Mitochondrial fusion and Bid-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis are perturbed by alcohol with distinct dependence on its metabolism

Environmental stressors like ethanol (EtOH) commonly target mitochondria to influence the cell’s fate. Recent literature supports that chronic EtOH exposure suppresses mitochondrial dynamics, central to quality control, and sensitizes mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening to promote cell death. EtOH-induced tissue injury is primarily attributed to its toxic metabolic products but alcoholism also impairs tissues that poorly metabolize EtOH. We embarked on studies to determine the respective roles of EtOH and its metabolites in mitochondrial fusion and tBid-induced mitochondrial apoptosis. We used HepG2 cells that do not metabolize EtOH and its engineered clone that expresses EtOH-metabolizing Cytochrome P450 E2 and alcohol dehydrogenase (VL-17A cells). We found that fusion impairment by prolonged EtOH exposure was prominent in VL-17A cells, probably owing to reactive oxygen species increase in the mitochondrial matrix. There was no change in fusion protein abundance, mitochondrial membrane potential or Ca2+ uptake. By contrast, prolonged EtOH exposure promoted tBid-induced outer mitochondrial membrane permeabilization and cell death only in HepG2 cells, owing to enhanced Bak oligomerization. Thus, mitochondrial fusion inhibition by EtOH is dependent on its metabolites, whereas sensitization to tBid-induced death is mediated by EtOH itself. This difference is of pathophysiological relevance because of the tissue-specific differences in EtOH metabolism. © 2018, The Author(s)

Evaluating knowledge, attitude and practice of Health-Care Workers regarding patient education in Iran

The objective of the study was to evaluate the position of patient education measuring knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) among health care workers (HCWs). It is also aimed to emphasize the need for a real position for patient education. This survey was performed among a group of HCWs in Iran. The scores had an acceptable level. However, nurses, females and younger people received higher scores. The staff was already aware of patient education necessity and considered it as the duty of all medical team. Often HCWs cannot include patient education in their routine due to time shortage, lack of staff�s financial motivation, fatigue, and loads of work, etc. There is still need for a real training in the educational curriculum. Additionally, the various HCWs�related obstacles should be taken into account. © 2015 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Optimal Forest Road Density Based on Skidding and Road Construction Costs in Iranian Caspian Forests

Information on the productivity, costs and applications of the logging system is a key component in the evaluation of management plans for the rehabilitation and utilization of Caspian forests. Skidding and road construction costs are expensive forest operations. Determining the optimum forest road network density is one of the most important factors in sustainable forest management. Logging method is an important factor to determine the optimum road network density. In this research, in order to determine the optimum road network density, skidding cost and road construction cost were calculated. Linear programming model was used in order to reduce the skidding costs and to determine the optimal forest road network density. Our aim was to determine the minimum skidding cost for Timber Jack and Clark skidders for different average skidding distance. The results showed that it is less costly if Clark skidder is used for skidding. Then the optimal road network density at this manner was 8 m/ha

Physiotherapy for chronic rhinosinusitis: The use of continuous ultrasound

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is the most common chronic disease in the field of ear, nose and throat and is often very difficult to treat. The aim of this pilot study was to determine the effects of continuous ultrasound (US) on CRS. In a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled study, 20 patients were treated with either continuous US (n = 10) or mock-US (n = 10), 3 days a week for 10 treatment sessions. All patients improved after treatment with US. Excellent and good improvements were observed in nine patients. Between-group comparisons of �percent improvement� showed a significantly higher improvement in the US group than in the control group. The total scores of rhinosinusitis symptoms were significantly improved after treatment in both the groups. At one-month follow-up, eight patients in the US group reported no recurrence of the disease and the CRS had recurred in all patients of the control group. This trial demonstrates that continuous US may be an effective tool in the treatment of patients with CRS, although further study is needed. © MA Healthcare Limited 2014

A preliminary study into the effect of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound on chronic maxillary and frontal sinusitis

Sinusitis is a very common acute or chronic illness that affects a significant percentage of individuals. Recently, therapeutic ultrasound was reported as a treatment for chronic sinusitis. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to evaluate the effectiveness of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (US) in chronic sinusitis using a pretest-posttest research design and 2) to determine the level of association between the independent variables of initial presence of symptoms, age, gender, and duration of disease and the dependent variable of improvement of symptoms. Patients with chronic sinusitis were treated with low-intensity pulsed US, 3 days per week for 15 sessions. Fifty-seven patients (18 females and 39 males; mean age, 35 years) were included in the study. The results of the McNemar test showed a significant change in proportions of post nasal drip and nasal obstruction, two common leading symptoms of patients with chronic sinusitis (p < 0.001). Most of the major and minor symptoms showed significant changes after US therapy (p < 0.05). The total improvement of symptoms was 81.3. The greatest improvement in symptoms was observed in nasal discharge (100), followed by facial pain (95.4) and postnasal drip (82.7), three major factors in sinusitis. There was a significant, low association between the initial presence of symptoms and the improvement of symptoms after US therapy (�2 = 30.352; df = 12; p = 0.002; phi value = 0.356). A significant, low association was also noted between the age and the improvement of symptoms after intervention (�2 = 17.548; df = 6; p = 0.007; phi value = 0.270). It may be concluded that low-intensity pulsed US has a significant effect on chronic sinusitis and improves patient symptoms in our study group. Copyright © Informa Healthcare

Economically optimal cutting cycle in a beech forest, Iranian Caspian Forests

The aim of this study was to determine the optimal cutting cycle in an uneven-aged beech forest in the North of Iran. First of all, a logistic growth model was determined for an uneven aged forest. Then, the stumpage price was predicted via an autoregressive model. The average stumpage price of beech was derived from actual timber, round wood, fire and pulpwood prices at road side minus the variable harvesting costs. Price and growth models were used in order to determine the optimal cutting cycle under different rates of interest and setup costs. The Faustmann’s model was used for optimal cutting cycle. The results indicated that the optimal cutting cycle will decrease if the rate of interest increased. The results also indicated that if the setup costs increase, the optimal cutting cycle will also increase

A Monopole Instanton-Like Effect in the ABJM Model

Making use of ansatzs for the form fields in the 10d type IIA supergravity version of the ABJM model, we come with a solution in the Euclidean signature recognized as a monopole instanton-like object. Indeed we will see that we can have a (anti) self-dual solution at a special limit. While as a topological object, its back-reaction on the original background should be ignorable, we show the energy-momentum tensors vanish exactly. On the field theory side, the best counterpart is an U(1) gauge field of a gauge transformation. To adjust with bulk, the gauge field must prompt to a dynamic one without adding any kinetic term for this dual photon except a marginal, abelian AB-type Chern-Simons term on the boundary. We will see how both side solutions match next to another confirmation from some earlier works of this vortex-particle duality.Comment: 15 pages, minor changes of some formulas, few typos fixed, and a reference adde

Economic burden of HIV/AIDS Infection in Iran : a modelling approach

Background: The Human Immunodeficiency Viruses/Acquired Immunodeficiency syndrome HIV/AIDS is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Low-and-Middle-Income-Countries (LMICs). It might potentially lead to an economic burden on the health system. There is no certainty about the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Iran. To the best of our knowledge, there is a lack of economic evidence in the country. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the cost of illness of HIV/AIDS infection in Iran. Methods: We applied a societal perspective to capture the direct and indirect costs attributed to HIV/AIDS in Iran. We used data for age-standardized prevalence produced by the country HIV/AIDS Surveillance System for 2018. The study estimates both direct and indirect costs for a hypothetical cohort of the Iranian adult population (here equates to all registered cases with Surveillance System). For mitigating the uncertainty around the estimations, we have used an optimistic and pessimistic analysis. Results: The base case scenario showed that total direct costs and indirect costs attributed to the HIV/AIDS infection were US$7,946,530 and US$ 1,288,586 at the end of 2018. Also, the total cost is 8,785,116 US$. Conclusions: Direct costs have formed approximately 85% of total costs. The policymakers and planners should consider that these costs are only related to diagnosed or registered infected populations. These costs will be raised dramatically with increasing the diagnosed patients

The immediate effects of dry needling for ankle and toe plantar flexors on spasticity and balance in patients with stroke

Background: Spasticity is one of the most important symptoms of stroke, which leads to movement constraints and disability. The presence of spasticity in the ankle and toe plantar flexor muscles disturbs the balance and gait of patients with stroke. Dry needling has been introduced as a new method for the treatment of spasticity. The aim of this study was to investigate the immediate effects of the ankle and toe plantar flexors dry needling on spasticity and balance in patients with stroke. Methods: This study was a clinical pretest-posttest study. Twenty patients with stroke (12 males and 8 females), the mean age of 56.5±13 years were included. The assessments were performed before dry needling, immediately after dry needling and 15 minutes after that. Dry needling was used to treat gastrocnemius (ankle plantar flexor) muscles, flexor digitorum longus, and flexor digitorum brevis of the affected lower limb of the patients, for one session. Each muscle was needled for one minute with fast in-fast out technique. The outcome measures of the study were modified modified Ashworth scale (MMAS) for the assessment of the severity of muscle spasticity, timed up and go test and one leg stance test, for balance evaluation. The study was conducted in neurological physical therapy, Clinic of Rehabilitation School, Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran, from April 2017 to April 2018. Results: The results showed a significant decrease in the ankle and toe plantar flexor muscles spasticity both immediately after dry needling and at 15 minutes follow-up (P=0.001). The duration of timed up and go test (P=0.001) and one leg stance test (P=0.001) improved significantly after dry needling and this improvement persisted for 15 minutes after dry needling. The effect size for timed up and go test and one leg stance test was small (Cohen'sd=0.33 and 0.32 respectively). Conclusion: This study suggests that dry needling is effective in improving spasticity of ankle and toe plantar flexor muscles and the balance of patients with stroke. Further research with larger sample size and control group is necessary. © 2020 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Association of health and food expenditures inequality with health outcomes: A case study on iranian rural households

Background: Inequality in households' and individuals' consumption expenditures is one of the most important aspects of health status difference among households and individuals. Objectives: We investigated the impact of some macro-economic factors specially inequality factors on the Iranian rural health status since 1986 through 2012. Patients and Methods: We conducted a longitudinal ecological and analytical study. The average sample size was 14602 households whom Iranian Statistics Center selected by a multi-stages clustering sampling approach. All required data has been collected from Iranian Statistics Centre and Deputy for Curial Affaires of Iranian Ministry of Health. We calculated the Gini coefficients for the rural food and health expenditures, then conducted a transloge autoregressive order one (AR1) to investigate the association between the Iranian rural households' key mortality rates and the food and health expenditure Gini coefficients, time trend, GDP per capita (PPP), and GDP per capita Gini coefficients. Results: The mean of Gini coefficients were 0.137 and 0.21 for the rural food expenditures inequality based on current and constant price, respectively. In addition, the mean of Gini coefficients were 0.26 and 0.31 for the rural health expenditures inequality based on current and constant price, respectively. The time trend, transloged form of Gini coefficients for health expenditures and GDP per capita Gini coefficients presented a significant negative correlation with transloged form of neonatal mortality rate. With regard to the transloged form of under five mortality we observed a significant negative correlation with time trend and transloged form of Gini coefficients for health expenditure and GDP per capita. Finally, there was a significant negative correlation between transloged forms of maternal mortality rate. Conclusions: Iranian policy makers should consider the rural health and food expenditures inequality and try to adopt more effective policies and plans to decrease it. In addition, they should improve the macro-economic factors to improve the rural households' health status. © 2014, Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal