Investigating the Role of Emotion Regulation and Resilience in Students' Academic Adjustment and Quality of Life during the Covid-19 Pandemic

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of emotion regulation and resilience in academic adjustment and quality of life of students during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study was a descriptive correlational study. The statistical population included male and female of secondary high school students in Mashhad in the academic year 2020-2021, 400 students were selected as a sample by multi-stage cluster sampling. Research tools include Gross & John Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (2003), the Connor and Davidson Resilience Questionnaire (2003), the Baker and Siryk Academic Adjustment Questionnaire (1984), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (1998). Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression of enter method. Data analysis showed that there was a significant positive relationship between emotion regulation with academic adjustment and quality of life. Also, there was a significant positive relationship between resilience and quality of life. But there was no significant relationship between resilience and academic adjustment of students. Based on the results of regression analysis, only emotion regulation was a significant predictor of academic adjustment. Also, emotion regulation and resilience were both good predictors of students quality of life. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that during the Covid-19 pandemic, emotion regulation skills in students play a significant role in academic adjustment, as well as high levels of emotion regulation and resilience in this period have a significant role in students' quality of life

C - reactive protein of cerebrospinal fluid, as a sensitive approach for diagnosis of neonatal meningitis

Background: Meningitis, is a potentially life-threatening condition that can rapidly progress to permanent brain damage, neurologic problems, and even death. Bacteria and viruses cause the great majority of meningitis disease in infants and children. CRP is used mainly as a marker of inflammation.Objective: This study was conducted to assess the diagnostic value of CSF-CRP levels for differentiating between septic (bacterial) and aseptic infantile meningitis.Methods: 49 hospitalized infants aged less than two months with suspected meningitis were enrolled in a cross-sectional analytic study. All of patients underwent lumbar puncture to obtain CSF. smears, cultures, cytological and biochemical analysis and latex agglutination testing were carried out on all CSF samples. Latex agglutination test was carried out on all CSF samples using a commercially available kit. CSF-CRP level of all infants was measured using the immunoturbidometric technique.Results: Of 49 infants in this study, 20 and 29 cases were diagnosed as septic and aseptic meningitis, respectively. The CRP levels were obtained as 0.95±0.68 mg/L in septic and 0.16±0.36 mg/L in aseptic meningitis groups and this difference was statistically significant (p<0.001) between the two groups (0.79±0.32 mg/L). Based on the ROC curve, cut off levels for CRP was obtained 0.17 mg/L. At this level, there was 95% sensitivity and 86% specificity to differentiate septic and aseptic meningitis.Conclusion: CSF-CRP has suitable diagnostic value in distinguishing between infantile bacterial from aseptic meningitis especially in cases of negative bacterial culture of the blood and spinal fluid.Keywords: C-reactive protein, cerebrospinal fluid, septic/aseptic meningitis, infant, diagnostic value

C - reactive protein of cerebrospinal fluid, as a sensitive approach for diagnosis of neonatal meningitis

Background: Meningitis, is a potentially life-threatening condition that can rapidly progress to permanent brain damage, neurologic problems, and even death. Bacteria and viruses cause the great majority of meningitis disease in infants and children. CRP is used mainly as a marker of inflammation. Objective: This study was conducted to assess the diagnostic value of CSF-CRP levels for differentiating between septic (bacterial) and aseptic infantile meningitis. Methods: 49 hospitalized infants aged less than two months with suspected meningitis were enrolled in a cross-sectional analytic study. All of patients underwent lumbar puncture to obtain CSF. smears, cultures, cytological and biochemical analysis and latex agglutination testing were carried out on all CSF samples. Latex agglutination test was carried out on all CSF samples using a commercially available kit. CSF-CRP level of all infants was measured using the immunoturbidometric technique. Results: Of 49 infants in this study, 20 and 29 cases were diagnosed as septic and aseptic meningitis, respectively. The CRP levels were obtained as 0.95\ub10.68 mg/L in septic and 0.16\ub10.36 mg/L in aseptic meningitis groups and this difference was statistically significant (p<0.001) between the two groups (0.79\ub10.32 mg/L). Based on the ROC curve, cut off levels for CRP was obtained 0.17 mg/L. At this level, there was 95% sensitivity and 86% specificity to differentiate septic and aseptic meningitis. Conclusion: CSF-CRP has suitable diagnostic value in distinguishing between infantile bacterial from aseptic meningitis especially in cases of negative bacterial culture of the blood and spinal fluid

Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells-Derived Exosomes Can Alleviate the Proctitis Model Through TLR4/NF-Κb Pathway

Background: Proctitis is a significant concern of inflammatory bowel diseases, especially ulcerative colitis. Exosomes are a new method for treating many diseases by their immunosuppressive and tissue-repairing potential. Here, we tried Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)-derived Exosomes for treating the proctitis model of rats. Materials and Methods: Rats were assigned into four groups: sham, control group, rectal, and intraperitoneal exosome injection. The proctitis model was induced by rectal administration of 4% acetic acid. The exosome was derived from human MSCs isolated from human umbilical cords. After seven days, rectum samples were assessed for histopathological, IHC, and PCR analysis. Results: The histopathologic scores, collagen deposition, and the expression of NF-κB, TLR4, TNFα, IL-6, and TGFβ were decreased in intraperitoneal exosome compared to controls. The result was not promising for the rectal administration of exosomes. Conclusion: Exosomes can suppress the inflammatory response in the proctitis model and improve the rectum's healing process. Exosomes can inhabit the NF-κB/TLR4 pathway and downstream pro-inflammatory cytokines. This study implicates the therapeutic benefits of exomes in treating proctitis

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Alginate Microsphere as a Delivery System and Adjuvant forAutoclaved Leishmania majorand Quillaja Saponin: Preparationand Characterization: Microspheres for antigen delivery

The goal of this study was to prepare and characterize alginate microspheres asan antigen delivery system and adjuvant for immunization against leishmaniasis.Microspheres encapsulated with autoclaved Leishmania major(ALM) and Quillajasaponin (QS) were prepared by an emulsification technique and characterized forsize, encapsulation efficiency and release profile of encapsulates. Selection ofappropriate parameters (viscosity of alginate, emulsifier and sonication times)enabled the preparation of alginate microspheres with a mean diameter of 1.92±1.0μm, as determined by scanning electron microscopy and particle size analyzer. Theencapsulation efficiency was about 34.2±6.7% for ALM and 31.0±4.4% for QS, asdetermined by spectrophotometric assays.In vitro release profile showed a slowrelease rate for encapsulated ALM and QS, 35.7±8.7% of ALM and 36.9±4.7% ofQS were released during 1 week. The molecular weight was evaluated by SDS-PAGEand showed that the process of encapsulation did not affect the molecular weightof the entrapped antigen. With regard to the optimum diameter (less than 5 m), slowrelease rate and preservation of antigen molecules, formulated alginate microspherescould be considered as a promising antigen delivery system and adjuvant for ALMand QS

Spatial Modeling of COVID-19 Prevalence Using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System

This study is dedicated to modeling the spatial variation in COVID-19 prevalence using the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) when dealing with nonlinear relationships, especially useful for small areas or small sample size problems. We compiled a broad range of socio-demographic, environmental, and climatic factors along with potentially related urban land uses to predict COVID-19 prevalence in rural districts of the Golestan province northeast of Iran with a very high-case fatality ratio (9.06%) during the first year of the pandemic (2020–2021). We also compared the ANFIS and principal component analysis (PCA)-ANFIS methods for modeling COVID-19 prevalence in a geographical information system framework. Our results showed that combined with the PCA, the ANFIS accuracy significantly increased. The PCA-ANFIS model showed a superior performance (R2 (determination coefficient) = 0.615, MAE (mean absolute error) = 0.104, MSE (mean square error) = 0.020, and RMSE (root mean square error) = 0.139) than the ANFIS model (R2 = 0.543, MAE = 0.137, MSE = 0.034, and RMSE = 0.185). The sensitivity analysis of the ANFIS model indicated that migration rate, employment rate, the number of days with rainfall, and residential apartment units were the most contributing factors in predicting COVID-19 prevalence in the Golestan province. Our findings indicated the ability of the ANFIS model in dealing with nonlinear parameters, particularly for small sample sizes. Identifying the main factors in the spread of COVID-19 may provide useful insights for health policymakers to effectively mitigate the high prevalence of the disease

Spatio-Temporal Modeling of COVID-19 Spread in Relation to Urban Land Uses: An Agent-Based Approach

This study aims to address the existing gaps in evidence regarding spatio-temporal modeling of COVID-19 spread, specifically focusing on the impact of different urban land uses in a geospatial information system framework. It employs an agent-based model at the individual level in Gorgan, northeast Iran, characterized by diverse spatial and demographic features. The interactions between human agents and their environment were considered by incorporating social activities based on different urban land uses. The proposed model was integrated with the susceptible–asymptomatic–symptomatic–on treatment–aggravated infection–recovered–dead epidemic model to better understand the disease transmission at the micro-level. The effect of various intervention scenarios, such as social distancing, complete and partial lockdowns, restriction of social gatherings, and vaccination was investigated. The model was evaluated in three modes of cases, deaths, and the spatial distribution of COVID-19. The results show that the disease was more concentrated in central areas with a high population density and dense urban land use. The proposed model predicted the distribution of disease cases and mortality for different age groups, achieving 72% and 71% accuracy, respectively. Additionally, the model was able to predict the spatial distribution of disease cases at the neighborhood level with 86% accuracy. Moreover, findings demonstrated that early implementation of control scenarios, such as social distancing and vaccination, can effectively reduce the transmission of COVID-19 spread and control the epidemic. In conclusion, the proposed model can serve as a valuable tool for health policymakers and urban planners. This spatio-temporal model not only advances our understanding of COVID-19 dynamics but also provides practical tools for addressing future pandemics and urban health challenges

Environmental impact assessment and sustainability level determination of Boog Granite Mine using Philips model

Sustainable development is the consequent of balance generation among the three parameters, contains economy, social and environment; As their inattention will cause the balance disturbance and getting away from sustainable development. The mining industry and dependent industries are one of the most influential industries in economic development and industrialization process for each country. The main target of sustainable mining is the profit rising, reducing the operational risk and making the ideal environmental circumstances. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an essential issue in environmental problem protection. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the Boog Granite Mine located in Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran, and determining the effective factors and environmental components, was done, in the present study. Boog granite mine is one of the most important Iranian construction quarries, which is extracted outdoors and has a significant impact on the economy, culture, and environment around it. In this study, a quantitative model of environmental impact assessment was used using the matrix method. Air quality, ecology, and human health and safety are along with the most environmental damages resulted from the mining activities in that area with 33.63, 28.26 and 28.09 percent, respectively. Finally, the results gained from the assessment of the environmental impact are used to evaluate the sustainability using Philips Mathematical Model. Considering the accomplished calculations and considering that the environmental parameters are bigger than the human parameter, the present project has been evaluated as a sustainable case; but the sustainability has been located in a weak class. So environmental preventive measures are recommended to reduce the environmental damages to its components