Alteration of T cell subtypes in beta-thalassaemia major: Impact of ferritin level

Introduction: Oxidative damage and regular antigenic stimulation are main factors in accelerating immunosenescence. The present study was conducted to investigate new concepts of early immunosenescence in thalassaemia patients. aterials and Methods: Twenty seven beta-thalassaemia major patients and a group of matched healthy volunteers aged 10-30 years in Shahrekord, Iran were recruited into the study. Ferritin level was determined and CD4 or CD8 T cells were analysed versus phenotyping markers, CD27, CD28, CD57 and CCR7, by flowcytometry. Data were analysed by Mann-Whitney and Spearman’s correlation coefficient test in SPSS 11.5. Results: Absolute lymphocytosis and partial decrease in T cells were observed in the patients. CD4+CD57+ and CD4+CCR7- T cells were significantly higher, whereas CD8+CD27+ and CD8+CCR7+ T cells were partially higher in patients. A negative correlation was observed between ferritin level and number of CD8+CD27+ and CD8+CCR7+ T cells, whereas the correlation was positive between ferritin level and number of CD57+ T cells. Conclusion: Moderate alteration of T cell repertoire and increase in CCR27-, CCR7-, and CD57+ T cells could reflect antigenic stimulation, decline in naïve T cells, and being closer to terminally differentiated cells. Effect of iron overload is potentially explained by positive correlation of blood transfusion and ferritin level with frequency of CD3+CD27- and that of ferritin with frequency of CD57+ T cells

The Relationship between Anthropometric Factors and Iron Deficiency Anemia Factors

Background: Iron deficiency is often observed in obese individuals. The prevalence of obesity has increased at an epidemic rate. A few small studies have noted a possible association between iron deficiency and obesity. The purpose of the study has been determined relationship between anthropometric including body mass index and the size of abdomen and iron-shortage anemia.Materials and Methods: Descriptive, analytical, and cross sectional methods of research have been applied in the study. The instruments used to collect the data were a set of organized items in the questionnaire and a checklist contained the measurement of abdominal obesity, height, weight, BMI, the results of ferritin levels, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and TIBC and MCV. The tools were validated via content validity and test-retest. The participants were the staff (n=300) of Hamadan branch, Islamic Azad university, Iran, who were selected via census sampling technique. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, that is, chi-square, Pearson correlation coefficient, and ANOVA were run using SPSS software.Results: 48.4% had overweight and 43.9% had various degrees of general obesity. 45.7% of women and 1.9% of men suffered from abdominal obesity. 3.2% of men had ferritin levels less than 20ng/dl and 79.2% of them had high levels of TIBC, while 31.5% of women had ferritin serum less than 12ng per dl and 73.9% of them had high TIBC. There was a significant relationship between abdominal obesity and TIBC, HB, HCT, and ferritin serum (p<0.0005).Conclusion: The results of this study indicate the high prevalence of overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity and their relationship with iron deficiency anemia. These are non-communicable disease, which are directly related to the lifestyle

Investigating the relationship between management information system and empowering employees: A Case Study of employees in Agriculture Bank

Empowering employees is one of the effective techniques to increase employees’ efficiency and optimal use of their personal and collective abilities in line with organization goals. In this way, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between management information system and empowering employees in Agricultural Bank. The statistical population of this study includes all the employees of Agricultural bank branches in East-Azerbaijan province, who are 235. Using Kukran formula sample size was 146.  This research is applied study regarding purpose and is descriptive - survey study concerning data collection method. To gather data, the researcher-made Empowerment questionnaire (Vattern and Cameroon) and management information system questionnaire were used. To analyze data, Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression were used. Results showed that there is a significant positive relationship between management information system and empowerment dimensions

Medical Students’ View about the Effects of Practical Courses on Learning the General Theoretical Concepts of Basic Medical Sciences

Introduction: The basic medical sciences section requires 2.5 years in the medical education curriculum. Practical courses complement theoretical knowledge in this period to improve their appreciation. Despite spending lots of disbursement and time, this period’s efficacy is not clearly known. Methods: One hundred thirty-three General Practitioner (GP) students have been included in this descriptive cross-sectional study and were asked by questionnaire about the positive impact of practical courses on learning theoretical knowledge. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Result: The agreement in “Practical Head and Neck Anatomy” was 40.91% ± 29.45, in “Practical Trunk Anatomy” was 63.62% ± 2.32 and in “Practical Anatomy of Extremities” was 56.16% ± 2.57. In “Practical Histology”, agreement was 69.50%±2.19; “Practical Biophysics” was 45.97%±2.25, “Practical Physiology” 61.75%±2.17; “Practical Biochemistry” 36.28%±2.42; “Practical Pathology” 59.80%±2.53; “Practical Immunology” 56.25%±26.40; “Practical Microbiology and Virology” 60.39%±2.27 and “Practical Mycology and Parasitology” 68.2%± 2.16.Conclusion: GP students in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences are not optimistic about the applicability of practical courses of basic medical sciences lessons

General Dental Practitioners’ Knowledge about the Emergency Management of Dental Trauma

Introduction: The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional study was to assess the general dental practitioners (GDPs)’s knowledge regarding the emergency management of traumatic dental injuries (TDI) in Isfahan, Iran. Methods and Materials: In this study a two-part questionnaire consisting of 14 questions was distributed among 241 GDPs. Part 1 included seven questions focusing on personal and professional information and part 2 asked questions about seven given cases of dental traumas. One score was dedicated to each correct answer; the total score of 0 to 4 was considered as poor knowledge, while scores 5-8, 9-11 and 12-14 were assigned as moderate, good and excellent knowledge, respectively. The data were analyzed using the Student’s t-test and one-way ANOVA. Spearman’s and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used to determine the associations between the emergency treatment knowledge and dentists’ professional information. Results: With regards to the level of GDP’s knowledge, the mean score was 7.61±2.68 suggesting a moderate score; a total of 177 (73.2%) of the dentists showed a moderate level of knowledge. A significant association was found between the frequency of dental trauma cases that were encountered and treated by GDPs in their daily practice (P=0.004, r=0.2). Conclusion: The overall knowledge of GDPs about the emergency management of TDI in the selected community was moderate

The antimicrobial activity of probiotic bacteria Escherichia coli isolated from different natural sources against hemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7

Background: Diarrheal diseases have been seen in all geographical areas throughout the world. Therefore, considering treatment, could be deemed a necessary action. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the antimicrobial effect of probiotic bacterial strains isolated from different natural sources against 2 pathotypes of pathogenic E. coli. Methods: This cross-sectional study of Martyr Chamran University of Ahvaz was carried out from December 2013 to July 2014. A total of 13 probiotic colonies isolated from 20 samples of traditional dairy products including (yogurt, cheese, milk) and 20 samples of vegetables including carrots and cabbages (red and white) of which 5 isolates were selected to evaluate the antimicrobial effect against 2 Escherichia coli pathotypes, randomly. Antimicrobial effect was evaluated using two methods: disk diffusion and well diffusion tests and measuring growth inhibition zones of probiotics against 2 pathotypes of pathogenic E. coli. Results: Obtained results showed growth inhibition effects of all 5 probiotic strains against Escherichia coli pathotypes in both used methods. All selected strains showed considerable antimicrobial effect on Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain, but had no inhibitory effect against Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. Conclusion: This study demonstrated considerable antimicrobial effect against E. coli O157:H7 strain. Due to this, characteristic and similar antimicrobial effects of probiotics bacteria, increasing use of the probiotics as a natural and modern method for prevention of different diseases is recommended

Physicochemical and rheological characterization of a novel hydrocolloid extracted from Althaea officinalis root

Althaea officinalis L. root polysaccharide (AOP) was extracted, and its physicochemical and rheological properties were investigated. Gel permeation chromatography results showed that the molecular weight was 1560 kDa. High-performance liquid chromatography indicated that it was an acidic heteropolysaccharide consisting of five types of monosaccharides including galacturonic acid (40.2%), rhamnose (31.7%), glucose (13.68%), galactose (9.07%), and arabinose (5.35%). The intrinsic viscosity value for AOP in deionized water was 9.4 dl g−1. The AOP solutions at different concentrations (0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 3% w/v), showed shear-thinning behavior, and the apparent viscosity decreased in the presence of different concentrations of NaCl and at different pHs. The frequency sweep test showed the AOP solutions at concentrations less than 0.5% and above 1% exhibited viscous and weak gel behavior, respectively. Since the hysteresis phenomenon was observed in the temperature sweep test of 2% AOP solution, it can be considered as a thermal irreversible gel during the heating and cooling proces

Expression Pattern of pmt, erf1 and jap1 Genes in Nicotiana benthamiana and Atropa belladonna Plants under UV Radiation, Wounding and Methyl Jasmonate Treatments

The Solanaceae plants produce a variety of interesting biologically active products including the steroid alkaloids solanidine, nicotine and tropane alkaloids. Putrescine N-methyltransferase (PMT) is an enzyme that catalyses s-adenosylmethionine-dependent methylation of putrescine in one of the primary steps of nicotine and tropane alkaloids biosynthesis pathway. Two tobacco members of the AP2/ERF-domain transcription factors family called NtORC1 and NtJAP1 were shown to up regulate the activity of the NtPMT promoter in   Nicotiana tabacum L. under environmental stresses. In this study,  semiquantitave RT-PCR analysis showed that expression patterns of PMT, ERF1 and JAP1 genes in shoots and roots of  Nicotiana benthamiana Domin and Atropa belladonna L. were examined under methyl jasmonate, UV radiation and wounding treatments. Plants were harvested half an hour after each treatment. The expression pattern of examined genes showed differences between plant tissues under different treatments

Prevalence of Various Psychological Disorders during the COVID-19 Pandemic

As a global threat, the COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge to psychological resilience. The aim was to determine the prevalence of various psychological disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a systematic review. Studies using different combinations of keywords COVID-19, SARS-COV, pandemic, psychological disorders, mental health and, psychological consequences were retrieved from different scientific databases Elsevier, Pubmed, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science. These studies were published from December 1, 2019, to May 30, 2020. Twenty-eight studies out of 410 retrieved articles were evaluated and analyzed for data extraction. The analysis of studies revealed that the different types of psychological disorders like stress, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, mental distress, schizophrenia, sleep disorders and sleep disturbances, vicarious traumatization, and internet addiction on moderate to severe in public and medical personnel were recorded during COVID-19 crisis. The frontline health care workers were more depressed, anxious, insomniac, and mentally disturbed. Women were more vulnerable to psychological disorders and sleep problems. Young people were more likely to experience generalized anxiety disorder and mental distress.COVID-19 has led to high prevalence and a wide range of psychological disorders in society. It is essential to provide psychological assistance and training strategies to deal with a variety of these psychological disorders