Alpha terpineol preconditioning enhances regenerative potential of mesenchymal stem cells in full thickness acid burn wounds.

Regeneration of full thickness burn wounds is a significant clinical challenge. Direct stem cell transplantation at the wound site has a promising effect on wound regeneration. However, stem cell survival within the harsh wound environment is critically compromised. In this regard, preconditioning of stem cells with cytoprotective compounds can improve the efficiency of transplanted cells. This study evaluated the possible effect of alpha terpineol (αT) preconditioned mesenchymal stem cells (αT-MSCs) in full thickness acid burn wound. An optimized concentration of 10 µM αT was used for MSC preconditioning, followed by scratch assay analysis. A novel rat model of full thickness acid burn wound was developed and characterized via macroscopic and histological examinations. Treatment (normal and αT-MSCs) was given after 48 h of burn wound induction, and the healing pattern was examined till day 40. Skin tissues were harvested at the early (day 10) and late (day 40) wound healing phases and examined by histological grading, neovascularization, and gene expression profiling of healing mediators. In scratch assay, αT-MSCs exhibited enhanced cell migration and wound closure (scratch gap) compared to normal MSCs. In vivo findings revealed enhanced regeneration in the wound treated with αT-MSCs compared to normal MSCs and untreated control. Histology revealed enhanced collagen deposition with regenerated skin layers in normal MSC- and αT-MSC treated groups compared to the untreated control. These findings were correlated with enhanced expression of α-SMA as shown by immunohistochemistry. Additionally, αT-MSC group showed reduced inflammation and oxidative stress, and enhanced regeneration, as witnessed by a decrease in IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, and Bax and an increase in BCL-2, PRDX-4, GPX-7, SOD-1, VEGF, EGF, FGF, MMP-9, PDGF, and TGF-ß gene expression levels at early and late phases, respectively. Overall findings demonstrated that αT exerts its therapeutic effect by mitigating excessive inflammation and oxidative stress while concurrently enhancing neovascularization. Thus, this study offers new perspectives on managing full thickness acid burn wounds in future clinical settings.

Is gender diversity is diversity washing or good governance for firm sustainable development goal performance: A scoping review.

In Industry 4.0, sustainability is the heart, and governance is the soul of the business, but diversity washing, greenwashing, and SDG washing are skeptical. This is due to the reactive/normative approach in dealing with sustainability and governance, which has created an amounting number of greenhouse gases, waste generation, and several business washing challenges. This study has explored the Scopus and Web of Science databases and searched for the keywords "Sustainable Development Goals" AND "Director," which provided 76 documents. However, when the authors added the third keyword, "ISO 37001-2021," along with the above two keywords, the database provided no study investigating the moderation role of ISO 37001-2021. Therefore, the study advocates the adoption of newly developed ISO 37000:2021 good governance standards for greenwashing, SDG washing, and diversity washing challenges without failing to contribute to the firm sustainable development goal performance and earning management. Secondly, the independent director attribute's role is vital due to the potential, power, position, and evidence to adopt ISO 37000:2021 standards. Thirdly, the scoping review study has proposed a conceptual model to extend the reporting discloser and transparency. It goes beyond mere compliance, contributes towards societal development, and promotes adopting sustainable development goal performance and reporting as a new non-financial parameter for evaluating the firm's performance. Lastly, this will boost firm sustainability and adopt the circular economic model, creating a unique competitive edge and green governance goodwill among the business's external stakeholders and attracting sustainably responsible investors.

Effects of visual aid on state anxiety, fear and stress level in patients undergoing endoscopy: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to calculate the estimated size and confidence interval for the effects of adding visual aid to counselling on anxiety, stress and fear of patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. The secondary aim was to calculate confidence interval for endoscopy-related variables that predict which patients are likely to benefit from visual aids. METHOD: In a randomized, single-blind, two arm, parallel group, superiority trial, 232 consecutive patients who were scheduled to undergo either gastroscopy or colonoscopy were randomly divided into two intervention groups; counselling with video of endoscopic procedure and counselling with no-video (n = 116 in each group). Primary outcome was anxiety and secondary outcomes were stress and fear. RESULTS: One-way ANCOVA showed that there was significant between group differences of anxiety, stress and fear after controlling for the effect of covariates. Planned contrasts revealed that counselling along with visual aid of endoscopy procedure significantly decreased anxiety [Mean difference at post; -4.26 (-4.47, -4.05), p < .001, partial η2 = 0.88], stress [-5.35 (-5.63, -5.07), p < .001, partial η2 = 0.86] and fear [-2.82 (-2.97, -2.67), p < .001, partial η2 = 0.86] compared to counselling alone. Linear regression showed that gender, nature of complaints and concern over seniority of endoscopist were significant negative predictors, however, satisfaction on briefing of endoscopy procedure was significant positive predictor of outcome variables in visual aid condition. CONCLUSION: The increase in anxiety, acute stress and fear related to endoscopic procedures can be alleviated with psychological counselling coupled with visual aids before the procedure. Visual aid could lead to supplementary benefits in reducing anxiety scores. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrial.gov Number: NCT05241158. Registered 16/11/2022; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05241158KEY MESSAGESCounselling along with visual aid of endoscopy procedure significantly decreased anxiety, stress and fear as compared to counselling alone.Male patients were less stressed after visual aid intervention as compared to female patients. Patients who had chronic GI symptoms were less stressed after visual aid intervention as compared to those who had acute GI symptoms. Patients who had concern over seniority of endoscopist were less stressed after visual aid intervention as compared to those who had no concerns over seniority.Satisfaction on briefing of endoscopy procedure was significant positive predictor of stress and fear.

Rhythmic and interval-based temporal orienting in autism.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may show secondary sensory and cognitive characteristics, including differences in auditory processing, attention, and, according to a prominent hypothesis, the formulation and utilization of predictions. We explored the overlap of audition, attention, and prediction with an online auditory "temporal orienting" task in which participants utilized predictive timing cues (both rhythmic and interval-based) to improve their detection of faint sounds. We compared an autistic (n = 78) with a nonautistic (n = 83) group, controlling for nonverbal IQ, and used signal detection measures and reaction times to evaluate the effect of valid temporally predictive cues. We hypothesized that temporal orienting would be compromised in autism, but this was not supported by the data: the boost in performance induced by predictability was practically identical for the two groups, except for the small subset of the ASD group with co-occurring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, who received less benefit from interval-based cueing. However, we found that the presence of a rhythm induced a significantly stronger bias toward reporting target detections in the ASD group at large, suggesting weakened response inhibition during rhythmic entrainment.

Role of quercetin and rutin in enhancing the therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells for cold induced burn wound.

Introduction: Cold burn wounds differ in their pathophysiological spectrum as compared to other types of burn wounds. These wounds have prolonged devastating effects on the body including hypertrophic scars, contracture, and necrosis. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are considered promising candidates for the complete regeneration of burn wounds. However, transplanted MSCs face the challenge to survive under the harsh tissue conditions. Preconditioning of MSCs with bioactive compounds may enhance their survival and regenerative potential for use in clinical applications. Bioactive compounds of Melia azedarach are well known for their potential role in treating different types of skin wounds due to their anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-cytotoxic, and anti-oxidative properties. This study aims to evaluate the synergistic effects of human umbilical cord derived MSCs (hUC-MSCs) after preconditioning them with bioactive compounds of M. azedarach (quercetin and rutin) for cold induced burn wounds. Method: Human umbilical cord MSCs (hUC-MSCs) were characterized based on their specific cell surface markers and treated with 20 µM of quercetin or rutin. In vitro scratch assay was performed to measure cell migration and wound closure. In vivo cold burn wound model was developed via direct exposure of the dorsal rat skin to liquid nitrogen. hUC-MSCs were subcutaneously transplanted next day of burn wound induction and wound was examined at different time points corresponding to the wound healing phases (days 3, 7, and 14). The regenerative potential of preconditioned hUC-MSCs was assessed in different groups; control (treated only with hUC-MSCs), and treated groups (quercetin or rutin treated hUC-MSCs). Healing potential and wound closure were evaluated by histological, gene expression, and immunohistochemical analyses of the wound tissues before and after treatment. Results: Scratch assay exhibited enhanced cell migration towards wound closure in the treated groups as compared to the control. Macroscopic examination of the wound revealed scab formation at day 14 in control, whereas scab was detached and the wound tissue was remarkably remodeled in the treated groups. Comparison between the treated groups showed that burn wound treated with quercetin significantly increased healing potential than the rutin treated MSCs. Histological findings showed enhanced regeneration of skin layers along with hair follicles in the quercetin group, while increased neovascularization was noted in both treatment groups. Gene profile of wound healing mediators illustrated significant upregulation of IL-5, IL-4, GPX-7, TXNRD-2, PRDX, VEGF, and FGF and downregulation of inflammatory cytokines IL-1ß and IL-6. Conclusion: In conclusion, synergistic effect of hUC-MSCs and bioactive compounds of M. azedarach enhances wound healing by reducing the inflammation, mitigating oxidative stress and enhancing neovascularization. The study findings will aid in designing more effective treatment options for cold burn wounds.

Current Trends of Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Typhoidal Salmonellae Isolated at Tertiary Care Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the current trend of antimicrobial susceptibility of typhoidal Salmonellae. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive cross-sectional study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology, PNS Shifa Hospital, Karachi, from January 2014 to December 2015. METHODOLOGY: Blood culture samples received from the wards and outpatient departments were included. Isolates of Salmonella were dealt with standard microbiological procedures. The antimicrobial sensitivity against the typhoidal Salmonellaewas determined using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method as per the guidelines of Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (2013). RESULTS: Atotal of 460 typhoidal Salmonellaewere isolated; out of which 270 were Salmonella typhiand 190 were Salmonella paratyphiA. The percentage of MDR isolates of S. typhiwas 57% and that of S. paratyphiAwas 42%. None of the isolates were resistant to ceftriaxone, while sensitivity to ciprofloxacin (07% and 0% for S. typhiand S. paratyphiA, respectively) was very low. CONCLUSION: There is high percentage of MDR isolates of typhoidal Salmonellaein our region. The antimicrobial sensitivity of typhoidal Salmonellaeto conventional agent has not improved enough to recommend their empirical use. There is almost complete resistance to fluoroquinolones as well, leaving very limited available treatment options.

Health Related Quality of Life in Patients with Single Lower Limb Amputation.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of age, cause of amputation, and anatomic level of amputation on the health related quality of life (HRQOL) in individuals with unilateral lower limb amputation. STUDY DESIGN: Across-sectional survey. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The Armed Forces Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, from August 2014 to February 2015. METHODOLOGY: Short Form-36 (SF-36) health related quality of life (HRQOL). Survey questionnaire was used to collect data. The responses were scored by using the quality metric health outcomes™ scoring software 4.5. The scores were entered and analysed in SPSS version 21. RESULTS: Atotal of 52 patients were inducted with mean age of 30.71 ±7.50 years. Mean physical component summary (PCS) was lower than mental component summary (MCS) (38.7 vs. 44.8). RP and RE scores were found to be significantly associated with gender (p=0.024 and p=0.003, respectively). Age group was also significantly associated with RP(p=0.037) and SF (p=0.041). When SF-36 domains were compared with level of amputation (i.e. trans-tibial and transfemoral), none of the domains showed any statistically significant results. CONCLUSION: Age and indication affect different aspects of quality of life but level of amputation did not. If these are known and anticipated before any type of rehabilitation, this could help in anticipation of health consequences and prevention accordingly.