Frequency and clinical patterns of stroke in Iran - Systematic and critical review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cerebrovascular disease is the second commonest cause of death, and over a third of stroke deaths occur in developing countries. To fulfil the current gap on data, this systematic review is focused on the frequency of stroke, risk factors, stroke types and mortality in Iran.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirteen relevant articles were identified by keyword searching of PubMed, Iranmedex, Iranian University index Libraries and the official national data on burden of diseases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The publication dates ranged from 1990 to 2008. The annual stroke incidence of various ages ranged from 23 to 103 per 100,000 population. This is comparable to the figures from Arab Countries, higher than sub-Saharan Africa, but lower than developed countries, India, the Caribbean, Latin America, and China. Similarly to other countries, ischaemic stroke was the commonest subtype. Likewise, the most common related risk factor is hypertension in adults, but cardiac causes in young stroke. The 28-day case fatality rate is reported at 19-31%.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Data on the epidemiology of stroke, its pattern and risk factors from Iran is scarce, but the available data highlights relatively low incidence of stroke. This may reflect a similarity towards the neighbouring nations, and a contrast with the West.</p

Review: optical fiber sensors for civil engineering applications

Optical fiber sensor (OFS) technologies have developed rapidly over the last few decades, and various types of OFS have found practical applications in the field of civil engineering. In this paper, which is resulting from the work of the RILEM technical committee “Optical fiber sensors for civil engineering applications”, different kinds of sensing techniques, including change of light intensity, interferometry, fiber Bragg grating, adsorption measurement and distributed sensing, are briefly reviewed to introduce the basic sensing principles. Then, the applications of OFS in highway structures, building structures, geotechnical structures, pipelines as well as cables monitoring are described, with focus on sensor design, installation technique and sensor performance. It is believed that the State-of-the-Art review is helpful to engineers considering the use of OFS in their projects, and can facilitate the wider application of OFS technologies in construction industry

Phonons and related properties of extended systems from density-functional perturbation theory

This article reviews the current status of lattice-dynamical calculations in crystals, using density-functional perturbation theory, with emphasis on the plane-wave pseudo-potential method. Several specialized topics are treated, including the implementation for metals, the calculation of the response to macroscopic electric fields and their relevance to long wave-length vibrations in polar materials, the response to strain deformations, and higher-order responses. The success of this methodology is demonstrated with a number of applications existing in the literature.Comment: 52 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Review of Modern Physic

Personalized peptide-based vaccination for treatment of colorectal cancer: rational and progress

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers globally and is associated with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. A large proportion of patients with early stage CRC who undergo conventional treatments develop local recurrence or distant metastasis and in this group of advanced disease, the survival rate is low. Furthermore there is often a poor response and/or toxicity associated with chemotherapy and chemo-resistance may limit continuing conventional treatment alone. Choosing novel and targeted therapeutic approaches based on clinicopathological and molecular features of tumors in combination with conventional therapeutic approach could be used to eradicate residual micrometastasis and therefore improve patient prognosis and also be used preventively. Peptide-based vaccination therapy is one class of cancer treatment that could be used to induce tumor-specific immune responses, through the recognition of specific antigen-derived peptides in tumor cells, and this has emerged as a promising anti-cancer therapeutic strategy. The aim of this review was to summarize the main findings of recent studies in exciting field of peptide-based vaccination therapy in CRC patients as a novel therapeutic approach in treatment of CRC

Enhancement of a modified Mediterranean-style, low glycemic load diet with specific phytochemicals improves cardiometabolic risk factors in subjects with metabolic syndrome and hypercholesterolemia in a randomized trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>As the worldwide dietary pattern becomes more westernized, the metabolic syndrome is reaching epidemic proportions. Lifestyle modifications including diet and exercise are recommended as first-line intervention for treating metabolic syndrome. Previously, we reported that a modified Mediterranean-style, low glycemic load diet with soy protein and phytosterols had a more favorable impact than the American Heart Association Step 1 diet on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Subsequently, we screened for phytochemicals with a history of safe use that were capable of increasing insulin sensitivity through modulation of protein kinases, and identified hops <it>rho </it>iso-alpha acid and acacia proanthocyanidins. The objective of this study was to investigate whether enhancement of a modified Mediterranean-style, low glycemic load diet (MED) with specific phytochemicals (soy protein, phytosterols, <it>rho </it>iso-alpha acids and proanthocyanidins; PED) could improve cardiometabolic risk factors in subjects with metabolic syndrome and hypercholesterolemia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Forty-nine subjects with metabolic syndrome and hypercholesterolemia, aged 25–80, entered a randomized, 2-arm, 12-week intervention trial; 23 randomized to the MED arm; 26 to the PED arm. Forty-four subjects completed at least 8 weeks [MED (<it>n </it>= 19); PED (<it>n </it>= 25)]. All subjects were instructed to follow the same aerobic exercise program. Three-day diet diaries and 7-day exercise diaries were assessed at each visit. Fasting blood samples were collected at baseline, 8 and 12 weeks for analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both arms experienced equal weight loss (MED: -5.7 kg; PED: -5.9 kg). However, at 12 weeks, the PED arm experienced greater reductions (<it>P </it>< 0.05) in cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), cholesterol/HDL and TG/HDL compared with the MED arm. Only the PED arm experienced increased HDL (<it>P </it>< 0.05) and decreased TG/HDL (<it>P </it>< 0.01), and continued reduction in apo B/apo A-I from 8 to 12 weeks. Furthermore, 43% of PED subjects vs. only 22% of MED subjects had net resolution of metabolic syndrome. The Framingham 10-year CVD risk score decreased by 5.6% in the PED arm (<it>P </it>< 0.01) and 2.9% in the MED arm (<it>P </it>< 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results demonstrate that specific phytochemical supplementation increased the effectiveness of the modified Mediterranean-style low glycemic load dietary program on variables associated with metabolic syndrome and CVD.</p

National guidelines for cognitive assessment and rehabilitation of Iranian traumatic brain injury patients

Background: Individuals with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) often have prolonged cognitive impairments, resulting in long-term problems with their real-life activities. Given the urgent need for evidence-based recommendations for neuropsychological management of Iranian TBI patients, the current work aimed to adapt eligible international guidelines for cognitive assessment and rehabilitation of the TBI patients in Iran. Methods: The project was led by an executive committee, under the supervision of the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME). Following a systematic literature search and selection process, four guidelines were included for adaptation. Clinical recommendations of the source guidelines were tabulated as possible clinical scenarios for 90 PICO clinical questions covering all relevant phases of care. After summing up the scenarios, our initial list of recommendations was drafted according to the Iranian patients� conditions. The final decision-making, with the contribution of a national interdisciplinary panel of 37 experts from across the country, was conducted in two rounds using online and offline survey forms (Round 1), and face-to-face and telephone meetings (Round 2). Results: A total of 63 recommendations in six sections were included in the final list of recommendations, among which 24 were considered as key recommendations. In addition, some of the recommendations were identified as fundamental, meaning that proper implementation of the other recommendations is largely dependent on their implementation. Conclusion: Iranian health policy makers and rehabilitation program managers are recommended to address some fundamental issues to provide the necessary infrastructure to set up an efficient cognitive rehabilitation service system. © 2020 Academy of Medical Sciences of I.R. Iran. All rights reserved

Evaluating Antibacterial Effect of Green Synthesis Oxide Iron Nanoparticles Using Cytoplasmic Extract of Lactobacillus casei

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: With regard to the drug resistance, special attention has been placed on researches for discovering new antimicrobial substances such as nanoparticles. In green synthesis biological resources such as bacteria and yeast are used for producing metal nanoparticles. In this research, we used the Lactobacillus casei extract as a biological source for producing iron oxide nanoparticles and antibacterial effects of these nanoparticles against the standard strains of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were investigated. METHODS: for synthesis of green iron oxide nanoparticles, cytoplasmic extract of Lactobacillus casei and iron sulfate solution 10-3M were mixed and incubated for 3 weeks at 37 ° C in the presence of 5% carbon dioxide. Synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles were evaluated using X-ray diffraction pattern and Transmission electron microscopy. Antibacterial effects of nanoparticles with dilution of 10, 100 and 1000 micro-grams per milliliter on two standard strains of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were evaluated. FINDINGS: Synthesis of iron oxide crystals was confirmed by XRD analysis. Based on transmission electron microscopy the average of nanoparticles was about 15 nm with a spherical shape. Antimicrobial effect of nanoparticles showed that at concentration of 100 and 1000 µg/ml has an inhibitory effect on the growth on Staphylococcus aureus equal to 12.03±0.32 and 16±0.5, respectively. The only concentration that showed significant effect was 1000µg/ml (p≤0.001). While are ineffective against Escherichia coli. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicated that producing iron oxide nanoparticles using cytoplasmic extract of Lactobacillus casei is a biologically safe method and very noteworthy in medicine and pharmacology and may be considered as a good candidate for the treatment of bacterial infections

Evaluation of Factors Influencing Sensory Disability in Cerebral Stroke Patients

Introduction: Clinical findings affecting disability in stroke patients are important as presence of these factors determines the prognosis and future course of these patients. Methods: Consecutive stroke patients admitted at Ghaem hospital, Mashhad were enrolled in this prospective study in 2008. Hemihyposthesia, hemianesthesia, hemineglect and homonymous hemianopsia was evaluated in these patients. Disability score was based on the Modified Ranking Disability Score (MRDS), 72 hours post stroke. Mean of MRDS was analyzed by T test and Fisher tests and p<0.05 was considered as significant. Results: A total of 329 stroke patients were investigated. Hemihyposthesia, hemianesthesia, hemineglect and homonymous hemianopsia was found in 37.4%, 13.8%, 7.9% and 7.3% of the patients, respectively. MRDS was significantly higher in patients with hemianesthesia as compared to other stroke patients, (p<0.001). MRDS of patients with hemihypoestheisa, hemineglect and homonyous hemianopsia was not significantly different than patients without these abnormalities (p=0.44, p=023 and p=0.83). Patients with triad of hemianesthesia, hemineglect and homonymous hemianopsia had significantly higher MRDS than others (p<0.001). Conclusion: Hemianesthesia is a clinical factor affecting sensory disability in cerebral stroke patients. Presence of the above triad could increase MRDS in these patients