Criteria for evidence-based practice in Iranian traditional medicine

The major difference between Iranian traditional medicine and allopathic medicine is in the application of evidence and documents. In this study, criteria for evidence-based practice in Iranian traditional medicine and its rules of practice were studied. The experts� views were investigated through indepth, semi-structured interviews and the results were categorized into four main categories including Designing clinical questions/clinical question-based search, critical appraisal, resource search criteria and clinical prescription appraisal. Although the application of evidence in Iranian traditional medicine follows Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) principles but it benefits from its own rules, regulations, and criteria that are compatible with EBM. © 2015 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Determinants of road traffic injuries in Iranian children; Results from a National Representative Demographic-Health Survey 2010

Background: Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs) are a leading cause of disabilities and mortalities in Iran. The occurrence of RTIs among children is increasing. This study aims are to assess RTIs among Iranian children and to determine the main socio-economics determinants. Methods: The National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) in collaboration with the Iran Ministry of Health (MoH) conducted a nationwide survey: The Multiple Indicator Demographic and Health Survey 2010 (IrMIDHS 2010). The Survey was undertaken by Medical Universities in Iran. Based on multistage clustered randomized sampling, 30,960 households were included in the survey. We performed a multivariate logistic regression to determine the main socio-economic factors associated with RTIs among children. Results: Approximately 0.9 of the children received RTIs in 2010. Main socio-economics contributors to RTIs involving Iranian children included household size (Adjusted OR: 1.06 (CI 95 1.01, 1.14), sex (Adjusted ORfemale: 0.38 (CI 95 0.29, 0.50), living with both parents (Adjusted OR: 0.55 (CI 95 0.13, 0.95), being in the 2nd (Adjusted OR: 0.81 (CI 95: 0.60, 0.90) or 4th income quartile (Adjusted OR: 0.13 (CI 95: 0.02, 0.92) rather than the 1st income quartile, being aged five to nine (Adjusted OR: 1.39 (CI 95: 1.10, 2.10), or aged 15 to 18 (Adjusted OR: 2.94 (CI 95: 2.07, 4.97), and residency in a non-owned or non-tenancy house (Adjusted OR: 0.42 (CI 95: 0.23 0.74). Conclusions: Children need safe places for playing and doing their daily activities. Policy and regulation development aimed at protecting children from road traffic injuries needs to take into consideration the socio-economic factors associated with risk of road traffic injury among children. © 2020 The Author(s)

Infections, inflammation, and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders: the neglected role of �co-infection�

Neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs) have multiple etiological factors, mainly genetic background, environmental conditions and immunological factors. The host immune responses play a pivotal role in various physiological and pathophysiological process. In NPDs, inflammatory immune responses have shown to be involved in diseases severity and treatment outcome. Inflammatory cytokines and chemokines are involved in various neurobiological pathways, such as GABAergic signaling and neurotransmitter synthesis. Infectious agents are among the major amplifier of inflammatory reactions, hence, have an indirect role in the pathogenesis of NPDs. As such, some infections directly affect the central nervous system (CNS) and alter the genes that involved in neurobiological pathways and NPDs. Interestingly, the most of infectious agents that involved in NPDs (e.g., Toxoplasma gondii, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus) is latent (asymptomatic) and co-or-multiple infection of them are common. Nonetheless, the role of co-or-multiple infection in the pathogenesis of NPDs has not deeply investigated. Evidences indicate that co-or-multiple infection synergically augment the level of inflammatory reactions and have more severe outcomes than single infection. Hence, it is plausible that co-or-multiple infections can increase the risk and/or pathogenesis of NPDs. Further understanding about the role of co-or-multiple infections can offer new insights about the etiology, treatment and prevention of NPDs. Likewise, therapy based on anti-infective and anti-inflammatory agents could be a promising therapeutic option as an adjuvant for treatment of NPDs. © 2020 Infection; Inflammation; Neuropsychiatric disorders; Co-infection; Immunology; Microbiology; Infectious disease; Psychiatry. © 202

A novel high-strength Zn-3Ag-0.5Mg alloy processed by hot extrusion, cold rolling or high-pressure torsion

A novel Zn-3Ag-0.5Mg alloy was plastically deformed using 3 processing paths: hot extrusion (HE), HE followed by cold rolling (CR) and high-pressure torsion (HPT). The processed samples consisted of the η-Zn phase, ε-Zn3Ag precipitates within the matrix, and nanometric Zn2Mg precipitates within the Zn11Mg2 phase located at the grain boundaries. Both the η-Zn phase and Mg-rich phases were enriched in Ag. Electron backscattered diffraction was used to examine the effects of grain size and texture on mechanical behavior with tensile tests performed at room temperature (RT) at different strain rates. The coarsegrained (~6 μm) samples after HE exhibited high strength with brittleness due to dislocation interaction with dispersed precipitates and, to some extent, with twinning activation. Significant grain refinement and processing at RT gave an increase in elongation to over 50% in CR and 120% in HPT. Ductile CR samples with an average grain size of ~2μm and favorable rolling deformation texture gave a yield strength of ~254 MPa, a tensile strength of ~456 MPa and a reasonable strain rate sensitivity. These values for the CR samples meet the mechanical requirements for biodegradable stents in cardiovascular applications