Spatial and temporal trends of short-term health impacts of PM2.5in Iranian cities; A modelling approach (2013�2016)

Estimation of the spatial and temporal trends of health impacts attributable to air pollution is an effective measure for evaluating implemented interventions. The aim of this study was to estimate the short-term mortality attributable to exposure to PM2.5among individuals older than 30 years old in ten Iranian cities from March 2013 to March 2016 using the World Health Organization�s (WHO) AirQ+ software. Hourly concentrations of PM2.5were acquired from the Department of Environment and Tehran Air Quality Control Company. Only stations with 75 and 50 of valid data were qualified for Tehran and other cities, respectively. The annual average PM2.5concentrations in all ten of the cities were higher than the WHO guideline value of 10 µg m�3The total number of attributable short-term deaths during the three-year period in these 10 cities was 3284 (95 CI: 1207�5244). The average daily premature deaths were calculated to be 3. The highest number of premature deaths within the three-year period was estimated to be 548 in Tehran, largely reflecting its population of nearly 9 million. The western and southern cities of Iran experience severe dust storms and showed a high estimated rate of death attributed to air pollution. The health impacts in all cities decreased in the third year compared to the first year except for Ahvaz, Khoram Abad, and Ilam. Governmental interventions need to be enforced more effectively to reduce the high level of adverse health impacts in Iran. Special considerations should be given to the air quality of cities affected by dust storms. © Taiwan Association for Aerosol Research

Speciation of Tl(III) and Tl(I) in hair samples by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic droplet prior to flame atomic absorption spectrometry determination

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic droplet was successfully used as a sample preparation method prior to flame atomic absorption determination of trace amounts of Tl(III) and Tl(I) in hair samples. In the proposed method, 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol, 1-dodecanol and ethanol were used as chelating agent, extraction and dispersive solvent, respectively. Several factors that may be affected in the extraction process, such as type and volume of extraction and disperser solvents, pH, salting out effect, ionic strength and extraction time were studied. Under the optimal conditions, linearity was maintained between 6.0 and 900.0 ng mL−1 for Tl(III). The relative standard deviation for seven replicate determinations of 0.2 μg mL−1 Tl(III) was 2.5%. The detection limit based on 3Sb for Tl(III) in the original solution was 2.1 ng mL−1. The proposed method has been applied for the determination of trace amounts of thallium in hair samples and satisfactory results were obtained

Prediction of gas emission and derived electrical power generation from Shiraz landfill

Landfilling has been considered as the most common method for solid waste disposal in developing countries which is faced with several issues, such as gas emission. Methane as a greenhouse gas is the main landfill gas which could be applied as a fuel for electrical power plants. In this study, the gas emission of Shiraz landfill site was predicted by using USEPA model, for this purpose, after determination of the solid waste physical composition on Shiraz landfill site, the L0 and k constants were estimated by Monte Carlo method, as well as the rate of gas collection and the rate of electrical power generation capacity were estimated under existing and ideal scenarios. The results showed that gas production would reach its peak up to 5.7�107 m3 year-1 by 2039. The maximum electrical power generation was also similar to the pattern of gas production in the landfill and would be 2545GWh and 4019GWh for the existing and ideal conditions, respectively in 2039. Results showed that the recovery of biogas at Shiraz landfill could be a desirable alternative in different available waste management options for this city. © 2015 Global NEST Printed in Greece. All rights reserved

Spatio-temporal evaluation of Yamchi Dam basin water quality using Canadian water quality index

In recent years, the growth of population and increase of the industries around the tributaries of Yamchi Dam basin have led to deterioration of dam water quality. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of the Yamchi Dam basin water, which is used for drinking and irrigation consumptions using Canadian Water Quality Index (CWQI) model, and to determine the main water pollution sources of this basin. Initially, nine sampling stations were selected in the sensitive locations of the mentioned basin�s tributaries, and 12 physico-chemical parameters and 2 biological parameters were measured. The CWQI for drinking consumptions was under 40 at all the stations indicating a poor water quality for drinking consumptions. On the other hand, the CWQI was 62�100 for irrigation at different stations; thus, the water had an excellent to fair quality for irrigation consumptions. Almost in all the stations, the quality of irrigation and drinking water in cold season was better. Besides, for drinking use, total coliform and fecal coliform had the highest frequency of failure, and total coliform had the maximum deviation from the specified objective. For irrigation use, total suspended solids had the highest frequency of failure and deviation from the objective in most of the stations. The pisciculture center, aquaculture center, and the Nir City wastewater discharge were determined as the main pollution sources of the Yamchi Dam basin. Therefore, to improve the water quality in this important surface water resource, urban and industrial wastewater treatment prior to disposal and more stringent environmental legislations are recommended. © 2015, Springer International Publishing Switzerland

Development of a quantitative Real-Time PCR for micrometastasis detection using CEA in peripheral blood and bone marrow specimens of gastric cancer patients

"n Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Background: Gastric adenocarsinoma is the first leading fatal malignancy in Iran. Despite advances in novel therapeutics approaches for gastric cancer (GC) patient, tumor dissemination via blood stream to distant organ is still the major cause of death. Therefore, there is urgent need to establish sensitive methods for early detection of disseminated tumor cells in peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) specimens of gastric cancer patients. "n"nMethods: In the present study, we use Carcinoma Embryonic Antigen (CEA) as a tumor marker and Glyceraldehyde 3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (GAPDH) as an internal control to detection and quantification of disseminated tumor cells in PB and BM specimens of affected individuals. Total RNA was extracted from AGS (gastric cancer) cell line and CEA and GAPDH fragments were generated by reverse transcription. The amplified fragments were cloned into pTZ57R/T vector separately. Double cloning of these genes has done into one pTZ57R/T vector. Serial dilution of this recombinant plasmid is used to construct standard curve, each containing a known amount of input copy number. Total RNA was extracted from BP and BM specimens of 35 GC patients. cDNA of the specimens were synthesized by reverse transcription and subjected to Quantitative Real-Time PCR (QRT-PCR)."n"nResults: We developed a highly sensitive and specific quantitative PCR for CEA and GAPDH using Real-Time PCR based on TaqMan technology. CEA mRNA was detected in 23% of PB and 20% of BM specimens. There was no CEA mRNA detecting in control group."n"nConclusions: The QRT-PCR for CEA can be a useful technique for detection of micrometastases in the PB and BM specimens of gastric cancer patients."

Spatial and temporal trends of short-term health impacts of PM2.5in Iranian cities; A modelling approach (2013�2016)

Estimation of the spatial and temporal trends of health impacts attributable to air pollution is an effective measure for evaluating implemented interventions. The aim of this study was to estimate the short-term mortality attributable to exposure to PM2.5among individuals older than 30 years old in ten Iranian cities from March 2013 to March 2016 using the World Health Organization�s (WHO) AirQ+ software. Hourly concentrations of PM2.5were acquired from the Department of Environment and Tehran Air Quality Control Company. Only stations with 75 and 50 of valid data were qualified for Tehran and other cities, respectively. The annual average PM2.5concentrations in all ten of the cities were higher than the WHO guideline value of 10 µg m�3The total number of attributable short-term deaths during the three-year period in these 10 cities was 3284 (95 CI: 1207�5244). The average daily premature deaths were calculated to be 3. The highest number of premature deaths within the three-year period was estimated to be 548 in Tehran, largely reflecting its population of nearly 9 million. The western and southern cities of Iran experience severe dust storms and showed a high estimated rate of death attributed to air pollution. The health impacts in all cities decreased in the third year compared to the first year except for Ahvaz, Khoram Abad, and Ilam. Governmental interventions need to be enforced more effectively to reduce the high level of adverse health impacts in Iran. Special considerations should be given to the air quality of cities affected by dust storms. © Taiwan Association for Aerosol Research

The Situation of Housing Environmental Health of Tubercular in Yazd, From Aspect Factors Prevent of Transmission the Communicable Diseases by the World Health Organization Standards

Introduction: One of the most important factors for disease risk is the undesirable health condition of the houses. The dark, damp and unsanitary house exposes residents to TB. As the housing status is crucial in establishing the conditions for the transmission of TB, this study was designed to survey the situation of housing environmental health of tuberculosis patients in Yazd on transmission of communicable diseases according to World Health Organization standards in 2010. Methods: In this descriptive study, the housing status of all TB patients of Yazd in 86 cases were collected through a questionnaire survey, observation, and measurement. Results: Results showed that the houses in 22.1 % of cases were made of adobe and mud, 3.55% having average density of room, 50% of houses had insufficient natural light, 54.7 % had unfavorable natural ventilation, and 26.7 %, inadequate heating appliances. Also 32.6 % of the floor, 32.6 % of the walls, 37.2 % of the ceilings, 22.1 % of the sewage disposal, 12.8 % of drinking water, 20.9% of garbage collection, 11.6% of keeping-pet places, and 20.9% of waste disposal were in unhealthy conditions. In addition, 2.3% of these houses lacked toilet and 7% lacked bathroom. Conclusions: Comparing the housing condition of people with TB via the existing standards, the status is assessed as unfavorable. Thus improvement of the tuberculosis condition calls for the education programs to inform people of such disadvantages. Also the attention of housing stakeholders and relevant agencies should be drawn to help low-income people

TRIM28 Controls a Gene Regulatory Network Based on Endogenous Retroviruses in Human Neural Progenitor Cells

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), which make up 8% of the human genome, have been proposed to participate in the control of gene regulatory networks. In this study, we find a region- and developmental stage-specific expression pattern of ERVs in the developing human brain, which is linked to a transcriptional network based on ERVs. We demonstrate that almost 10,000, primarily primate-specific, ERVs act as docking platforms for the co-repressor protein TRIM28 in human neural progenitor cells, which results in the establishment of local heterochromatin. Thereby, TRIM28 represses ERVs and consequently regulates the expression of neighboring genes. These results uncover a gene regulatory network based on ERVs that participates in control of gene expression of protein-coding transcripts important for brain development