Herpes Simplex virus meningitis in children in South East of Caspian Sea, Iran

Background: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a member of Herpesviridae and a leading cause of human viral diseases. Meningitis occurs as a complication of HSV-1 or HSV-2 primary infection. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate HSV meningitis in children in Gorgan province, Iran. Patients and Methods: Forty-five cerebrospinal fluid samples were taken from children referred with meningitis symptoms. Samples with negative bacterial culture results were tested for viral, biochemical and cytological assays. DNA extraction and PCR were performed. Results: HSV-1 detected in 4 (8.8%) samples without any HSV-2 infections. Cases with positive results had fever and CSF pleocytosis. Vomiting, headache and higher count of WBC were observed in 3, 2 and 3 cases respectively. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) glucose and protein levels were normal and 3 cases showed positive C-reactive protein (CRP) results. Also erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was higher than normal in all positive cases. Conclusions: Distribution of HSV types in children with meningitis in our area predominantly was type 1 compared with type 2, which has been reported more in other area. © 2014, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences; Published by Kowsar Corp

Impact of Public Charging Infrastructure on the Adoption of Electric Vehicles in London

The discussion on the importance of public charging infrastructure is usually framed around the ‘chicken-egg’ challenge of consumers feeling reluctant to purchase without the necessary infrastructure and policy makers reluctant to invest in the infrastructure without the demand. However, public charging infrastructure may be more crucial to EV adoption than previously thought. Historically, access to residential charging was thought to be a major factor in potential for growth in the EV market as it offered a guaranteed place for a vehicle to be charged. However, these conclusions were reached through studies conducted in regions with a high percentage of homes that have access to residential parking. The purpose of this study is to understand how the built environment may encourage uptake of EVs by seeking a correlation between EV ownership and public charging points in an urban and densely populated city such as London. Using a statistical approach with data from the Department for Transport and Zap Map, a statistically significant correlation was found between the total (slow, fast and rapid) number of public charging points and number of EV registrations per borough—with the strongest correlation found between EV registrations and rapid chargers. This research does not explicitly prove that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between public charging points EVs but challenges some of the previous literature which indicates that public charging infrastructure is not as important as home charging. The study also supports the notion that the built environment can influence human behaviour

Applications of lignin in the agri-food industry

Of late, valorization of agri-food industrial by-products and their sustainable utilization is gaining much contemplation world-over. Globally, 'Zero Waste Concept' is promoted with main emphasis laid towards generation of minimal wastes and maximal utilization of plantbased agri-food raw materials. One of the wastes/by-products in the agri-food industry are the lignin, which occurs as lignocellulosic biomass. This biomass is deliberated to be an environmental pollutant as they offer resistance to natural biodegradation. Safe disposal of this biomass is often considered a major challenge, especially in low-income countries. Hence, the application of modern technologies to effectively reduce these types of wastes and maximize their potential use/applications is vital in the present day scenario. Nevertheless, in some of the high-income countries, attempts have been made to efficiently utilize lignin as a source of fuel, as a raw material in the paper industry, as a filler material in biopolymer based packaging and for producing bioethanol. However, as of today, agri-food industrial applications remains significantly underexplored. Chemically, lignin is heterogeneous, bio-polymeric, polyphenolic compound, which is present naturally in plants, providing mechanical strength and rigidity. Reports are available wherein purified lignin is established to possess therapeutic values; and are rich in antioxidant, anti-microbial, anti-carcinogenic, antidiabetic properties, etc. This chapter is divided into four sub-categories focusing on various technological aspects related to isolation and characterization of lignin; established uses of lignin; proved bioactivities and therapeutic potentials of lignin, and finally on identifying the existing research gaps followed by future recommendations for potential use from agri-food industrial wastes.Theme of this chapter is based on our ongoing project- Valortech, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 810630

Epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori infection among Iranian children

Background and study aims: Infection with Helicobacter pylori (HP) either in children or in adults is a risk factor for gastric cancer. The Golestan province located in northeast Iran has been known to be a high-risk area for oesophageal and gastric cancers. This study was conducted to assess the epidemiology of this infection in the children of Golestan. Patients and methods: This study was carried out in 2009 on healthy children (1-15. years) of the Golestan province. Serum immunoglobulin G (Ig G) antibody against HP was tested in these children and positive samples were tested for anti-cytotoxin-associated antigen A (anti-CagA) antibody. To assess the relationship between HP infection and the risk of gastric cancer, the Golestan province was divided into high- and low-risk areas based on the incidence rate of gastric cancer. The chi-squared test was used to assess the relationship between variables. Results: Totally, 194 subjects were recruited. The prevalence of HP infection in our area was 50.5%. The prevalence of HP infection was significantly higher in the high-risk than in the low-risk area for stomach cancer (p=0.004). The seropositivities of HP (p=0.03) and CagA (p=0.04) were significantly lower in children <5. years than in others. Conclusion: Our results showed a high prevalence of HP infection in children of the Golestan province of Iran. We also found a significant positive relationship between childhood HP infection and the risk of gastric cancer. Hence, childhood HP infection may be considered a possible determinant of gastric cancer in this high-risk area. Implementation of preventive programmes may help to reduce the burden of childhood HP infection and, consequently, gastric cancer in this area. © 2013 Arab Journal of Gastroenterology

Structural and optical properties of silicon nitride film generated on Si substrate by low energy ion implantation

In this work the surface of (4 0 0) p-type Si wafers is bombarded with 29 keV nitrogen ions at various ion beam fluency varied from 1016 to 1018 ions/cm2 and the results are investigated. Si3N4 film with orthorhombic structure is formed on silicon surface with cubic structure while the lattice parameter of the generated layer is not affected by change of nitrogen ion beam dose. RMS roughness of implanted samples increases by increasing the nitrogen dose, specially when the dose is more than 3×1017 ions/cm2. Surface resistivity of samples is increased by increasing the dose of ion beam. Although changes in the transmission of implanted samples does not differ very much in comparison with row sample but reflection of implanted samples decrease about 60% for the electromagnetic wave in the range of 200 to 1500 nm. Absorption coefficient of samples is obtained and the band gap energy of samples is calculated. It is observed that formation of defect levels changes the magnitude of band gap energy

Prevalence of medicinal drug interactionsin medicinal prescriptions in the Golestan province, Iran (2012)

Background and Objective: Medicinal drug interactions are one of the problems caused by irrational drug prescription. It eigher change the therapeutic effect or cause drug toxicity. This study was performed to determine the prevalence of medicinal drug interactions in medicinal prescriptions in Golestan province, north of Iran. Methods: In this descriptive study, 1100000 medicinal prescriptions under contract with the Golestan province health insurance organization were assessed for drug interactions during 20 March- 20 September 2012. Results: Drug interactions frequency was 6262 (0.66%). 35.5%, 63.1% and 1.4% of prescriptions were severe, moderate and mild interactions, respectively. The most common severe, moderate and mild drug interactions related to Atorvastatin-Gemfibrozil (13.67%), Ceftriaxone- Gentamicin (9.05%) and Lithium Carbonate-Haloperidol (2.56%). Conclusion: In view of moderate and severe medicinal drug interactions in physicians' prescriptions, health system should plan a comprehensive program to improve awareness and effective monitoring to reduce medicinal drug interactions

A biorefinery strategy for spent industrial ginger waste

An integrated biorefinery approach using spent industrial ginger waste for resource recovery is reported. Valuable products including ginger oil, starch, microfibrillated cellulose (MFC), bio-oil and hydrochar were obtained. Approximately 4 % ginger oil, with a profile similar to commercial ginger oil, can be recovered via Soxhlet or Supercritical CO2 + 10 %EtOH extraction. The oil-free ginger residues were processed using two microwave techniques: starch, MFC and sugar-rich hydrolysates were firstly gained through hydrothermal microwave processing (120–200 °C in water alone), whilst chemical-rich bio-oils and energy-dense hydrochar (20–24.5 MJ kg−1) were obtained via conventional microwave pyrolysis (220–280 °C). The ginger MFC exhibited increased propensity to form microfibrillated cellulose (as evidenced by Transmission Electron Microscopy) with increasing temperature. Nanocrystalline cellulose was produced at the highest processing temperature (200 °C). These changes are commensurate with the leaching and decomposition of the amorphous regions within cellulose. The molecules and materials isolated have further downstream applications and, thus, compared to current low value resolution methods (dumping, burning or animal feed), spent industrial ginger waste is a significant resource for consideration within a biorefinery concept