Psychometric Characteristics of the Persian Version of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life Questionnaire (P-IBS-QOL)

ABSTRACT Objectives: This study investigated the psychometric characteristics (structural, concurrent and construct validity, and internal consistency) of the Persian version of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life (IBS-QOL) questionnaire, which is commonly used across cultures. Methodology: One hundred twenty-six patients with irritable bowel syndrome (based on diagnosis by professional physicians and the Rome II criteria) were selected from patients referred to Alzahra and Noor Hospitals in Isfahan to complete the IBS-QOL questionnaire. Results: Eight subscales of the questionnaire (sum score) had acceptable internal consistency coefficients (alpha for subscales: dysphoria, 0.88; interference with activity, 0.67; body image, 0.72; health worry, 0.57; food avoidance, 0.52; social reaction, 0.71; sexual concern, 0.76; relationships; 0.62; and overall score, 0.93). In order to assess construct validity, groups of healthy persons (n = 40) and patients (n = 40) were selected. Results of an independent t-test showed a significant difference between the mean of overall score and all subscale scores (except body image subscale) of the two groups (P < 0.05). Pearson correlation coefficients showed that the questionnaire has significant concurrent validity (with respect to IBS-QOL-36) (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The Persian version of IBS-QOL-34 is a valid and reliable instrument and is suitable for used in research and clinical trials

Designing an integrated production/distribution and inventory planning model of fixed-life perishable products

This paper aims to investigate the integrated production/distribution and inventory planning for perishable products with fixed life time in the constant condition of storage throughout a two-echelon supply chain by integrating producers and distributors. This problem arises from real environment in which multi-plant with multi-function lines produce multi-perishable products with fixed life time into a lot sizing to be shipped with multi-vehicle to multi-distribution-center to minimize multi-objective such as setup costs between products, holding costs, shortage costs, spoilage costs, transportation costs and production costs. There are many investigations which have been devoted on production/distribution planning area with different assumption. However, this research aims to extend this planning by integrating an inventory system with it in which for each distribution center, net inventory, shortage, FIFO system and spoilage of items are calculated. A mixed integer non-linear programming model (MINLP) is developed for the considered problem. Furthermore, a genetic algorithm (GA) and a simulated annealing (SA) algorithm are proposed to solve the model for real size applications. Also, Taguchi method is applied to optimize parameters of the algorithms. Computational characteristics of the proposed algorithms are examined and tested using t-tests at the 95% confidence level to identify the most effective meta-heuristic algorithm in term of relative percentage deviation (RPD). Finally, Computational results show that the GA outperforms SA although the computation time of SA is smaller than the GA

Comparison the effect of casein phosphopeptide amorphous calcium phosphate and fluoride varnish on dentin hypersensitivity reduction

Introduction: Nowadays, several casein components such as casein phosphopeptide amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP) are vastly considered as a suitable replacement for fluoride component. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of CPP-ACP paste and fluoride varnish on dentin hypersensitivity reduction. Materials & Methods: In this clinical trial study, thirty adult patients between the ages of 20-50 years, presenting with the chief complaint of dentin hypersensitivity were examined. The loss of dentin was less than 0.5mm. The subjects divided into three groups: In groups I and II, patients were treated using CPP-ACP and fluoride varnish following manufacturer instructions. Group III received placebo gel. A visual analog scale was used to assess subjects' response to compressed air and ice stimuli at baseline, 7 days, 28 days and 60 days after treatment. Data was analyzed by One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Duncan Post Hoc test using the SPSS software version 21. Results: The results showed significant statistical difference between the groups (P<0.05). In fluoride varnish group and CPP-ACP paste group, the dentin hypersensitivity significantly decreased when baseline scores compared to post treatment scores at 7, 28, 60 days (P<0.05). There was no significant statistical difference in dentin hypersensitivity reduction in fluoride varnish and CPP-ACP paste groups. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that both of fluoride varnish and CPP-ACP paste effectively reduced dentinal hypersensitivity compared with placebo-control group

Bovine neutrophil chemotaxis to Listeria monocytogenes in neurolisteriosis depends on microglia-released rather than bacterial factors.

BACKGROUND Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is a bacterial pathogen of major concern for humans and ruminants due to its neuroinvasive potential and its ability to cause deadly encephalitis (neurolisteriosis). On one hand, polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) are key players in the defense against Lm, but on the other hand intracerebral infiltration with PMN is associated with significant neural tissue damage. Lm-PMN interactions in neurolisteriosis are poorly investigated, and factors inducing PMN chemotaxis to infectious foci containing Lm in the central nervous system (CNS) remain unidentified. METHODS In this study, we assessed bovine PMN chemotaxis towards Lm and supernatants of infected endogenous brain cell populations in ex vivo chemotaxis assays, to identify chemotactic stimuli for PMN chemotaxis towards Lm in the brain. In addition, microglial secretion of IL-8 was assessed both ex vivo and in situ. RESULTS Our data show that neither Lm cell wall components nor intact bacteria elicit chemotaxis of bovine PMN ex vivo. Moreover, astrocytes and neural cells fail to induce bovine PMN chemotaxis upon infection. In contrast, supernatant from Lm infected microglia readily induced chemotaxis of bovine PMN. Microglial expression and secretion of IL-8 was identified during early Lm infection in vitro and in situ, although IL-8 blocking with a specific antibody could not abrogate PMN chemotaxis towards Lm infected microglial supernatant. CONCLUSIONS These data provide evidence that host-derived rather than bacterial factors trigger PMN chemotaxis to bacterial foci in the CNS, that microglia have a primary role as initiators of bovine PMN chemotaxis into the brain during neurolisteriosis and that blockade of these factors could be a therapeutic target to limit intrathecal PMN chemotaxis and PMN associated damage in neurolisteriosis

The effect of organoclay addition on the properties of an acrylate based, thermally activated shape memory polymer

Shape Memory Polymers (SMPs) exhibit the intriguing ability to change back from an intermediate, deformed shape back to their original, permanent shape. In this contribution a systematic series of t-butylacrylate-co-poly(ethyleneglycol) dimethacrylate (tBA-co-PEGDMA) polymers have been synthesised and characterised prior to incorporation of organoclay. Increasing the poly(ethyleneglycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) content in increments of 10% increased the storage modulus from 2005 to 2250 MPa, reduced the glass transition temperature from + 41 to − 26 °C and reduced the intensity of the associated tan δ peak. The tBA-co-PEGDMA crosslinked networks displayed useful shape memory properties up to PEGDMA contents of 40%. Above this PEGDMA percentage the materials were prone to fracture and too brittle for a realistic assessment of their shape memory capability. The system containing 90% t-butylacrylate (tBA) and 10% PEGDMA was selected as the host matrix to investigate how the incorporation of 1 to 5 mass% of a benzyl tallow dimethylammonium-exchanged bentonite (BTDB) influenced the shape memory properties. X-ray diffraction data confirmed that BTDB formed a microcomposite in the selected matrix and exerted no influence on the storage modulus, rubbery modulus, glass transition temperature, Tg, or the shape or intensity of the tan δ peak of the host matrix. Therefore, it was anticipated that the presence of BTDB would have no effect, positive or negative, nor on the shape memory properties of the host matrix. However, it was found that the incorporation of clay, especially at the 1 mass% level, significantly accelerated the speed, compared with the clay-free SMP, at which the microcomposite returned to the original, permanent shape. This accelerated return to the permanent shape was also observed when the microcomposite was coated onto a 100 μm PET film

Design and development of a microfluidic integrated electrochemical nanobiosensor for detection of SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid protein biomarker

The rapid spread of infectious disease outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, once again emphasized the importance of deploying the potentials of biosensing technologies, as a key tool for controlling further transmission. Although the gold standard technique, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), has become swiftly adopted, their limitations ask for more rapid, time-saving, and miniaturized approaches, such as all-in-one portable diagnostic platforms. Depending on the biosensing approach, the sensing element and the fluid-handling segment are considered as the most important elements of such platforms. As for the sensing methods, electrochemical immunosensing proved to have the sensitivity required for detecting the low amount of target proteins, which is favorable for early-disease detection, only if the surface of the sensor is modified to exhibit a high capacity for specific probe immobilization. Hence, introducing highly receptive surfaces is important for enhancing the sensitivity. For utilizing electrochemical immunosensors in point-of-care devices, the challenge of accommodating all of the conventionally lab-centralized sensing processes into one single chip also requires further research and investigation. To this end, the focus of the present thesis was to introduce an ultrasensitive nano-biosensor based on Zinc Oxide (ZnO) and Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) nanocomponents, which could successfully create a highly porous and stable sensing surface. The coated electrodes were functionalized with an L-cysteine cross-linker to provide abundant sources of carboxylic acid functional groups, an essential moiety for antibody immobilization. The morphology, physical and chemical characteristics of the sensing surface were thoroughly analyzed using spectroscopy and microscopy techniques. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) experiments confirmed the functionality of the immunosensor for detecting as low as 21 fg/mL SARS-CoV-2 biomarker, the Nucleocapsid (N-) protein, while it was further used for clinically detecting positive clinical swab samples. The integration of the biosensor into a microfluidic testing kit was also been explored, with a novel redox-contained chip automating all steps of immunosensing in one single kit. The platform successfully operated within 15 min for detecting N-proteins of the nasopharyngeal (NP) swab sample. This electrochemical biosensor integrated within the accompanying microfluidic chip provides a promising perspective towards the realization of a point-of-care platform

Design, Implementation and Verification of the Attitude Determination and Control Algorithms for the DelFFi Satellites

Space Systems EngineeringSpaceflightAerospace Engineerin