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Background: Asthma is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by chronic inflammation and remodeling of the airways. Asthma is mainly driven by type 2 immune responses, where interleukin-13 (IL-13) plays a key role in asthma pathogenesis. KDM4B/JMJD2B is an IL-13-regulated epigenetic modifier in asthmatic airway fibroblasts. Therefore, this study aimed to target KDM4B to potentially alleviate IL-13-mediated fibrosis in asthma. Methods: Bronchial fibroblasts isolated from asthmatic individuals were stimulated with IL-13 and treated with JIB-04, a pan-selective inhibitor of histone demethylase(s). The expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) markers was assessed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity assay. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay was used to determine the binding of KDM4B and H3K36me3 to promoter region of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2). KDM4B knockdown was performed to confirm its direct role on TIMP/MMP regulation. Results: JIB-04 inhibited KDM4B activity by reducing the demethylation of its downstream target, H3K36me3, in asthmatic fibroblasts. Inhibition of KDM4B significantly affected the viability of the bronchial fibroblasts at 48 h. KDM4B inhibition was further associated with the downregulation of ECM proteins such as MMP-2, MMP-9, collagen-1, and fibronectin, and upregulation of TIMP-2, at both the gene and protein levels. This was accompanied by the inhibition of IL-13-mediated fibrotic response. JIB-04 further prevented KDM4B association and enhanced H3K36 binding with promoter region of TIMP-2 leading to its increased transcription. KDM4B knockdown further resulted in inducing TIMP-2 expression and inhibited MMP-9 activation. Conclusion: Therapeutic targeting of KDM4B using JIB-04 is a promising candidate to alleviate IL-13-mediated responses in chronic disorders such as asthma.

Background: The culture of patient safety is one of the most important factors in ensuring the quality of nursing care and is essential in enhancing patient safety in the health system. Aim: This study aimed to determine the patient safety culture from the perspective of nurses working in the Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf Teaching Hospital.Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2021 on 167 nurses working in the electronic surveillance unit (ESU) and critical care unit (CCU) wards of the Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf Hospital. The subjects were chosen in a stratified manner with adequate allocation. Data were collected using personal information forms and a valid and trustworthy patient safety culture questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 18). P

Syrine Boucherabine,1,* Rania Nassar,1,2,* Lobna Mohamed,1 Matthew Olsen,3 Fatma Alqutami,1 Shroque Zaher,1 Mahmood Hachim,1 Abdulmajeed Alkhajeh,4 Simon McKirdy,5 Rashed Alghafri,3,5– 7 Lotti Tajouri,3,5,7 Abiola Senok1 1College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 2Oral and Biomedical Sciences, School of Dentistry, College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; 3Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia; 4Dubai Health Authority, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 5Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia; 6General Department of Forensic Sciences and Criminology, Dubai Police, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 7Dubai Police Scientists Council, Dubai, United Arab Emirates*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Abiola Senok, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Building 14, Dubai Healthcare City, P. O. Box 505055, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tel +97143838717, Email abiola.senok@mbru.ac.aeBackground: As high touch wearable devices, the potential for microbial contamination of smart watches is high. In this study, microbial contamination of smart watches of healthcare workers (HCWs) was assessed and compared to the individual’s mobile phone and hands.Methods: This study was part of a larger point prevalence survey of microbial contamination of mobile phones of HCWs at the emergency unit of a tertiary care facility. Swabs from smart watches, mobile phones and hands were obtained from four HCWs with dual ownership of these digital devices. Bacterial culture was carried out for all samples and those from smart watches and mobile phones were further assessed using shotgun metagenomic sequencing.Results: Majority of the participants were females (n/N = 3/4; 75%). Although they all use their digital devices at work and believe that these devices could harbour microbes, cleaning in the preceding 24 hours was reported by one individual. Predominant organisms identified on bacterial culture were multidrug resistant Staphylococcus hominis and Staphylococcus epidermidis. At least one organism identified from the hands was also detected on all mobile phones and two smart watches. Shotgun metagenomics analysis demonstrated greater microbial number and diversity on mobile phones compared to smart watches. All devices had high signatures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and associated bacteriophages and antibiotic resistance genes. Almost half of the antibiotic resistance genes (n/N = 35/75;46.6%) were present on all devices and majority were related to efflux pumps. Of the 201 virulence factor genes (VFG) identified, majority (n/N = 148/201;73%) were associated with P. aeruginosa with 96% (n/N = 142/148) present on smart watches and mobile phones.Conclusion: This first report on microbial contamination of smart watches using metagenomics next generation sequencing showed similar pattern of contamination with microbes, VFG and antibiotic resistance genes across digital devices. Further studies on microbial contamination of wearable digital devices are urgently needed.Keywords: smart watches, mobile phones, microbial contamination, shotgun sequencing

Synthesis of the natural product prattinin A and some new derivatives has been achieved using abietic acid. The final products and a selection of intermediates were evaluated for their antibacterial activity against three human pathogenic bacteria: E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and S. aureus. The results showed that the antibacterial activity varies depending on the chemical structure of the compounds. Notably, compound 27 exhibited the most potent activity against E. coli and P. aeruginosa, with a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 11.7 µg/mL, comparable to that of the standard antibiotic ciprofloxacin, and strong activity against S. aureus, with an MIC of 23.4 µg/mL. Furthermore, we assessed the stability of these derivative compounds as potential antimicrobial agents and determined their interactions with the crystal structure of the protein receptor mutant TEM-12 from E. coli (pdb:1ESU) using molecular docking via UCSF Chimera software 1.17.3. The results suggest that 27 has potential as a natural antibiotic agent.

Background: COVID-19 severity and mortality are higher in patients with lung cancer due to pulmonary complications. Understanding the mechanisms of SARS-COV-2 effect on lung cancer cells in comparison to healthy lung cells can improve our knowledge of the disease biology to discover new therapeutic targets with the aim of improving the management protocols. Methods: We aimed to investigate the immune response signature generated from COVID-19-infected NSCLC patients and compare with noninfected patients. To achieve this, publicly available transcriptomic data of lung adenocarcinoma cancer cells A549 versus healthy lung epithelium which were SARS-COV-2-infected and mock-infected were retrieved and reanalyzed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that are dysregulated in SARS-COV-2-infected A549. Identified genes were explored for enriched pathways and further validated in silico for their expression in larger NSCLC lung samples. C57BL/6J mice infected with MA15 (mouse-adapted SARS-CoV) were used to confirm the findings. Results: A total of 7852 DEGs were identified between A549 (mock and SARS-COV-2 infected) compared to healthy epithelial cells (mock and SARS-COV-2 infected). On the contrary, 142 genes were DEGs between all mocked-infected cells (healthy and cancer) versus SARS-COV-2 infected (healthy and cancer). Those 142 genes were intersected with DEGs from the first step and were shown to be involved in cytokine-mediated signaling pathway and lymphocyte activation. A549-infected cells upregulated (IL11, RBCK1, CEBPD, EBI3, and ISG15) to a higher proportion but downregulated RELB compared to the healthy epithelium. Most of the genes (Nr1h4, Ebi3, Snai2, IL2rb, IL11, Clec4e, Cebpd, and Relb) were differentially expressed in the lung of infected mice. In silico validation confirm that IL11 expression is higher in lung adenocarcinoma compared to healthy controls. COVID-19 infection in NSCLC patients lead to the activation of specific cytokines. Conclusions: Our analysis showed IL11 to be the most differentially expressed between cancer and non-cancer patients and was associated with poor prognosis suggesting that COVID-19 infection in cancer patients leads to the synergistic increase in expression of CD4+ T cells, M1 macrophages, and follicular helper T cells.

Background: Human kallikrein 3 (hK3), also known as Prostatic specific antigen (PSA), was considered as one of the most useful markers for the detection as well as management of prostate cancer. While PSA was thought to be a prostatic tissue-specific protein, many reports suggest the presence of extraprostatic PSA in different tissues, including the breast. Few reports showed PSA immunoreactivity in breast cancer tissues and suggest a favorable prognostic role of PSA in breast cancer. However, most of those studies were not conclusive or restricted to small scale studies limiting their clinical significance. Methods: We used a bioinformatical approach to investigate the association between tissue PSA expression levels and different clinicopathological parameters in breast cancer using different publicly available databases. Further validation was done using our patient cohort of 40 surgical breast samples obtained from patients attending Al Kadhemyia Teaching Hospital – Iraq. Results: Using a cohort of 593 breast lesion samples extracted from the TCGA database using the ONCOMINE database, our results showed no significant upregulation of PSA mRNA levels in breast cancer samples compared to healthy tissue (P = 0.1). The same trend was also observed in our patient cohort with positive immunoreactivity in 50% (5 samples) of benign lesions compared to 36.66% (11 samples) in breast cancer samples. In addition, investigating the correlation between mRNA PSA expression and different clinicopathological parameters using the Breast Cancer Gene-Expression Miner v4.0 database and ONCOMINE databases, revealed a significant association between PSA expression and tumor grade (P = 0.0001), breast cancer subtype (P < 0.0001), in addition to early-stage disease presented as smaller tumor size and absence of LN involvement. The same trend confirmed with our patient cohort. Moreover, our analysis using KM plotter (4000 breast cancer samples) showed a significant association between higher PSA mRNA levels and favorable patient outcomes presented as prolonged relapse-free survival (RFS) (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Our results clearly demonstrate the possibility of using tissue mRNA and protein levels of PSA as a marker to identify patients with a favorable outcome and lower risk of tumor recurrence. Our results also highlight the need for more efforts to investigate the biological role of PSA in breast cancer.

Background: The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ) is one of the most widely used measures of emotional and cognitive representations of illness. The B-IPQ has been translated and adapted into many languages. However, the scale has not been translated into Iraqi Arabic in patients with type II diabetes. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate psychometric properties of the B-IPQ among Iraqi patients with type II diabetes. Methods: In this quantitative study, the Arabic Version of the B-IPQ was given to 192 Iraqi patients with type II diabetes. The participants were randomly selected from 5 hospitals and a diabetes society in Baghdad, Iraq. The participants included individuals diagnosed at least 1 year before this research. Using WINSTEPS computer program, the Rating Scale Model ‎(RSM) was employed as a polytomous extension of the Rasch model (RM) to evaluate the scale in terms of unidimensionality, local independence, item statistics, and rating structures. Results: The results indicated that the values of infit and oufit mean square (MNSQ) are within the ideal range of 0.60 and 1.40, suggesting that the items of the scale fit to the RM. The data was found to be unidimensional because the first factor explains 5.5% of the unexplained variance with an eigenvalue of 1.5 (< 2). The results also showed that items are locally independent, and both persons and items have high Rasch separation reliability indices. More importantly, the response options or categories of the scale work optimally because with the increase in category values, observed averages also increased. Conclusion: The overall findings showed that the Arabic version of the B-IPQ is a valid and reliable instrument and can be employed to assess illness perceptions among Iraqi patients with type II diabetes.

Abstract Background Supernumerary teeth are considered one of the commonly observed dental anomalies in children. Several theories have been proposed to explain the presence of supernumerary teeth, including environmental and genetic factors. This study aimed to identify the different risk factors and molecular biomarkers in patients presented with supernumerary teeth. Methods This case–control study included 240 children, 6 to 12-year-old. They were divided into a test group (n = 120 children presented with supernumerary teeth) and a control group (n = 120 children with no supernumerary teeth). Questionnaires were distributed to assess demographics and exposure to several environmental factors. Ten extracted supernumerary teeth from the test group were processed for histopathological analysis. Results Male gender, dental history of severe oral infection or medical history of chemotherapy treatment, previous history of taking medication or illness during pregnancy, family history of neoplastic disorders, use of electronic devices, and living beside agricultural fields or industrial areas were found to be statistically significant associated with the risk of supernumerary teeth development. Immunohistochemistry panel revealed that supernumerary teeth showed enhanced expression of wingless (Wnt) and sonic hedgehog (SHH) proteins as well as a reduced expression of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) protein, denoting molecular derangement in a group of pathways classically believed to be involved in its pathogenesis. Conclusions Males were more frequently affected by supernumerary teeth than females. Several risk factors were notably correlated with the existence of supernumerary teeth. Additionally, molecular biomarkers assessment demonstrated a high expression level of pro-tumorigenic proteins such as Wnt and SHH in patients with supernumerary teeth.

Background & Objective: Episiotomy complications include infection, pain, hematoma, and third- and fourth-degree tears. All primiparous women must undergo this procedure routinely. The current study was conducted with aim to examine the length of perineal tears in primiparous women with and without episiotomy referred to the Basra maternity hospital in 2020. Materials & Methods: This clinical trial study involved 212 full-term, singleton, and primiparous women with cephalic fetuses weighing 2500-3000 gr. The samples were randomly divided into two test and control groups. In the test group, delivery occurred without an episiotomy, whereas in the control group, an episiotomy was performed. The length of the posterior perineal tear, the presence of an anterior perineal tear, and the necessity for repair were subsequently compared. Results: In this study, 45.3% of women in the test group gave birth without perineal tears, while the remainder experienced posterior perineal tears (P<0.001). The mean length of posterior perineal tears in the test group was 3.64±1.15 cm, compared to 7.12±1.67 cm in the control group (P<0.001). The mean length of a second-degree posterior perineal tear in the test group was 5.32±1.17 cm, compared to 6.13±1.62 cm in the control group (P>0.05). Conclusion: Delivery without episiotomy decreased the incidence of posterior perineal tears; however, delivery without episiotomy should not be performed for all primiparous women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Myocardial infarction (Ml) patients face a higher risk of recurrent cardiovascular events and reduced quality of life. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a comprehensive secondary prevention program that improves outcomes, but adherence remains suboptimal. Perceived social support has been identified as a potential determinant of CR adherence. The current study explored the connection between Ml patients' adherence to CR and their perceived social support. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. The sample included 150 Ml patients enrolled in a CR program. The MSPSS (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support) was employed to evaluate perceived social support, and attendance records measured adherence to CR. Clinical and sociodemographic data were collected. Logistic regression analyses, including multivariate and univariate approaches, were carried out to analyze the association between adherence to CR and perceived social support. Results: Adherent patients had significantly higher MSPSS scores than non-adherent patients (68.3 ± 12.8 vs. 57.2 ± 14.1, P <0.001). In the multivariate analysis, perceived social support was significantly associated with adherence to CR (adjusted OR=1.06, 95% Cl: 1.031.10, P <0.001) after controlling for sociodemographic and clinical variables. Education level was also significantly associated with adherence, with patients having a secondary education or higher showing 2.4 times higher odds of adherence (adjusted OR = 2.40, 95% Cl: 1.08-5.34, P = 0.032). The association between perceived social support and adherence to CR was significant among male participants but not among female participants. Conclusion: Increased perceived social support was significantly associated with higher CR adherence, especially in male patients (adjusted OR=1.06, 95% 0=1.03-1.10, P<0.001). Interventions to enhance social support, especially for male patients and those with lower education levels, may improve CR participation and completion rates. Healthcare providers should assess patients' social support networks and engage family members and significant others in the CR process to promote better cardiovascular health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Big data are distinguished by their quantity, speed, variety, and reliability. Big data presents opportunity for "small and medium-sized" businesses (SME), in addition to being a reality for giant firms. The term "big data" denotes to the fact that numerous varieties of data have become more easily accessible, and its consequences for various organizational types may vary from one another. SME can benefit greatly from creating and utilizing big data. Aim and objectives: The main purpose of the study is to assess the implications of "big data analytics" with organizational performance in small and medium enterprises and its associated role of knowledge management. Methods: This study's main goal was to develop a big data KM model for SME through an examination of several business situations. This study used the qualitative analysis of data methodology. The study gathered examples of large data for SME, which it then used to test a KM model. Data collection, coding, and analysis are the three main components of qualitative data analysis. Results: Big data collection is a business endeavor for SMEs. An SME needs to specify its big data plans and deal with all potential organizational difficulties. Big data must be strategically used in a way that is consistent with the SME's business strategy and embraces a long-term strategy for competitive sustainability. To tackle the big data challenge, IT solutions are chosen based on the definition of data requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Three and half million anonymous X-rays were gathered from 45 locations worldwide (in-hospital and outpatient settings). qXR was initially trained on this massive dataset. We used an independent dataset of 13,426 chest X-rays from radiologists’ reports. The test data set included 213,459 X-rays chosen at random from a pool of 3.5 million X-rays. The dataset (development) was developed using the remaining X-rays received from the remaining patients. Methods: qXR is a deep learning algorithm-enabled software that is used to study nodules and malignant nodules on X-rays. We observed moderate to a substantial agreement even when observations were made with normal X-rays. Results: qXR presented a high area under the curve (AUC) of 0.99 with a 95% confidence interval calculated with the Clopper–Pearson method. The specificity obtained with qXR was 0.90, and the sensitivity was 1 at the operating threshold. The sensitivity value of qXR in detecting nodules was 0.99, and the specificity ranged from 0.87 to 0.92, with AUC ranging between 0.98 and 0.99. The malignant nodules were detected with a sensitivity ranging from 0.95 to 1.00, specificity between 0.96 and 0.99, and AUC from 0.99 to 1. The sensitivity of radiologists 1 and 2 was between 0.74 and 0.76, with a specificity ranging from 0.98 to 0.99. In detecting the malignant nodules, specificity ranged between 0.98 and 0.99, and sensitivity fell between 0.88 and 0.94. Conclusion: Machine learning model can be used as a passive tool to find incidental cases of lung cancer or as a triaging tool, which accelerate the patient journey through standard care pipeline for lung cancer.