Non- adherence to anti-retroviral medication in Shiraz, 2014: a cross sectional study

Background: Medication adherence is a dynamic and complex behavioral process, which is strongly influenced by personal, social and environmental factors.Objectives: To determine the prevalence and factors affecting non-adherence to medication among HIV-infected patients.Methods and materials:Design: A cross-sectional study.Setting: Voluntary Counseling and Testing Center (VCT), Shiraz, Fars province, in the South of Iran.Patients: Among HIV-positive patients who received anti-retroviral therapy, 214 adult patients were selected through convenience sampling. Their medication adherence was checked by interview and counting the pills on visits during two months. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained from the patients' records.Results: Non-adherence and adherence groups included 30.4% (65) and 69.6% (149) of the patients, respectively. The mean age of patients was 40.80±7.77 years, and ranged from 20 to 65 years. Majority of cases (65%) were male. A significant relationship was found between non-adherence to medications and the variables of transmission method, marital status, housing status, and CD4, but there was no significant relationship with gender.Conclusion: The prevalence of medication adherence was similar to other regions with limited financial resources. To increase patient’s medication adherence, they should be exposed to motivational interventions to promote their drug consumption, social and occupational support.Keywords: Prevalence, adherence, anti-retroviral medication, HIV

Designing and defining the knowledge sharing management system between governmental organizations

The knowledge management has become important after information explosion and human's entrance into science era. Therefore, science became the most important source for organizations and countries. Science management is the process of creating value from invisible assets (Human force) of the organization. The private sector has taken the first steps to put into operation 'Science Management ‘’but the government follows the private sector with the distance of one step. However, the studies concerning sharing science out are rare as the most important part of science management process in governmental sector. This article discusses the designing of the system to share science out in governmental organizations as an essential pattern of the systems (Entrance, process, and exit). Having examined the sources concerning science management and sharing it out, our final model of the study has considered the elements important in science management frame as input in governmental sector (People, organization, technology) influencing sharing science out, the science management activities as process and finally organizational operation improvement and favorable services as the output

Effect of defoliation treatments on forage quality, quantity, and species composition of a Lolium perenne (L.) - Trifolium subterraneum (L.) pasture

As part of investigations to adapt a suitable grazing system in western Oregon, this research was designed to monitor the effects of defoliation treatments on dry matter production, forage quality, regrowth after defoliation, and species composition of a Lolium perenne Trifolium subterraneum pasture for three consecutive growing seasons from 1980 to 1982. Defoliation treatments were three replications of all possible combinations of four defoliation intervals (clipped every 7, 21, 35 or 49 days) and three stubble heights (70, 55 or 40 mm of stubble remaining). A rear bagging rotary mower was used to defoliate the plots and to collect the phytomass at the assigned dates and heights. Grab samples of the forage produced from different treatments were analyzed to determine their digestibility and crude protein content. Leaf Area Index of the herbage produced and the chlorophyll content of the remaining stubble after defoliation were measured in the first seven weeks of 1981 and 1982 growing seasons. Species composition and canopy cover were estimated prior to defoliation treatments each year. Plant density, basal area and root phytomass of perennial ryegrass plants were determined at the completion of the experiment. Collected data were analyzed as a split plot in time. Data within each year were a factorial arrangement of treatments in a randomized complete block design. Defoliation treatments affected dry matter production and the rate of regrowth after defoliation. Total dry matter production in all three years increased as defoliation interval increased from one to seven weeks. Effects of stubble height on dry matter production were probably dictated by forage plant type and pasture species composition. Erect growing ryegrass, which was the major pasture species in 1980, produced more dry matter with lax defoliation; while the more prostrate subclover, which dominated the pasture in 1982, yielded more with close defoliation. Greater daily forage production per unit of land (herbage accumulation rate) on less frequently defoliated plots was associated with increases in leaf area index with time since defoliation. The stubble quality, as evaluated by its chlorophyll content and leaf area index, was lower in plots defoliated less frequently. However, lower initial photosynthetic capacity of the stubble on such plots was less important in determining total forage production than was the higher leaf area accumulated on plots which were defoliated less frequently. Defoliation treatments were also effective in changing forage quality. In vitro digestibility and crude protein content of the forage decreased as the period and intensity of defoliation increased. Forage quality, however, was generally adequate on all treatments to meet the needs of most classes of livestock. Finally, defoliation treatments had some effects on pasture species composition and perennial ryegrass persistence. Perennial ryegrass was replaced by subclover in all of the defoliated plots with time over the trial. Both of these plants, however, disappeared and were replaced by annual grasses in nondefoliated control plots. Plots defoliated every one or seven weeks, as compared to three or five weeks, had fewer ryegrass plants at the end of the experiment. Root phytomass of perennial ryegrass also decreased as defoliation frequency increased. The basal area of this plant, however, was similar for all defoliation treatments

Immunoreactivity analysis of Toxoplasma gondii recombinant antigen rSAG3 in sera from immunized BALB/c mice and tox-oplasmosis patients

Background: The coccidian protozoa Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite of humans and other warm-blooded animals. Diagnosis of toxoplasmosis is of considerable medical importance for human, especially pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals. The apply of an Escherichia coli recombinant antigen(s) would be signifi-cantly useful in developing standardization of the diagnostic tests and reducing their costs. In this study, immunoreac-tivity of recombinant SAG3 against sera from immunized mice and human anti-T. gondii IgG positive patients was evaluated by western-blotting and enzyme immunoassay (EIA) in Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2013. Methods: Three inbreed BALB/c female mice were obtained. Two mice were injected with rSAG3 and one was re-mained untreated, as control. Sera from immunized mice and also pooled sera from IgG positive toxoplasmosis cases were evaluated with western-blotting. IgG antibody responses to recombinant SAG3 was measured by indirect ELISA against the negative control group. Results: The rSAG3 protein reacted with sera of immunized mice and sera from patients with anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies in western-blot analysis. The result of ELISA showed that, there was marked differences in the absorbance values between the recombinant SAG3 immunized mice and control group. Conclusion: The rSAG3 showed IgG reactivity with sera from immunized mice and anti-Toxoplasma IgG patients. © 2016, Iranian Journal of Public Health. All rights reserved

Locations of the 1982 Miramichi (Canada) Aftershocks: Implication of Two Rupture Regions Activated

On 9 January 1982, in the Miramichi region of New Brunswick, Canada, an earthquake with mb 5.7 occurred. It was followed by extensive aftershocks and felt throughout eastern Canada and north-eastern USA. Since this earthquake occurred in an uninhabited region, the damage was minor. Due to an mb 5.7 event is rare in north-eastern America, investigating it and its aftershocks is important for understanding intraplate seismicity. Digital seismic stations were not yet common by 1982. Fortunately, four seismic phases at three stations could be used to locate larger aftershocks. A simplified master-event location method combined with regional depth-phase modeling was used to locate aftershocks. For each aftershock its focal depth was first determined using a depth phase; then, with the depth fixed, the epicenter was determined using the four arrival time readings measured at the same three stations. The located aftershocks were divided into three groups. In each group the earthquake numbers are similar, but the majority of the energy was released in one group. The epicenters formed two trends in the NE–SW direction, implying that the Miramichi earthquake sequence activated two rupture regions

Comparison of Three Methods for Diagnosis of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Background: Leishmaniasis is one of the infectious parasitic diseases of highest incidence in the world. Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) has long been reported in Shiraz, Southern Iran. There is a need to find a sensitive and specific method for treatment and control of the disease.Methods: We have compared the sensitivity of the conventional methods microscopy and cultiva­tion of lesion scrapes against PCR amplification of parasite kinetoplast DNA from these sam­ples. The samples (n=219) were obtained from the patients clinically suspected of CL. The smears were stained with Giemsa for microscopy and cultured in Novy-Nicolle-McNeal (NNN) blood agar for promastigote growth. For PCR, the dry smears were scraped off the slides and DNA was extracted.Results: The positive rates from 219 specimens were 76.71%, 50.68%, and 93.61% for micros­copy, cultivation, and PCR, respectively. The highest correlation was found between PCR and micros­copy method (P= 0.014). In PCR assay, 95.61%, 3.9%, and 0.49% of the samples were identi­fied as Leishmania major, L. tropica, and dermatropic L. infantum, respectively.Conclusion: The PCR method appears to be the most sensitive for the diagnosis of CL and is valu­able for identifying the other species of Leishmania with confusing dermatropic signs

Twenty Years of Research on Mineral Trioxide Aggregate:A Scientometric Report

Introduction: Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) has been suggested for root-end filling, vital pulp therapy, apical plug, perforations repair, and root canal filling. Since the introduction of MTA in 1993, many studies about this material have been published. The aim of this survey was to illustrate statistical information about published articles in PubMed-index journals vis-à-vis the various aspects of this biomaterial. Material and Methods: A PubMed search was performed to retrieve the relative articles from 1993 to August 2012. The data of each article including publication year, journal name, number of authors, first author name, affiliations and study design were recorded. Citation of each article till 2009 was obtained from Scopus and Google scholar databases. Data were analyzed to determine the related scientometric indicators. Results: In total, 1027 articles were found in PubMed-indexed journals which show considerable increase from 2 papers in 1993 to 139 in 2011. While ~62% of articles had no level of evidence, only ~5% could be classified as having the highest level of evidence (LOE1); however, the majority of LOE1 articles originated from Iran (~1%: n=10). Journal of Endodontics, as the top rank journal, published 31.7% of MTA related articles. The majority of articles were four-authored (19.6%). Most of the articles originated from USA (21.9%), Brazil (18.5%) and Iran (8.76%). The average number of citation for the top ten articles from Scopus was 231. Conclusion: This data demonstrates that during the past two decades, research on this novel endodontic biomaterial had a rapid positive trend especially during the last 5 years. Further high-level evidence articles for the various clinical applications of MTA would result in superior clinical decision making and stronger scientific-based endodontic practice

Twenty Years of Research on Mineral Trioxide Aggregate: A Scientometric Report

Introduction: Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) has been suggested for root-end filling, vital pulp therapy, apical plug, perforations repair, and root canal filling. Since the introduction of MTA in 1993, many studies about this material have been published. The aim of this survey was to illustrate statistical information about published articles in PubMed-index journals vis-à-vis the various aspects of this biomaterial. Material and Methods: A PubMed search was performed to retrieve the relative articles from 1993 to August 2012. The data of each article including publication year, journal name, number of authors, first author name, affiliations and study design were recorded. Citation of each article till 2009 was obtained from Scopus and Google scholar databases. Data were analyzed to determine the related scientometric indicators. Results: In total, 1027 articles were found in PubMed-indexed journals which show considerable increase from 2 papers in 1993 to 139 in 2011. While ~62% of articles had no level of evidence, only ~5% could be classified as having the highest level of evidence (LOE1); however, the majority of LOE1 articles originated from Iran (~1%: n=10). Journal of Endodontics, as the top rank journal, published 31.7% of MTA related articles. The majority of articles were four-authored (19.6%). Most of the articles originated from USA (21.9%), Brazil (18.5%) and Iran (8.76%). The average number of citation for the top ten articles from Scopus was 231. Conclusion: This data demonstrates that during the past two decades, research on this novel endodontic biomaterial had a rapid positive trend especially during the last 5 years. Further high-level evidence articles for the various clinical applications of MTA would result in superior clinical decision making and stronger scientific-based endodontic practice