Water quality assessment of the kopal river (Iran)

The Kopal River in the Khozestan province, IRAN, is the most important river on the plain and water capability for agriculture in this plain was provided from this river. It is planning to construct a reservoir on the river in the Haftgel area in order to supply the agriculture and drinking consumptions in that region. Therefore, the study on the water quality of this river is very important role in take any decision. In this paper the water quality parameters such as HCO3- SO4-2 CL-1 K+ Na+ Mg+2 Ca+2 and SO4-2 are evaluated base on the sampled data which taken in the Hydrometric station in the period from 1981-2001. In general, 162 series data are used. For assessment of the water the Wilcox diagram are used. Base on this criterion, the water of Kopal River has high harness and it is not suitable for dinking uses. Also the water is classified as C4S2, C4S3 and C4S4; therefore it is not suitable for the irrigation consumptions

Neural networks for predicting flow discharge in the balarood river (Iran)

In this study an artificial neural networks (ANNs) model, multi-layer perception using back-propagation algorithm (MLP/BP) was used for predicting flow discharge in the Balarood River which located in Khozestan province, Iran. The rain and temperature data as monthly collected at the five meteorology stations near the Balarood basin, and corresponding them the measured discharge at the Dokohe hydrometric station on the Balarood river were used to train and validate the ANN model. The ANN model was performed by varying the network parameters to minimize the prediction error and determine the optimum network configuration. The results show that the best architecture for the MLP/BP model comprised of 10 neurons in the hidden layer and a learning rate of 0.01. Overall, the performance of the MLP/BP neural network was good in predicting the discharge of Balarood River. This information can be used for proper water management studies in that area

In vivo evaluation of the combination effect of near-infrared laser and 5-fluorouracil-loaded PLGA-coated magnetite nanographene oxide

Magnetite nanographene oxide has exhibited great potential in drug delivery and photothermal therapy (PTT) for cancer treatment. Here we developed 5-fluorouracil-loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid)-coated magnetite nanographene oxide (NGO-SPION-PLGA-5-Fu) to simplify combined PTT and chemotherapy in one complex. The nanocarrier was synthesized using a modified O1/W1/O2/W2 multiple emulsion solvent evaporation method and was characterized for size, zeta potential, drug loading, in vitro and in vivo release. In this paper, in vivo suppression effect of PTT and chemotherapy using this synthesized magnetite nanographene oxide was studied. The in vitro release of 5-Fu from nanoparticles showed that 41.36 of the drug was released within 24�h. In vivo release showed that 5-Fu has a sustained release profile and prolonged lifetime in the rabbit plasma. Remarkably, a single injection of NGO-SPION-PLGA-5-Fu and 808�nm near-infrared laser (NIR) irradiation for 3�min effectively suppressed the growth of tumours compared with 5-Fu alone (p�<�.01). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed that the magnetic nanographene oxide was effectively targeted to the tumour site. Therefore, NGO-SPION-PLGA-5-Fu showed excellent PTT efficacy, magnetic targeting property, and MRI ability, indicating that there is a great potential of NGO-SPION-PLGA-5-Fu for cancer theranostic applications. © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Grou

Tri-block copolymer nanoparticles modified with folic acid for temozolomide delivery in glioblastoma

In the present study, Folic Acid (FA) ligand was used to functionalize Temozolomide-loaded Poly (ethylene Glycol)�Poly (Butylene Adipate)�Poly (ethylene Glycol)-coated magnetite nanoparticles (TMZ-SPION-PEG-PBA-PEG) for targeted chemotherapy of glioma cells. Four types of nanoparticles were synthesized with the hydrodynamic diameters of 24�49 nm. Using MTT, Prussian blue, and ICP-OES assays, the cytotoxicity effect and cellular uptake of nanoparticles were evaluated in C6 cancer cells and OLN-93 normal cells. Moreover, in vitro anti-tumor efficacy of nanoparticles was evaluated through colony formation, quantitative real-time PCR, and flow cytometry analysis. As compared to OLN-93 cells TMZ-SPION-PEG-PBA-PEG-FA nanoparticles showed an increase in the cytotoxicity of the loaded TMZ in C6 cells within 24 and 48 h treatment (P < 0.0001), while such effect was not observed in the case of non-targeting nanoparticles. The colony formation, flow cytometry, and real-time PCR assays showed that TMZ-SPION-PEG-PBA-PEG-FA led to the enhancement of inhibitory effects to C6 cells compared to TMZ alone (P < 0.05). These results suggested that TMZ-SPION-PEG-PBA-PEG-FA could effectively slow down cell proliferation, due to the targeting effect and the high accumulation of TMZ in C6 cells via an FA-receptor mediated endocytosis. In conclusion, TMZ-loaded magnetite FA-conjugated PEG-PBA-PEG NPs could be used as a targeted drug delivery system for targeted therapy of brain glioma. © 2019 Elsevier Lt

Does outsourcing paramedical departments of teaching hospitals affect educational status of the students?

Background: There is an increasing trend of outsourcing public departments. Teaching hospitals also outsourced some of their departments to private sectors. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the educational status of students in public and outsourced departments of teaching hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This study was conducted in six teaching hospitals of Iran University of Medical Sciences, which had public and outsourced teaching departments in 2015. One hundred fifty students from the departments of radiology, physiotherapy and laboratory participated in this study and their perceptions about their educational status were assessed. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used; participation in the study was voluntary. Descriptive statistics such as mean (SD), t-test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov were used. Results: No difference was detected between the educational status of students in public and outsourced departments of radiology, physiotherapy and laboratory (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Based on the students' perception, the private sectors could maintain the educational level of the teaching departments similar to the public departments. It is recommended to involve all the stakeholders such as hospital administrators, academic staff and students in the decision- making process when changes in teaching environments are being considered

In vivo evaluation of the combination effect of near-infrared laser and 5-fluorouracil-loaded PLGA-coated magnetite nanographene oxide

Magnetite nanographene oxide has exhibited great potential in drug delivery and photothermal therapy (PTT) for cancer treatment. Here we developed 5-fluorouracil-loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid)-coated magnetite nanographene oxide (NGO-SPION-PLGA-5-Fu) to simplify combined PTT and chemotherapy in one complex. The nanocarrier was synthesized using a modified O1/W1/O2/W2 multiple emulsion solvent evaporation method and was characterized for size, zeta potential, drug loading, in vitro and in vivo release. In this paper, in vivo suppression effect of PTT and chemotherapy using this synthesized magnetite nanographene oxide was studied. The in vitro release of 5-Fu from nanoparticles showed that 41.36 of the drug was released within 24�h. In vivo release showed that 5-Fu has a sustained release profile and prolonged lifetime in the rabbit plasma. Remarkably, a single injection of NGO-SPION-PLGA-5-Fu and 808�nm near-infrared laser (NIR) irradiation for 3�min effectively suppressed the growth of tumours compared with 5-Fu alone (p�&lt;�.01). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed that the magnetic nanographene oxide was effectively targeted to the tumour site. Therefore, NGO-SPION-PLGA-5-Fu showed excellent PTT efficacy, magnetic targeting property, and MRI ability, indicating that there is a great potential of NGO-SPION-PLGA-5-Fu for cancer theranostic applications. © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Grou