Blockchain for genomics and healthcare: a literature review, current status, classification and open issues.

The tremendous boost in the next generation sequencing technologies and in the "omics" technologies resulted in the generation of hundreds of gigabytes of data per day. Nowadays, via integrating -omics data with other data types, such as imaging and electronic health record (EHR) data, panomics studies attempt to identify novel and potentially actionable biomarkers for personalized medicine applications. In this respect, for the accurate analysis of -omics data and EHR, there is a need to establish secure and robust pipelines that take the ethical aspects into consideration, regulate privacy and ownership issues, and data sharing. These days, blockchain technology has picked up significant attention in diverse fields, including genomics, since it offers a new solution for these problems from a different perspective. Blockchain is an immutable transaction ledger, which offers secure and distributed system without a central authority. Within the system, each transaction can be expressed with cryptographically signed blocks, and the verification of transactions is performed by the users of the network. In this review, firstly, we aim to highlight the challenges of EHR and genomic data sharing. Secondly, we attempt to answer "Why" or "Why not" the blockchain technology is suitable for genomics and healthcare applications in detail. Thirdly, we elucidate the general blockchain structure based on the Ethereum, which is a more suitable technology for the genomic data sharing platforms. Fourthly, we review current blockchain-based EHR and genomic data sharing platforms, evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of these applications, and classify these applications using different metrics. Finally, we conclude by discussing the open issues and introducing our suggestion on the topic. In summary, to facilitate the diagnosis, monitoring and therapy of diseases with the effective analysis of -omics data with other available data types, through this review, we put forward the possible implications of the blockchain technology to life sciences and healthcare.

Arthroplasty versus fusion for single-level cervical disc disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of cervical arthroplasty and anterior cervical discectomy fusion methods. METHODS: The randomised clinical trial was conducted at the neurosurgical clinic of University of Harran, Turkey, between February 2009 and January 2010. The patients had single level disc disorder between C4-C7 levels. Before surgery, all of the patients had taken medical treatment with no improvement. Surgery was conducted with anterior approach, and disc prosthesis or polyetheretherketone cage for fusion were applied after patients were randomly divided into two groups. For preoperative and postoperative clinical evaluations Neck Disability Index and Visual Analogue Scale were used. Surgical results were evaluated according to Odom's criterion, and 'excellent' and 'good' results were accepted as successful. P<0.05 was taken as statistically significant. RESULTS: Of the 42 patients in the study, 23(54.76%) were treated with Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion, and 19(45.23%) with Cervical Disc Arthroplasty. There were no statistical differences between postoperative mean Visual Analogue Scale score (p<0.86) and Neck Disability Index scores (p<0.11) in the two groups. Average decrease in lordosis angle was 1.2 degree in Arthroplasty group, while it was 1 degree in the Fusion group. Postoperative adjacent segment degeneration was not detected in either group. CONCLUSION: Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion, and Cervical Disc Arthroplasty are safe and successful methods for the treatment of single level cervical disc disease. Although the latter is a relatively new technique performed with increased frequency, but its superiority is still uncertain.

The effects of pre-emptive analgesia with bupivacaine on acute post-laminectomy pain.

INTRODUCTION: This is a prospective, non-randomized, hospital-based, case-controlled, clinical trial to assess the efficacy of perineural infiltration with bupivacaine at the related neural root for acute pain relief after lumbar laminectomy. METHOD: Fifty-one patients undergoing unilateral one spinal level (lumbar 4) hemi-partial laminectomy were included in the study. In 22 of the patients (Group 2), bupivacaine was infiltrated onto the neural root immediately after the exposure; the 29 patients in the control group (Group 1) were not infiltrated. All patients were monitored post-operatively regarding pain determination using a visual analog scale, and the exact time of analgesic requirement during the first post-operative day was noted. Total analgesic dose given during the first post-operative day was also recorded. RESULTS: The patients who received bupivacaine infiltration intraoperatively onto the neural root (Group 2) had a statistically significantly longer time to first analgesia request (P < 0.001) and also required significantly less analgesic when compared to the control group (Group 1) (P < 0.001). Perineural bupivacaine infiltration extended the early post-operative analgesic period. While the pain was not completely suppressed, the bupivacaine infiltration helped to manage the post-operative pain more effectively. CONCLUSION: Our data suggests that pre-emptive analgesia via perineural infiltration of bupivacaine is a simple, and effective method for post-operative acute pain relief.

[Culture of Plasmodium berghei ANKA in BALB/c mice and research on experimental cerebral Malaria.]. / Plasmodium berghei ANKA susunun BALB/c farelerde kültürü ve deneysel serebral sitmanin arastirilmasi

Plasmodium berghei ANKA 6653 isolates that cause malaria in rodents were cultured in BALB/c mice in this study. Each of the BALB/c mice were injected intraperitoneally with 0.3 ml from a stock solution containing 160.000 parasites/ml. Percentage values of parasitemia at day 3, 6, 9 and 15 after injection were recorded and graphed. The neurological signs after day 3 were recorded in this study. At the end of day 15, cerebral tissues of dead mice were taken and the accumulation of hemorrhages was investigated. A total of 97 inbred BALB/c mice weighing approximately 17-20 gr. were used in this study.