Probiotics: A Comprehensive Review of Their Classification, Mode of Action and Role in Human Nutrition

Probiotics are live microorganisms that live in gastrointestinal (GI) tract and are beneficial for their hosts and prevent certain diseases. In this chapter, after a complete introduction to probiotics, definition, mechanism of action, and their classification, currently used organisms will be discussed in detail. Moreover, different kinds of nutritional synthetic products of probiotics along with their safety and drug interaction will be noticed. This chapter mentions all clinical trial studies that have been done to evaluate probiotic efficacy with a focus on gastrointestinal diseases

Transcription of adaptive-immune genes upon challenge with infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) in DNA vaccinated rainbow trout

In the present study, rainbow trout weighting 3±0.3 g were vaccinated with an oral DNA vaccine encoding VP2 gene of a prevalent isolate of IPNV in Iranian trout farms encapsulated in sodium alginate microspheres and Chitosan tripolyphosphate (CS/TPP) nanoparticles. The vaccinated fish were then challenged with a virulent isolate of IPNV at 30 days post-vaccination. The transcriptional changes of adaptive- immune genes (IgM and IgT), as well as the  VP4 gene of IPNV, as an indicators of viral replication were studied 45 days post-challenge. Analysis of RT-qPCR data showed lower levels of VP4 gene expression in the oral DNA vaccinated trout after IPNV challenge compared with the control one. Moreover, the constructed DNA vaccine did not enhance the expression of IgM and IgT genes above the levels observed in the carrier control group but it showed a mimic of viral activity and contributes to maintaining them at appreciable levels in vaccinated group

Effect of citalopram and sertraline on the expression of miRNA- 124, 132, and 16 and their protein targets in patients with depression

Objective(s): This study aimed to evaluate the effect of SSRIs on the expression of miRNAs and their protein targets.Materials and Methods: In a 100 day open-label study of citalopram (n=25) and sertraline (n=25), levels of miRNA 16, 132, and 124 and glucocorticoid receptor (GR), Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and serotonin transporter (SERT) protein expression were measured by QRT-PCR and western blot in healthy control (n=20), patients with depression at the baseline, and same patients after 100 days of treatment.Results: Expression levels of GR and BDNF proteins were lower in the depressed group before treatment as compared with the healthy group (P<0.0001). The SERT level was higher among the depressed group before treatment in comparison with the healthy group (P<0.0001). The level of GR and BDNF significantly increased, and SERT expression decreased after receiving sertraline (P<0.05). When the depressed group received citalopram, only SERT and GR were altered (P<0.05). Among the microRNAs’ expression investigated, mir-124 and mir-132 were higher, and mir-16 was lower among the depressed compared with the healthy group (P<0.0001). Individuals receiving citalopram only showed an increase in the expression of mir-16 while administration of sertraline led to a significant increase in the expression of mir-16 and a decrease in mir-124 and mir-132 (P<0.05).Conclusion: This elucidated the relationship between antidepressant treatment and the expression of different microRNA that control gene expression in various pathways involved in depressed patients.  Receiving SSRI can affect the level of these proteins and their relevant microRNAs

Relationship between trust in God and self – efficacy With mental health in type II diabetics

Background and Aim: Diabetes mellitus is a prevalent chronic disease in the world, which threatens mental health. Various factors, including improvement of religious faith and increasing self-care efficacy, are effective in the treatment and control of the complications of the disease. The present study aimed at studying of the role of trust in God and self– efficacy in the mental health of type П diabetics. Materials and Methods: The present descriptive– analytical and correlational study was done on 204 type П diabetics selected through systematic randomized method. The patients' trust in God, self– efficacy, and mental health were assessed by means of "trust in God" questionnaires DMSES and GHQ-28. The obtained data was analysed by means of SPSS software (version 13), Pearson's correlation coefficient, t-test, and multiple regression analysis at the significant level α=0.05. Results: It was found that there was no significant difference between the two genders regarding trust in God, self-efficacy, and mental health at the level P<0.05. Besides, according to Pearson's coefficient correlation the relationship between trust in God and self-efficacy (P<0.001, r=0.45), between mental health and self-efficacy (P<0.001, r=0.44) was significant. Regression analysis revealed that trust in God and self-Efficacy justifies 35% of mental health variance in diabetics and are powerful prognosticators of the illness. Conclusion: Regarding the increase in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus, the disease is one of the notorious health problems in the world. Thus, intervention aimed at increasing religious faith and self-efficacy in order to do self-care activities will be useful in decreasing diabetic complications

Feasibility study for size optimisation of a geothermal/PV/wind/diesel hybrid power plant using the harmony search algorithm

Using hybrid renewable energy systems is a smart choice for reducing the carbon emitted by power plants. It also helps climate change mitigation and global warming, leading to universal health for humans and the environment. The efficiency of these systems depends on choosing the right combination of renewable sources, their sizes, and proper scheduling of the generating units. This paper suggests an optimisation method for sizing a geothermal/PV/wind/diesel system, both in off-grid and grid-connected configurations. In the grid-connected mode, the possibility of selling surplus energy generated by renewable resources to the network is considered. Investigations reveal that without accurate control of geothermal reservoirs, they may become depleted. In this study, a strategy is suggested for unit commitment; moreover, the harmony search algorithm is used to find the optimal size of the hybrid system in both configurations. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is represented by simulating an HRES for Ferdows/Iran

Effects of Ergonomic Interventions on Health Indicators in a Rubber Industry

Background: This study aimed to determine the impact of engineering, organizational, and individual ergonomic interventions on the percentage of workers complaining Musculoskeletal disorders, inappropriate work environment, exposure to manual handling, and the rate of sick-leave in workers of rubber industry. Methods: This was a descriptive-analytical and retrospective study conducted in the production department of a rubber manufacturing industry. Ergonomic interventions, which have been fully implemented and have been stable in the industry, were included in the study. Health indicators were determined by reviewing completed Nordic questionnaires, insurance documents, and the documents about different methods of ergonomic risk assessment before and after each intervention. Before and after comparing the indicators, paired t and Wilcoxon tests were done. Results: Ergonomic interventions included 114 engineering, 20 organizational, and 7 individual interventions. Engineering interventions had a significant effect on all the indicators such as reducing total MSDs) 66%). Organizational interventions led to the improvement of the index of MSDs (60%), inappropriate posture (55%) and pain intensity (30%). Individual interventions had a significant effect on MSDs (85.71%) and sick-leaves (100%) (P<0.05). Conclusion: All the types of ergonomic interventions in the production sector of the rubber industry have been effective in reducing MSDs. Engineering interventions have had a significant impact on all the health indicators considered in this study; they are highly effective in the rubber industry, and it is better to implement them together with organizational or individual interventions for better results

Application of Gene Expression Programming Model to Present a New Model for Bond Strength of Fiber Reinforced Polymer and Concrete

In this paper, the gene expression-programming model was applied to present a novel model for the bond strength of concrete and fiber-reinforced polymer estimation. In order to do this, collected data were divided into the trained and tested ones by gene expression programming (GEP) means. The input parameters are the width of fiber-reinforced polymer, the width of concrete, thickness of fiber-reinforced polymer, the elastic modulus of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP), concrete cylinder compressive strength, and bond length. The output parameters are the bond strength of concrete and FRP. Finally, a novel relationship was derived using the GEP to predict the bond strength of FRP-to-concrete composite joints. Results showed that the presented relationship was more convenient than the other models and that it was a powerful tool to predict the bond strength values of the FRP-to-concrete composite. For example, R-square (R2) of the present work is 0.92 compared to that (< 0.82) reported for other models. Among themodels presented by other researchers, that of Dai et al. is more accurate than the other ones, and the model offered by Khalifa et al. has the lowest accuracy.Peer reviewe

Quality of Life in Cystic Fibrosis Children

Objective: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a chronic, multisystem genetic disease with a wide variability in clinical severity. The measurement of quality of life in CF provides additional information about the impact of this disease. This article tries to assess quality of life (QoL) in children and adolescents with CF and to compare it with control group. Methods: Patients 2-18 years old with admission diagnosis of cystic fibrosis entered the study. QoL was observed in CF patients and compared with control group. Findings: Based on children's reports, significant differences between the CF patients and control group were noted for emotional, physical, social, school performance, and total scores (P<0.05). Based on parents' reports, quality of life score in CF patients from the physical point of view as well as social and total scores were decreased (P<0.05). Conclusion: QoL in CF patients seems to be low, and therapy programs should take into account the suggestive perceived quality of life

Depression and its Correlation with Self-esteem and Social Support among Iranian University Students

"nObjective: Considering the effects of the level of social support and self-esteem as risk factors in the onset and continuation of depression, the purpose of the current study (in addition to studying the demographic items of depression) was to investigate the correlation between depression and level of social support and self-esteem in Iranian university students studying non medical majors. "nMethod: The study was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytic research carried out on the students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2006. Self administered questionnaires on socio-demographic information (age, gender, marital status, and educational level), Eysenk self-esteem scale, Beck Depression Inventory and Cassidy social support scale were randomly given out to students who were selected by multi stage randomized sampling. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 14 using the χ2-test. "nResults: 1200 students responded to the anonymous questionnaires. A total of 57.2% of the participants had depression (36.3% mild, 14.4% moderate and 6.5% severe). Depression was significantly higher in males, singles and in 25-29-year-old students. Results showed that 9.4%, 18.3% and 72.3% of the participants reported low, moderate and high levels of social support respectively. 1.8% and 6.3% of the participants reported low and moderate levels of self-esteem respectively; while 91.9% reported high levels of self-esteem. "nConclusion: Depression has a higher rate in non-medical university students of Iran than general population. Levels of social support and self-esteem were negatively associated with frequency of depression

Pharyngeal Packing during Rhinoplasty: Advantages and Disadvantages

Introduction: Controversy remains as to the advantages and disadvantages of pharyngeal packing during septorhinoplasty. Our study investigated the effect of pharyngeal packing on postoperative nausea and vomiting and sore throat following this type of surgery or septorhinoplasty.   Materials and Methods: This clinical trial was performed on 90 American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I or II patients who were candidates for septorhinoplasty. They were randomly divided into two groups. Patients in the study group had received pharyngeal packing while those in the control group had not. The incidence of nausea and vomiting and sore throat based on the visual analog scale (VAS) was evaluated postoperatively in the recovery room as well as at 2, 6 and 24 hours.   Results: The incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) was 12.3%, with no significant difference between the study and control groups. Sore throat was reported in 50.5% of cases overall (56.8% on pack group and 44.4% on control). Although the severity of pain was higher in the study group at all times, the incidence in the two groups did not differ significantly.   Conclusion: The use of pharyngeal packing has no effect in reducing the incidence of nausea and vomiting and sore throat after surgery. Given that induced hypotension is used as the routine method of anesthesia in septorhinoplasty surgery, with a low incidence of hemorrhage and a high risk of unintended retention of pharyngeal packing, its routine use is not recommended for this procedure