The analysis of polymers for biomedical applications

The aim of this work was to analyse the surface of biomedically relevant polymers with a range of surface sensitive techniques both in the interest of improving our knowledge of such polymeric delivery systems and the techniques used. Specifically time of flight- secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was a focus of this work complemented by a range of supportive surface and bulk analytical techniques. The new technique of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth profiling of organics was scrutinised through its application to a thin film blend of poly(l-lactic acid) (PLA) and the analgesic codeine in Chapter 3. Surface depletion of drug was observed in these films and was quantified for the first time with XPS. A multilayer model was created containing alternating layers of the codeine/PLA blend and biodegradable hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) to test the application of SIMS to such formulations described in Chapter 4. Codeine was found to diffuse into a HPMC layer below it but not above due to a solubilisation of the bottom HPMC layer by the chloroform allowing small mobile codeine molecules to penetrate the layer below where the larger PLA chains were unable to. Interface widths observed when casting HPMC above a codeine/PLA layer was far broader than those observed when reversing layer order. This observation suggests HPMC is more sensitive to ion beam induced damage effects than PLA. The detailed characterisation of protein drug loaded polymeric microspheres was undertaken described in Chapter 5 revealing the discontinuous presence of surfactant at the surface and allowed for inferences to be made as to how the production process could be amended to tailor desired attributes. The work describes the thorough characterisation of biomedically relevant polymers with an array of surface sensitive techniques in the interest of improving the future description of such increasingly important formulations

Experimental investigation of rheological and filtration properties of water-based drilling fluids in presence of various nanoparticles

The authors are grateful to the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Science and Research Branch, IAU, for providing adequate facilities to conduct this study and also to the Research Management Center of IAU for their financial support of this research.Peer reviewedPostprin

Representation of Social Issues in Contemporary Iranian Paintings (1979-2015)

The purpose of this research is representation of social issues in contemporary Iranian painting in perspective of artists. This qualitative study was performed using semi-structured interviews. The statistical population of this study includes all artists working in Iranian painting. However, due to some problems, among about 30 selected artists, 15 were interviewed. The results showed that contemporary paintings often involve various social issues such as war and discrimination. Most of the interviewed artists believe that art should help people think, and this upgraded works should not only be understood by the people, that depend on the artist's perception, as well as on the type of thinking, mindset, motivation and origin of a painter. Personal characteristics and environmental concerns can lead artists to create works of art. The results showed that, some of the arts are generally representation of critical views, and sympathy with the people is not the main concern. The results also showed that painters often believe in both criticism and sympathy, but to them, criticism affects more than sympathy to improve the situation. Most artists know the imposed war eligible to be reflected on paintings today. Also, civil liberties, class differences, and social abnormalities are of main interests of most painters. Keywords: social issues, contemporary paintings, presenting social problems in painting, painters views about the role of art in social lif

Unified processing framework of high-dimensional and overly imbalanced chemical datasets for virtual screening.

Virtual screening in drug discovery involves processing large datasets containing unknown molecules in order to find the ones that are likely to have the desired effects on a biological target, typically a protein receptor or an enzyme. Molecules are thereby classified into active or non-active in relation to the target. Misclassification of molecules in cases such as drug discovery and medical diagnosis is costly, both in time and finances. In the process of discovering a drug, it is mainly the inactive molecules classified as active towards the biological target i.e. false positives that cause a delay in the progress and high late-stage attrition. However, despite the pool of techniques available, the selection of the suitable approach in each situation is still a major challenge. This PhD thesis is designed to develop a pioneering framework which enables the analysis of the virtual screening of chemical compounds datasets in a wide range of settings in a unified fashion. The proposed method provides a better understanding of the dynamics of innovatively combining data processing and classification methods in order to screen massive, potentially high dimensional and overly imbalanced datasets more efficiently

Therapeutic options to treat mustard gas poisoning – Review

Among the blistering (vesicant) chemical warfare agents (CWA), sulfur mustard is the most important since it is known as the “King of chemical warfare agents”. The use of sulfur mustard has caused serious damages in several organs, especially the eyes, skin, respiratory, central and peripheral nervous systems after short and long term exposure, incapacitating and even killing people and troops. In this review, chemical properties, mechanism of actions and their effects on each organ, clinical manifestations, diagnostic evaluation of the actions triage, and treatment of injuries have been described

Geni virulencije i antimikrobna osjetljivost izolata bakterije Escherichia coli dobijenih od krava s mastitisom u pokrajini Mashhad, Iran – kratko priopćenje

The purpose of this study was to determine the virulence genes and antimicrobial resistance patterns of Escherichia coli isolated from milk samples of cows with bovine mastitis. Forty-seven E. coli isolates from clinical mastitis milk samples, from five dairy farms in Northeast of Iran, were subjected to multiplex PCR to determine virulence genes stx1, stx2, eaeA, hlyA, sta, F4, F17, fliC, and rfbE. In addition, antimicrobial susceptibility was assessed by applying disk diffusion methods. The eaeA and stx1 genes were most frequently detected in 42 (89.3%) and 34 (72.3%) isolates, respectively. However, the least frequent gene was F41 as it was found in only one isolate (2.1%). Furthermore, 9 out of 47 isolates were hlyA positive, and four isolates harbored the sta gene. The antimicrobial susceptibility demonstrated the highest resistance against lincomycin (100%) and neomycin (91.4%). Since these bacteria represent a high-risk pathogen on farms, the emergence of multiple antibiotic-resistant and pathogenic E. coli strains should be of great concern for public health.Cilj je istraživanja bio odrediti gene virulencije i antimikrobnu rezistencije bakterije Escherichia coli izolirane iz uzoraka mlijeka krava s mastitisom. Ukupno 47 izolata bakterije E. coli iz uzoraka mlijeka krava s kliničkim mastitisom, s pet mliječnih farmi u sjeveroistočnom Iranu, podvrgnuto je protokolu multipleks PCR-a kako bi se odredili geni virulencije stx1, stx2, eaeA, hlyA, sta, F4, F17, fliC i rfbE. Antimikrobna je osjetljivost procijenjena primjenom disk-difuzijske metode. Najčešće određeni geni jesu gen eaeA, u 42 izolata (89,3 %) i gen stx1, u 34 izolata (72,3 %). Najrjeđi gen bio je F41, koji je pronađen u jednom izolatu (2,1 %). Nadalje, 9 od 47 izolata bilo je hlyA pozitivno, a četiri su izolata sadržavala gen sta. Procjena antimikrobne je osjetljivosti pokazala je najveću rezistenciju na linkomicin (100 %) i neomicin (91,4 %). Nalazi upućuju da se radi o visokorizičnim patogenima na farmama krava, stoga bi pojava višestruko rezistentnih i patogenih sojeva E. coli trebala izazvati veliku javnozdravstvenu zabrinutost

The relationship between the religious beliefs and the feeling of loneliness in elderly

The objective of this research is to study the relationship between the religious beliefs and the feeling of loneliness in elderly. In this descriptive correlation study, the statistical society included 100 individuals of the society of retired people in the Medical University of Gilan province in Iran. The sample was taken by the easy random method. The method of collecting data was the questionnaire contained 3 parts: 1) personal characteristics and social characteristics. 2) Allport's internal and external religious beliefs scale and 3) the Standard loneliness feeling of You care. Data was analyzed by means of the description and presumption statistical methods and use of the SPSS software. The findings showed that there is a meaningful correlation between the external religious beliefs and the marital status, the amount of income, socialization with family members and relatives, social activities and also between the internal religious beliefs and the attending in the religious gatherings, the emotional support of the family, friends, and the others and the general satisfaction of the mentioned supports with P<0.05 and finally with the use of the nonparametric testes, a meaningful relationship has been found between the religious beliefs and the feeling of loneliness with P<0.001. Thus this study shows that the religious believes as an important source of support in aged people, can help them to be healthier physically and psychologically and it is essential to consider it for the mental health educational plans. © Indian Society for Education and Environment (iSee)

Clear Lens Extraction for Correction of High Myopia

Purpose: To study clear lens extraction and posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation outcomes and safety in correction of high myopia.Patients and Methods: Medical records of 29 patients (40 eyes) who underwent clear lens extraction with posterior chamber IOL implantation to treat high myopia (Axial length &gt; 26.6) were retrospectively reviewed. Visual acuity and refractive error were assessed before and after surgery, and preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative complications were also recorded.Results: The mean postoperative follow-up period was 10.9 ± 4.63 months (Range, 6 - 19 months). The mean final best corrected visual acuity of 6/10 ± 2/10, was better than preoperative best corrected visual acuity (Mean: 2/10 ± 1/10). Final spherical equivalent (SE), (Mean = - 0.95 ± 0.45 diopters, Range - 0.25 to - 2 D) was better than preoperative SE (Mean = 19.41 D ± 5.31, Range 9 to 31 diopters). No cases of intraoperative complications occurred. The only postoperative complication was posterior capsule opacification in one eye 18 months after surgery and biometric error of (2 D) occurred in one eye. Conclusion: Clear lens extraction with posterior chamber IOL implantation in high myopic eyes has good outcomes with acceptable predictability, improvement in best corrected visual acuity and low rate of complications. Keywords: Intraocular lens; extraction; posterior chamber; myopia; Iran

Biomarkers of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an immune-mediated skin pathology caused mainly by Leishmania (L.) major, Leishmania tropica, Leishmania braziliensis, L. mexicana, and L. amazonensis. The burden of CL in terms of morbidity and social stigmas are concentrated on certain developing countries in Asia, Africa, and South America. People with asymptomatic CL represent a large proportion of the infected individuals in the endemic areas who exhibit no lesion and can control the infection by as yet not fully understood mechanisms. Currently, there is no approved prophylactic control measure for CL. Discovery of biomarkers of CL infection and immunity can inform the development of more precise diagnostics tools as well as curative or preventive strategies to control CL. Herein, we provide a brief overview of the state-of-the-art for the biomarkers of CL with a special emphasis on the asymptomatic CL biomarkers. Among the identified CL biomarkers so far, direct biomarkers which indicate the actual presence of the infection as well as indirect biomarkers which reflect the host's reaction to the infection, such as alterations in delayed type hypersensitivity, T-cell subpopulations and cytokines, adenosine deaminase, and antibodies against the sand fly saliva proteins are discussed in detail. The future avenues such as the use of systems analysis to identify and characterize novel CL biomarkers are also discussed