Some evidences about Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever

[No abstract available

Anti-influenza antibody level after vaccination in north of Iran

Objective:Influenza is a highly transmitted disease and about 10% of the world's population is affected by this disease annually. The aim of this research was to study the variation of serum antibody levels among subjects who had already been vaccinated against influenza. Methods And Materials:This descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 196 subjects who had influenza vaccination (influvac 2005/2006) and on 200 subjects who were matched with the vaccinated subjects by their ages in Gorgan which is located in the northeast of Iran. The subject's sera were prepared seven weeks after the influenza vaccination. Their serum antibody levels were determinated by the heamaglutination inhibition test. Results:The antibody titre in 81 subjects of the vaccinated group and in 175 subjects of the control group was less then 1/40. The mean antibody titre of the vaccinated subjects and the control group was 143.4±10.89 and 18.34±3.2, respectively. The difference was statistically significant (P value=0.000). Conclusion:The findings showed that the mean titre of the antibodies in the vaccinated and control groups was statistically different. This means that the influenza vaccine has good efficacy in our population

Differences in intention to use educational RSS feeds between Lebanese and British students: A multi‑group analysis based on the technology acceptance model

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) offers a means for university students to receive timely updates from virtual learning environments. However, despite its utility, only 21% of home students surveyed at a university in Lebanon claim to have ever used the technology. To investigate whether national culture could be an influence on intention to use RSS, the survey was extended to British students in the UK. Using the Technology Adoption Model (TAM) as a research framework, 437 students responded to a questionnaire containing four constructs: behavioral intention to use; attitude towards benefit; perceived usefulness; and perceived ease of use. Principle components analysis and structural equation modelling were used to explore the psychometric qualities and utility of TAM in both contexts. The results show that adoption was significantly higher, but also modest, in the British context at 36%. Configural and metric invariance were fully supported, while scalar and factorial invariance were partially supported. Further analysis shows significant differences between perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use across the two contexts studied. Therefore, it is recommended that faculty demonstrate to students how educational RSS feeds can be used effectively to increase awareness and emphasize usefulness in both contexts

Crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever: Case series from a medical center in golestan province, Northeast of Iran (2004-2006)

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a widely distributed lethal disease, worldwide. Humans are usually infected with CCHF virus through a tick bite or close contact with viral contaminated tissues or with blood of domestic animals or of infected patients. The present study reports six cases of CCHF, who were in contact with both infected tissues and blood from sheep. In some regions like Golestan province (North of Iran), clinician suspicion may have an important role in early diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Conservative therapy (intensive monitoring) and prescription of antiviral medication (Ribavirin) accompanied with corticosteroids, was useful at the early stage of CCHF

The Relationship Between Critical Thinking, Its Subscales and Academic Achievement of English Language Course: the Predictability of Educational Success Based on Critical Thinking

Among the factors influencing students' educational performance of English language course, critical thinking is thought to be of crucial importance. Thus, the present study set out to explore the relationship between critical thinking, its subscales and English language achievement. Also, the predictability of English language proficiency based on critical thinking was investigated. The statistical population included all eleventh grade female students in district one of Zanjan city in the academic year of 2018-2019 with1400 people. The statistical sample was300 people based on Cochran's formula. A multi-stage random sampling method was used to select the participants. The design of the study was ex-post facto design. The California Critical Thinking Skills Test, Form B was used to assess students' critical thinking ability. The participants' scores of English language course at the end of the first semester were considered as a criterion for their English language proficiency. The results of the correlation analyses revealed that critical thinking and its subscales correlated significantly with academic achievement (p=0.0). Also, based on regression tests, it was revealed that English language proficiency is predictable based on critical thinking. The findings of this study would be beneficial for students, teachers, schools and educational officials

Hematologic, hepatic, and renal function changes in hospitalized patients with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus

Background There are no longitudinal data on the changes in hematologic, hepatic, and renal function findings in patients with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS‐CoV) infection. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study of 16 MERS‐CoV patients, to describe the hematological, hepatic, and renal findings of patients with MERS‐CoV. Results During the 21 days of observation, there was no significant change in the hepatic panel or creatinine tests. There was a significant increase in the mean ± SD of the white blood cell count from 8.3 ± 4.6 to 14.53 ± 7 (P value = 0.001) and an increase in mean ± SD of the absolute neutrophil count from 6.33 ± 4.2 to 12 ± 5.5 (P value = 0.015). Leukocytosis was observed in 31% (5/16) of the patients on day 1 and in 80% (4/5) on day 21. Transient leukopenia developed in 6% (1/16) of the patients on day 1 and in 13% (1/8) on day 8. None of the patients had neutropenia. Lymphopenia was a prominent feature with a rate of 44% (7/16) of the patients on day 1 and 60% (3/5) on day 21. Lymphocytosis was not a feature of MERS‐CoV infection. Thrombocytopenia developed in 31% (5/16) of the patients on day 1 and 40% (2/5) on day 21. Thrombocytosis was not a prominent feature and was observed in 6% (1/16) of the patients on day 1 and 17% (1/6) on day 9. Conclusions Patients with MERS‐CoV infection showed variable hematologic parameters over time. Lymphocytosis and neutropenia were not features of MERS‐CoV infection

Effect of home-based walking on performance and quality of life in patients with heart failure

Introduction: Chronic heart failure defined as the inability of the heart to meet the demands of the tissues, which results in symptoms of fatigue or dyspnoea on energy progressing to dyspnoea at rest. The inability to perform the exercise without discomfort and poor quality of life may be one of the first symptoms experienced by patients with heart failure and is often the principal reason for seeking medical care. Objectives: The aim of the study was to find the effect of a home walking programme on the performance and quality of life in the patients with heart failure. Methods and results: Sixty patients with New York Heart Association class II and III heart failure were divided into two matched and equal groups. The quality of life scores and 6-minute walking scores were measured for each patient at entry and after 8weeks. Both groups were followed for 8weeks. The results showed between mean walking distance on the 6minutes at entry and after 8weeks in the training group (p<0.001), but no significance was seen between the control groups (p=0.351). Furthermore, results showed a significant difference between mean of quality of life scores at entry and after 8weeks in the training group, but such significance was not reported between before and after control group scores. Conclusion: The home-based walking showed improvement in the performance, exercise tolerance time and quality of life in heart failure patients. Therefore, Nurses should employ alternatives such as home exercises in the caring of heart failure patients. © 2012 Nordic College of Caring Science

Comparison of mathematical models and artificial neural networks for prediction of drying kinetics of mushroom in microwave vacuum dryer

Drying characteristics of button mushroom slices were determined using microwave vacuum drier at various powers (130, 260, 380, 450 W) and absolute pressures (200, 400, 600, 800 mbar). To select a suitable mathematical model, 6 thin-layer drying models were fitted to the experimental data. The fitting rates of models were assessed based on three parameters; highest R2, lowest chi square () and root mean square error (RMSE). In addition, using the experimental data, an ANN trained by standard back-propagation algorithm, was developed in order to predict moisture ratio (MR) and drying rate (DR) values based on the three input variables (drying time, absolute pressure, microwave power). Different activation functions and several rules were used to assess percentage error between the desired and the predicted values. According to our findings, Midilli et al. model showed a reasonable fitting with experimental data. While, the ANN model showed its high capability to predict the MR and DR quite well with determination coefficients (R2) of 0.9991, 0.9995 and 0.9996 for training, validation and testing, respectively. Furthermore, their predictions Mean Square Error were 0.00086, 0.00042 and 0.00052, respectively