Prevalence and risk factors of urethral, penile, and scrotal cancers in Iranian men during 2004-2015: A national cancer registry-based study

Introduction: Urethral, penile, and scrotal cancers are rare and represent less than 1% of all malignancies. However, they are associated with a high mortality rate and have a significant effect on patients’ quality of life. Penile and urethral cancers comprise 0.6% of all urological cancers. Because of ethnic, geographical, and cultural diversity, risk factors and cancer patterns vary in different communities. We aimed to provide valid information on the prevalence, incidence, and epidemiology of urethral, penile, and scrotal cancers using the National Registry on Cancer of Iran. Methods: This retrospective study of 465 patients included all known cases of urethral, penile, and scrotal cancers from the Department of National Registry on Cancer at the Ministry of Health and Medical Education in Iran during 2004-2015. This study examined the demographic characteristics of patients and discussed the risk factors and possible causes of the above-mentioned cancers. Results: The mean ±SD age at the time of registration was 58.49±20.82 years. The highest and lowest proportions of cases belonged to Tehran/Alborz (14.2%) and Mazandaran (0.65%) provinces, Iran, respectively. Regarding the distribution of records according to a year of registration, these cancers were more prevalent in 2014, and less prevalent in 2004. Conclusion: Urethral, penile, and scrotal cancers were more common in Tehran and Alborz. There was a strong possibility that the prevalence of these cancers is linked to the industrial nature of Tehran and Alborz and the prevalence of human papillomavirus

Machine Learning Approaches to predict Intra-Uterine Insemination Success Rate- Application of Artificial Intelligence in Infertility

Introduction: Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) has been widely utilized for infertility management. Despite its low success rate, Intra-Uterine Insemination (IUI) is one of the first alternatives and most important approaches regarding many cases of infertility treatment. Given the numerous influencing factors and limitations associated with time and resources, the development of a reliable model to predict the success rate of ART methods can significantly contribute to decision-making processes. Materials and methods: We reviewed the demographic, clinical, and laboratory data regarding 157 IUI treatment cycles among 124 women using their partner’s sperm from May2017 to June2019. Primary outcome measures were clinical pregnancy and live birth. Some prediction models were constructed and compared to the logistic regression analysis. Results: Woman’s mean age was 30.1 ± 5.2 years and the infertility had a female cause in 24.3% of the cases, male cause in 32.6% of cases, and combined causes in 32.6% of the cases. Concerning the first IUI cycle, the clinical pregnancy rate per cycle was 16.9% (N= 21). Data were prepared according to cross-industry standard process for data mining (CRISP-DM) methodology, and the following models were fitted to the data: J48 Decision Tree, Perceptron Multilayer (MLP) Neural Network, Support Vector Machine (SVM) with radial basis function (RBF) kernel, K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) with one neighborhood, and Bayesian Network. J48 Decision Tree, with a sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 98%, had the most optimal performance, and the KNN model was the weakest one. Conclusion: To predict the results of IUI as a simple and less invasive therapy for infertile couples, some models were applied based on artificial intelligence and J48 Decision Tree was recommended

Effectiveness of Value Engineering in Reducing Delay in Urban Projects

Because of misappropriate design, technology complications, excessive number of organizations and involving people in the project, variation of needed qualifications and extensive number of activities, development projects don’t execute within primary determined cost and time constraint. Therefore presence of a regular system for optimizing investment in development and urban plans is needed. Optimization methods causing project implementation within primary cost and time constraint work are effective to eliminate negative effects of mentioned factors. The objective of this research is to investigate the effect of using value engineering in order to eliminate causes of delays in the urban projects of country. Regarding the results of this research, the most and least effect of value engineering are in order to eliminate delay causes arising from integration and human resource mismanagement. Moreover, value engineering must be employed for refinement and optimization of processes before and during project execution in order to decline time delay and costs and to increase value of projects. Value engineering studies, specifically whenever strategic decisions should be taken, could affect positively on the project execution. Finally, employing value engineering technique and compounding these methods to project management science can increase the value index of urban projects

Five-year Survival Rate of Prostate Cancer in Iran: Results of the national cancer-registry system during 2010-2015

Background: Prostate Cancer is recognized as the second cause of death due to cancers among men worldwide. Due to the lack of local evidence on the survival rate of patients with prostate cancer, this study aimed to estimate the 5-year survival rate of patients afflicted with this condition in Iran. Materials and Methods:  This study made use of information on 9,772 prostate cancer cases who were registered in the National Cancer Registry during 2010-15. A telephone survey, with a response rate of 35%, was conducted to gather additional information such as death status, demographic characteristics, and clinical profile. Kaplan-Meier estimates was used to estimate five-year survival rates. Results: The overall five-year survival rate of prostate cancer was 82% (95% CI: 80-83%).  Significantly higher five-year survival rates were observed among retired patients (rate: 94%,95%CI: 92-96), patients receiving a combination of radiotherapy and surgery (rate: 92%,95%CI: 89-94), and patients residing in rural areas (rate: 92%, 95%CI: 90-93). Conclusion: We found that various factors such as occupation, area of residence, and the type of medication, may influence on survival rate of prostate cancer. Careful evaluation and understanding of effective factors are required to adopt proper health policies and treatment options. Due to the importance of etiologic and epidemiological data, inclusion of such data into the national registry system for Prostate Cancer is strongly recommended

Synthesis and Effects of 4,5-Diaryl-2-(2-alkylthio-5-imidazolyl) Imidazoles as Selective Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors

Objective(s)In recent years highly selective COX-2inhibitors were withdrawn from the market because of an increased risk of cardiovascular complications. In this study we were looking for potent compounds with moderate selectivity for cox-2. So, four analogues of 4, 5-diaryl-2-(2-alkylthio-5-imidazolyl) imidazole derivatives were synthesized and their anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities were evaluated on male BALB/c mice (25-30 g). Molecular modeling and in vitro COX-1 and COX-2 isozyme inhibition studies were also performed. Materials and Methods2-(2-Alkylthio-5-imidazolyl)-4,5-diphenylimidazole compounds were obtained by the reaction of benzyl with 2-alkylthio-1-benzylimidazole-5-carbaldehyde, in the presence of ammonium acetate. Spectroscopic data and elemental analysis of compounds were obtained and their structures elucidated. Anti-nociception effects were examined using writhing test in mice. The effect of the analogues (7.5, 30, 52.5 and 75 mg/kg) against acute inflammation were studied using xylene-induced ear edema test in mice. Celecoxib (75 mg/kg) was used as positive control.ResultsAll four analogues exhibited anti-nociceptive activity against acetic acid induced writhing, but did not show significant analgesic effect (P< 0.05) compared with celecoxib. It was shown that analogues injected 30 min before xylene application reduced the weight of edematic ears. All analogues were found to have less selectivity for COX-2 in comparison to celecoxib. ConclusionInjected doses of synthesised analogues possesses favorite anti-nociceptive effect and also has anti-inflammatory effects, but comparing with celecoxib this effect is not significantly different. On the other hand selectivity index for analogues is less than celecoxib and so we expect less cardiovascular side effects for these compounds

Target trial emulation using hospital-based observational data: demonstration and application in COVID-19

Methodological biases are common in observational studies evaluating treatment effectiveness. The objective of this study is to emulate a target trial in a competing risks setting using hospital-based observational data. We extend established methodology accounting for immortal time bias and time-fixed confounding biases to a setting where no survival information beyond hospital discharge is available: a condition common to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) research data. This exemplary study includes a cohort of 618 hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We describe methodological opportunities and challenges that cannot be overcome applying traditional statistical methods. We demonstrate the practical implementation of this trial emulation approach via clone–censor–weight techniques. We undertake a competing risk analysis, reporting the cause-specific cumulative hazards and cumulative incidence probabilities. Our analysis demonstrates that a target trial emulation framework can be extended to account for competing risks in COVID-19 hospital studies. In our analysis, we avoid immortal time bias, time-fixed confounding bias, and competing risks bias simultaneously. Choosing the length of the grace period is justified from a clinical perspective and has an important advantage in ensuring reliable results. This extended trial emulation with the competing risk analysis enables an unbiased estimation of treatment effects, along with the ability to interpret the effectiveness of treatment on all clinically important outcomes.This research was funded by the German Research Foundation (original: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft), grant number WO 1746/5-1.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Epigenetic modification with trichostatin A does not correct specific errors of somatic cell nuclear transfer at the transcriptomic level; highlighting the non-random nature of oocyte-mediated reprogramming errors

Pre- and post- implantation development. Effect of TSA treatment on in vitro and in vivo development of cloned embryos compared to fertilized counterparts. (DOCX 18 kb

Prevalence and Correlates of Psychiatric Disorders in a National Survey of Iranian Children and Adolescents

Objective: Considering the impact of rapid sociocultural, political, and economical changes on societies and families, population-based surveys of mental disorders in different communities are needed to describe the magnitude of mental health problems and their disabling effects at the individual, familial, and societal levels. Method: A population-based cross sectional survey (IRCAP project) of 30 532 children and adolescents between 6 and 18 years was conducted in all provinces of Iran using a multistage cluster sampling method. Data were collected by 250 clinical psychologists trained to use the validated Persian version of the semi-structured diagnostic interview Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-PL (K-SADS-PL). Results: In this national epidemiological survey, 6209 out of 30 532 (22.31%) were diagnosed with at least one psychiatric disorder. The anxiety disorders (14.13%) and behavioral disorders (8.3%) had the highest prevalence, while eating disorders (0.13%) and psychotic symptoms (0.26%) had the lowest. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was significantly lower in girls (OR = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.80-0.90), in those living in the rural area (OR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.73-0.87), in those aged 15-18 years (OR = 0.92; 95% CI: 0.86-0.99), as well as that was significantly higher in those who had a parent suffering from mental disorders (OR = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.63-2.36 for mother and OR = 1.33; 95% CI: 1.07-1.66 for father) or physical illness (OR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.17-1.35 for mother and OR = 1.19; 95% CI: 1.10-1.28 for father). Conclusion: About one fifth of Iranian children and adolescents suffer from at least one psychiatric disorder. Therefore, we should give a greater priority to promoting mental health and public health, provide more accessible services and trainings, and reduce barriers to accessing existing services