Seismic performance of self-centering bridge pier using seat angles

Recent earthquakes have demonstrated a need for a new design philosophy of retrofitting bridge piers aiming to avoid damage, ensure post-earthquake serviceability and reduce financial losses. Self-centering and rocking systems are mechanisms that help eliminate residual drift, maintain post-earthquake serviceability and reduce the possibility of bridge piers being demolished after earthquakes. The aim of this study is to evaluate the seismic performance of a self-centering bridge pier with seat angles as an energy absorption device in comparison with the traditional devices. In this regard, a series of nonlinear static and dynamic analyses on a typical, normal bridge pier and the proposed pier have been performed, and significant design criteria have been investigated. Energy absorption, ductility demand, residual and maximum drift have been investigated for both conventional and proposed pier. The results shed light on effect of rocking mechanism on the seismic enhancement of bridge piers

A fuzzy logic-based video subtitle and caption coloring system

An approach has been proposed for automatic adaptive subtitle coloring using fuzzy logic-based algorithm. This system changes the color of the video subtitle/caption to "pleasant" color according to color harmony and the visual perception of the image background colors. In the fuzzy analyzer unit, using RGB histograms of background image, the R, G, and B values for the color of the subtitle/caption are computed using fixed fuzzy IF-THEN rules fully driven from the color harmony theories to satisfy complementary color and subtitle-background color harmony conditions. A real-time hardware structure has been proposed for implementation of the front-end processing unit as well as the fuzzy analyzer unit

The Effect of Fragaria vesca Extract on Smear Layer Removal: A Scanning Electron Microscopic Evaluation

Introduction: Successful endodontic treatment depends on elimination of the microorganisms through chemomechanical debridement. The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Fragaria vesca (wild strawberry) extract (FVE) on the removal of smear layer (SL). Methods and Materials: In this analytical-observational study, 40 extracted mandibular and maxillary human teeth were selected. After canal preparation with standard step-back technique, the teeth were randomly divided into 4 groups according to the irrigation solution: saline (negative control), 5.25% NaOCl+EDTA (positive control), FVE and FVE+EDTA. The teeth were split longitudinally so that scanning electron microscopy (SEM) photomicrographs could be taken to evaluate the amount of remnant SL in coronal, middle and apical thirds. The data were analyzed statistically by the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann Whitney U tests and the level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Significant differences were found among the groups (P<0.001). The use of NaOCl+EDTA was the most effective regimen for removing the SL followed by FVE+EDTA. FVE alone was significantly more effective than saline (P<0.001). Conclusion: FVE with and without EDTA could effectively remove the smear layer; however, compared to NaOCl group it was less effective.Keywords: Fragaria vesca; Irrigation; Scanning Electron Microscopy; Smear Laye

Inhibition of pteridine reductase 1 (PTR1) expression in Leishmania promastigotes using a full-length antisense construct

Leishmania exhibit many unusual features, one of which is the pteridine metabolic pathway essential for the growth for these parasites. Leishmania have evolved a complex and versatile pteridine salvage network capable of scavenging a wide array of conjugated and unconjugated pteridines. The L. major PTR1 gene was cloned into pcDNA3 digested with KpnI and BamHI. The gene was cloned antiparallel to the promoter and named pcDNA-Rptr. L. major promastigotes were divided into two groups. One group was transfected with 50 μg of pcDNA-Rptr, whereas the other group was electroporated with pcDNA3. Mentioned cells were cultured and plated onto semi-solid media.Western blotting was performed on extracts from transfected promastigotes of L. major using an leishmania major PTR1 antibody. The PTR1 protein was not expressed in pcDNA-Rptr-tansfected promastigotes, 'Our results indicate that our system may be useful for studying the pteridine salvage pathway in Leishmania as a possible drug target

Efficacy of Levothyroxine Therapy on Diastolic Dysfunction in Patients with Subclinical Hypothyroidism

Background: Hypothyroidism is a cause of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction especially in cases with positive history of coronary artery disease. It is suggested that cardiac dysfunction may be improved with thyroxin replacement therapy. However, it is controversial. Hence, in this study the efficacy of levothyroxine therapy on diastolic dysfunction in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism was assessed.Materials and Methods: In this, randomized clinical trial 40 consecutive patients with subclinical hypothyroidism attending to Loghman Hospital in 2018 for the treatment were enrolled. The treatment was 25-50 microgram per day of levothyroxine for one year. During this period, the patients were followed up with visit or phone call with a monthly manner. The echocardiography indices were rechecked after one year beside the thyroid tests by initial lab and operators.Results: The mean BMI was significantly decreased (P=0.001). The T3 and TSH were significantly differed but The T4 had no significant alteration (P>0.05). Among the echocardiographic indices the MV.E, MV.A to MV. E ratio, EF, Eʹ septal, Eʹ lateral had significant increase and the MV.A and PV. Adur had significant reduction. After intervention among 40 patients, there were 17 cases with normal diastolic function. The BMI, MV. A, PV Adur, Eʹ Septal, Eʹ Lateral, and E to Eʹ ratio showed significant correlation.Conclusion: Totally, according to the obtained results, it is concluded that diastolic dysfunction as a common problem in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism may be treated with administration of levothyroxine. In addition, screening for diastolic dysfunction in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism is recommended to decrease the burden of problem

Expression of a Novel Chimeric Truncated t-PA in CHO Cells Based on in Silico Experiments

Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) is one of the fibrin-specific serine proteases that play a crucial role in the fibrinolytic system. The rapid clearance of the drug from the circulation, caused by its active uptake in the liver, has lead to complicated clinical applications. Different forms of plasminogen activators have been developed to treat thrombotic disease. Deletion of the first three domains of t-PA by gene manipulation techniques has shown a significant increase in its plasma half life. In order to compensate the disadvantage of higher bleeding risk, a novel chimeric truncated form of t-PA with 394 amino acids and more fibrin affinity compared to the truncated form was designed to be expressed in Chinese Hamster Ovarian (CHO) cells. The recombinant chimeric plasminogen activator consists of kringle 2 and serine protease (K2S) domains of t-PA, namely GHRP-SYQ-K2S. The level of expression was found to be 752 IU/ml with 566,917 IU/mg specific activity, based on amidolytic activity. The fibrin binding of this novel chimeric truncated t-PA was 86% of the full length t-PA at a fibrinogen concentration of 0.2 mg/ml. This could be a promising approach with more desirable pharmacodynamic properties compared to existing commercial forms

A Randomized Trial of Sitagliptin and Spironolactone With Combination Therapy in Hospitalized Adults With COVID-19

COVID-19 may cause respiratory distress syndrome and death. Treatment of COVID-19 to prevent complications remains a priority. Objective Our investigation sought to determine whether combination of spironolactone and sitagliptin could reduce mortality for inpatients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods This single-blind, 4-arm, prospective randomized clinical trial was conducted at Shiraz and Bushehr University of Medical Sciences hospitals between December 2020 and April 2021. We randomized hospitalized adult patients with COVID-19 pneumonia into 4 groups: control, combination therapy, sitagliptin add-on, or spironolactone add-on. The primary outcome was the clinical improvement of the patients in the hospital as measured on an 8-point numerical scale. The secondary outcomes included intubation, ICU admission, end organ damages, CT findings, and paraclinical information. Results A total of 263 admitted patients were randomly assigned to control group (87 patients), combination group (60 patients), sitagliptin group (66 patients), and spironolactone group (50 patients). There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics, except for higher age in control group. The intervention groups, especially combination therapy, had better clinical outcomes (clinical score on fifth day of admission: 3.11 ± 2.45 for controls, 1.33 ± 0.50 for combination, 1.68 ± 1.02 for sitagliptin, and 1.64 ± 0.81 for spironolactone; P = 0.004). However, the mortality rate was lower in patients who received spironolactone (21.84% control, 13.33% combination, 13.64% sitagliptin, 10.00% spironolactone; P = 0.275). Our intervention reduced lung infiltration but not the area of involvement in lungs. Conclusion Sitagliptin and spironolactone can potentially improve clinical outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients

ارتباط الصحة المعنوية بالصحة التنظيمية عند موظفي جامعة العلوم الطبية في قم

سابقه و هدف: سلامت سازمانی توانایی سازمان براي تحقق اثربخش اهداف خود به‌منظور رشد و توسعه است و به دوام و بقای سازمان در محیط خود و سازگاری با آن و ارتقا و گسترش توانایی خود برای سازش بیشتر با محیط اشاره دارد. بنابراین، پرداختن به عوامل مؤثر بر سلامت سازمانی از اهمیت ویژه‌ای برخوردار است. بدین منظور، تحقیق حاضر به بررسی ارتباط سلامت معنوی و سلامت سازمانی در کارکنان ستاد دانشگاه علوم پزشکی قم پرداخته است. روش کار: پژوهش حاضر از نظر هدف کاربردی و از نظر نحوۀ گردآوری داده‌ها جزء مطالعات میدانی و از نوع همبستگی است. جامعۀ آماری پژوهش 150 نفر از کارکنان ستاد دانشگاه علوم پزشکی قم بود. برای تعیین حجم نمونه با استفاده از جدول کرجسی و مورگان تعداد 108 نفر حداقل حجم نمونه در نظر گرفته شد که نمونه‌های آماری با استفاده از روش نمونه‌گیری تصادفی ساده انتخاب شدند. به‌منظور گردآوری داده‌ها از دو پرسش‌نامۀ استاندارد پس از بررسی روایی و پایایی آنها و برای تجزیه‌ و تحلیل داده‌ها از آزمون‌ آماری همبستگی استفاده شده است. در این پژوهش همۀ موارد اخلاقی رعایت شده است و مؤلفان مقاله تضاد منافعی گزارش نکرده‌اند. یافته‌ها: نتایج آزمون همبستگی پیرسون حاکی از آن است که بین سلامت معنوی و سلامت سازمانی کارکنان ستاد دانشگاه علوم پزشکی قم رابطۀ مثبت و معناداری وجود داشت. از نتایج دیگر این مطالعه می‌توان به وضعیت متوسط سلامت سازمانی و سلامت معنوی بالا در جامعۀ بررسی‌شده اشاره نمود. نتیجه‌گیری: درمجموع می‌توان اذعان نمود که سلامت معنوی یکی از عوامل مؤثر در وضعیت سلامت سازمانی است. بنابراین جهت ارتقای سلامت سازمانی می‌توان به سلامت معنوی توجه ویژه‌ای داشت تا از ثمرات آن بهره‌مند شد.Background and Objective: Organizational health is the ability of an organization to reach its goals effectively in order to achieve growth and development. Organizational health refers to the permanence and survival of the organization in its environment and adaptation to it and the promotion and expansion of its ability to further adapt to the environment. Therefore, investigating the factors affecting organizational health needs special consideration. Thus, the purpose of the current study is to study the relationship between spiritual health and organizational health among the Staff of the Qom University of Medical Sciences. Methods: The research method is descriptive-correlational and the statistical population includes 150 staff of Qom University of Medical Sciences. In order to collect the necessary data, 108 respondents were determined as the minimum number of the sample size using Krejcie and Morgan’s table. To collect data, two standardized questionnaires were used for measuring spiritual health and organizational health after confirming the reliability and validity. Further, for data analysis, correlation coefficients were used. In this study, all ethical considerations were observed and no conflict of interest was reported by the authors. Results: The findings showed that there is a significant relationship between spiritual health and organizational health. Further, the results show that the statistical population enjoys a moderate level of organizational health and high level of spiritual health. Conclusion: In summary, it can be claimed that spiritual health is one of the factors which can predict organizational health. Therefore, in order to improve the level of organizational health, managers of organizations can pay attention to spiritual health to achieve competitive advantage.خلفية البحث وأهدافه: تشير الصحة التنظيمية إلى قدرة المؤسسة على تحقيق أهدافها بنحو مؤثر بغرض التنمية والتوسعة، واستمرار المؤسسة وبقائها في محيطها، وانسجامها معها وارتقاء وتوسعة قدرتها على الانسجام أكثر مع محيطها. ومن هنا يكتسب البحث في العوامل المؤثرة على الصحة التنظيمية أهمية خاصة. ولهذا السبب تتصدى الدراسة الحالية للبحث في ارتباط الصحة المعنوية بالصحة التنظيمية عند موظفي جامعة العلوم الطبية في قم. منهجية البحث: تعتبر الدراسة الحالية تطبيقية من حيث الهدف، ومن حيث كيفية جمع البيانات من جملة الدراسات الميدانية ومن النوع الارتباطي. وكانت المجموعة الإحصائية للدراسة تشمل 150 فرداً من موظفي جامعة العلوم الطبية في قم. ومن أجل تعيين حجم العينات فقد تم اعتبار عدد 108 فرداً كحد أدنى من حجم العينات اعتماداً على جدول (كرجسي ومورغان). وتم اختيار العينات الإحصائية من خلال الطريقة العشوائية البسيطة في أخذ العينات. وبغرض جمع البيانات فقد تمت الاستفادة من استبيانين قياسيين. وذلك بعد التدقيق في صلاحيتها وموثوقيتها. كما تمت الاستفادة من البرنامج الإحصائي للارتباط من أجل تفكيك البيانات وتحليلها. تمت مراعاة جميع الموارد الاخلاقية في هذا البحث، وإضافة الى هذا فان مؤلفي البحث لم يشيروا الى اي تضارب في المصالح. الكشوفات: تحكي نتائج اختبار ارتباط بيرسون إلى وجود علاقة إيجابية وذات معنى بين الصحة المعنوية والصحة التنظيمية عند موظفي جامعة العلوم الطبية في قم. ومن النتائج الأخرى التي يمكن الإشارة إليها لهذه الدراسة هي الحالة المتوسطة للصحة التنظيمية والمستوى العالي من الصحة المعنوية في المجموعة موضع الدراسة. الاستنتاج: يمكن الإذعان في الجملة بأن الصحة المعنوية تعتبر أحد العوامل المؤثرة في حالة الصحة التنظيمية. ولهذا فإنه بغرض الارتقاء بالصحة التنظيمية فإنه لابد من الاهتمام بالصحة المعنوية بشكل خاص كي يمكن الاستفادة من ثمراتها