Comparison of knowledge, attitude and practice of Urban and rural households toward iron deficiency anemia in three provinces of Iran

Background: Lack of nutritional knowledge is one of the most important reasons of nutritional problems and consequently improper practice, which can lead to several complications. This study has been designed in order to compare knowledge, attitude and practices of the urban and rural households regarding iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in Boushehr, Golestan and Sistan & Balouchestan provinces in 2004. Methods: The sampling method at household's level in each province was the single-stage cluster sampling with equal size clusters. The necessary data were gathered with a structured questionnaire and via the interviews between the questioners and the eligible people in each household. Comparison of frequency of variables between urban and rural areas were tested by chi square test. Results: A total of 2306 households were selected as overall sample size. In urban areas, people recognized iron food sources better than rural areas. Knowledge level of respondents about vulnerable group for IDA and the favorite attitude of households toward IDA were better in urban areas of Sistan & Blouchestan and Golestan provinces. In Sistan & Balouchestan and Golestan, rural households who drank tea immediately before or after meal was more than urban ones. The majority of pregnant and lactating mothers (except for rural areas of Bushehr) did not take iron supplement regularly. Less than 60 percent of children used iron drop regularly. Conclusion: Knowledge, attitude, and practice levels of households toward IDA were not acceptable. One of the best ways of improving nutritional practice is nutritional education with focus on applying available food resources

Should I stay or should I go? Skilled immigrants' perceived brain-waste and social embeddedness

Purpose: Drawing on embeddedness theory, we examine how skilled immigrants' perceived brain-waste affects their social embeddedness. Social embeddedness facilitates the acquisition of host country-specific human capital, which, in return, can accelerate the transfer of immigrants' human capital in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 397 skilled immigrants in Australia participated in this study. We applied a set-theoretic approach to decode the complexity and interplay among the key concepts used in this study. Findings: We found the impacts of psychological workplace wellbeing and workplace discrimination on social embeddedness differ between skilled immigrants who experience perceived brain-waste and skilled immigrants whose skills were recognized by employers. The results suggest that job satisfaction is the most critical factor contributing to social embeddedness among skilled immigrants who did not report brain-waste. Furthermore, we found that married skilled male immigrants who reported brain-waste still could embed socially if they did not directly experience workplace discrimination. Originality/value: The majority of previous studies have compared skilled immigrants with their local-born colleagues, but we compared two groups of skilled migrants in the current study. We adopted fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to test how unique configurations of several variables can ease their social embeddedness into the host society

Electronic Medical Record Inaccuracies: Multicenter Analysis of Challenges with Modified Lung Cancer Screening Criteria.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network expanded their lung cancer screening (LCS) criteria to comprise one additional clinical risk factor, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The electronic medical record (EMR) is a source of clinical information that could identify high-risk populations for LCS, including a diagnosis of COPD; however, an unsubstantiated COPD diagnosis in the EMR may lead to inappropriate LCS referrals. We aimed to detect the prevalence of unsubstantiated COPD diagnosis in the EMR for LCS referrals, to determine the efficacy of utilizing the EMR as an accurate population-based eligibility screening trigger using modified clinical criteria. We performed a multicenter review of all individuals referred to three LCS programs from 2012 to 2015. Each individual\u27s EMR was searched for COPD diagnostic terms and the presence of a diagnostic pulmonary functionality test (PFT). An unsubstantiated COPD diagnosis was defined by an individual\u27s EMR containing a COPD term with no PFTs present, or the presence of PFTs without evidence of obstruction. A total of 2834 referred individuals were identified, of which 30% (840/2834) had a COPD term present in their EMR. Of these, 68% (571/840) were considered unsubstantiated diagnoses: 86% (489/571) due to absent PFTs and 14% (82/571) due to PFTs demonstrating no evidence of postbronchodilation obstruction. A large proportion of individuals referred for LCS may have an unsubstantiated COPD diagnosis within their EMR. Thus, utilizing the EMR as a population-based eligibility screening tool, employing expanded criteria, may lead to individuals being referred, potentially, inappropriately for LCS

Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery I: Patient Selection, Evaluation, and Planning.

Widespread adoption of minimally invasive mitral valve repair and replacement may be fostered by practice consensus and standardization. This expert opinion, first of a 3-part series, outlines current best practices in patient evaluation and selection for minimally invasive mitral valve procedures, and discusses preoperative planning for cannulation and myocardial protection

Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery II: Surgical Technique and Postoperative Management.

Techniques for minimally invasive mitral valve repair and replacement continue to evolve. This expert opinion, the second of a 3-part series, outlines current best practices for nonrobotic, minimally invasive mitral valve procedures, and for postoperative care after minimally invasive mitral valve surgery

EXTRACTION AND CHARACTERISATION OF BRUCELLA ABORTUS STRAIN RB51 ROUGH LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE

Brucellosis is an important zoonotic disease with considerable impacts on human and animal health. Brucella abortus strain RB51 vaccine is used for prevention of bovine brucellosis in Iran. Due to strain roughness, available serological tests cannot detect vaccinated animals. Detection of serological responses to the vaccine is important to monitor accurate vaccination implementation. Rough lipopolysaccharide (RLPS) of RB51 strain was extracted and characterised to develop serological tests for diagnosis of vaccinated animals. RLPS was extracted using phenol-chloroform-petroleum ether and evaluated by limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) assay, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID). According to our results, the extracted RLPS caused positive reaction in LAL assay. In SDS-PAGE, a band with a molecular weight around 14 kDa was identified after specific staining using silver nitrate. Double AGID of the RLPS with a hyperimmune serum resulted in a precipitation line formation. Our study showed that the method can be successfully used to extract RLPS from Brucella abortus strain RB51 as confirmed by LAL assay, PAGE and AGID. Key words: brucellosis, RB51 vaccine, rough lipopolysaccharid

The effects of quercetin on the gene expression of arginine metabolism key enzymes in human embryonic kidney 293 cells

Background: Arginine metabolism is an important factor involved in tumorigenesis, progression, and survival of tumor cells. Besides, other metabolites produced in the arginine metabolism process, such as polyamines, nitric oxide, argininosuccinate, and agmatine, play key roles in different stages of tumor development. On the other hand, herbal metabolites are widely used to treat cancer. One of these herbal flavonoids is quercetin. Methods: In this study, according to MTT assay data, two concentrations of quercetin flavonoid were selected (57.5 and 115 μM) to treat human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293) cells. Then RNA was extracted from the cells and used as a template for cDNA synthesis. Using real-time PCR, the expression of key enzymes involved in arginine metabolism was evaluated, including arginase 2 (Arg2), ornithine carbamoyl transferase (OTC), agmatinase (AGMAT), arginase 1 (Arg1), nitric oxide synthase 1 (nNOS), arginine decarboxylase (ADC), ornithine decarboxylase 1 (ODC), ornithine carbamoyl transferase (OCT), spermidine synthase (SRM), spermine synthase (SMS), argininosuccinate synthase 1 (ASS1), and argininosuccinate lyase (ASL). The Student t-test was used to analyze the data considering a P value of < 0.05 as the significance level. Results: Our results indicated significant changes in the expression of arginine metabolism enzymes after quercetin exposure, confirming a role for quercetin plant flavonoid in regulating arginine metabolism in HEK293 cells. Conclusions: Quercetin could alter the gene expression of the key enzymes involved in arginine metabolism. This was the first study investigating the effects of quercetin on arginine metabolism in HEK293 cells. © 2021 The Authors