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IntroductionGrape is a major horticultural crop with a high nutritional value in the world. The optimal geographic and climatic conditions in Iran have positioned it as one of the most important regions for grape cultivation in the world. Black rot, caused by Aspergillus niger, is a highly destructive fungal disease that affects the grapes by targeting wounded areas. It causes crushing of the grapes, the falling of berries, and reduces transportation and storage properties (Ponsone et al., 2011). Various methods, such as fumigating bunches with sulfur dioxide and storing them in a modified atmosphere, have been used to control fungal rot and prolong the shelf life of grapes. However, each method has its limitations. Grape fumigation with sulfur gas is harmful to human health (Duarte-Sierra et al., 2016) and the efficiency of modified atmospheric storage on rot control and maintaining the quality of grapes depends on the type of variety, storage temperature, and especially gas concentration (Himelrick, 2003).Given the lack of efficiency in traditional methods, it is imperative to introduce modern techniques that can effectively disinfect microorganisms. These advanced methods offer several advantages, including the preservation of crop quality, an increase in crop shelf life, the promotion of good health, and substantial economic benefits. A technique of this type includes using non-thermal (cold) plasma (NTP) technology to eliminate food microorganisms (Bourke et al., 2018). The effect of cold plasma at atmospheric pressure on the reduction of bacterial populations in food products such as lettuce, tomato, strawberry, and cherry tomato has been reported (Bermúdez-Aguirre et al., 2013; Pasquali et al., 2016; Ziuzina et al., 2014). Research has shown that cold plasma can effectively inactivate Aspergillus in various orchard and agricultural products (Butscher et al., 2016; Ghorashi et al., 2020; Selcuk et al., 2008). The effect of cold plasma on the quality characteristics of the product during the post-harvest period has also been investigated. Blueberries treated with cold plasma for less than 15 minutes showed remarkable results: after 10 days, the fruit exhibited reduced lipid peroxidation and darkening, with no impact on the total anthocyanin content, pH, or firmness of the product (Hu et al., 2021). In a study by Rana et al. (2020), it was found that subjecting strawberries to 15 minutes of cold plasma with packaging after 5 days of storage at 25°C had no significant impact on pH, TSS, and moisture content of the fruit.The review of the literature reveals the absence of research on fungal disease control and grape quality evaluation following the use of NTP. This study aims to investigate the efficiency of plasma treatment in reducing the infection with Aspergillus fungi, along with examining the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of Fakhri grape.Materials and MethodsThis research was conducted as a completely randomized design in a factorial experiment at four plasma levels (0, 10, 20, and 40 s) and five storage periods (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 weeks) with three replications at 4°C. A plasma generator was first designed and manufactured in this study. A specifically designed and fabricated plasma application probe was also developed for grape berries. The individual grape berries were then sterilized with 1% sodium hypochlorite under a laminar hood for 2 minutes. Afterward, they were rinsed three times with sterile distilled water to remove any remaining disinfectant residue from their surfaces. Sterilized berries were immersed in Aspergillus spore suspension with 105 spores.ml-1 concentration. Finally, all samples were dried on paper filters and prepared for different plasma treatment durations (0, 10, 20, and 40 s). The treated samples were stored at 4°C, and the infection percentage and microbial load were measured on a weekly basis. To assess the preservation quality, chemical parameters such as pH, TSS, and TA, physical parameters (color change and weight loss), and mechanical properties were measured every week. Additionally, thermal imaging was performed weekly.Results and DiscussionPlasma application during storage significantly reduced the infection percentage and microbial load in Aspergillus-inoculated samples. At the end of the storage period, the infection percentage and microbial load in the 40-second plasma treatment were 5% and 2.5 CFU g-1 respectively, while in the control group, the infection percentage was 100% and the microbial load was 4 CFU g-1. At the end of the storage period, the lowest pH level in the plasma was observed for 40 s plasma. This could be attributed to effective contamination control, as fungal contamination leads to alkalization of the environment. The highest amount of TSS was also observed in control and 40 s plasma. But in the 10 and 20 s plasma treatment, the process of changes was gradual and not significant. The higher TSS level of control and 40 s plasma can be due to the weight loss caused by the spread of contamination and moisture leakage caused by damage to the tissue. This decrease in moisture leads to an apparent increase in the TSS index. Research has shown that plasma primarily affects the surface characteristics of products, and when applied with the appropriate voltage and duration, it does not alter the internal chemical properties (Hu et al., 2021). Over time, weight loss increased in all treatments. This increasing trend during the storage period is higher in control and 40 s plasma compared to 10 and 20 s plasma. Therefore, the weight loss in the control can be due to the spread of contamination and aging of the product over time. However, the weight loss in the 40-second plasma treatment can be due to the destruction of the fruit tissue caused by longer duration of the plasma application.In the current research, by increasing the duration of plasma application to 40 s, a significant decrease in L*, a*, and b* indices and an overall change in the color of the product was observed. Research shows that in blueberries, inappropriate duration of plasma treatment causes the loss of wax on the fruit surface and leads to darkening of the product (Hu et al., 2021). The highest and lowest changes in temperature drop were observed in the control treatment (5°C) and 10 and 20 s plasma (3 and 3.5°C, respectively). According to research, an increase in fungal contamination leads to a decrease in humidity, increases weight loss, and subsequently a decrease in product temperature. A decline in mechanical characteristics was noted for the control and plasma treated samples during the storage period. The lowest value for indicators was observed in the 40 s plasma treatment. However, no significant difference was observed in samples treated with plasma for less than 20 seconds compared to the control group up to the middle of the storage period. According to a report by Misra et al. (2014), plasma application can reduce tissue softness. Therefore, optimizing its plasma duration and intensity is very important (Pan et al., 2021). ConclusionOur experiments aimed to investigate the effect of NTP treatment on controlling Aspergillus infections while preserving the quality properties of Fakhri grapes. The obtained results are important for two main reasons. Firstly, an innovative probe was designed for plasma applications, specifically tailored to the shape and size of individual grapes in order to thoroughly cover them with plasma. Secondly, application of plasma was carried out for the first time and yielded valuable results, indicating that this technique can control fungal infections and preserve the chemical, physical, and mechanical properties of grapes.

Abstract In this paper, we introduce a theoretical framework for optical trapping that integrates nonlinear polarization within the dipole approximation. This theory represents the most comprehensive analytic model to date capable of resolving the discrepancies between the observed and simulated trapping of plasmonic nanoparticles. Our theory elucidates how two-photon absorption can account for the stable trapping of gold nanoparticles, including their longitudinal stability, especially near their plasmon resonance. Furthermore, the experimentally observed split potential wells in the transverse plane, which are attributed to two-photon absorption, are in close agreement with our model’s predictions. Finally, this study provides new insights into the mechanism of optical trapping under conditions of intense light–matter interactions.

This experiment was designed to investigate the effects of different levels of copper–methionine chelates and alfalfa powder on egg yolk cholesterol content, egg quality, and performance in laying hens. In this experiment, a total of 100 laying hens (Nick Chick strain, from 109 to 117 weeks of age) were arranged into five experimental treatments, consisting of 2 different dietary alfalfa powder and 2 different copper chelate levels in a (2x2) factorial completely randomized design (CRD). The treat-ments groups included: T1 Control (Corn and soybean meal), treatments T2 (3% alfalfa powder+50 mg/kg copper-methionine chelate), T3 (3% alfalfa powder+100 mg/kg copper-methionine chelate), T4 (6% alfalfa powder+50 mg/kg copper-methionine chelate) and T5 (6% alfalfa powder+100 mg/kg cop-per-methionine chelate). The results of this study have shown that, different levels of alfalfa powder and copper-methionine chelate in laying hens diet except feed conversion ratio and shell-less eggs, oth-er performance parameters were not substantially affected by the level of 3% alfalfa powder through-out of experimental period (P>0.05). Moreover, different levels of alfalfa powder and copper-methionine chelate except egg yolk color had no significant effect on internal and external egg quality traits during the whole experimental period (P>0.05). As well as, the egg yolk color index was signifi-cantly increased by increasing the level of alfalfa powder in the laying hens’ diet (P

Satellite-based precipitation missions can be used to estimate precipitation distribution, especially in areas where there are no rain gauging stations. Nevertheless, these products are still less used because of the lack of accuracy evaluation. This study evaluates the monthly rainfall values of five satellite precipitation products, including ERA5, GPM, CHIRPS, TRMM 3B43, and PERSIANN-CDR, at eight rain gauge networks over the Utah, United States using Google Earth Engine platform (GEE). For this purpose, different validating indices such as R2, RMSE, and MAE were used to evaluate the accuracy of mentioned products from 2009 to 2019. The results showed that CHIRPS outperformed other rainfall products in this region with an R2 value of 0.63. ERA5 ranked second with an R2 of 0.6, and GPM, TRMM, and PERSIANN-CDR were in the subsequent ranks with R2 values of 0.53, 0.52, and 0.32, respectively. The results also indicated that spatial resolution is directly related to the accuracy of the results. CHIRPS rainfall product had the highest spatial resolution (0.05°) among all studied products, which led to the most reliable results. On the other hand, the lowest spatial resolutions belonged to TRMM and PERSIANN-CDR (0.25°), which resulted in the weakest results. The results also revealed that the ERA5 precipitation product was more influenced by elevation, longitude, and rainfall factors than other products.

Due to climate change, drought events will probably occur more frequently and be more intense. Therefore, effective drought monitoring and assessment is vital in developing knowledge of drought, drought adaptation, and mitigatory actions. Remote sensing has been widely used for monitoring drought in recent years. In the current research, three groups of remote sensing indices, i.e. vegetation, thermal and moisture indices, were applied to determine the correlation between them and the standardized precipitation index (SPI) as drought index for the growing season (April to September) from 1999 to 2005 for rangeland areas in the Alborz province of Iran. The results indicated that normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) (with a correlation coefficient of 0.74) and land surface temperature (LST) (with a correlation coefficient of 0.67) had the highest correlations with rainfall. Therefore, it concluded that the assumed indices are suitable for drought monitoring for this land use. Temporal analysis of the results showed that the best correlations of remote sensing indices belonged to the 6- and 9-month SPI and indicated the effect of long-term rainfall on plant growth.

Additively manufactured multi-metal hybrid structures can be designed as functionally graded materials providing an optimized response at specific positions for particular applications. In this study, liquid dispersed metal powder bed fusion is used to synthesize a multi-metal structure based on Inconel 625 (IN625) and stainless steel 316L (S316L) stainless steel regions, built on a S316L base plate. Both alloys alternate several times along the build direction as well as within the individual sublayers. The multi-metal sample was investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, microhardness measurements, nanoindentation and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Cross-sectional synchrotron X-ray micro-diffraction 2D mapping was carried out at the high-energy material science beamline of the storage ring PETRAIII in Hamburg. Sharp morphological S316L-to-IN625 interfaces along the sample's build direction are observed on the micro- and nanoscale. A gradual phase transition encompassing about 1 mm is revealed in the transverse direction. Mechanical properties change gradually following abrupt or smooth phase transitions between the alloys where a higher strength is determined for the superalloy. The two-dimensional distribution of phases can be assessed indirectly as S316L and IN625 in this multi-metal sample possess a and a fiber crystallographic texture, respectively. Tensile residual stresses of ∼900 and ∼800 MPa in build direction and perpendicular to it, respectively, are evaluated from measured residual X-ray elastic strains. Generally, the study indicates possibilities and limitations of liquid dispersed metal powder bed fusion for additive manufacturing of functionally graded materials with unique synergetic properties and contributes to the understanding of optimization of structurally and functionally advanced composites.

Abstract Background This study assesses the value of image fusion using 18F-fluoro-L-DOPA (18F-DOPA) positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for examining patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and a suspicion of metastasis of the liver. Methods Eleven patients (five women and six men aged between 20 and 81, with a mean age of 54.6 years) were included in the study. All patients underwent whole-body 18F-DOPA PET examinations and contrast-enhanced MRI with diffusion-weighted sequences (DWS). Image fusion was performed using a semiautomatic voxel-based algorithm. Images obtained using PET and MRI were assessed separately. Side-by-side evaluations of fused PET/MRI images were also performed. Results In total, 55 liver lesions (52 liver metastases and 3 benign lesions) were detected in the 11 patients. Sensitivity detection for liver lesions was higher when using PET/CT than when using contrast-enhanced MRI without DWSs and lower than using MRI with DWSs. The sensitivity of PET/MRI image fusion in the detection of liver metastasis was significantly higher than that of MRI with DWSs (P

In the present research, rapidly solidified Fe85.3B11P3Cu0.7 ribbons were prepared by melt spinning process. The microstructural variation as well as magnetic properties of the as-spun and annealed ribbons were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission Mossbauer spectroscopy and alternating gradient field magnetometer (AGFM). The results show two separated distinct exothermic peaks during heating resulting from the phase transition from amorphous to α-Fe and then to Fe3B, respectively. The study of magnetic properties in the amorphous and nanocrystalline states revealed that annealing the amorphous ribbons at 440˚C for 10 minutes gives rise to a significant increase in saturation magnetization (220 emu/g) which makes this alloy a good candidate for power applications.

Introduction The prevalence of mental disorders plays an important role in identifying the state of mental health of the community and estimate the required facilities at any time. Objectives Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of psychological disorders in caregivers of children with intellectual disabilities and motor disabilities in Shiraz. Methods The research was descriptive and cross-sectional survey. The statistical population consisted of all mothers of children with disabilities who were admitted to welfare centers and clinics of Shiraz in 2019. Of these families, 35 mothers with children with intellectual disability and 35 mothers with children with motor disability were selected as the sample group. SCL-90-R (1976) was used to collect of data. For analyze the data, MANOVA test was used. Results The results of this study showed that the most common psychological disorders in caregivers of children with intellectual disability were aggression (hostility), hypersensitivity to interpersonal relationships, anxiety and depression, and in caregivers of children with motor disabilities were physical complaints, sensitivity to interpersonal relationships, paranoid thoughts and anxiety. Conclusions According to the findings of this research, it can be concluded that caregivers of children with special needs in terms of mental health are not in a favorable situation, which is due to the lack of proper adaptation with the disability of their child and the failure to meet their needs. Disclosure No significant relationships.

Background and Objective:Chemistry plays a fundamental role in human civilization and its place in economics, politics and life is becoming more and more prominent and covers a wide range of chemical products such as drugs, dyes, fertilizers, etc. However, the environmental damage caused by it is a major human concern. Many of us today take steps to reduce environmental impact, for example by participating in chemical recycling programs and using energy-saving light bulbs; we buy local products and maybe drive hybrid cars. But what if "we could somehow prevent pollution from the start?" Thus, with a new approach called green chemistry, chemists are being led to a new phase of research activities to develop green reactions and use them instead of the old methods, to help human health and society by eliminating toxins from chemical processes. The purpose of this research is education of green chemistry through the curriculum related to the principles of green chemistry in General Chemistry Lab 1and the effect of this educational course on learning and attitude of the pre-service chemistry teachers toward green chemistry principles. Methods: This educational course involves two green experiments implemented according to green chemistry principles. The experiments include determination of molar mass relation in a chemical reaction and determination of the amount of ascorbic acid in a tablet of vitamin C. The research methods are practical, experimental and quasi-experimental and the used instruments were the researcher-constructed tests in the field of learning and attitude domain. Statistic population of this study consists of experimental group (N=30) and control group (N=30) of the student teachers at Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University in the academic year 2017-2018. Data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics with SPSS software. Findings: The obtained results show that among12 principles of Green Chemistry, students have learned the principles of 1 to 4 and 7 to 12 of these 12 principles and they have been attracted to them. In addition, the implementation of a curriculum related to the principles of green chemistry has had a positive impact on the attitude of the pre-service chemistry teachers. Conclusion: Findings from the research show that teaching the principles of green chemistry can be done based on the activity-oriented approach in the chemistry curriculum as in most developed countries. Student-teacher education can lead them to develop a positive attitude towards green chemistry and to have more motivation and desire to study chemistry based on the principles of green chemistry and to pass this attitude on to their students in the teaching process. Also, in designing the curriculum, it should be noted that in the sequence of practical activities, it should be done in such a way that it includes all the principles of green chemistry so that education based on it can give all the principles of green chemistry to learners or give them a positive attitude. ===================================================================================== COPYRIGHTS ©2019 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers. =====================================================================================

This study investigated the effects of various force moulting methods on egg physical and mechanical characteristics, plasma metabolites and performance of Japanese quails from 26 to 36 weeks of age. The treatments were: T1 (control), T2 (feed restriction), T3 (alfalfa powder), T4 (wheat screening powder, a by-product obtained after harvesting and processing of wheat). Egg production ceased completely with feed restriction and alfalfa treatments by days 4 and 3. Also, birds under feed restriction and alfalfa treatments returned to first egg at day 4 of post-moulting period. No significant differences were found in feed intake, egg mass, egg production, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and mortality of quails in response to experimental treatments after moulting (P>0.05). Feed restriction led to significantly higher egg weight in comparison to control and wheat screening treatments (P0.05). The calcium concentration was higher (P

For solving the dynamic equilibrium equation of structures, several second-order numerical methods have so far been proposed. In these algorithms, conditional stability, period elongation, amplitude error, appearance of spurious frequencies and dependency of the algorithms to the time steps are the crucial problems. Among the numerical methods, Newmark average acceleration algorithm, regardless of existence of spurious frequencies, is very popular in the structural dynamics due to its unconditionally stability status of the method. Recently, several first-order methods have been introduced for resolving the accuracy and stability issues. However, in these methods stability, accuracy and error in inversion of the state matrix are known as major issues. When the state matrix became singular or ill conditioned, numerical errors will occure in the computational process. Many of the available first-order methods were to improve the stability and accuracy and also to remove the error of inversion. Even though the introduced methods are conditionally stable, no investigation on errors, occuring during dynamic loading, has been reported for them. The main purpose of this paper is to utilize a specific decomposition method based on Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) for modifying PIM algorithm. Using the SVD inversion technique, the singularity problem of the state matrix has been resolved. In this paper, the modified method is called PIMS. As well, by applying the developed method for dynamic loading, the error of responses has been investigated. The results show that PIMS algorithm is stable and, comparing with secoend order Newmark and other available first order methods, has more accuracy.

The soft magnetic nanocrystalline Fe73.5Si13.5B9Cu1Nb3 alloy (FINEMET®) is produced by heat treatment of amorphous precursor. Determining kinetic parameters of amorphous structure transformation to nanocrystalline allows the control of microstructure (e.g. size and volume fraction of nanocrystalline grains) in order to achieve desired soft magnetic properties by optimizing the heat treatment conditions. In this research, the nanocrystallization kinetics of amorphous FINEMET alloy were studied using isoconversional and isokinetic methods under non-isothermal conditions of various heating rates ranging from 5 to 20˚C/min. The changes in the microstructure and magnetic properties of amorphous ribbon during nanocrystallization process were studied using X-ray diffractometry and hysteresisgraph, respectively.

The present research tries to investigate the attitudes of Faculty members who adopt traditional, distance or both educational systems towards e learning. The ex post facto method was used in this study and population of the survey included faculty members of Basic Sciences and Technology Universities of Tehran. The instrument was used a questionnaire containing some questions about Faculty beliefs towards electronical learning. The method of analysis was used MANOVA. In conclusion, it appears that skill development is a fundamental factor for proffessors to adopt e learning. On the other hand, those who didn’t have enough familiarity with e learning issue, were more reluctant to apply it.

Purpose: In this work we present a handheld, solid-state detector based gamma camera system. We validated the camera physically and demonstrated the usefulness of the device for intra-operative detection of radiolabeled tissue. Methods: We measured the intrinsic uniformity, the intrinsic energy resolution, the system uniformity, the spatial resolution without scatter, the system planar uniformity, the detector shielding and the peak deviation according to the NEMA NU1-2001 standard. Results: The gamma camera can be used for isotopes with an energy range between 50-250 keV. A standard laptop is used to control of the camera and to visualize Preliminary clinical data show that the devices can be used successfully for a number of clinical applications. Conclusion: The performance evaluation of a novel handheld gamma camera shows good spatial resolution, sensitivity and energy resolution. Due to the small size and weight the portable device can be used for untraoperative acquisitions.

This experiment was designed to investigate the effects of different levels of copper-methionine chelates and alfalfa powder on egg yolk cholesterol content, egg quality, and performance in laying hens. In this experiment, a total of 100 laying hens (Nick Chick strain, from 109 to 117 weeks of age) were arranged into five experimental treatments, consisting of 2 different dietary alfalfa powder and 2 different copper chelate levels in a (2x2) factorial completely randomized design (CRD). The treatments groups included: T1 Control (Corn and soybean meal), treatments T2 (3% alfalfa powder+50 mg/kg copper-methionine chelate), T3 (3% alfalfa powder+100 mg/kg copper-methionine chelate), T4 (6% alfalfa powder+50 mg/kg copper-methionine chelate) and T5 (6% alfalfa powder+100 mg/kg copper-methionine chelate). The results of this study have shown that, different levels of alfalfa powder and copper-methionine chelate in laying hens diet except feed conversion ratio and shell-less eggs, other performance parameters were not substantially affected by the level of 3% alfalfa powder throughout of experimental period (P>0.05). Moreover, different levels of alfalfa powder and coppermethionine chelate except egg yolk color had no significant effect on internal and external egg quality traits during the whole experimental period (P>0.05). As well as, the egg yolk color index was significantly increased by increasing the level of alfalfa powder in the laying hens' diet (P<0.001). The highest egg yolk color index was observed in treatment 5 which (containing 6% alfalfa powder+ 100 mg / kg copper-methionine chelate in per kg of diet). Meanwhile, the treatment group that received (6% alfalfa powder+100mg/kg copper-methionine chelate) the egg yolk cholesterol concentration was significantly decreased compared to the control group (P<0.001). Therefore, addition of alfalfa powder and copper methionine chelate to the diet of laying hens reduced egg yolk cholesterol and increased egg yolk color. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is associated with polymorphisms of the fat mass and obesity associated gene (FTO). This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the association of the rs9930506 FTO gene polymorphism and obesity. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first metaanalysis to evaluate the relation between FTO rs9930506 polymorphism and obesity. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase to identify studies investigating the relations between the rs9930506 FTO gene polymorphism and obesity risk. We pooled adjusted odds ratios (OR) as overall and in continent subgroups. A Fixed-effects model was used to analyze the results of these studies in dominant and recessive models. By examining 3337 obesity cases and 3159 healthy controls, we identified 8 eligible case-control studies. Considering the dominant model of inheritance, there was a relationship between the rs9939506 polymorphism and obesity (OR=1.34 [1.03- 1.74]). The association remained significant in the European subgroup (OR=1.68 [1.2-2.36]), but not in the Asian subgroup. Using the recessive model, we also found a significant relationship when the overall association was investigated (OR=2.47; 95% CI 1.56-3.91). In conclusion, this study identified that the carriers of the risk allele of FTO rs9930506 polymorphism are at higher risk for obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this experiment, different doses of Zataria multiflora (ZM) and Eucalyptus globolus (EG) essential oils (EOs) (0, 100, 250, 500, 750 and 1000 µg/mL) and a mixture of them were added to alfalfa hay incubated with buffered rumen liquor of Merghoz goat to assess in vitro gas production, rumen fermentation and protozoa population. In all treatments the asymptotic gas volume (B) and the rate constant (c) were decreased while the lag phase was increased. There were no effects of ZM and EG on pH, but in high doses of ZE pH was higher than that of control (P<0.001). The ammonia-N concentration was decreased due to addition of combination of EOs (P<0.01) and volatile fatty acid concentration was reduced (P<0.01) following incorporation of EOs. Gas production and organic matter digestibility were decreased (P<0.01) 24 h after incubation, whereas the partitioning factor was increased. Metabolizable energy was decreased, (P<0.05). By inclusion of EOs, total protozoa population and individual genera reduced (P<0.001). The results revealed that EOs of ZM and EG could be potentially used to modulate rumen fermentation, but using them at high level doses have anti-protozoal effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of a triple anti-Helicobacter therapy using omeprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin (OAC) in dogs. A total of 15 healthy adult stray dogs with naturally acquired Helicobacter infection were evaluated using polymerase chain reaction and rapid urease test. Subsequently, they received a 21-day triple regimen. One day after the discontinuation of treatment, a second molecular analysis of gastric biopsies revealed complete eradication of Helicobacter DNA with negative quantitative urease testing in all 15 dogs. Our results confirmed the high prevalence of gastric Helicobacter-like organisms (GHLOs) in the stray dog population of Shiraz, Iran, and the effectiveness of our therapeutic regimen for the complete eradication of these microorganisms in stray dogs. In conclusion, for the complete elimination of non-pylori Helicobacter spp. from the gastric mucosa of dogs, a 21-day three-drug regimen with omeprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin is suggested.

Background and Objectives: Urban family physician program(UFPP), a program for improving equity in access to, financing, and quality of health services, is piloting in two provinces of Fars and Mazandaran, Iran since 2012. This study aimed to examine the association between the implementation of program and financial protection measures. Methods: This cross-sectional, ecological study was performed on aggregated data of financial protection measures and some independent variables in the above provinces from 2008 to 2015. At first, the Lasso regression model was used for selecting independent variables affecting financial protection indexes. After adjusting the selected independent variables, in separate models, the association between the UFPP and financial protection measures, as outcome variables, was examined using a backward linear regression model. Results: The percentage of households facing catastrophic health expenditure(CHE) in the years of UFPP implementation was 1.82% higher than the years before implementation(P0.05). Conclusion: Despite the achievements attained by UFPP in improving physical access to health services, it seems that this program has had no success in improving financial protection measures and equitable health care financing. However, further research is warranted in this regard.