Effect of a posture correction�based intervention on musculoskeletal symptoms and fatigue among control room operators

This study was conducted to examine the effect of a posture correction�based intervention (with a biofeedback device) on the occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) and fatigue among control room operators in a petrochemical plant in Iran. A total of 188 office workers (91 in the case group and 97 in the control group) participated at baseline as well as at 6- and 12-month follow-up. A questionnaire survey (including the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory) and direct observations of working postures by using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method were used. The occurrence of MSS in the shoulders, upper back, neck, and low back areas, as well as the mental and physical dimensions of fatigue were found to be the most common problems. The results showed considerable improvements in working postures (in the neck, trunk, and RULA grand scores) and the occurrence of MSS (particularly in the neck, shoulders, and upper back and low back areas) and fatigue (in particular the mental and physical aspects) after the intervention. The overall mean RULA grand score for the case group was significantly decreased after the intervention (mean scores of 5.1, 4.4, and 4.6 at pre-intervention, post-intervention 1, and post-intervention 2, respectively). A total of 81 operators (89.0) reported some kind of MSS at baseline, which were reduced to 75 operators (82.4) and 77 operators (84.6) at post-interventions 1 and 2, respectively. Significant differences were also found between the pre- and post-intervention scores for the physical fatigue (mean of 12.19, 10.16, and 9.99 at pre-intervention, post-intervention 1, and post-intervention 2, respectively) and mental fatigue (mean of 14.03, 12.05, and 12.16 at pre-intervention, post-intervention 1, and post-intervention 2, respectively) dimensions. The findings confirm the effectiveness of this low-cost, simple, and easy-to-use ergonomic intervention. © 2018 Elsevier Lt

Large-scale unit commitment under uncertainty: an updated literature survey

The Unit Commitment problem in energy management aims at finding the optimal production schedule of a set of generation units, while meeting various system-wide constraints. It has always been a large-scale, non-convex, difficult problem, especially in view of the fact that, due to operational requirements, it has to be solved in an unreasonably small time for its size. Recently, growing renewable energy shares have strongly increased the level of uncertainty in the system, making the (ideal) Unit Commitment model a large-scale, non-convex and uncertain (stochastic, robust, chance-constrained) program. We provide a survey of the literature on methods for the Uncertain Unit Commitment problem, in all its variants. We start with a review of the main contributions on solution methods for the deterministic versions of the problem, focussing on those based on mathematical programming techniques that are more relevant for the uncertain versions of the problem. We then present and categorize the approaches to the latter, while providing entry points to the relevant literature on optimization under uncertainty. This is an updated version of the paper "Large-scale Unit Commitment under uncertainty: a literature survey" that appeared in 4OR 13(2), 115--171 (2015); this version has over 170 more citations, most of which appeared in the last three years, proving how fast the literature on uncertain Unit Commitment evolves, and therefore the interest in this subject

Effect of a posture correction�based intervention on musculoskeletal symptoms and fatigue among control room operators

This study was conducted to examine the effect of a posture correction�based intervention (with a biofeedback device) on the occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) and fatigue among control room operators in a petrochemical plant in Iran. A total of 188 office workers (91 in the case group and 97 in the control group) participated at baseline as well as at 6- and 12-month follow-up. A questionnaire survey (including the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory) and direct observations of working postures by using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method were used. The occurrence of MSS in the shoulders, upper back, neck, and low back areas, as well as the mental and physical dimensions of fatigue were found to be the most common problems. The results showed considerable improvements in working postures (in the neck, trunk, and RULA grand scores) and the occurrence of MSS (particularly in the neck, shoulders, and upper back and low back areas) and fatigue (in particular the mental and physical aspects) after the intervention. The overall mean RULA grand score for the case group was significantly decreased after the intervention (mean scores of 5.1, 4.4, and 4.6 at pre-intervention, post-intervention 1, and post-intervention 2, respectively). A total of 81 operators (89.0) reported some kind of MSS at baseline, which were reduced to 75 operators (82.4) and 77 operators (84.6) at post-interventions 1 and 2, respectively. Significant differences were also found between the pre- and post-intervention scores for the physical fatigue (mean of 12.19, 10.16, and 9.99 at pre-intervention, post-intervention 1, and post-intervention 2, respectively) and mental fatigue (mean of 14.03, 12.05, and 12.16 at pre-intervention, post-intervention 1, and post-intervention 2, respectively) dimensions. The findings confirm the effectiveness of this low-cost, simple, and easy-to-use ergonomic intervention. © 2018 Elsevier Lt

Comparative Examination of the Therapeutic Deficiency of Oral Metronidazole Plus Prangos ferulacea Vaginal Cream Versus Oral Metronidazole Plus Placebo Vaginal Cream in Accelerating Trichomonas Vaginalis Infection Recovery: A Triple-Blind Clinical Trial

Objectives: Trichomonas infection is prevalent in the United States and a metronidazole oral tablet is the medication of choice for treating this infection. Based on various side-effects of oral or vaginal metronidazole and the increase in microbial resistance against chemical antibiotics, the use of herbal medicine with fewer side-effects seems to be essential. Laboratory experiments indicate the strong anti-microbial effects of Prangos ferulacea (PF) medicinal herb. However, no clinical trial has focused on its anti-microbial effects in humans. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the effects of PF vaginal cream on accelerating Trichomonas vaginalis infection (TVI) recovery. Materials and Methods: The present randomized clinical trial was conducted on 80 non-pregnant women visiting the healthcare centers affiliated with Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2018. Trichomonas infection was diagnosed based on patient complaints, clinical observations, as well as wet mount and stained microscopic tests. The women were randomly divided into two groups of 40 each. One group received oral metronidazole plus PF vaginal cream while the other received oral metronidazole plus placebo vaginal cream for 7 days. Clinical observations, along with wet mount and stained microscopic tests were performed during 7 days following the treatment. Finally, data were analyzed using independent-samples t test, as well as chi-square, Fisher exact, Mann-Whitney U, and McNemar tests at the significance level of P 4.5, and positive amine test) and 85 was related to the microscopic criteria of wet mount (x40) and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (x100). In addition, the response to treatment with oral metronidazole and placebo vaginal cream was 91.25, 83.12, and 80 based on the patient complaint, clinical criteria, and microscopic criteria, respectively. Eventually, the analysis of the patient complaint, clinical criteria, and microscopic criteria in each group revealed a significant difference before and after the treatment (P < 0.001) Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the PF herbal vaginal cream can be used for the treatment of TVI as an effective treatment along with oral metronidazole

Application of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) improves self-renewal of human spermatogonial stem cells in two-dimensional and three-dimensional culture systems

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are very sensitive to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, so male infertility is a great challenge for prepubertal cancer survivors. Cryoconservation of testicular cells before cancer treatment can preserve SSCs from treatment side effects. Different two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) culture systems of SSCs have been used in many species as a useful technique to in vitro spermatogenesis. We evaluated the proliferation of SSCs in 2D and 3D culture systems of platelet-rich plasma (PRP). testicular cells of four brain-dead patients cultivated in 2D pre-culture system, characterization of SSCs performed by RT-PCR, flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry and their functionality assessed by xenotransplantation to azoospermia mice. PRP prepared and dosimetry carried out to determine the optimized dose of PRP. After preparation of PRP scaffold, cytotoxic and histological evaluation performed and SSCs cultivated into three groups: control, 2D culture by optimized dose of PRP and PRP scaffold. The diameter and number of colonies measured and relative expression of GFRa1 and c-KIT evaluated by real-time PCR. Results indicated the expression of PLZF, VASA, OCT4, GFRa1 and vimentin in colonies after 2D pre-culture, xenotransplantation demonstrated proliferated SSCs have proper functionality to homing in mouse testes. The relative expression of c-KIT showed a significant increase as compared to the control group (*: p < 0.05) in PRP- 2D group, expression of GFRa1 and c-KIT in PRP scaffold group revealed a significant increase as compared to other groups (***: p < 0.001). The number and diameter of colonies in the PRP-2D group showed a considerable increase (p < 0.01) as compared to the control group. In PRP- scaffold group, a significant increase (p < 0.01) was seen only in the number of colonies related to the control group. Our results suggested that PRP scaffold can reconstruct a suitable structure to the in vitro proliferation of SSCs. © 2020 Elsevier Gmb