Development of reverse transcription loop mediated isothermal amplification assay for visual detection of Grapevine fleck virus (GFkV)

Grapevine fleck virus (GFkV) produces a ubiquitous disease, latent in grapevine causing simple or complex infections with other more dangerous viruses. The aim of the present study is to detect GFkV through application of reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay; its efficiency has been contrasted with other procedures such as Double antibody sandwich ELISA (DAS-ELISA) and RT-polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The coat protein (CP) gene of the virus is basically used for designing the primers. Using hydroxynaphthol blue (HNB) Dye, RT-LAMP was placed in a water bath after the optimization was done. In order to detect GFkV easily and rapidly, a new immunocapture (IC)-RT-LAMP assay was developed as well; it was further compared with other assays. The results show RT-LAMP is an advantageous method because it is highly sensitive, quite cheap, user-friendly, and safe; in addition, it is performed quickly by visual detection and does not require RNA extraction (in IC-RT-LAMP)

Effects of Cadmium on Rumen Fermentation and Nutrient Digestibility Using Dual Flow Continuous Culture System

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different doses of cadmium on fermentation characterization and nutrient digestibility using dual flow continuous culture system. Eight dual-flow, continuous culture fermenters were used in 2 replicated periods of 10 d (7 d of adaptation and 3 d of sampling). Fermenters were inoculated with a composited ruminal fluid from 3 beef steers fed a high concentrate diet for at least 2 mo before the beginning of the trial. Anaerobic conditions were maintained by the infusion of N2 at a rate of 40 mL/min. Temperature (38.5°C) and liquid (10%/h) and solid (5%/h) dilution rates were kept constant. Fermenters were fed daily with 120 g dry matter in three equal portions. Treatments arranged as complete randomized block design with control and addition three levels of cadmium (0.1, 1 and 10 mg/l) to the high concentrate diet (15:85 forage to concentrate ratio). Organic matter, dry matter, NDF and ADF digestibility significantly decreased with the addition of 1 and 10 mg/l cadmium to the culture media compered to control treatment (P<0.05). Cadmium significantly decreased total volatile fatty acids concentration, acetate proportion and acetate to propionate ratio. Propionate and butyrate proportion increased significantly in response to cadmium addition (P<0.05). Concentration of NH3-N was significantly decreased in 1 and 10 mg/l cadmium treatments compared with control treatment. The results of this study suggest that cadmium in doses of 1 mg/l or more had strong inhibitory effect on mixed rumen microorganisms

The Value of ABCD2F Scoring System (ABCD2 Combined with Atrial Fibrillation) to Predict 90-Day Recurrent Brain Stroke

Background. The ABCD2 score is now identified as a useful clinical prediction rule to determine the risk for stroke in the days following brain ischemic attacks. Aim. The present study aimed to introduce a new scoring system named "ABCD2F" and compare its value with the previous ABCD2 system to predict recurrent ischemic stroke within 90 days of the initial cerebrovascular accident (CVA). Methods. 138 consecutive patients with the final diagnosis of ischemic CVA or TIAs who referred to emergency ward of Rasoul-e-Akram general hospital in Tehran from September 2012 to December 2013 were eligible. By adding a new score in the presence of atrial fibrillation to ABCD2 system, the new scoring system as ABCD2F was introduced and the risk stratification was done again on this new system. Results. The area under the curve for ABCD2 was 0.434 and for ABCD2F it was 0.452 indicating low value of both systems for assessing recurrence of stroke within 90 days of primary event. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that none of the baseline factors could predict 90-day recurrent stroke. Conclusion. ABCD2 and/or atrial fibrillation are not good scoring candidates for assessing the risk of recurrent stroke within first 90 days. © 2016 Mostafa Almasi et al

The Reasons of Death among Children and Adolescents in Lorestan Province, West of Iran, from 2007 to 2014

Background: The UNESCO, in the case of children's rights, has stressed that a child has a right to live in the best possible condition of health and hygiene as well as a safe and un-risky environment. Evaluation of the reasons for the death and mortality of children and adolescents can prevent similar deaths. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reasons of mortality among children and adolescents in Lorestan province.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on children and adolescents (younger than 18 years old) in Lorestan province, west of Iran, in the period of 2007-2014 in Lorestan Legal Medicine Research Center. The demographic data of dead individuals, including age, sex and cause of death, were studied. The main reasons of death were classified in four main groups of trauma, asphyxia, poisoning, and miscellaneous causes (including physiological disease, infant insufficiency, cancer, and unknown cause). The data was analysed by the SPSS software (version 17). P value &lt;0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: In the period of 2007 to 2014, 1115 children died in Lorestan province, consisting of 634 (56.8%) boys and 481 (44.2%) girls. The highest mortality rate was observed in 15 to 18 year age group (n= 395, 35.4%). The most prevalent reasons of death were different types of trauma (65.3%), asphyxia (18%), miscellaneous causes (10.8%) and poisoning (5.8%).Conclusion: The outbreak of death and mortality in children and adolescents following trauma and accidents in our country seems significant in relation to the developing countries and few of the neighbouring countries. Considering the ability to carry out the preventative measures in this field, instantaneous policy making is needed in order to eliminate the present defects in the security provision to this group of society

Epidemiology characteristics and trends of lung cancer incidence in Iran

Background: Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and a major cause of death from cancer. One of the important indicators to compare the prevalence and incidence of the disease is a change in the trend. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in the incidence of lung cancer in Iran. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted based on existing data obtained from a national registry of cancer cases and the Disease Management Center of Ministry of Health in Iran. All cases registered in the country were included during 2003-2008. Incidence rates were reported based on the direct method and standard population of World Health Organization. The study also examined the morphology of common lung cancers. Trends in incidence underwent joinpoint regression analysis. Results: Based on the results of this study, 14,403 cases of lung cancer have been recorded of which 10,582 cases were in men and 3,821 in women. Highest incidence rates were observed in the 80-84 age group. Considerable variation across provinces was evident. In females squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) demonstrated a reduction from 24 to 16 of lesions over the period of study, while adenocarcinoma rose from 21 to 29. In males a similar reduction in SCC was apparent (42 to 29, again with increase in AC (13 to 18). Conclusions: The results show that the increase in the incidence of lung cancer the trend is that more men than women and in men and may be caused by changes in smoking pattern. The incidence of lung cancer in the North West and West provinces was higher than in other regions

Congestion-Aware Routing and Fuzzy-based Rate Controller for Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper, congestion-aware routing and fuzzy-based rate controller for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is proposed. The proposed method tries to make a distinction between locally generated data and transit data by using a priority-based mechanism which provides a novel queueing model. Furthermore, a novel congestion-aware routing using greedy approach is proposed. The proposed congestion-aware routing tries to find more affordable routes. Moreover, a fuzzy rate controller is utilized for rate controlling which uses two criteria as its inputs, including congestion score and buffer occupancy. These two parameters are based on total packet input rate, packet forwarding rate at MAC layer, number of packets in the queue buffer, and total buffer size at each node. As soon as the congestion is detected, the notification signal is sent to offspring nodes. As a result, they are able to adjust their data transmission rate. Simulation results clearly show that the implementation of the proposed method using a greedy approach and fuzzy logic has done significant reduction in terms of packet loss rate, end-to-end delay and average energy consumption

Corticosterone promotes scramble competition over sibling negotiation in Barn Owl nestlings (Tyto alba)

In species with parental care, siblings compete for access to food resources. Typically, they vocally signal their level of need to each other and to parents, and jostle for the position in the nest where parents deliver food. Although food shortage and social interactions are stressful, little is known about the effect of stress on the way siblings resolve the conflict over how food is shared among them. Because glucocorticoid hormones mediate physiological and behavioral responses to stressors, we tested whether corticosterone, the main glucocorticoid in birds, modulates physical and vocal signaling used by barn owl siblings (Tyto alba) to compete for food. Although corticosterone-implanted (cort-) nestlings and placebo-nestlings were similarly successful to monopolize food, they employed different behavioral strategies. Compared to placebo-nestlings, cort-individuals reduced the rate of vocally communicating with their siblings (but not with their parents) but were positioned closer to the nest-box entrance where parents predictably deliver food. Therefore, corticosterone induced nestlings to increase their effort in physical competition for the best nest position at the expense of investment in sib-sib communication without modifying vocal begging signals directed to parents. This suggests that in the barn owl stress alters nestlings' behavior and corticosterone could mediate the trade-off between scramble competition and vocal sib-sib communication. We conclude that stressful environments may prevent the evolution of sib-sib communication as a way to resolve family conflicts peacefully

Penbactam for Helicobacter pylori eradication: A randomised comparison of quadruple and triple treatment schedules in an Iranian population

Background & study aims: Selection of the best drug regimens for eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection especially in patients at risk of peptic ulcer relapses and the development of complications is challenging. This study assessed and compared the efficacy of the two common PPI based triple therapies to a quadruple therapy including PPI, metronidazole, amoxicillin and a bismuth compound in Iranian population. Patients & Methods: Three hundred and thirty patients with peptic ulcer and H. pylori infection were included in the study. Patients were randomly assigned to one of the three treatment protocols all given twice daily: (a) A 14-day quadruple therapy (OMAB group) comprising omeprazole 20. mg, metronicazole 500. mg, amoxicillin 1. g, and bismuth subcitrate 240. mg; (b) A 14-day triple regimen (OCP group) comprising omeprazole 20. mg plus clarithromycine 500. mg and penbactam 750. mg and (c) A 14-day triple regimen (OCA group) comprising omeprazole 20. mg plus clarithromycine 500. mg and amoxicillin 1. g. Cure was defined as a negative urea breath test at least six weeks after treatment. Results: The per-protocol eradication rates achieved with both OCP regimen (87.0%) and OCA treatment (90.8%) were significantly higher than the OMAB treatment protocol (56.0%); however, no significant difference emerged in eradication rates between the two triple treatment schedules. No significant differences between the groups were found in most side-effects. Conclusion: Two-week quadruple therapy showed a lower eradication rate compared to common triple treatment schedules when used as first-line eradication treatment for H. pylori infection in Iranian population. © 2012 Arab Journal of Gastroenterology

Patients’ Concerns at Their Admission in Hospital and Its Related Factors in Kermanshah, Iran

Background: One of the critical factors affecting patients’ outcomes is their concerns about different issues during their admission to the hospital. Clarifying these concerns and providing appropriate approaches could improve the quality of care, result in better outcomes, and reduce treatment costs. The present study aimed to investigate patients’ concerns during hospitalization, and the likely related factors of the educational hospitals in Kermanshah, western Iran. Materials and Methods: This analytical-descriptive study included 600 adult patients selected via a multi-stage sampling method and admitted to all four educational hospitals affiliated to Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences )KUMS) in 2016. Required data were collected using a survey with 15 questions on demographic information, current disease, medical records, and a researcher-developed questionnaire on factors causing concern in the Likert scale. Results: Of 600 patients who participated in the survey, 336 (56%) were female and 486 )81%) were married. The most frequent concerns were the length of admission, failure in treatment or recovery, and hospital costs, respectively. The length of hospital stay, income, and level of education were significantly associated with the concern scores. Also, there was a significant difference between concern score distributions in groups with a definite diagnosis of illnesses (P&lt;0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study suggested a correlation between variables such as education, income, the final diagnosis of a sickness, and the concern level of admitted patients. Our findings could help managers and hospital administrators better understand the concerns of admitted patients and find solutions to remove them.</jats:p