Evaluation of the efficacy of a new oil-based adjuvant ISA 61 VG FMD vaccine as a potential vaccine for cattle

Foot-and-mouth disease is an important viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals. Inactivated whole particle virus vaccines are still widely used in prophylactic vaccination campaigns. The choice of adjuvant is a very important factor in enhancing immune responses and the efficacy of inactivated vaccines. Montanide ISA 61 VG is a new ready-to-use mineral oil-based adjuvant developed by SEPPIC Inc. [SEPPIC, France] with high-potential immune responses needed for clinical protection against FMD infection. In this study, we compared the efficacy of two FMD vaccines either formulated with the new oil-based adjuvant ISA 61 VG and saponin, or with aluminum hydroxide gel and saponin. Both vaccines contained the same antigen payloads of O2010/IR. Two groups of 15 naive cattle received a single vaccination with different doses [full dose, 1/3 dose and 1/9 dose] to calculate their PD50 [50% protective dose] after being challenged with the homologous virulent virus. The mean neutralizing antibody titer was determined at 0, 7, 14 and 21 days after vaccination, measured by a micro neutralization test. The new vaccine improved humoral immune responses by 19%, while inducing a higher geometric mean. The titer for neutralizing antibodies was 2.91 log10 compared to the alum-gel based adjuvant vaccine which was 2.44 log10 [P-value=0.1782]. The new vaccine showed a PD50 value of 10.05 as compared to a PD50 value of 4.171, respectively. According to the results, the FMD vaccine formulated with the new oil adjuvant, ISA 61 VG, shows potential as an alternative vaccine for routine and emergency vaccinations in the FMD enzootic region

An investigation on As, Cd, Mo and Cu contents of soils surrounding the Meyduk tailings dam

The contents of As, Cd, Cu and Mo were determined in soil surrounding Meyduk tailings dam based on 21 surface soil samples. Assessment of toxic element pollution in studied soil samples needs knowledge of pre-anthropogenic metal concentration to act as a reference against which measured values could be compared. Estimating the background values was executed by sampling rocks adjacent to soil sampling stations. Various indices including enrichment factor [EF], pollution load index [PLI], modified contamination degree [mCd] and geoaccumulation index [I geo] were used for determining the contamination level of soil in the vicinity of tailings impoundment under the effect of the tailings dust. Anthropogenic pollution was diagnosed from natural one by sequential extraction done by Tessier et al method and calculating pollution intensity index [l poli]. The results indicate a significant upward enrichment in northeastern and southwestern surface soil around the tailings dam for Cd and Cu. The dominant wind direction demonstrated that only the contamination of southwestern soil around the tailings dam would be attributed to tailings dust while the dispersive dusts scattered after the mine explosions generally affected the northeastern part

Effect of practice versus information on the visual illusion / 神经科学通报·英文版

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The Muller-Lyer illusion is a visual illusion in which a horizontal shaft with an inward-pointing chevron (fins-out) affixed to each end is perceived longer than a shaft with outward-pointing chevrons (fins-in). The goal of this study was to compare the effects of experience and knowledge about the Muller-Lyer illusion on participants' perceptual precision.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Participants were undergraduate students (n = 108) who were not familiar with the Muller-Lyer illusion prior to the experiment. The task of participants was to adjust one movable line to make it equal to the other in Muller-Lyer figure. They received ascending and descending Muller-Lyer trials in three blocks with 20 trials each. The Experimental Group received information about the Muller-Lyer illusion prior to the third block.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>For the Experimental Group, the amount of departure in Block 3 was reduced significantly compared with previous blocks.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Knowledge about the mechanisms underlying visual illusions may play an important role in helping individuals overcome them.</p>

[Evaluation of faculty members' and students' attitude towards ambulatory teaching quality]

Ambulatory medicine is one of the most important parts of medical education. Due to its profound relation with professional future of physicians, ambulatory medicine is especially under attention and many studies have been performed to survey its quality and to design some ways to promote it. There is obvious deficiency in our evidence about ambulatory medicine. The aim of this study was to survey the quality of teaching of the ambulatory medicine from the viewpoint of the faculty members and students of medical faculty of Mazandaran. This was a descriptive and cross-sectional study. The study's population consisted of students, residents and clinical faculty members who were included by simple sampling. Data collection was performed by a questionnaire with 22 questions about demographic and educational variables as well as respondents' opinions about environmental conditions, independent activities, instructors' supervision, and social training in the ambulatory clinics. The validity of the questionnaire was controlled by content validity with expertise consultation, and its reliability was controlled by test-retest[r=0.85]. Data were analyzed using spss13 software. Response rate was 79%, the mean age of 36 faculties was 43.6 +/- 8.7 years and 32% of them were female. The mean age of 146 students was 25 +/- 3.6 years and 61% were female. The attitude of the majority of the students [88.3%] towards the quality of ambulatory teaching was negative, but majority of faculties [66.7%] had positive attitudes. There was no significant difference among teaching departments. Attitude of junior trainees was even worse. Attitude of faculty members and students was similar towards inappropriate physical environment of ambulatory clinics, but it was significantly different from independent activities of trainees in clinics [p=0.000]; relational drugs prescription [p=0.000]; management [p=0.004], and supervision of faculty members [p=0.000]. The overall attitudes towards the current condition of ambulatory teaching [especially trainees] were negative because of the impossibility of independent activities for trainees, low supervision of faculties, absence of teaching for rational drug prescription, differential diagnosis and management

[Incidental breast cancer in reduction mammaplasty specimen; a case report]

Reduction mammaplasty is increasingly used for the treatment of discomfort associated with macromastia. Breast cancer is a tumor with the highest prevalence and incidence in women. As it can be expected, reduction mammaplasty specimens occasionally reveal breast cancer. So, before reduction mammaplasty, patients should be assessed for breast cancer risk and evaluated by physical examination and mammography. We report here the discovery of breast cancer in specimens from a patient who underwent elective breast reduction. Preoperative mammography showed no evidence of malignancy. But, final pathologic evaluation of reduction specimens revealed foci of "invasive ductal carcinoma" on the left side, therefore the patient underwent modified radical mastectomy. In conclusion, thorough preoperative clinical examination and mammography may reduce the rate of incidentally discovered cancer during reduction mammaplasty procedures. Pathologic examination of RM specimens is imperative, and sending all of them for pathologist is mandatory. These recommendations emphasize breast reduction as an opportunity for detection of occult potential fatal disease in higher risk groups