Effect of Occupational Vibration on Visual Pathway Measured by Visual Evoked Potentials

Purpose: To study the possible effects of vibration on visual pathway using visual evoked potentials.Patients and Methods: Fifty workers from a textile factory segment with machinery creating high levels of vibration were selected. The laborers had at least 6 years of experience in the factory segment where high vibrating machines were operating. The amplitude and latency of visual evoked potential, P100 peak was recorded for these selected workers and 50 age and sex matched controls from other sections of the factory. Results The mean age was 27.5 ± 1.741 and 27.28 ± 1.641 in the case and control groups respectively. There was a statistically significant higher latency of the visual evoked potential, P100 peak in the case group compared to the control group (P < 0.001). No significant difference regarding the amplitude of visual evoked potential, P100 peak was observed between the two groups (P = 0.89).Conclusion: Occupational vibration might have adverse effects on visual system, mainly visual pathway, causing increased latency of VEP; P100 peak measured using visual evoked potentials.keywords: Vibration; Visual Pathways; Evoked Potentials, Visual

Use of a recombinant protein for development of a DAS-ELISA serological kit for sensitive detection of witches' broom disease of lime

Abstract Witches' broom disease of lime (WBDL), associated with 'Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia' is the most devastating disease of acid lime in Southern Iran. Lack of an efficient approach for control of the disease has resulted in application of quarantine measures for protection of healthy plants and to limit the spread of disease to uninfected areas. Toward this aim, development of a rapid and efficient method for detection of infected plants is a major focus. The present study introduces application of recombinant DNA technology for development of a sensitive serological technique (DAS-ELISA) for detection of infected plants. The immunodominant membrane protein (IMP), as a major protein present on the surface of phytoplasma cells, was selected as a target for generating specific antibody molecules. The gene encoding IMP of 'Ca. P. aurantifolia' was obtained from infected plants. The region encoding the IMP fragment was isolated by PCR amplification followed by insertion into the pZ57R/T cloning vector. Intact clones containing the right sequences were selected and sub-cloned into the pET28a bacterial expression vector. Large scale expression of recombinant protein was performed in E. coli and purification was carried out through affinity chromatography in Ni-agarose columns. To obtain specific polyclonal antibodies against WBDL, the purified recombinant IMP was used for rabbit immunization. The antisera titer was determined after each boosting via indirect ELISA. When the titer reached 1:100,000, the animal was sacrificed, blood was collected and serum was separated from blood cells. The IgG molecules were purified from serum content by affinity chromatography using protein A columns followed by conjugation to alkaline phosphatase (AP) enzyme. The purified specific antibodies and conjugate were used for detection of the corresponding antigen, IMP in infected plants in DAS-ELISA and dot-blot methods. The results confirmed the capability of this technique for efficient detection of infected plants, while no reaction was observed in negative controls. The detection limit of the DAS-ELISA method was determined at 70 µg IMP/ml leaf extract

Prenatal diagnosis of de novo small supernumerary marker chromosome 4q (4q11-q12): A case report

Background: Small supernumerary marker chromosomes (sSMCs) are chromosomal fragments with abnormal structures found in patients with fertility problems and developmental delay. They may be detected in amniotic cell karyotypes. sSMCs are categorized as hereditary or de novo. Here, we describe a case of prenatal de novo 4q11q12 sSMC and its molecular cytogenetic features which had no apparent phenotypic abnormality. Case: The fetus of a 36-yr-old pregnant woman was detected positive for Down’s syndrome (trisomy 21) at the 16th wk of gestation. Quantitative fluorescent polymerase chain reaction technique was applied for the rapid detection of numerical aneuploidy of chromosomes X, Y, 13, 18, and 21 microsatellites. Array comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) technique was also conducted following the karyotype analysis of amniotic cells. The karyotype analysis was also done for the parents. Quantitative fluorescent polymerase chain reaction result revealed a male fetus with a normal chromosomal pattern, while the amniocentesis karyotype analysis identified a male fetus with a marker chromosome (47, XY, +mar), and the sSMC were existing in 100% of amniocyte metaphase spreads. The parents’ normal karyotypes indicated that the sSMC was de novo. Array CGH analysis revealed a 6.48-Mb duplication at 4q11q12. Eventually, the parents decided to terminate the pregnancy by legal abortion. Conclusion: Our study highlights the importance of the application of array CGH in combination with karyotype analysis for rapid and precise prenatal diagnosis of partial aneuploidy region.  Key words: Prenatal diagnosis, Array CGH, Chromosome 4, Chromosome markers

Multi-Organs-on-Chips for Testing Small-Molecule Drugs: Challenges and Perspectives.

Organ-on-a-chip technology has been used in testing small-molecule drugs for screening potential therapeutics and regulatory protocols. The technology is expected to boost the development of novel therapies and accelerate the discovery of drug combinations in the coming years. This has led to the development of multi-organ-on-a-chip (MOC) for recapitulating various organs involved in the drug-body interactions. In this review, we discuss the current MOCs used in screening small-molecule drugs and then focus on the dynamic process of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. We also address appropriate materials used for MOCs at low cost and scale-up capacity suitable for high-performance analysis of drugs and commercial high-throughput screening platforms

What is the Best Index for Unemployment?

A regular activity in all human societies is the evaluation and control of important socioeconomic indices. Unemployment rate is one of these indices, which is very important in evaluating and applying policies for control or preparation of desired changes in economy; in fact, it is a challenge for policy makers. Employment and unemployment are 2 words that have different definitions among people and professional centers of statistics. Since the statistics and methods applied for calculating Iranian employed and unemployed people have been provided by Statistical Center of Iran (SCI), the comparison of these definitions with recommended ones defined by International labor organization (ILO) may project 2 different items. In accordance with the definition of unemployment by ILO and SCI, each person who works at least 1 to 2 hours a week, even without receiving money, is considered as an employed person, otherwise is named as unemployed. Considering this definition, a new question may arise: in Iran, with consideration of location, subsistence, and labor market conditions, could people be satisfied with their living situation? Perhaps in some countries, this definition may be operational but not for Iranian worker community; in fact, no one in Iran and many other countries would be satisfied with one-hour work per week as an employed person

Role of fathers in the spiritual experiences of high school students

Background and Objectives: The child’s perceived attachment to parents plays an important role in the establishment of attachment to God. Given the importance of the father’s role in forming the child’s attachment system, the present study aimed to investigate the role of fathers in the daily spiritual experiences of high school students in Zabol, Iran, based on the attachment theory. Methods: This retrospective comparative study was conducted on 100 students with father and 50 fatherless students with the mean age of 15.88 years, selected from two male and female Shahed high schools in Zabol, Iran. The fatherless volunteers were selected by referring to each class. The sampling of the students with fathers was also performed by matching them with the fatherless students using convenience sampling method. The data were collected using the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale, which measures the three factors of God's presence, connection with God, and sense of responsibility towards others. Data analysis was performed in SPSS (version 20) using MANOVA and independent t-test. Results: The results revealed a significant difference between the two groups of students in terms of feeling God's presence (t=-2.36, P=0.02). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the connection with God (P=0.52) and sense of responsibility towards others (P=0.46). In addition, the examination of the interactive effects of group and gender demonstrated a significant difference only in boys (P=0.04). Conclusion: The findings indicated the importance of childhood attachment to father in explaining the sense of God's presence. Consequently, the reconstruction of the psychological models of God facilitates the basis of safety (the function of attachment to God) to deal with problems. &nbsp

Effect of friction hardening pre-treatment on increasing cytocompatibility of alkali heat-treated Ti-6Al-4V alloy

Alkali heat treatment (AHT) has been widely used as an effective surface chemical modification to improve the bioactivity and biocompatibility of titanium and its alloys; however, this method suffers from long process time. In this study, friction hardening (FH) as a cost-effective and straightforward severe plastic deformation (SPD) technique prior to AHT was applied in order to reduce the time-consumption and the manufacturing costs of AHT method. The results showed that the chemically modified FHed (FAHT) samples could prepare finer hierarchical nano/meso-structured network, with an average size range of 20–130 nm, on the surface of Ti-6Al-4V alloy at significant lower treating time. According to XPS results, this surface nanostructure possessed the toxic-element-free oxide layers. In-vitro cell culture showed that FAHT substrates, especially FAHT600-12 sample could remarkably enhance the cell-substrate interactions including: cell adhesion, spreading, proliferation as well as ALP activity. This can be attributed to both finer topography and better wettability

Quantity analysis of solid waste in the dentistry offices in birjand, 2017

Background and Aim: Among the medical wastes, dental wastes have a high diversity and due to its high contents of hazardous, toxic, and pathogenic agents, therefore these wastes are of great importance. The aim of this study was to investigate and analyze the amount of waste produced in dentistry offices in Birjand. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 48 dental offices in the city of Birjand were studied. Sampling was carried out by environmental health experts in three consecutive working days (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) from every center. The Samples were divided into 5 categories such as semi-domestic, infectious, chemical-pharmaceutical, toxic and sharp material, Separated and weighed using a laboratory scale. Information was expressed as percentage by weight. Results: Based on the results, the total amount of waste produced in dental offices in Birjand was 7848.02 kg / year. percentages of semi-domestic, infectious, chemical-pharmaceutical, sharp material, and toxic wastes were 54.3%, 29.7%, 11.8%, 3.9% and 0.11% respectively. Conclusion: Considering the high volume of dental waste, especially infectious and hazardous materials, the need for separation and recycling in the office is evident. It is necessary to manage the wastes and their separation and recycling in source place

Evolution of mechanical properties, microstructure and texture and of various brass alloys processed by multi-directional forging

This study investigated mechanical properties and texture evolution of Cu-xZn alloys (x = 5, 15, 20, 30) processed by multi-directional forging (MDF) up to 6 passes at ambient temperature. Mechanical properties were examined via shear punch and hardness tests. Optical microscopy and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM), equipped with electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) detector were also utilized to characterize the detailed microstructures and texture evolutions. The MDFed Cu-xZn alloys after 6 passes showed superior mechanical properties without the reduction of electrical conductivity. Hardness, ultimate shear strength and shear yield strength of Cu-30Zn alloy improved by 213%, 83% and 85%, respectively after 6 passes of MDF. Enhancement of mechanical properties can be attributed to grain refinement. The MDFed Cu-5Zn alloy presented a predominantly Copper-type texture due to the higher activity of shear bands. By increasing Zn to Cu-15Zn and Cu-20Zn, Brass and Goss texture components were observed. Finally, Cu-30Zn alloy possessed a Brass texture which could be attributed to a higher amount of twinings

Table_1_Association of the efficiency of hemodialysis instruments in the removal of microbial and chemical pollutant.doc

Dialysis water is vital because of various harmful contaminants for patients. The aim of this study was to assess the efficiency of hemodialysis instruments in the removal of microbial and chemical pollutant in educational hospitals affiliated to Ahvaz Jundishapur University of medical sciences, Iran during 2018–2019. This cross-sectional descriptive research studied the microbial and chemical water quality of hemodialysis instruments in Razi, Sina, and Golestan hospitals in Ahwaz, Iran. 72 samples of microbial parameters and 24 samples of chemical parameters were collected from water used in hemodialysis instruments, including microbial characteristics (the total coliform, fecal coliform and heterotrophic bacteria counts) and chemical characteristics (pH, turbidity, PO4, Cl, Mg, So4, Ca, NO2, and EC) at Razi, Imam, and Golestan educational hospitals on all weekdays during 2018-2019. In this study, experiments were done according to the current standard methods, EPA from hemodialysis instruments. Finally, using SPSS18 software and descriptive statistics, the relationship between results at the removal of toxic, microbial, and chemical pollutants in different months and hospitals was investigated. this study showed that the average concentration of chemical characteristics during the warm season at Razi, Imam, and Golestan educational hospitals for pH, Turbidity, PO4, Cl, Mg, So4, Ca, NO2, and EC were (6.867, 6.4475, 6.53); (2.985, 3.035, 1.226); (0.075, 0.245, 0.195); (38.5, 21.965, 144.87); (1.552, 1.657, 39.445); (8.6, 4.5, 21.5), (2.09, 3.187, 78.975); (0.0082, 0.038, 0.155), and (125.25, 70.35, 78.35), respectively during 2018. Also, during 2019, results showed that the average levels of amounts for pH, Turbidity, PO4, Cl, Mg, So4, Ca, NO2, and EC in Razi, Imam, and Golestan educational hospitals were (7.077, 7.252, 6.435), (1.725, 0.595, 4.16), (0.0775, 0.0597, 0.0297), (52.33, 138.81, 20.92), (23.52, 18.227, 8.767), (35, 27.25, 4.05), (14.58, 28.152, 9.25), (0.0067, 0.0045, 0.0032), and (210.52, 121.62, 29.16), respectively. According to the results, hemodialysis instruments in Razi and Imam have a 90% efficiency in removing heterotrophic bacteria counts (HPC). Based on these findings, educational hospital hemodialysis equipment effluent in Ahvaz, Iran was mitted to Iran environmental standards for use in hemodialysis machines. The result showed that the removal percentage level of microbial and chemical pollutants by the hemodialysis process is comparatively suitable. It should be mentioned that in the proper operation and reconstruction, hemodialysis systems can have an increased rate of removal of microbial and chemical pollutants.</p