Congenital spinal tumor in a patient with encephalocele and hydrocephalus: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Encephalocele is a rare congenital abnormality of the central nervous system, where brain tissue protrudes from a defect in the skull. Some anomalies are associated with encephalocele. However, the association of spinal teratoma and encephalocele has not been reported in the English literature.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of an Iranian girl with a history of encephalocele surgery, who, at the age of four years, developed an intramedullary spinal teratoma, and discuss the pathogenesis of this association.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an association between encephalocele and spinal teratoma.</p

Investigating the attitude of medical students to the effect of applying correct skills of teacher-student communication on learning physiology

Background: Physiology is one of the most basic lessons among medical education courses. The teacher can facilitate the teaching process for compensating deficiencies in textbooks.Method: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study and the available sampling method was used. The study population in this study was students of Abadan University of Medical Sciences who had physiology lessons in their curriculum in the first semester of the 2019-2020 academic years.Results: The results showed that respect for the student's personality, teacher's scientific mastery of the subject of teaching and a few minutes break between teaching with %95.7, the flexibility of the teacher and the interest in teaching with 92.7%, the up-to-datedness of the teacher with 92.7%, and the way of speaking and pleasantness of the teacher with 91.3% have the greatest impact on increasing learning of students. On the other hand, teacher's strictness with %46.5 and teacher's stubbornness with %8.7 had the least effect on increasing student's learningConclusions: The results obtained regarding the correct communication skills between teacher and students as the most effective in better learning physiology lessons and the highest scores, respectively, were:: teacher's scientific mastery, teacher's expression, respect for the student's personality by the teacher, teacher's up to dateness, teacher's flexibility, teacher's sobriety, teacher's appropriate class management, teacher's high self-confidence, teacher's patience, teacher's kindness, and teacher's interest in teaching

Medical and anesthesia students’ attitude toward e-learning physiology courses during the COVID-19 pandemic days

Background: The alarming outbreak of the COVID-19 virus significantly disrupted all aspects of human life, including education. As a result, e-learning has become a vital tool for education. This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of medical and anesthesia students toward e-learning in physiology during the pandemic of COVID-19. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted among 67 medical and anesthesiology students at Abadan University of Medical Sciences who studied physiology in the second semester of 2020-2021 in the form of e-learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A researcher-created questionnaire was used, rating items on a five-point Likert scale. Data were entered into SPSS 21 for statistical analysis and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 73.1% of the participants in this study were women. The favorable opinions of students by percentage were as follows: satisfactory access to the Internet, 71.0%; the possibility of downloading educational content from the educational system, 88.2%; effective communication between teacher and student through e-learning, 20.6%; e-learning by combining online and offline education, 69.1%; the suitability of offline educational content due to accessibility convenient to learn at any time and place where the student wants to learn, 75%; face-to-face education is more suitable than e-learning, 60.3%. Conclusion: Effective communication between teacher and student is weak in virtual/online education. Students were generally positive about a combination of online and offline virtual education together and liked offline educational content due to ease of access at any time and place. In general, students preferred face-to-face teaching to virtual education

Evaluation of laboratory diagnostic markers in patients with hypertension

Background: Hypertension is growing as a global public health problem. It is one of the most important risk factors for various diseases including cardiovascular disease. The study of laboratory markers and early detection of complications can play an effective role in controlling the disease. Objectives: The present study was performed to determine renal, hepatic, and blood markers in patients with hypertension in Abadan and Khorramshahr educational hospitals. Materials and Methods: The present study was a descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study that was performed from March 21, 2020, to March 19, 2021, on patients with hypertension referred to Abadan and Khorramshahr educational hospitals. Information on age, sex, and laboratory diagnostic factors of patients with hypertension admitted to HIS were received. Data were analyzed using STATA software. Results: The study population was 1505 patients with hypertension admitted to Abadan and Khorramshahr educational hospitals (487 male (32%) and 1018 were females (68%). The average age of the patients was 61 (SD: 12). The highest frequency of patients with hypertension was in the age group of 64-55 years with a frequency of 420 (27.9%). The results showed that the mean of creatinine was higher than normal. The mean of CK-MB and INR was slightly higher than normal. The two sexes were significantly different from the mean of CK-MB, AST, ALT, Cr, Na, MCHC, HCT, HB, and RBC. According to the unadjusted and multiple logistic regression analysis, Each 1 unit increase in BUN and K+ was associated with an increase in the odds of abnormal creatinine. Each 1 unit increase in RBC, HB, HCT, MCH, and MCHC was associated with a decrease in the odds of abnormal creatinine, and Each 1 unit increase in PT was associated with an increase in the odds of abnormal creatinine. Conclusions: The results of the present study showed that some laboratory markers in patients with hypertension were above the normal range including renal, cardiac, and coagulation diagnostic factors and some of it depends on age and sex, so it is important to pay attention to these markers in controlling high blood pressure in these patients, however, further studies in this field are recommended. &nbsp

MIL-125-based nanocarrier decorated with Palladium complex for targeted drug delivery

Abstract The aim of this work was to provide a novel approach to designing and synthesizing a nanocomposite with significant biocompatibility, biodegradability, and stability in biological microenvironments. Hence, the porous ultra-low-density materials, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), have been considered and the MIL-125(Ti) has been chosen due to its distinctive characteristics such as great biocompatibility and good biodegradability immobilized on the surface of the reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Based on the results, the presence of transition metal complexes next to the drug not only can reinforce the stability of the drug on the structure by preparing π–π interaction between ligands and the drug but also can enhance the efficiency of the drug by preventing the spontaneous release. The effect of utilizing transition metal complex beside drug (Doxorubicin (DOX)) on the drug loading, drug release, and antibacterial activity of prepared nanocomposites on the P. aeruginosa and S. aureus as a model bacterium has been investigated and the results revealed that this theory leads to increasing about 200% in antibacterial activity. In addition, uptake, the release of the drug, and relative cell viabilities (in vitro and in vivo) of prepared nanomaterials and biomaterials have been discussed. Based on collected data, the median size of prepared nanocomposites was 156.2 nm, and their biological stability in PBS and DMEM + 10% FBS was screened and revealed that after 2.880 min, the nanocomposite’s size reached 242.3 and 516 nm respectively. The MTT results demonstrated that immobilizing PdL beside DOX leads to an increase of more than 15% in the cell viability. It is noticeable that the AST:ALT result of prepared nanocomposite was under 1.5

Bioactive hybrid metal-organic framework (MOF)-based nanosensors for optical detection of recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen

Fast, efficient, and accurate detection of SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen is pivotal to control the spread and reduce the mortality of COVID-19. Nevertheless, the sensitivity of available nanobiosensors to detect recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen seems insufficient. As a proof-of-concept, MOF-5/CoNi2S4 is developed as a low-cost, safe, and bioactive hybrid nanostructure via the one-pot high-gravity protocol. Then, the porphyrin, H2TMP, was attached to the surface of the synthesized nanomaterial to increase the porosity for efficient detection of recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen. AFM results approved roughness in different ranges, including 0.54 to 0.74 μm and 0.78 to ≈0.80 μm, showing good physical interactions with the recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen. MTT assay was performed and compared to the conventional synthesis methods, including hydrothermal, solvothermal, and microwave-assisted methods. The synthesized nanodevices demonstrated above 88% relative cell viability after 24 h and even 48 h of treatment. Besides, the ability of the synthesized nanomaterials to detect the recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen was investigated, with a detection limit of 5 nM. The in-situ synthesized nanoplatforms exhibited low cytotoxicity, high biocompatibility, and appropriate tunability. The fabricated nanosystems seem promising for future surveys as potential platforms to be integrated into biosensors

Assessment of an APOBEC3B truncating mutation, c.783delG, in patients with breast cancer.

APOBEC3B belongs to the family of DNA-editing enzymes. A copy number variant targeting the genomic APOBEC3A-APOBEC3B locus has a significant impact on breast cancer risk, but the relative contribution of APOBEC3B is uncertain. In this study, we investigate a loss-of-function mutation that selectively targets APOBEC3B, for its association with breast cancer risk