Efficacy of simple hand-washing in reduction of microbial hand contamination of Iranian food handlers

Foods are likely to be faecally contaminated during preparation or dissemination by the Iranian Muslim food handler that their religion enjoins the mechanical cleaning of themselves after defecation. The current study was designed to determine the actual rate of hand contamination of Iranian food handlers with pathogenic flora of faeces or nose and to evaluate the efficacy of simple hand-washing instruction in reduction of hand contamination. A before-after study was conducted on 150 randomly selected food handlers in an Iranian city, Shahrekord. At the first stage, the hands of 72.7% of food handlers were found to be contaminated. A comparison of the before-and-after data, revealed a significant decline in hand contamination of the food handler from 72.7% to 32% (P < 0.0001). Our study showed that the poor hygienic practice by the food handler is such a serious problem facing the health sector that it merits a further consideration by Iranian authorities. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Towards integrated control of varroa: effect of variation in hygienic behaviour among honey bee colonies on mite population increase and deformed wing virus incidence

Hygienic behaviour in the honey bee, Apis mellifera, is the uncapping and removal of dead, diseased or infected brood from sealed cells by worker bees. We determined the effect of hygienic behaviour on varroa population growth and incidence of deformed wing virus (DWV), which can be transmitted by varroa. We treated 42 broodless honey bee colonies with oxalic acid in early January 2013 to reduce varroa populations to low levels, which we quantified by extracting mites from a sample of worker bees. We quantified varroa levels, again when the colonies were broodless, 48 weeks later. During the summer the hygienic behaviour in each colony was quantified four times using the Freeze Killed Brood (FKB) removal assay, and ranged from 27.5 % to 100 %. Varroa population increased greatly over the season, and there was a significant negative correlation between varroa increase and FKB removal. This was entirely due to fully hygienic colonies with >95 % FKB having only 43 % of the varroa build up of the less hygienic colonies.None of the 14 colonies with >80 % FKB removal had overt symptoms of DWV, whilst 36 % of the less hygienic colonies did. Higher levels of FKB removal also correlated significantly with lower numbers of DWV RNA copies in worker bees, but not in varroa mites. On average, fully hygienic colonies had c. 10,000 times less viral RNA than less hygienic colonies

Enhancing Strategic IT Alignment through Common Language: Using the Terminology of the Resource-based View or the Capability-based View?

Despite all the studies on alignment in the past 30 years, alignment is still CIOs’ top concern, denoting the lack of prescriptive studies on antecedents of alignment. Particularly, shared language between CIO and top management team is one of the most important yet neglected antecedent of alignment. While previous studies suggest CIOs avoid technical language and use business terminologies, they do not provide further details. The purpose of this study is to prescribe guidance for CIOs regarding the terminologies that should be used in a conversation with the top management team. Leveraging the literature on strategic management, we suggest CIOs apply the nomenclature of theories of Resource-based View or Capability-base View instead of technical jargon. Moreover, using the Semantic Memory Theory, we hypothesized that applying the nomenclature of Capability-based View results in higher top managers’ understanding of the role of IT. An experiment is suggested to evaluate the hypotheses

Investigating the Relationship between Different Dimensions of Social Problem Solving and Problem-Focused Coping Styles

This study investigates the relationship between Different dimensions of social problem solving (Avoidance problem style, rational problem style, impulsive problem style, positive problem orientation, negative problem orientation) and problem-focused coping styles for educational stress in female and male master day students at state universities of Tehran. According to the correlation coefficients of problem-focused coping style at the error level of 5% in both female and male students, it is found that there is a significant relationship between the problem-focused coping style for stress and rational problem solving style in both male and female students and this relationship is stronger in male students. Furthermore, there is a significant relationship between the problem-focused coping style for stress and Positive Problem Solving Orientation in both male and female students and this relationship is stronger in male students. The results of this study indicate that the problem-focused style is the dominant approach among the students in coping with stress, thus the use of effective coping styles, which include the problem-focused coping style, helps the individual to overcome the stressful source and its symptoms

The Association between Lifestyle-related Risk Factors and Coronary Artery Disease in Residents of Yazd Province: A Case-control Study

Background: This study was conducted to investigate the relation between risk factors related to lifestyle and coronary artery disease (CAD) in residents of Yazd province. Methods: In this hospital-based case-control study performed in Yazd province, 250 patients with CAD were compared with 250 controls matched for age and sex. Data were collected by using a researcher- made questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using Chi-square and Conditional Multiple Logistic Regression and through SPSS16. Results: History of Consumption of less than three servings of fruit in week, with an odds ratio of 8.4 (95%CI: 1.56-45.18) and more than three times egg in week with an odds ratio of 4.05 (95%CI: 1.13-14.5, P=0.03) increased the chance of getting CAD. However, no significant relationship was found for history of consumption of oil, dairy, red meat, fried foods and fast foods. The number of daily smoked cigarettes was the only non-nutritional factor that showed significant relationship with CAD (P=0.01). Conclusion: Overall, insufficient intake of fruits, high consumption of egg and the number of cigarettes smoked daily were identified as the most important life style-related risk factors for getting CAD. Therefore, measures for decreasing these risk factors in Yazd Province are necessary

Tumor suppressor role of cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 2 (CPEB2) in human mammary epithelial cells

Background: Over-expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 promotes breast cancer progression by multiple mechanisms, including induction of stem-like cells (SLC). Combined gene expression and microRNA microarray analyses of empty vector vs COX-2- transfected COX-2 low MCF7 breast cancer cell line identified two COX-2-upregulated microRNAs, miR-526b and miR-655, both found to be oncogenic and SLC-promoting. Cytoplasmic Polyadenylation Element-Binding Protein 2 (CPEB2) was the single common target of both microRNAs, the functions of which remain controversial. CPEB2 has multiple isoforms (A-F), and paradoxically, a high B/A ratio was reported to impart anoikis-resistance and metastatic phenotype in triple- negative breast cancer cells. We tested whether CPEB2 is a tumor suppressor in mammary epithelial cells. Methods: We knocked-out CPEB2 in the non-tumorigenic mammary epithelial cell line MCF10A by CRISPR/Cas9-double nickase approach, and knocked-down CPEB2 with siRNAs in the poorly malignant MCF7 cell line, both lines being high CPEB2-expressing. The resultant phenotypes for oncogenity were tested in vitro for both lines and in vivo for CPEB2KO cells. Finally, CPEB2 expression was compared between human breast cancer and non-tumor breast tissues. Results: CPEB2 (isoform A) expression was inversely correlated with COX-2 or the above microRNAs in COX-2-divergent breast cancer cell lines. CPEB2KO MCF10A cells exhibited oncogenic properties including increased proliferation, migration, invasion, EMT (decreased E-Cadherin, increased Vimentin, N-Cadherin, SNAI1, and ZEB1) and SLC phenotype (increased tumorsphere formation and SLC marker-expression). Tumor-suppressor p53 protein was shown to be a novel translationally-regulated target of CPEB2, validated with polysome profiling. CPEB2KO, but not wild-type cells produced lung colonies upon intravenous injection and subcutaneous tumors and spontaneous lung metastases upon implantation at mammary sites in NOD/SCID/IL2R-null mice, identified with HLA immunostaining. Similarly, siRNA-mediated CPEB2 knockdown in MCF7 cells promoted oncogenic properties in vitro. Human breast cancer tissues (n = 105) revealed a lower mRNA expression for CPEB2 isoform A and also a lower A/B isoform ratio than in non-tumour breast tissues (n = 20), suggesting that CPEB2A accounts for the tumor-suppressor functions of CPEB2. Conclusions: CPEB2, presumably the isoform A, plays a key role in suppressing tumorigenesis in mammary epithelial cells by repressing EMT, migration, invasion, proliferation and SLC phenotype, via multiple targets, including a newly-identified translational target p53

Highly sensitive photonic crystal fiber salinity sensor based on Sagnac interferometer

For a sensor, high sensitivity, structural simplicity, and longevity are highly desired for measurement of salinity in seawater. This work proposed an ultrahigh sensitive photonic crystal fiber (PCF) salinity sensor based on the sagnac interferometer (SI). The propagation characteristics of the proposed PCF are analyzed by the finite element method (FEM). The achieved sensitivity reaches up to 37,500 nm/RIU and 7.5 nm/% in the salinity range from 0% to 100%. The maximum resolutions of 2.66 × 10−06 RIU and 1.33 × 10−02% are achieved with high linearity of 0.9924 for 2.20 cm length of the proposed PCF. Owing to such excellent results, this proposed sensor offers the potential to measure the salinity of seawater

Evaluation of Musculoskeletal Disorders in the Personnel of Health Centers in Babol, Iran

Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are the most important cause of lost workdays and inefficiencies, medical costs, and workforce injuries. The aim of this study was to investigate the musculoskeletal disorders in employees of Babol health centers in 2017. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was conducted on 210 employees of Babol health centers. A questionnaire including demographic information and the Standard Nordic Questionnaire were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test in SPSS 22 software. Results: The mean age of the personnel was 40.07 ± 8.46. The highest prevalence of disorders was reported in the waist (58.9%) and neck (54.1%) in the last year, and the lower back (46.9%) and neck (44.9%) in the last seven days. In the last year, 25.7% and 15.5% of the staff required the use of medical and physiotherapy services, respectively, due to disorders. There was a significant relation between behind-the-desk hours with neck (P= 0.002) and knee pain (P= 0.049). Conclusion: In order to prevent and control musculoskeletal disorders, regarding the high prevalence of them, it is necessary to program for educational workshops to increase personnel knowledge, as well as ergonomic interventions, redesigning the workplace, and using appropriate anthropometric equipment. Keywords: Musculoskeletal Disorders, Nordic Disease Questionnaire, Personnel of health center

Ecological Security Analysis of Land Use Changes in Lavasanat Basin Using Landscape Metrics

Continuous urbanization over the past decades has caused a large concentration of human population in these areas. Due to the rapid growth of the population and the rapid development of urban disorder in Iran, changes in land use and land cover are occurring rapidly and the sustainability of cities is decreasing day by day. Therefore, understanding the effects of urban growth on the ecosystem and determining the relationship between urban dynamics and ecological security are vital for effective urban planning and environmental protection, to support and support sustainable development.The purpose of this study was to monitor and predict land use changes over a 4 year period (2040-2000) with the Markov Chain Model (CA-Markov) in the Lavasanat Basin of Tehran Province and to evaluate the ecological security of this area over time periods. Landsat satellite imagery was used to investigate land use changes. According to the existing land use in the area, five land uses were considered, barren land, pasture land, irrigated land and agricultural and agricultural land. To quantify the landscape patterns in class metrics of NP, LSI, IJI, CA, PLAND and LPI. And NP, LSI, IJI, ED, PD and SPILT metrics were calculated on the landscape surface.Forecasting results for 2040 shows that at each floor level, the number of spots other than the Bayer floor will decrease with the current trend

Investigating the Relationship between Different Dimensions of Social Problem Solving and Problem-Focused Coping Styles

This study investigates the relationship between Different dimensions of social problem solving (Avoidance problem style, rational problem style, impulsive problem style, positive problem orientation, negative problem orientation) and problem-focused coping styles for educational stress in female and male master day students at state universities of Tehran. According to the correlation coefficients of problem-focused coping style at the error level of 5% in both female and male students, it is found that there is a significant relationship between the problem-focused coping style for stress and rational problem solving style in both male and female students and this relationship is stronger in male students. Furthermore, there is a significant relationship between the problem-focused coping style for stress and Positive Problem Solving Orientation in both male and female students and this relationship is stronger in male students. The results of this study indicate that the problem-focused style is the dominant approach among the students in coping with stress, thus the use of effective coping styles, which include the problem-focused coping style, helps the individual to overcome the stressful source and its symptoms