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Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disease of unknown etiology. Researchers have recently drawn attention to the possible role of viruses in the development of IBS and provided evidence in this regard. In this study, it was decided to investigate the possible role of rotavirus infection in the onset of IBS. Methods: Stool and serum samples were collected from 40 patients with IBS and 40 healthy individuals. To evaluate the previous exposure to rotavirus we checked the presence and concentration of anti-rotavirus IgG by ELISA. ELISA test was performed on the serum samples. A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test was also used to measure the viral load in the stool. Finally, the data were analyzed by SPSS version 22 software. Results: No significant relationship was found between anti-rotavirus IgG presence and its level in the serum of case and healthy individuals (P value>0.05). Moreover, there was no significant difference between the viral genome load in the stool samples of the two groups (P value>0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, it seems unlikely that a link exists between rotavirus infection and the onset of IBS, but the possible role of other gastrointestinal viruses, including coronavirus, remains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Liver cancer is the third most common cause of cancer mortality. Artificial intelligence, as a diagnostic tool, can reduce physicians’ working load. However, the main fear is that due to the existence of many causes and factors, liver diseases are not easily diagnosed. This study analyzes liver disease intelligently. Various decision tree models were used in this research. Methods: The records of 583 patients in the North East of Andhra Pradesh, India, registered at the University of California in 2012, were collected. Decision tree models were compared by three measures of sensitivity, accuracy, and area under the ROC curve. Results: In this study, Decision-Stump showed better results than other models. Accuracy, sensitivity, and ROC curve of Decision-Stump were 71.3058, 1, and 0.646, respectively. Conclusion: The superior model with the highest precision is the Decision-Stump model. Therefore, the Decision-Stump model is recommended for liver disease diagnosis. This paper is invaluable for the allocation of health resources for risky people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The results reported on the prevalence of colorectal cancer are very disturbing. This study aimed to address the polyps’ detection rate and their prevalence. In addition, we analyzed some related variables among the patients referred to Afzalipour and Mehregan Hospitals of Kerman in 2015-2016. Methods: Data concerning colonoscopy and pathologic samples of patients aged over 40 years who referred for colonoscopy were collected and analyzed. The polyps’ detection rate and some related variables were assessed. Results: A total of 469 patients older than 40 who underwent colonoscopy were enrolled in this study. One hundred and two cases of polyps were found in which 45.3% of them had adenoma. The bowel preparation (0.03), higher age (0.007) and male gender (0.013) had significant relationship with the detection of polyps. Conclusion: The detection of the polyp / adenoma in this study is comparable with the results of the research carried out in other parts of the world with a high prevalence of colon cancer. Our findings are consistent with other studies in Iran as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) are two accessible indices for liver evaluation. Upper limit of normal (ULN) of these tests are important for starting further investigations for persons with high values. In recent years, cut off points for ULN of these tests have been disputed. This study aimed to determine the ULN of ALT and AST in a population-based study. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on a randomized clustered sample of people of Kerman city. Demographic, anthropometric, and laboratory data were collected and analyzed. After excluding the recognized risk factors for liver function tests in another group (group 2), data were analyzed in this subgroup. Results: Of 2748 subjects included in this study, 1172 (42.4%) were men, with an age range of 15-85 years. The mean (± SE), median, mode, and 95th percentile were 23.74 ± 0.18, 22, 19, and 37 for AST and 22.37 ± 0.27, 18, 15, and 46 for ALT, respectively. The levels of AST and ALT were higher in men and middle age group (P<0.0001). Similar results were obtained for gender but the association of AST and ALT with age was disappeared in another group. Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, it is recommended to measure the ULN of AST and ALT periodically in different regions concerning age and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been introduced as a new genomic source for cancer. Therefore, it was decided to conduct a study to evaluate the rs3746444 polymorphism of miR-499 in patients with colon cancer in comparison with healthy subjects. Methods: This case-control study was conducted to investigate rs3746444 polymorphism of miR-499 in blood samples of case and control groups. Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of cancer based on pathologic report were enrolled in the study as the case group and compared with healthy subjects. The level of significance was considered at p< 0.05. Result: The mean of DNA count in samples was 63.17± 23.51 that was significantly higher in the case group. The rs3746444 polymorphism of miR-499 was significantly higher in patients with cancer compared to the healthy subjects (P < 0.05). Conclusion: In this study, rs3746444 polymorphism of miR-499 was significantly higher in patients with colon cancer, which indicated that people with this polymorphism had a higher risk for malignancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]