Effect of Selenium on Thyroid Disorders: Scientometric Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Association of Selenium (Se) deficiency, an essential trace element, has been found with human diseases. Identifying literature trends on the effects of Se on the thyroid may guide in planning future studies. METHODS: A literature search was conducted using the Web of Science database to identify studies on Se and the thyroid published over the 20 years duration (1995-Dec 2014). Scientometric indices were used to draw field maps. The scientific processes, structure, evidence history, and international collaborations were included in the map. The most influential authors, journals, institutions, and countries were also examined. RESULTS: Our search identified 184 research and review papers. The number of scientific studies on Se and the thyroid has been irregular, but interest in this topic has increased in recent years. The highest number of studies was published in 2014 (16 papers) and overall growth factor of publication was 3.78. Overall, 744 authors from 282 institutions in 43 countries published in this field. The author J. Kohrle (828 citations, 14 publications), and German scientists (1272 citations, 30 publications) were most influential. CONCLUSION: This study reveals the interrelationships between different publications on the effects of Se on the thyroid. Leading scientific issues and their extent of impact were successfully determined by examining citations. The results of systematic citations and mapping fields can be used to assist in policy and management contexts.

A modified Middle Eastern contrast sensitivity chart.

The contrast sensitivity test has been used to examine vision in different clinical circumstances. Moreover, as contrast sensitivity is affected by several ocular states, its measurement has been considered practically for monitoring and assessment of a wide range of visual functions, predicting vision related abilities, diagnosing several ophthalmic conditions, and evaluating many ocular disorders including glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, optic neuritis and age-related degeneration. The Pelli-Robson standard chart has been translated and modified using Persian-Arabic characters since illiterates and children in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa are more likely to distinguish Arabic characters instead of English ones. The translation of these characters is expected to have more precise results, thereby improving the test's validity and provide early diagnoses of ocular problems. This manuscript is focused on conceptions relating to the project. Further studies are required to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and reliability of the revised chart to best compare it to the standard Pelli-Robson one.

Role of ophthalmic nurses in prevention of ophthalmic diseases.

There are numerous ocular problems that could be diagnosed and detected by well-trained ophthalmic nurses. Ophthalmic nurses may significantly contribute in ophthalmology and visual sciences. These trained nurses may assist in decrease the rate of cancelled surgical operations at the date of operation that had been due to lack of attention to health problems in pre-operative assessments. Furthermore, they could perform some medical evaluation of patients that are candidates for surgery, preoperatively. Additionally, their services would be beneficial to accelerate discharging patients, which would result in less drain on financial resources for medical centres. Ophthalmic nurses are also critical elements in health-care systems because they can help to deliver up to date ophthalmic knowledge and contribute to general physicians, academically. Additionally, they may be able to assist patients who suffer from blindness or loss of vision, to find national organizations that provide services and education. They are able to be a great assistance in referring patients that need subspecialty services and subsequently, contribute to saving health-care expenditures by let the patients to receive proper management. These nurses could play a significant role in the process of teaching people, providing proper diagnoses, administration, and management of ocular problems.

An innovative educational model in intraocular pressure measurement.

Tactile palpation is a simple technique that can prove useful for estimating intraocular pressure (IOP) in primary healthcare settings, mainly in the absence of equipment, for very young children, patients who are intellectually challenged, those with eyes with extremely irregular corneas, and patients with corneal prostheses. Accordingly, this technique can also aid in the diagnosis of high IOP in primary and emergency care settings. To the best of our knowledge, there is no instrument that can quantify the estimation of IOP and teach tactile examiners. This group has developed a digital instrument called the MEHDI-IOP Measurement Model to train primary healthcare workers as well as blind individuals in the estimation of IOP. In this simple instrument, elastic spheres with a specific inner pressure can be touched and the responses of candidates with regard to the estimated pressure can be graded accordingly.

Palpation by blind examiners: A novel approach for glaucoma screening.

Although there are several risk factors for glaucoma, elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) remains the major risk factor. Palpation is one of the oldest, simplest, and least expensive methods for approximate IOP assessment. Researchers believe that blind individuals may possess a more acutely developed sense of touch, which has already proved to be beneficial in clinical breast examination to detect early breast cancer. Based on successful findings of a project that used blind and visually impaired individuals as breast examiners, we hypothesize that blind individuals may also serve as successful examiners for estimation of IOP using tactile palpation.

Food inequality negatively impacts cardiac health in rabbits.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with lower socioeconomic status experience higher rates of mortality and are more likely to suffer from numerous diseases. While some studies indicate that humans who suffer from social inequality suffer generally worse health, to our knowledge no controlled experiments of this nature have been done in any species. Lipofuscin is a highly oxidized cross-linked aggregate consisting of oxidized protein and lipid clusters. This eminent terminal oxidation outcome accumulates within cells during aging process. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Thirty two rabbits were assigned into four groups randomly of eight each. The first group encountered food deprivation for eight weeks and was kept in an isolated situation. The second group was food deprived for eight weeks but encountered to other groups continuously. The third group suffered two weeks of deprivation and then received free access to food. The fourth group had free access to diet without any deprivation. All hearts were removed for histopathological evaluation. Cross-sections of hearts were examined by light microscopy for the presence of yellow-brown Lipofuscin pigment granules. Here we show that relative food deprivation can cause accumulation of Lipofuscin pigmentation. We find that cardiac Lipofuscin deposition increases the most in the inequitable condition in which food deprived individuals observe well-fed individuals. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings demonstrate that a sense of inequality in food intake can promote aging more than food deprivation alone. These findings should be considered as a basis for further studies on the physiological mechanisms by which inequality negatively impacts health and well-being.