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Tehran Municipality has had two five-year plans so far and the third one is being formulated these days. However, investigating the sector relating to the human resources shows that there is a gap between present condition and the optimal situation in several domains. This article is an attempt to investigate the fiveyear plans in the domain of human resources via a practical model of forecasting and retrospection analysis. It is an applied research, in which the necessary data is gathered through interview, documents and library information from formal resources. The results indicate that what is happening currently based on the policies is not optimal at all. Moreover, through explaining the normative and acceptable future, some advices are provided in order to eliminate gaps and strengthen policies along with enhancing productivity in the human resource domain of Tehran Municipality. These recommendations are about recruitment, training, management and promotion of administrative health and other areas of human resources management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY In this article, the linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) optimal control problem for networked control systems when data is transmitted through a transmission control protocol (TCP)-like network and both measurement and control packets are subject to random packet dropouts, is addressed for two cases. In the first case, it is assumed that the control acknowledgment packets in TCP-like protocols are always available, that is, they always reach the filter-controller unit on time and without fail, and we propose how to design a linear optimal 'hold-input' control law for this case. In the second problem, we assume the acknowledgement packets may go missing with a known probability. This case is known to be difficult and the optimal control law would be nonlinear. Hence, we derive a suboptimal linear estimation-control law instead. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in water can impart detrimental effects on public health by mimicking the behaviors of natural hormones and their associated receptors in human body. Studies have demonstrated that ligninolytic enzymes such as laccase can degrade various phenolic compounds, including a broad range of EDCs. In this study, the technique of covalent immobilization of laccase through carbodiimide coupling chemistry on highly adsorptive reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sponges was utilized to effectively remove two representative EDCs; namely, bisphenol A (BPA) and triclosan (TCS) from water. The bio-functionalized adsorbent (rGO-LA) showed a significant improvement in removing BPA (87 % after 24 h) compared to pristine rGO sponge, (~40 % after 24 h). The removal efficiency of both adsorbents for TCS was as high as 84 %, with faster kinetics being observed for rGO-LA. Further investigation using gas-chromatography-mass spectroscopy revealed that the bio-functionalization not only improved the removal efficiency of the adsorbent, but also facilitated the adsorption of the metabolites generated during the biodegradation of BPA and TCS. When temperature was increased to 40 °C, the removal efficiency and kinetics of rGO-LA sponges were improved significantly for BPA (83 % removal in 4 h) and TCS (73 % removal after 4 h). The study highlights the synergy of enzymatic degradation and adsorption, with enhanced performance observed at elevated temperatures, offering a promising solution for effective EDCs mitigation in water treatment, while also ensuring comprehensive contaminant removal by adsorbing the generated metabolites., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Nariman Yousefi reports financial support was provided by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Nariman Yousefi reports financial support was provided by Canada Foundation for Innovation. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To systematically review and conduct a meta-analysis of studies on peripheral magnetic stimulation (PMS) for fibromyalgia (FM) treatment., Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINHAL, Web of Science, and ProQuest databases were searched from inception to July 2023 for studies in adult patients with FM treated with PMS. Studies using transcranial magnetic stimulation were excluded., Results: Six randomized controlled trials (RCTs) ( n  = 279 patients) were identified and included in the review. PMS regimens varied, ranging from 8 to 40 min per session over 3-84 days. All studies compared PMS to a visually and physically identical sham device without magnetic fields. Most of the included studies demonstrated positive findings for PMS on pain and functional outcomes. In our meta-analysis, PMS significantly reduced pain scores within 1-3 months (mean difference -1.86 on NRS, 95% confidence interval -2.85 to -0.87, p  = 0.0002, I 2  = 68%, 4 studies [154 participants], low quality of evidence), but not at ≥3 months (low quality of evidence). Minimal adverse effects were reported., Discussion: Evidence for PMS use in FM is encouraging for short-term benefit. However, heterogeneous patient populations, varied PMS regimens, and limited number of studies are important limitations. Large, high-quality RCTs are needed to confirm PMS benefits and to make definitive recommendations., Protocol Registration: PROSPERO Identifier is CRD42021235164.

Abstract: Rodents and human studies indicate that the hippocampus, a brain region necessary for memory processing, responds to noxious stimuli. However, the hippocampus has yet to be considered a key brain region directly involved in the human pain experience. One approach to answer this question is to perform quantitative sensory testing on patients with hippocampal damage-ie, medial temporal lobe epilepsy. Some case studies and case series have performed such tests in a handful of patients with various types of epilepsy and have reported mixed results. Here, we aimed to determine whether mechanical pain sensitivity was altered in patients diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy. We first investigated whether mechanical pain sensitivity in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy differs from that of healthy individuals. Next, in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, we evaluated whether the degree of pain sensitivity is associated with the degree of hippocampal integrity. Structural integrity was based on hippocampal volume, and functional integrity was based on verbal and visuospatial memory scores. Our findings show that patients with temporal lobe epilepsy have lower mechanical pain sensitivity than healthy individuals. Only left hippocampal volume was positively associated with mechanical pain sensitivity-the greater the hippocampal damage, the lower the sensitivity to mechanical pain. Hippocampal measures of functional integrity were not significantly associated with mechanical pain sensitivity, suggesting that the mechanisms of hippocampal pain processing may be different than its memory functions. Future studies are necessary to determine the mechanisms of pain processing in the hippocampus., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the International Association for the Study of Pain.)

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) with a two-dimensional (2D) structure and semiconducting features are highly favorable for the production of NH 3 gas sensors. Among the TMD family, WS 2 , WSe 2 , MoS 2 , and MoSe 2 exhibit high conductivity and a high surface area, along with high availability, reasons for which they are favored in gas-sensing studies. In this review, we have discussed the structure, synthesis, and NH 3 sensing characteristics of pristine, decorated, doped, and composite-based WS 2 , WSe 2 , MoS 2 , and MoSe 2 gas sensors. Both experimental and theoretical studies are considered. Furthermore, both room temperature and higher temperature gas sensors are discussed. We also emphasized the gas-sensing mechanism. Thus, this review provides a reference for researchers working in the field of 2D TMD gas sensors., (© 2024 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

Aberrant cognitive network activity and cognitive deficits are established features of chronic pain. However, the nature of cognitive network alterations associated with chronic pain and their underlying mechanisms require elucidation. Here, we report that the claustrum, a subcortical nucleus implicated in cognitive network modulation, is activated by acute painful stimulation and pain-predictive cues in healthy participants. Moreover, we discover pathological activity of the claustrum and a region near the posterior inferior frontal sulcus of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (piDLPFC) in migraine patients during acute pain and cognitive task performance. Dynamic causal modeling suggests a directional influence of the claustrum on activity in this piDLPFC region, and diffusion weighted imaging verifies their structural connectivity. These findings advance understanding of claustrum function during acute pain and provide evidence of a possible circuit mechanism driving cognitive impairments in chronic pain., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Considering the plethora of work on the exceptional environmental performance of 2D nanomaterials, there is still a missing link in addressing their practical application in point-of-use (POU) water treatment. By reviewing the exceptional environmental performance of 2D nanomaterials with specific emphasis on graphene and its derivatives, this review aims at inspiring further discussions and research in graphene-based POU water treatment with particular focus on the removal of emerging contaminants of concern (ECCs), which is largely missing in the literature. We outlined the prevalence of ECCs in the environment, their health effects both on humans and marine life, and the potential of efficiently removing them from water using three-dimensional graphene-based macrostructures to ensure ease of adsorbent recovery and reuse compared to nanostructures. Given various successful studies showing superior adsorption capacity of graphene nanosheets, we give an account of the recent developments in graphene-based adsorbents. Moreover, several cost-effective materials which can be easily self-assembled with nanosheets to improve their environmental performance and safety for POU water treatment purposes were highlighted. We highlighted the strategy to overcome challenges of adsorbent regeneration and contaminant degradation; and concluded by noting the need for policy makers to act decisively considering the conservative nature of the water treatment industry, and the potential health risks from ingesting ECCs through drinking water. We further justified the need for the development of advanced POU water treatment devices in the face of the growing challenges regarding ECCs in surface water, and the rising cases of drinking water advisories across the world., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Nariman Yousefi reports financial support was provided by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To provide a systematic review of the literature on the effects of peripheral magnetic stimulation (PMS) in the treatment of chronic peripheral neuropathic pain., Methods: A systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINHAL, Web of Science, and ProQuest was conducted from inception to July 2023 to identify studies of any design published in English language that enrolled adult patients (≥18 years) that received PMS for treatment of a chronic peripheral neuropathic pain disorder (pain > 3 months)., Results: Twenty-three studies were identified which included 15 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), five case series, two case reports, and one non-randomized trial. PMS regimens varied across studies and ranged from 5 to 240 min per session over 1 day to 1 year of treatment. Results across included studies were mixed, with some studies suggesting benefits while others showing no significant differences. Of nine placebo-controlled RCTs, four reported statistically significant findings in favor of PMS use. In the meta-analysis, PMS significantly reduced pain scores compared to control within 0-1 month of use (mean difference -1.64 on a 0-10 numeric rating scale, 95% confidence interval -2.73 to -0.56, p = 0.003, I 2  = 94%, 7 studies [264 participants], very low quality of evidence), but not at the 1-3 months and >3 months of PMS use (very low and low quality of evidence, respectively). Minimal to no adverse effects were reported with PMS use., Discussion: There is limited and low-quality evidence to make definitive recommendations on PMS usage, however, the available data is encouraging, especially for short-term applications of this novel modality. Large high-quality randomized controlled trials are required to establish definitive efficacy and safety effects of PMS., (© 2023 World Institute of Pain.)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess COVID-19-related anxiety, and fear burden in diabetic patients, as a risk group for severe COVID-19., Methods: A cross-sectional online survey conducted on 111 type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients referred to a Diabetes clinics of Royan institute, and 155 healthy controls recruited from normal population using a snowball sampling technique. Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19 S) and Coronavirus anxiety scale (CAS) were used., Results: The total score of coronavirus fear in T2DM patients was 15.79 (6.39) and in healthy controls 15.48 (5.97) ( p  = 0.696). The total score of coronavirus fear in T2DM patients was 15.79 (6.39) and in healthy controls 15.48 (5.97) ( p  = 0.696). Correlation matrix between coronavirus anxiety and fear scores in these samples confirmed that in T2DM participants CAS was significantly positively associated with FCV-19 ( r  = 0.407, p  = 0.000). There was also statistically and positively significant correlation between CAS and FCV-19 in healthy subjects ( r  = 0.495, p  = 0.000)., Conclusion: The present study revealed that the level of fear and anxiety from COVID-19 was almost the same in a sample of Iranian T2DM patients and healthy controls. The pandemic with several peaks in the country cannot cause an increased anxiety and fear from COVID-19, especially in patients with diabetes., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-023-01353-8., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Aberrant cognitive network activity and cognitive deficits are established features of chronic pain. However, the nature of cognitive network alterations associated with chronic pain and their underlying mechanisms require elucidation. Here, we report that the claustrum, a subcortical nucleus implicated in cognitive network modulation, is activated by acute painful stimulation and pain-predictive cues in healthy participants. Moreover, we discover pathological activity of the claustrum and a lateral aspect of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (latDLPFC) in migraine patients. Dynamic causal modeling suggests a directional influence of the claustrum on activity in this latDLPFC region, and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) verifies their structural connectivity. These findings advance understanding of claustrum function during acute pain and provide evidence of a possible circuit mechanism driving cognitive impairments in chronic pain., Competing Interests: Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

The insula and the cingulate are key brain regions with many heterogenous functions. Both regions are consistently shown to play integral roles in the processing of affective, cognitive, and interoceptive stimuli. The anterior insula (aINS) and the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC) are two key hubs of the salience network (SN). Beyond the aINS and aMCC, previous 3 Tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging studies have suggested both structural connectivity (SC) and functional connectivity (FC) between other insular and cingulate subregions. Here, we investigate the SC and FC between insula and cingulate subregions using ultra-high field 7T diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). DTI revealed strong SC between posterior INS (pINS) and posterior MCC (pMCC), and rs-fMRI revealed strong FC between the aINS and aMCC that was not supported by SC, indicating the likelihood of a mediating structure. Finally, the insular pole had the strongest SC to all cingulate subregions, with a slight preference for the pMCC, indicative of a potential relay node of the insula. Together these finding shed new light on the understanding of insula-cingulate functioning, both within the SN and other cortical processes, through a lens of its SC and FC., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Peripheral magnetic stimulation (PMS) is a potentially promising modality to help manage postoperative pain. We systematically reviewed the effect of PMS on acute and chronic postoperative pain. MEDLINE, Cochrane CENTRAL, EMBASE, ProQuest Dissertations, and clinical trials.gov were searched from inception until May 2021. We included studies of any study design that included patients ≥18 years of age undergoing any type of surgery that administered PMS within the perioperative period and evaluated postoperative pain. Seventeen randomized controlled trials and 1 nonrandomized clinical trial were included into the review. Thirteen out of the 18 studies found a positive effect with PMS on postoperative pain scores. In our meta-analysis, peripheral magnetic stimulation was more efficacious than sham or no intervention within the first 7 postoperative days (mean difference [MD] -1.64 on a 0 to 10 numerical rating score, 95% confidence interval [CI] -2.08 to -1.20, I 2  = 77%, 6 studies, 231 patients). This was also true at 1 and 2 months after surgery (MD -1.82, 95% CI -2.48 to -1.17, I 2  = 0%, 3 studies, 104 patients; and MD -1.96, 95% CI -3.67 to -.26, I 2  = 84%, 3 studies, 104 patients, respectively). A difference was not seen with persistent pain at 6 and 12-months after surgery, acute postoperative opioid consumption, or adverse events between groups. Results are limited by heterogeneity and generally low-quality studies, as well as low or very low quality of evidence. High-quality and adequately blinded trials are needed to definitively confirm the benefits of peripheral magnetic stimulation administered in the perioperative period. PERSPECTIVE: This review evaluates the efficacy and safety of PMS on postoperative pain. The results help elucidate PMS' role in postoperative pain management and identify gaps where more research is required., (Copyright © 2023 United States Association for the Study of Pain, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop protocols that optimize patient radiation dose and image quality for cone beam computed tomographic (CBCT) sialography for the major salivary glands., Study Design: Radiation absorbed dose measurements were repeated in triplicate using 25 sites in the head and neck of a Radiation ANalog DOsimetry system (RANDO) phantom, and effective doses were calculated across a range of peak kilovoltage (kVp) and milliamperage (mA) settings using an 8 cm (diameter) by 5 cm (height) field of view (FOV) for submandibular imaging and an 8 cm (diameter) by 8 cm (height) FOV for parotid imaging. Image signal difference-to-noise ratio (SDNR) was determined, and the figure-of-merit (FOM), a measure of image quality, was calculated., Results: For submandibular sialography, 85 kVp and 6 mA were chosen as the optimal exposure parameters, resulting in a mean effective dose of 82.47 µSv and a mean SDNR of 13.86, with a mean FOM of 2.33 µSv -1 . For parotid sialography, 70 kVp and 6 mA were chosen, and these settings resulted in a mean effective dose of 39.99 µSv, a mean SDNR of 17.43, and a mean FOM of 7.60 µSv -1 ., Conclusions: Low-dose 3-dimensional sialography with high image quality and minimal effective dose can be delivered using CBCT with localized, small FOVs., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The neuroanatomical circuitry of jaw muscles has been mostly explored in non-human animals. A recent rodent study revealed a novel circuit from the central amygdala (CeA) to the trigeminal motor nucleus (5M), which controls biting attacks. This circuit has yet to be delineated in humans. Ultra-high diffusion-weighted imaging data from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) allow in vivo delineation of circuits identified in other species-for example, the CeA-5M pathway-in humans. We hypothesized that the CeA-5M circuit could be resolved in humans at both 7 and 3 T. We performed probabilistic tractography between the CeA and 5M in 30 healthy young adults from the HCP database. As a negative control, we performed tractography between the basolateral amygdala (BLAT) and 5M, as CeA is the only amygdalar nucleus with extensive projections to the brainstem. Connectivity strength was operationalized as the number of streamlines between each region of interest. Connectivity strength between CeA-5M and BLAT-5M within each hemisphere was compared, and CeA-5M circuit had significantly stronger connectivity than the BLAT-5M circuit, bilaterally at both 7 T (all p < .001) and 3 T (all p < .001). This study is the first to delineate the CeA-5M circuit in humans., (© 2022 The Authors. Human Brain Mapping published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Aims: Repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation (rPMS) is a novel nonpharmacological treatment modality. This noninvasive approach can stimulate peripheral nerves to provide analgesia through neuromodulation. We report the first case of ultrasound-guided rPMS to treat a case of severe refractory glossopharyngeal neuralgia., Methods: A 70-year-old female with an 8-year history of glossopharyngeal neuralgia reported refractory pain unresponsive to pharmacological and interventional treatments. After consenting to treatment, the patient received high-frequency rPMS in three different sessions using intermittent theta burst stimulation below motor thresholds. rPMS was applied over the skin directed at the glossopharyngeal nerve identified using ultrasound guidance. Session 1 included 20 min of continuous treatment, session 2 included 40 min of treatment (two 20-min treatments separated by a 10-min break), session 3 included 40 min of treatment (similar to Session 2) repeated daily for 5 days. Pre- and postintervention pain levels were collected with a daily 1-week pain diary and pain questionnaires., Results: Session 1 led to an immediate 30% decrease in pain after treatment. Session 2 led to a 75% decrease in pain immediately after treatment that remained reduced for approximately 2 days. Session 3 produced complete pain relief immediately after treatment and remained lower for 5 days after treatment and returned to baseline levels at 1 week., Conclusion: rPMS provided immense but temporary relief in a severe case of refractory glossopharyngeal neuralgia. Further work is needed to determine the most effective regimen to treat complex pain disorders in the head and neck., Competing Interests: Drs. Khan and Moayedi and Mr. Duncan Westwood do not have any conflicts of interest to diclose., (© 2023 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.)

Although recent studies support significant differences in intrinsic structure, function, and connectivity along the longitudinal axis of the hippocampus, few studies have investigated the normative development of this dimension. In addition, factors known to influence hippocampal structure, such as sex or puberty, have yet to be characterized when assessing age-related effects on its subregions. This study addresses this gap by investigating the relationship of the anterior (antHC) and posterior (postHC) hippocampus volumes with age, and how these are moderated by sex or puberty, in structural magnetic resonance imaging scans from 183 typically developing participants aged 6-21 years. Based on previous literature, we first anticipated that non-linear models would best represent the relationship between age and the antHC and postHC volumes. We found that age-related effects are region-specific, such that the antHC volume remains stable with increasing age, while the postHC shows a cubic function characterized by overall volume increase with age but a slower rate during adolescence. Second, we hypothesized that models, which include biological sex or pubertal status would best describe these relationships. Contrary to expectation, models comprising either biological sex or pubertal status did not significantly improve model performance. Further longitudinal research is needed to evaluate their effects on the antHC and postHC development., (© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The internal forces and stresses in the tissue are important as they are linked to the risk of mechanical trauma and injuries. Despite their value, the internal stresses and forces cannot be directly measured in-vivo. A previously validated 3D finite element model (FEM) was constructed using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of a person with diabetes and hammer toe deformity. The foot model simulated at five different instances during the stance phase of gait. The internal stress distribution on the talus that was obtained using the FEM simulation, was used to calculate the joint reaction force at the ankle joint. In addition, the musculoskeletal model (MSM) of the participant with hammer toe foot was developed based on the gait analysis and was used to determine the muscle forces and joint reactions. The result showed that the vertical reaction forces obtained from the FEM and MSM follow a similar trend through the stance phase of gait cycle and are significantly correlated ( R=0.99). The joint reaction forces obtained through the two methods do not differ for the first 25% of the gait cycle, while the maximum difference was ∼0.7 Body weight that was observed at 50% of the stance phase. Clinical Relevance: Finite element modeling and musculoskeletal simulation can shed light on the internal forces at the ankle in pathological conditions such as hammer toe. The similarities and differences observed in the joint reaction forces calculated from the two methods can have implications in assessing the effect of clinical interventions.

Introduction: Current treatments for chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain are suboptimal. Discovery of robust prognostic markers separating patients who recover from patients with persistent pain and disability is critical for developing patient-specific treatment strategies and conceiving novel approaches that benefit all patients. Given that chronic pain is a biopsychosocial process, this study aims to discover and validate a robust prognostic signature that measures across multiple dimensions in the same adolescent patient cohort with a computational analysis pipeline. This will facilitate risk stratification in adolescent patients with chronic MSK pain and more resourceful allocation of patients to costly and potentially burdensome multidisciplinary pain treatment approaches., Methods and Analysis: Here we describe a multi-institutional effort to collect, curate and analyse a high dimensional data set including epidemiological, psychometric, quantitative sensory, brain imaging and biological information collected over the course of 12 months. The aim of this effort is to derive a multivariate model with strong prognostic power regarding the clinical course of adolescent MSK pain and function., Ethics and Dissemination: The study complies with the National Institutes of Health policy on the use of a single internal review board (sIRB) for multisite research, with Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Review Board as the reviewing IRB. Stanford's IRB is a relying IRB within the sIRB. As foreign institutions, the University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) are overseen by their respective ethics boards. All participants provide signed informed consent. We are committed to open-access publication, so that patients, clinicians and scientists have access to the study data and the signature(s) derived. After findings are published, we will upload a limited data set for sharing with other investigators on applicable repositories., Trial Registration Number: NCT04285112., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)