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Objective: The current study was designed to investigate the protective effects of curcuma caplet against titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nTiO2)-induced damage in liver and kidney of male Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Thirty adult (7-8 week old) male rats (200 g) were randomly divided into 5 groups of 6 each. The first and second groups received olive oil and nTiO2 (300 mg/kg body weight) as control and nTiO2 groups, respectively. The third, fourth, and fifth groups received Curcuma at concentrations of 100, 200, and 300 mg/kg body weight in addition to 300 mg/kg body weight of nTiO2, respectively. The treatment was performed through gavage for 3 weeks. Rats' blood was examined for total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidant status (TOS), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels as well as antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and activity of liver enzymes alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and renal factors (urea, uric acid, and creatinine). Histological analyses were also performed to estimate the extent of hepatic and renal injury. Results: nTiO2-induced liver and kidney damage by decreased serum SOD, GPx, and TAC (p<0.05). Fu +rthermore, nTiO2 increased serum MDA and TOS, and renal (Creatinine, Urea and Uric acid) and liver parameters (ALT, AST, ALP and LDH) (p<0.05). However, Curcuma treatment was able to moderate these changes dramatically (p<0.05). The results were confirmed by histopathological data. Conclusion: This study showed the antioxidant properties of curcuma against the side effects of nTiO2. Keywords: Curcuma, Titanium dioxide nanoparticles, Toxicity, Wistar rats [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the impact of cleft width and cleft type on the need for secondary surgery and velopharyngeal competence from a longitudinal perspective. Design: Retrospective, longitudinal study. Setting: A single multidisciplinary craniofacial team at a university hospital. Patients: Consecutive patients with unilateral or bilateral cleft lip and palate and cleft palate only (n = 313) born from 1984 to 2002, treated with 2-stage palatal surgery, were reviewed. A total of 213 patients were included. Main Outcome Measures: The impact of initial cleft width and cleft type on secondary surgery. Assessment of hypernasality, audible nasal emission, and glottal articulation from routine follow-ups from 3 to 16 years of age. The assessments were compared with reassessments of 10% of the recordings. Results: Cleft width, but not cleft type, predicted the need for secondary surgery, either due to palatal dehiscence or velopharyngeal insufficiency. The distribution of cleft width between the scale steps on a 4-point scale for hypernasality and audible nasal emission differed significantly at 5 years of age but not at any other age. Presence of glottal articulation differed significantly at 3 and 5 years of age. No differences between cleft types were seen at any age for any speech variable. Conclusions: Cleft width emerged as a predictor of the need for secondary surgery as well as more deviance in speech variables related to velopharyngeal competence during the preschool years. Cleft type was not related to the need for secondary surgery nor speech outcome at any age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silica coating on a gold nanoparticle can improve its thermal application in cancer thermotherapy. In this paper, the interfacial thermal conductance between gold and silica is calculated utilizing classical non-equilibrium molecular dynamics. It is revealed that the results of molecular dynamics are different from what has been predicted by the conventional diffuse mismatch model. Furthermore, the interfacial thermal conductance between amorphous SiO2 and gold is approximately twice that of crystalline silica, which is explained by calculating the vibrational density of state mismatches. The interfacial thermal conductance variations in terms of van der Waals interaction strength between gold and silica are also investigated. It is revealed that the conductance increases by about 30% by increasing the simulation temperature from 300 to 700 K. The results of this paper can be useful in nanofluid systems, in addition to the application of silica-coated gold nanoparticles in cancer thermal therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents spatial steganography scheme based on adaptive group modification (AGM) (Rad et al. in Signal Process 125:315–328, 2016). First we study AGM. Then we criticize and improve it. AGM works based on embedding segments of secret message bits on triplet of prediction errors. It also employs multilayer embedding mechanism to increase the capacity. We have improved it by exploiting more number of host bins to increase the hiding capacity. Furthermore, by changing the procedure of secret message segmentation and altering modification groups of prediction errors, the proposed method preserves the same stego image quality. Moreover, the required side information for correct extraction is 32 bit (too much less than the one required for AGM). The experimental results confirm that the proposed method increases the embedding capacity up to 22 K bits while PSNR (peak signal to noise ratio) almost remains the same in comparison with AGM method. Also, the results prove that the proposed method outperforms recent methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify factors of oral health important for the final outcome, after secondary alveolar bone grafting in patients born with unilateral cleft lip and palate and compare occlusal radiographs with cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in assessment of alveolar bone height. Design: Observational follow-up study. Setting: Cleft Lip and Palate Team, Craniofacial Center, Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden. Patients: 40 nonsyndromic, Caucasian patients with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate. Interventions: Clinical examination, CBCT, and occlusal radiographs. Main Outcome Measurements: Alveolar bone height was evaluated according to Bergland index at a 20-year follow-up. Results: The alveolar bone height in the cleft area was significantly reduced compared to a previously reported 10-year follow-up in the same cohort by total (P = .045) and by subgroup with dental restoration (P = .0078). This was positively correlated with the gingival bleeding index (GBI) (r = 0.51, P = .0008) and presence of dental restorations in the cleft area (r = 0.45, P = .0170). There was no difference in the Bergland index generated from scoring the alveolar bone height on occlusal radiographs as with the equivalent index on CBCT. Conclusion: Patients rehabilitated with complex dental restoration seems to be at higher risk for progression of bone loss in the cleft area. Supportive periodontal therapy should be implemented after complex dental restorations in cleft patients. Conventional occlusal radiographs provide an adequate image for evaluating postoperative bone height in clinical follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: As a first study, suicidal ideation and its correlates have been evaluated in Iranian HIV positive population. Methods: One hundred and fifty HIV-positive individuals were recruited in this cross-sectional study. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory (PSQI) and Somatization subscale of Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL 90) as self- reported questionnaires were used to assess the patients' anxiety and depression status, suicidal thoughts, sleep quality and physiological factors, respectively. Results: Antiretroviral therapy and efavirenz intake did not show any significant effects on the patients' suicidal ideation. Anxiety (p<0.001), depression (p<0.001), poor physical activity (P<0.001) and sleep quality (p<0.001) were significantly associated with the patients' negative suicidal ideation. From the patients' demographic data, unemployment (p = 0.04), living alone (p = 0.01), and lack of family support (p = 0.01) were correlated with the patients' negative suicidal thoughts. Conclusion: Although hospitals are the main referral centers for providing care for HIV-positive individuals in Tehran, Iran, conducting a multi-center study with sufficient sample size from different areas of our country that include individuals with different behaviors and cultures is essential to confirm the results of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis of a novel series of tetraarylterephthalaldehyde derivatives in an one-pot reaction is described. In this methodology 1,2,4,5-tetrachloro-3,6-diiodobenzene is treated with various aryl Grignard reagents (excess) in tetrahydrofuran to give tetraarylbenzene-1,4-diylbis(magnesium bromides). After reaction of this product with ethyl formate and aqueous quench, tetraarylterephthalaldehydes are isolated in 33-80% yields. A mechanism involving organometallic aryne intermediates is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the impact of cleft width and cleft type on the need for secondary surgery and velopharyngeal competence from a longitudinal perspective., Design: Retrospective, longitudinal study., Setting: A single multidisciplinary craniofacial team at a university hospital., Patients: Consecutive patients with unilateral or bilateral cleft lip and palate and cleft palate only (n = 313) born from 1984 to 2002, treated with 2-stage palatal surgery, were reviewed. A total of 213 patients were included., Main Outcome Measures: The impact of initial cleft width and cleft type on secondary surgery. Assessment of hypernasality, audible nasal emission, and glottal articulation from routine follow-ups from 3 to 16 years of age. The assessments were compared with reassessments of 10% of the recordings., Results: Cleft width, but not cleft type, predicted the need for secondary surgery, either due to palatal dehiscence or velopharyngeal insufficiency. The distribution of cleft width between the scale steps on a 4-point scale for hypernasality and audible nasal emission differed significantly at 5 years of age but not at any other age. Presence of glottal articulation differed significantly at 3 and 5 years of age. No differences between cleft types were seen at any age for any speech variable., Conclusions: Cleft width emerged as a predictor of the need for secondary surgery as well as more deviance in speech variables related to velopharyngeal competence during the preschool years. Cleft type was not related to the need for secondary surgery nor speech outcome at any age.

Objective: To identify factors of oral health important for the final outcome, after secondary alveolar bone grafting in patients born with unilateral cleft lip and palate and compare occlusal radiographs with cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in assessment of alveolar bone height., Design: Observational follow-up study., Setting: Cleft Lip and Palate Team, Craniofacial Center, Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden., Patients: 40 nonsyndromic, Caucasian patients with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate., Interventions: Clinical examination, CBCT, and occlusal radiographs., Main Outcome Measurements: Alveolar bone height was evaluated according to Bergland index at a 20-year follow-up., Results: The alveolar bone height in the cleft area was significantly reduced compared to a previously reported 10-year follow-up in the same cohort by total ( P = .045) and by subgroup with dental restoration ( P = .0078). This was positively correlated with the gingival bleeding index (GBI) ( r = 0.51, P = .0008) and presence of dental restorations in the cleft area ( r = 0.45, P = .0170). There was no difference in the Bergland index generated from scoring the alveolar bone height on occlusal radiographs as with the equivalent index on CBCT., Conclusion: Patients rehabilitated with complex dental restoration seems to be at higher risk for progression of bone loss in the cleft area. Supportive periodontal therapy should be implemented after complex dental restorations in cleft patients. Conventional occlusal radiographs provide an adequate image for evaluating postoperative bone height in clinical follow-up.