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Cyprinids are the main and most significant bony fishes found in the Caspian Sea. In this study, 15 specimens of Rutilus frisii kutum (Kamensky, 1901), 10 specimens of Barbus capita (Gueldenstaedtii, 1772), 10 specimens of Bream Abramis brama (Linnaeus, 1785), 10 specimens of Redlip, Aspius aspius, and 15 specimens of Kora volba, Rutilus ruti/us caspius, were collected from commercial catch stations. DNA from all specimens was extracted using the phenol-chloroform method in 500lll tubes and amplified using PCR method with a pair of primers with cytochrom b gene sequence of Kora volba. For RFLP analysis, PCR products of cytochorome gene b (1117 bp) from each species were digested with five restriction enzymes under suitable conditions of incubation. DNA bands were visualized by gel electrophoresis (polyacrylamide) and staining with silver nitrate. Five enzyme Rsa 1, Hinf I, Hhal, Hinc II, and Mbo I showed polymorphism. Genotypes obtained from digestion of enzymes Rsa I, Hinf I, Hha I showed haplotypes AAAAA for Barbus capita, BBBB for R. rutilus caspius, CCCC for Bream Abramis brama, DDDD for Aspius aspius and EEEE for R. frisii kutum. Each of these haplotypes serves as a genetic marker for the species and is of significant importance in distinguishing them.

Background: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is the third most prevalent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. In 2016, costs per patient associated with PAD exceeded even the health-economic burden of coronary heart disease. Although affecting over 200 million people worldwide, a clear consensus on the most beneficial components to be included in home-based exercise programs for patients with peripheral artery disease is lacking. The aim of the study was to examine the health care use and costs caused by the 12-month patient-centered 'Telephone Health Coaching and Remote Exercise Monitoring for Peripheral Artery Disease' (TeGeCoach) program in a randomized controlled trial., Methods: This is a two-arm, parallel-group, open-label, pragmatic, randomized, controlled clinical trial (TeGeCoach) at three German statutory health insurance funds with follow-up assessments after 12 and 24-months. Study outcomes were medication use (daily defined doses), days in hospital, sick pay days and health care costs, from the health insurers' perspective. Claims data from the participating health insurers were used for analyses. The main analytic approach was an intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis. Other approaches (modified ITT, per protocol, and as treated) were executed additionally as sensitivity analysis. Random-effects regression models were calculated to determine difference-in-difference (DD) estimators for the first- and the second year of follow-up. Additionally, existing differences at baseline between both groups were treated with entropy balancing to check for the stability of the calculated estimators., Results: One thousand six hundred eighty-five patients (Intervention group (IG) = 806; Control group (CG) = 879) were finally included in ITT analyses. The analyses showed non-significant effects of the intervention on savings (first year: - 352€; second year: - 215€). Sensitivity analyses confirmed primary results and showed even larger savings., Conclusion: Based on health insurance claims data, a significant reduction due to the home-based TeGeCoach program could not be found for health care use and costs in patients with PAD. Nevertheless, in all sensitivity analysis a tendency became apparent for a non-significant cost reducing effect., Trial Registration: NCT03496948 (www., Clinicaltrials: gov), initial release on 23 March 2018., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Supervised exercise programs are used to treat intermittent claudication (IC). Home-based exercise programs have been developed to lower barriers to participation. We studied the effects of one such exercise program (TeGeCoach) on self-reported walking ability in patients with IC., Methods: In a pragmatic multicenter randomized controlled trial (registration number NCT03496948), 1982 patients with symp - tomatic IC insured by one of three German statutory health insurance funds received either telephone health coaching with remote exercise monitoring (TeGeCoach; n = 994) or routine care (n = 988). The primary outcome was the change in Walking Impairment Questionnaire (WIQ) scores after 12 and 24 months in the intention-to-treat population. The secondary outcomes were healthrelated quality of life, symptoms of depression or anxiety, health competence, patient activation, alcohol use, and nicotine depen - dence., Results: There was a significant group difference in WIQ score in favor of TeGeCoach (p < 0.0001), amounting to 6.30 points at 12 months (Bonferroni-corrected 95% CI [4.02; 8.59], Cohen's d = 0.26) and 4.55 points at 24 months ([2.20; 6.91], d = 0.19). Some of the secondary outcomes also showed positive results in favor of TeGeCoach at 12 months with small effect sizes (d ≥ 0.20), including physical health-related quality of life and patient activation. The average daily step count was not higher in the TeGeCoach group., Conclusion: Significant improvements regarding symptom burden demonstrate the benefit of a home-based exercise program and thus expand the opportunities for guideline-oriented treatment of IC. Future studies should additionally address the effect of home-based exercise programs on clinical variables by means of, for example, the 6-minute walk test.

Cultivation of microalgae and controlling its growth and performance in closed photobioreactors (PBRs) are easier than open pond systems for wastewater treatment. The performance of PBRs is influenced by geometry, hydrodynamic behavior, and mass transfer. Horizontal and vertical configurations as common designs of PBR are reviewed based on their features, advantages, and disadvantages. However, vertically operated PBRs like bubble columns are preferably used for utility-scale applications of microalgae-based processes. Moreover, an appropriate reactor design reduces the inhibitory effect of dissolved oxygen concentration produced by microalgae and consequently increases the level of available CO 2 in the medium. Medium properties, superficial gas velocity, gas holdup, bubble sizes, shear stress, mixing time, sparger design, and the ratio of inner diameter to effective height are shown to influence the overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient (K L a) and PBR's performance. The vertical PBRs like bubble columns provide a high mass transfer, a short liquid circulation time, and a long frequency of light/dark cycle for utility application of microalgae. Different flow regimes are obtained in PBRs based on the gas flow rate, inner diameter, and medium properties. Hydraulic retention time as the main operational parameter is determined in a batch mode for continuous wastewater treatment., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Low-threshold e-health approaches in prevention to reduce suicide stigma are scarce. We developed an online program containing video reports on lived experience of suicide and evidence-based information on suicidality. We evaluated the program by a mixed methods design. We examined pre-post-changes of program completers (n = 268) in suicide literacy, suicide stigma (self and perceived), and self-efficacy expectation of being able to seek support in psychologically difficult situations using linear mixed models. To examine reported changes and helpful program elements 12-26 weeks after program completion, we content analyzed transcripts of telephone interviews (n = 16). Program completers showed more suicide literacy (Cohen's d = .74; p < .001), higher self-efficacy expectations to seek support (d = .09; p < .01), lower self-stigma (subscales glorification/normalization: d = -.13, p = .04; isolation/depression: d = -.14; p = .04; stigma: d = -.10; p = .07; n = 168) compared to baseline. We found no significant differences in perceived suicide stigma. We identified lived experience reports, the possibility of sharing own narrative on stigma and suicidality, and information on support as helpful elements. The current online program can increase suicide literacy and self-efficacy expectations to seek support and reduce self-stigma. We recommend a larger randomized controlled trial with longer follow-up to confirm these findings., Competing Interests: MD, JL, NP, FR, MH, OvK, JB, TB, and SL declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © 2023 Dreier et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting many areas of life and has posed additional strains on the highly vulnerable group of caregivers of children with rare diseases (RDs). The psychosocial situation of the family caregivers deserves more attention, both in research and practice. The current study explores the distress level of caregivers of children with RDs, their psychosocial information needs, and caregiver-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of children with RDs in times of the COVID-19 pandemic., Methods: Data from a cross-sectional online survey conducted within the German CARE-FAM-NET project (children affected by rare diseases and their families-network) between March and August 2020 were examined. The study sample included 149 family caregivers, mostly mothers (83.2%) of 167 children with RDs. The survey assessed demographic and disease-related characteristics, distress and everyday problems of caregivers (Distress Thermometer for Parents; scale 0-10), psychosocial information needs (self-developed items; scale 0-100), and caregiver-reported HRQoL of the children with RDs (DISABKIDS Chronic Generic Measure, short-form; scale 0-100). Using descriptive statistics, we analyzed the psychosocial situation of families during the COVID-19 pandemic. We further conducted correlation analysis to investigate interrelations., Results: The distress level among caregivers was high (M = 6.84, SD = 2.43); 89.6% reported clinical distress (≥ 4). Everyday problems (e.g., sleep problems, fatigue, being out of shape, fears, feeling tense or nervous, and worry) were frequent. Caregivers reported a wide range of psychosocial information needs. In about half of the children (49.5%), caregiver-reported HRQoL was low, while average HRQoL (M = 58.7, SD = 19.5) was comparable to parent-reported norm data of children with severe clinical conditions. Distress correlated positively with psychosocial information needs (r = 0.40), and negatively with the caregiver-reported HRQoL of the children (r =  - 0.46)., Conclusions: This study indicates a high psychosocial burden on family caregivers of children with RDs during the early COVID-19 pandemic, characterized by high distress levels and wide-ranging everyday problems, unmet psychosocial information needs, and reduced caregiver-reported HRQoL in children with RDs. The findings highlight the ongoing need for target group-specific, low-threshold support services (e.g., websites) during and after the pandemic., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objective: Methamphetamine (METH) is one of the most widely used addictive drugs, and addiction to it is on the rise all over the world. METH abuse has long-term damaging effects that reduce memory and impair cognitive functions. According to studies, the observed effects are strongly related to the nerve cell damage caused by METH, which leads to neurotoxicity. Some of these intra-neuronal events include dopamine oxidation, excitotoxicity, and oxidative stress. Erythropoietin (EPO) is a hormone produced primarily by the kidneys and, in small quantities, by the liver. Studies have shown that EPO exhibits considerable neuroprotective effects. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of EPO on METH neurotoxicity., Methods: Initially, 48 male Wistar rats, weighing 250-300 g, were randomly assigned to four groups: control (n = 12), METH (n = 12), and METH+EPO (2500, 5000 IU/kg/IP- n = 12). METH was injected intraperitoneally at a dose of 40 mg per kg of body weight (four injections of 10 mg every two hours) to induce neurotoxicity. EPO was injected at doses of 2500 and 5000 IU/kg seven days after the last METH administration (ip). Morris water maze test was performed following EPO injection (1 day after the last dose) to assess spatial memory. The brains were removed after the behavioral test, biochemical evaluations and immunohistochemistry (caspase-3 and GFAP) was performed., Results: The results showed that EPO treatment significantly improved spatial memory impairment (P < 0.01), compared to the METH group, EPO was a significant reduction in malondialdehyde and TNF-α (P < 0.01), as well as an increase in superoxide dismutase (P < 0.05) and glutathione-PX (P < 0.01). Furthermore, EPO treatment significantly reduced the number of GFAP positive cells (P < 0.01) and caspase 3 (P < 0.001) in the hippocampus (CA1 region)., Conclusions: The study findings suggested that EPO may have great neuroprotective effects on METH neurotoxicity due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiapoptotic properties., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Intermittent claudication is the leading symptom of peripheral artery disease (leg pain when walking). The present study investigates the extent to which walking impairment is associated with health-related quality of life, mental health and health risk behavior., Methods: A theory-based, cross-sectional path model was empirically examined using pre-intervention baseline data from a multicenter, randomized-controlled trial of patients with intermittent claudication (PAD-TeGeCoach). Data were available from 1 696 patients who completed a battery of questionnaires between April 14, 2018 and March 12, 2019, including measures of walking impairment (Walking Impairment Questionnaire), health-related quality of life (SF-12), mental burden (GAD-7, PHQ-9), nicotine- and alcohol-related risk behavior (Fagerström-Test, AUDIT-C). Sociodemographic characteristics and comorbid conditions were included in the postulated model a priori to minimize confounding effects., Results: Walking impairment was associated with an increase in depressive (β = -.36, p < .001) and anxiety symptoms (β = -.24, p < .001). The prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms was 48.3% and 35.5%, respectively, with female patients and those of younger age being at greater risk. Depressive symptoms were predictive of an increased tobacco use (β = .21; p < .001). Walking impairment had adverse effects on physical quality of life, both directly (β = .60, p < .001) and indirectly mediated through depressive symptoms (β = -.16, p < .001); and indirectly on mental quality of life mediated through depressive (β = -.43, p < .001) and anxiety symptoms (β = -.35, p < .001)., Discussion: The findings underscore the need for a comprehensive treatment strategy in patients with intermittent claudication. Measures to improve walking impairment (e.g. exercise training) are key to enhance quality of life and should be the primary treatment. As a key mediator of mental quality of life, depressive and anxiety symptoms should be addressed by rigorously including mental health treatment. Risky health behaviors should be approached by promoting behavior change (e.g. smoking cessation) as a secondary prevention of peripheral artery disease., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Adhesion of Candida to host cell receptors, hemolysin production, and proteinase activity are assumed as principal virulence factors and infection establishment. These virulence factors are essential for colonization, biofilm formation, and attack on the host cells., Materials and Methods: A total of 97 Candida albicans isolates obtained from gastroesophageal lesions and urinary tract infections were included in the study. Adhesion assay, proteinase activity, and hemolysin production were measured. Statistical analysis was performed using the independent t -test and Chi-square test to compare quantitative and qualitative data between the two groups., Results: The adherence ability to the buccal epithelial cells was the same in the two groups. Proteinase activity was seen in all clinical isolates. Hemolytic activities were not statistically significant in the two groups., Conclusion: Our results recommend that the pathogenicity of C. albicans in the mucous membranes cannot be connected to the infected site., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 Journal of Research in Medical Sciences.)

Background: A medical device is any instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, appliance, software, material, which is intended material, to be utilized, either alone or in combination, for medical purpose. These devices should work precisely and the maintenance program of them has also a key role to achieve this goal. Many of the maintenance programs have not considered important functional parameters such as equipment type, risk factors, and expert opinion., Objective: The purpose of this study is to present a novel fuzzy method for medical device risk assessment. The obtained values for risk could be used to prioritize maintenance operations by considering allocation budget., Material and Methods: This experimental study aims to make a new application of Ordered-Weighted Average operator in aggregation of different parameters for calculating Risk Priority Number. This model is a fuzzy multi-criteria decision making approach based on risk maintenance framework for medical device prioritization., Results: A limited budget is one of the barrier in medical centers. The suggested framework presents a simple and reliable method to choose the best maintenance strategy for each kind of medical device by considering budget limitation. Based on obtained results from numerical model, defibrillators and surgical suction have respectively the highest and the lowest priority in mentioned example., Conclusion: Risk prioritization of medical devices is valuable because the medical centers can prioritize maintenance operations and thereby to establish preference of maintenance strategy. Implementation of our proposed maintenance program has many effective results in medical center budgets., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: None, (Copyright: © Journal of Biomedical Physics and Engineering.)

Objectives: Patient-reported outcome measures can facilitate the assessment of walking impairment in peripheral artery disease patients with intermittent claudication in clinical trials and practice. The aim of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the German version of the 'Walking Estimated-Limitation Calculated by History' (WELCH) questionnaire., Methods: The assessed properties included feasibility, test-retest reliability, construct validity (i.e., convergent, divergent and known-groups validity) and responsiveness using classic psychometric methods. Psychometric properties were tested as part of a randomized controlled home-based exercise trial for patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease at Fontaine stage IIA/B., Results: Analyses were conducted in subgroups of 1,696 patients at baseline and 1,233 patients at 12-month follow-up (i.e., post-intervention) who completed the WELCH along with a battery of other self-report measures. The WELCH did not exhibit relevant floor or ceiling effects (< 15% achieved lowest or highest possible scores), showed evidence for good test-retest reliability (ICC = .81, 95% CI [.71-.88]) and was found to be well suited for self-completion by patients (< 5% missing data per item). WELCH scores showed moderate to strong correlations with related measures of walking impairment at both time points (Walking Impairment Questionnaire: r  = .56 - .74; VascuQoL-25 activity subscale: r  = .61 - .66) and distinguished well among patients with poor and high quality of life when adjusting for confounders ( t  = 13.67, p  < .001, d  = .96). Adequate divergent validity was indicated by a weaker correlation between the WELCH and general anxiety at both time points (GAD-7: r  =  - .14  to   - .22). The WELCH improved by 6.61 points (SD = 17.04, 95% CI [5.13-8.10], d  = 0.39) in response to exercise treatment and was able to identify large clinically important improvements observed on the walking distance (AUC = .78, 95% CI [.71-.84]) and speed subscales (AUC = .77, 95% CI [.68-.86]) of the Walking Impairment Questionnaire., Conclusions: The WELCH is considered a feasible, reliable and valid patient-reported outcome measure for the measurement of walking impairment in patients with peripheral artery disease. The WELCH showed evidence for responsiveness to changes in walking impairment, yet further studies are warranted to conclusively determine the WELCH's ability to detect intervention effects., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2021 Rezvani et al.)

Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution can cause eutrophication, resulting in ecosystem disruption. Wastewater treatment systems employing microalgae-bacteria consortia have the potential to enhance the nutrient removal efficiency from wastewater through mutual interaction and synergetic effects. The knowledge and control of the mechanisms involved in microalgae-bacteria interaction could improve the system's ability to transform and recover nutrients. In this review, a critical evaluation of recent literature was carried out to synthesize knowledge related to mechanisms of interaction between microalgae and bacteria consortia for nutrient removal from wastewater. It is now established that microalgae can produce oxygen through photosynthesis for bacteria and, in turn, bacteria supply the required metabolites and inorganic carbon source for algae growth. Here we highlight how the interaction between microalgae and bacteria is highly dependent on the nitrogen species in the wastewater. When the nitrogen source is ammonium, the generated oxygen by microalgae has a positive influence on nitrifying bacteria. When the nitrogen source is nitrate, the oxygen can have an inhibitory effect on denitrifying bacteria. However, some strains of microalgae have the capability to supply hydrogen gas for hydrogenotrophic denitrifiers as an energy source. Recent literature on biogranulation of microalgae and bacteria and its application for nutrient removal and biomass recovery is also discussed as a promising approach. Significant research challenges remain for the integration of microalgae-bacteria consortia into wastewater treatment processes including microbial community control and process stability over long time horizons., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Telephone based health coaching (TBHC) seems to be a promising approach to foster self-management in patients with chronic conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a TBHC on patient-reported outcomes and health behavior for people living with chronic conditions in Germany., Methods: Patients insured at a statutory health insurance were randomized to an intervention group (IG; TBHC) and a control group (CG; usual care), using a stratified random allocation before giving informed consent (Zelen's single-consent design). The TBHC was based on motivational interviewing, goal setting, and shared decision-making and carried out by trained nurses. All outcomes were assessed yearly for three years. We used mixed effects models utilizing all available data in a modified intention-to-treat sample for the main analysis. Participants and study centers were included as random effects. All models were adjusted for age, education and campaign affiliation., Results: Of the 10,815 invited patients, 4,283 returned their questionnaires at baseline. The mean age was 67.23 years (SD = 9.3); 55.5% were female. According to the model, TBHC was statistically significant superior to CG regarding 6 of 19 outcomes: physical activity in hours per week (p = .030) and in metabolic rate per week (p = .048), BMI (p = .009) (although mainly at baseline), measuring blood pressure (p< .001), patient activation (p< .001), and health literacy (p< .001). Regarding stages of change (p = .005), the IG group also showed statistically different results than the CG group, however the conclusion remains inconclusive. Within-group contrasts indicating changes from baseline to follow-ups and significant between-group comparisons regarding these changes supported the findings. Standardized effect sizes were small. TBHC did not show any effect on mental QoL, health status, alcohol, smoking, adherence, measuring blood sugar, foot monitoring, anxiety, depression and distress. Campaign-specific subgroup effects were detected for 'foot monitoring by a physician' and 'blood sugar measurement'., Conclusion: TBHC interventions might have small effects on some patient reported and behavioral outcomes., Practice Implications: Future research should focus on analyzing which intervention components are effective and who profits most from TBHC interventions., Registration: German Clinical Trials Register (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien; DRKS): DRKS00000584., Competing Interests: One of the co-authors (LH) is employed by the KKH (the funder). The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

To avoid hydrogen injection and to enhance the settleability of microbial biomass in biological treatment of nitrate-contaminated drinking water resources, a new method based on granulation of a mixture of hydrogen consumer denitrifiers (HCD) and microalgae is introduced. Decreasing hydraulic retention time (HRT) was applied as the selection pressure in an up-flow photobioreactor to increase the speed of granulation and nitrate removal under autotrophic condition during a 50-day operation. Formation of granules occurred at three phases including granule nucleation, growth of granule, and mature granule, with decreasing the values of ζ-potential from -19 mV to -4 mV. Enhancement of microbial attachment within granule formation could reduce the presence of total suspended solids in the effluent. Developed granules of HCD and microalgae could settle down with velocity of 40 ± 0.6 m/h when reaching the average size of 1.2 mm at day 40. Complete NO 3 - -N removal from drinking water was achieved from the initial stage of granulation until the end of operation at all HRTs of 3 days-5 h. The clear treated water was obtained at the growth phase when the chemical oxygen demand and phosphate were undetectable. Therefore, the application of HCD-microalgae granule is a promising way for nitrate removal from water., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is the third most prevalent cardiovascular disease worldwide, with smoking and diabetes being the strongest risk factors. The most prominent symptom is leg pain while walking, known as intermittent claudication. To improve mobility, first-line treatment for intermittent claudication is supervised exercise programmes, but these remain largely unavailable and economically impractical, which has led to the development of structured home-based exercise programmes. This trial aims to determine the effectiveness and cost advantage of TeGeCoach, a 12-month long home-based exercise programme, compared with usual care of PAD. It is hypothesised that TeGeCoach improves walking impairment and lowers the need of health care resources that are spent on patients with PAD., Methods and Analysis: The investigators conduct a prospective, pragmatic randomised controlled clinical trial in a health insurance setting. 1760 patients diagnosed with PAD at Fontaine stage II are randomly assigned to either TeGeCoach or care-as-usual. TeGeCoach consists of telemonitored intermittent walking exercise with medical supervision by a physician and telephone health coaching. Participants allocated to the usual care group receive information leaflets and can access supervised exercise programmes, physical therapy and a variety of programmes for promoting a healthy lifestyle. The primary outcome is patient reported walking ability based on the Walking Impairment Questionnaire. Secondary outcome measures include quality of life, health literacy and health behaviour. Claims data are used to collect total health care costs, healthcare resource use and (severe) adverse events. Outcomes are measured at baseline, 12 and 24 months., Ethics and Dissemination: Ethical approval has been obtained from the Medical Association Hamburg. Findings are disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, reports to the funding body, conference presentations and media press releases. Data from this trial are made available to the public and researchers upon reasonable request.NCT03496948 (www.clinicaltrials.gov), Pre-results., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

In this paper, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) supported on porous graphene nanohybrid (β-CDPG) was obtained by self-assembly of functionalized graphene nanosheets into a three-dimensional network in the presence of ascorbic acid via an in situ graphene oxide reduction and β-CD functionalization process during a hydrothermal reaction. The prepared supramolecular nanohybrid was further packed into a reusable syringe filter holder and applied as an adsorbent for solid phase extraction of four aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, G2). Under optimal conditions, the detection limits and linear dynamic ranges were achieved in the range of 0.0075-0.030 μg kg -1 and 0.025-100 μg kg -1 , respectively and the relative standard deviations were less than 6.1%. Good recoveries were observed for analyzing target AFs in maize and cereal-based chicken feed samples ranged from 90.5 to 105%. The method offered simultaneous advantages of high supramolecular recognition and enrichment capability of β-CD and the high specific surface area of the porous graphene., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: During recent years, zolpidem presents a potential but transient treatment option for a large variety of neurologic conditions. Although most cases had disorders of consciousness or movement disorders, there are few reports of beneficial effects of zolpidem on language function., Case: We present a case of frontotemporal dementia who developed catatonia during her disease course and her refractory speech problem showed dramatic response to zolpidem., Conclusions: In dementia patients, different catatonic symptoms may show differential responses to the therapeutic agents and, if verbal symptoms are dominant, it is worthy to try zolpidem in the early stage.

This article summarizes several developed and industrial technologies for nitrate removal from drinking water, including physicochemical and biological techniques, with a focus on autotrophic nitrate removal. Approaches are primarily classified into separation-based and elimination-based methods according to the fate of the nitrate in water treatment. Biological denitrification as a cost-effective and promising method of biological nitrate elimination is reviewed in terms of its removal process, applicability, efficiency, and associated disadvantages. The various pathways during biological nitrate removal, including assimilatory and dissimilatory nitrate reduction, are also explained. A comparative study was carried out to provide a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrification. Sulfur-based and hydrogen-based denitrifications, which are the most common autotrophic processes of nitrate removal, are reviewed with the aim of presenting the salient features of hydrogenotrophic denitrification along with some drawbacks of the technology and research areas in which it could be used but currently is not. The application of algae-based water treatment is also introduced as a nature-inspired approach that may broaden future horizons of nitrate removal technology.

Optimizing the mono-cultivation and mixed cultivation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Chlorella vulgaris, and an Ettlia sp. was evaluated for treating nitrate-contaminated groundwater and biomass production. Ettlia sp. showed the highest nutrient assimilation and growth rate among the three microalgae during bioremediation. Light-dark cycle was the effective condition for nutrient removal and COD mitigation by microalgae. Mixed microalgae with a larger presence of the Ettlia sp. exhibited the highest biomass productivity, nitrate-nitrogen, and phosphate-phosphorus removal rates of 0.21 g/L/d, 16.6, and 3.06 mg/L/d, respectively. An N:P mass ratio of 5 was necessary to increase the mixed-microalgal performance. The settling efficiency of the mixed microalgae increased up to 0.55 when using pH modulation during 30 min. Therefore, applying an Ettlia sp.-dominant consortium was the optimum strategy for the bioremediation of nitrate-contaminated groundwater in 3 days.

Objective Although the etiology of restless legs syndrome (RLS) is yet to be discovered, some studies have mentioned the effect of infectious diseases in occurrence of RLS. This study aims to determine the association between common Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and occurrence of RLS. Methods In this descriptive analytical cross-sectional study, patients with RLS who were referred to the Internal Medicine Clinic of Fayazbakhsh Hospital in Tehran from September to December 2016 were evaluated. Patients with underlying diseases that would lead to secondary RLS were excluded from the study. The control group were matched with the patients group regarding their age and gender, but did not have RLS or diseases that would lead to secondary RLS. All participants underwent serologic tests for evaluating serum levels of IgA and IgG antibodies against H. pylori. Data were analyzed using Chi-Square test and Logistic Regression with SPSS Software Version 20. The significance level was ≤0.05. Results Fifty-seven RLS patients and 64 healthy controls were included in the study. In the RLS group, 36 participants (29.8%) had H. pylori infection. This number was 27 participants (22.3%) in the control group. Data analysis using logistic regression showed a significant relation between H. pylori and occurrence of RLS (p value ≤ 0.05). Conclusions Results of the present study indicated that infection with H. pylori is related with the occurrence of RLS. It seems that releasing inflammatory factors, iron deficiency, and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth are some of the involved mechanisms in this pathogenesis.

Visual spatial information is paramount in guiding bimanual coordination, but anatomical factors, too, modulate performance in bimanual tasks. Vision conveys not only abstract spatial information, but also informs about body-related aspects such as posture. Here, we asked whether, accordingly, visual information induces body-related, or merely abstract, perceptual-spatial constraints in bimanual movement guidance. Human participants made rhythmic, symmetrical and parallel, bimanual index finger movements with the hands held in the same or different orientations. Performance was more accurate for symmetrical than parallel movements in all postures, but additionally when homologous muscles were concurrently active, such as when parallel movements were performed with differently rather than identically oriented hands. Thus, both perceptual and anatomical constraints were evident. We manipulated visual feedback with a mirror between the hands, replacing the image of the right with that of the left hand and creating the visual impression of bimanual symmetry independent of the right hand's true movement. Symmetrical mirror feedback impaired parallel, but improved symmetrical bimanual performance compared with regular hand view. Critically, these modulations were independent of hand posture and muscle homology. Thus, visual feedback appears to contribute exclusively to spatial, but not to body-related, anatomical movement coding in the guidance of bimanual coordination.

The effects of phosphorus concentration on the cell growth, nutrient assimilation, photosynthetic parameters, and biomass recovery of Ettlia sp. were evaluated with batch experiments using groundwater, 50mg/L of N-NO 3 - , and different concentrations of P-PO 4 3- : 0.5, 2.5, 5, and 10mg/L. The maximum biomass productivity and phosphorus removal rate were 0.2g/L/d and 5.95mg/L/d, respectively, with the highest phosphorus concentration of 10mg/L. However, a phosphorus concentration of 5mg/L (N:P=10) was sufficient to ensure an effective nitrogen removal rate of 11mg/L/d, maximum growth rate of 0.88/d, and biomass recovery of 0.72. The appropriate hydraulic retention time was considered as 4days on a large scale to meet the effluent limitation demands of water. While nitrogen depletion had a significant effect on the photosynthetic parameters and ratio of chlorophyll a to dry cell weight during the stationary phase, the effect of phosphorus was negligible during the cultivation., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background Infectious agents are considered as potential causes of Alzheimer's disease. Recently, evidence of a high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in patients with Alzheimer's disease has been observed. The aim of this study was to investigate memory and executive function in H. pylori positive persons not suffering from Alzheimer's or other marked cognitive disorders. Methods This is a cross-sectional study. A total 140 participants were selected using purposive sampling from the patients within the age group of 18-60 years old at Fayyaz Bakhsh Hospital, Tehran in spring 2016. The participants were divided into two groups of H. pylori positive and negative according to results of the serologic tests to measure the levels of specific antibodies of IgA and IgG against H. pylori using ELISA method. They were subsequently assessed using two tests of Trail Making (TMT) part A and B and Wechsler Memory Scale - Third Edition. Data were analyzed using independent t-test and chi-square. The level of significance was considered P-value ≤ 0.05. Results Out of 140 participants, there were 41 male (29.3%) and 99 female (70.7%) among which 84 patients (60%) suffered from H. pylori infection (seropositive) and 56 patients (40%) were not infected. Comparison of the results using independent t-test showed a significant difference (P = 0.006) between the memory scores of patients (M: 106, SD: 8.12) and healthy ones (M: 112, SD: 1.12). In addition, the executive function showed there is a significant difference in the executive ability of seropositive individuals in the two age groups of 20-50 years old (Part A: M: 1.36, SD: 7.11, and Part B: M: 8.8, SD: 8.25 p = 0.01) and over 50 years old (Part A: M: 55, SD: 8.20, and Part B: M: 106, SD: 7.22, p = 0.009). Conclusion The results of this study showed that the infected patients have a lower cognitive performance in comparison to healthy individuals. In other words, H. pylori infection increases the prevalence of memory and executive dysfunction.

Herein, KIT-6 nanoporous silica nanoparticles were used as a solid support for immobilization of bovine carbonic anhydrase, isoform II (BCA II). The zeta potential study revealed that KIT-6 and BCA II provided negative (-13.58±1.95mV) and positive (4.23±0.72mV) charge distribution, respectively. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis also showed that the hydrodynamic radius of KIT-6 is less than 100nm. In addition, the structural studies of free and immobilized BCA II against urea-induced denaturation were investigated by circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopy. CD studies showed that the absorbed BCA II, in comparison with the free enzyme, demonstrated higher stability against rising urea concentration. Fluorescence spectroscopy showed lower values of Stern- Volmer constant (K SV ) for immobilized BCA II relative to free enzyme, reflecting the relative enzyme stability of BCA II after immobilization. Melting temperature (T m ) measurement of free and immobilized BCA II showed that immobilized enzyme had a more stable structure (T m =71.9°C) relative to the free counterpart (T m =64.7°C). In addition, the immobilized BCA II showed pronounced stability against pH and thermal deactivation. This study may provide new and complementary details regarding the design and development of enzymes in industrial applications., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Kinetic behaviors of five Lactobacillus strains were investigated with Contois and Exponential models. Awareness of kinetic behavior of microorganisms is essential for their industrial process design and scale up. The consistency of experimental data was evaluated using Excel software. L. bulgaricus was introduced as the most efficient strain with the highest biomass and lactic acid yield of 0.119 and 0.602gg -1 consumed lactose, respectively. The biomass and carbohydrate yield of L. fermentum and L. lactis were slightly less and close to L. bulgaricus. Biomass and lactic acid production yield of 0.117 and 0.358 for L. fermentum and 0.114 and 0.437gg -1 for L.actobacillus lactis were obtained. L. casei and L. delbrueckii had the less biomass yield, nearly 11.8 and 22.7% less than L. bulgaricus, respectively. L. bulgaricus (R 2 =0.9500 and 0.9156) and L. casei (R 2 =0.9552 and 0.8401) showed acceptable consistency with both models. The investigation revealed that the above mentioned models are not suitable to describe the kinetic behavior of L. fermentum (R 2 =0.9367 and 0.6991), L. delbrueckii (R 2 =0.9493 and 0.7724) and L. lactis (R 2 =0.8730 and 0.6451). Contois rate equation is a suitable model to describe the kinetic of Lactobacilli. Specific cell growth rate for L. bulgaricus, L. casei, L. fermentum, L. delbrueckii and L. lactis with Contois model in order 3.2, 3.9, 67.6, 10.4 and 9.8-fold of Exponential model., (Copyright © 2017 Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)

This study investigated the long-term filtration of mesh filter with the formed dynamic membrane in bioreactor. The trend of transmembrane pressure (TMP) variations highly corresponded to the thickness and compactness index of dynamic membrane. The dynamic membrane was fractionated by applying two cleaning protocols, that is, rinsing and chemical cleaning. The desorbed fraction, consisting of soluble microbial products (>70%), provided a stickiness surface for formation of consecutive biomass layer which featured a high concentration of extracellular polymeric substances (>75%). The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was 70%, 89%, and 92% for period of 0-26, 26-49, and 49-67 day, respectively, which indicated that further development of dynamic membrane increased the TMP without improvement in the effluent quality (TMP: 50-200 mbar, COD removal: 89%; TMP: 200-600 mbar, COD removal: 92%). The average NH4+-N and TN removal was about 76% and 21%, respectively. The effluent turbidity fell less than 2 NTU after 26 days of filtration.

This study sought to evaluate the influence of flap design (that is, modified triangular flap or buccal envelope flap) on alveolar osteitis (AO) and on healing following the surgical removal of an impacted mandibular third molar. A double-blind split-mouth clinical trial examined 17 patients who were candidates for extraction of a bilaterally impacted mandibular third molar with the same difficulty index; a modified triangular flap was placed on one side and a buccal envelope flap (control) was placed on the other side. AO and healing were assessed at three and seven days after surgery. Data were analyzed with the McNemar and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. The modified triangular flap decreased the incidence of AO and expedited healing at seven days postsurgery. In addition, statistically significant differences were observed in terms of both AO and postoperative healing.

Background: Few studies have examined the relationship between ethnicity and tolerance of hypertension medications. We investigated the perception that Chinese-Americans may have a higher incidence of chronic cough from angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors., Methods: We searched electronic databases to identify patients who had received a new lisinopril prescription. This cohort was separated into 295 patients of Chinese descent and 4263 patients in the general population group with an instrument that used surnames to identify Chinese ethnicity. For those who discontinued lisinopril within 1 year, we reviewed medical records to determine reasons for discontinuation. We compared rates of discontinuation overall and due to cough by ethnic group (Chinese vs general population)., Results: The Chinese population was more likely to discontinue their medication (47%) than the general population (31%). When the cause for discontinuation was examined, cough was significantly higher among Chinese, with a relative risk of 2.53; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.11-3.03. The risk for angioedema was <1%, and no difference in the risk of angioedema was found between the 2 groups. When controlled for age, sex, and smoking, the risk of cough among Chinese-Americans remained significant (relative risk 2.63; 95% CI, 2.20-3.15)., Conclusions: We observed that our Chinese group was more than twice as likely as the general population to discontinue lisinopril due to cough, controlling for the influence of sex, age, and smoking., (Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)