bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Arthroscopic remplissage: a valuable adjunct to arthroscopic Bankart’s repair in shoulder instability
Authors: Upadhyay Gunjan , Gupta Gaurav
Published: February 2021

Current study present results of arthroscopic shoulder stabilisation surgery. 46 consecutive patients with recurrent anterior shoulder dislocations and less than 25% Glenoid bone loss were treated with arthroscopic surgery in 2017-2020. Arthroscopic repair of Bankart’s lesion with capsular shift was performed in each. In 8 patients, where the Hill sach’s lesion was “off track” or “engaging”, arthroscopic remplissage was performed along with arthroscopic Bankart’s repair. There was no recurrence of shoulder instability after a mean follow up of 1 year. This included the non-engaging Hill sach’s group (treated with Bankart’s repair) as well as the engaging or off track Hill sach’s group (treated with Bankart’s repair and remplissage). All patients went on to obtain full forward flexion, full abduction and internal rotation. The Bankart’s and remplissage group had a mean of 8 degrees restriction of external rotation. SST scores and oxford scores had improved considerably on follow up in both groups Arthroscopic shoulder surgery provides a safe and reliable option in the management of recurrent shoulder dislocations. Arthroscopic remplissage is a useful adjunct to Bankart’s repair when treating the difficult problem of a large engaging Hill Sachs lesion.

 
A rare case of patellar fracture with quadriceps tendon rupture
Authors: Subramanian K. N. , Ram Ganesan G. , S. Muthukumar , Babu Mathiyazhagan
Published: February 2021

Quadriceps tendon rupture is the rarest injury with an incidence of 1.37/1,00,000/year. A patellar fracture is the most common injury associated with extensor mechanism lag, but it is rarely found to have quadriceps rupture rather than patellar tendon rupture. Normally when patella fracture occurs the force is disseminated at the bone level rather than at the muscular level. In this case, the force has disseminated at both muscle and bone leading to fracture of patella and quadriceps tendon rupture. Here we report a case of patellar fracture along with quadriceps tendon rupture.
Osteochondroma of talus and coalition of talocrural and intercuneiform joints - surgical management
Authors: Keny Swapnil M. , Sawant Kaustubh A. , Singh Vijay , Sharma Ayush
Published: February 2021

Osteochondroma of talus is rare benign tumour. Tarsal coalition is a condition in which two or more tarsal bones are joined by non-osseous bridges of cartilage or fibrocartilage or by osseous bridges. Association of Talus osteochondroma with coalition of tarsal bones is extremely rare and has not been reported in the literature before. We are herewith reporting a case of osteochondroma of the talus with coalition of intercuneiform and talocrural joint in an 11-year-old male patient. Patient noticed swelling around ankle and pain on strenuous activities. CT scan confirmed the diagnosis. We did complete extraperiosteal excision of the osteochondroma and resection of tarsal coalition. Histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of osteochondroma. At one-year follow-up there is no recurrence of the tumour and patient had full range of motion. Complete extraperiosteal excision of the osteochondroma along with resection of tarsal coalition is important for complete eradication and preventing a recurrence.
Ipsilateral fractures of both the proximal and distal humerus; the ‘floating arm injury’ in children
Authors: Gogoi Paragjyoti , Das Aditi , Dhar Arijit , Roy Rajdeep
Published: February 2021

Proximal humerus fractures are usually associated with other injuries in and around the shoulder joint like clavicle fracture, acromion process fracture, coracoid process fracture, and dislocation of the shoulder joint or acromion-clavicular joint. Similarly, distal humerus fractures are normally associated with fractures of olecranon, radial head or dislocation of the elbow joint itself. However, simultaneous fracture of both the ends of humerus is rarely encountered. Literature search does reveal only a few cases of such type. This variety is also termed as floating arm. We are presenting here two cases of fracture of both the proximal and distal end of same humerus following fall from height, one of which the proximal humeral fracture was Gustillo-Anderson type II open fracture. The patient was managed by wound debridement and open reduction and fixation of the proximal fracture followed by closed manipulation and K wire fixation of the distal fracture. The second case was also managed by closed reduction and K wire fixation of both the fractures. 
Organizational Culture in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico: A Comparative Study in the Automotive Industry.
Authors: La Falce Jefferson Lopes , Mesquita Sander Rosa de Laia , De Muylder Cristiana Fernandes , Silva Jersone Tasso Moreira , Verwaal Ernst , Lima Vera Lúcia Cançado
Published: February 2021

This research aims to compare the cultural dimensions of the automotive industry in three countries, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and discuss Hofstede model. Were using two techniques of analysis, the first being described in the model of Hofstede and Minkov (2013) and the second using the statistical technique indicated by critics of the model (McSweeney, 2013). The results found in regions of Brazil and Mexico indicate that in the same country there may exist different values of cultural dimensions. Regarding the critics indicated in the literature on the model used, this study found evidence in line with the critics that the model, although pointing to cultural differences are not supported by statistically significant differences, to measure and compare cultures between countries. As a contribution, this study indicates the need for the proposed model to consider robust statistical techniques, probabilistic sampling and comparative statistical analysis techniques to prevent misdiagnosis.
Felicidad en el trabajo de mujeres emprendedoras de la ciudad de Trujillo (Perú), año 2019
Authors: Lezama Polanco Karla Paola , Baltodano Nontol Luz Alicia
Published: February 2021

La presente investigación se ha desarrollado con el propósito de explorar el nivel de felicidad en el trabajo que realizan las mujeres emprendedoras de la ciudad de Trujillo, Perú. Bajo un enfoque cuantitativo, el trabajo es de tipo descriptivo, con diseño no experimental y de corte transversal. La población ha estado conformada por mujeres emprendedoras que cuenten con un negocio formal en la ciudad de Trujillo. La muestra, calculada a través del método probabilístico, con muestreo aleatorio simple, ha ascendido a un total de 385 mujeres emprendedoras, a las que se les aplicó un cuestionario autoadministrado. Los resultados evidencian que el nivel de felicidad en el trabajo de la muestra analizada es relativamente alto.
Evaluación de la calidad de los servicios de cuidados paliativos domiciliarios: revisión de la literatura
Authors: Mejia Yahel Tatiana , Carlier Salcedo Amine Yulie , Vargas Martínez Claudia Marcela , Lopez Posada Karen Johanna , Fuentes Bermúdez Genny Paola
Published: February 2021

Introducción: La calidad de los servicios de salud se mide con indicadores que permiten encontrar oportunidades de mejora, datos clínicos y no clínicos de relevancia, información epidemiológica y calidad percibida del servicio brindado. Los cuidados paliativos pueden ofrecerse en distintas modalidades, siendo los cuidados domiciliarios una ruta novedosa que permite el cuidado del paciente lejos del intervencionismo hospitalario; los indicadores que evalúan la calidad de esta modalidad varían respecto a los servicios intramurales. Objetivo: describir los indicadores de calidad en salud utilizados para evaluar los servicios de cuidados paliativos domiciliarios según la literatura consultada. Método: revisión sistemática de la literatura científica disponible sobre los indicadores de calidad en salud para los cuidados paliativos domiciliarios. Para valorar la calidad metodológica se usó la lista CASPe. Resultados: se encontraron 47 indicadores que evalúan la calidad de los servicios de atención domiciliaria paliativa, siendo los indicadores de resultados los que tuvieron mayor presencia. Dentro de los indicadores se midieron diversos aspectos de los cuidados paliativos como manejo de síntomas, visitas domiciliarias por personal especializado, lugar de muerte elegido, eventos relacionados con la seguridad del paciente y disponibilidad de medicamentos. Conclusiones: La medición del lugar de fallecimiento y la presencia de síntomas aun con un tratamiento farmacológico establecido fueron dos de los indicadores más encontrados. Se observó una medición al personal médico y enfermero superior al resto de profesionales que conforman el equipo multidisciplinario de cuidados paliativos, se encontraron algunos indicadores específicos para pacientes con patologías oncológicas.
Formas de gobernar la vida en la calle durante la pandemia: discursos, tecnologías y prácticas
Authors: Marçon Luana , Silva Patrícia Carvaho , Justino Jonathas , Oliveira Cathana Freitas de , Carvalho Sérgio Resende , Dias Thais Machado
Published: February 2021

El artículo presenta un análisis basado en diversas fuentes de una encuesta nacional realizada con el equipo de Consultorios en la Calle en Brasil sobre la población en situación de calle y la pandemia de Covid-19. A través de ciertos principios ético-políticos y apuestas metodológicas, dirigimos nuestra mirada al discurso sobre quién vive y trabaja en las calles durante la pandemia, entrecruzando el discurso y la experiencia. De esta manera, buscamos desvelar las relaciones de poder, desde la perspectiva de la gubernamentalidad y la biopolítica, que permiten mostrar los modos de gobierno encarnados en la calle –principalmente a partir de las medidas de aislamiento y distanciamiento social– para tensionar el surgimiento de la noción de población en situación de calle, en este escenario pandémico. Por último, discutimos nociones de precariedad que circunscriben la vida en la calle como condición compartida, en busca de pistas sobre formas de resistencia y el derecho a aparecer.
Student teachers’ beliefs on oral corrective feedback in English language teaching
Authors: De Vasconcelos Neto Jaime José , De Barros Cardoso Lídia Amelia
Published: February 2021

Oral Corrective Feedback (OCF) in a foreign language classroom is an essential factor for language learning because, according to Platt and Brooks (1994 Apud Shrum and Glisan, 2010), it helps students to make themselves understood and also in the development of strategies that help them to interact using the language. Taking into consideration the relation between theory and practice, Corrective Feedback (CF)’s importance and what student teachers might think about it, the questions that we aim to answer with this research are: (1) how OCF takes place in two different classroom settings, EFL and K-12, and (2) what are student teachers’ beliefs on it. For this research, two Letras-Inglês undergraduate student teachers who were taking the teaching practicum course at Universidade Federal do Ceará had two of their classes observed and videotaped. Then, the two student teachers answered some questions related to the use of OCF. The results show that there were more occurrences of OCF strategies in the K-12 school setting than in the EFL course, being explicit feedback the most used strategy. These findings seem to indicate that the student teachers tend to use explicit/direct strategies more than the implicit/indirect. Also, it suggests that the student teachers interviewed see recast as the most effective strategy while they see explicit correction as the least effective strategy. Also, they believe that students should not be over corrected, because it could lead them to be upset or afraid of speak. On the contrary, both student teachers see explicit correction (the OCF strategy they most used) as one strategy that “put the student on the spot”. Lastly, both of them consider displaying students’ mistakes on the board as an effective strategy of correction, even when it is the case of dealing with oral production
Crenças e atitudes linguísticas na variação da vogal média posterior /o/ > [u] em posição tônica no português falado em Cametá-PA
Authors: Gaia Andreza Prazeres , Gomes Mariane Daysa de Castro , Costa Furtado Raquel Maria da Silva
Published: February 2021

estudos sociolinguísticos de caráter quanti-qualitativo têm evidenciado forte tendência de apagamento do alteamento da vogal média posterior /o/, marca de identidade dos cametaenses, em posição tônica (COSTA 2004; RODRIGUES 2005; GAIA, GOMES e FURTADO, 2019); e o fator escolaridade é apontado em tais estudos como condicionante da manutenção de /o/ tônico, o que aparentemente indica existência de estigma associado ao uso de [buka], [kuku], [vuvu].  Portanto, a fim de verificar se o comportamento linguístico dos cametaenses de manutenção da tônica é decorrente do estigma que recai sobre o alteamento de /o/ > [u] tônico, consequentemente das crenças e atitudes acerca desse fenômeno objetivou-se realizar um estudo para analisar por meio de testes de atitudes e avaliação, se o fenômeno de alteamento da vogal posterior em posição tônica é rotulado de forma positiva ou negativa na comunidade cametaense, e se essa rotulação encontra-se no nível da consciência de seus falantes. Para isso, tomou como base de análise teórica, os pressupostos teórico-metodológicos da Teoria da Variação Linguística/ Sociolinguística Quantita­tiva, e os estudos sobre crenças e atitudes linguísticas, advindos principalmente da Psicologia Social baseada em Lambert e Lambert (1996). O corpus para análise foi oriundo de 24 (vinte e quatro) sujeitos participantes na faixa etária de 15 a 29 anos e 30 a 45 anos, estratificados por sexo/gênero (masculino 12 e feminino 12); nível de escolaridade (08 com nível fundamental, 08 com nível médio e 08 com nível superior) e procedências (12 cametaenses 12 não cametaenses). Os resultados obtidos por meio da amostra esboçam atitudes negativas dos informantes diante do fenômeno investigado, freando dessa forma o uso da vogal média posterior de forma alteada na posição tônica. Portanto, por meio dos resultados constatou-se à identidade e o preconceito linguístico do falante diante da língua falada de sua região.
Variação lexical em Macapá: um estudo comparativo com o Atlas Linguístico do Amapá (ALAP)
Authors: Coelho Helen Costa , De Matos Sara Costa
Published: February 2021

Este artigo apresenta uma descrição da variação lexical fala dos moradores localizados na área urbana do município de Macapá em comparação com os dados apresentados pelo Atlas Linguístico do Amapá - ALAP (RAZKY, RIBEIRO & SANCHES, 2017). O referido estudo tem como base os pressupostos teóricos da Sociolinguística e da Dialetologia moderna, bem como a metodologia utilizada para a descrição de dados, a Geolinguística. Para tanto, fez-se uso de autores como Ferreira e Cardoso (1994), Labov (2008), Calvet (2002), Cezário e Votre (2008) e Cardoso (2010). Os dados foram coletados in loco através da aplicação do Questionário Semântico-Lexical (QSL), respectivamente o campo semântico denominado “Convívio e Comportamento Social”. A pesquisa seguiu os mesmos parâmetros do Atlas Linguístico do Amapá (ALAP), com o intuito de dar conta das dimensões diatópica, diagenérica e diageracional da variação presentes na fala dos dezesseis colaboradores entrevistados. Os resultados foram descritos em cartografias e são importantes para o desenvolvimento de outras pesquisas dialetológicas, no que diz respeito ao conhecimento da norma lexical de um espaço geográfico, visto que este estudo apresenta dados que comprovam a presença de variantes lexicais para conteúdos semânticos diferentes do que apresenta o ALAP. A exemplo das novas variantes que foram registradas, temos as denominações fumo e enrolado que são novas, em relação ao ALAP, para o item 145, tabaco. Ou murrão e brejeira para o item 146, bagana.
Using CRISPR/Cas9 System to Knock out Exon 48 in DMD Gene
Authors: Dara Mahintaj , Razban Vahid , Talebzadeh Mahdieh , Moradi Sepideh , Dianatpour Mehdi
Published: February 2021

Background: Out of frame mutations in DMD gene cause Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) which is a neuromuscular progressive genetic disorder. In DMD patients, lack of dystrophin causes progressive muscle degeneration, which results in heart and respiratory failure leading to premature death. At present, there is no certain treatment for DMD. DMD gene is the largest gene in human genome by 2.2 mega base pairs and contains 79 exons. In the past few years, gene therapy has been considered a promising DMD treatment, and among various gene-editing technologies, CRISPR/Cas9 system is shown to be more precise and reliable. The aim of this study was to assess the possibility of knocking out exon 48 by using a pair of sgRNAs.
Methods: A pair of guide RNAs (gRNAs) was designed to cleave DMD gene and induce deletion of exon 48. gRNAs were transfected to the HEK-293 cell line and then the deletion in genomic DNA was analyzed by PCR and subsequent Sanger sequencing.
Results: Exon 48 was successfully deleted and therefore exon 47 was joined to exon 49.
Conclusion: This result indicated that CRISPR/Cas9 system could be used to edit DMD gene precisely.
Methylation of TGM-3 Promoter and Its Association with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC)
Authors: Shojaeian Sorour , Moazeni-Roodi Abdolkarim , Allameh Abdolamir , Garajei Ata , Kazemnejad Anoshirvan , Kabir Kourosh , Zarnani Amir-Hassan
Published: February 2021

Background: Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is among the ten most common cancers worldwide. Hypermethylation of CpG sites in the promoter region and subse-quent down-regulation of a tumor suppressor gene, TGM-3 has been proposed to be linked to different types of human cancers including OSCC. In this study, methylation sta-tus of CpG sites in the promoter region of TGM-3 has been evaluated in a cohort of pa-tients with OSCC compared to normal controls.
Methods: Forty fresh tissue samples were obtained from newly diagnosed OSCC patients and normal individuals referred to dentistry clinic for tooth extraction. DNA was extract-ed, bisulfite conversion was performed and it was subjected to PCR using bisulfite-sequencing PCR (BSP) primers. Prepared samples were sequenced on a DNA analyzer with both forward and reverse primers of the region of interest. The peak height values of cytosine and thymine were calculated and methylation levels for each CpG site within the DNA sequence was quantified.
Results: Quantitative DNA methylation analyses in CpG islands revealed that it was sig-nificantly higher in OSCC patients compared to controls. DNA methylation at CpG1/CpG3/CpG5 (p=0.004-0.01) and CpG1/CpG3 (p=0.001-0.019) sites was associated with tumor stage and grade, respectively. Male OSCC patients had higher methylation rate at CpG3 (p=0.032), while smoker patients showed higher methylation rate at CpG6 (p=0.045).
Conclusion: These results manifested the contribution of DNA methylation of TGM-3 in OSCC and its potential association with clinico-pathologic parameters in OSCC.
The Effect of Sodium Selenite on Expression of Mitochondrial Transcription Factor A during In Vitro Maturation of Mouse Oocyte
Authors: Moshaashaee Tina , Zavareh Saeed , Pourbeiranvand Shahram , Salehnia Mojdeh
Published: February 2021

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of Sodium Selenite (SS) supplemented media on oocyte maturation, expression of mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) and embryo quality.
Methods: Mouse Germinal Vesicle (GV) oocytes were collected after administration of Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotropin (PMSG); in experimental group 1, oocytes were cultured and then subjected for in vitro maturation in the absence of SS, and in experimental group 2, they were matured in vitro in the presence of 10 ng/ml of SS up to 16 hr. The control group included MII oocytes obtained from the fallopian tubes after ovarian stimulation with PMSG, followed by human chorionic gonadotropin. Then, the expression of TFAM in MII oocytes in all three groups was investigated using real-time RT-PCR. The fertilization and embryo developmental rates were assessed, and finally the quality of the blastocysts was evaluated using propidium iodide staining.
Results: The oocyte maturation rate to MII stage in SS treated group was significantly higher than non-treated oocytes (75.65 vs. 68.17%, p<0.05). Also, the rates of fertilization, embryo development to blastocyst stage as well as the cell number of blastocyst in SS supplemented group were higher than other experimental group (p<0.05). There was a significant decrease in TFAM gene expression in both in vitro groups compared to the group with in vivo obtained oocytes (p<0.05). Moreover, there was a significant increase in TFAM gene expression in oocytes that matured in the presence of SS compared to that of the group without SS (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Supplementation of oocyte maturation culture media with SS improved the development rate of oocytes and embryo and also enhanced TFAM expression in MII oocytes which can affect the mitochondrial biogenesis of oocytes.
Designing Two Synthetic Constructs for Real Time PCR Detection of Francisella tularensis and Ebola Virus
Authors: Dehghan Esmat Abadi Mohammadjavad , Motalebzadeh Hesam , Barati Mahmoud , Yaghobi Mohammadali
Published: February 2021

Background: Generally, timely diagnosis of micro-organisms is very important to prevent many diseases. Many methods can detect micro-organisms like culture-based methods and molecular methods. The molecular methods are usually preferred because they provide fast and reliable results. In some cases, microbial strains are not accessible, and there is no safety to work with them; therefore, synthetic constructs which are designed according to the available sequences in databases can be used as a positive control for detection of them.
Methods: In this study, a synthetic construct was designed for molecular detection of Francisella tularensis (F. tularensis) and the Ebola virus by multiplex real-time PCR reaction. For this, sequences were taken from databases and then multiple alignments were done by software. Also, conventional PCR and two models of real-time PCR (SYBR green and TaqMan) were applied. Finally, multiplex real-time PCR was performed.
Results: The synthetic construct was designed and used for conventional PCR and multiplex PCR. The results of common PCR showed a single band at 148 bp and 167 bp in 1.5% agarose gel stained by ethidium bromide for F. tularensis and Ebola virus, respectively. Also, a dual-band at 148 and 167 bp was observed in multiplex PCR. Results of real-time PCR showed a limit of detection about 0.1 pg of plasmid/µl.
Conclusion: In conclusion, the designed construct can be used as a positive control for an accurate diagnosis of these micro-organisms without any biological danger for laboratory staff. So, this method is useful for diagnosis of these agents in food, water, and blood samples.
Impact of supplementation with "multivitamin-mineral" specially formulated to improve fatigue and inflammatory state in patients with multiple sclerosis: A triple-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial
Authors: Bitarafan Sama , Karimi Elmira , Naser Moghadasi Abdorreza , Kazemi-Mozdabadi Razieh Sadat K , Mohammadpour Zinat , Sahraian Mohammad Ali
Published: February 2021

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) with the most common complaint of fatigue. A high number of patients with MS are interested in taking dietary supplements as a complementary therapy. We propose a specially formulated supplement for patients with MS and aim to evaluate its effects on fatigue.
Methods: This study was a triple-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial using a stratified randomization method according to sex. 46 eligible patients participated in the study, 23 in the placebo group and 23 in the intervention group. The intervention group received two capsules of multivitamin-mineral (MVM) daily for 3 months. Measurements of fatigue and cytokines were performed in all patients at the baseline and after the 3-month intervention
Results: Finally, information of 41 participants was used for data analysis. However, fatigue was decreased after supplementation than before, in the intervention group (P = 0.005). There was no significant difference (P = 0.090) between the change of fatigue score in the MVM group (-3.00 ± 4.42) and the control group (-0.40 ± 5.14). Among cytokines, Interleukin 4 (IL-4) significantly increased in the intervention group compared to the placebo (P = 0.030).
Conclusion: Our study showed that the present MVM probably could improve the inflammatory state and fatigue in patients with MS.
Effects of early decompressive craniectomy on functional outcome of patients with malignant middle cerebral artery infarctions
Authors: Soltani Ahmad , Mashari Mohammad Ali , Mohammadianinejad Seyed Ehsan , Pishva Seyed Amirhossein , Pishva Seyedeh Maryam , Hooshmandi Etrat
Published: February 2021

Background: This study aimed to compare the functional outcome of patients with malignant middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarction who had undergone either early decompressive craniectomy (DC) or optimal medical therapy (OMT).
Methods: This study was conducted during a 2- year period in Golestan Hospital of Ahvaz, Iran. The selected patients with malignant MCA infarction who were admitted within 48 hours of presenting signs were included. The patients were randomly assigned to undergo either early DC (n = 12) or OMT (n = 12) in the neurosurgical intensive care unit (ICU). The functional outcomes in the subjects were evaluated with the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at discharge, 6, and 12-month intervals.
Results: The patients who underwent DC had significantly higher GOS at discharge (P = 0.013), 6 (P = 0.022), and 12 (P = 0.042) months as compared to the medical therapy group. However, the NIHSS score did not show any significant difference between the two groups during the study. Likewise, DC was associated with lower mortality at 6 (P = 0.027) and 12 (P = 0.014) months; moreover, the lower mortality rate (P = 0.014), severe disability (P = 0.040), higher good recovery (P < 0.001), and moderate disability (P < 0.001) were observed after 12 months of follow-up.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that early DC in patients with malignant MCA can decrease mortality and improve the functional outcome according to GOS criteria compared to medical therapy.
Customizing the Protoscolicidal Activity by a Drug Delivery System: Application of Guar Gum in Electrospun Nanofibers
Authors: TAVAKOLI Fatemeh , GHASEMIKHAH Reza , SHAFIEE Hadi
Published: February 2021

Background: The present study aimed to control mebendazole drug release from ethyl cellulose nanofibers containing guar gum produced by Electrospinning Method (ESM) on mortality of hydatid cyst protoscoleces under laboratory conditions.
Methods: The study was conducted in Arak Islamic Azad University, 2019. After preparation of ethyl cellulose nanofibers containing guar gum with concentrations 10, 250, 50 and 500 ppm with ESM, the uniformity and fineness of nanofibers were investigated by electron microscope. By determining the absorption of nanofibers during 312 h via spectrophotometry method, the amount of drug release was obtained. Then, the mortality of live protoscoleces in-vitro with nanofibers made with different concentrations was studied during 13 days.
Results: Guar gum nanofiber with four concentrations of 10, 50, 250 and 500 ppm had 0.78512, 0.83729, 1.0098 and 1.0633 absorption respectively and showed drug release 42.09%, 39.95%, 33.05% and 30.96% after 312 hours. Therefore, the survival of protoscoleces in the presence of guar gum with four concentrations was zero after 3, 6, 11 and 13 days (P<0.05).
Conclusion: To produce nanofibers carrying the drug for research related to the treatment of hydatid cysts, the electrospinning technique can be considered as a reliable method.
The in Vitro Antischistosomal Activity and Genotoxicity of the Active Ingredients of Allium sativum (allicin) and Curcuma longa (curcumin)
Authors: Abd El-Hak RASHED Hadeer , ABU ALMAATY Ali Hussein , Mohamed SOLIMAN Maha Farid , EL-SHENAWY Nahla Soliman
Published: February 2021

Background: In this study, we assessed the in vitro antischistosomal activity of the active ingredients of Allium sativum (allicin) and Curcuma longa (curcumin) on Schistosoma mansoni.
 Methods: This study was conducted in Faculty of Science, Port said University, Egypt (2018). Adult worms were exposed to a range of concentrations of AL or CU, and worm survival was assessed 24 h post-exposure to calculate the lethal concentration of the compounds. Scanning electron microscopy was used to assess ultrastructural changes in the surface of AL- or CU- treated worms. The genotoxicities of AL and CU on S. mansoni were determined by DNA fragmentation analysis.
Results: We determined the concentrations of AL and CU required to kill 50% of S. mansoni (LC50). The LC50 of AL was 8.66 µL/mL, whereas 100% mortality of S. mansoni was achieved by AL at concentrations of 50 µL/mL. The LC50 of CU was 87.25 µL/mL, with the highest mortality of 91.3% seen after 24 h exposure to 100 µg/mL CU. Ultrastructural studies revealed that exposure to either AL or CU led to mild or severe surface damage to S. mansion, respectively. The degree of damage in the worms was sex-dependent. Interestingly, while CU exposure resulted in DNA fragmentation in S. mansoni worms, we observed no genotoxic effects of AL.
Conclusion: Both AL and CU exhibit antischistosomal activity; the study provided evidence suggesting that these compounds act through distinct mechanisms. These promising results encourage further investigation into these compounds as potential antischistosomal agents, either alone or as complementary treatments to praziquantel.
Improving the biomechanical performance of screws fixation in a customized mandibular reconstruction prosthesis based on reliability measure
Authors: Kargarnejad Sahand , Ghalichi Farzan , Pourgol Mohammad Mohammad , Garajei Ata
Published: February 2021

Background: The customized prosthesis is a new method for the reconstruction of large mandibular defects. The ability of dental rehabilitation to improve masticatory functions while maintaining the aesthetics of the main anatomy of the patient's jaw. But the most important problem with all custom prosthesis is the poor performance of screw fixation strength the connections at the bone-plate interface.
Materials and Methods: This study was performed to investigate the effect of the number and layout of screws to improve the strength of the bone–prosthesis interface. Due to the inherent variability of input parameters, Analysis of the biomechanical performance of screw fixation strength, a probabilistic finite element method approach has been used. Random input parameters include mechanical properties of the cortical bone, cancellous bone, titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V), and bite force. The layout of the screws was designed in 6 models. Criteria for evaluating the biomechanical performance of screw fixation strength include maximum stress and strain of von Mises cortical bone around the screws. The Monte-Carlo method was used for finite element simulation.
Results: The most critical screw in all models is screw No.1, which by increasing the number of screws and correcting the layout shape, the values of maximum stress and strain in the bone around screw No.1 has decreased by 26.7% and 46.3%, respectively, and increased the reliability of the screw connection performance by 25% and 28%, respectively.
Conclusion: Finally, in the reconstruction of a large lateral mandibular defect by the customized prosthesis, the strength of the prosthesis to connect to the remaining mandible bone can be improved by increasing the number and modifying the layout of the screws.
Evaluating the role of stress and anxiety with clinical symptoms in TMD patients
Authors: Najafi Shamsoulmolouk , Faraji Zahra
Published: February 2021

Introduction: The etiology of TMD is complex and multifactorial, but it is thought that psychological factors contribute to the etiology and persistence of TMD. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of anxiety and depression in the development of temporomandibular joint disorders in patients referred to Tehran University of Medical Sciences, School of Dentistry, International Campus.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on patients referred to Tehran University of Medical Sciences, School of Dentistry, International Campus who had temporomandibular joint disorder. Hence the number of 224 people easily selected at random. They were given 3 questionnaires to assess their anxiety and depression (9-PHQ, 4-PHQ7 and-GAD-7). After collecting data using SPSS software version 22 and considering the error level at 0.50% probability and one-way analysis of variance and frequency analysis were performed.
Results: The rate of depression in patients with TMD was 8.83 according to the 9-PHQ questionnaire and 4.72 according to the 4-PHQ questionnaire, and the level of anxiety in patients with TMD according to the 7-GAD questionnaire was equal to 8.95 There was no significant relationship between patients’ gender and their level of anxiety (p<0.50), but there was a significant relationship between patients’ age and their level of anxiety (p>0.50).
Conclusion: Age and gender are not significantly associated with temporomandibular joint disorders. Also, anxiety and depression are positively related and there is a significant value achieved with the incidence of TMD in the participants. A reduction in the level of anxiety and depression within people, can have a great impact on the treatment of TMDs in individuals.
Oversuppliance of the English simple past tense by Mandarin ESL learners
Authors: Tiittanen Mike
Published: February 2021

This study sought to determine if there would be L1 influence in the oral use of the English simple past tense in a semi-structured interview questions task as well as in a fill-in-the-gaps task.  This research investigated the oversuppliance of the simple past tense in sentential contexts in which the simple past tense was ungrammatical.  The participants of this study consisted of two different L1 groups – Mandarin, which lacks a grammatical past tense, and Tamil, which has a grammatical past tense. The results indicated that the Mandarin learners oversupplied the simple past tense more frequently on the oral task, as a proportion of the simple past tense forms they produced, than the Tamil participants, but not on the fill-in-the-gaps task.
Sudan Digital Rights Landscape Report
Authors: Mohamed Ali Abrar
Published: February 2021

This report introduces findings from ten digital rights landscape country reports on Sudan. They analyse how the openings and closings of online civic space affect citizens’ digital rights. They show that: (1) when civic space closes offline citizens often respond by opening civic space online; (2) when civic space opens online governments often take measures to close online space; and (3) the resulting reduction in digital rights makes it impossible to achieve the kind of inclusive governance defined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Peranan Keberadaan Bisnis Maklar Atau Perantara (Bimantara) Terhadap Penjual Dan Pembeli Ikan Di Pelabuhan Perikanan Banjarmasin Provinsi Kalimantan Selatan (Studi Kasus)
Authors: Darsani Darsani , Mahreda Emmy Sri , Lilimantik Emmy
Published: February 2021

This study aims to determine the role of the brokerage and intermediary business (BIMANTARA) in Banjarmasin Fishery Port at the fisher / producer level, at the buyer / consumer level, and the role in the buying and selling process of fishery products at the Banjarmasin Fishery Port, South Kalimantan Province. This research was conducted at the Banjarmasin Fishery Port with the object of research being fishermen / producers, buyers / consumers and intermediaries / brokers / agents, 40 samples were taken randomly. The data collected are primary data and secondary data. The data obtained were analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis of the role of BIMANTARA at the fisherman / producer level, at the buyer / consumer level, and the role in the buying and selling process of fishery products at the Banjarmasin Fisheries Port, South Kalimantan Province. At the fisherman level / boat owners , BIMANTARA has several roles that are believed by fishermen / boat owners, including ensuring that the fish caught by fishermen can be sold out, being able to provide capital loans at sea, and providing security for transactions at the Banjarmasin Fishery Port. At the buyer / consumer level, BIMANTARA has several roles that are believed by buyers, including ensuring that they get the fish they want, being able to provide solutions for the cost of buying fish, and providing transaction security at the Banjarmasin Fishery Port. The role of BIMANTARA in the process of buying and selling fish caught at the Banjarmasin Fishery Port has a small effect on the determination of fish prices and sales and purchase permits, then it has a moderate effect on the provision of aid workers, but greatly affects the certainty of fish sales and fish purchases, is able to provide capital loans to buyers and sellers, and guarantee the security of the transaction of buying and selling fish caught at the Banjarmasin Fishery Port. Overall, the existence of BIMANTARA is needed by both sellers and buyers at the Banjarmasin Fishery Port.
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
Authors: Kadochnikov P. , Ptashkina M.
Published: February 2021

The US and the EU are negotiating a comprehensive Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The main purposes of the agreement are to stimulate economic growth and employment, to facilitate trade and investment and raise competitiveness on both sides of the Atlantic. The US and EU are the biggest trade and investment partners for each other, as well as most important partners for a number of other countries. The Trans-Atlantic free trade agreement would not only facilitate bilateral cooperation, but has a potential to set up new, more advanced international trade and investment rules and practices. The agreement is aimed, among other point, at resolving some of the existing problems in bilateral relations, such as differences in regulatory practices, market access conditions, government procurement, intellectual property rights (IPR) and investor protection. However, some of these differences are deeply inherent in the regulatory systems and have become the reasons for numerous disputes. Despite the fact that the negotiations on TTIP are still in progress, it is already possible to identify and assess the underlying differences that would potentially hamper the creation of deep provisions in the future agreement. The paper aims at analyzing the most difficult areas of negotiations and giving predictions for the future provisions. Firstly, the paper gives an overview of the scope and structure of bilateral relations between the US and EU. Secondly, the authors give detailed analysis of the most important points of the negotiation’s agenda, making stress on the underlying differences in domestic regulation and assessing the depth of those differences. The conclusions are as follows. While some of the areas, such as tariffs, labor and environment, SMEs, state enterprises and others, are relatively easy to agree upon, as both economies are striving to achieve high standards, negotiations on other issues, such as government procurement, NTM regulation and IPR are less likely to achieve high standards.
China – Russia: When Are Emotions Appropriate?
Authors: Mikheev V. , Shvydko V. , Lukonin S.
Published: February 2021

The article discusses the conditions under which the Russian “turn to the East” is implemented. It emphasizes that the basis for the “turn” is the Russian-Chinese relations. However, there is a number of intense changes in the foreign policy of China itself as long as it becomes a primary tool for supporting economic growth. The main characteristics of the emerging concept of China's foreign policy are: raise of military power of China, “investment attack” on emerging markets, consolidation of regional “zones of new influence of China”, development of the “new type” relations with the US. These features make the behavior of China in defense of their own interests more aggressive (including relations with Russia). Therefore, Russian innovation in the field of geo-economic strategy must be adapted to the new elements of Chinese foreign policy. Despite the status of a “strategic partnership” a number of problems have developed between China and Russia in recent years. These include, mainly, lack of trust because of the unwillingness to provide to each other full political and military-political support and non-optimal consideration of the United States factor in relations between Russia and China. This presupposes the partial “strategic partnership” only. However, the “new interest” of China in Russia is becoming more urgent since China uses Russian "turn to the East" for its own strategic purposes. It is impossible not to see that China refused to support Western sanctions not due to political solidarity with Russia but due to the Chinese business interests’ protection. China is developing plans of entering into those sectors and niches of the Russian economy, which are released as a result of leaving or “non-arrival” of the Western capital. The “turn to the East” strategy (which means the “turn to China”) can soften the internal losses of Russia from the “war of sanctions” with the West, but will not replace the Russian-American cooperation in the sphere of strategic stability, nuclear nonproliferation, space, terrorism, and climate change.
Flood Management in Samarinda, Indonesia: Recent Progress
Authors: Sukmara Riyan Benny , Wu Ray Shyan , Ariyaningsih Ariyaningsih
Published: February 2021

Samarinda’s flooding issue is threatening future city development. As the most populated city in Kalimantan, Samarinda (the municipality of East Borneo) plays a role-model in disaster management for a neighboring city. This paper introduces current flood disaster handling in this city. History of disaster management in Indonesia is started from the earlier of Indonesian independence. Year 2008, after hit by severe Tsunami in Aceh and its surrounding, Government of Republic of Indonesia form special agency to manage disaster specifically, namely National Board for Disaster Management (in Bahasa called: Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Nasional [BNPB]) and follows by the regional and local government to form similar agency in provincial and local scale (including Samarinda), called Regional Board for Disaster Management (in Bahasa: Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Daerah[BPBD]) which is formed in 2009 and 2011, respectively. The aim of this paper is to explain flood management in Samarinda where is flood hazard increase gradually and need to be a priority. Descriptive analysis is used in this study including secondary data and interviewed stakeholders. Finally, the finding of study obtains found five constraints related to Samarinda’s flood management including administrative and policy, social, economic, environment and technical and knowledge constraint. This study also promotes several schemes of non-structural approach to enlarge alternative perspective in flood management.
Exploring New Scaffolds for the Dual Inhibition of HIV-1 Rt Polymerase and Ribonuclease Associated Functions
Authors: Meleddu Rita , Corona Angela , Distinto Simona , Cottiglia Filippo , Deplano Serenella , Sequeira Lisa , Secci Daniela , Onali Alessia , Sanna Erica , Esposito Francesca , Cirone Italo , Ortuso Francesco , Alcaro Stefano , Tramontano Enzo , Matyus Peter , Maccioni Elias
Published: February 2021

Current therapeutic protocols for the treatment of HIV infection consist of the combination of diverse anti-retroviral drugs in order to reduce the selection of resistant mutants and to allow for the use of lower doses of each single agent to reduce toxicity. However, avoiding drugs interactions and patient compliance are issues not fully accomplished so far. In this respect the identification of single agents with multitarget potential might represent the ideal solution. Accordingly, a small library of biphenylhydrazo 4-arylthiazoles derivatives has been synthesised and evaluated to investigate the ability of the new derivatives to simultaneously inhibit both associated functions of HIV reverse transcriptase. All compounds were active towards the two functions, although at different concentrations. The substitution pattern on the biphenyl moiety appears relevant to determine the activity.
Virtual Screening of Potential Anticancer Drugs based on Microbial Products
Authors: Pinto Gaspar , Hendrikse Natalie , Stourac Jan , Damborsky Jiri , Bednar David
Published: February 2021

The development of microbial products for cancer treatment has been in the spotlight in recent years. In order to accelerate the lengthy and expensive drug development process, in silico screening tools are systematically employed, especially during the initial discovery phase. Moreover, considering the steadily increasing number of molecules approved by authorities for commercial use, there is a demand for faster methods to repurpose such drugs. Here we present a review on virtual screening web tools, publicly available databases of molecular targets and libraries of ligands, with the aim to facilitate the discovery of potential anticancer drugs based on microbial products. We provide an entry-level step-by-step description of the workflow for virtual screening of microbial metabolites with known protein targets, as well as two practical examples using freely available web tools. The first case presents a virtual screening study of drugs developed from microbial products using Caver Web, a web tool that performs docking along a tunnel. The second case comprises a comparative analysis between a healthy isocitrate dehydrogenase 1, a mutant that results in cancer, using the recently developed web tool PredictSNPOnco. In summary, this review provides the basic and essential background information necessary for virtual screening experiments, which may accelerate the discovery of novel anticancer drugs.