The impact of sterilization, body environment condition and raster orientation on tensile-shear cracking of sub-sized 3D printed specimens

Use of 3D printed parts in biomedical applications has received attention recently. The applied loads, manufacturing pre-processing factors or in vivo conditions may affect the reliability and integrity of such implants. To obtain deeper understand regarding the cracking resistance and microstructure of extrusion-based 3D printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) material a number of sub-sized and short bend beam samples are manufactured. The influence of raster orientation, Gamma radiation sterilization, body environment (saline 0.9% at temperature of 37 °C) and combined Sterilized process & body environment was studied on the mixed-mode I + II fracture toughness and strain energy release rate values. It was observed that exposing the 3D printed ABS material to Gamma-radiation process can increase noticeably the mixed mode fracture resistance compared to the control sample. Printing pattern with raster orientation of ±45° provided a higher mixed-mode fracture envelope compared to pattern of 0/90° for all investigated environments. The microstructure study of SEM pictures obtained from the investigated samples showed dominantly ductile type fracture with some evidences such as formation of dimples and ridge markings. The depth and number of ridge markings and dimples were increased by moving towards mode II (shear mode loading) and for the samples exposed to body environment

Blood Lead Levels in Asymptomatic Opium Addict Patients; a Case Control Study

Introduction: One of the newest non-occupational sources of lead contamination is drug addiction, which has recently been addressed as a major source of lead poisoning in some countries. The present study aimed to investigate the blood lead level (BLL) of asymptomatic opium addicts.Methods: This case-control study was conducted during a one-year period to compare BLL of three groups consisting of opium addicts, patients under methadone maintenance therapy (MMT), and healthy individuals.Results: 99 participants with the mean age of 55.43±12.83 years were studied in three groups of 33 cases (53.5% male). The mean lead level in opium addicts, MMT and control groups were 80.30 ± 6.03 μg/L, 67.94 ± 4.42 μg/L, and 57.30±4.77 μg/L, respectively (p=0.008). There was no significant difference in BLL between MMT and healthy individuals (p=0.433) and also between opium addicts and MMT individuals (p=0.271).Oral opium abusers had significantly higher lead levels (p = 0.036). There was a significant correlation between BLL and duration of drug abuse in opium addict cases (r=0.398, p=0.022). The odds ratio of having BLL ≥ 100 in oral opium users was 2.1 (95% CI: 0.92 - 4.61; p = 0.43).Conclusion:  Based on the result of present study, when compared to healthy individuals, opium addicts, especially those who took substance orally had significantly higher levels of blood lead, and their odds of having BLL ≥ 100 was two times. Therefore, screening for BLL in opium addicts, particularly those with non-specific complaints, could be useful

Clinical Breast Cancer Registry of IR. Iran (CBCR-IR):Study Protocol and First Results

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC), as a significant global health problem, is the most common cancer in women. Despite the importance of clinical cancer registries in improving the quality of cancer care and cancer research, there are few reports on them from low- and middle-income countries. We established a multicenter clinical breast cancer registry in Iran (CBCR-IR) to collect data on BC cases, the pattern of care, and the quality-of-care indicators in different hospitals across the country.METHODS: We established a clinical cancer registry in 12 provinces of Iran. We defined the organizational structure, developed minimal data sets and data dictionaries, verified data sources and registration processes, and developed the necessary registry software. During this registry, we studied the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with cancer who were admitted from 2014 onwards.RESULTS: We registered 13086 BC cases (7874 eligible cases) between 1.1.2014 and 1.1.2022. Core needle biopsy from the tumor (61.25%) and diagnostic mammography (68.78%) were the two most commonly used diagnostic methods. Stage distribution was 2.03% carcinoma in situ, 12% stage I, 44.65% stage II, 21.32% stage III, and 4.61% stage IV; stage information was missing in 1532 patients (19.46%). Surgery (95.01%) and chemotherapy (79.65%) were the most common treatments for all patients.CONCLUSION: The information provided by this registry can be used to evaluate and improve the quality of care for BC patients. It will be scaled up to the national level as an important resource for measuring quality of care and conducting clinical cancer research in Iran.</p

Clinical Breast Cancer Registry of IR. Iran (CBCR-IR):Study Protocol and First Results

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC), as a significant global health problem, is the most common cancer in women. Despite the importance of clinical cancer registries in improving the quality of cancer care and cancer research, there are few reports on them from low- and middle-income countries. We established a multicenter clinical breast cancer registry in Iran (CBCR-IR) to collect data on BC cases, the pattern of care, and the quality-of-care indicators in different hospitals across the country.METHODS: We established a clinical cancer registry in 12 provinces of Iran. We defined the organizational structure, developed minimal data sets and data dictionaries, verified data sources and registration processes, and developed the necessary registry software. During this registry, we studied the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with cancer who were admitted from 2014 onwards.RESULTS: We registered 13086 BC cases (7874 eligible cases) between 1.1.2014 and 1.1.2022. Core needle biopsy from the tumor (61.25%) and diagnostic mammography (68.78%) were the two most commonly used diagnostic methods. Stage distribution was 2.03% carcinoma in situ, 12% stage I, 44.65% stage II, 21.32% stage III, and 4.61% stage IV; stage information was missing in 1532 patients (19.46%). Surgery (95.01%) and chemotherapy (79.65%) were the most common treatments for all patients.CONCLUSION: The information provided by this registry can be used to evaluate and improve the quality of care for BC patients. It will be scaled up to the national level as an important resource for measuring quality of care and conducting clinical cancer research in Iran.</p