Comparative Evaluation of Dexmedetomidine and Bupivacaine Combination versus Bupivacaine Alone On the Analgesic Effect of Ilioinguinal Nerve Block in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Inguinal Herniorrhaphy

Introduction: Elective inguinal herniorrhaphy is one of the most prevalent surgical procedures in pediatric age group. |Postoperative pain is prevalent in children undergoing inguinal hernia repair. This study was aimed to compare the analgesic effect of dexmedetomidine with bupivacaine combination versus bupivacaine alone for ilioinguinal nerve block in children undergoing inguinal herniorrhaphy.Materials and Methods: In this prospective randomized study, we studied 60 ASA class I and II patients with the age between 6 months to 6 years scheduled for unilateral inguinal herniorrhaphy. With the help of a computer-generated list, our patients were assigned randomly to two groups of 30 patients. Group A, received 5cc bupivacaine 0.25%, and group B received 5cc bupivacaine 0.25% with dexmedetomidine 0.3 μg/ kg. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS. The t-student and Mann-Whitney tests were used to compare the variables between groups. The values were considered significant if P < 0.05.Results: There was no significant difference in blood pressure (systolic or diastolic) and heart rate between the two groups (P=0.624, P=0.784 and P=0.167, respectively).  Analgesia duration was significantly longer in bupivacaine with dexmedetomidine group in comparison to bupivacaine alone group (P=0.008). However, there were no significant difference in frequency of analgesic consumption (P = 0.175) and total dose of analgesic consumption (P = 0.634) in the first 24 h between the two groups. One patient in group B developed bradycardia.Conclusion: The use of dexmedetomidine, as an adjuvant to bupivacaine prolongs the length and the analgesic efficacy of the ilioinguinal nerve block after inguinal herniorrhaphy in pediatric age group

Performance of Local Anesthesia with Lidocaine among Opium Addicts and Non-Addicts; a Case Control Study

Introduction: Compared to ordinary people, addicts usually have a lower pain threshold. The current work attempts to compare the performance of local analgesia with lidocaine among opium addicts and non-addicts.Methods: In this case-control study, opium addicts and healthy patients with skin laceration referring to emergency departments of two educational hospitals were compared regarding the response to local anesthesia with lidocaine, as well as side effects.Results: 197 cases with the mean age of 43.44 ± 20.12 years were studied (72.1% male). 98 (49.8%) cases were addicts and 99 (50.2%) were healthy people. Two groups were similar regarding age (p = 0.281), sex (p = 0.666), and wound size (p = 0.272). The amount of pain reduction 5 (df =1.5, F=0.38, p = 0.88) and 10 (df =1.5, F=0.58, p = 0.72) minutes after lidocaine injection was not different between the groups. Subgroup analysis based on sex and age of patient did not show any differences between the groups (p > 0.1 for all analysis). The mean duration of analgesia was 16.4 ± 5.37 minutes in addicts and 16.95±1.79 in control group (p = 0.334).Conclusion: Lidocaine, as a commonly used local anesthetic agents, does not show different effects in addicts and non-addicts in repairing skin laceration

Investigation of Salt and precipitating agent effect on the specific surface area and compressive strength of alumina catalyst support

Nowadays, catalyst supports are extensively used to decrease the costs and increase the contact surface area in chemical reactions. Specific surface area, compressive strength, pore volume and pore size are some of the most important characteristics of a catalyst support. In this work, Sol-gel and peptization methods were applied to produce alumina catalyst support. Also the roles of aluminum salts and precipitating agents on the specific surface area and compressive strength of alumina catalyst support were investigated. In addition, various additives and common methods in the increasing surface area, compressive strength and adjusting the porosity and pore size are used in this study. The results show that using caustic soda as precipitating agent and aluminum chloride salt yields catalyst supports with the best compressive strength. Also, using aluminum nitrate and ammonia as precipitating agent produced alumina catalyst support with the highest specific surface area

Performance optimization of water distribution network using meta-heuristic algorithms from the perspective of leakage control and resiliency factor (case study: Tehran water distribution network, Iran)

In the context of sustainable development and considering water distribution networks (WDNs) as vital infrastructure systems, designing a resilient and efficient network to deliver water demand to consumption nodes while adhering to engineering standards is of utmost importance. This study specifically focused on the complex structure of the north-west Tehran's WDN, encompassing 1124 pipes totaling 92552 m in length, along with four gravity reservoirs and 988 nodes. Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Nonlinear Programming (NLP) were employed as optimization techniques to enhance the WDN by minimizing leakage and improving its resilience. The study involved determining leakage coefficients for nodes using measured data and GA. Subsequently, the WDN was optimized by defining an objective function, constraints, and decision variables using both GA and NLP. The results demonstrated the superiority of GA in terms of pressure reduction, achieving a significant decrease of 23.7%. Additionally, GA outperformed NLP in enhancing the resiliency index, underscoring its effectiveness in optimizing the network's performance and ensuring its robustness against potential disruptions

In Vivo Assessment of Gamma Rays, Electron-beam Irradiation plus a Commercial Toxin Binder (Milbond-TX) As an Anti-Aflatoxin B1 in a Chicken Model

Background: Aspergillus flavus is the most important fungus for production of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). This study evaluated the ability of gamma rays (GRs) and electron-beam irradiation (EBI) to counteract the deleterious effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in a chicken model. Methods: Overall, 168 one-day-old male Coturnix quails were assigned to eight treatments for 42 d in Tehran, Iran, in 2010 and 2011. Two dietary inclusion rates of AFB1 (0 and 2 ppm) and toxin binders, such as 0, 27 kGy doses of GRs, 27 kGy doses of EBI, and 0.3% of commercial toxin binder-milbond-TX, were tested in a 2×4 factorial manner. Serum biochemical parameters, immune response, and dietary treatments on factors associated with kidney and lipid profiles were determined on day 42. Results: AFB1 significantly decreased the hematological parameters (Hematocrit in 21 and 42 d), immune response (White blood cell (WBC), heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (H/L) and sheep red blood cell (SRBC)), and blood chemical factors (glucose, albumin, total protein, and triglycerides) compared to the control diet (P<0.05). It also significantly increased the calcium, phosphorus, uric acid, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels (P<0.05). The addition of toxin binders, such as GRs, EBI, and milbond-TX, in the contaminated diets significantly diminished the inhibitory effects of dietary AFB1 (P<0.05) on the hematological parameters, immune response, blood chemical factors, and factors associated with kidney and lipids profile with no differences compared to the control diet. Conclusion: The addition of these toxin binders may reduce the adverse effects produced by the presence of AFB1 in Japanese quails’ diets

Protective Influence of Gamma Rays and Electron-Beam Irradiation with a Commercial Toxin Binder on Toxic Effects of Aflatoxin B1 in Japanese Quails

Background: This cross sectional study was conducted to evaluate the effect of γ-rays and electron-beam irradiation with a commercial toxin binder-milbond-TX on the performance, feed components, and meat quality of Japanese quails challenged with aflatoxin B1. Methods: Overall, 168 One-d-old chicks (Japanese quails) were allocated to eight treatments with three replicates based on a completely randomized design in a 2×4 factorial arrangement. Two levels of aflatoxin (Zero and 2 ppm) were considered as the essential factor. The secondary factor was involved in four levels (Control, 27 k Gy doses of γ-rays, electron-beam irradiation, and 0.3% commercial toxin binder-milbond-TX). Results: In vitro condition showed that experiment diets do not have any effect on meat quality and feed components such as malondialdehyde, protein, fat, ash, and the dry matter. However, the highest and the lowest levels of feed intake and body weight gain were observed in the 7th treatment (2-ppm aflatoxin B1 + electron-beam irradiation) and the 2nd treatment (2-ppm aflatoxin B1 alone), respectively in 1-15 and 29-42 days (P≤0.05). In addition, the highest liver weight (1.73), spleen (0.57) and bursa (0.18) were seen in the second treatment (2 ppm aflatoxin B1) alone (P≤0.05) at the age of 42 days. Conclusion: γ-rays and electron-beam irradiation plus commercial toxin binder-milbond-TX can be used for aflatoxin B1 absorption in poultry diets