Music and anxiety in hospitalized children

Purpose: Music is a method of stress reduction and could be used as a non-invasive therapeutic tool to relieve the pain and anxiety of patient. This study is designed to evaluate the role of music therapy on the level of anxiety in children aged 912 yearsold, in an academic hospital in Gorgan, northeast of Iran. Methods: Sixty hospitalized children were categorized into the intervention (case=30) and the control groups (N=30) by using a simple randomized method. The data gathering instruments were questionnaires which included demographic information and a trait anxiety inventory for children, the Spielberger test (STAIC). For the intervention group, for 2 days, 20 minutes (3 am-6 pm), the soothing rhythmic music of Johann Sebastian Bach was released through a tape recorder which was equipped with a headphone and then, the Spielberger questionnaires were refilled by each patient. The control group did not receive any intervention. Results: The results showed that the anxiety scores between the control and the intervention groups had no significant difference before the application of the music. The mean anxiety after the application of music in the control group was 49.4±7.2 and in the intervention group, it was 30.7±7.5. The results showed a significant difference between the mean anxiety in the control and the intervention groups (p<0.05). Conclusions: Our results showed that in hospitalized children, music therapy reduced the anxiety level

The effect of delivery nursing shift at bedside with patient’s partnership on patients’ satisfaction and nurses’ satisfaction, clinical trial, quasi-experimental study.

Background & Aims: Shift-to-Shift Handoff is a strong tool for transferring information about patients’ status and their caring plans. Any disruption of this process can be a precursor to serious error, poor communication in work environment. Bedside shift-to-shift hand off with patient’s cooperation allows the nurses to see and patient, ask questions of the patient and previous nurse and receive instant feedback on questions. This study aimed to determine the impact of bedside nurse-to nurse hand off with patients’ cooperation on patients and nurses’ satisfaction. Materials & Methods: In this clinical trial, quasi-experimental study in 2015, 90 patients and 12 nurses of Intensive Care Unit of Amir-al-Momenin Hospital affiliated to Golestan University of Medical Sciences were participated. The sampling methods for patients and nurses were census respectively. Patients and nurses’ satisfaction before and after the intervention (shift-to-shift hand off with patients partnership), were evaluated by valid and reliable self-designed patients and nurses’ satisfaction’s questionnaires. Results: The mean and standard deviation of total score of patients’ satisfaction before and after the intervention were 59.66±5.64 and 67.06±5.06 respectively (P<0.001). The mean of nurses’ satisfaction from 81.66±7.43 (before intervention) increased to 93.08±59.91 after intervention (P<0.002). In both groups revealed a significant difference. Conclusion: Shift-to-shift hand off with patients’ participation increased the patients and nurses’ satisfaction

3D Knee Joint Modeling from MRI Images

Introduction: Osteoarthritis is one of the major diseases that cause disability. Previous research studies implicate that the onset of osteoarthritis is associated with the changes in biomechanics of articular cartilages in the knee joint. In recent years, computer models have been extensively used to study the biomechanics of the cartilaginous tissues. One of the first steps of such studies is to construct anatomically accurate models of the tissues using available software packages. The objective of this study was to compare the capabilities of two software packages, Rhinoceros 3D and Mimics. Method: MRI data was collected from two volunteer subjects (one female age: 28 and one male age: 27). The subjects had no records of previous knee injuries or surgeries. In Rhinoceros 3D, the original MRI data was first imported to Sante DICOM Viewer and then exported as JPEG format. The exported images then were imported by Rhinoceros 3D for segmentation. Mimics software has a built-in tool to read MRI data directly. A tool called 3D LiveWire was used for segmenting. Finally, 3D surface models were obtained using segments. Results: Both Rhinoceros and Mimics have successfully obtained a model for femur. However, Rhinoceros has problems constructing other cartilaginous surfaces. Using Mimics, all other tissues of the knee joint were successfully constructed. A completed joint model included the following parts: Femur, Tibia, Fibula Femoral, Tibial and Fibular Cartilages Menisci Collateral and Cruciate Ligaments Patella and Patellar CartilageDiscussion: Rhinoceros 3D had problems constructing cartilages with complicated surfaces, but its open- programming feature allows it to integrate customized tools and scripts to help construct surfaces. Nevertheless, Mimics has many tools for segmentation and 3D model calculating. It also includes options to modify and optimize the models. In summary, the models from Mimics are qualified for future Finite Element studies

Effects of starvation and re-feeding on some hematological and plasma biochemical parameters of juvenile Persian sturgeon, Acipenser persicus Borodin, 1897

The effect of starvation and re-feeding was investigated on growth, hematology and biochemical parameters in juvenile Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus). Three hundred and seventy five fish (108±0.63 g) were divided into five feeding groups. The control group (C) was fed to satiation three times a day during the experiment. The four groups were starved for 1 (W1), 2 (W2), 3 (W3), and 4 (W4) weeks respectively, and then fed to satiation during a 4 week re-feeding period. The results indicated that some parameters including final weight, specific growth rate ,body weight increase, plasma enzymes (ALT, Alanine aminotransferase, AST, Aspartat aminotransferase and ALP, Alkaline phosphatise, hematological parameters [Mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH)]were significantly affected by feeding regimes. The plasma cortisol, hematocrit, lymphocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, and monocytes were not affected by starvation and subsequent re-feeding. These findings showed that short term starvations had no significant negative effects on growth performance, most biochemical and hematological parameters in Persian sturgeon could recover when re-feeding resumed

Katanin catalyzes microtubule depolymerization independently of tubulin C-terminal tails

Microtubule network remodeling is an essential process for cell development, maintenance, cell division, and motility. Microtubule‐severing enzymes are key players in the remodeling of the microtubule network; however, there are still open questions about their fundamental biochemical and biophysical mechanisms. Here, we explored the ability of the microtubule‐severing enzyme katanin to depolymerize stabilized microtubules. Interestingly, we found that the tubulin C‐terminal tail (CTT), which is required for severing, is not required for katanin‐catalyzed depolymerization. We also found that the depolymerization of microtubules lacking the CTT does not require ATP or katanin\u27s ATPase activity, although the ATP turnover enhanced depolymerization. We also observed that the depolymerization rate depended on the katanin concentration and was best described by a hyperbolic function. Finally, we demonstrate that katanin can bind to filaments that lack the CTT, contrary to previous reports. The results of our work indicate that microtubule depolymerization likely involves a mechanism in which binding, but not enzymatic activity, is required for tubulin dimer removal from the filament ends

Prospects for detecting the 21cm forest from the diffuse intergalactic medium with LOFAR

We discuss the feasibility of the detection of the 21cm forest in the diffuse IGM with the radio telescope LOFAR. The optical depth to the 21cm line has been derived using simulations of reionization which include detailed radiative transfer of ionizing photons. We find that the spectra from reionization models with similar total comoving hydrogen ionizing emissivity but different frequency distribution look remarkably similar. Thus, unless the reionization histories are very different from each other (e.g. a predominance of UV vs. x-ray heating) we do not expect to distinguish them by means of observations of the 21cm forest. Because the presence of a strong x-ray background would make the detection of 21cm line absorption impossible, the lack of absorption could be used as a probe of the presence/intensity of the x-ray background and the thermal history of the universe. Along a random line of sight LOFAR could detect a global suppression of the spectrum from z>12, when the IGM is still mostly neutral and cold, in contrast with the more well-defined, albeit broad, absorption features visible at lower redshift. Sharp, strong absorption features associated with rare, high density pockets of gas could be detected also at z~7 along preferential lines of sight.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures. MNRAS, in pres

Serological Evaluation of EgAgB16 kDa, a Recombinant Antigen from Echinococcus granulosus for Diagnosis of Human Hydatidosis

Background: Regarding that accurate diagnosis of human hydatidosis still needs more investigations, the present study was conducted to clone, express, and evaluate the gene encoding AgB subunits (EgAgB16 kDa) from Echinococcus granulosus (Iranian G1 strain) and its evaluation by ELISA test.Methods: DNA was extracted from protoscoleces and was utilized by PCR for strain identification. Total RNA was prepared with RNeasy protect mini kit from E. granulosus (Iranian G1 strain) protoscoleces collected from naturally infected sheep with hydatid cyst. Recombinant AgB16 kDa was produced using pETDuet as vector and evaluated by ELISA method. A panel of sera including hydatid cyst-infected individu­als (n=72), healthy individual (n=48), toxoplasmosis (n=4), strongyloidosis (n=4), kala-azar (n=5) and tuberculosis (n=5) were examined using this recombinant antigen.Results: Recombinant protein was purified by affinity chromatography using His-Tag column. After purifica­tion, recombinant protein was confirmed by western blot analysis using His Tag monoclonal anti­body or hydatid positive human serum. The sensitivity, specificity; positive and negative predictive values were calculated as 93.5%, 95.6%, 96% and 92.9%, in that order. The cut-off point was detected 0.3 for rAgB16. Conclusion: While the produced recombinant AgB16 kDa showed promising results in diagnosing human hy­datidosis, but more investigations should be implemented to reach an accurate gold standard

Mesostigmatic mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) associated with rodents in Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran

During April 2013 to December 2014, a faunistic study was carried out on mesostigmatic mites associated with rodents in northeastern Iran. In this research two dermanyssoid species were collected: Laelaps algericus Hirst and Hirstionyssus meridianus Zemskaja of which the latter species considered as a new record for mite fauna of Iran

Feasibility of Enceladus plume biosignature analysis: Successful capture of organic ice particles in hypervelocity impacts

Enceladus is a compelling destination for astrobiological analyses due to the presence of simple and complex organic constituents in cryovolcanic plumes that jet from its subsurface ocean. Enceladus plume capture during a flyby or orbiter mission is an appealing method for obtaining pristine ocean samples for scientific studies of this organic content because of the high science return, reduced planetary protection challenges, and lower risk and expense compared to a landed mission. However, this mission profile requires sufficient amounts of plume material for sensitive analysis. To explore the feasibility and optimization of the required capture systems, light gas gun experiments were carried out to study organic ice particle impacts on indium surfaces. An organic fluorescent tracer dye, Pacific Blue™, was dissolved in borate buffer and frozen into saline ice projectiles. During acceleration, the ice projectile breaks up in flight into micron‐sized particles that impact the target. Quantitative fluorescence microscopic analysis of the targets demonstrated that under certain impact conditions, 10–50% of the entrained organic molecules were captured in over 25% of the particle impacts. Optimal organic capture was observed for small particles (d ~ 5–15 µm) with velocities ranging from 1 to 2 km s$^{−1}$. Our results reveal how organic capture efficiency depends on impact velocity and particle size; capture increases as particles get smaller and as velocity is reduced. These results demonstrate the feasibility of collecting unmodified organic molecules from the Enceladus ice plume for sensitive analysis with modern in situ instrumentation such as microfluidic capillary electrophoresis (CE) analysis with ppb organic sensitivity