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Purpose: This work is a summary of regeneration mechanisms and some important aspects of cellular and molecular factors in regeneration, in addition to techniques that have been employed for limb regeneration. Methods: In this article, a comprehensive review of literature related to limb regeneration mechanisms, influential factors in limb regeneration, and limb regeneration strategies has been conducted. Results: Regeneration mechanism in regenerative species is different from mammals and blastema formation after wound healing helps them to regrow their limb. Also, some essential signaling pathways should be activated for proper regeneration. Moreover, age, immune system, metamorphosis, and body size are critical parameters that can influence regeneration in different species. Several approaches are being studied to promote limb regeneration including cell therapy, gene therapy, immune-based therapy, and electrical stimulation, but none of them led to complete limb regeneration. Regenerative engineering is an emerging multi-disciplinary field for the reconstruction of complex tissues and organ systems, making it a viable approach for the regeneration of limbs as well. Conclusion: Despite significant advances in the field leading to a better understanding of the mechanisms and parameters involved in regeneration, the specific techniques and approaches for successfully regenerating limbs in mammals have yet to be discovered. We believe solutions lie in using a convergence of technologies and regenerative engineering is the central approach for human limb regeneration. Lay Summary: Limb loss is experienced by more than 2 million Americans, negatively impacting their quality of life. It has been determined that mammals, including humans, can only regenerate certain tissues, such as digit tips. However, regenerative amphibians are capable of fully regenerating their limbs. Therefore, taking clues from urodeles, research on developing techniques, and studying mechanisms to regenerate human limbs is becoming a highly important field pursued vigorously. In this review, we first explain the process of limb regeneration in urodele amphibians followed by important factors affecting regeneration. Next, we explain the present strategies and methods for mammalian limb regeneration.

Purpose: In 2012 and on the 25th anniversary of the field of Tissue Engineering, the senior author (C. T. L.) introduced the new field of Regenerative Engineering in a hallmark article in Science Translational Medicine. Now, and after almost a decade, we define consilience in regenerative engineering as the next defining phase as we move forward. Methods: We describe consilience as the coming together of facts and knowledge from across disciplines to form coherent inductions that are then used to develop new comprehensive theories and science for tissue regeneration. Results: The convergence of scientific areas, namely materials science, stem cell science, biophysics, developmental biology, and clinical translation allows the ability to address grand challenges such as human limb regeneration. This article provides an overview of Dr. Laurencin and his team’s most prominent work in the past three decades in the fields of nanotechnology, nanofibers, and soft and hard tissue regeneration. We discuss the foundations of regenerative engineering and the significant strides that have been made in the clinical translation of regenerative therapies. Conclusion: We believe that consilience and the combining and converging of insights from across disciplines will be central to the future of Regenerative Engineering. Lay Summary: The field of Regenerative Engineering was created in 2012 by Dr. Cato T. Laurencin as the convergence of knowledge and expertise from advanced materials sciences, stem cell science, physics, developmental biology, and clinical translation. Dr. Laurencin and his team have made exceptional contributions in soft and hard tissue regeneration within this transdisciplinary field. Here, we describe the seminal contributions in the fields of nanotechnology, nanofibers, and stem cell niches that have contributed toward regenerative consilience. We believe regenerative consilience will revolutionize the field moving forward and will be imperative for addressing future challenges including the grand challenge of limb regeneration.

Successful regeneration of critical-size defects remains one of the significant challenges in regenerative engineering. These large-scale bone defects are difficult to regenerate and are often reconstructed with matrices that do not provide adequate oxygen levels to stem cells involved in the regeneration process. Hypoxia-induced necrosis predominantly occurs in the center of large matrices since the host tissue’s local vasculature fails to provide sufficient nutrients and oxygen. Indeed, utilizing oxygen-generating materials can overcome the central hypoxic region, induce tissue in-growth, and increase the quality of life for patients with extensive tissue damage. This article reviews recent advances in oxygen-generating biomaterials for translational bone regenerative engineering. We discussed different oxygen-releasing and delivery methods, fabrication methods for oxygen-releasing matrices, biology, oxygen’s role in bone regeneration, and emerging new oxygen delivery methods that could potentially be used for bone regenerative engineering.

Abstract : Regenerative engineering has converged the upward advancements of various scientific fields such as advanced material science, developmental biology, chemistry, physics, and stem cell biology, providing a merged practical toolbox for scientists to restore tissue’s inherent function and regenerate complex organ structures. Since the first pioneered study by Laurencin and colleagues on developing innovative electrospun nanofibrous matrices for biomedical applications, significant efforts have been devoted to mimicking the biological, topographical, and mechanical features of a matrix-like tissue’s structural environment. Despite the considerable advancements in emerging nanofibers for tissue regeneration, there still remain challenges in determining an ultimate combination of biopolymers and translating characteristic clues into the engineered niche in order to preserve the stemness of the progenitor’s population and directed cell differentiation. Here we review the current literature on utilization of nanofibers as an artificial stem cell niche and its convergence with translational regenerative engineering. Lay Summary: Clinical translation of advanced material science and nanotechnology in tandem with stem cell biology plays an important role in various aspects of regenerative engineering. Utilizing biopolymers for electrospinning of nanofibrous matrices can provide an artificial stem cell niche for complex tissue regeneration through guided stem cell differentiation. Understanding the delicate details of physiochemical and mechanical fundaments governing the migration and differentiation stem cells may lead to successful niche re-establishment and matrix design. This review discusses the current knowledge of the engineered matrix hierarchical architecture-stem cell response correlation and the underlaying mechanisms of artificial niche fabrication and engineering strategies to enhance complex tissue regeneration.

C–C cross-coupling versus homo-coupling from the Pt(IV) complex [Pt(pbt)Br(CH2Ph)(Me)2], 2a(pbt = 2-(2-pyridyl)benzothiazole), was studied experimentally and through density functional theory calculations. The calculations show that from the three competitive C–C reductive eliminations, (A) Me–Me homo-coupling, (B) benzyl–Me cross-coupling (Me transto Npy), and (C) benzyl–Me cross-coupling (Me transto Nbz), the Me–Me homo-coupling reaction is preferred over the other two due to the lower energy barrier of the Me–Me vs the benzyl–Me bond formation. The reaction is initiated by a dissociation of the Br–ligand followed by Me–Me homo-coupling from the resulting five-coordinate intermediate. Experimentally, complex 2aundergoes reductive elimination in toluene at 70 °C producing ethane and the Pt(II) complex [Pt(pbt)Br(CH2Ph)] 3ain over 99% yield, fully in line with the calculations. 1H195Pt HMBC experiments allowed studying even sub-% products in this study.

Purpose: Rotator cuff (RC) tears affect many individuals around the globe. Ambiguity of rotator cuff repair surgical outcomes is currently a limitation that is associated with fat accumulation and atrophy in the rotator cuff muscles. To improve the efficacy of rotator cuff repairs, a deeper understanding of the root causes is required. Traditionally, the term “fat infiltration” has been used to described fatty changes in muscle after rotator cuff tears. This paper introduces the concept of fat expansion as a more appropriate description for the appearance of fatty rotator cuff tear pathological changes. Furthermore, the contribution of fibroadipogenic progenitor (FAP) cells to pathological changes associated with rotator cuff injuries is presented to characterize the molecular basis of impairment. Lastly, the field of regenerative engineering is discussed as a promising solution to the pathological changes associated with rotator cuff tears. Methods: The connection between fatty infiltration, fat expansion, fat accumulation, fibroadipogenic cells, and regenerative engineering in the context of rotator cuff tears was explored using the databases PubMed and Google Scholar. Results: Numerous articles have supported the role of muscle resident fibroadipogenic cells as a contributor to rotator cuff tear pathological changes. In addition, regenerative engineering solutions prove to improve the pathological changes associated with rotator cuff tears. Conclusion: The term fat expansion is more appropriate to describe fat accumulation associated with rotator cuff tears, and the employment of regenerative engineering treatment strategies improve the pathological changes associated with rotator cuff tears. Lay Summary: Fat accumulation after rotator cuff tears has been associated with post-operative complications. Infiltration or entering of adipocytes from the external muscle environment has historically been the reported cause of the rapid increase in fat and muscle atrophy observed after rotor cuff tears. This review will dismiss the use of the term fat infiltration and acknowledge the implications of muscle resident stem cells, known as fibroadipogenic (FAP) cells, to rotator cuff tear pathological changes. Additionally, regenerative engineering, a field which seeks to regenerate various tissues using biomaterial-based scaffolds and stem cells, will be discussed as a potential solution for pathological changes.

The present comprehensive systematic review was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of workplace nutritional intervention on adult employee's cardiometabolic risk factors including anthropometric measures, glycemia indices, and lipid profile using the randomized controlled trials.

Three classes of Pt(II) complexes of the types [PtMe2(NHC)] (NHC = 1,1′-dimethyl-3,3′-methylenediimidazolin-2,2′-diylidene), [PtMe2(N^N)] (N^N = 2,2′-bipyridine, 1,10-phenanthroline), and [PtMe(C^N)(SMe2)] (C^N = 2-phenylpyridinate, benzo[h]quinolinate), with a systematic variation in the chelating ligand, were chosen to investigate the oxidative addition of Pt(II) complexes with acetyl halides and the ensuing C–C reductive elimination from the corresponding Pt(IV) complexes. In accordance with the nature of the chelating ligand, the following conclusions can be ascertained: (i) in the reaction of [PtMe2(NHC)] complex 1awith acetyl halides, the order of the energy barriers (kcal/mol) for C–X bond activation is computed as Cl (24.4) ≈ Br (23.7) ≈ I (23.6), which are in a narrow range, showing no significant halide effect; (ii) while the energy barriers for oxidative addition of acetyl halides to complex 1aare almost the same, the Csp3–Csp2(CH3–COMe) reductive elimination barriers from [PtMe2(NHC)(MeCO)X] for X = Cl, Br, I are 23.5, 16.3, and 10.3 kcal/mol, respectively (lower than the acetyl halide oxidative addition to [PtMe2(NHC)]), suggesting that, when X = I, the Pt(IV) complex is more prone to undergo reductive elimination in comparison to the related Cl and Br analogues; (iii) the NHC Pt(IV) complexes selectively form Csp3–Csp2bonds instead of Csp3–Csp3bonds in reductive elimination; (iv) while NHC Pt(IV) complexes undergo a C–C reductive elimination process, the C–C coupling reaction is quite difficult for [PtCl(COMe)Me2(N^N)] complexes because of the high energy barrier found for C–C bond formation versus C–Cl oxidative addition; (v) similarly to NHC Pt(IV) complexes, the cycloplatinated (IV) complexes [PtCl(COMe)Me(C^N)(SMe2)] readily undergo C–C bond formation with reductive elimination.

Background: Sexual function is affected by various physiological and psychological factors. Individual differences and various personality types are effective in response to sexual function. Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between sexual function and personality types among the women referred to healthcare centers in Shiraz in 2014 till 2015. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 514 women referred to healthcare centers in Shiraz. The study data were collected using a demographic information form, the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), and a NEO Personality Inventory. Written informed consent forms were also obtained from the participants. Afterward, the data were analysed through the SPSS software, version 19, using t-test, chi-square test, and Fisher’s exact test. Results: The results showed sexual desire disorder in 39% of the participants, sexual arousal disorder in 38.6%, orgasm disorder in 25.5%, and sexual pain in 33%. The results also indicated that sexual desire, arousal, and pain were significantly associated with extroversion and reversely related to neuroticism. Conclusions: The score of extroversion was higher in individuals without sexual dysfunction, while the score of neuroticism was higher among individuals with sexual dysfunction. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate women’s personality types as a technique for the assessment of sexual dysfunction.

The cyclometalated platinum(II) complexes [PtMe(C∧N)(L)] [1PS: C∧N = 2-phenylpyridinate (ppy), L = SMe2; 1BS: C∧N = benzo[h]quinolate (bhq), L = SMe2; 1PP: C∧N = ppy, L = PPh3; and 1BP: C∧N = bhq, L = PPh3] containing two different cyclometalated ligands and two different ancillary ligands have been investigated in the reaction with CX3CO2H (X = F or H). When L = SMe2, the Pt–Me bond rather than the Pt–C bond of the cycloplatinated complex is cleaved to give the complexes [Pt(C∧N)(CX3CO2)(SMe2)]. When L = PPh3, the selectivity of the reaction is reversed. In the reaction of [PtMe(C∧N)(PPh3)] with CF3CO2H, the Pt–C∧N bond is cleaved rather than the Pt–Me bond. The latter reaction gave [PtMe(κ1N–Hppy)(PPh3)(CF3CO2)] as an equilibrium mixture of two isomers. For L = PPh3, no reaction was observed with CH3CO2H. The reasons for this difference in selectivity for complexes 1are computationally discussed based on the energy barrier needed for the protonolysis of the Pt–Csp3bond versus the Pt–Csp2bond. Two pathways including the direct one-step acid attack at the Pt–C bond (SE2) and stepwise oxidative–addition on the Pt(II) center followed by reductive elimination [SE(ox)] are proposed. A detailed density functional theory (DFT) study of these protonations along with experimental UV–vis kinetics suggests that a one-step electrophilic attack (SE2) at the Pt–C bond is the most likely mechanism for complexes 1, and changing the nature of the ancillary ligand can influence the selectivity in the Pt–C bond cleavage. The effect of the nature of the acid and cyclometalated ligand (C∧N) is also discussed.

Table of Contents Abstract Introduction Materials & Methods Results Discussion References Abstract Aim: The aim was to determine the women's satisfaction rate with prenatal care received at the primary health [...]

The reaction of complex [Pt(Me)(DMSO)(pbz)], 1, (pbz = 2-(2-pyridyl)benzimidazolate) with [PtMe(Cl)(DMSO)2], B, followed by addition of bis(diphenylphosphino)acetylene (dppac), gave the novel tetranuclear platinum complex [Pt4Me4(μ-dppac)2(pbz)2Cl2], 2, bearing both the pbz and dppac ligands. In this structure, the pbz ligands are both chelating and bridging to stabilize the tetraplatinum framework. The tetranuclear Pt(II) complex was fully characterized by NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and mass spectrometry, and its electronic structure was investigated and supported by DFT calculations.

Background: Numerous studies have defined the outstanding role of circulating tumor cells (CTC) in the management of cancer, particularly the ones in association with primary tumor metastases. Objective: The overall aim of the present study was to investigate whether CTCs may serve as a clinical prognostic marker for survival in primary breast cancer. Methods: Articles Published from June 2011 to July 2017 in PubMed, EMBase, and Cochrane library databases were thoroughly screened for selecting the ones meeting the inclusion criteria. Result: Studies applying CellSearch® method demonstrated the risk ratios (RR) of 2.51 (95% CI: 1.78- 3.54), 3.98 (95% CI: 2.28- 6.95), 5.59 (95% CI: 3.29- 9.51), and 3.38 (95% CI: 1.88- 6.06) for death rate and relapse rates of 2.48 (95% CI: 1.89 - 3.26), 3.62 (95% CI: 2.37 - 5.51), 4.45 (95% CI: 2.94 - 6.73), and 2.88 (95 % CI: 1.99 - 4.17) at four CTC positive cut points (≥ 1, ≥ 2, ≥ 3, and ≥ 5 CTCs/7.5 ml). Two studies applying the AdnaTest® also documented increased death (RR: 1.38, 95 % CI: 0.42- 4.49) and relapse rates (RR: 2.97, 95 % CI: 1.23 - 7.18)). Conclusion: Results of this meta-analysis allude CTCs as potent prognostic markers in primary breast cancers prior to any systemic therapy especially when it is studied via CellSearch® administration, considering that the more the CTCs, the greater the death and relapse rates.

A green and efficient one‐pot two‐step synthesis of ethyl 2‐(alkylimino)‐4‐methyl‐3‐(alkanoyl)‐2,3‐dihydrothiazole‐5‐carboxylates from the reaction between acyl chlorides, ammonium thiocyanate, primary alkylamines, and ethyl 2‐chloroacetoacetae under mild, solvent‐ and catalyst‐free conditions at room temperature is presented. This efficient and straightforward technique gave the expected products in good to high yields in 2–4 hr without the creation of any by‐product in all reactions. A new one‐pot two‐step synthetic route that gives functionalized 2,3‐dihydrothiazole derivatives is reported. The method has several advantages such as the avoidance of solvent and catalyst, good yield, short reaction times, the possibility of mixing the substances without any activation or modification, and simple experimental work‐up.

The inherent shortcomings of polylactide (PLA) including brittleness, low glass transition temperature, and melt strength during processing were addressed through a facile melt blending of PLA with polybutadiene-g-poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (PB-g-SAN) core–shell impact modifier and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Highly tough PLA-based ternary blends with drastically enhanced glass transition temperature (≈ 21 °C) and melt strength were successfully prepared. The effect of PMMA content (ranging from 0 to 30 wt %) on the phase miscibility, morphology, mechanical properties, thermal behavior, rheological properties, and toughening mechanisms of PLA/PB-g-SAN/PMMA blends with 30% PB-g-SAN was systematically investigated. It was found that PMMA can effectively tune the interfacial interactions, phase morphology and performance of incompatible PLA/PB-g-SAN blend owing to its partial miscibility with PLA matrix and miscibility with SAN shell of PB-g-SAN, as evidenced by DMTA analysis. Increase in PMMA content promoted the phase adhesion and dispersion state of PB-g-SAN terpolymer in the blends and highly toughened blends were achieved which showed incomplete break of impact specimen. The significant effect of phase morphology on imparting tremendous improvement in impact toughness was clarified. The maximum impact strength (about 500 J/m), elongation-at-break and glass transition were obtained for ternary blend with 25% PMMA. The PLA crystallinity was gradually suppressed in ternary blends upon progressive increase in PMMA content. Rheological studies showed solid-like behavior with enhanced viscosities for ternary blends. Micromechanical deformations and toughening mechanisms were studied by post-mortem fractography. Massive matrix shear yielding was found as the main source of energy dissipation triggered by suitable interfacial adhesion and microvoid formation.

The rollover cyclometalated platinum(II) complexes [PtMe(2,X′-bpy-H)(PPh3)], (X = 2, 1a; X = 3, 1b; and X = 4, 1c) containing two potential nucleophilic centers have been investigated to elucidate which center is the stronger nucleophile toward methyl iodide. On the basis of DFT calculations, complexes 1band 1care predicted reacting with MeI through the free nitrogen donor to form N-methylated platinum(II) complexes, while complex 1areacts through oxidative addition on platinum to give a platinum(IV) complex, which is in agreement with experimental findings. The reasons for this difference in selectivity for complexes 1a–1care discussed based on the energy barrier needed for N-methylation versus oxidative addition reactions.

Extensive demands in petroleum products and the presence of these substances in large areas of industrial and nonindustrial sectors cause contamination of some soil layers by different means. It is not always possible or the only way to remedy these layers prior to using them for engineering purposes. Instead, considering the changes happening in their mechanical properties may result in a more economical and optimal utilization. Among all petroleum products, gas oil due to the high volume of product and wide use in industry, transport and agriculture, has the largest share in the pollution of contaminated sites. The important point is that the overflow and spills of many diesel engines and gas oil tanks penetrate the bedding above the foundations of mentioned machines and facilities. These foundations which are designed based on the geotechnical parameters of the bed soils, must have a satisfactory performance through the years under various loadings. In this study, extensive physical and mechanical tests on remolded samples of pure and sandy clays contaminated with different gas oil contents have been performed to examine the influences of gas oil on the mechanical properties of sites consisting of fine soils. Results indicate a decrease in Atterberg limits and an increase in maximum dry density with increasing gas oil content. The shear strength parameters (cohesion and friction angle) of fine soils both exhibit a turning change point at 8 % gas oil content, while their variations trends are quite opposed.

Niosomes are biocompatible nanocarriers that could be used for designing drug delivery systems. In this work, we report the synthesis, characterization and antibacterial/antibiofilm activity of a nanocomposite based on Sultamicillin tosylate (ST) and inorganic nanoparticles (i.e., zinc oxide or silver nanoparticles (ZnONPs/AgNPs)) co-loaded into niosome. Various formulations of this nanocomposite were prepared, and further coated with carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) to enhance the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities. The optimized niosome had a particle size of 139.60 ± 3.41 nm, PDI of 0.229 ± 0.013, the zeta potential of −30.5 mV, encapsulation efficiency of 73.45 ± 1.21%, and in vitro drug release of 65.84 ± 1.22% at 48 h. The great stability of the prepared nanocomposite up to 30 days indicates its ability for future pharmaceutical applications. The synergistic effect between the Sultamicillin tosylate and inorganic nanoparticles on antibacterial and anti-biofilm properties of nanocomposite was determined against Escherichia coli(E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus(S. aureus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa(P. aeruginosa), and Klebsiella pneumoniae(K. pneumoniae). The results of real-time PCR showed that ST-Nio-inorganic NPs@CMC down-regulated the icaA, MrkA, FimH, and arr biofilm-related gene expression with P ≤ 0.001. Additionally, MTT assay was performed to evaluate the cytotoxicity of the designed nanocomposite on human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF) cell line. The results indicated cell viability over 90% at all tested concentrations on HFF cells. Overall, the present study shows that the synergistic effects of ST and inorganic NPs loaded on niosome incorporated with CMC hydrogel is a useful strategy to enhance the antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of drugs and has high potential for biomedical application.

AbstractTreatment and recycle of wastewater provide a route to water shortage in the world. Dyes are one of the contaminant in the environment. In this study, magnetic chitosan nanocomposites were fabricated through a facile chemical route and theirs dye removal ability as an adsorbent were studied. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the synthesized nanosorbents. The results showed that the synthesized adsorbents possess quite a good adsorption capacity (with maximum adsorption capacity of 20.5 mg/g by pseudo-second-order model) to dye due to the abundant amino and hydroxyl groups of chitosan. In addition, they can be easily and rapidly extracted from water by magnetic force, and showed good reusability in regeneration studies. The magnetic chitosan nanocomposites could be recovered conveniently and possessed of excellent adsorptive property; it can be developed as an economical and alternative adsorbent to treat dye wastewater.

Ad hoc networks are self-organizing and self-configuring networks that do not have fixed infrastructures. Mobile stations in wireless ad hoc networks move around in the network, thus requiring routing to dynamically handle the constant changing of network topologies. In this paper, we propose a fuzzy logic-based on-demand routing protocol (FBRP) for mobile ad hoc networks. The FBRP selects routes based on power of battery and speed of mobile nodes. The results of simulation and a comparison of the proposed method with the well-known ad hoc on-demand distance vector protocol revealed better performance and a higher fault tolerance for our approach, particularly in terms of node failures.

This study aimed to develop and assess the psychometric features of the Physical Activity at Workplace Questionnaire (PAWPQ) based on the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to evaluate employees’ physical activity (PA) behaviors at the workplace.

The use of genetic potential of forgotten plants such as grasspea and arugula is an appropriate strategy for increasing of plants tolerance to environmental stresses. Therefore, in this laboratory study the effects of different levels of osmotic (0, -2, -4, -6, -8, -10, -12 and -14 bar caused by PEG) and salinity (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 mmol induced by NaCl) stresses were evaluated on germination indices of grasspea and arugula in four separate experiments. Arugula showed a suitable tolerance to osmotic stress, so that its germination percentage and rate at treatment of -10 bar were similar to control. Arugula had 79% germination at osmotic level of -14 bar, but its germination rate at this level was 60% lower than control. In addition, its radicle length until -8 bar and radicle dry weight up to -14 bar were higher than control treatment. However, all levels of salinity stress particularly treatments of more than 100-150 mmol decreased the germination indices of arugula. Germination percentage of arugula in 150 and 200 mmol treatments was 22 and 56% lower than control treatment, respectively. Grasspea had partially suitable tolerance to osmotic stress until -6 bar, but then intensified the reducing trends of its germination indices and finally reached to zero at -14 bar treatment. Moreover, salinity stress especially treatments of higher than 100 mmol decreased all germination indices of grasspea. Overall, arugula was a more tolerant plant especially to osmotic stress; therefore this forgotten plant can be used in agronomic and breeding programs in areas affected by drought stress.

DFT investigation of MeI oxidative addition reaction of the phosphine chelating platinum(II) complexes, [PtMe2(Me2P(CH2)nPMe2)] (n= 1–4) to afford the organoplatinum(IV) complexes, [PtMe3I(Me2P(CH2)nPMe2)], is reported. The first step of the oxidative addition reaction that proceeds via the usual SN2 mechanism is the nucleophilic attack of Pt center of platinum(II) complex to carbon atom of MeI. The reaction proceeds by formation of a transition state, which includes the Pt…C…I fragment, followed by formation of the intermediate [PtMe3(Me2P(CH2)nPMe2)]+I−with the incoming Me group in the apical position of five-coordinate intermediate and with the iodide ion out of coordination sphere of Pt(IV) intermediate. The effect of the P–Pt–P bite angle of phosphine chelate on the energy barrier of the reaction has been investigated in terms of the length of the diphosphine ligand backbone. The DFT studies are in agreement with the experimental findings.

AbstractThe cubic equation of state (CEoS) is a powerful method for calculation of the vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) in polymer solutions. Using CEoS for both the vapor and liquid phases allows one to calculate the non-ideality of polymer solutions based on a single EoS approach. In this research, VLE calculations of polypropylene glycol (polypropylene oxide) [PPG(PPO)]/solvent solutions were carried out. In this approach, eight models containing Peng-Robinson-Stryjek-Vera (PRSV) and Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK) CEoS separately combined with four mixing rules, namely van der Waals one-fluid mixing rule with one adjustable parameter (vdW1), van der Waals one-fluid mixing rule with two adjustable parameters (vdW2), Wong-Sandler (WS), and Zhong-Masuoka (ZM) were applied to calculations of bubble point pressure. For a better correlation, the adjustable binary interaction parameters existing in any mixing rule were optimized. The results were very acceptable and satisfactory. The results of absolute average deviations (%AAD) between computed results and experimental bubble point pressure data were calculated and presented. Although the capability of two CEoS had a good agreement with experimental data and illustrated the correct type of phase behavior in all cases, the performance of the PRSV+vdW2 was more reliable than the other models.

Abstract: Spatial generalized linear mixed models are common in applied statistics. Most users are satisfied using a Gaussian distribution for the spatial latent variables in this model, but it is unclear whether the Gaussian assumption holds. Wrong Gaussian assumptions cause bias in the parameter estimates and affect the accuracy of spatial predictions. Thus, there is a need for more flexible priors for the latent variables, and to perform efficient inference and spatial prediction in the resulting models. In this paper we use a skew normal prior distribution for the spatial latent variables. We propose new approximate Bayesian methods for the inference and spatial prediction in this model. A key ingredient in our approximations is using the closed skew normal distribution to approximate the full conditional for the latent variables. Our approximate inference and spatial prediction methods are fast and deterministic, using no sampling based strategies. The results indicate that the skew normal prior model can give better predictions than the normal model, while avoiding overfitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractSince the beginning of the coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, an exponentially large amount of data has been published to describe the pathology, clinical presentations, and outcomes in patients infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome novel coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Although COVID-19 has been shown to cause a systemic inflammation predisposing the involvement of multiple organs, its mechanism affecting the urogenital system has not been well-documented. This case report presents the clinical course of two male patients with COVID-19 who developed sexual dysfunction, as anorgasmia, following recovery from the infection. Although no evidence of viral replication or inflammatory involvement could be identified in these cases’ urogenital organs, a lack of other known risk factors for anorgasmia points to the role of COVID-19 as the contributing factor.

Temporal lobe epilepsy with prevalence of 0.003 is the most common type of epilepsy in adulthood. 20-60% of these patients have psychiatric co morbidity and 30% of them have a history of admission in psychiatric hospitals, before referring to neurologist. Case presentation:The case is a 22 years old, single and high school educated man who developed his first epileptic episode four years ago when he was student in spiritual sciences center, so he was captured and suspended his education because of sexual manifestation of epilepsy. Then he was referred to a psychiatrist for management as a case of psychiatric illness but there was no improvement after one year of psychopharmacotherapy and following a suicidal attempt he was admitted in hospital and took ECT with the impression of mood disorder but in out patient service follow up he talked about the true nature of his problem and in a case conference session with the presence of psychiatrists and neurologist, we noticed that he is a case of epilepsy that his epileptic episodes usually occur in public places, 2-3 times in a year, no matter what is the victim sexuality. Each episode lasts about few minutes with postictal confusion and the patient has no memory about the episodes. Between the episodes the patient suffers from anxiety and depression. EEG was abnormal but brain CT scan and MRI with contrast were normal. After antiepileptic management the patient had no epileptic episode during one year follow up period.