Effects of progesterone injection on performance, plasma hormones and ovarian morphology of ad libitum and restricted fed broiler breeder hens

An experiment was conducted to evaluate responses of feed-satiated and feed- restricted breeder hens to daily injection of progesterone (P4). A total of 64 Cobb 500 hens were fed either restricted or ad libitum from 27 to 38 wk of age. Fourteen laying hens from each group were selected to conduct P4 injection assay. Half of birds in each group (n = 7) were injected daily by 2.5 mg P4/kg BW and remaining birds were used as control. The P4 was injected subcutaneously, at the base of the neck daily(at 0900 h) for 21 d. Settable and abnormal eggs were recorded daily. Blood samples were taken just before initiation of injections, 10-d and 20-d after initiation of injection. Plasma samples were analyzedfor glucose, cholesterol, triacylglycerol (TAG), P4, estradiol (E2), testosterone, T3 and T4 concentration. Settable egg production declined following P4 injection, whereas total egg production (including softshell egg) remain at high levels in injected birds during the first week after initiation of P4 injection. Progesterone injection in feed-satiated and feed-restricted birds resulted in ovary regression; the ovaryof these birds had no hierarchical follicle. Progesterone injection increased incidence of holding hardshelled eggs in the uterus. Plasma E2 concentrations were affected both by feeding pattern and P4 injection. Progesterone injection depressed plasma E2 concentration in both ad libitum and restricted fed hens. Hens with free access to feed had significantly lower plasma E2 levels compared to restricted fed hens. Our results revealed that whereas injection of P4 induced frequent ovulation early in the injection period in both feed- satiated and feed-restricted breeder hens; however this higher ovulation rate did not result in more settable egg production

Iranian Women's Strategies for Coping with Domestic Violence

Background: Behavioral coping strategies may lead to either increased or reduced violence or associated stress, while also affecting psychological outcomes. To help abused Iranian women cope better with domestic violence and to provide better care for them, it is crucial to investigate their strategies for coping with domestic violence. Objectives: This qualitative study explores the strategies used by Iranian women to cope with domestic violence. Materials and Methods: This study uses a qualitative design, based on a content analysis approach. The participants comprised 24 married women, selected from parks, health centers and two colleges located in Tehran, Iran. The purposive sampling method was used to recruit the participants and continued until data saturation was reached. Semi-structured interviews were carried out to gather data. Results: During the data analysis, a theme “situation management” emerged together with two categories, comprising “the strategies of violence control” and “the strategies of distress control”. The results show that the participants try to manage the abusive situation by controlling violence and or the distress it causes. Conclusions: Unlike common stereotypes that reveal women to be submissive and passive in the face of violence, the results show that the participants in this study coped with violence using consciousness and creativity, and by relying on the available resources. An understanding of the coping strategies used by abused women could help health staff to provide better care for such women and encourage them to use more effective strategies

Cloning and Expression of a Secretory form of Truncated ORF2 (aa 112-607) from Hepatitis E Virus in the pVAX1 Vector

Background: The hepatitis E virus (HEV) accounts for the hepatitis E infection with a high mortality rate in pregnant women. Therefore, the design of the novel and effective vaccines seems essential and the DNA vaccine approach could be useful to achieve this anticipated goal. Objectives: The aim of this study was the cloning of a secretory form of truncated open reading frame 2 (ORF2) of HEV containing amino acids (aa) 112 - 607 into the eukaryotic expression pVAX1 Vector and evaluating of the expression of this recombinant protein in eukaryotic cells. Methods: The truncated ORF2 gene (aa 112 - 607) was cloned in the pVAX1 plasmid by restriction enzyme digest and confirmed by digestion and sequencing. Then, the recombinant plasmid was transfected into eukaryotic cells to express the recombinant protein. The expressed protein in the cell lysate and supernatant was evaluated by immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and western blot assay. Results: Colony polymerase chain reactions (PCR), restriction enzyme digestion, along with DNA sequencing of the recombinant plasmid were performed for confirmation of cloning tPA-PADRE-truncated ORF2 gene (aa 112 - 607) into pVAX1 eukaryotic expression vector. The appearance of the truncated ORF2 protein (56 kDa) in the eukaryotic cells was accepted by the western blot assay, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method, as well as IFA. Conclusions: All outcomes of the present research showed that pVAX1-tPA-PADRE-truncated ORF2 (aa 112 - 607, 56 kDa) recombinant plasmid was able to express truncated ORF2 from HEV as a potential candidate vaccine

Molecular epidemiology of enteroviruses and predominance of echovirus 30 in an Iranian population with aseptic meningitis

Human enteroviruses are the most prevalent causes of aseptic meningitis worldwide. However, despite such predominancy, defining the enteroviral etiology of aseptic meningitis remains a diagnostic dilemma for the clinician in Iran. Therefore, this study was conducted to characterize the prevalence and clinical significance of enteroviral aseptic meningitis as well as the predominant enterovirus serotypes among patients with aseptic meningitis in the South of Iran. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens were obtained from 73 patients with aseptic meningitis (52.1% males and 47.9% females), ages ranging from 1 month to 88 years. Following the extraction of nucleic acid, the detection of enteroviruses was performed by RT-PCR, targeting the 5′ untranslated region of the genome, and sequencing. Enteroviruses were found in 46.6% of samples (34/73). The most predominant serotype was echovirus 30, followed by coxsackievirus B5 and poliovirus type 1 Sabin strain. The enterovirus infections were more prevalent among female patients (58.8%) and those below 5 years of age (52.9%). Although enterovirus infections were observed throughout the year, the infections were more prevalent during autumn with fever as the predominant clinical symptom. The outcomes revealed that enteroviruses are significant causes of aseptic meningitis in the South of Iran, while suspected cases of aseptic meningitis are usually monitored by bacterial culture and biochemical testing of CSF samples. Therefore, the etiology remains unknown in most cases. Molecular detection of viral pathogens should be included as a common approach in the screening of patients with aseptic meningitis to prevent unnecessary treatment and to improve clinical management

Aerodynamic CFD Based Optimization of Police Car Using Bezier Curves

This paper investigates the optimization of the aerodynamic design of a police car, BMW 5-series which is popular police force across the UK. A Bezier curve fitting approach is proposed as a tool to improve the existing design of the warning light cluster in order to reduce drag. A formal optimization technique based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and moving least squares (MLS) is used to determine the control points for the approximated curve to cover the light-bar and streamline the shape of the roof. The results clearly show that improving the aerodynamic design of the roofs will offer an important opportunity for reducing the fuel consumption and emissions for police vehicles. The optimized police car has 30% less drag than the non-optimized counter-part

Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections among Mentally Disabled Children and Adults of Urmia, Iran

Background: The prevalence of intestinal parasites infection in institutions for mental retarda­tion of Ur­mia City, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran was investigated.Methods: This descriptive - cross sectional study was carried out in of Urmia city in 2007-2008. Fecal samples of 225 less than 29 year old mentally disabled individu­als were examined using direct smear, formalin - ether concen­tration. Beside their scotch tape samples were observed for Enterobius eggs. Statisti­cal evaluation was per­formed by SPSS 10.Results: Of 225 mentally retarded persons, 118(52.4%) and 107(47.6%) were female and male. The over­all prevalence of infection was 20.4% and that of male, and female were 20.5% and 20.3%, respectively. 17.3% of examined individuals had protozoa infection and 3.1% showed Entero­bius vermicularis eggs. The infection rates of detected intestinal protozoa were Enta­moeba coli 9.7%, Giardia lamblia 6.2%, Io­doamoeba butschlii 5.7%, Blastocystis hominis 4%, and Entamoeba histolytica/dispar 0.4%. Forty per­cent of 1-5 year, 22.8% of 6-14 year, 22.2% of 15-18 year, and 16.8% of more than 18-year age groups, had positive results in their tests. Accord­ing to IQ test results, 23.8% of less than 25 score group, 19.6% of 25-50, 17.2% of 50-75, and 40% of 75-90 groups were infected.Conclusion: More efforts for increasing sanitation level and prompt diagnosis and treat­ment of infected persons in these institutions are necessary

Voltammetric Determination of Homocysteine Using Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Paste Electrode in the Presence of Chlorpromazine as a Mediator

We propose chlorpromazine (CHP) as a new mediator for the rapid, sensitive, and highly selective voltammetric determination of homocysteine (Hcy) using multiwall carbon nanotube paste electrode (MWCNTPE). The experimental results showed that the carbon nanotube paste electrode has a highly electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of Hcy in the presence of CHP as a mediator. Cyclic voltammetry, double potential step chronoamperometry, and square wave voltammetry (SWV) are used to investigate the suitability of CHP at the surface of MWCNTPE as a mediator for the electrocatalytic oxidation of Hcy in aqueous solutions. The kinetic parameters of the system, including electron transfer coefficient, and catalytic rate constant were also determined using the electrochemical approaches. In addition, SWV was used for quantitative analysis. SWV showed wide linear dynamic range (0.1–210.0 μM Hcy) with a detection limit of 0.08 μM Hcy. Finally, this method was also examined as a selective, simple, and precise electrochemical sensor for the determination of Hcy in real samples

Genotyping and phylogenetic analysis of hydatid cysts isolated from livestock in Bushehr province, Iran

Hydatid cyst is one of the parasitic zoonoses caused by infection with the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus tapeworm. The spread of this parasite is global and is of great importance in terms of public health. To date, ten different species of this parasite have been identified that differ in characteristics such as life cycle, epidemiology and pathogenesis. The purpose of this study was to determine the genotype and phylogenetic relationship of hydatid cysts isolated from livestock of Bushehr province, Iran. About 62 samples of hepatic and pulmonary hydatid cysts were collected from slaughtered animals. DNA extracted by phenol–chloroform method was amplified by PCR using primers specific for the cox1 gene. The PCR products of 50 samples were sequenced and analyzed using BioEdit software and compared with sequences in the GenBank. The phylogenetic tree was drawn using Neighbor Joining tree-NJ method, and its reliability was evaluated. Sequencing results showed that out of 50 sequenced samples, 43 samples had the genotype of Echinococcus granulosus and 7 samples had the genotype of Taenia hydatigena. By drawing a phylogenetic tree, all 43 hydatid cyst samples belonged to G1 strain. The predominance of G1 strain of hydatid cyst in livestock of Bushehr province shows the main role of this genotype in establishing the life cycle of parasite in this region and if the genotype of the parasite in dogs and humans is determined, then these findings can be used to disrupt the life cycle of the parasite and reduce the human infections

A population-based dataset concerning predictors of willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Iran

The global issue of preventing the spread of COVID-19 is challenging. One of the most efficient ways to control the pandemic is to have a full coverage of COVID-19 vaccination. Therefore, this paper collected survey data to understand the intention and willingness of COVID-19 vaccination uptake in Qazvin, Iran. With the use of a paper-and-pencil method and multistage stratified cluster sampling, research personnel approached and interviewed a representative sample of adults in Qazvin (n = 10843) between February 19 and April 9, 2021. The survey asked questions regarding sociodemographic information, fear of COVID-19, perceived COVID-19 infectability, perceived behavioral control over COVID-19 vaccination, subjective norm of COVID-19 vaccination, attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination, and intention to get COVID-19 vaccinated. The data collected from this survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics, which were carried out using the IBM SPSS version 17.0