The Effect of Air Pollution on Respiratory Disease Visits to the Emergency Department in Kerman, Iran

Background: It is probable that with increase of air pollution, the rate of respiratory disease patient admissions in the emergency departments increases as well. In this study, the effect of air pollution on the rate of admission of patients with respiratory diseases in the emergency department of one of the referral educational hospitals in Kerman, Iran was investigated. Methods: Data of patients with respiratory diseases (asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, emphysema, COPD) admitted in Afzalipour hospital during March 2006 until March 2011 were extracted based on gender and age from the archived files of the emergency department and were compared with air pollution measurements (including fine particles, NO, NO 2 , NO x , SO 2 , CO, O 3 ) inquired from the Kerman Environmental Protection Agency with lags up to 50 days by time series through MiniTab15 and STATA11 software packages. Results: None of the pollutants showed a significant or more than 0.2 correlation with respiratory disease visits to the emergency department, except ozone and SO2. In negative Binomial regression, only SO2 increase was associated with increased visits of female patients IRR= 1.436 (95% CI 1.004-2.051). Conclusion: It is probable that some air pollutants in their current concentrations in Kerman cause increase of respiratory disease patient's visits to emergency departments. However, more research is needed

The genoprotective effect of Naringin by mifepristone on human blood lymphocyte

Introduction: According to a study conducted by mifepristone, it is a potent anti-progesterone compound that can lead to abortion and abnormalities in the fetus. Therefore, due to the presence of high antioxidant flavonoids, such as Naringin, and the frequency of this compound in the country, we have determined the protective effect of Naringin against cytogenetic damage caused by mifepristone on blood lymphocytes with micronucleus method; a high dose causes abortion and genetic abnormalities. Methods and Results: With 5-cc heparin syringe, blood samples were collected from 5 healthy and non-smoker volunteers and blood samples were incubated for 1 hour after incubation with 100 μM of toxic dose of mifepristone and various concentrations of Naringin for 24 hours. Then to evaluate the production of micronucleus in binucleated lymphocytes, the slides were prepared and were evaluated by optical microscopy. The mean values were compared using the Spss software and the Anova test (posttest: Tukey). That p <0.05 has been made as meaningful. Incubation of blood samples with mifepristone induces genotoxicity in lymphocytes and the adjacency of cells with Naringin significantly reduces the number of micronucleus (p<0.05). The results of this study have shown a significant role of Naringin as the protective factor against the genotoxicity of mifepristone. Conclusion: In this study, Naringin was found to be a protective agent against the DNA damage caused by mifepristone, and since Naringin alone has no genetic disorder; it can be used as a protective agent against the toxic effects of mifepristone

Motivation-based Market Segmentation in Rural Tourism: the Case of Sámán, Iran

Market segmentation is a pivotal and under-investigated issue when evaluating decision-making processes and motivational factors shaping rural tourism. The present study has examined market segments of rural tourists in Iran based on their socio-demographic attributes, travel characteristics and preferred leisure activities, profiling rural tourists on the base of their motivational background. The survey results indicated that rural tourism in the study area is a heterogeneous market, whose development depends on general trends in Middle East tourism market. A comprehensive knowledge of rural tourism actors may help formulating appropriate marketing strategies for internal areas destined to tourism growth

The electronic and optical properties of MgO mono-layer: Based on GGA-mBJ

The electronic and optical properties of MgO mono-layer were calculated based on the density functional theory (DFT) with FP-LAPW method using PBE-GGA and GGA-mBJ approximations. The electronic calculations of MgO mono-layer show a more interesting behavior than its bulk phase such as decreasing the band gap from 7.8 eV to 3.1 eV (for GGA) and 4.2 eV (for GGA-mBJ). Also, the MgO mono-layer has a direct band gap at Γ point in the Brillion Zone, and the effective masses of electrons are very greater than the effective mass of holes in this point. The optical coefficients such as dielectric parameters, energy loss functions, Refractions, Extinction and Absorption of this graphene-like (G-L) were calculated by RPA method which indicates the semiconducting properties of this mono-layer at the in-plane and perpendicular directions to emitting light. Keywords: MgO mono-layer, GGA, mBJ, Optical properties, Electronic propertie

Ultrasonographic evaluation of the thyroid gland and goiter prevalence in Bushehr port as an iodine- sufficient area: 6- year prospective study in schoolchild

Background: The determination of goiter prevalence in children by thyroid ultrasound is an important tool for assessing iodine deficiency disorders. The main aim of this study was to determine thyroid volume and goiter prevalence in schoolchildren of Bushehr port, based on 2007 normative values. Materials and Methods : A probability proportionate-to-size cluster sampling method was used to obtain a representative sample of 1148 school children of Bushehr port aged 7-10 years. The median and 97th percentile of thyroid volumes for age and body surface area (BSA) was measured by data of ultrasonography. The normative value of thyroid volume of the 2007 study was used as reference. Results: The 97th percentile of thyroid volume based on age or BSA in school children was higher than the international normative reference. The age-, and BSA-adjusted mean of thyroid volume was higher in both sexes than the thyroid volume of school children in the 2007 study (p<0.0001). Application of the native thyroid volume reference resulted in a goiter prevalence of 7.57%. Conclusion The thyroid volumes of schoolchildren and goiter prevalence in Bushehr port were generally high compared to the baseline data obtained 6 years ago. The environmental goiterogenic factors should be investigated in this iodine-sufficient area

Arrangements of Mobile Genetic Elements among Virotype E Subpopulation of <i>Escherichia coli</i> Sequence Type 131 Strains with High Antimicrobial Resistance and Virulence Gene Content

Escherichia col

Various arrangements of mobile genetic elements among CC147 subpopulations of Klebsiella pneumoniae harboring bla NDM-1: a comparative genomic analysis of carbapenem resistant strains

Abstract Background Certain clonal complexes (CCs) of Klebsiella pneumoniae such as CC147 (ST147 and ST392) are major drivers of bla NDM dissemination across the world. ST147 has repeatedly reported from our geographical region, but its population dynamics and evolutionary trajectories need to be further studied. Methods Comparative genomic analysis of 51 carbapenem-nonsusceptible strains as well as three hypervirulent K. pneumoniae (hvKp) recovered during 16-months of surveillance was performed using various bioinformatics tools. We investigated the genetic proximity of our ST147 strains with publicly available corresponding genomes deposited globally and from neighbor countries in our geographic region. Results While IncL/M plasmid harboring bla OXA-48 was distributed among divergent clones, bla NDM-1 was circulated by twenty of the 25 CC147 dominant clone and were mostly recovered from the ICU. The NDM-1 core structure was bracketed by a single isoform of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) [ΔISKpn26-NDM-TnAs3-ΔIS3000-Tn5403] and was located on Col440I plasmid in 68.7% of ST392. However, various arrangements of MGEs including MITESen1/MITESen1 composite transposon or combination of MITESen1/ISSen4/IS903B/IS5/ISEhe3 on IncFIb (pB171) were identified in ST147. It seems that ST392 circulated bla NDM-1 in 2018 before being gradually replaced by ST147 from the middle to the end of sample collection in 2019. ST147 strains possessed the highest number of resistance markers and showed high genetic similarity with four public genomes that harbored bla NDM-1 on the same replicon type. Mainly, there was a convergence between clusters and isolated neighboring countries in the minimum-spanning tree. A conserved arrangement of resistance markers/MGEs was linked to methyltransferase armA which was embedded in class 1 integron in 8 isolates of ST147/ST48 high-risk clones. Conclusion Our findings highlight the dynamic nature of bla NDM-1 transmission among K. pneumoniae in Iran that occurs both clonally and horizontally via various combinations of MGEs. This is the first analysis of Iranian ST147/NDM + clone in the global context