Investigating changes in travel behavior over time in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected travel behavior, including the frequency and mode of travel, with the magnitude and nature of these effects varying over time. This study investigates the nature of these relationships by examining changes in various measures of travel behavior, including weekly driving hours, as well as the frequency of telecommuting, use of ride-sharing services, travel for medical purposes, and use of food delivery services. Self-reported travel data from a representative statewide survey of Michigan residents were used to assess changes in these metrics during the early stages of the pandemic, as well as one year thereafter. Random effects linear regression and ordered logit regression models were estimated and the findings show that various changes in behavior had long-lasting effects, while other behaviors generally reverted back toward pre-pandemic levels. In addition, these changes were found to vary across individuals. For example, significant differences were observed based on socio-demographic characteristics, between urban and rural areas, and amongst individuals with differing views on COVID-19 and related government interventions. In general, the pandemic tended to have less pronounced and sustained effects among younger adults as compared to older age groups. Further, those individuals who were opposed to mandatory COVID-19 vaccines were less likely to change their travel behavior, during both the early and latter stages of the pandemic. Changes were observed consistently across most of the travel metrics of interest. Among these, overall driving hours, travel for medical purposes, and ride-sharing were still lower during the latter stages of the pandemic, while telecommuting and the use of food delivery services reverted nearer to pre-pandemic levels.

Effect of oral Calendula officinalis on second-degree burn wound healing.

Background: Treatment of wounds and burn injuries is very important. Nowadays, the tendency to research complementary medicine has increased. Method: In this clinical trial, 60 patients hospitalized in the burn ward who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to two groups: intervention (n = 30) and control (n = 30). In addition to treatments, the intervention group received one capsule (2 g) of Calendula officinalis daily, for two weeks, and the control group received the placebo. Wound status was assessed with the Bates-Jensen Wound Assessment Tool (BWAT) on the 1st, 7th, and 15th days of the study in both groups. Results: The mean total score of wound status using BWAT at the 1st, 7th, and 14th days in the intervention group was 48.23, 35.93, and 22.97, respectively, and in the control group was 48.90, 42.57, and 37.8. Statistically, wound condition on the first day was at the same level for both groups. Wound healing scores in the two groups increased during the 1st to 15th days of the study (P <0.001). However, in the intervention group, the range of wound healing changed on days seven and 15 and was greater than in the control group. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, C. officinalis may have beneficial healing properties and be effective in accelerating the healing of second-degree burn wounds and can be used as a supplement to treat wounds.

New insights into permeability determination by coupling Stoneley wave propagation and conventional petrophysical logs in carbonate oil reservoirs.

The need to determine permeability at different stages of evaluation, completion, optimization of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) operations, and reservoir modeling and management is reflected. Therefore, various methods with distinct efficiency for the evaluation of permeability have been proposed by engineers and petroleum geologists. The oil industry uses acoustic and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) loggings extensively to determine permeability quantitatively. However, because the number of available NMR logs is not enough and there is a significant difficulty in their interpreting and evaluation, the use of acoustic logs to determine the permeability has become very important. Direct, continuous, and in-reservoir condition estimation of permeability is a unique feature of the Stoneley waves analysis as an acoustic technique. In this study, five intelligent mathematical methods, including Adaptive Network-Based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), Least-Square Support Vector Machine (LSSVM), Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN), Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Network (MLPNN), and Committee Machine Intelligent System (CMIS), have been performed for calculating permeability in terms of Stoneley and shear waves travel-time, effective porosity, bulk density and lithological data in one of the naturally-fractured and low-porosity carbonate reservoirs located in the Southwest of Iran. Intelligent models have been improved with three popular optimization algorithms, including Coupled Simulated Annealing (CSA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and Genetic Algorithm (GA). Among the developed models, the CMIS is the most accurate intelligent model for permeability forecast as compared to the core permeability data with a determination coefficient (R2) of 0.87 and an average absolute deviation (AAD) of 3.7. Comparing the CMIS method with the NMR techniques (i.e., Timur-Coates and Schlumberger-Doll-Research (SDR)), the superiority of the Stoneley method is demonstrated. With this model, diverse types of fractures in carbonate formations can be easily identified. As a result, it can be claimed that the models presented in this study are of great value to petrophysicists and petroleum engineers working on reservoir simulation and well completion.

Prophylactic effect of Amiodarone and in combination with vitamin C in reducing atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia following cardiac surgery, leading to hemodynamic impairment and increased mortality and morbidity after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and increases hospitalization. Due to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin C as well as the antiarrhythmic effect of amiodarone in reducing the incidence of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting, we decided to compare and evaluate the prophylactic effect of amiodarone alone and in combination with vitamin C in controlling this complication. In this double-blind clinical trial, patients were divided into two equal groups of amiodarone (300 mg amiodarone bolus during 20-30 minutes) and amiodarone + vitamin C (150 mg amiodarone and 2g vitamin C combination). Each group included 42 patients. All data were analyzed by SPSS 19 software and statistical tests of ANOVA, Chi-square and Repeated Measure. There was a significant difference between the two groups of amiodarone and amiodarone+vitamin C (p-value = 0.01) and the mean incidence of AF in the amiodarone +vitamin C group was significantly lower than that of amiodarone alone. Other arrhythmias were also lower in the amiodarone +vitamin C group than in the amiodarone group alone. The use offibrillation after CABG compared with prophylactic amiodarone alone, but did not have a significant effect on decreasing ICU stay(discharge) and duration of hospitalization.

The role of hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment and development of cancer stem cell: a novel approach to developing treatment.

Hypoxia is a common feature of solid tumors, and develops because of the rapid growth of the tumor that outstrips the oxygen supply, and impaired blood flow due to the formation of abnormal blood vessels supplying the tumor. It has been reported that tumor hypoxia can: activate angiogenesis, thereby enhancing invasiveness and risk of metastasis; increase survival of tumor, as well as suppress anti-tumor immunity and hamper the therapeutic response. Hypoxia mediates these effects by several potential mechanisms: altering gene expression, the activation of oncogenes, inactivation of suppressor genes, reducing genomic stability and clonal selection. We have reviewed the effects of hypoxia on tumor biology and the possible strategiesto manage the hypoxic tumor microenvironment (TME), highlighting the potential use of cancer stem cells in tumor treatment.

The effect of tranexamic acid in reducing postoperative hemorrhage in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft.

INTRODUCTION: Nowadays, cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease are one of the most important causes of human mortality worldwide. Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is a standard therapy approach for those suffering from coronary artery disease. Tranexamic acid (TXA), an antifibrinolytic drug, which, in turn, inhibits fibrinolysis, leading to the prevention of bleeding, thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of topical TXA on bleeding reduction after coronary artery CABG. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study 62 patients were randomly divided into two groups of TXA and control. After surgery and removal from the cardiopulmonary pump, TXA (2 g) was injected locally into the mediastinum by the surgeon. In the second group (control) the same amount of normal saline (100 cc) was given. Data were analyzed by SPSS 19 software via the t-test and Fisher's test. RESULTS: A significant difference was found between the 2 groups in terms of postoperative hemorrhage, packed cell volume, platelet transfusion, duration of surgery, and received FFP (P = 0.0001; P = 0.01; P = 0.0001; P = 0.0001; P = 0.0001), where were found to be lower in the TXA group than in the placebo group. There was no significant difference in age, sex, return to the operating room, and discharge. CONCLUSION: The use of topical TXA in GABC significantly reduced postoperative hemorrhage, packed cell volume, platelet transfusion, and FFP after surgery. Besides, it had no significant effect on the return to the operating room and mortality.

Telemental Health Care, an Effective Alternative to Conventional Mental Care: a Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Due to the high costs of conventional mental health care, there has been a rise in the application of web-based technologies in recent years, i.e., telemental health care. We conducted this systematic review in 2017, using high quality research articles on the applications, technologies, advantages and challenges associated with telemental health care published since year 2000. METHODS: We used a combination of relevant key words to search four major databases, such as "Web of Sciences, Embase, PubMed and Science Direct". From among 156 articles, which had been published since 2000, twenty five articles met all of the inclusion criteria and were selected for the final review. The information extracted from these articles were used to construct Tables 1 and 2. Also, the materials derived from 55 credible articles were used as further support and complementary facts to substantiate the information presented in the Discussion section. RESULTS: The findings revealed that telemental health care is an extended domain supportive of conventional mental health services. Currently, telemental health care has multiple capabilities and technologies for providing effective interventions to patients with various mental illnesses. It provides clinicians with a wide variety of innovative choices and strategies for mental interventions, in addition to significant future potentials. CONCLUSIONS: Telemental health care can provide effective and adaptable solutions to the care of mental illnesses universally. While being comparable to in-person services, telemental health care is particularly advantageous and inexpensive through the use of current technologies and adaptable designs, especially in isolated communities.