A qualitative study on personal information management (PIM) in clinical and basic sciences faculty members of a medical university in Iran

Background: Personal Information Management (PIM) refers to the tools and activities to save and retrieve personal information for future uses. This study examined the PIM activities of faculty members of Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS) regarding their preferred PIM tools and four aspects of acquiring, organizing, storing and retrieving personal information. Methods: The qualitative design was based on phenomenology approach and we carried out 37 interviews with clinical and basic sciences faculty members of IUMS in 2014. The participants were selected using a random sampling method. All interviews were recorded by a digital voice recorder, and then transcribed, codified and finally analyzed using NVivo 8 software. Results: The use of PIM electronic tools (e-tools) was below expectation among the studied sample and just 37 had reasonable knowledge of PIM e-tools such as, external hard drivers, flash memories etc. However, all participants used both paper and electronic devices to store and access information. Internal mass memories (in Laptops) and flash memories were the most used e-tools to save information. Most participants used "subject" (41.00) and "file name" (33.7 ) to save, organize and retrieve their stored information. Most users preferred paper-based rather than electronic tools to keep their personal information. Conclusion: Faculty members had little knowledge about PIM techniques and tools. Those who organized personal information could easier retrieve the stored information for future uses. Enhancing familiarity with PIM tools and training courses of PIM tools and techniques are suggested

Brain lesions disrupting addiction map to a common human brain circuit

Drug addiction is a public health crisis for which new treatments are urgently needed. In rare cases, regional brain damage can lead to addiction remission. These cases may be used to identify therapeutic targets for neuromodulation. We analyzed two cohorts of patients addicted to smoking at the time of focal brain damage (cohort 1 n = 67; cohort 2 n = 62). Lesion locations were mapped to a brain atlas and the brain network functionally connected to each lesion location was computed using human connectome data (n = 1,000). Associations with addiction remission were identified. Generalizability was assessed using an independent cohort of patients with focal brain damage and alcohol addiction risk scores (n = 186). Specificity was assessed through comparison to 37 other neuropsychological variables. Lesions disrupting smoking addiction occurred in many different brain locations but were characterized by a specific pattern of brain connectivity. This pattern involved positive connectivity to the dorsal cingulate, lateral prefrontal cortex, and insula and negative connectivity to the medial prefrontal and temporal cortex. This circuit was reproducible across independent lesion cohorts, associated with reduced alcohol addiction risk, and specific to addiction metrics. Hubs that best matched the connectivity profile for addiction remission were the paracingulate gyrus, left frontal operculum, and medial fronto-polar cortex. We conclude that brain lesions disrupting addiction map to a specific human brain circuit and that hubs in this circuit provide testable targets for therapeutic neuromodulation.Lesions resulting in addiction remission occur in multiple different brain locations but map to a specific brain circuit and that hubs in this circuit provide testable targets for therapeutic neuromodulation.</p

Influence of iron bacteria on the corrosion behavior of carbon steel: SEM study

n this work, the iron bacteria were cultured and inoculated into the cooling water before immersion, and low carbon steel coupons were immersed for one month. Then, microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) of carbon steel in the presence of these bacteria was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) and weight loss methods. SEM results showed that large amounts of corrosion products and heterogeneous biofilm layer were formed on the coupon surface. SEM also revealed the uniform-pitting corrosion on the steel surface due to bacteria colonization. XRD results show that the main constituents present in corrosion product are composed of iron oxides and iron hydroxide

The short Persian version of motorcycle riding behavior questionnaire and its interchangeability with the full version

<div><p>The aim of current study was to develop a valid and reliable short motorcycle riding behavior questionnaire (SMRBQ) and assess its interchangeability with the original 48-item tool. Through a psychometric study in Bukan district of Iran in 2015, the most recent available Persian version of the motorcycle riding behavior questionnaire (MRBQ) was used as a reference to develop its short version, the SMRBQ. The preliminary version was prepared through expert reviews, and its dimension was further reduced through principal component analysis (PCA). An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was then applied on the remaining items and the final version was developed with 23 items. The validity, consistency, agreement and interchangeability of the SMRBQ were assessed in parallel with the MRBQ using several statistical methods including Kendall’s Tau, intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), Bland-Altman plot and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis. All the 340 participants were males. The mean age of the participants was 30.2 (SD = 9.1). SMRBQ was developed including 23 items. The mean normalized score for the full version was 30.5 (SD = 11.2) and it was 30 (SD = 13.9) for the short version. There was a high correlation between the normalized scores of MRBQ and SMRBQ (Kendall’s Tau = 0.82). The ICC of the interchangeability of the full version and short version scales was as high as 0.92 (95% CI: 90.2–93.5). The scale had adequate internal consistency based on the calculated Cronbach’s alpha which was 0.85 for the scale. Bland-Altman and ROC curve analysis confirmed the interchangeability and criterion validity of the SMRBQ. The Persian version of SMRBQ was found to be a valid, reliable and feasible tool for assessing motorcycle riding behavior in the studied population.</p></div

Non-ionic surfactant vesicles as novel delivery systems for sulfasalazine: Evaluation of the physicochemical and cytotoxic properties

Sulfasalazine (SSZ) is a sulfa drug that is used to treat various forms of arthritis and is known for its ability to induce apoptosis in T lymphocytes and cancer cells. To enhance its solubility and efficacy, we encapsulated SSZ within a micellar/niosomal formulation. The micellar/niosomal formulation was prepared using an amphiphilic self-assembly method involving squalene (S) and tween 80 (T8) for the first time. The encapsulation and release of SSZ from the nanocarrier was characterized. The percent encapsulation efficiency of SSZ was 99.5 ± 0.2 , 90.5 ± 0.5 , and 80.5 ± 0.8 for the 5:100, 7.5:100, and 10:100 (w/w) ratios of SSZ:total weight of ST8 micellar/niosomal vesicles (ST8MNVs), respectively. A higher loading of 20:100 (w/w) led to SSZ diffusion from the vesicular systems within 24 h. The cytotoxic activity of the SSZ-encapsulated ST8MNVs was evaluated against different cancer cell lines. Encapsulation and the use of the nanoformulations improved the effectiveness of SSZ in promoting apoptosis in MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, and HeLa cell lines, by reducing the IC50 value by at least five folds. The high loading and encapsulation of SSZ within the micellar/niosomal formulation together with its greater water solubility enhanced the bioavailability of the drug, improving its potential for biomedical and therapeutic applications. © 202

Corrigendum to �Non-ionic surfactant vesicles as novel delivery systems for sulfasalazine: Evaluation of the physicochemical and cytotoxic properties� Journal of Molecular Structure 1230 (2021) 129874 (Journal of Molecular Structure (2021) 1230, (S0022286021000053), (10.1016/j.molstruc.2021.129874))

The authors regret that the affiliation of all the authors in the article with the title (Non-ionic surfactant vesicles as novel delivery systems for sulfasalazine: Evaluation of the physicochemical and cytotoxic properties) that is incorrect. Please correct the affiliation of Mehrdad Aghaeia,1, Vahid Erfani-Moghadamb,c,1, Leila Daneshmandid, Alireza Soltanie,a*, Nafiseh Abdolahia,**, Marco Cordanif, Asieh Yahyazadehe, Sahar Moazen Rada, Samaneh Tavassolia, Hanzaleh Balakheylia aGolestan Rheumatology Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Science, Gorgan, Iran bCancer Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran cDepartment of Medical Nanotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran dDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA eDepartment of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Guilan, P.O. Box 41335-1914, Rasht, Iran fInstitute for Advanced Studies in Nanoscience (IMDEA Nanociencia), Madrid, Spain The authors would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused. © 2022 Elsevier B.V