Effect of educational intervention on perceived susceptibility self-efficacy and DMFT of pregnant women

Background: The World Health Organization identifies oral health as a necessity for public health through the entirety of life. This issue has been considerably addressed due to susceptibility to tooth decay during pregnancy and maternal and fetal health. Objectives: Investigate the effect of educational intervention on perceived susceptibility, self-efficacy, and DMFT of pregnant women. Patients and Methods: A quasi-experimental survey (pretest, posttest, and control group) was implemented in 88 primiparous women in the first trimester of pregnancy who attended private clinics in Delfan city, Iran. It was conducted using random sampling and then assigned to intervention and control groups. Data were collected using a questionnaire that included demographic characteristics, a DMFT checklist, and some health belief model (HBM) constructs. After collecting baseline information, an educational intervention consisting of 4 training sessions for the intervention group was scheduled. In the sessions, lecture, focus-group discussion, video, and role-playing were used as the main educational strategies. Four months after the intervention, a post-test questionnaire and DMFT checklist were conducted. Data were analyzed using SPSS (ver20) software and Chi-square, independent t-test, and repeated measure ANOVA at the significant level of α 0.05), during the intervention, or after intervention. Repeated measure ANOVA explained that the aforementioned score was different in the three cases (pretest, 2 months after intervention, and 4 months after intervention) after intervention (P< 0.05). Paired t-test also showed that the DMFT mean increased 4 months after intervention in the control group (P < 0.001). It was not, however, augmented in the intervention group (P = 0.92). Conclusions: Results showed that education on some of the HBM constructs resulted in increased knowledge of oral health, perceived susceptibility, and self-efficacy of pregnant women. It is also possible to prevent increased DMFT during pregnancy. © 2016, Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal

Effect of garlic extract on growth and survival rate in Litopenaeus vannami post larvae

The effect of garlic extract on growth and survival rates of one day larvae of Litopenaeus vannamei shrimp was tested for 12 days .Six nutritional treatments each with three replicates were fed to shrimp larvae (average weight 0.0013g) including control treatment (unriched Artemia nauplii) and second to sixth Artemia nauplii enriched with 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000mg garlic extract per kg, respectively. The one way ANOVA results showed that all treatments were different in terms of average weight and total length of larvae compared to control group. Shrimps being fed by Artesia enriched with 200mg garlic extract per kg food have the best growth, survival rates and length (0.0062mg, 81.6% and 10.6mm). Group 3 with concentration of 400mg garlic extract per kg of feed followed by control group showed better growth and survival rates in shrimp larvae than other treatments but the lowest survival rate evaluated in shrimps fed by Artemia nauplii enriched with 600, 800 and 1000mg garlic extract per kg feed, orderly. Specific growth rates (SGR) for treatment groups 2 and 3 were higher compared to other groups

Effects of water temperature on filtration rate of micro-algae Isochrysis affines galbana by black lip pearl oyster spat (Pinctada margaritifera)

This study was conducted to compare the effects of varying water temperatures on filtration rate of micro-algae Isochrysis affines galbana by Pinctada margaritfera spat on microalgae. To determine the optimum temperature and maximum filtration rate, 10 pearl oyster. margaritfera spats with mean total and total hinge length 32.67 ±2.76 and 31.57 ±2.90 respectively were stocked in 70 liter rectangular glass tanks supplied with filtered seawater. The spats were exposed to seven treatments of temperature including 18.5 ±0.21°C, 20.5 ±0.21°C, 23 ±0.1°C, 24.5 ±0.31°C, 26.5 ±0.21°C, 27.5 ±0.15°C and 28.5 ±0.21°C with 3 replicates. The results of filtration on I. affines galbana showed that the maximum filtration of spats on microalgae cells and water volume were 181,324,595 cells and 3626 ml per hour and 635,031,212 cells and 12700 ml per two hours in 27.5 ±0.15°C, respectively. The minimum filtration of microalgae cells and water volume were 5,224,028 and 104ml per hour and 65,874,413 cells and 1317 ml per two hours in 18.50 ±021C, respectively. The results of this study demonstrated that the optimum temperature for maximum feeding of spats on I. affines galbana is 27.5 ±0.15°C

Near-infrared laser spectroscopy as a screening tool for detecting hematoma in patients with head trauma

Introduction: Among imaging techniques, computed tomography (CT) is a reliable method for detecting intracranial hematomas in patients with head trauma, but it is not generally available in special circumstances like prehospital situations and harsh conditions such as those following an earthquake.Objective: The objective of this study is to determine if near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is useful for performing CT scans on patients with closed head trauma that present to medical centers that do not have the ability to perform a CT scan or in prehospital or harsh situations. Near-infrared spectroscopy and CT scan were compared according to sensitivity and specificity.Methods: This was an observational, prospective study. One hundred forty-eight patients admitted to Rasool Akram General Hospital in Tehran, Iran with head injuries during a one-month period were studied using NIRS and CT. The observational, prospective study was conducted and sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of NIRS were calculated. Chi-square and Kappa analysis was performed, and a p-value <0.05 was considered significant.Results: According to the CT scan findings, 54 (36.5) of the patients developed intracranial hematoma. The NIRS examination showed that 69 patients (46.6) might have intracranial hematoma. The number of true negatives was 73 and the number of false negatives was six patients. The sensitivity and specificity of NIRS examination was 88.9 and 77.7, respectively.Conclusions: This study speculates that NIRS may be a useful screening tool to detect intracranial hematoma. This capability could be useful in special situations like in a deprived area, medical centers without CT scan capabilities, prehospital situations, and in harsh conditions like those after an earthquake or other disasters that causes increased numbers of victims with closed head trauma. © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2008

Diets containing sea cucumber (Isostichopus badionotus) meals are hypocholesterolemic in young rats

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Targeted 'Next-Generation' sequencing in anophthalmia and microphthalmia patients confirms SOX2, OTX2 and FOXE3 mutations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anophthalmia/microphthalmia (A/M) is caused by mutations in several different transcription factors, but mutations in each causative gene are relatively rare, emphasizing the need for a testing approach that screens multiple genes simultaneously. We used next-generation sequencing to screen 15 A/M patients for mutations in 9 pathogenic genes to evaluate this technology for screening in A/M.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used a pooled sequencing design, together with custom single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) calling software. We verified predicted sequence alterations using Sanger sequencing.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We verified three mutations - c.542delC in S<it>OX2</it>, resulting in p.Pro181Argfs*22, p.Glu105X in <it>OTX2 </it>and p.Cys240X in <it>FOXE3</it>. We found several novel sequence alterations and SNPs that were likely to be non-pathogenic - p.Glu42Lys in <it>CRYBA4</it>, p.Val201Met in <it>FOXE3 </it>and p.Asp291Asn in <it>VSX2</it>. Our analysis methodology gave one false positive result comprising a mutation in <it>PAX6 </it>(c.1268A > T, predicting p.X423LeuextX*15) that was not verified by Sanger sequencing. We also failed to detect one 20 base pair (bp) deletion and one 3 bp duplication in <it>SOX2</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results demonstrated the power of next-generation sequencing with pooled sample groups for the rapid screening of candidate genes for A/M as we were correctly able to identify disease-causing mutations. However, next-generation sequencing was less useful for small, intragenic deletions and duplications. We did not find mutations in 10/15 patients and conclude that there is a need for further gene discovery in A/M.</p

Correlation dynamics of three spin under a classical dephasing environment

By starting from the stochastic Hamiltonian of the three correlated spins and modeling their frequency fluctuations as caused by dephasing noisy environments described by Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes, we study the dynamics of quantum correlations, including entanglement and quantum discord. We prepared initially our open system with Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger or W state and present the exact solutions for evolution dynamics of entanglement and quantum discord between three spins under both Markovian and non-Markovian regime of this classical noise. By comparison the dynamics of entanglement with that of quantum discord we find that entanglement can be more robust than quantum discord against this noise. It is shown that by considering non-Markovian extensions the survival time of correlations prolong.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

What’s retinoic acid got to do with it? Retinoic acid regulation of the neural crest in craniofacial and ocular development

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151310/1/dvg23308.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151310/2/dvg23308_am.pd