Fabrication and optimization performance for treatment of ship oily water by nanocomposite membranes using Taguchi method

The objectives of this study were to optimize of ultrafiltration (UF) process using novel nanocomposite membrane for oily water treatment in cruise-ship. Three nanocomposite membranes consisted of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymer, Zeolite Socony Mobil–5 (ZSM5) nanofiller, and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidion (NMP) polymer solvent have been produced which was denoted as M0, M1 and M2. N-ß- (aminoethyl)-v-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (AEAPTMS) was used to modify ZSM5 to enhance the dispersion of nanocrystals in the polymeric solution. Nanocomposite structures have been characterized via field emission scanning electron microscopes (FESEM) combined with Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and contact angle. Taguchi method was employed to design experiments using three different parameters (A: membrane type, B: temperature, C: pressure) and to optimize the process performance via single response (Y0: selection parameter, ‘SP’). Based on the Taguchi design and optimization, a significant model in analysis of variance (ANOVA) was predicted with the highest response (Y0 = 65.22 L.m-2.h-1). Taguchi also predicted an optimal operation condition which has achieved the highest oil rejection (99.7%) and promising permeation flux (105.89 L.m-2.h-1) by using nanocomposite membrane with 15 gram of PVDF/ 1 gram of M-ZSM5, at temperature 55oC and 2 bar pressure gauge

A Report of Two Cases of TGM1 Mutations in Iranian Patients with Lamelar Ichthyosis

ObjectiveAutosomal Recessive Congenital Ichthyosis (ARCI) is a rare, heterogenous keratinization disorder of the skin, classically divided into two clinical subtypes, Lamellar Ichthyosis (LI) and Nonbullous Congenital Ichthyosi-formis Erythroderma (NCIE). Lamellar Ichtyosis is caused by mutations in the TGM1 gene that encodes transglutaminase 1 enzyme, which is critical for the assembly of the cornified cell envelope in terminally differentiating keratinocytes. TGM1 is a complex enzyme existing as both cytosolic and membrane-bound forms.Moreover, TGM1 is proteolytically processed, and the major functionally active form consists of a membrane-bound 67/33/10-kDa complex with a myristoylated and palmitoylated amino-terminal 10-kDa membrane anchorage fragment. In this study, all 14 coding exons of TGM1 gene were investigated using PCRsequencing method in three Iranian patients with different phenotypes which are often caused by homozygote or compound heterozygote mutations and a homozygote mutation (G218S) in exon 4 and  three heterozygote mutations (R37K, D58N, D86N) in exon 2 were observed. The mutation (D86N) was seen in two patients simultaneously.Key words: TGM1gene, mutation, ARCI, lamellar, ichthyosis, sequencing

Comparative study of the efficacy of Remifentanil for controlling labor pain when used both alone and in combination with Dexamethasone

  Aims and background: Labor pain is often severe. Unrelieved labor pain can have an adverse effect on the physiologic status of the women in labor. Accurate measurement and appropriate management of pain is a significant problem for attending medical and nursing personnel. There are several options for controlling labor pain. Each method has its own risks and benefits, with variations in effectiveness, availability and acceptability. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of remifentanil when used with and without dexamethasone in women undergoing a normal vaginal delivery. Materials and methods: In this study 90 pregnant women were selected from the pregnant women referred to Alavi Hospital. Group A received Remifentanil with Dexamethasone and Group B received Remifentanil alone. The pain scores based on VAS  were measured before the intervention and 30, 60, and 120 minutes after the intervention. Finally, the data were analyzed by SPSS. Findings:  Pain severity according to the VAS score was significantly lower in patients that received remifentanil with dexamethasone 30, 60 and 120 min after the intervention compared to the other group.  Analysis of the pooled risk differences showed that nausea, vomiting and headache were significantly higher in remifentanil alone users. There wasn’t a significant difference in FHR or Apgar in the 1st and 5th minute between the two groups. Conclusion:  The use of remifentanil with dexamethasone has more of a beneficial effect for many parturient women compared to remifentanil

Development of Synbiotic Milk Chocolate Enriched with Lactobacillus paracasei, D-tagatose and Galactooligosaccharide

Background and Objective: Prebiotics are food ingredients that induce the growth or activity of beneficial bacteria (Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli). Galactooligosaccharide and tagatose are two main prebiotic compounds which are used in the food industry. Chocolate is widely consumed all over the world and could be used as an excellent vehicle for delivery of prebiotics. Furthermore, the incorporation of probiotics into chocolate, allows broadening the health claims of chocolate. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of tagatose and galactooligosaccharide on the physicochemical and sensory properties of milk chocolate and the survivability of Lactobacillus paracasei in the optimized formulation. Material and Methods: Probiotic milk chocolate containing Lactobacillus paracasei were formulated by replacing a portion of the sucrose with the galactooligosaccharide powder and tagatose. For this purpose various concentrations of galactooligosaccharide and tagatose (2.5, 5 and 7.5% w w-1) along with stevia were used in chocolate formulation. Nine formulations were examined to determine some physicochemical, mechanical and sensory properties in order to find the optimum concentrations of these components. The lyophilized Lactobacillus paracasei were incorporated in the optimal formulation of prebiotic milk chocolate. The viability of probiotic bacteria in milk chocolate was carried out during storage at 22°C for up to 6 months.Results and Conclusion: In general, chocolate formulations with high levels of galactooligosaccharide, achieved the highest plastic viscosity and yield stress. The lowest viscosity and yield stress were observed for the samples containing high concentrations of tagatose and in control. In addition, galactooligosaccharide at higher ratios induced the least desirable sensorial effects, whereas tagatose improved the overall acceptability. It can be concluded that the overall acceptability of milk chocolate samples were with (7.5), tagatose: galactooligosaccharide ratios of 2.5%-2.5%, presenting the optimal applicable range as prebiotic compounds. Numbers of live Lactobacillus paracasei cells remained above 8.0 log CFU g-1 until 6 months under ambient conditions. Milk chocolate was shown to be an excellent vehicle for the delivery of Lactobacillus paracasei, and the prebiotic ingredients galactooligosaccharide and tagatose did not interfere in its viability. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest

Family clustering of SARS-CoV-2 in Qazvin, Northwest of Iran

Background: Human infection affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been recognized as a global health concern. We report the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with a familial cluster from Qazvin province (located in the northwest of Iran). f SARS-CoV-2 Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we enrolled 332 hospitalized patients that were confirmed SARS-CoV-2 diseases with laboratory-based (PT-PCR) test in Qazvin p ovince, Iran. Having family infection transmission and subsequently, family clustering of SARS-COV-2 disease was assessed with the Generalized Estimating Equation model in patients. Results: Crude odds ratio estimates of creating family clustering of SARS-CoV-2 infection was 0. 47 times [95% CI: 0.23, 0.98, p=0.045] less for female compared to the males; 2.26 [95% CI: 1.11, 4.58, p=0.024] and 2.69 [95% CI: 1.47, 4.93, p=0.001] for SARS-CoV-2 patients that had digestive and muscle pain in comparison with those did not this mentioned symptoms, respectively. 1.52 [95% CI: 1.05, 2.23, p=0.024] for pa ients with a longer hospitalization compar d with patients that had shorter duration of hospitalization and adjusted odds ratio estimates were 2.13 [95% CI: 1.12, 4.03, p=0.020] for patients who receive public health services in comparison those did not receive public health services. Conclusion: Our findings confirm the person-to-person transmission of this novel coronavirus in family settings and hospitals, and the reports of infected travelers in other geographical regions. Major gaps in our knowledge about the potential factors in creating family clustering of SARS-CoV-2 infection, epidemiology, duration of human transmission and etc. need fulfillment by future studies. Keywords: Epidemiology, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Family Clustering, Close Contact , Ira

Disease risk analysis in sea turtles: a baseline study to inform conservation efforts

The impact of a range of different threats has resulted in the listing of six out of seven sea turtle species on the IUCN Red List of endangered species. Disease risk analysis (DRA) tools are designed to provide objective, repeatable and documented assessment of the disease risks for a population and measures to reduce these risks through management options. To the best of our knowledge, DRAs have not previously been published for sea turtles, although disease is reported to contribute to sea turtle population decline. Here, a comprehensive list of health hazards is provided for all seven species of sea turtles. The possible risk these hazards pose to the health of sea turtles were assessed and “One Health” aspects of interacting with sea turtles were also investigated. The risk assessment was undertaken in collaboration with more than 30 experts in the field including veterinarians, microbiologists, social scientists, epidemiologists and stakeholders, in the form of two international workshops and one local workshop. The general finding of the DRA was the distinct lack of knowledge regarding a link between the presence of pathogens and diseases manifestation in sea turtles. A higher rate of disease in immunocompromised individuals was repeatedly reported and a possible link between immunosuppression and environmental contaminants as a result of anthropogenic influences was suggested. Society based conservation initiatives and as a result the cultural and social aspect of interacting with sea turtles appeared to need more attention and research. A risk management workshop was carried out to acquire the insights of local policy makers about management options for the risks relevant to Queensland and the options were evaluated considering their feasibility and effectiveness. The sea turtle DRA presented here, is a structured guide for future risk assessments to be used in specific scenarios such as translocation and head-starting programs

Disease risk analysis in sea turtles: a baseline study to inform conservation efforts

The impact of a range of different threats has resulted in the listing of six out of seven sea turtle species on the IUCN Red List of endangered species. Disease risk analysis (DRA) tools are designed to provide objective, repeatable and documented assessment of the disease risks for a population and measures to reduce these risks through management options. To the best of our knowledge, DRAs have not previously been published for sea turtles, although disease is reported to contribute to sea turtle population decline. Here, a comprehensive list of health hazards is provided for all seven species of sea turtles. The possible risk these hazards pose to the health of sea turtles were assessed and “One Health” aspects of interacting with sea turtles were also investigated. The risk assessment was undertaken in collaboration with more than 30 experts in the field including veterinarians, microbiologists, social scientists, epidemiologists and stakeholders, in the form of two international workshops and one local workshop. The general finding of the DRA was the distinct lack of knowledge regarding a link between the presence of pathogens and diseases manifestation in sea turtles. A higher rate of disease in immunocompromised individuals was repeatedly reported and a possible link between immunosuppression and environmental contaminants as a result of anthropogenic influences was suggested. Society based conservation initiatives and as a result the cultural and social aspect of interacting with sea turtles appeared to need more attention and research. A risk management workshop was carried out to acquire the insights of local policy makers about management options for the risks relevant to Queensland and the options were evaluated considering their feasibility and effectiveness. The sea turtle DRA presented here, is a structured guide for future risk assessments to be used in specific scenarios such as translocation and head-starting programs

A Comparative Study of Transference of Humor in Translations of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain

Translation is a difficult and complex task. Some elements such as linguistic and socio-cultural differences in two languages make it difficult to choose an appropriate equivalent; the equivalent which has the same effect in the target language. In the present study, one of the richest sources of the humor and satire is investigated. Humor is completely obvious in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain. He tried to laugh at social and cultural problems of his time by this novel. Two translations of this book by Hushang Pirnazar and Najaf Daryabandari are investigated. The author tries to investigate on transference of humor from the source language to the target language by a syntactic strategy of Chesterman. By investigating the text, it will be found out that which translator is more successful in recreation of humor by using the strategies.

A Comparative Study of Transference of Humor in Translations of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain

Translation is a difficult and complex task. Some elements such as linguistic and socio-cultural differences in two languages make it difficult to choose an appropriate equivalent; the equivalent which has the same effect in the target language. In the present study, one of the richest sources of the humor and satire is investigated. Humor is completely obvious in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain. He tried to laugh at social and cultural problems of his time by this novel. Two translations of this book by Hushang Pirnazar and Najaf Daryabandari are investigated. The author tries to investigate on transference of humor from the source language to the target language by a syntactic strategy of Chesterman. By investigating the text, it will be found out that which translator is more successful in recreation of humor by using the strategies

The Effect of Listening Strategy Instruction on Iranian Pre-intermediate EFL Learners’ Listening ability

Listening comprehension plays an important role in the process of language learning as it is one of the four major skills in language acquisition. This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of listening strategy instruction on improving listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. To achieve this goal, forty students studying at Birjand University were participated in the current study. All of thestudents were within the age range of 18 to 22. Then, they were non-randomly divided into two groups, as a control and an experimental group. Theexperimental was taught based on a guide lesson plan regarding listening strategies while the control group did not receive any treatment. The listening section of TOEFL was utilized to measure the listening performance of the participants before and after the treatment. The results of Independent Samples Test indicated thatinstructing listening strategies had no significant impact onlistening comprehension of Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners