Cost-benefit analysis in patients with cancer (esophagus, gastric) in North Khorasan Province

The word cancer is derived from the Latin word carcinoma, means crab and refers to a malignant tumor that is caused by abnormal growth of a cell or group of cells. Since the operating time of manpower is a major investment for community, time lost due to premature death or non-fatal consequences of illnesses, and various events and accidents have become as the most important criterion to measure the health level. The present study is experimental and in terms of the nature and method is descriptive-survey. A sample of patients with gastric and esophageal cancer was studied in North Khorasan in 2012 and 2013. In this study, the methods of descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution tables, percentage and mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values​​ and quartiles were used to evaluate and compare the data collected from the medical documents and also in inferential statistic sector (according to the confirmed data normality), the independent two-sample t-test was used. In this regard, factors affecting the cost-benefit such as the medical expenses, indirect costs of treatment, average financial interests after treatment, support of contracting organizations and assessment of treatment costs for early detection were examined in this study. As it was predicted, records of patients with cancer have been responsible for all the research hypotheses All hypotheses were confirmed by the difference in the amount of costs and among these factors, early prevention and timely diagnosis were very helpful in improvement of patients and had very low cost for the patient and the Department of Health. Furthermore, financial support of insurances is relatively low that the enhancement of heavy costs for patients in addition to the tolerance of disease leading to the stopping continued treatment

Differentiation of Schistosoma haematobium from related schistosomes by PCR amplifying an inter-repeat sequence.

Schistosoma haematobium infects nearly 150 million people, primarily in Africa, and is transmitted by select species of local bulinid snails. These snails can host other related trematode species as well, so that effective detection and monitoring of snails infected with S. haematobium requires a successful differentiation between S. haematobium and any closely related schistosome species. To enable differential detection of S. haematobium DNA by simple polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we designed and tested primer pairs from numerous newly identified Schistosoma DNA repeat sequences. However, all pairs tested were found unsuitable for this purpose. Differentiation of S. haematobium from S. bovis, S. mattheei, S. curassoni, and S. intercalatum (but not from S. margrebowiei) was ultimately accomplished by PCR using one primer from a newly identified repeat, Sh110, and a second primer from a known schistosomal splice-leader sequence. For evaluation of residual S. haematobium transmission after control interventions, this differentiation tool will enable accurate monitoring of infected snails in areas where S. haematobium is sympatric with the most prevalent other schistosome species

1,1-Diethyl-3-(4-meth­oxy­benzo­yl)thio­urea

In the title compound, C13H18N2O2S, the 4-meth­oxy­benzoyl fragment is approximately planar [maximum deviation = 0.057 (2) Å] and twisted relative to the thio­amide fragment, forming a dihedral angle of 86.62 (6)°. The two Csp 2—Nsp 2 bonds in the thio­urea unit differ significantly in length [1.327 (2) and 1.431 (2) Å]. In the crystal, N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into chains parallel to [010]

N-(Pyrrolidin-1-ylcarbothio­yl)benzamide

In the title compound, C12H14N2OS, the pyrrolidine ring adopts an envelope conformation with the C atom at the 3-position as the flap and makes a dihedral angle of 65.80 (9)° with the benzene ring. In the crystal, N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds join c-glide related mol­ecules into chains extended along [001] that are further connected into (100) layers via C—H⋯O inter­actions

Development of a PCR /RLB Test for meat source authentication in processed meat and meat products

Concern over food authenticity has increased as a result of an increase in the consumption of processed foods containing meat or animal products. This raises a number of issues where the presence of pork in such foods is considered unacceptable in most Muslim and Jewish communities around the world. It also applied to the prohibition of beef consumption among Hindus. In order to ensure the absence of unwished meat products or mixing of meats from different sources in processed foods, a specific and sensitive test is essential. For this purpose we developed a molecular test based on DNA amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the cytochrome b gene followed by reverse line blot analysis (RLB). Using this method many samples may be treated simultaneously and meat origins can easily be detected from processed foods or foods containing mixed meat sources; also, added pork components such as fat may be identified by this methodology. The PCR/RLB method is considered to be a sensitive and specific technique; it can detect one nucleotide change within the PCR-amplified DNA segment.This study was supported by the Arab Science and Technology Foundation, grant number BT072239

Macromixing study for various designs of impellers in a stirred vessel

The effect of the impeller designs and impeller clearance level (C/T) on power consumption, mixing time and air entrainment point in a single liquid phase under turbulent conditions (Re > 104) were investigated. Different impeller designs including conventional and new designs, were used to consider both axial and radial flow impellers. The electric conductivity method, suspended motor system and observation method were employed to determine the mixing time, the power consumption and the air entrainment point, respectively. The reduction in the impeller clearance level form T/3 to T/6 resulted in a decrease in power number values for up-flow pumping impellers while it was increased for down-flow pumping. The same trend was observed for the mixing time results. Moreover, axial flow impellers and specially HE3 are preferable for higher agitation speeds due to the less air entrainment. The results verified that the axial flow impellers and specifically down-flow impellers are more efficient than the radial flow impellers. ANFIS-Fuzzy C–means (ANFIS–FcM) and nonlinear regression were used to develop models to predict the mixing time based on the energy dissipation rate and clearance. The results verified that the model predictions successfully fit the experimental mixing time data

Perceptions about English as second language teachers’ technology based English language teaching in Pakistan: Attitudes, uses of technology and challenges

This study aims to find out the perceptions of English as a second language (henceforth, ESL) teachers’ attitudes towards the use of technology for teaching of English to the undergraduate students in Pakistan. The study exposes the uses of information and communication technologies (henceforth, ICT) in teaching, and the difficulties faced in integrating technology for teaching of English. Data is collected through survey questionnaire and interview protocol from ESL teachers teaching at college level in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Survey data is analyzed through SPSS 22 while interview questions have a thematic analysis. Findings of survey and interview protocol used in the study reveal positive attitudes on the part of teachers towards the use of technology. No significant difference is found among teachers’ use of technology due to gender or academic qualification. However, the difference between teachers’ technology use can be ascribed to their competence. The use of technology is beneficial for teaching and learning environment, but its’ use is not optimal in educational environment in Pakistan. The findings highlight limited use of technology due to shortage of resources, unavailability of tools and lack of training. The study puts forward some recommendations for the effective use of technology in language teaching and the removal of the potential barriers in its use by teachers in Pakistan

Barriers to technology integration in teaching English as a second language among English educators in Pakistan

The integration of information and communication technology is becoming a must for todays’ English as a second language teaching. Of late, worldwide situations and proven effectiveness have made technology integration necessary for educators to move with the flow. However, technology integration for English as a second language teaching environment among English educators in Pakistan is questionable. Therefore, this study aims to find out the barriers English language educators face in integrating technology in their teaching environments in the country. The study employed a mixed-method research design to collect data via an online questionnaire and interview protocols. The samples consist of 39 tertiary-level Pakistani ESL educators who responded to the online survey, and eight were chosen as interviewees. The findings revealed the unavailability of technology resources and lack of computer knowledge and skills training as part of the educators’ professional development as the core barriers to the technology-integration teaching in the country. The study calls for rigorous development and implementation of technology-based facilities and resources from the local authorities to be made available for the educators to incorporate in their English language teaching environments. The research also advocates for more intensive upskilling technology-based training for the educators as part of their continuous professional development programmes