Loading and promoter effects on the performance of nitrogen functionalized graphene nanosheets supported cobalt Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalysts

The effects of nitrogen functional groups on graphene surface and also the effects of cobalt loading and ruthenium promoter on the performance of nitrogen functionalized graphene nanosheets (N-GNS) supported cobalt catalysts in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) are investigated. A 15 wt% Co/PGNS catalyst, a series of Co/N-GNS (15–30 wt% loading) and ruthenium promoted catalysts (25 wt% Co,0.5 wt% Ru/N-GNS and 25 wt% Co,0.5 wt% Ru/PGNS) were prepared by impregnation method. The purified GNS and functionalized GNS and all catalysts were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM, EDS, ICP, BET, TEM, XRD and TPR. The catalysts assessed in FTS in a fixed bed micro-reactor at 220 °C, 1.8 Mpa and H 2 /CO ratio of 2. Functionalization of GNS shifted the TPR reduction peaks to lower temperature, increased the dispersion of cobalt particles and increased the percentage CO conversion from 70.6% to 74.5%. Increasing the cobalt loading resulted in increasing the average cobalt cluster size, improvements in the reducibility of Co 3 O 4 . The maximum FTS activity for N-GNS supported catalyst is achieved at 30 wt % cobalt loading. The C 5 + selectivity for the 30 wt % cobalt catalyst was higher than that of the 15 wt % Cobalt catalyst. Addition of 0.5 wt%Ru increased the FTS rate (gCH/(gcat·h)) from 0.377 to 0.412 and the liquid products selectivity from 86.5% to 91.2%. © 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LL

Odontogenic Cysts: A 10-Year Retrospective Study in an Iranian Population

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of all odontogenic cysts (OCs) along with age range, gender distribution, and the site of involvement over a 10-year period (March 2001 to March 2011) and to compare these data with findings from other surveys.Methods: The archives of departments of oral and maxillofacial pathology from Shahid Beheshti and Tehran University of Medical Sciences were retrieved and analyzed for demographic data such as age, gender, location and histopathological diagnosis of OCs.Results: Of the 8,563 biopsy samples that were received, 1,518 (17.7%) were diagnosed as OCs. Radicular cyst was the most common diagnosis (33.2%), followed by dentigerous cysts (24.1%), and odontogenic keratocysts (18.6%). OC occurred 59.3%, 40.6% in male and female respectively. Mandibular involvement was 62.4% while in maxilla was 37.6%.Conclusion: Our study provided demographic data on a large series in Iran, a Southwest Asian country. In our study, radicular cysts, the most common OC, had a lower frequency compared to that reported in most other studies. On the other hand, calcifying OCs seem to be more prevalent in the Iranian population compared to other populations male to female to female ratio was 1.45:1

Prevalence and Clinical Significance of Hepatitis B Basal Core Promoter and Precore Gene Mutations in Southern Iranian Patients

Background and Aims: To investigate the prevalence and pattern of PC and BCP mutations and their clinical significance in patients with genotype D chronic hepatitis B infection in the Fars province of southern Iran. Materials and Methods: From January 2007 to March 2008, we evaluated 44 patients with chronic hepatitis B infection who were referred to our hepatology clinics affiliated with the Shiraz University of Medical Science. All Patients were HBeAg Negative and HBeAb positive. Basal core promoter and precore mutations in these patients were evaluated with clinical phenotype and laboratory tests. Results: The mean age of the patients was 37.21 ± 10.54 years. Twenty-seven patients (61.4) had no mutations, whereas 17 patients (38.6) had mutations in the precore or basal core promoter regions or both. The mean serum ALT level in mutation-free patients was 59.74 ± 55.86 IUL, whereas patients with PC and BCP mutations had a mean serum ALT level of 71.35 ± 59.49 IUL. The mean serum AST level in patients with mutations was higher than for patients without mutations (59.53 ± 41.35 IUL vs. 40.65 ± 25.21 IUL, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference between the mutation and mutation-free groups in terms of age, sex, and liver enzyme levels (P > 0.05). Fourteen of the 44 patients (31.8) had mutations in the precore region (G 1896A). 17 patients (38.6) had mutations in basal core promoter region. Conclusion: This study revealed a high prevalence of precore and basal core promoter mutations in southern Iran. Although no statistically significant difference was noted in liver enzymes, patients with mutations had igher liver enzymes in comparison with mutation-free patients

Effects of Self-Management Education on Self-Efficacy and Quality of Life in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Background: Self-management (SM) as a dynamic process enables Ulcerative colitis (UC) patients to live with this chronic illness. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of SM education on self-efficacy (SE) and quality of life (QoL) in patients with UC. Methods: This randomized controlled clinical trial study was conducted on 64 patients with UC from December 2016 to February 2017 at Motahari clinic, Shiraz. Patients were randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. The education program included six 90-minute sessions in 3 weeks and one month telephone follow-up. Before, immediately and one month after the intervention, the participants filled out the Strategies Used by People to Promote Health (SUPPH) for SE, and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire-9 (IBDQ-9) for Qol. Then, data were entered into SPSS 18.0 and analyzed using independent samples t-test, Chi-square, repeated measures ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results: A significant increase was observed in terms of the overall mean score for SE and its dimensions in the intervention group (P<0.001). These scores were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.001), except for positive attitude (P=0.15). The scores for overall Qol and its dimensions significantly increased in the intervention group immediately and one month after the intervention (P<0.001), and the difference between the two groups was significant (P<0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between SE and Qol (r=0.32, P=0.01). Conclusion: SM improved the SE and Qol in patients with UC. SM educatoin is recommended in nursing care of patients with UC. Trial Registration Number: IRCT2016092429823N

Speleotherapy as an Effective Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract Objectives: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as a liberal illness requires constant anti-inflammatory therapy. As praise of conventional treatments, patients ofen turn to alternate therapy. Current study aimed to evaluate the frst study in Iran emphasizing on halotherapy influence on improving lung function testing results and relieving symptoms of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease patients, presented at respiratory referral hospital, Tehran in 2016. Materials and Methods: In this double-blind clinical study, 84 components suffering from COPD detached to two experimental and control groups. Following two months treatment with salitair or placebo, one month clearance phase was carried. Eventually, groups were treated with salitair and placebo for next two months. Influence was determined assessed6-minute walk distant, arterial oxygen saturation drop of six minutes walking, CAT enquiry and spirometry FEV1, FVC and FEV1/ FVC parameters. Results: Current study revealed that halotherapy might exert a positive effect on 6-minute walk distant and arterial oxygen saturation drop of six minutes walking parameters, since has no effect on CAT enquiry and FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC parameters. Conclusions: Advice for containing halotherapy as a healing treatment for COPD is doubtful. More studies are recommended to be done, including a larger study group to supply the best evidence. Keywords: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (C08.381.495.389); Spirometry (E01.370.386.700.750); Vaporizers (E07.605); Halotherapy; Spleotherapy; Salitai

Differences in right ventricular dysfunction in patients with idiopathic pulmonary hypertension versus secondary pulmonary hypertension

Introduction: Right ventricular (RV) function in the setting of pulmonary hypertension based on different etiologies has not been well studied. In this study, we evaluated the RV function in patients with idiopathic pulmonary hypertension (IPH) versus secon-dary pulmonary hypertension (SPH) due to congestive heart failure. Material and method: Forty-five patients with pulmonary hypertension and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II or III were enrolled. Of these, 22 were diagnosed with IPH and 23 with SPH. Echocardiographic data, including Doppler and Doppler based strain, were assessed according to the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) guidelines for detailed evaluation of RV function in these two groups. Results: Mean PAP was 60 ± 14.5 mm Hg in patients with IPH versus 43 ± 11.5 mm Hg in patients with SPH (p = 0.001). Considering conventional indexes of RV function, only Sm and dp/dt were significantly better in the first group compared with the second group (p-value for Sm = 0.042 and for dp/dt = 0.039). RV end diastolic dimension was significantly higher in the IPH group (p = 0.013). Using deformation indexes of RV function, the basal and mid portion of RV free wall strain and basal RV strain rates were significantly worse in the chronic systolic heart failure (PH-HF) group in comparison to the IPH group (p &lt; 0.001 in basal RV strain, p = 0.034 in mid RV strain and p = 0.046 in basal RV strain rate respectively).Conclusion: IPH has less impact on RV function in comparison to PH-HF. Considering both entities are in the category of RV pressure overload, we conclude that the etiology of pulmonary hypertension also plays an important role in RV function in addition to pressure overload

Identifying and prioritizing the effective factors in the implementation of green supply chain management in the construction industry

In recent years, environmental protection and sustainability have become significant issues and have attracted everyone's attention. And many organizations are now interested in using it as their strategy to gain customer satisfaction and market share and outperform competitors. This article aims to identify and prioritize the main factors that implement green supply chain management (GSCM) in the construction industry. To achieve the goal, the integrated approach combining is fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (FDEMATEL) and fuzzy analysis network Process (FANP) developed. The parameters employed are in this approach identified through an extensive literature review, and validation is criteria introduced through the experts’ opinions to discuss data uncertainty. First, the FDEMATEL method sets up the interrelationships between the criteria, which used for determining are the most important factors in the GSCM approach. Then, the local weight of the criteria calculated using the FANP approach based on cause and effect relationships, and through the FDEMATEL method. The results of this study show that external factors are the most important and influential factors in the GSCM approach, Therefore, the findings of this study can guide managers to make better use of the GSCM approach in the Iranian construction industry

A randomized clinical trial on the effect of honey in the acute gastroenteritis

Acute gastroenteritis is one of the hygienic challenges of the 21st century and one of the 6 major causes of death in children and adults in developed and developing countries. With respect to prevalence of this illness in Iran, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of honey in treating diarrhea in Kashan, Iran. In this randomized clinical trial study, the participants were chosen from the children who were admitted to pediatric clinics. 150 children who met the criteria were divided into 3 groups. After a systematic treatment process and writing down the details, the first group received honey added to ORS (dissolved in ORS), the second group received honey separate from ORS and the control group received ORS with no honey. All the patients were under the close watch of the researchers until complete recovery. Then the data were analyzed with statistical tests and SPSS18 software. In general, among the 150 children who were studied there were 80 boys with the average age of 33.19 months and 70 girls with the average age of 29.84 months. The average diarrhea period from the beginning of treatment until complete recovery was 4.68 days for the first group, 3.725 for the second group and 5.60 for the control group. Thus there was a significant difference between the groups that received honey and the control group (p=0.001). The average number of bowel movements from the beginning of treatment until complete recovery was 4.22 for the first group, 3.50 for the second group and 4.90 for the control group. There was a significant difference in this respect (p<0.001). Generally, with regard to the findings of this study prescription of honey for diarrhea can reduce the number of bowel movements and diarrhea period. Similar studies could be done about other diseases to further investigate the effectiveness of honey in treating other health problems, not necessarily as a substitute treatment, but a supplementary treatment