Unusual Esophageal Foreign Bodies in a Schizophrenic Patient: A Case Report

Introduction: The possibility of foreign body ingestion should be considered in psychiatric patients. In some complicated cases, foreign bodies become problematic and require immediate surgical intervention. Case presentation: A 45-year-old man with schizophrenia swallowed razor blades and pieces of glass resulting in esophageal perforation, pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum and urgent need for surgery. He was presented in shock state but successfully passed post-operative period in the intensive care unit and surgical ward and was ultimately transferred to the psychiatric ward. Conclusion: Management of asymptomatic patients depends on the demographic factors of patients as well as the site affected in the gastrointestinal tract

Redox-Responsive Nanocarrier for Controlled Release of Drugs in Inflammatory Skin Diseases

A synthetic route for redox-sensitive and non-sensitive core multi-shell (CMS) carriers with sizes below 20 nm and narrow molecular weight distributions was established. Cyclic voltammetric measurements were conducted characterizing the redox potentials of reduction-sensitive CMS while showcasing its reducibility through glutathione and tris(2-carboxyethyl)-phosphine as a proof of concept. Measurements of reduction-initiated release of the model dye Nile red by time-dependent fluorescence spectroscopy showed a pronounced release for the redox-sensitive CMS nanocarrier (up to 90% within 24 h) while the non-sensitive nanocarriers showed no release in PBS. Penetration experiments using ex vivo human skin showed that the redox-sensitive CMS nanocarrier could deliver higher percentages of the loaded macrocyclic dye meso-tetra (m-hydroxyphenyl) porphyrin (mTHPP) to the skin as compared to the non-sensitive CMS nanocarrier. Encapsulation experiments showed that these CMS nanocarriers can encapsulate dyes or drugs with different molecular weights and hydrophobicity. A drug content of 1 to 6 wt% was achieved for the anti-inflammatory drugs dexamethasone and rapamycin as well as fluorescent dyes such as Nile red and porphyrins. These results show that redox-initiated drug release is a promising strategy to improve the topical drug delivery of macrolide drugs

Mediating Role of Goal Orientation in the Relationship of Spirituality and Self-Efficacy with Hope in University Students: a Structural Model

For downloading the full-text of this article please click here. Background and Objective:Religion and spiritual beliefs are of particular significance in human’s life. Self-efficacy is also a motivating factor for activating, strengthening, sustaining, and guiding behavior toward the goal. Each of these two variables can affect different aspects of life, even how hopeful individuals are. Taking this into account, this study aimed to examine the role of spirituality and self-efficacy in students' hope given the mediating role of goal orientation.Method: The research method is descriptive-correlational, using path analysis. The statistical population included students from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Regarding the number of variables in the proposed path analysis model, which is considered for each variable of 15 people, and by considering the criterion of the generalizability of sample findings to the community, 280 students from the statistical population were selected through available sampling method. To collect data, spirituality, self-efficacy, hope and goal orientation questionnaires were used. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and path analysis. All ethical issues were observed in this study and the researchers declared no conflict of interests.Results: The correlation results show that all of the observed variables correlate (p<0.01). Performing a path analysis to test the relationship between the role of spirituality and self-efficacy on hope through goal orientation and the proposed pattern (RMSEA=0.098, GFI=0/99) showed to be well fit.Conclusion:The results of this research suggest that spirituality and self-efficacy through the goal orientation mediation will increase the hope of students. Therefore, considering the positive impact of self-efficacy and spirituality and goal orientation, the use of these capacities is recommended in individual and group planning and activities of students to boost their hopes.For downloading the full-text of this article please click here

Systemic effects of starved fibroblasts culture supernatant on immunosuppressed rats treated with cancer stem cells

Background: The present study aimed to investigate and compare the effect of starved fibroblast culture supernatant (SFS), DMEM and normal saline alone or along with LA7 on dexamethasone-treated immunosuppressed Wistar rats. Methods: After the isolation of fibroblasts from the fresh foreskin of children, it was cultured in serum-free DMEM, and the supernatant collected after 16 hours (16h-SFS). This solution and the other treatments were injected subcutaneously into the rats from each group once daily for 14 days. The liver, intestine and lung histology along with blood cellular and biochemical characteristics were studied. Results: The results showed that dexamethasone as immunosuppressant reduced the body weight. The histological change in the liver was mild fibrosis induced by LA7+16h-SFS. Also, among the different blood cellular and biochemical indices measured,  the eosinophil percentage in the 16h-SFS treated rats ,  glucose levels in the 16h-SFS+LA7 group and triglyceride concentrations  in the 16h-SFS group were changed (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that the secretions of starved fibroblasts especially that combined with LA7 cancer stem cells could induce some minor histological and biochemical changes in immunosuppressed rats, and also it opened a new window for subsequent investigations on unknown mechanisms related to this work

Antibiotic Self-Medication and Risk Factors among Medical Students in an Iranian University: a Cross Sectional Study

Background: Self-medication with antibiotic is a widely prevalent practice all over the world especially among medical students. This study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence and the pattern of self-medication among medical students in Tehran, Iran. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among the undergraduate medical students from a referral university in Tehran, Iran. All data obtained were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences program (SPSS) version 20. Results: A total of 201 students were enrolled in the current study. According to the analysis, 129 (64.1%) of the study population reported that they have self-medicated with antibiotics at least once in their student life. The principal morbidities for seeking self-medication include cough and common cold (23.4%) followed by fever (14.9%). The most frequent antibiotics used to self-medicate the mentioned morbidities were: amoxicillin (62%), co-amoxiclav (19.4%), penicillin (17%), cefixime (16%), azithromycin (14%) and tetracycline (9%). The majority of the participants stated cost saving, convenience and lack of confidence as their reasons for self-medication. The drug selection was mostly based on opinion of family members (31.8%), their own experience (27.4%) and the least commonly reported was selection based on recommendation by net citizens (0.5%). Conclusion: Our study indicates that self-medication is widely practiced among students of the college. In this situation, the health care system should create as effective awareness and educate their students regarding advantages and disadvantages of self-medication

Development of Functional Filter Materials for Virus Protective Face Masks

Wearing face masks during pandemics is an important protective measure against the spreading of virus-related infectious diseases. Nevertheless, the risk of indirect transmission of virus by handling masks is one of the earliest concerns. This problem can be minimized by supplementing the masks’ textile structure with virus protective coatings. Therefore, in this concept, suitable techniques for manufacturing virus protective filter media should be evaluated. In this study, nonwoven polyamide 6 (PA6) filter material is functionalized with negatively charged linear polyglycerol sulfate (LPGS) as a virus binding functional group. Two coating conditions are investigated in which the direct covalent coating with LPGS has emerged as the optimum coating method, showing no damage to the PA6 nanofiber structure. The uncoated PA6 and LPGS-coated PA6 filter materials exhibited virus particle filtration efficiencies of 95% and 94% for airborne feline coronavirus, 98% and 86% for airborne equine herpesvirus 1(EHV-1), respectively. However, the SARS-CoV-2 absorption assay in solution indicates that the LPGS coating reduces viral titres up to 71% when incubating with the LPGS-coated PA6 filter media for one-hour. Thus, such an effect is not seen for uncoated PA6 materials. These findings confirm the suitability of LPGS coating as a suitable platform for suppression the spreading of viruses in different pandemics

Heat induction in two-dimensional graphene–Fe3O4 nanohybrids for magnetic hyperthermia applications with artificial neural network modeling

We report the synthesis and characterization of graphene functionalized with iron (Fe3+) oxide (G-Fe3O4) nanohybrids for radio-frequency magnetic hyperthermia application. We adopted the wet chemical procedure, using various contents of Fe3O4 (magnetite) from 0–100% for making two-dimensional graphene–Fe3O4 nanohybrids. The homogeneous dispersal of Fe3O4 nanoparticles decorated on the graphene surface combined with their biocompatibility and high thermal conductivity make them an excellent material for magnetic hyperthermia. The morphological and magnetic properties of the nanohybrids were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), respectively. The smart magnetic platforms were exposed to an alternating current (AC) magnetic field of 633 kHz and of strength 9.1 mT for studying their hyperthermic performance. The localized antitumor effects were investigated with artificial neural network modeling. A neural net time-series model was developed for the assessment of the best nanohybrid composition to serve the purpose with an accuracy close to 100%. Six Nonlinear Autoregressive with External Input (NARX) models were obtained, one for each of the components. The assessment of the accuracy of the predicted results has been done on the basis of Mean Squared Error (MSE). The highest Mean Squared Error value was obtained for the nanohybrid containing 45% magnetite and 55% graphene (F45G55) in the training phase i.e., 0.44703, which is where the model achieved optimal results after 71 epochs. The F45G55 nanohybrid was found to be the best for hyperthermia applications in low dosage with the highest specific absorption rate (SAR) and mean squared error values

Transformation of supercapacitive charge storage behaviour in a multi elemental spinel CuMn2O4 nanofibers with alkaline and neutral electrolytes

Electrode material has been cited as one of the most important determining factors in classifying an energy storage system’s charge storage mechanism, i.e., as battery-type or supercapacitive-type. In this paper, we show that along with the electrode material, the electrolyte also plays a role in determining the charge storage behaviour of the system. For the purpose of our research, we chose multi-elemental spinal type CuMn2O4 metal oxide nanofibers to prove the hypothesis. The material is synthesized as nanofibers of diameter ~ 120 to 150 nm in large scales by a pilot scale electrospinning set up. It was then tested in three different electrolytes (1 M KOH, 1 M Na2SO4 and 1 M Li2SO4), two of which are neutral and the third is alkaline (KOH). The cyclic voltammograms and the galvanostatic charge–discharge of the electrode material in a three-electrode system measurement showed that it exhibit different charge storage mechanism in different electrolyte solutions. For the neutral electrolytes, a capacitive behaviour was observed whereas a battery-type behaviour was seen for the alkaline electrolyte. This leads us to conclude that the charge storage mechanism, along with the active material, also depends on the electrolyte used

Characterization of electrochemical double layer capacitor electrode using self-discharge measurements and modeling

A simple protocol to characterize the electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) using self-discharge (open circuit discharge) data and a three-branch electrical model is presented. The method relies on recording the self-discharge data of EDLCs and using it to estimate the parametric values of the variables in the model (time constants, maximum voltage, resistances, and capacitances). Porous carbon and metal oxide electrodes in three choice electrolytes are used for the experiments and the simulations are performed using MATLAB Simulink platform. The simulated and experimental self-discharge data are in close agreement for the EDLC storage mode but not for the battery type storage. The results are further validated by simulating the galvanostatic charge discharge (GCD) cycling data and fitting them to the experimental GCD of the assembled devices with high accuracies. The model presented here thus enables determination of charge storage parameters as well as whether a device is capacitive from a single self-discharge data, thereby providing an excellent tool to characterize EDLCs for both academia and industry