Background There is limited evidence regarding the efficacy of different treatment options in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). This study aimed at assessing the effectiveness of nerve and tendon gliding exercises in the treatment of patients with mild CTS. Methods The current prospective, randomized trial with pretest-posttest design was conducted on 80 patients with mild CTS randomly assigned to 2 groups. The treatment group was instructed to perform gliding exercises in addition to the wrist splint use. The control group only used the wrist splint. All the patients were instructed to use the splint at night and during the day if required. Patients were evaluated in terms of clinical parameters (ie, grip and pinch strength). The severity of symptoms and functional status was also determined using the Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire. The subjects were followed up for 6 weeks. Results There were no significant differences in all parameters between groups. The pretest-posttest analysis showed a statistically significant improvement in subjective and objective parameters in the treatment group. However, in the control group, only a significant improvement was observed in grip strength. Wrist splint use led to a significant change in the severity of symptoms only over the second week. Conclusions Both gliding exercise and wrist splint groups showed some improvement in the severity of symptoms and functional status scores. However, the gliding exercises did not offer additional benefit compared with wrist splint alone.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a toxic compound known as a member of the gasotransmitter family. H2S has the ability to inhibit the cytochrome c oxidase enzyme in the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Mitochondria play an important role in energy production and the brain needs energy for normal function. Mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with neurodegenerative diseases. This study investigated the mechanisms of cytotoxicity induced by H2S in brain neurons. thioacetamide has been used to produce H2S in water solutions. The results of the study showed that thioacetamide at concentrations of 116, 232 and 464 µg/ml was able to increase the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), collapse in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), damage to the lysosomal membrane, increase in the level of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and decrease in the level of reduced glutathione (GSH) in brain neurons. The results of the study suggested that H2S causes damage to mitochondria and lysosomes in brain neurons that could be associated with neurodegenerative diseases.

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Background: Heat, chemical and organic pollution are three types of environmental pollution, caused by refinery and petrochemical industries. Problems caused by hear and chemical pollutants are currently resolved to some extent but organic pollution such as Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are still considered as important problems of industry and environment. Objectives: A laboratory study was carried out to investigate the effects of native bacterial mixed culture (BMC) isolated from mixtures of refinery and petrochemical wastewaters for treatment of wastewaters of refinery and petrochemical industries. Materials and Methods: All bacteria were isolated from two refineries and two petrochemical plants of Iran. Several bacterial strains from both kinds of wastewater were mixed and two final stock culture collections (BMC a and BMC b), showed the ability to improve the growth among strains. BMC a was added to the refinery wastewater (activated sludge influent sample) and BMC b was added to petrochemical wastewater (activated sludge influent sample). The effects of continuous and non-continuous aeration at high and low pressures, along with the effects of nutrient addition in the beginning of experiment versus sequential addition at specific time intervals, were studied. Results: Native BMC, when continuous high level aeration was used, decreased chemical oxygen demand (COD) in refinery and petrochemical wastewaters for about 81% and 63%, respectively. Gradual addition of nutrients increased COD removal of refinery and petrochemical wastewaters to 85% and 87%, respectively. Conclusions: Native BMCs from mixture of refineries and petrochemical wastewaters can be an effective method of wastewater treatment of both regional refinery and petrochemical plants. High pressure continuous aeration and gradual nutrient addition to the native BMCs can improve bioremediation of organic wastewater in different industries.