Parasitic worm of digestive tracts of Emys orbicularis in pond culture of sturgeon fingerling in Gorgan province, Iran

During one months study on 33 digestive tracts of Emys orbicularis, caught from pond culture of sturgeon fingerling. All together, three different parasitic worms were identified. These worms belong to genera Anisakis, Camallanus and Hysterothylacium. Anisakis obtaind only from stomach tissue, Camallanus from intenstine and Hysterothylacium infected both mentioned organs. The prevalence and intensity of Anisakis, Camallanus and Hysterothylacium were 21.2%, 3.7%, 36.3%, 4.4, 15.1 and 26.0 respectively

Experimental investigation of vortices shed by various wing fin configurations

Forty-six different fins, which were members of twelve plan-form families, were tested. A two dimensional Boeing single element airfoil at an angle of attack of eight degrees and a sweepback angle of thirty-two was used to simulate a portion of the wing of a generator aircraft. Various free stream velocities were used to test any individual fin at its particular angle of attack. While the fin itself was mounted on the upper surface of the generator model, the angle of attack of each fin was varied until stall was reached and/or passed. The relative fin vortex strengths were measured in two ways. First, the maximum angular velocity of a four blade rotor placed in the fin vortex center was measured with the use of a stroboscope. Second, the maximum rolling moment on a following wing model placed in the fin vortex center was measured by a force balance

Emergence of Multidrug Resistance and Metallo‑beta‑lactamase Producing Acinetobacter baumannii Isolated from Patients in Shiraz, Iran

Background: Metallo‑beta‑lactamase (MβL) enzymes production is one of the most important resistance mechanisms against carbapenems in some bacteria including Acinetobacter baumannii. Aims: This study was aimed to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility and the prevalence of MβL among carbapenem‑resistant isolates of A. baumannii. Materials and Methods: In this cross‑sectional study from October 2012 to April 2013, 98 isolates were identified as A. baumannii using Microgen™ kits and confirmed by molecular method. These isolates were tested for antimicrobial susceptibilities by disk diffusion method according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Carbapenem‑resistant isolates were further detected phenotypically by MβL minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC)‑test strips, and subsequently positive MβL isolates were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: Overall, 98% (96/98) of A. baumannii isolates were detected as carbapenem‑resistant by MIC test. Highest sensitivity to the tested antibiotic with 42.9% (42/98) was observed to colistin. Of 96 carbapenem‑resistant isolates, 43 were phenotypically positive for MβL; out of 43 isolates, 37 were confirmed for the presence of MβL genes by PCR. Conclusion: The frequency of drug resistance among the clinical samples of A. baumannii isolated in our study against most of the antibiotics was very high. Moreover, all MβL producing isolates were multidrug resistance. Therefore, systematic surveillance to detect MβL producing bacteria and rational prescription and use of carbapenems could be helpful to prevent the spread of carbapenem resistance.Keywords: Acinetobacter baumannii, Antibiotic resistance, Carbapenem, Iran, Metallo‑beta‑lactamas

Development of a DNA-Liposome Complex for Gene Delivery Applications

The association structures formed by cationic liposomes and DNA(Deoxyribonucleic acid)-liposome have been effectively utilized as gene carriers in transfection assays. In this research study, cationic liposomes were prepared using a modified lipid film hydration method consisting of a lyophilization step for gene delivery applications. The obtained results demonstrated that the mean particle size had no significant change while the polydispersity (PDI) increased after lyophilization. The mean particle size slightly reduced after lyophilization (520 ± 12 nm to 464 ± 25 nm) while the PDI increased after lyophilization (0.094 ± 0.017 to 0.220 ± 0.004). In addition. The mean particle size of vesicles increases when DNA is incorporated to the liposomes (673 ± 27 nm). According to the Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images, the spherical shape of liposomes confirmed their successful preservation and reconstitution from the powder. It was found that liposomal formulation has enhanced transfection considerably compared to the naked DNA as negative control. Finally, liposomal formulation in this research had a better function than Lipofectamine® 2000 as a commercialized product because the cellular activity (cellular protein) was higher in the prepared lipoplex than Lipofectamine® 2000

Survey on the metazoan parasites in Neogobius fishes from southeastern part of the Caspian Sea

In this study a parasitological investigation on 238 samples of Neogobius species from the south-east of Caspian Sea was carried out. The samples including Neogobius melanostomus (35), N. fluviatilis pallasi (103), N. kessleri gorlap (70) and N. bathybius (30) were seasonally seined by beach net during one year (summer 2006-spring 2007), fixed in 10 % buffer formalinand transferred to the laboratory. From 231 of examined fishes 235 specimens were infected (97/6 %). The collected parasites were as follows: Hysterothylacium aduncum, Raphidascaris acus, Cucullanus sphaerocephalus, Dichelyne minutus, Raphidascaroides sp., Cystidicola sp,. Gyrodactylus sp., and Corynosoma strumosum. Hereby, N.melanostomus is introduced as a new host for Raphidascaroides sp., C. sphaerocephalus and Cystidicola sp.. N. fluviatilis pallasi and N. kessleri gorlap for C. sphaerocephalus, Cystidicola sp. and H .adunacum. N. bathybius for C. sphaerocephalus, Cystidicola sp., H. aduncum, E.excisus, R. acus and C. strumosum. Cystidicola sp. and H. adunacum were reported for the first time from Iran. Among the investigated fishes N. fluviatilis pallasi possessed the highest and N. bathybius the lowest variety in infection with various species of parasites. The results of this study indicated that there are significant relations between total length (T.L.) and weight in N. fluviatilis pallasi with the number of C. sphaerocephalus, D. minutus and E. excises. Also there are significant relations between total length and weight in N. melanostomus and between weights in N. kessleri gorlap with the number of C. sphaerocephalus

Sleep State Trend (SST), a bedside measure of neonatal sleep state fluctuations based on single EEG channels

Objective To develop and validate an automated method for bedside monitoring of sleep state fluctuations in neonatal intensive care units. Methods A deep learning-based algorithm was designed and trained using 53 EEG recordings from a long-term (a)EEG monitoring in 30 near-term neonates. The results were validated using an external dataset from 30 polysomnography recordings. In addition to training and validating a single EEG channel quiet sleep, we constructed Sleep State Trend (SST), a bedside-ready means for visualising classifier outputs. Results The accuracy of quiet sleep detection in the training data was 90%, and the accuracy was comparable (85-86 %) in all bipolar derivations available from the 4-electrode recordings. The algorithm generalised well to an external dataset, showing 81% overall accuracy despite different signal derivations. SST allowed an intuitive, clear visualisation of the classifier output. Conclusions Fluctuations in sleep states can be detected at high fidelity from a single EEG channel, and the results can be visualised as a transparent and intuitive trend in the bedside monitors. Significance The Sleep State Trend (SST) may provide caregivers a real-time view of sleep state fluctuations and its cyclicity.Peer reviewe

The Effect of G-ORS Along With Rice Soup in the Treatment of Acute Diarrhea in Children: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: The world health organization guidelines for treatment of diarrhea in children emphasize on continued feeding together with prescription of oral rehydration solution (ORS) and supplementary zinc therapy. However, conflicting viewpoints exist regarding the optimal diet and dietary ingredients for children with diarrhea. Moreover, few studies have investigated the effect of rice soup along with ORS in the treatment of this disease. Objectives: This study aimed to explore effects of simultaneous taking of glucose oral rehydration solution (G-ORS) and rice soup in the treatment of acute diarrhea in 8 to 24-month-old children. Patients and Methods: This single-blind controlled clinical trial was conducted in the pediatric ward of 22nd of Bahman hospital, Gonabad, Iran between June 2013 and February 2014. Forty children aged 8-24 months with acute diarrhea were randomly assigned into an intervention group (G-ORS plus rice soup group) comprising 20 babies and a control group (G-ORS) of 20 children based on balanced blocking randomization. The variables under investigation were diarrhea duration, patient hospitalization, need for intravenous (IV) fluids and stool output frequency. Data was analyzed using independent samples t and chi-square test. Results: At the end of study, the time for treating acute watery diarrhea in the intervention and control groups were 21.10 ± 8.81 and 34.55 ± 5.82 hours (P < 0.001) and hospital stay were 34.05 ± 6.62 and 40.20 ± 6.32 hours (P = 0.005). Moreover, stool output frequency were 4.20 ± 0.95 and 8.00 ± 1.37 (P < 0.001) in the first 24 hours, and 2.18 ± 0.60 and 2.80 ± 0.76 (P = 0.03) in the second 24 hours of treatment in intervention and control groups, respectively. Conclusions: Rice soup regimen was highly effective and inexpensive in the treatment of acute diarrhea in children. Thus, in addition to the common treatment by G-ORS, rice soup can be consumed simultaneously with G-ORS