The frequency of consanguineous marriages and their effects on offsprings in Tabriz city

Objectives: Too much diversity and ever increasing number of genetic disorders appear as a big challenge in coming future. One of the main sources of genetic disorders is the consanguineous marriages which are, unfortunately very common in our society. In order to prepare ourselves to accept the challenge, the first step is to get complete information of their prevalence and their risk factors.Patients and Methods: The study was made during 2003-2007 in Tabriz city of Iran.We selected 6000 families and a complete data was obtained on a questionnaire comprised of information regarding marital ages, number of pregnancies, type of delivery, ratio of consanguineous and non consanguineous marriages jobs of parents… etc and their effect on child malformations.Results: Consanguineous marriages of all types were related with increased congenital malformations (with ratio 43/1000 for consanguineous marriages and for non consanguineous marriages 28/1000). Mother age less than 18 and more than 35 particularly was accompanied with increased malformations while education of mother came out to be inversely related to congenital malformation.Conclusion: Increased stillbirths, consanguineous marriage and malformations, especially of musculoskeletal system require new planning on national level to control and aware people of the consequences of consanguineous marriages.Key Words: Consanguineous marriage, congenital malformation, trisomy 21, genetic diseas

A New Hybrid model of Multi-layer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network and Genetic Algorithms in Web Design Management Based on CMS

The size and complexity of websites have grown significantly during recent years. In line with this growth, the need to maintain most of the resources has been intensified. Content Management Systems (CMSs) are software that was presented in accordance with increased demands of users. With the advent of Content Management Systems, factors such as: domains, predesigned module’s development, graphics, optimization and alternative support have become factors that influenced the cost of software and web-based projects. Consecutively, these factors have challenged the previously introduced cost estimation models. This paper provides a hybrid method in order to estimate the cost of websites designed by content management systems. The proposed method uses a combination of genetic algorithm and Multilayer Perceptron (MLP). Results have been evaluated by comparing the number of correctly classified and incorrectly classified data and Kappa coefficient, which represents the correlation coefficient between the sets. According to the obtained results, the Kappa coefficient on testing data set equals to: 0.82 percent for the proposed method, 0.06 percent for genetic algorithm and 0.54 percent for MLP Artificial Neural Network (ANN). Based on these results; it can be said that, the proposed method can be used as a considered method in order to estimate the cost of websites designed by content management systems

In vitro activities of tetracyclines against different clones of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolates from two Iranian hospitals.

Acinetobacter baumannii has emerged as one of the most challenging healthcare-related pathogens and its occurrence has increased worldwide, especially in patients admitted to intensive care units. A. baumannii isolates are frequently resistant to multiple antimicrobial agents and there are recent reports of isolates resistant to virtually all clinically relevant drugs. In the present study, the in vitro activities of tigecycline, minocycline and doxycycline against 67 MDR-AB isolates recovered from 29 burn and 38 non-burn Iranian patients hospitalised in Tehran and Tabriz, respectively, were studied. Tigecycline and minocycline may be still considered effective therapeutic options for MDR-AB infections. However, ongoing monitoring of A. baumannii susceptibility to these antibiotics is required

Application of GA in Optimization of Modified Benzene Alkylation Process

A genetic algorithm is used to optimize the modified benzene alkylation process. Based on the previous studies, the modified process increases ethylbenzene selectivity and decreases energy consumption at the same time. The inlet ethylene flow rate of each alkylation reactor is optimized in order to reduce the chance of transalkylation reactions but increase ethylbenzene selectivity. The byproduct trans-ethylbenzene concentration is used as the fitness variable in the optimization process to confine undesired reactions throughout the process. The obtained optimal values of ethylene flow rate for the adiabatic reactors are 3.50, 2.94, 2.58, and 0.36 m3/hr. The ethylbenzene selectivity has been increased by applying the optimized values indicating the current unit is not operating under optimal conditions. Temperature profile within the alkylation reactors and temperature and concentration profiles through the towers of the fraction unit under the optimized conditions of the modified process are also presented.<br /

The ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence Chatbot: How Well Does It Answer Accounting Assessment Questions?

ChatGPT, a language-learning model chatbot, has garnered considerable attention for its ability to respond to users’ questions. Using data from 14 countries and 186 institutions, we compare ChatGPT and student performance for 28,085 questions from accounting assessments and textbook test banks. As of January 2023, ChatGPT provides correct answers for 56.5 percent of questions and partially correct answers for an additional 9.4 percent of questions. When considering point values for questions, students significantly outperform ChatGPT with a 76.7 percent average on assessments compared to 47.5 percent for ChatGPT if no partial credit is awarded and 56.5 percent if partial credit is awarded. Still, ChatGPT performs better than the student average for 15.8 percent of assessments when we include partial credit. We provide evidence of how ChatGPT performs on different question types, accounting topics, class levels, open/closed assessments, and test bank questions. We also discuss implications for accounting education and research

Chimeric 14-3-3 proteins for unraveling interactions with intrinsically disordered partners

In eukaryotes, several "hub" proteins integrate signals from different interacting partners that bind through intrinsically disordered regions. The 14-3-3 protein hub, which plays wide-ranging roles in cellular processes, has been linked to numerous human disorders and is a promising target for therapeutic intervention. Partner proteins usually bind via insertion of a phosphopeptide into an amphipathic groove of 14-3-3. Structural plasticity in the groove generates promiscuity allowing accommodation of hundreds of different partners. So far, accurate structural information has been derived for only a few 14-3-3 complexes with phosphopeptide-containing proteins and a variety of complexes with short synthetic peptides. To further advance structural studies, here we propose a novel approach based on fusing 14-3-3 proteins with the target partner peptide sequences. Such chimeric proteins are easy to design, express, purify and crystallize. Peptide attachment to the C terminus of 14-3-3 via an optimal linker allows its phosphorylation by protein kinase A during bacterial co-expression and subsequent binding at the amphipathic groove. Crystal structures of 14-3-3 chimeras with three different peptides provide detailed structural information on peptide-14-3-3 interactions. This simple but powerful approach, employing chimeric proteins, can reinvigorate studies of 14-3-3/phosphoprotein assemblies, including those with challenging low-affinity partners, and may facilitate the design of novel biosensors

Crohn's Disease and Early Exposure to Domestic Refrigeration

Environmental risk factors playing a causative role in Crohn's Disease (CD) remain largely unknown. Recently, it has been suggested that refrigerated food could be involved in disease development. We thus conducted a pilot case control study to explore the association of CD with the exposure to domestic refrigeration in childhood.Using a standard questionnaire we interviewed 199 CD cases and 207 age-matched patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as controls. Cases and controls were followed by the same gastroenterologists of tertiary referral clinics in Tehran, Iran. The questionnaire focused on the date of the first acquisition of home refrigerator and freezer. Data were analysed by a multivariate logistic model. The current age was in average 34 years in CD cases and the percentage of females in the case and control groups were respectively 48.3% and 63.7%. Patients were exposed earlier than controls to the refrigerator (X2 = 9.9, df = 3, P = 0.04) and refrigerator exposure at birth was found to be a risk factor for CD (OR = 2.08 (95% CI: 1.01-4.29), P = 0.05). Comparable results were obtained looking for the exposure to freezer at home. Finally, among the other recorded items reflecting the hygiene and comfort at home, we also found personal television, car and washing machine associated with CD.This study supports the opinion that CD is associated with exposure to domestic refrigeration, among other household factors, during childhood

The Minimal Autoinhibited Unit of the Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor Intersectin

Intersectin-1L is a member of the Dbl homology (DH) domain guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEF) which control Rho-family GTPase signaling. Intersectin-1L is a GEF that is specific for Cdc42. It plays an important role in endocytosis, and is regulated by several partners including the actin regulator N-WASP. Intact intersectin-1L shows low Cdc42 exchange activity, although the isolated catalytic DH domain shows high activity. This finding suggests that the molecule is autoinhibited. To investigate the mechanism of autoinhibition we have constructed a series of domain deletions. We find that the five SH3 domains of intersectin are important for autoinhibition, with the fifth domain (SH3(E)) being sufficient for the bulk of the autoinhibitory effect. This SH3 domain appears to primarily interact with the DH domain. We have determined the crystal structure of the SH3(E)-DH domain construct, which shows a domain swapped arrangement in which the SH3 from one monomer interacts with the DH domain of the other monomer. Analytical ultracentrifugation and gel filtration, however, show that under biochemical concentrations, the construct is fully monomeric. Thus we propose that the actual autoinhibited structure contains the related intramolecular SH3(E)-DH interaction. We propose a model in which this intramolecular interaction may block or distort the GTPase binding region of the DH domain

Global variation in diabetes diagnosis and prevalence based on fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are both used to diagnose diabetes, but these measurements can identify different people as having diabetes. We used data from 117 population-based studies and quantified, in different world regions, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, and whether those who were previously undiagnosed and detected as having diabetes in survey screening, had elevated FPG, HbA1c or both. We developed prediction equations for estimating the probability that a person without previously diagnosed diabetes, and at a specific level of FPG, had elevated HbA1c, and vice versa. The age-standardized proportion of diabetes that was previously undiagnosed and detected in survey screening ranged from 30% in the high-income western region to 66% in south Asia. Among those with screen-detected diabetes with either test, the age-standardized proportion who had elevated levels of both FPG and HbA1c was 29–39% across regions; the remainder had discordant elevation of FPG or HbA1c. In most low- and middle-income regions, isolated elevated HbA1c was more common than isolated elevated FPG. In these regions, the use of FPG alone may delay diabetes diagnosis and underestimate diabetes prevalence. Our prediction equations help allocate finite resources for measuring HbA1c to reduce the global shortfall in diabetes diagnosis and surveillance