Hematological characteristics and reproduction indices of wild beluga [Huso huso] broodstocks from the southeast of the Caspian Sea

Hematological studies are valuable diagnostic techniques in the medical care of fish, reflecting the health condition and the effects of environmental factors on fish. Due to the high value of sturgeon fish and necessity to recover the brood stock, this study was done to provide data about hematological parameters and reproduction normative of wild brood stock beluga, Huso huso, from the southeast of the Caspian Sea. Hematological parameters including RBC, WBC, hematocrit, hemoglobin, MCV, MCH, MCHC, and differential leukocyte count were determined. In this regard, 7 male and 7 female wild broods were studied. Differences in mentioned parameters between genders were evaluated. The correlations among parameters were also determined. According to the results, the male fish had significantly higher WBC and lymphocyte and lower neutrophil compared to the females. Also, functional fecundity was 447000 +/- 157210 and weight of extracted oocytes was 35.4 +/- 3.78 mg/ cell. The oocytes' long diameter was 4.17 +/- 0.21mm and width diameter was 3.75 +/- 0.19 mm. Egg fertilization rate was 46.7 +/- 24.33%, and larvae weight was 25.48 +/- 1.56 mg. Hematological parameters of juvenile and fingerling reared beluga showed wide ranges, and there are differences in hematological parameters between reared and wild broodstock belugas. These findings highlight the importance of hematological study in wild beluga sturgeon

[Determining the efficiency of social security hospitals of Tehran based on Pabon Lasso Model]

Introduction: hospitals are the centers consuming most of the resources in the health sector. Determining the efficiency of hospitals is very beneficial when resources are limited. To determine efficiency of an organization, several indicators are used for comparison. Pabon Lasso Graph is one of the techniques that simultaneously compares these indicators. The main purpose of this study was to determine the efficiency of social security hospitals of Tehran based on Pabon Lasso Model in 2011

Methods: this descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in seven hospitals under the direct supervision of social security in Tehran in 2011

Results: in this study, the average bed occupancy rate, average length of stay and bed turnover rate in hospitals were 77/75%, 4/03 days, and 82/29 per year, respectively. The results showed two hospitals were in zone I, a hospital in zone II, a hospital in zone III and three hospitals were located in zone IV. And only one hospital was efficient

Conclusion: the findings showed that only one hospital [14/2%] from seven hospitals appeared to be efficient. Hospital manager should take into consideration the hospitals that were inefficient

[Increasing quantitative and qualitative yield of calendula officinalis L. by using bio-fertilizer]

Because the excessive use of chemical fertilizers had harmful effects, bio-fertilizers using are suitable alternative for supply of safe food, healthy environment and human health. To evaluate the effect of bio-fertilizers on the quantity and quality yield of calendula medicinal plant. This study conducted in the research farm of Islamic Azad University [Shahr-e-Ray Branch] based on a randomized complete blocks design with three replications. Treatments were Nitroxin, Super nitro plus, Mycorrhizae, animal manure, chemical fertilizer [NPK] and control [no fertilizer]. The bio-fertilizers using had a significant effect on the most of studied quantity and quality parameters. Effect of bio-fertilizers was significant [p

[Changes in essential oil content/composition and shoot aerial yield of lavender [Lavandula officinalis L.] affected by different treatments of nitrogen]

Nitrogen is one of the very effective elements in increasing the phytochemical and agronomical yield of medicinal plants. Therefore it is necessary to examine the effect of nitrogen on essential oil and dry matter production of lavender. This research was carried out to evaluate changes of essential oil content and dry matter of lavender under different nitrogen treatments for reduces of nitrogen fertilizer uses. The study was conducted at the research field of Islamic Azad University [IAU], Shahr-e-Rey branch, on basis of Randomized Complete Block Design [RCBD] with 4 replication and 7 treatments. The treatments were spraying of 0, 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6 and 7.5 percent N and 180 kg ha[-1] nitrogen as urea. Different traits including plant height, stem diameter, branch number, leaves and stems dry weight, foliage dry and fresh weight, essential oil content and composition were recorded. Effect of treatments on all of the plant traits [p<0.01], essential oil content and linalool [p<0.05] were statistically significant differences. The highest amount of plant height and number of stems was observed in spraying of 4.5 percent nitrogen per hectare. Also, the maximum stem diameter, shoot fresh weight, stem, leaves and shoot dry weight, and essential oil content, linalool and 1,8-cineole was obtained in soil treated with 180 kg of nitrogen per hectare. The foliar application of 4.5% of N ha[-1] and 180 kg N ha[-1] treatments hadn't significantly effect on shoot dry weight and essential oil content. The results showed that nitrogen spraying at appropriate concentration could be improved growth and essential oil content, and also, reduced nitrogen using, contamination, and cost production

Evolution of gas exchange abnormalities in patients with liver cirrhosis candidate for liver transplantation

Hypoxemia is common in patients with cirrhosis but the natural history of this syndrome is unknown. This study was conducted to evaluate the natural history of arterial oxygenation in patient with end stage liver cirrhosis. Sixty eight patients with liver cirrhosis were followed up for 6-12 months. Arterial blood gas [ABG] and pulse oximetry were obtained on day of presentation and follow up. There were no significant changes in the oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry [SpO[2]], partial pressure of oxygen [PaO[2]] and alveolar arterial oxygen gradient [A-a O[2]] after 6-12 months. Mean arterial oxygen saturation [SaO[2]] in 46 patients was 95.42 +/- 1.92, and after follow up changed to 95.45 +/- 2.96. Thirty eight patients had SaO[2] > 94% [mean 96.12 +/- 1.08 after 6-12 months changed to 95.66 +/- 2.58]; 8 patients had SaO[2] ? 94 [mean 92.08 +/- 1.44 after 6-12 months changed to 94.46 +/- 4.47]. There were no significant changes in the SpO[2], PaO[2] and A-a O[2] after 6-12 months

Identification of Gyrodactylus gurleyi in Carassius auratus using morphometric and molecular characterization

Gyrodactylus is a small monogenean ectoparasite that lives on the skin and fins of most of the world's fish species. Gyrodactylus appears to be one of the most prevalent parasites found in ornamental fish, especially in Cyprinids. Goldfish [Carassius auratus] are a popular ornamental fish that are highly contaminated by Gyrodcatylus. The present study is aimed to identify morphological and molecular characteristics of the Gyrodactylus parasite on gold fish. The morphological identification of Gyrodactylus specimens was performed using the measurements and drawings of opisthaptoral hard parts of the parasites. The molecular species description was based on a polymerase chain reaction [PCR] of partial sequence of the 5.8S region of ribosomal RNA, and a partial sequence of the internal transcribed spacer 2 [ITS2] of ribosomal RNA. The nucleotide sequences of the PCR products were compared with corresponding sequencing registered in GenBank. Based on the morphometric analysis and sequencing, the Gyrodactylus specimens were described as Gyrodactylus gurleyi. A combination of molecular techniques with morphological analysis seems to be the best approach for the identification of Gyrodactylus speices

[Evaluation of the relationship between pulsatility index and prognosis of the patients with moderate head trauma]

Trauma is the third leading cause of death and is one of the most common causes for referrals to the emergencies. Assessment of prognosis in the patients with head trauma can help find high risk patients and provide more complete care to them. The evaluation includes assessment of intracranial pressure and the brain circulation with Trans Cranial Doppler [TCD]. The evaluation of prognosis in patients with moderate head trauma using pulsatility index [PI], obtained by Trans Cranial Doppler [TCD]. In this descriptive study, 52 patients with moderate head trauma [GCS= 9-13] were studied during one year [2010]. In the first 24 hours after trauma, for all the patients TCD by their middle cerebral arteries [MCA] was performed to assess PI value. After seven days, all the patients were followed up for neurological deterioration and prognosis. Finally, data were entered in SPSS software v.17 and analyzed by Independent T-test, Chi- square test with 95% Confidence Interval [CI=0.95]. In total, 47 [90.4%] were men and 5 [9.6%] were women [with mean age of 33.81 +/- 17.91 years]. In the group with low PI [<1.2], 29 [69.05%], patients were with good prognosis, and 13 [30.95%] with poor prognosis. There was a significant relationship between GCS decline >/= 2 and average of PI [p<0.021]. Average of PI in the patients who needed intubation [1.08 +/- 0.26] was higher than that in other patients [0.91 +/- 0.24, p<0.037]. Also, 32 [61.54%] patients were with good prognosis, finally. Average values of PI in good and poor prognosis groups were 0.88 +/- 0.24 and 1.08 +/- 0.24, respectively; with significant difference [p<0.005]. There was no significant relationship between average values of PI and gender, need for operating, osmol therapy and type of defect in CT scan. By using Roc curve, the best cut off point for PI was estimated at about 0.9 with sensitivity of 75% and specificity of 43%. The results demonstrated that the PI is a valuable parameter besides the other factors such as GCS decline, to determine the prognosis in the patients with moderate head injury admitted to emergency units

[Using lms method in smoothing reference centile curves for lipid profile of iranian children and adolescents: a caspian study]

LMS is a general monitoring method for fitting smooth reference centile curves in medical sciences. They provide the distribution of a measurement as it changes according to some covariates like age or time. This method describes the distribution of changes by three parameters; Mean, Coefficient of variation and Cox-Box power [skewness]. Applying maximum penalized likelihood and spline function, the three curves are estimated and fitted and optimum smoothness is expressed by three curves. This study was conducted to provide the percentiles of lipid profile of Iranian children and adolescents by LMS. Smoothed reference centile curves of four groups of lipids [triglycerides, total-LDL- and HDL-cholesterol] were developed from the data of 4824 Iranian school students, aged 6-18 years, living in six cities [Tabriz, Rasht, Gorgan, Mashad, Yazd and Tehran-Firouzkouh] in Iran. Demographic and laboratory data were taken from the national study of the surveillance and prevention of non-communicable diseases from childhood [CASPIAN Study]. After data management, data of 4824 students were included in the statistical analysis, which was conducted by the modified LMS method proposed by Cole. The curves were developed with a degree of freedom of four to ten with some tools such as deviance, Q tests, and detrended Q-Q plot were used for monitoring goodness of fit models. All tools confirmed the model, and the LMS method was used as an appropriate method in smoothing reference centile. This method revealed the distributing features of variables serving as an objective tool to determine their relative importance. This study showed that the triglycerides level is higher and HDL-C level is lower in Iranian children and adolescents than their counterparts in Western countries. Future studies with larger sample size and with higher density at the end points and equal distribution of measurements in changing limits of covariates would hopefully reach more precise findings

Investigation of indoor and outdoor air bacterial density in Tehran subway system

The wide use of subway system by citizens underlines the importance of hygienic issues including indoor air pollution in these public places especially in metro stations. The aim of this study was to investigate the bacterial contamination in indoor and outdoor air of two metro stations [Imam Khomeini and Sadeghiyeh stations] in Tehran subway system. In this cross sectional study, three sampling locations were selected in each station. Also, sampling was conducted in indoor air of two types [old and new] of trains. The range of bacterial colony count was 35-1501 CFU/m[3]. Maximum and minimum bacterial contamination levels in Imam Khomeini and Sadeghiyeh platform stations were averagely 1073 CFU/m[3] and 242 CFU/m[3], respectively. 14 bacterial species and genera were isolated; among them the dominant species were Staphylococcus epidermidis, Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus spp. Results showed that bacterial concentrations in indoor air were higher than the outdoor air; also the bacterial counts correlated significantly with number of the passengers [p<0.001] and air temperature [p<0.001]

[Comparison of genetic patterns of E. coli strains isolated from patients with cystitis and pyelonephritis, using Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis]

Urinary tract infection [UTI] is one of the most frequently acquired bacterial infections caused by a large genetically heterogeneous group of Escherichia coli which are called uropathogenic E. coli [UPEC]. Cystitis and pyelonephritis are two most common symptoms seen in patients with UTI. The genetic diversity of this organism has hampered the identification of UTI strains and it is unclear whether all UPEC isolates are capable of causing both cystitis and pyelonephritis. Therefore, Careful selection of appropriate genotyping methods is mandatory. The most popular method is Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis [PFGE] that is used in the present study to evaluate the genetic patterns of UPEC. In this cross-sectional study a total of 90 E. coli strains consisting of 48 isolates causing pyelonephritis and 42 isolates causing cystitis in children were analyzed by PFGE and their corresponding patterns were compared. Sixty six PFGE profiles were obtained from the genome of E. coli strains by this genotyping method. Most strains exhibited twelve and thirteen bands and the patterns with eight or nineteen bands had the lowest rate. Genome size of strains was between 1610-4170 kbp. According to these results, it can be suggested that in some cases the strains causing pyelonephritis or cystitis have common patterns and different clinical symptoms could be attributed to different gene factors

[Norovirus detection and genotyping in adult patients with acute gastroenteritis in Tehran]

Human Noroviruses [NoVs] are one of the important causes of acute gastroenteritis. NoVs are highly infectious and also spread by person to person transmission through the fecal-oral route. NoVs can be classified into five major genogroups, of which genogroups I and II are recognized as the major cause of NoVs infections in human. There is not enough information about Norovirus gastroenteritis in adult patients in Tehran. The aim of this study was to determine the rate of diarrhea caused by NoVs infection in adult patients with acute gastroenteritis referring to Shohada Hospital in Tehran. From May to February 2008 we collected 67 stool samples from the patients older than 18 years of age with acute gastroenteritis. RNA was extracted and RT-PCR was performed using specific primers which could distinguish between genogroups I and II of NoVs. Three stool samples [4.5%] were positive for NoVs RNA. All of three positive samples obtained in autumn belonged to genogroup I. The mean age of NoVs infected patients was 32+8.7 years. The results of our study revealed the role of NoVs as a cause of gastroenteritis in adult patients. It's also demonstrated that genogroup I of Norovirus is the most prevalent genogroup in adults with acute gastroenteritis in Tehran

First report of ancylostoma tubaeforme in persian leopard [panther a pardus saxicolor]

Ancylostoma tubaeforme was originally described as a separate species parasitizing the cat. The adults of A. tubaeforme are 7 to 12 mm long. A. tubaeforme can be differentiated from the adults of A. braziliense and A. ceylanicum by the presence of three teeth. Here we describe the first report of A. tubaeforme in a Persian young female leopard, 2-3 years old, with head and trunk length 120 centimeters, length of tail 98 centimeters and body weight 35 kilograms

Factors affecting road traffic noise annoyance among white-collar employees working in Tehran

The effect of personal and attitudinal factors, noise level, hearing status and psychological traits on traffic-related noise annoyance among white-collar employees working in Tehran has been carefully analyzed. This survey has been conducted by interviewing 495 citizens working in non-manufacturing industries in Tehran, using questionnaires, Weinstein noise sensitivity scale, Beck's depression, Buss and perry's aggression, Zung's anxiety, job satisfaction and Eysenc's personality inventory. These citizens were office workers or store employees. Noise annoyance was determined both by numerical-based questionnaire criterion and by verbal index. Personal information, attitudinal factors and hearing conditions were determined using a general questionnaire. The amount of workplace noise the participants were exposed to was directly measured at their workplaces. It was revealed that among personal factors, age [p=0.030], marital status [p=0.004], residential period [p=0.001] and wealth [p=0.04] were related to noise annoyance. Attitudinal factors including sensitivity to noise [p=0.001], individual's opinion on the need to control the noise [p=0.000] and individuals' assessment of the amount of the workplace ambient noise [p= 0.000] were found to have relationship with noise annoyance. No meaningful relationship was seen between the equivalent noise level [p=0.879] and statistical noise level of L90 [p=0.909]. The present study revealed that among all effective factors involved in noise annoyance, attitudinal factors had the most significant role in this regard

[ effect of Benson relaxation technique on anxiety level and quality of life of patients with irritable bowel syndrome]

Irritable bowel syndrome [IBS] is the most common functional bowel disorder which both the bowel and the brain are involved in this syndrome. Combined medical- relaxational therapy has been suggested to decrease anxiety and relieve symptoms, make better feeling of self health and improve the quality of life in these patients. This study was designed to determine the effects of Benson relaxation technique on anxiety level and quality of life of patients with irritable bowel syndrome. In a clinical trial, 30 patients with irritable bowel syndrome were selected and randomly placed into two groups: case and control. The control group was treated by only usual medical therapy but the case group was treated by combined medical - relaxational therapy. The two groups continued therapy for three months. The anxiety of patients was measured by Spielberger test [State and Trait Anxiety Inventory [STAI]]. The quality of life of patient with regard to irritable bowel syndrome, was measured by BS-QOI with subscales 8, before intervention, 1 week and 3 months after intervention in both groups. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive and Mann-whitney, repeated measurement test and chi-square statistical methods. State and trait anxiety mean of the case and control groups two weeks before and one week after intervention didn't show any significant differences. But after three months the results showed a significant difference between the two groups [p<0.05]. There wasn't significant difference in scales of quality of life before intervention. One week after the intervention, differences of both group in four scales of dysphoria, health worry, social reaction and relationship were meaningful and the function of case group was more undesirable than that of the control group. Three months after completing the process, there wasn't a meaningful increase in sex function in case group in comparison with the control group but there was a significant recovery in the case group in other performance scales [p<0.001]. The quality of life of patients in control group compared to case group decreased or did not change significantly after 3 months. Performing Benson relaxation therapy is effective in reducing anxiety level coinciding with improvement quality of life; therefore relaxation therapy can be recommended as an effective care program

[Parasitic contamination of consuming vegetables in Kerman city, Iran]

Parasitic contaminations disturb human health through different ways. One of this ways is malnutrition. The aim of this study is to determination of parasitic contamination in consuming vegetables in Kerman city. This study was performed at first half-time in 1386, and it is a cross-sectional study. Samples of vegetables were collected from 30 stories out of 70 stories and surveyed in term of existing parasitic contaminations by sedimentation technique and using of centrifuge. The total number of samples is 135 samples. By means of SPSS software, Chi-square test was used for determination of relation between type of vegetable and type of parasite. Hymenolepis eggs [8.88%], Trikosal eggs [4.44%], Ascaris eggs [3.7%], Dicrocelium eggs [5.18%], Teania sp.eggs [3.7%], Trichostrongylus eggs [2.96%] and Giardia cyst [0.74%] were detected in the gathered samples 30 percent of vegetables generally contaminated by parasites. In this study its detected that Spring onion has most contamination and Radish and Basil have the least contamination. Amount of contamination in gathered samples are relatively high. Results show that percentage of parasitic contamination in Yasuj and Hamedan cities are greater than Kerman, but in Yazd, Ahvaz, Isfahan and Kermanshah cities are less than Kerman

[ prevalence of h serogroups of escherichia coli strains giving rise to acute urinary tract infection in children in Jahrom]

Nowadays E. coli as the most common Cause of acute urinary tract infection are generally named based on serotypes of O and H. The aim of this Cross-Sectional study was to determine the prevalence of H serogroups of E. coli strains that cause community acquired UTI in children. In this study 96 children with urinary tract infections [UTI] referred to two teaching hospitals, in Jahrom, Iran during the period of August 2005- August 2006 were enrolled. Antibiogram was done by disk diffusion method and serotyping by tebe agglutination methods. A Total of 96 E. coli strains were isolated from the urine samples of children with UTI aged from one month to 14 years. Cystitis was diagnosed in 49.2% and pyelonephritis ill 50.8% of these patients. The most resistance was related to Ampicilin [80.2%] and the least to imipenem [1.1%]. The most common type of H antigen was H4 [6.1%]. This is the first report of E-coli serotying in children with UTI from the south of Iran and its relationship with antibiotic resistance and clinical presentation. Further research in athes p ts with move st e thypes is re Commended

[Discrimination of dominant H. pylori strains isolated from patients with different gastroduodenal pathologies by protein profiling]

It is not clear what factors determine divergent outcomes of infections caused by H. pylori. The aim of this study was to differentiate H. pylori strains isolated from the patients with different gastroduodenal pathologies by protein profiling. The protein profiles of different strains of H. pylori isolated from 3 groups of patients with ulcerative disease, nonulcerative gastritis and cancer disease were analyzed using 1D-SDS-PAGE. Based on the highly divergent protein patterns, the similarity of the strains inside each group was 75%, 76.47% and 78.57% for cancerous, ulcerative and no ulcerative groups respectively, while about 30.76% of the protein bands were common in all strains isolated from three groups of the patients. Some of the observed bands were significantly specific for each group. We speculated that some H. pylori strains might be more associated with a specific disease than others, leading to the clustering of some, but not all, strains within each disease group. This study showed that protein profile can be a criterion used for discriminating of dominant states in different gastric clinical states. Specific and dominant proteins of different strains isolated from three groups of patients under the study could be welcome candidates for further exploration to be used both for laboratory tests, which analyze disease-specific H. pylori strains, and for diagnosis of different diseases and outcomes associated with this widespread bacterium

[ study of the effect of sour orange on reduction clinical symptoms of BPH]

The prevalence of BPH among 5-10 year old men is about 50% and it reaches 90% in 80 year old ones. The use of the components of citrus fruits containing a group of vitamines [specially C], flavonoid and a type of polysaccharides as pectin which are effective in treatment of hyperplasia, allergy and viral infection. This is a clinical-trial study conducted on two groups, each with 30 samples [patients drinking 60 ml sour orange Juice/daily and those administering 1 prozacin tablet daily as used in classical treatment]. Convenient sampling was performed for selection of patients in both groups. From the patients refering to the specialty clinic in Jahrom. The data were collected through a checklist consisting of two part of demographic information and AUA which measures the severity of prostatic symptoms. SPSS software was used to analyzed data. Comparison of the AUA mean scores before and after having sour orange juice revealed that the difference was significant [before: 25.833 +/- 0.823, after: 2.833 +/- 0.248, p=0.000] However, the same comparison for the control groups mean scores before and after taking the above mentioned tablet revealed a non-significant difference [before: 26.666 +/- 0.717, after: 26.666 +/- 0.723, p=1.000]. comparison of AUA mean scores of the case and control groups revealed that the difference was statistically significant [case group: 2.833 +/- 0.248 and control group: 26.666 +/- 0.723, p=0.000] Considering the finding of this study, citrus fruit can be effective in reducing the symptoms of prostate hypertorophy

[Criteria of marrying couples for mate selection in Tehran]

Considering the impact of family health on psychosocial health of community which itself depends on successful marriage with the basis of proper criteria for mate selection, and regarding our population that mostly consists of the youth and subsequent significant growing marriage and divorce rate, this study was conducted to identify the prioritized mate-selection criterion of marrying couples in Tehran. The total of 252 marrying couples referriing to urban health centers affiliated to Tehran university of medical sciences were randomly selected via a multi-stage sampling method. Data were collected by a questionnaire validated by content validity and made reliable by Cronbach's alpha. It consisted of 3 distinct parts, including demographics [15 questions], family characteristics, appearance, emotional, socioeconomical and sociocultural status [44 questions] and one open question. A six-rate scale was designed for the questions from 0 [no importance] to 5 [very important]. The first priorities included honesty [Mean=98.37%], loyalty [Mean=97.88%], understanding [Mean=96.45%], appropriate manner [Mean=96.26%], no addiction [Mean=95.86%], assertiveness [either at work or in life] [Mean= 94.10%] and serenity [Mean= 92.95%]. The last priorities for mate selection were fellow-citizenship [Mean=43.83%], prosperity [Mean=43.81%] and colleagueship [Mean=39.48%]. It is concluded that psychological health is the most important topic through the mate-selection criterion, whereas the cultural and religious subjects are the least important ones