Removal of Arsenic (III, V) from aqueous solution by nanoscale zero-valent iron stabilized with starch and carboxymethyl cellulose

In this work, synthetic nanoscale zerovalent iron (NZVI) stabilized with two polymers, Starch and Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) were examined and compared for their ability in removing As (III) and As (V) from aqueous solutions as the most promising iron nanoparticles form for arsenic removal. Batch operations were conducted with different process parameters such as contact time, nanoparticles concentration, initial arsenic concentration and pH. Results revealed that starch stabilized particles (S-nZVI) presented an outstanding ability to remove both arsenate and arsenite and displayed ~ 36.5% greater removal for As (V) and 30% for As (III) in comparison with CMC-stabilized nanoparticles (C-nZVI). However, from the particle stabilization viewpoint, there is a clear trade off to choosing the best stabilized nanoparticles form. Removal efficiency was enhanced with increasing the contact time and iron loading but reduced with increasing initial As (III, V) concentrations and pH. Almost complete removal of arsenic (up to 500 μg/L) was achieved in just 5 min when the S-nZVI mass concentration was 0.3 g/L and initial solution pH of 7 ± 0.1. The maximum removal efficiency of both arsenic species was obtained at pH = 5 ± 0.1 and starched nanoparticles was effective in slightly acidic and natural pH values. The adsorption kinetics fitted well with pseudo-second-order model and the adsorption data obeyed the Langmuir equation with a maximum adsorption capacity of 14 mg/g for arsenic (V), and 12.2 mg/g for arsenic (III). It could be concluded that starch stabilized Fe(0) nanoparticles showed remarkable potential for As (III, V) removal from aqueous solution e.g. contaminated water

Study of the Bioremediation of Atrazine under Variable Carbon and Nitrogen Sources by Mixed Bacterial Consortium Isolated from Corn Field Soil in Fars Province of Iran

Atrazine herbicide that is widely used in corn production is frequently detected in water resources. The main objectives of this research were focused on assessing the effects of carbon and nitrogen sources on atrazine biodegradation by mixed bacterial consortium and by evaluating the feasibility of using mixed bacterial consortium in soil culture. Shiraz corn field soil with a long history of atrazine application has been explored for their potential of atrazine biodegradation. The influence of different carbon compounds and the effect of nitrogen sources and a different pH (5.5–8.5) on atrazine removal efficiency by mixed bacterial consortium in liquid culture were investigated. Sodium citrate and sucrose had the highest atrazine biodegradation rate (87.22%) among different carbon sources. Atrazine biodegradation rate decreased more quickly by the addition of urea (26.76%) compared to ammonium nitrate. Based on the data obtained in this study, pH of 7.0 is optimum for atrazine biodegradation. After 30 days of incubation, the percent of atrazine reduction rates were significantly enhanced in the inoculated soils (60.5%) as compared to uninoculated control soils (12%) at the soil moisture content of 25%. In conclusion, bioaugmentation of soil with mixed bacterial consortium may enhance the rate of atrazine degradation in a highly polluted soil

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Biosynthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles by using brown marine seaweed <em>Nizimuddiniazanardinii</em>

2497-2503In this study, the green synthesis of nanoparticles by using both fresh and dry marine macro alga of Nizimuddiniazanardinii was investigated. The Surface Plasmon Resonance bands of silver nanoparticles obtained were characterized by using UV-Vis spectrophotometer with characteristic absorption peaks at 413 and 414 nm. Maximum synthesis of silver nanoparticles was attained within 30 min at pH 8.5, 70&deg;C and 1mM concentration of AgNO3. Also maximum synthesis of silver nanoparticles reveals by characteristic absorption peaks at 432 and 441 nm within 2h at pH 7.5, 70&deg;C and 1mM Ag2SO4. The SEM images demonstrated these nanoparticles as spherical structures with average size of 60 nm. EDX study showed the major signal of silver metal with concentration of 50.06% in the fresh seaweed. The structure of Ag-NPs was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). FTIR showed that the function groups of hydroxyl, carbonyl and amine compounds in Nizimuddiniazanardinii extracts were involved in the reduction of aqueous AgNO3. This method of Ag-NPs synthesis is environmentally safe with potential utilization in biomedical and agriculture applications

Evaluation of diagnostic value of procalcitonin in pediatric acute pyelonephritis

Background and Aim: Urinary tract infection (UTI) in children is among the prevalent infections of childhood, which occurs due to growth of bacteria in the urinary tract. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of procalcitonin (PCT) as a reliable marker for distinguishing urinary tract infection (UTI) with or without renal parenchyma (cystitis). Materials and Methods: Eighty children, who were suspicious of having UTI and had been referred to Ali Ibne Abitaleb hospital (in Zahedan) or pediatric clinics (June 2007- Oct 2009) were included in the study after their urine culture revealed their infection. Besides, their clinical and lab symptoms including erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C&ndash; reactive protein (CRP), serum WBC, and serum procalcitonin (PCT) were recorded. The patients were divided into two groups based on their lab clinical symptoms and radio-isotope scans, namely acute pyelonephritis and acute cystitis (lower UTI). Serum procalcitonin was measured in these cases in a semi-quantitative manner. Results: Fifty children with mean age of 4.89&plusmn;3.50 years were compared with 30 children with mean age of 5.20&plusmn;3.07 years. ESR, WBC, and PCT were significantly higher in patients with upper UTI (P<0.001 ), but CRP was not significantly different in the two groups. PCT, which was semi-quantitatively measured, when lower than 0.5 had a relationship with sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative value of 72%, 83.3%, 87.8%, and 64.1% respectively. When PCT was more than 2, the relationship with the mentioned features was 50%, 96.6%, 96.2%, and 53.7%, respectively. The relationships in these two domains can both be assistant in differentiating pyelonephritis from cystitis. Conclusion: PCT was more sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of upper versus lower UTI compared with CRP, and it can be a better marker than CRP for early prediction of febrile pyelonephritis in children

Renal Tubular and Glomerular Function in Children with Iron Deficiency Anemia

Objective: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) resulting from lack of sufficient iron for synthesis of hemoglobin is most common hematologic disease of infancy and childhood. There is little information about the renal function in iron deficiency anemia. The aim of the present study was to examine the renal function in children with iron deficiency anemia. Methods: This case-control study was performed in children with iron deficiency anemia (n=20) and healthy age matched subjects (n=20). Blood and urine samples were obtained for hematological and biochemical investigation. Statistical analysis was performed by unpaired sample t-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Findings: Fractional excretion of sodium (FENa+) was significantly higher in children with iron deficiency anemia than control subjects (P=0.006). There was no significant difference in the level of urine specific gravity, calcium/creatinine ratio, β2-microglobulin and creatinine clearance between case and control groups (P>0.05). There was no correlation between FENa and Hb (r=0.13, P=0.57), FENa+ and Fe+2 (r=0.079, P=0.72), FENa+ and TIBC (r=-0.083, P=0.71), FENa+ and ferritin (r=0.039, P=0.86) as well as Hb and β2-microglobulin (r=0.02, P=0.37) in IDA patients. Conclusion: The results showed that FENa+ was higher in children with iron deficiency anemia than in normal subjects. The findings revealed evidence of tubular damage in IDA; this needs confirmation by more investigation

Sleep Quality and its Associated Factors in Iranian Patients with Breast Cancer

Background: Sleep disturbances are common, but widely underdiagnosed in cancer patients. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate sleep quality and its associated factors among women with breast cancer.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on women with breast cancer referring to 2 outpatient clinics in Isfahan, Iran. Sleep quality [Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)], severity of anxiety and depression [Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)], cancer symptoms [M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI‎)], and quality of life (QOL) [European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-‎Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30)] were assessed in the present study.Results: The study population consisted of 101 patients with mean age of 49.7 years and mean cancer duration of 2.3 years. The mean global PSQI score of patients was 8.5 and 80.2% had poor sleep quality. Factors associated with global PSQI score in univariate analyses were body mass index (BMI) (r = 0.445), severity of cancer symptoms (r = 0.580), anxiety (r = 0.363), and depression (r = 0.332). BMI and symptom severity were independently associated with poor sleep quality (standardized coefficient = 0.388 and 0.480, respectively). With regards to QOL, patients with poor sleep quality had lower physical and psychosocial functioning than good sleepers.Conclusion: Sleep disturbances are highly common in women with breast cancer in our society and significantly affect their QOL. Obesity, cancer symptoms, and psychological symptoms are important factors associated with and contributing to sleep problems in these patients. Cancer care programs must have a comprehensive approach, including sleep assessment and management, toward the treatment of these patients

Association of Endothelin-1 rs5370 G>T gene polymorphism with the risk of nephrotic syndrome in children

Background: Primary nephrotic syndrome (NS) is a common kidney disease in children. Objectives: The present study was aimed to investigate whether rs5370 G>T (lys198Asn) genetic variant of endothelin-1 (ET-1) is involved in the susceptibility to NS. Patients and Methods: This case-control study was performed on 138 patients with NS and 150 healthy children. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood using salting out method. Polymorphism of the ET-1 rs5370 G>T (lys198Asn) polymorphism detected by T-ARMS-PCR as well as PCR-RFLP method. Results: The results showed that the genotype and allelic frequencies of the ET-1 rs5370 G>T variant were not significantly different between cases and controls. Furthermore, subgroup analysis showed that rs5370 G>T variant was not associated with gender of patients. In NS patients the genotype was not associated with cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein and albumin levels. Conclusions: In conclusion, our findings indicate that ET-1 rs5370 G>T is not associated with NS. Further studies with larger sample sizes and different ethnicities are required to validate our findings

Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using brown marine seaweed Padina boeregeseni and evaluation of physico-chemical factors

1415-1421Present investigation consists the green nanoparticles prepared by using both fresh and dry marine macroalga of Padina boeregeseni was reported and the physical and chemical factors such as time duration, pH, various mixing ratios of aqueous extract to AgNO3 solution and temperature that play vital role in the nanoparticles synthesis were assess. Maximum synthesis of silver nanoparticles was attained within 30 min at pH 8.5, 70°C and 1mM AgNO3. Characterization of silver nanoparticles was carried out based on UV-Vis spectrophotometry (418 nm). The size of nanoparticles synthesis with average of 43.3 nm was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) crystallography illustrated the silver nanoparticles crystalline nature. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) shows that the function groups are hydroxyl, carbonyl, amine and phenol compounds of extract P.boeregeseni are involved in the reduction of aqueous AgNO3. This method of Ag-NPs synthesis does not use any toxic reagents and thus has potential for use in biomedical and agricultural application

Comparing healthcare providers and primigravida women’s attitudes towards normal vaginal delivery

Background and Aim: Pregnancy and delivery are among the most significant life events for women and their families. Currently, the rate of delivery by cesarean section has increased significantly due to women’s lack of knowledge about and negative attitudes towards normal vaginal delivery. Moreover, the complications of cesarean section have turned motherhood into an unpleasant experience. The aim of this study was to compare healthcare providers and primigravida women’s attitudes towards normal vaginal delivery. Methods: In total, 637 primigravida women and 154 healthcare professionals were recruited from Sanandaj city, Iran, to this descriptive-analytical study. The data collection instruments were a researcher-made demographic questionnaire and seventeen questions on attitude towards normal vaginal delivery. Questions were scored on a five-point Likert scale. The SPSS software as well as the Chi-square and the t tests were used for data analysis. Findings: The percentage of healthcare providers having a positive attitude towards normal vaginal delivery was significantly higher than primigravida women who did not have such an attitude (33.1% vs. 10% P value = 0.001). However, the percentage of primary health care providers (28.3%) and clinical care providers’ (43.8%) who had positive attitudes towards normal vaginal delivery was not statistically significant from each other (P = 0.143). Conclusion: Lack of knowledge about the routes of delivery and the mechanism of normal vaginal delivery as well as lack of psychological support during delivery have increased women’s tendency for having a delivery by cesarean section. Educational programs need to be implemented for enhancing women’s knowledge about the benefits of normal vaginal delivery