Combined Branch Retinal Vein and Artery Occlusion in Toxoplasmosis with Hyperhomocysteinemia, and Mutation of Factor V Leiden

Moreover, heterozygosity of a mutation of factor V Leiden; FVL (coagulation factor V gene) was also observed in the case. The patient was diagnosed with branch retinal vein and artery occlusion with hyperhomocysteinemia and mutation of factor V Leiden. The patient was underwent intravitreal injection of bevacizum (IVB), and PRP laser due to severe retinal ischemia and extensive NVD. The patient was treated with sulfamethoxazole (800 mg), trimethoprim (160 mg), and corticosteroid (1-1.5 mg/kg/day). Vitamin B6 (100 mg/daily), acid folic (5 mg daily), and vitamin B12 (112 mg/daily) were also added to the treatment for 8 weeks. After treatment, the assessment of plasma homocysteine showed that the level of homocysteine was normal. This is the first report of combined retinal branch vein and artery occlusion in toxoplasmosis with hyperhomocysteinemia and mutation of factor V Leiden

Effective Treatment of Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis of Breast Cancer by Low Voltage High-Frequency Electrochemotherapy

Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a new local treatment method for solid and superficial tumors. During this new technique, patients experience an unpleasant sensation and slight edema. Most unpleasant and painful is mainly attributed to muscle contractions provoked by high amplitude and low repetition frequency pulses. Recently, we showed that electrochemotherapy using low voltage and higher repetition frequency (LVHF ECT) is an effective tool for inhibiting tumor growth and inducing cell permeabilization. Low voltage high-frequency electrochemotherapy was developed and optimized in vitro and in vivo which and can be used in the clinic. In the present study, we report a case of cervical lymph node metastasis of breast cancer treated by the technique. In our case, LVHF ECT was successful in reducing the size and palliating the symptoms of cervical lymph node metastasis in clinical conditions, whereas other approaches were inefficient. Our electrochemotherapy technique shows good clinical results. However, more studies on this new method are necessary to prove that LVHF ECT can be considered as a standard treatment modality

Platinum Nanoparticles in Biomedicine: Preparation, Anti-Cancer Activity, and Drug Delivery Vehicles

Cancer is the main cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, excluding infectious disease. Because of their lack of specificity in chemotherapy agents are used for cancer treatment, these agents have severe systemic side effects, and gradually lose their therapeutic effects because most cancers become multidrug resistant. Platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) are relatively new agents that are being tested in cancer therapy. This review covers the various methods for the preparation and physicochemical characterization of PtNPs. PtNPs have been shown to possess some intrinsic anticancer activity, probably due to their antioxidant action, which slows tumor growth. Targeting ligands can be attached to functionalized metal PtNPs to improve their tumor targeting ability. PtNPs-based therapeutic systems can enable the controlled release of drugs, to improve the efficiency and reduce the side effects of cancer therapy. Pt-based materials play a key role in clinical research. Thus, the diagnostic and medical industries are exploring the possibility of using PtNPs as a next-generation anticancer therapeutic agent. Although, biologically prepared nanomaterials exhibit high efficacy with low concentrations, several factors still need to be considered for clinical use of PtNPs such as the source of raw materials, stability, solubility, the method of production, biodistribution, accumulation, controlled release, cell-specific targeting, and toxicological issues to human beings. The development of PtNPs as an anticancer agent is one of the most valuable approaches for cancer treatment. The future of PtNPs in biomedical applications holds great promise, especially in the area of disease diagnosis, early detection, cellular and deep tissue imaging, drug/gene delivery, as well as multifunctional therapeutics

Isolation and identification of phenol degrading bacteria from Kor river and their growth kinetics assay

Background : Phenol and it’s derivatives were removed by physicochemical methods in the past but nowadays biological treatment has priority. Bacteria with the rapid proliferation in the presence of phenol and it’s derivatives can remove them in a good manner. The aim of this project is isolation and identification of bacteria that degrade phenol from water and sediment of Kor river and also investigation of their growth kinetics in the presence of this toxic matrer. Materials and Methods: 60 samples from water and sediment of different area in Kor river were collected. Then collected samples were cultivated in the salt base phenol broth medium for isolation of phenol degrading bacteria. For screening of phenol degrading bacteria bromothymol blue was added to culture medium. Bacteria were cultivated in different concentrations of phenol (0.2-0.9 g/L), so bacterial ability in degrading of different concentrations of phenol was measured. Investigation of growth kinetics of bacteria was done by continuously recorded of optical absorption in 600 nm (OD600). In this method after primary record of OD, culture media were placed in incubator for 24 hours and in 30ºC with round of 100 rpm. After that optical absorption was recorded for 300 hours. Results: Pseudomonas sp were amongst the most important phenol degrading bacteria which were isolated from Kor river. They have a wide frequency in different area of this river. Acinetobacter also was important after Pseudomonas. The most of isolated bacteria had special ability in degrading phenol .For example Pseudomonas up to 0.9 g/L, Acinetobacter up to 0.8 g/L, Shigella, Salmonella, Klebsiella, and Citrobacter up to 0.6 g/L and other bacteria up to 0.2-0.3 g/L removed phenol from culture medium. Investigation of OD600 also confirmed acquired data because Pseudomonas had the most value of OD and maximum optical absorption for each bacterium was observed in the maximum degradation concentration. Conclusion: Kor river has many phenol degrading bacteria that have high ability in phenol degrading. Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter can be referred to as the most important ones

Usporedba učinkovitosti lidokaina i destilirane vode te lidokaina i magnezijeva sulfata za epiduralnu anesteziju u koza.

Ruminants are generally not considered good subjects for general anaesthesia mainly because of the hazards of regurgitation and inhalation of ruminal contents or saliva into the lungs if the airway is left unprotected. Thus, regional anaesthesia produced by perineural or epidural injections of anaesthetic agents are most frequently employed in these species. The following study was carried out to compare directly the time of onset and duration of analgesia produced by a lidocaine-MgSO4 combination with that produced by lidocaine-distilled water administration in the epidural space of goats. Seven healthy adult (2 ± 0.5 years of age) native goats (49 ± 3 kg) were selected for this study. Caudal epidural anesthesia was produced in all goats by 2% lidocaine (1 mL/7 kg) with 1 mL distilled water and two weeks later repeated by 2% lidocaine (1 mL/7 kg) with 1 mL of 10% MgSO4. Time of onset, duration, standing and cranial spread of analgesia were recorded. Heart rate, respiratory rate and body temperature were recorded at 0 minutes prior to epidural administrations of each treatments as base line values and at 10, 30, 45 and 60 minutes after the epidural administration of each treatments. Statistical analysis included the paired Student’s t-test and ANOVA (SPSS, soft ware of windows). P<0.05 was considered as a significant level. A significant difference (P<0.05) was noted for the onset of analgesia between lidocaine-distilled water (2.38 ± 0.38 min) and lidocaine-MgSO4 (3.71 ± 0.38 min). Lidocaine-MgSO4 produced analgesia of significantly longer duration (171.85 ± 8.07 min) than that of lidocaine-distilled water (61.42 ± 6.39 min). There were no significant differences in standing time between the two groups. There were no significant differences in HR, RR, and body temperature in comparison with the base line values in the lidocaine-distilled water and lidocaine-MgSO4 groups. Using this combination, long duration obstetrical and surgical procedures could commence relatively soon after epidural injection and could be completed without re-administration of the anesthetic agent.Preživači općenito nisu pogodni za opću anesteziju većinom zbog opasnosti od regurgitacije i inhalacije buražna sadržaja ili sline u pluća, ako su im zračni prohodi nezaštićeni. Zbog toga se u njih najčešće primjenjuje perineuralna ili epiduralna anestezija. Ovo istraživanje je provedeno radi izravne usporedbe nastupa i trajanja analgezije postignute primjenom lidokaina i magnezijeva sulfata te lidokaina i destilirane vode u epiduralni prostor u koza. Sedam zdravih odraslih koza (u dobi od 2 ± 0,5 godina) tjelesne mase od 49 ± 3 kg odabrano je za ovo istraživanje. U svih je provedena kaudalna epiduralna anestezija 2%-tnim lidokainom (1 mL/7 kg) i jednim mililitrom destilirane vode. Dva tjedna poslije, epiduralna anestezija bila je ponovljena 2%-tnim lidokainom (1 mL/7 kg) i jednim mililitrom 10%-tnog magnezijeva sulfata. Promatrano je vrijeme nastupa anestezije, njezino trajanje, postojanost i kranijalno širenje. Frekvencija bila i disanja te tjelesna temperatura izmjereni su prije davanja anestezije kao bazalne vrijednosti, a zatim 10, 30, 45 i 60 minuta nakon epiduralne injekcije. Rezultati su bili statistički obrađeni Student t-testom i ANOVA testom. P<0,05 smatran je značajnom razinom. Značajna razlika (P<0,05) bila je zabilježena u vremenu nastupa analgezije postignute lidokainom i destiliranom vodom (2,38 ± 0,38 min) te lidokainom i magnezijevim sulfatom (3,71 ± 0,38 min). Analgezija postignuta lidokainom i magnezijevim sulfatom trajala je znatno duže (171,85 ± 8,07 min) od one postignute lidokain-destiliranom vodom (61,42 ± 6,39 min). Nije ustanovljena statistički značajna razlika za frekvenciju bila, disanja i tjelesnu temperaturu u odnosu na bazalne vrijednosti u obih skupina. Primjenom kombinacije lidokain-magnezijev sulfat dugotrajni porodnički i kirurški zahvati mogu započeti relativno brzo nakon epiduralne injekcije te se mogu završiti bez ponovljene primjene anestetika

Accidents in children under 5 years in Yazd province, Iran

Introduction:Accidents are one of the most important causes of injury and death across the world, including Iran. The epidemiological data play a key role in taking effective strategic decisions for their prevention and control. This study was conducted to determine the Frequency of different types of accidents in children aged under 5 years living in Yazd province, Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data on 2489 children under 5 years referred to hospitals in Yazd province were collected from March, 2015 to March, 2016, using the accidents registration forms and the related software. Chi-square test was incorporated to analyze the results using SPSS version 19. Results: The frequency of accidents in boys was 1460 (58.7%) and in girls 1029 (41.3%). Accidents occurred most frequently in April-May (n: 245, 9.8%) and the winter (n: 693, 27.8%). 93.3% of accidents occurred in the urban areas, 4.4% in the rural areas and 2.3% in outside the city and the villages. The total  number of accidents at home was 1743 (70%) and in the alleys and on the streets 495 (19%), the most frequent accident was falling (n: 743, 29.9%), followed by burns (n: 543, 21.8%) and  trauma (n: 495, 19.9%). The difference in the type of accident between different age groups was significant (P< 0.001). Conclusion: The comparatively higher frequency of falling, burn, trauma, as well as the accidents at home and in the winter indicate parents’ insufficient attention to home safety standards and their lack of adequate information about protection of children under5 years against the most common accidents of this age group. Planning for and intervention in these areas might help in reducing the accidents

Determination of Chemical Composition, and Antiradical and Antimicrobial Capacities of Hydroalcoholic Extracts of Ficus johannis Boiss.

Introduction: Ficus johannis Boiss. is a shrubby species in the family Moracae, exclusively found in Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. This research studies the total phenolic content, flavonoid concentrations, antioxidant capacity, and antimicrobial activity of this biologically unknown species. Materials and Methods: The plant materials were gathered from the northern slope of Taftan Mountain in Sistan and Baluchestan, in the summer of 2022. After washing, drying, grinding, and obtaining hydroalcoholic extracts of the fruits and leaves, the quantification of the phenolic and flavonoid concentrations was done spectrophotometrically utilizing the Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride colorimetric techniques. The anti-radical activity of the organs was assayed via the DPPH protocol and their antimicrobial effects were assessed using the broth microdilution and streak plate techniques against six bacterial, and three fungal pathogens. Results: The phenolic compounds were found to be evenly distributed in both leaf and fruit extracts (around 1000 µg GAE/g dry extract) while flavonoids were detected in significantly higher concentrations in the fruit extract (541.17 vs 427.24 µg QrE/g dry extract). The leaf extract was better at scavenging free radicals compared to the fruit extract (IC50 93.79 vs 239.62 μg/ml, respectively), while, both extracts showed higher IC50 values than the positive control. The leaf extract showed better inhibitory effects on the tested microorganisms compared to the fruit extract. The leaf extract was effective against all tested bacteria, whereas, among the investigated fungi, only Aspergillus fumigatus was vulnerable to it. Conversely, the fruit extract was able to prevent the growth of all investigated fungal strains, but only two bacterial strains (Streptococcus pyogenes and Klebsiella pneumonia) were affected by it. Conclusion: The Ficus johannis fruits and leaves are great sources of phenolic and flavonoid compounds with moderate anti-radical capacity. Moreover, the fruit extract mainly contains antifungal ingredients while the leaf extract chiefly includes antibacterial agents

Sleep habits and road traffic accident risk for Iranian occupational drivers

Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the sleep quality and sleep disorders (prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea and sleepiness) among occupational drivers in Iran and to determine which demographic factors and occupational habits are linked to road traffic accidents. Material and Methods: In this analytic cross-sectional study 556 occupational road drivers from Shahroud city (in the northeast of Iran) participated, upon a prior verbal informed consent, during 2013–2014. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) standard questionnaire that scored on 7 point scale, the 8-item Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) questionnaire and the 8-question STOP-Bang questionnaire along with demographic information and occupational data were used. To explore the independent factors associated with odds of poor sleep quality and road accident, multiple logistic regression models were used. Results: Prevalence of previous road accidents, sleepiness while driving, and obstructive sleep apnea scored ≥ 3 in the study, and drivers accounted for 23.8%, 29%, and 24.8%, respectively. The global mean score of sleep quality and excessive sleepiness score were 5.2 and 4.8, respectively. The main factors related to the odds of poor sleep quality were snoring (odds ratio (OR) = 2.34; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.15–4.77), smoking (OR = 2.12; 95% CI: 1.15–3.97), and driving times in a day (OR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.03–1.21). The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (OR = 1.13; 95% CI: 1.07–1.23) and suffering from apnea (OR = 4.89; 95% CI: 1.07–23.83) were the best predictors for odds (increased risk) of road accidents. Conclusions: A considerable proportion of Iranian drivers had records of road accidents; poor sleep quality, sleepiness while driving, and sleep disorder breathing (obstructive sleep apnea – OSA). Snoring, smoking, driving time in a day, excessive sleepiness, and presumably apnea increase the odds of poor sleep quality and road traffic accident for Iranian occupational drivers

Sleep habits and road traffic accident risk for Iranian occupational drivers

Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the sleep quality and sleep disorders (prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea and sleepiness) among occupational drivers in Iran and to determine which demographic factors and occupational habits are linked to road traffic accidents. Material and Methods: In this analytic cross-sectional study 556 occupational road drivers from Shahroud city (in the northeast of Iran) participated, upon a prior verbal informed consent, during 2013–2014. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) standard questionnaire that scored on 7 point scale, the 8-item Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) questionnaire and the 8-question STOP-Bang questionnaire along with demographic information and occupational data were used. To explore the independent factors associated with odds of poor sleep quality and road accident, multiple logistic regression models were used. Results: Prevalence of previous road accidents, sleepiness while driving, and obstructive sleep apnea scored ≥ 3 in the study, and drivers accounted for 23.8%, 29%, and 24.8%, respectively. The global mean score of sleep quality and excessive sleepiness score were 5.2 and 4.8, respectively. The main factors related to the odds of poor sleep quality were snoring (odds ratio (OR) = 2.34; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.15–4.77), smoking (OR = 2.12; 95% CI: 1.15–3.97), and driving times in a day (OR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.03–1.21). The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (OR = 1.13; 95% CI: 1.07–1.23) and suffering from apnea (OR = 4.89; 95% CI: 1.07–23.83) were the best predictors for odds (increased risk) of road accidents. Conclusions: A considerable proportion of Iranian drivers had records of road accidents; poor sleep quality, sleepiness while driving, and sleep disorder breathing (obstructive sleep apnea – OSA). Snoring, smoking, driving time in a day, excessive sleepiness, and presumably apnea increase the odds of poor sleep quality and road traffic accident for Iranian occupational drivers