Tuberculosis Status and Coinfection of Pulmonary Fungal Infections in Patients Referred to Reference Laboratory of Health Centers Ghaemshahr City during 2007-2017

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary tuberculosis is one of the most important health concerns. Pulmonary fungal infections have clinical and radiological characteristics similar to tuberculosis which may be easily misdiagnosed as tuberculosis. This study aimed to evaluate tuberculosis (TB) status and coinfection of TB with pulmonary fungal infections in patients referred to reference laboratory of health centers Ghaemshahr city during 2007-2017.METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted during eleven years, between 2007 2017, on 3577 patients with suspected TB referred to health centers of Ghaemshahr City. For isolation, sputum smear preparation and Ziehl-Neelson staining in companying with microscopy direct observation and KOH 10% + white Calcofluor staining was used. The culture of fungi was performed on Sabouraud Dextrose agar, Czapek and chrome agar media. Then, data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 16) through Student's t-test, Fisher test, and Odds Ratio. P values <0.05 were considered statistically significant.RESULTS: Of 3577 patients, 10731 smears were prepared, 3.6% (n=130) of patients were identified as smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis, 86.4% (n=3090) were smear negative and 10% (n=357) drug-resistant TB. The mean age of patients was 48±1.8 years. With increasing age, the prevalence of TB has increased which was statistically significant (P value <0.05). Prevalence of tuberculosis in the age group over than 57 years in males and females had an ascending trend. Amongst the positive tuberculosis patients, 16/130 cases (12.3%) had the coinfection of TB with fungi microorganisms.CONCLUSION: Our findings showed the coinfection of fungi agents in patients with tuberculosis that should be considered.

Comparison of different components of executive functions in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, children with specific learning disorders, and normal children

BACKGROUND: The present study was conducted with the aim of examining and comparing different components of executive functions (inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, working memory, planning) of 3 groups of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), children with specific learning disorder (LD), and normal children.METHODS: Statistical society of the study included all 7-12 year-old students of Lordegan City, Iran, in the school year of 2015-2016. To carry out this study, 26 normal children were selected by multistage cluster sampling method and 22 children with ADHD and 18 children with specific LD through convenience sampling method. The causal-comparative method was exploited to perform the study. The tools used included clinical interview, Conners questionnaire, the forms filled in by the teachers of children with ADHD, Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT), and the Tower of London (TOL), active memory, and Wisconsin cards. The analysis was performed using SPSS software with descriptive and inferential statistics [multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA)].RESULTS: The results showed that, children with ADHD and specific learning disability were lower in 3 areas of performance of working memory, planning, and inhibition performance in comparison to the normal group, however there was no significant difference among groups in terms of flexibility performance.CONCLUSION: In this study, it has been shown that the problems emerging among the exceptional children studied in this study, namely, children with ADHD, and children with learning disabilities, are rooted in their brain functions

Turbine blade temperature calculation and life estimation - a sensitivity analysis

AbstractThe overall operating cost of the modern gas turbines is greatly influenced by the durability of hot section components operating at high temperatures. In turbine operating conditions, some defects may occur which can decrease hot section life. In the present paper, methods used for calculating blade temperature and life are demonstrated and validated. Using these methods, a set of sensitivity analyses on the parameters affecting temperature and life of a high pressure, high temperature turbine first stage blade is carried out. Investigated uncertainties are: (1) blade coating thickness, (2) coolant inlet pressure and temperature (as a result of secondary air system), and (3) gas turbine load variation. Results show that increasing thermal barrier coating thickness by 3 times, leads to rise in the blade life by 9 times. In addition, considering inlet cooling temperature and pressure, deviation in temperature has greater effect on blade life. One of the interesting points that can be realized from the results is that 300hours operation at 70% load can be equal to one hour operation at base load

Parents’ experience of pediatric cancer: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Suffering from life-threatening diseases such as cancer, due to its impact on the patients and their next of kin causes myriads of changes in the structure and function of the family. The objective of this study was to clarify parents' experiences of childhood cancer.METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted through purposive sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 parents whose children were diagnosed with cancer in the oncology department of Besat Hospital in Sanandaj City, Iran. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed through Benner’s thematic analysis.RESULTS: During data analysis, 4 main themes emerged including destroyer and terminator of life, horror and hope, disturbance of normal life, and gaining valuable experience.CONCLUSION: Parental roles, routine care of a child with cancer, and facing multiple treatments and childcare problems threatened parents' compliance with the condition of the disease or treatment, and thus, parents sought social support. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the parents’ probable reaction and different life dimensions. To make healthcare more effective, providing necessary psychological, mental, and emotional support and increasing parental hope is necessary. Parents of a child with cancer should be assisted in preventing some healthcare problems and coping with their child’s illness

4-(2-Azaniumyl­eth­yl)piperazin-1-ium bis(perchlorate)

In the title compound, C6H17N3 2+·2ClO4 −, the piperazine ring adopts a chair conformation with the ethyl­ammonium fragment occupying an equatorial position. In the crystal, the dications and perchlorate anions are linked through N—H⋯O hydrogen bonding and weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonding into a three-dimensional supra­molecular network

(E,E)-N 1,N 4-Bis(2,6-difluoro­benzyl­idene)butane-1,4-diamine

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C18H16F4N2, comprises two half crystallographically independent potentially bidentate Schiff base ligands, with an inversion centre located at the mid-point of the central C—C bond. The crystal packing is stabilized by inter­molecular C—H⋯F and π–π inter­actions [centroid–centroid distance = 3.8283 (11) Å]

2-{[2-(Piperazin-4-ium-1-yl)ethyl­iminio]meth­yl}phenolate 0.06-chloride 0.94-perchlorate

The structure of the title salt, C13H20N3O+·0.94ClO4 −·0.06Cl−, contains a zwitterionic Schiff base with a net positive charge and a perchlorate anion having substitutional disorder with Cl. In the cation, the azomethine N atom is protonated and donates hydrogen bonds to the phenolate O atom and to the tertiary N atom of the piperazine ring. In the crystal, two Schiff base mol­ecules are linked about a center of inversion by a pair of N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The resulting dimers are N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonded to the perchlorate anions, forming a three-dimensional structure. The network is further consolidated by C—H⋯π inter­actions

A triclinic polymorph of (E)-2-(1-hy­droxy-3-phenyl­prop-2-en-1-yl­idene)-4,5-dimeth­oxy­cyclo­pent-4-ene-1,3-dione

The title compound, C16H14O5, is a triclinic polymorph of a previously reported monoclinic structure [Hosseinzadeh et al. (2011 ▶). Acta Cryst. E67, o1544]. The mol­ecule is roughly planar, the r.m.s. deviation from the least-squares plane of all non-H atoms being 0.092 Å. In the crystal, adjacent mol­ecules are linked through C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds into an infinite two-dimensional network parallel to (011). The layers are further connected via C—H⋯π inter­actions, forming a three-dimensional structure. Intra­molecular O—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds are also observed

Study of genetic diversity of hara trees on the coast of Hormozgan Province using rapid molecular method

In order to study the genetic diversity of Hara trees in the coastal waters of Hormozgan province, using 40 RAPD molecular samples, 40 samples of Hara leaves were collected at different stations (ports of Jask, Dumitry, Tiba and Qeshm Island) and transferred to the laboratory. After extraction of DNA They were examined by 30 primers in polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that the highest mean genetic variation in Qeshm population was 0 458 with a standard deviation of 0.033 and the lowest mean of genetic diversity in Jask population was 0.423 with a standard deviation of 0.056. Also, using the PopGene software, the average Shannon information index was 0.643 for four populations. The value of Fst index was 011/0 and the gene flow rate was 25.854, and the UPGMA dendrogram, based on the Nei genetic distance, did not show a clear separation between the populations. Also, molecular variance analysis showed that there is a high variation (99%) within the studied populations. The results of this research can provide useful information for conservation and management programs of this kind with indigenous value of Iran