Highly selective potentiometric determination of Fe(III) ions using Tris-(1,2-diiminocyclohexylmethyl-5-Cl-2-hydroxyl benzaldehyde) based membrane electrode

A novel ion-selective poly(vinyl chloride) membrane sensor for Fe(III) ions based on Tris-(1,2-diiminocyclohexylmethyl-5-Cl-2-hydroxyl benzaldehyde) are reported in this paper. The electrode exhibits a good potentiometric response for Fe(III), response time ≤ 20 s, over a wide concentration range 1.0 × 10-5 to 1.0 × 10-1 M with a slope 19.4 ± 0.5 mV/decade. The potentiometric response is independent on the pH of solution in the range of 1.5-5.0. The proposed electrode can be used for at least two months without any considerable divergence in potentials.It exhibits very good selectivity relative to a wide variety of alkali, alkaline earth, transition and heavy metal ions. The electrode assembly was also used as indicator electrode in the potentiometric titration of Fe(III) with EDTA

Acceptability of HIV Rapid Testing in Diverse Clinical Settings in Iran

Introduction: Rapid HIV testing in clinical settings can identify previously undiagnosed persons and link them to care, as well provide patients with knowledge of their serostatus and risk reduction counseling. We conducted a survey to characterize factors affecting the acceptance or declining of rapid HIV testing among Iranian patients.Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted from October 2014 to December 2014 with patients in three different health care centers (an emergency department in an urban hospital, a rural health centre, a voluntary counseling and testing centre (VCT) within Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran and a rural health centre). Participants completed a semi-structured face-to-face questionnaire and were tested by an HIV rapid test (Chembio Sure Check).Results: Of 222 participants, 25 participants were from the urban emergency department, 40 from the urban VCT program, and 157 from the rural health care centre. All did the rapid HIV test; all were HIV negative. HIV-related risk profiles found the urban emergency department patients more likely to have multiple partners (26%, P<0.01) and history of sexually transmitted diseases (27%, P<0.001) compared to VCT patients (9% and 3%, respectively) and rural clinic patients (4% and 1%, respectively). Emergency department patients were also more willing to pay for a HIV rapid test (44%, P<0.01), doing a rapid self-test at home (84%,P=0.01), preferring pharmacies as a place for providing rapid tests (80%, P=0.001). Also level of participants’ awareness was considerably different between mentioned centres (median=11, 12, 10 for emergency department, VCT and rural Health care centre respectively; P=0.012).Conclusions: Increasing knowledge about HIV rapid testing, its availability, and keeping costs low can expand the desire to use the test and ultimately prevent the spread of HIV through lack of knowing one’s serostatus and lack of treatment. Emergency departments in urban Iran may be an opportunity to test persons at high risk for HIV infection

Functionality of the Crosswise Model for Assessing Sensitive or Transgressive Behavior: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Tools for reliable assessment of socially sensitive or transgressive behavior warrant constant development. Among them, the Crosswise Model (CM) has gained considerable attention. We systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed empirical applications of CM and addressed a gap for quality assessment of indirect estimation models. Guided by the PRISMA protocol, we identified 45 empirical studies from electronic database and reference searches. Thirty of these were comparative validation studies (CVS) comparing CM and direct question (DQ) estimates. Six prevalence studies exclusively used CM. One was a qualitative study. Behavior investigated were substance use and misuse (k = 13), academic misconduct (k = 8), and corruption, tax evasion, and theft (k = 7) among others. Majority of studies (k = 39) applied the “more is better” hypothesis. Thirty-five studies relied on birthday distribution and 22 of these used P = 0.25 for the non-sensitive item. Overall, 11 studies were assessed as high-, 31 as moderate-, and two as low quality (excluding the qualitative study). The effect of non-compliance was assessed in eight studies. From mixed CVS results, the meta-analysis indicates that CM outperforms DQ on the “more is better” validation criterion, and increasingly so with higher behavior sensitivity. However, little difference was observed between DQ and CM estimates for items with DQ prevalence estimate around 50%. Based on empirical evidence available to date, our study provides support for the superiority of CM to DQ in assessing sensitive/transgressive behavior. Despite some limitations, CM is a valuable and promising tool for population level investigation.publishedVersio

Molecular detection of anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma ovis (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) in ixodid tick species in Iran

The present study was conducted as the first molecular detection of Anaplasma species in tick samples based on the sequencing of major surface proteins 4 (msp4) gene fragments in different parts of Iran. A total of 130 tick specimens were collected from Hormozgan, Lorestan, and Guilan, Iran, within 2015 to 2017. Hyalomma asiaticum, Hyalomma dromedarii, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, and Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) species were identified in different geographical regions. An amplicon of 464-bp msp4 of Anaplasma was amplified using polymerase chain reaction in various tick species. Three sequences, including one Anaplasma marginale from R. (Boophilus) species and two Anaplasma ovis from Rhipicephalus sanguineus, were obtained after sequencing. It is concluded that bovine and ovine anaplasmosis agents are present in tick samples in Iran. The use of the gene families of six major surface proteins for the detection of various Anaplasma species is recommended. © 2020 by Razi Vaccine & Serum Research Institute

Functionality of the Crosswise Model for Assessing Sensitive or Transgressive Behavior: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Tools for reliable assessment of socially sensitive or transgressive behavior warrant constant development. Among them, the Crosswise Model (CM) has gained considerable attention. We systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed empirical applications of CM and addressed a gap for quality assessment of indirect estimation models. Guided by the PRISMA protocol, we identified 45 empirical studies from electronic database and reference searches. Thirty of these were comparative validation studies (CVS) comparing CM and direct question (DQ) estimates. Six prevalence studies exclusively used CM. One was a qualitative study. Behavior investigated were substance use and misuse (k = 13), academic misconduct (k = 8), and corruption, tax evasion, and theft (k = 7) among others. Majority of studies (k = 39) applied the “more is better” hypothesis. Thirty-five studies relied on birthday distribution and 22 of these used P = 0.25 for the non-sensitive item. Overall, 11 studies were assessed as high-, 31 as moderate-, and two as low quality (excluding the qualitative study). The effect of non-compliance was assessed in eight studies. From mixed CVS results, the meta-analysis indicates that CM outperforms DQ on the “more is better” validation criterion, and increasingly so with higher behavior sensitivity. However, little difference was observed between DQ and CM estimates for items with DQ prevalence estimate around 50%. Based on empirical evidence available to date, our study provides support for the superiority of CM to DQ in assessing sensitive/transgressive behavior. Despite some limitations, CM is a valuable and promising tool for population level investigation

Cross-cultural data on romantic love and mate preferences from 117,293 participants across 175 countries

Psychological studies on close relationships have often overlooked cultural diversity, dynamic processes, and potentially universal principles that shape intimate partnerships. To address the limited generalizability of previous research and advance our understanding of romantic love experiences, mate preferences, and physical attractiveness, we conducted a large-scale cross-cultural survey study on these topics. A total of 404 researchers collected data in 45 languages from April to August 2021, involving 117,293 participants from 175 countries. Aside from standard demographic questions, the survey included valuable information on variables relevant to romantic relationships: intimate, passionate, and committed love within romantic relationships, physical-attractiveness enhancing behaviors, gender equality endorsement, collectivistic attitudes, personal history of pathogenic diseases, relationship quality, jealousy, personal involvement in sexual and/or emotional infidelity, relational mobility, mate preferences, and acceptance of sugar relationships. The resulting dataset provides a rich resource for investigating patterns within, and associations across, a broad range of variables relevant to romantic relationships, with extensive opportunities to analyze individual experiences worldwide

Comparison of Average Strength Steel Moment Frame with a Thin Plate Steel Shear Wall and Diverging Braced Design Method Based on Performance Levels

ABSTRACT: In this paper a comparison was done between the coefficient of behaviour of steel moment frame systems with thin steel shear wall and diverging braced design method based on performance levels. 20 different frames was used for modelling and numerical analysis by SAP2000 software to calculating the capacity curve, coefficient of behaviour, energy dissipation and point of performance using the spectral capacity. For analysis, loading, determination of joints, levels of performance and etc. of frames, UBC, ATC-4, FEMA 356, Iranian 2800, Iran's 519 code of practice was used. In general, it can be concluded from this modelling that shear wall systems have much higher energy absorbance capacity but lower ductility than the divergent braced systems in all short, medium, and long buildings. The studies conducted on spectral capacity diagrams shown that the steel shear walls had better performance than divergent braced walls