Electrophysiological and molecular mechanisms of protection by iron sucrose against phosphine-induced cardiotoxicity: A time course study

The present study was designed for determining the exact mechanism of cytotoxic action of aluminum phosphide (AlP) in the presence of iron sucrose as the proposed antidote. Rats received AlP (12 mg/kg) and iron sucrose (5-30 mg/kg) in various sets and were connected to cardiovascular monitoring device. After identification of optimum doses of AlP and iron sucrose, rats taken in 18 groups received AlP (6 mg/kg) and iron sucrose (10 mg/kg), treated at six different time points, and then their hearts were surgically removed and used for evaluating a series of mitochondrial parameters, including cell lipid peroxidation, antioxidant power, mitochondrial complex activity, ADP/ATP ratio and process of apoptosis. ECG changes of AlP poisoning, including QRS, QT, P-R, ST, BP and HR were ameliorated by iron sucrose (10 mg/kg) treatment. AlP initiated its toxicity in the heart mitochondria through reducing mitochondrial complexes (II, IV and V), which was followed by increasing lipid peroxidation and the ADP/ATP ratio and declining mitochondrial membrane integrity that ultimately resulted in cell death. AlP in acute exposure (6 mg/kg) resulted in an increase in hydroxyl radicals and lipid peroxidation in a time-dependent fashion, suggesting an interaction of delivering electrons of phosphine with mitochondrial respiratory chain and oxidative stress. Iron sucrose, as an electron receiver, can compete with mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes and divert electrons to another pathway. The present findings supported the idea that iron sucrose could normalize the activity of mitochondrial electron transfer chain and cellular ATP level as vital factors for cell escaping from AlP poisoning. © 2015 Informa Healthcare USA, Inc. All rights reserved

Risk Factors Associated with Denture Stomatitis in Healthy Subjects Attending a Dental School in Southeast Iran

Objectives: There is scant information regarding the multifactorial aetiology of denture stomatitis (DS) in the world and, despite its frequency, associated factors are not completely understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors that may be associated with this lesion. Methods: A total of 70 edentulous patients, all wearing removable dentures, were divided into two groups. The test group comprised 43 patients with DS and the control group comprised 27 subjects with clinically healthy palatal mucosa. A thorough history-taking and physical examination were carried out; the subjects also answered a questionnaire. The serum level of vitamin A for each subject was assayed from a blood sample taken after the examination. Results: This study showed a significant relationship between the incidence of DS and three major factors: denture age (in terms of years), the practitioner manufacturing the dentures (general dental practitioner versus dental hygienist), and the nightlong wearing of dentures. Also, the vitamin A serum level was low in 94.29% of all subjects (cases and controls). Conclusion: Although many predisposing conditions were related to this situation, the most important risk factor was the continuous use of the dentures

Chattering-free sliding mode control with a fuzzy model for structural applications

This paper proposes a chattering-free sliding mode control (CFSMC) method for seismically excited structures. The method is based on a fuzzy logic (FL) model applied to smooth the control force and eliminate chattering, where the switching part of the control law is replaced by an FL output. The CFSMC is robust and keeps the advantages of the conventional sliding mode control (SMC), whilst removing the chattering and avoiding the time-consuming process of generating fuzzy rule basis. The proposed method is tested on an 8-story shear frame equipped with an active tendon system. Results indicate that the new method not only can effectively enhance the seismic performance of the structural system compared to the SMC, but also ensure system stability and high accuracy with less computational cost. The CFSMC also requires less amount of energy from the active tendon system to produce the desired structural dynamic response.ARC DE150101703 and ARC LP14010059

Identification and categorization of hazards in the mining industry: A systematic review of the literature

Control of OHS risks in the mining industry has been attracting increasing attention in recent years. Because of their great diversity in a complex system, hazards can be difficult to identify and classify, especially when system components interact. Risk cannot be managed successfully without comprehensive investigation of all its aspects. A coherent and integrated classification for identifying and categorizing all hazards is currently lacking in mining. We propose an integrated system classification of OHS hazards in mining based on our review of 44 studies retrieved using PRISMA. Considering Canadian and international standards, regulations and conventions, new hazard categories are proposed and hazard prevention is discussed from 12 perspectives: physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, accident and psychosocial risks, as well as policy, legislation, management, design, geography, and uncertainty, with reference to each of the four phases of a typical mine life cycle, the hazards were shown in a portrait. This paper provides suitable categories based on rational data for creating a portrait in order to OHS hazards prevention in life cycle activity in mine

Global Trends and Regional Variations in Studies of HIV/AIDS

We conduct textual analysis of a sample of more than 200,000 papers written on HIV/AIDS during the past three decades. Using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation method, we disentangle studies that address behavioral and social aspects from other studies and measure the trends of different topics as related to HIV/AIDS. We show that there is a regional variation in scientists' approach to the problem of HIV/AIDS. Our results show that controlling for the economy, proximity to the HIV/AIDS problem correlates with the extent to which scientists look at the behavioral and social aspects of the disease rather than biomedical

A participatory process for modelling green infrastructure implementation in London

Cities face the interlinked challenges of transforming environmental quality, sustainability, population health and health equity. There is increasing interest in green infrastructure in connection with these challenges. In order to go beyond an understanding of the effects of green infrastructure and develop an understanding of how policymakers should think about it, we need to capture potential interactions and be aware of possible unintended consequences. In our research, we applied a systems-thinking approach: integrating participatory engagements, qualitative system dynamics modelling, and an assessment framework in order to address the challenge. This allowed us to see multiple dynamics between the prioritisation of policymakers, different types of green infrastructure, and environmental and health outcomes. It also made us ask different and more integrated questions, and suggested a methodology for addressing the challenge of transforming cities

Two-nucleon knockout contributions to the 12^{12}C(e,e′p)(e,e'p) reaction in the dip and {Δ\Delta}(1232) regions

The contributions from $^{12}$C$(e,e'pn)$ and $^{12}$C$(e,e'pp)$ to the semi-exclusive $^{12}$C$(e,e'p)$ cross section have been calculated in an unfactorized model for two-nucleon emission. We assume direct two-nucleon knockout after virtual photon coupling with the two-body pion-exchange currents in the target nucleus. Results are presented at several kinematical conditions in the dip and $\Delta$(1232) regions. The calculated two-nucleon knockout strength is observed to account for a large fraction of the measured $(e,e'p)$ strength above the two-nucleon emission threshold.Comment: 12 Revtex pages, 4 postscript figures (available upon request), University of Gent preprint SSF94-02-0

Molecular and biochemical evidence on the protection of cardiomyocytes from phosphine-induced oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis by acetyl-l-carnitine

The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of acetyl-l-carnitine (ALCAR) on pathologic changes of mitochondrial respiratory chain activity, ATP production, oxidative stress, and cellular apoptosis/necrosis induced by aluminum phosphide (AlP) poisoning. The study groups included: the Sham that received almond oil only; the AlP that received oral LD50 dose of aluminum; the AC-100, AC-200, and AC-300 which received concurrent oral LD50 dose of AlP and single 100, 200, and 300mg/kg of ALCAR by intraperitoneal injection. After 24h, the rats were sacrificed; the heart and blood sample were taken for measurement of biochemical and mitochondrial factors. The results specified that ALCAR significantly attenuated the oxidative stress (elevated ROS and plasma iron levels) caused by AlP poisoning. ALCAR also increased the activity of cytochrome oxidase, which in turn amplified ATP production. Furthermore, flow cytometric assays and caspase activity indicated that ALCAR prohibited AlP-induced apoptosis in cardiomyocytes. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.

Inclusive (e,e′N)(e,e^\prime N), (e,e′NN)(e,e^\prime NN), (e,e′π)(e,e^\prime \pi) ... reactions in nuclei

We study the inclusive $(e,e^\prime N)$, $(e,e^\prime NN)$, $(e,e^\prime \pi)$, $(e,e^\prime \pi N)$ reactions in nuclei using a Monte Carlo simulation method to treat the multichannel problem of the final state. The input consists of reaction probabilities for the different steps evaluated using microscopical many body methods. We obtain a good agreement with experiment in some channels where there is data and make predictions for other channels which are presently under investigation in several electron laboratories. The comparison of the theoretical results with experiment for several kinematical conditions and diverse channels can serve to learn about different physical processes ocurring in the reaction. The potential of this theoretical tool to make prospections for possible experiments, aiming at pinning down certain reaction probabilities, is also emphasized.Comment: 21 pages (LaTeX + figure files

Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health: A structured approach to support the development and implementation of city policies for population and planetary health

Context: The multi-disciplinary and multi-partner CUSSH project (Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health) seeks to support cities to take transformative action towards population and planetary health goals. Rationale: As all cities are complex systems with unique contexts and priorities, our approach is to engage with partner cities in a participatory process to build a shared understanding of relevant systems that will inform the development and implementation of new city policies. Description: Six partner cities were selected to represent larger and smaller cities from across the global spectrum of income: London (UK) and Rennes (France) in Europe, Nairobi and Kisumu in Kenya, and Beijing and Ningbo in China. In each setting we are engaging stakeholders in a broadly similar structured approach that integrates evidence gathering and modelling, participatory engagement framework, and ongoing tracking and evaluation. In addition, we are developing a working theory of change in each setting to explain how and why the chosen policies may work. Achievements: Our city engagement to date has focused on indoor air pollution (Nairobi), green infrastructure (London) and GHG emissions (Rennes), where findings highlighted not only multiple pathways by which policy interventions could affect health, but also potential counter-intuitive influences and tensions, and synergistic opportunities for solving both sustainability and health problems