Survey of Views of Medical Students on Telemedicine Methods Developed in the Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Background & Objective: Telemedicine is the use of new communication and information technologies to provide clinical services, health care, and transferring of information for care of patients from a geographical distance. The aim of this research was to determine the views of medical students on the development of telemedicine procedures in the Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Methods: A sample of 90 medical students was selected randomly in the first semester of study of 2011-12. The student's views were assessed using a questionnaire of 33 questions consisting of three parts: demographic data, questions in five areas (organizational factors, technological factors, stakeholders, agents, information literacy, and environmental factors), and student use of the various areas of technology (computers, internet, medical websites, medical applications, and etc.) Results: In the questions concerning the scope of the organizational factors 65.5% of students had a positive opinion in regard to "admission to the structural changes in the organization". Among the factors of technology 86.7% of students had positive views on "broadband access", in the factors of stakeholders 58.9% on "empowering the private sector in implementing telemedicine", in the information literacy 75.5% on "students' skills in using computers and the Internet", and in the environmental factors 80.0% on "economic factors for the plan". Conclusion: Students believed the role of economic factors (cost, appropriate technology, and etc.) to be more important than cultural factors (physician-patient interaction, culture, community support, willingness of the family, and etcetera). Keywords Vision Telemedicine Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences Ira

Prevalence and association of human papillomavirus, Epstein-Barr virus and Merkel Cell polyomavirus with neoplastic esophageal lesions in northern Iran

Background: Studies concerning on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) etiological factors have been done for several decades, however, results reported from various investigations were not consistent. The present investigation aimed to explore the presence of 3 oncogenic viruses, human papilloma virus (HPV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) in the neoplastic and non- neoplastic esophageal lesions collected from Mazandaran, a high risk area of Iran. Methods: In total, 168 esophageal specimens (100 with ESCC confirmed diagnosis and 68 without esophageal malignancy) were analyzed for HPV, EBV and MCPyV by Real Time PCR. Results: HPV DNA was detected in 27 out of the 100 neoplastic esophageal lesions (27.0%) and 28 out of the 68 samples from non-neoplastic group (41.2%). EBV DNA was detected in esophageal specimens of 10 out of the 100 neoplastic cases (10%) and 3 out of the 68 samples in non- neoplastic group (4.4%). MCPyV DNA was detected in esophageal specimens of 30 out of the 100 neoplastic cases (30.0%) and 24 out of the 68 samples in non- neoplastic group (35.3%). There was no statistically significant difference in HPV (p=0.066), EBV (p=0.143) and MCPyV (p=0.471) DNA positivity between neoplastic and non-neoplastic groups. Conclusions: This study showed that HPV, EBV and MCPyV can be detected in both neoplastic and non-neoplastic esophageal tissues and weakens the hypothesis of the pathogenic role of these viruses in esophageal malignant transformation

Correlation of radiomorphometric indices of the mandible and mandibular angle fractures

This study assessed the correlation of radiomorphometric indices of the mandible and mandibular angle fractures (MAFs) in an Iranian population. This retrospective study was conducted on 3D computed tomography (CT) scans of 118 patients between 18 to 60 years. The images were divided into two groups with MAFs and other types of mandibular fractures (non-MAF). The gonial angle, ramus height, condylar neck width, minimum ramus width, and mandibular length were all measured using MARCO PACS software. Age, gender, and presence and eruption status of third molar at the fracture side were all recorded. The correlation between these parameters and MAF was analyzed using R software (alpha ¼ 0.05). Of all patients, 41 samples had MAF. The two groups were not significantly different regarding the mean age and gender (P > 0.05). The mean size of gonial angle and ramus height in the MAF group were significantly larger, and smaller than the corresponding values in the non-MAF group, respectively (P < 0.001). The median minimum ramus width in the MAF group was significantly smaller than that in the non-MAF group (P ¼ 0.001). Patients with a large gonial angle had 6.6 times higher odds of MAF compared with other fracture types (P ¼ 0.046). Condylar neck width, mandibular length, and erupted third molars had no significant correlation with type of fracture. Presence of impacted third molar increased the odds of MAF by 5.55 times. Patients with a large gonial angle, short ramus height, minimum ramus width, and impacted third molar are more susceptible to MAF. Surgeons can use these indices to predict the risk of MAF in trauma patients with such facial characteristics, and make a diagnosis by radiographic modalities

COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF 1% CURCUMIN NANOMICELLE GEL AND 2% CURCUMIN GEL FOR TREATMENT OF RECURRENT APHTHOUS STOMATITIS: A DOUBLE-BLIND RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

Objective: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a highly prevalent painful inflammatory condition. Curcumin is currently used as a medicinal herb with optimal anti–inflammatory properties for many inflammatory conditions. However, due to its low water solubility and consequently low bioavailability, its nanoparticulate formulation has been considered for use. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of topical application of 1% curcumin nanomicelle gel and 2% curcumin gel for treatment of RAS. Methods: This double-blind randomized clinical trial evaluated 48 RAS patients. The patients randomly received 1% curcumin nanomicelle gel or 2% curcumin gel, and were asked to apply it 3 times/day for 1 week. The severity of pain was measured using a visual analog scale (VAS), and the size of lesions (in millimeters) was measured by a periodontal probe before (baseline), and at 4, and 7 days after treatment. Data were analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA. Results: No significant difference was noted in the pain score (P = .160) or size of lesions (P = .432) between the 2 groups at baseline. At 7 days, the pain score and size of lesions significantly decreased in both groups (P < .05). The reduction in pain score and lesion size was significantly greater in the curcumin nanomicelle gel group at both 4 and 7 days (P < .05). Also, the efficacy index (EI) was higher in curcumin nanomicelle gel group. Conclusions: The 1% curcumin nanomicelle gel can be effectively used to enhance the healing of RAS. Keywords: Recurrent aphthous stomatitisTreatmentNano-curcuminCurcumi

Penicillium chrysogenum-Derived Silver Nanoparticles: Explorationof Their Antibacterial and Biofilm Inhibitory Activity Againstthe Standard and Pathogenic Acinetobacter baumannii Compared to Tetracycline

Abstract: This study was aimed to evaluate the antibacterial and biofilm inhibitory activity of Penicillium chrysogenum-derivedsilver nanoparticles (AgNPs) against the standard and pathogenic Acinetobacter baumannii using a 96-well microtiterplate-based method. The AgNPs were characterized by using UV–Vis, TEM, AFM, XRD, DLS, Zeta potential, and FT-IR.The nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated with a spherical shape and an average hydrodynamic diameter of 48.2 nm. Theminimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of AgNPs were found to be 4and 32 lg/mL respectively, whereas the MIC and MBC of tetracycline were found to be 1024 and 8192 lg/mL against A.baumannii (ATCC 19606). The AgNPs and tetracycline represented considerable biofilm inhibitory activity against boththe standard and pathogenic A. baumannii at the studied concentrations. However, the AgNPs depicted higher potency toinhibit the process of biofilm formation of some pathogenic A. baumannii species compared to tetracycline. The AgNPs atthe concentration of 0.5*MIC (2 lg/mL) inhibited above 90% biofilm inhibition, whereas tetracycline reached 90% biofilminhibition at the concentration of 4*MIC (4096 lg/mL) against A. baumannii (ATCC 19606). However, further studies arerequired to evaluate the biofilm inhibitory efficacy of biogenic AgNPs in vivo. Keywords: Silver nanoparticles, Biosynthesis, Antibacterial activity, Biofilm inhibitory activit

Long-Term Follow-up of Autologous Fibroblast Transplantation for Facial Contour Deformities, A Non-Randomized Phase IIa Clinical Trial

Objective: Recently, the promising potential of fibroblast transplantation has become a novel modality for skin rejuvenation. We investigated the long-term safety and efficacy of autologous fibroblast transplantation for participants with mild to severe facial contour deformities. Materials and Methods: In this open-label, single-arm phase IIa clinical trial, a total of 57 participants with wrinkles (n=37, 132 treatment sites) or acne scars (n=20, 36 treatment sites) who had an evaluator’s assessment score of at least 2 out 7 (based on a standard photo-guide scoring) received 3 injections of autologous cultured fibroblasts administered at 4-6 week intervals. Efficacy evaluations were performed at 2, 6, 12, and 24 months after the final injection based on evaluator and patient’s assessment scores. Results: Our study showed a mean improvement of 2 scores in the wrinkle and acne scar treatment sites. At sixth months after transplantation, 90.1% of the wrinkle sites and 86.1% of the acne scar sites showed at least a one grade improvement on evaluator assessments. We also observed at least a 2-grade improvement in 56.1% of the wrinkle sites and 63.9% of the acne scar sites. A total of 70.5% of wrinkle sites and 72.2% of acne scar sites were scored as good or excellent on patient assessments. The efficacy outcomes remained stable up to 24-month. We did not observe any serious adverse events during the study. Conclusion: These results have shown that autologous fibroblast transplantation could be a promising remodeling modality with long-term corrective ability and minimal adverse events (Registration Number: NCT01115634)

Association between the synonymous variant organic cation transporter 3 (OCT3)-1233G>A and the glycemic response following metformin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes

Objective(s): Organic cation transporter 3 (OCT3) as a high-capacity transporter contribute to the metabolism of metformin. The present study was conducted to determine the genotype frequencies of the variant OCT3-1233G>A (rs2292334) in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D) and its relationship with response to metformin. Materials and Methods: This study included 150 patients with T2D who were classified into two groups following three months of metformin therapy: responders (by more than 1% reduction in HbA1c from baseline) and nonresponders (less than 1% reduction in HbA1c from baseline). PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) served to genotype OCT3-564G>A variant. Results: The parameters such as HbA1c (PA variant in our study and different ethnic populations confirm that the variant is a highly polymorphic variant

LncRNA–miRNA–mRNA Networks of Gastrointestinal Cancers Representing Common and Specific LncRNAs and mRNAs

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are responsible for approximately half of cancer-related deaths, highlighting the need for the identification of distinct and common features in their clinicopathological characteristics. Long ncRNA (lncRNAs), which are involved in competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks with critical roles in biological processes, constitute a substantial number of non-coding RNAs. Therefore, our study aimed to investigate the similarities and differences in the ceRNA networks of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-GI cancers. We performed a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of ceRNA networks for TCGA-GI cancers in terms of the deferential mRNA, lncRNA, and miRNA expression levels, ceRNA networks, overall survival analysis, correlation analysis, pathological cancer stages, and gene set enrichment analysis. Our study revealed several common and distinct mRNAs and lncRNAs with prognostic values in these networks. It was specifically noteworthy that MAGI2-AS3 lncRNA was found to be shared in almost all GI cancers. Moreover, the most common shared mRNAs between GI cancers were MEIS1, PPP1R3C, ADAMTSL3, RIPOR2, and MYLK. For each cancer ceRNA network, we found that the expression level of a number of lncRNAs and mRNAs was specific. Furthermore, our study provided compelling evidence that several genes, most notably KDELC1, can act as novel proto-oncogenes in cancers. This, in turn, can highlight their role as new prognostic and therapeutic targets. Moreover, we found cell cycle and extracellular matrix structural constituent as the top shared KEGG and molecular function, respectively, among GI cancers. Our study revealed several known lncRNAs and known and unknown mRNAs in GI cancers with diagnostic and prognostic value