Optimization of convective drying process for Persian shallot using response surface method (RSM)

Abstract: Optimization of convective drying process of Persian shallot was investigated using dependent variables of effective moisture diffusivity (Deff), specific energy consumption (SEC), shrinkage and color changes.  The central composite design (CCD) was selected for design and optimization of the process.  The second-order polynomial models with transformed responses were developed from experimental data to generate three dimensional response surfaces and contour plots.  Experiments were performed at air temperatures of 40°C, 55°C and 70°C, air velocities of 0.5, 1.5 and 2.5 m/s and slice thicknesses of 2, 4, and 6 mm in triplicate.  Based on response surface and desirability functions, the optimum conditions for Persian shallot drying were: air temperature 70°C, air velocity 2.5 m/s and slice thickness 4.58 mm.  At this point, Deff, SEC, shrinkage and color changes were obtained as 1.18675×10-9 m2/s, 13.83 MJ/kg, 35.04% and 42.27%, respectively.   Keywords: color, diffusivity, energy, central composite design, shrinkag

Imaging techniques for ocular neoplasia

Background: Novel ocular imaging modalities have greatly impacted the diagnosis and management of different types of ocular neoplasia. In this narrative review, we summarize the practical features of popular and novel imaging modalities for ocular tumors. Methods: Four databases, including PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, were searched from January 1, 2000 to August 31, 2022. Articles reporting different imaging modalities for diagnosing or monitoring treatment responses of ocular tumors were extracted using various combinations of the following keywords: ocular neoplasia, positron emission tomography or PET, single-photon emission computed tomography or SPECT, optical coherence tomography or OCT, OCT angiography or OCTA, computed tomography or CT, ultrasonography or US, ultrasound biomicroscopy or UBM, and magnetic resonance imaging or MRI. Results: Various ocular imaging modalities had different accuracies as adjunctive tools for detecting or managing ocular tumors. Anterior ultra-high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) could be used to evaluate images with < 5-µm resolution. OCT angiography provided deeper insight into retinal vascular changes associated with the malignant transformation of choroidal melanoma. OCT in children altered the diagnosis of suspicious retinoblastoma in 3% of the cases and treatment plan in 11% of the cases. While positron-emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) allowed the detection of metastatic lesions of choroidal melanoma by full-body scanning, single-photon emission CT was more sensitive compared to PET in detecting choroidal melanoma. Ultrasound biomicroscopy, with an accuracy exceeding 92.5%, could detect retinal calcification in lesions measuring 2–3 mm. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) had better contrast compared to ultrasound biomicroscopy and higher sensitivity compared to CT in detecting post-laminar optic nerve invasion. However, MRI had a lower spatial resolution compared to OCT. Further development of imaging modalities and their application in drug development would improve the treatment of ocular tumors. Conclusions: Although diagnosing ocular tumors depend on clinical characteristics, innovations in ocular imaging have enabled early diagnosis and timely, appropriate management of ocular neoplasia, which are conducive to favorable visual outcomes and increased life expectancy. Further systematic reviews and meta-analyses of primary studies focusing on a specific imaging modality in ocular neoplasia could precisely determine the diagnostic accuracy of each imaging modality to better guide eye practitioners with efficient diagnostic or therapeutic approaches for these sight- or life-threatening entities. Imaging modalities may play a major role in drug development in the future

The knowledge, attitude, and action of Northern Iranian women about cervical cancer and screening

Background: Cervical cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in the world among women which its early diagnosis plays an important role in the prognosis. There are many factors that contribute to the participation in the screening programs, most notably the level of knowledge and attitude of people towards cancer. Understanding the level of these factors in the female population and its association with participation in screening programs is important. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of women in the north of Iran to compare these factors between two groups with different baseline knowledge.Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among female medical clients and healthcare staff in a healthcare center in the north of Iran. All the eligible patients were interviewed and were asked to fill a questionnaire containing the demographic data, knowledge, attitude, and action about cervical cancer and screening. The data were analyzed by SPSS v24.Results: A total of 283 females entered our study of which 156(55.1%) were clients of the healthcare center and 127(44.9%) were non-physician healthcare staff. Ninety (60.8%) of clients and 39(56.5%) of the staff have performed pap smear at least once (p=0.556). The levels of knowledge and attitude were significantly lower in the clients (p < 0.001 and p=0.003, respectively). There were no significant differences regarding the level of knowledge and attitude between those who performed pap smear and those who did not (0.621 and 0.788, respectively).Conclusions: Increasing awareness, especially improving attitudes in the female population, should be the focus of the health care system to encourage more women to participate in screening programs

Role of political elites in Iran-Saudi economic cooperation

Iran and Saudi Arabia cooperated with each other in 1999 on oil quota and price within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for the first time since 1979. With regard to the originality of this cooperation, this paper sets out to examine the role of political elites of the two countries in the cooperation. The paper concludes that President Hashemi Rafsanjani and Khatami from the Iranian side and Crown Prince Abdullah from the Saudi side were the key figures who paved the political way for economic cooperation. In other words, in light of the strained Iranian-Saudi relations during the 1980s, their main role was to reduce the tension between the two parties and instead improve mutual political relations during the 1990s, which was a necessary requirement for economic cooperation

Diabetes mellitus type 1: is it a global challenge?

Type 1 diabetes, a serious and life-threatening disease with many complications, is one of the most common (autoimmune) endocrine and metabolic conditions in childhood, with life-saving treatment and lifelong, but painful and time-consuming in daily life, requiring self-action and a balanced diet, equally distributed among boys and girls

Modeling some drying characteristics of sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) under infrared radiation using mathematical models and artificial neural networks

The effect of air temperature, air velocity and infrared (IR) radiation on the drying kinetics of sour cherry was investigated using a laboratory infrared dryer.  Experiments were conducted at air temperatures of 35, 50 and 65°C, air velocities of 0.5, 1.1 and 1.7 m/s and IR radiations of 500, 1,000 and 1,500 W.  Five empirical drying models for describing time dependence of the moisture ratio change were fitted to experimental data.  Artificial neural network (ANN) method was used to predict the effective moisture diffusivity and specific energy consumption of the samples.  Among the applied models, Midilli et al. model was the best to predict the thin layer drying behavior of sour cherry.  Effective moisture diffusivity of sour cherry varied between 1.17×10-10 and 8.13×10-10 m2/s.  Activation energy of sour cherry was in the range of 30.31–     41.68 kJ/mol.  Specific energy consumption was in the range of 56.12–891.16 MJ/kg.  After well training of the ANN models, it proved that the ANN model was relatively better than the empirical models.  The best neural network feed and cascade forward back-propagation topologies for the prediction of effective moisture diffusivity and energy consumption were the 3-2-3-1 and 3-3-3-1 structures with the training algorithm of trainlm and threshold functions of tansig, tansig-logsig-tansig, respectively.  The best R2 value for predication of moisture diffusivity and energy consumption were 0.9944 and 0.9905, respectively.    Keywords: sour cherry, drying, effective moisture diffusivity, activation energy, artificial neural networ

Periodic Fever, Aphthous Stomatitis, Pharyngitis, and Cervical Adenitis (PFAPA) Misdiagnosed as Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection

Recurrent fever is common in children and specific infections account for the fever in most cases. PFAPA is not an uncommon cause of periodic fever during childhood. On the other hand, in patients with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), urinary tract infection usually presents with fever.Here, we report two PFAPA cases in patients with VUR in whom recurrent episodes of fever were misdiagnosed as UTI. Keywords: PFAPA Syndrome; Periodic Fever Syndrome; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux; Urinary Tract Infections; Child