Comparison of meristic traits in Transcaucasian chub (Squalius turcicus De Filippi, 1865) from Caspian Sea basin

For comparison of meristic characters of Squalius turcicus, in 12 rivers of Caspian Sea basin, 535 specimens were captured. Some 14 meristic characters were counted. Classification of meristic characters showed that most specimens of all populations have 8 soft dorsal rays, 9 soft anal rays, 19 branched caudal fin rays, 15 soft pectoral rays, 9 soft pelvic rays, 41-47 lateral line scales, 7-9 scales above LL, 3-5 scales below LL, 18-21 predorsal scales and 14-16 circumpeduncle scales. The results showed significant differences (P<0.05) in means of all meristic characters except dorsal, pelvic and pectoral fin spins between the populations. The PCA and CVA showed overlapping among the populations, although some populations were separated from the others. Also, cluster analysis divided Divandareh River population in a separate group and it was distinct from other populations. Generally, the results of meristic characters cannot well-separate the populations of this species from each other

Application of Urban Geology in Construction Projects (Case Study: Urban Geology of Sarpol-e Zahab, Kermanshah Province, Iran)

Urban geology is a preliminary study for the construction and development of cities, which has been more prominent in recent decades in some countries despite its long application history. It assesses the impact of geological and natural phenomena on urban space and available structures. The earthquake on Nov. 21, 2017, inflicted a lot of damage to the city of Sarpol-e Zahab, west of Iran, including financial losses and casualties. Reconstruction of this city and planning for its sustainable development entail conducting urban geological studies. In the present study, the effect of natural phenomena on Sarpol-e Zahab County was studied by investigating its geology and geomorphology. The results showed that, in addition to the earthquake that habitually affected the city of Sarpol-e Zahab, the hazards of other phenomena are also significant. Recorded horizontal acceleration in the recent earthquake confirmed the high seismicity of Sarpol-e Zahab has

Analysis of the trend of snowmelt changes in Iran and its impact ability from changes in the Mediterranean wave of westerly winds

Snow is considered as one of the climatic elements of water supply for life. Therefore, this study was conducted aimed to investigate the trend of changes in snowmelt in Iran and its impact on changes in the Mediterranean wave of westerly winds. For this purpose, we provided snowmelt and geo-potential height data of 500, 600, and 700 hPa atmospheric levels from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) version ERA5 with a spatial resolution of 0.25 * 0.25 ° for 1979-2019 January, February, March, April, November, and December. First, the trend and slope of monthly snowmelt changes in Iran were evaluated using non-parametric Mann-Kendall statistical tests and Sen.’s slope estimator. Then, using the percentile method, 25% and 75% percentiles of monthly snowmelt values in Iran were determined. The relationship between the changes in the Mediterranean wave of the westerly winds and the months with snowmelt values lower and higher than 25% and 75% percentiles was measured. Finally, the Middle East Synoptic Index (MESI) and decade expansion were used to analyze the impact of the monthly decreasing trends of snowmelt of the Mediterranean wave changes of the western winds in Iran. The results showed that in January, February, March, April, and December, the mean monthly snowmelt in Iran has a decreasing trend. In addition, a relationship was between the Mediterranean wave heights of the westerly winds in January, February, March, November, and December with the mean snowmelt of lower and higher than 25% and 75% percentiles, respectively. Also, the results showed changes in the height of the Mediterranean wave of westerly winds. It seems that these changes are among the factors affecting the decreasing trend of snowmelt in Iran, which is especially evident in the third and fourth decades (since 1999 onwards) in January, February, March, November, and December

Association of the high-sensitive cardiac troponin T levels and long-term mortality in patients with acute aortic dissection type A

Introduction: Acute aortic dissection type A is a life-threatening cardiovascular emergency necessitating rapid diagnosis and treatment. We sought a new prognostic tool with cardiac biomarkers and simple inflammatory factors. Methods: from 2003 to 2014, 50 patients with documented acute aortic dissection type A were entered to this study. These patients were followed up until December 2020; within median follow up of 93.6 months. The patients were evaluated on the association of the baseline characteristics, first laboratory investigation, echocardiographic findings, surgical approach, and long-term mortality. Results: Total number of mortality during the follow up was 29 (58%) patients, which was significantly higher in medical group (89.4% vs 38.7%, P value=0.001). Multivariable analysis showed only an increase in hs-cTnT levels was suggested as a predictor of mortality (95% CI: 1.06–1.38; HR=1.21; P=0.005), so that for every 100 units increase, patients were 21% more likely to have mortality in long term. Also, performing surgical treatment for aortic dissection was determined as the independent predictor of surviving, so that death was 74.6% less than those who received medical treatment (95% CI: 0.13–0.58; HR=0.27; P=0.001). Conclusion: hs-cTnT is a potential predictor of mortality in patients with acute aortic dissection type A

Two Virus-Induced MicroRNAs Known Only from Teleost Fishes Are Orthologues of MicroRNAs Involved in Cell Cycle Control in Humans

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ~22 base pair-long non-coding RNAs which regulate gene expression in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells by binding to specific target regions in mRNAs to mediate transcriptional blocking or mRNA cleavage. Through their fundamental roles in cellular pathways, gene regulation mediated by miRNAs has been shown to be involved in almost all biological phenomena, including development, metabolism, cell cycle, tumor formation, and host-pathogen interactions. To address the latter in a primitive vertebrate host, we here used an array platform to analyze the miRNA response in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) following inoculation with the virulent fish rhabdovirus Viral hemorrhagic septicaemia virus. Two clustered miRNAs, miR-462 and miR-731 (herein referred to as miR-462 cluster), described only in teleost fishes, were found to be strongly upregulated, indicating their involvement in fish-virus interactions. We searched for homologues of the two teleost miRNAs in other vertebrate species and investigated whether findings related to ours have been reported for these homologues. Gene synteny analysis along with gene sequence conservation suggested that the teleost fish miR-462 and miR-731 had evolved from the ancestral miR-191 and miR-425 (herein called miR-191 cluster), respectively. Whereas the miR-462 cluster locus is found between two protein-coding genes (intergenic) in teleost fish genomes, the miR-191 cluster locus is found within an intron of a protein-coding gene (intragenic) in the human genome. Interferon (IFN)-inducible and immune-related promoter elements found upstream of the teleost miR-462 cluster locus suggested roles in immune responses to viral pathogens in fish, while in humans, the miR-191 cluster functionally associated with cell cycle regulation. Stimulation of fish cell cultures with the IFN inducer poly I:C accordingly upregulated the expression of miR-462 and miR-731, while no stimulatory effect on miR-191 and miR-425 expression was observed in human cell lines. Despite high sequence conservation, evolution has thus resulted in different regulation and presumably also different functional roles of these orthologous miRNA clusters in different vertebrate lineages

Epidemiological characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in IRAN: A single center study.

BackgroundAn outbreak of COVID-19 in Iran has spread throughout the country. Identifying the epidemiological characteristics of this disease will help to make appropriate decisions and thus control the epidemic. The aim of this study was characterization of the epidemiological features of COVID-19 in Iran.MethodsIn this retrospective study, data related to the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 patients admitted to Baqiyatallah Hospital in Tehran, Iran, from 19 February 2020 to 15 April 2020 have been analyzed and reported. Patient characteristics including age, gender and underlying diseases were investigated. Data were collected through patient records. Sex ratio, Case Fatality Rate (CFR) and daily trend of cases were also determined. A multiple logistic regression analysis was also performed to assess affecting factors on mortality.ResultsFrom February 19, 2020 to April 15, 2020, 12870 patients referred to the hospital emergency department, of which 2968 were hospitalized with COVID-19 diagnosis. The majority of cases were in the age group of 50 to 60 years of old. The male-to-female ratio was 1.93:1. A total of 239 deaths occurred among all cases for an overall CFR of 1.85% based on the total number of patients (both outpatient and inpatient) and 8.06% among hospitalized patients. Out of all patients 10.89% had comorbidity. Diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, chronic Kidney diseases and cancer were the most common comorbidities with 3.81, 2.02 , 1.99 , 1.25, 0.60 and 0.57 %, respectively. Male gender (OR=1.45, 95% CI: 1.08-1.96), older age (OR=1.05, 95% CI: 1.04-1.06) and having underlying diseases (OR=1.53, 95% CI: 1.04-2.24) were significantly associated with mortality.ConclusionsThe results of this study showed that Male gender, older age and having comorbidities were significantly associated with the risk of death among COVID-19 patients. It is important to pay special attention to male elderly patients with underlying diseases

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4% (58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5 (44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic

Adolescent transport and unintentional injuries: a systematic analysis using the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Globally, transport and unintentional injuries persist as leading preventable causes of mortality and morbidity for adolescents. We sought to report comprehensive trends in injury-related mortality and morbidity for adolescents aged 10–24 years during the past three decades. Methods: Using the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2019 Study, we analysed mortality and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributed to transport and unintentional injuries for adolescents in 204 countries. Burden is reported in absolute numbers and age-standardised rates per 100 000 population by sex, age group (10–14, 15–19, and 20–24 years), and sociodemographic index (SDI) with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). We report percentage changes in deaths and DALYs between 1990 and 2019. Findings: In 2019, 369 061 deaths (of which 214 337 [58%] were transport related) and 31·1 million DALYs (of which 16·2 million [52%] were transport related) among adolescents aged 10–24 years were caused by transport and unintentional injuries combined. If compared with other causes, transport and unintentional injuries combined accounted for 25% of deaths and 14% of DALYs in 2019, and showed little improvement from 1990 when such injuries accounted for 26% of adolescent deaths and 17% of adolescent DALYs. Throughout adolescence, transport and unintentional injury fatality rates increased by age group. The unintentional injury burden was higher among males than females for all injury types, except for injuries related to fire, heat, and hot substances, or to adverse effects of medical treatment. From 1990 to 2019, global mortality rates declined by 34·4% (from 17·5 to 11·5 per 100 000) for transport injuries, and by 47·7% (from 15·9 to 8·3 per 100 000) for unintentional injuries. However, in low-SDI nations the absolute number of deaths increased (by 80·5% to 42 774 for transport injuries and by 39·4% to 31 961 for unintentional injuries). In the high-SDI quintile in 2010–19, the rate per 100 000 of transport injury DALYs was reduced by 16·7%, from 838 in 2010 to 699 in 2019. This was a substantially slower pace of reduction compared with the 48·5% reduction between 1990 and 2010, from 1626 per 100 000 in 1990 to 838 per 100 000 in 2010. Between 2010 and 2019, the rate of unintentional injury DALYs per 100 000 also remained largely unchanged in high-SDI countries (555 in 2010 vs 554 in 2019; 0·2% reduction). The number and rate of adolescent deaths and DALYs owing to environmental heat and cold exposure increased for the high-SDI quintile during 2010–19. Interpretation: As other causes of mortality are addressed, inadequate progress in reducing transport and unintentional injury mortality as a proportion of adolescent deaths becomes apparent. The relative shift in the burden of injury from high-SDI countries to low and low–middle-SDI countries necessitates focused action, including global donor, government, and industry investment in injury prevention. The persisting burden of DALYs related to transport and unintentional injuries indicates a need to prioritise innovative measures for the primary prevention of adolescent injury. Funding: Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation