Mini-Column for Cytoadherence: A New Method for Measuring the Relative Size of Binding Subpopulations in Plasmodium falciparum Isolates

Background: Cytoadherence of Plasmodium falciparum- infected red blood cells to endothelial cells is an important mechanism for parasite survival and a major trigger for diseases pathology. Here, we de­scribe a new adhesion assay in which different cell types (CHO, CHO/CD36 and CHO/ICAM-1) are at­tached to Cytodex beads in a mini-column format to measure the relative sizes of various binding subpopula­tions as a percentage of the total population.Methods: Relative size of CD36 and ICAM-1-binding subpopulations of erythrocytes infected with P. falcipa­rum were measured by amount of parasitemia before and after passing the infected erythrocytes through a particular column.Results: The mini-column adhesion assay was a suitable method as parasitemia always reduced after pass­ing through a particular column in independent experiments. For example, in a typical experiment us­ing P. falciparum ITG line, 75% of the parasites are retained on a CHO/ICAM-1 while 0% of clone 3D7 is retained.Conclusion: This work introduced and validated a method for measuring the relative size of parasite bind­ing subpopulations and the selection of them. Also, the mini-column method is of value for assessments of cytoadherence and can be used as tool for different applications

Designing for oral storytelling practices at home: A parental perspective

Storytelling at home is typically an oral practice that supports parents and children to make sense of their family identity. Parents play a key role in crafting the story plot and facilitating the child’s participation in the storytelling process. Yet in the context of digital technology, interaction design researchers have tended to focus on children and how digital storytelling tools can support them in their learning. Adopting a “family lens” the aim of this research is to understand the character of oral storytelling practice and identify opportunities for digital storytelling design. The findings outline a co-design workshop that involved a team of designers and parents, who regularly engaged in oral storytelling. Grounded in a systematic video analysis of the workshop alongside a reflection of the design decisions that unfolded, we contribute four new design opportunities centring on the themes of flexibility, shared experience, minimalism, and autobiographical memories. These opportunities can guide interaction design researchers interested in designing new digital oral storytelling tools for families

Factors affecting ethical behavior in pediatric occupational therapy: A qualitative study

Background: It is the responsibility of each occupational therapist to always act ethically and professionally in a clinical setting. However, there is little information available concerning the factors influencing ethical behavior of occupational therapists at work. Since no study has been conducted in Iran on this topic, this qualitative study aimed to identify the factors influencing ethical behavior of pediatric occupational therapists. Methods: Twelve pediatric occupational therapists participated in this study. The sampling was purposeful, and the interviews continued until reaching data saturation. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. The data were analyzed by qualitative content analysis, and the ethics of qualitative research was considered. Results: The factors influencing ethical behavior were classified into four main categories including organizational factors, therapist related factors, client's family issues, and social factors. Conclusion: This study identified numerous factors influencing the ethical behavior of pediatric occupational therapists that could be used to train occupational therapists, human resources managers, professional policy makers, and could also be used to conduct future researches, and produce tools

Evaluating the Catalytic Performance of La1-xCexNi1-yZnyO3 Nanostructure Perovskites in the Carbon Dioxide Reforming of Methane

AbstractIn this research nanostructure perovskites La1-xCexNi1-yZnyO3 were prepared by sol-gel auto-combustion method and their application were evaluated for methane reforming with carbon dioxide and syngas production. Catalysts were designed by Response Surface Method (RSM) based on central composite design (CCD) with three factors of catalyst characteristics, x, y and Tc. The prepared catalysts were examined in methane reforming process at 750 ˚C temperature and atmospheric pressure. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that parameters don’t have any linear effect on catalytic activity and their effect is proportional to square form. Among this investigated parameters, Ni content effect is considerable and calcination temperature (Tc) has a partial effect. In this research R2 value was 94.88%. The optimum catalyst which determined by RSM was La0.60Ce0.40Ni0.81Zn0.19O3 in 747 ˚C calcination temperature that corresponds to empirical result. The XRD characterization of optimum catalyst showed that perovskite catalyst was formed in rhombohedra phase with nanostructure crystals and the SEM of optimum catalyst confirmed the nano scale of prepared particles

Optimized energy window configuration for201Tl imaging

A poor signal-to-noise ratio attributable to a low injected dose of thallium and the presence of scattered photons are the major impediments in the use of thallium as an imaging agent. Thallium decays in a complicated way and emits photons in a wide range of energies (68-82 keV). To increase the ratios of primary photons to scatter photons (primary-to-scatter ratios) and possibly increase system sensitivity, a new energy window for thallium was investigated. Methods: The NCAT phantom was used to simulate the distribution of activity and the attenuation coefficient in a typical patient torso. The phantom was imaged with a SPECT simulator in different energy window configurations. The energy spectra for primary photons and scatter photons were generated, and the most suitable energy windows were investigated. To evaluate the results of the simulation study, a physical phantom was imaged in different energy windows with a SPECT system. The images of the physical phantom were analyzed for the best-quality image and the corresponding window setting. To evaluate the windows determined in the simulation and phantom studies, SPECT images of 7 patients who had angiographically confirmed myocardial defects were acquired in different energy windows. The images were quantitatively compared on the basis of the calculated contrast, scatter-to-noise ratio, and sensitivity. The images were also qualitatively evaluated independently by 4 nuclear medicine specialists. Results: The simulation study showed that the conventional window setting (68 ± 10 keV) is not the most suitable window configuration for 201Tl imaging and that the optimum energy window is 77 ± 15 keV. The images acquired in the latter window configuration yielded higher primary-to-scatter ratios, higher sensitivity (total counts), and better contrast than the images acquired in the conventional window configuration. The phantom study confirmed the results of the simulation study. In the clinical study, the images acquired in the suggested window showed a considerable increase in myocardium-to-defect contrast (1.541 ± 0.368) and myocardium-to-cavity contrast (1.171 ± 0.099) than those acquired in the conventional window configuration. Conclusion: The energy window configuration of 77 ± 15 keV yields higher-quality images than the conventional window configuration. COPYRIGHT © 2008 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine, Inc

Prevention of malnutrition among children under 5 years old in Iran: A policy analysis

Background Malnutrition is one of the main causes of death in children under 5 years of age and one of the most common factors threatening children�s life and health. Nutrition policy analysis and solving existing problems in children can reduce the effects of malnutrition. This study aimed to analyze the current policies of malnutrition prevention in children under five years of age in Iran. Method This study was conducted in 2017 to analyze policies using the "policy triangle framework". In order to examine the policy-making process, the Kingdon�s multiple streams model was used. A combination of two sampling methods, including purposeful and snowball sampling, was applied to select the interviewees. In relation to the implemented documents and policies, the country�s most important policies were selected based on the suggestions of policy makers as well as searching scientific databases and electronic portals. A data collection form was used to identify the current policies and documents and a semi-structured interview guide form was used for the interviews. The framework analysis and MaxQDA software were applied to analyze the data obtained from the interviews. Results The key factors affecting policies in Iran included the status of indicators as well as economic, social, structural-legal, policy and international factors. Among the most important policies and implemented programs, the following can be mentioned: growth monitoring, oral rehydration, breastfeeding, immunization, female education, family spacing, food supplementation, nutrition for children under five years of age, and control of nutritional deficiencies. Currently there is a need for a nationwide program and comprehensive document in the field of the nutrition in children under 5 years of age, which requires strengthening of the political process. Participants and stakeholders in nutrition-related policies for children under the age of five were divided into four categories of governmental, semi-governmental, non-governmental, and international organizations. Conclusion More attention should be paid to the shortage of some micronutrients, accurate implementation of breastfeeding programs, supplementary nutrition, fortification and supplementation programs for children and mothers, utilization of the advantages of each region and its resources, and better coordination between organizations and their policies, and finally strong incentives are needed to promote macro nutritional goals for children under five years of age. © 2019 Mohseni et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Chromogenic in situ hybridisation test for breast cancer patients with equivocal IHC results - A study from Iran

Background: HER2/neu overexpression on cell membranes of breast cancer cells is due to HER2/neu gene amplification and it is important to identify potential candidates for anti HER2 therapy with trastuzumab. IHC, FISH and CISH are standard FDA approved assays currently used to determine HER2 status in routine practice. The aim of this study was to determine HER2 gene amplification, using the CISH method in breast carcinoma samples which had IHC +2 reactions. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted from 2008-2010 using 334 consecutive breast carcinoma samples referred from local laboratories to Mehr Hospital. CISH assays were performed for all cases, and IHC tests were also done for determining efficacy and accuracy of local labs. HER2 status in local IHC tests was compared with central IHC and CISH results. Results: Of 334 breast cancer patients, 16 were negative for HER2 IHC (0, +1), 201 cases were equivocal (+2), and 31 positive (+3). Of 334 referral cases, 88 were CISH positive (26.3) and 246 were CISH negative (73.7). Of 201 IHC +2 cases, HER2 gene amplification was observed in 42 cases (kappa: 0.42). A 29.9 concordance was found between local IHC and central IHC. Sensitivity and specificity of local IHC were 90 and 53.8, respectively. Conclusions: Low accuracy of IHC results in local labs was associated with the following factors: using former FDA-approved criteria for HER2 interpretation, utilizing non-validated kits, and lack of any quality assurance program. Therefore, following the new 2014 ASCO/CAP guideline and comprehensive quality assurance should be implemented to ensure accuracy of HER2 testing

The prevalence of adulthood overweight and obesity in Tehran: Findings from Urban HEART-2 study

Background: To estimate and compare prevalence of overweight and obesity among adult people across the 22 districts of Tehran in 2011. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using data on 47,406 women and 47,525 men aged� 15 years from a large population-based survey (Urban HEART-2). Age-standardized prevalence (ASP) of overweight (25�BMI<30) and obesity (BMI�30) were estimated for the Tehran's districts. Pearson Chi2 tests and logistic regression were used to examine any significant differences in prevalence of these disorders across sociodemographic groups. Results: ASPs of overweight were 36.5 and 32.0 among men and women, respectively (p<0.001). These figures for obesity were 10.7 and 15.3 among men and women, respectively (p<0.001). Crude prevalence of overweight and obesity rose with age up to the age of 54 years and decreased thereafter. Across education groups, the lowest prevalence of overweight/obesity was seen among most educated people. The results showed that being young, single and student were associated with lower odds of overweight/obesity. Conclusion: This study showed a high prevalence of overweight and obesity among adult in Tehran. There were significant associations between sociodemographic characteristics and prevalence of overweight/obesity among adults in Tehran. The results of this study might be used in identifying high risk groups of overweight and obesity in Tehran

Prevalence of malnutrition among Iran�s under five-year-old children and the related factors: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Context: Children�s health is one of the priorities in most societies. Nevertheless, the highest prevalence rate of malnutrition occurs among under five-year-old children worldwide. Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate the rate of malnutrition in Iranian children through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Also we tried to identify the most prevalent factors causing malnutrition. Data Sources: The required data were collected by searching the keywords of nutrition, malnutrition, under-nutrition, prevalence, epidemiology, etiology, occurrence and Iran in PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Index Copernicus, DOAJ, EBSCO-CINAHL, SID, Magi-ran and Iranmedex. Results: Twenty studies were selected for the final analysis stage, dating from 1999 to 2014. Number of children investigated for wasting, stunting and underweight was 53612, 54312 and 55012 respectively. The results showed that the prevalence of each type of malnutrition, in terms of wasting, stunting and underweight were 7.8 (95 CI: 4.8-12.6), 12.4 (95 CI: 8.3-18.5) and 10.5 (95 CI: 7.1-15.4), respectively. Parents� educational level, in particular mothers�, gender, birth weight, the place of residence, and mother�s occupation were mentioned as important factors causing malnutrition. Conclusion: The rate of malnutrition in Iran�s under five-year-old children is lower than the average of that in world and the Eastern Mediterranean region. Breastfeeding, the proper use of complementary feeding, and the principled spacing between births and improving the quality of maternal care have important role in prevention of malnutrition. © 2018, Iranian Journal of Pediatrics