The effect of individual counseling, line follow-up, and free nicotine replacement therapy on smoking cessation in the samples of Iranian smokers: Examination of transtheoretical model

Background: According to transtheoretical model(TTM), Stage matched interventions are more effective in quitting. The objective of current study was to investigate the effect of individual counseling, line follow-up, and free nicotine replacement therapy(NRT) on smoking cessation in smokers who are in preparation stage of smoking. Materials and Methods: In a randomized clinical trial design, through sending the short message system, potential participants in preparation stage of smoking were recruited and divided into control(n=60)and treatment(n=50) groups. The treatment group received an in-person counseling, line follow-up, and free NRT. TTM variables trend; pros and cons of smoking, behavioral and experiential processes, temptation, were assessed at baseline, 3 and 6months follow-up along with point prevalence and continuous abstinence. Results: Continuous abstinence at 6-month follow-up were 3.3%(n=2) in control group and 46%(n=23) in the treatment group(x 2 = 34.041, P < 0.001). Time � group analyses indicated that except cons of smoking (P > 0.05), all TTM constructs had significantly changed; temptation(F=36.864, P<0.001), pros (F=12.172, P<0.001), experiential processes(F=3.377, P<0.001), and behavioral processes(F=11.131, P<0.001). Conclusion: Interventions based on TTM variables increased the quite rate in prepared and motivated people. Our findings suggest that interventions through individual counseling along with free NRT and line follow-up in people who prepare for quitting are beneficial for our country

Effect of licorice root hydroalcoholic extract to improve the quality of fertility in hyperandrogenism- induced polycystic ovary syndrome by letrozole in mice.

زمینه و هدف: سندرم تخمدان پلی­کیستیک (PCOS) شایع­ترین اختلال غدد درون­ریز در زنان می­باشد. این سندرم با علایم افزایش هورمون­های آندروژنی، عدم تخمک­گذاری، ناباروری و چاقی مشخص می­گردد. مهم­ترین نشانه برای وجود تخمدان پلی­سیستیک، افزایش آندروژن­های خونی می­باشد. هدف از این تحقیق بررسی اثر عصاره هیدروالکلی ریشه شیرین بیان بر عوارض هایپرآندروژنیسم ایجاد شده توسط تخمدان پلی کیستیک تجربی بر توان باروری موش­های سوری ماده می­باشد. روش بررسی: در این بررسی، 84 قطعه موش سوری به 6 گروه تقسیم شدند: گروه­های کنترل، هایپرآندروژن، تیمار 1 mg/kg)150 (، تیمار 2 mg/kg)300 (، تیمار 3 mg/kg)450 ( و تجویز شیرین­بیان تنها با دوز mg/kg450 صورت گرفت. گروه­های هایپرآندروژن و تیمار 21 روز متوالی لتروزول با دوز mg/kg 2 لتروزول از طریق خوراکی دریافت کردند. گروه­های تیماری دو ساعت بعد عصاره شیرین­بیان با دوزهای یاد شده از طریق خوراکی دریافت کردند. بعد از پایان دوره درمان از هر گروه 10 قطعه موش به طور تصادفی برای انجام فرایند لقاح داخل آزمایشگاهی انتخاب شدند. در روند لقاح داخل آزمایشگاهی درصد اووسیت­ها، میزان لقاح و رویان و بلاستوسیست و توقف آن­ها بین گروه­های مختلف مقایسه شد. یافته ها: مقایسه نتایج در گروه­های مختلف نشان داد که در گروه هایپرآندروژن عوامل باروری موش­ها به شدت افت کرده و عصاره شیرین بیان توانسته اثرات محافظتی نسبی داشته باشد. این اثرات در گروه تیمار 2 بیشتر بود. نتیجه­گیری: نهایتاً می­توان نتیجه گرفت که اثرات سوء استفاده از لتروزول، پتانسیل کاهش توان باروری در جنس ماده را داشته و استفاده از عصاره هیدروالکلی شیرین­بیان با دوز مناسب، بعنوان یک آنتی­اکسیدانت تا حدودی می­تواند اثرات سوء هایپرآندروژنیسم ناشی از سندروم تخمدان پلی­کیستیک بر توان باروری موش ماده را بهبود بخشد

Hanging bladder calculi secondary to misplaced surgical suture

Bladder calculi, a rare condition in the pediatric population, occur most commonly as a result of either migration from the kidney or urinary stasis in the bladder. We report the case of a 3-year-old boy with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI) secondary to bladder calculi formation on the sutures from a previous herniorrhaphy.A 3-year-old boy with previous history of herniorrhaphy presented with recurrent episodes of urinary tract infection, resistant to antibiotic therapy. Physical examination was unremarkable. Ultrasonography (US) showed an echogenic fixed intra-luminal lesion in the bladder. Cystoscopic evaluation was performed and confirmed presence of calculi forming around several permanent silk sutures fixed to the bladder wall. The patient undergone cystotomy and the calculi were resected. The stone analysis revealed 80 uric acid calculi. The final diagnosis was of bladder calculi due to remnant suture from past herniorrhaphy. © 2015, Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Iranian Society of Radiology

Cloning and expression of codon-optimized recombinant darbepoetin alfa in Leishmania tarentolae T7-TR

Darbepoetin alfa is an engineered and hyperglycosylated analog of recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) which is used as a drug in treating anemia in patients with chronic kidney failure and cancer. This study desribes the secretory expression of a codon-optimized recombinant form of darbepoetin alfa in Leishmania tarentolae T7-TR. Synthetic codon-optimized gene was amplified by PCR and cloned into the pLEXSY-I-blecherry3 vector. The resultant expression vector, pLEXSYDarbo, was purified, digested, and electroporated into the L. tarentolae. Expression of recombinant darbepoetin alfa was evaluated by ELISA, reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR), Western blotting, and biological activity. After codon optimization, codon adaptation index (CAI) of the gene raised from 0.50 to 0.99 and its GC content changed from 56 to 58. Expression analysis confirmed the presence of a protein band at 40 kDa. Furthermore, reticulocyte experiment results revealed that the activity of expressed darbepoetin alfa was similar to that of its equivalent expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. These data suggested that the codon optimization and expression in L. tarentolae host provided an efficient approach for high level expression of darbepoetin alfa. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Towards building a semantic formalization of (small) historical centres

Historical small urban centres are of increasing interest to different interacting fields such as architectural heritage protection and conservation, urban planning, disaster response, sustainable development and tourism. They are defined at different levels (international, national, regional), by various organizations and standards, incorporate numerous aspects (natural and built environment, infrastructures and open spaces, social, economic, and cultural processes, tangible and intangible heritage) and face various challenges (urbanization, globalization, mass tourism, climate change, etc.). However, their current specification within large-scale geospatial databases is similar to those of urban areas in a broad sense resulting in the loss of many aspects forming this multifaceted concept. The present study considers the available ontologies and data models, coming from various domains and having different granularities and levels of detail, to represent historical small urban centres information. The aim is to define the needs for extension and integration of them in order to develop a multidisciplinary, integrated semantic representation. Relevant conventions and other legislation documents, ontologies and standards for cultural heritage (CIDOC-CRM, CRMgeo, Getty Vocabularies), 3D city models (CityGML), building information models (IFC) and regional landscape plans are analysed to identify concepts, relations, and semantic features that could form a holistic semantic model of historical small urban centres

Influence of microstructure on synchrotron X-ray diffraction lattice strain measurement uncertainty

Accurate residual lattice strain measurements are highly dependent upon the precision of the diffraction peak location and the underlying microstructure suitability. The suitability of the microstructure is related to the requirement for valid powder diffraction sampling statistics and the associated number of appropriately orientated illuminated. In this work, these two sources of uncertainty are separated, and a method given for both the quantification of errors associated with insufficient grain sampling statistics and minimization of the total lattice strain measurement uncertainty. It is possible to reduce the total lattice strain measurement uncertainty by leveraging diffraction peak measurements made at multiple azimuthal angles. Lattice strain measurement data acquired during eight synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments, monochromatic and energy dispersive, has been assessed as per this approach, with microstructural suitability being seen to dominate total measurement uncertainty when the number of illuminated grains was <106. More than half of the studied experimental data fell into this category, with a severe underestimation of total strain measurement uncertainty being possible when microstructural suitability is not considered. To achieve a strain measurement uncertainty under 10−4, approximately 3×105 grains must be within the sampled gauge volume, with this value varying with the multiplicity of the family of lattice planes under study. Where additional azimuthally arrayed data are available an in-plane lattice strain tensor can be extracted. This improves overall strain measurement accuracy and an uncertainty under 10−4 can then be achieved with just 4×104 grains

SIMULTANEOUS SEPARATION AND PRECONCENTRATION OF TRACE AMOUNT OF COPPER, NICKEL, CADMIUM AND ZINC IONS ONTO MODIFIED AMBERLITE XAD-4 LOADED WITH 5-Br-PADAP

In this work, a simple, rapid, selective, sensitive and economical method has been developed for the simultaneous separation and preconcentration of trace amounts of copper, nickel, cadmium, and zinc in aqueous medium using XAD-4 resins that were modified with 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (5-Br-PADAP) as an analytical reagent. The sorption is quantitative in the pH range 7.0-9.5, whereas quantitative desorption occurs instantaneously with 2 M HCl and selected trace elements have been determined using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The linearity is maintained between 0.04-4.0 mg L-1 for copper, 0.1-4.0 mg L-1 for nickel, 0.02-1.3 mg L-1 for cadmium and 0.01-1.4 mg L-1 for zinc. The detection limits were 12 μg L-1 for Cu(II), 30 μg L-1 for Ni(II), 6 μg L-1 for Cd(II), and 4 μg L-1 for Zn(II) in the final solution. Various parameters such as the effect of pH, flow rate, breakthrough volume and interference of a large number of anions and cations have been studied and the proposed method was used for determination of these metal ions in water and standard samples. In order to compare the proposed method, the actual water samples were analyzed by direct FAAS (using standard addition method). Determination of these metal ions in standard samples confirmed that the proposed method has good accuracy. KEY WORDS: Simultaneous separation and preconcentration, Determination of Cu, Ni, Cd, and Zn, Amberlite XAD-4 resins modified with 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (5-Br-PADAP), Analytical reagent Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2006, 20(1), 1-7

Building resilient communities over time

Community resilience entails the community’s ongoing and developing capacity to account for its vulnerabilities and function amid and recover from disturbance. A holistic and systematic approach of the community on how it uses material and energy resources or how a society educates the members’ over time is required to learn from the past and adapt to the present and future opportunities and threads. Community resilience has a long history in the local communities, which is embedded in their culture and history around shared values and local knowledge based on a dedicated and robust collaboration among diverse groups of the community and the various actors from different backgrounds. The innovative partnership between various actors such as stakeholders, research entities, local communities, and third sector parties is required to overcome the complexities of resiliency building. Using local knowledge to understand the local needs better is crucial in developing local, sustainable solutions and building community resilience over time.Global Challenges (FSW

Comparison of antibacterial activities of Ircinia mutans extracts in two different seasons from Kish Island, Persian Gulf, Iran

Sponges, which constitute the phylum Porifera, are the most primitive of the multicellular animals, among all marine organisms screened. Marine sponges produce the largest number of structurally diversified natural products. In this study we investigated in vitro antimicrobial activity of Ircinia mutans collected from the Kish Island in the Persian Gulf against strains of bacteria Escherichia coli (ATCC 15224), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 25619), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 1764), and Bacillus subtilis spizizenii (ATCC 6633). Diethyl etter, methanol and aqueous extracts of sponge were evaluated by using the Bacterial Broth Dilution Method. The results showed that the aqueous extracts didn’t have any antibacterial activity. Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) of the winter diethyl etter extract was 2 mg/ml for E.coli and 20 mg/ml for P. aeruginosa, whereas the summer diethyl etter extract and both of methanol extracts did not show any activity. The MIC and MBC (Minimum Bacterial Concentration) of summer diethyl etter extracts were 2 mg/ml and 3mg/ml against S. aureus; and 5mg/ml and 10mg/ml when tested on B. subtilis. The MIC and MBC of winter diethyl etter extracts were measured as 1.5 mg/ml and 2mg/ml against S. aurous; and 5mg/ml and 10mg/ml when examined on B. subtilis. Summer and winter methanol and aqueous extracts of I. mutans did not show any activity against these bacteria. Therefore secondary metabolite solutions in diethyl etter contain components with antibacterial properties and can be used as antibiotics products

Induced spermiation of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, using a GnRh analogue

In this study, the benefits of using the first Iranian made GnRHa[D-Ala6 des Gly10] mGnRH ethylamide, to induce spermiation in male rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, were evaluated, In addition, its effect on acceleration and synchronization, quality and quantity of milt and the plasma Testosterone (T) fluctuations were examined. For these purposes, 40 non-spermiating male rainbow trouts were injected with a mammalian gonadotropin releasing hormone analog (GnRHa) preparations of 0 (control), 30, 40 and 80 μg/kg B.W. or vehicle (propylene glycol). Spermiation was very synchronous and accelerated in treated groups. Six days after first injection, the cumulative spermiation rates reached respectively 40, 49 and 79% in injected groups (i.e. 30 to 80 μg/kg B.W.) while none of the control fish was spermiated. GnRHa injections advanced spermiation and reduced the average time to spermiation from 16 3.67 days for control group to 14.3± 2.2, 9.2 ±0.75 and 6.6± 0.29 days for treated groups, respectively (p0.05). Circulating levels of testosterone (T) prior to the GnRHa treatment were relatively low in all groups. Treatment with GnRHa induced significant increase in plasma T after 12 h, increasing it to 43.43±5.82, 38.66±5.63, 39.72±5.07 ng/ml in groups 2 to 4, respectively, which were higher than T levels for control (i.e. 24.58±7.13 ng/ml) p<0.05. These levels remained high up until 48 h in treated groups; but after this time, T levels reduced to the basal levels of time 0, except in 4 which had received its second GnRHa injection at time 48