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Background and Purpose: Elimination dysfunction is referred to have various difficulties in urination and defecation, such as urinary frequency, delayed with difficulty in voiding or defecation. The prevalence of elimination dysfunction has been varied in different studies, as 21% of children experience elimination dysfunction during their childhood period. Presently, there are no studies pertaining to this difficulty in our country. Therefore, we carried out a descriptive study in primary schools from the Sari Township, regarding voiding and defecation dysfunction among children, and also we identified the epidemiology of the disease, in order to solve problems by implementing teaching programs and screening methods. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on Primary school age students in the Sari Township, during 2007 through 2008. Considering the prevalence of elimination dysfunction (15-25%), confidence coefficient 95%, SE 10%, and the sample size of 2,200 were randomly and equally selected from different parts of the township among the two-sex groups. A standard questionnaire including demographic characteristics and 10 questions on voiding status, in addition to 19 questions regarding defecation status was prepared. Questionnaires were distributed to the students by responsible school personnel and then referred to parents for completion. Data was analyzed by SPSS software and descriptive statistics (Frequency, Mean, and Standard Deviation). Chi Square test (X2) and Student T-test were used to compare the Means. P<0.05 was considered significant. Results: Of 2201 primary school age students, 48.7% were girls. The mean age was 8.96±1.43 year. Voiding and defecation dysfunction was reported in 38.4% and 29% of the cases respectively. There was no significant relationship between prevalence of voiding dysfunction and other factors such as mean age, sex and level of education; however, there was a significant relationship between elimination dysfunction in other variables such as age, sex, level of education, family history, Soya and fiber diet intake and environmental stressors. The mean age of children with voiding dysfunction was less than children without this problem. .However, the prevalence of familial stress was higher than those involved children. Conclusion: Public Health Education is recommended to teach the different kinds of elimination dysfunction symptoms in urban and rural areas, in addition, to reduce the undesirable complications of the diseasedue to delay in referrals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Herpes zoster (HZ) is caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and can lead to complications such as postherpetic neuralgia. Although vaccines are available to prevent HZ, the level of concern about HZ and its vaccines in our region remains unknown. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HZ and the HZ vaccines among adults aged ≥50 years in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire distributed to adults aged ≥50 years and data were collected on demographics, knowledge of HZ and its vaccines, attitudes, and practices. Multiple logistic regression examined factors associated with knowledge levels. Results Of 295 participants, 58% and 67.5% had low knowledge of HZ and its vaccines, respectively. Knowledge of HZ significantly differed by age, education, and occupation. Only 50% knew HZ affects nerves and skin and 28.8% knew HZ can be transmitted between individuals. Knowledge of the vaccine significantly differed by gender and information source. Conclusions This population has substantial knowledge gaps regarding HZ and vaccination. Targeted educational initiatives are needed to promote greater awareness of HZ immunization, especially for higher-risk groups like older adults and females., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Scientific Research Ethics Committee, Jazan University issued approval 44/07/515. Our study received approval from the Scientific Research Ethics Committee (REC) at Jazan University in Saudi Arabia (reference number: REC-44/07/515; date: January 30, 2023). Informed consent was obtained from all participants, and their information was maintained confidentially, with the data solely utilized for scientific purposes. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Alhazmi et al.)

Protein folding and evolution are intimately linked phenomena. Here, we revisit the concept of exons as potential protein folding modules across a set of 38 abundant and conserved protein families. Taking advantage of genomic exon-intron organization and extensive protein sequence data, we explore exon boundary conservation and assess the foldon-like behavior of exons using energy landscape theoretic measurements. We found deviations in the exon size distribution from exponential decay indicating selection in evolution. We show that when taken together there is a pronounced tendency to independent foldability for segments corresponding to the more conserved exons, supporting the idea of exon-foldon correspondence. While 45% of the families follow this general trend when analyzed individually, there are some families for which other stronger functional determinants, such as preserving frustrated active sites, may be acting. We further develop a systematic partitioning of protein domains using exon boundary hotspots, showing that minimal common exons correspond with uninterrupted alpha and/or beta elements for the majority of the families but not for all of them., Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

Protein evolution is guided by structural, functional, and dynamical constraints ensuring organismal viability. Pseudogenes are genomic sequences identified in many eukaryotes that lack translational activity due to sequence degradation and thus over time have undergone "devolution." Previously pseudogenized genes sometimes regain their protein-coding function, suggesting they may still encode robust folding energy landscapes despite multiple mutations. We study both the physical folding landscapes of protein sequences corresponding to human pseudogenes using the Associative Memory, Water Mediated, Structure and Energy Model, and the evolutionary energy landscapes obtained using direct coupling analysis (DCA) on their parent protein families. We found that generally mutations that have occurred in pseudogene sequences have disrupted their native global network of stabilizing residue interactions, making it harder for them to fold if they were translated. In some cases, however, energetic frustration has apparently decreased when the functional constraints were removed. We analyzed this unexpected situation for Cyclophilin A, Profilin-1, and Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier 2 Protein. Our analysis reveals that when such mutations in the pseudogene ultimately stabilize folding, at the same time, they likely alter the pseudogenes' former biological activity, as estimated by DCA. We localize most of these stabilizing mutations generally to normally frustrated regions required for binding to other partners., Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

Background: There are minimal epidemiological data comparing the burden of disorders of gut brain interaction (DGBI) in the UK with other countries. We compared the prevalence of DGBI in the UK with other countries that participated in the Rome Foundation Global Epidemiology Study (RFGES) online., Methods: Participants from 26 countries completed the RFGES survey online including the Rome IV diagnostic questionnaire and an in-depth supplemental questionnaire with questions about dietary habits. UK sociodemographic and prevalence data were compared with the other 25 countries pooled together., Key Results: The proportion of participants with at least one DGBI was lower in UK participants compared with in the other 25 countries (37.6% 95% CI 35.5%-39.7% vs. 41.2%; 95% CI 40.8%-41.6%, p = 0.001). The UK prevalence of 14 of 22 Rome IV DGBI, including irritable bowel syndrome (4.3%) and functional dyspepsia (6.8%), was similar to the other countries. Fecal incontinence, opioid-induced constipation, chronic nausea and vomiting, and cannabinoid hyperemesis (p < 0.05) were more prevalent in the UK. Cyclic vomiting, functional constipation, unspecified functional bowel disorder, and proctalgia fugax (p < 0.05) were more prevalent in the other 25 countries. Diet in the UK population consisted of higher consumption of meat and milk (p < 0.001), and lower consumption of rice, fruit, eggs, tofu, pasta, vegetables/legumes, and fish (p < 0.001)., Conclusions and Inferences: The prevalence and burden of DGBI is consistently high in the UK and in the rest of the world. Opioid prescribing, cultural, dietary, and lifestyle factors may contribute to differences in the prevalence of some DGBI between the UK and other countries., (© 2023 The Authors. Neurogastroenterology & Motility published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Frailty is a risk factor for adverse health outcomes. There is a paucity of literature on frailty progression defined by a cumulative deficit model among community dwelling older people. The objective of this review was to synthesise evidence on these changes in health and mortality among community-dwelling older people., Methods: Six databases (Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane, PsycInfo, Web of Science) and a clinical trials registry were searched in July 2021. The inclusion criteria were studies using a frailty index and providing information on transition between frailty states or to death in community-dwelling older people aged ≥ 50. Exclusion criteria were studies examining specific health conditions, conference abstracts and non-English studies. To standardise the follow-up period and facilitate comparison, we converted the transition probabilities to annual transition rates., Results: Two reviewers independently screened 5078 studies and 61 studies were included for analysis. Of these, only three used the same frailty state cut-points to facilitate cross-cohort comparison. This review found that frailty tends to increase with time, people who are frail at baseline have greater likelihood to progress in frailty and die, and the main factor that accelerates frailty progression is age. Other risk factors for progression are having chronic disease, smoking, obesity, low-income or/and low-education levels. A frailty index is an accurate predictor of adverse outcomes and death., Discussion: This systematic review demonstrated that worsening in frailty was a common frailty transition, and older people who are frail at baseline are more likely to die. A frailty index has significant power to predict adverse health outcomes. It is a useful tool for within-cohort comparison but there are challenges comparing different cohorts due to dependence of frailty progression on age and differences in how frailty index is defined and measured., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: While mathematical models are often used to predict progression of cancer and treatment outcomes, there is still uncertainty over how to best model tumor growth. Seven ordinary differential equation (ODE) models of tumor growth (exponential, Mendelsohn, logistic, linear, surface, Gompertz, and Bertalanffy) have been proposed, but there is no clear guidance on how to choose the most appropriate model for a particular cancer., Methods: We examined all seven of the previously proposed ODE models in the presence and absence of chemotherapy. We derived equations for the maximum tumor size, doubling time, and the minimum amount of chemotherapy needed to suppress the tumor and used a sample data set to compare how these quantities differ based on choice of growth model., Results: We find that there is a 12-fold difference in predicting doubling times and a 6-fold difference in the predicted amount of chemotherapy needed for suppression depending on which growth model was used., Conclusion: Our results highlight the need for careful consideration of model assumptions when developing mathematical models for use in cancer treatment planning.

Photophysical behaviour of a novel trimeric BODIPY rotor with a high extinction coefficient is reported. Steady state and time resolved fluorescence measurements established that the trimer could be used as a viscometer for molecular solvents, membrane-like environments and several cancer cell lines.

Introduction: Neurological manifestations of Behçet disease (BD) are polymorphic and serious. The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical patterns and outcome of neurological involvement in BD., Methods: The medical records of patients with neurological manifestations of BD were reviewed retrospectively. All patients fulfilled the International Study Group Criteria for the Diagnosis of BD. Patients with headache and normal findings (neurological examination, cerebrospinal fluid, computed tomography scan, magnetic resonance imaging) were excluded., Results: Sixty-seven patients had clinical evidence of neurological involvement. There were 53 men and 14 women. A male/female sex ratio was 3.78. The average age of onset of neurological involvement was 31.5. The meningoparenchymal (MP) central nervous system involvement was found in 83.58%. The most common findings were pyramidal signs. Eleven patients (16.41%) without parenchymal central nervous system involvement were noted. In this group, there were six cases of intracranial thrombosis, one case of intracranial aneurysm and four cases of idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Other clinical features were reported: extrapyramidal signs and isolated spinal cord involvement. The course of disease was favorable in 70% of cases, and unfavorable in 30%., Conclusion: Clinical patterns of neurological involvement in BD are various and particularly serious in the MP group., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)