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ABSTRACT Aeromonas spp. are emerging human pathogens causing intestinal and extra-intestinal infections. Since their relevance in Western Europe as gastrointestinal pathogens is not well established, we investigated Aeromonas spp. prevalence in diarrheal fecal samples in an Italian University Hospital and characterized the virulence mechanisms of the isolates. Aeromonas spp. isolated from diarrheic stools using standard culture methods were identified by molecular techniques. Antimicrobial resistance was assessed by the micro broth dilution. Toxins, flagella, and type III secretion system genes were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction. Biofilm was quantified by crystal-violet staining. Interaction with human intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2) was assessed by quantifying adhesion, interleukin (IL)-8 secretion, and epithelial barrier integrity. Aeromonas spp. represented 20.6% of bacterial pathogens isolated from diarrheic feces, the second most common enteropathogen. A. cavieae constituted 75% of the identified species, showing a relatively low clustering value. About 52% of Aeromonas isolates showed resistance to amikacin, whereas only 7.5% showed multiple drug resistance. Four or more virulence genes were identified in 66.7% of A. cavieae isolates and 100% of A. dakensis. Aeromonas isolates (82.5%) showed moderate or important biofilm-producing ability. Adhesion to Caco-2 cells correlated to fla+ gene, whereas ascV+ and aexU+ strains significantly induced IL-8 release from Caco-2. Aeromonas aer+ strains caused ZO1 and occluding redistribution and a significative reduction in trans-epithelial resistance. Aeromonas spp. emerge as relevant human intestinal pathogens with a disparate arsenal of pathogenicity factors causing diarrhea through different mechanisms. IMPORTANCE In this work, we demonstrate the epidemiologic relevance of the Aeromonas genus as the cause of infective diarrhea in North East Italy, both in children and adult subjects, with the significative presence of highly pathogenic strains. Aeromonas strains possess a heterogeneous armamentarium of pathogenicity factors that allows the microbe to affect a wide range of human intestinal epithelial cell processes that justify the ability to induce diarrhea through different mechanisms and cause diseases of variable severity, as observed for other gastrointestinal pathogens. However, it remains to be determined whether specific genotype(s) are associated with clinical pictures of different severity to implement the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for this relevant enteric pathogen.

Abstract Decades of research in exercise immunology have demonstrated the profound impact of exercise on the immune response, influencing an individual's disease susceptibility. Accurate prediction of white blood cells (WBCs) count during exercise can help to design effective training programs to maintain optimal the immune system function and prevent its suppression. In this regard, this study aimed to develop an easy-to-use and efficient modelling tool for predicting WBCs count during exercise. To achieve this goal, the predictive power of a range of machine-learning algorithms, including six standalone models (M5 prime (M5P), random forest (RF), alternating model trees (AMT), reduced error pruning tree (REPT), locally weighted learning (LWL), and support vector regression (SVR)) were assessed along with six types of hybrid models trained with a bagging (BA) algorithm (BA-M5P, BA-RF, BA-AMT, BA-REPT, BA-LWL, and BA- SVR). A comprehensive database was constructed from 200 eligible people. The models employed post-exercise training WBCs counts as the output parameter and seven WBCs-influencing factors, including intensity and duration of exercise, pre-exercise training WBCs counts, age, body fat percentage, maximal aerobic capacity, and muscle mass as input parameters. Comparing the prediction results of the models to the observed WBCs using standard statistics indicated that the BA-M5P model had the greatest potential to produce a robust prediction of the number of lymphocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, and WBC compared to other models. Moreover, pre-exercise training WBCs counts, intensity and duration of exercise and body fat percentage were the most important features in predicting WBCs counts. These findings hold significant implications for the advancement of exercise immunology and the promotion of public health.

Olive is a Mediterranean fruit that is cultivated mainly for its oil. Extra virgin olive oil has always been the attention and demand of users. Therefore, fraud in virgin and extra virgin olive oils is observed by adding valuable food oils and lower prices such as canola, sunflower, olive pomace, etc. Fraud detection with conventional methods such as gas chromatography is difficult, time-consuming, and requires sample and operator preparation. For this reason, the use of non-destructive technologies for fraud detection is important. In this research, detection of adulteration of pomace oil (olive pomace oil) was investigated using visible/near-infrared spectroscopy (Vis/NIR) technology. Three types of extra virgin olive oil, virgin and refined olive oil were used for sampling. Moreover, the samples were made in six categories of pure, 11, 20, 33, 50 and 100% fraud. Each treatment was prepared and tested in ten samples. Next, in order to analyze the qualitative features and classify the data extracted from the spectrometer, pattern recognition methods including linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and support vector machine (SVM) were used. The obtained results showed that visible/near infrared (Vis/NIR) spectroscopy is able to distinguish olive oil samples based on different percentages of pomace adulteration. Although the LDA method was able to classify olive oil samples with acceptable accuracy according to the adulteration rate, the SVM method had a better accuracy and fit with a training accuracy of 96.69% and a validation of 94.21%. According to the results, the linear function was suggested as the best function for building the classification models using the SVM method.

Abstract One of the important concerns in the field of exercise immunology is determining the appropriate intensity and duration of exercise to prevent suppression of the immune system. Adopting a reliable approach to predict the number of white blood cells (WBCs) during exercise can help to identify the appropriate intensity and duration. Therefore, this study was designed to predict leukocyte levels during exercise with the application of a machine-learning model. We used a random forest (RF) model to predict the number of lymphocytes (LYMPH), neutrophils (NEU), monocytes (MON), eosinophils, basophils, and WBC. Intensity and duration of exercise, WBCs values before exercise training, body mass index (BMI), and maximal aerobic capacity (VO2 max) were used as inputs and WBCs values after exercise training were assessed as outputs of the RF model. In this study, the data was collected from 200 eligible people and K-fold cross-validation was used to train and test the model. Finally, model efficiency was assessed using standard statistics (root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), relative absolute error (RAE), root relative square error (RRSE), coefficient of determination (R2), and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE)). Our findings revealed that the RF model performed well for predicting the number of WBC with RMSE = 0.94, MAE = 0.76, RAE = 48.54, RRSE = 48.17, NSE = 0.76, and R2 = 0.77. Furthermore, the results showed that intensity and duration of exercise are more effective parameters than BMI and VO2 max to predict the number of LYMPH, NEU, MON, and WBC during exercise. Totally, this study developed a novel approach based on the RF model using the relevant and accessible variables to predict WBCs during exercise. The proposed method can be applied as a promising and cost-effective tool for determining the correct intensity and duration of exercise in healthy people according to the body’s immune system response.

With the expansion of the open innovation paradigm as the dominant paradigm in innovation management, the importance of knowledge absorption capacity has become more and more evident. The main purpose of the present research is to analyze the effect of knowledge absorption capacity on strategic innovation, while this study examines the role that competitiveness and strategic flexibility play in enhancing or weakening this relationship. The research method is quantitative and surveys based on a questionnaire. The statistical population of the research is small and medium enterprises of Iranian students who participated in the 7th International Exhibition of Innovation and Technology (INOTEX) in the summer of 2018, which is mostly up-to-date and includes 240 companies, which were selected randomly by 144 companies based on Cochran's formula. After assessing the validity and reliability of the collected data, using the Smart PLS software, the correlation matrix, structural equation test and fit model test were analyzed. Finally, it was found that knowledge absorption capacity is effective in strategic innovation. Also, strategic competitiveness and flexibility in the relationship between knowledge absorption capacity and strategic innovation play a moderating role. According to the results obtained, it can be seen that in the competitive world of today, organizations that have the ability to plan with a competitive approach and have strategic flexibility in creating adaptation to conditions at different times, they can better take the path of innovation.

Objectives. This study aimed to assess the bond strength and deflection of four types of bonded lingual retainers. Materials and Methods. In this in vitro, experimental study, 160 extracted, mandibular incisors were mounted in acrylic blocks in sets of two and randomized into four groups for bonding of 1.0.010 × 0.026-inch Bond-A-Braid®, 0.012 × 0.027-inch Retanium®TM, 0.038 × 0.016-inch Ortho FlexTech®, and 0.0175-inch three-strand retainer wires; 15 mm of passive wire was adhered to the lingual tooth surface using Transbond XT composite. The shear (SBS) and tensile (TBS) bond strength values were measured. The adhesive remnant index (ARI) score and deflection of wires were also determined under a stereomicroscope. Data were analyzed by the chi-square test and ANOVA. Results. The four groups were significantly different regarding the ARI scores (P

The journal of science and research of Management Studies (Improvement and Development) belong to Allameh Tabataba'i University In order to provide the latest theoretical and scientific findings on management focusing on the issues of evolution management.The purpose of this study is to examine and evaluate the form and content of the articles in this Journal. The research method is qualitative and based on content analysis and a descriptive-analytical approach is used to describe and evaluate the content of the articles in the target community. The statistical population of this study, 163 articles published in the last 7 years from No: 63 (spring 2011) to No: 86 (winter 2018) is the «Management Studies in Development and Evolution Journal». In order to describe the objective and qualitative content of the concepts, systematically and in the form of 11 parameters has been done. The results of the thematic study show that the articles are categorized in 13 general topics and 55 sub-topics, among which the subject of organizational behavior was the most discussed topic in the papers with the remaining 41/20 percent. Also, the rate of participation of researchers was well evaluated, as 417 researchers contributed to the writing of 163 articles, while the participation of Tehran universities was higher. Investigating research methods showed that descriptive-applied articles, quantitative research method and questionnaire's tools were well-known techniques of researchers in this field.

Objectives: Minimizing the frictional force between orthodontic wire and brackets is imperative to safely obtain a more favorable result by applying lower loads. Several methods have been proposed for this purpose such as changing the wire shape/size, changing the bracket design, and coating wires with different materials. This study aimed to assess the effect of zirconium oxide (ZrO2) nano-coating on frictional resistance of three types of orthodontic wires. Materials and Methods: This in vitro, experimental study evaluated 42 pieces of nickel-titanium (NiTi), stainless steel (SS), and beta-titanium (TMA) orthodontic wires, and 42 maxillary canine brackets. The samples were divided into six groups with and without ZrO2 nano-coating. The nano-coating was applied on the wires using the sol-gel technique. The presence of ZrO2 nano-coating was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The surface roughness of the samples was evaluated using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The brackets and wire had a 5° angle relative to each other. The static and kinetic friction of the samples were evaluated in the presence of artificial saliva and occlusogingival movements in a universal testing machine. Data were analyzed by the Shapiro–Wilk's test, one-way ANOVA, Kruskal–Walli's test, Mann–Whitney U test, independent t-test, and Tukey's test. Results: ZrO2 nano-coating was only observed on TMA wires. The surface roughness of coated NiTi and SS wires had no significant difference from that of non-coated wires (P > 0.05). However, this difference was significant for TMA wires with and without the coating (P < 0.05). The static and kinetic friction were not significantly different between wires with and without coating (P > 0.05). Conclusions: ZrO2 nano-coating could only be applied on TMA wires, and had no significant efficacy for reduction of static or kinetic friction of TMA wires.

Scientific journals are regarded as one of the channels for establishing scientific communication among actors in scientific activities. The scientific journal is a publication for the people of science that the features of such journals are important in modernity and the presentation of its content meanwhile, one of the important activities of researchers is the recognition of specialized journals in their field. The purpose of this article is to introduce the most important internal and external journals in the field of strategic management. Therefore, with the approach of library research methodology, the main journals of this field have been identified and introduced with the help of scientific databases and internal and external information sources. The results show that 28 internal journals and 45 foreign journals are the most important strategic management journals, with detailed functional results detailed in the paper.