29 research outputs found
An ANP application for identifying and prioritizing opportunities and threatens for technology transfer
During the past few years, there have been different changes in global market due to fast development of science and technology. These changes have increased competition among all existing companies and it has made it difficult for new rivals to gain market share. This paper tries to identify the opportunities and threats of technology transfer in one of world鈥檚 fastest growing gas development regions called Pars Special Economic Energy Zone. The proposed model of this paper first identify important factors influencing both opportunities as well as threats and then uses analytical hierarchy process to rank all factors. The results show that the threats were more important than the existing opportunities and among the most important threats, embargo and sales of oil were the most important ones
Intravenous Drug Sedation for MRI in Children; A Randomized Controlled Trial
Introduction; Performing MRI in children is a matter of concern and needs adequate sedation because patients should be completely motionless to provide a good quality of imaging.聽 The aim of this study was to compare the effects of Nesdonal and Propofol + Lidocaine to provide sedation in children undergoing brain MRI.Methods; This was a randomized, blinded trial including 250 patients aged 3 months to 13 years who were candidate for elective brain MRI. Participants were divided into two groups. Group 1 received Nesdonal and group 2 received Propofol + Lidocaine. Demographic characteristics were recorded. Unconsciousness time, scan time and discharge time were compared between the two groups. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16 by Chi-square, ANOVA, Man-Whitney and T-test (p value < 0.05).Results; Totally 250 patients were assigned randomly to two groups of Propofol + Lidocaine and Nesdonal, each including 125 patients. There was no meaningful difference regarding demographic factors of age, gender or ASA class between the two groups. There was no meaningful statistically difference regarding unconsciousness time (P value=0.655), scan time (P value=0.324) and discharge time (P value=0.436) between the Propofol + Lidocaine and Nesdonal group. Some minor adverse effects occurred in the Propofol + Lidocaine group. No major complication occurred.Discussion; Nesdonal was superior to Propofol + Lidocaine regarding lower adverse effects, lower costs, no need for an infusion pump and not lowering seizure threshold.it can be considered safe for sedation in children undergoing brain MRI, especially those with a history of seizure
Technology transfer to developing countries : a quantitative approach
Technology transfer is extensively believed to be one of the major debates in the literature ondevelopment economics. The experiences of some successful countries in rapid economic andindustrial development, in particular, some East-Asian Newly Industrialised Countries (NICs)show that the acquisition of a significant amount of foreign technology has played a crucial role.This crucial role includes promoting their managerial and technical expertise as well asincreasing their productivity level through the adoption of a set of appropriate policies andstrategiesT. hesee xperiencesc ould have valuable lessonsf or other countriesw ho wish to followsimilar strategies to achieve rapid industrialisation and technological development.Although many Less Developed Countries (LDCs) have realised the great importance oftechnological transformation for their rapid economic and industrial development, they have notdesigned effective and efficient policies for the transfer of appropriate and high-leveltechnologies.The present empirical investigation is intended to contribute to the large existing literature ontechnological transfer and the role that Multinational Corporations (MNCs) play in this. Itsmajor contribution lies in demonstrating rigorously that the integration of foreign technologies isgreatly affected by the socio-economic conditions of the recipient countries.The present study attempts to identify the main socio-economic characteristics of countriesinvolved in assimilating transferred technology. It first identifies the critical success or failurefactors for effective technology transfer and the rapid industrialisation of the LDCs in general.Then, it provides a quantifiable metric index of the rate of the technological absorption.Selectiono f relevant variablesa nd choosingt he sampleo f countries are summarisedT. he model,which is based on the multiple regression analysis as well as other statistical techniques, isidentified.The four-variable-model derived from the stepwise regression results gave a statisticallysignificant R-sq = 70.71% and R-sq (adj) = 66.7% and satisfies the principle of parsimony, waschosen as the preferred model. This has as explanatory variables transport and communicationsand gross national savings as economic indicators - Christian religion and natural disasters (negative concept) as social indicators. The results suggest that countries with the aboveindicators are more able to absorb and integrate foreign technologies. In general, the resultsreveal that the rate of technology integration varies greatly with the level of socio-economicdevelopment.Some intangible factors that cannot as yet be quantified and may be expected to have significanteffects on the rate of technological integration, such as political and managerial factors arediscussed.The analysis of results is concludedw ith somer ecommendationsa nd suggestionsd erived fromthe research findings and results for the effective and successful technology transfer of LDCsalong with the technology transfer in Africa, problems of AIDS and its impact on Africandevelopment
Por贸wnanie wp艂ywu leczenia metformin膮 i insulin膮 na kontrol臋 glikemii u krytycznie chorych pacjent贸w
Introduction: It is accepted that preventing hyperglycaemia during critical illness while assuring adequate caloric intake can reduce mortality
and morbidity. The aim of this study was to compare the metabolic effects of metformin and insulin on hyperglycaemia in ICU patients.
Methods: This double-blind randomised clinical trial was performed on 24 patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU)
from 20 March to 20 September 2007. All patients with serious injuries or with major non-abdominal surgeries were included if they met
the inclusion criteria, and were assigned randomly to one of the study groups. Patients in Group 1 received intensive insulin therapy, and
patients in Group 2 were treated with metformin. Moreover, the Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scoring
system was used to grade disease severity.
Results: Both glycaemic management protocols led to significantly improved glucose levels without any report of hypoglycaemia. The
mean initial glucose levels for the insulin group decreased significantly after the intravenous infusion of insulin (p < 0.001). Additionally,
the blood glucose concentration was significantly lower after two weeks of metformin administration compared to baseline measurements
(p < 0.001). Moreover, the blood glucose concentration decrease during these two weeks was significantly higher in the insulin group
(p = 0.01). Besides, APACHE II score was lower than baseline at the end of the study for both therapeutic groups (score of 10 vs. 15 [insulin]
and 16 [metformin]). Finally, new renal dysfunction (maximum serum creatinine level at least double the initial value) was observed in
three of the patients (two patients from the metformin group and one from the insulin group) in the last days of the protocol, although
none of the patients showed lactic acidosis after ICU admission.
Conclusions: Both metformin and intensive insulin therapy significantly decreased hyperglycaemia in ICU patients. Insulin caused
a greater reduction in blood glucose concentration but required more attention and trained personnel.Wst臋p: Dowody naukowe wskazuj膮, 偶e zapobieganie hiperglikemii u os贸b w stanie krytycznym przy zapewnieniu odpowiedniego poboru
kalorii mo偶e zmniejszy膰 艣miertelno艣膰 i chorobowo艣膰. Celem niniejszego badania by艂o por贸wnanie wp艂ywu metforminy i insuliny
na wyst臋powanie hiperglikemii u pacjent贸w leczonych na oddziale intensywnej opieki medycznej (OIOM).
Materia艂 i metody: Badanie z randomizacj膮 przeprowadzone metod膮 podw贸jnie 艣lepej pr贸by obejmowa艂o 24 chorych przyj臋tych na
OIOM w okresie od 20 marca do 20 pa藕dziernika 2007 roku. Wszystkich pacjent贸w z ci臋偶kimi obra偶eniami lub po powa偶nych zabiegach
chirurgicznych niedotycz膮cych jamy brzusznej, kt贸rzy spe艂niali kryteria w艂膮czenia, przydzielono losowo do jednej z grup terapeutycznych.
U chorych przydzielonych do grupy 1. stosowano intensywn膮 insulinoterapi臋, natomiast chorym z grupy 2. podawano metformin臋.
Do oceny ci臋偶ko艣ci stanu chorych wykorzystano skal臋 APACHE (Acute Physiologic Assessment and Chronic Health Evaluation) II.
Wyniki: Oba protoko艂y leczenia hipoglikemizuj膮cego spowodowa艂y istotn膮 popraw臋 wyr贸wnania glikemii, przy czym nie odnotowano
偶adnego przypadku hipoglikemii. W grupie stosuj膮cej insulinoterapi臋 艣rednie st臋偶enie glukozy obni偶y艂o si臋 istotnie w stosunku
do warto艣ci wyj艣ciowych po do偶ylnym wlewie insuliny (p < 0, 001). U os贸b leczonych metformin膮 po 2 tygodniach przyjmowania
leku st臋偶enie glukozy we krwi by艂o istotnie ni偶sze od poziomu wyj艣ciowego (p < 0,001). Redukcja st臋偶enia glukozy w ci膮gu tych
2 tygodni by艂a istotnie wi臋ksza w grupie przyjmuj膮cej insulin臋 (p = 0,01). W obu grupach terapeutycznych punktacja w skali APACHE II
w momencie zako艅czenia badania by艂a ni偶sza od warto艣ci wyj艣ciowych (10 punkt贸w v. 15 [insulina] i 16 [metformina]). U 3 chorych
(2 osoby przydzielone do leczenia metformin膮 i 1 osoba przydzielona do insulinoterapii) zaobserwowano rozw贸j niewydolno艣ci
nerek de novo (maksymalne st臋偶enie kreatyniny w surowicy co najmniej 2-krotnie wi臋ksze od warto艣ci wyj艣ciowych) w ostatnich
dniach stosowania protoko艂u leczenia hipoglikemizuj膮cego, chocia偶 u 偶adnego z pacjent贸w nie stwierdzono kwasicy mleczanowej
po przyj臋ciu na OIOM.
Wnioski: Zar贸wno leczenie metformin膮, jak i intensywna insulinoterapia istotne zmniejszaj膮 hiperglikemi臋 u pacjent贸w na OIOM. Insulina
powoduje wi臋ksz膮 redukcj臋 st臋偶enia glukozy, jednak jej stosowanie wymaga wi臋kszej uwagi, a personel medyczny musi by膰 odpowiednio
przeszkolony
The maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnant women with definite COVID-19
Background: This study aimed to assess the symptoms and clinical laboratory data of pregnant women with COVID-19 in their second or third trimester of pregnancy as well as their maternal and neonatal outcomes.
Methods: This retrospective observational study was conducted on 177 pregnant women with COVID-19 who were admitted to Yas hospital (affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences), and Ali-ibn-Abi-Talib hospital (affiliated with Zahedan University of Medical Sciences).
Results: There was significant higher complaints including fever (p-value=0.015), cough (p-value=0.028), fatigue (p-value=0.002), dyspnea (p-value=0.022), and lower hemoglobin level (p-value=0.009) in patients who were in their third trimester compared to those who were in their second trimester. 9.6% (n=17) of the patients had severe disease and needed ICU admission. There was a significant variation regarding gestational age (p-value=0.022) in pregnant women admitted to ICU compared to the other ones. During the study, delivery happened in 108 (61%) pregnant women. Fetal distress following meconium deification (p-value=0.041), need to MGSO4 (p-value=0.001), IUFD (p-value=0.006), need for blood transfusion (p-value=0.004), and neonatal death (p-value<0.001) were significantly higher in patients who needed ICU admission.
Conclusion: Higher gestational weeks are the main risk factor for severe COVID-19 disease. Although vertical transmission is rare; due to the higher risk of perinatal outcomes, the delivery should be done in a center with a NICU department
The role of imaging in head and neck cancer: An overview of different imaging modalities in primary diagnosis and staging of the disease.
Radiology has an essential role in diagnosis, staging, and management in all subspecialties related to oncology.
It has a broad utility from its use as an initial screening tool for cancer detection, followed by staging and surveillance of disease as well as the delivery of appropriate treatment regimens.
In order to plan a treatment, the use of different modalities of radiological imaging are a key factor for pre-treatment planning and staging of the extent of disease in accordance with tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) system for highly conformal treatments, such as brachytherapy (BT).
In this work, we present an overview of main modalities of imaging and principles of their application especially in head and neck cancer, with its diagnosis, treatment, follow-up with post-treatment changes, and overall management
Passion and hard work produces high quality research in UK: response to Focus on China: should clinicians engage in research? and lessons from other countries.
Congenital Insensitivity to Pain and Anhydrosis (CIPA) Syndrome; A Report of 4 Cases
Background: Background: Congenital insensitivity to pain with
anhidrosis (CIPA) is characterized by recurrent episodes of infections
and unexplained fever, anhidrosis (inability to sweat), and absence of
reaction to noxious stimuli, self-mutilating behavior, mental
retardation and damages to oral structures. Case Presentation: In this
article, we have demonstrated the signs and symptoms of 4 children that
refer to the pediatrics department of the Imam Khomeini hospital and
assay about their complications with this disease. They mostly
presented by recurrent osteomyelitis in their feet that severely
controlled by antibiotic therapy and even surgery. They had no pain
sensation in spite of deep sore and infection. Conclusion: This
syndrome can be diagnosed by clinical and paraclinical tests together
but it would be better to confirm by genetic test. The diagnosis of
this syndrome helps us to try for the better quality of life for the
patients and avoid unnecessary amputations