Relationship between breast feeding and obesity in children with low birth weight

Background: Breast feeding appears to play a role in determining obesity and abdominal obesity during childhood, specifically in children with a history of low birth weight. Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relation of breast-feeding with either of abdominal obesity and obesity among Iranian school children. Materials and Methods: A total of 1184 students (625 girls and 559 boys), aged 10 to 13 years old, were selected from 112 governmental elementary schools in Iran. Height, weight, waist circumference and blood pressure were measured using standard instruments and a pretested standardized questionnaire was performed for compiling information about family economics and educational level, first–degree family history of obesity, history of breast feeding, food pattern and birth weight, as well. Results: 13.68% (n = 160) of students had a history of low birth weight, and 26.41% of them had abdominal obesity. Of all participants, 22.04% were overweight and 5.32% were obese which was more prevalent in girls than in boys (P = 0.03). First-degree family history of obesity (P = 0.001), excessive gestational weight gain (P = 0.001) and birth weight (P = 0.01) were significantly correlated with the prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity during childhood. Moreover the prevalence of abdominal obesity in children with low birth weight was significantly correlated with breast feeding (P = 0.04); But this relation was not significantly about obesity in our participants (P = 0.9). Furthermore duration of breast feeding was significantly and inversely correlated with obesity and abdominal obesity in schoolchildren with low birth weight (P = 0.01). Conclusions: The results suggest that Breast feeding and its long-term consequences were important factors for preventing metabolic syndrome criteria in childhood and later years of life span. With regard to the increasing prevalence of obesity in children, more research is urgently needed to clarify whether breast feeding have negative consequences for the risk of chronic disease in children, especially in children with low birth weight

Prevalence and Clinical Significance of Hepatitis B Basal Core Promoter and Precore Gene Mutations in Southern Iranian Patients

Background and Aims: To investigate the prevalence and pattern of PC and BCP mutations and their clinical significance in patients with genotype D chronic hepatitis B infection in the Fars province of southern Iran. Materials and Methods: From January 2007 to March 2008, we evaluated 44 patients with chronic hepatitis B infection who were referred to our hepatology clinics affiliated with the Shiraz University of Medical Science. All Patients were HBeAg Negative and HBeAb positive. Basal core promoter and precore mutations in these patients were evaluated with clinical phenotype and laboratory tests. Results: The mean age of the patients was 37.21 ± 10.54 years. Twenty-seven patients (61.4) had no mutations, whereas 17 patients (38.6) had mutations in the precore or basal core promoter regions or both. The mean serum ALT level in mutation-free patients was 59.74 ± 55.86 IUL, whereas patients with PC and BCP mutations had a mean serum ALT level of 71.35 ± 59.49 IUL. The mean serum AST level in patients with mutations was higher than for patients without mutations (59.53 ± 41.35 IUL vs. 40.65 ± 25.21 IUL, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference between the mutation and mutation-free groups in terms of age, sex, and liver enzyme levels (P > 0.05). Fourteen of the 44 patients (31.8) had mutations in the precore region (G 1896A). 17 patients (38.6) had mutations in basal core promoter region. Conclusion: This study revealed a high prevalence of precore and basal core promoter mutations in southern Iran. Although no statistically significant difference was noted in liver enzymes, patients with mutations had igher liver enzymes in comparison with mutation-free patients

Rate of Change of Direct-Axis Current Component Protection Scheme for Inverter-Based Islanded Microgrids

Rapid growth in the utilization of the inverter-interfaced distributed energy resources (IIDERs) in microgrids has brought new challenges in the network protection area. Microgrid protection specifically becomes a concern during operation in the islanded mode. There is a considerable reduction in fault current levels in this mode compared to when the microgrid is connected to the grid, which makes conventional algorithms operate with significant delay or, in many cases, not even pick up the fault. This paper proposes a protection algorithm based on the rate of change of direct-axis current component ( id ) to protect inverter-based microgrids (IBMGs). The proposed algorithm is applicable for microgrids with centralized protection as well as those deploying a decentralized approach equipped with the unit protection of the relevant lines. Photovoltaic (PV) systems and battery energy storage systems (BESS) are taken into account in this research and modeled precisely to capture the high-frequency effects of power-electronic converters and investigate the response of IIDERs in fault conditions. The effectiveness of the proposed protection method will be evaluated by applying symmetrical and asymmetrical faults in different locations with different resistances simulated on a test IBMG system in PSCAD/EMTDC environment. In addition, protection robustness against non-fault conditions such as a sudden increase in load levels, environmental uncertainties, and noisy measurement conditions will be scrutinized

Prevalence rate of cytomegalovirus infection in individuals with and without systemic lupus erythematosus

Background: The role of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in triggering or exacerbating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) remains a subject of debate. The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence rate of CMV infection between individuals with and without SLE. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional comparative study recruited 52 consecutive patients with SLE (based on the criteria determined by the Systemic Lupus Collaborating Clinics, 2012) and 52 healthy subjects. The exclusion criteria were immunodeficiency and other background diseases. CMV infection was assessed according to serology (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: Immunoglobulin G (IgG) was positive in all participants. Immunoglobulin M (IgM) was positive in eight SLE patients (15.4%) and none of the controls (p = 0.003). The PCR was positive in four SLE patients (7.7%) and none of the controls (p = 0.041). IgM level was not related to age, gender, literacy, marital status, family history, SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI), or duration of the disease (p > 0.05). Conclusion: According to this study, CMV infection was higher in SLE patients but was not related to the type of organ involvement, type of immunosuppressive drug, or SLEDAI. &nbsp

Detection of rtN236T mutation associated with adefovir dipivoxil resistance in Hepatitis B infected patients with YMDD mutations in Tehran

Background Objectives: The risk of adefovir dipivoxil resistance emergence has increased in lamivudine-resistant hepatitis B infected patients. The mutations known as causing adefovir resistance, rtN236T and rtA181V/T, are detected within the D and B functional domain of the HBV polymerase, respectively. In this study, we intended to determine the pre-existing adefovir-resistance mutations in patients infected with LAM resistant mutants prior to starting adefovir therapy. Material and Methods: The study included 30 patients with chronic hepatitis B with lamivudine resistance mutations in the YMDD motif that experienced viral breakthrough. Results: After alignment of protein coding sequences, the rtN236T mutation was observed in two (6.6 %) patients, while twenty-eight others had neither rtN236T, nor rtA181V/T mutation. All 30 patients were infected with genotype D of hepatitis B virus. Conclusions: The early detection of LAM-resistance mutations may allow a timely chance of therapy to avoid hepatitis flare-up. This data suggests that monitoring of ADV-resistance mutations in ADV naïve patients can be considered in selecting the appropriate anti-viral regimen

Recombinant Coree1e2 Protein Expressed in Pichia pastoris Yeast a Candidate Vaccine for Hepatitis C Virus

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major health problem both in developed and developing countries and HCV infection is a global blood borne disease that affects almost 3% of the world’s population with a morbidity and mortality rates. The efficacy of hepatitis C treatment is less than satisfactory and development of an effective vaccine may be essential in the control of HCV infection. The E1 and E2 proteins, two heavily glycosylated enveloped proteins, which can elicit neutralizing antibodies against HCV infection in the host and Core, E1 and E2 proteins are the major vaccine candidates for vaccination and ELISA is one of routine testes which has been used in clinical laboratories and different studies to detect the rate of antibody in sera against HCV infection. Aim: Evolvement and gradual development of a useful vaccine can be the main point in the control and eradication of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Recent studies have reported that HCV envelope glycoproteins can induce neutralizing antibodies against antigen domain of HCV. So HCV envelope proteins are considered as the main HCV vaccine candidate. Methods: In this study, we used Pichia pastoris yeast expression system to express recombinant HCV CoreE1E2 protein, which consists of Core (269 nt-841nt) E1 (842 nt-1417nt) and E2 (1418 nt-2506nt). The Pichia pastoris can produce high level of recombinant HCV CoreE1E2 protein. The protein has glycosylation and also by codon optimization based on pichia expression system we could increase the rate of recombinant proteins. Moreover, the purified protein can efficiently induce anti-CoreE1E2 antibodies in rabbits, and also by developing homemade ELISA kit we can detect antibody of HCV Iranian patients with 1a genotype. Results: Although little is known about the mechanism of hepatitis C virion assembly, in our study the virus like particle of rCoreE1E2 with 70 nm size, were shown by Electron microscopy and have proved the self-assembly in vitro in yeast expression system. Conclusion: These findings indicate that the recombinant CoreE1E2 glycoprotein is effective in inducing neutralizing antibodies, and is an influential HCV vaccine candidate

Hepatitis C Virus - Proteins, Diagnosis, Treatment and New Approach for VaccineDevelopment

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes acute and chronic human hepatitis infection and as such is an important global health problem. HCV was discovered in the USA in 1989 and it is now known that three to four million people are infected every year. The WHO estimates that 3 percent of the 180 million people worldwide are chronically infected. Humans are the natural hosts of HCV and this virus can eventually leads to permanent liver damage and carcinoma. HCV is a member of the Flaviviridae family and Hepacivirus genus. The diameter of the virus is about 50-60 nm and the virion containing a single-stranded positive RNA with approximately 10,000 nucleotides in length and consists of one ORF which is encapsulated by an external lipid envelope and icosahedral capsid. HCV is a heterogeneous virus, classified into 6 genotypes and more than 50 subtypes. Because of the genome variability, nucleotide sequences of genotypes differ by approximately 31-34%, and by 20-23% among subtypes. The quasispecies of mixed virus populations make survival advantage for virus to create multiple variant genomes and a high rate of generation of variants to allow rapid selection of mutants for new environmental conditions. Direct contact with infected blood and blood products, sexual relationships and availability of injectable drugs have had remarkable effects on HCV epidemiology. Hundreds of thousands of people die each year from hepatitis and liver cancer caused by HCV virus infection. Approximately 80% of patients with acute hepatitis C progress into a chronic disease state leading to serious hepatic disorders, 10-20% of which develop chronic liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The incubation period of HCV is 6-8 weeks and the infection is often asymptomatic so it is very hard to detect at early stages, making early treatment very difficult. Therefore, hepatitis C is called a “silent disease”. Neutralizing antibodies are produced against several HCV proteins during infection but the virus mutates to escape from antibodies. Some patients with chronic hepatitis C may have some symptoms such as fatigue, muscle aches, nausea and pain. Autoimmune and immunecomplex-mediated diseases have also been reported with chronic HCV infection

A population based study on hepatitis B virus in Northern Iran, Amol.

BACKGROUND: Viral hepatitis is a major health problem worldwide. Change in transmission patterns of hepatitis B makes it necessary to re-evaluate its prevalence and risk factors. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine the prevalence of HBV infection and its related risk factors in Amol city, Northern Iran. PATIENTS AND METHODS: As a population based study, a cluster sampling approach was used and 6146 individuals from the general population of urban and rural areas of Amol, Iran, from both genders and different ages were enrolled. Inclusion criteria were willingness to participate in the study, being a lifelong resident in Amol city or its surrounding areas with Iranian nationality. Ten milliliters (10 mL) of blood was taken from each study subject and checked regarding hepatitis B markers including HbsAg, HBsAb and HBcAb using a third generation ELISA. The prevalence of HBV infections and its potential risk factors were recorded. RESULTS: The prevalence of HBsAg, HBsAb and HBcAb were estimated as 0.9%, 30.7% and 10.5%, respectively. The mean age of all participants was 43.9 (95% CI: 43.4, 44.3) in females and 55.6 in (n = 3472) males. In our study, there was a significant association between family history of hepatitis, rural residency and presence of HBsAg. There was also a positive correlation between HBcAb and family history of hepatitis, history of other types of hepatic diseases, history of tattooing, traditional phlebotomy, male gender and age. In backward logistic regression, a significant association was found between history of hepatitis in first-degree family members (OR = 13.35; 95% CI: 6.26, 28.47) and place of residence (OR = 2.32; 95% CI: 1.27, 4.22) with presence of HBsAg. There was also a positive correlation between history of hepatitis among first-degree family members (OR = 2.49; 95% CI: 1.52, 4.08), history of tattooing (OR = 2.13; 95% CI: 1.33, 3.42), history of previous hepatitis (OR = 1.87; 95% CI: 1.06, 3.28), male sex (OR = 1.36; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.66) and age (OR = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.04) with presence of HBcAb. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of hepatitis B in Amol City and its surrounding areas was about one percent, a lower rate than other reports from Iran