Incidence of pressure ulcers in intensive care units and direct costs of treatment: Evidence from Iran

Background and objective

Pressure ulcer (PU) is one of the important and frequent complications of hospitalization, associated with high treatment costs. The present study was conducted to determine the incidence of PU and its direct treatment costs for patients in intensive care unit (ICU) in Iran.

Decorin treatment of spinal cord injury

The scarring response after a penetrant central nervous system injury results from the interaction between invading leptominingeal/pericyte-derived fibroblasts and endogenous reactive astrocytes about the wound margin. Extracellular matrix and scar-derived axon growth inhibitory mole- cules fill the lesion site providing both a physical and chemical barrier to regenerating axons. Dec orin, a small leucine-rich chondroitin-dermatan sulphate proteoglycan expressed by neurons and astrocytes in the central nervous system, is both anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory and attenu- ates the formation and partial dissolution of established and chronic scars. Here, we discuss the potential of using Decorin to antagonise scarring in the central nervous system.     

Serum vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 as a potential biomarker in psoriasis

To discover novel biomarkers of psoriasis, a target‐specific antibody array screening of serum samples from psoriasis patients was initially performed. The results revealed that vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 (VEGFR‐3) was significantly elevated in the sera of psoriasis patients, compared to healthy controls. Next, ELISA validation studies in a larger cohort of psoriasis patients (N = 73) were conducted, which confirmed that serum VEGFR‐3 was indeed significantly increased in patients with psoriasis compared to healthy controls (P < 0.001). Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that serum VEGFR‐3 exhibited potential in distinguishing healthy controls from psoriasis patients: area under the curve = 0.85, P < 0.001. In addition, serum levels of VEGFR‐3 were correlated with Psoriasis Area Severity Index scores (R = 0.32, P = 0.008) in psoriasis patients. Interestingly, serum VEGFR‐3 levels were significantly elevated in psoriatic arthritis compared to non‐psoriatic arthritis (P = 0.026). A pilot longitudinal study demonstrated that serum levels of VEGFR‐3 could reflect disease progression in psoriasis. Collectively, serum VEGFR‐3 may have a clinical value in monitoring disease activity of psoriasis.     

Validation of Spectrophotometric Method for Determination of Thiamazole in Liquids by Dissolution Test for the Transdermal Form

Pharmaceutical Chemistry Journal - The purpose of this work was to validate the method of UV absorption spectrophotometry for the determination of thiamazole in transdermal patches during their...     

Erythropoietin attenuates motor impairments induced by bilateral renal ischemia/reperfusion in rats

Neurologic sequelae remain a common and destructive problem in patients with acute kidney injury. The objective of this study was to evaluate the possible neuroprotective effect of erythropoietin (EPO) on motor impairments following bilateral renal ischemia (BRI) in two time points after reperfusion: short term (24 h) and long term (1 week). Male Wistar rats underwent BRI or sham surgery. EPO or saline administration was performed 30 min before surgery (1000 U/kg, i.p.). Explorative behaviors and motor function of the rats were evaluated by open field, rotarod, and wire grip tests. Plasma concentrations of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr) were significantly enhanced in BRI rats 24 h after reperfusion. BRI group had only an increased level of BUN but not Cr 1 week after reperfusion. Impairment of balance function by BRI was not reversed by EPO 24 h after reperfusion, but counteracted 7 days after renal ischemia. Muscle strength had no significant differences between the groups. BRI group had a decrease in locomotor activity, and EPO could not reverse this reduction in both time points of the experiment. Although EPO could not be offered as a potential neuroprotective agent in the treatment of motor dysfunctions induced by BRI, it could be effective against balance dysfunction 1 week after renal ischemia.     

Intracerebral injection of low amounts of norharman induces moderate Parkinsonism-like behavioral symptoms in rat

β-Carbolines (BCs) are considered to be endogenous toxins and have been proposed as possible causative candidates inducing Parkinson's disease (PD). However, there is controversy about the effect and also effective dose of these compounds in the etiology of PD. This study was designed to further examine the effect of norharman (NH), a BC which in mammalian brain occurs at high levels in the substantia nigra, on the development of Parkinsonism-like behaviors in rats. A small amount (4μl) of NH solution at 2 or 200ng/ml was unilaterally injected into either striatum or substantia nigra (SN) by stereotaxic surgery. The development of Parkinsonism was assessed by three conventional behavioral tests, compared to the effects of unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) - induced lesions in the nigrostriatal pathway. An apomorphine-induced rotational test revealed no Parkinsonism-like behavior in the NH treated groups. However, rats that received the high concentration of NH into their SN showed significant biased swings in the elevated body swing test. In a rotarod test, NH treated groups showed relatively weak motor performance and their learning patterns were close to that of the 6-OHDA treated rats. Considering that the rotational test is only valid in animals with severe Parkinsonism, but time spent on the rotating rod correlates inversely with severity of Parkinsonism, our results indicate that a single exposure to low amounts of NH is effective in producing moderate Parkinsonism-like behavioral symptoms, possibly through a neurotoxic effect of this agent on the SN dopaminergic neurons.     

Selective photocatalytic oxidation of aromatic alcohols to aldehydes with air by magnetic WO3ZnO/Fe3O4. In situ photochemical synthesis of 2-substituted benzimidazoles

Recently, visible light-driven organic photochemical synthesis has been a pioneering field of interest from academic and industrial associations due to its unique features of green and sustainable chemistry. Herein, WO₃ZnO/Fe₃O₄ was synthesized, characterized, and used as an efficient magnetic photocatalyst in the preparation of a range of 2-substituted benzimidazoles via the condensation of benzyl alcohol and o-phenylenediamine in ethanol at room temperature for the first time. The key feature of this work is focused on the in situ photocatalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohols to benzaldehydes under atmospheric air and in the absence of any further oxidant. This new heterogeneous nanophotocatalyst was characterized via XRD, FT-IR, VSM and SEM. Short reaction time, cost-effectiveness, broad substrate scope, easy work-up by an external magnet, and excellent product yield are the major advantages of the present methodology. A number of effective experimental parameters were also fully investigated to clear broadness and generality of the protocol.

WO₃ZnO/Fe₃O₄ is used as a magnetic photocatalyst in the preparation of 2-substituted benzimidazoles in EtOH at RT. The key feature is the in situ photocatalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohols to benzaldehydes under atmospheric air in the absence of further oxidant.     

Shear Bond Strength of Self-etching Adhesive Systems with Different pH Values to Bleached and/or CPP-ACP-treated Enamel

Purpose: To compare shear bond strengths of three different self-etching adhesive systems of different pH values to enamel bleached with carbamide peroxide, treated with casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP), or treated with CPP-ACP subsequent to bleaching with carbamide peroxide. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six human third molars were cut into 4 sections and randomly assigned to 4 groups (n = 36): group I: no treatment; group II: bleaching; group III: CPP-ACP; group IV: bleaching and CPP-ACP. After surface treatments, the samples of each group were further divided into three subgroups (n = 12) based on the adhesive used. The adhesives Clearfil SE Bond (CSE), AdhesE (ADE), and Adper SE Plus (ADP) were applied, and resin composite cylinders with a diameter of 2 mm and a height of 4 mm were bonded to the enamel. Then the specimens were subjected to shear bond strength testing. Two-way ANOVA and a post-hoc Tukey's test were used for statistical analysis (α = 0.05). Results: There were significant differences between the adhesive systems (p < 0.001) and surface treatments (p < 0.001), but no significant interactions were observed between these variables (p = 0.78). The CSE adhesive system showed the highest bond strength, and the bleaching procedure reduced bond strengths (p = 0.001). Furthermore, there were no significant differences in shear bond strength values between the control and CPP groups. However, the differences between other groups were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Bleaching reduced shear bond strength to enamel, but CPP-ACP application did not affect the bond strength to intact and previously bleached enamel. The bond strength of adhesives with different pH values to enamel was material dependant.     

In vitro fracture resistance of endodontically-treated maxillary premolars

Many endodontically-treated teeth require quick, simple, low-cost restorations. This study evaluated the effect of horizontal pins and flowable composites on the fracture resistance of endodontically-treated maxillary premolars directly restored with resin composite. In this in vitro study, 64 intact human maxillary premolars, extracted for orthodontic reasons, were randomly divided into four groups of 16. Standard access cavities were prepared in such a way that the buccal cusp had a buccolingual thickness of 3 mm measured at the height of contour. The palatal cusp was reduced to 1.5 mm coronal to CEJ. The specimens were prepared as follows: Group 1: resin composite restoration without horizontal self-threading pins or flowable composite (control group). Group 2: resin composite restoration without horizontal self-threading pins but with a 2 mm thickness of the flowable composite. Group 3: resin composite restoration with two horizontal self-threading pins in the buccal cusp but without flowable composite. Group 4: resin composite restoration with two horizontal self-threading pins in the buccal cusp and flowable composite with a thickness of 2 mm. Subsequent to thermocycling, all specimens were loaded to failure. The data were analyzed using a two-factor ANOVA test (alpha = 0.05). The maximum mean of fracture resistance was in Group 1 (632.86 +/- 119.46 N), and the minimum value was related to Group 3 (533.49 +/- 168.07 N). There was not a statistically significant difference between the groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Neither horizontal pin placement nor flowable composite had a significant effect on increasing the fracture resistance of endodontically-treated maxillary premolars restored with composite.