Investigating the factors affecting the survival rate in patients with COVID-19 : A retrospective cohort study

Funding Information: Conflicts of Interest: None declared Funding: This study was financially supported by the Deputy of Research and Technology of Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (Grant no. 17571).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Synthesis and Characterization of Tetracycline Loaded Methionine-Coated NiFe2O4 Nanoparticles for Anticancer and Antibacterial Applications

In the present study, nickel ferrite (NiFe(2)O(4))-based smart magnetic nanoparticles were fabricated and coated with methionine. Physiochemical characterization of the obtained Met-NiFe(2)O(4) nanoparticles revealed the presence of methionine coating over the nanoparticle surface. Drug release study indicated that Tet-Met-NiFe(2)O(4) nanoparticles possess pH-responsive controlled drug release behavior for tetracycline (Tet). The drug loading content for Tet was found to be 0.27 mg/L of nanoparticles. In vitro cytotoxicity test showed that the Met-NiFe(2)O(4) nanoparticles is biocompatible. Moreover, this magnetic nanostructured material shown strong anticancer property as these nanomaterials significantly reduced the viability of A375 cells when compared to free Tet solution. In addition, Tet-Met-NiFe(2)O(4) nanoparticles also showed strong antibacterial activity against different bacterial pathogens

Investigating the Level of Attention to Water Sensitive Urban Design Approach in Academic Education of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design

This paper examines the level of attention to water sensitive urban design approach in Iran, leading to two questions: a) What are the objectives of WSUD? b) To what extent is attention paid to the objectives of WSUD in teaching landscape architecture and urban design fields? The research methodology of this research is combined (qualitative-quantitative). In the first step of the research, the qualitative strategy and content analysis method were used to extract the main and secondary objectives of WSUD from resources. Then, the extracted objectives were examined as measured components, based on the opinions of the panel of experts. In the second step, in order to evaluate the level of attention to the objectives of WSUD in the academic education in landscape architecture and urban design fields, the opinions of academicians in landscape architecture and urban design were collected. In the third step of the research, Shannon quantitative entropy strategy was used to analyze the answers to the questionnaires. Shannon entropy is one of the quantitative methods based on multi-criteria decision making and has an important role in information theory for data processing in content analysis. The analysis of the answers to the questionnaires using Entropy Method shows that among the five main components of WSUD, in urban design and landscape architecture education, the performance component is much more important than other components and the two components of water amenity and water supply are in second rank, water quality is in third place and water quantity is in the fourth position. Among the 20 sub-components, the weight of 14 components (equivalent to 70% of the components) is the same and insignificant, which shows that little attention is paid to them in the process of landscape architecture and urban design education in Iran. The results indicate that the components with quantitative nature have a low position in landscape architecture and urban design education, while many of the qualitative components had attained higher weight than the quantitative components. This shows that the education of landscape architecture and urban design in Iran, especially in water field, is mainly based on theoretical concepts and qualitative issues, and is not successful in preparing graduates of these fields to face the challenges in real projects. To close this gap, it is recommended to review the course descriptions of these two fields and determine how to enhance the knowledge of the teachers about the importance of water for further studies

The Possible Impact of Problem-solving Method of Instruction on Exceptional Students’ Creativity

The current study aimed at investigating the possible impact of the problem-solving method of instruction on the exceptional students’ creativity. A sample of 50 male exceptional (Mild intellectual disability) students studying in the third grade of junior high school was chosen and divided into two equal groups. Both groups filled out the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) in pre- and post-test stages. They also completed the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM) as a covariate variable. The results of covariance analysis revealed that the mean value for creativity score was higher for the students provided with the problem-solving method of instruction than that of their counterparts provided with the traditional method of instruction while the effect of intelligence was controlled. The scores obtained for the factors including fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration also increased through problem-solving method of instruction

Health care-associated infections, including device-associated infections, and antimicrobial resistance in Iran: The national update for 2018

Introduction. Surveillance of health care-associated infections (HAIs) is an essential part of an efficient healthcare system. This study is an update on incidence and mortality rates of HAIs in Iran in 2018. Methods. Almost all hospitals across the country (940 hospitals) entered the data of HAIs and denominators to the Iranian Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (INIS) software. Statistics were derived from INIS. Results. From 9,607,213 hospitalized patients, 127,953 suffered from HAI, 15.65% of whom died. The incidence rate of HAI was calculated as 4.2 per 1000 patient-days. Considering relative frequencies among HAIs, Pneumonia (29.1%) and UTIs (25.6%) were the most common types of infection. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) was the most frequent device-associated infection (DAI) 25.66 per 1000 ventilator-days, and had the highest mortality rate (43.08%). Incidence density of other DAIs was 5.43 for catheter-associated UTI and 2.86 for catheter-associated BSI per 1000 device-days. Medical ICUs had the highest incidence and percentage of deaths (15.35% and 37.63%, respectively). The most causative organisms were Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Klebsiella pneumonia. The rate of methicillin-resistance Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), and Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing bacteria was about 49%, 57%, and 58% respectively. Conclusion. The findings indicate that HAIs in Iran require special attention, and further studies are needed to evaluate them more accurately, identify risk factors and preventive interventions

Photocatalytic degradation of coomassie blue G-250 by magnetic NiFe2_{{2}}O4_{{4}}/ZnO nanocomposite

Photocatalysts NiFe2O4, ZnO, and NiFe2O4/ZnO were successfully synthesized and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry techniques. The prepared photocatalysts demonstrated significant photocatalytic efficiency under visible and UV light. The rate of dye degradation of NiFe2O4/ZnO in both UV and visible ranges exceeded that of ZnO and NiFe2O4. Moreover, NiFe2O4/ZnO exhibited the most excellent photocatalytic efficiency toward Coomassie blue G-250. The effect of pH on the dye degradation rate was also monitored. Accordingly, 96.90% and 68.55% dye degradation efficiencies were achieved by NiFe2O4/ZnO in 30 min under UV and visible light, respectively

The presence of anti thyroid and anti ovarian auto-antibodies in familial premature ovarian failure

Background: Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a disorder of multi causal etiology. Autoimmunity has been proposed as a mechanism for some cases of ovarian follicle dysfunction which is evident in POF. The aim of this study was to identify the level of auto-antibodies in POF and familial POF patients. Materials and Methods: In this study, auto-antibodies including anti-ovarian antibody (AOA), anti thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and anti thyroglobulin (TG) antibodies were assessed in the sera of 43 cases with spontaneous POF including 12 cases affected by familial POF. The control samples were obtained from sera of 39 women with normal ovulatory or post menopause women. Results: AOA were detected in 46.5 of the POF group, 41.7 of the familial POF group and 41 of the control group without significant statistical difference between the three groups. Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibody was found in 32.6 of the POF group, 41.6 of the familial POF group and 10.3 of the control group. Anti TPO was detected significantly high in both POF and familial POF groups (p<0.02 and p<0.01, respectively). Thyroglobulin (TG) antibody was found in 48.8 of the POF group, 75 of the familial POF group and 23.1 of the control group with meaningful difference (p<0.02 and p<0.001, respectively). TG antibody was significantly higher in familial POF group in comparison to POF group (p<0.03). Conclusion: Although measurement of AOA is not a reliable method for diagnosis of auto-immune POF, but existence of anti thyroid antibodies in familial POF (mainly anti TG) can potentially represent an autoimmune mechanism. It is possible to propose a genetic component for developing autoimmune POF supported by presence of anti thyroid antibodies in familial POF

Preventing HIV transmission among Iranian prisoners: Initial support for providing education on the benefits of harm reduction practices

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Harm reduction is a health-centred approach that seeks to reduce the health and social harms associated with high-risk behaviors, such as illicit drug use. The objective of this study is to determine the association between the beliefs of a group of adult, male prisoners in Iran about the transmission of HIV and their high-risk practices while in prison.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2004. The study population was a random selection of 100 men incarcerated at Rajaei-Shahr prison. The data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Focus group discussions were held at the prison to guide the design of the questionnaire. The relationship between components of the Health Belief Model (HBM) and prisoners' risky HIV-related behaviors was examined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Calculating Pearson's correlation coefficient, a significant, positive association was found between the benefit component of the HBM and prisoners <it>not </it>engaging in HIV high-risk behaviors.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Educational harm reduction initiatives that promote the effectiveness of strategies designed to reduce the risk of HIV transmission may decrease prisoners' high-risk behaviors. This finding provides initial support for the Iran prison system's current offering of HIV/AIDS harm reduction programming and suggests the need to offer increased education about the effectiveness of HIV prevention practices.</p