Objective: To identify the pathogenic gene of Panton-Valentine leukocidin in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain isolated from clinical specimens of burn patients in Shaheed Zare Burn ...Hospital.Methods: A total of 104 samples of Staphylococcus were collected and 78 aureus samples were isolated from Zare Hospital patients from November 2016 to July 2017. All isolates were identified using a standard biochemical and laboratory methodology in accordance with CLSI principles, and disk agar diffusion antibiogram were performed to identify methicillin resistant colonies. Then the presence of the Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene was tested by PCR. Results: Of the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus samples, 80％ were negative for the Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene, and only 20％ of the samples had Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene. Male and female patients showed no significant difference in the positivity rate of Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene (16.12％ vs. 33.33％) (P=0.25). Besides, there was no significant difference in bacterial resistance or susceptibility to antibiotics between samples with or without the Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene. Conclusions: In recent years, increased resistance has been a serious threat. The resistance or susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus strains to different antibiotics is different in different geographical locations.
Neuraminidase inhibitors are the only FDA-approved class of antiviral agents against
influenza B
viruses. Resistance to these drugs has been reported from different parts of the world; however, there ...seems to be not enough information about this issue in Iran. We aimed to study the genetic evolution of these viruses as well as the presence of possible mutations concerning drug resistance in northern Iran. RNA was extracted from naso- and oropharyngeal swabs and amplified by one-step RT-PCR for detection and sequencing of the neuraminidase gene. All the data were edited and assembled utilizing BioEdit DNASequence Alignment Editor Software, and the phylogenetic tree was constructed via MEGA software version 10. Finally, resistance-associated mutations and B-cell epitopes substitutions were assessed by comparing our sequences with the counterparts in the reference strains. Comparing our sequences with reference strains revealed that the analyzed isolates of
influenza B
pertained to the B-Yamagata lineage, had a few B-cell epitopes alterations, and contained no particular mutations concerning resistance against neuraminidase inhibitors, such as oseltamivir. Our findings suggest that all the strains circulating in northern Iran and hopefully other parts of the country can be considered sensitive to this class of drugs. Although it is promising, we strongly recommend additional investigations to evaluate the impact of such drug-resistant mutations in other regions, which in turn will assist the public health agencies in taking immediate and effective therapeutic measures into account when needed.
Hyper-Dimensional Computing (HDC), a brain-inspired computing paradigm for cognitive tasks, is especially suited for resource-constrained edge devices due to its hardware-efficient and ...fault-resistant inference. However, existing HDC approaches require large amounts of memory, resulting in high power consumption, limiting their use in edge devices. We offer a hardware-aware encoding where computation parameters in hardware implementations can be reproduced on-the-fly through low-overhead cyclic digital circuits, significantly reducing memory utilization and subsequently power consumption.
Background: Job burnout is a prolonged response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate job burnout and identify its effective predictors among ...health sector employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study encompassed 1898 employees of the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in the summer of 2020. Logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with job burnout. The required data were collected electronically using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and analyzed with SPSS software version 26 and R4.0.2 software. Results: Of 1898 participants, 74.3% were female. Composite job burnout (CJB), emotional exhaustion (EE), and depersonalization (DP) were the most common at low levels, whereas reduced personal accomplishment (RPA) was the most frequent at moderate levels. In this regard, factors such as female gender, age groups of 40 - 49 and ≥ 50 years, and exposure to COVID-19 were the main independent risk factors for job burnout. Conclusions: Reduced personal accomplishment was moderate despite relatively low levels of job burnout, EE, and DP. Accordingly, effective interventions are suggested to improve different aspects of the work-life with an emphasis on critical situations. Moreover, regarding the significant relationship between job burnout with gender, age, and exposure to COVID-19, it is recommended to increase the employees’ knowledge about job burnout.
The nanorods of Pb(L)Br2n (1) (L = 1,2-bis (pyridin-3-ylmethylene)hydrazine) underwent ultrasound irradiation and were synthesized as a novel three-dimensional fishbone-like Pb(II)–organic ...coordination supramolecular compound. The morphology and nanostructure of the synthesized compound were determined through SEM, FTIR, elemental analyses, and XRD. Compound 1 was structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and revealed six-coordinated Pb (II) ions bonded to two N atoms from two L ligands and four bromine anions, forming a one-dimensional fishbone-like coordination polymer, which extended into a 3D supramolecular structure through weak intermolecular interactions. The bulk thermal stability of compound 1 was examined using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Moreover, PbO nanoparticles with sizes of 40–80 nm were obtained through the thermolysis of 1 at 180 °C using oleic acid as a surfactant.
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