Frequency of Cryptosporidium and risk factors related to cryptosporidiosis in under 5-year old hospitalized children due to diarrhea

Background: Recently Cryptosporidium has gained much attention as a clinically human pathogen in immunocompromised cases and young children. This study investigated frequency and risk factors related to cryptosporidiosis in under 5-year old children. Patients and methods: Stools were examined by ELISA method to detect Cryptosporidium surface antigen (CSA) using Remel Prospect Cryptosporidium (monoclonal) Microplate Assay. Stool samples were collected from children at admission and were kept at -70°C until examination. Data were collected by a standard questionnaire and analysed in Epi info 2002 software. Results: Of 171 children, 8(5) were infected with Cryptosporidium. Most of the cases (6 cases) aged 2-12 months. Boys were more frequently infected than girls (p<0.05). Meanwhile, cryptosporidiosis was associated with less breastfeeding and lower birth weight (p<0.05). Conclusion: Results revealed that the frequency of cryptosporidiosis was similar to other parts of the world. Similarly, lower birth weight, less breast-feeding and male gender were associated with a higher frequency of cryptosporidiosis. ©2009 IDTMRC, Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center

Use of Liquid Limit and Dry Density Test Method for Collapsible Soil Identification

One of the most recognized geotechnical hazard which causes dramatic life lost and serious damages to different structures, are the collapsible soils under the foundation of structures. This problem becomes more critical when water is seeped or induced to the soil structure because collapsible soils are metastable and they have an open structure Khoda Afarin main canal is a major conveyance canal which is located and is under construction in Moghan and Khoda Afarin region pass throw East Azerbaijan and Ardabil provinces in IRAN. Presence of collapsible soils in some portion of this canal bed has brought the necessity of study and treatment of this problem to the point of view. The paper takes a brief view on correlation with liquid limit and dry density test. According to the results obtained from correlation between liquid limit and dry density and practical steps have been under taken during the project implementation, such as prepounding, it was observed that effect of moisture due to prepounding sudden changes in soil volume which is the one of collapsible soils characteristic have taken place. There for it can be concluded that application of correlation between liquid limit and dry density is logical and acceptable

A Comparative Corpus-based Analysis of Genre Specific Discourse: The Quantitative and Qualitative Academic Papers in the Field of the TEFL

This study attempts to analysis the different parts of quantitative and qualitative research articles in the field of TEFL comparatively to present a convenient pattern for novice EFL students or researchers in a non-English context. Benefited from mix method, current study investigated the similarities and differences between the two genres-specific corpora. In order to induce accurate and creditable result, data-analyzing process was implemented through both computer-based programs and hand- tagged analysis. Fifty quantitative and qualitative TEFL research articles from high-ranking ELT journals were selected and then analyzed. Swales CARS model (2004) was considered as a framework of analysis. Moreover, interpreting of obtaining results from the vocabulary profile program, the readability statistics of two corpora, fulfilled through non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. The conducted results according to significant level of x < 0.5 or x = 0.05 demonstrated that the differences between quantitative and qualitative research articles from lexio-grammatical and rhetorical features were insignificant. On the contrary, move-structure analyzing of both genre indicated that there are some variation between some exercise of move-step structure. These findings may provide confirmatory and useful evidences for academic researchers in the EFL context

Generic Structure of Discussion Sections in ESP Research Articles across International and Iranian Journals

Reviewing literature reveals that identifying generic structure of research articles (RAs) in different fields of study, especially ESP, has received much attention. The major purpose behind such trends of research has been raising researchers' awareness of the common conventions in writing RAs. Along with this universal trend, a lot of genre studies have been done in Iranian context; however, it seems that ESP RAs have not been paid due attention yet. Hence this study aimed at investigating the generic structure of ESP RAs in international and Iranian journals. Applying Kanoksilapatham's (2007) model to the compiled corpus, it was found that contextualizing the study (Move 1) and consolidating results (Move 2) were the obligatory moves in Discussion section of ESP RAs across international and Iranian journals. Evaluation of the findings was a new step found in international Discussion sections but absent in Iranian ones. Related discussion of these findings prepares the researchers for publishing in international and Iranian ESP journals.Keywords: ESP, Discussion section, Move, Step, Author presence, Generic structur

The Iranian EFL Students’ and Teachers’ Perception of Using Persian in General English Classes

This paper examined the perception of Iranian EFL learners and teachers towards employing Persian in EFL classes. The present study was a case study which investigated teachers’ and students’ perception toward effective use of L1 and L2 in General English classes at university level. The participants were 345students and 25 teachers at the University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran. Two research tools were used for gathering data: questionnaires and interviews. Analysis of the qualitative study and comparing the mean scores of two groups via Mann-whitny revealed that the perceptions of the teachers and the students differ from each other. Iranian EFL learners were willing to use their mother tongue. While, Iranian EFL teachers had a positive tendency to use more English than Persian in the General English classes. Teachers have to consider that the major medium of instruction must be English. They should use L1 judiciously in FL classrooms whenever possible and beneficial to relieve anxious, nervous, frightened, and reluctant students as well as learners with low self-esteem.

Risk factors for hospitalization of children with diarrhea in Shahrekord, Iran

Background: Diarrheal infections are responsible for over a quarter of all childhood mortality worldwide. The present study was performed to establish risk factors for hospitalization of children with diarrhea in Shahrekord, Iran. Materials and methods: For this case-control study, cases were selected through children hospitalized due to acute diarrhea lasting less than 14 days and controls were compromised of children with a clinical diagnosis of acute diarrhea lasting for less than 14 days who did not require hospitalization. Controls were selected from out-patient department (OPD) or 3 primary health care centers. Results: The study population included 259 hospitalized children (cases), 245 OPD and 245 primary health centres controls. In total, bloody diarrhea, dehydration, breastfeeding for ≤6 months, history of hospitalization in the previous year, lack of access to safe water, keeping animals at home and the presence of watery stool were associated with an increased risk of hospitalization during univariate analysis. However, multivariate analysis revealed that bloody diarrhea, watery stool, vomiting, use of unsafe water, prior hospitalization, and the presence of rotavirus or salmonella in the stool were independent factors increasing the risk of hospitalization. Conclusion: Our results indicate that improving environmental sanitation, socio-economic status and establishing training programs for parents can reduce risk of hospitalization due to diarrhea in children

The Effect of Mediation via the Interventionist Model of Dynamic Assessment on Reading Comprehension: Evidence from Iranian EFL Learners

Dynamic assessment (DA) has been an interesting area of study for many researchers since its introduction about eighty years ago. However, the detailed procedure of mediation or treatment as the key part of DA has hardly ever been shared with the interested practitioners who are motivated to actualize and apply DA in their language classrooms. Therefore, the purpose of current study is twofold: 1) to provide a full description of the procedures of mediation via the interventionist model of DA, and 2) to investigate its effect on the Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension. To this end, twelve female intermediate students were chosen from the population of English language learners in a private language institute in Tehran, Iran to act as members of both the control and experimental groups in a quasi- experimental design study. The results of the One-way repeated measures ANOVA indicated that Mediation via the Interventionist Model of Dynamic Assessment helped the participants in the experimental phase to improve in reading comprehension. Moreover, the findings shed some light on why and how to implement DA in the EFL classes. Keywords: Dynamic assessment, Interventionist, ZPD, Reading comprehension, Non-dynamic assessment

Diarrhea-associated micronutrient deficiencies and risk of subsequent diarrhea in admitted children to Hajar hospital in Shahrekord, Iran

Background: Acute infectious diarrhea is still one of the most important causes of death in childhood and malnutrition increases its morbidity and mortality. There is a strong correlation between the nutritional status of the child and the risk of subsequent diarrhea. Micronutrient deficiencies also increase the child’s susceptibility to diarrhea and vitamin A and zinc supplementation has been shown to reduce the incidence and hasten recovery from acute diarrhea episodes. Materials and methods: This study describes the association of nutritional deficiencies and other factors on the risk of subsequent diarrhea in children in Shahrekord, Iran. A cohort of 211 children less than 5 years old admitted with acute diarrhea to Hajar Hospital in Shahrekord, were followed for 14 weeks after hospital discharge. Results: Fifty-eight (27%) of these children developed a new diarrhea episode during the follow up period. Children who were vitamin A and zinc deficient at the time of admission, above 12 months of age, kept animals at home or had weight-for-age and weight-for-height z scores <-1 during the univariate analysis had a higher risk of experiencing subsequent diarrhea. Vitamin A and zinc deficiencies, keeping animals at home, diarrhea duration ≤ 4 days on enrolment and weight-for-age z score <-1 reminded as independent risk factors during multivariate analysis. The aggregation of these factors had a synergistic effect on the risk of subsequent diarrhea. Conclusion: Children with micronutrient deficiencies and in contact with animal had the highest risk of suffering subsequent diarrhea. Our findings support the current approach of providing multiple micronutrient supplements for the prevention of infection in order to reduce mortality in children

Optimization of a dynamic supply portfolio considering risks and discount’s constraints

Purpose: Nowadays finding reliable suppliers in the global supply chains has become so important for success, because reliable suppliers would lead to a reliable supply and besides that orders of customer are met effectively . Yet, there is little empirical evidence to support this view, hence the purpose of this paper is to fill this need by considering risk in order to find the optimum supply portfolio. Design/methodology/approach: This paper proposes a multi objective model for the supplier selection portfolio problem that uses conditional value at risk (CVaR) criteria to control the risks of delayed, disrupted and defected supplies via scenario analysis. Also we consider discount’s constraints which are common assumptions in supplier selection problems. The proposed approach is capable of determining the optimal supply portfolio by calculating value-at-risk and minimizing conditional value-at-risk. In this study the Reservation Level driven Tchebycheff Procedure (RLTP) which is one of the reference point methods, is used to solve small size of our model through coding in GAMS. As our model is NP-hard; a meta-heuristic approach, Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA) which is one of the most efficient methods for optimizing multi objective models, is applied to solve large scales of our model. Findings and Originality/value: In order to find a dynamic supply portfolio, we developed a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model which contains two objectives. One objective minimizes the cost and the other minimizes the risks of delayed, disrupted and defected supplies. CVaR is used as the risk controlling method which emphases on low-probability, high-consequence events. Discount option as a common offer from suppliers is also implanted in the proposed model. Our findings show that the proposed model can help in optimization of a dynamic supplier selection portfolio with controlling the corresponding risks for large scales of real word problems. Practical implications: To approve the capability of our model various numerical examples are made and non-dominated solutions are generated. Sensitive analysis is made for determination of the most important factors. The results shows that how a dynamic supply portfolio would disperse the allocation of orders among the suppliers combined with the allocation of orders among the planning periods, in order to hedge against the risks of delayed, disrupted and defected supplies. Originality/value: This paper provides a novel multi objective model for supplier selection portfolio problem that is capable of controlling delayed, disrupted and defected supplies via scenario analysis. Also discounts, as an option offered from suppliers, are embedded in the model. Due to the large size of the real problems in the field of supplier selection portfolio a meta-heuristic method, NSGA II, is presented for solving the multi objective model. The chromosome represented for the proposed solving methodology is unique and is another contribution of this paper which showed to be adaptive with the essence of supplier selection portfolio problemPeer Reviewe

Distribution of Bupivacaine in Epidural Space

Background: There is no consensus regarding the spread of local anesthesia in thoracic epidural space to obtain regional analgesia or anesthesia. We aimed to determine the distribution of Bupivacaine injected into the thoracic epidural space to evaluate its cranial or caudal spread in patients undergoing epidural anesthesia.Materials and Methods: In a prospective clinical trial, thirty adults patients (12 males and 18 females) with ASA class I and II, scheduled for elective cholecystectomy under thoracic epidural anesthesia with 0.5% Isobaric Bupivacaine were studied. Clinical and radiological outcomes were evaluated to assess the correlation between the volume of the local anesthetic injected to the thoracic epidural space and the extension of its spread within the epidural space. Immediately after insertion and fixation of epidural catheter, patients were transferred to MRI unit to receive 8 mL of 5% Bupivacaine plus 1 mL Magnevist through the epidural catheter. Then, the patterns of spread were evaluated. Data were obtained prospectively during the procedure.Results: Mean distribution of bupivacaine in thoracic epidural space was 0.64 level/ml of local anesthetics and the average of spread was 5.21 levels. The mean spread of bupivacaine was more in females (5.5 ± 1.1) than males (4.8 ± 1.1); but the difference was not significant. Unlike Patients’ age and weight, the height and body mass index had a significant negative correlation with the distribution of Bupivacaine.Conclusion: Distribution of Bupivacaine in epidural space in female patients is more than male ones and the tendency of spread is more toward the cephalad direction than caudal.Keywords: Bupivacaine distribution, Epidural anesthesia, Local Anesthesia, Bupivacaine, Magnevis