Effects of Systemic and Local Interferon Beta-1a on Epidural Fibrosis

Study DesignLevel 1 randomized controlled study.PurposeTo investigate the effects of systemic and local interferon-beta-1a (IFN-β-1a) on prevention of epidural fibrosis using histopathological parameters.Overview of LiteratureEpidural fibrosis involves fibroblastic invasion of nerve roots into the epidural space. Formation of dense fibrous tissue causes lumbar and radicular pain. Many surgical techniques and several materials have been proposed in the literature, but no study has assessed the effect of IFN-β-1a on prevention of epidural fibrosis.MethodsForty-eight adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into six groups of eight: sham group, control group, systemic 44 μg IFN-β-1a group and 22 μg IFN-β-1a group (after laminectomy and discectomy, 0.28 mL and 0.14 mL IFN-β-1a applied subcutaneously three times for a week, respectively), local 44 μg IFN-β-1a group (laminectomy and discectomy, followed by 0.28 mL IFN-β-1a on the surgical area), and local 22 μg IFN-β-1a group (laminectomy and discectomy, followed by 0.14 mL IFN-β-1a on the surgical area). All rats were sacrificed after 4 weeks and groups were evaluated histopathologically.ResultsCompared with sham and control groups, significantly less epidural fibrosis, dural adhesion, and fibroblast cell density were observed in the local and systemic 44 μg IFN-β-1a groups. No other differences were evident between the local and systemic groups.ConclusionsIFN-β-1a is effective in preventing epidural fibrosis with systemic and local application

The Effect of Cooperative Learning on Students’ Anxiety and Achievement in Musical Ear Training Lessons

Anxiety that can be experienced in musical ear training lessons is a significant psychological factor that can negatively affect the acquisition of aural skills, their effective application and evaluation process as well. This study looks into the influence of ‘Cooperative Learning Method’ on anxiety in musical ear training classes, on student achievement and exam anxiety/state anxiety. The study was designed, and conducted as an experiment with a pre-test and post-test control group, and the experimental procedures were completed in eight weeks. The study was carried out with thirty seven students [(ne=19), (nc=18)], who were taking Musical Ear Training-IV (MET-IV) lesson in the spring semester of 2010-2011 academic year in the Music Teacher Training Bachelor Program of a university in West Black Sea Region in Turkey. Experiment and control groups were equilibrated by taking into account the grade means in the MET courses that students had taken for the previous three semesters, and the gender aspect. The lessons in the experimental group have been taught mainly through ‘Cooperative Learning Method’, while mainly through ‘Expository Teaching Approach’ in the control group. Research data were collected by means of ‘MET Lesson Anxiety Scale’, ‘Music Theory Test’, and ‘Musical Writing (Dictation) Test’ tools, which have been developed by the researchers, and by means of ‘State Anxiety Scale’ tool developed by Spielberger et al. The collected data were analysed using dependent samples t-test and independent samples t-test. According to the results, Cooperative Learning has shown no significant effect on the achievement in music theory and in musical writing, and likewise on exam anxiety/state anxiety. However, the results show a significant positive effect of Cooperative Learning on lesson anxiety in musical ear training classes

Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in COVID-19 patients: From a different perspective

Purpose: The prevalence of sensory disorders (smell and/or taste) in affected patients has shown a high variability of 5% to 98% during the COVID-19 outbreak, depending on the methodology, country, and study. Loss of smell and taste occurring in COVID-19 cases are now recognized by the international scientific community as being among the main symptoms of the disease. This study investigates loss of smell and taste in outpatients and hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection. Methods: Enrolled in the study were patients with a positive PCR test for COVID-19. Excluded were patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, nasal polyposis, common cold, influenza, and olfactory/gustatory dysfunction predating the pandemic. Patients were asked about changes in their sense of smell and taste by structured questionnaire. Their status was classified according to severity of the symptoms. Results: A total of 217 patients were included in the study, of whom 129 received outpatient treatment, whereas 88 were hospitalized; mean age was 41.74 years (range18-76), 59.4% were male. At evaluation for olfactory dysfunction, 53.9% of the patients were found to be normal, whereas 33.2% were anosmic. No gustatory dysfunction was found in 49.8% of patients, whereas in those with loss of taste, the most commonly recorded symptom was ageusia. Anosmia was significantly more common in outpatients (P = 0.038). Presentation of chemosensorial symptoms in women was higher than in men (P = 0.009). No correlation was found between olfactory and gustatory dysfunction and age (P = 0.178). Conclusions: About one-half of our patients presented olfactory and/or gustatory deficits, and loss of smell was more common in mild cases. It should be considered; a sudden, severe, and isolated loss of smell and/or taste may also be present in COVID-19 patients who are otherwise asymptomatic. We suggest that identification of persons with these signs and early isolation could prevent spread of the disease in the community

Olfactory and Gustatory Dysfunctions in COVID-19 Patients

The prevalence of sensory disorders (smell and/or taste) in affected patients has shown a high variability of 5% to 98% during the COVID-19 outbreak, depending on the methodology, country, and study. Loss of smell and taste occurring in COVID-19 cases are now recognized by the international scientific community as being among the main symptoms of the disease. This study investigates loss of smell and taste in outpatients and hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection. METHODS: Enrolled in the study were patients with a positive PCR test for COVID-19. Excluded were patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, nasal polyposis, common cold, influenza, and olfactory/gustatory dysfunction predating the pandemic. Patients were asked about changes in their sense of smell and taste by structured questionnaire. Their status was classified according to severity of the symptoms. RESULTS: A total of 217 patients were included in the study, of whom 129 received outpatient treatment, whereas 88 were hospitalized; mean age was 41.74 years (range18–76), 59.4% were male. At evaluation for olfactory dysfunction, 53.9% of the patients were found to be normal, whereas 33.2% were anosmic. No gustatory dysfunction was found in 49.8% of patients, whereas in those with loss of taste, the most commonly recorded symptom was ageusia. Anosmia was significantly more common in outpatients (P = 0.038). Presentation of chemosensorial symptoms in women was higher than in men (P = 0.009). No correlation was found between olfactory and gustatory dysfunction and age (P = 0.178). CONCLUSIONS: About one-half of our patients presented olfactory and/or gustatory deficits, and loss of smell was more common in mild cases. It should be considered; a sudden, severe, and isolated loss of smell and/or taste may also be present in COVID-19 patients who are otherwise asymptomatic. We suggest that identification of persons with these signs and early isolation could prevent spread of the disease in the community

Hydrogels in Regenerative Medicine

Hydrogels are soft, jelly-like, polymeric networks with very high water retention capacity. They are made from natural materials or synthetic polymers. They are very important for the biomedical field because of the similarity between their mechanical and chemical properties and that of the extracellular medium, the microenvironment of a cell. They can be used in cell loaded form. High water content of the hydrogels is very suitable even without the cells in mimicking the hydrated tissues or viscous bodily fluids where they serve as a lubricant or a shape forming material. Actually cells do not like to adhere to very highly hydrophilic structures so they are very useful in applications where non-adherence is sought, like prevention of adhesion of tissues after a surgery. On the other hand, when we need the cells to attach to the hydrogels we make some chemical modifications on the material such as attaching cell adhesive arginine–glycine–aspartic acid (RGD) amino acid sequences. In this chapter the types, the sources of their starting materials, the methods of insolubilization, the network formation, the methods to use to control their properties, and their biomedical applications have been presented. Among the applications discussed are drug delivery systems, tissue engineering scaffolds, wound dressings, anti-adhesive membranes, and meshes