ABSTRACT
Objectives The literature on health and disease during Ramadan fasting (RF) is widely spread in many journals making it not readily accessible to those interested in the subject. Here, we provide an overview of the research on the interplay of RF with various aspects of well-being published in 2022.Materials and Methods A narrative, nonsystematic review of the international literature from a single major medical online database, PubMed, in one calendar year (2022) was conducted. The search term "Ramadan fasting" was used to retrieve the appropriate records. The relevant literature with substantial data-based content was presented in a concise thematic account, excluding those concerned with diabetes.Results Themes that emerged from the review included the pathophysiology of metabolic changes during RF, nutritional aspects including body composition and energy metabolism, cardiovascular disease and risk factors, renal function and structure, endocrinology (mainly thyroid), neurological disorders, mental health, pregnancy and fetal life, and infections (including COVID). Some miscellaneous clinical themes were identified, such as patients' and professional perspectives.Conclusions In 2022, the medical interest in RF was again widely spread across specialties. Cardiovascular disease and risk factors attract the most interest in terms of original articles and professional guidelines. We hope with this review to present a concise summary of the scholarly work on the subject in this year.
ABSTRACT
In orthodontics, the two primal snags encountered by orthodontists during the end stage of treatment are, loss of anchorage and relapse of treatment. Prevention of post treatment tooth movement would provide an immense relief to the practitioners. Therefore, this review is intended to serve as a resource in the aforementioned direction. It includes therecent developments in approaches like use of pharmacological agents,vibration &low-level laser therapy (LLLT). The impact of COVID-19 on approaches to orthodontic retention have also been discussed. Copyright © 2022, Anka Publishers. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Background: Daily functional capacity is a major determinant of outcomes in patients with chronic medical conditions. Given that it can be affected by disease-specific factors as well as physical and cognitive impairment, it may be of increasing relevance in patients with cirrhosis given the changing demographics and increasing co-existing conditions including HE and physical frailty. An integrated multi-site approach combining cirrhosis-related factors, comorbidities, cognitive function, and frailty metrics is needed. Aim: To determine the integrated effect of frailty and CHE on functional capacity in outpatients with cirrhosis. Methods: NACSELD-3 (North American Consortium for the Study of End-Stage Liver Disease) is a new cohort of outpatients with cirrhosis recruited from 11 centers across North America. We enrolled pts able to consent, without HIV/illicit drug use or current alcohol misuse. Demographics, cirrhosis severity/history, comorbidities, medications were recorded. DASI (Duke Activity Status Index, Low=worse), studies that assess functional capacity, Liver frailty index instruments (LFI, high=worse) & EncephalApp Stroop (High time=worse) were administered. Norms were used to classify pts as having CHE on EncephalApp & frailty on LFI. Pts divided into having none, either or both CHE & frailty. Regression analyses were performed for DASI using all clinical variables collected. Results: Demographics: 220 patients (61.7±10.6 yrs, 74% men, 76% White, 6% Latinx) were enrolled;EncephalApp & LFI were complete in 182 pts (redgreen color blindness, logistic issues or COVID restrictions) Cirrhosis details: Major etiologies were 37% alcohol, 26% NAFLD, 17% HCV and 10% HCV+alcohol. Mean MELD was 13.9±8.5, 36% had prior HE, and 19% had difficult to control ascites. Mean Charlson comorbidity index was 5.1±2.2 Cognition, frailty and DASI: EncephalApp total was 184.2±55.6 seconds and 148 (64%) pts had CHE. Mean LFI score was 3.89±0.63 and 37 (16%) were deemed frail. 49 (27%) had neither CHE nor frailty, 104 (58%) had either CHE or Frailty , and 26 (15%) had both (Fig A). EncephalApp & LFI were positively correlated (r=0.36, p<0.001) and both were correlated with DASI (EncephalApp r=-0.33, LFI r=-0.27, both p<0.001). DASI was lower with both CHE & Frailty (Fig B). Regression: Variables associated with lower DASI (poor capacity) were higher MELD score (T-value -2.1, p=0.03), higher CCI (T-value -3.6, p<0.0001) and being frail+CHE versus either or none (T-value -2.6, p=0.01). No interaction between LFI and EncephalApp was seen. Conclusion: In this multi-center experience combined frailty and covert hepatic encephalopathy and cirrhosis-unrelated comorbidities significantly add to MELD score in predicting functional capacity in outpatients with cirrhosis.
ABSTRACT
The novel coronavirus disease, coined as COVID-19, is a murderous and infectious disease initiated from Wuhan, China. This killer disease has taken a large number of lives around the world and its dynamics could not be controlled so far. In this article, the spatio-temporal compartmental epidemic model of the novel disease with advection and diffusion process is projected and analyzed. To counteract these types of diseases or restrict their spread, mankind depends upon mathematical modeling and medicine to reduce, alleviate, and anticipate the behavior of disease dynamics. The existence and uniqueness of the solution for the proposed system are investigated. Also, the solution to the considered system is made possible in a well-known functions space. For this purpose, a Banach space of function is chosen and the solutions are optimized in the closed and convex subset of the space. The essential explicit estimates for the solutions are investigated for the associated auxiliary data. The numerical solution and its analysis are the crux of this study. Moreover, the consistency, stability, and positivity are the indispensable and core properties of the compartmental models that a numerical design must possess. To this end, a nonstandard finite difference numerical scheme is developed to find the numerical solutions which preserve the structural properties of the continuous system. The M-matrix theory is applied to prove the positivity of the design. The results for the consistency and stability of the design are also presented in this study. The plausibility of the projected scheme is indicated by an appropriate example. Computer simulations are also exhibited to conclude the results.