Food insecurity status and its contributing factors in slums’ dwellers of southwest Iran, 2021: a cross-sectional study

Background: One major factor causing food insecurity is believed to be poverty. Approximately 20 million Iranians live in slums with a vulnerable socioeconomic context. The outbreak of COVID-19, on top of the economic sanctions against Iran, has increased this vulnerability and made its inhabitants prone to food insecurity. The current study investigates food insecurity and its associated socioeconomic factors among slum residents of Shiraz, southwest Iran. Methods: Random cluster sampling was used to select the participants in this cross-sectional study. The heads of the households completed the validated Household Food Insecurity Access Scale questionnaire to assess food insecurity. Univariate analysis was utilized to calculate the unadjusted associations between the study variables. Moreover, a multiple logistic regression model was employed to determine the adjusted association of each independent variable with the food insecurity risk. Results: Among the 1227 households, the prevalence of food insecurity was 87.20%, with 53.87% experiencing moderate and 33.33% experiencing severe food insecurity. A significant relationship was observed between socioeconomic status and food insecurity, indicating that people with low socioeconomic status are more prone to food insecurity (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The current study revealed that food insecurity is highly prevalent in slum areas of southwest Iran. The socioeconomic status of households was the most important determinant of food insecurity among them. Noticeably, the coincidence of the COVID-19 pandemic with the economic crisis in Iran has amplified the poverty and food insecurity cycle. Hence, the government should consider equity-based interventions to reduce poverty and its related outcomes on food security. Furthermore, NGOs, charities, and governmental organizations should focus on local community-oriented programs to make basic food baskets available for the most vulnerable households

Included publications

We systematically organized and categorized papers in an Excel spreadsheet according to specific criteria such as article title, publication year, journal name, ABS journal ranking, methodology, area and industry background, and key highlights.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

The effect of influenza vaccination in the prevention of exacerbation of children asthma

Background: Influenza epidemies which occur mosthly in cold seasons could be a risk factor for developing exacerbations and acute attacks of asthma. Although influenza vaccination is recommended for the asthmatic patients, there is a lack of sufficient clinical evidence that this annual vaccination prevents asthma exacerbation in children. Methods: Prospective clinical trial study of 201 children with asthma, where 79 did, and 122 did not receive the influenza vaccine, was done. The two groups were compared with respect to use of bronchodilators, systemic corticosteroids, emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations for asthma. In multi variable analysis, adjustment was made for baseline asthma severity and demographic variables. Results: After adjusting for other variables, the vaccinated group had a significant decreased in exacerbations frequency and duration. Also the frequency of used bronchodilators and the absence days of daycare center or school were lower in the vaccinated group (P005). Conclusion: This study showed that influenza vaccination may be effective in prevention of some asthma exacerbation aspects

Included publications

We systematically organized and categorized papers in an Excel spreadsheet according to specific criteria such as article title, publication year, journal name, ABS journal ranking, methodology, area and industry background, and key highlights.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

The Ability of Pregnenolone in Proliferation of Mouse Neural Stem Cells and Reduction of Inflammatory and Oxidant Markers after Induction of Inflammation with Lipopolysaccharide in Vitro

Background & aim: Pregnenolone acts as a precursor to other steroid hormones and exerts its effect as an anti-inflammatory molecule to maintain immune homeostasis in various inflammatory conditions. In these diseases, a decrease in the level ofP has been observed, which emphasizes its role in neuroprotection and nerve regeneration and its anti-inflammatory role. Accordingly, the purpose of the present study was to determine the ability of Pregnenolone in the proliferation of mouse neural stem cells and reduce inflammatory and oxidant markers. of inducing inflammation with lipopolysaccharide in laboratory conditions. Methods: In the present experimental study conducted at Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, neural stem cells (NSCs) were isolated from the embryonic cortex of E14 mice with standard protocol and incubated for 5 days. Subsequently, neurosphere formation and propagation for second passage the survival of the cells was done after pregnenolone combined treatment with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) inflammatory model. The number of neurospheres and cells derived from neurospheres were counted after 5 days of incubation in the inflammatory model. The supernatant of the cells was removed and the levels of oxidant and antioxidant markers MDA, NO FRAP, and inflammatory markers IL6 and TNFα were measured by ELISA method. Data were analyzed by one-way variance statistical method and Tukey's post hoc test. Results: The results indicated that pregnenolone with its effect on inflammatory factors could increase the proliferation of neural stem cells in conditions of inflammation and the greatest effect was observed in the group treated with 10 μM dose of pregnenolone with an increase of 68% compared to the LPS group. On the other hand, it caused a decrease in the inflammatory factors TNF-α (12%) and IL-6 (30%) and oxidative stress factors including NO (38%) and MDA (20%) compared to the LPS group, as well as a significant increase FRAP was an antioxidant marker (P<0.0001) in the model of inflammation caused by LPS in the culture medium of mouse neural stem cells. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated that Pregnenolone, by affecting inflammatory factors, increased the proliferation of neural stem cells in the conditions of inflammation, and it was as well able to reduce the amount of inflammatory and oxidant markers in the inflammatory model of the culture medium

Sex Differences in 28-Day Mortality of Ischemic Stroke in Iran and Its Associated Factors: A Prospective Cohort Study

Introduction: The mortality and morbidity rates of stroke in men and women have been reported differently and its effective factors have been discussed. The purpose of this study was to investigate sex differences in 28-day mortality of ischemic stroke and its associated factors. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective cohort study conducted from June 2018 to September 2019 in patients with ischemic stroke referred to Firoozgar, Shariati and Sina hospitals in Tehran. Demographic data, risk factors, disease history, drug use, severity of stroke, and patient functional status were recorded in the hospital. The patients' functional status and severity of stroke were measured using the Modified Ranking Scale (MRS) and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). After 28 days, the patients' survival status was monitored. Logistic regression was used to analyze the data. Results: In this study, 703 patients were enrolled; of them, 260 (37.00) were female and 443 (63.00) were male. After 28 days, 21 female cases (8.17) and 26 male (6.08) ones died (P = 0.299). Functional status (OR = 4.65; 95CI: 2.09 to 10.38), diastolic blood pressure (OR = 0.91; 95CI: 0.85 to 0.96), warfarin use (OR = 0.15; 95CI: 0.04 to 0.55), and hemoglobin (OR = 1.17; 95CI: 1.02 to 1.35) were associated with 28-day mortality. Poor functional status in men had a greater association with 28-day mortality than women (OR 4.65 vs. 1.64). High diastolic blood pressure had a negative association with the 28-day mortality of cases and this association is more in women than in men (OR 0.88 vs. 0.91). High hemoglobin is a risk factor in men and a protective factor in 28-day mortality in women (OR 1.73 vs. 0.73). Smoking also had a greater association with 28-day mortality in women than men (OR 2.67 vs. 1.2). Discussion: Twenty eight-day mortality was more in women than in men, but this difference was not significant. Women were older, had more severe stroke and poorer functional status than men. Variables including functional status, diastolic blood pressure, hemoglobin level, and smoking had interaction with sex, and their association with 28-day mortality rate was different between men and women. Sex differences should be considered, so that we can better manage stroke patients. © 2020 Elsevier Inc

Lean Practices Using Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Digital Twinning for Sustainable Construction

There is a need to apply lean approaches in construction projects. Both BIM and IoT are increasingly being used in the construction industry. However, using BIM in conjunction with IoT for sustainability purposes has not received enough attention in construction. In particular, the capability created from the combination of both technologies has not been exploited. There is a growing consensus that the future of construction operation tends to be smart and intelligent, which would be possible by a combination of both information systems and sensors. This investigation aims to find out the recent efforts of utilizing BIM for lean purposes in the last decade by critically reviewing the published literature and identifying dominant clusters of research topics. More specifically, the investigation is further developed by identifying the gaps in the literature to utilize IoT in conjunction with BIM in construction projects to facilitate applying lean techniques in a more efficient way in construction projects. A systematic review method was designed to identify scholarly papers covering both concepts “lean” and “BIM” in construction and possibilities of using IoT. A total of 48 scholarly articles selected from 26 construction journals were carefully reviewed thorough perusal. The key findings were discussed with industry practitioners. The transcriptions were analyzed employing two coding and cluster analysis techniques. The results of the cluster analysis show two main directions, including the recent practice of lean and BIM interactions and issues of lean and BIM adoption. Findings revealed a large synergy between lean and BIM in control interactions and reduction in variations, and surprisingly there are many uncovered areas in this field. The results also show that the capability of IoT is also largely not considered in recent developments. The number of papers covering both lean and BIM is very limited, and there is a large clear gap in understanding synergetic interactions of lean concepts applying in BIM and IoT in specific fields of construction such as sustainable infrastructure projects