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________________________________________________________________________________________ HoSSeInzaDeH, S., M. BaHaDorI, M. PoorMontaSerI, M. DeHgHanI, M. FazelI, S. nazIFI: Molecular characterization of Clostridium perfringens isolated from cattle and sheep carcasses and its antibiotic resistance patterns in Shiraz slaughterhouse, southern Iran. Vet. arhiv 88, 581-591, 2018.aBStraCt Clostridium perfringens type A food-borne poisoning is often caused by C. perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) encoded by chromosomal cpe. Contamination of meat with C. perfringens usually leads to food poisoning outbreaks. To find more information regarding the causative agent, we focused on the identification of type A containing cpe and netB genes in cattle and sheep carcasses slaughtered at Shiraz slaughterhouse and investigated the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant plasmid in isolated C. perfringens. 200 specimens were randomly collected by swabbing the whole outer and inner surface of the carcasses, and processed for selective culture on sulfadiazine polymyxin sulphate agar (SPS). The suspected colonies were further identified using species-specific primers as to confirm the presence of the cpa, cpe, netB and tetracycline and enrofloxacin gene resistance patterns. Our results demonstrated that out of 90 and 70 colonies of the positive cultures from cattle and sheep samples, respectively, 40% and 35.7% of the suspected colonies were identified as C. perfringens type A by PCR assay. Moreover, from those type A isolates, only 1 (2.7%) isolate was positive for both cpe and netB genes in the cattle carcasses. The MIC values also showed high tetracycline resistance patterns for cattle (45.8%) and sheep (92.3%) while all of the PCR positive C. perfringens type A isolates were susceptible to enrofloxacin. The high prevalence of C. perfringens in slaughtered animals with a high rate of resistance to tetracycline implies the need for caution in the use of antibiotic in food animals.

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Background and Objective: improving academic performance in students is one of the main objectives in the educational centers. Since the nursing students during their educational period are facing with a large volume of material, failure to select the correct study method, causing confusion, disgust of educate and loss of energy and time among them. According to the importance of study habits in academic performance, this study aimed to identify nursing student's study habits and its relationship with academic performance was performed. Materials and Methods:In this cross-sectional study, 220 nursing students were selected by random sampling method in Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (2016). Data was collected using study habits questionnaire (PSSHI) that has 45 questions in eight areas. In order to measure academic performance, the mean of total score was used. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The results showed that the mean and standard deviation for score of student's study habits was 45.04 ± 9.37. Study habits in 86.9% of students were relatively good, in6.8% favorable, and in 4.5% of them were poor. The mean of student's Academic grade was 15.61 ± 1.27 and the majority of students (81.9%) had a moderate performance. Between mean score study habits and academic performance there was a significant positive correlation (P<0.001). The variables include sex, years of conditional and scope of reading ability, and take notes known as predictors of academic performance. Conclusion: In general, student's study habits are in moderate grade and can say that the study method in students have not a good quality. On the other hand, due to the significant relationship between study habits and academic performance, pay attention to this issue is considered necessary by the faculty education authorities. Holding training courses, in this regard can be effective in improving student learning process.

Purpose-This paper aims to explore the relationship between personality traits (introversion versus extroversion) and knowledge acquisition (KA) techniques. Design/methodology/approach-The major methodology of the current study is survey. Results are based on 152 usable responses provided by experts in different industries including electronic, communication, information technology, computer and biology. The major analytical technique used is Pearson correlation analysis. Findings-According to the results, there are significant relationships between personality traits (i.e. introversion versus extroversion) and KA techniques. Research limitations/implications-This study was conducted on data from 152 Iranian experts which limits the generalizability of the results. This limitation can be addressed by future studies conducting similar studies on crosscountry samples. Further, due to the analytical technique adopted in this study, causality implications cannot be drawn from the results. Originality/value-This study reveals linkages between personality traits (i.e. introversion versus extroversion) and KA techniques. Results shed light on the KA process for both scholars and practitioners involved in KA programs in the organizations.

Purpose Knowledge is a key driver for the competitive success of organizations, but about 90 percent of organizational knowledge is inside employees’ minds with personal essence; therefore, this paper provides valuable vision for managers by exploring knowledge acquisition (KA) techniques and personality type. The purpose of this paper is to examine KA techniques and explore the impact of personality type on the KA process in the aerospace industry. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines KA techniques through an empirical study involving 83 participants to take part in KA sessions. For exploring techniques, a questionnaire was used, and also the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was used to identify participants’ personality type. The impact of personality type on KA processes was determined by correlation analysis. Findings Analyses confirmed some association between the type of personality and KA process. In addition, the findings of exploring questionnaire items showed that participants gave the laddering technique the highest rating. Originality/value The paper may be of high value to researchers in the field of KA, especially in aerospace industries, because there is very little experimental investigation of KA, and it also provides valuable information and guidelines that hopefully will help researchers to select appropriate KA techniques.

Background Regarding the inconclusive results of previous investigations, this study aimed to determine the association between pathology, as a possible predictor, with remission outcomes, to know the role of pathology in the personalized decision making in acromegaly patients. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed on the consecutive surgeries for growth hormone (GH) producing pituitary adenomas from February 2015 to January 2021. Seventy-one patients were assessed for granulation patterns and prolactin co-expression as dual staining adenomas. The role of pathology and some other predictors on surgical remission was evaluated using logistic regression models. Results Among 71 included patients, 34 (47.9%) patients had densely granulated (DG), 14 (19.7%) had sparsely granulated (SG), 23 (32.4%) had dual staining pituitary adenomas. The remission rate was about 62.5% in the patients with SG and DG adenomas named single staining and 52.2% in dual staining groups. Postoperative remission was 1.53-folds higher in the single staining adenomas than dual staining-one (non-significant). The remission rate was doubled in DG group compared to two other groups (non-significant). By adjusting different predictors, cavernous sinus invasion and one-day postoperative GH levels decreased remission rate by 91% (95% CI: 0.01–0.67; p = 0.015) and 64% (95% CI: 0.19–0.69; p < 0.001), respectively. Responses to the medications were not significantly different among three groups. Conclusion Various pathological subtypes of pituitary adenomas do not appear to have a predictive role in estimating remission outcomes. Cavernous sinus invasion followed by one-day postoperative GH is the strongest parameter to predict biochemical remission.

Patients with epilepsy need to learn to identify seizure-inducing factors in order to adapt to seizure activity and disease management and taking precautionary measures to minimize seizure damage. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of an educational program on self-management empowerment of patients with epilepsy. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 90 patients with epilepsy referring to Iranian Epilepsy Association. The study used convenient sampling and samples were randomly divided into two groups: control (n= 45) and experimental group (n=45). The control group received routine training and the experimental group in addition to routine training, participated in three educational sessions held by the researcher in Epilepsy Association. All the patients completed a self-management questionnaire before and six weeks after the intervention. The data were analyzed by SPSS 22 using Kolmogorov-Smirnov, independent paired t-test and descriptive statistics. Results: The findings showed that there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of demographic characteristics (P>0.05). Before implementing educational program, the two groups showed no significant difference in medication, knowledge, information, safety and seizure scores (P> 0.05). After implementing educational program the two groups showed significant difference in the scores (P<0.01), which is indicative of the increased scores in experimental group. Conclusion: The results of the study indicated that the education has been effective in information, seizure control and safety of people with epilepsy. Implementation of such programs in order to better accommodate people with epilepsy with their illness is recommended.