Hematoporphyrin encapsulated polymeric nanomicelles

Nowadays, developements in nanotechnology have leeds an increased application of this newborn technology in cancer treatment. In this study, a stabilized micelle was developed to load HpD in order to be used in photodynamic treatment of cancer in an animal model. To construct micelles, Pluronic P-105 was used and stabilized to encapsulate HpD. This process includes a 24 h polymerization in which the first 3.5 h was in the presence of N2 purge and was continued at 65°C. In this reaction, NNDEA and benzoil peroxide (BP) were used for stabilization of micelles and initiation of reaction, respectively. DLS analysis of micelles revealed that the size of them before and after drug encapsulation was 14 nm and 23.5 nm, respectively. To assess drug loading, drug standard curve was obtained and its loading was obtained as 2 mg/ml. To extract free drug from complex, it was dialyzed against water and its stability profile was measured up to one month which was more than 80%. According to obtained results, this complex could be used to reduce side effects in photodynamic therapy. Besides, according to tumor characteristics and physical properties of micelles, it is possible to enhance drug release and uptake at tumor site

The Effect of Muscular Fatigue on Neck Proprioception Performance between Elite Athletes and Non-Athletes

Introduction: The poor performance of neck proprioception is a risky factor for athlete’s head and neck injury. Muscle fatigue as an inevitable factor of any physical activity can cause disorder in proprioception performance. This study intends to investigate the effect of cervical muscular fatigue on neck proprioception performance in elite karate athletes in comparison to non-athletes. Materials and Methods: Sixteen professional karate athletes and sixteen non-athletes participated in this study. Cervicocephalic relocation test measuring angle repositioning error during active cervical extension and rotation movements was used to assess neck proprioception ability, before and after isotonic muscular fatigue. Data were analyzed by independent T-test and paired T-test with SPSS (version 20) and alpha level set at 0/05. Results: There is no significant difference in neck sense status before and after neck muscular fatigue in both groups. Also, there is significant difference in neck proprioception performance between karate athletes and non-athletes following extension (P<0.05). In addition, athletes had greater joint position errors than non-athletes. Discussion: Although muscular fatigue did not affect proprioceptive neck performance, probably the effects of degenerative changes in neck proprioception and the acceleration repeated movements in karate athletes weaken their neck proprioception function in some direction in comparison to non-athletes. Therefore, it is important to improve the performance of neck proprioception in karate athlete's trough special neck proprioception training.Key words: Martial Arts, Proprioception, Muscle Fatigu

Assessment of absorbed dose in critical organs in OPG: a phantom study

Orthopantomography is a well-established imaging technique in dental diagnosis. Although its exposure to individuals is relatively low compared to other diagnostic radiology examinations, it is still the most frequent X-ray examination. So it is important to estimate absorbed dose to critical organs in this examination. The present study was designed to determine the radiation doses to eyes, parotid, thyroid, submandibular gland and brain using Gafchromic films in an anthropomorphic head and neck phantom in three imaging centers, one digital and the remainders analogue. The absorbed dose to brain was measured globally with two vertically and horizontally embedded films in the phantom and submandibular, parotid and thyroid glands were also measured at their correct position in the phantom. The dose to the eyes was measured at the surface.Each measurement was triplicated and results were presented as mean (SD).After calibration of the films, they were embedded in the phantom and it was exposed with similar conditions for an adult patient. Absorbed doses were from 0.97-3.12 mGyfor brain, 1.23-3.02 mGy forleft parotid, 1.19-4.54 mGy for right parotid, 1.27-4.46 mGy left thyroid, 1.56-3.88 mGy for right thyroid, 1.45-2.83 mGy for Submandibular, 1.55-2.38 for right eye and 1.39-3.77 mGy for left eye.Our results showed similar depth and surface doses at all. Due to the direction of X-ray tube rotation, in the analogue devices in which the direction of rotation was right to left, doses of left sided organs were higher, and in the digital device that the direction was left to right, doses of right sided organs were higher. The absorbed doses in digital device were significantly lower than the analogue devices (p-value≤0.05)

A Heuristic Algorithm for Nonlinear Lexicography Goal Programming with an Efficient Initial Solution

In this paper,  a heuristic algorithm is proposed in order to solve a nonlinear lexicography goal programming (NLGP) by using an efficient initial point. Some numerical experiments showed that the search quality by the proposed heuristic in a multiple objectives problem depends on the initial point features, so in the proposed approach the initial point is retrieved by Data Envelopment Analysis to be selected as an efficient solution. There are some weaknesses in classic NLGP algorithm that lead to trapping into the local optimum, so a simulated annealing concept is implemented during the searching stage to increase the diversity of search in the solution space. Some numerical examples with different sizes were generated and comparison of results confirms that the proposed solution heuristic is more efficient than the classic approach. Moreover the proposed approach was extended for cases with ordinal weights of inputs or outputs. The computational experiments for 5 numerical instances and the statistical analysis indicate that the proposed heuristic algorithm is a robust procedure to find better preferred solution comparing to the classic NLGP

The role of T helper 9(Th9) against Infectious Diseases

Background and aims: Infectious diseases are disorders caused by organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites .The Th9 subset develops in response to combined signals from TGF-b and IL-4 among a cacophony of other cytokines in an extracellular milieu. T helper 9 (Th9) cells, as a novel CD4 T cell subset, seem to play a complex role in the outcome of specific immune responses. In this article, we aimed to review the role of these cells in infectious disease. Methods: In this mini-review study, we study 25 novel articles since 2009 to 2014 about the role of T helper 9 in some Infectious Diseases. Results: Pleural mesothelial cells promoted Th9 cell differentiation by presenting antigen. It significantly differentiated Th17, but not Th9 cells in the development of CVB3-induced VMC. The microenvironment of VMC seemed to contribute to the differentiation and proliferation of Th17 rather than to differentiation of Th9 cells. Having reviewed the limited number of articles considering this relevance, we came to this result that Lymphatic Filariasis and mycobacterium tuberculosis infections confirmed the existence of such relationship. In addition, Rapamycin resistant murine Th9 cells have a stable in vivo phenotype and inhibit graft-versus-host reactivity but concerning Viral Myocarditis, Th9 cells could not protect against it. Conclusion: The accurate molecular mechanisms underlying the generation and differentiation of human Th9 cells are not elucidated completely. Th9 cells exhibit Ag specific expansion in a chronic helminth infection (lymphatic filariasis), but in relevance to viral myocarditis, Th9 cells did not play an efficient role against it. However; knowing that whether Th9 cells participate in the protection against infections needs further research

Factors Affecting the Development of Sports Entrepreneurship (Case Study: Ardabil Province in Iran)

Entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in the economic and sustainable development of all countries. The current research aimed to identify the opportunities and threats of the external environment of sports entrepreneurship in Ardabil, Iran based on the PESTLE model by examining the past and existing processes. A mixed approach was used to collect and analyze the research data. The research tool consisted of interviews and strategic council meetings. Theoretical and snowball sampling methods were used to reach the theoretical saturation (15 Experts). For analyzing the collected data in the qualitative section, a logical inductive method was used. The findings revealed that strategic environmental components of entrepreneurship in Ardabil province included: Ecological factors, Cultural and Social Factors, Political factors, Legal and juridical factors, Economic Factors, & Technological factors. According to the findings, considering the extracted factors in the process of spot entrepreneurship management can pave the way for developing entrepreneurship in sport setting

The potential prognostic and therapeutic application of tissue and circulating microRNAs in cervical cancer

Cervical cancer (CC) is a common malignancy in women and a major cause of cancer- related mortality globally. Some novel biomarkers may enable the early diagnosis and monitoring of CC. MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that control gene translation at a post transcriptional level. Hence the deregulation of these molecules can cause many diseases. There appears to be an association between aberrant miRNA expression and CC, but the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of CC remain unknown. The upregulation of some circulating miRNAs, e.g. miRNA-20a, miRNA-203, miRNA-21, miRNA-205, miRNA-218, and miR-485-5, as well as tissue specific-miRNAs, e.g. miR-7, miR-10a, miR-17-5p, miR-135b, miR-149 and miR-203 has been found in patients with CC. There is also growing evidence for the importance of miRNAs in the development of drug-resistance. This review therefore highlights recently published preclinical and clinical investigation performed on tissue-specific and circulating miRNAs, as potential biomarkers for the detection of patients at early stages of CC, in the prediction of prognosis, and monitoring of their response to therapy. Key word: cervical cancer, CIN, MiRNA, circulating biomarker, tissue-specific biomarker, HP

Sensitive and selective electrochemical detection of bisphenol A based on SBA-15 like Cu-PMO modified glassy carbon electrode

This work reports the electrochemical detection of bisphenol A (BPA) using a novel and sensitive electrochemical sensor based on the Cu functionalized SBA-15 like periodic mesoporous organosilica-ionic liquid composite modified glassy carbon electrode (Cu@TU-PMO/IL/GCE). The structural morphology of Cu@TU-PMO is characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The catalytic activity of the modified electrode toward oxidation of BPA was interrogated with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) in phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0) using the fabricated sensor. The electrochemical detection of the analyte was carried out at a neutral pH and the scan rate studies revealed that the sensor was stable. Under the optimal conditions, a linear range from 5.0 nM to 2.0 mu M and 4.0 to 500 mu M for detecting BPA was observed with a detection limit of 1.5 nM (S/N = 3). The sensor was applied to detect BPA in tap and seawater samples, and the accuracy of the results was validated by high-performance l

Global, regional, and national burden of chronic kidney disease, 1990–2017 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background Health system planning requires careful assessment of chronic kidney disease (CKD) epidemiology, but data for morbidity and mortality of this disease are scarce or non-existent in many countries. We estimated the global, regional, and national burden of CKD, as well as the burden of cardiovascular disease and gout attributable to impaired kidney function, for the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017. We use the term CKD to refer to the morbidity and mortality that can be directly attributed to all stages of CKD, and we use the term impaired kidney function to refer to the additional risk of CKD from cardiovascular disease and gout. Methods The main data sources we used were published literature, vital registration systems, end-stage kidney disease registries, and household surveys. Estimates of CKD burden were produced using a Cause of Death Ensemble model and a Bayesian meta-regression analytical tool, and included incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability, mortality, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). A comparative risk assessment approach was used to estimate the proportion of cardiovascular diseases and gout burden attributable to impaired kidney function. Findings Globally, in 2017, 1·2 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 1·2 to 1·3) people died from CKD. The global all-age mortality rate from CKD increased 41·5% (95% UI 35·2 to 46·5) between 1990 and 2017, although there was no significant change in the age-standardised mortality rate (2·8%, −1·5 to 6·3). In 2017, 697·5 million (95% UI 649·2 to 752·0) cases of all-stage CKD were recorded, for a global prevalence of 9·1% (8·5 to 9·8). The global all-age prevalence of CKD increased 29·3% (95% UI 26·4 to 32·6) since 1990, whereas the age-standardised prevalence remained stable (1·2%, −1·1 to 3·5). CKD resulted in 35·8 million (95% UI 33·7 to 38·0) DALYs in 2017, with diabetic nephropathy accounting for almost a third of DALYs. Most of the burden of CKD was concentrated in the three lowest quintiles of Socio-demographic Index (SDI). In several regions, particularly Oceania, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America, the burden of CKD was much higher than expected for the level of development, whereas the disease burden in western, eastern, and central sub-Saharan Africa, east Asia, south Asia, central and eastern Europe, Australasia, and western Europe was lower than expected. 1·4 million (95% UI 1·2 to 1·6) cardiovascular disease-related deaths and 25·3 million (22·2 to 28·9) cardiovascular disease DALYs were attributable to impaired kidney function. Interpretation Kidney disease has a major effect on global health, both as a direct cause of global morbidity and mortality and as an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. CKD is largely preventable and treatable and deserves greater attention in global health policy decision making, particularly in locations with low and middle SDI

Global, regional, and national levels and trends in burden of oral conditions from 1990 to 2017 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease 2017 Study

Government and nongovernmental organizations need national and global estimates on the descriptive epidemiology of common oral conditions for policy planning and evaluation. The aim of this component of the Global Burden of Disease study was to produce estimates on prevalence, incidence, and years lived with disability for oral conditions from 1990 to 2017 by sex, age, and countries. In addition, this study reports the global socioeconomic pattern in burden of oral conditions by the standard World Bank classification of economies as well as the Global Burden of Disease Socio-demographic Index. The findings show that oral conditions remain a substantial population health challenge. Globally, there were 3.5 billion cases (95% uncertainty interval [95% UI], 3.2 to 3.7 billion) of oral conditions, of which 2.3 billion (95% UI, 2.1 to 2.5 billion) had untreated caries in permanent teeth, 796 million (95% UI, 671 to 930 million) had severe periodontitis, 532 million (95% UI, 443 to 622 million) had untreated caries in deciduous teeth, 267 million (95% UI, 235 to 300 million) had total tooth loss, and 139 million (95% UI, 133 to 146 million) had other oral conditions in 2017. Several patterns emerged when the World Bank’s classification of economies and the Socio-demographic Index were used as indicators of economic development. In general, more economically developed countries have the lowest burden of untreated dental caries and severe periodontitis and the highest burden of total tooth loss. The findings offer an opportunity for policy makers to identify successful oral health strategies and strengthen them; introduce and monitor different approaches where oral diseases are increasing; plan integration of oral health in the agenda for prevention of noncommunicable diseases; and estimate the cost of providing universal coverage for dental care