MATLAB-based software for Size-Specific Dose Estimation (SSDE) in Computed Tomography Examinations

Primary and widely in use Computed Tomography (CT) dose descriptor is a volumetric CT Dose Index (CTDIv) that is usually measured by a pencil ionization chamber with active length of 100mm and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) phantom. CTDIv depends on scan parameters such as mAs, kV, collimation, tube rotation time but is independent of patient’s size and shape. For the purpose of a good estimation of dose received by the patients, American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) published the conversion factors for both 16 and 32cm (head and body phantoms respectively); through this, users can extract conversion factors according to lateral (LAT) and/or anterior-posterior (AP) sizes and calculate real CTDIv. Since this procedure is time consuming, we designed MATLAB-based software to reduce such calculations. To design the software, GUI toolbar of MATLAB software was used. To test the software, scan parameters of two patients for head and pelvis scan were read from PACS and lateral (LAT) and anterior-posterior (AP) sizes were measured. Finally, SSDEs were calculated for two patients by the software. The software can be measured based on AP and/or LAT measures and/or in special cases (under the age of 18) through patients' age

Preparación y caracterización fisicoquímica de liposomas tópicos cargados con quercetina

Antecedentes: el uso de extractos de hierbas en los últimos años ha sido de gran interés para los investigadores de todo el mundo. Las propiedades de la quercetina antoxidante juegan un papel importante en varios campos de la salud. Objetivo: debido a la baja permeabilidad de la piel y la escasa solubilidad en medios acuáticos, se ha utilizado la formulación de liposomas de quercetina para obtener el uso tópico de esta sustancia. Métodos: En este estudio, la quercetina liposomal se preparó mediante el método de fusión y se evaluaron las características fisicoquímicas de la formulación, incluido el tamaño de partícula, la eficacia de incorporación y la liberación de fármacos in vitro. Resultados: El tamaño de partícula de las formulaciones estuvo entre 7,68 y 58,1 nm. La eficiencia de incorporación de las formulaciones estuvo en el rango de 80,55 a 96,80 por ciento. La liberación de fármacos in vitro de formulaciones fue de aproximadamente 60 a 70 por ciento. Conclusión: De acuerdo con los resultados obtenidos, se puede decir que el uso de esta sustancia como una formulación liposomal puede mejorar las propiedades fisicoquímicas del fármaco en las condiciones de laboratorio y proporcionarlo como un candidato adecuado para estudios in vivo y clínicos adicionales.Background: The use of herbal extracts in recent years has been of great interest to researchers around the world. Quercetin antoxidant properties play an important role in various fields of health. Objective: Due to the low skin permeability and poor solubility in aqua media, quercetin liposome formulation has been used to obtain topical use of this substance. Methods: In this study, liposomal quercetin was prepared by fusion method and the physicochemical characteristics of the formulation, including particle size, incorporation efficiency and in vitro drug release were evaluated. Results: The particle size of formulations were between 7.68 to 58.1 nm. The incorporation efficiency of formulations were in range of 80.55 to 96.80 percent. In vitro drug release of formulations were about 60 to 70 percent. Conclusion: According to the results obtained, it can be said that the use of this substance as a liposomal formulation can improve physicochemical properties of the drug in the laboratory conditions and provide it as a suitable candidate for further in vivo and clinical studies.Financial support of this study was provided by Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences

The Effect of Reflective Teaching on Iranian EFL Students’ Achievement: The Case of Teaching Experience and Level of Education

High quality teaching, student learning, and students achievement is dependent on the skills teachers use and the existence of professional expertise such as teachers reflectivity. The purpose of this study was to see whether there was any relationship between Iranian EFL teachers reflectivity and their students’ language achievement and whether there was any difference between teachers reflectivity, considering their teaching experience and level of education. For the study, 83 EFL teachers from nine language institutes in Isfahan, Iran, were randomly selected. Larrivee\u27s (2008) reflectivity questionnaire, which classifies reflectivity into four levels: pre-reflection, surface reflection, pedagogical reflection, and critical reflection, was used for data collection; furthermore, an observation checklist, based on the questionnaire, was also used. Data analysis revealed that the more experienced the teachers, the more reflective they were; moreover, teachers with higher degrees were more reflective. In addition, there was a positive relationship between teachers reflectivity and students achievement

Oral health status and associated lifestyle behaviors in a sample of Iranian adults : an exploratory household survey

Background Poor oral hygiene can lead to serious diseases, such as periodontitis, tooth decay, pain and discomfort in teeth or gums, infections, and loss of teeth. In Iran, adults aged 50 y and older are a high-risk group for oral health problems, and this age group will grow in the coming decades. Despite increasing attention on healthy aging, there is relatively less emphasis on oral hygiene and health-related problems. The present study investigated the oral health status of Iranian adults using the oral health self-assessment questionnaire (OHQ) developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Methods A population-based household survey of a sample of adults aged 18-65 y was conducted. In this study, the participants were recruited between May and October 2016 in Tabriz, Iran, and the study population was sampled using a multi-stage cluster sampling design. The WHO's OHQ for adults was used for measuring oral health status and oral hygiene behavior. Results In total, 2310 respondents completed the survey. The mean age (SD) of the participants was 41.6(23.4) y. Males accounted for 48.8% of the participants. Of the 2310 respondents,187 (8.1%) individuals were edentulous, 152(20.7%) of whom were aged 51-65 y. Furthermore, 72.3% of those aged 51-65 y were dentate, and 50% of adults aged 51-65 y said they had 20 or more teeth. About one-third of the participants reported that they did not brush their teeth daily (23% of those aged 18-35 y,35.9% of those aged 36-50 y, and 44.6% for those aged 51-65 y). In the sample, 39.4% of individuals aged 18-35 y,34.1% of individuals aged 36-50 y, and 26.6% of individuals aged 51-65 y had visited a dentist less than 6 month ago. One-third of the participants consumed sweets and sugary drinks daily. Conclusions Although the majority of Iranian adults considered their oral health status good, only a small percentage of the sample visited their dentist regularly. Furthermore, visits to the dentist declined in accordance with increasing age, a time when the incidence of oral health problems may increase. Poor oral health may increase the risk of adverse health outcomes, particularly among the aging population

Psychoanalytic Reading of Love and Desire in Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage

The present study was a comprehensive psychoanalysis of the idea of love and desire in Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage. The study explored the relationship Philip Carey, the main character, develops with Other people throughout the novel. To further enrich the analysis, Lacan’s theory of human love and desire was employed to provide a psychoanalytic examination of Philip Carey’s bond of love for Mildred, on the one hand, and his gradual loss of identity in his desire towards her, on the other. The study inspected the nature of Philip’s desire for Mildred and shows how he turnd to a desiring subject in his bond to her and finally reached a state of selflessness and depended heavily on Mildred as the object of his desire which drove him towards self-contempt and a masochistic denial of real facts in his life

Integration of building information modeling into the undergraduate curriculum: case of Eastern Mediterranean University

One of the essential requirements of construction education is to remain up to date and current. It is quite important for universities to adopt new technologies in construction education curriculum. Building Information Modelling (BIM) as a new technology and tool is one of the latest developments in construction industry. The function of BIM as an advantageous course and also an educational assistant in Civil Engineering education at universities is not completely understood to date. Many construction companies prefer to employ BIM enabled graduates nowadays. Thus the question is to what extent students are aware of BIM and are ready to begin learning such a new technology. In order to answer this question, a survey was conducted among different undergraduate students at Civil Engineering Department of Eastern Mediterranean University. Focus of the survey was on AutoCAD knowledge and students’ abilities together with their awareness of BIM. Adding BIM as a standalone course in the curriculum of the Civil Engineering Department was also studied. The outcomes of the survey proved students’ interest in integrating BIM as a separate course in undergraduate curriculum. Details of such an integration including how and when to consider BIM were also proposed. The authors suggest including BIM in the Civil Engineering undergraduate curriculum to have knowledgeable and up to date graduates while it is also recommended to be used as an educational assistant in other Civil Engineering courses

Design and evaluation of a virtual private network architecture for collaborating specialist users

The expansion of communication systems is the undeniable advantage of the most contemporary digital technologies. However, when a specialist user such as an inventor or an idea owner communicates through a communication system, their intellects are exposed to theft. Upon the analysis of the requirements of such users, it became evident that in order to implement a global, reliable, yet secure system for specialist users, designing a network architecture that provides centralized private connectivity is crucial. This paper proposes a network architecture that provides centralized private connectivity and accommodates the requirements of the network infrastructure of such a system. The proposed virtual private network (VPN) architecture is designed to provide a trusted environment with centralized control and distributed networking, which is different from existing VPN models. It is entitled as Inventor-Investor Network (IINet) and the name is derived from its significant benefits for inventor and investor sets of users. The real experimental IINet prototype is implemented using OpenVPN. For the purpose of evaluation, round trip time (RTT) is measured and reported as the performance metric based on the different encryption ciphers and digest ciphers as the network metrics