Occupational risk factors among Iranian farmworkers: a review of the available evidence.

Farming is one of the most important components of most economies. No comprehensive picture exists of the health status of Iranian farmers and the work-related hazards that affect them. We aimed to determine the gaps in the current knowledge regarding the occupational health of Iranian farmworkers. Electronic databases including Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase, as well as national databases including the Scientific Information Database, MagIran, and Barakat Knowledge System, were searched for articles published through March 2017. All epidemiologic studies regarding the occupational health of farmworkers in Iran were reviewed, regardless of their design, language, time of publication, and location. Of the 86 retrieved articles, 39 studies were ultimately analyzed. Most studies were conducted in Fars, Kerman, and Mazandaran provinces. According to the results of this review, chemical, physical, and biological hazards, along with work-related injuries, may be the main factors threatening the health of farmworkers. The unsafe use of pesticides was related to male infertility, eye and digestive complications, pesticide poisoning, pesticide absorption, hematological changes, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. Chemical hazards (e.g., the unsafe use of pesticides), physical hazards, injuries, and biological hazards (e.g., work-related infectious diseases) threaten the health of Iranian farmworkers. Moreover, farmworkers lack adequate knowledge about the occupational hazards they face and the relevant risk factors

Inequality in the global prevalence of HIV based on the human development index

Introduction: Burden of HIV and AIDS is considerably different among regions and countries of the world. The aim of this study was to assess of inequality in the prevalence of HIV, according to human development index among countries of the world. Methods: In this study the desired outcome was prevalence of HIV, which estimated in 100 countries in 2012. The annual report of UNAIDS was used for prevalence of HIV in countries. Also, we used data for the human development index of the countries from UNDP. We defined inequality of human development index in the prevalence of HIV by using the concentration index. Results: Concentration index for prevalence of HIV among 25-49 years adults was -0.217574 (95 CI: -0.07422, -0.361125). This index indicated the inequality in the prevalence of HIV base on the human development index and concentrating more HIV subjects in poor countries. Also concentration indexes in the prevalence of HIV among young males and females were 0.229920 and -0.200014 respectively. Conclusion: Results of this study emphasized on inequality in the prevalence of HIV and concentration HIV in countries with lower human development index, so the international organization must perform fundamental actions to help these countries, such as prevention, care and treatment programs

Quality Evaluation and Study of Ecological Toxicity of Heavy Metals in Shadegan Wetland

Wetlands hold a principal position in storing food for primary producers, so they are not able to bear the pressure. The slightest disturbance, hence, may harm wetlands and cause detrimental effects. The present study aims at monitoring heavy metals and evaluation of the sediment quality index of Shadegan wetland in Iran. Thus, a sampling of surface sediments of the wetland was performed at ten stations with three replications; after the preparation of samples with aqua regia, the concentrations of heavy metals were measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The quantification of sediment pollution using the contamination factor, contamination degree, pollution load index, ecological risk assessment index, and ecological toxicity of heavy metals in the region were all carried out. The results of Cf and Cd showed that the degree of zinc and copper contamination is low; however, the degree of lead contamination is moderate. Moreover, the obtained PLI was less than 1 indicating a lack of sediments contamination with heavy metals. The RI was less than 150 indicating a low risk of contamination. In addition, comparing the concentrations of elements with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Sediment Quality Guidelines showed slightly toxic and non-toxic sediments, respectively. Finally, based on a mixture of effect range median, all sediment samples are placed in the first category with less than 12% toxicity probability

Evaluation of tokens of Communicative Language Teaching in Prospect (1) of junior high school in Iran

Backgrounds and Objectives:Today, all over the world and in our country, the need to speak English has increased and has caused a lot of demand for learning this language. This need is met through various means such as formal education in schools and colleges, travel to English-speaking countries, and so on. But classroom teaching seems to be the most common opportunity for language learning; Therefore, the need for quality education and appropriate materials is inevitable. According to education experts, the textbook is a manifestation of the approved curriculum of the educational system. The textbook is one of the most important sources of learning in educational systems and is the main material of the school curriculum. Research on textbooks is necessary because it is used by many teachers and students effective in designing appropriate learning opportunities for students. Studying textbooks can reveal the connection between some of the students' learning difficulties and the curriculum and help to incorporate the concepts of the curriculum in the appropriate way in the textbooks. Authors of Prospect (1) have stated that the book was developed based on dynamic communicative language teaching approach. The present study evaluates all texts, pictures and exercises of the book in terms of communicative language teaching criteria to assess its effectiveness. The researcher attempts to investigate the application of communicative language teaching in the content of the book under study. The study addresses this question ‘to what extend the content of the book is in harmony with principles of communicative language teaching’. Methods: It is a descriptive content analysis study. The instrument entails six components of communicative language teaching and has been validated through content analysis by 5 scholars. Data collection was done by three researchers working independently. Kappa agreement statistic is greater than 0.8 indicating satisfactory inter-rater reliability. Findings:The results, analyzed through Shannon entropy revealed that group interaction (0.37), lingual communication (0.009), culture comparing (0.167), two by two communication (0.139), meaningfulness (0.079) and information gap (0.046) carried content weight. The book seems to be effective in terms of communicative language teaching principles. Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, the importance of the components of communication approach in the 7th grade English textbook is as follows: 1. Strengthening group communication, 2. Adapting to the culture of the country, 3. Strengthening two-way communication, 4. Meaningful principle, 5. Information gap, 6. Lingual communication. The most prominent feature of this book is that it adequately addresses the components of the communication approach. Attention to strengthening group communication indicates that language teaching is moving away from the traditional method, which helps the learner a lot. Paying attention to the adaptation of the educational content to the culture of the country makes the content of the courses tangible and attractive and strengthens learning

Comparison of the antioxidant activity and total phenolic contents in some Stachys species

The methanolic extracts of the aerial parts of nine Stachys species: S. persica Gmel., S. fruticulosa M. B., S. laxa Boiss. & Buhse., S. inflata Benth., S. turcomanica Trautv., S. subaphylla Rech. F., S. setiferaC. A. Mey., S. byzantina C. Koch and S. trinervis Aitch. & Hemsl. were investigated for their antioxidant activity and total phenolic content using FRAP and Folin-Ciocalteu assays respectively. S. persica Gmel. and S. fruticulosa M. B. had the highest antioxidant activity (61.42 and 62.02 mmol FeII/100g) and total phenolic content (3294.96 and 4450.36 mg gallic acid/100 g) among these nine species. There was a direct correlation between total phenol and antioxidant activity (R2 = 0.9446, p 0.001) which indicates that polyphenols are the main antioxidants

Improvement in the Production of L-Lysine by Overexpression of Aspartokinase (ASK) in C. glutamicum ATCC 21799

Purpose: To clone Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC21799 aspartokinase gene (EC 2.7.2.4) using shuttle expression vector pEKEx2 in order to increase lysine production.Methods: C. glutamicum DNA was extracted and used for amplification of aspartokinase gene (ask) by cloning into an E. coli/C. glutamicum shuttle expression vector, pEKEx2. Initially, the recombinant vector transformed into E. coli DH5á and then into C. glutamicum.Results: Electrophoresis of recombinant protein by SDS-PAGE showed that the molecular weight of the recombinant protein was 42 KD. The induction of recombinant vector by IPTG had an inhibitory effect on cell growth due to over-expression of the cloned gene. The results of lysine assay by Chinard method showed that lysine production increased about two-fold, compared with the parent strain, as a result of increased copy numbers of lysC gene in recombinant strain.Conclusion: A two-fold increase in lysine production was observed by cloning of the ASK gene in C. glutamicum rather than in E. coli, due to the presence of lysine exporter channel which facilitates lysine extraction.Keywords: LysC gene, Corynebacterium glutamicum, L- lysine, Cloning, Aspartokinase, E. col

Parents� concerns regarding the growth characteristics of their adolescents: a qualitative inquiry in Iran

In recent times, parents have become increasingly concerned, both subjectively and objectively, about their adolescents' body height/weight growth. Parent-adolescent interactions about this issue and the potential socio-psychological consequences of such interactions should be considered as an important influencing factor on the future of adolescents' sexual and reproductive health. To achieve a greater understanding of such concerns, it is necessary to further elucidate parents' experiences on this topic, so as to expand the existing literature. This study aimed to explain the perceptions of parents' concerns regarding their adolescents' growth characteristics in the socio-cultural context of Iran as a transitional society. This paper is part of a larger qualitative study designed using the Constructivist Grounded Theory Methodology (CGTM). We conducted open-ended intensive interviews with eleven parents individually and recruited them through purposeful and theoretical sampling from a teaching hospital, community, and a primary school in Tehran with theoretical sampling variation in terms of teenagers' age, sex, and birth order, place of residence, parents' occupation and education, and the self-reported socio-economic status. Using the analytical procedures of the CGTM, we performed analyses. In the findings, the concept of 'living with constant sense of uncertainty' emerged from the subcategories including 'feeling existing and potential concern about expected minimum and maximum bio-positions of growth,' 'feeling potential concern about biological health consequences,' 'feeling potential concern about the emergence of early/late maturity signs,' 'feeling potential concern about adolescent's emotional threat,' 'feeling concerned about future employment, education, marriage, and fertility,' and 'feeling potential concern about the society's view'. These findings suggest that parents are living with a constant sense of uncertainty about their teens' growth characteristics throughout the transition from adolescence. All stakeholders including parents, health-care practitioners and policymakers, and anthropologists/sociologists should be focus on such concerns, in order to manage them and their possible socio-psychological burdens. © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Parents� concerns regarding the growth characteristics of their adolescents: a qualitative inquiry in Iran

In recent times, parents have become increasingly concerned, both subjectively and objectively, about their adolescents' body height/weight growth. Parent-adolescent interactions about this issue and the potential socio-psychological consequences of such interactions should be considered as an important influencing factor on the future of adolescents' sexual and reproductive health. To achieve a greater understanding of such concerns, it is necessary to further elucidate parents' experiences on this topic, so as to expand the existing literature. This study aimed to explain the perceptions of parents' concerns regarding their adolescents' growth characteristics in the socio-cultural context of Iran as a transitional society. This paper is part of a larger qualitative study designed using the Constructivist Grounded Theory Methodology (CGTM). We conducted open-ended intensive interviews with eleven parents individually and recruited them through purposeful and theoretical sampling from a teaching hospital, community, and a primary school in Tehran with theoretical sampling variation in terms of teenagers' age, sex, and birth order, place of residence, parents' occupation and education, and the self-reported socio-economic status. Using the analytical procedures of the CGTM, we performed analyses. In the findings, the concept of 'living with constant sense of uncertainty' emerged from the subcategories including 'feeling existing and potential concern about expected minimum and maximum bio-positions of growth,' 'feeling potential concern about biological health consequences,' 'feeling potential concern about the emergence of early/late maturity signs,' 'feeling potential concern about adolescent's emotional threat,' 'feeling concerned about future employment, education, marriage, and fertility,' and 'feeling potential concern about the society's view'. These findings suggest that parents are living with a constant sense of uncertainty about their teens' growth characteristics throughout the transition from adolescence. All stakeholders including parents, health-care practitioners and policymakers, and anthropologists/sociologists should be focus on such concerns, in order to manage them and their possible socio-psychological burdens. © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group