A sham-controlled trial of acupressure on the quality of sleep and life in haemodialysis patients

Background Sleep disorder in haemodialysis patients can lead to disturbance in their psychosocial function and interpersonal relations, and reduced quality of life. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of acupressure on the quality of sleep of haemodialysis patients. Methods In a randomised controlled trial, 108 haemodialysis patients were randomly divided into three groups: true acupressure, placebo acupressure, and no treatment. The two acupressure groups received treatment three times a week for 4 weeks during dialysis. Routine care only was provided for the no treatment group. The main study outcome was sleep quality. Results The total Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score decreased significantly from 11.9±3.13 to 6.2±1.93 in the true acupressure group, from 11.3±3.69 to 10.6±3.82 in the sham acupressure group, and from 10.9±4.10 to 10.7±3.94 in the no treatment group. There was a significant difference between groups (p<0.001). Conclusions Acupressure seems to have a positive effect on the sleep quality in haemodialysis patients. Clinical trial registration IRCT201106145864N2

Neurologic Phenotypes Associated With Mutations in RTN4IP1 (OPA10) in Children and Young Adults

Importance: Neurologic disorders with isolated symptoms or complex syndromes are relatively frequent among mitochondrial inherited diseases. Recessive RTN4IP1 gene mutations have been shown to cause isolated and syndromic optic neuropathies. Objective: To define the spectrum of clinical phenotypes associated with mutations in RTN4IP1 encoding a mitochondrial quinone oxidoreductase. Design, Setting, and Participants: This study involved 12 individuals from 11 families with severe central nervous system diseases and optic atrophy. Targeted and whole-exome sequencing were performed-at Hospital Angers (France), Institute of Neurology Milan (Italy), Imagine Institute Paris (France), Helmoltz Zentrum of Munich (Germany), and Beijing Genomics Institute (China)-to clarify the molecular diagnosis of patients. Each patient\u27s neurologic, ophthalmologic, magnetic resonance imaging, and biochemical features were investigated. This study was conducted from May 1, 2014, to June 30, 2016. Main Outcomes and Measures: Recessive mutations in RTN4IP1 were identified. Clinical presentations ranged from isolated optic atrophy to severe encephalopathies. Results: Of the 12 individuals in the study, 6 (50%) were male and 6 (50%) were female. They ranged in age from 5 months to 32 years. Of the 11 families, 6 (5 of whom were consanguineous) had a member or members who presented isolated optic atrophy with the already reported p.Arg103His or the novel p.Ile362Phe, p.Met43Ile, and p.Tyr51Cys amino acid changes. The 5 other families had a member or members who presented severe neurologic syndromes with a common core of symptoms, including optic atrophy, seizure, intellectual disability, growth retardation, and elevated lactate levels. Additional clinical features of those affected were deafness, abnormalities on magnetic resonance images of the brain, stridor, and abnormal electroencephalographic patterns, all of which eventually led to death before age 3 years. In these patients, novel and very rare homozygous and compound heterozygous mutations were identified that led to the absence of the protein and complex I disassembly as well as mild mitochondrial network fragmentation. Conclusions and Relevance: A broad clinical spectrum of neurologic features, ranging from isolated optic atrophy to severe early-onset encephalopathies, is associated with RTN4IP1 biallelic mutations and should prompt RTN4IP1 screening in both syndromic neurologic presentations and nonsyndromic recessive optic neuropathies

Effect of topical application of the herbal Fundermol ointment of burn wounds in rats

History and Objectives: Every day a significant number of people are afflicted with burns and some of them die due to the extreme severity of lesions. Burns are commonly encountered in developing countries. Therefore the purely herbal fundermol ointment was formulated and produced in Iran for wound healing and reduction in mortality in these patients. This study was performed in order to determine the effect of this ointment on wound healing, hypertrophic scar formation and mortality in burned rats. Materials and Methods: This interventional-experimental study was performed on male rats by producing a full-thickness (Third degree) burn in 20% of their body surface area by immersion of their shaved dorsal aspects in boiling water for 8 seconds. 24 hours after burn, fundermol ointment and sulfadiazine cream were topically applied. Wound healing was evaluated in these two groups and the control group. Wound healing was assessed by the percentage of healing the elapsed time before complete improvement and the frequency of hypertrophic scar formation. Results: It took 48 days for the rats in the fundermol group (Group I) to show complete healing, this time was 68 (P<0.001) and 56 (P<0.005) days in the control and silver sulfadiazine (Group II) groups, respectively. More degrees of wound healing were observed in group I than the other ones. On the 39th day after the burn, 83%, 92% and 99% for the wounds were healed in the rats in the control group, group II and group I respectively (P<0.05). Rats in group I showed 6.5% more weight loss than those in group II (P<0.01). Hypertrophic scar was also less commonly observed in group I than group II. Conclusion: Fundermol ointment is an effective medication for treatment of burn wounds. Further investigation in order to find out the mechanism of its effect is recommended

Portland cement structure and its major oxides and fineness

Predicting the compressive strength of concrete has been considered as the initial phase across the cement production processing. The current study has focused on the integration of the concrete compressive strength in 28 days with the mix of the major oxides and fine aggregates as an experimental formula through the use of two types of Portland cement resulting the compressive strength of the concrete highly dependent on time

By-products of dates: Optimization of the extraction of juice using response surface methodology and ethanol production

International audienceThe optimal extraction conditions were determined for by-product of date fruit by using the response surface design method. The obtained juice was used for the production of ethanol by fermentation of free cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Optimal conditions for date juice extraction were found to be 80°C, 60 min, 1:2 dilution (fruit on water ratio) according to the result of response surface analysis (Equivalents glucose: 219 g.L-1). Saccharomyces cerevisiae showed a preference for glucose over fructose and among the tested total sugar concentrations, namely 50, 100, 174 and 358 g.L-1, 174 g.L-1 appeared to be the optimal amount, leading to 70 g.L-1 ethanol concentration after 66 h of fermentation,; while an inhibitory effect of a high sugar content, 358 g.L-1 of total sugars, namely about 2 mol/L of monosaccharide like glucose or fructose was also shown. Overall, this study suggested that date juice can be utilized for ethanol production

Kinetic of sugar consumption and ethanol production on very high gravity fermentation from syrup of dates by- products (Phoenix dactylifera L.) by using Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida pelliculosa and Zygosaccharomyces rouxii

International audienceThree yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Zygosaccharomyces rouxii and Candida pelliculosa, were tested for ethanol production on dates'syrup. In batch fermentation, the ethanol concentration depended on the initial sugar concentration and the yeast strain. For an initial sugar concentration of 17.4°Brix, maximum ethanol concentration was 63 g/L during S. cerevisiae growth, higher than the amounts achieved during Z. rouxii and C. pelliculosa growth, 33 g/L and 41 g/L respectively. On 35.8°Brix initial sugar amount, only Z. rouxii was able to grow, resulting in 50 g/L ethanol production, showing an inhibitory effect on S.cerevisae and C. Pelliculosa due to the osmotic stress resulting from the high sugar concentration

Mesenchymal stromal cells; a new horizon in regenerative medicine

In recent decades, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) biomedical utilizing has attracted worldwide growing attention. After the first report of the human MSCs obtaining from the bone marrow (BM) tissue, these cells were isolated from wide types of the other tissues, ranging from adipose tissue to dental pulp. Their specific characteristics, comprising self-renewality, multipotency, and availability accompanied by their immunomodulatory properties and little ethical concern denote their importance in the context of regenerative medicine. Considering preclinical studies, MSCs can modify immune reactions during tissue repair and restoration, providing suitable milieu for tissue recovery; on the other hand, they can be differentiated into comprehensive types of the body cells, such as osteoblast, chondrocyte, hepatocyte, cardiomyocyte, fibroblast, and neural cells. Though a large number of studies have investigated MSCs capacities in regenerative medicine in varied animal models, the oncogenic capability of unregulated MSCs differentiation must be more assessed to enable their application in the clinic. In the current review, we provide a brief overview of MSCs sources, isolation, and expansion as well as immunomodulatory activities. More important, we try to collect and discuss recent preclinical and clinical research and evaluate current challenges in the context of the MSC-based cell therapy for regenerative medicine. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LL