Pharmacokinetics based individualised dosing of anti cancer therapies for elderly patients

The overall aim of the research presented in this thesis was to explore and improve the outcomes of older adults with cancer with individualised dosing methods of anticancer therapy, and ways to increase the feasibility and uptake of such methods into routine clinical practice. Colorectal cancer and capecitabine chemotherapy were foci of the research. In conclusion, older adults with cancer compared with younger adults experience worse outcomes like toxicity and receive less chemotherapy. Data on the effect of age on PK of chemotherapy in CRC is limited. Better dosing strategies may improve toxicity profile of anticancer therapy and increase the uptake of anticancer therapy by older adults with cancer. PK-guided dosing, using microsampling techniques, is a promising strategy that allows personalised dosing to reduce toxicity and improve efficacy. Further validation studies are required to determine the effectiveness of microsampling as a substitute for plasma sampling

Factors Influencing Rural-Urban Migration from Mountainous Areas in Iran: A Case Study in West Esfahan

Migration of young people from rural areas reduces the rural development goals and increase social and economic problems in cities. This is an analysis of the causes of rural-urban migration from Esfahan Mountainous areas and guidelines for reducing migration from villages. Data were obtained using mixed methods approach comprising questionnaire surveys and key informant interviews. Study population are residents of 28 villages from Fereidan and Fereidunshahr counties. The population are 6300 people, who have migrated from these two counties. 362 persons were selected Using Cochran formula, as the sample size. Then, analysis was performed using SPSS v. 20 software. The study revealed that poverty, lack of jobs, insufficient educational facilities, education in the city, lack of public transportation systems, unsuitable mountain Road, cold weather , shortage of doctors, hospitals and health facilities are main factors of rural-urban migration from iran Mountainous areas. So It is recommended to eliminate the problems mentioned to reduce the rate of rural-urban migration for the rural residents

Investigation electrocoagulation process by using iron and stainless steel electrodes for baker's yeast wastewater treatment

زمینه و هدف: فاضلاب صنعت خمیر مایه یکی از انواع فاضلاب های صنایع غذایی می باشد که حاوی مواد آلاینده آلی و رنگ بالا می باشد. این تحقیق با هدف بررسی فرآیند الکتروکوآگولاسیون (Electrocoagulation) با استفاده از الکترودهای آهن و فولاد ضد زنگ به عنوان روشی کارآمد برای تصفیه تکمیلی فاضلاب خمیر مایه انجام شده است. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه تجربی که از نوع پایلوت آزمایشگاهی بود، اثر متغیرهای بهره برداری مانند دانسیته جریان الکتریکی (80، 100، 120 و 140 آمپر بر متر مربع)، زمان (15،30، 45 و 60 دقیقه) و جنس الکترود (آهن و فولاد ضد زنگ) بر راندمان حذف اکسیژن مورد نیاز شیمیایی (COD)، کدورت و رنگ در فاضلاب خمیر مایه مورد بررسی قرار گرفتند و شرایط بهینه بهره برداری برای هر یک از متغیرها با استفاده از روش آماری تاگوچی (Taguchi) تعیین شد. یافته ها: بر اساس نتایج، راندمان حذف COD، کدورت و رنگ با افزایش دانسیته جریان الکتریکی و زمان بهره برداری افزایش یافت و راندمان الکترود فولاد ضد زنگ بیشتر از الکترود آهن بود. شرایط بهره برداری بهینه فرآیند الکتروکوآگولاسیون برای تصفیه تکمیلی فاضلاب خمیر مایه در دانسیته جریان الکتریکی 120 آمپر بر متر مربع و زمان ماند 45 دقیقه و با استفاده از الکترود فولاد ضد زنگ به دست آمد. در این شرایط راندمان حذف COD، کدورت و رنگ به ترتیب برابر 84/54، 98/44 و 26/40 درصد بوده و میزان خوردگی الکترود و انرژی الکتریکی مصرف شده به ترتیب 086/0 گرم در لیتر و 226/3 وات در لیتر بود. نتیجه گیری: با در نظر گرفتن اولویت های زیست محیطی و اقتصادی می توان فرآیند الکتروکوآگولاسیون در شرایط بهینه بهره برداری را به عنوان یک فرآیند تصفیه تکمیلی فاضلاب های با بار آلودگی بالا و رنگ زیاد پیشنهاد نمود

Quantitation in Dextrocardia on myocardial perfusion imaging: how to perform quantitative analysis using Cedars-Sinai software

Dextrocardia, although a rare cardiac abnormality, carries the same risk for cardiac events as other people. SPECT Myocardial perfusion imaging is a potentially helpful diagnostic tool in patients with dextrocardia. Because of swapping of lateral and septal walls on SPECT slices, although visual analysis is possible, quantitation is substantially limited. Here, we introduce a simple practical method to make quantitative analysis feasible and accurate.Dextrocardia, although a rare cardiac abnormality, carries the same risk for cardiac events as other people. SPECT Myocardial perfusion imaging is a potentially helpful diagnostic tool in patients with dextrocardia. Due to swapping of lateral and septal walls on SPECT slices, although visual analysis is possible, quantitation is substantially limited. Here, we introduce a simple practical method to make quantitative analysis feasible and accurate.

A closed-loop supply chain network in the edible oil industry using a novel robust stochastic-possibilistic programming

In recent years, the complexity of the environment, the intense competition of organizations, the pressure of governments on producers to manage waste products, environmental pressures and most importantly, the benefits of recycling products have added to the importance of designing a closed loop supply chain network. Also, the existence of inherent uncertainties in the input parameters is another important factor that the lack of attention them can affect the strategic, tactical and operational decisions of organizations. Given these reasons, this research aims to design a multi-product and multi period closed loop supply chain network model in uncertainty conditions. To this aim, first a mixed-integer linear programming model is proposed to minimize supply chain costs. Then, for coping with hybrid uncertain parameters effectively, randomness and epistemic uncertainty, a novel robust stochastic-possibilistic programming (RSPP) approach is proposed. Furthermore, several varieties of RSPP models are developed and their differences, weaknesses, strengths and the most suitable conditions for being used are discussed. Finally, usefulness and applicability of the RSPP model are tested via the real case study in an edible oil industry

Bionomics and phylo-molecular analysis of Leishmania species isolated from human lesions using ITS1 genes in north-east of Iran

Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by Leishmania species. The identification of parasite species and the type of disease is beneficial for treatment and preventive modalities. Leishmania tropica and L. major have been reported as the main etiological agents of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Iran. The incidence of zoonotic CL has increased and different in distinct loci of Iran. Hence, we perused the Leishmania species and its genetic traits in the North East of Iran. The investigation was conducted on 200 positive smears prepared from patients’ lesions suffering from CL referred to the health care centers of northeastern provinces in Iran from 2013 to 2019. The obtained positive microscopy samples were divided to score the ranges from + 1 to + 6, of them 40 smears exhibited low-parasitemia. Leishmania species analyzed using PCR–RFLP, genetic diversity indices evaluation, phylogenetic analysis, and sequencing comparison with other species in the GeneBank based on ITS1 gene. The isolated L. major strains were similar to other Iranian isolates in this region. Pairwise fixation index (FST) index was statistically significant in different L. major populations and showed the genetic differences in pairwise population of different geographical locations of Iran. The current study confirmed an old pattern endemicity of zoonotic CL in North-east of Iran. Therefore, in order to assess the hybrid formation, more epidemiological, ecological, and gene polymorphism studies are needed to understand the pathogenic role of Leishmania species in Iran.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Efficacy of 153Sm-EDTMP on Bone Pain Palliation in Metastatic Patients: Breast and Prostate Cancers

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of samarium-153-EDTMP (153Sm-EDTMP) on pain relief bone metastases of Breast Cancer (BC) and Prostate Cancer (PC) patients. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients aged 40-77 years (62.6±10.2 years) with intractable metastatic bone pain were included in the current study. A checklist of patient information and a standard questionnaire for the assessment of pain and quality of life were completed before and after four and eight week’s palliative treatment with 37 MBq/kg of 153Sm-EDTMP. To analyse the data, parametric and non-parametric tests were used in SPSS software. Results: Twelve females with BC (40%) and 18 males with PC (60%) were included. Four and eight weeks after palliative treatment of 153Sm-EDTMP, the mean pain score reduction and quality of life were statistically increased compared to before the intervention (P-value 0.05). Conclusion: The injection of 153Sm-EDTMP had therapeutic efficacy for bone pain palliation in patients with diffuse bone metastases at the end of the 4th and 8th week post-infusion

Observation of the Production of Three Massive Gauge Bosons at root s=13 TeV

The first observation is reported of the combined production of three massive gauge bosons (VVV with V = W, Z) in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The analysis is based on a data sample recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1). The searches for individualWWW, WWZ, WZZ, and ZZZ production are performed in final states with three, four, five, and six leptons (electrons or muons), or with two same-sign leptons plus one or two jets. The observed (expected) significance of the combinedVVV production signal is 5.7 (5.9) standard deviations and the corresponding measured cross section relative to the standard model prediction is 1.02(-0.23)(+0.26). The significances of the individual WWW and WWZ production are 3.3 and 3.4 standard deviations, respectively. Measured production cross sections for the individual triboson processes are also reported

Search for a light pseudoscalar Higgs boson in the boosted mu mu tau tau final state in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search for a light pseudoscalar Higgs boson (a) decaying from the 125 GeV (or a heavier) scalar Higgs boson (H) is performed using the 2016 LHC proton-proton collision data at root s = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), collected by the CMS experiment. The analysis considers gluon fusion and vector boson fusion production of the H, followed by the decay H -> aa -> mu mu tau tau, and considers pseudoscalar masses in the range 3.6 aa -> mu mu tau tau, down to 1.5 (2.0)x10(-4) for m(H) = 125 (300) GeV. Model-dependent limits on B(H -> aa) are set within the context of two Higgs doublets plus singlet models, with the most stringent results obtained for Type-III models. These results extend current LHC searches for heavier a bosons that decay to resolved lepton pairs and provide the first such bounds for an H boson with a mass above 125 GeV.Peer reviewe

MUSiC : a model-unspecific search for new physics in proton-proton collisions at root s=13TeV

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.Peer reviewe