External Elastic Lamina (EEL) Breaks in Femoropopliteal Artery

External Elastic Lamina (EEL) Breaks in Femoropopliteal Artery Elham Zamani1, Majid Jadidi1 1 Department of Biomechanics, University of Nebraska Omaha, Omaha, NE Introduction: Elastic fibers are significant components of the arterial wall and are crucial for maintaining the compliance and resilience of blood vessels. These fibers are thought to be only produced before puberty, and their production is ceased beyond adolescence. In the femoropopliteal artery (FPA), the main artery of the leg, these fibers are found primarily in the external elastic lamina (EEL) and are oriented longitudinally. Our research team has observed long breaks in the EEL, which were often found to be filled with thin elastic fibers. In this project, we aimed to examine these breaks in detail and determine whether the fibers filling the break have the characteristics of new elastic fibers. Methods: In this preliminary study, we obtained paraffin-embedded blocks from longitudinal sections of 5 human FPA specimens (41±18 years). The blocks were sectioned with a microtome and stained with Verhoeff-Van Gieson (VVG), Movat’s Pentachrome, Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), and Periodic acid–Schiff (PAS). Multiphoton microscopy was employed to verify the presence of elastin cores in the thin fibers and quantify the 3D structure of the elastic fibers. First, using the VVG and Movat stains, we determined whether the breaks had thin fibers filling the gap. Then we further assessed the breaks with H&E and PAS to determine the morphology of cells and microfibrillar components around the elastic fibers. Results: In younger samples, most of the thin fibers filling the EEL breaks reacted positively to PAS and were autofluorescent in younger samples. These results indices that the thin fibers have an elastin core and are surrounded by a high density of microfibrillar structures. Discussion: These results suggest that the thin fibers filling the EEL break in human FPA samples have the characteristics of newly synthesized elastic fibers. However, to better understand these breaks, similar experiments need to be performed on a large sample size with a more comprehensive histology and immunohistochemistry analysis

The Improved Overhearing Backup AODV Protocol in MANET

Mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is one of the most widely used networks, which has attracted attentions, having features such as limited energy resources, limited bandwidth, and security weaknesses due to lack of a central infrastructure. Safe and suitable routing is one of the research aspects of MANET. In this paper, a proposed method, called M-AODV, which is a type of overhearing backup protocol, based on AODV, is presented. The simulation results of this protocol, applied by NS2 simulator, showed the improvement of packet delivery rate and reduction of overhead and delay. Moreover, to assess the security of the proposed protocol, we simulated M-AODV and AODV protocols under black hole and wormhole attacks, using no security solution. The results showed that M-AODV had been improved in terms of packet delivery ratio, and the delay had been reduced as well, but the amount of overhead had been increased

Comparative study of oral probiotic and dimethicone on infantile colic

زمینه و هدف: کولیک شیرخواری یکی از شایع ‌ترین مشکلات شیرخواران در 3 ماه اول زندگی است و حدود 28-3 شیرخواران را درگیر می‌کند. این بیماری باعث نگرانی زیادی برای والدین و مشکلات درمانی برای متخصصین کودکان نیز می‌شود. پاتوژنز این بیماری هنوز ناشناخته است. هدف این مطالعه بررسی اثر پروبیوتیک لاکتوباسیلوس روتری (Lactobacillus reuteri) بر روی بهبود علائم و نشانه‌های کولیک شیرخواری در یک مطالعه آینده‌نگر بود. روش بررسی: این مطالعه از نوع کار آزمایی بالینی مورد شاهدی است. تعداد 70 شیرخوار با معیارهای کولیک شیرخواری وارد مطالعه شدند و به‌صورت تصادفی در دو گروه دریافت پروبیوتیک لاکتوباسیلوس روتری (108 باکتری زنده روزانه) یا دایمتیکون (20 میلی‌گرم سه بار در روز) برای 28 روز قرار گرفتند. یافته‌ها: 70 شیرخوار 34 بیمار در گروه پروبیوتیک و 36 نفر در گروه دایمتیکون مورد بررسی قرار گرفتند. میانگین سنی گروه‌های پروبیوتیک و دیمتیکون به ترتیب 41/35 و 43/5 روز بوده است. میزان متوسط زمان گریه در دو گروه پروبیوتیک و دایمتیکون از میزان اولیه 206 دقیقه روزانه به 47±78/2 و 36/5±173/8 دقیقه روزانه به ترتیب بعد از دو هفته رسید. درنهایت 88 و 9 شیرخواران در گروه پروبیوتیک و دایمتیکون بهبود یافتند. عارضه جانبی برای هیچ‌کدام از دو دارو مشاهده نشد. نتیجه‌گیری: داروی پروبیوتیک علائم و نشانه‌های کولیک را به‌صورت قابل‌توجه در شیرخواران شیر مادر خوار کاهش داد که می‌تواند بیانگر نقش مهم این دارو نه‌تنها در بهبود معیارهای کولیک بلکه در کاهش شدت دفع گاز شیرخواران که نشانه شدت نفخ شکم است، باشد

Reasons of cigarette smoking among the girl students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Iran

BACKGROUND: Smoking has been a public health problem in the world. In fact, it has been mentioned as a preventable factor of death and diseases. So, the goal of doing this research was to determine the frequency of smoking tendency and its correlate factors among the girl students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study using simple random sampling method. Data collection instruments were confirmed questionnaires. The statistical population included all the girl students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. The data were analyzed using SPSS software.RESULTS: The prevalence of smoking cigarette among the girl students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences was 1.8%, as well as 2.2% for hookah consumption. Considering the relationship between smoking and residence situation, 22.1% of native students and 24.8% of alien students had experienced smoking.CONCLUSION: Results of this study showed a low prevalence of smoking (1.8%) among the girl students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences

Effects of salicylic acid on the growth and pathogenicity of Zymoseptoria tritici

Introduction: Zymoseptoria tritici, is a species of filamentous fungus and causes the widespread wheat disease Septoria tritici blotch (STB). Salicylic acid has a key role in plant defence reactions and is also involved in the induction of systemic acquired resistance. However, the contribution of SA to the interaction of Z. tritici -wheat in STB is not entirely clear.In this study, it was shown that the Z. tritici mycelial growth and conidia germination were significantly inhibited the presence of increasing concentration of SA in both liquid and solid media. In addition, the effect of SA on pathogenicity of Z. tritici in wheat was investigated. Materials and methods: In this study, the inhibitory effect of SA on Z. tritici at different concentrations (1 to 20 mM) in vitro, and also, the efficacy of its exogenous application in the suppression of STB in wheat under the greenhouse condition were investigated. In vitro evaluation was done on YMDA and YMDB to determine the effect of SA on the germination of conidia and growth of mycelium, respectively.  Susceptible bread wheat cultivar was grown in pot and inoculated with fungus spores and SA in a three-leaf stage for green house experiments. Results: The results showed that the germination ofconidia was completely inhibited by 4 mM SA. Furthermore, in modified YMDA plates at over 0.8 mM, the colonies diameter was reduced significantly. The result of in planta assay indicated that the foliar application of 4 mM SA can significantly reduce the disease symptoms on the wheat leaves. Discussion and conclusion: Regarding our data, it seems that SA shows more inhibitory effect in in vitro experiments than in planta. Moreover, according to the positive effects of SA on STB, the survey results can be considered as a potential approach in the management of this disease

Reasons of cigarette smoking among the girl students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Iran

BACKGROUND: Smoking has been a public health problem in the world. In fact, it has been mentioned as a preventable factor of death and diseases. So, the goal of doing this research was to determine the frequency of smoking tendency and its correlate factors among the girl students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study using simple random sampling method. Data collection instruments were confirmed questionnaires. The statistical population included all the girl students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. RESULTS: The prevalence of smoking cigarette among the girl students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences was 1.8%, as well as 2.2% for hookah consumption. Considering the relationship between smoking and residence situation, 22.1% of native students and 24.8% of alien students had experienced smoking. CONCLUSION: Results of this study showed a low prevalence of smoking (1.8%) among the girl students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences

Clonidine Versus Chloral Hydrate for Recording Sleep EEG in Children

ObjectiveOne of the difficulties for conduct electroencephalography (EEG) in pediatric patient population is that they are not always cooperative during the procedure. Different medications have been used to induce sedation during EEG recording. In order to find a medication with least adverse effects and high efficacy, we aimed to compare clonidine and chloral hydrate as a premedication prior EEG performing in pediatric population. Materials & MethodsA prospective, randomized, single-blinded, controlled trial was carried out over 198 children (9 to 156 months) to investigate the sedative and adverse effects of clonidine and chloral hydrate. Patients, partially sleep-deprived the night before, were randomly divided in two groups of clonidine (100 patients) and chloral hydrate (98 patients), on an alternative day basis.Results The average sleep onset latency was significantly longer in the clonidine group than chloral hydrate group (Mann-Whitney test, p < 0.0001). Sleep duration ranged between 15-150 minutes and it was not significantly different between two groups (Mann-Whitney test p = 0.2). Drowsiness with chloral hydrate terminated faster than with clonidine. Drowsiness after arousal was seen in 58% and 26.1% of patients in the clonidine and chloral hydrate groups respectively that was  significant  (Mann-Whitney test, p = 0.058). EEG results were reported normal in 77 subjects in the chloral hydrate group (77%) and in 69 subjects (69%) in the clonidine group (p = 0.161). Generalized epileptiform discharges  reported significantly  in the clonidine group  (Mann-Whitney test , p = 0.006).ConclusionThe results of this study showed that both chloral hydrate 5% (one ml/kg)and clonidine (4 μg/kg)could be administered as a pre medication agent for EEG recording in children , although drowsiness after arousal of clonidine is greater than chloral hydrate . However, the yield of generalized epileptiform discharges in the clonidine group was more than the chloral hydrate group.

Nanocasting Synthesis of Ultrafine WO3 Nanoparticles for Gas Sensing Applications

Ultrafine WO3 nanoparticles were synthesized by nanocasting route, using mesoporous SiO2 as a template. BET measurements showed a specific surface area of 700 m 2/gr for synthesized SiO2, while after impregnation and template removal, this area was reduced to 43 m 2/gr for WO3 nanoparticles. HRTEM results showed single crystalline nanoparticles with average particle size of about 5 nm possessing a monoclinic structure, which is the favorite crystal structure for gas sensing applications. Gas sensor was fabricated by deposition of WO3 nanoparticles between electrodes via low frequency AC electrophoretic deposition. Gas sensing measurements showed that this material has a high sensitivity to very low concentrations of NO2 at 250°C and 300°C