First record of the seed-eating wasp, Systole eremodauci (Hym.: Eurytomidae) from Iran

The family Eurytomidae includes economically important wasps, which feed on the seeds of various agricultural, horticultural and rangeland plants. This report is part of a survey conducted during 2009-2012 to identify the seed-eating pests of non-legume rangeland plants in the Fars province of Iran. The eurytomid species Systole eremodauci Zerova, 1994 was collected on ammoniacum plant, Dorema ammoniacum (D. Don.), and is first recorded from Iran

Advancing fishery-independent stock assessments for the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) with new monitoring techn

The Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus, supports a key European fishery. Stock assessments for this species are mostly based on trawling and UnderWater TeleVision (UWTV) surveys. However, N. norvegicus are burrowing organisms and these survey methods are unable to sample or observe individuals in their burrows. To account for this, UWTV surveys generally assume that “1 burrow system = 1 animal”, due to the territorial behavior of N. norvegicus. Nevertheless, this assumption still requires in-situ validation. Here, we outline how to improve the accuracy of current stock assessments for N. norvegicus with novel ecological monitoring technologies, including: robotic fixed and mobile camera-platforms, telemetry, environmental DNA (eDNA), and Artificial Intelligence (AI). First, we outline the present status and threat for overexploitation in N. norvegicus stocks. Then, we discuss how the burrowing behavior of N. norvegicus biases current stock assessment methods. We propose that state-of-the-art stationary and mobile robotic platforms endowed with innovative sensors and complemented with AI tools could be used to count both animals and burrows systems in-situ, as well as to provide key insights into burrowing behavior. Next, we illustrate how multiparametric monitoring can be incorporated into assessments of physiology and burrowing behavior. Finally, we develop a flowchart for the appropriate treatment of multiparametric biological and environmental data required to improve current stock assessment methods

Fungal peritonitis in Iranian children on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis: a national experience.

INTRODUCTION. Fungal peritonitis (FP), causing catheter obstruction, dialysis failure, and peritoneal dysfunction, is a rare but serious complication of peritoneal dialysis. In this study, the frequency and risk factors of FP are evaluated in children who underwent peritoneal dialysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS. A retrospective multicenter study was performed at the 5 pediatric peritoneal dialysis centers in Iran from 1971 to 2006, and FP episodes among 93 children were reviewed. Risk ratios were calculated for the clinical and demographic variables to determine the risk factors of FP. RESULTS. Ninety-three children aged 39 months on average were included in study. Sixteen out of 155 episodes of peritonitis were fungi infections, all by Candida albicans. The risk of FP was higher in those with relapsing bacterial peritonitis (P = .009). Also, all of the patients had received antibiotics within the 1 month prior to the development of FP. Catheters were removed in all patients after 1 to 7 days of developing FP. Six out of 12 patients had catheter obstruction and peritoneal loss after the treatment and 5 died due to infection. CONCLUSIONS. Fungal peritonitis, accompanied by high morbidity and mortality in children should be reduced by prevention of bacterial peritonitis. Early removal of catheter after recognition of FP should be considered

Fungal peritonitis in Iranian children on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis: a national experience.

INTRODUCTION. Fungal peritonitis (FP), causing catheter obstruction, dialysis failure, and peritoneal dysfunction, is a rare but serious complication of peritoneal dialysis. In this study, the frequency and risk factors of FP are evaluated in children who underwent peritoneal dialysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS. A retrospective multicenter study was performed at the 5 pediatric peritoneal dialysis centers in Iran from 1971 to 2006, and FP episodes among 93 children were reviewed. Risk ratios were calculated for the clinical and demographic variables to determine the risk factors of FP. RESULTS. Ninety-three children aged 39 months on average were included in study. Sixteen out of 155 episodes of peritonitis were fungi infections, all by Candida albicans. The risk of FP was higher in those with relapsing bacterial peritonitis (P = .009). Also, all of the patients had received antibiotics within the 1 month prior to the development of FP. Catheters were removed in all patients after 1 to 7 days of developing FP. Six out of 12 patients had catheter obstruction and peritoneal loss after the treatment and 5 died due to infection. CONCLUSIONS. Fungal peritonitis, accompanied by high morbidity and mortality in children should be reduced by prevention of bacterial peritonitis. Early removal of catheter after recognition of FP should be considered

Agreement of Bitewing and Digital Panoramic Radiographies in the Detection of Proximal Caries

Abstract: Background & Aims: Conventional radiography is used for the diagnosis of problems such as dental caries and failure in root canal therapy. The diagnosis accuracy of conventional radiography is acceptable in the evaluation of anatomical and pathological structures. However, it seems that by using digital radiography we can obtain more information in this field. The aim of this study is to compare the diagnosis accuracy of bitewing radiography and digital panoramic imaging (filtered and unfiltered) in detection of proximal caries. Methods: This was a descriptive-analytical study which has evaluated 56 files of patients who were referred to a private office in Qazvin, Iran. These patients had digital panoramic (with CD) and bitewing radiographies in their records. The presence of decay and depth of decay were evaluated at the basis of 5-scale and 4-scale measurements, respectively. After collecting the data, data were entered into SPSS and ANOVA and Kappa coefficient were used. Values of P < 0.05 were considered significant. Results: The highest agreement in terms of presence or absence of caries based on location was obtained for bitewing (Kappa > 0.76), unfiltered panoramic, and filtered panoramic, respectively. General agreement between the two observers in terms of depth of caries was higher for panoramic views than bitewing radiography. Conclusion: According to the results of this study digital panoramic imaging, in spite of its digital imaging which the manufacturer claims can increase diagnostic accuracy, cannot be as accurate as bitewing radiography in detection of proximal caries. Thus, bitewing radiography is always the best option for evaluation of proximal surfaces. Keywords: Bitewing, Filtered panoramic, Unfiltered panoramic, Interproximal carie

Related factors to workers' use of hearing protection device in knitting & ppinning factories of Yazd city based on Protection Motivation Theory

Background and aimsNoise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is an important occupational disorder. High percentage of workers in occupational environments did not use the hearing protection device against harmful noise. This study was carried out to study factors related to workers' use of Hearing protection Device in Knitting & spinning factories of Yazd city based on protection motivation theory.MethodsIn this cross-sectional analytical study 280 workers of the knitting & spinning factories of Yazd City who exposed to harmful noise (over 85dB) selected among the three factories by cluster sampling. The data gathered via exclusive interviews with selected workers  using the questionnaire designed based on protection motivation theory and were analyzedResults42/5 percent of workers permanently used hearing protection devices, and 20/7 percent of workers never use.There was a significant correlation between the age of workers and the mean score components of PMT; perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, perceived response efficacy and protection motivation. There was also a significant correlation between the work experience and the mean score of PMT factors; perceived severity, perceived response efficacy and perceived vulnerability. Also there was a significant correlation between workers' education level and the mean score of perceived response efficacy and there was a significant correlation between protection motivation and the mean score components of PMT; perceived vulnerability, perceived self-efficacy, perceived response efficacy, perceived costs and behaviorConclusionRegarding the significant correlations between the more constructs of PMT and protection motivation of workers for using hearing protective device, designing educational program based on PMT to increase hearing protection devices usage among workers is recommended

Food Security Status of Elders and Its Related Factors in Arak in 2012

Abstract Introduction: Today, increased life expectancy, reduced mortality rates, and improved health conditions caused to an increase in number of elderly people, as one of the vulnerable groups in the society. On the other hand, food security is one of the necessary prerequisites for the health of the elderly people. Therefore, the present study intended to investigate the food security status of the elderly people as well as its related factors. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2012 consisting of 300 elderly people of Arak city. The study data were collected through FaCPS-FSSM food security questionnaire validated for the elderly via conducting interviews. In order to analyze the study data, SPSS software was utilized applying Chi square test, independent t&ndash;test, Pearson's correlation and regression. Results: The results of the present study revealed that 39.3% of the elderly people had a full food security, 29 % reported food insecurity without hunger, 20.7% showed moderate food insecurity and 11% had severe food insecurity. Moreover, a significant relationship was detected between education level, occupation, marital status, body mass index, disease and household dimension with the food security (p <%5). Conclusions: Considering that close to 60.7% of the studied elderly revealed some degree of food insecurity as well as the various factors significantly associated with this problem in the present study, this problem in this level of vulnerable population demonds to be attended more than ever

Outcome of renal transplantation in children: A multi-center national report from Iran

The outcome of pediatric renal transplantation was previously reported by a single-center study at the year 2006. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate and report the characteristics and outcome of renal pediatric renal transplantation in a multi-center nationwide study. In this nationwide report, medical records of 907 children (�18 yr) with renal transplantation in eight major pediatric transplant centers of Iran were recorded. These 907 patients received a total of 922 transplants. All children who failed to follow-up were excluded. Rather than baseline characteristics, graft and patient outcomes were considered for survival analysis. For further analysis, they were divided into two groups: patients who had graft survival time more than 10 yr (n = 91) and the ones with graft survival time of equal or less than 10 yr (n = 831). Of 922 recipients, 515 (55.8) were boys and 407 (44.2) were girls with the mean age of 13.10 (s.d. = 3.54) yr. DGF and AR were occurred in 10 and 39.5 of the transplanted children, respectively. Transplantation year, dialyzing status before transplantation, DGF, and AR were significant enough to predict graft survival in cox regression model (overall model: p < 0.001). Nowadays, there is a successful live donor pediatric renal transplantation in Iran. Graft survival has improved in our recipients and now the graft survival rates are near to international standards. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S

Towards monitoring and recovery of fishery impacted species in deep-sea marine ecosystems: a joint effort between biology and technology within the Mediterranean BITER, PLOME and LIFE-ECOREST projects

2 pagesThe trawling fishing activity constitutes today half of all EU fisheries and its use is one of the main drivers of ecosystem degradation of demersal ecosystems (Puig et al., 2012). Trawling removes the sediments and endangers demersal fragile sessile organisms, being long-lived species replaced by short-lived ones. In the Mediterranean, many demersal stocks are overexploited, reducing the economic benefits of fisheries and the ecosystem services associated with cultural aspects of iconic species. Given this situation, ecological networks of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as no-take reserves, are being created to preserve Nephrops norvegicus stocks, according to the principles of habitat connectivity, with appropriate scales of geographic proximity for larval dispersal (Vigo et al. 2021). Although the primary aim of MPAs is the conservation of Nephrops stocks, they also allow the recovering of the associated sessile fauna, that trapping the sediment accelerates the whole habitat restoration process. The repopulation of soft bodied cold water corals by badminton technique is the main goal of the LIFE-ECOREST Project. [...