Lack of occult hepatitis B virus infection among blood donors with isolated hepatitis B core antibody living in an HBV low prevalence region of Iran

Background: Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in blood donors is considered a potential threat for the safety of the blood supply, however conclusive studies on this issue are lacking. The aim of this study was to assess the occult HBV infection in blood donors with isolated hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) living in the city of Arak, in the Central Province of Iran, as a low prevalence region for HBV. Methods: A total of 531 voluntary blood donors in Arak, Iran were included in this study. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs), anti-HBc, and hepatitis C antibody (anti-HCV) were tested in all subjects. The presence of HBV-DNA was determined quantitatively in plasma samples of cases with isolated anti-HBc (HBsAg-negative, anti-HBs-negative, and anti-HBc-positive) by real-time PCR using the artus HBV RG PCR kit on the Rotor-Gene 3000 real-time thermal cycler. Results: Of 531 subjects enrolled in this study, 11 (2.1, 95 confidence interval 0.8-3.2) had isolated anti-HBc. HBV-DNA was not detected in any of the cases with isolated anti-HBc. Conclusions: Our study showed that all the blood donors with isolated anti-HBc were negative for HBV-DNA, and occult HBV infection did not occur in the blood donors of this low prevalence region for HBV infection. © 2009 International Society for Infectious Diseases

Combined distributed turbo coding and space frequency block coding techniques

The distributed space-time (frequency) coding and distributed channel turbo coding used independently represent two cooperative techniques that can provide increased throughput and spectral efficiency at an imposed maximum Bit Error Rate (BER) and delay required from the new generation of cellular networks. This paper proposes two cooperative algorithms that employ jointly the two types of techniques, analyzes their BER and spectral efficiency performances versus the qualities of the channels involved, and presents some conclusions regarding the adaptive employment of these algorithms. © 2010 V. Bota et al.FP7/ICT/2007/21547

Combined distributed turbo coding and space frequency block coding techniques

The distributed space-time (frequency) coding and distributed channel turbo coding used independently represent two cooperative techniques that can provide increased throughput and spectral efficiency at an imposed maximum Bit Error Rate (BER) and delay required from the new generation of cellular networks. This paper proposes two cooperative algorithms that employ jointly the two types of techniques, analyzes their BER and spectral efficiency performances versus the qualities of the channels involved, and presents some conclusions regarding the adaptive employment of these algorithms. © 2010 V. Bota et al.FP7/ICT/2007/21547

Combined distributed turbo coding and space frequency block coding techniques

The distributed space-time (frequency) coding and distributed channel turbo coding used independently represent two cooperative techniques that can provide increased throughput and spectral efficiency at an imposed maximum Bit Error Rate (BER) and delay required from the new generation of cellular networks. This paper proposes two cooperative algorithms that employ jointly the two types of techniques, analyzes their BER and spectral efficiency performances versus the qualities of the channels involved, and presents some conclusions regarding the adaptive employment of these algorithms. © 2010 V. Bota et al.FP7/ICT/2007/21547

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis E Virus infection among volunteer blood donors in central province of Iran in 2012

Background and Objectives: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major public health concern in developing countries. HEV transmission occurs primarily by the fecal-oral route. It has also been reported that blood donors are potentially able to cause transfusion-associated hepatitis E in endemic areas. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of HEV infection among volunteer blood donors in Central province of Iran in 2012. Material and Methods: A total of 530 consecutive blood donor samples collected from Blood Transfusion Organization, Central Province of Iran. All samples were tested for the presence of IgG Hepatitis E antibody (anti-HEV) using enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: From 530 blood donors, 91.9 were male and 8.1 were female. Overall, anti-HEV was found in 76 of 530 samples (14.3). There was no significant difference in HEV seropositivity between the subjects regarding gender and area of residence (urban vs. rural). Anti-HEV was distributed among all age groups. Although people aged 31-50 years had the highest prevalence, but there was no statistical difference between the age groups. Conclusion: This study shows a relatively high prevalence of anti-HEV in the blood donors of Central province of Iran. More investigations are needed to assess the potential benefit of adding HEV screening of blood products to the current blood donor selection criteria