Efficacy of group obstetric consultation in mild to moderate anxiety of pregnancy

Anxiety is a common mental disorder of pregnancy leading to adverse maternal and fetal pregnancy outcomes. Hence, preparation of effective approaches for reduction of anxiety is an issue of importance. Accordingly, this study was performed to determine the efficacy of group obstetric consultation on anxiety control in pregnant women in non-severe cases. In this randomized clinical trial, 90 pregnant women attending to a Health Care Center in Tehran, Iran from April 2010 to March 2012 with first pregnancy aging from 18 to 35 years and gestational age of eight to eighteen weeks were evaluated. They were randomly assigned into consultation and control groups. The consultation group was designed according to the different needs of pregnancy for five sessions in five weeks (each session 60 to 90 minutes) and the control group only received routine perinatal care. There was statistically significant difference between after-intervention scores in anxiety state (P=0.014); but the anxiety trait showed no difference (P=0.19). Also the changes in trait anxiety scores was more in consultation group compared with control group (P=0.002) that was also seen for anxiety state scores (P=0.0001). Totally, it may be concluded that group consultation is effective in reduction of state and trait anxiety in pregnant women with non-severe non-pathological cases of anxiety

Efficacy of the Biomaterials 3 wt%-nanostrontium-hydroxyapatite-enhanced Calcium Phosphate Cement (nanoSr-CPC) and nanoSr-CPC-incorporated Simvastatin-loaded Poly(lactic-co-glycolic-acid) Microspheres in Osteogenesis Improvement

Aims The purpose of this multi-phase explorative in vivo animal/surgical and in vitro multi-test experimental study was to (1) create a 3 wt%-nanostrontium hydroxyapatite-enhanced calcium phosphate cement (Sr-HA/CPC) for increasing bone formation and (2) creating a simvastatin-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (SIM-loaded PLGA) microspheres plus CPC composite (SIM-loaded PLGA + nanostrontium-CPC). The third goal was the extensive assessment of multiple in vitro and in vivo characteristics of the above experimental explorative products in vitro and in vivo (animal and surgical studies). Methods and results pertaining to Sr-HA/CPC Physical and chemical properties of the prepared Sr-HA/CPC were evaluated. MTT assay and alkaline phosphatase activities, and radiological and histological examinations of Sr-HA/CPC, CPC and negative control were compared. X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that crystallinity of the prepared cement increased by increasing the powder-to-liquid ratio. Incorporation of Sr-HA into CPC increased MTT assay (biocompatibility) and ALP activity (P \u3c 0.05). Histomorphometry showed greater bone formation after 4 weeks, after implantation of Sr-HA/CPC in 10 rats compared to implantations of CPC or empty defects in the same rats (n = 30, ANOVA P \u3c 0.05). Methods and results pertaining to SIM-loaded PLGA microspheres + nanostrontium-CPC composite After SEM assessment, the produced composite of microspheres and enhanced CPC were implanted for 8 weeks in 10 rabbits, along with positive and negative controls, enhanced CPC, and enhanced CPC plus SIM (n = 50). In the control group, only a small amount of bone had been regenerated (localized at the boundary of the defect); whereas, other groups showed new bone formation within and around the materials. A significant difference was found in the osteogenesis induced by the groups sham control (16.96 ± 1.01), bone materials (32.28 ± 4.03), nanostrontium-CPC (24.84 ± 2.6), nanostrontium-CPC-simvastatin (40.12 ± 3.29), and SIM-loaded PLGA + nanostrontium-CPC (44.8 ± 6.45) (ANOVA P \u3c 0.001). All the pairwise comparisons were significant (Tukey P \u3c 0.01), except that of nanostrontium-CPC-simvastatin and SIM-loaded PLGA + nanostrontium-CPC. This confirmed the efficacy of the SIM-loaded PLGA + nanostrontium-CPC composite, and its superiority over all materials except SIM-containing nanostrontium-CPC

Investigating the relationship between carotid intima-media thickness, flow-mediated dilatation in brachial artery and nuclear heart scan in patients with rheumatoid arthritis for evaluation of asymptomatic cardiac ischemia and atherosclerotic changes

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death worldwide. In order to prevent and treat heart diseases, we need to estimate the trend of non-cardiac diseases with the cardiovascular system. Arthritis Rheumatoid is a chronic immune/inflammatory process which leads to subclinical atherosclerosis and increases cardiovascular disease. We examined the patients who referred to our nuclear medicine center for MPI and correlated their findings with flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in arthritis rheumatoid patients. Material and methods: A total 30 known cases with arthritis rheumatoid were referred to our department for MPI and the single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging were visually and quantitatively evaluated by two nuclear medicine physicians and the correlation of the measured FMD and CIMT were evaluated and compared with ultrasonography data. Demographic information such as gender, age and sex and medical history (risk factors, cardiovascular sign and symptoms, lab findings, medication etc…) were recorded in questionnaire sheets and were analyzed by SPSS.20. Chi-square and student t-test were used for further analysis. Results: The mean CIMT (R = 0.452 ± 0.07, L = 0.447 ± 0.08) and %FMD (R = 7.22 ± 8.66, L = 6.42 ± 11.88) were measured for all subjects. Age was the only parameter correlated with both right and left CIMT (P = 0.033 and P = 0.024, respectively). Among the patients, 26.7% had mild ischemia (SSS < 8) and 3 of them suffered from active arthritis rheumatoid. All patients with RA showed normal ventricular ejection fraction and normal volumes and among them, 93.3% had normal functional performance (normal wall motion…). Moreover, the mean CIMT and %FMD were not significantly different in ischemic and non-ischemic patients. Among ischemic patients, just the course of the disease was associated with CIMT and none of the parameters was correlated with FMD. Conclusions: There is no significant statistical difference between ischemic and non-ischemic patients and also the functional performance with values of CIMT and FMD. Among all populations, the parameter of age, and in ischemic group, the course of disease were found as the only variable correlated with CIMT

Startup’s critical failure factors dynamic modeling using FCM

The emergence of startups and their influence on a country's economic growth has become a significant concern for governments. The failure of these ventures leads to substantial depletion of financial resources and workforce, resulting in detrimental effects on a country's economic climate. At various stages of a startup's lifecycle, numerous factors can affect the growth of a startup and lead to failure. Numerous scholars and authors have primarily directed their attention toward studying the successes of these ventures. Previous research review of critical failure factors (CFFs) reveals a dearth of research that comprehensively investigates the introduction of all failure factors and their interdependent influences. This study investigates and categorizes the failure factors across various stages of a startup's life cycle to provide a deeper insight into how they might interact and reinforce one another. Employing expert perspectives, the authors construct fuzzy cognitive maps (FCMs) to visualize the CFFs within entrepreneurial ventures and examine these factors' influence across the four growth stages of a venture. Our primary aim is to construct a model that captures the complexities and uncertainties surrounding startup failure, unveiling the concealed interconnections among CFFs. The FCMs model empowers entrepreneurs to anticipate potential failures under diverse scenarios based on the dynamic behavior of these factors. The proposed model equips entrepreneurs and decision-makers with a comprehensive understanding of the collective influence exerted by various factors on the failure of entrepreneurial ventures

Effect of Hypoxia Preconditioned Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Conditioned Medium on Cerulein-Induced Acute Pancreatitis in Mice

Purpose: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disorder distinguished by tissue injury and inflammation of the pancreas. Using paracrine potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) provides a useful clinical approach in treating inflammatory diseases. We investigated the therapeutic effects of adipose-derived MSC conditioned medium (CM) and hypoxia preconditioned adipose-derived MSC conditioned medium (HCM) in cerulein-induced AP in mice. Methods: AP was induced in C57BL/6 mice by intraperitoneal injection of cerulein (75 μg/ kg/h × 7 times). One hour following the last injection of cerulein, mice were treated with intraperitoneal injection of CM and HCM (500 µL/mice/30 min × 3 times). Twelve hours following the treatment, serum levels of amylase and lipase were measured. In addition, pancreas pathological changes, immunohistochemical examinations for evaluation of IL-6 expression and pancreatic myeloperoxidase (MPO) enzyme activity were analyzed. Results: The in vitro results of the morphological, differentiation and immunophenotyping analyses confirmed that hypoxia preconditioned MSCs (HP-MSCs) conserve MSCs characteristics after preconditioning. However, HP-MSCs significantly expressed high mRNA level of hypoxia inducible factor 1-α and higher level of total protein. The in vivo findings of the current study showed that CM and HCM significantly reduced the amylase & lipase activity, the severity of pancreas tissue injury and the expression of IL-6 and MPO enzyme activity compared with the AP group. However, no significant difference between CM and HCM groups was demonstrated. Conclusion: Use of CM and HCM can attenuate cerulein-induced AP and decrease inflammation in the pancreas tissue in AP mice

Oregano (Origanum vulgare) Consumption Reduces Oxidative Stress and Markers of Muscle Damage after Combat Readiness Tests in Soldiers

Military activities often involve high-intensity exercise that can disrupt antioxidant capacity. We investigated the effects of oregano supplementation on muscle damage, oxidative stress, and plasma antioxidant markers of soldiers performing the army combat readiness test (ACRT). Twenty-four healthy male soldiers (age: 24 ± 3 years, height: 167 ± 14 cm, mass: 66 ± 3 kg) were randomized into a placebo group (n = 12) or an oregano supplementation group (n = 12). The participants consumed a capsule containing 500 mg Origanum vulgare immediately after completing the ACRT. Blood sampling was taken before exercise, immediately after exercise, and 60 and 120 min after oregano consumption. Plasma levels of creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) were measured at the four time points. The time × group interactions were found for CK (p < 0.0001, d = 3.64), LDH (p < 0.0001, d = 1.64), MDA (p < 0.0001, d = 9.94), SOD (p < 0.0001, d = 1.88), TAC (p < 0.0001, d = 5.68) and GPX (p < 0.0001, d = 2.38). In all variables, the difference between placebo and oregano groups were significant at 60 (p < 0.0001) and 120 (p < 0.0001) minutes after ACRT test. The main effect of time was also significant for all the variables (p < 0.0001). Our results suggest that oregano supplementation has the potential to reduce muscle damage and increase oxidative capacity following ACRT. Supplementation with oregano may serve as a dietary strategy to increase preparedness and promote recovery in military recruits

Large expert-curated database for benchmarking document similarity detection in biomedical literature search

Document recommendation systems for locating relevant literature have mostly relied on methods developed a decade ago. This is largely due to the lack of a large offline gold-standard benchmark of relevant documents that cover a variety of research fields such that newly developed literature search techniques can be compared, improved and translated into practice. To overcome this bottleneck, we have established the RElevant LIterature SearcH consortium consisting of more than 1500 scientists from 84 countries, who have collectively annotated the relevance of over 180 000 PubMed-listed articles with regard to their respective seed (input) article/s. The majority of annotations were contributed by highly experienced, original authors of the seed articles. The collected data cover 76% of all unique PubMed Medical Subject Headings descriptors. No systematic biases were observed across different experience levels, research fields or time spent on annotations. More importantly, annotations of the same document pairs contributed by different scientists were highly concordant. We further show that the three representative baseline methods used to generate recommended articles for evaluation (Okapi Best Matching 25, Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency and PubMed Related Articles) had similar overall performances. Additionally, we found that these methods each tend to produce distinct collections of recommended articles, suggesting that a hybrid method may be required to completely capture all relevant articles. The established database server located at https://relishdb.ict.griffith.edu.au is freely available for the downloading of annotation data and the blind testing of new methods. We expect that this benchmark will be useful for stimulating the development of new powerful techniques for title and title/abstract-based search engines for relevant articles in biomedical research.Peer reviewe

Development of a new method for aggregate quality control in civil engineering applications

Civil engineering has fulfilled many different needs of human life. It has provided much ease, comfort, and pleasantness to daily life through such conveniences as the construction of homes, buildings, skyscrapers, railways, subways, roads, and tunnels. Each of these applications of civil engineering would not be possible without the use of natural crushed stone. In fact, natural crushed stone and aggregates are the building block of all of the aforementioned constructions. As a result, worldwide production and consumption of aggregates is steadily increasing. Due to a limited quantity of natural resources and the millions of years needed for their renewal, quality management of raw materials is key to sustainable development and continued success. Hand in hand, sustainable development policies are imperative to the optimal usage of the reserves. Quality control and quality assurance are the two main elements of quality management. Different methods and procedures have been proposed in order to maintain consistent quality of the aggregates, as the principal constituent of various forms of civil engineering constructions. Railroad construction and asphalt production are two key usages of aggregates. The quality of the aggregates in the aforementioned applications plays a significant role in life span of the product. High quality aggregate, while more costly at the beginning, increases the life cycle and life cycle value, decreases life cycle costs, and in turn leads to improved public service quality, a substantial parameter of sustainable policy. The disintegration and breakdown of aggregates over time has been the subject of many bodies of research throughout the years, resulting in the publication of various procedures and methods to be utilized in determining hard rock quality and durability. However, the proposed previous methods are time-consuming, non-reproducible, and non-representative. Therefore, they are not able to recognize the quality of aggregates in a correct manner. Use of aggregates with lack of sufficient quality results in their physical, chemical, and mechanical failure. The aggregate quality issue becomes more critical when it comes to the usage of aggregates for railway-ballast/asphalt production. In the first part of this study, two parameters were developed for the purpose of quality assurance and quality control of aggregate for railway ballast applications. Based on the results of thousands of field and laboratory experiments, these two parameters, loss on ignition (LOI) and magnetic susceptibility (MAG), can identify the quality of aggregate prior to its exploitation and production. LOI and MAG were implemented in three igneous hard rock quarries and have shown to provide accurate results in a more effective and efficient manner. The stripping of asphalt, which is a problem often confronted with the asphalt industry, is another important topic discussed in this thesis. Shortly after initial construction, many asphalt roads need to be re-asphalted, frequently due to a loss of adhesion between the aggregate surface and the bitumen layer. In order to eliminate this phenomenon, different mechanisms and theories have been presented over the past century, though the problem has never been truly clarified nor solved. The stripping of asphalt has its consequences: loss of stability and swelling of the asphalt. The second part of this study discusses the problem of asphalt affinity. More than 1300 asphalt samples were prepared and tested in order to identify and recognize the main problem and consequently develop appropriate preventative strategies to improve the quality of asphalt concrete for use in roads. With regard to this issue a new concept, the Water Discharge Theory, is presented. This theory explains that the loss in affinity between aggregate surface and bitumen layer is a function of aggregate´s inherent water content. With a basis in this theory, the impact of LOI and MAG values of asphalt aggregates on the quality of the asphalt were studied. According to our obtained results the direct effects of LOI and MAG (values of aggregates) on stripping and consequently on quality of asphalt were confirmed. Online recognition of aggregate quality for railway ballasts and asphalt applications was achieved through the development of the two new parameters, LOI and MAG. These parameters proved successful in three different quarries. Based on the application purposes, threshold values for each parameter were also determined.Das Bauingenieurwesen erfüllt die unterschiedlichsten Anforderungen des menschlichen Lebens. Viele Vorteile und Annehmlichkeiten im täglichen Leben wie Häuser, Hochhäuser, Eisenbahnen, U-Bahnen, Straßen und Tunnel wären ohne dieses undenkbar. Diese Ingenieurleistungen wären jedoch ohne die Verwendung von gebrochenem Naturstein nicht möglich, da diese eine wichtige Grundlage der oben genannten Bauwerke sind. Als Folge dessen steigen die weltweite Produktion und der Verbrauch von Gesteinskörnungen stetig an. Auf Grund der begrenzten Menge an natürlichen Ressourcen und der Jahrmillionen die deren Erneuerung bedarf, ist ein Qualitätsmanagement für die Rohstoffe der Schlüssel für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung und einen stetigen Erfolg. Einhergehend mit einer Methode zur nachhaltigen Gewinnung ist die optimale Ausnutzung der Reserven erforderlich. Qualitätskontrolle und Qualitätssicherung sind die zwei Hauptelemente des Qualitätsmanagements. Verschiedene Methoden und Verfahren werden empfohlen, um eine gleichbleibende Qualität der Gesteinskörnungen zu gewährleisten. Gesteinskörnungen werden zum Beispiel als Gleisschotter und zur Asphaltproduktion eingesetzt. Die Qualität der Gesteinskörnungen ist entscheidend für die Lebensdauer dieser Produkte. Gesteinskörnungen mit hoher Qualität mögen zu Beginn kostenintensiver sein, haben dafür aber eine längere Lebensdauer und verursachen geringere Unterhaltungskosten. Der Zerfall von Gesteinskörnungen war Gegenstand vieler wissenschaftlicher Untersuchungen in den letzten Jahrzehnten. Daraus resultierten Veröffentlichungen sowie verschiedene Verfahren und Methoden, um die Qualität und Haltbarkeit von Festgesteinen zu bestimmen. Die bisherigen Methoden sind jedoch zeitintensiv, nicht reproduzierbar und nicht repräsentativ. Deswegen ist es nicht möglich, mit diesen Methoden die Gesteinsqualität in erforderlicher Weise zu ermitteln. Die Verwendung von Gesteinskörnungen mit geringer Qualität führt zu physikalischen, chemischen und mechanischen Problemen. Das Thema der Qualität von Gesteinskörnungen ist von besonderer Bedeutung, wenn diese als Gleisschotter oder zur Herstellung von Asphalt verwendet werden. Im ersten Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit werden zwei Parameter entwickelt, die zur Bestimmung und Kontrolle der Qualität von Gesteinskörnungen dienen, die als Gleisschotter verwendet werden. Basierend auf den Ergebnissen von tausenden Feld- und Laboruntersuchungen konnten zwei Parameter, Glühverlust (LOI) und magnetische Suszeptibilität (MAG), identifiziert werden, mit deren Hilfe die Qualität von Gesteinskörnungen vor der Gewinnung und Aufbereitung bestimmt werden kann. Die Parameter LOI und MAG wurden in drei verschiedenen magmatischen Steinbrüchen zur Bestimmung der Gesteinsqualität verwendet und lieferten effektiv und effizient zuverlässige Ergebnisse. „Stripping“, das ein großes Problem für die Asphaltindustrie darstellt, ist das zweite wichtige Thema diese Arbeit. Kurz nach dem Einbau müssen viele Asphaltdecken erneuert werden, weil die Haftung zwischen der Oberfläche der Gesteinskörnungen und dem Bitumen verloren geht. Bei dem Versuch dieses Problem zu lösen, sind im letzten Jahrhundert viele Verfahren und Theorien entwickelt worden. Dennoch konnte das Problem nie gelöst werden. Stabilitätsverlust und Quellung sind die Konsequenzen des „Strippings“. Im zweiten Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit wird das Problem fehlender Affinität zwischen Gesteinskörnungen und Bitumen im Asphalt untersucht. Mehr als 1300 Asphaltprobenkörper wurden hergestellt und untersucht, um das Hauptproblem zu identifizieren und zu bestimmen. Daraus resultierend wurde eine zielgerichtete präventive Strategie entwickelt, um die Qualität des Asphalts zu verbessern. In Bezug auf dieses Thema wird ein neues Konzept präsentiert: Water Discharge Theory. Diese Theorie besagt, dass der Verlust der Affinität zwischen der Oberfläche der Gesteinskörnungen und dem Bitumen eine Funktion des Wassergehalts der Gesteinskörnungen ist. Basierend auf dieser Theorie wurde der Einfluss von LOI und MAG der zur Herstellung des Asphalts verwendeten Gesteinskörnungen auf die Asphaltqualität untersucht. Anhand der erhaltenden Resultate konnte der direkte Einfluss von LOI- und MAG-Werten der Gesteinskörnungen auf das „Stripping“ und demzufolge auch auf die Asphaltqualität bestimmt werden. Durch die Entwicklung eines Analyseverfahrens auf Basis der zwei Parameter LOI und MAG ist die Online Bestimmung der Qualität von Gesteinskörnungen, die als Gleisschotter und im Asphalt verwendet werden, möglich. Die oben genannten Parameter sind in drei verschiedenen Steinbrüchen erfolgreich überprüft worden. Basierend auf den jeweiligen Verwendungszweck konnten Grenzwerte für die beiden Parameter bestimmt werden

The Effect of a Single Session of Eccentric Resistance Exercise on Some Parameters of White Blood Cells

It is reported that resistance exercise causes an elevation of white blood cells (WBC) and some of its parameters such as neutrophils (NUT) and lymphocytes (LYM); but there isn’t enough study about eccentric exercise (ECC). So, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a single session of eccentric resistance exercise on some parameters of white blood cells. Twelve volunteer male sedentary students were selected to participate in this study. Participants were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Experimental group performed an eccentric elbow extension (80% of one maximum repetition, 6 sets, 8-10 replicates/sets). Blood sampling implemented at 30 min before the exercise, immediately after the exercise, 2 hours after the exercise, and 24 hours after the exercise. Cell differentiation of WBC for neutrophils (NUT), lymphocytes (LYM), eosinophils (EOS), and monocytes (MON) performed using automated hematology analyzer system [Sysmex (kx-21)]. NUT:LYM ratio was also calculated. It was observed that WBC (F = 9.611, p = 0.001), NUT (F = 9.6, p < 0.001), and LYM (F = 3.28, p < 0.001) increased significantly in response to eccentric exercise, and this elevation continued by 2 hours after the test, while NUT recovered to the initial levels by 24 hours after the exercise, and WBC and LYM remained at a high level at this time. In conclusion, the elevation of WBC immediately after the test is likely due to neutrocytosis and lymphocytosis, but in the recovery period and 24 hours after the exercise is due to lymphocytosis