The radiological study of using fabricated calcium hydroxide from quail eggshell and plasma-rich fibrin for reconstitution of a mandibular bone gap in dogs

In this study, Calcium hydroxyl was fabricated from quail egg-shell and autogenous plasma-rich fibrin (PRF) to reconstitute the mandibular gap in dogs. In this study, 27 dogs of both sexes were used, enrolled in three groups, nine of each. A defect as a circular gap experimentally induced on the ventral surface of the lower mandible with a diameter of (14,0.5 mm). Clinical and Radiographical examinations were evaluated at (0,15,30 and 60 days post-surgery), and the XRD (X-Ray Diffractometer), Field Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometer (EDS) analysis were performed. Clinically there was normal mastication and no award complications. Radiographically in 1st group treated with Ca(OH)², the healing near completed, and the opacification of the bone defect in the caudal body of the mandible, with a sclerosed margin representing maturating callus with complete trabecular bridging, whereas in 2nd group at same period representing good maturating callus with complete trabecular bridging, there is disappearance of gap and complete opacification. The XRD scanning of the quail eggshell proved the hexagonal crystalline shape of calcium hydroxide containing essential elements of natural bone calcium, oxygen, and Carbone. At the same time, FESEM demonstrated the characteristic hexagonal shape of the particles, allowing identifying them as calcium hydroxide in Ca(OH)2 group with no porous in PRF. In conclusion, using fabricated calcium hydroxide quail egg shell and prepared autogenous PRF demonstrated an effective bioactive agent with superior biocompatible properties of PRF for reconstitution mandibular defect in dogs; there was increased radiographic density of defective bone

Evaluation the effect of high and low viscosity Nano-hydroxylapatite gel in repairing of an induced critical-size tibial bone defect in dogs: Radiolographical study

Many types of bioactive materials are categorized as bone tissue substitutes for reconstruction and regeneration of bone defects, such as nano-hydroxyapatite. The objective of the present study was to radiologically evaluate the bone healing process in experimentally induced tibial defects in dogs treated with two different viscosity concentrations of nano-hydroxyapatite gel. Twelve adult, healthy Mongrel dogs were included. A critical size bone defect of 3–0.7 cm was induced surgically in the lateral border of the tibial bone of the right limb of all dogs enrolled in this study. The dogs were then categorized into two treatment groups: Group 1 (6 dogs): The defect was filled with prepared hydroxyapatite nanogel at a concentration of 33%, and Group 2 (6 dogs) hydroxyapatite nanogel at a concentration of 24% was used as a filling material. The healing process of the tibial defect and associated clinical and radiolographical findings were recorded in all studied groups at 30 and 60 days postoperatively. The results of the current study showed complete healing of the induced defect in the absence of any signs of pain or discomfort. Radiographically, there was an increase in radiographic density in the first group at 60 days. There is continuing healing in the late stage of the bone segment with the surrounding area and a crossing callus with cortical irregularities, denoting a chronic periosteal reaction and a good healing process. In the second group, the defect was completely filled with cortical thickening, which appears denser, denoting a periosteal reaction. In conclusion, using hydroxyapatite nanogel with high viscosity as a bone substitute contributed to progressing bone tissue regeneration with good callus formation and giving perfect mechanical support to defective bone

Tackling the glial scar in spinal cord regeneration: new discoveries and future directions

Axonal regeneration and functional recovery are poor after spinal cord injury (SCI), typified by the formation of an injury scar. While this scar was traditionally believed to be primarily responsible for axonal regeneration failure, current knowledge takes a more holistic approach that considers the intrinsic growth capacity of axons. Targeting the SCI scar has also not reproducibly yielded nearly the same efficacy in animal models compared to these neuron-directed approaches. These results suggest that the major reason behind central nervous system (CNS) regeneration failure is not the injury scar but a failure to stimulate axon growth adequately. These findings raise questions about whether targeting neuroinflammation and glial scarring still constitute viable translational avenues. We provide a comprehensive review of the dual role of neuroinflammation and scarring after SCI and how future research can produce therapeutic strategies targeting the hurdles to axonal regeneration posed by these processes without compromising neuroprotection

Tumours of the thymus: a cohort study of prognostic factors from the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons database

OBJECTIVES A retrospective database was developed by the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons, collecting patients submitted to surgery for thymic tumours to analyse clinico-pathological prognostic predictors. METHODS A total of 2151 incident cases from 35 institutions were collected from 1990 to 2010. Clinical-pathological characteristics were analysed, including age, gender, associated myasthenia gravis stage (Masaoka), World Health Organization histology, type of thymic tumour [thymoma, thymic carcinoma (TC), neuroendocrine thymic tumour (NETT)], type of resection (complete/incomplete), tumour size, adjuvant therapy and recurrence. Primary outcome was overall survival (OS); secondary outcomes were the proportion of incomplete resections, disease-free survival and the cumulative incidence of recurrence (CIR). RESULTS A total of 2030 patients were analysed for OS (1798 thymomas, 191 TCs and 41 NETTs). Ten-year OS was 0.73 (95% confidence interval 0.69-0.75). Complete resection (R0) was achieved in 88% of the patients. Ten-year CIR was 0.12 (0.10-0.15). Predictors of shorter OS were increased age (P < 0-001), stage [III vs I HR 2.66, 1.80-3.92; IV vs I hazard ratio (HR) 4.41, 2.67-7.26], TC (HR 2.39, 1.68-3.40) and NETT (HR 2.59, 1.35-4.99) vs thymomas and incomplete resection (HR 1.74, 1.18-2.57). Risk of recurrence increased with tumour size (P = 0.003), stage (III vs I HR 5.67, 2.80-11.45; IV vs I HR 13.08, 5.70-30.03) and NETT (HR 7.18, 3.48-14.82). Analysis using a propensity score indicates that the administration of adjuvant therapy was beneficial in increasing OS (HR 0.69, 0.49-0.97) in R0 resections. CONCLUSIONS Masaoka stages III-IV, incomplete resection and non-thymoma histology showed a significant impact in increasing recurrence and in worsening survival. The administration of adjuvant therapy after complete resection is associated with improved surviva

Effects of ketamine-xylazine and propofol-halothane anesthetic protocols on blood gases and some anesthetic parameters in dogs

Aim: The anesthetic effects and side effects of ketamine&amp;#150;xylazine and propofol&amp;#150;halothane at four different anesthetics protocol were examined in twenty healthy dogs. Methods: Four treatments were conducted using five dogs in each. The first group was treated with ketamine at 15 mg/kg intramuscularly and xylazine at 5 mg/kg. The second group was treated with ketamine&amp;#150;xylazine same as first group, but the dogs were underwent pneumoperitoneum with CO2. The third group was anesthetized with propofol at 2 mg/kg intravenously with inhalational halothane as maintenance anesthesia. The fourth group was treated as same as the third group but underwent pneumoperitoneum with CO2. The behavioral changes, onset of action, induction time, the duration of surgical anesthesia, reflexes, and recovery period, blood gas changes (pH, paO2 and paCO2 ) were recorded pre treatment and 10 and 30 minutes period after treatment. Results: The results showed differences in the quality of anesthesia among the four groups. The onset of anesthesia was the shortest in the third group (0.88&amp;#177;0.13 min). There were no significant changes in pH and paCO2 determined in all the groups. No adverse reactions or complications were encountered during the anesthesia. The paO2 significantly increased 10 and 30 min after anesthesia in all group in comparison with respective pretreatment value. Conclusion: The anesthetic protocol of propofol as induction agent with halothane as maintenance anesthesia induced a good quality anesthesia with a short duration of action and rapid smooth recovery without complications during CO2 insufflations in dogs. [Vet World 2013; 6(2.000): 95-99

Introducing medical humanities in the medical curriculum in Saudi Arabia: A pedagogical experiment

In a marked shift from the modern positivist materialist philosophy that influenced medical education for more than a century, Western medical educators are now beginning to realize the significance of the spiritual element of human nature. Consensus is currently building up in Europe and North America on the need to give more emphasis to the study of humanities disciplines such as history of medicine, ethics, religion, philosophy, medically related poetry, literature, arts and medical sociology in medical colleges with the aim of allowing graduates to reach to the heart of human learning about meaning of life and death and to become kinder, more reflective practitioners. The medicine taught and practiced during the Islamic civilization era was a vivid example of the unity of the two components of medical knowledge: natural sciences and humanities. It was also a brilliant illustration of medical ethics driven by a divine moral code. This historical fact formed the foundation for the three medical humanities courses presented in this article reporting a pedagogical experiment in preparation for starting a humanities program in Alfaisal University Medical College in Riyadh. In a series of lectures alternating with interactive sessions, active learning strategies were employed in teaching a course on history of medicine during the Islamic era and another on Islamic medical ethics. Furthermore, a third course on medically relevant Arabic poetry was designed and prepared in a similar way. The end-of-the-course feedback comments reflected effectiveness of the courses and highlighted the importance of employing student-centered learning techniques in order to motivate medical students to become critical thinkers, problem solvers, life-long learners and self-learners

Dual-degree MBBS-MPH programs in Saudi Arabia: A call for implementation

Nowadays, any healthcare problem should be dealt with in a multidisciplinary approach that employs not only treating the symptoms of the problem but also its source. This simply implies the necessity to produce well-rounded medical graduates (physicians) who can competently integrate clinical knowledge/skills (for disease treatment) and public health knowledge/skills (for disease prevention). Moreover, the medical training (MD/MBBS curriculum) largely gives emphasis to the clinical skills needed to treat individual patients, whereas public health training (MPH degree) emphasizes the methods needed to improve the overall community health. Bridging the gap between patients and community is best achieved through a combined multidisciplinary training in both medicine and public health, that is, dual-degree MBBS-MPH programs are the way forward. In United States, for example, there are >80 medical schools that offer such joint MD-MPH programs, whereas there is none in Saudi Arabia. Herein, I call on higher education bodies to implement dual-degree MBBS-MPH programs in Saudi Arabia. To the best of knowledge, this is the first ever report to call for such an innovative implementation. Also, this short communication briefly sheds light on background, rationale, benefits, curriculum design, and future directions of such programs. The implications of this perspective (i.e. dual-degree MBBS-MPH programs) should not be limited to Saudi Arabia only; rather, it should be contemplated by the other medical curricula in the different countries

Updating the Landweber Iteration Method for Solving Inverse Problems

The Landweber iteration method is one of the most popular methods for the solution of linear discrete ill-posed problems. The diversity of physical problems and the diversity of operators that result from them leads us to think about updating the main methods and algorithms to achieve the best results. We considered in this work the linear operator equation and the use of a new version of the Landweber iterative method as an iterative solver. The main goal of updating the Landweber iteration method is to make the iteration process fast and more accurate. We used a polar decomposition to achieve a symmetric positive definite operator instead of an identity operator in the classical Landweber method. We carried out the convergence and other necessary analyses to prove the usability of the new iteration method. The residual method was used as an analysis method to rate the convergence of the iteration. The modified iterative method was compared to the classical Landweber method. A numerical experiment illustrates the effectiveness of this method by applying it to solve the inverse boundary value problem of the heat equation (IBVP)