and establish a panel of accredited HPAs negative donors as well as an HPA-typed platelet donor registry.

Materials and Methods

HPA-1 to-5 and-15 typing was performed by the polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primer techniques on 80 unrelated Turkmen donors who were referred to Aq-Qala Blood Transfusion Center in Golestan Province from September 2018 to October 2019.

Results

The frequencies of HPA phenotypes were determined as follows: HPA-1aa: 92.5%, HPA-1ab: 7.5%, HPA-2aa: 77.5%, HPA-2ab: 20.0%, HPA-2bb: 2.5%, HPA-3aa: 75.3%, HPA-3ab: 50%, HPA-3bb: 11.2%, HPA-4aa: 100%, HPA-5aa: 78.5%, HPA-5ab: 21.5%, HPA-15aa: 41.2%, HPA-15ab: 56.2% and HPA-15bb: 17.5%.

Conclusion

Determining the genotype of HPAs that play an important role in platelet refractory can improve the management of alloimmunization due to the incompatibility of HPAs between the recipients and donors. Therefore, the registration process for national platelet donors can help patients accelerate and improve the quality of transfused platelets.

Putative RNA Ligase RtcB Affects the Switch between T6SS and T3SS in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a significant cause of infection in immunocompromised individuals, cystic fibrosis patients, and burn victims. To benefit its survival, the bacterium adapt to either a motile or sessile lifestyle when infecting the host. The motile bacterium has an often activated type III secretion system (T3SS), which is virulent to the host, whereas the sessile bacterium harbors an active T6SS and lives in biofilms. Regulatory pathways involving Gac-Rsm or secondary messengers such as c-di-GMP determine which lifestyle is favorable for P. aeruginosa. Here, we introduce the RNA binding protein RtcB as a modulator of the switch between motile and sessile bacterial lifestyles. Using the wild-type P. aeruginosa PAO1, and a retS mutant PAO1(∆retS) in which T3SS is repressed and T6SS active, we show that deleting rtcB led to simultaneous expression of T3SS and T6SS in both PAO1(∆rtcB) and PAO1(∆rtcB∆retS). The deletion of rtcB also increased biofilm formation in PAO1(∆rtcB) and restored the motility of PAO1(∆rtcB∆retS). RNA-sequencing data suggested RtcB as a global modulator affecting multiple virulence factors, including bacterial secretion systems. Competitive killing and infection assays showed that the three T6SS systems (H1, H2, and H3) in PAO1(∆rtcB) were activated into a functional syringe, and could compete with Escherichia coli and effectively infect lettuce. Western blotting and RT-PCR results showed that RtcB probably exerted its function through RsmA in PAO1(∆rtcB∆retS). Quantification of c-di-GMP showed an elevated intracellular levels in PAO1(∆rtcB), which likely drove the switch between T6SS and T3SS, and contributed to the altered phenotypes and characteristics observed. Our data demonstrate a pivotal role of RtcB in the virulence of P. aeruginosa by controlling multiple virulence determinants, such as biofilm formation, motility, pyocyanin production, T3SS, and T6SS secretion systems towards eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. These findings suggest RtcB as a potential target for controlling P. aeruginosa colonization, establishment, and pathogenicity.

Performance of Wayne assay for detection of pyrazinamide resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a meta-analysis study

Conventional culture-based drug susceptibility testing (DST) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to pyrazinamide (PZA) is time-consuming and difficult to perform. The current systematic review and meta-analysis was aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of Wayne assay against culture-based DSTs as the reference standard. We searched the MEDLINE/Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science databases for the relevant records. The QUADAS-2 tool was used to assess the quality of the studies. Diagnostic accuracy measures (i.e., sensitivity and specificity) were pooled with a random-effects model. Statistical analyses were performed with STATA (version 14, Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA), RevMan (version 5.3; The Nordic Cochrane Centre, the Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark), and Meta-DiSc (version 1.4, Cochrane Colloquium, Barcelona, Spain). A total of 31 articles comprising data for 2457 isolates of M. tuberculosis were included in the final analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of the Wayne assay against all reference tests (the combination of BACTEC MGIT 960, BACTEC 460, and proportion method) were 86.6% (95% CI: 84.3-88.7) and 96.0% (95% CI: 94.8-97). The positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and the area under the curve (AUC) estimates were found to be 17.6 (95% CI: 10.5-29.3), 0.11 (95% CI: 0.06-0.20), 164 (95% CI: 83-320) and 97%, respectively. Deek's test result indicated no evidence for publication bias (P > 0.05). Although the current study shows that the Wayne test is sensitive and specific for detecting PZA resistance, it may be used in combination with conventional DSTs to diagnose PZA resistance accurately.

First report of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carrying the mecC gene in human samples from Iran: prevalence and molecular characteristics

There is a lack of information concerning mecC clinical methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains throughout the world. In the present survey, 345 MRSA strains were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec element (SCCmec) typing. mecC-positive MRSA isolates were characterized by study of biofilm formability, adhesion and virulence analysis, multilocus sequence typing, accessory gene regulator (agr) typing, S. aureus protein A locus (spa) typing and staphylocoagulase typing. The present study found ten SCCmec types, with the majority being SCCmec type III (38.3%). The presence of mecC was confirmed in three isolates from skin wounds (two isolates) and burn wounds (one isolate). All the mecC-positive isolates carried SCCmec XI and belonged to coa type III. Molecular typing showed that these isolates belonged to clonal complex/ST130-spa type t843-agr type III (two isolates) and clonal complex/ST599-spa type 5930-agr type I. The presence of SCCmec type IV confirms the hypothesis of extensive infiltration from the community to the hospital. Detection of MRSA isolates harbouring the mecC gene highlights the need to perform routine detection methods and molecular investigations in order to identify these emerging strains and limit their transfer in hospitals and communities.

Awareness and Observance Rate of the Patients' Rights Charter in General Hospitals; The Perspectives of Iranian Patients

One of the most important indicators for assessing the quality of healthcare is the evaluation of patients' rights status and the interaction between patients and the healthcare providers. The patient rights charter improves communication between patients and service providers and enhances the quality of healthcare. This is a descriptive-analytic study that was performed on 500 patients referred to 25 general hospitals supervised by Tehran University of Medical Sciences. In this study, the observance rate of the patient rights charter was considered and the patient rights charter in the samples were studied based on dependency type of hospitals. The patients' opinions showed that the observance rate of the patient rights charter in the hospitals was 60.7%. Observance rate of patients' rights charter according to the dependency type of hospitals (governmental - private - public - charity) in all clauses of the patient rights charter was statistically significant (p = 0.000). The findings of this study indicate that the majority of clauses in the patients' rights charter is observed in hospitals. In the field of observing of the patient rights charter, increasing patient's awareness about their rights is a priority. And in the next step, comprehensive and assured laws are needed to observe patients' rights in healthcare centers.

Prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) is considered to be a major nosocomial pathogen that results in serious morbidity and mortality worldwide. Limited information is available concerning the prevalence of VRE infections in Iran. We carried out a systematic search by using different electronic databases including: Medline (via PubMed), Embase, Web of Science, and the Iranian Database. Meta-analysis was performed using comprehensive meta-analysis software. The meta-analyses revealed that the prevalence of VRE infections was 9.4 % (95 % confidence interval [95 % CI] 7.3-12) among culture-positive cases for Enterococcus species. The prevalence of VRE in Iran is compared with the results of developed countries. The prevalence of VRE in Germany, the United Kingdom (UK), and Italy was 11.2 %, 8.5-12.5 %, and 9 % respectively. Additionally, the frequency of vancomycin resistance among E. faecalis isolates was higher than for E. faecium. The results of this study indicate that a comprehensive infection control strategy based on hand hygiene, educating the hospital staff members, providing clinical guidance and principles for the appropriate use of antibiotics, sanitizing the hospitals, contact precautions, and active surveillance systems on the basis of international criteria is urgently needed.

Effect of Argon Laser on Enamel Demineralization around Orthodontic Brackets: An In Vitro Study

OBJECTIVE

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of argon laser irradiation on development and progress of enamel demineralization around orthodontic brackets.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifty caries-free, intact human premolars were randomly assigned to one of the following five equal groups: Groups 1 (control) and 2: The brackets were bonded using conventional halogen light for 40s and argon laser for 10s, respectively. Teeth in group 3 were lased with argon laser for 10s before bracket bonding with halogen light. Group 4 was the same as group 3 except that brackets were also bonded with argon laser. In group 5 samples were bonded conventionally, immersed in an artificial caries solution for two days and then irradiated for 10s with argon laser. All samples were subjected to demineralization by artificial caries solution for 10 days. After bracket removal, samples were buccolingually sectioned and evaluated by polarized light microscopy. Decalcified lesion depth in each section was measured by a trained examiner in a blind fashion. Data were analyzed in SPSS 14 using one-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD post hoc test.

RESULTS

The control group showed the greatest mean lesion depth while group 5 revealed the lowest. The laser-treated groups had significantly lower mean lesion depth compared with the control group (P<0.05) except for group 4 (P=0.192).

CONCLUSION

Argon laser irradiation for 10s before or during bracket bonding can increase caries resistance of intact and demineralized enamel.