Occurrence and risk factors of brucellosis among domestic animals: an artificial neural network approach.

Brucellosis is a zoonotic infectious disease with a worldwide distribution. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the occurrence of Brucella in milk and blood samples of ruminants and the importance factors associated with animal brucellosis in Eastern Iran. A total of 200 paired samples, including blood (100) and milk (100), were obtained from the goats, sheep, and cows in Eastern Iran. Serum agglutination (SAT) and 2-mercapto ethanol (2-ME) tests were performed on the sera. A multiplex-polymerase chain reaction (m-PCR) assay was performed to identify the following species of Brucella, including B. abortus biovar 1, 2, 4, 3b, 5, 6, and 9, B. abortus S19, B. melitensis, and B. melitensis Rev.1 vaccine strain. B. abortus RB51 vaccine strain was also investigated in a second PCR assay. Risk factors for infection with Brucella spp. including the effect of abortion, contact with the wild animals, herd type, age, and previous vaccination in predicting blood contamination with B. abortus biovar 1, 2, and 4 were modeled by use of the artificial neural network. A total of 23 samples were seropositive regarding SAT and 2-ME tests. In total, B. abortus was detected in 35% and 15% of blood and milk samples, respectively, by the m-PCR assay. One sample of each of milk and blood was detected to have B. melitensis. Some samples were simultaneously contaminated with two Brucella species or two biovars of B. abortus. B. abortus S19 and B. melitensis Rev.1 vaccine strains were also detected in milk and blood samples. The sensitivity and specificity of the ANN model were 81% and 62%, respectively. In conclusion, B. abortus had higher frequency than B. melitensis in blood and milk samples. ANN determined herd type, previous vaccination, and age of the animal as the largest predictors of blood contamination with B. abortus.

Comparison of endotracheal intubation, laryngeal mask airway, and I-gel in children undergoing strabismus surgery.

BACKGROUND: Insertion of the advanced airway during induction of general anesthesia can cause undesirable sympathetic stimulation such as increased intraocular pressure (IOP) and hemodynamic parameters. In this study, we compared insertion of three different advanced airway devices; endotracheal tube (ETT), laryngeal mask airway (LMA) and I-gel in terms of IOP, hemodynamic changes and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) following induction of general anesthesia with propofol and remifentanil in children undergoing strabismus surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 90 children (5.68 ± 1.49 years old) were randomly assigned to one of the three groups, ETT, LMA, or I-gel insertion as advanced airway devices IOP and also hemodynamic variables were measured before (T0 and T1) and immediately after (T2) the insertion of these airway devices, although 2 min (T3) and 5 min (T4) after it. PONV was assessed about 2 h after the completion of surgery in the recovery room. RESULTS: The mean arterial pressure (MAP), IOP, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly different between the three groups immediately (T2), 2 min (T3), and 5 min (T4) after the insertion of airway devices. The heart rate (HR) was significantly different between the three groups in all measurement times except of T0. Within-group comparisons showed that the three groups had significant changes in MAP, IOP, HR, systolic and diastolic pressure before and after airway insertion (T1 and T2). The trend in the LMA and ETT groups was descending-ascending-descending, whereas in the I-gel group, it was quite descending. There was no significant difference among the three groups in terms of PONV. CONCLUSION: As a result, our study showed that, compared with LMA and ETT, the I-gel had less impact on undesirable stress responses and seems to be superior to LMA and ETT in children undergoing strabismus surgery.

Epidemiological and clinical profiles of acute poisoning in patients admitted to the intensive care unit in eastern Iran (2010 to 2017).

BACKGROUND: Acute poisoning is a common chief complaint leading to emergency department visits and hospital admissions in developing countries such as Iran. Data describing the epidemiology of different poisonings, characteristics of the clinical presentations, and the predictors of outcome are lacking. Such data can help develop more efficient preventative and management strategies to decrease morbidity and mortality related to these poisonings. This manuscript describes the epidemiology of acute poisoning among patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in Birjand, Iran. METHODS: This retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted to characterize acute poisonings managed in the ICU during a 7-year period from March 2010 to March 2017 in a single center in Birjand, Iran. Patient characteristics, suspected exposure, the route of exposure, and outcome data were collected from hospital medical records. RESULTS: During the study period, 267 (64% male and 36% female) patients met inclusion criteria. Pharmaceutical medication (36.6%), opioids (26.2%) followed by pesticides (13.9%) were the most common exposures 38.2% of these cases were identified as suicide attempts. There were different frequencies in terms of xenobiotic exposure in relation to gender (p = 0.04) and the survival (p = 0.001). There was a significant difference between various xenobiotics identified as the cause of poisoning (p = 0.001). Mortality rate in our study was 19.5%. The incidence of outcomes was significantly higher in patients poisoned with opioids, pesticides, benzodiazepines, and tricyclic antidepressants (p < 0.05). The median length of hospital stay was higher in pesticide-poisoned patients (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Opioids and pesticides were the most common exposures. The mortality rate of the poisoned patients in the ICU was proportionately high. The mortality rate due to opioid poisoning is a major concern and the most significant cause death due to poisoning in the region. Further monitoring and characterization of acute poisoning in Birjand, Iran is needed. These data can help develop educational and preventative programs to reduce these exposures and improve management of exposures in the prehospital and hospital settings.

A sequential utilization of the UV-A (365 nm) fluence rate for disinfection of water, contaminated with Legionella pneumophila and Legionelladumoffii.

Legionella species are the etiological agent of Legionnaires' disease, a pathology easily contracted from water circuits and by the inhalation of aerosol droplets. This bacterium mainly proliferates in water: Legionella pneumophila is the most commonly isolated specie in water environments and consequently in water system, although further Legionella species have frequently been isolated, including Legionella dumoffii. The simultaneous presence of the two species in the water system can therefore lead to the simultaneous infection of several people, giving rise to harmful outbreaks. Ultraviolet inactivation of waterborne microorganisms offers a rapid and effective treatment technique and recently is getting more attention mostly to eliminate unsafe level of contamination. To tackle the issue, the inactivation of the two species of Legionella spp., namely L. pneumophila and L. dumoffii, by means of UV-A light emitting diodes (UV-A LED) system is explored. We used a commercially available UV-A LED at 365 nm wavelength, and the UV-A dose is given incrementally to the Legionellae with a concentration of 106 CFU/mL in 0.9% NaCl (aq) solution. In this study, with a UV-A-dose of 1700 mJ/cm2, the log-reduction of 3-log (99.9% inactivation) for L. pneumophila and 2.1-log (99.1% inactivation) for L. dumoffii of the contaminated water are achieved. The Electrical Energy per Order (EEO) is evaluated and showed this system is more economic and efficient in comparison with UV-C and UV-B LEDs. Following the support of this preliminary study with additional tests, aiming to validate the technology, we expect this device may be installed in water plants such as cooling systems or any water purification station in either industrial or home scales to reduce the risk of this infectious disease, preventing consumers' health.

Surface structures with unconventional patterns and shapes generated by femtosecond structured light fields.

We present an investigation on ultrashort laser surface structuring with structured light fields generated by various q-plates. In particular, q-plates with topological charges q = 1, 3/2, 2, 5/2 are used to generate femtosecond (fs) vector vortex beams, and form complex periodic surface structures through multi-pulse ablation of a solid crystalline silicon target. We show how optical retardation tuning of the q-plate offers a feasible way to vary the fluence transverse distribution of the beam, thus allowing the production of structures with peculiar shapes, which depend on the value of q. The features of the generated surface structures are compared with the vector vortex beam characteristics at the focal plane, by rationalizing their relationship with the local state of the laser light. Our experimental findings demonstrate how irradiation with fs complex light beams can offer a valuable route to design unconventional surface structures.