Evaluation of antimicrobial activity of Lactobacillus plantarum and ruteri on Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from nosocomial infections

زمینه و هدف : اسینتو باکتر از پاتوژن های فرصت طلب بوده و از عوامل مهم عفونت های بیمارستانی محسوب می شوند و می توانند طیف وسیعی از عفونت ها نظیر سپتی سمی و پنومونی را ایجاد نمایند و نسبت به بیشتر کلاس های آنتی بیوتیکی مقاوم هستند . امروزه استفاده از مواد مترشحه از باکتری های پروبیوتیک به عنوان مهار کننده و ضد باکتری مد نظر است.این مطالعه به منظور تعیین فعالیت ضد میکروبی لاکتوباسیلوس روتری و پلانتاروم نسبت به اسینتو باکتر بومانی شایع در عفونت های بیمارستانی بوده است. روش ها : در این بررسی پس از جدا سازی اسینتو باکتر از بیماران بستری در بیمارستان، مقاومت آنتی بیوتیکی آن بهمراه دو سویه استاندارد لاکتوباسیلوس پلانتاروم و روتری بررسی شد . سپس از محلول رویی کشت 48 ساعته دو سویه لاکتوباسیل برای بررسی فعالیت مهارکنندگی آنها بر علیه اسینتو باکتر بومانی در دو حالت فعال و غیر فعال به روش چاهک در آگار بررسی شد. یافته ها : لاکتوباسیلوس پلانتاروم و روتری به آنتی بیوتیک های ونکومایسین ، ایمی پنم ، سیپروفلاکساسین و سفتازیدیم مقاوم و به پیپراسیلین ، کلیستین و کوتریموکسازول حساسیت نشان دادند. محلول رویی کشت لاکتوباسیلوس پلانتاروم و روتری فعال در آب اکسیژنه و بدون تغییر pH ،خاصیت ضد باکتریایی بیش تری نسبت به محلول غیر فعال آن داشته است. نتیجه گیری : محلول رویی کشت دو سویه لاکتوباسیلوس فعالیت چشمگیری بر علیه اسینتوباکتر بومانی تحت شرایط اسید و تولید آب اکسیژنه دارد، در حالی که محلول غیر فعال شده آن فعالیت ضد باکتریایی ندارد

Organizational culture of selected teaching hospitals of Tehran

Background: Organizational culture affects hospital performance. This study aimed to assess organizational culture of selected teaching hospitals of Tehran in 2014.Material and methods: This descriptive and cross sectional study was carried out in 7 teaching hospitals. Hospitals were selected out of 43 teaching hospitals using quota- randomized sampling method. A questionnaire with 32 questions was used to measure organizational culture of hospitals in 8 domains including attention to details, customer-oriented, team working, creativity and innovation, risk taking,integration (Coherence), power distance and short/long- oriented. About 308 employees working in clinical, diagnostic, administrative, and logistic departments participated in this study. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 20) through U Man- Whitney and Kruskal- Wallis statistical tests. Ethical issuessuch as informed consent, confidentiality of information and researchers’ objectivity were all considered.Results: The mean score of organizational culture was 3.57 out of 6 (moderate). The most and least scores were observed in attention to details (4.48) and risk taking (3.18) dimensions of organizational culture, respectively. The highest score of organizational culture was related to administrative units. Curative wardsin hospitals got the lowest scores. There was a significant relationship between organizational culture and the type of hospital (p<0.05).Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate a moderate organizational culture in selected hospitals.Given the importance of corporate culture in the success of the hospitals and improving patient outcomes, hospital managers should take appropriate actions to improve organizational culture, especially in termsof team-working, innovation, risk-taking and coherence

Discovering the Symptom Patterns of COVID-19 from Recovered and Deceased Patients Using Apriori Association Rule Mining

The COVID-19 pandemic has a devastating impact globally, claiming millions of lives and causing significant social and economic disruptions. In order to optimize decision-making and allocate limited resources, it is essential to identify COVID-19 symptoms and determine the severity of each case. Machine learning algorithms offer a potent tool in the medical field, particularly in mining clinical datasets for useful information and guiding scientific decisions. Association rule mining is a machine learning technique for extracting hidden patterns from data. This paper presents an application of association rule mining based Apriori algorithm to discover symptom patterns from COVID-19 patients. The study, using 2875 records of patient, identified the most common symptoms as apnea (72%), cough (64%), fever (59%), weakness (18%), myalgia (14.5%), and sore throat (12%). The proposed method provides clinicians with valuable insight into disease that can assist them in managing and treating it effectively

Promoting Maqshid al-Shari'ah and Achieving Sustainable Economic Development: the Potential of Proposed Two Tier Mudarabah Business Model on Cash Waqf

Islamic microfinance provides an alternative model for a significant number of underprivileged people who are not served by conventional microfinance. In order to give access to sustainable services to a greater extent, the Islamic microfinance is in paramount need of the adoption of innovative business models and sound practices into the industry. To this end, the research seeks to propose two tier mudarabah model based on cash waqf as an alternative to Islamic microfinance institutions. The objectives of the study are: to a) help develop and implement an appropriate business model; b) safeguard the maqasid al-Shari`ah so as to promote the well-being of the people through establishing justice and eliminating hardship; and 2) help make a reform in the present institutional framework for Islamic microfinance and waqf institutions. The study finds that cash waqf based microfinance institutions can play an important role inter alia in financial inclusion and developing socio-economic conditions of the poor and underprivileged people in society

Development of DRASTIC Method Considering Land Use to Analyze the Potential of Aquifer Pollution in Semi-Arid Regions

Groundwater vulnerability assessment is important in order to prioritize these resources from the perspective of exploitation, management and control of pollution in different areas. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the qualitative vulnerability of Birjand plain aquifer using DRASTIC-LU model. In this research, the DRASTIC base model with the land use parameter of the developed lands was used. In this method, the basic model parameters including groundwater depth, net nutrition, aquifer environment, soil type, topography, unsaturated area constituents, and hydraulic guidance were analyzed in GIS environment along with land use variable as a model development based on standard weights and the vulnerability zoning map was prepared. Vulnerability zoning map of DRASTIC-LU model showed that 62.27, 25.07, 17.17, and 2.38% of the area have low to medium, medium to high, low and high vulnerability, respectively. In addition, the sensitivity analysis of the model used to evaluate the assigned weights was performed. To validate the model, the correlation of the model with the nitrate concentration was performed; the obtained correlation of 86% indicated the appropriate correlation of this model with the nitrate concentration as an indicator of groundwater pollution

Effect of Zeolite on the Compaction Properties and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of Cemented Sand

This research investigates the impact of zeolite on the compaction properties and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of cemented sand. For this purpose, firstly, sand, cement (2, 4, 6, and 8% by the sand dry weight), and zeolite (0%, 30%, 60%, and 90% of cement content, as a replacement material) are mixed. Then, various cylindrical samples with sizes of 101×116 mm and 119×152 mm are prepared for compaction and CBR tests, respectively. After curing for 28 days, the samples are tested according to the standards of compaction and CBR tests. The results depict that the use of zeolite reduces Maximum Dry Density (MDD) while it increases Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) of cemented sand. Furthermore, the inclusion of zeolite up to 30% of cement content contributes to the highest CBR values due to the pozzolanic and chemical reactions. Finally, some correlations with high correlation coefficients are proposed between the CBR and MDD of zeolite-cemented sand

Digital Transformation In The LPG Industry: Leveraging IoT And Data Analytics For Operational Efficiency

This study presents a comprehensive systematic review exploring the transformative impact of Internet of Things (IoT), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, and automation technologies on the operational efficiency of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) industry. Leveraging the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a rigorous review process was conducted to identify, screen, and synthesize existing research. A total of 90 high-quality articles were systematically reviewed to assess how digital technologies are revolutionizing key aspects of LPG operations, including inventory management, predictive maintenance, and fleet optimization. The findings reveal that integrating IoT and SCADA systems enhances real-time monitoring, significantly reduces manual errors, and improves accuracy in inventory tracking, leading to cost reductions of up to 30%. Moreover, predictive maintenance enabled by IoT data analytics was shown to decrease unplanned downtime by 40% and maintenance costs by 25%, further ensuring the reliability of equipment in this high-stakes industry. The review also highlights how automation and digitalization streamline logistics, optimize fuel usage, and improve customer satisfaction by reducing delivery lead times by 20%. Additionally, these technologies support sustainability goals by minimizing carbon emissions through optimized fleet management. By providing a detailed synthesis of current research, this review not only underscores the benefits of digital transformation in the LPG industry but also identifies gaps in the literature, suggesting avenues for future studies to enhance operational excellence, safety, and sustainability in this critical sector

Do the macroeconomic variables have any impact on the Islamic bank deposits?An application of ARDL approach to the Malaysian market

This paper makes an attempt to investigate the impact of selected macroeconomic variables on the level of deposits in the Islamic banking system. Malaysia is used as a case study. We apply ‘Auto – Regressive Distributive Lag’ model which has taken care of a major limitation of the conventional cointegrating tests in that they suffer from pre-test biases. Based on above rigorous methodology, we try to measure both long- and short-run relationships among these variables. By applying ARDL techniques, we find that the determinants such as, Inflation has strong impact on deposits of Islamic banking system while other macroeconomic variables GDP and Kuala Lumpur composite Index do not have significant impact. Most of the theories related to savings behaviour are not applicable to Islamic banking customers. Therefore, there is a possibility that religious belief might play an important role in the banking decisions of Muslim customers. The most relevant finding from the policy perspective is the significant negative effect of inflation on the Islamic banks’ saving deposits. Controlling inflation and thereby providing macroeconomic stability is essential for promoting Islamic banking

فرهنگ سازمانی بیمارستانهای آموزشی و درمانی منتخب شهر تهران

Background: Organizational culture affects hospital performance. This study aimed to assess organizational culture of selected teaching hospitals of Tehran in 2014.Material and methods: This descriptive and cross sectional study was carried out in 7 teaching hospitals. Hospitals were selected out of 43 teaching hospitals using quota- randomized sampling method. A questionnaire with 32 questions was used to measure organizational culture of hospitals in 8 domains including attention to details, customer-oriented, team working, creativity and innovation, risk taking,integration (Coherence), power distance and short/long- oriented. About 308 employees working in clinical, diagnostic, administrative, and logistic departments participated in this study. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 20) through U Man- Whitney and Kruskal- Wallis statistical tests. Ethical issuessuch as informed consent, confidentiality of information and researchers’ objectivity were all considered.Results: The mean score of organizational culture was 3.57 out of 6 (moderate). The most and least scores were observed in attention to details (4.48) and risk taking (3.18) dimensions of organizational culture, respectively. The highest score of organizational culture was related to administrative units. Curative wardsin hospitals got the lowest scores. There was a significant relationship between organizational culture and the type of hospital (p<0.05).Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate a moderate organizational culture in selected hospitals.Given the importance of corporate culture in the success of the hospitals and improving patient outcomes, hospital managers should take appropriate actions to improve organizational culture, especially in terms of team-working, innovation, risk-taking and coherence.زمینه و اهداف: فرهنگ سازمانی تأثیر قابل توجهی بر عملکرد بیمارستانها دارد. این مطالعه به بررسی ویژگیهای فرهنگ سازمانی بیمارستانهای آموزشی و درمانی منتخب شهر تهران میپردازد. مواد و روشها: این پژوهش توصیفی در 7 بیمارستان آموزشی و درمانی منتخب شهر تهران در سال 1393 انجام شد. 308 نفر از کارکنان بیمارستانها به صورت تصادفی طبقهای در این پژوهش شرکت کردند. از پرسشنامه 32 سوالی محقق ساخته فرهنگ سازمانی شامل هشت بعد، توجه به جزئیات، مشتری مداری، کار تیمی، خلاقیت، ریسک پذیری، انسجام، فاصله قدرت و افق زمانی کوتاه مدت/بلند مدت استفاده شد. تحلیل داده ها با استفاده از نرم افزار SPSS نسخه 20 انجام شد. ملاحظات اخلاقی نظیر جلب رضایت آگاهانه شرکتکنندگان و رعایت محرمانگی اطلاعات شخصی و بیطرفی پژوهشگر در این پژوهش رعایت شد. یافته ها: میانگین امتیاز فرهنگ سازمانی برابر با 3/57از 6 امتیاز بود فرهنگ متوسط بعد توجه به جزئیات بیشترین 4/48بعد ریسک پذیری کمترین 3/18میانگین را کسب کردند. بیشترین و کمترین میانگین امتیاز فرهنگ سازمانی به ترتیب مربوط به واحدهای اداری و درمانی بیمارستانها بود. بین فرهنگ سازمانی و نوع بیمارستانها ارتباط آماری معنیدار وجود داشت نتیجه گیری: فرهنگ سازمانی بیمارستانهای آموزشی و درمانی منتخب شهر تهران در حد متوسط ارزشیابی شد. پیشنهاد میشود که مدیران با توجه به اهمیت نقش فرهنگ سازمانی در ارتقای عملکرد بیمارستانها و بهبود مراقبت از بیماران، اقداماتی را برای تقویت فرهنگ سازمانی به ویژه در ابعاد کارتیمی، نوآوری و انسجام بکار گیرند