Prevention of methylprednisolone acetate-induced osteoporosis with calcium administration in rat model

Glucocorticoid steroids are widely used as anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive medications and are well known to induce osteoporosis. In Present study 24 rats were randomly divided into four groups (n=6): Group A (control), Group B (sham)that was treated only by normal saline for 1 month.Group C that was treated by methylprednisolone acetate alone (0.2 mg/kg) for 1 month. Group D that was treated by methylprednisolone acetate (0.2 mg/kg) and oral calcium supplementation (15 mg/kg) for 1 month. Changes in concentration of bone metabolic markers such as osteocalcine, acid phosphatase and calcium were evaluated before and after treatment. Bone mineral density (BMD) of lumbar vertebrae was also measured by dual energy X ray absorptiometry (DEXA). The results showed that concentration mean of serum acid phosphatase was increased significantly (P � 0.05) in C and D groups in compared to A and B groups. The concentration mean of serum osteocalcine in group C was decreased significantly (P � 0.05) in comparison to A and B groups but increased significantly in the group D in comparison to group C. The concentration mean of serum calcium was decreased significantly (P � 0.05) in C and D groups in compared to A and B groups. The bone mineral density (g/cm2) was decreased significantly (P � 0.05) in group C in compared to A and B groups. This increased significantly in group D in compared to group C. These results are compatible with the view that low doses of methylprednisolone acetate decreases bone formation and increase bone resorption in the lumbar vertebrae of rats. Calcium administration decreased effects of methylprednisolone. © 2009 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Effects of different doses of hyaloronan on human sperm motility, vitality and morphology

Important aspect of sperm function such as motility and capacitation appear to be mediated at least partially though hyaloronic acid (HA). Present study investigated effects of different doses of HA on sperm motility and vitality in human. Sperm was obtained from 20 male from IVF clinic in Imam Khomeini Hospital. Sperm motility and vitality in human semen was analyzed according to WHO criteria before and 4 hours after treatment with different doses of HA (0.750, 1000 and 1250 μg/ml). The results showed that in 1000 μg/ml the percent of stage 3 and 4 increased compare to control group. Percent of stage 1 and 2 decreased in group with 1000 μg/ml HA, there was an increase in the percentage of stage 3 and 4 and decrease in percentage of stage 1 and 2 compare to control. In the group treated with 1250 μg/ml stage 1 and 2 increased while stage 3 and 4 decreased. Vitality in all groups decreased except of the group treated with 1000 μg/ml HA. The group with 1250 μg/ml showed significantly decrease in vitality compare to fresh group (P < 0.05). The present study showed that the effects of HA on sperm motility and vitality is dose dependant and 1000 μg/ml HA had the effective role on sperm parameters. © 2009 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Tumoral calcinosis of the foot: An unusual differential diagnosis of calcaneal mass

Introduction Tumoral calcinosis (TC) is a rare disorder characterized by the development of calcified masses within the periarticular soft tissues of large joints. It commonly involves the hip, shoulders, and elbows. TC rarely involves the feet. Case presentation In this report, we describe an unusual case of primary TC of the foot in a 76-year-old female and discuss the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and therapeutic interventions of the condition. Discussion Due to the wide range of conditions mimicking TC, its diagnosis could be challenging. Diagnosis of TC is mainly based on the radiographic findings, the patient's biochemical profile, and the medical history plus differentiating the condition from its mimics. Conclusion TC should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any soft tissue calcification. ©2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of Surgical Associates Ltd

Cyclin dependent kinase 4 and 6 inhibitors as novel therapeutic agents for targeted treatment of malignant mesothelioma

Malignant Mesothelioma (MM) is a rare and aggressive form of tumour that affects the lining of the internal organs for which current treatments have not been proven to be very effective. P16(INK4A) tumour suppressor encoding CDKN2A gene is often downregulated in MM. This protein is a cyclin dependent kinase 4 and 6 inhibitor, that normally phosphorylates RB1, which has to be un-phosphorylated in order to block cell-cycle at G1 in normal cells. Adding CDK inhibitor molecules to MM in pre-clinical studies has been proven to restore the normal function of p16(INK4A), blocking thereby MM cell cycle at G1. Future randomised phase III studies with CDK4/6 inhibitors in MM carrying relevant CDK4/6, cyclin D1/3 or p16 aberrations will be warranted

γ-Unstable Bohr Hamiltonian with sextic potential for odd-A nuclei

In this paper, odd-A nuclei in the vibrational to γ-soft transitional region are studied in the collective model, in which the odd-A system is described by the Bohr Hamiltonian with the quasi exactly solvable sextic β-part potential for the even-even core coupled with a single nucleon in a j=3/2 orbit via the β-independent five-dimensional spin-orbit interaction and the total angular momentum degeneracy breaking term. To test the validity of the coupling scheme, we use the model to reproduce experimentally available level energies and B(E2) values of 187,189,191,193,195Ir. It is clearly shown from both the level energies and the known B(E2) values for 191,193Ir fitted that the model with the β-independent five-dimensional spin-orbit interaction and the total angular momentum degeneracy breaking term seems adequate to describe the low-lying level pattern and the structure of these odd-A nuclei

Job Seekers’ Impression Management on Facebook: Scale Development, Antecedents, and Outcomes

Many organizations rely on social media like Facebook as a screening or selection tool; however, research still largely lags behind practice. For instance, little is known about how individuals are strategically utilizing their Facebook profile while applying for jobs. This research examines job seekers’ impression management (IM) tactics on Facebook, personality traits associated with IM use, and associations between IM and job-search outcomes. Results from two complementary studies demonstrate that job seekers engage in three main Facebook IM tactics: defensive, assertive deceptive, and assertive honest IM. Job seekers lower in Honesty–Humility use more Facebook IM tactics, whereas those higher in Extraversion use more honest IM and those higher on Conscientiousness use less deceptive IM. Honest IM tactics used on Facebook are positively related to job-search outcomes. This paper therefore extends previous IM research by empirically examining IM use on Facebook, along with its antecedents and outcomes

Microscale Modeling of High-Temperature Heat Transfer in Anisotropic Porous Materials

No abstract availabl

Zero-order and prolonged release of atenolol from microporous FAU and BEA zeolites, and mesoporous MCM-41:Experimental and theoretical investigations

The potential of microporous zeolites FAU and BEA, and mesoporous MCM-41, for prolonged release of atenolol in drug delivery systems was investigated both experimentally, using drug release studies, and theoretically using classical molecular dynamics simulations. Remarkably, zero-order release of atenolol was achieved from FAU (SiO2:Al2O3 = 80:1) into phosphate buffer for 24 h followed by prolonged release for at least another 48 h. Experimental data also demonstrate the ability for all of the drug-zeolite combinations investigated to achieve prolonged release of atenolol, with the release rates determined by the combination of framework topology, aluminium content and drug release study media. Molecular dynamics simulations give an insight into the reasons for the different release rates observed for FAU and BEA. The results of this work emphasise the need for sophisticated models in order to explain subtle differences in release, such as those observed at different SiO2:Al2O3 ratios.</p

Stance Detection in Web and Social Media: A Comparative Study

Online forums and social media platforms are increasingly being used to discuss topics of varying polarities where different people take different stances. Several methodologies for automatic stance detection from text have been proposed in literature. To our knowledge, there has not been any systematic investigation towards their reproducibility, and their comparative performances. In this work, we explore the reproducibility of several existing stance detection models, including both neural models and classical classifier-based models. Through experiments on two datasets -- (i)~the popular SemEval microblog dataset, and (ii)~a set of health-related online news articles -- we also perform a detailed comparative analysis of various methods and explore their shortcomings. Implementations of all algorithms discussed in this paper are available at https://github.com/prajwal1210/Stance-Detection-in-Web-and-Social-Media

Robotic multiquadrant colorectal procedures: A single-center experience and a systematic review of the literature

Purpose: Robotic surgery has been progressively implemented for colorectal procedures but is still limited for multiquadrant abdominal resections. The present study aims to describe our experience in robotic multiquadrant colorectal surgeries and provide a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature investigating the outcomes of robotic total proctocolectomy (TPC), total colectomy (TC), subtotal colectomy (STC), or completion proctectomy (CP) compared to laparoscopy. Methods: At our institution 16 consecutive patients underwent a 2- or 3-stage totally robotic total proctocolectomy (TPC) with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis. A systematic review of the literature was performed to select studies on robotic and laparoscopic multiquadrant colorectal procedures. Meta-analyses were used to compare the two approaches. Results: In our case series, 14/16 patients underwent a 2-stage robotic TPC for ulcerative colitis with a mean operative time of 271.42 (SD:37.95) minutes. No conversion occurred. Two patients developed postoperative complications. The mean hospital stay was 8.28 (SD:1.47) days with no readmissions. Mortality was nil. All patients underwent loop-ileostomy closure, and functional outcomes were satisfactory. The literature appraisal was based on 23 retrospective studies, including 736 robotic and 9,904 laparoscopic multiquadrant surgeries. In the robotic group, 36 patients underwent STC, 371 TC, 166 TPC, and 163 CP. Pooled data analysis showed that robotic TC and STC had a lower conversion rate (OR = 0.17;95% CI, 0.04–0.82; p = 0.03) than laparoscopic TC and STC. The robotic approach was associated with longer operative time for TC and STC (MD = 104.64;95% CI, 18.42–190.87; p = 0.02) and TPC and CP (MD = 38.8;95% CI, 18.7–59.06; p = 0.0002), with no differences for postoperative complications and hospital stay. Reports on urological outcomes, sexual dysfunction, and quality of life were missing. Conclusions: Our experience and the literature suggest that robotic multiquadrant colorectal surgery is safe and effective, with low morbidity and mortality rates. Nevertheless, the overall level of evidence is low, and functional outcomes of robotic approach remain largely unknown. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier: CRD42022303016