Photochemical of Polychlorinated biphenyl by the photolysis and solvent

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are one group of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that are of international concern because of global distribution, persistence, and toxicity. Removal of these compounds from the environment remains a very difficult challenge because the compounds are highly hydrophobic and have very low solubility in water. The photochemical reactor was of annular geometry with a cylindrical low-pressure mercury lamp. The whole Lamp was immersed in a reactor thermostat controlling the temperature at 32 ± 2 °C. The Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were analyzed by GC/ECD. The degradation of PCBs in terms of one, two and three lamp was 91.9%, 92.7% and 93% respectively. The degradation of PCBs in terms of use of 10% and 20% of total volume of solution of H2O2 were 88.8% and 93% respectively. The degradation of PCBs in terms of ratio to ethanol with oil transformer in 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 was 83.4%, 92.5% and 93% respectively. The experiments show that UVC-photolysis of H2O2 leads to a degradation efficiency of PCBs in the presence of ethanol. @ JASEMJ. Appl. Sci. Environ. Manage. December, 2010, Vol. 14 (4) 107 - 11

Comparison between examination with naked eye, curretage and dermoscopy in determining tumor extension before Mohs micrographic surgery

Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) is a technique for the treatment of cutaneous malignancies. Subtle determination of tumor margin would end to fewer stages of surgery. Our aim was to compare these three ways for determining tumor extension before initiation of MMS, examination with the naked eye, dermoscopy and curettage. Sixty patients who had basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in head and neck area were randomized in three groups (curettage, dermoscopy and examination with the naked eye). Each group encompassed twenty patients. The total number of resection stages in MMS was recorded for each patient. Demographic data of the patients and the total number of resection stages in MMS were statistically analyzed. Based on analysis of variance (ANOVA) test results, there was no significant difference for total number of stages in statistical point of view between three groups (P value = 0.1). In this research, the Pearson correlation coefficient showed that there is a direct relation between the age and resection stages (r = 0.19, P value = 0.04). The Chi-square test showed no differences between three groups in age, residence and radiotherapy history

Comparison between the efficacy of photodynamic therapy and topical paromomycin in the treatment of old world cutaneous leishmaniasis: A placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial

<b>Background: </b> The optimal treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is not known. Topical paromomycin is one of the many drugs that have been suggested for the treatment of CL caused by Leishmania major. Recently, topical photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been reported to be effective in the treatment of CL. This study aimed to compare the parasitological and clinical efficacy of PDT versus topical paromomycin in patients with old world CL caused by <i> L. major</i> in Iran. <b> Materials and Methods:</b> In this trial, sixty patients with the clinical and parasitological diagnosis of CL were recruited and were randomly divided into three treatment groups with twenty subjects in each group. Group 1 was treated with weekly topical PDT and groups 2 and 3 received twice daily topical paromomycin and placebo, respectively. The duration of treatment was four weeks for all groups. These groups were followed up for 2 months after the end of treatment. <b> Results: </b> 57 patients with 95 lesions completed the study. At the end of the study, complete improvement was seen in 29 of 31 (93.5&#x0025;), 14 of 34 (41.2&#x0025;) and 4 of 30 (13.3&#x0025;) of the lesions in group 1, 2 and 3 respectively (<i> P</i> &#60; 0.001). At the same time point, 100&#x0025;, 64.7 and 20&#x0025; of the lesions had parasitological cure in group 1, 2 and 3, respectively (<i> P</i> &#60; 0.001). <b> Conclusion: </b> Topical PDT can be used safely as a rapid and highly effective alternative choice for treatment of old world CL in the selected patients

The effects and side effects of lidocaine tetracaine peel off on laser-assisted hair removal

Background: Lidocaine 7%-tetracaine 7% is one of the combinations recently offered for performing laser-assisted hair removal. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of this combination with placebo on the side effects of laser-assisted hair removal. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial was carried out on 110 women who referred to Isfahan Spadana laser clinic for laser-assisted hair removal. Lidocaine 7%-tetracaine 7% was applied on one-half of the face, whereas placebo was applied on the other side to create local anesthesia, and after 30 min, the place was cleaned and investigated for complications (edema, erythema, and pallor); then laser therapy was begun. At the end of the therapy, the patients′ pain was estimated using Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The data were analyzed using SPSS software by Chi-square and paired t-tests. Results: The mean age of patients was 27.74 ± 10.8 years. Average levels of anesthesia at 30 min after using lidocaine 7%-tetracaine 7% and placebo based on VAS were 3.6 ± 1.4 and 8.4 ± 1.5, respectively (P = 0.001). In other words, patients felt less pain by using lidocaine 7%-tetracaine 7%. The frequency of complications in patients was not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion: Considering the better effect of lidocaine 7%-tetracaine 7% compared to placebo and its minimal side effects, we can use it before performing laser-assisted hair removal

Basal cell carcinoma superimposed on a cutaneous leishmaniasis lesion in an immunocompromised patient

Leishmaniasis is a protozoan infection due to organisms of the genus Leishmania. The differential diagnosis of cutane-ous leishmaniasis includes arthropod bites, basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and other malignancies. BCC is the most com-mon form of skin cancer. We present a case of cutaneous leishmaniasis resistant to standard intralesional glucantime injection in an immunocompromised patient, which was proved to be BCC after surgical excision

Comparison of fat maintenance in the face with centrifuge versus filtered and washed fat

Background: Autogenous fat injection of the face is a viable and lasting remedy for soft tissue loss and has become a mainstay in facial rejuvenation. Fat transfer as either a stand-alone technique or as an adjunct to other filler technique and lifting depending on patient needs. Although soft tissue augmentation with autologous fat transfer has been increasingly used by esthetic surgeon, but there is no agreement concerning the best way of processing the harvested fat before injection. This study compared the clinical results obtained using simple filtered and washed fat via metal sieve with those achieved by means of pure centrifuged fat. Materials and Methods: A prospective single-blind analysis on 32 healthy patients undergoing nasolabial fold fat transplantation from 2009 to 2011 (simple sampling). Patients assigned in two groups randomly. The face of half (16 subjects) was injected with centrifuged, another half with simple filtered and washed fat to evaluate the effect of preparation methods on fat graft viability. Objective method was used to evaluate the results, involving the evaluation of postoperative photographs (in month 1, 6 and 12) by an esthetic surgeon (according to the nasolabial scale). Subjective method was a self-assessment obtained from patients about general level of satisfaction and improvement of skin texture, statistical analysis were performed by means of the Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney test. Acquired data were analyzed using SPSS version 15 and a value of P > 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: There was no significant difference in the survival of grafted fat between the Group 1 (fat-processing with centrifuge at 3400 rpm for 1-min) and Group 2 (washing the fat in the sieve). Conclusion: Our data suggest that the centrifuge of the fat does not enhance survival of grafted fat (P > 0.05)

Fractional erbium:YAG laser (2940 nm) plus topical hydroquinone compared to intradermal tranexamic acid plus topical hydroquinone for the treatment of refractory melasma: a randomized controlled trial

Objectives Melasma is a chronic acquired condition characterized by grayish-brown macules and patches with a distinct border on the face. Although various treatments methods have been suggested for treating melasma, none has been completely successful. The aim of the study was to compare the efficiency of erbium: yttrium–aluminum–garnet (Er:YAG) laser and 4% hydroquinone (HQ) with the effects of intradermal tranexamic acid (TA) and 4% HQ for the treatment of refractory melasma. Methods The study included 31 female patients with refractory melasma. The left or right side of the patient’s face was chosen randomly to receive laser therapy with topical HQ on the one side (i.e. the laser side) and intradermal injection of TA plus topical HQ on the other side (i.e. the mesotherapy side). Digital photography was performed at baseline, at the end of the treatment, and three months after the treatment as follow-up. Two independent dermatologists evaluated the modified Melasma Area and Severity Index (mMASI) score according to the pictures. Overall, 27 patients completed the study and went through the clinical evaluation. Results Treatment using HQ in combination with either Er:YAG laser therapy or intradermal injection of TA significantly improved the hemi-mMASI and resulted in higher patient satisfaction. While the improvement was not significantly different between the two regiments after the treatment and upon follow up and both were equally efficient in the treatment of refractory melasma (p = 1.308), recurrence rate was higher after treatment with Er:YAG laser than TA (12% vs 34%). Conclusion This study confirmed the comparable efficacy of TA plus topical HQ versus Er:YAG laser plus topical HQ for the treatment of refractory melasma. Both groups improved significantly and no subject left the treatment because of adverse effects. Trial registration number IRCT20191011045057N