Effect of Premedication with Indomethacin and Ibuprofen on Postoperative Endodontic Pain: A Clinical Trial

Introduction: Post-endodontic pain is one of the main problems for both patients and dentists. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of premedication with indomethacin and ibuprofen for management of postoperative endodontic pain. Methods and Materials: In this clinical trial, mandibular molars with irreversible pulpitis were endodontically treated in 66 patients. The medicines were prepared similarly in the form of capsules containing 400 mg ibuprofen (group A), 25 mg indomethacin (group B) and placebo (group C). The patients were given one capsule 1 h before the start of treatment. Patients recorded their pain measured by a visual analogue scale (VAS) at medication time, during treatment and 8, 12 and 24 h after treatment. The data were analyzed using the chi-square, repeated measures ANOVA, paired t-test, Tamhane and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: Ibuprofen and indomethacin significantly reduced the postoperative pain in comparison with placebo during treatment and 8 h after treatment; however, there were no significant differences between them 12 and 24 h after treatment. Conclusion: Premedication with ibuprofen and indomethacin can effectively control short term post-operative pain; the lower incidence of side effects and greater analgesic power of ibuprofen make it a superior choice.Keywords: Ibuprofen; Indomethacin; Irreversible Pulpitis; Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs; Post-Endodontic Pai

Internet of Everything in the Teaching-Learning Approach: An Integrative Review

Introduction: The fourth industrial revolution or industry 4.0 has brought a variety of technologies to different societies. One of these technologies is the Internet of Things (IoT), primarily conceptualized in engineering fields and then found its way to the field of education. Internet of Everything (IoE) has been discussed in the evolution of the IoT concept. IoE mainly focuses on things, people, processes, and data. This paper aims to investigate different studies from the emergence of IoT concept and its development to IoE based teaching-learning process.Methods: The integrative review was applied as the research method, Web of Science and Scopus databases were directly investigated and 139 articles were finalized as the result of this integrative review.Results: Findings of this study demonstrated that the teaching learning process with the focus on IoE could be categorized into logic models, including inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and external factors. Based on extracted components, the final model showed that the teaching-learning approach with the focus on IoE is a process that mainly occurs through integration and connection of IoT-based infrastructures, stakeholder’s interactions, teaching and learning activities. Eventually, this has brought personal and general outputs to achieve sustainability, Green IoT, and meeting the needs of industry. Simultaneously with the implementation or application of this system, several challenges can arise in the process, namely Security, Privacy, Financing, Reliable connectivity, and Cloud infrastructure.Conclusion: Therefore, this model can help policymakers or educators to be aware of the different parts of an IoE-based education system

The Influence of Fasting and Energy Restricting Diets on Blood Pressure in Humans: A Systematic Review and Meta‑Analysis

Introduction: To the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive meta-analysis has been carried out to investigate the effect of different approaches of fasting and calorie restriction on blood pressure. Aim: Thus, the present systematic review and meta-analysis was designed to examine the effect of fasting and energy restricting diets on blood pressure in adult subjects. Methods: We searched PubMed/Medline, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar up to June 2019. The clinical trials that examined the effects of fasting and energy restricting diets on Blood Pressure was identified using MESH and non-MESH terms. Results: 23 studies, including a total of 1397 participants, reported SBP and DBP as an outcome measure. Overall results from the random-effects model indicated that fasting and energy restricting administration elicited significant changes in SBP (weight mean difference (WMD): � 1.88 mmHg, 95 CI � 2.50, � 1.25) and DBP (WMD � 1.32 mmHg, 95 CI � 1.81, � 0.84, p = 0.000). Subgroup analyses displayed that intervention duration � 12 weeks more effectively reduced SBP (WMD: -3.26 mmHg) and DBP (WMD � 1.32 mmHg). In addition, these analyses showed that fasting regimens (WMD � 3.26 mmHg) more effectively reduced SBP than energy restricting diets (WMD � 1.09 mmHg). Conclusion: The principal finding of this study was that fasting and energy restricting diets elicited, overall, significant reductions in SBP and DBP. Subsequent subgroup analyses revealed that intervention duration � 12 weeks and fasting regimens more effectively reduced SBP and DBP. © 2020, Italian Society of Hypertension

Luteolin Reduced the Traumatic Brain Injury-Induced Memory Impairments in Rats: Attenuating Oxidative Stress and Dark Neurons of Hippocampus

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is generally recognized as a major risk factor for memory impairments and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this experimental study, our aim was to investigate the ameliorating effects of luteolin (LUT) on the memory impairments, oxidative stress, and histopathological changes induced by TBI in rats. The adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into six groups including: Control (Co), sham, TBI, TBI+LUT (10 mg/kg), TBI +LUT (25 mg/kg), TBI +LUT (50 mg/kg). To evaluate the protective effects of LUT on the memory of the rats, passive avoidance test using shuttle box was performed. Finally, the animals were anesthetized, and the brain tissues were removed and analyzed for oxidative stress parameters. Using histological methods, dark neuron production was also evaluated. There was a significant decrease in the latency time to enter the dark compartment in passive avoidance test in TBI animals. This latency time was significantly increased in TBI+LUT (25 mg/kg) and TBI+LUT (50 mg/kg) groups along with significant increases in superoxide dismutase and catalase activity in the hippocampal zone and a decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA). The number of dark neurons in the hippocampus decreased with all three doses of LUT. In the present study, LUT showed neuroprotective effects, improvement in learning and reduction in memory impairment induced by TBI in rats. Protection against oxidative stress might be a possible mechanism behind these effects. Further works are necessary to work out if LUT is potentially a suitable therapeutic candidate for neural disorders

Endothelial damage and dysfunction in acute graft-versus-host disease

Altres ajuts: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) TRR221 (B11 Z02), TRR225 (B08)Clinical studies have suggested a potential involvement of endothelial dysfunction and damage in the development and severity of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD). Accordingly, we found an increased percentage of apoptotic caspase 3 positive blood vessels in duodenal and colonic mucosa biopsies of patients with severe aGvHD. In murine experimental aGvHD, we detected severe microstructural endothelial damage and reduced endothelial pericyte coverage accompanied by reduced expression of endothelial tight junction proteins leading to increased endothelial leakage in aGvHD target organs. During intestinal aGvHD, colonic vasculature structurally changed, reflected by increased vessel branching and vessel diameter. As recent data demonstrated an association of endothelium-related factors and steroid refractory aGvHD (SR-aGvHD), we analyzed human biopsies and murine tissues from SR-aGvHD. We found extensive tissue damage but low levels of alloreactive T-cell infiltration in target organs, providing the rationale for T-cell independent SR-aGvHD treatment strategies. Consequently, we tested the endothelium-protective PDE5 inhibitor sildenafil, which reduced apoptosis and improved metabolic activity of endothelial cells in vitro. Accordingly, sildenafil treatment improved survival and reduced target organ damage during experimental SR-aGvHD. Our results demonstrate extensive damage, structural changes, and dysfunction of the vasculature during aGvHD. Therapeutic intervention by endothelium-protecting agents is an attractive approach for SR-aGvHD complementing current anti-inflammatory treatment options

Global, regional, and national burden of colorectal cancer and its risk factors, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Funding: F Carvalho and E Fernandes acknowledge support from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (FCT), in the scope of the project UIDP/04378/2020 and UIDB/04378/2020 of the Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences UCIBIO and the project LA/P/0140/2020 of the Associate Laboratory Institute for Health and Bioeconomy i4HB; FCT/MCTES through the project UIDB/50006/2020. J Conde acknowledges the European Research Council Starting Grant (ERC-StG-2019-848325). V M Costa acknowledges the grant SFRH/BHD/110001/2015, received by Portuguese national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), IP, under the Norma Transitória DL57/2016/CP1334/CT0006.proofepub_ahead_of_prin

Development of Bioanalytical Assays Using Scintillant Polymer-Core Silica-Shell Nanoparticles

Ideal nanosensors of biomolecules are sensitive, selective, stable, minimally invasive, amenable to mass production with low-cost, and applicable for reproducible in vitro and in vivo analyses. The nano scintillation proximity assay (nanoSPA) presented here is based on a composite architecture of polystyrene-core and silica-shell nanoparticles, with a high surface area to volume ratio (ca. 2×107 m-1) and density of approximately 1.6 g/cm3. nanoSPA obviates the need for separation of bound from free radiolabeled molecules prior to measurements, with minimized complexity and maximized versatility. Selected β-emitter radioisotopes were utilized for the development of radioassays for analysis of biological processes using nanoSPA. 35S was employed for thiol/disulfide ratio analysis for the first time. Thiolresponsive nanoSPA was used for quantification of 33S-cysteine and 33S-cystine as models of 35S-thiol and 35S-disulfide. Synthetic samples of 33S-cysteine and 33S-cystine and human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cell lysates were analyzed using thiolresponsive nanoSPA for evaluation of thiol/disulfide ratio as a measure of redox status of the sample. Limit of detection for 35S-thiol analysis was <1.1 pM (<1.1 nCi) with a signal to background ratio over 10-fold. 33P-labeled adenosine triphosphate (ATPγ33P) was utilized for the development of kinase activity assays. Three nanoSPA platforms were developed for kinase activity analysis including adsorption, binding, and immuno-nanoSPA that respond based on electrostatic non-specific adsorption, covalent binding, and antibody-antigen binding, respectively. Signal to background ratio up to 24 was observed using separation-free analyses with nanoSPA, compared to approximately 11.5 using liquid scintillation analysis after many washing steps. 3H emits the lowest energy β-particles and it was utilized with nanoSPA for development of saccharide sensors. Dynamic binding of 3H-D-glucose to nanoSPA functionalized with several monoboronic acids (monoBAs) and diboronic acids (diBAs) was evaluated. The signal to background ratio was up to 2.2-fold that must be improved. Further platforms may be developed based on phospholipid-nanoSPA with minimal nonspecific adsorption and more specificity.Release after 10/04/201

EPCAM Expression in Colon Adenocarcinoma and its Relationship with TNM Staging

Background: Since epithelial cell adhesion molecule glycoprotein (EPCAM) is associated with the development and metastasis of colon adenocarcinoma, it can be helpful in predicting the tumor stage before surgery. In this study, we investigated EPCAM glycoprotein expression in colon adenocarcinoma and its relationship with tumor staging. Materials and Methods: This study was done on formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues of 71 patients diagnosed with colon adenocarcinoma, together with normal tissues around them, which were available at the archive of pathology lab of Al-Zahra hospital, Isfahan. Hematoxylin and eosin (HandE) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining methods for EPCAM marker were performed on paraffin-embedded blocks. Results: The percentage of staining of EPCAM glycoprotein in the tumoral and normal tissues of 71 patients with colon adenocarcinoma was studied and compared. In normal tissue, 84.5% showed strong staining, 15.5% showed moderate to strong, and none of the patients showed moderate, weak, or no staining at all. In the tumoral tissue, 25.4% had strong, 25.4% had moderate to strong, 26.8% showed moderate, 16.9% showed weak and 5.6% had no staining at all. EPCAM expression was significantly less in tumoral tissue than in normal. Conclusion: There was an inverse relationship between tumor staging and the percentage of staining in EPCAM glycoprotein so this marker can be used for predicting the tumor stage

Research Self-Efficacy and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy of Students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences: An Explanatory Model

Introduction: In the 21st century, higher education institutions seek to set up research activities and improve the quality of these research studies. One of the factors affecting the quality of research is student research self-efficacy which is expected to lead to career decision-making self-efficacy. Methods: Statistical population of this descriptive, correlational study included all the students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2015-16. A sample of 300 was formed by multi-stage cluster sampling. Research instruments were Betz and Luzzo’s career decision-making self-efficacy scale and Holden’s research self-efficacy scale. After calculating the validity and reliability, the questionnaires were distributed and the data were analyzed in LISREL using correlation coefficient test. Results: In research self-efficacy, reporting skill (47.13±1.29) and collection skill (42.20±2.67) had the highest and lowest scores respectively. In career decision-making, goal commitment (3.10±0.89) and problem-solving skill (3.00±0.78) had the highest and lowest scores respectively. There was a positive significant relationship between the dimensions of research self-efficacy and decision-making self-efficacy such that with students’ increased research self-efficacy, their career decision-making enhanced. Conclusion: The more the curriculum emphasizes the development of students’ research skills, the more their sense of self-efficacy increases in career decision-making and on the path to professional development