Plos One
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The Modified Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (MODQ) is used for evaluating the functional disability in patients with low back pain (LBP). However, the measurement characteristics of the MODQ among Arab patients are unknown. In this study, we aimed to translate and cross-culturally adapt the MODQ into Arabic and evaluate its psychometric properties. ⋯ The Arabic version of the MODQ demonstrates adequate psychometric properties and can be used to assess disability level in patients with LBP in Arabic-speaking communities.
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Timely delivery of fetal growth restriction (FGR) is important in reducing stillbirth. However, targeted earlier delivery of FGR preferentially removes smaller babies from later gestations, thereby right-shifting the distribution of birthweights at term. This artificially increases the birthweight cutoffs defining the lower centiles and redefines normally grown babies as small by population-based birthweight centiles. Our objective was to compare updated Australian national population-based birthweight centile charts over time with the prescriptive INTERGROWTH-21st standard. ⋯ Locally-derived population-based birthweight centiles are better for clinical audit of care but should not be updated. Prescriptive birthweight standards are less useful in defining 'small' due to their significant left-shift.
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Comparative Study
HIV-1 reverse transcriptase and protease mutations for drug-resistance detection among treatment-experienced and naïve HIV-infected individuals.
The presence of drug resistance mutations (DRMs) against antiretroviral agents is one of the main concerns in the clinical management of individuals with human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection, especially in regions of the world where treatment options are limited. The current study aimed at assessing the prevalence of HIV-1 DRMs among naïve and treatment-experienced HIV-1-infected patients in Iran. ⋯ The moderate prevalence of SDRMs (8.3%) in treatment-naïve and ART-failed (77.1%) Iranian patients with HIV-1-infection emphasizes the need for systematic viral load monitoring, expanding drug resistance testing, carefully surveilling individuals on ART regimens, and facilitating access to new antiretrovirals by health authorities.
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To investigate the computed tomography (CT) characteristics and diagnostic value of novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP or COVID-19) in pregnancy. ⋯ The CT characteristics of COVID-19 in pregnancy were mainly observed in early and progressive stages, and multiple new lesions were common. And there were consolidations of varying sizes and degrees within the lesion. Moreover, the original ground glass lesions could be fused or partially absorbed. Six patients had small bilateral pleural effusion. In summary, CT scans can play an important role in early screening, dynamic observation, and efficacy evaluation of suspected or confirmed cases of pregnant women with COVID-19.
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Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several genomic loci with candidate modifiers of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease, but only a small proportion of the expected genetic contribution is accounted for at these loci. We leveraged expression data from CF cohorts, and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) reference data sets from multiple human tissues to generate predictive models, which were used to impute transcriptional regulation from genetic variance in our GWAS population. The imputed gene expression was tested for association with CF lung disease severity. ⋯ Gene set enrichment results are consistent with current knowledge of CF lung disease pathogenesis. HLA Class II genes on chr6, and CEP72, EXOC3, and TPPP near the GWAS peak on chr5 are most consistently associated with CF lung disease severity across the tissues tested. The results help to prioritize genes in the GWAS regions, predict direction of gene expression regulation, and identify new candidate modifiers throughout the genome for potential therapeutic development.