Survival of Rectal Cancer in Yazd, Iran

Akhavan, Ali,Binesh, Fariba,Soltani, Amin Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.12

Background: Colorectal cancer is common in Iran. However our knowledge about survival of rectal cancer in our province is low. The aim of this study is to evaluate this question. Materials and Methods: Patients with documented pathology of adenocarcinoma of the rectum and rectosigmoid junction referred to our center from September 2004 to September 2012 were enrolled in this study. Metastatic and recurrent patients were excluded. A questionnaire including clinicopathologic parameters, quality and sequence of treatment modalities was filled in for each patient. Patients treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy were divided into standard and non-standard treatment groups, according to the sequence of treatment. Results: One hundred and nineteen patients were evaluated. Mean age was 60.8 year. The median overall survival was 62 months and five year survival was 55%. TNM staging system was not possible due to (Nx) in 21 (17.6%) patients. The others were in stage I, 20 patients (16.8%), II, 35 (29%.5) and III, 43(36.1%). According to our definition only 25 patients (21%) had been treated with standard treatment and 79% had not received it. A five year survival in patients with standard treatment was 85% and in the non-standard group it was 52%.Age, sex, stage and grade of tumor did not show any significant relation to survival. Conclusions: Our study showed a five year survival of rectal cancer in our patients was about 10% lower than the rate which is reported for developed countries. Preoperative concurrent chemoradiation significantly improved local control and even overall survival.

Survival of Patients with Ewing's Sarcoma in Yazd-Iran

Akhavan, Ali,Binesh, Fariba,Shamshiri, Hadi,Ghanadi, Fazllolah Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.12

Background: The Ewing's sarcoma family is a group of small round cell tumors which accounts for 10-15% of all primary bone neoplasms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the survival of Ewing's sarcoma patients in our province and to determine of influencing factors. Materials and Methods: All patients with documented Ewing's sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor(PNET) family pathology were enrolled in this study during a period of eight years. For all of them local and systemic therapy were carried out. Overall and event free survival and prognostic factors were evaluated. Results: Thirty two patients were enrolled in the study. The median age was 17.5 years. Twenty (65.2%) were male and 9 (28.1%) were aged 14 years or less. Mean disease free survival was 26.8 (95%CI; 13.8-39.9) months and five year disease free survival was 26%. Mean overall survival was 38.7 months (95%CI; 25.9-50.6) and median overall survival was 24 months. Five year overall survival was 25%. From the variables evaluated, only presence of metastatic disease at presentation (p value=0. 028) and complete response (p value =0. 006) had significant relations to overall survival. Conclusions: Survival of Ewing's sarcoma in our province is disappointing. It seems to be mostly due to less effective treatment. Administration of adequate chemotherapy dosage, resection of tumor with negative margins and precise assessment of irradiation volume may prove helpful.

Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of Propolis for Oral Mucositis in Patients Receiving Chemotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer

Akhavan-Karbassi, Mohammad Hasan,Yazdi, Mohammad Forat,Ahadian, Hakimeh,Sadr-Abad, Maryam Jalili Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.7

Background: Propolis based preparations have a wide range of applications in various specialties of dentistry. The aim of this clinical trial was to test the efficacy of propolis as a mouthwash in the reduction of chemotherapy induced oral mucositis (OM) in a single center. Materials and Methods: In this randomised, controlled study patients undergoing chemotherapy were included consecutively and randomised to an experimental group receiving propolis mouthwash (n = 20) and a control group receiving diluted water (n=20). Oral mucositis, erythema and eating and drink ability were assessed at baseline and after 3 and 7 days using the World Health Organization (WHO) scale and the oral mucositis assessment scale (OMAS). Results: There were significant differences in OM, wound and erythema in propolis group compared to placebo, but no significant difference in eating and drink ability. However, it was interesting that 65% of the patients in the propolis group were completely healed at day 7 of the trial. No significant adverse events were reported by the patients. Conclusions: This study found that oral care with propolis as mouthwash for patients undergoing chemotherapy is an effective intervention to improve oral health. Our findings shouldlencourage health practitioners to apply propolis mouth rinse for the oral care of patients under chemotherapy.

Survival of Brain Metastatic Patients in Yazd, Iran

Akhavan, Ali,Binesh, Fariba,Heidari, Samaneh Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.8

Background: Brain metastasis occurs when cancerous cells come from a known (or sometimes an unknown) primary tumor to the brain and implant and grow there. This event is potentially lethal and causes neurologic symptoms and signs. These patients are treated in order to decrease their neurologic problems, increase quality of life and overall survival. Materials and Methods: In this study we evaluated clinical characteristics of 206 patients with brain metastases referred to our center from 2004 to 2011. Results: The mean age was 53.6 years. The primary tumors were breast cancer (32%), lung cancer (24.8%), lymphoma (4.4%), sarcoma (3.9%), melanoma (2.9%), colorectal cancer (2.4%) and renal cell carcinoma (1.5%). In 16.5% of the patients, brain metastasis was the first presenting symptom and the primary site was unknown. Forty two (20.4%) patients had a single brain metastasis, 18 patients (8.7%) had two or three lesions, 87 (42.2%) patients had more than three lesions. Leptomeningeal involvement was seen in 49 (23.8%) patients. Thirty five (17%) had undergone surgical resection. Whole brain radiation therapy was performed for all of the patients. Overall survival was 10.1 months (95%CI; 8.65-11.63). One and two year survival was 27% and 12% respectively. Conclusions: Overall survival of patients who were treated by combination of surgery and whole brain radiation therapy was significantly better than those who were treated with whole brain radiation therapy only [13.8 vs 9.3 months (p=0.03)]. Age, sex, primary site and the number of brain lesions did not show significant relationships with overall survival.

Reducing Earthquake Fatalities and Destructions in Iran: A Project Management Perception

Amin Akhavan Tabassi,Abu Hassan Abu Bakar,Nor'Aini Yusof 한국유통과학회 2014 Asian Journal of Business Environment (AJBE) Vol.4 No.1

Purpose – Appropriate project management knowledge as well as its effective application in the construction industry increase construction quality and, therefore, reduce fatalities and destruction. Research design, data, and methodology – This study was conducted through a comparative analysis of earthquake fatalities in Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, China, Haiti, Japan, and the United States of America. The data was analyzed using a frequency study. The analysis contrasts the fatalities of some of the strongest earthquakes around the world between 1960 and 2010. Results – Poor quality construction practices and a lack of effective application of project management knowledge play a major role in the vast destruction, high death toll, and dismal tragedies that are associated with earthquakes, especially in Iran. Conclusions – Despite the history of tragic earthquakes and their continuing recurrence, this study attempts to make governments, companies, and disaster management personnel aware of the dangers of poor quality construction and the deficient application of project management knowledge and, further, accentuates effective ways to prevent the probability of serious damage in future. This study contains valuable information on the effects of project management application towards reducing earthquake fatalities and destruction.

COMMUTATOR LENGTH OF SOLVABLE GROUPS SATISFYING MAX-N

Mehri, Akhavan-Malayeri Korean Mathematical Society 2006 대한수학회보 Vol.43 No.4

In this paper we find a suitable bound for the number of commutators which is required to express every element of the derived group of a solvable group satisfying the maximal condition for normal subgroups. The precise formulas for expressing every element of the derived group to the minimal number of commutators are given.

Bactericidal effects of Ag nanoparticles immobilized on surface of SiO2 thin film with high concentration

O. Akhavan,E. Ghaderi 한국물리학회 2009 Current Applied Physics Vol.9 No.6

Bactericidal activity of high concentration Ag nanoparticles immobilized on surface of an aqueous sol–gel silica thin film was investigated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Size of the surface nanoparticles was estimated in the range of 35–80 nm by using atomic force microscopy. Due to accumulation of the silver nanoparticles at near the surface (at depth of 6 nm and about 40 times greater than the silver concentration in the sol), the synthesized Ag–SiO2 thin film (with area of 10 ㎟) presented strong antibacterial activities against E. coli and S. aureus bacteria with relative rate of reduction of the viable bacteria of 1.05 and 0.73 h-1 for initial concentration of about 105 cfu/ml, respectively. In addition, the dominant mechanism of silver release in long times was determined based on water diffusion in surface pores of the silica film, unlike the usual diffusion of water on the surface of silver-based bulk materials. Therefore, the Ag nanoparticles embedded near the surface of the SiO2 thin film can be utilized in various antibacterial applications with a strong and long life activity. Bactericidal activity of high concentration Ag nanoparticles immobilized on surface of an aqueous sol–gel silica thin film was investigated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Size of the surface nanoparticles was estimated in the range of 35–80 nm by using atomic force microscopy. Due to accumulation of the silver nanoparticles at near the surface (at depth of 6 nm and about 40 times greater than the silver concentration in the sol), the synthesized Ag–SiO2 thin film (with area of 10 ㎟) presented strong antibacterial activities against E. coli and S. aureus bacteria with relative rate of reduction of the viable bacteria of 1.05 and 0.73 h-1 for initial concentration of about 105 cfu/ml, respectively. In addition, the dominant mechanism of silver release in long times was determined based on water diffusion in surface pores of the silica film, unlike the usual diffusion of water on the surface of silver-based bulk materials. Therefore, the Ag nanoparticles embedded near the surface of the SiO2 thin film can be utilized in various antibacterial applications with a strong and long life activity.

High Strength-Elongation Balance in Warm Accumulative Roll Bonded AA1050 Sheets

Ali Akhavan Attar,Ali Alavi Nia,Yousef Mazaheri,Ehsan Ghassemali 대한금속·재료학회 2022 METALS AND MATERIALS International Vol.28 No.2

Several studies had been performed on accumulative roll bonding (ARB) for AA1050; however, most of them were conductedat room temperature. Here, the ARB process was performed on AA1050 plates through nine cycles at elevated temperature. An innovation introduced a new parameter ( UTS×El. ) to compare the strength-elongation balance between the present studyand previous works. Also, as another parameter, the toughness was compared. Comparing these parameters with previousworks showed that the considered samples in the present study performed 14 to 63% better than the other samples, so theywere more industrially favorable in terms of mechanical behavior and performance. ARB process at elevated temperaturemay slightly lead to grain growth compared to room/cryogenic temperature, but creates a better elongation, which ultimatelyleads to a better balance of the strength-elongation parameter. The results showed that the effect of inter-cycle heating wasfound significant on microstructural evolution and mechanical behavior. Upon five cycles of the process, the grain sizewas decreased from 35 to 1.8 μm. The yield strength and ultimate strength increased up to 305% and 94%, respectively. Microhardness test showed that warm ARB reduces inhomogeneity factor in the thickness after 3 cycles. Fractography bySEM showed that the sample failed through shear ductile rupture and that the dimples became smaller, more elongated, andshallower onto the failure surface as the number of ARB cycles increased. In short, the warm process is preferred to the coldprocess to achieve better mechanical performance and toughness.

Dynamic analysis of magnetorheological elastomer sandwich MEMS sensor under magnetic field

Hossein Akhavan,Javad Ehyaei,Majid Ghadiri 국제구조공학회 2022 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.29 No.5

In this paper, the effect of magnetic field on the vibration behavior of a Magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) sandwich MEMS actuated by electrostatic actuation with conductive skins are examined within the multiple scales (MMS) perturbation method. Magnetorheological smart materials have been widely used in vibration control of various systems due to their mechanical properties change under the influence of different magnetic fields. To investigate the vibrational behavior of the movable electrode, the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory, as well as Hamilton's principle is used to derive the equations and the related boundary conditions governing the dynamic behavior of the system are applied. The results of this study show that by placing the Magnetorheological elastomer core in the movable electrode and applying different magnetic fields on it, its natural vibrational frequency can be affected so that by increasing the applied magnetic field, the system's natural frequency increases. Also, the effect of various factors such as the electric potential difference between two electrodes, changes in the thickness of the core and the skins, electrode length, the distance between two electrodes and also change in vibration modes of the system on natural frequencies have been investigated.

Compared to the Optimum Moisture Content and Mechanical Strength of Clay and Sand under Compaction

Sahar Akhavan,Mahmoud Shabanpur 한국토양비료학회 2014 한국토양비료학회 학술발표회 초록집 Vol.2014 No.6