The relationship between pain relief and the amount and distribution of injected cement in kyphoplasty for osteoporotic vertebral fractures.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the relationship of pain relief with the amount and distribution of injected cement in kyphoplasty for osteoporotic vertebral fractures. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This cohort study was conducted on 90 patients with osteoporotic vertebral fractures who needed chronic pain medication. Patients underwent kyphoplasty balloon surgery, and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or bone cement was injected into the created cavities and the volume of injected cement was recorded. After the surgery, the distribution of cement was measured using a computed tomography (CT) scan in the coronal, sagittal, and axial axes of the vertebra, and the percentage of cement distribution was evaluated using Photoshop software in these three axes, followed by the pattern of cement distribution. The cement was measured in the entire vertebra. The patients were evaluated over a period of 6 months, and the amount of pain improvement was measured by the VAS scale in 24 hours, two weeks, six weeks, and six months after surgery. In this study, the data of 90 patients with a mean age of 72.5±10.9 years were included in the study. The mean volume of cement injected was 1.2±5.8 cc, followed by the mean percentage of cement distribution (47.7±7.4%); the mean pain score before the operation (8.7±1.3), the mean pain score 24 hours after the operation (7.7±1.4), the mean pain score 2 weeks after the operation (4.8±1.3), the mean pain score 6 weeks after the operation (3.6±1.2) and the mean pain score 6 months after the operation (3.5±1.4) were evaluated after collection. RESULTS: The pain intensity 24 hours after the operation had a significant positive correlation with the percentage of cement distribution and pain intensity before the operation. The intensity of pain 2 weeks after the operation was positively correlated with the age of the patients and the intensity of pain before the operation. The pain intensity 6 weeks after the operation was significantly correlated with the age of the patients and the pain intensity before the operation. The intensity of pain 6 months after the operation was positively linked to the age of the patients and negatively correlated with the percentage of cement distribution. The pain reduction has changed significantly in the 4 measured intervals, and during a period of 6 months, there was a significant improvement in the pain level of the patients continuously. It was found that the rate of recovery of the patient's pain has increased by increased distribution of injected cement. Although this reduction in pain during the 6-month period was not significantly related to the variables of gender, smoking, history of corticosteroid use, and the volume of injected cement. CONCLUSIONS: The balloon kyphoplasty is a safe and successful method for treating symptomatic vertebral fractures. Kyphoplasty is associated with significant pain relief, improved quality of life, and kyphosis correction. The volume of cement injected had no effect on reducing patients' pain after the operation, but a higher percentage of cement distribution was associated with a better response in patients.

Assessing the viability of three Lactobacillus bacterial species protected in the cryoprotectants containing whey and maltodextrin during freeze-drying process.

Freeze-drying of bacteria associates with different stresses such as osmotic pressure, temperature and oxidation, and decreases bacterial viability, which seem to reduce by applying cryoprotectants. The present study evaluated the effect of four cryoprotectants on decreasing the stress caused by freeze-drying process among three Lactobacillus species. Additionally, it highlighted the use of whey and maltodextrin as a substitute for peptone and sucrose in cryoprotectants respectively. The viability of lactobacilli was measured after freeze-drying, 1 month of storage at 25 and 4°C. Based on the results, the viability rate of bacteria in protectants during freeze-drying stage was dependent on their strains. The best viability of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG and Ligilactobacillus salivarius 20687 was, respectively, observed in the protectants containing sucrose and whey, while Lactiplantibacillus plantarum NRRL B-14768 viability was equal in all protectants. The number of live bacteria reduced significantly by storing bacteria for 1 month at 25°C compared to the 4°C storage. During the storage period, the viability of L. salivarius improved by adding sucrose in protectant. Due to the positive effect of whey and sucrose in the drying and storage stage, on bacterial viability, the protectant consisting of whey and sucrose is suggested for all of the species under study.

Family screening for a novel ATP7B gene mutation, c.2335T>G, in the South of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Wilson disease (WD) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder, which leads to copper metabolism, due to mutations in ATP7B gene. The gene responsible for WD consists of 21 exons that span a genomic region of about 80 kb and encodes a copper transporting P-type ATPase (ATP7B), a protein consisting of 1465 amino acids. Identifying mutation in ATP7B gene is important to find carrier individuals for proper counseling. A novel mutation in exon 8 of ATP7B gene, c.2335T>G (p.Trp779Gly), with severe neuropsychiatric condition in the South of Iran, was recently identified. The aim of this study was to screen 120 individuals from a large family using a simple amplification refractory mutation system PCR (ARMS-PCR) for carrier screening in the South of Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 120 individuals from family relatives of an index case in the Nasr Abad, south of Iran, were studied for screening of the c.2335T>G mutation. One patient with homozygous mutation and one homozygous normal individual were used as controls in this experiment. RESULTS: Altogether, 16 out of 120 (13.3%) individuals within this region had heterozygous mutation. One individual with homozygote mutation was also identified. CONCLUSION: Identification of carriers in families with affected individuals is of great importance for counseling before marriage. The results of this study can be used for further counseling programs in this population.

Estimating climate change, CO2 and technology development effects on wheat yield in northeast Iran.

Wheat is the main food for the majority of Iran's population. Precise estimation of wheat yield change in future is essential for any possible revision of management strategies. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of climate change, CO2 concentration, technology development and their integrated effects on wheat production under future climate change. This study was performed under two scenarios of the IPCC Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES): regional economic (A2) and global environmental (B1). Crop production was projected for three future time periods (2020, 2050 and 2080) in comparison with a baseline year (2005) for Khorasan province located in the northeast of Iran. Four study locations in the study area included Mashhad, Birjand, Bojnourd and Sabzevar. The effect of technology development was calculated by fitting a regression equation between the observed wheat yields against historical years considering yield potential increase and yield gap reduction as technology development. Yield relative increase per unit change of CO2 concentration (1 ppm(-1)) was considered 0.05 % and was used to implement the effect of elevated CO2. The HadCM3 general circulation model along with the CSM-CERES-Wheat crop model were used to project climate change effects on wheat crop yield. Our results illustrate that, among all the factors considered, technology development provided the highest impact on wheat yield change. Highest wheat yield increase across all locations and time periods was obtained under the A2 scenario. Among study locations, Mashhad showed the highest change in wheat yield. Yield change compared to baseline ranged from -28 % to 56 % when the integration of all factors was considered across all locations. It seems that achieving higher yield of wheat in future may be expected in northeast Iran assuming stable improvements in production technology.

Dioxins and furans releases in Iranian mineral industries.

In this project, emissions of Poly-Chlorinated Dibenzo-p-Dioxins and Dibenzo-Furans (PCDD/Fs) were investigated and estimated for selected Iranian mining and ore processing industries, such as integrated iron & steel plant, primary production of aluminium and copper metal, and the production of cement. As a first step of this study the annual emission of PCDD/Fs was estimated at 120gTEQannum(-1) on the base of the UNEP standardised Toolkit for identification and quantification of dioxin and furan releases. Steel and cement were identified as major emission sources and earmarked for further scrutiny. For that reason, filter dust arising in these plants was sampled and analysed, as well as all raw materials employed. After extraction and clean-up according to standard methods, the resulting liquid samples were analysed and quantified by HRGC-HRMS. Complementary analyses using methods such as XRF, TGA/DTA were performed and the emission results statistically evaluated, in order to put PCDD/F emissions in perspective. It is concluded that the dioxins load of cement dust is unusually low, following the low carbon in raw materials, the use of natural gas as a fuel and the absence of waste incineration. Also the production of iron by direct reduction of ore is a low dioxins process; dioxin loads in dust are as usual - correlated with the presence of catalytic metals. Loss on ignition and chlorine are anti-correlated with the main earth elements and with sulphur oxides.

Assessing the effect of highly cited papers on the impact factor of journals in the field of public health.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to appraisal the effect of highly cited papers in the field of public health and find out whether the unusual citations affect the ranking order of the journals in this field or not. A total number of 142 journals titles were listed in Journal Citation Report (ISI Thomson) in the field of "Public, Environmental & Occupational Health". All but one of them had published papers at least for a year from 2009 to 2010. Journal title, number of citations and publication year of 45685 papers were collected from ISI web of knowledge database at December 25, 2011. About half of the papers (23226) had no citations and 89.4% (40835) had less than 6 citations. We concluded that the ranking of journals in the field of public health is not affected by the individual papers with unusual number of citations.

A novel inhibitory action of wheat germ agglutinin on phospholipase C in HEL and MEG-01 cell lines.

Stimulation of HEL megakaryocytic cells by Fc gammaRIIA crosslinking is associated with tyrosine phosphorylation of syk and phospholipase C gamma2 (PLCgamma2) and is accompanied by formation of inositol phosphates and release of intracellular Ca2+. These responses are inhibited by the kinase inhibitors, staurosporine and ST271. In contrast, the G-protein receptor agonist, thrombin induces formation of inositol phosphates and release of intracellular calcium without an increase in tyrosine phosphorylation. The plant lectin wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) stimulates tyrosine phosphorylation of syk and PLCgamma2 but surprisingly does not stimulate formation of inositol phosphates and induce release of intracellular Ca2+. WGA also inhibited formation of inositol phosphates and release of intracellular Ca2+ by Fc gammaRIIA crosslinking and thrombin-stimulation. A similar inhibitory effect of WGA was observed against elevation of Ca2+ by the same two stimuli in MEG-01 megakaryotic cells. The results demonstrate a novel pathway of inhibition of PLC on crosslinking of cell surface proteins that is not present in platelets.

Diabetes-induced changes in the contractility of the aorta and pA2 of nifedipine in the rat.

Diabetes-induced changes in the calcium influx and contractile responses of aortic rings to various drugs were investigated in streptozotocin-treated rats. Diabetes is associated with calcium influx into the aortic rings (1.5-and 2.5-fold, respectively, after either KCl or noradrenaline stimulation compared with normal). The maximum KCl-induced contraction of the arorta in diabetic rats was reduced by 38%, but the EC50 of KCl remained unchanged. The pA2 of nifedipine for inhibiting the contractile response of aorta to KCl decreased one order of magnitude in the diabetic rats (8.26 vs 9.03 for non-diabetic rats). It is concluded that diabetes reduces the sensitivity of aortic tissue to nifedipine and may affect the stimulation-contraction coupling of vascular smooth muscle in such a way that a higher influx of calcium results after stimulation and that this may be responsible for diabetes-induced vascular complications.

Norepinephrine and potassium induced calcium translocation in rat vas deferens.

To understand calcium regulation in smooth muscle, we studied both potassium- and norepinephrine-mediated alterations in the movement of calcium in the smooth muscle of rat vas deferens. We employed 45Ca to measure agonist-mediated calcium influx and efflux, as well as tissue calcium content. In addition we labeled tissues with [3H]myoinositol to measure the effect of norepinephrine on inositol phosphate generation. Stimulation of the vas deferens with 50 mM potassium caused a rapid influx of 45Ca (6-fold). Norepinephrine stimulation, even at a concentration maximal for contraction of the tissue (1 mM), did not result in any alteration in 45Ca influx by itself but inhibited potassium-stimulated 45Ca influx (IC50 = 3 microM). This alpha receptor-mediated effect of norepinephrine was not diminished by either pretreatment with reserpine or adrenergic denervation. Studies of the efflux of 45Ca from vas deferens revealed that efflux was not affected by potassium but was significantly stimulated by norepinephrine. Alpha receptor stimulation of vas deferens smooth muscle caused a marked elevation in the appearance of inositol phosphates, particularly inositol trisphosphate, that was not dependent on extracellular calcium. We conclude that norepinephrine does not stimulate calcium influx in vas deferens smooth muscle but leads to the release of calcium from intracellular stores via formation of inositol trisphosphate and that the resulting increase in intracellular calcium may lead to inactivation of the potential-dependent calcium channel.

Effects of amiloride on contractions and the release of tritium from rat vas deferens preloaded with [3H]-noradrenaline.

1 The effect of amiloride was studied on contractions and tritium release from rat vas deferens preloaded with [3H]-noradrenaline. 2 Amiloride had no effect on the resting tension and maximal contractile force of the vas deferens and did not alter the ED50 of noradrenaline. 3 Amiloride (10(-4)-10(-3)M) decreased the response of vas deferens to electrical stimulation dose-dependently without inhibiting the response to KCI (60mM). 4 The effect of amiloride was not prevented by preincubation of the tissue with phentolamine, propranolol, atropine or indomethacin. 5 Amiloride did not alter the spontaneous outflow of radioactivity from [3H]-noradrenaline labelled vasa deferentia. 6 Amiloride decreased the release of tritium induced by electrical stimulation or nicotine but did not inhibit the release of radioactivity induced by KCI or tyramine. 7 It is concluded that amiloride may inhibit the contractions of rat vas deferens by inhibiting the release of noradrenaline.