Knowledge of Emergency Contraception among College Students in Zanjan, Iran

Background & aim: Avoiding unintended pregnancy is an important issue among college students. Emergency contraception is considered as a practical method to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex. This study was conducted to measure the knowledge of college students regarding emergency contraception in Zanjan, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 911 college students, who were studying humanity, engineering, and experimental sciences in Zanjan, Iran, during 2011 to 2012. The subjects were selected using stratified random sampling method, and the data were collected by a questionnaire developed by the researcher. The level of knowledge was considered as low, moderate, and high. Data analysis was performed using Chi-square test in SPSS software, version 16. Results: According to the results, 78 (8.6%), 279 (30.9%), and 545 (60.4%) of the students had high, moderate, and low levels of knowledge about emergency contraception, respectively. Additionally, 524 individuals (58.28%) had heard about emergency contraception so far. Furthermore, 256 (28.6%) students knew about combined oral contraceptive pills, and 64 (7.2%) of them knew about intrauterine device with copper as an emergency contraception. There was a significant relationship between marital status and the level of knowledge (P=0.01). Conclusion: The results showed that the students had inadequate knowledge about the methods of emergency contraception. Conducting educational programs and making students aware through the media may be helpful for increasing their level of knowledge

Predictors of Medication Adherence in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the predictors of medication adherence behavior and the role of self-efficacy in the medication adherence of people with diabetes. Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study. One hundred forty-eight samples were selected through the formula of difference of means. Measure tools consisted of a demographic questionnaire, Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, and psychological constructs questionnaires. SPSS20 software was used for descriptive statistics tests and calculation of correlation coefficients between variables. Amos 8.80 was used to implement the structural equation modeling method. Results: The mean age of participants was 54.1 ± 8.2 and mean of body mass index (BMI) was 28.3 ± 4.5. Correlation coefficients between medication compliance behavior and the constructs of knowledge (r = 0.382, p < 0.01), attitude (r = 0.422, p < 0.01), subjective norms (r = 0.312, 05 p < 0.05), self-efficacy (r = 0.481, p < 0.05) and fear (r = 0.305, p < 0.05) were positive and significant. In general, the strongest correlation coefficient was reported between attitude and self-efficacy (r = 0.516, p < 0.01). The fit indices generally showed that the data fitted well with the assumed model. Self-efficacy was the most important construct that directly influenced medication adherence (β = 0.585, p < 0.05), followed by attitude (β = 0.328, p < 0.05) and fear (β = 0.265, p < 0.05). Conclusions: According to the findings of this study, it was shown that various factors affect medication adherence behavior, among which self-efficacy is the most important reason, and subjective norms, attitude and norms and awareness of factors affecting medication adherence behavior

Geospatial modeling to identify the effects of anthropogenic processes on landscape pattern change and biodiversity

This research used geospatial data to quantify biodiversity changes and landscape pattern change to track anthropogenic impacts of such changes at the Mouteh Wildlife Refuge (MWR), Isfahan, Iran. Satellite image duration of four decades, LandSat1-5, and IRS-P6 data were used to develop land cover classification maps for 1971, 1987, 1998, and 2011. The number and size of land cover patches, the degree of naturalness, and the diversity indices were calculated and compared for a 40-year period. The results showed an increasing concern with regard to unplanned human activities. Some improvements of the natural landscape also occurred in the core protected zone of the study area. The number and size of land cover patches, the degree of naturalness, and the diversity indices were calculated. Overall changes in natural land use between 1971 and 1998 at MWR showed that the number of patches for natural land use has increased, but it also showed a decrease in 2011. Similar changes were observed for seminatural land use. Within the artificial classes, the number and area of patches were higher and the largest patch occurred in 2011. The maximum variation of diversity is related to the year 2011. The results showed an increasing concern with regard to unplanned human activities. Some improvements of the natural landscape also occurred in the core protected zone of the study area. Remote sensing and geographic information system offers an important means of detecting and analyzing temporal changes occurring in our landscape

Polymorphism of rs599839 in the PSRC1 gene is associated with coronary artery disease in an Iranian population

Introduction: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading health complication worldwide because of its high prevalence and mortality. The association between CAD susceptibility and the rs599839 (C/T) polymorphism in the human proline and serine-rich coiled-coil (PSRC1) was reported in a genome-wide association study. To validate this association, we performed this case-control study to genotype the 1p13.3 (rs599839) locus in a sample of the Iranian population with CAD (stenosis≥70% in≥1 coronary artery). Methods: We performed an association analysis with PCR and Sanger sequencing of rs599839 (C/T) polymorphism and CAD risk in 280 CAD patients and 287 healthy controls defined as a coronary calcium score of zero and no noncalcified plaques in coronary computed tomography angiography. SPSS, version 16.0, was applied for statistical analysis. Results: The rs599839 (C/T) locus showed a significant association with CAD (P value<0.001). TT and CT genotypes were associated with CAD (P value<0.001). Furthermore, the dominant status (TT+CT vs. CC) was associated with an increased risk of CAD (OR, 9.14; 95% CI, 3.77 to 22.15; and P value<0.001). Conclusion: The study findings indicate strong evidence for rs599839 (C/T) association with CAD risk

The effect of extracellular vesicles derived from lung adenocarcinoma cells on the tumor microenvironment

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most frequent subtype of non-small cell lung cancer and is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Due to the late stage of diagnosis, five-year survival rate of LUAD remains dismally low at approximately 15%. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that occur in the cells of the tumor and surrounding microenvironment will aid in identifying new therapeutic targets and thus improve overall survival. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from cancer cells are one of the main facilitators of communication with the tumor microenvironment (TME). Fibroblasts of the TME uptake secreted EVs and differentiate into cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), leading to tumor growth and progression. Herein, differentially expressed genes in lung fibroblasts co-cultured with LUAD EVs were identified and compared with TGFβ-treated fibroblasts. Additionally, different CAF subtypes as well as signaling pathways activated in each treatment group were characterized. While the majority of differentially expressed genes between the EV-treated and TGFβ-treated groups were similar, those co-cultured with LUAD EVs showed enrichment of inflammatory CAFs and were upregulated in several pathways including NF-κB, IL2, IL-6, IL17 and COMPLEMENT. Fibroblasts co-cultured with TGFβ were dominant in developmental CAFs and shown upregulation in Wnt/β catenin signaling pathway. Together, this data provides a comprehensive analysis of gene expression profiles of LUAD EV-treated fibroblasts and their downstream pathways through which they communicate with the other cells in the TME.Medicine, Faculty ofGraduat

Humans in the upstream can exacerbate climate change impacts on water birds’ habitat in the downstream

International audienceThe present paper aims to quantify how human-made changes in the upstream exacerbate climate change impacts on water birds’ habitat in the downstream. To reduce climate change effects and design adaptation policies, it is important to identify whether human activities understate or overstate the effects of climate change in a region on its inhabitants. This paper also shows how human activities may magnify climate change impacts both locally and regionally. Land-use/land-cover change as the important sign of human-made destruction in an ecosystem was detected in the upstream of the Helmand basin over 40 years. Owing to conflicts in Afghanistan, studies on this basin are rare. The water bird’s habitat suitability maps during the study period were created using the maximum entropy model and the multi-criteria evaluation method. The post-classification method was applied to show the land-use/land-cover change over 40 years. These results were compared to the area of suitable habitat for water birds. The findings of these analyses indicated that the irrigated farming was expanded in the upstream despite climate change and water limitation, while the water birds’ habitat in the downstream was declined. These results revealed that the unsustainable pattern of farming and blocking water behind dams in the upstream exacerbated the negative effects of climate change on water birds’ habitat in the downstream. The significance of this study is to demonstrate the role of human in exacerbating climate change impacts both locally and regionally

Which water bird groups need greater habitat conservation measures in a wetland ecosystem?

International audienceOne important issue in wildlife conservation is the identification of the groups of species that need greater conservation measures. In this regard, maps of habitat degradation are useful tools. However, water bird habitat mapping in wetland ecosystem is difficult due to the large extent and complexity of wetlands and the narrow boundary between the habitats of different groups. In this paper, the capabilities of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data were applied to overcome these limitations and to provide a practical scheme to conserve water bird habitats. The significance of this paper is the novel application of the SAR capabilities for water bird habitat conservation. These data were used to separate the habitat of the three water bird groups and to determine the destroyed habitats that should be protected for water birds in wetlands with unstable conditions. Using Sentinel-1 (S1) data, habitat maps for the water birds were created during the inundation period in the Hamoun-e-Hirmand. These habitats included the shrub swamps, flooded meadows, and open water. Based on the fourmonth flooded period of the wetland and the S1 image archive, habitat maps were created for six dates. The SAR backscattering coefficients of these three habitat classes were first analyzed to investigate the potential of the S1 images to differentiate between the habitat classes. A support vector machine (SVM) was then developed to separate the habitat classes. The accuracy of the six produced maps was calculated to be between 81% and 87.5%, which confirmed the ability of the S1 images to differentiate between water bird habitat classes. Based on the habitat degradation analysis, Anatidae, Charadriiformes, Ciconiiformes, Gruidae, Pelecanidae and the diving ducks need greater conservational measures in their feeding habitats (flooded meadow and open water). This paper introduced S1 data as an effective tool for mapping the habitats of each group of water birds in a wetland

Effect of some chemical fertilizer and biofertilizer on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Saffron

In this research, effects of chemical and biological fertilizers on qualitative and quantitative traits of saffron, were evaluated in a field experiment as randomized complete block design with three replications at Saffron Research Farm of Shahed University during growing season of 2012-2013. Experimental factors were chemical nitrogen fertilizer (0, 25 and 50 kg.ha-1) and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria including Pseudomonas and Bacillus as biofertilizer (inoculation and uninoculation). The results indicated that complete application of chemical fertilizer with biofertilizer enhanced yield of saffron, up to 217%, compared to control. The highest yield obtained in application of biofertilizer and 50 kg.ha-1 chemical fertilizer. It is worth noting that control (no inoculation) resulted in highest percentage of ingredients of stigma. Application of 50 kg.ha-1 of fertilizer was caused severe loss of quality traits in stigma, as safranal and crocin contents decreased by 5.13% and 10.9%, respectively. Integrated application of 25 kg.ha-1 nitrogen fertilizer and bio-fertilizer increased the picrocrocin up to 11.9% compared to control. Application of 50 kg.ha-1 nitrogen fertilizer along with biofertilizer was the efficient treatment in increment of stigma yield and qualitative characteristics of saffron leaves. The concentration of phosphorus, zinc and copper increased up to 83.05, 69.36 and 86.6%, respectively compared to control. Totally, Pseudomonas and Bacillus inoculation increased most of the qualitative and quantitative traits of saffron through nutrients uptake

Morphological, physiological and biochemical response of Lallemantia species to elevated temperature and light duration during seed development

Seed weight, storability, and germinability can depend on maternal plant's environment. However, there is slight information about the effect of light and temperature on seed quality of Lallemantia species. The purpose of this research was to determine the properties of physio-biochemical of maternal plant, seed quality, and seed chemical composition of Lallemantia species (Lallemantia iberica and Lallemantia royleana) under temperature (15 °C, 25 °C, and 35 °C) and photoperiod (8 hd-1, 16 hd-1, and 24 hd-1) maternal plants environment. Increasing temperature and photoperiod caused a reduction in leaf chlorophyll, stomatal movement, total soluble sugar, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) enzymes activities, and an increment in malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content of seeds. However, the highest weight, germination, vigor index, and longevity, seed chemical compositions were obtained in offspring which matured under 25 °C for 16 hd-1. The highest germination, oil, and relative percentage of fatty acids (oleic acid (OA), linoleic acid (LA), and linolenic acid (LNA)) were obtained in L. iberica seeds. On the contrary, longevity, mucilage, and sucrose were more abundant in L. royleana seeds. Overall, this research has clearly shown that temperature and light quality and quantity of maternal plant's environment have an immensely effect on producing of seeds with high-quality. However, it is necessary to investigate the impact of the epigenetic mechanisms of the maternal plant on the offspring in future studies