Copper ion as a new leakage tracer

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Most failures of root canal treatments are caused by bacteria. Studies showed that the most common cause of endodontic failures were the incomplete obturation of the root canal and the lack of adequate apical seal. Some in-vitro methods are used to estimate sealing quality, generally by measuring microleakage that allows the tracer agent to penetrate the filled canal.

PURPOSE

Conventional methods of evaluating the seal of endodontically treated teeth are complicated and have some drawbacks. We used copper ion diffusion method to assess the leakage and the results were compared to dye penetration method.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

The crowns of 21 extracted teeth were cut off at the CEJ level. After preparing the canals, the teeth were placed in tubes containing saline. They were divided randomly into 15 experimental cases; 3 positive and 3 negative controls. Positive controls were filled by single cone without sealer while the experimental and the negative control groups were filled by lateral technique. The coronal portion of gutta was removed and 9mm was left. The external surface of each tooth was coated with nail polish. Two millimeters of apical portion was immersed into 9ml of distilled water and 0.3ml of CuSO4 solution was injected into the coronal portion. After 2 days, copper sulfate was measured by an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The teeth were then immersed in 2% methylene blue for 24 hours, sectioned and the extent of dye penetration was measured by a stereomicroscope.

RESULTS

The maximum and minimum recorded copper ion concentrations for the experimental group were 18.37 and 2.87ppm respectively. The maximum and minimum recorded dye penetrations for the experimental group were 8.5 and 3.5mm respectively. The statistical analysis, adopting paired samples test, showed poor correlation between average recorded results of two methods.

CONCLUSION

Based on our results, there was no significant correlation between the dye penetration and the copper ion diffusion methods.

Information technology acceptance in health information management

OBJECTIVE

User acceptance of information technology has been a significant area of research for more than two decades in the field of information technology. This study assessed the acceptance of information technology in the context of Health Information Management (HIM) by utilizing Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) which was modified and applied to assess user acceptance of health information technology as well as viability of TAM as a research construct in the context of HIM.

METHODS

This was a descriptive- analytical study in which a sample of 187 personnel from a population of 363 personnel, working in medical records departments of hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences, was selected. Users' perception of applying information technology was studied by a researcher-developed questionnaire. Collected data were analyzed by SPSS software (version16) using descriptive statistics and regression analysis.

RESULTS

The results suggest that TAM is a useful construct to assess user acceptance of information technology in the context of HIM. The findings also evidenced the perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PE) were positively associated with favorable users' attitudes towards HIM. PU was relatively more associated (r= 0.22, p = 0.05) than PEOU (r = 0.014, p = 0.05) with favorable user attitudes towards HIM.

CONCLUSIONS

Users' perception of usefulness and ease of use are important determinants providing the incentive for users to accept information technologies when the application of a successful HIM system is attempted. The findings of the present study suggest that user acceptance is a key element and should subsequently be the major concern of health organizations and health policy makers.

Early re-presentations and the potential role of catheter-directed thrombolysis in patients diagnosed with a lower limb deep vein thrombosis: a single-centre experience

Introduction

Catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) for iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis (DVT) restores venous patency, reduces the risk of the post-thrombotic syndrome and may reduce longer term treatment costs. This study assessed the potential role of CDT in patients with DVT with regard to representation following the index event.

Methods

A retrospective review of all patients with a positive lower limb DVT scan. Potential suitability of each patient to undergo CDT was based on well-recognized inclusion/exclusion criteria.

Results

In total, 1689 patients underwent a DVT-specific lower limb venous duplex. A total of 269 were found to have a DVT. Fifty-three of these patients met the inclusion criteria for CDT (only 2 underwent CDT). Fifty-nine of the 269 patients with an index DVT re-presented to our institution with a venous thromboembolism-related clinical event. These patients were significantly younger than those who did not reattend. A higher proportion of patients who represented were deemed suitable for CDT for the index DVT compared with those who did not represent (17/59 versus 36/210; P = 0.04).

Conclusion

This pragmatic study highlights the fact that significant number of patients return to secondary care with actual/perceived complications following initial diagnosis and treatment of a DVT which may have been amenable to CDT.

Mortality causes in children 1-59 months in iran

BACKGROUND

Mortality rate indicator for children under 5 years old is one of the important indicators in countries' development. Identifying the most common causes of mortality is one of the most important attempts to reduce mortality in children less than 5 years. The purpose of this study was to identify distribution of the mortality causes in Iranian children less than 5 years.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study has been carried out based on the results of data from the Child Mortality Surveillance System since 2007 to 2008. To determine the causes of death questionnaires have been designed which include personal data of the deceased child, medical history, and information on procedures at the time of hospitalization or death.

RESULTS

Of 5926 deaths on children under 5 years which the questionnaires were filled out, 63.2% were postneonatal deaths (1-11 month). Totally 60% of mortalities occurred in the rural areas and 52% of them had been among boys. The most common causes of mortality were the congenital and chromosomal abnormalities with 23.4%. The most incidences among diseases were respiratory system diseases.

CONCLUSIONS

Carrying out more epidemiologic studies, providing health programs to control and prevent diseases with high incidences and delivering more specialized health facilities and services could be the proper strategies to reduce under 5 mortality rates in Iran.

Epidemiological data, outcome, and costs of burn patients in Kermanshah

Burn injuries in both developed and developing countries cause long-term disability, mortality, and socio-economic costs that are imposed on patients, families, and societies. This study was carried out to investigate the epidemiology, outcome, and cost of hospitalization of 388 burn patients admitted to the Imam Khomeini Hospital Burn Center in Kermanshah, Iran, between 21 March 2011 and 20 March 2012. The data about demographics, cause of burns, degree of burns, outcome of burns, burned body surface (BBS), length of stay (LOS), and cost of hospitalization were collected by reviewing medical records and analysed by SPSS 16. The patients' mean age was 27 years. The male/female ratio in burn patients was 1.14/1. The mean BBS was 36.06%. The mean LOS was 9.04 days. Flame (67.0%) and hot liquids (21.9%) were the major causes of burn. Burn injuries were more common in the upper limbs (81.4%), lower limbs (70.9%), and head and neck (65.2%). 11.6% of patients had all the regions involved. The fatality rate was 18.8%. The mean cost per patient was 20,463,227 Iran Rials (IRR). The cost per one percentage of burn and one day of hospitalization was 562,632 IRR and 2,263,631 IRR, respectively. The main factors relevant to death were identified including the extent of burn, gender, age, causes, and degree of burn. In addition, LOS proved to have a higher impact on costs than burn percentage.

Developing data elements for research information system in health; a starting point for systems integration

BACKGROUND

This study defines necessary data elements required for the research information system in the domain of health, and its level of accountability to national health research indicators from the experts' perspective is being explored.

METHODS

This qualitative study was conducted based on comparative approach using the focus group method. Data were collected through 6 semi-structured group discussions held at the Undersecretary for Research and Technology, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran. For this study, 48 researchers were selected for the group discussions. All interviews and group discussions were recorded and transcribed. The Data analysis was performed simultaneously using Strauss and Corbin method.

RESULTS

BASED ON CONTENT ANALYSIS, THE NECESSARY DATA ELEMENTS IDENTIFIED FOR THE NATIONAL HEALTH RESEARCH INFORMATION SYSTEM DESIGNED FOR ALL DATABASES WERE THE FOLLOWING: organizations, researchers, journals, articles, research projects and dissertations. Also, extracted from the focus group discussion were three main themes regarding data elements of these databases for the National Health Research Information System: 1) essential elements for each database 2) the system's data elements accountability to the national indicators in the domain of health research and 3) recommendations in the direction of optimizing the data.

CONCLUSIONS

The results obtained from this study can serve as a valuable source in designing research information system in the domain of health within the country and in the region as well.

Alcea rosea root extract as a preventive and curative agent in ethylene glycol-induced urolithiasis in rats

Introduction:

Alcea rosea L. is used in Asian folk medicine as a remedy for a wide range of ailments. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Alcea rosea roots on ethylene glycol-induced kidney calculi in rats.

Materials and Methods:

Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control, ethylene glycol (EG), curative and preventive groups. Control group received tap drinking water for 28 days. Ethylene glycol (EG), curative and preventive groups received 1% ethylene glycol for induction of calcium oxalate (CaOx) calculus formation; preventive and curative subjects also received the hydroalcoholic extract of Alcea rosea roots in drinking water at dose of 170 mg/kg, since day 0 or day 14, respectively. Urinary oxalate concentration was measured by spectrophotometer on days 0, 14 and 28. On day 28, the kidneys were removed and examined histopathologically under light microscopy for counting the calcium oxalate deposits in 50 microscopic fields.

Results:

In both preventive and curative protocols, treatment of rats with hydroalcoholic extract of Alcea rosea roots significantly reduced the number of kidney calcium oxalate deposits compared to ethylene glycol group. Administration of Alcea rosea extract also reduced the elevated urinary oxalate due to ethylene glycol.

Conclusion:

Alcea rosea showed a beneficial effect in preventing and eliminating calcium oxalate deposition in the rat kidney. This effect is possibly due to diuretic and anti-inflammatory effects or presence of mucilaginous polysaccharides in the plant. It may also be related to lowering of urinary concentration of stone-forming constituents.

Prevalence and genetic variation of salivary gland hypertrophy virus in wild populations of the tsetse fly Glossina pallidipes from southern and eastern Africa

The Glossina pallidipes salivary gland hypertrophy virus (GpSGHV) is a rod-shaped, non-occluded double-stranded DNA virus that causes salivary gland hypertrophy (SGH) and reduced fecundity in the tsetse fly G. pallidipes. High GpSGHV prevalence (up to 80%) makes it impossible to mass-rear G. pallidipes colonies for the sterile insect technique (SIT). To evaluate the feasibility of molecular-based GpSGHV management strategies, we investigated the prevalence and genetic diversity of GpSGHV in wild populations of G. pallidipes collected from ten geographical locations in eastern and southern Africa. Virus diversity was examined using a total sequence of 1497 nucleotides (≈ 1% of the GpSGHV genome) from five putative conserved ORFs, p74, pif1, pif2, pif3 and dnapol. Overall, 34.08% of the analyzed flies (n=1972) tested positive by nested PCR. GpSGHV prevalence varied from 2% to 100% from one location to another but phylogenetic and gene genealogy analyses using concatenated sequences of the five putative ORFs revealed low virus diversity. Although no correlation of the virus diversity to geographical locations was detected, the GpSGHV haplotypes could be assigned to one of two distinct clades. The reference (Tororo) haplotype was the most widely distributed, and was shared by 47 individuals in seven of the 11 locations. The Ethiopian haplotypes were restricted to one clade, and showed the highest divergence (with 14-16 single nucleotide mutation steps) from the reference haplotype. The current study suggests that the proposed molecular-based virus management strategies have a good prospect of working throughout eastern and southern Africa due to the low diversity of the GpSGHV strains.

Cadmium and lead content in several brands of rice grains (Oryza sativa) in central Iran

The aim of this study was to investigate the cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) content of several commercially available brands of rice grains (Oryza sativa) in central Iran. A total of 67 samples of the most widely consumed brands of rice grains were purchased from local bazaar markets in Shahrekord, Iran. The first step, grains of raw rice were digested by acid digestion method and then were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometer. The results showed that Cd concentration in rice grains ranged from 0.0378 to 0.1225 ppm dry weight and its average concentration was 0.062 ± 0.019 ppm and Pb content ranged from 0.0405 to 0.1281 ppm dry weight and its average concentration was 0.068 ± 0.0185 ppm. Cd and Pb concentrations in the sampled rice grains were lower in comparison with their upper limits (0.2 and 0.2 ppm for Cd and Pb, respectively) approved by food sanitary standard. Therefore, it can be concluded that there is no health problems due to the consumption of brands of rice grains, for these two elements. The results indicated that weekly intake of Cd and Pb from rice grains was below the provisional tolerable weekly intakes recommended by WHO/FAO.

Oro-dental health status and salivary characteristics in children with chronic renal failure

Children suffering from decreased renal function may demand unique considerations regarding special oral and dental conditions they are encountered to. It is mentioned that renal function deterioration may affect the hard or soft tissues of the mouth. Having knowledge about the high prevalence of dental defects, calculus, gingival hyperplasia, modified salivary composition and tissue responses to the dental plaque may aid the physician and the dentist to help nurture the patient with chronic renal failure through the crisis, with an aesthetically satisfying and functioning dentition.

[Early diagnosis of gestational diabetes by amniotic fluid insulin levels?]

BACKGROUND

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) occurs in 3-5% of all pregnant women. As there is no general screening in Germany, many cases remain undetected. Maternal as well as foetal morbidity are increased in GDM. The aim of this study was to investigate whether amniotic fluid insulin or C-peptide levels, collected by genetic amniocentesis in early pregnancy, are predictive for gestational diabetes. Patients at risk for developing GDM might be identified and treated very early.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

260 patients having a genetic amniocentesis were included in this prospective trial. Insulin and C-peptide levels were identified in frozen amniotic fluid samples. All patients should undergo an oral glucose tolerance (oGTT) test at 24-28 weeks of gestation. Only cases with normal genetic screening, normal foetal sonomorphology and birth at term were included in this trial. 90 of 260 patients having an amniocentesis underwent the oGTT and fulfilled all inclusion criteria.

RESULTS

GDM was diagnosed in 8 patients, in another 6 patients only one glucose level was out of the normal range. Neither amniotic fluid insulin nor C-peptide levels showed significant differences between normal and GDM pregnancies. The insulin and C-peptide levels did not correlate with blood glucose levels or with foetal weight.

CONCLUSIONS

In contrast to literature reports, according to these data no relationship between amniotic fluid insulin or C-peptide levels and gestational diabetes can be assumed. Amniotic fluid insulin or C-peptide levels are not predictive for GDM.

Designing of an online system for radiocaesium measurements in the marine environment

An online radiocaesium measuring system (ORMS) is designed to determine the environmental radiocaesium contamination of sea water near the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP). The System consists of a 400-liter, spherical stainless steel water tank, including three aluminum (0.5mm) enclosure NaI (TI) detectors, which each are located in 120° phase angle with size (6×3in.) to confirm each other. Responses of detectors to gamma radiations were calculated, using Monte Carlo code MCNP.4C. Moreover, delay time of each response and the dead time of the whole system to be considered due to designing decisions were calculated.

PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism analysis of fljB gene in Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Typhimurium isolated from avians

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Economic constraint of diseases arising from Salmonella Typhimurium causes the study of this zoonotic organism more important. Most studies on identification and characterization of S. Typhimurium are conducted at DNA level. Flagellin genes (fliC and fljB genes encoding phase-1 and phase-2 flagella, respectively) are useful as a model system for studying genetic differentiation. The objectives of the present study were to identify the polymorphism of fljB among avians in different regions by the PCR-RFLP method.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifty-two S. Typhimurium isolates out of 1,870 intestine samples were identified using culture and serotyping as well as multiplex-PCR (broiler (n=13), layer (n=12), duck (n=5), goose (n=5), sparrow (n=8), canary (n=3), pigeon (n=5) and casco parrot (n=1)). Amplification of fljB gene was performed and amplified products subjected to restriction digestion with Hha I enzyme.

RESULTS

Two RFLP patterns generated DNA fragments between approximately 50 to 800 bps. Pattern A was observed in 33 (63.46%) and pattern B in 19 (36.54%) of isolates. Salmonella Typhimurium recovered from 13 broilers (ten with pattern A and 3 with pattern B) and 8 sparrow (three with pattern A and 5 with pattern B) showed both A and B patterns. Twelve layers, 5 pigeons and 3 canaries showed pattern A and 5 ducks, 5 geese and one casco parrot showed pattern B. None of these patterns was allotted for a special region.

CONCLUSION

The results of the present study showed that fljB gene is highly conserved among avians in different geographical regions, suggesting not only the importance of fljB gene in survival of organism in different environmental conditions but also the relation between proteins encoded by fljB gene and serotyping scheme.