Chitin-Induced Airway Epithelial Cell Innate Immune Responses Are Inhibited by Carvacrol/Thymol.

Chitin is produced in large amounts by fungi, insects, and other organisms and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma. Airway epithelial cells are in direct contact with environmental particles and serve as the first line of defense against inhaled allergens and pathogens. The potential contributions of airway epithelial cells to chitin-induced asthma remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that chitin directly stimulates airway epithelial cells to release cytokines that promote type 2 immune responses and to induce expression of molecules which are important in innate immune responses. We found that chitin exposure rapidly induced the expression of three key type 2-promoting cytokines, IL-25, IL-33 and TSLP, in BEAS-2B transformed human bronchial epithelial cells and in A549 and H292 lung carcinoma cells. Chitin also induced the expression of the key pattern recognition receptors TLR2 and TLR4. Chitin induced the expression of miR-155, miR-146a and miR-21, each of which is known to up-regulate the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Also the expression of SOCS1 and SHIP1 which are known targets of miR-155 was repressed by chitin treatment. The monoterpene phenol carvacrol (Car) and its isomer thymol (Thy) are found in herbal essential oils and have been shown to inhibit allergic inflammation in asthma models. We found that Car/Thy inhibited the effects of chitin on type 2-promoting cytokine release and on the expression of TLRs, SOCS1, SHIP1, and miRNAs. Car/Thy could also efficiently reduce the protein levels of TLR4, inhibit the increase in TLR2 protein levels in chitin plus Car/Thy-treated cells and increase the protein levels of SHIP1 and SOCS1, which are negative regulators of TLR-mediated inflammatory responses. We conclude that direct effects of chitin on airway epithelial cells are likely to contribute to allergic airway diseases like asthma, and that Car/Thy directly inhibits epithelial cell pro-inflammatory responses to chitin

The Exact Potential Driving the Electron Dynamics in Enhanced Ionization

It was recently shown that the exact factorization of the electron-nuclear wavefunction allows the construction of a Schr\"odinger equation for the electronic system, in which the potential contains exactly the effect of coupling to the nuclear degrees of freedom and any external fields. Here we study the exact potential acting on the electron in charge-resonance enhanced ionization in a model one-dimensional H$_2^+$ molecule. We show there can be significant differences between the exact potential and that used in the traditional quasistatic analyses, arising from non-adiabatic coupling to the nuclear system, and that these are crucial to include for accurate simulations of time-resolved ionization dynamics and predictions of the ionization yield

A comparative study of factors affecting customer satisfaction in private and public sector hospitals in Tehran

The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare factors affecting customer satisfaction in public and private sector hospitals. The study is based on a survey of 385 customers of Tehran city hospitals. The sampling approach is cluster sampling, which is taken from private and public sector hospitals. Primarily interviews were used to identify behavioral and organizational factors, which affect customer satisfaction. Then using a questionnaire in Likert scale type we gathered the data. The data were analyzed with SPSS software package. The effects of some customer-related factors on satisfaction of customers are tested in this study. These factors include good behavior with patients, qualified services, accountability of personnel and the patients’ attitudes. The results show a positive relationship between these factors and satisfaction of customers. Based on the satisfaction level of the patients, this study also shows that there is a significant difference between public sector and private sector hospitals. In fact, the satisfaction level of patients in the private sector is higher than that in the public sector

A comparative study of factors affecting customer satisfaction in private and public sector hospitals in Tehran

The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare factors affecting customer satisfaction in public and private sector hospitals. The study is based on a survey of 385 customers of Tehran city hospitals. The sampling approach is cluster sampling, which is taken from private and public sector hospitals. Primarily interviews were used to identify behavioral and organizational factors, which affect customer satisfaction. Then using a questionnaire in Likert scale type we gathered the data. The data were analyzed with SPSS software package. The effects of some customer-related factors on satisfaction of customers are tested in this study. These factors include good behavior with patients, qualified services, accountability of personnel and the patients’ attitudes. The results show a positive relationship between these factors and satisfaction of customers. Based on the satisfaction level of the patients, this study also shows that there is a significant difference between public sector and private sector hospitals. In fact, the satisfaction level of patients in the private sector is higher than that in the public sector

A comparative study of factors affecting customer satisfaction in private and public sector hospitals in Tehran

The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare factors affecting customer satisfaction in public and private sector hospitals. The study is based on a survey of 385 customers of Tehran city hospitals. The sampling approach is cluster sampling, which is taken from private and public sector hospitals. Primarily interviews were used to identify behavioral and organizational factors, which affect customer satisfaction. Then using a questionnaire in Likert scale type we gathered the data. The data were analyzed with SPSS software package. The effects of some customer-related factors on satisfaction of customers are tested in this study. These factors include good behavior with patients, qualified services, accountability of personnel and the patients’ attitudes. The results show a positive relationship between these factors and satisfaction of customers. Based on the satisfaction level of the patients, this study also shows that there is a significant difference between public sector and private sector hospitals. In fact, the satisfaction level of patients in the private sector is higher than that in the public sector

Spontaneous recovery of chylothorax caused by lymphoma

Chylothorax is a rare complication with both traumatic and non-traumatic causes. the most common non-traumatic cause is malignancy, especially lymphoma. Lymph discharges into the pleural space, causing nutritional, metabolic, immunologic and respiratory complications. We evaluated the case of a patient suffering from a low-grade lymphoma who developed chylothorax that did not respond to chemotherapy and conservative treatment. this patient recovered spontaneously

Fungicidal versus Fungistatic activity of five Iranian essences against fluconazole resistant Candida species

Introduction: Antifungal resistant is one of the causes of high mortality rates during invasive candidiasis. Since development of new antifungal agents is limited, researchers have focused on natural products including essential oils (EOs) with antifungal properties. In immunocompromised patients fungicidal activity is of benefit. This study was designed to evaluate chemical composition and fungicidal/fungistatic activities of five Iranian EOs and against fluconazole resistant Candida species. Methods: To determine chemical composition of EOs gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) was employed. Fluconazole resistant Candida species were chosen and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of studied EOs were determined by broth microdilution method. Minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) was determined as the lowest concentration with no fungal growth on solid media. Fungicidal activity was calculated by MFC/MIC ratio. Results: The results showed that C. albicans and C. tropialis isolates were susceptible to itraconazole (ITC) and voriconazole (VRC) while one species of C. glabrata and C. krusei each was resistant to itraconzaole; and itraconazole resistant C. glabrata isolate was resistance to voriconzaole as well. Among tested EOs, the ones from Cinnamomum cayennense, Origanum majorana var. majoranoides and Andropogon citratus had the highest anti-Candida activity. Artemisia aromatica A. Nelson had the highest MIC value against Candida isolates. All EOs in this study had fungicidal activity. Conclusion: In general, the tested natural compounds are suitable to be used as anti-Candida. However more studies are needed on each chemical compound to evaluate its antifungal activity alone or in combination with other agents