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Aims: The aim was to investigate lower extremity muscle strength by a handheld dynamometer and to assess the possible correlation between fear of falling and muscle strength in diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 15 patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy were evaluated based on the Michigan neuropathy screening instrument, and ten healthy control were enrolled. The study was performed in the clinical and research center of Tarbiat Modares Universitychr('39')s movement disorders between February and May 2020. Fall efficacy scale-International was completed to assess fear of falling. Muscle strength of the peroneus longus, tibilalis anterior, gastrosoleus, Hamstring, vastus lateralis, quadriceps femoris, gluteus maximus, and hip abductors of the dominant (right) lower extremity was measured by a handheld dynamometer. SPSS 22 was used for data processing. An independent t-test, Pearson correlation, and regression analysis were used to analyze data. Findings: There was a moderate and negative correlation between fall efficacy scale-International and gastrosoleus time to peak (r=-0.0607; p=0.016), and a strong correlation between fall efficacy scale-International and Michigan neuropathy screening instrument (r=0.709; B=1.829; p=0.003). All the time-to-peak force results were higher in diabetic peripheral neuropathy than healthy control and became significant in tibilalis anterior, quadriceps femoris, and gluteus maximus (p

This study is an attempt to create a framework, using the best available inventory data, to perform lifecycle assessment (LCA) on asphalt pavement production. In particular, the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) as an end-of-life product of deteriorated pavements is under consideration. Following ISO 14000 series standards, the framework constitutes the four major LCA steps in defining goal and scope, lifecycle inventory analysis, environmental impact assessment, and results interpretation. Three different scenarios in which varying portions of RAP are incorporated into hot mix asphalt production are to be compared. The system boundary of this study is limited to the construction and rehabilitation phases and ignores the vehicular use phase. It was found under this study that since high RAP mixtures require more frequent and aggressive maintenance activities, the overall footprint of asphalt pavements constructed with higher RAP contents is also higher. This would necessitate more efficient design procedures and protocols for mixtures produced with high RAP contents to compensate for their lack of long-term performance.

An indisputable fact about our planet is that its atmospheric temperature has risen dramatically during the past century. Combustion of fossil fuels and their subsequent greenhouse gas emissions are thought to be the main contributors to recent changes within the Earth’s ecosystem. The transportation sector and electricity generating power plants are each responsible for approximately one-third of these emissions. Shifting towards a cleaner and renewable resources to generate electricity is believed to omit a big portion of polluting substances. Improvements in vehicles’ fuel efficiency and the introduction of alternative fuels besides strategic plans to control travel demand are among the most promising approaches to alleviate emissions from the transportation sector. Recent technology advancements, however, drew much attention to the production and manufacturing of alternative fuel vehicles, electric vehicles in particular. Since these vehicles use electricity as part of or all their powertrain, assessing the amount of emissions they produce is closely tied to the cleanliness of the electricity source. In order for a valid comparison to be made between internal combustion and electric vehicles, hence, a life cycle assessment procedure needs to be followed from production stages to terminal life of vehicles. Involvement of numerous affecting factors during the lifetime of a vehicle on one hand, and the ambiguity in the exact source of electricity used to charge electric vehicles on the other hand bring about more complexities. The latter case is more commonly known as the marginal grid problem, which deals with how a combination of sources used to generate electricity can influence the life cycle emissions. There are also other concerns regarding the growth in fuel-efficient and electric vehicles. Transportation planners argue that new developments in the vehicle industry may attract more people to owning and driving cars. This phenomenon which is better known as a rebound effect not only will result in increased traffic congestion, but it can also outpace the environmental benefits from utilizing electric vehicles. Moreover, since fuel taxes comprise the majority of Highway Trust Funds, alternative ways to compensate for state and federal revenues should be devised. This paper is an attempt to review the existing literature to better elaborate on the role of the transportation sector in controlling climate change threats. More specifically, issues around the use of electric vehicles and how they can contribute to more environmentally friendly communities are discussed.

Seyed Hamid Reza Faiz,1 Mahmoud Reza Alebouyeh,2 Pooya Derakhshan,2 Farnad Imani,3 Poupak Rahimzadeh,3 Maryam Ghaderi Ashtiani2 1Endometriosis Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 2Anesthesia Department, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 3Pain Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Background: Due to the importance of pain control after abdominal surgery, several methods such as transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block are used to reduce the pain after surgery. TAP blocks can be performed using various ultrasound-guided approaches. Two important approaches to do this are ultrasound-guided lateral and posterior approaches. This study aimed to compare the two approaches of ultrasound-guided lateral and posterior TAP blocks to control pain after cesarean section. Materials and methods: In this double-blind clinical trial study, 76 patients scheduled for elective cesarean section were selected and randomly divided into two groups of 38 and underwent spinal anesthesia. For pain management after the surgery, one group underwent lateral TAP block and the other group underwent posterior TAP block using 20cc of ropivacaine 0.2% on both sides. Pain intensity was evaluated based on Numerical Analog Scale (NAS) at rest and when coughing, 2, 4, 6, 12, 24 and 36 hours after surgery. Results: The pain at rest in the posterior group at all hours post surgery was lower than the lateral group, especially at 6, 12 and 24 hours after the surgery and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.03, p

Objective Beta-thalassemia major is an autosomal recessive disease causing severe and hemolytic anemia, which begins about 2-6 months after birth. Iron overload, which arises from recurrent transfusion and ineffective erythropoiesis, can enhance oxidative stress in thalassemic patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum total antioxidant capacity of patients with ß-Thalassemia major. Methods Sixty six Iranian patients with β-thalassemia major and 66 age-gender matched controls were evaluated for serum total antioxidant status (TAS), uric acid (UA), bilirubin and albumin. In addition, serum ferritin and transaminases were recorded in these subjects. Findings Significant increases of TAS, UA, and bilirubin were observed in the patient group, compared with the control group (P

Vancomycin is a a glycopeptide antibiotic with bacetiocidal effects on gram positive bacteria by interfering with cell wall synthesis. The necessity for monitoring of serum vancomycin concentrations (SVCs) has been recently noticed at many institutions because of concerns for its nephrotoxicity. We aimed to describe the SVCs monitoring in pediatric patients, in an effort to determine subtherapeutic or toxic levels. The medical records were reviewed for all patients older than 60 days of age admitted to the general or subspecialty services who received intravenous vancomycin at Children's Medical Hospital in Tehran, Iran between July 2003 and December 2005. Because pharmacokinetic parameters for children with cancer may be different, this group was evaluated separately. During the study, 167 infants and children without cancer and 42 patients with cancer; aged between 3 months to 17.5 years were treated with vancomycin for various infections. In children without cancer, peak SVCs were in an adequate therapeutic range for 93% of patients (8-55 g/ml). For children with cancer, peak SVCs was lower than 10 g/ml (10%), and trough values were lower than 5 g/ml (21%). In conclusion, according to the results of this research, due to different pharmacokinetics of vancomycin in cancerous patients, the monitoring of vancomycin plasma concentrations is necessary for the best therapeutic antibacterial activities with a fewer occurrence of serious adverse effects.