The effect of methadone-maintenance therapy with and without interactive treatment on improving emotion-regulation strategies and resilience among opiate-dependent clients

Background: Due to the chronic and recurrent nature of addiction, many people who quit drug addiction may slip back into the pattern of using drugs shortly after the detoxification period. Emotion-regulation strategies and resilience play an important role in preventing the recurrences of substance abuse. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the effects of methadone-maintenance therapy (MMT) and interactive therapy (a combination of MMT and cognitive-behavioral therapy) on improving emotion-regulation strategies and resilience among opiate-dependent clients. Patients and Methods: This pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study was performed on 60 patients with substance abuse admitted to Methadone Addiction Treatment Centers and Detox Centers in Sari within three months of therapy for their addiction (from October to December 2013). Then, the participants were randomly assigned to two different groups (n = 30) were examined in two groups of 30 people targeted to be available in the selected population. Participants in all three groups, before and after the intervention, filled out the questionnaires of Schutte emotional intelligence scale and Connor-Davidson resiliency questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance method. Results: The results showed that an interactive therapy would be significantly more effective than the MMT on improving emotion-regulation strategies and promoting the resilience level among opiate-dependent clients. Moreover, the results showed that cognitive- behavior therapy combined with MMT may improve emotion-regulation strategies, and promote the amount of resiliency and recovery. Conclusions: The cognitive-behavior therapy combined with MMT can improve emotion-regulation strategies and resiliency and thus prevent the substance-abuse relapse. © 2015, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences

Injection Drug Use Is a Risk Factor for HCV Infection in Urban Egypt

OBJECTIVE: To identify current risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission in Greater Cairo. DESIGN AND SETTING: A 1:1 matched case-control study was conducted comparing incident acute symptomatic hepatitis C patients in two "fever" hospitals of Greater Cairo with two control groups: household members of the cases and acute hepatitis A patients diagnosed at the same hospitals. Controls were matched on the same age and sex to cases and were all anti-HCV antibody negative. Iatrogenic, community and household exposures to HCV in the one to six months before symptoms onset for cases, and date of interview for controls, were exhaustively assessed. RESULTS: From 2002 to 2007, 94 definite acute symptomatic HCV cases and 188 controls were enrolled in the study. In multivariate analysis, intravenous injections (OR = 5.0; 95% CI = 1.2-20.2), medical stitches (OR = 4.2; 95% CI = 1.6-11.3), injection drug use (IDU) (OR = 7.9; 95% CI = 1.4-43.5), recent marriage (OR = 3.3; 95% CI = 1.1-9.9) and illiteracy (OR = 3.9; 95% CI = 1.8-8.5) were independently associated with an increased HCV risk. CONCLUSION: In urban Cairo, invasive health care procedures remain a source of HCV transmission and IDU is an emerging risk factor. Strict application of standard precautions during health care is a priority. Implementation of comprehensive infection prevention programs for IDU should be considered

Machinability evaluation of pre-hardened plastic mould steels

There are multiple demands placed upon plastic mould steels, depending on the application they will have. Among these requirements, machinability has generally a great economic importance in mould steels and in pre-hardened mould steels in particular. The machining cost can exceed more than half of the cost of a mould. Nevertheless, to avoid subsequent heat treatment, distortion and dimensional inaccuracy, there has been the tendency to use even higher hardness in the pre-hardened mould steels, a hardness range of 38-40 HRC instead of 30-32 HRC. In this work, machinability of some of the most popular grades of pre-hardened plastic mould steel at 38-40 HRC is compared in two milling and two drilling operations. The materials have shown very different properties in different machining operations. This, beside the high requirements upon the plastic mould steels, such as polishability, hardness, impact toughness etc. makes it very complicated to improve these types of steels to be superior in all mould applications

The Influence of Austenitization Temperature on the Mechanical Properties of a Prehardened Mould Steel

The many practical difficulties and longer lead time with heat treatment of mould steels after machining have led to increased demand for steels in prehardened condition, typically ~ 40HRC. At this hardness the steel possesses an optimal combination of high strength and machinability. The steels used for moulds require a wide range of demanding properties, among which high enough strength and toughness are the primary necessities in order to resist any deformation and dimensional change in mould during use. Uddeholm Impax HH which resembles the modified AISI P20 has been widely used for moulding of plastics and die-casting of low melting temperature metals. The common hardening process for Impax HH is conventional quenching and tempering. Hence, investigating the effect of hardening parameters on the required properties upon this steel grade is beneficial in improving it for better performance as a prehardened mould steel. In the present work, the effect of changes in austenitization temperature and consequently the prior austenite grain and martensite packet sizes on the tensile properties and impact toughness of Uddeholm Impax HH at the hardness of ~40HRC is studied. The results have shown reduction in impact toughness but no considerable change in yield and ultimate tensile strength upon increasing the austenitization temperature.Peer Reviewe

Microstructure evolution and corrosion behavior of Ti-29Nb-13Ta-4.6Zr nano-biocomposite fabricated by friction stir processing in simulated body fluid solution

International audienc

Machinability evaluation of prehardened plastic moulding steels

There are multiple demands placed upon plastic mould steels, depending on the application they will have. Among these requirements, machinability is of great economic importance. Mould steel influences the cost of plastic parts more through its machinability, since machining cost exceeds more than half of the cost of a mould. Milling and drilling are the machining operations that are mostly used in production of a mould and the highest volume of material removal performs through these two categories of operations and specially milling. Recently, there has been a high tendency to use prehardened mould steels with the hardness range of 38-40 HRC, for the higher demands on mechanical properties and wear resistance. Additionally, to avoid distortion and dimensional inaccuracy, the mould steels are supplied in prehardened condition which impairs their machinability. In this work, machinability of some of the most popular grades of prehardened plastic mould steels is compared in two milling and two drilling operations. The materials have shown very different properties in different machining operations. This, beside the high requirements upon the plastic mould steels, such as polishability and hardness, impact toughness and etc. makes it very complicated to improve these types of steels to be superior in all mould applications in addition to that material selection becomes crucial with respect to mould making cost

Machinability evaluation of prehardened plastic moulding steels

There are multiple demands placed upon plastic mould steels, depending on the application they will have. Among these requirements, machinability is of great economic importance. Mould steel influences the cost of plastic parts more through its machinability, since machining cost exceeds more than half of the cost of a mould. Milling and drilling are the machining operations that are mostly used in production of a mould and the highest volume of material removal performs through these two categories of operations and specially milling. Recently, there has been a high tendency to use prehardened mould steels with the hardness range of 38-40 HRC, for the higher demands on mechanical properties and wear resistance. Additionally, to avoid distortion and dimensional inaccuracy, the mould steels are supplied in prehardened condition which impairs their machinability. In this work, machinability of some of the most popular grades of prehardened plastic mould steels is compared in two milling and two drilling operations. The materials have shown very different properties in different machining operations. This, beside the high requirements upon the plastic mould steels, such as polishability and hardness, impact toughness and etc. makes it very complicated to improve these types of steels to be superior in all mould applications in addition to that material selection becomes crucial with respect to mould making cost

The Influence of Heat Treatment on the Microstructure and Machinability of a Prehardened Mold Steel

© 2015, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International. The machinability performance of a modified AISI P20 steel, heat treated to have the same hardness but three different microstructures, lower bainite, tempered martensite, and primary spheroidized carbides in a tempered martensite matrix, was studied. The microstructures were characterized using light optical and scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, and mechanical properties were compared by means of tensile and Charpy V-notch impact tests. The influence of microstructure and the resultant mechanical properties on machinability was studied in the context of single tooth end milling operation. The results showed that the material containing primary spheroidized carbides exhibited a superior machinability at the expense of a marginal loss of tensile strength and impact toughness, with comparable yield strength to that of the material containing tempered martensite. By contrast, the material with bainitic microstructure showed the lowest yield strength and the poorest machinability performance while having the highest uniform elongation.Peer Reviewe

Determination of the value of albumin, anti-thrombin III, fibrinogen and D-dimer factors in the diagnosis of asymptomatic pulmonary embolism in patients with nephrotic syndrome

Background: Thromboembolism is one of the most important and dangerous complications of nephrotic syndrome. This study aimed to determine the value of albumin, anti-thrombin III, fibrinogen and D-dimer factors in the prediction of asymptomatic pulmonary embolism in patients with nephrotic syndrome in non-remission period. Methods: Plasma levels of albumin, anti-thrombin III, fibrinogen and D-dimer were assessed in 30 nephrotic children in non-remission period (including new case�patient or relapse period), and the results were compared with chest X-ray and lung perfusion scintigraphy (Q scan). Results: The mean age of patients was 6.22 ± 3.5 years (range 2�12 years). Of patients, 23.3 had abnormal findings in perfusion scan suggestive of pulmonary emboli despite absence of any respiratory manifestations. Median plasma albumin and anti-thrombin III levels in patients with asymptomatic pulmonary embolism were lower than in patients without pulmonary embolism. Also, median fibrinogen and D-dimer levels in patients with asymptomatic pulmonary embolism were higher than in patients without pulmonary embolism, with no statistically significant differences between sex, age, hemoglobin and hematocrit of patients and lung perfusion scan results. Conclusion: Patients with abnormal blood levels of albumin ( 400 ml/dl) and D-dimer (> 0.5 μg/dl) underwent CXR/Q scan and were treated with heparin if there was pulmonary embolism. © 2021, IPNA

Ultrasonographic Tendon Alteration in Relation to Parathyroid Dysfunction in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients

Objective To find the nature of tendon involvement in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients on regular hemodialysis (RD), and its relationship to parathyroid hormone (PTH) level using ultrasonography (US). Method A total of 50 CKD patients on RD subjected to musculoskeletal examination of knee and ankle, laboratory evaluation, and US of quadriceps tendon and Achilles tendon were involved. Results Ankle joint tenderness was the most frequent sign on examination. US of the Achilles tendons showed tenderness during probing in 44% patients, calcific deposition in 24% patients, abnormal peritendon tissue in 20% patients, and abnormal anteroposterior (A-P) middle and distal one-third thicknesses of the Achilles tendon in 20% and 18% patients, respectively. PTH positively correlated with the duration of dialysis, serum phosphorus level, presence of calcific deposit, and increased thickness of the Achilles tendon. Conclusion The most common ultrasonographic finding in CKD patients on RD was Achilles tendon tenderness during probing. PTH level positively correlated with the duration of dialysis, presence of calcific deposit, and increased thickness of Achilles tendon