Minimal Uncertainty in Momentum: The Effects of IR Gravity on Quantum Mechanics

The effects of the IR aspects of gravity on quantum mechanics is investigated. At large distances where due to gravity the space-time is curved, there appears nonzero minimal uncertainty $\Delta p_{0}$ in the momentum of a quantum mechanical particle. We apply the minimal uncertainty momentum to some quantum mechanical interferometry examples and show that the phase shift depends on the area surrounded by the path of the test particle . We also put some limits on the related parameters. This prediction may be tested through future experiments. The assumption of minimal uncertainty in momentum can also explain the anomalous excess of the mass of the Cooper pair in a rotating thin superconductor ring.Comment: 8 pages, revised version accepted by PR

A survey of patient safety culture: A tool for improving patient safety in healthcare providers service organizations

Background and aims: Patient safety is one of the main factors in quality of services provided by a health system. Patient safety culture plays a key role in improvement of patient safety, reduction of medical errors, and prevention of adverse events in health care organizations. Thereby, the present study is aimed to survey patient safety culture in hospitals of Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This research was a cross sectional study that conducted on all qualified staff of hospitals affiliated with Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences in 2013. Hospital Survey of Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) questionnaire was used to assess patient safety culture. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS (16), using Chi-Square test and logistic regression model. Results: Total score average of patient safety culture was 25.50±9.52. The results showed that among the twelve dimensions the highest and lowest scores were obtained by the supervisor/ manager expectations & actions promoting patient safety (score rate 45) and the reporting frequency of adverse events (score rate 15) respectively According to logistic regression model there was also significant relationship between the patient safety culture and direct contact with the patient, employment duration in hospital, and current unit (p<0.05). Conclusion: Total average of patient safety culture and scores of all twelve dimensions were lower than the acceptable criteria. Patient safety culture in the studied hospitals urgently needs enhancement and improvement. So, creating policies to institutionalize and enhance patient safety culture among the staffs are recommended

Investigation on the Essential Oils of the Achillea Species: From Chemical Analysis to the In Silico Uptake against SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease

In this study, phytochemicals extracted from three different Achillea genera were identified and analyzed to be screened for their interactions with the SARS-CoV-2 main protease. In particular, the antiviral potential of these natural products against the SARS-CoV-2 main protease was investigated, as was their effectiveness against the SARS-CoV-1 main protease as a standard (due to its high similarity with SARS-CoV-2). These enzymes play key roles in the proliferation of viral strains in the human cytological domain. GC-MS analysis was used to identify the essential oils of the Achillea species. Chemi-informatics tools, such as AutoDock 4.2.6, SwissADME, ProTox-II, and LigPlot, were used to investigate the action of the pharmacoactive compounds against the main proteases of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2. Based on the binding energies of kessanyl acetate, chavibetol (m-eugenol), farnesol, and 7-epi-beta-eudesmol were localized at the active site of the coronaviruses. Furthermore, these molecules, through hydrogen bonding with the amino acid residues of the active sites of viral proteins, were found to block the progression of SARS-CoV-2. Screening and computer analysis provided us with the opportunity to consider these molecules for further preclinical studies. Furthermore, considering their low toxicity, the data may pave the way for new in vitro and in vivo research on these natural inhibitors of the main SARS-CoV-2 protease

Investigating the relationship between low serum cholesterol and suicide in attempters with depression

Background & Objective: It has been postulated that depressed individuals with low total cholesterol levels may be more likely to die prematurely from suicide. This study aimed to examine the association between low serum cholesterol and suicide in depressed attempters. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 180 suicide attempters, who met the inclusion criteria and were willing to participate in the study, were recruited in 2017. The data was collected using a demographic questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II). The blood cholesterol level was measured via an auto-analyzer. Results: The mean age was 26.39±10.75 years. The average cholesterol level in the moderate, severe, and serious depression groups was 151.30±35.23, 145.89±36.32, and 145.15±33.33, respectively. The mean age was higher in the group with a higher depression level, though the difference was not significant (P=0.06). The percentage of suicide attempts in single individuals was significantly higher (P=0.02). The mean cholesterol level in the group with the highest level of depression was the lowest, but the difference was insignificant (r=-.01, P=0.85). Only in females, the level of blood cholesterol showed a nearly significant difference between groups with different severities of depression (P=0.05). Cholesterol had a significant correlation with suicide frequency (P=0.008, r=0.28). Conclusion: Our results revealed no significant association between low serum cholesterol and suicide in attempters with depression; but low total serum cholesterol may be associated with depression and suicide in depressed subjects. Yet, more studies are required for verification of this causality. © 2020, Journal of Advances in Medical and Biomedical Research. All rights reserved

The sequential twinning-transformation induced plasticity effects in a thermomechanically processed high Mn austenitic steel

Different initial microstructures with various bimodal grain size distributions (BGSD) were produced in a high Mn austenitic steel through applying a predetermined set of thermomechanical processing cycles. The corresponding room temperature mechanical properties and the related strain hardening behaviors were assessed using tensile testing method. The results indicated that in the microstructure with high grain size bimodality, the length and amplitude of rapid hardening region was well higher than the others. This was attributed to its higher capability to a'-martensite formation. In addition, the threshold strain to initiate martensitic transformation was shifted to the lower one in the microstructure with higher bimodal grain size distribution. The latter was related to the lower arisen back stresses in the interior regions of the coarser grains. Furthermore, different transformation paths were identified as the BGSD changed. The austenite could directly transform to a'-martensite (¿a') in the microstructure with lower BGSD; in this case the a'-martensite mainly appeared at the intersections of deformation twins. In contrast, in microstructures with higher BGSD, the nucleation occurred at the intersections of e-martensite platelets. The co-existence of these transformation paths provided an extended transformation induced plasticity effect ending to a higher elongation to fracture in the course of deformation. In order to summarize the contribution of various strain hardening mechanisms, a deformation map was also constructed. Accordingly, the enhanced ductility/strength properties were attributed to the sequential operation of extended transformation induced plasticity and twinning induced plasticity effects.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

An Optimal Backoff Time-Based Internetwork Interference Mitigation Method in Wireless Body Area Network

When multiple Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) are aggregated, the overlapping region of their communications will result in internetwork interference, which could impose severe impacts on the reliability of WBAN performance. Therefore, how to mitigate the internetwork interference becomes the key problem to be solved urgently in practical applications of WBAN. However, most of the current researches on internetwork interference focus on traditional cellular networks and large-scale wireless sensor networks. In this paper, an Optimal Backoff Time Interference Mitigation Algorithm (OBTIM) is proposed. This method performs rescheduling or channel switching when the performance of the WBANs falls below tolerance, utilizing the cell neighbour list established by the beacon method. Simulation results show that the proposed method improves the channel utilization and the network throughput, and in the meantime, reduces the collision probability and energy consumption, when compared with the contention-based beacon schedule scheme

Evaluation of service quality from patients' viewpoint

Background: Measuring patients' perception from health service quality as an important element in the assessment of service quality has attracted much attention in recent years. Therefore, this study was conducted to find out how the patients evaluated service quality of clinics at teaching hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Tehran in 2017 and 400 patients were randomly selected from four hospitals. Data were collected using a questionnaire, the validity and reliability of which were confirmed in previous study. In order to analyze the data, T-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient were calculated using SPSS 23. Results: The results indicated that among eight dimensions of health service quality, the patients were more satisfied with physician consultation, services costs and admission process. The highest and lowest mean scores were related to physician consultation (Mean = 4.17), and waiting time (Mean = 2.64), in that order. The total mean score of service quality was 3.73 (± 0.51) out of 5. Outpatient services were assessed as good, moderate and weak by 57.5, 40 and 2.5 of the patients, respectively. There was a significant relationship between the positive perception of service quality and reason for admission, source of recommendation, gender, education level, health status, and waiting time in the clinics (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The majority of the patients had a positive experience with visiting clinics and perceived service provision as good. In fact, patients' perceptions of physician consultation, provision of information to patients and the environment of delivering services, are the most important determinants of service quality in clinics. © 2019 The Author(s)

Downregulation of BK channel expression in the pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy

In the hippocampus, BK channels are preferentially localized in presynaptic glutamatergic terminals including mossy fibers where they are thought to play an important role regulating excessive glutamate release during hyperactive states. Large conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (BK, MaxiK, Slo) have recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of genetic epilepsy. However, the role of BK channels in acquired mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) remains unknown. Here we used immunohistochemistry, laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), western immunoblotting and RT-PCR to investigate the expression pattern of the alpha-pore forming subunit of BK channels in the hippocampus and cortex of chronically epileptic rats obtained by the pilocarpine model of MTLE. All epileptic rats experiencing recurrent spontaneous seizures exhibited a significant down-regulation of BK channel immunostaining in the mossy fibers at the hilus and stratum lucidum of the CA3 area. Quantitative analysis of immunofluorescence signals by LSCM revealed a significant 47% reduction in BK channel in epileptic rats when compared to age-matched non-epileptic control rats. These data correlate with a similar reduction in BK channel protein levels and transcripts in the cortex and hippocampus. Our data indicate a seizure-related down-regulation of BK channels in chronically epileptic rats. Further functional assays are necessary to determine whether altered BK channel expression is an acquired channelopathy or a compensatory mechanism affecting the network excitability in MTLE. Moreover, seizure-mediated BK down-regulation may disturb neuronal excitability and presynaptic control at glutamatergic terminals triggering exaggerated glutamate release and seizures

Correction to: Effect of selenium supplementation on antioxidant markers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (Hormones, (2019), 18, 4, (451-462), 10.1007/s42000-019-00143-3)

The original version of this article, published on 10 December 2019 contained a mistake. © 2020, Hellenic Endocrine Society

The effect of multiple deformations on the formation of ultrafine grained steels

A C-Mn-Nb-Ti steel was deformed by hot torsion to study ultrafine ferrite formation through dynamic strain-induced transformation (DSIT) in conjunction with air cooling. A systematic study was carried out first to evaluate the effect of deformation temperature and prior austenite grain size on the critical strain for ultrafine ferrite formation (&epsilon; C,UFF) through single-pass deformation. Then, multiple deformations in the nonrecrystallization region were used to study the effect of thermomechanical parameters (i.e., strain, deformation temperature, etc.) on &epsilon; C,UFF. The multiple deformations in the nonrecrystallization region significantly reduced &epsilon; C,UFF, although the total equivalent strain for a given thermomechanical condition was higher than that required in single-pass deformation. The current study on a Ni-30Fe austenitic model alloy revealed that laminar microband structures were the key intragranular defects in the austenite for nucleation of ferrite during the hot torsion test. The microbands were refined and overall misorientation angle distribution increased with a decrease in the deformation temperature for a given thermomechanical processing condition. For nonisothermal multipass deformation, there was some contribution to the formation of high-angle microband boundaries from strains at higher temperature, although the strains were not completely additive.<br /