Determination of optimum injection flow rate to achieve maximum micro bubble drag reduction in ships; an experimental approach

AbstractReduction in ship resistance, in order to decrease fuel consumption and also achieve higher speeds, has been the topic of major research over the last three decades. One of the most attractive ideas in this field is micro bubble drag reduction, which attempts to obtain optimum injection flow rate based on ship specifications. The model test results of a 70 cm catamaran model was used to quantify the effect of air injection rate on drag reduction, and to estimate a simple formulation for calculating an efficient injection rate by considering the main parameters of the ship, such as: length, width and speed. The test results show that excessive air injection decreases the drag reduction effect, while suitable injection reduces total drag by about 5%–8%

Multi Vesicular Osseous Hydatid Disease of the Mandible- A Case Report

Hydatid disease is a common and major public health issue caused by parasite Echinococcus granulosus. The highest prevalence of the parasite can be found in different parts of world like Africa, Australia, and South America. This infection can occurs in almost any part of the body. Here we present clinical, radiological, histological features and treatment of a multi vesicular osseous hydatid disease of the mandible in an Afghan 5 year old boy with a firm swelling in the right side of mandible

Epidemiological aspects of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran

Background: The prevalence of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) has been reported as 1.8 to 37.9 in different provinces of Iran. However, enough knowledge about epidemiological aspects of CL disease is needed to launch a proper program to plan control and preventive strategies about the disease. Objectives: The present study aimed to determine the epidemiological aspect of CL in Iran during the first 6 months of 2014. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all cases of CL reported to centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) by state health departments from March 2014 to September 2014 were included. Descriptive statistics including frequency tables, measures of central value, and measures of dispersion to describe the study variables were used to analyze data. Area maps were created using ArcView GIS v. 3.3. Results: Most of the CL cases were observed in eastern, central, and southern provinces. Two thousand thirty-one cases (55.13) were male and 2,306 (62.6) were living in urban areas. The mean age of the patients was 27 ± 18 years old. More than 31 of them were under 14 years of age. Also, 3570 individuals (96.91) were new cases. more wounds were seen so that 62.75 of the wounds were on the hands, 24.8 in the head and neck, and 2.7 in the body. Conclusions: According to the epidemiological features of CL in Iran, Providing a uniform mechanism for control and prevention of this disease is not possible. Thus, initial actions such as staff training, screening in endemic areas, and treatment of patients with urban leishmaniasis as a reservoir for the disease can be useful, according to the geographical position and carrier. © 2015, Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center

Coronary graft patency after perioperative myocardial infarction: a study with multislice computed tomography‏

A total of 55 consecutive patients who experienced perioperative myocardial infarction (MI) after coronary artery bypass grafting were studied using multislice computed tomography (MSCT) angiography to evaluate for graft patency. The MSCT detected acute graft occlusion in 23% grafts. Of the 55 patients, 40% patients had occluded grafts and perioperative MI in the area of the grafted vessels; remaining 60% had patent grafts with infarction in the area of the grafted vessels. Compared with the patients with patent grafts, those with occluded grafts had a higher blood sugar level. In addition, graft occlusion was higher in grafts with severe distal disease. Among the patients with patent grafts, luminal stenosis of the native vessels supplying the infarcted myocardium was higher than that in the native vessels supplying the non-infarcted myocardium. In conclusion, MSCT is feasible for the assessment of graft patency in the setting of perioperative MI. Graft occlusion is detected in less than half of the cases and usually occurs in the grafts with severe distal involvement and the patients with uncontrolled hyperglycemia. In patients with patent grafts, the severity of luminal stenosis of the native grafted vessel is the main predisposing factor for perioperative MI

Second generation of HIV surveillance system: A pattern for IRAN

Background: For the purpose of minimizing the HIV/AIDS epidemic effects, one of the programs is the promotion of scientific methods and setting of the suitable surveillance systems. The present research was conducted to design the HIV/AIDS surveillance system in Iran applying WHO recommendations and the experience of some countries. Methods: In 2009, based on the country's requirements, the HIV/AIDS surveillance system was proposed and designed for Iran. The Delphi technique was utilized to find the views of experts. Data analysis was conducted based on a comparison of the attributes of the HIV/AIDS surveillance systems in the countries under consideration using a descriptive and theoretical analysis. Results: The model was approved obtaining the final score of 36.3 out of 44, viz 82.5. Conclusion: Designing and performing of the HIV/AIDS surveillance pattern in the direction of "second generation of HIV/AIDS surveillance" can be considered as an important step in the improvement of the patient's control and precaution of HIV/AIDS. © Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal

Construction of expression vectors carrying mouse peroxisomal protein gene (PeP) with GST and Flag labels

The aim of this study was to construct expression vectors carrying mouse peroxisomal protein gene (PEP-cDNA) in prokaryotic and mammalian expression vectors in chimeric cDNA types, encompassingGST and FLAG with PEP-cDNA. PEP-cDNA was sub-cloned in pGEX6p2 prokaryotic expression vector in order to label this gene with GST to purify PEP protein for further biochemical analysis and identifying related proteins thereafter. FLAG-PEP recombinant DNA was produced and sub-cloned inpUcD3 eukaryotic expression vector to express tagged-PEP protein for transient transfection analysis and identifying intracellular localization of PEP protein in future experiments. PEP-cDNA was amplifiedin different PCR reactions using pEGFP-PEP vector and 2 sets of primers introducing specific restriction sites at the ends of PEP. PCR products with BamHI/SalI restriction sites were treated by restriction enzymes and inserted into the pGEX6p2, downstream of GST tag. PEP-cDNA containingBamHI/ApaI restriction sites and FLAG gene (which amplified using pUcD3-FLAG-PEX3 vector) were used as templates in secondary PCR for amplifying FLAG-PEP recombinant DNA. FLAG-PEP fragment was treated by enzymatic digestion and inserted into the pUcD3 eukaryotic expression vector.pGEX6p2-PEP and pUcD3-FLAG-PEP constructed vectors were transformed into the one shot TOP10 and JM105 bacterial competent cells, respectively. Positive colonies were selected for plasmid preparation. Results confirmed correct amplification of the expected products. PEP-cDNA in both PCRreactions encompasses 630 bp. FLAG fragment containing designed sites was 77 bp and FLAG-PEP fragment was 700 bp. Sequencing of constructed vectors confirmed that PEP-cDNA was tagged appropriately and inserted free of mutation and in frame with GST and FLAG

The development of mouse early embryos in vitro in fibroblasts and cumulus cells co-cultures supplemented with retinoic acid

This study was designed to examine the effects of retinoic acid adding to cumulus and/or fibroblast cells monolayer on the development of mouse early embryos. One-cell mouse embryos were obtained from NMRI mice after superovulation by an intraperitoneal injection of 5 IU equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) followed 48 hrs later by 5 IU human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) were obtained from mouse fetuses and cumulus cells (CC) were prepared from mouse cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs). To produce monolayer of cumulus and fibroblast cells, 1.0 × 105 cells/ml were plated into culture dishes in 100 μl droplets. The collected mouse embryos were cultured randomly into six different conditions, being supplemented (experiment, Exp) or not (control, Con) with 0.28 μg/ml of retinol acetate methyl-β-cyclodextrin (RA) for 96 hrs at 37°C in 5% CO2 in air, including: (1) culture media only (Con 1); (2) culture media plus RA (Exp 1); (3) co-culture with CC (Con 2); (4) co-culture with CC plus RA (Exp 2); (5) co-culture with MEF (Con 3) and (6) co-culture with MEF plus RA (Exp 3). The culture medium was Alpha Modification of Minimum Essential Medium Eagle (α-MEM) + 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) with 100 IU/ml penicillin and 100 μg/ml streptomycin. The proportions of embryos passing the two-cell block were significantly higher in the MEF (Con 3) group compared to the other treatment groups (P<0.05). The percentage of the two-cell passed embryos developing to the blastocyst stage was significantly higher in the co-culture groups than that of the culture medium alone (P<0.05). After 96 hrs in culture, the rate of blastocyst stage for both groups of CC co-culture treatment (Con 2 and Exp 2) was identical but, adding RA into the MEF co-culture (Exp 3) resulted significantly lower in vitro development than that of the Con 3 group (29.2% vs. 57.7%, P<0.05). These results suggest that supplementation of co-culture groups with RA could not affect the embryos passing the block and developing to the blastocyst stage, although the presence of RA into the culture medium alone may improve passing the critical two-cell stage. Also, in vitro addition of RA to cells without receptors for retinol during long term co-culture may result early embryonic growth retardation

The effect of quitting water pipe during pregnancy on anthropometric measurements at birth: A population-based prospective cohort study in the south of Iran

Background: Evidence regarding health effects of tobacco cessation during pregnancy is mainly restricted to cigarette while water pipe is the preferred method of tobacco smoking among women in the Middle-East. The present study aimed to assess the effects of cessation of water pipe during pregnancy on birth anthropometric measures in the south of Iran. Methods: Data on 1120 singleton pregnancies (response rate = 93.4) from a population-based prospective cohort study in suburban communities in Bandar Abbas city was used. Based on water pipe smoking status, the study subjects were categorized into: 1) those who never smoke water pipe (never smoker); 2) those who stopped water pipe during pregnancy and resumed it postpartum (quitters); 3) those who continued smoking water pipe during their pregnancy (always smokers). The Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) were utilized for the analyses. Results: Compared to never smokers, quitting water pipe in pregnancy decreased mean birthweight of infants by 99.30 g (β:-99.30, 95CI:-204.35,-5.75) and an additional decrease of 37.83 g occurred in infants of always smokers (β:-137.13;95CI:- 262.21,-12.05). Means of birth length did not significantly differ among the three water pipe groups. Means of head circumference, however, significantly increased by 0.79 cm in infants of always smokers (β:079,95CI:0.13,1.45). Conclusion: Quitting water pipe during pregnancy had positive effects on infant growth, especially birth weight. Awareness campaigns about health benefits of quitting water pipe during routine prenatal checkups and integration of active follow-up visits into prenatal care protocols for smoking mothers are provided. © 2020 The Author(s)