Titanium scaffold osteogenesis in healthy and osteoporotic rats is improved by the use of low-level laser therapy (GaAlAs)

The present study aimed to assess the effects of low-level laser therapy (GaAlAs) on the bone repair process within titanium scaffolds in the femurs of healthy and osteoporotic rats. Fifty-six rats were divided into four groups: group Sh: SHAM animals that received scaffolds; group LSh: SHAM animals that received scaffolds and were subjected to laser therapy; group OV: ovarietomized (OVX) animals that received scaffolds; and group LOV: OVX animals that received scaffolds and were subjected to laser therapy. Thirty days following ovariectomy or sham surgery, scaffolds were implanted in the left femurs of all animals in the study. Immediately after opening the surgical site, the inner part of the surgical cavity was stimulated with low-level laser (GaAlAs). In addition to this procedure, the laser group was also subjected to sessions of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) at 48-h intervals, with the first session performed immediately after surgery. The rats were sacrificed at 2 and 6 weeks, time in which femur fragments were submitted for histological and histomorphometric examination, and skin tissue above the scaffold was submitted to histological analysis. At the end of the study, greater bone formation was observed in the animals submitted to LLLT. At 2 and 6 weeks, statistically significant differences were observed between LSh and Sh groups (p?=?0.009 and 0.0001) and LOV and OV (p?=?0.0001 and 0.0001), respectively. No statistical difference was observed when assessing the estrogen variable. On the basis of our methodology and results, we conclude that LLLT improves and accelerates bone repair within titanium scaffolds in both ovariectomized and healthy rats, when compared to animals not subjected to radiation.     

The effect of definitions of activities of daily living on estimates of changing ability among older people

Physical functioning status is often assessed using scales of activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. Different ways of defining change in adequacy of performance of both activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living tasks may be used, including increasing difficulty in performance, the need for assistance and inability to do tasks. In this prospective study, we investigated the effect of different definitions of decline on estimates of physical function, and explored the relationships between decline in each activity of daily living individually and potential predictors. The study was based on a sample of 999 individuals aged 65 years or more who participated in a national survey of quality of life, of whom 531 (68% of those eligible for follow up) responded 12-18 months later. Different definitions of decline were used and the prevalence of decline was, depending on the individual activities of daily living item, used as an outcome in logistic regression models. The results showed that the strength of association with chronic diseases, demographic, psychological and environmental factors varied by altering the activities of daily living item used. Decline in ability to walk 400 yards was strongly associated with respiratory problems (odds ratio 3.5 [95% confidence interval 1.3-9.0]) while decline in ability to get on a bus was associated with musculoskeletal problems (odds ratio 2.8 [95% confidence interval 1.4-5.6]). In conclusion, the prevalence of decline varies by definition, and summary measures which are customarily used to describe disability, may be inadequate for the assessment and identification of predictors of decline in functional ability.     

Evaluation of Intradermal Injection of Botulinum Toxin A for Facial Lifting

BACKGROUND: Intradermal botolinum toxin A (BTXA) is an advanced technique that emerged in response to the increased demand for noninvasive facial lifting and skin rejuvenation. OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intradermal injections of BTXA for facial lifting. METHODS: Twenty-five female patients with mild symmetrical facial skin laxity were enrolled in this study. All patients were treated with BTXA in one side of the face while the other side was injected with normal saline. The response to treatment was assessed by two dermatologists who evaluated global photographs using a quartile grading scale (QGS). The patient self-assessment and satisfaction questionnaires were recorded. RESULTS: A highly significant difference was found between the side injected with BTXA and the saline injected side (control) (p<0.001). Facial lifting was achieved in 58.66 percent of the sides injected with BTXA. Forty-four percent of patients were very satisfied. Older patients showed better improvement than younger patients (p=<0.001). The results persisted for 16 weeks. No adverse effects were observed. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that intradermal injection of BTXA could be a safe and effective therapeutic option for face lifting.     

A new method for the solution of hybrid analog digital beamforming problems

By going to millimeter wave (mmWave) we can use large scale MIMO due to short mmWave wavelength to overcome path loss by using beamforming to focus power of signal to the receiver. System structure of mmWave band is different with conventional MIMO because of large scale MIMO which is leading to use many RF-chains. For this reason Hybrid structure have been proposed for large Scale MIMO. By going to Hybrid structure a new issue has been created with phase shifter constraint. In this paper we propose a novel solution to make a hybrid precoding and combing to reach high spectral efficiency. Our problem includes a maximizing Frobenius norm of multiplying five complex matrices. As constraints, all elements of some matrices must have unit norm, and also the multiplication of some matrices must have a specific Frobenius norm. A novel solution is proposed for the problem, which is gained in two steps. At the first step, we propose a new decomposition usable for kind of complex matrices which could lead to reduce the dimension of the objective function, and eliminating constraints completely and in the second step, we propose an iterated algorithm for the resulting problem. By proposing another novel technique, we show that in each iteration, the optimal problem is equivalent to a quadratic optimal problem with limitations on the vector norm, and as a result, an optimal problem is obtained quickly. Moreover, some other real examples are included to demonstrate the usefulness and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.     

Topical henna ameliorated capecitabine-induced hand-foot syndrome

Background: Hand-foot syndrome (HFS) is the most frequently reported side effect of oral capecitabine therapy. In addition to treatment interruption and dose reduction, supportive treatments can help alleviate symptoms. Although its efficacy has not been proven in clinical studies, certain authors report on the use of prophylactic or therapeutic pyridoxine supplementation for the prevention of minimization to be useful in preventing worsening of HFS but are no substitute for dose modifications.

Case report: We report a case of an interesting observation in a patient with pancreatic cancer receiving capecitabine whose HFS was improved with the use of “henna”.

Discussion: Henna has been used for histories as a medicine, preservative, and cosmetic. Our case underlines the basis to further evaluate the anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and analgesic effects of henna. We encourage other investigators to publish any similar cases or any other herbal or non-drug therapies. HFS is a common side effect of many drugs, including capecitabine, sorafinib and regorafenib. HFS is bothersome for patients even in low grades and impacts quality of life of patients. HFS cannot be prevented and currently the treatments aimed at controlling syndrome are not very effective. Exploring other potential treatment or management options such as henna is of high value.     

Erythropoietin,a novel repurposed drug: An innovative treatment for wound healing in patients with diabetes mellitus

Developing a new drug is expensive: the cost of going from bench to bedside is about $US1 billion. Therefore, the repurposing of an approved drug is potentially rewarding because it expands the drug's existing therapeutic profile and preempts additional development costs. As the safety profile of a repurposed drug is already well known, any new investigations could then focus on its efficacy and other therapeutic benefits. Recombinant erythropoietin (EPO) is a potential candidate for repurposing because the results of numerous studies have shown that systemic and topical EPO is therapeutically beneficial when it is administered to healthy and diabetic animals with acute and chronic skin wounds and burns. Moreover, the molecular mechanisms of EPO's actions have been elucidated: EPO acts on those nonhematopoietic cells which are involved in the innate immune response where it promotes cellular proliferation and differentiation, exerts its cytoprotective actions, and inhibits apoptosis. In this review, the mechanism of EPO's action in skin wound healing is reviewed, and its potential for treating acute and chronic skin wounds and stimulating tissue regeneration in diabetic patients is discussed.     

Synthesis of thioether derivatives of quinazoline-4-one-2-thione and evaluation of their antiplatelet aggregation activity

A series of 2-(arylmethylthio)-3-phenylquinazolin-4-one derivatives have been synthesized and their antiplatelet aggregation activities were assessed against ADP and arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation in human plasma. Among the tested thioethers, derivative 2, 3, 5 and 16 were the most potent compounds with satisfactory IC₅₀ for inhibition of platelet aggregation induced by ADP. Analysis of global physicochemical parameters shows some correlations between activities and molecular volume and also surface area of the studied derivatives.