Prevalence of Taurodont Molars in a Selected Iranian Adult Population

Introduction: Taurodontism is an anomaly characterized by elongated crowns and consumedly apical location of the bifurcation area. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of taurodontism in molars based on digital panoramic radiographies in eight cities of Iran. Methods and Materials: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 2360 digital panoramic radiographs taken for different treatment purposes. Demographic information of patients was recorded and radiographs were evaluated for presence of taurodont molars. The prevalence rates were calculated and the data were analyzed using SPSS software version 18 via paired t-test, chi square test and ANOVA. Results: A total of 2360 panoramic radiographs (from 51.4% male and 48.6% female patients) were evaluated and the prevalence of taurodontism was reported 22.9% (22.6% in males and 23.3% in females) (P>0.05). Its prevalence was 51.67% in the right and 48.33% in the left quadrants (P>0.05), 34.1% in the mandible and 65.9% in the maxilla (P=0.000) and 79.52% in the second and 20.48% in the first molar (P=0.000). The prevalence of hypotaurodontism, mesotaurodontism and hypertaurodontism was 84.13%, 11.07% and 4.8%, respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence of taurodont molars was high in Iran and it was more common in the second molars and in the maxilla. Hypotaurodontism had the highest prevalence.Keywords: Molar; Panoramic; Prevalence; Radiography; Taurodontis

Seasonal variations of vitamin D and its relation to lipid profile in Iranian children and adults

Background: Vitamin D has a multitude of functional properties and acts like a hormone in the body. Its effect on the lipid profile is one of the proposed mechanisms for its relationship with many disorders during its deficiency. But, this relationship is still conflicting and debatable, so this study was conducted to determine the association between serum level of vitamin D and lipid profiles, including serum concentrations of cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), HDL, and LDL in healthy subjects. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 541 volunteers with age of 5\u201360 years from normal and healthy subjects were selected via random sampling. Demographics and history of daily or weekly sunlight exposures were recorded. Measuring vitamin D was done in two consecutive seasons: winter and summer. Ten milliliters of peripheral venous blood sample was withdrawn after an overnight fasting. Serum levels of 25(OH) D (25, hydroxy vitamin D3) were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the Confirmatory test was done by highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results: Mean age in the total mixed population was 30.83 \ub1 14.02 years. Subjects were 50.5% male and 49.5% female. Mean 25(OH) D in the total population for winter and summer were 45.8 \ub1 24.26 ng/ml and 55.24 \ub1 37. 47 ng/ml respectively. In the total population, 38.08% were vitamin D deficient. Comparing serum lipid levels in the summer and winter showed a significant difference for cholesterol, LDL, and HDL, but no significant effect was found for TG. Analysis for the comparison of lipid profiles between the two genders in winter showed that there were significant differences in all lipid profiles except for LDL, while such analysis for summer revealed significant difference just for TG. In multivariate analysis, there was a significant mean difference only for LDL in subgroups with vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency. There was no correlation between Vitamin D and lipid profiles. Conclusions: Vitamin D is different between the two seasons regardless of gender variations. Its status showed some significant relationship with some lipid profiles (cholesterol, LDL, and HDL) during the two seasons. There were different results among winter and summer based on the gender

A system approach on safe emergency evacuation in Subways: A systematic literature review

Background: Due to the extensive use of subway transportation in high- and middle-income countries, the safety of passengers has become one of the important challenges in emergency management of subway station. Therefore, the present systematic review aimed to identify environmental and organizational management factors that affect the safe emergency evacuation in subway stations. Materials and Methods: In this systematic literature review, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, Google Scholar, Iran Medex, Magiran, and Scientific Information Database from 1990 to 2019 were searched to identify effective emergency management factors in safe emergency evacuation of the subways. A thematic content analysis was employed for data analysis. Results: Of 763 publications retrieved from the searches, 149 studies were included for data analysis. According to the findings, effective environmental and organizational management factors in safe emergency evacuation were discussed in eight subcategories, including infrastructure properties, evacuation-assisting resources, prevention of injuries and mitigation, preparedness for emergency evacuation, emergency response and reconstruction, and maintenance of evacuation facilities. Conclusion: The design of an optimal route for emergency evacuation is the main theme of most studies focusing on environmental factors. While a system approach for designer is needed for effective subway emergency evacuation, human-related factors focusing on injury prevention are also crucial

Relationship of Family Particulars with Mental Health in Tehran Girls\' Students at Third Grade in the Field of Experimental Sciences

Objective: Personality development is a complicated phenomenon. Several external and internal factors such as hereditary background, congenital status, events afterbirth, individual differences, positive and negative promoting behaviors, and other cultural and social factors alone or in combination affect individual personality. Based on the theory of psychological analysis, experiences at childhood, especially interaction with parents have an undeniable effect on individual personality in adulthood. The subject of the present study is to investigate the relationship of family particulars with mental health in high school girls' students in Tehran at third grade in the field of experimental sciences. The present study is a case-study and its purpose is to study theories on dissatisfaction of students at disorganized families and its relationship with anxiety, depression, violence, and obsession. Materials & Methods: The study subjects were 80 girl students studying at third grade in field of experimental sciences at Tehran high schools. Half of these students were selected as case group and half of them as control group. The subjects were selected with screening method and the SCL-90 test was used to study hypothesis. Results: The results revealed that there was a significant difference between case and control group. The quality of family relationship had a strong correlation with mental growth of child.   Conclusion: Based on obtained results, the atmosphere around the control group was happier than the case group. The members of the case group usually did not talk about their problems with father

Evaluation of Water Deficit Tolerance of 10 Potato Cultivars (Solanum tuberosum L.)Based on some Physiological Traits and Tuber Yield in Ardabil Region

This research was conducted to study the physiological traits affecting the yield of 10 different potato cultivars under water deficit conditions in a two-years study (2013 and 2014) in Ardabil Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Station. The study was performed in a split plot experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replications. The main-plots were three levels of irrigations (irrigation with 100%, 80% and 60% required water) and sub-plots consisted of 10 commercial potato cultivars (Khavaran, Savalan, Luca, Satina, Sante, Marfona, Caeser, Agria, Aula and Draga) released in the last 30 years. During the growing season, some physiological traits including relative water content, electrolyte leakage and chlorophyll content of the leaves were measured at their five different growth stages. Combined analysis of variance of traits showed that there were significant differences cultivars between years, and cultivars × water deficit stress interaction in all growth stages in terms of relative water content, electrolyte leakage, chlorophyll content and tuber yield. In terms of electrolyte leakage and chlorophyll content of the leaves, there were significant differences between years, different water stress levels, cultivars and cultivars × water stress level. In addition, in terms of tuber yield there were significant differences between years, water stress levels, cultivars and year × water stress level, cultivar × water stress level, cultivar × year.  There were significant differences in chlorophyll content of the leaves under different irrigation conditios in the first, second, third and fifth growth stages of the potato. According to the results, under normal irrigation condition, cultivars Khavaran and Satina had higher relative water content, lower electrolyte leakage, higher chlorophyll content of the leaves and higher tuber yield. Under mild water stress condition, cultivars Caeser, Draga and Khavaran and under severe stress condition, cultivars Agria and Draga maintained higher relative water content and higher tuber yield; whereas cultivars Savalan, Luca, Satina and Marfona showed lower electrolyte leakage and higher tuber yield; and cultivar Savalan showed the highest chlorophyll content of the leaves and higher tuber yield under severe stress condition and thus were selected as tolerant cultivars to water deficit conditions

Letter to the Editor: Application of Haddon Matrix in Disaster Management: A New Window in Disaster Mitigation Risk

In recent years, disaster management has been the focus of attention since disasters have been associated with huge destructions and consequences. Basically, disaster management techniques aim at the prevention and mitigation works as well as promotion of resilience. Haddon matrix was proposed as a conceptual model to understand the event and provide preventive measures in the field of injury prevention. This matrix is a combination of epidemiological triangle, including host, agent, and environmental factors at three levels of prevention, including pre-event, event, and post-event. In spite of frequent application of Haddon strategies in prevention of various injuries; hitherto, application of Haddon matrix in disaster management has been rarely investigated. However, its potential capability for managing disasters calls for its further introduction which is the main focus of our study

Food Intake, Plate Waste And Its Association With Malnutrition In Hospitalized Patients

Background: Hospital malnutrition is a worldwide dilemma and challenge. High levels of plate waste contribute to malnutrition-related complications in hospital. We investigated the association between the levels of plate waste, food intake and patient satisfaction with nutritional risk and malnutrition prevalence in three hospital settings. Methods: The sample population of 120 patients, aged 18-65 year, admitted consecutively over a 12 month period to 3 different educational university hospitals was included. For all the patients, diet history, anthropometric measurements, body mass index and patient satisfaction with the hospital food service was evaluated. Weight plate waste for all daily meals was done and actual intakes computed individually for each day. Nutrition risk screening (NRS)-2002 (>= 3) tool was used for estimating the nutritionally at-risk population. Results: From one hundred twenty non-critically ill patients with a mean 8.9 +/- 3.5 day length of hospital stay, 40.8% (49) were men and 59.2% (71) were female. Mean energy and protein requirements were 2,030.3 +/- 409.03 kcal/day and 76.13 +/- 15.33 g/day respectively. Mean intakes were 1,326 +/- 681.44 kcal/day and 66.81 +/- 31.66 g/day respectively. The mean percent of plate waste for lunch and dinner were 37.7 +/- 29.88 and 30.4 +/- 23.61 respectively. In the total population, 25% of patients were satisfied and 75% patients were unsatisfied with hospital foods. Based on BMI ( 10%), malnutrition prevalence was 12.5% and 14.2% respectively during hospitalization. The prevalence of nutritionally at-risk population was 30% at admission time and reached 33.3% at discharge. Conclusion: Plate waste and hospital malnutrition were highly prevalent in accompanying with increasing nutritionally risk progression. So it should be addressed as an important health issue and appropriate strategies for stimulating governmental policies should be adopted.WoSScopu

Preparation and characterization of poly (hydroxy butyrate)/chitosan blend scaffolds for tissue engineering applications

Background: Poly (hydroxy butyrate) (PHB) is a biodegradable and biocompatible polymer with good mechanical properties. This polymer could be a promising material for scaffolds if some features improve. Materials and Methods: In the present work, new PHB/chitosan blend scaffolds were prepared as a three-dimensional substrate in cartilage tissue engineering. Chitosan in different weight percent was added to PHB and solved in trifluoroacetic acid. Statistical Taguchi method was employed in the design of experiments. Results: The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy test revealed that the crystallization of PHB in these blends is suppressed with increasing the amount of chitosan. Scanning electron microscopy images showed a thin and rough top layer with a nodular structure, supported with a porous sub-layer in the surface of the scaffolds. In vitro degradation rate of the scaffolds was higher than pure PHB scaffolds. Maximum degradation rate has been seen for the scaffold with 90% wt. NaCl and 40% wt. chitosan. Conclusions: The obtained results suggest that these newly developed PHB/chitosan blend scaffolds may serve as a three-dimensional substrate in cartilage tissue engineering

Anti diabetic effect of CL 316,243 (a β3-adrenergic agonist) by down regulation of tumour necrosis factor (TNF-α) expression.

OBJECTIVE: Obesity is a risk factor for the development of insulin resistance and is one of the most important contributors to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, which acts mainly through the secretion of adipokines such as TNF-α that may influence insulin sensitivity. TNF-α affects many aspects of adipocyte function, such as adipocyte development and lipid metabolism. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We demonstrated that there is a correlation between the expressions of TNF-α in retroperitoneal WAT and insulin-resistance in 8 genetically obese fa/fa rats. Treatment of animals with CL 316,243, a β3-adrenergic agonist, showed an improvement of insulin-resistance that was linked with the suppression of TNF-α mRNA expression in WAT. RESULTS: These results confirm the association between TNF-α expression and the insulin-resistant condition in rats. Our finding indicates that the hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinemia induced by insulin-resistance correlated positively with the expression of TNF-α mRNA in an abdominal WAT depot. CONCLUSION: We conclude that CL 316,243 possesses both anti-diabetic effects and anti-obesity effects in rodents