The Effect of Superoxide Dismutase-Contained Nanostructured Lipid Carriers on Second-degree Burn Wound Healing in Rat: an In-vivo Study

Introduction Superoxide dismutase enzyme (SOD) with high antioxidant activity and, by controlling oxidative stress and reducing the activity of free radicals like ROS, reduces injury and accelerates healing. NLCs were used as the main formulation due to their small particle size, better permeability, higher shelf-life and etc. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) on SOD activity in burn wound healing. Method: 27 rats were divided to 3 groups: target, positive and negative control. Formulations were examined for particle size, enzyme activity and loading. Each formulations were used for 21 days on rats and at the end of each week they were examined by macroscopic and microscopic Methods. Each group was given a score based on the histology characteristics. Results: Physicochemical properties showed that the particle size was between 35 and 85 nm, and the percentage of enzyme loading was 78% and the enzyme activity was 39.3% in the formulation of NLC+ENZ. Macroscopic examination showed that the best recovery rate was in the target group (NLC+ENZ) and showed better performance on the second and third weeks (pval=0.029 in day 14 and pval=0.000 in day 21). In pathological studies also shown that the angiogenesis and granulation tissue of the target group has a significantly better performance. In Granulation scores first week NLC+ENZ Pval = 0.003 In Granulation scores second week NLC+ENZ Pval = 0.001 In angiogenesis scores first week NLC+ENZ Pval = 0.000 Conclusion: This study showed that the formulation of the prepared nanoparticles had an acceptable enzymatic activity and loading percentages. The formulations of NLC+ENZ in comparison to the other two groups shows significantly improvement of pathologic factors, particularly angiogenesis, granulation tissue, and a faster reduction of inflammatory cells

Comparing Sound-Field Speech-Auditory Brainstem Response Components between Cochlear Implant Users with Different Speech Recognition in Noise Scores

ObjectivesMany studies have suggested that Cochlear Implant (CI) users vary in terms of speech recognition in noise. Studies in this field attribute this variety partly to subcortical auditory processing. Since study on speech-Auditory Brainstem Response (speech-ABR) provides good information about speech processing, so this work was designed to compare speech-ABR components between two groups of CI users with good and poor speech recognition in noise scores.Materials & MethodsThe present study was conducted on two groups of CI users aged 8-10 years old. The first group (CI-good) consisted of 15 children prelingual CI users who had good speech recognition in noise performance. The second group (CI-poor) matched with the first group, but they had poor speech recognition in noise performance. The speech-ABR test in a sound-field presentation was performed for all the participants.  Results The speech-ABR response showed more delay in C, D, E, F, O latencies in CI-poor than CI-good users (P <0.05), meanwhile no significant difference was observed in initial wave (V(t= -0.293, p= 0.771 and A(t= -1.051, p= 0.307). Analysis in spectral-domain showed a weaker representation of fundamental frequency as well as the first formant and high-frequency component of speech stimuli in the CI-poor users.ConclusionsResults revealed that CI users who showed poor auditory performance in noise performance had deficits in encoding of periodic portion of speech signals at brainstem level. Also, this study could be as physiological evidence for poorer pitch processing in CI users with poor speech recognition in noise performance

Micro-Computed Tomographic Assessment of Microcrack Formation before and after Instrumentation of Curved Root Canals with Neoniti Rotary Files.

The aim of this study was to assess the microcrack formation of moderately and severely curved root canals following instrumentation with Neoniti rotary files using micro-computed tomography. This in vitro study evaluated 18 extracted sound mandibular molars with two separate mesial canals and foramina in two groups (n = 9) with 5-20° (moderate) and 20-40° (severe) root canal curvature. The number of microcracks in the root canal walls was counted at baseline by micro-CT. Subsequently, the root canals were instrumented with 0.20/0.06 v Neoniti files as single files with a torque of 1.5 Ncm and a speed of 400 rpm. The number of microcracks was counted again postoperatively on micro-CT images using Amira software. Statistical analysis was performed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, Levene's test and repeated-measures ANOVA (α = 0.05). The mean number of microcracks significantly increased postoperatively in both the moderately curved (11.59 ± 9.74 vs. 8.2 ± 7.4; p = 0.001) and the severely curved (13.23 ± 5.64 vs. 7.20 ± 5.94; p < 0.001) groups. However, the differences between the two groups were not significant (p = 0.668). Based on the results obtained, it can be stated that the instrumentation of moderately and severely curved root canals with Neoniti rotary files increases the number of microcracks. However, the higher degree of curvature does not necessarily translate to a higher number of microcracks after root canal instrumentation with this specific rotary system and methodological procedures

Family History of Alzheimer’s Disease Increases the Risk of COVID-19 Positivity: A SUMS Employees Cohort-based Study

Background: Substantial data indicate that genetic and environmental factors play a key role in determining the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Moreover, it is known that having relatives with AD increases the risk of developing this disease.Objective: This study is aimed at investigating whether having a family history of AD, may increase the risk of COVID-19 in a cohort-based study.Material and Methods: Participants of this retrospective cohort study were previously enrolled in the SUMS Employees Cohort (SUMSEC). All participants including those whose SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed by positive PCR test and chest CT scan were requested to respond to interviewer-administered questionnaires. Moreover, AD was diagnosed via memory and thinking impairment, concentration problems, confusion with location, and problems in finishing daily tasks.Results: The total numbers of female and male participants with a family history of AD were 463 and 222 individuals, respectively. When all types of family history of AD were considered, a 51.3% increase was found in the relative frequency of the participants with both family history of AD and confirmed COVID-19 compared with those only with a family history of AD. Conclusion: Despite the limitations of our study, and from a broader perspective, our findings can further support the concept that AD risk haplotypes including APOE are linked to the same morbidities from cardiovascular disease and obesity that increase vulnerability to COVID-19. Given this consideration, millions of APOE ε4 carriers around the globe should be advised to take additional precautions to prevent life-threatening diseases such as COVID-19

Quantifying non-recurring congestion impact on secondary incidents using probe vehicle data

As a significant cost and externality to economic efficiency, congestion is partly caused by traffic incidents. For more systematic, planned and coordinated incident management, quantifying a primary incident’s impact on secondary incidents is crucial and challenging. Many thresholds have been suggested in defining the secondary incidents, but there is no universal acceptance of a definition and corresponding set of measurement parameters. Static threshold methods cannot consider the actual representation of prevailing traffic conditions when the incidents took place. On the other hand, dynamic methods have disadvantages because necessary traffic detector data may not be available, and replication of the incidents using a simulation package can be time consuming. The novelty of this study rests in the attempt of a probe vehicle technique for capturing the dynamics of traffic evolution during the primary-crash incidents. Compared to the previous thresholds which have many errors, proposed speed contour map from Traffic Message Channel codes provides accurate feasible area for identification of secondary incidents

Impact of Data Source on Travel Time Reliability Assessment Impact of Data Source on Travel Time Reliability Assessment Final Project report Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center Title and Subtitle: Impact of Data Source on Travel Time Reliabili

Travel time reliability measures are becoming an increasingly important input to the mobility and congestion management studies. In the case of Maryland State Highway Administration, reliability measures are key elements in the agency's Annual Mobility Report that is used for both transportation planning and operations. Recent advancements in vehicle tracking technologies have provided both private sectors and transportation agencies with multiple technologies for travel time data collection. This paper investigates the effect of data source selection on travel time reliability assessment. One year data from two independent sources, probe and Bluetooth, on two major freeway corridors in Maryland are used for travel time reliability analysis. Bluetooth sensors are permanently installed on multiple points of these two corridors and probe data are provided by INRIX. A statistical method is applied to compare reliability measures obtained from both sources. Several travel time reliability performance measures are studied. Results show that some reliability measures are more sensitive to the data source than the others. It is also shown that performance measures for HOV and general purpose lanes must be calculated separately

Protective Effect of N-Acetylcysteine on the Hearing of Rabbits Exposed to Noise and Carbon Monoxide

Background and Aim: One of the chemical pollutions which is frequently common in industry-other than noise is carbon monoxide. The present study aimed to assess the putative protective effect of N-acetylcysteine on the function of outer hair cells of rabbits exposed simultaneously to noise and carbon monoxide.Methods: 24 male rabbits are entered in this interventional study. After obtaining baseline distortion product otoacoustic emissions, rabits were randomely devided into four groups. The groups Included: exposed with noise and received saline, exposed with noise and carbon monoxide and received saline, exposed with noise and received N-acetylcysteine, and exposed with noise and carbon monoxide and received N-acetylcysteine. Subsequently, they were evaluated again with distortion product otoacoustic emissions in two stages (two hours and one week after the exposure). Data were recorded and analyzed using paired and independent sample t-tests.Results: Exposure to noise, and also simultaneous exposure to noise and carbon monoxide, and moreover using N-acetylcysteine in both groups, produced significant changes in distortion product otoacoustic emissions amplitudes (p<0.005).Conclusion: The findings of the present research reveal that simultaneous exposure to noise and carbon monoxide may potentiate noise induced hearing loss. In addition, utilizing N-acetylcysteine can be used as a preventive agent for noise induced hearing loss and to avoid its potentiation with carbon monoxide

Development and Validation of a Persian Version of Dichotic Emotional Word Test

Introduction: Emotional words in comparison with neutral words have different hemispheric specialization. It is assumed that the right hemisphere has a role in processing every kind of emotional word. The objective of the present study was the development of a Persian version of the dichotic emotional word test and evaluate its validation among adult Persian speakers.   Materials and Methods: The present study was done on 60 adults, with the age ranging from 18-30 years for both genders, who had no history of neurological disorders with normal hearing. The developed test included eight main lists; each had several dichotic emotional/ neutral pairs of words. Participants were asked to recall as many words in each list as they could after they listened to them. A content validity index was used to analyze the validity of the test.   Results: The mean content validity index score was 0.94. The findings showed that in the left ear, emotional words were remembered more than neutral ones (P=0.007). While in the right ear, neutral words were remembered more (P=0.009). There were no significant differences in male and female scores.   Conclusion:  Dichotic emotional word test has a high content validity. The ability to remember emotional words better in the left ear supports the dominant role of the right hemisphere in emotional word perception