Search results for: occupational therapy practitioner

Authors: Manh Tin Ho, Phorl Sophors, Ga Young Seo, Young Mee Kim, Youngho Lim, Moonjae Cho

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UV radiation in sunlight is one of the most potential factor induced skin ageing and photocarcinogenesis. UV may induce the melanin production and wrinkle formation. Recently, the natural secondary compounds have been reported that had the beneficial protective effects from UV light. In this study, we investigated the effects of two different compounds, glycitin and 38, on human dermal fibroblast. We first only treated the 38 on melanocyte cell to test the proliferation inhibition of 38 on this cell line. Then, we induced the combination of glycitin and 38 on human dermal fibroblast in 48h and investigate the proliferation, collagen production and the metalloproteinase family expression. The 38 alone could inhibit the proliferation of melanocyte which indicated the reduction of melanin production. The combination of glycitin and 38 truly increased the fibroblast proliferation and even they could recover the UV-induced and H2O2-induced damaged fibroblast proliferation. The co-treatment also promoted the collagen IV expression significantly and accelerated the total collagen secretion. In addition, metalloproteinase (MMPs) family such as MMP1, MMP2, MMP7 was down-regulated in transcriptional level. In conclusion, the combination of glycitin and 38 has induced the fibroblast proliferation even when it was damaged by UV exposure and H2O2, whereas augmented collagen production and inhibited the MMPs caused the wrinkle formation and decreased the melanocyte proliferation, suggested an potential UV-protective therapy.

Keywords: UV radiation, wrinkle, ageing, glycitin, dermal fibroblast

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Authors: Atena Naeimi, Mehri-Sadat Ekrami-Kakhki

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Fe3O4 is one of the important magnetic oxides with spinel structure; it has exhibited unique electric and magnetic properties based on the electron transfer between Fe2+ and Fe3+ in the octahedral sites. Fe3O4 have received considerable attention in various areas such as cancer therapy, drug targeting, enzyme immobilization catalysis, magnetic cell separation, magnetic refrigeration systems and super-paramagnetic materials. Fe3O4–ZnO nanostructures were synthesized via a surfactant-free ultrasonic reaction at room temperatures. The effect of various parameters such as temperature, time, and power on the size and morphology of the product was investigated. Alternating gradient force magnetometer shows that Fe3O4 nanoparticles exhibit super-paramagnetic behaviour at room temperature. For preparation of nanocomposite 1 g of Fe3O4 nanostructures were dispersed in 100 mL of distilled water. 0.25 g of Zn (NO3)2 and 20 mL of NH3 solution 1 M were then slowly added to the solution under ultrasonic irradiation. The product was centrifuged, washed with distilled water and dried in the air. The photocatalytic behaviour of Fe3O4–ZnO nanoparticles was evaluated using the degradation of a methyl orange aqueous solution under ultraviolet light irradiation. As time increased, more and more methyl orange was adsorbed on the nanoparticles catalyst, until the absorption peak vanish. The methyl orange concentration decreased rapidly with increasing UV-irradiation time.

Keywords: nanocomposite, ultrasonic, paramagnetic, photocatalytic

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Authors: Mahdieh Jajroudi

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Developing a pharmacokinetic model for the neuroendocrine tumors therapy agent 177Lu-DOTATATE in nude mice bearing AR42J rat pancreatic tumor to investigate and evaluate the behavior of the complex was the main purpose of this study. The utilization of compartmental analysis permits the mathematical differencing of tissues and organs to become acquainted with the concentration of activity in each fraction of interest. Biodistribution studies are onerous and troublesome to perform in humans, but such data can be obtained facilely in rodents. A physiologically based pharmacokinetic model for scaling up activity concentration in particular organs versus time was developed. The mathematical model exerts physiological parameters including organ volumes, blood flow rates, and vascular permabilities; the compartments (organs) are connected anatomically. This allows the use of scale-up techniques to forecast new complex distribution in humans' each organ. The concentration of the radiopharmaceutical in various organs was measured at different times. The temporal behavior of biodistribution of 177Lu labeled somatostatin analogues was modeled and drawn as function of time. Conclusion: The variation of pharmaceutical concentration in all organs is characterized with summation of six to nine exponential terms and it approximates our experimental data with precision better than 1%.

Keywords: biodistribution modeling, compartmental analysis, 177Lu labeled somatostatin analogues, neuroendocrine tumors

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Authors: Muhammad Naveed Babur, Maria Liaqat

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Background & Objective: People with disabilities especially neurological disabilities have many unmet health and rehabilitation needs, face barriers in accessing mainstream health-care services, and consequently have poor health. There are not sufficient epidemiological studies from Pakistan which assess barriers to neurorehabilitation and ways to counter it. Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine the challenges and to evaluate the barriers for neuro-rehabilitation services in developing countries. Methods: This is Exploratory sequential qualitative study based on the Panel discussion forum in International rehabilitation sciences congress and national rehabilitation conference 2017. Panel group discussion has been conducted in February 2017 with a sample size of eight professionals including Rehabilitation medicine Physician, Physical Therapist, Speech Language therapist, Occupational Therapist, Clinical Psychologist and rehabilitation nurse working in multidisciplinary/Interdisciplinary team. A comprehensive audio-videography have been developed, recorded, transcripted and documented. Data was transcribed and thematic analysis along with characteristics was drawn manually. Data verification was done with the help of two separate coders. Results: After extraction of two separate coders following results are emerged. General category themes are disease profile, demographic profile, training and education, research, barriers, governance, global funding, informal care, resources and cultural beliefs and public awareness. Barriers identified at the level are high cost, stigma, lengthy course of recovery. Hospital related barriers are lack of social support and individually tailored goal setting processes. Organizational barriers identified are lack of basic diagnostic facilities, lack of funding and human resources. Recommendations given by panelists were investment in education, capacity building, infrastructure, governance support, strategies to promote communication and realistic goals. Conclusion: It is concluded that neurorehabilitation in developing countries need attention in following categories i.e. disease profile, demographic profile, training and education, research, barriers, governance, global funding, informal care, resources and cultural beliefs and public awareness. This study also revealed barriers at the level of patient, hospital, organization. Recommendations were also given by panelists.

Keywords: disability, neurorehabilitation, telerehabilitation, disability

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Authors: M. Sunitha, B. Nithyavani, Mathew Yohannan, S. Thiruvieni Balajji, M. A. Rathi, C. Arul Raj, P. Ragavendran, V. K. Gopalkrishnan

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Establishment of an early and reliable biomarker for ovarian carcinogenesis whose expression can be monitored through noninvasive techniques will enable early diagnosis of cancer. Carbonic anhydrases (CA) isozymes IX and XII have been suggested to play a role in oncogenic processes. In von Hippel-Lindau (VHL)-defective tumors, the cell surface transmembrane carbonic anhydrase (CA) CA XI and CA XII genes are overexpressed because of the absence of pVHL. These enzymes are involved in causing a hypoxia condition, thereby providing an environment for metastasis. Aberrant expression of the facilitative glucose transporter GLUT I is found in a wide spectrum of epithelial malignancies. Studying the mRNA expression of CA IX, CA XII and Glut I isozymes in ovarian cancer cell lines (OAW-42 and PA-1) revealed the expression of these hypoxia genes. Immunohistochemical staining of carbonic anhydrases was also performed in 40 ovarian cancer tissues. CA IX and CA XII were expressed at 540 bp and 520 bp in OAW42, PA1 in ovarian cancer cell lines. GLUT-1 was expressed at 325bp in OAW 42, PA1 genes in ovarian cancer cell lines. Immunohistochemistry revealed high to moderate levels of expression of these enzymes. The immuostaining was seen predominantly on the cell surface membrane. The study concluded that these genes CA IX, CA XII and Glut I are expressed under hypoxic condition in tumor cells. From the present results expression of CA IX, XII and Glut I may represent potential targets in ovarian cancer therapy.

Keywords: ovarian cancer, carbonic anhydrase IX, XII, Glut I, tumor markers

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Authors: Ismail Okur, Betul Taspinar, Turkan Pasali Kilit, Eda O. Okur, Ferruh Taspinar

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Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most important global health emergencies and every year more and more people are affected by T2DM. T2DM causes life-changing complications by affecting organ and systems. Although diet and exercise are the best way to treat patients with T2DM, those patients generally have a sedentary life style. This study was planned to determine whether patients with T2DM have kinesiophobia (fear of movement). A controlled trial was conducted on 87 adults. Forty-one individuals with T2DM (study group, 34 female and 7 male) and 46 nondiabetic individuals (control group, 39 female and 7 male) were included in the study. Patients were screened for fear of movement using the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK). The data including age, sex, weight, height, and TSK scores were obtained. Mann Whitney U test were used to analyse the data. The mean ages and BMI of study and control groups were 51.98 ± 6.03 year and 49.52 ± 5.61 year and 31.82 ± 2.88 kg/m2 and 30.22 ± 2.91 kg/m2, respectively. The groups have similar demographic properties. The kinesiophobia scores of study and control groups were 42.78 ± 5.50 and 39.48 ± 5.05, respectively and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.05). This study showed that patients with T2DM had high kinesiophobia scores rather than nondiabetics. Those patients might avoid to do exercise. In other words, patients with T2DM might have lower physical activity level. Therefore the authors suggest that to evaluate and interfere with kinesiophobia before conducting exercise therapy will be useful for diabetes care.

Keywords: diabetes, fear of movement, kinesiophobia, type 2 diabetes mellitus

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Authors: Briar Schulz

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The use of phototherapy within the counselling room offers significant advantages in extending far beyond typical "talk therapy" avenues. The benefits of using this approach are numerous and include: efficiency in recalling pertinent information in addition to utilizing a visual lens that often captures opulent detail that can be eluded in traditional dialogue. The goal of this presentation is to provide conference attendees with an opportunity to understand the therapeutic benefits and creative possibilities of incorporating photography into the clinical counselling process. This includes practical strategies for using in specific case studies, where studies of phototherapy have previously been limited. Ethical considerations and limitations to the process will also be addressed. Attendees will observe the benefits of using phototherapy with six longitudinal case studies including: a 30 year old female, with anorexia nervosa; a 22 year old self-harming individual with obsessive compulsive disorder; a 24 year old client with developmental delays, and bipolar disorder; a 14 year old client with Autism; and two clients with rare medical conditions struggling with depression and anxiety, one 21 years old and the other 16 years old. Aspects of each case will be linked to various theoretical modalities to highlight the efficiency and benefits of phototherapy in drawing important clinical conclusions. Furthermore, the use of phototherapy within these clinical areas remains a relatively unexplored area of the literature, and possibilities for future research will be highlighted. Finally, conference attendees will have the opportunity to try various phototherapy strategies within the interactive portion of this presentation. .

Keywords: Atypical, Case studies, Phototherapy, Photovoice

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Authors: Shivalal Sharma, Sanjib K. Sharma, Madhab Lamsal

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Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and laboratory changes three months after full-mouth scaling and root planing (SRP) in periodontitis patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: Forty-seven type 2 DM subjects with moderate to severe periodontitis were randomly divided into two groups. Treatment group (TG), 25 subjects, received full-mouth scaling and root planning; control group (CG), 22 subjects, received no treatment. At baseline and at the end of three months, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) values, fasting glucose, and clinical parameters like plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing pocket depth (PPD), and clinical attachment level (CAL) were recorded in all the patients. Following SRP, the patients were enrolled in a monthly interval maintenance program for 3 months. Results: A statistically significant effect could be demonstrated for PI, GI, PPD, and CAL for the treatment group. HbA1c levels in the treatment group decreased significantly whereas the control group showed a slight but insignificant increase for these parameters. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that non-surgical periodontal treatment (SRP) is associated with improved glycemic control in type 2 DM patients and could be undertaken along with the standard measures for the diabetic patient care.

Keywords: periodontitis, type 2 diabetes mellitus, non-surgical periodontal therapy, SRP

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Authors: Sharifah Mousli, Sona Taheri, Jiayuan He

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental condition involving persistent difficulties with social communication, restricted interests, and repetitive behavior. The challenges associated with ASD can interfere with an affected individual’s ability to function in social, academic, and employment settings. Although there is no effective medication known to treat ASD, to our best knowledge, early intervention can significantly improve an affected individual’s overall development. Hence, an accurate diagnosis of ASD at an early phase is essential. The use of machine learning approaches improves and speeds up the diagnosis of ASD. In this paper, we focus on the application of unsupervised clustering methods in ASD as a large volume of ASD data generated through hospitals, therapy centers, and mobile applications has no pre-existing labels. We conduct a comparative analysis using seven clustering approaches such as K-means, agglomerative hierarchical, model-based, fuzzy-C-means, affinity propagation, self organizing maps, linear vector quantisation – as well as the recently developed optimization-based clustering (COMSEP-Clust) approach. We evaluate the performances of the clustering methods extensively on real-world ASD datasets encompassing different age groups: toddlers, children, adolescents, and adults. Our experimental results suggest that the COMSEP-Clust approach outperforms the other seven methods in recognizing ASD with well-separated clusters.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, clustering, optimization, unsupervised machine learning

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Authors: Athanasia Kouroupa

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Existing research highlights the effect of employing robots in sessions with children and young people on the autism spectrum to develop and practice skills important to independent and functional living. The systematic review aimed to explore the way robots has been used with children and young people on the autism spectrum and the effect of using robots as a therapeutic interface. An electronic bibliographic database search using a combination of expressions was conducted. Data were extracted in relation to robot types, session characteristics, and outcomes and analysed using narrative synthesis. Forty studies were selected in the review. Humanoid robots were predominantly used to practice a range of social and communication skills. On average, children and young people on the autism spectrum had five sessions, twice a week, for approximately half an hour. Having sessions with a robot was commonly equal to or more effective than 'traditional' interventions delivered by a human therapist or having no therapy. The review reported encouraging outcomes to practice and develop a range of skills with children and young people on the autism spectrum. These findings suggest that some form of intervention is favourable over no intervention. However, there is little evidence for the relative effectiveness of the robot-based intervention as an innovative alternative option. Many of the studies had methodological weaknesses that make them vulnerable to bias. There is a need for further research that adheres to strict scientific methods making direct comparisons between different treatment options.

Keywords: autism, children, robots, outcomes

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Authors: Ahmad Torkaman, Suogol Shomtob, Hadi Akbari Seddigh

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In this paper it has been attempted to investigate the lack of attention to how specific spatial characteristics of the children except existing places such as nurseries. In order to achieve the standard center to faster children understanding their mentality is the first issue that must be studied. Exploring the spiritual characteristics and complexities of children cannot be possible except in accordance with the different aspects and background of their growth in various age periods. In order to achieving the standard center for fostering children, the first issue that must be studied understands their mentality. Exploring the spiritual qualities and complexities of children are not provided except in accordance with the characteristics and their different growth backgrounds in different age periods. According to previous researches game or playing is the most important activity that helps children to communicate and educate and sometimes therapy in specific fields. Investigating game as a proper way to train, the variety of games, the various kind of play environment and how to treat some abnormalities thereby are the issues discussed in recent research. Another consideration concerns the importance of artistic activities among children which is very evident in studying identification of their abnormalities. At the end of this study after investigating how to understand child and communicate with him/her, aiming to recognize Specific spatial characteristics for better training children, the physical and physiological criteria and characteristics is Reviewed and ends up to a list of required spaces and dimensional characteristic of spaces and needed children's equipment.

Keywords: children, space, interior design, development, growth

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Authors: Rafael Ricieri, Rogerio Barros

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Objective: This study is to report a case of massive necrotizing enterocolitis in a six-month-old patient, requiring ileostomy and protective jejunostomy as a damage control measure in the first exploratory laparotomy surgery in massive enterocolitis without a previous diagnosis. Methods: This study is a case report of success in making and closing a protective jejunostomy. However, the low number of publications on this staged and risky measure of surgical resolution encouraged the team to study the indication and especially the correct time for closing the patient's protective jejunostomy. The main study instrument will be the six-month-old patient's medical record. Results: Based on the observation of the case described, it was observed that the time for the closure of the described procedure (protective jejunostomy) varies according to the level of compromise of the health status of your patient and of an individual of each person. Early closure, or failure to close, can lead to a favorable problem for the patient since several problems can result from this closure, such as new intestinal perforations, hydroelectrolyte disturbances. Despite the risk of new perforations, we suggest closing the protective jejunostomy around the 14th day of the procedure, thus keeping the patient on broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy and absolute fasting, thus reducing the chances of new intestinal perforations. Associated with the closure of the jejunostomy, a gastric tube for decompression is necessary, and care in an intensive care unit and electrolyte replacement is necessary to maintain the stability of the case.

Keywords: jejunostomy, ileostomy, enterocolitis, pediatric surgery, gastric surgery

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Authors: Ganga Sagar Bhattarai, Swastika Gurung

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Antibiotics were being misused in both humans and animals, which led to the development of multidrug-resistant microorganisms. Antibiotic abuse is likely rampant among goats, cows, and buffaloes in order to boost growth and reduce production losses. The aim of this study is to know the multidrug resistance (MDR) bacteria in goats, cows, and buffaloes. Out of 68 samples that were examined, S. aureus, Bacillus spp., E. coli, Shigella spp., Klebsiella spp., S. epidremidis, and Salmonella spp. were isolated. S. aureus was the highest isolated bacteria (91.17%), Bacillus spp. (61.76%), E. coli (48.52%), Shigella spp. (22.05%), Klebsiella spp. (17.64%), S. epidermidis (13.23%), and the Salmonella spp. (7.35%). Salmonella spp. and E. coli showed multidrug resistance to at least four antibiotics, including Amoxicillin, Tetracycline, Piperacillin, and Ciprofloxacin, in Salmonella and to at least three antibiotics, including Amoxicillin, Tetracycline, and Nalidic acid. The highest resistance bacteria Salmonella spp. showed (57.14%) E. coli and Bacillus spp. showed (42.85%) S. aureus, S. epidermidis, and Shigella spp. showed (28.57%), and Klebsiella spp. showed (14.28%). This study showed that antibiotic-resistant bacteria with high levels of Amoxicillin, Penicillin, and Tetracycline resistance are present in healthy farm animals such as goats, cows, and buffaloes. Options for antibiotic therapy in both humans and animals will likely be limited as a result. The use, distribution, storage, and sale of antibiotics in veterinary practices must consequently be under strict control.

Keywords: multidrug resistance, multidrug resistance bacteria, susceptibility testing, bacterial infections

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Authors: Fahad Ibrahim, Raphaël Akamavi

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Bangladesh has encountered several industrial disasters (e.g. fire and building collapse tragedies) leading to the loss of valuable human lives. Irrespective of various institutions’ making effort to improve the safety situation, industry compliance and safety behaviour have not yet been improved. Hence, one question remains, to what extent does the institutional elements efficient enough to make any difference in improving safety behaviours? Thus, this study explores the relationship between institutional perspective and safety performance. Structural equation modelling results, using survey data from 256 RMG workers’ of 128 garments manufacturing factories in Bangladesh, show that institutional facets strongly influence management safety commitment to induce workers participation in safety activities and reduce workplace accident rates. The study also found that by upholding industrial standards and inspecting the safety situations, institutions facets significantly and directly affect workers involvement in safety participations and rate of workplace accidents. Additionally, workers involvement to safety practices significantly predicts the safety environment of the workplace. Subsequently, our findings demonstrate that institutional culture, norms, and regulations enact play an important role in altering management commitment to set-up a safer workplace environment. As a result, when workers’ perceive their management having high level of commitment to safety, they are inspired to be involved more in the safety practices, which significantly alter the workplace safety situation and lessen injury experiences. Due to the fact that institutions have strong influence on management commitment, legislative members should endorse, regulate, and strictly monitor workplace safety laws to be exercised by the factory owners. Further, management should take initiatives for adopting OHS features and conceive strategic directions (i.e., set up safety committees, risk assessments, innovative training) for promoting a positive safety climate to provide a safe workplace environment. Arguably, an inclusive public-private partnership is recommended for ensuring better and safer workplace for RMG workers. However, as our data were under a cross-sectional design; the respondents’ perceptions might get changed over a period of time and hence, a longitudinal study is recommended. Finally, further research is needed to determine the impact of improvement mechanisms on workplace safety performance, such as how workplace design, safety training programs, and institutional enforcement policies protect the well-being of workers.

Keywords: institutional perspective, management commitment, safety participation, work injury, safety performance, occupational health and safety

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Authors: Mahmoud M. AbuAlSamen, Tamam El-Elimat

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Amid the economic crisis in Jordan, the Jordanian government has opted for a knowledge economy where education is promoted as a mean for economic development. University education usually comes at the expense of study-related stress that may adversely impact the health of students. Since stress is a latent variable that is difficult to measure, a valid tool should be used in doing so. The effort-reward imbalance (ERI) is a model used as a measurement tool for occupational stress. The model was built on the notion of reciprocity, which relates ‘effort’ to ‘reward’ through the mediating ‘over-commitment’. Reciprocity assumes equilibrium between both effort and reward, where ‘high’ effort is adequately compensated with ‘high’ reward. When this equilibrium is violated (i.e., high effort with low reward), this may elicit negative emotions and stress, which have been correlated to adverse health conditions. The theory of ERI was established in many different parts of the world, and associations with chronic diseases and the health of workers were explored at length. While much of the effort-reward imbalance was investigated in work conditions, there has been a growing interest in understanding the validity of the ERI model when applied to other social settings such as schools and universities. The ERI questionnaire was developed in Arabic recently to measure ERI among high school teachers. However, little information is available on the validity of the ERI questionnaire in university students. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 833 students in Jordan to measure the validity and reliability of the ERI questionnaire in Arabic among university students. Reliability, as measured by Cronbach’s alpha of the effort, reward, and overcommitment scales, was 0.73, 0.76, and 0.69, respectively, suggesting satisfactory reliability. The factorial structure was explored using principal axis factoring. The results fitted a five-solution model where both the effort and overcommitment were uni-dimensional while the reward scale was three-dimensional with its factors, namely being ‘support’, ‘esteem’, and ‘security’. The solution explained 56% of the variance in the data. The established ERI theory was replicated with excellent validity in this study. The effort-reward ratio in university students was 1.19, which suggests a slight degree of failed reciprocity. The study also investigated the association of effort, reward, overcommitment, and ERI with participants’ demographic factors and self-reported health. ERI was found to be significantly associated with absenteeism (p < 0.0001), past history of failed courses (p=0.03), and poor academic performance (p < 0.001). Moreover, ERI was found to be associated with poor self-reported health among university students (p=0.01). In conclusion, the Arabic ERI questionnaire is reliable and valid for use in measuring effort-reward imbalance in university students in Jordan. The results of this research are important in informing higher education policy in Jordan.

Keywords: effort-reward imbalance, factor analysis, validity, self-reported health

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Authors: Maria Malliarou, Efrossini Lyraraki, Pavlos Sarafis, Theodosios Paralikas, Styliani Kotrotsiou, Evangelia Kotrotsiou, Mairy Gouva

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Women with breast cancer have to adapt to physical malformations, side effects of chemotherapy, emotional insecurity, and changes in social roles. Inability to recognize the co-morbidity of psychiatric conditions can have an aggravating effect on patient compliance in therapeutic interventions, resulting in treatment delays and an impact on overall survival. The purpose of this study was to identify the quality of life of breast cancer patients undergoing external radiation therapy and to correlate it with depression and anxiety. Patients were asked to respond to an anonymous questionnaire with general demographic and clinical questions, followed by the EORTCQLQ-C30 questionnaire for assessing the quality of life of patients with breast cancer. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) as well as the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was also administered. The statistical analysis of the data was done in IBM SPSS. Results indicated that the incidence of anxiety and depression in breast cancer patients is high both in HADS (37.5 % with mild to moderate depression and 62.5 % with significant to severe depression) and DASS - 21 (39.2 % mild to moderate depression and 60.8 % significant to severe) scales. The correlation of anxiety and depression with life quality was negative for HADS (r = -, 810, p = .000) as well as for DASS-21 (r = -, 682, p = .000). The psychological impact of breast cancer on patients is important. Its correlation with the quality of life may lead to better tolerance to treatment and better effectiveness of the therapeutic approach.

Keywords: anxiety, breast cancer, depression, quality of life

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Authors: Nino Kupatadze, Shorena Tskhadadze, Mzevinar Bedinashvili, David Tugushi, Ramaz Katsarava

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Surgical device-associated infection and biofilm formation are some of the major problems in biomedicine for today. The losing protection ability of conventional antimicrobial-drugs leads to the challenges in the current antibiotic therapy, the most serious of which is antibiotic resistance. Our strategy to overcome the biofilm formation consists in coating devices with polymeric film containing nanosilver(AgNPs) as a bactericidal agent. Such bionanocomposites are also promising as wound dressing materials. For this purpose, we have developed a new generation of AgNPs containing polymeric composites in which amino acid based biodegradable poly(ester amide)s (PEAs) were served as both matrices and AgNPs stabilizers. The AgNPs were formed by photochemical (daylight) reduction of AgNO3 in ethanol solution. The formation of AgNPs was monitored by coloring the solution in brownish-red and appearance of the absorption maximum at 420-430 nm in UV spectrum. Comparative studies of PEAs with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as particle stabilizers were carried out. It was found that PVP is better stabilizer in terms of particles yield and stability. Therefore, in subsequent experiments blends of PEAs and PVP were used as stabilizers for fabricating AgNPs. As expected, PVP increased the stabilizing effect and this apparently observed in the UV spectrum of the samples after 7 h daylight irradiation: for pure PVP λmax = 430 nm, D = 2.03, for pure PEA λmax= 420 nm, D = 0.65, and for the blend of PVP and PEA λmax = 435 nm, D = 1.88. Further study of the obtained nanobiocomposites is in progress now.

Keywords: biodegradation, bionanocompositions, polymer, nanosilver

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Authors: R. C. Barbuti, M. N. Oliveira, N. P. Perina, C. Haro, P. Bosch, C. S. Bogsan, J. N. Eisig, T. Navarro-Rodriguez

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Background: The management of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication is still a matter of discussion, full effectiveness is rarely achieved and it has many adverse effects. Probiotics are believed to have a role in eradicating and possibly preventing H. pylori infection as an adjunctive treatment. The present clinical study was undertaken to see the efficacy of a specially designed fermented milk product containing Bifidobacterium lactis B420 on the eradication of H. pylori infection in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled study in humans. Method: Four test products were specially designed fermented milks, counts of viable cells in all products were 1010 Log CFU. 100 mL-1 for Bifidobacterium lactis-Bifidobacterium species 420, and 1011 Log CFU. 100 mL-1 for Streptococcus thermophiles were administered to subjects infected with H. pylori with a previous diagnosis of functional dyspepsia according to the Rome III criteria in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in humans. Results: After FM supplementation, not all subjects showed a reduction in H. pylori colonization. Conclusion: Bifidobacterium lactis B420, administered twice a day for 90 days did not show an increase in H. pylori eradication effectiveness in Brazilian patients with functional dyspepsia.

Keywords: antibacterial therapy, Bifidobacteria fermented milk, Helicobacter pylori, probiotics

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Authors: Hye Kyung Kim, Myung-Gyou Kim, Kang-Hyun Leem

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It has been reported that deer antler extract has bone-strengthening activity and effectively used in bone diseases therapy. However, little is known about the cellular and molecular mechanism of this effect. The upper section, mid section, and base of the antler has been known to exhibit different biological properties. Present study investigated the effects of these three parts of deer antler extracts on bone formation and resorption. The effects of deer antler extracts (DH) on bone formation were determined by cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, collagen synthesis, and mineralization in human osteoblastic MG-63 cells. The effect on bone resorption was determined by osteoclastogenesis from bone marrow-derived precursor cells driven by RANKL. Ethanol extracts of DH (50 ~ 100 µg/ml) dose-dependently increased cell proliferation, and upper part increased the cell proliferation by 118.4% while mid and base parts increased proliferation by 107.8% and 102.3%, respectively. ALP activity was significantly increased by upper part of the DH treatment. After enhancement of ALP activity, significant augmentation of collagen synthesis and calcification assessed by Sirus red and Alzarin red staining, respectively, was observed in upper part of the DH treatment. The effect of DH on bone resorption was not observed in all three parts of the DH. These results could provide a mechanistic explanation for the bone-strengthening effects of DH.

Keywords: alkaline phosphatase, collagen synthesis, deer antler, osteoblastic MG-63 cells

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Authors: Bhavya Tripathi, Bhupendra Kumar Sharma

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In blood, the concentration of red blood cell varies with the arterial diameter. In the case of narrow arteries, red blood cells concentrate around the center of the artery and there exists a cell-free plasma layer near the arterial wall due to Fahraeus-Lindqvist effect. Due to non- uniformity of the fluid in the narrow arteries, it is preferable to consider the two-phase model of the blood flow. In the present article, coupled nonlinear differential equations have been developed for momentum, energy and concentration of two phase model of the blood flow assuming the Newtonian fluid in both central core and cell free plasma layer and the exact solutions have been found for the problem. For having an adequate insight into the stenosed arterial two-phase blood flow, major components of the flow as flow resistance, total flow rate, and wall shear stress have been estimated for different values of magnetic and radiation parameter. Results show that the increase in the effects of magnetic field decreases the velocity of both cores as well as plasma regions. This result can be helpful to control the blood flow in narrow arteries during surgical process. Temperature of core as well plasma regions decrease as value of radiation parameter increases. The present result is implemented in the form of radiation therapy which is very helpful for cancer patients.

Keywords: two phase blood flow, radiation, magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), stenosis

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Authors: Andrew Anis Fakhrey Mosaad

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Objectives: Physiotherapy in the intensive care unit (ICU) improves patient outcomes. We aimed to determine the characteristics of physiotherapy practice and critical barriers to applying physiotherapy in ICUs. Materials and Methods: A 54-item survey for determining the characteristics physiotherapists and physiotherapy applications in the ICU was developed. The survey was electronically sent to potential participants through the Turkish Physiotherapy Association network. Sixty-five physiotherapists (47F and 18M; 23–52 years; ICU experience: 6.0±6.2 years) completed the survey. The data were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. Results: The duration of ICU practice was 3.51±2.10 h/day. Positioning (90.8%), active exercises (90.8%), breathing exercises (89.2%), passive exercises (87.7%), and percussion (87.7%) were the most commonly used applications. The barriers were related to physiotherapists (low level of employment and practice, lack of shift); patients (unwillingness, instability, participation restriction); teamwork (lack of awareness and communication); equipment (inadequacy, non-priority to purchase); and legal (reimbursement, lack of direct physiotherapy access, non-recognition of autonomy) procedures. Conclusion: The most common interventions were positioning, active, passive, breathing exercises, and percussion. Critical barriers toward physiotherapy are multifactorial and related to physiotherapists, patients, teams, equipment, and legal procedures. Physiotherapist employment, service maintenance, and multidisciplinary teamwork should be considered for physiotherapy effectiveness in ICUs.

Keywords: intensive care units, physical therapy, physiotherapy, exercises

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Authors: Sandhyarani Guggilla

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For several reasons no two individuals can be considered identical and hence individualization of therapy is the current trend in treating the patients. Influence of menstrual cycle on the pharmacokinetics of Doxycycline. Twelve healthy female volunteers have been included in the study after obtaining written informed consent. The age ranged from 16 to 25 years. Experimental design: The volunteer selection and recruitment will be carried out after obtaining informed consent from each volunteer. The drug administration will be done to each volunteer at 7 a.m along with a glass of water after an overnight fasting on 3rd, 13th and 23rd day of menstrual cycle. These saliva samples will be stored under frozen conditions until HPLC analysis. Results: In the present study the changes in estrogen levels during ovulatory phase have not shown any influence onAUCo-t of Doxycycline. Only AUCo-t of doxycycline showed an increasing trend with increasing levels of estrogen in ovulatory phase, but not in other phases. Even though the FSH levels differed significantly among volunteers during different phases FSH does not seem to influence the overall pharmacokinetic behavior of Doxycycline during different phases. The present study indicated only the trend that the hormone levels may influence the pharmacokinetic behavior of the Doxycycline. Conclusion: In the present study the changes in hormones have shown an increasing C-max, increasing AUCo-t of Doxycycline pharmacokinetics significantly in follicular phase than ovulatory and luteal phases among volunteers during different phases. In other pharmacokinetic properties like clearance, biological half-life, volume of distribution, mean residence time the change was not significant.

Keywords: menstrual cycle, doxycycline, estrogen, FSH, ovulatory phase

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Authors: Priyanka Sharma, Tarkewshwar Dubey, Hemalatha Siva

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Hemorrhoids are one of the most common anorectal diseases around the world. Severalfactors are involved in causing hemorrhoids including irregularbowel function (constipation, diarrhea), exercise, gravity, low fiberdiet, pregnancy, obesity, high abdominal pressure, prolongedsitting, genetic factors, and aging. Pain, bleeding, itching,swelling and anal discharge are the symptoms of the disease. Due to limitedmodern pharmacotherapeutic options available for treatment, theherbal medicines remain the choice of therapy. Blumea lacera (Burm f.) DC. belonging to the Asteraceae family is a common plain land weed of Bangladesh. Traditionally it has been used for treatment of hemorrhoids.Considering the above fact, present study was aimed to validate the ethnomedicinal use of B. lacera leaves on experimental hemorrhoids in rats. The anti-hemorrhoid activity was performed by using croton oil induced rat models. The parameters studied were assessment of TNF-α and IL-6, Evans blue exudation, macroscopic severity score, recto-anal coefficient, histomorphological scores. Also, in vivo antioxidant parameters and histopathological studies were also performed. All paramaters exhibited significant anti-hemorrhoid activity. Moreover ethanolic extract of B. lacera (EBL) leaves 400mg/kg showed ameliorative effect oncroton oil induced hemorrhoids.In conclusion, EBL exhibitedbeneficial effect on croton oil- induced hemorrhoids and validates its ethnomedicinal use in treatment of piles.

Keywords: haemorrhoids, IL-6, piles, TNF-α

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Authors: Gheorghe Giurgiu, Manole Cojocaru, Mihnea Andrei Nicodin

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Background: Inflammation has the main role in the progression of endometriosis. The mechanisms by which endometriosis induces a chronic pain state remain poorly understood. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for endometriosis. But you can manage it with medication and at-home treatments. Some findings have highlighted the main role of inflammation in endometriosis by acting on proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. The introduction of new agents can be effective in improving the condition of patients; for example, plants are promising sources of bioactive natural components. Objectives: These natural compounds could be interesting strategies in therapy. While there is no absolute cure for this condition, some home remedies can relieve the pain and discomfort it brings. The purpose of this study is to summarize the potential action of Deniplant nutraceuticals in endometriosis by acting on inflammation. Materials and Methods: The primary symptoms of endometriosis are pelvic pain and infertility. The use of Deniplant nutraceuticals could be interesting in disease management for women. Results: Treating pain-related aspects of endometriosis would contribute to the improvement of mental health and daytime function. Because the microbiome can influence inflammation, new therapies can develop through its natural modulation. There are other options, including natural remedies, herbs like cinnamon twigs or licorice root, or supplements such as thiamine, magnesium, or omega-3 fatty acids. Conclusion: Deniplant nutraceuticals can downregulate inflammation in endometriosis. Nevertheless, the limited number of studies focusing on the different interactions of Deniplant nutraceuticals in endometriosis restricts its clear and immediate use in a therapeutic strategy.

Keywords: endometriosis, diet, Deniplant nutraceuticals, pain

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Authors: Junjun Chen, Yingxiu Li

Abstract:

The occupational well-being of school principals has played a vital role in the pursuit of individual and school wellness and success. However, principals’ well-being worldwide is under increasing threat because of the challenging and complex nature of their work and growing demands for school standardisation and accountability. Pressure is particularly acute in the post-pandemicfuture as principals attempt to deal with the impact of the pandemic on top of more regular demands. This is particularly true in Hong Kong, as school principals are increasingly wedged between unparalleled political, social, and academic responsibilities. Recognizing the semantic breadth of well-being, scholars have not determined a single, mutually agreeable definition but agreed that the concept of well-being has multiple dimensions across various disciplines. The multidimensional approach promises more precise assessments of the relationships between well-being and other concepts than the ‘affect-only’ approach or other single domains for capturing the essence of principal well-being. The multiple-dimension well-being concept is adopted in this project to understand principal well-being in this study. This study aimed to understand the situation of principal well-being and its influential drivers with a sample of 670 principals from Hong Kong and Mainland China. An online survey was sent to the participants after the breakout of COVID-19 by the researchers. All participants were well informed about the purposes and procedure of the project and the confidentiality of the data prior to filling in the questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling performed with Mplus were employed to deal with the dataset. The data analysis procedure involved the following three steps. First, the descriptive statistics (e.g., mean and standard deviation) were calculated. Second, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to trim principal well-being measurement performed with maximum likelihood estimation. Third, structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to test the influential factors of principal well-being. The results of this study indicated that the overall of principal well-being were above the average mean score. The highest ranking in this study given by the principals was to their psychological and social well-being (M = 5.21). This was followed by spiritual (M = 5.14; SD = .77), cognitive (M = 5.14; SD = .77), emotional (M = 4.96; SD = .79), and physical well-being (M = 3.15; SD = .73). Participants ranked their physical well-being the lowest. Moreover, professional autonomy, supervisor and collegial support, school physical conditions, professional networking, and social media have showed a significant impact on principal well-being. The findings of this study will potentially enhance not only principal well-being, but also the functioning of an individual principal and a school without sacrificing principal well-being for quality education in the process. This will eventually move one step forward for a new future - a wellness society advocated by OECD. Importantly, well-being is an inside job that begins with choosing to have wellness, whilst supports to become a wellness principal are also imperative.

Keywords: well-being, school principals, quantitative, influential factors

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Authors: Simon B. N. Thompson

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Cortisol is important to our immune system, regulates our stress response, and is a factor in maintaining brain temperature. Saliva cortisol is a practical and useful non-invasive measurement that signifies the presence of the important hormone. Electrical activity in the jaw muscles typically rises when the muscles are moved during yawning and the electrical level is found to be correlated with the cortisol level. In two studies using identical paradigms, a total of 108 healthy subjects were exposed to yawning-provoking stimuli so that their cortisol levels and electrical nerve impulses from their jaw muscles was recorded. Electrical activity is highly correlated with cortisol levels in healthy people. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Yawning Susceptibility Scale, General Health Questionnaire, demographic, health details were collected and exclusion criteria applied for voluntary recruitment: chronic fatigue, diabetes, fibromyalgia, heart condition, high blood pressure, hormone replacement therapy, multiple sclerosis, and stroke. Significant differences were found between the saliva cortisol samples for the yawners as compared with the non-yawners between rest and post-stimuli. Significant evidence supports the Thompson Cortisol Hypothesis that suggests rises in cortisol levels are associated with yawning. Ethics approval granted and professional code of conduct, confidentiality, and safety issues are approved therein.

Keywords: cortisol, diagnosis, neurological disease, thompson cortisol hypothesis, yawning

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Authors: Sanjeev Kumar Shukla, Govind Singh, Prabhat Pant Shahzad Ahmad

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Background: Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disorder with a genetic predisposition, and CD40 plays a pathogenic role in various autoimmune diseases. A single nucleotide polymorphism at position –1 of the Kozak sequence of the 5 untranslated regions of the CD40 gene of exon 1 has been reported to be associated with the development of Graves’ Disease. Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether CD40 gene polymorphism confers susceptibility to Graves’ disease in the Kumaon region. CD40 gene polymorphisms were studied in Graves’ Disease patients (n=50) and healthy control subjects without anti-thyroid autoantibodies or a family history of autoimmune disorders (n=50). Material and Method: CD40 gene polymorphisms were studied in fifty Graves’ Disease patients and fifty healthy control subjects. All samples were collected from STG Hospital, Haldwani, Nainital. A C/T polymorphism at position –1 of the CD40 gene was measured using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results: There was no significant difference in allele or genotype frequency of the CD40 SNP between Graves’ Disease and control subjects. There was a significant decrease in the TT genotype frequency in the Graves’ Disease patients who developed Graves’ Disease after 40 years old than those under 40 years of age. These data suggest that the SNP of the CD40 gene is associated with susceptibility to the later onset of Graves’ Disease. Conclusion: The CD40 gene was a different susceptibility gene for Graves’ Disease within certain families because it was both linked and associated with Graves’ Disease.

Keywords: autoimmune diseases, pathogenesis, diagnosis, therapy

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Authors: Jacob Schwartz, Maxim Durach, Aniruddha Mitra, Abbas Rashidi, Glen Sage, Atin Adhikari

Abstract:

NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) approved N95 respirators are commonly used by workers in construction sites where there is a large amount of dust being produced from sawing, grinding, blasting, welding, etc., both electrostatically charged and not. A significant portion of airborne particles in construction sites could be nanoparticles created beside coarse particles. The penetration of the particles through the masks may differ depending on the size and charge of the individual particle. In field experiments relevant to this current study, we found that nanoparticles of medium size ranges are penetrating more frequently than nanoparticles of smaller and larger sizes. For example, penetration percentages of nanoparticles of 11.5 – 27.4 nm into a sealed N95 respirator on a manikin head ranged from 0.59 to 6.59%, whereas nanoparticles of 36.5 – 86.6 nm ranged from 7.34 to 16.04%. The possible causes behind this increased penetration of mid-size nanoparticles through mask filters are not yet explored. The objective of this study is to identify causes behind this unusual behavior of mid-size nanoparticles. We have considered such physical factors as Boltzmann distribution of the particles in thermal equilibrium with the air, kinetic energy of the particles at impact on the mask, Stoke’s drag force, and electrostatic forces in the mask stopping the particles. When the particles collide with the mask, only the particles that have enough kinetic energy to overcome the energy loss due to the electrostatic forces and the Stokes’ drag in the mask can pass through the mask. To understand this process, the following assumptions were made: (1) the effect of Stoke’s drag depends on the particles’ velocity at entry into the mask; (2) the electrostatic force is proportional to the charge on the particles, which in turn is proportional to the surface area of the particles; (3) the general dependence on electrostatic charge and thickness means that for stronger electrostatic resistance in the masks and thicker the masks’ fiber layers the penetration of particles is reduced, which is a sensible conclusion. In sampling situations where one mask was soaked in alcohol eliminating electrostatic interaction the penetration was much larger in the mid-range than the same mask with electrostatic interaction. The smaller nanoparticles showed almost zero penetration most likely because of the small kinetic energy, while the larger sized nanoparticles showed almost negligible penetration most likely due to the interaction of the particle with its own drag force. If there is no electrostatic force the fraction for larger particles grows. But if the electrostatic force is added the fraction for larger particles goes down, so diminished penetration for larger particles should be due to increased electrostatic repulsion, may be due to increased surface area and therefore larger charge on average. We have also explored the effect of ambient temperature on nanoparticle penetrations and determined that the dependence of the penetration of particles on the temperature is weak in the range of temperatures in the measurements 37-42°C, since the factor changes in the range from 3.17 10-3K-1 to 3.22 10-3K-1.

Keywords: respiratory protection, industrial hygiene, aerosol, electrostatic force

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Authors: Bakhtiar Azadbakht, Karim Adinehvand, Amin Sahebnasagh

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate dependence of PAGAT polymer gel dosimeter 1/T2 on different electron and photon energies as well as on different mean dose rates for a standard clinically used Co-60 therapy unit and an ELECTA linear accelerator. A multi echo sequence with 32 equidistant echoes was used for the evaluation of irradiated polymer gel dosimeters. The optimal post-manufacture irradiation and post imaging times were both determined to be one day. The sensitivity of PAGAT polymer gel dosimeter with irradiation of photon and electron beams was represented by the slope of calibration curve in the linear region measured for each modality. The response of PAGAT gel with photon and electron beams is very similar in the lower dose region. The R2-dose response was linear up to 30Gy. In electron beams the R2-dose response for doses less than 3Gy is not exact, but in photon beams the R2-dose response for doses less than 2Gy is not exact. Dosimeter energy dependence was studied for electron energies of 4, 12 and 18MeV and photon energies of 1.25, 4, 6 and 18MV. Dose rate dependence was studied in 6MeV electron beam and 6MV photon beam with the use of dose rates 80, 160, 240, 320, 400, and 480cGy/min. Evaluation of dosimeters were performed on Siemens Symphony, Germany 1.5T Scanner in the head coil. In this study no trend in polymer-gel dosimeter 1/T2 dependence was found on mean dose rate and energy for electron and photon beams.

Keywords: polymer gels, PAGAT gel, electron and photon beams, MRI

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Authors: Malgorzata J. Rybak-Smith, Benedicte Thiebaut, Simon Johnson, Peter Bishop, Helen E. Townley

Abstract:

Gadolinium doped titania (TiO2:Gd) nanoparticles (NPs) can be activated by X-ray radiation to generate Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), which can be effective in killing cancer cells. As such, treatment with these NPs can be used to enhance the efficacy of conventional radiotherapy. Incorporation of the NPs in to tumour tissue will permit the extension of radiotherapy to currently untreatable tumours deep within the body, and also reduce damage to neighbouring healthy cells. In an attempt to find a fast and scalable method for the synthesis of the TiO2:Gd NPs, the use of Flame Spray Pyrolysis (FSP) was investigated. A series of TiO2 NPs were generated with 1, 2, 5 and 7 mol% gadolinium dopant. Post-synthesis, the TiO2:Gd NPs were silica-coated to improve their biocompatibility. Physico-chemical characterisation was used to determine the size and stability in aqueous suspensions of the NPs. All analysed TiO2:Gd NPs were shown to have relatively high photocatalytic activity. Furthermore, the FSP synthesized silica-coated TiO2:Gd NPs generated enhanced ROS in chemico. Studies on rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) cell lines (RD & RH30) demonstrated that in the absence of irradiation all TiO2:Gd NPs were inert. However, application of TiO2:Gd NPs to RMS cells, followed by irradiation, showed a significant decrease in cell proliferation. Consequently, our studies showed that the X-ray-activatable TiO2:Gd NPs can be prepared by a high-throughput scalable technique to provide a novel and affordable anticancer therapy.

Keywords: cancer, gadolinium, ROS, titania nanoparticles, X-ray

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