Fabrication and evaluation of the regenerative effect of a polycaprolactone/chitosan nanofibrous scaffold containing bentonite nanoparticles in a rat model of deep second-degree burn injury.

Objectives: In the present study, we evaluated the effect of a nanofibrous scaffold including polycaprolactone (PCL), chitosan (CHT), and bentonite nanoparticles (Ben-NPS) on wound healing in order to introduce a novel dressing for burn wounds. Materials and Methods: PCL, PCL/CHT, and PCL/CHT/Ben-NPS nanofibrous scaffolds were fabricated by the electrospinning technique. Their structural and physiochemical characteristics were investigated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), tensile strength, water contact angle, as well as, swelling and degradation profiles test. The disc diffusion assay was carried out to investigate the antibacterial potential of the scaffolds. In addition, the cell viability and proliferation ability of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) on the scaffolds were assessed using MTT assay as well as SEM imaging. The wound-healing property of the nanofibrous scaffolds was evaluated by histopathological investigations during 3,7, and 14 days in a rat model of burn wounds. Results: SEM showed that all scaffolds had three-dimensional, beadles-integrated structures. Adding Ben-NPS into the PCL/CHT polymeric composite significantly enhanced the mechanical, swelling, and antibacterial properties. HDFs had the most cell viability and proliferation values on the PCL/CHT/Ben-NPS scaffold. Histopathological evaluation in the rat model revealed that dressing animal wounds with the PCL/CHT/Ben-NPS scaffold promotes wound healing. Conclusion: The PCL/CHT/Ben-NPS scaffold has promising regenerative properties for accelerating skin wound healing.

Evaluation of the Effect of Reduction Mammoplasty on Body Posture in Patients with Macromastia.

Background: Breast hypertrophy is a significant health problem with both physiological and psychological impacts on the patients' lives. Patients with macromastia adopt a corrective posture due to the effect of the breast on the center of gravity and possibly in a subconscious effort to conceal their breasts. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether the posture of patients with macromastia changed after the reduction of mammoplasty. Material and Methods: In this prospective study, patients with breast cup sizes C, D, and DD were scheduled for reduction mammoplasty in 3 Shiraz University Hospitals. Age, weight, height, and preoperative cup sizes of the breasts were recorded for every patient, and all patients underwent posture analysis with forceplate before and after reduction mammoplasty. Finally, the preoperative and postoperative data were compared. Results: Mean age at the time of reduction mammaplasty was 43.57±9.1; the mean pre-operation, such as weight, height, and mean the body mass index (BMI) was 76.57±10 kg, 158.28±6 cm and 30.57±4.1, respectively. The average Anterior-posterior (AP) direction velocity before and after the surgery was 0.85±0.12 cm/s and 0.79±0.098, respectively. These values were 0.83±0.09 and 0.81±0.10 for the mediolateral direction. The Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) value for the AP direction was 1.63±0.3 and 1.60±0.2 for pre-and post-surgery, respectively, which was not statistically different. The DFA value for maximum likelihood (ML) direction was 1.65±0.2 and 1.48±0.2 in pre-op and post-op, respectively, which was statistically significantly different. Conclusion: Reducing the weight of enlarged breasts can correct disturbed sagittal balance and postural sway.

Study the Effect of Calendula officinalis Extract Loaded on Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle Cream in Burn Wound Healing.

The skin, the body's largest organ, acts as a protective barrier against pathogens and environmental damage. Skin burns can result from heat, chemicals, friction, or electricity. Nanoscience has recently been utilized to create ointments and creams for burns. Zinc oxide nanoparticles are crucial due to their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. In this study, a cream containing nanoparticles was loaded with calendula extract, and its ability to promote tissue healing was investigated in Wistar rats with skin burns. The zinc oxide nanoparticles were chemically synthesized and loaded with calendula extract. The morphology and physicochemical properties of the nanoparticles were confirmed by SEM, ZETA size, XRD, and FTIR assays. The MTT technique was employed to assess the cream's impact on fibroblast growth. The antimicrobial activity of the nanoparticles was investigated against Pseudomonas using the MIC method. Real-time PCR was used to determine the expression of the Bax and Bcl-2 genes in aeruginosa. The results showed that zinc oxide nanoparticles at high concentrations increased the proliferation of the fibroblast cells. Histopathological studies showed granulation and epithelialization of the tissue without any hemorrhage or tissue infection during the first days of treatment with this cream. The animal models treated with the cream showed an increase in Bcl-2 gene expression and a decrease in Bax expression. We concluded that zinc oxide nanoparticles loaded with calendula extract have a practical effect in healing burn wounds due to their unique antibacterial properties of zinc oxide nanoparticles and their anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effects. The synergistic effect of these two substances significantly improved the healing process. This newly developed cream can be introduced as a successful and viable treatment option in burn wounds.

Evaluation of Clinical Manifestations, Pattern of Involvement, and Surgical Outcomes in Patients with Post Covid-19 Head and Neck Mucormycosis Infection among Patients Admitted To Namazi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran (2021-2022).

Background: COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is a global pandemic that particularly affects immunocompromised individuals, leading to secondary bacterial and fungal infections. Mucormycosis, caused by Mucorales fungi, is a severe infection primarily affecting immunocompromised individuals. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a surge in mucormycosis cases worldwide, with India experiencing a significant increase. Various factors, including diabetes mellitus, contribute to the risk of mucormycosis. This study investigated head and neck mucormycosis in patients with prior COVID-19 infection. Methods: Data from 45 patients were analyzed, with diabetes being the most common risk factor. Visual symptoms, ethmoid bone involvement, and orbital bone involvement were also identified as significant factors. Results: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in mucormycosis cases, particularly in the head and neck region, with high mortality. Successful management involves addressing underlying factors, surgical debridement, and antifungal therapy. Conclusion: Timely debridement reduces morbidity and mortality.

Learning Risk-aware Costmaps for Traversability in Challenging Environments.

One of the main challenges in autonomous robotic exploration and navigation in unknown and unstructured environments is determining where the robot can or cannot safely move. A significant source of difficulty in this determination arises from stochasticity and uncertainty, coming from localization error, sensor sparsity and noise, difficult-to-model robot-ground interactions, and disturbances to the motion of the vehicle. Classical approaches to this problem rely on geometric analysis of the surrounding terrain, which can be prone to modeling errors and can be computationally expensive. Moreover, modeling the distribution of uncertain traversability costs is a difficult task, compounded by the various error sources mentioned above. In this work, we take a principled learning approach to this problem. We introduce a neural network architecture for robustly learning the distribution of traversability costs. Because we are motivated by preserving the life of the robot, we tackle this learning problem from the perspective of learning tail-risks, i.e. the conditional value-at-risk (CVaR). We show that this approach reliably learns the expected tail risk given a desired probability risk threshold between 0 and 1, producing a traversability costmap which is more robust to outliers, more accurately captures tail risks, and is more computationally efficient, when compared against baselines. We validate our method on data collected by a legged robot navigating challenging, unstructured environments including an abandoned subway, limestone caves, and lava tube caves.

Status of TNF-α and IL-6 as pro-inflammatory cytokines in exhaled breath condensate of late adolescents with asthma and healthy in the dust storm and non-dust storm conditions.

Exposure to airborne particulate matter (PM) can be considered as an important risk factor for human health. Some cytokines have been recognized as the biomarkers of exposure to air pollution. Experimental studies indicate that PM exposure could be associated with inflammation. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the exposure to air PM is associated with biomarkers of inflammation. The specific aim of this study was to determine the correlation between airborne PM levels and IL-6 and TNF-α as airway inflammation biomarkers among two groups of late adolescents in northwest of Iran. This study included 46 subjects, comprising 23 asthmatic subjects and 23 non-asthmatic persons. Environmental PM (PM10, PM2.5 and PM1) levels were measured in dust storm and non-dust storm days during both cold and warm seasons. Following the sampling of PM, Two pro-inflammatory cytokines of IL-6 and TNF-α in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) were also determined in the EBC samples via commercial ELISA kits. Daily mean ambient air PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 concentrations during the dust storm days was 221.79, 93.13 and 25.52 µg m-3 and in non-dusty days 48.37, 18.54 and 6.1 µg m-3, respectively. Biomarkers levels were significantly (p < 0.001) higher in asthmatic students compared to the non-asthmatic subjects. EBC cytokines levels were increased in dust storm days compared to the non-dusty days (p < 0.001) and were positively correlated with different size of ambient PM concentration. Dust storm conditions can increase the pro-inflammatory cytokines and cause adverse effects on pulmonary health and lung tissue damage.

Fundamental Science and Engineering Questions in Planetary Cave Exploration.

Nearly half a century ago, two papers postulated the likelihood of lunar lava tube caves using mathematical models. Today, armed with an array of orbiting and fly-by satellites and survey instrumentation, we have now acquired cave data across our solar system-including the identification of potential cave entrances on the Moon, Mars, and at least nine other planetary bodies. These discoveries gave rise to the study of planetary caves. To help advance this field, we leveraged the expertise of an interdisciplinary group to identify a strategy to explore caves beyond Earth. Focusing primarily on astrobiology, the cave environment, geology, robotics, instrumentation, and human exploration, our goal was to produce a framework to guide this subdiscipline through at least the next decade. To do this, we first assembled a list of 198 science and engineering questions. Then, through a series of social surveys, 114 scientists and engineers winnowed down the list to the top 53 highest priority questions. This exercise resulted in identifying emerging and crucial research areas that require robust development to ultimately support a robotic mission to a planetary cave-principally the Moon and/or Mars. With the necessary financial investment and institutional support, the research and technological development required to achieve these necessary advancements over the next decade are attainable. Subsequently, we will be positioned to robotically examine lunar caves and search for evidence of life within Martian caves; in turn, this will set the stage for human exploration and potential habitation of both the lunar and Martian subsurface.

Development of nanofibrous collagen-grafted poly (vinyl alcohol)/gelatin/alginate scaffolds as potential skin substitute.

The main objective of this work is to fabricate a nanofibrous scaffold to regenerate skin tissue. A scaffold composed of poly (vinyl alcohol)/gelatin/alginate was prepared using electrospinning method. To improve scaffold biocompatibility and wound healing properties, collagen, extracted from rat tail, was grafted on as-prepared nanofibers. The prepared scaffolds were characterized by SEM, FTIR, swelling ratio test, and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) measurement. Cytotoxicity of the scaffolds against human fibroblasts and L929 (NCBI C161) cells were tested using direct and indirect methods, respectively. Fibroblast cell adhesion and proliferation on the scaffold were also investigated. Results of morphological studies showed that beadless nanofibers with 229 nm diameter were prepared. ATR-FTIR spectra of collagen grafted nanofiber mats confirmed presence of the collagen on their surface. Collagen grafted nanofibers showed higher swelling ratio than nanofibers without collagen graft. Collagen grafting decreased VWTR. Collagen grafting decreased both tensile strength and Young's modulus of the nanofibrous scaffolds while increased their elongation at break. MTT results showed that both scaffolds are biocompatible with higher cell viability for nanofibers with collagen grafting. Fibroblast cell culture on the scaffolds demonstrated that both of scaffolds have good cell viability and proliferation while collagen grafted scaffold showed better results.

Data on the acid black 1 dye adsorbtion from aqueous solutions by low-cost adsorbent- Cerastoderma lamarcki shell collected from the northern coast of Caspian Sea.

The data presented in this article was related to the research article entitled, "The use of Cerastoderma Lamarcki shell for Acid Black 1 adsorption from aqueous solutions." The characterization data of Cerastoderma Lamarcki shell was analyzed using various instrumental techniques (X-ray diffraction and SEM). The kinetic and isotherm data of pH, initial AB1 concentration, contact time, and CLS dosage were investigated. The optimum conditions for AB1 adsorption using CLS adsorbent were found to be 2 g of adsorbent, pH 2, and a contact time of 60 min. The adsorption data of CLS fit well with the Langmuir model and pseudo-second order model. Finally, the experimental data showed that CLS is a suitable and low-cost adsorbent for the removal of AB1 from aqueous solutions.

Modeling and optimization of antibacterial activity of the chitosan-based hydrogel films using central composite design.

In the present study, hydrogel films composed of chitosan-poly(vinyl alcohol)-gelatin-thyme honey were successfully prepared by casting method, and their anti-bacterial properties were modeled and optimized. Antibacterial properties of the prepared films were analyzed by applying agar diffusion method. Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were tested as Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, respectively. In order to obtain the composition of the film with maximum inhibition zone against both above-mentioned bacterial strains, the experiments were designed using response surface methodology based on five-level central composite design with four parameters, including concentrations of chitosan, poly(vinyl alcohol), gelatin, and honey. The results indicated that the prepared samples had good antibacterial activities against these two studied bacteria strains. Response surface method is conducted to develop mathematical models for process responses. Variance analysis on the experimental data shows that inhibition zone can be predicted effectively with quadratic models. In addition, swelling properties and rate of water vapor transmission of the prepared hydrogel films were studied. Due to the successful results, this hydrogel film has an excellent potential to be explored further as a wound healing material. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 2544-2553, 2016.

Sympathetic skin response in electrical burn injury.

BACKGROUND: Electrical burn has been reported to be highly associated with peripheral neuropathy. This study was designed to evaluate the sympathetic skin response (SSR) of electrical burn patients to determine whether the sympathetic nervous system is involved in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sympathetic skin response of 28 patients, suffering from electrical burn injury (divided into two groups of high voltage and low voltage exposure) was compared with that of 28 matched subjects, who had never experienced electrical burn. Bilateral palmar and plantar latency and amplitude of SSR were recorded in response to Median and Tibial nerve electrical stimulation. RESULTS: SSR in all recording sites of the electrical burn patients compared showed significantly more prolonged latencies and reduced amplitudes, with their counterparts in the control group with no significant difference between the high voltage and low voltage electrical burns. There was no significant difference in SSR latency, between the entry and exit sites of the electrical current. The SSR amplitude however, showed more reduction in right hand than the left one, in whom the electrical current had entered the body from the right hand. The time lapse between the electrical burn and the SSR study was shown to play no role in the results. DISCUSSION: Increased SSR latency in electrical burn injury may be a sign of autonomic nervous system involvement, through systemic responses to electrical burn.