Design, development and evaluation of a mobile-based self-care application for patients with COVID-19 not requiring hospitalization; a study of Northwest of Iran

BACKGROUND

Given the effective role of a mobile applications in disease management, disease monitoring, and self-care in patients with COVID-19 disease, we aimed to design, development and evaluation of a self-care Mobile app for COVID-19 patients not requiring hospitalization.

METHODS

The design, development and evaluation the usability of the self-care and education mobile app for patients with COVID-19 disease were conducted in two main phases at 2021 in Northwest of IRAN; (1) Determine the features and capabilities and (2) Design, development and evaluation of self-care mobile App. JAVA programming languages and Android Operating System were used and selected to design and development of a mobile app. There were 25 participants who conducted evaluations of the mobile app's usability and impact using the mobile health app usability a Questionnaire of User Interface Satisfaction was administered to assess the usability of the developed application. The results were analyzed via Excel 2013.

RESULTS

The model of developing a mobile app as an Information System was the Waterfall model. The smartphone application based on a set of capabilities and features was designed and consists of two main parts: the login screen for user registration, and the main home menu. The user interface includes three main pages or activities; (a) Main Menu for quick access to all of the pages, (b) Symptom management and monitoring to monitor the signs and symptoms during the illness, and (c) Set Reminders and Alarms to notify patients. The users' mean score of the application usability was calculated as 7.91 out of 9 indicating a good level of satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

This app can be a guideline and a useful tools for managing and monitoring symptoms, reminding medications, and implementing self-care instructions in outpatients. The authors suggest evaluating the efficacy and functionality test of mobile-based applications for COVID-19 in clinical trial studies.

Assessment of virtual education during the covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of faculty members and students: a cross-sectional descriptive study in northwest Iran

BACKGROUND

Since the coronavirus outbreak, many countries have replaced traditional education with virtual education in order to prevent the disease spread, and also avoid stopping education. The aim of the present study was to assess the virtual education status at Khalkhal University of Medical Sciences during the covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of students and faculty members.

METHODS

This is a descriptive-cross-sectional study that was conducted between December 2021and February 2022. The study population included faculty members and students who were selected by consensus. Data collection instruments included demographic information form and a virtual education assessment questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using independent T-test, one sample T-test, Pearson Correlation, and ANOVA test in SPSS software.

RESULTS

A total of 231 students and 22 faculty members of Khalkhal University of Medical Sciences participated in the present study. The response rate was 66.57%. The mean and standard deviation of assessment scores of students (3.3 ± 0.72) were lower than those of faculty members (3.94 ± 0.64), which showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.01). User access to the virtual education system (3.8 ± 0.85) and lesson presentation (4.28 ± 0.71) obtained the highest scores from the perspective of students and faculty members, respectively. There was a statistically significant association between employment status and the assessment score of faculty members (p = 0.01), and the field of study (p < 0.01), the year of university entrance (p = 0.01), and the assessment score of students.

CONCLUSION

The results showed a higher than mean assessment score in both groups of faculty members and students. There was a difference between faculty members and students in terms of virtual education scores in the parts that require the creation of better processes and more complete capabilities in the systems, which seems that more detailed planning and reforms will improve the process of virtual education.

Telemedicine technologies and applications in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Telemedicine services saw substantial surges in their use during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the lockdowns and characteristics of the pandemic. Therefore, the authors aimed to systematically review the telemedicine services provided during the COVID-19 pandemic and their potential applications.

METHODS

The authors searched PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases on September 14, 2021. Then, the retrieved records underwent two-step title/abstract and full-text screening processes, and the eligible articles were included for qualitative synthesis.

RESULTS

The review of studies demonstrated that the telephone is listed 38 times, making it the most common technology used in telemedicine. Video conferencing is also mentioned in 29 articles, as well as other technologies: Mobile-health (n = 15), Virtual reality (n = 7). According to the findings of the present study, Tele-follow-up (n = 24), Tele-consulting (n = 20), Virtual visits (20), and Tele-monitoring (n = 18) were the most widely used telemedicine applications.

CONCLUSION

Telemedicine has been an effective approach to COVID-19 management. Telemedicine technology is going to play a key role in the future of health medicine, patient consultation, and many other extended applications of health care in remote rural locations.

Public Health Risk Evaluation through Mathematical Optimization in the Process of PPPs

The public sector is becoming increasingly appealing. In the context of declining public money to support health studies and public health interventions, public-private partnerships with entities (including government agencies and scientific research institutes) are becoming increasingly important. When forming this type of cooperation, the participants highlight synergies between the private partners and the public's missions or goals. The tasks of private and public sector actors, on the other hand, frequently diverge significantly. The integrity and honesty of public officials, institutions, trust, and faith in those individuals and institutions may all be jeopardized by these collaborations. In this study, we use the institutional corruption framework to highlight systemic concerns raised by PPPs affiliated with the governments of one of South Asia's countries. Overall analytical frameworks for such collaborations tend to downplay or disregard these systemic impacts and their ethical implications, as we argue. We offer some guidelines for public sector stakeholders that want to think about PPPs in a more systemic and analytical way. Partnership as a default paradigm for engagement with the private sector needs to be reconsidered by public sector participants. They also need to be more vocal about which goals they can and cannot fulfill, given the limitations of public financing resources.

Efficacy of low-level laser therapy in oral mucosal surgical wound healing: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim: Wound healing is a complex phenomenon with various biological changes in tissue integrity, low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has acquired several unique components to help into accelerating tissue reconstruction and eventually wound healing. Thus, in the present systematic review and meta-analysis study, the role of LLLT in oral mucosal wound healing following surgical interventions was investigated. Methods: The study databases, including PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Cochrane, were searched by two blinded investigators considering eligible studies based on the following keywords: “Wound Healing”, “Oral Mucosal Wound Healing”, “Laser therapy”, “Low-level laser therapy”, “Oral Surgery”, “Photobiomodulation therapy”, among 88 screened, only 12 articles were eligible for the final analysis. Results: There was a significant difference between control and laser group in all mentioned studies in the case of wound epithelialization in gingiva, with weighted mean difference (MD) of –0.28, [95% confidence interval (CI): –0.37, –0.19, P < 0.001], periodontium 1 day postoperative, with weighted MD of –0.56 (95% CI: –0.84, –0.27, P < 0.001) and 7 days postoperative, with weighted MD of –0.73 (95% CI: –0.97, –0.49, P < 0.001). In the cases of postoperative pain, LLLT has significantly declined pain in comparison with control group with weighted MD of –0.47 (95% CI: –0.69, –0.24, P < 0.001) for 7 days postoperative and –0.55 (95% CI: –0.96, –0.13, P = 0.005) 14 days postoperatively. Conclusions: LLLT can be used as a promising tool in oral surgeries because of its inevitable capability in accelerating wound healing and reducing intraoperative pain.

Design, development, and evaluation of a registry system for hyperbaric oxygen therapy: A methodological study

Background and Aims

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), utilizes 100% oxygen at pressures greater than sea‐level atmospheric pressure, for the treatment of conditions in which the tissues starve for oxygen. The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) has granted HBOT approval for the treatment of various conditions. On the other hand, applying informatics registry systems can improve care delivery, ameliorate outcomes, and reduce the costs and medical errors for the patients receiving HBOT treatment. Therefore, we aimed to design, develop, and evaluate a registry system for patients undergoing HBOT.

Methods

In the first phase, the conceptual and logical models were designed after conducting symposiums with experts and having other experts review the models. In the second phase, the system was developed on the web using ASP.NET  and C# programming languages frameworks. The last phase involved Nielsen's heuristic evaluation method for the system's usability. Five experts evaluated the system, including three health information management specialists and two medical informatics specialists.

Results

The hyperbaric patient information registry system (HPIRS) interacts with three types of users—a specialist physician, a nurse, and a system administrator. A scenario for each predefined activity was designed, and all the information was stored in the SQL servers. The five experts independently found 152 issues, of which 84 were duplicates. The 68 distinct issues of the system were then resolved.

Conclusions

The design and development of such registry systems can make data available and stored carefully to improve clinical care and medical research and decrease costs and errors. These registries can provide the healthcare systems with E‐health applications, improved data management, more secure data transfer, and support for statistical reporting. The implemented heuristic evaluation method can also provide a low‐cost and readily available system to fix the issues of the designed systems.

Design and Development of a Mobile-Based Self-Care Application for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

INTRODUCTION

Mobile-based applications play a leading role in changes in life-style, improve medication adherence, and provide a unique opportunity to aid patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) elevate their healthcare level. Therefore, we aim to design and develop a mobile-based self-care application for patients with T2DM.

METHODS

The present study was an applied and developmental study to design and develop a mobile-based self-care application for people living with T2DM conducted in 2020. The design and development of the T2DM self-care application were done in 2 main phases of determining the key features and capabilities, and design and development of the T2DM self-care mobile app.

RESULTS

We identified the main model and a set of capabilities and features for the T2DM self-care application. By content analysis on 32 different applications and a previous study by the author, 18 features were extracted for the T2DM self-care mobile app. JAVA programming languages were used to design T2DM applications. Moreover, because of the cost-effectiveness, the Android operating system (AOS) was selected as a platform, and because of the widespread use of smartphones; these phones were chosen as the format of T2DM self-care application.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, we design and develop a mobile-based self-care application for patients with type 2 diabetes that shows potential in solving the shortcomings of mobile apps for diabetes care. By utilizing the T2DM self-care mobile app we are able to deploy a self-care application with a wide range of functionality such as text messaging, blood glucose monitoring, insulin dose suggestions, educational messaging, metabolic management, pedometer counts, and reporting. Future studies are needed to develop self-care applications for a different type of diabetes with different functions of diabetes care.

Mobile applications in HIV self-management: A systematic review of scientific literature

Self-management through mHealth by mobile apps creates new opportunities for people living with HIV (PLHIV) for integrated and accurate management. Our study focused on current evidence on HIV selfmanagement mobile applications to identify and assess their objective, infrastructure, and target populations. A systematic review was conducted on studies that use apps to improve self-management among HIV-positive patients, using PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Science direct, UpToDate, and Web of Science databases. The search was limited to English-written articles and published in the past 10 years. A search of Google Play for Android and App Store for iOS devices was performed to find the apps identified in the included articles. Concerning the aim of this study, the target populations of 17 identified HIV-apps were found to be mainly directed at PLHIV (n = 15). Furthermore, the objectives of 17 identified HIV-apps were found to self-care, self-monitoring, and self-management (n = 7), improve medication adherence (n = 5), prevention and treatment (n = 5), adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) (n = 4), Cognitive Behavioral Stress Management (n = 1), and support safer conception among HIV couples (n = 1). The operating system of most HIV-apps was Android (n = 15), one app for iOS and seven apps was both of them, and most apps were free (n = 19). The findings indicate that mHealth strategies for PLHIV have had a substantial positive effect on ART, drug adherence, prevention, and treatment, as well as social and behavioral problems affecting PLHIV. Even though the mHealth market needs to be regulated, it specifies that mHealth is relevant and should be used in the self-management, self-monitoring, and self-care of PLHIV.

Conservation of Buck's Spermatozoa during Cooling Storage Period through Cooling Medium Supplementation with L-Carnitine

This research examined the influence of the addition of L-carnitine (LC) to cooling medium on buck's semen quality during cooling storage periods at 4oC. Semen samples were collected, diluted, assigned into four groups, and received LC (0, 1, 5, and 10 mM LC). The samples were then chilled to 4oC and stores for 48 h. Sperm total motility, progressive motility, viability, lipid peroxidation, membrane integrity, and mitochondrial activity were examined at 0, 24, and 48 h of cooling storage. At time 0 of cooling storage, different treatments showed no impact on the quality of sperm samples (P>0.05). During 24 and 48 h of chilling periods, the supplementation of cooling medium with 5 mM LC presented greater motility, viability, membrane integrity, and mitochondrial activity (P≤0.05), compared to the other groups. Moreover, the treatment of 5 mM LC caused lower lipid peroxidation (P≤0.05) than the other treatments at 24 and 48 h storage times. In conclusion, the supplementation of buck's cooling storage medium with 5 mM LC is a suitable way to protect buck spermatozoa during 24 and 48 h storage against cold-induced structural and functional damages.

How to Manage Red Alert in Emergency and Disaster Unit in the Hospital? Evidence From London

This research gave an overview of coordinated hospital planning issues. In these issues, patients desire an arrangement for different source types, ideally as quickly as time permits. This field of context has just picked up academic interest, despite its reality since 1995. The way may discover a clarification for the above aspect that managing the hospital sources is regularly performed separately without taking a bigger picture. Therefore, it is particularly valid if the sources are situated in different departments. Another subsequent clarification may be related to the notoriety of the patient flow context. Hence, patients shouldn't be planned in these issues to be queued for another source or leave the system in case of their satisfaction of solicitation for the services at a particular source. The primary contribution of the present research is assisting present and new scholars via enumeration for every progression of the study of accessible decisions in the present context. Such means could be represented by major references for scientists to discover such studies endeavors tailored to their respective requirements. This principle removes the message: scientists ought to consistently coordinate their decisions concerning the setting, the capacity, and the approaches, as not all blends are conceivable.

Vaccines for COVID-19: A Review of Feasibility and Effectiveness

INTRODUCTION

Many potential vaccines for COVID-19 are being studied, and several studies have reported the results of these vaccines. We aimed to review the current evidence of the feasibility and effectiveness of Vaccines for COVID-19.

METHODS

A search was carried out utilizing the keywords in the online databases, including Scopus,Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane. We included both human and non-human studies because of the vaccine novelty, which could limit our ability to include sufficient human studies.

RESULTS

The review of studies showed that several SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are under development; different platforms are being used, including eight vaccines are adenovirus-based vectors, six vaccines are RNA-based formulations, one vaccine is DNA-based formulations, and other vaccines are using other platforms, including lipid nano particles.

CONCLUSION

It is crucial to gather as much clinically relevant evidence as possible regarding the immunogenicity, efficacy, and safety profiles of these vaccines and adhere wisely to CDC protocols and guidelines of vaccine production.

Security challenges and solutions using healthcare cloud computing

Cloud computing is among the most beneficial solutions to digital problems. Security is one of the focal issues in cloud computing technology, and this study aims at investigating security issues of cloud computing and their probable solutions. A systematic review was performed using Scopus, Pubmed, Science Direct, and Web of Science databases. Once the title and abstract were evaluated, the quality of studies was assessed in order to choose the most relevant according to exclusion and inclusion criteria. Then, the full texts of studies selected were read thoroughly to extract the necessary results. According to the review, data security, availability, and integrity, as well as information confidentiality and network security, were the major challenges in cloud security. Further, data encryption, authentication, and classification, besides application programming interfaces (API), were security solutions to cloud infrastructure. Data encryption could be applied to store and retrieve data from the cloud in order to provide secure communication. Besides, several central challenges, which make the cloud security engineering process problematic, have been considered in this study.

Genetic susceptibility of COVID-19: a systematic review of current evidence

INTRODUCTION

While COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread worldwide, researchers have linked patterns of traits to poor disease outcomes. Risk factors for COVID-19 include asthma, elderly age, being pregnant, having any underlying diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and experiencing lifelong systemic racism. Recently, connections to certain genes have also been found, although the susceptibility has not yet been established. We aimed to investigate the available evidence for the genetic susceptibility to COVID-19.

METHODS

This study was a systematic review of current evidence to investigate the genetic susceptibility of COVID-19. By systematic search and utilizing the keywords in the online databases including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Science Direct, we retrieved all the related papers and reports published in English from December 2019 to September 2020.

RESULTS

According to the findings, COVID-19 uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor for cell entry. Previous studies have shown that people with ACE2 polymorphism who have type 2 transmembrane serine proteases (TMPRSS2) are at high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Also, two studies have shown that males are more likely to become infected with SARS-CoV-2 than females. Besides, research has also shown that patients possessing HLA-B*15:03 genotype may become immune to the infection.

CONCLUSION

Combing through the genome, several genes related to immune system's response were related to the severity and susceptibility to the COVID-19. In conclusion, a correlation was found between the ACE2 levels and the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Identifying features of a mobile-based application for self-care of people living with T2DM

INTRODUCTION

Diabetes self-care requires support to empower patients to improve self-monitoring and maintain the necessary self-care behaviors. We aimed to identify features of a mobile-based application as a technology-based device for self-care of people living with T2DM.

METHOD

This study was conducted in two main phases in 2020. In the first phase, a literature review study was performed to identify the data elements and technical features of the T2DM self-care application. In the second phase, using the information obtained from the review of similar articles, a questionnaire was designed to validate identified requirements. The statistical population of the present study consisted of 22 endocrinologists and metabolic specialists.

RESULTS

Identification of 55 data elements and technical features for mobile-based self-care application for people with T2DM, and according to the statistical population, 15data elements for demographic requirements, 16 data elements for clinical requirements, and 17 features for the technical capability of this app were selected.

CONCLUSION

Blood sugar monitoring, exercise, nutrition, weight monitoring, and educational capabilities were the most highlighted technical features of the T2DM self-care application. Software designers can use these requirements to design a self-care app for people with type-2 diabetes that can help manage and improve patients' health status.

Beet pulp substituted for corn silage and barley grain in diets fed to dairy cows in the summer months: feed intake, total-tract digestibility, and milk production

The responses of dairy cows to the substitution of beet pulp (BP) for grain or forage are not consistent, and heat stress may affect the response of dairy cows to this substitution. The effects of substituted BP for corn silage and barley grain on feed intake, performance, and ruminal parameters were evaluated using eight multiparous Holstein cows in a duplicated 4 × 4 Latin square design with 21-day periods. Cows were in mid-lactation (45.4 ± 3.6 kg/day milk production and 116 ± 10 days in milk) with an average BW of 664 ± 41.2 kg. Dietary treatments were as follows: 1) 0% BP (0BP, control, 38.5% barley grain, and 20.3% corn silage); 2) 12% BP (12BP, 32.5% barley grain, and 14.3% corn silage); 3) 18% BP (18BP, 29.5% barley grain, and 11.3% corn silage); and 4) 24% BP (24BP, 26.5% barley grain, and 8.3% corn silage). Cows were under mild heat stress and the average temperature-humidity index was 70.5; increasing BP caused a linear decrease in respiration rate (P < 0.01). Higher BP in the diet caused a linear increase in DM intake (P = 0.01) and NDF digestibility (P = 0.03). Dry and organic matter (OM) digestibilities tended to increase linearly with higher BP (P < 0.10). Milk yield, energy-corrected milk, protein, lactose, and fat production and content were not affected by the treatments. Increasing BP in the diet caused a linear decrease in feed efficiency and rumen ammonia (P < 0.05) and a tendency to a linear decrease in milk urea nitrogen (P < 0.10). Rumen pH and acetate to propionate ratio were not affected by the replacement. Total volatile fatty acid concentration in the rumen increased linearly with increasing the BP inclusion (P = 0.04). Acetate and butyrate (P = 0.07) proportion tended to increase, whereas propionate (P = 0.06) and isovalerate (P = 0.08) proportion tended to decrease linearly as BP was substituted for corn silage and barley grain. The results indicated that under mild heat stress condition, BP can be successfully substituted for barley grain and corn silage up to 24% of the diet without any negative effect on production and ruminal pH.

- 1 - Analysis of the role of social support - cognitive psychology and emotional process approach

The eyes are extremely important for communication. The muscles around the eyes express emotional states, and the size of the pupil signals whether a person is aroused and alert or bored and fatigued. Pupil size is an overlooked social signal, yet is readily picked up by observers. Observers mirror their pupil sizes in response, which can influence social impressions. Pupil diameter is enhanced in a variety of emotional contexts, including viewing pictures, listening to sounds, and during the threat of shock. This study shows that people associate positive faces with large pupil sizes and negative faces with small pupil sizes. Although workplace social support has been described as a profoundly emotional activity, little is known about the emotional demands faced by employees or how these impacts on their well-being. This study examined relationships between ‘emotional labor,’ burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment), and job satisfaction in a sample of an employee who works in the banking sector or manufacturing sector. Also examined was whether workplace social support moderated any relationships found between emotional labor and strain. The relationship between job experience and emotional labor was also investigated.

Analysis of the role of social support - cognitive psychology and emotional process approach

The eyes are extremely important for communication. The muscles around the eyes express emotional states, and the size of the pupil signals whether a person is aroused and alert or bored and fatigued. Pupil size is an overlooked social signal, yet is readily picked up by observers. Observers mirror their pupil sizes in response, which can influence social impressions. Pupil diameter is enhanced in a variety of emotional contexts, including viewing pictures, listening to sounds, and during the threat of shock. This study shows that people associate positive faces with large pupil sizes and negative faces with small pupil sizes. Although workplace social support has been described as a profoundly emotional activity, little is known about the emotional demands faced by employees or how these impacts on their well-being. This study examined relationships between ‘emotional labor,’ burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment), and job satisfaction in a sample of an employee who works in the banking sector or manufacturing sector. Also examined was whether workplace social support moderated any relationships found between emotional labor and strain. The relationship between job experience and emotional labor was also investigated.

Performance and feeding behavior of dairy cows fed high-concentrate diets containing steam-flaked or ground corn varying in particle size

Steam-flaked corn (SFC) and ground corn (GC) of different particle sizes were evaluated for their effects on dry matter intake (DMI), milk yield and components, chewing activity, ration sorting, ruminal fermentation, and digestibility in lactating dairy cows. Eight multiparous Holstein cows in mid-lactation (46.6 ± 3.5 kg/d milk production and 101 ± 10 d in milk) were used in a double 4 × 4 Latin square design with 21-d periods. Cows were fed diets (dry matter basis) containing 36.2% forage (alfalfa hay and corn silage), 37.4% corn grain, and 26.4% other ingredients. The corn grain was ground (coarse: 1.08 mm; medium: 0.84 mm; and fine: 0.73 mm) or steam-flaked (SFC; density = 0.40 kg/L). The dry matter proportion retained on an 8-mm sieve was greater for the SFC diet than for the GC diets. There were no treatment effects on DMI, milk yield, fat-corrected milk, energy-corrected milk, fat or lactose yield, protein or lactose content, or milk urea nitrogen concentration. However, digestibility of dry matter and organic matter were greater for fine GC and SFC than the other diets. In addition, cows fed SFC had lower total-tract starch digestibility than cows fed GC diets. Cows fed SFC tended to have lower propionate proportion (22.8 vs. 27.1 mM) and total volatile fatty acid concentration (88.6 vs. 99.8 mM) in ruminal fluid than those fed GC diets. Acetate and butyrate concentration, acetate to propionate ratio, and ruminal concentration of ammonia-nitrogen were not affected by treatments. Ruminal pH (6.46 vs. 6.01) as well as milk fat content (2.75 vs. 2.59%) and efficiencies (fat-corrected milk/DMI and energy-corrected milk/DMI) were greater for SFC than GC, regardless of its particle size. Milk fat content tended to increase linearly with increasing particle size of GC. Eating activity (min/d) tended to be less for SFC compared with GC, but rumination activity (min/d) and total chewing activity (min/d) were not affected by processing or particle size. The results of study indicate that, compared with GC, steam flaking of corn with 400 g/L density increased milk fat content and efficiency of high-producing dairy cows without any negative effect on milk yield. For GC, milk fat content tended to linearly increase and starch digestibility decreased linearly with increasing particle size.

Haar wavelet method for solving nonlinear age-structured population models

In this study, Haar wavelet method is implemented for solving the nonlinear age-structured population model which is the nonclassic type of partial differential equation associated with boundary integral equation. This paper develops the flexibility of Haar wavelet method for reduction of the partial differential equation with nonlocal boundary conditions to an algebraic system. In fact, the simple structure of piecewise orthogonal Haar basis functions which leads to sparse matrices causes the convergence and computational efficiency. Some illustrative results show the reliability and accuracy of the presented method.

Effect of Cilia Beat Frequency on Muco-ciliary Clearance

BACKGROUND

The airway surface liquid (ASL), which is a fluid layer coating the interior epithelial surface of the bronchi and bronchiolesis, plays an important defensive role against foreign particles and chemicals entering lungs.

OBJECTIVE

Numerical investigation has been employed to solve two-layer model consisting of mucus layer as a viscoelastic fluid and periciliary liquid layer as a Newtonian fluid to study the effects of cilia beat frequency (CBF) at various amounts of mucus properties on muco-ciliary transport problem.

METHODS

Hybrid finite difference-lattice Boltzmann-method (FB-LBM) has been used to solve the momentum equations and to simulate cilia forces, and also the PCL-mucus interface more accurately, immersed boundary method (IBM) has been employed. The main contribution of the current study is to use an Oldroyd-B model as the constitutive equation of mucus.

RESULTS

Our results show that increasing CBF and decreasing mucus viscosity ratio have great effects on mucus flow, but the effect of viscosity ratio is more significant. The results also illustrate that the relation between cilia beat frequency and mean mucus velocity is almost linear and it has similar behavior at different values of viscosity ratio.

CONCLUSION

Numerical investigation based on hybrid IB-FD-LBM has been used to study the effect of CBF at various mounts of mucus viscosity ratio on the muco-ciliary clearance. The results showed that the effect of viscosity ratio on the muco-ciliary transport process is more significant compared with CBF.

Optimization of Multiple and Multipurpose Reservoir System Operations by Using Matrix Structure (Case Study: Karun and Dez Reservoir Dams)

Optimal operation of water resources in multiple and multipurpose reservoirs is very complicated. This is because of the number of dams, each dam's location (Series and parallel), conflict in objectives and the stochastic nature of the inflow of water in the system. In this paper, performance optimization of the system of Karun and Dez reservoir dams have been studied and investigated with the purposes of hydroelectric energy generation and providing water demand in 6 dams. On the Karun River, 5 dams have been built in the series arrangements, and the Dez dam has been built parallel to those 5 dams. One of the main achievements in this research is the implementation of the structure of production of hydroelectric energy as a function of matrix in MATLAB software. The results show that the role of objective function structure for generating hydroelectric energy in weighting method algorithm is more important than water supply. Nonetheless by implementing ε- constraint method algorithm, we can both increase hydroelectric power generation and supply around 85% of agricultural and industrial demands.

Evaluation of the effects of injection velocity and different gel concentrations on nanoparticles in hyperthermia therapy

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

In magnetic fluid hyperthermia therapy, controlling temperature elevation and optimizing heat generation is an immense challenge in practice. The resultant heating configuration by magnetic fluid in the tumor is closely related to the dispersion of particles, frequency and intensity of magnetic field, and biological tissue properties.

METHODS

In this study, to solve heat transfer equation, we used COMSOL Multiphysics and to verify the model, an experimental setup has been used.  To show the accuracy of the model, simulations have been compared with experimental results. In the second part, by using experimental results of nanoparticles distribution inside Agarose gel according to various gel concentration, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 4%, as well as the injection velocity, 4 µL/min, 10 µL/min, 20 µL/min, and 40 µL/min, for 0.3 cc magnetite fluid, power dissipation inside gel has been calculated and used for temperature prediction inside of the gel.

RESULTS

The Outcomes demonstrated that by increasing the flow rate injection at determined concentrations, mean temperature drops. In addition, 2% concentration has a higher mean temperature than semi spherical nanoparticles distribution.

CONCLUSION

The results may have implications for treatment of the tumor and any kind of cancer diseases.

Effects of seasonal acclimation on cold tolerance and biochemical status of the carob moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae Zeller, last instar larvae

The carob moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae, a pest of Punica granatum, overwinters as a larva. In this study, physiological changes, water content, cold hardiness and supercooling points (SCPs) in relation to ambient temperature in the overwintering period (October to March) and changes of these factors between diapausing (February) and non-diapausing (September) larvae were studied. Pupae that were derived from diapausing larvae (April) and from non-diapausing larvae (August) were also compared. Total body sugar, lipid and protein contents increased with decrease in the temperature and reached the highest levels (12.82, 1.99 and 6.11 mg g-1 body weight, respectively) in February, but glycogen content decreased and reached the lowest level (1.12 mg g-1 body weight) in February. There were significant differences in the levels of these compounds between diapausing and non-diapausing larvae, and pupae that were derived from diapausing and non-diapausing larvae. Trehalose and myo-inositol contents increased during diapause and reached the highest levels (0.50 and 0.07 mg g-1 body weight, respectively) in February. There were significant differences in the levels of these compounds between diapausing and non-diapausing larvae, but the differences between pupae that were derived from diapausing and non-diapausing larvae were not significant. The SCP of diapausing larvae (-17.3 °C) was significantly lower than in the non-diapausing larvae (-12.0 °C). SCP decreased gradually in autumn and reached the lowest level in the middle of winter. Changes of cold hardiness were inversely proportional to SCP changes. The lowest levels of water (65%) and weight (43.13 mg) were recorded in January and March, respectively. Most probably, lipids play a role as energy reserve, and low-molecular weight carbohydrates and polyols provide cryoprotection for overwintering larvae of the carob moth. Since the overwintering larvae die at temperatures above the SCP, the carob moth larvae were found to be a chill-intolerant insect.

Occupational stress and cardiovascular risk factors in high-ranking government officials and office workers

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular diseases are among the most important sources of mortality and morbidity, and have a high disease burden. There are some major well-known risk factors, which contribute to the development of these diseases. Occupational stress is caused due to imbalance between job demands and individual's ability, and it has been implicated as an etiology for cardiovascular diseases.

OBJECTIVES

This study was conducted to evaluate the cardiovascular risk factors and different dimensions of occupational stress in high-ranking government officials, comparing an age and sex-matched group of office workers with them.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We invited 90 high-ranking officials who managed the main governmental offices in a city, and 90 age and sex-matched office workers. The subjects were required to fill the occupational role questionnaire (Osipow) which evaluated their personal and medical history as well as occupational stress. Then, we performed physical examination and laboratory tests to check for cardiovascular risk factors. Finally, the frequency of cardiovascular risk factors and occupational stress of two groups were compared.

RESULTS

High-ranking officials in our study had less work experience in their current jobs and smoked fewer pack-years of cigarette, but they had higher waist and hip circumference, higher triglyceride level, more stress from role overload and responsibility, and higher total stress score. Our group of office workers had more occupational stress because of role ambiguity and insufficiency, but their overall job stress was less than officials.

CONCLUSIONS

The officials have higher scores in some dimensions of occupational stress and higher overall stress score. Some cardiovascular risk factors were also more frequent in managers.

Ergonomic intervention, workplace exercises and musculoskeletal complaints: a comparative study

BACKGROUND

Musculoskeletal disorders are among the most prevalent occupational disorders in different jobs such as office work. Some interventions such as ergonomic modifications and workplace exercises are introduced as the methods for alleviating these disorders. In this study we compared the effect of ergonomic modifications and workplace exercises on musculoskeletal pain and discomfort in a group of office workers.

METHODS

In an interventional study on office workers, the effect of two interventions was compared. Ergonomic modification consisted of correcting the arrangement of workstation and changing some equipment; workplace exercises included stretching exercises focusing on neck, shoulders, low back, and hand and wrist. Musculoskeletal complaints were assessed and compared before and after 1 month interventions.

RESULTS

The frequency of musculoskeletal complaints was high before the study. Both interventions significantly reduced complaints in a similar manner except for low back pain which was reduced in exercise group more than the other group.

CONCLUSION

In this study we found a beneficial short-term effect for both ergonomic modifications and stretching work-place exercises on reducing musculoskeletal pain in office workers.

Prevalence of Cardiovascular Risk Factors among Tile and Ceramic Workers in Yazd, Iran

Introduction. Cardiovascular disorders (CVDs) are among the most important diseases in the world and determination of their risk factors is essential for primary and secondary prevention. This study aimed to evaluate these risk factors in workers of tile and ceramic industry, a main industry in Yazd. Materials and Methods. In a cross-sectional study, 1075 tile and ceramic workers were selected by simple sampling method. BMI, blood pressure, FBS, and lipid profile were measured and compared to international standards. Results. 731 individuals (68%) had at least one risk factor, and 52%, 12%, 3%, and 0.7% had one, two, three, and four risk factors, respectively. The most common risk factor was abnormal BMI (49.6%); low HDL (48.4%) and high TG (14.1%) were in the second and third orders. Conclusion. This study showed a relatively high prevalence for CVD risk factors among tile and ceramic workers. Low HDL, high TG, and overweight were the most frequent risk factors in this population.

The effect of high-intensity intermittent exercise on body composition of overweight young males

To determine the effect of a 12-week high intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE) intervention on total body, abdominal, trunk, visceral fat mass, and fat free mass of young overweight males. Participants were randomly assigned to either exercise or control group. The intervention group received HIIE three times per week, 20 min per session, for 12 weeks. Aerobic power improved significantly (P < 0.001) by 15% for the exercising group. Exercisers compared to controls experienced significant weight loss of 1.5 kg (P < 0.005) and a significant reduction in total fat mass of 2 kg (P < 0.001). Abdominal and trunk adiposity was also significantly reduced in the exercising group by 0.1 kg (P < 0.05) and 1.5 kg (P < 0.001). Also the exercise group had a significant (P < 0.01) 17% reduction in visceral fat after 12 weeks of HIIE, whereas waist circumference was significantly decreased by week six (P < 0.001). Fat free mass was significantly increased (P < 0.05) in the exercising group by 0.4 kg for the leg and 0.7 kg for the trunk. No significant change (P > 0.05) occurred in levels of insulin, HOMA-IR, and blood lipids. Twelve weeks of HIIE resulted in significant reductions in total, abdominal, trunk, and visceral fat and significant increases in fat free mass and aerobic power.

The role of biodegradable engineered scaffolds seeded with Schwann cells for spinal cord regeneration

Spinal cord injury is very complicated, as there are factors in the body that inhibit its repair. Although regeneration of the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) was once thought to be impossible, studies over the past two decades have shown that axonal growth after spinal cord injury can occur when provided with the correct substratum. Traditionally, tissue transplantation or peripheral nerve grafting are used to repair damaged or diseased regions of the CNS, but donor shortage and immunological problems associated with infectious disease are often encountered. Fortunately, recent advances in neuroscience, cell culture, and biomaterials provide optimistic future using new treatments for nerve injuries. Biomaterial scaffold creates substrate within which cells are instructed to form a tissue or an organ in a highly controlled way. The principal function of a scaffold is to direct cell behavior such as migration, proliferation, differentiation, maintenance of phenotype, and apoptosis by facilitating sensing and responding to the environment via cell-matrix and cell-cell communications. Therefore, having such abilities provides scaffolds seeded with a special type of cell as an important part of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine which spinal cord regeneration is an example of. Nevertheless, the vast number of biodegradable synthetic and natural biopolymers makes choosing the right one very difficult. In this review article, it was tried to provide an inclusive survey of biopolymers seeded with Schwann cells (SCs) to be used for axonal regeneration in the nervous system.