HIV/AIDS awareness and attitude among factory workers in Shiraz, Iran

HIV has been introduced as a causative agent for AIDS which is still considered as a major health problem for the country and a burden on the health care system. Raising awareness and knowledge plays a critical role in controlling HIV infection in all social groups. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the awareness and attitudes of factory workers regarding HIV/AIDS infection in Shiraz, Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 92 factory workers in Shiraz, selected via the random sampling technique. A standard researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data. Around 84% of participants were male and 65.2% had 30 years of age or more. The majority of responders considered shared syringe as the main transmission route in Iran. The awareness level of the general aspects of HIV infections and possible transmission modes were high. A large proportion of responders believed that patients should be supported by the governments and that they have the right to lead a normal life, meanwhile they were scared for their children having an infected classmate. It can be concluded that the public programs to increase awareness had a positive effect on factory workers' knowledge. However, some misconceptions toward HIV patients were identified that need to be corrected. In addition, further studies should be conducted in other cities to reach an accurate estimate of HIV/AIDS awareness among factory workers as a big part of our society. 

Erratum: Immunogenicity, antigenicity and epitope mapping of Salmonella InvH protein: An in silico study

There was an error in the author list of the published article.Two authors (T Hashempour, Z Hasanshahi) requested to remove from the authors lists. After obtaining the agreement of the authors and the corresponding author, Editor-in-Chief accept the corrections as listed below.The correct author list is:Behzad Dehghani, Iraj Rasooli We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Erratum for:Immunogenicity, antigenicity and epitope mapping of Salmonella InvH protein: An in silico studyB Dehghani, T Hashempour, Z Hasanshahi, I RasooliJ Curr Biomed Rep. 2020; 1(1): 9-16

The model of workforce agility dependent on drivers, strategies, practices, and results

For the time being, organizations throughout the world are in an environment that is constantly changing in various aspects including technological developments, customers’ preferences, emerging markets, and globalization. In this environment, the concept of agility, especially workforce agility is a valuable tool for organizations and can assist them considerably to cope with this situation. Given a substantial number of scholars have studied the concept of agility from the technical point of view up until now, and have neglected the human resource aspect, this study aims to, first of all, investigate the concept of workforce agility through a model incorporating drivers, practices, strategies advocating and stimulating the implementation of this concept and examine the relationships between these variables and second of all determine the results of implementing workforce agility system. The sample of the present study was selected from the staff and managers of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, who had a bachelor's degree or higher and were working in the field of human resource management. Besides, we used a questionnaire to evaluate the variable. According to the findings, except for the relationship between drivers and implementation results all other relationships between drivers, practices, strategies, and results have been supported

El modelo de agilidad de la fuerza laboral dependiente de los conductores, estrategias, prácticas y resultados

For the time being, organizations throughout the world are in an environment that is constantly changing in various aspects including technological developments, customers’ preferences, emerging markets, and globalization. In this environment, the concept of agility, especially workforce agility is a valuable tool for organizations and can assist them considerably to cope with this situation. Given a substantial number of scholars have studied the concept of agility from the technical point of view up until now, and have neglected the human resource aspect, this study aims to, first of all, investigate the concept of workforce agility through a model incorporating drivers, practices, strategies advocating and stimulating the implementation of this concept and examine the relationships between these variables and second of all determine the results of implementing workforce agility system. The sample of the present study was selected from the staff and managers of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, who had a bachelor's degree or higher and were working in the field of human resource management. Besides, we used a questionnaire to evaluate the variable. According to the findings, except for the relationship between drivers and implementation results all other relationships between drivers, practices, strategies, and results have been supported.         Por el momento, las organizaciones de todo el mundo se encuentran en un entorno que cambia constantemente en varios aspectos, incluidos los desarrollos tecnológicos, las preferencias de los clientes, los mercados emergentes y la globalización. En este entorno, el concepto de agilidad, especialmente la agilidad de la fuerza laboral, es una herramienta valiosa para las organizaciones y puede ayudarlas considerablemente a hacer frente a esta situación. Dado que un número sustancial de académicos han estudiado el concepto de agilidad desde el punto de vista técnico hasta ahora, y han descuidado el aspecto de recursos humanos, este estudio tiene como objetivo, en primer lugar, investigar el concepto de agilidad de la fuerza laboral a través de un modelo que incorpora impulsores. , prácticas, estrategias que propugnan y estimulan la implementación de este concepto y examinan las relaciones entre estas variables y, en segundo lugar, determinan los resultados de la implementación del sistema de agilidad laboral. La muestra del presente estudio fue seleccionada entre el personal y los gerentes de la Organización de Puertos y Marítima de Irán, que tenían una licenciatura o un título superior y trabajaban en el campo de la gestión de recursos humanos. Además, utilizamos un cuestionario para evaluar la variable. Según los hallazgos, a excepción de la relación entre los impulsores y los resultados de la implementación, se han respaldado todas las demás relaciones entre los impulsores, las prácticas, las estrategias y los resultados

Functional and Structural Characterization of SARS-Cov-2 Spike Protein: An In Silico Study

BACKGROUND፡ Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of the global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), which has been considered as a pandemic by WHO. SARS-CoV-2 encodes four major structural proteins, among which spike protein has always been a main target for new vaccine studies. This in silico study aimed to investigate some physicochemical, functional, immunological, and structural features of spike protein using several bioinformatics tools.METHOD: We retrieved all SARS-CoV-2 spike protein sequences from different countries registered in NCBI GenBank. CLC Sequence Viewer was employed to translate and align the sequences, and several programs were utilized to predict B-cell epitopes. Modification sites such as phosphorylation, glycosylation, and disulfide bonds were defined. Secondary and tertiary structures of all sequences were further computed.RESULTS: Some mutations were determined, where only one (D614G) had a high prevalence. The mutations did not impact the B-cell and physicochemical properties of the spike protein. Seven disulfide bonds were specified and also predicted in several N-link glycosylation and phosphorylation sites. The results also indicated that spike protein is a non-allergen.CONCLUSION: In summary, our findings provided a deep understanding of spike protein, which can be valuable for future studies on SARS CoV-2 infections and design of new vaccines

Study of the Epidemiology and Use of Condoms in Vulnerable Women Referring to Damage Reduction Centers in Shiraz During 2015-2016

Background and aims: Female sex workers (FSWs) play an essential role in the transmission of HIV and are considered critical groups compared to the public groups of society and their customers. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the status of sexual intercourse among prostitutes in Shiraz in 2015-2016. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted on 162 prostitutes referred to Shiraz transitional damage reduction centers and the information was gathered through a checklist. Results: The results showed that the mean age at the first vaginal intercourse was 16.57±3.65. In 62.3 of people, the main reason for prostitution was the need for money to help the family. It was also found that 39.5 of prostitutes had anal sex, and more than 95 of them did not use condoms during sex. There was also a statistically significant relationship (P<0.01) between the age of sexual intercourse and education level. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that prostitutes initiated the first sexual intercourse at a very young age, and increase in the education level postponed the first sexual intercourse. Otherwise stated, the first sexual intercourse can be delayed by increasing the level of education

Bacteriophages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, their diversity, and potential therapeutic uses: a review

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) is a highly infectious disease and worldwide health problem. Based on the WHO TB report, 9 million active TB cases are emerging, leading to 2 million deaths each year. The recent emergence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) strains emphasizes the necessity to improve novel therapeutic plans. Among the various developing antibacterial approaches, phage therapy is thought to be a precise hopeful resolution. Mycobacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria such as Mycobacterium spp., containing the M. tuberculosis complex. Phages and phage-derived proteins can act as promising antimicrobial agents. Also, phage cocktails can broaden the spectrum of lysis activity against bacteria. Recent researches have also shown the efective combination of antibiotics and phages to defeat the infective bacteria. There are limitations and concerns about phage therapy. For example, human immune response to phage therapy, transferring antibiotic resistance genes, emerging resistance to phages, and safety issues. So, in the present study, we introduced mycobacteriophages, their use as therapeutic agents, and their advantages and limitations as therapeutic applications

Synthesis, characterization and application of novel MnO and CuO impregnated biochar composites to sequester arsenic (As) from water: Modeling, thermodynamics and reusability

© 2020 Elsevier B.V. The present study aimed at enhancing the adsorption potential of novel nanocomposites of Sesbania bispinosa biochar (SBC) with copper oxide (SBC/CuO) and manganese oxide nanoparticles (SBC/MnO) for the efficient and inexpensive removal of environmentally concerned contaminant arsenic (As) from contaminated water at batch scale. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and point of zero charge (PZC) analyses proved successful impregnation of the metallic nanoparticles on SBC surface. The results revealed the maximum As removal (96 %) and adsorption (12.47 mg/g) by SBC/CuO composite at 10 mg As/L, optimum pH-4, dose 1.0 g/L and ambient temperature (25 ± 1.5 °C) as compared with SBC (7.33 mg/g) and SBC/MnO (7.34 mg/g). Among four types of adsorption isotherms, Freundlich isotherm demonstrated best fit with R2 \u3e 0.997. While pseudo second-order kinetic model revealed better agreement with kinetic experimental data as matched with other kinetic models. The thermodynamic results depicted that As adsorption on the as-synthesized adsorbents was endothermic and spontaneous in nature with increased randomness. The SBC/CuO displayed excellent reusability and stability over four adsorption/desorption cycles and proved that the as-synthesized SBC/CuO composite may be the efficient adsorbent for practical removal of As from contaminated water