Memory and mutualism in species sustainability: a time-fractional Lotka-Volterra model with harvesting

We first present a predator-prey model for two species and then extend the model to three species where the two predator species engage in mutualistic predation. Constant effort harvesting and the impact of by-catch issue are also incorporated. Necessary sufficient conditions for the existence and stability of positive equilibrium points are examined. It is shown that harvesting is sustainable, and the memory concept of the fractional derivative damps out oscillations in the population numbers so that the system as a whole settles on an equilibrium quicker than it would with integer time derivatives. Finally, some possible physical explanations are given for the obtained results. It is shown that the stability requires the memory concept in the model

Hepatitis b vertical transfer and its risk factors in pregnant women in the eastern part of iran

One of the main causes of chronic hepatitis is mother to child transfer which is also known as vertical transfer (VT). Although there are several studies regarding the VT mechanism and its risk factors, none of these studies succeeded in explaining this process, completely. We conducted this study aiming at investigating VT mechanism and risk factors in this region. The present study was a descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study on HBS Ag positive pregnant women, which was conducted from March 2018 to March 2020 in Amir-AlMomenin Hospital in Zabol, Sistan-and-Baluchestan province, Iran. In this study all samples were tested for HBV markers (HBsAg, anti-HBs, HBeAg, anti-HBe, anti-HBc, and HBV-DNA) and anti-HCV by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All statistical analyzes were performed using SPSS version 22 software. Totally 43 infants of HBS antigen positive mothers were investigated. HBe antibody and HBe antigen were found in 25 (62.5%) and 2 (5%) of mothers, respectively. There was no significant difference between the newborns with and without hepatitis B infection regarding maternal age (p=0.216), duration of the infection in mother (p=0.892), AST (0.779), AL (0.449) and ALP (0.065). Mothers with positive viral load during pregnancy delivered newborns with positive HBS antigen much more than mothers with negative HBS antigen. However, this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.642). Although positive viral load was more common in neonates delivered from positive viral load mothers, the observed difference was also remained non-significant (p=0.978). Our study provided evidences regarding that demographic, immunologic and clinical characteristics of mothers with hepatitis B infection did not play considerable role in the vertical transmission of the infection to the newborns as well as the severity of the following infection. We also suggested the possibility of placenta acting as a source of infection in VT. Further longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes are needed to show the exact predictors of transmission of the infection from infected mothers to their children, Amirian S., Afshari M., Parooie F., Keikhaie K.R., Shahramian I., Bazi A., Ostadrahimi P., Sheikh M., Mirzaie H., Aminisefat A. One of the main causes of chronic hepatitis is mother to child transfer which is also known as vertical transfer (VT). Although there are several studies regarding the VT mechanism and its risk factors, none of these studies succeeded in explaining this process, completely. We conducted this study aiming at investigating VT mechanism and risk factors in this region. The present study was a descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study on HBS Ag positive pregnant women, which was conducted from March 2018 to March 2020 in Amir-AlMomenin Hospital in Zabol, Sistan-and-Baluchestan province, Iran. In this study all samples were tested for HBV markers (HBsAg, anti-HBs, HBeAg, anti-HBe, anti-HBc, and HBV-DNA) and anti-HCV by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All statistical analyzes were performed using SPSS version 22 software. Totally 43 infants of HBS antigen positive mothers were investigated. HBe antibody and HBe antigen were found in 25 (62.5%) and 2 (5%) of mothers, respectively. There was no significant difference between the newborns with and without hepatitis B infection regarding maternal age (p=0.216), duration of the infection in mother (p=0.892), AST (0.779), AL (0.449) and ALP (0.065). Mothers with positive viral load during pregnancy delivered newborns with positive HBS antigen much more than mothers with negative HBS antigen. However, this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.642). Although positive viral load was more common in neonates delivered from positive viral load mothers, the observed difference was also remained non-significant (p=0.978). Our study provided evidences regarding that demographic, immunologic and clinical characteristics of mothers with hepatitis B infection did not play considerable role in the vertical transmission of the infection to the newborns as well as the severity of the following infection. We also suggested the possibility of placenta acting as a source of infection in VT. Further longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes are needed to show the exact predictors of transmission of the infection from infected mothers to their childre

Targeted Sequencing in Chromosome 17q Linkage Region Identifies Familial Glioma Candidates in the Gliogene Consortium

Glioma is a rare, but highly fatal, cancer that accounts for the majority of malignant primary brain tumors. Inherited predisposition to glioma has been consistently observed within non-syndromic families. Our previous studies, which involved non-parametric and parametric linkage analyses, both yielded significant linkage peaks on chromosome 17q. Here, we use data from next generation and Sanger sequencing to identify familial glioma candidate genes and variants on chromosome 17q for further investigation. We applied a filtering schema to narrow the original list of 4830 annotated variants down to 21 very rare (,0.1% frequency), non-synonymous variants. Our findings implicate the MYO19 and KIF18B genes and rare variants in SPAG9 and RUNDC1 as candidates worthy of further investigation. Burden testing and functional studies are planned

Is there a role for melatonin in fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia, characterised by persistent pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance and cognitive dysfunction, is a central sensitivity syndrome that also involves abnormality in peripheral generators and in the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis. Heterogeneity of clinical expression of fibromyalgia with a multifactorial aetiology has made the development of effective therapeutic strategies challenging. Physiological properties of the neurohormone melatonin appear related to the symptom profile exhibited by patients with fibromyalgia and thus disturbance of it’s production would be compatible with the pathophysiology. Altered levels of melatonin have been observed in patients with fibromyalgia which are associated with lower secretion during dark hours and higher secretion during daytime. However, inconsistencies of available clinical evidence limit conclusion of a relationship between levels of melatonin and symptom profiles in patients with fibromyalgia. Administration of melatonin to patients with fibromyalgia has demonstrated suppression of many symptoms and an improved quality of life consistent with benefit as a therapy for the management of this condition. Further studies with larger samples, however, are required to explore the potential role of melatonin in the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia and determine the optimal dosing regimen of melatonin for the management of fibromyalgia

Malignant Tumors of the Central Nervous System

Malignant tumors of the central nervous system in adults comprise a heterogeneous group of malignancies, the largest subgroups comprising astrocytomas, ependymomas, and oligodendrogliomas. Glioblastomas are the most common tumor type, and they have dismal prognosis. Due to differences in cell type of origin, as well as pathogenesis, it is plausible that their etiology also differs between tumor types. The etiology of malignant CNS tumors is largely unknown and no occupational risk factors have been definitively identified. High doses of ionizing radiation increase the risk, but in occupational settings the dose levels appear too small to result in discernible excesses. Several studies have assessed possible effect of extremely low frequency and radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, but the results are inconsistent. Increased brain tumor risk has been reported in agricultural workers, but no specific exposure has been linked to them. Pesticides have been analyzed in several studies without showing a clear increase in risk.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Effect of gestational diabetes mellitus on lipid profile: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) can have adverse effects on pregnancy. GDM is associated with changes in the lipid profile of pregnant women. Finding out the early ways to diagnose GDM can prevent the adverse outcomes. This meta-analysis study aimed to determine the effect of GDM on lipid profile. PubMed, ProQuest, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and ClinicalTrial were systematically searched for published articles relating to GDM until 2021 according to PRISMA guidelines. Newcastle Ottawa scale was used to assess the quality of the studies. Thirty-three studies with a sample size of 23,792 met the criteria for entering the meta-analysis. Pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) for total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) was 0.23 mg/dL (95 CI: 0.11-0.34) and 1.14 mg/dL (95 CI: 0.91-1.38), respectively. The mean of TC and TG in people with GDM was higher than that in normal pregnant women. A similar pattern was observed for the very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and TG/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio, with pooled SMD of 0.99 mg (95 CI: 0.71-1.27) and 0.65 mg (95 CI: 0.36-0.94), respectively. Pooled SMD for HDL was -0.35 mg/dL (95 CI: -0.54 to -0.16), women with GDM had a mean HDL lower than normal pregnant women. Although pooled SMD was higher for low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in the GDM group, this difference was not significant (0.14 95% CI: -0.04 to 0.32). Of all the lipid profiles, the largest difference between the GDM and control groups was observed in TG (SMD: 1.14). Elevated serum TG had the strongest effect on GDM. Higher levels of TC, LDL, VLDL, and TG/HDL ratio, and lower level of HDL were exhibited in GDM group. So, these markers can be considered as a reliable marker in the diagnosis of GDM