A possible protective role for Bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy in urinary bladder cancer in the era of COVID-19: a brief report

Solmaz Ohadian Moghadam,Behzad Abbasi,Ali Nowroozi,Erfan Amini,Mohammad Reza Nowroozi,Seyed Ali Momeni,Hassan Niroomand 대한백신학회 2021 Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research Vol.10 No.2

Given the systemic immunogenic effects of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy in patients with bladder cancer and its non-specific immunogenic effects in viral respiratory diseases, we aimed to study severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in bladder cancer patients with a history of BCG therapy. In the present study, all bladder cancer survivors with a history of BCG therapy were identified and included in the study according to the data recovered from the UORC (Uro-Oncology Research Center) registry database. These patients were followed up in terms of acquiring coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Among the studied patients, 102 eligible bladder cancer patients with a history of BCG therapy entered the study. The males constituted the majority of the patients (86.3%), and more than half of the study population (55.9%) were above 65 years old. Among the understudy patients, 12.7% were confirmed for COVID-19. The study results did not show a statistically significant association between the time and number of BCG therapy courses and SARS-CoV-2 infection. Although no statistically significant association was observed between receiving BCG therapy and developing COVID-19, the infection rate in patients who had recently received BCG therapy was lower than those who had received therapy more than a year ago.

Dynamic analysis of Pine Flat dam-reservoir system utilizing Hagstrom-Warburton truncation boundary condition

Solmaz Dehghanmarvasty,Vahid Lotfi Techno-Press 2023 Coupled systems mechanics Vol.12 No.4

Dynamic analysis of a typical concrete gravity dam-reservoir system is formulated by FE-(FE-TE) approach (i.e., Finite Element-(Finite Element-Truncation Element)). In this technique, dam and reservoir are discretized by plane solid and fluid finite elements. Moreover, the H-W (i.e., Hagstrom-Warburton) high-order condition imposed at the reservoir truncation boundary. This task is formulated by employing a truncation element at that boundary. It is emphasized that reservoir far-field is excluded from the discretized model. The formulation is initially reviewed which was originally proposed in a previous study. Thereafter, the response of Pine Flat dam-reservoir system is studied due to horizontal and vertical ground motions for two types of reservoir bottom conditions of full reflective and absorptive. It should be emphasized that study is carried out under high order of H-W condition applied on the truncation boundary. The initial part of study is focused on the time harmonic analysis. In this part, it is possible to compare the transfer functions against corresponding responses obtained by FE-(FE-HE) approach (referred to as exact method). Subsequently, the transient analysis is carried out. In that part, it is only possible to compare the results for low and high normalized reservoir length cases. Therefore, the sensitivity of results is controlled due to normalized reservoir length values.

Robust siloxane/graphene oxide thin film membranes: Siloxane size adjustment for improved separation performance and flux recovery

Solmaz Valizadeh,Leila Naji,Mohammad Karimi 한국화학공학회 2020 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.37 No.12

Siloxane/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites were synthesized by hydrolysis and condensation of tetraethyl orthosilicate in the presence of GO nanosheets through a sol-gel process. The influence of synthesis parameters on the properties of the siloxane/GO samples was studied and their structural, morphological and physicochemical characteristics were compared using various techniques. Polyether sulfone-supported GO and siloxane/GO thin film membranes were prepared using a pressure-assisted self-assembly method using a dead-end cell, and their separation performance and antifouling ability were evaluated. Siloxane/GOs appeared to have higher interlayer spacing, higher zeta potential and thus higher dispersion stability in aqueous media compared to GO. This gave rise to slower and more uniform sedimentation of the siloxane/GOs during the filtration process and formation of thin film membranes possessing denser and smoother morphology. The porosity, mean pore radius, water contact angle and pure water flux of the prepared membranes were compared. The separation performance of the prepared membranes to remove methylene blue (MB) and penicillin G-procaine (PG-P) from water was evaluated as a function of used GO solution concentration. The antifouling ability of membranes was studied by determining reversible fouling (Rr), irreversible fouling (Rir) resistances and flux recovery ratio (FRR). The siloxane/GO thin film membranes containing larger siloxane network exhibited the highest rejection percentage for MB (~99%) and PG-P (~88%), which were about 40% and 90% higher than that achieved for GO thin film membranes, while the water flux remained as high as 78.1 l·m2h1. Furthermore, these membranes exhibited the highest chlorine resistance, stability under ultrasonication, FRR (89%) and Rr (57%) values, implying higher chemical and mechanical stability, flux recovery capacity and antifouling ability.

A Non-isolated High Step-up DC/DC Converter with Low EMI and Voltage Stress for Renewable Energy Applications

Solmaz Baharlou,Mohammad Rouhollah Yazdani 대한전기학회 2017 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.12 No.3

In this paper, a high step-up DC-DC PWM converter with continuous input current and ow voltage stress is presented for renewable energy application. The proposed converter is composed of a boost converter integrated with an auxiliary step-up circuit. The auxiliary circuit uses an additional coupled inductor and a balancing capacitor with voltage doubler and switching capacitor technique to achieve high step-up voltage gain with an appropriate switch duty cycle. The switched capacitors are charged in parallel and discharged in series by the coupled inductor, stacking on the output capacitor. In the proposed converter, the voltage stress on the main switch is clamped, so a low voltage switch with low ON resistance can be used to reduce the conduction loss which results in the efficiency improvement. A detailed discussion on the operating principle and steady-state analyses are presented in the paper. To justify the theoretical analysis, experimental results of a 200W 40/400V prototype is presented. In addition, the conducted electromagnetic emissions are measured which shows a good EMC performance.

Modification of cellulose foam paper for use as a high-quality biocide disinfectant filter for drinking water

Heydarifard, Solmaz,Taneja, Kapila,Bhanjana, Gaurav,Dilbaghi, Neeraj,Nazhad, Mousa M.,Kim, Ki-Hyun,Kumar, Sandeep Elsevier 2018 Carbohydrate Polymers Vol.181 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Development of a foam-formed cellulose filter paper with high wet strength was carried out for application as a drinking water filter. The wet strength and antimicrobial activity of cellulose foam paper against several bacteria species (<I>Bacillus subtilis</I> MTCC 441 (Gram +ve), <I>B. cereus</I> NCDC 240 (Gram +ve), <I>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</I> NCDC 105 (Gram −ve), <I>Klebsiella pneumonia</I> NCDC 138 (Gram −ve), and <I>Escherichia coli</I> MTCC 40 (Gram −ve)) were investigated. The morphology and structure of the cellulose foam paper were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results of our study confirmed that glutaraldehyde solution or 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) added to cellulose foam paper pretreated with cationic polyacrylamide (C-PAM) provided very high and stable wet strength performance together with excellent antimicrobial properties.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Development of novel porous cellulose foam filter paper. </LI> <LI> Improving wet strength using Glutaraldehyde and BTCA along with C-PAM. </LI> <LI> Evaluation of antibacterial activity against gram positive & negative bacteria. </LI> <LI> Morphological and structural analysis of developed paper using SEM. </LI> </UL> </P>

A Non-isolated High Step-up DC/DC Converter with Low EMI and Voltage Stress for Renewable Energy Applications

Baharlou, Solmaz,Yazdani, Mohammad Rouhollah The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers 2017 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.12 No.3

In this paper, a high step-up DC-DC PWM converter with continuous input current and low voltage stress is presented for renewable energy application. The proposed converter is composed of a boost converter integrated with an auxiliary step-up circuit. The auxiliary circuit uses an additional coupled inductor and a balancing capacitor with voltage doubler and switching capacitor technique to achieve high step-up voltage gain with an appropriate switch duty cycle. The switched capacitors are charged in parallel and discharged in series by the coupled inductor, stacking on the output capacitor. In the proposed converter, the voltage stress on the main switch is clamped, so a low voltage switch with low ON resistance can be used to reduce the conduction loss which results in the efficiency improvement. A detailed discussion on the operating principle and steady-state analyses are presented in the paper. To justify the theoretical analysis, experimental results of a 200W 40/400V prototype is presented. In addition, the conducted electromagnetic emissions are measured which shows a good EMC performance.

Modeling Survival in Patients With Brain Stroke in the Presence of Competing Risks

Norouzi, Solmaz,Jafarabadi, Mohammad Asghari,Shamshirgaran, Seyed Morteza,Farzipoor, Farshid,Fallah, Ramazan The Korean Society for Preventive Medicine 2021 Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health Vol.54 No.1

Objectives: After heart disease, brain stroke (BS) is the second most common cause of death worldwide, underscoring the importance of understanding preventable and treatable risk factors for the outcomes of BS. This study aimed to model the survival of patients with BS in the presence of competing risks. Methods: This longitudinal study was conducted on 332 patients with a definitive diagnosis of BS. Demographic characteristics and risk factors were collected by a validated checklist. Patients' mortality status was investigated by telephone follow-up to identify deaths that may be have been caused by stroke or other factors (heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, etc.). Data were analyzed by the Lunn-McNeil approach at alpha=0.1. Results: Older age at diagnosis (59-68 years: adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.19; 90% confidence interval [CI], 1.38 to 3.48; 69-75 years: aHR, 5.04; 90% CI, 3.25 to 7.80; ≥76 years: aHR, 5.30; 90% CI, 3.40 to 8.44), having heart disease (aHR, 1.65; 90% CI, 1.23 to 2.23), oral contraceptive pill use (women only) (aHR, 0.44; 90% CI, 0.24 to 0.78) and ischemic stroke (aHR, 0.52; 90% CI, 0.36 to 0.74) were directly related to death from BS. Older age at diagnosis (59-68 years: aHR, 21.42; 90% CI, 3.52 to 130.39; 75-69 years: aHR, 16.48; 90% CI, 2.75 to 98.69; ≥76 years: aHR, 26.03; 90% CI, 4.06 to 166.93) and rural residence (aHR, 2.30; 90% CI, 1.15 to 4.60) were directly related to death from other causes. Significant risk factors were found for both causes of death. Conclusions: BS-specific and non-BS-specific mortality had different risk factors. These findings could be utilized to prescribe optimal and specific treatment.

Evaluation of Overactive Bladder in Male Antidepressant Users: A Prospective Study

Volkan Solmaz,Sebahattin Albayrak,Arslan Tekatas,Dürdane Aksoy,Yusuf Gençten,Sema İnanır,Fikret Erdemir 대한배뇨장애요실금학회 2017 International Neurourology Journal Vol.21 No.1

Purpose: In this study, we investigated overactive bladder (OAB) functions in male patients who used antidepressant drugs (ADs) that were previously examined in female patients, based on conflicting data in literature regarding the effects of AD on OAB and the differences between male and female urinary system physiologies (anatomical and hormonal). Methods: The study included 202 male patients (a control group of 90 healthy subjects, and an experimental group of 112 patients taking ADs for different disorders). All the patients completed the overactive bladder-validated 8 (OAB-V8) questionnaire, the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDS). Results: The OAB-V8, ICIQ-SF, and BDS scores for the antidepressant users were significantly higher than those of the control group. The highest prevalence of OAB symptoms was observed in patients taking venlafaxine (68.2%), and the lowest prevalence was in patients taking sertraline (28.0%). Moreover, the frequency of OAB between the antidepressant groups was statistically significant. The univariate logistic regression analyses showed a significant relationship between the presence of OAB, antidepressant usage, BDS score, and the age of a patient. In the multivariate logistic regression analyses, the association between the presence of OAB and antidepressant usage was statistically significant. Conclusions: The present study showed that the incidence of OAB and the severity of OAB symptoms increased in males using antidepressants for various disorders. This may have been due to unique pharmacological effects, on a molecular or individual level, of serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors.

A mathematical model to investigate the effects of misfire and cyclic variations on crankshaft speed fluctuations in internal combustion engines

Hamit Solmaz,Halit Karabulut 대한기계학회 2015 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.29 No.4

In internal combustion engines the engine vibrations come up as block vibrations and crankshaft speed fluctuations. Crankshaft speedfluctuations indicate the unstable running of the engine. Crankshaft speed fluctuations are caused by several sources. Main factor affectingthe crankshaft speed fluctuations is in-cylinder pressure. Changes in-cylinder pressure caused by cyclic variations and misfire resultas speed fluctuations on a crankshaft. In this study the effects of the cyclic variations and misfire problem on the engine crankshaft speedfluctuations have been investigated. A mathematical model including engine kinematics has been developed for a four cylinder dieselengine. In-cylinder pressure profiles used in the mathematic model were obtained experimentally. Two pressure profiles including 11cycles and averages of these cycles were used in analysis. Pressure profiles were expressed mathematically by Fourier series having 1001term. Although the indicated mean effective pressure values of pressure profiles were stable, the crankshaft speed fluctuations were determinedas 5.5% and 11.1% at 230 rad/s for 5.15% and 12.92% imep COV values. When single misfire take place in the third cylinder,average crankshaft speed decreased 6.6 rad/s. Also, in case of continuous misfire the crankshaft speed fluctuations increased from 4.3%to 8%.

Adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes onto crystalline and amorphous hydroxyapatite: Optimization, kinetic and isotherm studies

Mohammadhossein Rasoulifard,Solmaz Valizadeh,Mir Saeed Seyed Dorraji 한국화학공학회 2016 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.33 No.2

We evaluated the adsorptive/photodegradation properties of hydroxyapatite. Hydroxyapatite was synthesized by two different precipitation methods and examined for the removal of two kinds of textile dye. The physicochemical properties of the products were characterized using Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The effects of different parameters, including hydroxyapatite synthesis method and removal process type, pH, reaction time, temperature and amount of hydroxyapatite, were investigated and optimized by Taguchi design. The kinetics of adsorption and isotherm studies showed that the pseudo-second-order model and the Freundlich isotherm were the best choices to describe the adsorptive behavior of hydroxyapatite. Photocatalytic degradation of dye followed Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism, illustrated a pseudo-first-order kinetic model with the adsorption equilibrium constant and kinetic rate constant of surface reaction equal to 0.011 (l mg−1) and 1.3 (mg l−1 min−1), respectively.