Dietary administration of vitamin C and Lactobacillus rhamnosus in combination enhanced the growth and innate immune response of the rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

The effects of dietary vitamin C and Lactobacillus rhamnosus on immunity and growth performance were investigated in Oncorhynchus mykiss. For this purpose, 480 rainbow trout (68±5g) were obtained from a local farm and acclimated to laboratory conditions for 10 days and then divided into four groups in three replicates. During 30 days, juvenile rainbow trout were fed diets supplemented with vitamin C (1g/kg) and L. rhamnosus (at 5 × 107 CFU/g) or a control diet. Biometry was done at day -30 and blood samples were taken by caudal vein after fish anesthesia with clove powder at day 0, 15, 30 and 45. Serum lysozyme activity, alternative complement activity and total plasma immunoglobulin level were assayed as innate immune response of rainbow trout. Results showed fish fed with vitamin c and L. rhamnosus (group 3) statistically could improve fish growth performance. Also lysozyme activity and alternative complement activity of serum significantly were higher in group three than other groups, but total plasma level of immunoglobulin only was higher than all groups at day 30. In conclusion dietary administration of vitamin C and L. rhamnosus in rainbow trout diet could enhance the growth and innate immune response, but these properties need further studies on the field applications

Effects of dietary Bacillus subtilis on growth performance and immune responses, in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792)

Four hundred and eighty five rainbow trout (76 ± 6.44 g mean weight) were acclimated to laboratory conditions and then randomly divided into four groups of tanks in triplicate. The first group (Group 1) was fed on a commercial diet (control) without Bacillus subtilis supplementation. The second, third and fourth groups (Group 2, Group 3 and Group 4, respectively) were given a diet supplemented with 1, 5 and 10 g probiotic powder (containing 8×10^7 CFU g^-1 Bacillus subtilis) per kg commercial feed. Growth performance, immune responses and glucose levels were analyzed on days 0, 22 and 44. The results showed that dietary Bacillus subtilis supplementation significantly (p0.05) was observed in weight gain rate (WGR) between the control and group 2. On the effect of dietary Bacillus subtilis on serum lysozyme, it was observed that group 3 and group 4 did not show any significant differences in serum lysozyme activity and serum total antibody on day 44. Results of alternative complement activity, showed significant increase during the experimental days (p<0.05). Results on glucose assay showed that group 3 had the lowest glucose level (13.71 mg/dL) which was not significantly different than that in other groups on day 44. Fish diet supplementation with 5 g probiotic powder (Group 3) is preferable for immune system responses; however, high dose of Bacillus subtilis may be helpful to improve growth performance in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792)

Factors influencing the geographic distribution of physicians in Iran: A qualitative study

Introduction: The uneven geographic distribution of physicians has been a longstanding important issue worldwide. Different policies have been recently employed in Iran, with the aim of bridging the gap. This study aimed to explore factors influencing the distribution of specialist physicians in Iran and investigate the effects of newly established policies on attracting and retaining physicians in rural and remote areas. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in 2012. Qualitative data were obtained through an open-ended questionnaire and by reviewing relevant documents. Participants were 82 key officials from medical universities, who were directly involved in the distribution of physicians across the country, including vice chancellors for treatment affairs, managers for treatment affairs, and human resources experts. Thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. Results: Four main factors influencing the distribution of physicians were explored, namely external, contextual, individual, and organizational factors. The decision to practice in rural areas was mainly influenced by socioeconomic characteristics of the designated areas and personal attributes of physicians, including sex, income expectations, and rural background. Participants also asserted that the implemented policies had a major positive influence on the distribution of physicians. In addition, participants believed that the improvement in the distribution of physicians had both positive economic and health impacts in underdeveloped areas. Conclusions: It seems that the regional distribution and supply of physicians have been improved in the light of the implemented policies in recent years. The study also revealed that a number of factors influence physician choices to stay and practice in rural and underdeveloped areas. Policies such as providing more financial and non-financial incentives, reducing disparities between physicians' income in rural and metropolitan areas, selection of students with rural background, and supportive measures for physicians working in underserved areas were recommended. © H Ravaghi, E Taati, Z Abdi, A Meshkini, S Sarvarizadeh, 2015

Relationship between personal characteristics of specialist physicians and choice of practice location in Iran

Introduction: Uneven geographic distribution of physicians is a major healthcare issue in Iran. This study aimed to explore the relationship between personal characteristics of the recently graduated specialist physicians in Iran and their choice of practice location. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to extract information with regard to 3825 recently graduated specialist physicians from all medical schools across Iran between 2009 and 2012. The relationship between physicians' personal attributes and their desire to practise in underdeveloped areas was analyzed using �2 test and logistic regression analysis. Results: Birthplace, sex, exposure to rural practice before residency program, place of residence, and year of graduation were associated with physicians' desire to practise in an underdeveloped area. The logistic regression showed that female physicians were less likely to choose underdeveloped areas to practise as compared with their male counterparts (OR=0.659, 95CI, 0.557-0.781, p�0.001). Physicians who lived in underdeveloped areas were nine times more likely to choose underdeveloped areas to practise as compared with those living in other areas (OR=8.966, 95CI, 4.717-17.041, p�0.001). Physicians who did not have previous exposure to rural practice were 28 less likely to choose to serve in the underdeveloped areas as compared to those who had such exposure (OR=0.780, 95CI, 0.661-0.922, p=0.004). Neither physicians' marital status nor their success in the board certification exam was associated with their choice of practice location. Conclusions: It seems that increasing the enrollment of physicians with a rural background in residency programs may solve the problem of uneven distribution of specialist physicians in Iran. Because female physicians are less willing to work in the underdeveloped areas than male physicians, increasing the number of male student admissions to residency programs, particularly in certain specialties that are more in demand in the underdeveloped areas, could alleviate the problem of uneven distribution of physicians in the short run. Further, programs that support raising the admissions of female students with a rural background into local medical universities along with providing incentives to encourage them to live and work in rural areas should be put on the policy agenda. © James Cook University 2016

Enhancement of NMP degradation under UV light by nitrogen-doped TiO2 thin films using a design of experiment

Doping nitrogen within TiO2 is an effective way to enhance visible light photocatalysis due to a direct electron excitation from the N2p states within the band gap. However, nitrogen doping is not always efficient for UV photocatalytic activity. Here, different structures of N-doped TiO2 (TiOxNy) have been prepared by reactive RF (13.56 MHz) magnetron sputtering. The morphological, optical, structural, and photocatalytic properties of the films have been studied in order to investigate the competitive effect of the morphology and the chemical composition on the efficiency of the photocatalytic activity. The variation of surface wettability of the film over time in the dark and under visible and UV irradiation was also studied. The reduction in wettability by dark storage can be explained by the adsorption of hydrocarbon contamination on the thin film’s surface. Additionally, from water contact angle experiments, it was found that these films developed hydrophilic properties upon UV and visible illumination. The photoinduced change in the contact angle of water was due to the removal of hydrocarbon contamination on the surface and also the photo-oxidation of the water droplet. Samples prepared at high pressure gave the best photocatalytic activity, even though the deposition rate was lower at higher pressures (lower film thicknesses), due to the high specific surface area and the optimal presence of TiOxNy crystals in the lattice. However, at low pressure, the TiN crystals became more predominant, and acted as recombination centers for the photo-generated charge carriers. A design of experiments was used in order to optimize the deposition parameters to have the best photocatalytic activity. The high photocatalytic activity under UV light was found to be due to the introduction of discrete energy levels within the band gap, the increased sample wettability, and the higher specific surface area. However, the post annealing process did not effect the activity under UV irradiation. Using the response surface methodology, RSM, based on a design of experiment, DOE, we are able to achieve a good understanding of the complex processes involved in the deposition of the thin films and their effect on the photocatalytic activity. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/930

Surface species investigation of Ni-Fe catalysts of CO₂ hydrogenation by TD MS analysis

The condition of Ni-Fe catalysts’ surface was investigated by the method of thermally programmed desorption with mass spectral analysis of desorbed particles (TD MS). TD spectra indicated the desorption of CO₂ (m/z = 44), CO (m/z = 28) and H₂O (m/z = 18) particles from the surface of samples with high and low catalytic activity in the reaction of CO₂ hydrogenation. Intermediate compounds CHO*, CH₂O* were not observed in the TD profiles for all investigated catalysts. On the basis of catalytic performance results and thermal desorption data it can be suggested that process of CO₂ hydrogenation over Ni-Fe catalysts proceeds via direct hydrogenation of CO₂ to CH₄.Методом термопрограмованої десорбційної мас-спектрометрії (ТД МС) досліджено стан поверхні Ni-Fe каталізаторів реакції гідрогенування СО₂. На ТД спектрах зареєстровано десорбцію частинок CO₂ (m/z = 44), CO (m/z = 28) та H₂O (m/z = 18) з поверхні зразків, що проявили високу та низьку каталітичну активність у реакції гідрогенування СО₂. Проміжні сполуки CHO*, CH₂O* не спостерігалися на ТД профілях для всіх досліджуваних зразків. На основі результатів каталітичної активності та термічної десорбції зроблено припущення, що процес конверсії СО₂ в метан на Ni-Fe каталізаторах відбувається через пряме гідрогенування карбону без утворення проміжних кисневмісних сполук.Методом термопрограмированной десорбционной масс-спектрометрии (ТД МС) исследовано состояние поверхности Ni-Fe катализаторов реакции гидрогенирования СО₂. По ТД спектрах зарегистрировано десорбцию частичек CO₂ (m/z = 44), CO (m/z = 28) та H₂O (m/z = 18) с поверхности образцов, которые показали высокую и низкую активность в реакции гидрогенирования СО₂. Образование промежуточных соединений CHO*, CH₂O* не наблюдалось ни для одного из исследованных образцов. Из полученных результатов по изучению каталитической активности и термической десорбции сделано предположение, что процесс конверсии СО₂ в метан на Ni-Fe катализаторах происходит путем прямого гидрогенирования атомарного углерода без образования промежуточных кислородсодержащих соединений

The Incidence Rate of Vasovagal Reactions and Its Effective Factors among Blood Donors in Mashhad Blood Transfusion Centers

Aims: Vasovagal reaction is one of the most common complications of blood donation, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of vasovagal reactions and its effective factors among blood donors in Mashhad blood transfusion centers. Materials & Methods: This case-control study was performed on 657 blood donors in Mashhad's four blood transfusion centers during 6 months. The donors who had vasovagal reactions were in the case group (218 cases), and 439 donors who did not respond to vasovagal were in the control group. The age, BMI, blood pressure, pulse rate, hematocrit and vasovagal response variables were studied. Data were analyzed by SPSS 11.5 using Chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests. Findings: The incidence of vasovagal reactions in the six months was 2.16%. The mean age in the case group was significantly lower than the control group (p<0.001). Vasovagal reactions were significantly higher in women and in first-time donors, as well as in those with anxiety and in subjects with lower BMI (p<0.001). The mean reduction in arterial pressure after blood donation was significantly higher in the case group than in the control group (p<0.001). Conclusion: The incidence of vasovagal reactions is dependent on several factors, including age, sex, BMI, and blood pressure, and with more care from high-risk donors, it can be approximately prevented from vasovagal reaction and increased the possibility of returning to blood donation

Aid conditionalities, international Good Manufacturing Practice standards and local production rights: a case study of local production in Nepal

© 2015 Brhlikova et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Department for International Development [RES-167-25-0110] through the collaborative research project Tracing Pharmaceuticals in South Asia (2006 – 2009). In addition to the authors of this paper, the project team included: Soumita Basu, Gitanjali Priti Bhatia, Erin Court, Abhijit Das, Stefan Ecks, Patricia Jeffery, Roger Jeffery, Rachel Manners, and Liz Richardson. Martin Chautari (Kathmandu) and the Centre for Health and Social Justice (New Delhi) provided resources drawn upon in writing this paper but are not responsible for the views expressed, nor are ESRC or DFID. Ethical review was provided by the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh, and ethical approval in Nepal for the study granted by the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC)

Cost-effectiveness analysis of adding low dose ribavirin to peginterferon alfa-2a for treatment of chronic hepatitis C infected thalassemia major patients in Iran

Background: The prevalence of hepatitis C in Iran is 1 and 18 in general population and thalassemia patients respectively. The cost effectiveness analysis of adding Ribavirin to Peginterferon alfa-2a (PEG IFN alfa-2a) as a combination treatment strategy of chronic hepatitis C in thalassemia patients in comparison with monotherapy could help clinicians and policy makers to provide the best treatment for the patients. Objectives: In this study we aimed to assess whether adding Ribavirin to PEG IFN alfa-2a is a cost effective strategy in different genotypes and different subgroups of 280 patients with chronic hepatitis C infection from the perspective of society in Iranian setting. Patients and Methods: A cost effectiveness analysis including all costs and outcomes of treatments for chronic hepatitis C infected thalassemia major patients was conducted. We constructed a decision tree of treatment course in which a hypothetical cohort of 100 patients received "PEG IFN alfa-2a" or "Peg IFN alfa-2a plus Ribavirin." The cost analysis was based on cost data for 2008 and we used 9300 Iranian Rials (IR Rial) as exchange rate declared by the Iranian Central Bank on that time to calculating costs by US Dollar (USD). To evaluate whether a strategy is cost effective, one time and three times of GDP per capita were used as threshold based on recommendation of the World Health Organization. Results: The Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) for combination therapy in genotype-1 and genotypes non-1 subgroups was 2,673 and 19,211 US dollars (USD) per one Sustain Virological Response (SVR), respectively. In low viral load and high viral load subgroups, the ICER was 5,233 and 14,976 USD per SVR, respectively. The calculated ICER for combination therapy in subgroup of patients with previously resistant to monotherapy was 13,006 USD per SVR. Combination therapy in previously resistant patients to combination therapy was a dominant strategy. Conclusions: Adding low dose of Ribavirin to PEG IFN alfa-2a for treatment of chronic hepatitis C patients with genotype-1 was "highly cost effective" and in patients with low viral load and in previous monotherapy resistant patients was "cost effective." © 2013, Kowsar Corp

Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species by Polyenylpyrroles Derivatives Causes DNA Damage Leading to G2/M Arrest and Apoptosis in Human Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells

10.1371/journal.pone.0067603PLoS ONE86-POLN