Breast tuberculosis in Northeast Iran: Review of 22 cases

Background: Breast tuberculosis (breast TB) is an extremely rare disease, so case reviews are also rare.Methods: This study is a retrospective review of patients with breast TB who were treated between 2002 and 2012 at the Health Center of Gorgan City.Results: All 22 patients were females, their mean age was 32.4 years, and all were new cases. Patients presented with swelling of the breast (22%), lump (55%) and excretion from the involved breast (27%), and breast pain (55%). The highest rate of breast TB occurred in 2011 (27%). All patients received the DOTS regimen for a mean duration of 7.3 ± 0.7 months; in addition, segmental resection was performed on 11 patients (50%).Conclusions: The findings confirmed that breast TB in Iran should be considered as a differential diagnosis of breast masses. All patients in our study received the daily and 'Directly Observed Treatment Short-course' (DOTS) regimens. Anti-tubercular therapy for six months with or without minimal surgical intervention currently is the main treatment. © 2014 Khodabakhshi and Mehravar; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Prevalence of asthma symptoms in Golestan schoolchildren aged 6–7 and 13–14 years in Northeast Iran

Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children, and its incidences are often imminent among elementary schoolchildren. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of asthma symptoms in Golestan schoolchildren aged 6–7 and 13–14 years in Northeast Iran. The prevalence rate was compared according to age group (aged 6–7 years vs. aged 13–14 years) and gender (male vs. female). In this cross-sectional study, 1706 Iranian schoolchildren aged 6–7 and 13–14 years in Golestan Province were enrolled. Participants completed questionnaires between February and July 2014. Asthma symptoms were assessed using the questionnaire of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood protocol in Persian. The logistic regression model was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the asthma symptoms for each of the gender and age groups. The prevalence rates of “current asthma” symptoms and “asthma ever” in all the children were estimated as 9.5% and 7.5%, respectively. The prevalence of asthma (“asthma ever” and “wheezing in the past 12 months”) in junior high schoolchildren (aged 13–14 years) is higher than that in elementary schoolchildren (aged 6–7 years) (P < 0.05). The prevalence of the severity of wheezing in girls is lower than that in boys (OR = 1.7, 95%CI = 1.06–2.96, P = 0.02). Asthma is still a major public health problem. This study shows that the prevalence of the asthma symptoms in boys is lower than that in girls in both age groups, and the severity of asthma in girls is higher than that in boys aged 13–14 years. © 2016 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelber

Role of grafting on particle morphology and film properties of polyurethane-polyacrylate hybrid dispersions.

297 p.Typically, the PU/acrylic hybrid nanoparticle dispersions are prepared in multistep procedure, composed of synthesis of PU in organic solvents, dispersion of PU/solvents into water, solvent removal, addition of acrylic monomers into the dispersion and their free radical polymerization. Besides being complex and expensive, this method has negative implications for sustainability of the synthesis.In this work, solvent and emulsifier-free PU/acrylic hybrid dispersions were synthesized using (meth)acrylic monomers as solvent in the PU synthesis and grafted hybrids were prepared with different functional monomers. The effect of grafting and the impact of macromolecular architecture on the particle and film morphology and physical properties of PU/(meth)acrylic hybrid films is investigated. It was found that grafting improved the compatibility of PU and (meth)acrylics and resulted in films with better mechanical properties and water sensitivity. The grafting of PU and acrylic chains can result in a huge variety of macromolecular structures, depending on the nature of both the PU and the acrylic parts of the formulation.Polyma

Comb-like acrylic-based polymer latexes containing nano-sized crystalline or liquid crystalline domains

306 p.Conventional (meth)acrylate polymer latexes have been widely used for coatings, adhesives, paper and textile finishes, cement additives and other applications. These polymers exhibit useful properties such as adhesion to relatively polar substrates (steel, aluminum, tin, glass and wood), durability, weather resistance, flexibility in composition and glass transition temperature, and compatibility with many polar polymers and inorganic components. However, since these polymers are generally amorphous, they cannot compete in demanding applications where polymers with some degree of crystallinity performed well; e.g., they do not adhere well to most non-polar substrates such as polyolefins, they do not exhibit good mechanical properties (toughness) and they are inferior to olefins in terms of water resistance, barrier properties and durability. Therefore, there is a need of polymer compositions which provide better mechanical and barrier properties, adhesion to polar and non-polar substrates, water and weather resistances and durability. Crystalline and liquid crystalline domains are known to impart improved mechanical and barrier properties of polymers; therefore, the introduction of crystalline and/or liquid crystalline domains in amorphous (meth)acrylate polymer matrix may be a good solution for the above mentioned purpose.This work focus on both coating and adhesive applications of waterborne (meth)acrylic-based copolymer latexes containing crystalline domains and liquid crystalline polymers. The polymer latexes were synthesized via 2-step seeded miniemulsion copolymerization of a crystallizable long side chain acrylate monomer (stearyl acrylste, SA) (first method) or side chain liquid crystalline monomer (SCLCM) (second method) with short side chain (meth)acrylates. Thermal characterization of the films prepared from these latexes indicated that the heat of fusion and crystallinity of the copolymer latexes increased with SA or SCLCM content. The performance of coating films showed that the presence of poly(SA) crystalline and/or liquid crystalline domains reinforced the mechanical properties of polymer films. Conversely, the amorphous domains of poly(SA) and side chain liquid crystalline polymers had plasticizing effects and decreased the mechanical properties of the copolymers. Moreover, the presence of poly(SA) and side chain liquid crystalline polymers improved the barrier and water sensivity of the polymer films. Additionally, for pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs) it was found that shear resistance, peel resistance and loop tack of soft acrylic-based PSAs increased with crystalline content. Moreover, the PSAs containing crystalline domains showed thermo-responsive behavior

Accounting information system versus management information system

The role of information systems becomes more prominent with the growing development of technology and increasing in information needs. Although, information systems are not computers as most of people think, we need information systems to achieve our goals. But with the growth of technology, information systems obtain a more prominent role. In such circumstances, a better understanding of information systems can help organizations in achieving their goals. The main purpose of this article addressed the relationship between accounting information system and management information system by reviewing the literature on characteristics of both information systems. Moreover, the summary of results and findings of each case is presented

Screening of membrane active antimicrobial metabolites produced by soil actinomycetes using membrane models

     The focus of this study was antimicrobial membrane-activity of actinomycetes isolated from soils of Iran. In this work, soil samples were collected from desert and farming zones of Northern and Central Iran. A total number of 45 actinomycetes were isolated from the soil samples. In the primary screening performed to evaluate antimicrobial activity, isolated microorganisms were analyzed in terms of their general inhibition effects to indicator strains E. coli, C. albicans, and S. cervisae. It has been found that 12 actinomycetes, were effective against test microorganisms. In the secondary screening to determine membrane-active metabolites producing microorganisms, isolates having an inhibitory effect against test microorganisms, were analyzed for membrane activity using a Rapid Chromatic Detection method. Based on color changes that are easily identified by the naked eye and recorded by UV-vis spectrophotometery, two actinomycetes had membrane-activity effect and were stored for the sake of further study and identification

Comic Strip Design of Qajar History with Emphasis on Tea House Paintings

Structural similarities and differences in the visual expression of two artistic methods, i.e., tea house painting and comic strip art as new and emerging branches in the contemporary world are very significant. Comic is the art of narrating themes via images. Comic strips are parts of history, momentary memories and without an extensive burden of semantics that helps the reader's or viewer's imagination to go through in the desired directions. It is actually an art that highlights the story and executes it according to its own taste with sounds, whistling and self-made sound effects. Folklore or tea house paintings are parts of peoples' culture which contain the very affection of people within it. This school has been established in tea houses, which is a meeting place for the poor and middle class, and has gradually become popular. It is not very clear when the first tea houses were established in Iran, but they certainly existed during the reign of Shah Abbas Safavid. In these tea houses, all classes, even the public and the special people (officials), and sometimes the king himself, would attend. In the field of tea house painting, the beliefs and boundaries of iconography as well as religion and traditions are the main forms of the image. On the other hand, the illustrated story, is analyzed separately with the topics of this world in terms of lack of spiritual thinking and only by way of the functions of two areas in recognizing visual relationship for the audience and the society.&nbsp; This dissertation was performed via a comparative study method and by collecting information in library forms. Keywords: Tea house Painting, Comics, Comic strips, Audio effect

Role of grafting on particle morphology and film properties of polyurethane-polyacrylate hybrid dispersions.

297 p.Typically, the PU/acrylic hybrid nanoparticle dispersions are prepared in multistep procedure, composed of synthesis of PU in organic solvents, dispersion of PU/solvents into water, solvent removal, addition of acrylic monomers into the dispersion and their free radical polymerization. Besides being complex and expensive, this method has negative implications for sustainability of the synthesis.In this work, solvent and emulsifier-free PU/acrylic hybrid dispersions were synthesized using (meth)acrylic monomers as solvent in the PU synthesis and grafted hybrids were prepared with different functional monomers. The effect of grafting and the impact of macromolecular architecture on the particle and film morphology and physical properties of PU/(meth)acrylic hybrid films is investigated. It was found that grafting improved the compatibility of PU and (meth)acrylics and resulted in films with better mechanical properties and water sensitivity. The grafting of PU and acrylic chains can result in a huge variety of macromolecular structures, depending on the nature of both the PU and the acrylic parts of the formulation.Polyma

Accounting information system versus management information system

The role of information systems becomes more prominent with the growing development of technology and increasing in information needs. Although, information systems are not computers as most of people think, we need information systems to achieve our goals. But with the growth of technology, information systems obtain a more prominent role. In such circumstances, a better understanding of information systems can help organizations in achieving their goals. The main purpose of this article addressed the relationship between accounting information system and management information system by reviewing the literature on characteristics of both information systems. Moreover, the summary of results and findings of each case is presented

Production of biological nanoparticles from &#920- lactalbumin for drug delivery and food science application

In recent years, the concept of controlled release of encapsulated ingredients at the right place and the right time has become of more interest to the food and pharmaceutical industry. Whey proteins are valuable by-products from the cheese industry. The physicochemical properties of the whey proteins suggest that they may be suitable for novel food and drug delivery system. The objective of this study was to characterize the two step desolvation process of -lactalbumin for preparation of its nanoparticles. Following the desolvation of the protein with acetone, the produced nanoparticles were stabilized and cross linked by addition of glutaraldehyde. Nanoparticle sample was subsequently purified by 3 cycle’s centrifugation (15000 ×g, 20 min). Three process parameters were examined to achieve a suitable size of nanoparticles including the pH value, temperature and desolvating agent type. In addition, fabricated nanoparticles were analyzed by photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) as well as scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The smallest size of the nanoparticles achieved was 102 nm while the largest size was 454 nm