Association of HLA-DRB1 and -DQ Alleles and Haplotypes with Type 1 Diabetes in Jordanians.

BACKGROUND: The Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) class II genes, particularly the HLADR and -DQ loci, have been shown to play a crucial role in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) development. OBJECTIVE: This study is the first to examine the contribution of the HLA-DR/DQ alleles and haplotypes to T1D susceptibility in Jordanians. METHODS: Polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) were used to genotype 41 Jordanian healthy controls and 50 insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) patients. RESULTS: The following alleles were found to be significant high risk alleles in T1D Jordanian patients: DRB1*04 (OR=3.95, p<0.001), DRB1*0301(OR=5.27, p<0.001), DQA1*0301 (OR=5.67, p<0.001), DQA1*0501(OR=3.18, p=0.002), DQB1*0201(OR=2.18, p=0.03), DQB1*0302 (OR=5.67, p<0.001). However, Jordanians harboring the DRB1*0701 (OR=0.37, p=0.01), DRB1*1101 (OR=0.2, p=0.01), DQA1*0505 (OR=0.31, p=0.02), DQA1*0103 (OR=0.33, p=0.04), DQA1*0201 (OR=0.45, p=0.04), DQB1*0301 (OR=0.23, p=0.001), DQB1*0501 (OR=0.18, p=0.009) alleles had a significantly lower risk of developing T1D. CONCLUSION: A strong positive association of DRB1*04-DQA1*0301-DQBl*0302 (OR=5.67, p<0.001) and DRB1*0301-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0201 (OR=6.24, p<0.001) putative haplotypes with IDDM was evident in Jordanian IDDM patients whereas DRB1*1101-DQA1*0505- DQB1*0301 (OR=0.23, p=0.03) was shown to have a protective role against T1D in Jordanians. Our findings show that specific HLA class II alleles and haplotypes are significantly associated with susceptibility to T1D in Jordanians.

Conditional Random Field-Based Offline Map Matching for Indoor Environments.

In this paper, we present an offline map matching technique designed for indoor localization systems based on conditional random fields (CRF). The proposed algorithm can refine the results of existing indoor localization systems and match them with the map, using loose coupling between the existing localization system and the proposed map matching technique. The purpose of this research is to investigate the efficiency of using the CRF technique in offline map matching problems for different scenarios and parameters. The algorithm was applied to several real and simulated trajectories of different lengths. The results were then refined and matched with the map using the CRF algorithm.

Enhancing improved heuristic drift elimination for step-and-heading based pedestrian dead-reckoning systems.

Location based services can improve the quality of patient care and increase the efficiency of the healthcare systems. Among the different technologies that provide indoor positioning, inertial sensors based pedestrian dead-reckoning (PDR) is one of the more cost-effective solutions, but its performance is limited by drift problems. Regarding the heading drift, some heuristics make use of the building's dominant directions in order to reduce this problem. In this paper, we enhance the method known as improved heuristic drift elimination (iHDE) to be implemented in a Step-and-Heading (SHS) based PDR system, that allows to place the inertial sensors in almost any location of the user's body. Particularly, wrist-worn sensors will be used. Tests on synthetically generated and real data show that the iHDE method can be used in a SHS-based PDR without losing its heading drift reduction capability.

Food insecurity is related to glycemic control deterioration in patients with type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Poor glycemic control has been shown to play a major role in the development and progression of diabetes complications. This cross-sectional study tested the hypothesis that food insecurity may deteriorate glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence of food insecurity among type 2 diabetics in a major hospital that serves the area of northern Jordan, and to investigate its relation to glycemic control. METHODS: A sample of 843 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes participated in the study. Socioeconomic and health data were collected by interview-based questionnaire. Weight and height were measured by a trained nutritionist. Dietary assessment was done using food frequency questionnaire. Dietary data were processed using food processor software. Food insecurity was assessed by the short form of the U.S. food security survey module. Glycemic control was assessed by measuring glycosyated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Statistical procedures used to analyze the data were chi-square, and post-hoc analysis of variance. RESULTS: About 22% of the tested sample were food secure (FS); 51% were moderately food insecure (MFIS); and 27% were severely food insecure (SFIS). Higher BMI was associated with SFIS patients. After adjusting for age, gender, income, education, and duration of diabetes, body mass index, and caloric consumption; moderate and severe food insecurity were associated with poor glycemic control (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: food insecurity may be associated with glycemic control deterioration in patients with type 2 diabetes.

The Arabic version of Diabetes-39: psychometric properties and validation.

OBJECTIVE: To translate Diabetes-39 (D-39) into Arabic language and assess its psychometric properties among patients with type 2 diabetes in Jordan. METHODS: A sample of 368 subjects (162 men and 206 women) was randomly selected from patients with type 2 diabetes attending outpatient clinics in King Abdullah University Hospital (KAUH). D-39 was translated using backward forward translation method. Individual D-39 items were recoded, summed and transformed to a 0 to 100-scale. Acceptability, item level validity, scale level validity and reliability were evaluated. RESULTS: The mean (SD) of D-39 subscales ranged from 26.9 (22.4) for 'Social burden' to 50.5 (21.1) for 'Energy and Mobility'. Inter item correlations within each scale were moderate to strong. All item-scale correlations exceeded the minimum correlation of 0.40 for adequate item internal consistency. Item discriminat validity was demonstrated since items correlated higher with their own scale than with other scales. For all scales, Cronbach's alpha coefficient exceeded the minimum criterion of 0.7. CONCLUSIONS: Arabic version of D-39 is a reliable and valid instrument to measure quality of life among patients with diabetes in Jordan.