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Unverified information concerning COVID-19 can affect mental health. Understanding perceived trust in information sources and associated mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic is vital to ensure ongoing media coverage of the crisis does not exacerbate mental health impacts. A number of studies have been conducted in other parts of the world to determine associations between information exposure relating to COVID-19 and mental health. However, the mechanism by which trust in information sources may affect mental health is not fully explained in the developing country context. To address this issue, the present study examined associations between perceived trust in three sources of information concerning COVID-19 and anxiety/stress with the mediating effects of COVID-19 stress in Bangladesh. An online cross-sectional study was conducted with 744 Bangladeshi adults between 17 April and 1 May 2020. Perceived trust in traditional, social, and health media for COVID-19 information, demographics, frontline service status, COVID-19-related stressors, anxiety (GAD-7), and stress (PSS-4) were assessed via self-report. Linear regression tested for associations between perceived trust and mental health. Mediation analyses investigated whether COVID-19-related stressors affected perceived trust and mental health associations. In fully adjusted models, more trust in social media was associated with more anxiety (B = 0.03, CI = 0.27–0.97) and stress (B = 0.01, CI = −0.34–0.47), while more trust in traditional media was associated with more anxiety (B = 0.09, CI = 0.17–2.26) but less stress (B = −0.08, CI = −0.89–0.03). Mediation analyses showed that COVID-19-related stressors partially explained associations between perceived trust and anxiety. These findings suggest that trusting social media to provide accurate COVID-19 information may exacerbate poor mental health. These findings also indicate that trusting traditional media (i.e., television, radio, and the newspaper) may have stress-buffering effects. We recommend that responsible authorities call attention to concerns about the trustworthiness of social media as well as broadcast positive and authentic news in traditional media outcomes based on these results.

Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) is one of the most aggressive multidrug-resistant bacteria associated with human infections, resulting in high mortality and morbidity. We obtained 1190 K. pneumoniae isolates from different patients with urinary tract infections. The isolates were measured to determine their susceptibility regarding nine specific antibiotics. This study's primary goal is to evaluate the potential of infrared spectroscopy in tandem with machine learning to assess the susceptibility of K. pneumoniae within approximately 20 min following the first culture. Our results confirm that it was possible to classify the isolates into sensitive and resistant with a success rate higher than 80% for the tested antibiotics. These results prove the promising potential of infrared spectroscopy as a powerful method for a K. pneumoniae susceptibility test.

Background: Tinea pedis is one of the commonest skin infections of interdigital toe webspace as well as feet skin and may affect the nail or the hand. It is caused by dermophytes fungi especially Trichophyton species. Direct contact with a contaminated environment or animal is the main mode of transmission. Tinea pedis is more frequent among adults than children and more among those with the previous infection with the disease, diabetes mellites, abnormally increased sweating, and the disease is common among individuals who wear unventilated (occlusive) footwear. Tinea pedis is more often in men than females 2-4 times. Aim of the study: To study the epidemiological characteristics and risk factors of tinea pedis disease. Methods: Descriptive study was conducted on patients attending the dermatology outpatient clinic in Tikrit Teaching Hospital, Tikrit, Iraq. The study was done during the period from 1st November 2018-10th June 2019. The sample included (680) persons. The cases were diagnosed clinically and by a direct microscope. The demographic information of patients was obtained according to a certain design questionnaire. The study was done to reveal the epidemiology of tenia pedis disease among affected patients. Results: The frequency of tinea pedis cases among the study sample was (48/ 680) (7%). It has been documented that there is no significant association as a result of the difference in gender, body weight, positive family history, history, presence of fungal skin disease, and presence of nail trauma. Otherwise, there is a significant association as a result of the presence of the young age group, diabetes mellitus, and history of wearing occlusive shoes. Conclusion: The frequency of tinea pedis disease among the study sample was (7%). There was a significant association between age group and the presence of diabetes mellitus disease and wearing occlusive shoes.

PurposeThe study's objective is to examine the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) social media news (SMN) on work boredom (WB) and task performance (TP). The study proposes that psychological well-being (PWB) and depression mediate the relationship between COVID-19 SMN, WB and TP.Design/methodology/approachThe data for this research was collected from white-collar employees of two Asian countries, Pakistan (study 1, n = 167) and Malaysia (study 2, n = 118), was collected using an online survey during strict movement control order (MCO), work from home, at the beginning of the year 2020.FindingsIn both studies, the PWB of employees mediated the relationship between COVID-19 SMN and their WB. On the other hand, depression only mediated the relationship between COVID-19 SMN and WB in Pakistan. PWB only mediated the relationship between COVID-19 SMN and TP in study 2. Depression only mediated the relationship between COVID-19 SMN and TP in study 1.Research limitations/implicationsA couple of limitations worth noting are that the study adopted a cross-sectional approach. Thus, the sample size is not large in both counties. Because of the outbreak, limited employees agree to be part of an online survey. The scope of the study also restricts the authors to collect data during MCO, when employees were forced to work from home. In Pakistan, MCO began on 20th March and ended on 30th April, while in Malaysia, MCO started on 18th March and ended on 12th May. This also limits the study's claim of generalizability.Practical implicationsThe practical implication of the study is to guide practitioners of both Pakistan and Malaysia in developing strategies that help them understand that employees having PWB look for growth and challenging opportunities even during pandemic situations; employers can leverage it to deal with external threats like COVID-19 because improving the PWB can improve TP and reduce WB. The interesting results highlighted the fact that high TP not necessarily means everything is fine with employees, when the uncertainty level is high, employees may be performing well due to fear and depression instead of work motivation. Thus, employers should be more vigilant during a pandemic situation. This study also helps policymakers understand that the overall economic situation affects the individual employee’s state of mind and work behavior.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to scare literature on COVID-19 and SMN and illustrates employees' work behavior when forced to work from home during the MCO.

Antimicrobial drugs have played an indispensable role in decreasing morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases. However, the resistance of bacteria to a broad spectrum of commonly-used antibiotics has grown to the point of being a global health-care problem. One of the most important classes of multi-drug resistant bacteria is Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-producing (ESBL+) bacteria. This increase in bacterial resistance to antibiotics is mainly due to the long time (about 48 h) that it takes to obtain lab results of detecting ESBL-producing bacteria. Thus, rapid detection of ESBL+ bacteria is highly important for efficient treatment of bacterial infections. In this study, we evaluated the potential of infrared microspectroscopy in tandem with machine learning algorithms for rapid detection of ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) obtained from samples of patients with urinary tract infections. 285 ESBL+ and 365 ESBL-K. pneumoniae samples, gathered from cultured colonies, were examined. Our results show that it is possible to determine that K. pneumoniae is ESBL+ with ∼89% accuracy, ∼88% sensitivity and ∼89% specificity, in a time span of ∼20 minutes following the initial culture.

Physicians diagnose subjectively the etiology of inaccessible infections where sampling is not feasible (such as, pneumonia, sinusitis, cholecystitis, peritonitis), as bacterial or viral. The diagnosis is based on their experience with some medical markers like blood counts and medical symptoms since it is harder to obtain swabs and reliable laboratory results for most cases. In this study, infrared spectroscopy with machine learning algorithms was used for the rapid and objective diagnosis of the etiology of inaccessible infections and enables an assessment of the error for the subjective diagnosis of the etiology of these infections by physicians. Our approach allows for diagnoses of the etiology of both accessible and inaccessible infections as based on an analysis of the innate immune system response through infrared spectroscopy measurements of white blood cell (WBC) samples. In the present study, we examined 343 individuals involving 113 controls, 89 inaccessible bacterial infections, 54 accessible bacterial infections, 60 inaccessible viral infections, and 27 accessible viral infections. Using our approach, the results show that it is possible to differentiate between controls and infections (combined bacterial and viral) with 95% accuracy, and enabling the diagnosis of the etiology of accessible infections as bacterial or viral with94% sensitivity and90% specificity within one hour after the collection of the blood sample with error rate6%. Based on our approach, the error rate of the physicians' subjective diagnosis of the etiology of inaccessible infections was found to be23%.

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about drastic measures that have significantly altered the norms of daily living. These measures have affected human behaviors in disparate ways. This study seeks to understand the impact of the pandemic on physical activity and dietary behavior among adults living in Kuwait. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between 18 June and 15 July 2020, using a questionnaire disseminated through social media, including WhatsApp and Facebook. The target population was individuals aged 21 years or older living in the State of Kuwait. The study included 679 respondents, 57.9% were females, and 67.7% were Kuwaiti nationals. Both genders reported an increased consumption of vegetables, fruits, and carbohydrates, and a decreased consumption of fish and sugary drinks. Compared to males, females reported eating more during the outbreak than their pre-pandemic eating behaviors (32.3% vs. 35.9%, p &lt, 0.05). Approximately one-third of respondents (33.1%) reported performing less than 30 min of physical activity or exercise in a week, and 36.4% of respondents rated their quality of sleep as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’. The rate of smoking cigarettes among males was significantly higher than in females (40.6% vs. 5.3%, p &lt, 0.001). Physical activity was positively correlated with vegetable consumption and quality of sleep. Quality of sleep was negatively correlated with the consumption of sweets and snacks, just as the consumption of vegetables was negatively correlated with the consumption of sugary drinks. The overall negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kuwait necessitates the development of health promotion interventions to support positive physical activity and dietary behaviors using alternative coping strategies among the residents of Kuwait.

Background: Lack of information about economic burden of COPD is a major cause of lack of attention to this chronic condition from governments and policymakers. Objective: To find the economic burden of COPD in Asia, USA and Europe, and to identify the key cost driving factors in management of COPD patients. Methodology: Relevant studies assessing the cost of COPD from patient perspective or societal perspective were retrieved by thoroughly searching PUBMED, SCIENCE DIRECT, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, SCOPUS, and SAGE Premier Databases. Results: In the USA annual per patient direct medical cost and hospitalization cost were reported as $10,367 and $6852, respectively. In Asia annual per patient direct medical cost in Iran, Korea and Singapore was reported as $1544, $3077, and $2335, respectively. However, annual per patient hospitalization cost in Iran, Korea, Singapore, India, China, and Turkey was reported as $865, $1371, $1868, $296, $1477 and $1031, respectively. In Europe annual per patient direct medical cost was reported as $11,787, $10,552, $8644, $8203, $7760, $3190, $1889, $2162, and $2254 in Norway, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Greece, Spain, Belgium, and Serbia, respectively. Conclusion: Limiting the disease to early stage and preventing exacerbations may reduce the cost of management of COPD.

Purpose To evaluate the prevalence and awareness about symptoms, and complications of varicocele among athletes (bodybuilding and aerobics exercises) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Patients and methods A cross-sectional study of male athletes aged between 18 and 48 years old was carried out in multiple branches of fitness centers over a period of 13 months in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 382 face-to-face interviews using a predesigned questionnaire were conducted to identify the levels of knowledge, attitude, and practice. A randomly selected 48 subjects were examined. Varicocele was diagnosed and graded based on clinical examination and Doppler ultrasonography. Results Of the participants, 157 (41%) lacked knowledge and awareness regarding varicocele, its symptoms and complications. Of the examined participants, 22 (46%) were found to have varicocele. No difference in varicocele was found among bodybuilders and aerobic athletes (P=0.249). Similarly, no difference was related to duration of exercise session whether for 1 hour or more (P=0.131). However, our study revealed a higher rate of varicocele among athletes who exercised more than three times per week (P=0.009). Testicular volume was neither significantly different among respondents with and without varicocele nor between the left or right sides within each group. Conclusion Knowledge about varicocele, its symptoms and complications is poor among male athletes in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Varicocele is more common in athletic men who are frequently exercising. Efforts to increase knowledge and enhance awareness of varicocele in young males, in general, are strongly warranted.

Background: Prostate enlargement is defined as increase in size of prostate gland. The diseasemay bepresented clinically as lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). The disease is increasing with age. There aremany risk factors as age, genetic, geographical, obesity, physical activity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension.Subjects and Method: A descriptive study was conducted on patients with lower urinary tract symptomswho were attending Tikrit teaching hospital outpatient’s clinic during the period from 1st July -1stOctober2018. The demographic characterestics of patients were obtained according to a questionnaire andthe patients were examined clinically to determine if there was enlargement of prostate or not. The diagnoseswas confirmed by PR and ultrasound examination.Results: The frequency of among sample study was(83%). The cases were more prevalent among the followings:age group 60 years and more(94.3%), positivefamily history(89.7%),low physical activity (93.4%%) ,hypertensives (87.4%) and with those with erectiledysfunction (94.9%).

The literature is uncertain about the extent to which those who attend cardiac rehabilitation (CR) gain weight while trying to quit smoking. This study aimed to determine the extent of CR-based smoking cessation provision and whether CR, as delivered in routine practice, is associated with helping patients quit smoking and avoid weight gain. Data from the UK National Audit of Cardiac Rehabilitation database, between April 2013 and March 2016, were used. Smoking status is categorised as smokers and quitters assessed by patient self-report. Outcomes included body weight, blood pressure, depression, and physical activity. A multiple linear regression model was constructed to understand the effect of continuing smoking or quitting smoking on CR outcomes. CR outcome scores were adjusted by the baseline CR score for each characteristic. An e-survey collected information about the smoking cessation support offered to patients attending CR. A total of 2052 smokers (58.59 &plusmn, 10.49 years, 73.6% male) and 1238 quitters (57.63 &plusmn, 10.36 years, 75.8% male) were analysed. Overall, 92.6% of CR programmes in the United Kingdom (UK) offer smoking cessation support for CR attenders. Quitting smoking during CR was associated with a mean increase in body weight of 0.4 kg, which is much less than seen in systematic reviews. Quitters who attended CR also had better improvements in physical activity status and psychosocial health measures than smokers. As delivered in routine practice, CR programmes in the UK adhere to the guideline recommendations for smoking cessation interventions, help patients quit smoking, and avoid weight gain on completion of CR.

Background: Infertility is defined as failure to conceive after one year and 6 months of a regular unprotectedrelationships between couples, it is classified as primary infertility when there is no history of pregnancyhave occurred , or secondary when inability to conceive occurs after one or more successful pregnancies. Female infertility is a multifactorial condition caused by many causes like ovarian, PCOS, uterine, andcervical factors, and associated with many risk factors as family history, obesity, blood group types, ageand educational level of women. Some medical diseases implicated in causing female infertility mainlythyroid disorders by hormonal disturbance and menstrual irregularity. Aim: This study aims to identify theepidemiological factors among reproductive age women attending Obstetrics and gynecology outpatientdepartment in sallahuddin teaching hospital.Subject and Methods: This is a cross section study conductedon reproductive age women attending gynecological and obstetrical outpatient department in SalahuddinTeaching Hospital during the period from 15th October 2018 to 15th April 2019 to identify the frequency,types, causes and sociodemographic associated factors with female infertility. The information regarding theproblem and demographic characteristics was obtained according to questionnaire and body weight, heightand BMI were recorded.Results: This study revealed that frequency of female infertility was 25% with ahighest percentage of primary infertility 57% . PCOS where the main ovulatory causes of female infertilityconstituted about 41%.followed by other risk factors as tubal, uterine, and cervical factors.Conclusion:female infertility constituted abut quarter the causes of infertility among reproductive age women in Tikritcity .Primary infertility were the commonest type,most frequent among those between(20_24years age).PCOS were the major ovulatory causes.

Quitting smoking and participation in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) are effective strategies in reducing morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about the predictors of quitting smoking in those who attend CR. This study aimed to determine the sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with the likelihood of CR attendees who are quitting smoking. Data from the UK National Audit of Cardiac Rehabilitation (NACR) database, between April 2013 and March 2016, were used. Smoking status is categorized as smokers and quitters, assessed by patient self-report. The study used patient demographics, cardiovascular risk factors, comorbidities, and physical and psychosocial health measures. Binary logistic regression was performed to identify the predictors of quitting smoking among CR attendees. Of the 3290 patients who started CR and were entered into the NACR database, 2052 were continued smokers (mean age 58.59 &plusmn, 10.49 years, 73.6% men) and 1238 were quitters (mean age 57.63 &plusmn, 10.36 years, 75.8% men). The median duration of CR was 9 weeks. Compared to smokers, the quitters were younger, weighed more, were less anxious and depressed, and were more likely to be employed. Single patients had 0.60 times lower odds (95% CI 0.43 to 0.82) of quitting smoking than patients with partners, and low-risk patients had 1.71 times higher odds (95% CI 1.12 to 2.62) of quitting smoking than high-risk patients. Increasing number of comorbidities and depression scores were associated with decreasing likelihood of quitting. This study highlights the routine factors that determine smoking cessation outcomes, which could inform the delivery of CR to better help patients to quit smoking.

Kuwait Vision 2035 is an initiative that was launched in 2017 by His Highness the Emir of the State of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. This initiative includes the implementation of a detailed development plan aimed at transforming the state of Kuwait into a regional leader in science, technology, and innovation. Health research will arguably prove to be one of the most impactful research arenas when it comes to accomplishing the goals set forth by the Kuwait Vision 2035 Development Plan. The high impact of health research is derived from its capacity to aid in the establishment of a knowledge-based health industry. The state of Kuwait lacks a system for promoting and managing national R&D efforts. At present, the research and development (R&D) expenditure in the state of Kuwait is far below the international standards that have been shown to lead to innovation and the subsequent development of a knowledge-based economy. Improvement of the weak and unstructured existing R&D apparatus in the State of Kuwait is among the most urgent challenges facing the nation as it strives toward innovation and development of a knowledge-based economy. Developing health research capacities in the State of Kuwait can significantly contribute toward improving public health, health promotion, disease prevention and treatment, and overall human welfare. Importantly, the positive impacts of such extensive benefits will not be restricted to the state of Kuwait and its citizens, but may in fact reap benefits for the global society as a whole. This article first analyzes the current status of healthcare services and health science research in the State of Kuwait, and then summarizes some essential R&D design principles that Kuwait needs to implement in order to achieve the milestones set forth in the Kuwait Vision 2035 Development Plan.

Most public health issues in Kuwait are related to unhealthy behaviours. Research shows that behaviours are the result not only exclusively of personal choices but also of myriads of other social and environmental factors. Kuwait is one of the leading countries in obesity and tobacco use in the world. Cardiovascular diseases stemming from complications related to these and other risk factors are important health issues based on their morbidity and mortality implications. These risks are spread across society and affect the old as well as young boys. The serious gaps between Kuwait’s health-related needs and the existing policies to reduce public health risks in Kuwait create a significant obstacle to healthy behaviour change. Kuwait requires adequate laws, policies, regulations, activities, and programs to promote people’s health. The Socio-Ecological Model (SEM) has been used successfully in health promotion in various behavioural settings, including obesity, physical inactivity, and smoking. We propose the use of SEM as a planning framework in building sustainable health promotion programs in Kuwait while paying attention to other concepts such as systems thinking, authentic community participation, community capacity, policy development, public health infrastructure enhancement, health coaching, and equity.

Significance: Accurate and objective identification of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is of major clinical importance due to the current lack of low-cost and noninvasive diagnostic tools to differentiate between the two. Developing an approach for such identification can have a great impact in the field of dementia diseases as it would offer physicians a routine objective test to support their diagnoses. The problem is especially acute because these two dementias have some common symptoms and characteristics, which can lead to misdiagnosis of DLB as AD and vice versa, mainly at their early stages. Aim: The aim is to evaluate the potential of mid-infrared (IR) spectroscopy in tandem with machine learning algorithms as a sensitive method to detect minor changes in the biochemical structures that accompany the development of AD and DLB based on a simple peripheral blood test, thus improving the diagnostic accuracy of differentiation between DLB and AD. Approach: IR microspectroscopy was used to examine white blood cells and plasma isolated from 56 individuals: 26 controls, 20 AD patients, and 10 DLB patients. The measured spectra were analyzed via machine learning. Results: Our encouraging results show that it is possible to differentiate between dementia (AD and DLB) and controls with an ∼86% success rate and between DLB and AD patients with a success rate of better than 93%. Conclusions: The success of this method makes it possible to suggest a new, simple, and powerful tool for the mental health professional, with the potential to improve the reliability and objectivity of diagnoses of both AD and DLB.

Human viral and bacterial infections are responsible for a variety of diseases that are still the main causes of death and economic burden for society across the globe. Despite the different responses of the immune system to these infections, some of them have similar symptoms, such as fever, sneezing, inflammation, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue. Thus, physicians usually encounter difficulties in distinguishing between viral and bacterial infections on the basis of these symptoms. Rapid identification of the etiology of infection is highly important for effective treatment and can save lives in some cases. The current methods used for the identification of the nature of the infection are mainly based on growing the infective agent in culture, which is a time-consuming (over 24 h) and usually expensive process. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of the mid-infrared spectroscopic method for rapid and reliable identification of bacterial and viral infections based on simple peripheral blood samples. For this purpose, white blood cells (WBCs) and plasma were isolated from the peripheral blood samples of patients with confirmed viral or bacterial infections. The obtained spectra were analyzed by multivariate analysis: principle component analysis (PCA) followed by linear discriminant analysis (LDA), to identify the infectious agent type as bacterial or viral in a time span of about 1 h after the collection of the blood sample. Our preliminary results showed that it is possible to determine the infectious agent with high success rates of 82% for sensitivity and 80% for specificity, based on the WBC data.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Kuwait led to a nationwide curfew between 22 March and August 2020. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 curfew during the pandemic on Kuwaiti citizens and residents. A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from Kuwaiti residents over the age of 21 through an online questionnaire shared via social media, including WhatsApp and Facebook. Data collection occurred between 18 June and 15 July 2020. Data from 679 respondents (57.9% females and 42.1% males; 67.7% Kuwaiti nationals and 32.3% non-Kuwaiti nationals) were analyzed. Symptoms of depression were reported among 59.8% of females and 51.0% of males, and extremely severe depression among 20.4% of females and 13.6% of males. Approximately 42.0% of females and 37.8% of males were under psychological distress, with 15.1% of females and 9.1% of males experiencing severe or extremely severe psychological distress. Over a third of females (34.9%) reported experiencing tensions or violent behaviors from family members, and 22.1% reported verbal or physical abuse. Among males, 26.4% reported experiencing tensions or violent behaviors, and 12.2% reported verbal or physical abuse. Extremely severe depression was associated with being female (2.00 times), aged 21–29 (4.56 times), experiencing tensions or violent behaviors from family members (4.56 times), being physically inactive (1.64 times), smoking cigarettes (3.02 times), and having poor or very poor quality of sleep (1.75 times). Severe or extremely severe psychological distress was associated with being female (3.09 times), aged 21–49 (3.68 times), having ill-health conditions or diseases (1.83 times), experiencing tension or violent behaviors from family members (3.56 times), smoking cigarettes (3.06 times), and having poor or very poor quality of sleep (2.20 times). Findings indicate that people living in Kuwait experienced negative psychological impacts, such as depression and psychological distress, attributable to the pandemic-related restrictions. Unpartnered females aged 21–49 are more mentally vulnerable than partnered males over the age of 50. Findings support an urgent need for targeted interventions to improve health behaviors and social support, including coping mechanisms specific to COVID-19 related stress, family counseling systems, and the provision of accessible and acceptable services using telehealth.

Bacterial pathogens are one of the primary causes of human morbidity worldwide. Historically, antibiotics have been highly effective against most bacterial pathogens; however, the increasing resistance of bacteria to a broad spectrum of commonly used antibiotics has become a global health-care problem. Early and rapid determination of bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics has become essential in many clinical settings and, sometimes, can save lives. Currently classical procedures require at least 48 h for determining bacterial susceptibility, which can constitute a life-threatening delay for effective treatment. Infrared (IR) microscopy is a rapid and inexpensive technique, which has been used successfully for the detection and identification of various biological samples; nonetheless, its true potential in routine clinical diagnosis has not yet been established. In this study, we evaluated the potential of this technique for rapid identification of bacterial susceptibility to specific antibiotics based on the IR spectra of the bacteria. IR spectroscopy was conducted on bacterial colonies, obtained after 24 h culture from patients' samples. An IR microscope was utilized, and a computational classification method was developed to analyze the IR spectra by novel pattern-recognition and statistical tools, to determine E. coli susceptibility within a few minutes to different antibiotics, gentamicin, ceftazidime, nitrofurantoin, nalidixic acid, ofloxacin. Our results show that it was possible to classify the tested bacteria into sensitive and resistant types, with success rates as high as 85% for a number of examined antibiotics. These promising results open the potential of this technique for faster determination of bacterial susceptibility to certain antibiotics.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, particularly in the elderly. The disease is characterized by cognitive decline that typically starts with insidious memory loss and progresses relentlessly to produce global impairment of all higher cortical functions. Due to better living conditions and health facilities in developed countries, which result in higher overall life spans, these countries report upward trends of AD among their populations. There are, however, no specific diagnostic tests for AD and clinical diagnosis is especially difficult in the earliest stages of the disease. Early diagnosis of AD is frequently subjective and is determined by physicians (generally neurologists, geriatricians, and psychiatrists) depending on their experience. Diagnosing AD requires both medical history and mental status testing. Having trouble with memory does not mean you have AD. AD has no current cure, but treatments for symptoms are available and research continues. In this study, we investigated the potential of infrared microscopy to differentiate between AD patients and controls, using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of isolated blood components. FTIR is known as a quick, safe, and minimally invasive method to investigate biological samples. For this goal, we measured infrared spectra from white blood cells (WBCs) and plasma taken from AD patients and controls, with the consent of the patients or their guardians. Applying multivariate analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) followed by linear discriminant analysis (LDA), it was possible to differentiate among the different types of mild, moderate, and severe AD, and the controls, with 85% accuracy when using the WBC spectra and about 77% when using the plasma spectra. When only the moderate and severe stages were included, an 83% accuracy was obtained using the WBC spectra and about 89% when using the plasma spectra.

Pectobacterium and Dickeya spp. are soft rot Pectobacteriaceae that cause aggressive diseases on agricultural crops leading to substantial economic losses. The accurate, rapid and low-cost detection of these pathogenic bacteria are very important for controlling their spread, reducing the consequent financial loss and for producing uninfected potato seed tubers for future generations. Currently used methods for the identification of these bacterial pathogens at the strain level are based mainly on molecular techniques, which are expensive. We used an alternative method, infrared spectroscopy, to measure 24 strains of five species of Pectobacterium and Dickeya. Measurements were then analyzed using machine learning methods to differentiate among them at the genus, species and strain levels. Our results show that it is possible to differentiate among different bacterial pathogens with a success rate of ~99% at the genus and species levels and with a success rate of over 94% at the strain level.

The association between physical activity (PA) and mental well-being in individuals with a cardiovascular disease (CVD) is poorly studied. The objective of this study was to assess the association between mental well-being and adherence to the recommended guidelines for PA in a Scottish adult population with CVD. The study used data from 3128 adults who had CVD conditions (1547 men and 1581 women, mean age 63.29 years) who participated in the Scottish Health Survey between 2014 and 2017. The Warwick&ndash, Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS) was used as a surrogate measure of mental health. PA was classified as &ldquo, met&rdquo, or &ldquo, unmet&rdquo, on the basis of the recommended PA guidelines (150 min of moderate activity or 75 min of vigorous activity per week). The relationship between PA guidelines being met and the WEMWBS score was explored using hierarchical linear regression accounting for a set of health and sociodemographic characteristics. Of the participants, ~41.8% met the recommended PA levels. Among those with CVD, the mean (SD) WEMWBS scores of individuals who did not have a long-standing illness (51.14 &plusmn, 7.65 vs 47.07 &plusmn, 9.54, p &lt, 0.05), diabetes (48.44 &plusmn, 9.05 vs 46.04 &plusmn, 10.25, 0.05), or high blood pressure (48.63 &plusmn, 9.08 vs 47.52 &plusmn, 9.47, 0.05) were significantly higher than those of individuals with such conditions. Meeting PA recommendations was significantly associated with a higher mean WEMWBS score (50.64 &plusmn, 7.97 vs 46.06 &plusmn, 9.75, 0.05). Multiple regression analysis of health-related behaviors improved the prediction of mental well-being over and above meeting the recommended PA levels. Mental well-being was strongly correlated with PA adherence in CVD patients. It seems that for patients with CVD, PA should be tailored to meet patients&rsquo, health conditions in order to promote mental well-being and improve overall health.

Rapid identification of bacterial infection is very important and in many cases can save human life. Many pathogens can cause infections. While these infections share identical symptoms, the immune system responds differently to these pathogens. The current microbiology lab methods used to diagnose the infection type are time consuming (2-4 days). Thus, physicians may be tempted to start unnecessary antibiotic treatment, based on their wrong diagnosis (based on experience) of the infection. Uncontrolled use of antibiotics is the main driving force for the development of multi drug resistant bacteria which is considered a global health problem. We hypothesize that the different responses of the immune system to the infecting pathogens, cause some minute biochemical changes in the blood componentsthat can be detected by infrared spectroscopy which is known as a fast, accurate, sensitive and low cost method. In this study, we used infrared microscopy to measure the vibrational spectra of white blood cells (WBC) samples of 105 infected patients (69 bacterial and 36 with viral infection) and 90 controls (non-infected patients). The obtained spectra were analyzed using machine learning algorithms to identify the infection type as bacterial or viral in a time span of less than one hour after blood sample collection. Our study results showed that it is possible to determine the infection type with high success rates of 93% sensitivity and 85% specificity, based solely on WBC obtained from simple peripheral blood samples.

Background: Hepatitis C is an infectious disease that affects primarily the liver; it is caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV). Cirrhosis and liver cancer are the common complications of the disease. So identifying prevalence and certain risk factors of the disease will promote preventive measures for the disease. Aim and Objectives: By conducting this study, we will determine the prevalence of hepatitis C among blood donors who attended Samara General Hospital for donating blood. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted on blood donors attending the hospital. The study was conducted during the period from February 2016 -November 2017. The sample included 850 persons. The demographic information, personal data and results of investigations were obtained according to a certain designed questionnaire. The subjects’ blood samples were tested to detect HCV antibodies by ELISA test. Results: The prevalence of hepatitis C disease among blood donors in the current study according to HCV-Ab detection was 20/850 (2.4%) . The positive cases were more prevalent among males, married, those with previous blood transfusion, previous surgical procedures and those with an HIV positive spouse. Conclusion: HCV infection is more prevalent in certain subjects with certain risk factors such as blood transfusion, surgical process, infected spouse.

The spread of multidrug resistant bacteria has become a global concern. One of the most important and emergent classes of multidrug-resistant bacteria is extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing bacteria (ESBL-positive = ESBL+). Due to widespread and continuous evolution of ESBL-producing bacteria, they become increasingly resistant to many of the commonly used antibiotics, leading to an increase in the mortality associated with resulting infections. Timely detection of ESBL-producing bacteria and rapid determination of their susceptibility to appropriate antibiotics can reduce the spread of these bacteria and the consequent complications. Routine methods used for the detection of ESBL-producing bacteria are time-consuming, requiring at least 48 h to obtain results. In this study, we evaluated the potential of infrared spectroscopic microscopy, combined with multivariate analysis for rapid detection of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli ( E. coli) isolated from urinary-tract infection (UTI) samples. Our measurements were conducted on 837 samples of uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), including 268 ESBL+ and 569 ESBL-negative (ESBL-) samples. All samples were obtained from bacterial colonies after 24 h culture (first culture) from midstream patients' urine. Our results revealed that it is possible to detect ESBL-producing bacteria, with a 97% success rate, 99% sensitivity, and 94% specificity for the tested samples, in a time span of few minutes following the first culture.

Antimicrobial drugs have an important role in controlling bacterial infectious diseases. However, the increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics has become a global health care problem. Rapid determination of antimicrobial susceptibility of clinical isolates is often crucial for the optimal antimicrobial therapy. The conventional methods used in medical centers for susceptibility testing are time-consuming (>2 days). Two bacterial culture steps are needed, the first is used to grow the bacteria from urine on agar plates to determine the species of the bacteria (~24 hours). The second culture is used to determine the susceptibility by growing colonies from the first culture for another 24 hours. Here, the main goal is to examine the potential of infrared microscopy combined with multivariate analysis, to reduce the time it takes to identify Escherichia coli susceptibility to antibiotics and to determine the optimum choice of antibiotic to which the bacteria will respond. E coli colonies of the first culture from patients with urinary tract infections (UTI) were examined for the bacterial susceptibility using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR). Our results show that it is possible to determine the optimum choice of antibiotic with better than 89% sensitivity, in the time span of few minutes, following the first culture.

The relapse rate for colorectal cancer (CRC) is high and has a significant impact on survival and quality of life. CRC relapse can be local, at the anastomosis, or distant, as evidenced by metastasis. Reducing the local recurrence of the disease may improve patient survival and quality of life. This could be achieved by determining safe surgical margins of the removed cancerous lesion during colorectal surgery. The detection of abnormal crypts is essential for diagnosis of the spread of CRC and its effective management. Our overall goal in this study is to evaluate and suggest which biological molecules in the cell contribute more to the classification procedure. This may provide clues for biologically understanding the principle of CRC recurrence. Longitudinal sections from normal anastomosis tissues obtain from CRC patients during surgery were used. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in tandem with multivariate analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were used to achieve this purpose. Colonic longitudinal sections are preferable for studying the colonic tissues quantitatively. It was possible to differentiate between the three categories: local recurrence, distant recurrence and control with a 100% success rate.

The workplace is an ideal setting to implement an effective health-promoting program. Insufficient information exists regarding the motivators and barriers to physical activity among working adults in Qatar. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the motivators and barriers to physical activity among adults in a healthcare setting. This cross-sectional study was conducted in an orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital. The participants were Qatari and non-Qatari adult staff (n = 100), who were recruited by word of mouth. They filled out self-administered questionnaires consisting of questions on age, gender, nationality, medical conditions, and the motivators (external, health/medical, and engagement) and barriers (personal, perceptual, and time constraint) to participating in physical activity. The characteristics of participants were: Age (

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is becoming a global health-care problem. Bacteria are involved in many diseases, and antibiotics have been the most effective treatment for them. It is essential to treat an infection with an antibiotic to which the infecting bacteria is sensitive; otherwise, the treatment is not effective and may lead to life-threatening progression of disease. Classical microbiology methods that are used for determination of bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics are time consuming, accounting for problematic delays in the administration of appropriate drugs. Infrared-absorption microscopy is a sensitive and rapid method, enabling the acquisition of biochemical information from cells at the molecular level. The combination of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microscopy with new statistical classification methods for spectral analysis has become a powerful technique, with the ability to detect structural molecular changes associated with resistivity of bacteria to antibiotics. It was possible to differentiate between isolates of Escherichia (E.) coli that were sensitive or resistant to different antibiotics with good accuracy. The objective computational classifier, based on infrared absorption spectra, is highly sensitive to the subtle infrared spectral changes that correlate with molecular changes associated with resistivity. These changes enable differentiating between the resistant and sensitive E. coli isolates within a few minutes, following the initial culture. This study provides proof-of-concept evidence for the translational potential of this spectroscopic technique in the clinical management of bacterial infections, by characterizing and classifying antibiotic resistance in a much shorter time than possible with current standard laboratory methods.

Herpes viruses are involved in a variety of human disorders. Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV-1) is the most common among the herpes viruses and is primarily involved in human cutaneous disorders. Although the symptoms of infection by this virus are usually minimal, in some cases HSV-1 might cause serious infections in the eyes and the brain leading to blindness and even death. A drug, acyclovir, is available to counter this virus. The drug is most effective when used during the early stages of the infection, which makes early detection and identification of these viral infections highly important for successful treatment. In the present study we evaluated the potential of Raman spectroscopy as a sensitive, rapid, and reliable method for the detection and identification of HSV-1 viral infections in cell cultures. Using Raman spectroscopy followed by advanced statistical methods enabled us, with sensitivity approaching 100%, to differentiate between a control group of Vero cells and another group of Vero cells that had been infected with HSV-1. Cell sites that were "rich in membrane" gave the best results in the differentiation between the two categories. The major changes were observed in the 1195-1726 cm(-1) range of the Raman spectrum. The features in this range are attributed mainly to proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids.

Hyperchloremia is elevation of serum cholesterol level above normal (> 200 mg/dl). There are an association between cardiovascular diseases and high level of blood cholesterol. There are many risk factors of hypercholesterolemia as genetic, environmental, systematic disease as diabetes mellites and some drugs factors. A cross sectional study was conducted on adults who were attending Samara general hospital outpatients clinicduring the period from 5th February-30th April 2017. The information regarding the problem and demographic characterestics of persons was obtained according to a questionnaire and the weight, height, blood pressure, total blood cholesterol level was recorded. The results shows that the frequency of hypercholesterolemia among sample study was (54%).There is no significant association between frequency of hypercholesterolemia according to gender, age group, body mass index, family history and smoking habit but it has been reported that a significant association between high serum cholesterol and presence of hypertension, cardiac diseases and diabetes mellites

Purpose: Colon cancer is a major public health problem due to its high disease rate and death toll worldwide. The use of FTIR microscopy in the field of cancer diagnosis has become attractive over the past 20 years. In the present study, the authors investigated the potential of FTIR microscopy to define spectral changes among normal, polyp, and cancer human colonic biopsied tissues. Methods: A large database of FTIR microscopic spectra was compiled from 230 human colonic biopsies. The database was divided into five subgroups: Normal, canceroustissues, and three stages of benign colonic polyps, namely, mild, moderate, and severe polyps, which are precursors of carcinoma. All biopsied tissue sections were classified concurrently by an expert pathologist. The authors applied the principal components analysis (PCA) model to reduce the dimension of the original data size to 13 principal components. Results: While PCA analysis shows only partial success in distinguishing among cancer, polyp, and the normal tissues, multivariate analysis (e.g., LDA) shows a promising distinction even within the polyp subgroups. Conclusions: Good classification accuracy among normal, polyp, and cancer groups was achieved with a success rate of approximately 85%. These results strongly support the potential of developing FTIR microscopy as a simple, reagent-free tool for early detection of colon cancer and, in particular, for discriminating among the benign premalignant colonic polyps having increasing degrees of dysplasia severity (mild, moderate, and severe).

An intercomparison exercise for personal dosimetry service providers within Pakistan was conducted by the Health Physics Division of the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology. Participation in the exercise was on voluntary basis. The exercise was carried out to harmonize individual dose monitoring techniques for high energy photons in terms of a new operational quantity, namely personal dose equivalent Hp(10), for personal dosimetry in accordance with the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements. Each laboratory submitted 25 dosimeters for participation in the intercomparison exercise. Protection level Co and Cs sources were used for irradiation of dosimeters on a water phantom according to International Atomic Energy Agency protocol at the Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory. Hp(10) doses for five different dose levels were measured by the participating laboratories. The ratios of measured dose/true dose (Hm/Ht) remained in the range of 0.66 to 1.11 for the Co source and 0.84 to 1.17 for the Cs source. Performance of service providers' laboratories to measure Hp(10) doses was analyzed and evaluated in terms of trumpet curves plotted for photons at a 95% confidence level.

Recently, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)-spectroscopy has been used to monitor cell growth by several works. Conventionally, the study of cell and tissue dynamics at molecular levels is carried out through various approaches like histochemical methods, application of molecular biology and immunology. Colonic crypts display a pattern in cell growth along their height. Histologically normal sections obtained from formalin fixed biopsies of colon cancer patients were studied in the present work through vibrational spectroscopy. The evolution and development of the normal human colonic crypts manifested in Fourier transform infrared-microspectroscopy (FTIR-MSP) as spectral changes in the levels of nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. The results indicate that the level of carbohydrates, nucleic acids and lipids increases only till the middle of the crypt up to which the maturation zone is restricted and thereafter decreases till the top where the cells are exfoliated. These observations are in coherence with earlier reports on crypt proliferation. We identify the normal pattern of various biochemicals along the colonic crypt based on data analyzed from FTIR-MSP. This study affords an important example of the application of microscopic vibrational spectroscopy for understanding basic cell processes from formalin fixed tissues where in vivo studies and immunological methods are not feasible.

In the present study we used microscopic Fourier‒Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to investigate and to detect malignant cells which were transformed in culture by murine sarcoma virus (MuSV) or obtained from human leukemic patients. The advantage of microscopic FTIR spectroscopy over conventional FTIR spectroscopy is that it facilitates inspection of restricted regions of cell culture or the tissue. Our results showed significant and consistent differences between the various tested normal cells (primary cells and cell lines obtained from different origins) and malignant cells either transformed by MuSV or obtained from human leukemic patients. A considerable decrease in carbohydrates and phosphates levels was seen in malignant cells compared to the normal cells. In addition, the peak attributed to the PO2−symmetric stretching mode at 1082 cm−1in normal cells was shifted significantly to 1087 in malignant cells. Furthermore, treatment of the leukemic patients with appropriate chemotherapy could be detected easily by FTIR spectroscopy; the spectral absorbance of the cells from the treated leukemic patients became very similar to normal lymphocytes. These results in addition to further differences in the shapes of various bands throughout the spectrum strongly support the possibility of developing the FTIR microscopy for the detection and study of malignant cells and probably as indication for successful treatment.

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a unique technique for the laboratory diagnosis of cellular variations based on the characteristic molecular vibrational spectra of the cells. Microscopic FTIR was used to investigate spectral differences between normal and malignant fibroblasts transformed by retrovirus infection. A detailed analysis showed significant differences between cancerous and normal cells. The contents of vital cellular metabolites were significantly lower in the transformed cells than in the normal cells. In an attempt to identify the cellular components responsible for the observed spectral differences between normal and cancerous cells, we found significant differences between DNA of normal and cancerous cells.

Infrared absorption spectra are well known for their sensitivity to composition and three-dimensional structure of biomolecules. The biochemical changes in the sub-cellular levels developing in abnormal cells, including a majority of cancer forms, manifest themselves in different optical signatures, which can be detected by IR spectroscopy. We measured the IR absorption spectra of monolayers of cultured normal and H-ras transfected mouse fibroblasts, using a microscopic Fourier transform IR (micro-FTIR) technique. The absorption of normal cells was found to be higher than the malignant ones in the spectral range 600-3200 cm(-1). The carbohydrate and phosphate contents were higher in normal cells relative to H-ras transfected cells. An increase in the RNA/DNA ratio was observed for H-ras transfected fibroblasts, which correlates with the increased transcriptional activity expected for the cancerous cells. In part, the variation in absorbance between normal and ras transfected fibroblasts may be due to changes in the cell dimensions.

Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) employs a unique approach tooptical diagnosis of tissue pathology based on the characteristic molecularvibrational spectra of the tissue. The biomolecular changes in the cellularand sub-cellular levels developing in abnormal tissue, including a majorityof cancer forms, manifest themselves in different optical signatures, whichcan be detected in infrared microspectroscopy. This report has two parts. Inthe first part, we report studies on normal, premalignant (polyp) andmalignant human colonic tissues from three patients with different stages ofmalignancy. Our method is based on microscopic infrared study (FTIR-microscopy)of thin tissue specimens and a direct comparison with traditional histopathologicalanalysis, which serves as a “gold” reference. The limited dataavailable showed normal colonic tissue has a stronger absorption thanpolypoid tumor and cancerous types over a wide region in a total of 100measurements. Detailed analysis showed that there is a significant decreasein total carbohydrate, phosphate and possibly creatine contents for polyp andcancerous tissue types in comparison to the controls. The same trend is maintainedin seven other patients studied. The second part consists of an analysis showingthe influence of various independent factors such as age, sex and grade of malignancy. Ourpreliminary results suggest that among the above three factors, age and gradeof malignancy have significant effect on the metabolites level, but sex has onlyminor effect on the measured spectra. Initial results on Linear DiscriminantAnalysis (LDA) showed good classification between normal and malignant cellsof human colonic tissues.

Components present in the acellular fraction of blood influence the blood cell survival and function and the response to biotic and abiotic factors. Human plasma and sera have been used as therapeutic agents and are known to increase cell survival. White blood cells in normal blood are exposed to plasma components in vivo, but the effect of such plasma components in vitro on adherent peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) that includes monocytes has not been fully investigated. We cultured human PBMCs with autologous plasma and observed structural variation due to plasma addition in PBMCs along with increased cell survival. Light microscopy of the cells showed increased granularity in plasma-treated cells. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to elucidate the possible mechanism by studying the changes in the biochemical composition of the cells that explained the observations. FTIR spectroscopy of plasma-treated cells show altered spectral pattern in the mid-IR region, indicating increased phospholipid levels. Heat-stable components in the plasma possibly increase the differentiation of PBMCs, as evident by increased phospholipid metabolism. The data suggest that plasma-stimulated membrane biogenesis may contribute to PBMC survival by inducing them to differentiate into antigen presenting cells (APCs) like macrophages and dendritic cells.

Background Cancer is one of the leading worldwide causes of death. It may be induced by a variety of factors, including carcinogens, radiation, genetic factors, or DNA and RNA viruses. The early detection of cancer is critical for its successful therapy, which can result in complete recovery from some types of cancer. Methods Raman spectroscopy has been widely used in medicine and biology. It is a noninvasive, nondestructive, and water-insensitive technique that can detect changes in cells and tissues that are caused by different disorders, such as cancer. In this study, Raman spectroscopy was used for the identification and characterization of murine fibroblast cell lines (NIH/3T3) and malignant fibroblast cells transformed by murine sarcoma virus (NIH-MuSV) cells. Results Using principal component analysis and LDA it was possible to differentiate between the NIH/3T3 and NIH-MuSV cells with an 80–85% success rate based on their Raman shift spectra. Conclusions The best results for differentiation were achieved from spectra that were obtained from the rich membrane sites. General significance Because of its homogeneity and complete control of most factors affecting its growth, cell culture is a preferred model for the detection and identification of specific biomarkers related to cancer transformation or other cellular modifications.

One of the major public health hazards is colon cancer. There is a great necessity to develop new methods for early detection of cancer. If colon cancer is detected and treated early, cure rate of more than 90% can be achieved. In this study we used FTIR microscopy (MSP), which has shown a good potential in the last 20 years in the fields of medical diagnostic and early detection of abnormal tissues. Large database of FTIR microscopic spectra was acquired from 230 human colonic biopsies. Five different subgroups were included in our database, normal and cancer tissues as well as three stages of benign colonic polyps, namely, mild, moderate and severe polyps which are precursors of carcinoma. In this study we applied advanced mathematical and statistical techniques including principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), on human colonic FTIR spectra in order to differentiate among the mentioned subgroups' tissues. Good classification accuracy between normal, polyps and cancer groups was achieved with approximately 85% success rate. Our results showed that there is a great potential of developing FTIR-micro spectroscopy as a simple, reagent-free viable tool for early detection of colon cancer in particular the early stages of premalignancy among the benign colonic polyps.

Autofluorescence properties of tissues have been widely used to diagnose various types of malignancies. In this study, we measured the autofluorescence properties of H-ras transfected murine fibroblasts and the counterpart control cells. The pair of cells is genetically identical except for the transfected H-ras gene. We applied Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the relative contributions of Rayleigh and Mie scattering effects towards fluorescence in an in vitro model system of normal and H-ras transfected fibroblasts. The experimental results showed that fluorescence emission intensity was higher for normal cells than the malignant counterpart cells by about 30%. In normal cells, linearity in emission intensity was observed for cell densities of up to 1.0 x 10(6) cells/ml whereas for transformed cells it was up to 1.4 x 10(6) cells/ml. Nuclear volume changes give good account for the differences in the intrinsic fluorescence between normal and malignant cells. The Monte Carlo (MC) code, newly developed for this study, explains both predominant experimental features: the large fluorescence intensity differences between the transfected and the corresponding control cells as well as the phenomena of the red shift in the excitation spectra as a function of cell density. The contribution of Rayleigh scattering was found to be predominant compared to Mie scattering.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers usually occurring in people above the age of 50 years. In the United States, colorectal cancer is the third most diagnosed cancer. The American Cancer Society has estimated 96,830 new cases of colon cancer and 40,000 new cases of rectal cancer in 2014 in the United States. According to the literature, up to 55% of colorectal cancer patients experience a recurrence within five years from the time of surgery. Relapse of colorectal cancer has a deep influence on the quality of patient life. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy has been widely used in medicine. It is a noninvasive, nondestructive technique that can detect changes in cells and tissues that are caused by different disorders, such as cancer. Abnormalities in the colonic crypts, which are not detectable using standard histopathological methods, could be determined using IR spectroscopic methods. The IR measurements were performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded colorectal tissues from eight patients (one control, four local recurrences, three distant recurrences). A total of 128 crypts were measured. Our results showed the possibility of differentiating among control, local, and distant recurrence crypts with more than a 92% success rate using spectra measured from the crypts' middle sites.

Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (FTIR-MSP) has shown promise as a technique for detection of abnormal cell proliferation and premalignant conditions. In the present study, we investigate the absorbance in the sensitive wavenumber region between 2800 and 3000 cm(-1), which has been known to be due to the antisymmetric and symmetric stretching vibrations of CH2 and CH3 groups of proteins and lipids. We report common biomarkers from this region that distinguish between normal and malignant tissues and cell lines. Based on our findings, we propose that the wavenumber region around 2800 to 3000 cm(-1) in the FTIR spectra of cells and tissues could provide valuable scientific evidence at the onset of premalignancy and may be used for ex vivo and in vitro detection of carcinogenesis. To further examine the utility of these markers in cancer diagnosis and management, they are tested successfully in monitoring the changes occurring in leukemia patients during chemotherapy.

FTIR spectroscopy has been extensively used to understand the differences between normal and malignant cells and tissues. In the present study, FTIR microspectroscopy was performed on biopsies to evaluate parameters deduced from changes in nucleic acid absorbance monitored at various characteristic wavenumbers in the Mid-IR region. The data showed that there were differences in the spectra of normal and malignant tissues from several organs such as colon, cervix, skin and blood with respect to absorbance due to nucleic acids. Similar results were observed in the case of cell lines that were transformed to induce carcinogenesis. Of the several ratios examined for consistency in differentiating cancer and normal tissues, the I(996 cm−1)/I(966 cm−1) showed promise as a distinguishing parameter and was comparable to the I(1121 cm−1)/I(1020 cm−1) ratio reported in many earlier studies. The absorbance of nucleic acids is presented with an emphasis on the application of FTIR microspectroscopy for diagnosis of malignancy. Our results indicate that usage of nucleic acid absorbance yield statistically significant parameters, which could differentiate normal and cancerous tissues.