BSHI Guideline: HLA matching and donor selection for haematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation

A review of the British Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (BSHI) "Guideline for selection and HLA matching of related, adult unrelated donors and umbilical cord units for haematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation" was undertaken by a BSHI appointed writing committee. Literature searches were performed, and the data extracted were presented as recommendations according to the GRADE nomenclature

Incidence, mortality, and burden of acute watery diarrhea and its geographical distribution in Iran during 2009-2016

Background: Diarrhea is a major cause of public health burden, especially in children under 5 yr of age. This study aimed at estimating the incidence, mortality, burden, and geographical distribution of Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD) in Iran from 2009 to 2016. Methods: This study was conducted in 2018. The data on the incidence and mortality from 2009 to 2016 was obtained from AWD surveillance system of the Centre for Communicable Diseases Control (CCDC), Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) of Iran. Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) was used to estimate the burden of AWD. The DALYs-related AWD was calculated using a method developed by WHO. The average duration of the disease and its disability weight, respectively, were set at 5 d (0.0137 years) and 0.093 for all age groups. Results: The incidence of AWD had an ascending trend over the studied period. Forty cases of deaths from AWD were reported. The lowest and highest burdens of AWD, respectively, were 436.1 DALYs in 2010 and 975.9 DALYs in 2015. The incidence and burden of AWD did not have an equal distribution across the country, between the provinces. Conclusion: The incidence of AWD had an ascending trend over the studied period that can be attributed to the improvements in the disease surveillance system. Moreover, the incidence, mortality, and burden of AWD did not have an equal distribution in Iran. Hence, it is recommended to strengthen AWD surveillance system. In addition, it is suggested to adopt proper interventions for controlling the disease in areas with a high burden of AWD. © 2019, Iranian Journal of Public Health. All rights reserved

Incidence, mortality, and burden of severe acute respiratory infection in Iran in 2015

Background: Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) is responsible for mortality and hospital admissions in millions of people across the world. The present study, for the first time, aimed at estimating the incidence, mortality, and burden of SARI in Iran in 2015. Methods: Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) was used as an index to estimate the burden of SARI. The SARI-related DALYs was calculated using a method developed by the WHO for assessing the Global Burden of Diseases. DALYs are calculated as the sum of the Years Lost due to Disability (YLDs) and the Years of Life Lost (YLLs) due to premature mortality. The data on the incidence and mortality were obtained from the SARI surveillance system of Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education. The average duration until remission or death and the disease disability weight were set at four weeks and 0.373, respectively. Results: In 2015, the incidence of SARI was 21309 and 20885 among males and females, respectively. Moreover, 773 males and 737 females died from this disease (Case fatality rate was about 0.035). Total SARI-related DALYs in males and females was 17264 and 16720, respectively. Furthermore, YLLs was responsible for more than 96 of SARI-related DALYs in 2015. Conclusion: There was no significant difference between males and females in terms of the incidence, mortality, and burden of SARI in 2015. Epidemiological data are required to adopt appropriate policies and responses to prevent and control SARI. The incidence, mortality, fatality, and burden of SARI are significant in Iran. It is necessary to develop appropriate strategies, such as vaccination against major pathogens of the disease at least in high-risk groups, strengthening the disease surveillance system, and attracting the attention of policy makers and health authorities of the country. © 2019, Iranian Journal of Public Health. All rights reserved

Enhancing Transient Stability of Distribution Networks With Massive Proliferation of Converter-Interfaced Distributed Generators

High penetration of renewable energy sources and energy storage systems has considerably increased the flexibility in power distribution networks operation. However, employing converter-interfaced energy and storage sources may significantly reduce the mechanical inertia and as a result, the power grids may confront serious stability challenges during transient conditions. This article introduces a strategy for enhancing transient stability margin of active distribution networks with high penetration of electric vehicles (EVs). The proposed optimization strategy intends to control EVs contributions during transient stability conditions. The EVs contributions are controlled through a new index proposed based on the system's total corrected critical kinetic energy (TCCKE). The proposed procedure for TCCKE calculation is driven by a hybrid algorithm taking into account the equal area criterion and sensitivity analysis. The suggested procedure for TCCKE only depends on the during fault data and as a result, the proposed optimization strategy is useful to prevent transient instability in the case of first swing instability. The proposed optimization is applied and evaluated on the IEEE test systems. The results clearly demonstrate the applicability and efficacy during a multitude of fault and emergency conditions.©2020 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

The EIF2AK3 gene region and type I diabetes in subjects from South India

Mutations in the EIF2AK3 gene underlie susceptibility to the Wolcott-Rallison syndrome, which is a monogenic disease associated with insulin-deficient neonatal diabetes. Furthermore, suggestive evidence of linkage between type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and the EIF2KA3 chromosomal region has been reported in Scandinavian families. We have investigated the hypothesis that polymorphic variants in and around the EIF2AK3 gene might partially account for susceptibility to T1DM in South Indian subjects. Excess transmission of the common alleles of two polymorphic markers (D2S1786 and 15INDEL, located within the gene) downstream of EIF2AK3, either singly (D2S1786, P=0.01) and 15INDEL (P=0.02) or as a combination (P<0.001), were found in 234 families with a T1DM proband. There was also a clear paternal effect for the 15INDEL marker (P=0.005) on disease susceptibility. The presence of the common allele of both markers was found in decreased frequency in the subjects with normal glucose tolerance compared to probands with T1DM (both P0.0001). Major common mutations of the EIF2AK3 gene in T1DM were excluded. In conclusion, this pilot study demonstrates an association between the region around the EIF2AK3 locus and T1DM susceptibility