Validity and Reliability of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy, Nursing Student Version R in a Sample of Iranian Oncology Nurses

Background: Empathy is essential in the process of nurse-patient relationships in oncology wards. The lack of a rigorous tool to measure empathy in oncology nurses makes the research difficult. Objectives: Modifying a Persian translation of the Jefferson scale of empathy to create an Iranian version of the Jefferson scale of empathy-nursing student version R (JSE-NS version R), and to determine its validity and reliability in oncology nurses of Tehran Universities of Medical Sciences. Methods: This is a methodological study with cross-sectional design, conducted in 2015. The translation and modification process was conducted according to the World Health Organization guidelines and an Iranian version of the scale was created. Different types of validity, including face and content validity together with construct and convergent validity were assessed. Construct validity was evaluated in a convenience sample of oncology nurses (n = 181) through confirmatory (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). By correlation assessment between the total score of the JSE-NS version R and the subscales of the interpersonal reactivity index (IRI), convergent validity was tested. Reliability was ascertained by assessing the internal consistency and stability of the scale. The data were analyzed using SPSS-13 and LISREL 8.8. Results: Face and content validity of the scale was confirmed by an expert panel. The initial CFA did not show a three-factor structure of empathy, thus an EFA was run and a four-factor model with a grand factor was extracted. Subsequently, the results of the final CFA confirmed acceptable goodness of fit indices for the four-factor structure of empathy, and the scale explained 63% of variances in the data. Convergent validity showed a significant correlation between the total score of the scale and most subscales of the IRI (P < 0.001). Cronbach’s alpha value (0.86) and the ICC level (0.90) showed satisfactory results in oncology nurses. Conclusions: The Iranian version of the Jefferson scale of empathy-NS version R is a psychometrically sound instrument, implying that it is suitable for measurement of empathy in oncology nurses

Polymorphism of calpastatin gene in Arabic sheep using PCR- RFLP

Calpastatin has been known as candidate gene in muscle growth efficiency and meat quality. This gene has been located to chromosome 5 of sheep. In order to evaluate the calpastatin gene polymorphism, random blood sample were collected from 111 Arabic ram sheep from different regions. The DNA extraction was based on Boom et al. (1989) method. Exon and entron I from L domain of the ovine calpastatin gene was amplified to produce a 622 bp fragment. The PCR products were electrophoresed on 1.2% agarose gel and stained by etidium bromide. Then, they were digested with restriction enzyme MspI and then electrophoresed on 2.5% agarose gel with ethidium bromide and revealed two alleles, allele A and allele B. Data were analysed using PopGene32 package. In this population, AA, AB, BB genotype have been identified with the 70.27, 28.82, 0.9% frequencies. A and B allele’s frequencies were 0.85, 0.15, respectively. The population was found to follow Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium

Efficient low-voltage ride-through nonlinear backstepping control strategy for PMSG-based wind turbine during the grid faults

This paper presents a new nonlinear backstepping controller for a direct-driven permanent magnet synchronous generator-based wind turbine, which is connected to the power system via back-to-back converters. The proposed controller deals with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in normal condition and enhances the low-voltage ride-through (LVRT) capability in fault conditions. In this method, to improve LVRT capability, machine-side converter controls dc-link voltage and MPPT is performed by grid side converter. Hence, PMSG output power is reduced very fast and dc-link voltage variation is reduced.  Due to nonlinear relationship between dc-link voltage and controller input, nonlinear backstepping controller has good performances. By applying the proposed controller, dc-link overvoltage is significantly decreased. The proposed controller has good performance in comparison with Proportional-Integral (PI) controller and Sliding Mode Controller (SMC). In asymmetrical faults, to decrease grid side active power oscillations, the nonlinear backstepping dual-current controller is designed for positive- and negative- sequence components. The simulation results confirm that the proposed controller is efficient in different conditions

Atmospheric parameters in a subtropical cloud regime transition derived by AIRS and MODIS: observed statistical variability compared to ERA-Interim

Cloud occurrence, microphysical and optical properties, and atmospheric profiles within a subtropical cloud regime transition in the northeastern Pacific Ocean are obtained from a synergistic combination of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The observed cloud parameters and atmospheric thermodynamic profile retrievals are binned by cloud type and analyzed based on their probability density functions (PDFs). Comparison of the PDFs to data from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting reanalysis (ERA-Interim) shows a strong difference in the occurrence of the different cloud types compared to clear sky. An increasing non-Gaussian behavior is observed in cloud optical thickness (&tau;_c), effective radius (<i>r</i>_e) and cloud-top temperature (<i>T</i>_c) distributions from stratocumulus to trade cumulus, while decreasing values of lower-tropospheric stability are seen. However, variations in the mean, width and shape of the distributions are found. The AIRS potential temperature (&theta;) and water vapor (<i>q</i>) profiles in the presence of varying marine boundary layer (MBL) cloud types show overall similarities to the ERA-Interim in the mean profiles, but differences arise in the higher moments at some altitudes. The differences between the PDFs from AIRS+MODIS and ERA-Interim make it possible to pinpoint systematic errors in both systems and help to understand joint PDFs of cloud properties and coincident thermodynamic profiles from satellite observations

Key role of MIF-related neuroinflammation in neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease.

Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) is a potent proinflammatory cytokine that promotes the production of other immune mediators. MIF is produced by most cell types in the brain including microglia, astrocytes and neurons. Enhanced expression of MIF might contribute to the persistent activation of glial, chronic neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. Here, we investigated the effect of MIF on inflammatory markers and spatial learning in a mouse model of sporadic AD and on tau pathology in AD patients. We examined the effects of MIF deficiency and pharmacological MIF inhibition in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, quantitative PCR and ELISA were used to assess cytokine production of STZ-treated glial cells. In vivo, C57BL/6 mice were subjected to intracerebroventricular streptozotocin injection (3 mg/kg, ICV-STZ). Neuroinflammation and contextual learning performance were assessed using quantitative PCR and fear conditioning, respectively. Pharmacological MIF inhibition was achieved with intraperitoneal injections of ISO-1 (daily, IP, 20 mg/kg in 5% DMSO in 0.9% NaCl) for 4 weeks following ICV-STZ injection. The findings from ISO-1 treated mice were confirmed in MIF knockout C57BL/6. To assess the role of MIF in human AD, cerebrospinal fluid levels of MIF and hyperphosphorylated tau were measured using ELISA. Administration ICV-STZ resulted in hippocampal dependent cognitive impairment. MIF inhibition with ISO-1 significantly improved the STZ-induced impairment in contextual memory performance, indicating MIF-related inflammation as a major contributor to ICV-STZ-induced memory deficits. Furthermore, inhibition of the MIF resulted in reduced cytokine production in vitro and in vivo. In human subjects with AD at early clinical stages, cerebrospinal fluid levels of MIF were increased in comparison with age-matched controls, and correlated with biomarkers of tau hyper-phosphorylation and neuronal injury hinting at MIF levels as a potential biomarker for early-stage AD. The present study indicates the key role of MIF in controlling the chronic cytokine release in neuroinflammation related to tau hyperphosphorylation, neurodegeneration, and clinical manifestations of AD, suggesting the potential of MIF inhibition as therapeutic strategy to slow down neurodegeneration and clinical disease progression

Assessing health inequalities in Iran: a focus on the distribution of health care facilities

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Equality in distribution of health care facilities is the main cause for access and enjoyment to the health. The aim of this study was to examine the regional disparities in health care facilities across the Markazi province. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study. Study sample included the cities of Markazi province, ranked based on 15 health indices. Data was collected by a data collection form made by the researcher using statistical yearbook. The indices were weighted using Shannon entropy. Finally, technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) was used to rank the towns of the province in terms of access to health care facilities. RESULTS: There is a large gap between cities of Markazi province in terms of access to health care facilities. Shannon entropy introduced the number of urban health centers per 1000 people as the most important indicator and the number of rural active health house per 1000 people as the less important indicator. According to TOPSIS, the towns of Ashtian and Shazand ranked the first and last (10th) respectively in access to health services. CONCLUSION: There are significant inequalities in distribution of health care facilities in Markazi province. We propose that policy makers determine resource allocation priorities according to the degree of development for a balanced and equal distribution of health care facilities

Targeted delivery of bromelain using dual mode nanoparticles: Synthesis, physicochemical characterization,: In vitro and in vivo evaluation

The engineering, characterization, and application of dual-functional delivery vehicle "SPIONs-Br-FA" are reported. In this study, a citrate-coated SPIONs (superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles) drug-delivery vehicle was conjugated with Br (bromelain), a phytotherapeutic anticancer agent, and finally immobilized with FA (folic acid), as a targeting moiety to the FAR+, folate receptor positive, cancer cells. Then, in vitro compatibility tests were performed to confirm the biocompatibility of the engineered system. A cytotoxicity study was carried out, which showed a significant dose advantage with SPIONs-Br-FA in reducing the IC50 values of FAR+ cancer cells compared with neat Br. Through morphological alternation studies, it was disclosed that the SPIONs-Br-FA-treated cells had undergone apoptosis, since shrinkage as well as apoptotic bodies were obviously observed. We demonstrated that SPIONs-Br-FA was a good candidate to suppress the migration of the FAR+ cancer cells as well as to inhibit colony formation of the FAR+ cancer cells compared to SPIONs-Br. We found that the apoptosis percentage was sharply increased in the FAR+ cancer cells treated by SPIONs-Br-FA compared to those treated by neat Br. Moreover, the qualitative and quantitative biodistribution study performed on the vital organs and tumor indicated a significant tumor targetability of the SPIONs-FA. Next, we demonstrated the administration of SPIONs-Br-FA through the tail vein could reduce the tumor burden in 4T1-bearing mice and also increased their lifespan when compared with SPIONs-Br and neat Br at the same concentration of bromelain. In conclusion, the results indicated that the synthesized SPIONs-Br-FA is a promising tool in the field of biomedicine, particularly in cancer therapy

Exact Analysis of Level-Crossing Statistics for (d+1)-Dimensional Fluctuating Surfaces

We carry out an exact analysis of the average frequency $\nu_{\alpha x_i}^+$ in the direction $x_i$ of positive-slope crossing of a given level $\alpha$ such that, $h({\bf x},t)-\bar{h}=\alpha$, of growing surfaces in spatial dimension $d$. Here, $h({\bf x},t)$ is the surface height at time $t$, and $\bar{h}$ is its mean value. We analyze the problem when the surface growth dynamics is governed by the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation without surface tension, in the time regime prior to appearance of cusp singularities (sharp valleys), as well as in the random deposition (RD) model. The total number $N^+$ of such level-crossings with positive slope in all the directions is then shown to scale with time as $t^{d/2}$ for both the KPZ equation and the RD model.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figure