Natural-synthetic blend nanofibres have recently attracted more interest because of the ability of achieving desirable properties. Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-chitosan (Cs)-poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) blend nanofibrous scaffolds were electrospun in 2:1:1.33 mass ratio of PCL:Cs:PVA. The presence of PCL in the blend leads to improvement in web hydrophobicity and helped the web to retain its integrity in aqueous media. The scaffolds were used in two forms of acellular and with mesenchymal stem cells. They were applied on burn (n = 12) and excisional cutting (n = 12) wounds on dorsum skin of rats. Macroscopic investigations were carried out to measure the wounds areas. It was found that the area of wounds that were treated with cell-seeded nanofibrous scaffolds were smaller compared to other samples. Pathological results showed much better healing performance for cell-seeded scaffolds followed by acellular scaffolds compared with control samples. All these results indicate that PCL:Cs:PVA nanofibrous web would be a proper material for burn and cutting wound healing.

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These findings suggest that a CD44high/ALDH1A1high phenotype in melanoma and a CD44high phenotype in SCC can be considered candidates for targeted therapy of skin cancers aiming at CSCs.

Chitosan-poly(vinyl alcohol) (Cs:PVA) nanofibrous scaffolds were electrospun from 2:3 (wt/wt) Cs:PVA solution dissolved in 80% acetic acid. In vivo study was carried out on the dorsum skin of rat which burnt with a hot brass cylinder. The scaffolds were applied in two forms, that is, acellular (n=6) and cell-seeded with mesenchymal stem cells (n=6). Macroscopic measurements of wound area showed good aspect healing effect of scaffolds in comparison with control wounds specially in 15 days post operating. Pathological studies were done on the wounds to investigate the healing effects. The healing process of the wound covered with Cs/PVA nanofibrous scaffolds was much rapid compared to untreated wounds. However, the presence of stem cells on this scaffolds accelerated the wound healing process owing to their ability of collagen regeneration.

In this study, biodegradation and biocompatibility of novel poly(ε-caparolactone)/nano fluoridated hydroxyapatite (PCL-FHA) scaffolds were investigated. The FHA nanopowders were prepared via mechanical alloying method and had a chemical composition of Ca(10)(PO(4))(6)OH(2-x )F(x) (where x values were selected equal to 0.5 and 2.0). In order to fabricate PCL-FHA scaffolds, 10, 20, 30 and 40 wt% of the FHA were added to the PCL. The PCL-FHA scaffolds were produced by the solvent casting/particulate leaching using sodium chloride particles (with diameters of 300-500 μm) as the porogen. The phase structure, microstructure and morphology of the scaffolds were evaluated using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy techniques. Porosity of the scaffolds was measured using the Archimedes' Principle. In vitro degradation of PCL-FHA scaffolds was studied by incubating the samples in phosphate buffered saline at 37°C and pH 7.4 for 30 days. Moreover, biocompatibility was evaluated by MTT assay after seeding and culture of osteoblast-like cells on the scaffolds. Results showed that the osteoblast-like cells attached to and proliferated on PCL-FHA and increasing the porosity of the scaffolds increased the cell viability. Also, degradation rate of scaffolds were increased with increasing the fluorine content in scaffolds composition.

Our findings suggest that CD133 is not yet proven to be an appropriate biomarker in identifying CSCs of melanoma. Thus, detection of CD133 in combination with other putative CSC markers may be more valuable for clinical application.

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ContextCrush syndrome and its potentially life-threatening complications, such as acute kidney injury (AKI), are one of the most important medical problems of disaster victims. However, today, many unanswered questions abound about the potential risk factors of crush syndrome, predictive factors of AKI, proper amount of prophylactic hydration therapy, type of fluid, time of continuing fluid, intravenous versus oral hydration, etc. Therefore, this study was designed to review the findings on Iranian nephrologist experiences in diagnosis and management of traumatic rhabdomyolysis following the last two strong earthquakes of Bam (2003) and Manjil-Rudbar (1990).Evidence AcquisitionThe study was conducted according to the MOOSE reporting guideline. A literature review was conducted on the nephrologic aspects of earthquakes in Iran. Relevant articles were identified through a comprehensive search of online databases until 2014. The search was limited to articles studying the Iranian population published in English and Persian languages. The validated combination of MeSH terms and key words was used. In addition, a manual search was run among the references of all articles that met the entrance criteria and previous reviews. Only cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies were enrolled. Two reviewers independently reviewed the eligible studies, and another reviewer contributed in case of a disagreement. Basic information from each study was evaluated from the aspects of purpose and design, year of publication, methodology, main population, and source of data. The quality of the included studies was assessed using methods guide for effectiveness and comparative effectiveness reviews. Two reviewers independently rated each paper as “good”, “fair”, or “poor”.ResultsA total of 1256 non-duplicate articles were identified, but only 35 potentially relevant papers were screened. Finally, 21 articles were found eligible and studied in details. In addition, one unpublished report was included. In the quality assessment, two articles had poor quality, and thus only 20 were finally included in the systematic review. No publication bias (coefficient = −2.28; 95% Confidence interval: −6.17 - 1.78; P = 0.26) was observed among the included studies.ConclusionsA few eligible articles on seismo-nephrology were found in Iran, and a limited number of current articles had poor or fair quality. As expected, the chaotic situation after mass disasters and the lack of documentation led to the loss of much important data on the diagnosis and management of victims. Lessons learned from the current researches can be used as a valuable guide for future studies.