Spatial Distribution of Scorpionism in Ardabil Province, North West of Iran

Background Scorpion stings are the most important health problems in tropical and subtropical countries. The aim of this study was to assess spatial distribution of scorpions and scorpionism in Ardabil province, Iran. Materials and Methods This descriptive–analytic study wascarried out in all 10 counties of Ardabil province, Northwestern Iran.The clinical and demographic data of scorpion sting cases were collected from questionnaires belonging to an 8 year - period of 2010 to 2017. In addition, scorpions were captured using Ultra-violet (UV) light, Pitfall traps and digging methods. After species identification, Arc GIS 9.3 software was applied for mapping spatial distribution of them. Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 21.0). Results A total of 958 scorpion sting cases were documented. One hundred ninety cases (19.83%) of them were occurred in age grou

Gingivitis Effectiveness of Emulgel Containing 2% Resveratrol in Orthodontic Patients: An 8-Week Randomized Clinical Trial

Background. Treatment of gingivitis in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment is done through different methods. Anti-inflammatory agents present in toothpaste or mouthwash are applied spontaneously by patients or used as professional treatment protocols. The present study aimed to investigate the gingivitis effectiveness of Emulgel containing 2% resveratrol in orthodontic patients. Methods. The study was conducted in three groups, namely, experimental, placebo, and control. In the experimental group, participants used an Emulgel containing 2% resveratrol. In the placebo group, subjects used an identical Emulgel without the active components in the test formulations. After brushing their teeth, the participants learned how to use 5 ml of Emulgel on the gums and massage every night for 30 s. In the control group, subjects were instructed to massage their gums for 30 s every night without any product. Evaluated criteria included bleeding on probing (BOP), gingival index (GI), hyperplastic index (HI), and probing pocket depth (PPD). Result. During 4 and 8 weeks of the study, the PPD score in the control group did not change significantly but decreased in both groups. Also, there was a decrease in the PPD score in the experimental group compared to the placebo and control groups. Similarly, in the experimental group, continuous use of Emulgel containing 2% resveratrol reduced the HI and GI scores significantly at 4 and 8 weeks after the start of the study. Here, the decrease in GI and HI scores in the experimental group was higher than that of the other groups. Conclusions. The Emulgel containing 2% resveratrol is effective in improving gingival health in orthodontic patients and can lower gingival inflammation over 8 weeks. This trial is registered with the Iranian registry of clinical trials (https://irct.ir/) IRCT20130812014333N91

Evaluation of mortality of COVID-19 patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) in comparison to the non-AKI patients

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is prevalent in the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). There are little data on the relationship between renal dysfunction and COVID-19 prognosis. Objectives: The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of AKI in COVID-19 patients hospitalized to the Golestan and Razi hospitals in Ahvaz, Iran. Patients and Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, a total of 194 COVID-19 patients were included, consisting of 79 patients with AKI and 115 patients without AKI. Primary and secondary outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results: According to the findings, mortality was significantly different between the two groups, and mortality was higher in the AKI group (P< 0.001). The mean length of hospital stay was statistically significantly higher in the AKI group (P=0.024). Moreover, there was a significant correlation between intensive care unit (ICU) admission and the study group (P<0.001). Staging of AKI group were seen as; stage I (49.37%), stage II (36.71%), and stage III (13.92%). No significant correlation was observed between outcome and the stages of AKI (P=0.496). Furthermore, 14 patients (17.72%) needed renal replacement therapy (RRT) in the AKI group. Conclusion: Although AKI is a common finding in COVID-19 patients, most patients were in stage I disease, which returned to normal after COVID-19 treatment. According to our research, COVID-19 rarely leads to serious and persistent kidney injury. However, the risk of death is increased in COVID-19 patients with AKI. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the renal function tests during the course of disease

Modeling Optimal Oil Extraction using Optimal Control Model: A Case Study of an Iranian Oil Field

After the oil shocks of the 70s, oil extraction policy has become more important in two aspects. In one aspect, economists have reconsidered the Hotelling (1931) model about optimal natural resource extraction rate and in other aspect, engineers has paid more attention to enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods. Economic theory of natural resources extraction is designed for maximization of discounted profit but in engineering point of view enhanced oil recovery with considering maximum efficient rate (MER) shape the optimal extraction rate. As a result, combination of these important economic and engineering concepts could be comprehensive definition of the optimal oil extraction rate. This idea has been investigated for one of the southwest Iranian oilfield where natural gas injection as an EOR method has been applied. In this study, we have utilized the optimal control theory which considers all of the above mentioned assumption. The results about cost function indicated that oil extraction cost increases with decreasing remaining reserves. Result about optimal extraction rate showed that for discount rate higher than 10 percent, extraction rate has not been dependent to three EIA oil price scenarios. Optimal oil extraction model depends on discount rate. Low dependency to the oil revenue leads to conservative extraction but otherwise maximum extraction in early years and minimum extraction in the latest years would be optimal

Technological, nutritional, and biological properties of apricot kernel protein hydrolyzates affected by various commercial proteases

Abstract The effect of enzymatic hydrolysis of apricot kernel protein with different proteases (Alcalase, pancreatin, pepsin, and trypsin) on the amino acid content, degree of hydrolysis (DH), antioxidant, and antibacterial characteristics of the resulting hydrolyzates was investigated in this study. The composition of amino acids (hydrophobic: ~35%; antioxidant: ~13%), EAA/TAA ratio (~34%), and PER index (~1.85) indicates the ability of the hydrolyzate as a source of nutrients and antioxidants with high digestibility. Enzymatic hydrolysis with increasing DH (from 3.1 to a maximum of 37.9%) led to improved solubility (especially in the isoelectric range) and changes in water‐ and oil‐holding capacity. The highest free radical scavenging activity of DPPH (83.3%), ABTS (88.1%), TEAC (2.38 mM), OH (72.5%), NO (65.7%), antioxidant activity in emulsion and formation of TBARS (0.36 mg MDA/L), total antioxidant (1.61), reducing power (1.17), chelation of iron (87.7%), copper (34.8%) ions, and inhibition of the growth of Escherichia coli (16.3 mm) and Bacillus cereus (15.4 mm) were affected by the type of enzymes (especially Alcalase). This research showed that apricot kernel hydrolyzate could serve as a nutrient source, emulsifier, stabilizer, antioxidant, and natural antibacterial agent in functional food formulations

Mycophenolate mofetil versus cyclophosphamide for idiopathic membranous nephropathy; a double blind and randomized clinical trial

Introduction: The current treatment regimens for patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy (MN) are based on cyclophosphamide-glucocorticoid or calcineurin inhibitor-glucocorticoid. Objectives: We evaluated whether mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) -glucocorticoid could be an option for first-line therapy among these patients. Patients and Methods: In a double-blinded, randomized and controlled clinical trial, we compared the effect of MMF with cyclophosphamide in inducing complete or partial remission (PR) among patients with nephrotic syndrome due to idiopathic MN. All of the patients in both groups also received steroid, renin-angiotensin blockers and statins. Diuretics were also used in the patients who had edema. The primary end point of our study was change in urinary protein/creatinine ratio. Results: A total of 30 patients completed the study. Around 17 patients received MMF (2 g/d) and 13 patients received intravenous or oral cyclophosphamide for 6 months. At the start of the study, no significant differences in demographic and biochemical parameters of patients including the urinary protein excretion rate between two groups (P = 0.432). The proportion of proteinuria was 5235 ± 1655 mg/24 in MMF group and 8781 ± 8741 mg/24 in the cyclophosphamide group at the beginning of the study. The rate of complete and PR were 5.9% and 52.9 in MMF group versus 16.7% and 100% in cyclophosphamide group which it is significantly lower in MMF group. Kidney function was stable in both groups during treatment. Conclusions: According to the result of our study, a 6-month therapy with MMF-glucocorticoid is not recommended for treatment of patients with nephrotic syndrome due to idiopathic MN

Comparison of clinical outcome of induction immunosuppressive therapy with thymoglobulin and standard therapy in kidney transplantation; a randomized double-blind clinical trial

Introduction: Thymoglobulin is a lymphocyte-depleting polyclonal antibody, administered for induction therapy at the time of kidney transplantation to reduce the risk of acute allograft rejection. The appropriate dosage and duration of therapy is controversial. The higher dosages are associated with infection and malignancy. Objectives: In this study efficacy and safety of lower dosage (in comparison with previous studies) of thymoglobulin in kidney transplant recipients was evaluated. Patients and Methods: In this clinical trial, 106 adult kidney transplant recipients, were randomized before transplantation in two groups (case and control). The case group (53 patients) were received induction therapy with thymoglobulin (1.5 mg/kg/d for 3 days) and the control group (53 patients) were received non-induction regiment. Delayed graft function (DGF), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), acute allograft rejection and thymoglobulin complications were evaluated during the first post-transplantation year. Results: Around 106 kidney transplant recipients were enrolled (71 or 66.98% deceased donor) to the study. No significant statistical differences were found in GFR at the time of discharge from hospital (P=0.399) and at 1 year (P=0.851) and acute allograft rejection (P= 0.304) between two groups. Graft survival (73.5% in case group versus 81.1% in control group, P=0.392) at month 12th was similar among groups. Additionally, no significant differences of acute allograft rejection in recipient from deceased or living donor between two groups were detected. There was a higher incidence of DGF in the control group (26.4%) than the thymoglobulin group (5.8%) and the difference was statistically significant (P= 0.004). Thrombocytopenia (17% versus 49.1%, P<0.001) and leukopenia (11.3% versus 50.9%, P<0.001) were also significantly higher in the case group. Conclusion: While the incidence of DGF was reduced in thymoglobulin group, the short-term acute allograft rejection rate was not reduced compared to the control group. However, our results require further consideration with larger sample

Comparison of oncolytic virotherapy and nanotherapy as two new miRNA delivery approaches in lung cancer

Lung cancer is known as the second leading cause of cancer death. Finding ways to detect early-stage lung cancer can remarkably increase the survival rate. Biomarkers such as microRNAs can be helpful in cancer diagnosis, predicting its prognosis, and patients' chances of survival. Numerous studies have confirmed the correlation between microRNA expression and the likelihood of patients surviving after treatment. Consequently, it is necessary to study the expression profile of microRNAs during and after treatment. Oncolytic virotherapy and nanotherapy are two neoteric methods that use various vectors to deliver microRNAs into cancer cells. Although these treatments have not yet entered into the clinical trials, much progress has been made in this area. Analyzing the expression profile of microRNAs after applying nanotherapy and oncolytic virotherapy can evaluate the effectiveness of these methods. This review refers to the studies conducted about these two approaches. The advantages and disadvantages of these methods in delivery and affecting microRNA expression patterns are discussed below