Knowledge of Dental Students and General Dentists about Medical Emergencies

Objectives Considering the fact that lack of knowledge about medical emergencies is associated with serious consequences for patients, the present study was conducted to compare the knowledge level of dental students and general dentists about medical emergencies. Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on senior dental students of Babol University of Medical Sciences in the academic year 2014-2015 and dentists practicing in Babol city. Data were collected by a questionnaire, which included questions regarding the demographic information of participants, their educational experience in this field, and knowledge level. Data were analyzed by t-test, Chi-square test, and Pearson and Spearman’s correlation coefficients. Results Fifty dental students with a mean age of 26.78 years and 50 dentists with a mean age of 37.36 years were evaluated. The mean experience of dentists was 7.46 years. Totally, 11 students (22%) and 39 dentists (48%) had encountered medical emergencies in the past year. Of all, 16 students (32%) and 12 dentists (24%) had received the necessary training in their university. The mean knowledge score was statistically similar in both groups (5.46±1.07 and 5.76±1.30 in students and dentists, respectively; P=0.2). The level of knowledge of 48% of dental students and 44% of dentists was poor; 8% of dentists had very good knowledge level. Conclusion The knowledge of dentists and senior dental students of Babol regarding medical emergencies was similar and generally not satisfactory

An Overview about New Methods in Management of Gag Reflex during Dental Treatment: A Systematic Review

Statement of the Problem: Management of gag reflex is a challenging process during many dental treatments. Various studies have been carried out to evaluate different pharmacological and non-pharmacological techniques to control gagging.Purpose: The aim of this study is to review the available evidence on methods proposed for managing the gag reflex.Materials and Method: This systematic review adheres to the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. A comprehensive search was conducted in English and Persian based on articles published from 2015 to 2022 (February) in PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science, Google Scholar, ISC and SID. All studies were first screened based on their title and abstract. The quality assessment of articles was carried out by two independent authors. Then, risk of bias evaluation was conducted according to Cochrane parameters.Results: In total, 1704 studies were identified via search. After reviewing title and abstract, 16 studies found eligible based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Following quality and risk of bias assessment, 9 studies included in the systematic review.Conclusion: Based on the finding of this review, distraction techniques, nitrous oxide, and low-level laser therapy were found effective in management of gag reflex. The dentist should consider gag reflex management based on the type of dental treatment, gag severity, patient's age, and available capabilities

Right-side inguinal canal endometriosis at ultrasound: A case report

Background: The first case of inguinal endometriosis was described by Cullen. Endometriosis in the round ligament could be in the pelvic or inguinal area and is a rare disease occurring in 0.6% of women. Women with inguinal endometriosis have a painful inguinal mass during menstrual cycles and they mostly have a history of surgery. The right side is more commonly involved in inguinal endometriosis than the left side (90-94%). A history of gynecologic or abdominal surgery is common in women with inguinal endometriosis. Case presentation: In our case, a 39-yr-old virgin woman presented with localized pain in the right inguinal that had been present for 4 yr. She did not have any history of previous surgery, and abdominal ultrasonography showed a hypoechoic mass with minimal vascularity. Inguinal endometriosis was correctly diagnosed by two expert radiologists preoperatively, and she underwent laparoscopic surgery. Conclusion: Considering inguinal endometriosis in the differential diagnosis of women with inguinal masses is important, even if there is no history of gynecologic or abdominal surgery. Key words: Endometriosis, Inguinal, Ultrasound, Case report

Classification of seed members of five riboswitch families as short sequences based on the features extracted by Block Location-Based Feature Extraction (BLBFE) method

Introduction: Riboswitches are short regulatory elements generally found in the untranslated regions of prokaryotes’ mRNAs and classified into several families. Due to the binding possibility between riboswitches and antibiotics, their usage as engineered regulatory elements and also their evolutionary contribution, the need for bioinformatics tools of riboswitch detection is increasing. We have previously introduced an alignment independent algorithm for the identification of frequent sequential blocks in the families of riboswitches. Herein, we report the application of block location-based feature extraction strategy (BLBFE), which uses the locations of detected blocks on riboswitch sequences as features for classification of seed sequences. Besides, mono- and dinucleotide frequencies, k-mer, DAC, DCC, DACC, PC-PseDNC-General and SC-PseDNC-General methods as some feature extraction strategies were investigated. Methods: The classifiers of the Decision tree, KNN, LDA, and Naïve Bayes, as well as k-fold cross-validation, were employed for all methods of feature extraction to compare their performances based on the criteria of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and f-score performance measures. Results: The outcome of the study showed that the BLBFE strategy classified the riboswitches indicating 87.65% average correct classification rate (CCR). Moreover, the performance of the proposed feature extraction method was confirmed with average values of 94.31%, 85.01%, 95.45% and 85.38% for accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and f-score, respectively. Conclusion: Our result approved the performance of the BLBFE strategy in the classification and discrimination of the riboswitch groups showing remarkable higher values of CCR, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and f-score relative to previously studied feature extraction methods

Does transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation reduce the laparoscopic related shoulder pain?

Objective Although laparoscopic surgery is a good substitute for laparotomy in reducing postsurgical pain, many patients complain of shoulder pain after laparoscopic surgery and require pain-relief. Post-operative pain management leads to increased patient satisfaction. Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is a non-pharmacological, non-invasive modality that reduces pain by activating the descending inhibitory systems in the central nervous system. Given the importance of decreasing shoulder pain after gynecological laparoscopy, the current study aimed to investigate the management of shoulder pain in these patients using TENS. Methods This was a retrospective case-control study. A total of 112 women aged 18–45 years who experienced shoulder pain due to gynecologic laparoscopic surgery were included in the study. Patients were divided into TENS and control groups. In the TENS group, TENS was used twice for 20 minutes each, but in the control group, the patients received regular treatment. Patients were evaluated at intervals of 2, 4, 8, 24, 48, and 72 hours after laparoscopy for shoulder pain score. Results The results showed a significant decrease in visual analog scale scores at 2, 4, and 8-hour in the TENS group compared with the control group. At 24 hours evaluation, although the pain was reduced, the difference was not significant. At 48- and 72-hour assessment, all patients in each group reported zero score for severity of pain. Conclusion The findings suggest that TENS significantly reduces postoperative shoulder pain

Royan Institute First Attempts: Autotransplantation of Vitrified Human Ovarian Tissue in Cancer Patients

Today, timely diagnosis and therapeutic progress open a road of hope for survival in cancerous patients. Increasedknowledge about the various cytotoxic treatment's impacts on ovarian function and fertility has resulted in a surgein the number of patients seeking to preserve their fertility before starting the anti-cancer treatment process. In thisregard, embryo cryopreservation can be recommended for fertility preservation when the woman is married and hasadequate time for ovarian stimulation. If patients are prepubertal girls or not married women, oocytes or ovarian tissuecan be frozen instead to be used in the future. In this regard, the first attempts for ovarian tissue transplantations wereconducted in 2016 and in 2019 for two cancerous patients whose ovarian tissue was cryopreserved in the RoyanHuman Ovarian Tissue Bank (Tehran, Iran). Unfortunately, the transplantations did not result in a live birth

Popularity and Harms of Aural Foreign Bodies: A Descriptive Study of Patients in Baqiyatallah University Hospital, Tehran, Iran.

peer reviewed[en] OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of external ear complications among Iranian aural foreign body users attending to otolaryngology clinic of our hospital. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study patients attending to Otolaryngology clinics of Baqiyatallah hospital were enrolled regardless of their age, gender and reason of attending. Patients between 15 and 60 years of age were included in the present study. Those with positive history of chronic ear diseases, ear surgery, congenital ear disorders, trauma to ear or head and neck region or shock wave trauma were excluded from the study. Demographic information as well as data on chief complaint, educational level, frequency and type of used foreign body and findings of physical examination and Otoscopy by a single otolaryngologist were recorded in a predesigned checklist. RESULTS: Eventually 362 patients (232 male and 130 female) with a mean age of 40.32 ± 16.90 years underwent analysis. Of all patients 244 (67.2%) were using a kind of aural foreign body frequently and Cotton bud was the most popular (63.5%) used foreign body among patients. Drying ear canal was the most common (54.9%) reason of using AFBs among study individuals followed by itching (29.5%) and pyorrhea (11.06%). Also 11 (4.5%) patients were using AFBs as a habit with no specific reason. Itching was the most prevalent symptom reported by both aural foreign body users (78%) and non-users (45.5%); however it was significantly higher among AFB users (p = 0.026). Also hearing loss was significantly more reported by AFB users (p = 0.033). A majority of patients had normal physical examination in both AFB users and non-users group. Inflammation of ear canal was significantly more detected in AFB users (p = 0.004). In addition, rate of right ear wax impaction was higher among AFB users (p = 0.016). CONCLUSION: In conclusion we realized that 67.2% of patients attending to Otolaryngology clinic of our hospital were using a kind of aural foreign bodies and itching was the most common chief complaint of these patients

A Comparison between Conventional and Video Methods of Health Education on Improvement of Oral Health in Elementary School Students of Qomrood Village, 2018, (Iran)

Background and Objectives: Oral and dental diseases are one of the most important problems of today’s society. To reduce the cost and outcomes of these diseases, prevention and control of plaque is of high importance. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of conventional and video education methods on children’s dental health.   Methods: This interventional study was performed on 66 male elementary school students in Qomrood village in 2018. The students were randomly assigned to one of the two groups of conventional and video education methods. The amount of plaque index and bleeding on probing (BOP), were recorded in checklist before and after 2 weeks of education. The data were analyzed by independent and paired t-tests.   Results: In the conventional group, the mean plaque index before the intervention was reported to be 58.66±16.95 and after intervention 18.60±10.76; also, the mean BOP was 1.28±1.97 before intervention and 0.16±0.46 after intervention. In video education group, the mean plaque index before the intervention was 53.84±14.08 and after intervention 19.29±10.91, and the mean BOP was obtained 1.68±3.71 before intervention and 0.31±0.76 after intervention. The result of paired samples t-test showed the changes of both group were significant, but the result of independent samples t-test, there was no significant difference between the changes of the two groups.   Conclusion: According to the results of this research, both methods of conventional education and video education have significant effect on reduction of plaque index and BOP, but, there is no significant difference between the effectiveness of these methods

Increased risk of endometriosis by long term exposure to xenoestrogens: A case control study in Iranian women

Aims of the study: Endometriosis is a prevalent gynecologic disorder in young women at reproductive age but the underlying risk factors have not identified yet in Iran and other neighboring countries. Persistent exposure to environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in particular dioxins, PAHs and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) with xenoestrogenic potentials have been hypothesized in the etiopathogenesis of endometriosis .We aimed in the present study to investigate the joint effects of endogenous and exogenous sources of estrogens on the incidence of endometriosis in Iranian women who born and lived in Tehran .Methods: The age matched study population consisted of 34 women with endometriosis and 100 healthy women who underwent surgery from March 2009 to March 2012 . Results: Out of evaluated exogenous sources of estrogen exposure, living near xenoestrogen producing factories (p<0.001*, OR= 16.8, CI 95%5-56.8) in women with lower economical status (p= 0.001, OR=8.29 Cl95%, 3.37-20.37) was identified as the most important risk factor of endometriosis. The prevalence of this phenomenon was higher in women with histories of malignancy in their first degree family (P=0.014, OR=3.08, CI95% 1.23-8.53), infertility (p<0.001, OR=13.07, Cl95%, 5.14-33.23), hormonal dysregulations (p=0.003, OR=8.38, CI95%, 2.03-34.61) and bipolar disorders (p=0.046, OR=3.44, CI95%, 1.11-10.68). Conclusion: Incidence and development of endometriosis is dependent on long term exposure to environmental xenoestrogens especially in women with lower economical status which may affect the endogenous levels of estrogen in women with background factors

Evolutionary Origin and Conserved Structural Building Blocks of Riboswitches and Ribosomal RNAs: Riboswitches as Probable Target Sites for Aminoglycosides Interaction

Purpose: Riboswitches, as noncoding RNA sequences, control gene expression through direct ligand binding. Sporadic reports on the structural relation of riboswitches with ribosomal RNAs (rRNA), raises an interest in possible similarity between riboswitches and rRNAs evolutionary origins. Since aminoglycoside antibiotics affect microbial cells through binding to functional sites of the bacterial rRNA, finding any conformational and functional relation between riboswitches/rRNAs is utmost important in both of medicinal and basic research. Methods: Analysis of the riboswitches structures were carried out using bioinformatics and computational tools. The possible functional similarity of riboswitches with rRNAs was evaluated based on the affinity of paromomycin antibiotic (targeting “A site” of 16S rRNA) to riboswitches via docking method. Results: There was high structural similarity between riboswitches and rRNAs, but not any particular sequence based similarity between them was found. The building blocks including "hairpin loop containing UUU", "peptidyl transferase center conserved hairpin A loop"," helix 45" and "S2 (G8) hairpin" as high identical rRNA motifs were detected in all kinds of riboswitches. Surprisingly, binding energies of paromomycin with different riboswitches are considerably better than the binding energy of paromomycin with “16S rRNA A site”. Therefore the high affinity of paromomycin to bind riboswitches in comparison with rRNA “A site” suggests a new insight about riboswitches as possible targets for aminoglycoside antibiotics. Conclusion: These findings are considered as a possible supporting evidence for evolutionary origin of riboswitches/rRNAs and also their role in the exertion of antibiotics effects to design new drugs based on the concomitant effects via rRNA/riboswitches