Evaluating the effective factors on behavioral tendency in using mobile bank services

This research has been done to investigate the effect of different levels of factors of customer’s tendency toward using mobile-bank services according to technology acceptance model of Davis in Banking Industry. The research population was the customers and the users of mobile-bank services of National (Melli) Bank in Iran. We used questionnaire to gathering data. The inferential statistics was used for analyzing data. We used ANOVA, Duncan test and Friedman test to test the hypotheses. Findings show that effective factors on behavioral tendency in using mobile bank services between Ardabil national bank customers respectively are having profit, security and understanding fluency

Evaluating the effective factors on behavioral tendency in using mobile bank services

This research has been done to investigate the effect of different levels of factors of customer’s tendency toward using mobile-bank services according to technology acceptance model of Davis in Banking Industry. The research population was the customers and the users of mobile-bank services of National (Melli) Bank in Iran. We used questionnaire to gathering data. The inferential statistics was used for analyzing data. We used ANOVA, Duncan test and Friedman test to test the hypotheses. Findings show that effective factors on behavioral tendency in using mobile bank services between Ardabil national bank customers respectively are having profit, security and understanding fluency

The Valid Derogation from a Fair Trial in States of Emergencies

Abstract: Fair trial in the states of emergency especially after September 11, 2001 attacks is of a high importance. The goal of this article is to recognize the concept of the states of emergency and the determination of their applicability, the study of the mechanism of deviation from the principles and guarantees of fair trial under the said conditions and the recognition of the principles of deviation of the fair trial. For this purpose, the regional and international documents and the policy of control and legal institutions have been studied. Among, several international documents, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the protocols attached to the Geneva conventions and among the regional documents of the European convention of human rights has had the highest protection of the fair trial guarantees. The deliberative views of the International Court of Justice and the legal policy of the European court of human rights have allocated a special place for the reinforcement of fair trial in the states of emergency. The Human Rights Commission of The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross have also played a strong supervisory role in this matter. The most important result of this article is that the minimum rules of fair trial should not be deviated from any states of emergency. On the contrary, it should be reinforced. Valid derogation of other rules of fair trial requires certain procedural and substantial standards

Induced Abortion by Vaginal Use of Aluminum Phosphide in a 44-Year-Old Woman: A Case Report

Aluminum phosphide (AlP) is an efficient and toxic pesticide that is easily available in many Asian countries such as Iran. Many cases of unintentional or suicidal use of AlP have been reported in these countries, and these statistics are rising rapidly. We aim to present a case of abortion induced by vaginal use of AlP. We report a 44-year-old gravid woman who self-administered one-quarter of a 3-g AlP tablet intravaginally. Ultrasound at 6 hours post-admission showed no fetal movement or heart motion. Intravaginal administration of AlP can lead to fetal death and abortion. There is concern about the spread of vaginal use of these agents in pregnant women, as the number of illegal abortions is increasing

Molecular Methods for Identification of Acinetobacter Species by Partial Sequencing of the rpoB and 16S rRNA Genes.

BACKGROUND Acinetobacter spp. is a diverse group of Gram-negative bacteria which are ubiquitous in soil and water, and an important cause of nosocomial infections. The purpose of this study was to identify a collection of Acinetobacter spp. clinical isolates accurately and to investigate their antibiotic susceptibility patterns. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 197 non-duplicate clinical isolates of Acinetobacter spp. isolates identified using conventional biochemical tests. The molecular technique of PCR-RFLP and sequence analysis of rpoB and 16S rRNA genes was applied for species identification. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed with a disk diffusion assay. RESULTS Based on 16S rRNA and rpoB genes analysis separately, most of clinical isolates can be identified with high bootstrap values. However, the identity of the isolate 555T was uncertain due to high similarity of A. grimontii and A. junii. Identification by concatenation of 16S rRNA and rpoB confirmed the identity of clinical isolates of Acenitobacer to species level confidently. Accordingly, the isolate 555T assigned as A. grimontii due to 100% similarity to A. grimontii. Moreover, this isolate showed 98.64% to A. junii. Besides, the identity of the isolates 218T and 364T was confirmed as Genomic species 3 and A. calcoaceticus respectively. So, the majority of Acinetobacter spp. isolates, were identified as: A. baumannii (131 isolates, 66%), A. calcoaceticus (9 isolates, 4.5%), and A. genomosp 16 (8 isolates, 4%). The rest of identified species showed the lower frequencies. In susceptibility test, 105 isolates (53%), presented high antibiotic resistance of 90% to ceftriaxone, piperacillin, piperacillin tazobactam, amikacin, and 81% to ciprofloxacin. CONCLUSION Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA and rpoB spacer simultaneously was able to do identification of Acinetobacter spp. to species level. A.baumannii was identified as the most prevalent species with high antibiotic resistance. Other species showed lower frequencies ranged from 4 to 9 strains

Comparison of The Melatonin Preconditioning Efficacy between Bone Marrow and Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Objective: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from various sources have the potentials to positively affect regenerative medicine. Furthermore, pre-conditioning strategies with different agents could improve the efficacy of cell therapy. This study compares the effects of an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent, melatonin, on protection of bone marrow-derived MSCs (BMSCs) and adipose tissue-derived MSCs (ADSCs). Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, rat BMSCs and ADSCs were isolated and expanded. Pre-conditioning was performed with 5 μM melatonin for 24 hours. Cell proliferation and viability were detected by MTT assay. Expression of BAX, BCL2, melatonin receptors and osteocalcin genes were evaluated by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Also, apoptosis was detected with tunnel assay. Osteogenic differentiation was analyzed using alizarin red staining. Results: No significant increase was found in cell viability between BMSCs and ADSCs after melatonin preconditioning. Following melatonin preconditioning, BAX expression was significantly down-regulated in both ADSCs and BMSCs (P<0.05), with the difference being more significant in ADSCs compared to BMSCs. BCL2 expression was increased significantly in both cell types after preconditioning. Metalothionine 1 and Metalothionine 2 were both upregulated significantly in the two cell types (P<0.05). Melatonin increased osteogenesis capability through increasing osteocalcin expression. However, expression of osteocalcin in BMSCs before and after preconditioning was higher than that in ADSCs. On the other hand, melatonin expression in ADSCs was in higher levels than in BMSCs. Melatonin also improved alizarin red concentration significantly in both BMSCs and ADSCs (P<0.05). Alizarin red staining severity increased significantly in ADSCs after preconditioning compared to BMSCs (P<0.05). Conclusion: Here we have shown that the effects of preconditioning on melatonin expression in ADSCs are higher than those in BMSCs. These findings could be used in adoption of a proper preconditioning protocol based on the sources of MSCs in specific clinical applications, especially in bone regeneration

Protective effect of chronic administration of pelargonidin on neuronal apoptosis and memory process in amyloid-beta-treated rats

Objective: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder associated with impaired cognitive skills and learning and memory dysfunctions.  It has been suggested that pelargonidin (PG), as an antioxidant agent, has a neuroprotective effect. PG could prevent damaging effects of amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition. The aim of this study was to determine the chronic effect of PG on hippocampal neurons and memory processes in a rat model of AD. Materials and Methods: Twenty-eight male adult rats were divided into sham, AD, AD+PG (5 μg, intracerebroventricular), and PG (5 μg, intracerebroventricular) groups. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of Aβ peptides (6 μg) was done using stereotaxic surgery. ICV administration of PG or saline was performed daily for 28 consecutive days. Behavioral analysis was performed using the novel object recognition (NOR) and passive avoidance tests. Neuronal apoptosis was detected using TUNEL assay in the hippocampus. Results: The ICV injection of Aβ reduced step-through latency and discrimination index in behavioral tests (p <0.001). Aβ increased the number of apoptotic neurons (p <0.001). PG treatment decreased the time spent in the dark compartment and neuronal apoptosis in the AD+PG rats (p <0.001). PG increased the discrimination index in the NOR test (p <0.001).  Although PG did not change behavioral variables, it decreased cell death in the PG group. Conclusion: PG attenuated neuronal apoptosis and improved cognition and memory deficiency in AD rats. The protective effect of PG against Aβ may be due to its anti-apoptotic property. It is suggested that PG can be useful to treat AD

Clinical, epidemiological, and mycological features of patients with candidemia: Experience in two tertiary referral centers in Iran

Background and purpose: Candidemia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy and those hospitalized with serious underlying diseases. Here, we investigated the epidemiological, clinical, and mycological features of candidemia in Tehran, Iran. Materials and methods: A prospective observational study of all patients diagnosed with candidemia was performed at two referral teaching hospitals in Tehran, Iran, from February to December 2018. Demographic characteristics, underlying diseases, risk factors, clinical symptoms, and laboratory analyses of candidemic patients with positive culture were mined. Candida isolates were molecularly identified by sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2). The antifungal susceptibility testing for fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, amphotericin B, caspofungin, micafungin, and anidulafungin against the isolates was performed using CLSI broth microdilution reference method (M27-A3). Results: A total of 89 episodes were identified, with an incidence of 2.1 episodes/1000 admissions. The common underling disease were malignancy (46%), renal failure/dialysis (44%), and hypertension (40%). The overall crude mortality was 47%. C. albicans (44%) was the most frequent causative agent, followed by C. glabrata (21%), C. parapsilosis complex (15%), C. tropicalis (11%), and C. lusitaniae (3.5%). All the isolates were susceptible to amphotericin B. The activity of all four azoles was low against non-albicans Candida species, especially C. tropicalis. Conclusion: The increase in non-albicans Candida species with reduced susceptibility to antifungal drugs might be alarming in high-risk patients. Therefore, accurate knowledge of predisposing factors and epidemiological patterns in candidemia are effective steps for managing and decreasing the mortality rate in candidemia.This study has been funded and supported by Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (Grant no. 99-2-99-48944).S

Izolati streptokoka grupe B u mokraći i njihova antimikrobna osjetljivost u skupini iranskih žena: učestalost i sezonske razlike

Streptococcus agalactiae is one of the uropathogens responsible for urinary tract infections (UTI ) in children, pregnant women, and elderly people with chronic underlying diseases. This study was performed to determine the prevalence of urinary tract isolates of group B streptococci (GBS) in a group of females referred to a referral University Hospital in Iran. In this retrospective cross-sectional study, urine analysis and urine culture results of all female subjects referred to the laboratory of the Rasoul-e-Akram Hospital, Tehran, Iran in 2010 were reviewed. Bacteriuria, colony count, pyuria and demographic data of patients were also evaluated. In this study, 10,256 females were investigated; 2061 (20.1%) of them had positive urine cultures. GBS was the isolated microorganism in 184 (8.92%) cases, yielding a prevalence of 1.79% in total study population. The mean age of subjects with positive GBS cultures was 48.24}18.8 years, with a higher prevalence recorded in the 51-60 and 21-30 age groups. The highest rates of cultures positive for GBS were seen in December and January. GBS was found to be sensitive to the following antibiotics: cephalothin (100%), norfloxacin (96.9%), ampicillin (96%), nitrofurantoin (95.5%), and vancomycin (95%). In this study, GBS showed greatest resistance to tetracycline (81.6%) and co-trimoxazole (68.9%). In conclusion, the prevalence of GBS in females with suspected UTI is relatively low; however, attention to the age and susceptibility pattern of antibiotic treatment for UTI caused by this microorganism is necessary.Streptococcus agalactiae je jedan od uropatogena odgovornih za infekcije mokraćnog sustava kod djece, trudnica i starijih osoba s kroničnim osnovnim bolestima. Cilj ove studije bio je utvrditi učestalost izolata streptokoka grupe B u mokraćnom sustavu skupine žena upućenih u referentnu Sveučilišnu bolnicu u Iranu. U ovoj retrospektivnoj studiji obrađeni su rezultati analize mokraće i kulture mokraće svih ženskih osoba upućenih u laboratorij Bolnice Rasoul-e-Akram u Teheranu, Iran tijekom 2010. godine. Obrađeni su i podaci o bakteriuriji, broju kolonija, piuriji, te demografski podaci svih bolesnica. Od ukupno 10.256 ispitanih žena pozitivna kultura mokraće utvrđena je u 2061 (20,1%) žene. Streptokok grupe B bio je izolirani mikroorganizam u 184 (8,92%) slučajeva, dok je njegova ukupna učestalost u čitavoj ispitivanoj populaciji bila 1,79%. Srednja dob žena s pozitivnom kulturom streptokoka grupe B bila je 48,24}18,8 godina, s većom učestalošću u dobnim skupinama od 51-60 i 21-30 godina. Najviše stope pozitivnih kultura streptokoka grupe B zabilježene su u prosincu i siječnju, a mikroorganizam je pokazao osjetljivost na slijedeće antibiotike: cefalotin (100%), norfloksacin (96,9%), ampicilin (96%), nitrofurantoin (95,5%) i vankomicin (95%). U ovoj studiji je streptokok grupe B pokazao najveću otpornost na tetraciklin (81,6%) i kotrimoksazol (68,9%). Zaključuje se kako je učestalost streptokoka grupe B kod žena sa sumnjom na infekciju mokraćnog sustava relativno niska, međutim, pozornost treba posvetiti dobi bolesnice i profilu osjetljivosti antibiotske terapije za infekciju mokraćnog sustava uzrokovanu ovim mikroorganizmom

Fertility disorder associated with celiac disease in males and females: fact or fiction?

Abstract Aim: The association between celiac disease and infertility is controversial in the literature