The Effect of Darab Salt Dome on the Quality of Adjacent Karstic and Alluvium Aquifers (South of Iran)

Zakrasele kraške formacije vsebujejo najpomembnejše vodne vire osrednjih delov jugovzhodnega Irana. Če kraška voda ni onesnažena zaradi slanih dom, je v tem delu Irana njena električna prevodnost pod 500 µS cm-1. Področje raziskav je južno krilo antiklinale Shahneshin-Milk, 200 km vzhodno od Shiraza, ki sodi v narivno cono Zagrosa. Kraška formacija Tarbur (zgornji Campanij-Maastrichtij) izdanja v južnem krilu antiklinale Shahneshin-Milk, pod katero je neprepustna radiolaritna formacija. Solna doma Darab izdanja znotraj zakrasele formacije Tarbur. Iz formacije Tarbur priteka več izvirov. Kvaliteta vode vseh izvirov je v mejah neonesnažene kraške vode razen treh, ki so v bližini solne dome. Električna prevodnost teh treh izvirov je med 1200 in 2000 µS cm-1. Del aluvija okoli solne dome je slano močvirje, ki ga obrobljata dva kanala. Električna prevodnost močvirske vode pod nivojem talne vode je okoli 1400 µS cm-1, v večjih globinah pa se zmanjša na 400 µS cm-1. Odtok s solne dome Darab in prenikanje vode nizke kakovosti iz kanala sta najbrž glavna vzroka za nastanek slanega močvirja. Pomemben delež onesnažene kraške vode iz Tarburja ne teče proti močvirju, saj, prvič, večina kraške vode iz Tarburja priteka na dan skozi izvire, in drugič, na globlje plasti aluvijalnega vodonosnika onesnažena voda ne vpliva.Karstified carbonate formations are among the most important water resources in the south-central regions of Iran. If the karst water is not contaminated by salt domes, the electrical conductivity of water in the karst aquifer is less than 500 µS cm-1 in the south-center of Iran. The study area is located in the southern flank of Shahneshin-Milk anticline, 200 km east of Shiraz. This region is situated in the Zagros Thrust Zone. The Tarbur karstic formation (Late Campanian-Maastrichtian) is outcropped on the southern flank of the Shahneshin-Milk anticline which is underlain by the impermeable Radiolarite formation. The Darab salt dome outcrops inside the karstified Tarbur Formation. Several springs emerge from the Tarbur Formation. The quality of all springs is in the range of unpolluted karst water except for three springs which are located near the Darab salt dome. The electrical conductivity of these springs range from 1200 to 2000 µS cm-1. Part of the alluvium near the Darab salt dome is salt-marsh which is bounded by two channels. The electrical conductivity in the salt-marsh below the water table is about 1400 µS cm-1, and it reduces to 400 µS cm-1 at the lower depths. Run-off from the Darab salt dome and seepage from the channel with low quality water are probably the main reasons of salt-marsh development. A considerable amount of polluted Tarbur karst water does not flow towards the marshland because, firstly, most of the Tarbur karst water discharges from the springs, and secondly, the alluvium aquifer is not affected by polluted water at lower depths

Comparison of the tuberculin skin test and the QuantiFERON-TB Gold test in detecting latent tuberculosis in health care workers in Iran

OBJECTIVES: The tuberculin skin test (TST) and the QuantiFERON-TB Gold test (QFT) are used to identify latent tuberculosis infections (LTBIs). The aim of this study was to determine the agreement between these two tests among health care workers in Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 177 tuberculosis (TB) laboratory staff and 67 non-TB staff. TST indurations of 10 mm or more were considered positive. The Student's t-test and the chi-square test were used to compare the mean score and proportion of variables between the TB laboratory staff and the non-TB laboratory staff. Kappa statistics were used to evaluate the agreement between these tests, and logistic regression was used to assess the risk factors associated with positive results for each test. RESULTS: The prevalence of LTBIs according to both the QFT and the TST was 17 (95 confidence interval CI, 12% to 21%) and 16% (95% CI, 11% to 21%), respectively. The agreement between the QFT and the TST was 77.46%, with a kappa of 0.19 (95% CI, 0.04 to 0.34). CONCLUSIONS: Although the prevalence of LTBI based on the QFT and the TST was not significantly different, the kappa statistic was low between these two tests for the detection of LTBIs

Seroepidemiology of human cystic echinococcosis among nomads of lorestan province, Iran

Background: Cystic Echinococcosis (CE) is one of the major zoonotic parasitic diseases caused by the larval stages of parasite Echinococcus granulosus. This is an endemic disease in a number of regions in Iran, such as Lorestan province, and is considered as a health problem. Objectives: Due to the close contact of nomadic people with sheep dog, this research aimed at studying the seroepidemiology of CE among in-migration and out-migration nomads of Lorestan province, Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, among 5920 residents of nomadic areas, 315 people were randomly selected and serum samples were obtained from these individuals. IgG antibodies against CE were evaluated using the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Demographic data of all subjects were collected by a questionnaire, and the results were statistically analyzed using SPSS V.20 and STATA12. Results: According to the results, the seroepidemiology of CE among the nomads was 18 (5.7); 13 (72.22) were male and five (27.77) were female yet the difference was not statistically significant. The highest prevalence (7.79) was in the age group of 20 to 30 years old, yet no significant difference was observed between various age groups. In terms of education, more seropositive cases were found amongst subjects with low education, yet no significant difference was observed between educational level and seropositivity of CE. It should also be noted that all the participants were not aware of proper washing of vegetables and fruits. Conclusions: This study was conducted for the first time in Lorestan province, Iran, and showed that the seroprevalence among the nomadic population of Aligoudarz and Sepiddasht was considerable. In order to prevent zoonotic disease, increased awareness of nomads in understanding the transmission ways of disease is suggested through health education programs according to the educational level of the target population, the majority of whom are illiterate. Active surveillance is also recommended in these areas. © 2018, Archives of Clinical Infectious Diseases

Comparison of the tuberculin skin test and the QuantiFERON-TB Gold test in detecting latent tuberculosis in health care workers in Iran

OBJECTIVES: The tuberculin skin test (TST) and the QuantiFERON-TB Gold test (QFT) are used to identify latent tuberculosis infections (LTBIs). The aim of this study was to determine the agreement between these two tests among health care workers in Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 177 tuberculosis (TB) laboratory staff and 67 non-TB staff. TST indurations of 10 mm or more were considered positive. The Student's t-test and the chi-square test were used to compare the mean score and proportion of variables between the TB laboratory staff and the non-TB laboratory staff. Kappa statistics were used to evaluate the agreement between these tests, and logistic regression was used to assess the risk factors associated with positive results for each test. RESULTS: The prevalence of LTBIs according to both the QFT and the TST was 17 (95 confidence interval CI, 12% to 21%) and 16% (95% CI, 11% to 21%), respectively. The agreement between the QFT and the TST was 77.46%, with a kappa of 0.19 (95% CI, 0.04 to 0.34). CONCLUSIONS: Although the prevalence of LTBI based on the QFT and the TST was not significantly different, the kappa statistic was low between these two tests for the detection of LTBIs. © 2016, Korean Society of Epidemiolog

Mandibular Fractures Admitted to the Emergency Department: Data Analysis from a Swiss Level One Trauma Centre

Mandibular fracture is a common occurrence in emergency medicine and belongs to the most frequent facial fractures. Historically road traffic injuries (RTIs) have played a prominent role as a cause for mandibular fractures. We extracted data from all patients between August 2012 and February 2015 with "lower jaw fracture" or "mandibular fracture" from the routine database from the emergency department. We conducted a descriptive analysis at a Swiss level one trauma centre. 144 patients were admitted with suspected mandibular fractures. The majority underwent CT diagnostic (83%). In 7% suspected mandibular fracture was not confirmed. More than half of all patients suffered two or more fractures. The fractures were median or paramedian in 77/144 patients (53%) and in other parts (corpus, mandibular angle, ramus mandibularis, collum, and temporomandibular joint) in 100/144 (69%). Male to female ratio was 3 : 1 up to 59 years of age; 69% were younger than 40 years. 72% of all patients presented during daytime, 69% had to be hospitalized, and 31% could be discharged from the ED after treatment. Most fractures were due to fall (44%), followed by interpersonal violence (25%) and sport activities (12%). Falls were a dominant cause of fracture in all age groups while violence and sport activities were common only in younger patients. Comparisons to other studies were difficult due to lack of standardization of causes contributing to the injuries. In the observed time period and setting RTIs have played a minor role compared to falls, interpersonal violence, and sports. In the future, standardized documentation as well as categorization of causes for analytic purposes is urgently needed to facilitate international comparison of studies

Performance, kinetic, and biodegradation pathway evaluation of anaerobic fixed film fixed bed reactor in removing phthalic acid esters from wastewater

Emerging and hazardous environmental pollutants like phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are one of the recent concerns worldwide. PAEs are considered to have diverse endocrine disrupting effects on human health. Industrial wastewater has been reported as an important environment with high concentrations of PAEs. In the present study, four short-chain PAEs including diallyl phthalate (DAP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), and phthalic acid (PA) were selected as a substrate for anaerobic fixed film fixed bed reactor (AnFFFBR). The process performances of AnFFFBR, and also its kinetic behavior, were evaluated to find the best eco-friendly phthalate from the biodegradability point of view. According to the results and kinetic coefficients, removing and mineralizing of DMP occurred at a higher rate than other phthalates. In optimum conditions 92.5, 84.41, and 80.39% of DMP, COD, and TOC were removed. DAP was found as the most bio-refractory phthalate. The second-order (Grau) model was selected as the best model for describing phthalates removal

Glutathione-S-transferase P promotes glycolysis in asthma in association with oxidation of pyruvate kinase M2

Background: Interleukin-1-dependent increases in glycolysis promote allergic airways disease in mice and disruption of pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) activity is critical herein. Glutathione-S-transferase P (GSTP) has been implicated in asthma pathogenesis and regulates the oxidation state of proteins via S-glutathionylation. We addressed whether GSTP-dependent S-glutathionylation promotes allergic airways disease by promoting glycolytic reprogramming and whether it involves the disruption of PKM2. Methods: We used house dust mite (HDM) or interleukin-1β in C57BL6/NJ WT or mice that lack GSTP. Airway basal cells were stimulated with interleukin-1β and the selective GSTP inhibitor, TLK199. GSTP and PKM2 were evaluated in sputum samples of asthmatics and healthy controls and incorporated analysis of the U-BIOPRED severe asthma cohort database. Results: Ablation of Gstp decreased total S-glutathionylation and attenuated HDM-induced allergic airways disease and interleukin-1β-mediated inflammation. Gstp deletion or inhibition by TLK199 decreased the interleukin-1β-stimulated secretion of pro-inflammatory mediators and lactate by epithelial cells. 13C-glucose metabolomics showed decreased glycolysis flux at the pyruvate kinase step in response to TLK199. GSTP and PKM2 levels were increased in BAL of HDM-exposed mice as well as in sputum of asthmatics compared to controls. Sputum proteomics and transcriptomics revealed strong correlations between GSTP, PKM2, and the glycolysis pathway in asthma. Conclusions: GSTP contributes to the pathogenesis of allergic airways disease in association with enhanced glycolysis and oxidative disruption of PKM2. Our findings also suggest a PKM2-GSTP-glycolysis signature in asthma that is associated with severe disease

Scaling Consultative Selling with Virtual Reality: Design and Evaluation of Digitally Enhanced Services

Virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies allow creation of powerful customer experiences and illustrative demonstrations especially in use cases that benefit from spatial visualizations. Our study focuses on the natural resource management sector and digitalizing of consultative selling process. More specifically, we look at how to improve customer engagement with the use of virtual reality (VR) and thus digitally scale consultative selling. In this process, a VR application is used to demonstrate various management operations and their economic results. Design research methodology is applied to a pre-development phase and three application development iterations between 2016 and 2018. Data consists of user interviews and video observations (N = 129) during various development iterations and three application development plans. The results show that VR offers an emotionally engaging and illustrative tool in consultative selling. Further, it opens a novel way for interaction between the salesperson and customer and possibilities to scale consultative selling digitally, emphasizing the role of trust.Peer reviewe

Predicting the environmental suitability for onchocerciasis in Africa as an aid to elimination planning

Recent evidence suggests that, in some foci, elimination of onchocerciasis from Africa may be feasible with mass drug administration (MDA) of ivermectin. To achieve continental elimination of transmission, mapping surveys will need to be conducted across all implementation units (IUs) for which endemicity status is currently unknown. Using boosted regression tree models with optimised hyperparameter selection, we estimated environmental suitability for onchocerciasis at the 5 × 5-km resolution across Africa. In order to classify IUs that include locations that are environmentally suitable, we used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to identify an optimal threshold for suitability concordant with locations where onchocerciasis has been previously detected. This threshold value was then used to classify IUs (more suitable or less suitable) based on the location within the IU with the largest mean prediction. Mean estimates of environmental suitability suggest large areas across West and Central Africa, as well as focal areas of East Africa, are suitable for onchocerciasis transmission, consistent with the presence of current control and elimination of transmission efforts. The ROC analysis identified a mean environmental suitability index of 0.71 as a threshold to classify based on the location with the largest mean prediction within the IU. Of the IUs considered for mapping surveys, 50.2% exceed this threshold for suitability in at least one 5×5-km location. The formidable scale of data collection required to map onchocerciasis endemicity across the African continent presents an opportunity to use spatial data to identify areas likely to be suitable for onchocerciasis transmission. National onchocerciasis elimination programmes may wish to consider prioritising these IUs for mapping surveys as human resources, laboratory capacity, and programmatic schedules may constrain survey implementation, and possibly delaying MDA initiation in areas that would ultimately qualify