The effects of cognitive behavioral therapy on selected physical, physiological parameters, exercise and nutritional behaviors in diabetic persons

OBJECTIVE Due to the high prevalence of diabetes in the world, it seems that one of the most important strategies to prevent and treat this disease are lifestyle changes. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy on selected physical and psychological parameters, exercise, and nutritional behaviors in diabetic patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS This was a cross-sectional study of volunteers with type 2 diabetes. Patients were randomized into two groups: an intervention (n=32) and a control group (n=31). The Beck Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to assess physical activity in combination with the Beck Depression Inventory and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to assess the levels of depression and the quality of sleep. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) training consisted of six sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy interventions. The intervention consisted of a face-to-face individual counseling session. The patients received a special diet according to their basal metabolic rate (BMR). At all sessions, dietary advice was reviewed, and during the treatment period, they were asked to record their diet and physical activity. Body composition and blood samples were measured before and after three months of the experiment for both groups. RESULTS Blood glucose, blood lipid profiles (except high-density lipoprotein), lifestyle, behavior patterns and body composition were significantly improved following CBT intervention (p≤0.05). CONCLUSIONS CBT can play a key role in improving physiological and psychological parameters in diabetic patients

Analysis of precursory seismicity patterns in Zargos (Iran) by CN algorithm.

This study illustrates the application of the CN algorithm for the analysis of precursory seismicity patterns in the Zagros region (Iran), an area characterized by a complex seismotectonic setting and by remarkable seismic activity. CN is a formally defined and widely tested algorithm for intermediate-term middle-range earthquake prediction, based on the analysis of routinely compiled earthquake catalogs. To allow its application, the global and regional catalogs available for the territory of Iran have been analyzed so as to compile a data set sufficiently complete and homogeneous over a time span of about 3 decades, as required for CN application. A number of tests have been performed with respect to changes in the input catalogs, assuming different magnitude completeness levels as well as considering different magnitude thresholds for the selection of target earthquakes. Different variants of the regionalization have been outlined according to the seismotectonic model, and it was concluded that precursory seismicity patterns for the largest events need to be researched in the whole Zagros tectonic domain. Accordingly, an experiment was set up aimed at validation of intermediate- term middle-range prediction of earthquakes with magnitude M 65 6.0 in the Zagros region. Starting in March 2012, CN prediction results have been routinely updated based on the events with M 65 Mc = 4.0 as they are reported in the International Seismological Centre catalog

The 7H11 Agar Medium Supplemented with Calf Bovine Serum for Susceptibility Testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates Against Pyrazinamide

Despite its importance, pyrazinamide (PZA) is a blind spot in drug susceptibility testing in tuberculosis laboratories. The aim of this study was to set up a reliable agar-based proportion method for detection of PZA-resistant phenotypes using Middlebrook 7H11 agar supplemented with calf bovine serum (CBS) compared with albumin/dextrose/catalase (ADC) enrichment and pncA/rpsA sequencing results. The 7H11 agar medium supplemented with 10 ADC or 10 CBS (pH 6.2) and 100 mu g/mL PZA was used to detect PZA resistance among 64 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates. Sanger sequencing and whole-genome sequencing were performed to track mutations in the pncA, rpsA, and their upstream regions. A total of 43 rifampicin/multidrug-resistant, 20 drug-susceptible, and 1 isoniazid mono-resistant M. tuberculosis isolates were investigated. The 7H11+ADC and 7H11+CBS could detect 22 and 23 PZA-resistant strains, respectively. With the same specificity, the sensitivity and accuracy of 7H11+CBS was found to be a little greater than 7H11+ADC in PZA resistance detection compared with sequencing results. Twenty-four mutant strains were found to have different mutations in pncA-upstream, pncA and rpsA genes, in which Gly97Asp was the most dominant mutation. The results obtained from 7H11+CBS were comparable to the results of 7H11+ADC. Therefore, the 7H11 agar proportion method would be a less-expensive test using CBS and produces reliable results

Microtitration of Rubella Virus in Monovalent Vaccinal Products

"nBackground: Potency test for control of rubella vaccine is a significant factor to qualify production line and vaccination pro­gram. For this reason, WHO recommends to use the microtitration method by both vaccine companies and control laborato­ries. Then the study was done to improve this test."nMethods: Three rubella virus samples, including an in-house standard, a lot of vaccine and an in- process product, were tit­tered in cell culture tubes. Then micro titration steps were tested on 96-well microplate using cocultivation of standard ru­bella vaccine dilutions and RK- 13 cell line. After 6-7 days, final reading was done and calculated the titer. Two other sam­ples were assayed with the micromethod."nResults: Titer reduction less than 0.5 log was acquired for each sample during frequent tests and between two methods."nConclusion: The procedure was profitable and accurate for potency and identity tests of rubella virus vaccine, on the basis of WHO recommendations. &nbsp

Microseismic evidence of slip partitioning for the Rudbar-Tarom earthquake (Ms 7.7) of 1990 June 20 in NW Iran

International audienceThe focal mechanism of the destructive earthquake at Rudbar in northern Iran on 1990 June 20 was an unexpected left-lateral strike-slip motion on a previously unknown fault, the Baklor–Kabateh–Zard-Goli fault, within a complex system of reverse faults. We analysed microseismicity recorded by a dense local network deployed for 7 weeks, 8 yr after the main shock, to help evaluate the subsurface geometry and kinematics of the active fault system. In the west, the 1998 microseismicity seems to be related to the reverse Manjil. In the centre, we observe both reverse faulting associated to the Manjil fault and strike-slip faulting associated with de Zard-Goli rupture whose dip progressively changes from 45°N to vertical. In the east, the reverse faulting is located south of the Manjil fault and strike-slip faulting to the vertical Zard-Goli fault. We suggest that because the only stable geometry that accommodates large partitioning motion prevents the strike-slip fault to intersect the reverse fault, the active reverse fault jumps southwards beneath the Shahrud fault