High-risk behaviors among regular and casual female sexworkers in Iran: A report fromwestern Asia

Background: Female Sex workers are at risk of obtaining sexually transmitted infections, particularly human immunodeficiency virus. Objectives: This study aimed at comparing the high-risk behaviours between regular and casual sex workers. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on sex workers from February to December, 2015, in a city of northern Iran. The research recruited 184 sex workers, who had the inclusion criteria. Three sampling methods were used to recruit the subjects. The test was conducted at an error level of 5 using the SPSS software. Results: The average age of the casual sex workers (32.53±7.39) was older than that of regular sex workers, with a significant difference (P value > 0.05). A significant association was found between the 2 groups on the inconsistent use of condoms and working in brothels (P value > 0.05). The comparison of drug use before sex was not significantly different (P value < 0.05) between the 2 groups. Conclusions: It is very essential to organize peer groups for outreach services for sex workers, which could be more appropriate and consequently decrease the relevant damage in these groups. ©2018, Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Sample matching by inferred agonal stress in gene expression analyses of the brain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gene expression patterns in the brain are strongly influenced by the severity and duration of physiological stress at the time of death. This agonal effect, if not well controlled, can lead to spurious findings and diminished statistical power in case-control comparisons. While some recent studies match samples by tissue pH and clinically recorded agonal conditions, we found that these indicators were sometimes at odds with observed stress-related gene expression patterns, and that matching by these criteria still sometimes results in identifying case-control differences that are primarily driven by residual agonal effects. This problem is analogous to the one encountered in genetic association studies, where self-reported race and ethnicity are often imprecise proxies for an individual's actual genetic ancestry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We developed an Agonal Stress Rating (ASR) system that evaluates each sample's degree of stress based on gene expression data, and used ASRs in <it>post hoc </it>sample matching or covariate analysis. While gene expression patterns are generally correlated across different brain regions, we found strong region-region differences in empirical ASRs in many subjects that likely reflect inter-individual variabilities in local structure or function, resulting in region-specific vulnerability to agonal stress.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Variation of agonal stress across different brain regions differs between individuals, revealing a new level of complexity for gene expression studies of brain tissues. The Agonal Stress Ratings quantitatively assess each sample's extent of regulatory response to agonal stress, and allow a strong control of this important confounder.</p

Informational entropy : a failure tolerance and reliability surrogate for water distribution networks

Evolutionary algorithms are used widely in optimization studies on water distribution networks. The optimization algorithms use simulation models that analyse the networks under various operating conditions. The solution process typically involves cost minimization along with reliability constraints that ensure reasonably satisfactory performance under abnormal operating conditions also. Flow entropy has been employed previously as a surrogate reliability measure. While a body of work exists for a single operating condition under steady state conditions, the effectiveness of flow entropy for systems with multiple operating conditions has received very little attention. This paper describes a multi-objective genetic algorithm that maximizes the flow entropy under multiple operating conditions for any given network. The new methodology proposed is consistent with the maximum entropy formalism that requires active consideration of all the relevant information. Furthermore, an alternative but equivalent flow entropy model that emphasizes the relative uniformity of the nodal demands is described. The flow entropy of water distribution networks under multiple operating conditions is discussed with reference to the joint entropy of multiple probability spaces, which provides the theoretical foundation for the optimization methodology proposed. Besides the rationale, results are included that show that the most robust or failure-tolerant solutions are achieved by maximizing the sum of the entropies

Ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous access in the emergency department: Patient-centered survey

INTRODUCTION: To assess characteristics, satisfaction, and disposition of emergency department (ED) patients who successfully received ultrasound (US)-guided peripheral intravenous (IV) access. METHODS: This is a prospective observational study among ED patients who successfully received US-guided peripheral IV access by ED technicians. Nineteen ED technicians were taught to use US guidance to obtain IV access. Training sessions consisted of didactic instruction and hands-on practice. The US guidance for IV access was limited to patients with difficult access. After successfully receiving an US-guided peripheral IV, patients were approached by research assistants who administered a 10-question survey. Disposition information was collected after the conclusion of the ED visit by accessing patients' electronic medical record. RESULTS: In total, 146 surveys were completed in patients successfully receiving US-guided IVs. Patients reported an average satisfaction with the procedure of 9.2 of 10. Forty-two percent of patients had a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 30, and 17.8% had a BMI of more than 35. Sixty-two percent reported a history of central venous catheter placement. This patient population averaged 3 ED visits per year in the past year. Fifty-three percent of the patients were admitted. CONCLUSION: Patients requiring US-guided IVs in our ED are discharged home at the conclusion of their ED visit about half of the time. These patients reported high rates of both difficult IV access and central venous catheter placement in the past. Patient satisfaction with US-guided IVs was very high. These data support the continued use of US-guided peripheral IVs in this patient population

In Vitro Comparison of the Antimicrobial Effect of Turmeric and Cinnamon Water and Ether Extracts on the Growth Rate of Helicobacter Pylori

Background: Nowadays, it has been known that Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is causative agent of the most common GI infection in world; at least half of the populations of many communities are affected by this bacterium. H. pylori infection plays an important role in progression of gastritis and especially in the peptic ulcers of duodenum. Eradication of H. pylori has lead to a significant decrease in the prevalence of PUD world-wide. At present, due to various reasons, such as to overcome bacterial resistances, it seems that the investigation for production of new antibacterial products is a necessity. So, this study was designed to evaluate the "in vitro" inhibitory effects of ether and water extracts of turmeric and cinnamon on the growth of H. pylori. Methods: Ether and water extracts of Turmeric and cinnamon was investigated by agar dilution and disc diffusion methods on five strains of H. pylori. Results: Ether and water extracts obtained from the studied plants have antibacterial effects and water extract of turmeric represented the most potent antibacterial effect. Conclusion: The results showed that the investigated plants have antibacterial capacity; in this case, cinnamon water extracts have a considerable antibacterial effect on H. pylori. Therefore, more investigation on this plant is recommended, by extraction of its effective materials. Abbreviations: H. pylori, Helicobacter pylori; ASR, age standardized rate; MIC, minimum inhibitory concentration; GI, gastrointestinal; PUD, peptic ulcer disease; DNA, deoxyribonucleic aci

Nematodes of the order Rhabditida from Tehran province (Iran). Some known species of the family Cephalobidae

Nine species of the family Cephalobidae are described from natural areas in Tehran province (Iran): Acrobeloides nanus, Cephalobus persegnis, Cervidellus hamatus, C. vexilliger, Eucephalobus mucronatus, E. oxyuroides, E. striatus, Nothacrobeles prominens and Stegelleta ophioglossa. Excepting C. vexilliger, these species are reported from Iran for the fi rst time. Description, measurements and illustrations are presented for all species, and SEM pictures for some of them. N. prominens is a rare species which has been previously reported from Europe; Iranian specimens agree well with those recorded from Hungary and Italy. The second record of SEM observations of S. ophioglossa and new data on SEM observations of C. hamatus are also provided

First report of Xiphinema diffusum from Pakistan

The population of Xiphinema americanum species group was detected from the soil surronding the roots of peach (Prunus persica) during a survey of plant-parasitic nematodes in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. From the results of the morphological study, the species was identified as X. diffusum. Morphometrics of X. diffusum generally agree with those of the type species and the topotype specimens. Molecular analysis of 18S rDNA of X. diffusum from Pakistan indicated two nucleotide differences and 99 % similarity with the Chinese (AM086669) and the Australian (AM086685) population of X. diffusum. Phylogenetic analysis of 18S rDNA placed the Pakistanis population close to X. diffusum from China and Australia. This species is reported for the first time from Pakista