An empirical study on empowering private bank workers using EFQM

Empowering workers play an essential role on increasing productivity in any organization. The service industries such as insurance companies or banks mostly rely on their own people to retain their customers and incomes. The recent increasing trend on the number of private banks in Iran has increased competition among existing banks. The banking industry strives to empower its employees as much as possible in an attempt to maintain market share by not losing its customers. In this paper, we present an empirical study to detect the most important factors empowering bank employees. The study is implemented for a recently established private bank with 228 people with 32 questions where 15 questions are focused on empowering employees. The results are analyzed using statistical tests and descriptive methods. The results indicate that leadership, academic qualification, appropriate policy and strategy, cooperation and processes play important role on empowering and enabling bank's employee

Association of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae with female infertility: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) are commonly diagnosed sexually transmitted infections that have been associated with serious reproductive health outcomes for women. The association of CT and NG infection with female fertility is not completely established yet. This review aimed to determine the association of CT and NG with female infertility. Methods This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted according to the PRISMA statement. We searched a range of electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus, from Sept 25, 2017 until February 1, 2021. From the 851 studies screened, 552 that failed to meet our eligibility criteria were excluded. Subsequently, we removed 290 studies for not having a possible correlation of CT and NG infections with female infertility. Nine studies comprising 1827 infertile patients met our inclusion criteria. Two investigators independently extracted a range of data. All analyses were performed using STATA (version 13.1, Stata Corp, College Station, TX, USA). Results CT infection potentiates female infertility, as 76.47% of the included studies found a positive correlation between them. However, due to the limited number of reported data, we were not able to compare NG infection prevalence in fertile and non-fertile patients. Overall prevalences of CT and NG infections among infertile patients were 12 % and 3%, respectively, while CT infection prevalence among the fertile group was 7%. Conclusion The prevalences of CT and NG infections were high in infertile women. Screening and treatment of C. trachomatis and gonococcal infections during infertility treatment might increase the pregnancy rate

Application of Support Vector Machine and Boosted Tree Algorithm for Rainfall-Runoff Modeling (Case Study: Tabriz Plain)

This research focused on the application of Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Boosted Trees (BT) algorithms for simulating precipitation and runoff in two stations, Akhula and Pole Senikh, in the Tabriz Plain, Iran. Meteorological and hydrometric data were collected from 24 stations in the Tabriz watershed, obtained from the Regional Water Company and East Azerbaijan Meteorological Organization. Precipitation and runoff values were used as input to the model with a one-day time lag, and monthly runoff values were estimated and compared with monthly observations using evaluation criteria. The results showed that for both study periods, SVM model performed better than BT model for Akhula station, while BT model performed better than SVM model for Pole Senikh station. Additionally, the cross-correlation coefficient for the two study periods was found to be 0.83 and 0.82 for Akhula station, and 0.83 and 0.77 for Pole Senikh station, respectively. In the time series results, there was no clear trend in precipitation over the observation period. However, river flows at the Ahvaz and Pole Senikh stations, particularly after 1995, showed a significant decline, mainly due to factors such as runoff, agricultural expansion, and industrial developmen

Antiangiogenic effects of coumarins against cancer: from chemistry to medicine

Angiogenesis, the process of formation and recruitment of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels, plays an important role in the development of cancer. Therefore, the use of antiangiogenic agents is one of the most critical strategies for the treatment of cancer. In addition, the complexity of cancer pathogenicity raises the need for multi-targeting agents. Coumarins are multi-targeting natural agents belonging to the class of benzopyrones. Coumarins have several biological and pharmacological effects, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammation, anticoagulant, anxiolytic, analgesic, and anticancer properties. Several reports have shown that the anticancer effect of coumarins and their derivatives are mediated through targeting angiogenesis by modulating the functions of vascular endothelial growth factor as well as vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2, which are involved in cancer pathogenesis. In the present review, we focus on the antiangiogenic effects of coumarins and related structure-activity relationships with particular emphasis on cancerS

Screening of chlamydia trachomatis infection in men, is it necessary in Iran?

Background: Chlamydia trachomatis is one of the most prevalent causative bacteria in sexually transmitted infections with adverse effects, which almost remain asymptomatic in society. Objectives: This project designed to determine the prevalence of Chlamydial infection in men and comparing the related risk factors in two groups of referrals based on the study inclusion criteria. Materials and Methods: Two hundreds of men who attended in the Mehrad hospital in Tehran Iran were selected and classified into two groups (symptomatic and asymptomatic). 10 mL of first void urine from each person collected and tested by polymerase chain reaction for the presence of C. trachomatis cryptic plasmid gene. association between condom usage as a variable and infection in asymptomatic group (P � 0.05). Results: In total, 8.5 of all subjects were positive (11 of symptomatic and 6 of asymptomatic men). Statistical analysis revealed an Conclusions: Findings of this study show that Chlamydial infection screening especially in males with urogenital symptoms is necessary (at least in Tehran) and we recommend more epidemiological studies in other cities of Iran. © 2013, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences

Stimulation ultrasonore de la régénération osseuse : mieux comprendre pour mieux soigner

De nombreuses études rapportent que les ondes ultrasonores accélèrent la cicatrisation osseuse. Néanmoins, les résultats cliniques sont controversés, suggérant que les mécanismes sous-jacents de la mécanotransduction par ultrasons (US) restent mal compris. Cette thèse développe des modèles in-vitro et in-silico dédiés à l’étude des processus impliqués dans la stimulation ultrasonore des cellules osseuses. La première question soulevée est le contrôle de l'intensité acoustique délivrée aux cellules in vitro, pierre d’achoppement souvent mentionnée dans la littérature. Pour réduire les phénomènes de perturbation du champ acoustique incident, un dispositif d’absorption est développé et validé expérimentalement. Un modèle in-silico couplé permet d’estimer l’intensité délivrée aux cellules (zone inaccessible expérimentalement). La deuxième partie de la thèse concerne l'interaction des US avec l'ostéocyte, cellule osseuse mécanosensible. Un modèle in-silico, représentant un ostéocyte dans un réseau lacuno-canaliculaire de géométrie idéalisée, est développé pour étudier la contrainte de cisaillement fluide induite sur la cellule par le streaming acoustique. Les résultats montrent que les US génèrent un niveau de contrainte de cisaillement fluide dans la gamme des valeurs connues pour induire une réponse biologique des ostéocytes sont soumis à une charge physiologique. Les résultats de cette thèse offrent de nouvelles perspectives sur les interactions mécaniques entre les cellules osseuses et les US, ce qui permet de mieux comprendre la stimulation par ultrasons de la régénération osseuse et, in fine, d'améliorer les soins aux patients.Many studies report that ultrasound waves accelerate bone healing. However, the clinical results are controversial, suggesting that the underlying mechanisms of ultrasound (US) mechanotransduction remain poorly understood. This thesis develops in-vitro and in-silico models dedicated to the study of the processes involved in ultrasound stimulation of bone cells. The first issue raised is the monitoring of the acoustic intensity delivered to the cells in vitro, a stumbling block often mentioned in the literature. To reduce the perturbation phenomena of the incident acoustic field, an absorption device was developed and experimentally validated. A coupled in-silico model is used to estimate the intensity delivered to the cells lying at the bottom of the celle culture dish (experimentally inaccessible area). The second part of the thesis concerns the interaction of the US with the osteocyte, a mechanosensitive bone cell. An in-silico model, representing an osteocyte in a lacuno-canalicular network of idealized geometry, is developed to study the fluid shear stress induced on the cell by the acoustic streaming induced by US stimulation. The results show that US generates a level of fluid shear stress in the range of values known to induce a biological response of osteocytes subjected to physiological loading. The results of this thesis provide new insights into the mechanical interactions between bone cells and US, leading to a better understanding of ultrasound stimulation of bone regeneration and ultimately to improved patient care

Comparing the Ethical Sensitivity of Medical Residents with Surgical Residents of SBMU in 2016-17

Introduction: Ethical sensitivity is one of the components of the professional competence, which leads medical education institute to pay more attention to achievement of the goal. This study intends to compare the ethical sensitivity of internal medicine residents with that of surgery residents. Methods: The participants were briefed on the goals of the study. Their participation was voluntary and the Data were gathered confidentially. Results: In this cross-sectional study, questionnaires were distributed among 218 Residents of internal medicine and surgery working in different teaching hospitals of Shahid Behesti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU); 215 residents completed the questionnaire. The participants answered a validated Persian version of Lutzen’s ethical sensitivity questionnaire.. Conclusion: Most residents had a moderate ethical sensitivity and no meaningful difference was found between juniors and seniors, and residents of internal medicine and surgery. If further improvements of ethical sensitivity in residents are intended, a well-planned evidence-based educational intervention is needed

Computational model to address lens-based acoustic field aperture in the in vitro ultrasonic cell stimulation

International audienceLow-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Stimulation (LIPUS) is a therapeutic modality used for bone tissue regeneration and healing. Its clinical efficacy is still debated, as the underlying physical phenomena remain poorly understood. The interaction between ultrasonic waves and cells, likely to trigger mechanotransduction inducing bone regeneration, is at the center of scientific concerns on the subject.In order to get new insights into these phenomena, the development of in vitro experiments is a key step but special attentions should be paid concerning to the actual acoustic area covered that has to be sufficiently large and homogeneous. To address this issue, an acoustic lens can be placed on the transducer to improve the homogeneity of the acoustic field over the entire cell culture area. A computational model is developed to test several shapes and heights of acoustic lenses and compare their effectiveness in order to find a compromise between the surface covered, the homogeneity of the intensity distribution and the acoustic pressure loss.All the lenses studied improve the enlargement of the field and its homogeneity but they all generate pressure acoustic loss. The best performing lens in terms of field homogeneity is the one that minimizes pressure acoustic loss but covers only 22% of the target surface. The best enlargement (68% of the surface covered) is obtained for a lens that produces a field that is 4 times less homogeneous and 3 times less efficient in terms of pressure acoustic loss. As no one lens is ideal, the choice of the lens should be the result of a compromise taking into account the prioritization of criteria

Numerical model for in-vitro ultrasound stimulation of bone cells: a parametric study

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