Ustekinumab for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis: an update.

Psoriatic arthritis occurs in 30% of psoriasis patients, and the treatment can be challenging in some patients. Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration approved ustekinumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody, for the management of psoriatic arthritis. In this article, we review large-scale randomized clinical trials addressing the efficacy and safety profile of ustekinumab for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis

Evaluation of some methods in control of alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Col.: Curculionidae)

Integrated pest management as a way in reduction of pesticide application, environmental pollution and protection of natural enemies of pests, is very important. A 3-year investigation was conducted in 1999â2001 in the Grizeh Agricultural Research Station in Sanandaj to study the effect of microbial pesticides (including Novodor and Bt-Col) and traded pesticides of neem, comparing with Ekamet, using of fire (in the beginning and end of winter and early April) and grazing of farm by sheep, and reciprocal effects of these treatments on population reduction and yield increases were evaluated. The experiment was conducted in the form of factorial with completely randomized design in 4 replicates. The results indicated that grazing of farm caused significant reduction in larvae population but the wet and dry yield had no significant difference with the control. Also, differences were significant (P = 0.01) between levels of the factor B (burning treatment), and field burning in late winter was the best. Differences between the applied insecticides were significant: Novodor and Bt-Col (based on Bt), and Neem plus and Neem azal-F (based on neem) had no significant differences with the control, but Ekamet reduced the pest population and increased the yield significantly

Heat Transfer and Entropy in a Vertical Porous Plate Subjected to Suction Velocity and MHD

This article presents an investigation of heat transfer in a porous medium adjacent to a vertical plate. The porous medium is subjected to a magnetohydrodynamic effect and suction velocity. The governing equations are nondepersonalized and converted into ordinary differential equations. The resulting equations are solved with the help of the finite difference method. The impact of various parameters, such as the Prandtl number, Grashof number, permeability parameter, radiation parameter, Eckert number, viscous dissipation parameter, and magnetic parameter, on fluid flow characteristics inside the porous medium is discussed. Entropy generation in the medium is analyzed with respect to various parameters, including the Brinkman number and Reynolds number. It is noted that the velocity profile decreases in magnitude with respect to the Prandtl number, but increases with the radiation parameter. The Eckert number has a marginal effect on the velocity profile. An increased radiation effect leads to a reduced thermal gradient at the hot surface

Strategies to Produce Cost-Effective Third-Generation Biofuel From Microalgae

Third-generation biofuel produced from microalgae is a viable solution to global energy insecurity and climate change. Despite an annual current global algal biomass production of 38 million litres, commercialization confronts significant economic challenges. However, cost minimization strategies, particularly for microalgae cultivation, have largely been excluded from recent studies. Therefore, this review provides essential insights into the technologies and economics of cost minimization strategies for large-scale applications. Cultivation of microalgae through aquafarming, in wastewater, or for biogas upgrading, and co-production of value-added products (VAPs) such as photo-bioreactors, protein, astaxanthin, and exopolysaccharides can drastically reduce biodiesel production costs. For instance, the co-production of photo-bioreactors and astaxanthin can reduce the cost of biodiesel production from $3.90 to$0.54 per litre. Though many technical challenges need to be addressed, the economic analysis reveals that incorporating such cost-effective strategies can make the biorefinery concept feasible and profitable. The cost of producing microalgal biodiesel can be lowered to $0.73kg−1 dry weight when cultivated in wastewater or$0.54L−1 when co-produced with VAPs. Most importantly, access to co-product markets with higher VAPs needs to be encouraged as the global market for microalgae-based VAPs is estimated to rise to $53.43 billion in 2026. Therefore, policies that incentivize research and development, as well as the production and consumption of microalgae-based biodiesel, are important to reduce the large gap in production cost that persists between biodiesel and petroleum diesel

Is Opium a Real Risk Factor for Esophageal Cancer or Just a Methodological Artifact? Hospital and Neighborhood Controls in Case-Control Studies

Background: Control selection is a major challenge in epidemiologic case-control studies. The aim of our study was to evaluate using hospital versus neighborhood control groups in studying risk factors of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methodology/Principal Findings: We compared the results of two different case-control studies of ESCC conducted in the same region by a single research group. Case definition and enrollment were the same in the two studies, but control selection differed. In the first study, we selected two age- and sex-matched controls from inpatient subjects in hospitals, while for the second we selected two age- and sex-matched controls from each subject's neighborhood of residence. We used the test of heterogeneity to compare the results of the two studies. We found no significant differences in exposure data for tobacco-related variables such as cigarette smoking, chewing Nass (a tobacco product) and hookah (water pipe) usage, but the frequency of opium usage was significantly different between hospital and neighborhood controls. Consequently, the inference drawn for the association between ESCC and tobacco use did not differ between the studies, but it did for opium use. In the study using neighborhood controls, opium use was associated with a significantly increased risk of ESCC (adjusted OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.17–2.68), while in the study using hospital controls, this was not the case (OR 1.09, 95% CI 0.63–1.87). Comparing the prevalence of opium consumption in the two control groups and a cohort enrolled from the same geographic area suggested that the neighborhood controls were more representative of the study base population for this exposure. Conclusions/Significance: Hospital and neighborhood controls did not lead us to the same conclusion for a major hypothesized risk factor for ESCC in this population. Our results show that control group selection is critical in drawing appropriate conclusions in observational studies

Reproductive factors and risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in northern Iran: A case-control study in a high-risk area and literature review

Several epidemiologic studies have suggested an inverse association between female reproductive factors and the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), but the evidence is not conclusive. We examined the association of the number of pregnancies, live births, and miscarriages/stillbirths in women and the association of the number of children in both sexes with the risk of ESCC in Golestan Province, a high-risk area in Iran. Data from 297 histopathologically confirmed ESCC cases (149 women) and 568 controls (290 women) individually matched to cases for age, sex, and neighborhood of residence were included in this analysis. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The average numbers of live births and miscarriages/stillbirths among the controls were 8.2 and 0.8, respectively. Women with six or more live births were at ∼1/3 the risk of ESCC as those with 0-3 live births; the OR (95% CI) for having 6-7 live births was 0.33 (0.12-0.92). In contrast, the number of miscarriages/stillbirths was associated with an increase in the risk of ESCC. The OR (95% CI) for at least three versus no miscarriages/stillbirths was 4.43 (2.11-9.33). The number of children in women was suggestive of an inverse association with ESCC, but this association was not statistically significant; in men, no association was observed. The findings of this study support a protective influence of female hormonal factors on the risk of ESCC. However, further epidemiological and mechanistic studies are required to prove a protective association. © 2013 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Cohort profile: The Golestan Cohort Study-a prospective study of oesophageal cancer in Northern Iran

[No abstract available

Tooth loss and lack of regular oral hygiene are associated with higher risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

We tested the association between tooth loss and oral hygiene and the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in people living in a high-risk area of Iran. We used a case-control study of pathologically confirmed ESCC cases (n = 283) and controls (n = 560) matched on sex, age, and neighborhood. Subjects with ESCC had significantly more decayed, missing, or filled teeth (DMFT) with a median (interquartile range) of 31 (23-32) compared with controls 28 (16-32; P = 0.0045). Subjects with ESCC were significantly more likely than controls to fail to practice regular oral hygiene (78 versus 58). In multivariate-adjusted conditional logistic regression models, having 32 DMFT compared with ≤15 conferred an odds ratio (95 confidence interval) of 2.10 (1.19-3.70). Compared with daily tooth brushing, practicing no regular oral hygiene conferred an odds ratio (95 confidence interval) of 2.37 (1.42-3.97). Restricting the analysis to subjects that had never smoked tobacco did not materially alter these results. We found significant associations between two markers of poor oral hygiene, a larger number of DMFT and lack of daily tooth brushing, and risk of ESCC in a population at high risk for ESCC where many cases occur in never smokers. Our results are consistent with several previous analyses in other high-risk populations. Copyright © 2008 American Association for Cancer Research

Epidemiologic features of upper gastrointestinal tract cancers in Northeastern Iran

Previous studies have shown that oesophageal and gastric cancers are the most common causes of cancer death in the Golestan Province, Iran. In 2001, we established Atrak Clinic, a referral clinic for gastrointestinal (GI) diseases in Gonbad, the major city of eastern Golestan, which has permitted, for the first time in this region, endoscopic localisation and histologic examination of upper GI cancers. Among the initial 682 patients seen at Atrak Clinic, 370 were confirmed historically to have cancer, including 223 (60) oesophageal squamous cell cancers (ESCC), 22 (6) oesophageal adenocarcinomas (EAC), 58 (16) gastric cardia adenocarcinomas (GCA), and 58 (16) gastric noncardia adenocarcinomas. The proportional occurrence of these four main site-cell type subdivisions of upper GI cancers in Golestan is similar to that seen in Linxian, China, another area of high ESCC incidence, and is markedly different from the current proportions in many Western countries. Questioning of patients about exposure to some known and suspected risk factors for squamous cell oesophageal cancer confirmed a negligible history of consumption of alcohol, little use of cigarettes or nass (tobacco, lime and ash), and a low intake of opium, suggesting that the high rates of ESCC seen in northeastern Iran must have other important risk factors that remain speculative or unknown. Further studies are needed to define more precisely the patterns of upper GI cancer incidence, to test other previously suspected risk factors, and to find new significant risk factors in this high-risk area. © 2004 Cancer Research UK