Leukemia in Iran: Epidemiology and morphology trends

Background: Leukemia accounts for 8 of total cancer cases and involves all age groups with different prevalence and incidence rates in Iran and the entire world and causes a significant death toll and heavy expenses for diagnosis and treatment processes. This study was done to evaluate epidemiology and morphology of blood cancer during 2003-2008. Materials and Methods: This cross- sectional study was carried out based on re-analysis of the Cancer Registry Center report of the Health Deputy in Iran during a 6-year period (2003 - 2008). Statistical analysis for incidence time trends and morphology change percentage was performed with joinpoint regression analysis using the software Joinpoint Regression Program. Results: During the studied years a total of 18,353 hematopoietic and reticuloendothelial system cancers were recorded. Chi square test showed significant difference between sex and morphological types of blood cancer (P-value < 0.001). Joinpoint analysis showed a significant increasing trend for the adjusted standard incidence rate (ASIR) for both sexes (P-value < 0.05). Annual percent changes (APC) for women and men were 18.7 and 19.9, respectively. The most common morphological blood cancers were ALL, ALM, MM and CLL which accounted for 60 of total hematopoietic system cancers. Joinpoint analyze showed a significant decreasing trend for ALM in both sexes (P-value < 0.05). Conclusions: Hematopoietic system cancers in Iran demonstrate an increasing trend for incidence rate and decreasing trend for ALL, ALM and CLL morphology

Validation of the Framingham hypertension risk score in a middle eastern population: Tehran lipid and glucose study (TLGS)

Background The Framingham hypertension risk score is a well-known and simple model for predicting hypertension in adults. In the current study, we aimed to assess the predictive ability of this model in a Middle Eastern population.MethodsWe studied 5423 participants, aged 20-69years, without hypertension, who participated in two consecutive examination cycles of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS). We assessed discrimination based on Harrell's concordance statistic (c-index) and calibration (graphical comparison of predicted vs. observed). We evaluated the original, recalibrated (for intercept and slope), and revised (for beta coefficients) models.ResultsOver the 3-year follow-up period, 319 participants developed hypertension. The Framingham hypertension risk score performed well in discriminating between individuals who developed hypertension and those who did not (c-index=0.81, 95% CI: 0.79-0.83). Initially, there was a systematic underestimation of the original risk score (events predicted), which was readily corrected by a simple model revision.ConclusionsThe revised Framingham hypertension risk score can be used as a screening tool in public health and clinical practice to facilitate the targeting of preventive interventions in high-risk Middle Eastern people.Development and application of statistical models for medical scientific researc

Low-power density radiations emitted from common wi-fi routers influence sperm concentration and sperm histomorphometric parameters: A new horizon on male infertility treatment

Background: Male infertility is defined as an inability to impregnate a fertile fe-male; it is a widespread problem which is usually caused by some male factors such as low quantity and quality of sperm, specifically oligospermia and azoospermia. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the bio-positive effects of low power density Wi-Fi radiation on the reproductive system of infertile and healthy mice. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, thirty adult male Balb/c mice were randomly divided into 5 groups. Groups oligospermic-sham (OS), oligo-spermic-exposure 1 (OE1) and oligospermic-exposure 2 (OE2) received Busulfan, 10 mg/kg, intraperitoneally, but the control-sham (CS) and control-exposure (CE) groups left without Busulfan therapy. Groups CE, OE1 and OE2 were exposed to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi radiation while, the CS and OS were sham exposed to Wi-Fi radiation without energizing the Wi-Fi router. The right and left testes and right epididymis were dissected out and histopathological, histomorphologic changes and the quality of the sperms were analyzed. Results: Low power density Wi-Fi radiation significantly increased sperm concentration in the CE group compared to that in CS, while enhancement of spermatid cells was not significant. Sperm concentration in OE2 was more than that in OE1 as the spermatid cells enhanced. Conclusion: Findings revealed that radiation hormesis induced by low power density Wi-Fi radiation have biological beneficial effects on mouse sperm concentration and sperm histomorphometric parameters

Benign prostatic hyperplasia treatment using plasmonic nanoparticles irradiated by laser in a rat model

Objective: In the current study we have stimulated the efficacy of plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) by laser hyperthermia to achieve a less invasive method for tumor photothermal therapy of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Methods: The levels of apoptosis on induced BPH in rats were assessed after treatment and revealed and recorded by various assayed. Moreover, the expression of caspases was considered to demonstrate the apoptotic pathways due to laser induced plasmonic NPs. Results: In the Laser + NPs group prostate size of induced BPH decreased. Laser + NPs also decreased prostate specific antigen in comparison with the BPH groups. Furthermore, Laser + NPs attenuated BPH histopathologic indices in the rats. Laser + NPs induced apoptosis in prostatic epithelial cells via caspase-1 pathway. Conclusions: Altogether, the approach and findings from this study can be applied to introduce the laser irritated NPs method as a novel and less invasive therapy for patients suffering from BP

Experimental validation of a short-term Borehole-to-Ground (B2G) dynamic model

[EN] The design and optimization of ground source heat pump systems require the ability to accurately reproduce the dynamic thermal behavior of the system on a short-term basis, specially in a system control perspective. In this context, modeling borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) is one of the most relevant and difficult tasks. Developing a model that is able to accurately reproduce the instantaneous response of a BHE while keeping a good agreement on a long-term basis is not straightforward. Thus, decoupling the short-term and long-term behavior will ease the design of a fast short-term focused model. This work presents a short-term BHE dynamic model, called Borehole-to-Ground (B2G), which is based on the thermal network approach, combined with a vertical discretization of the borehole. The proposed model has been validated against experimental data from a real borehole located in Stockholm, Sweden. Validation results prove the ability of the model to reproduce the short-term behavior of the borehole with an accurate prediction of the outlet fluid temperature, as well as the internal temperature profile along the U-tube.The present work has been supported by the FP7 European project "Advanced ground source heat pump systems for heating and cooling in Mediterranean climate" (GROUND-MED), and by the "Resource-Efficient Refrigeration And Heat Pump Systems" (EFF-SYS+) program.Ruiz Calvo, F.; Rosa, MD.; Acuña, J.; Corberán Salvador, JM.; Montagud Montalvá, CI. (2015). Experimental validation of a short-term Borehole-to-Ground (B2G) dynamic model. Applied Energy. 140:210-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.12.002S21022314

Palmitic Acid-Induced Toxicity Reduction Due to Production of Triacylglycerol in Cardiac Muscle Cells by Linoleic Acid

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Lipotoxicity-induced cardiovascular diseases are increasing significantly in human populations. The effect of linoleic acid in reducing lipotoxicity of cardiac muscle cells was investigated in this study. METHODS: In this empirical study, ventricular muscle cells from the hearts of five adult rats were cultured in 24-well plates. They were randomly treated in four groups including one control group (0.5 mM bovine serum albumin (BSA)) and three treatment groups treated with palmitic acid (0.5 mM), linoleic acid (0.25 mM) and a combination of linoleic acid and palmitic acid (0.25 mM + 0.5 mM). Wells in each row of plates were dedicated to one group. Level of cellular triacylglycerol, cellular diacylglycerol, DNA Fragmentation and survival rate was evaluated 24 and 48 hours after culturing. Each two wells belonging to each group were used to evaluate every factor and all the steps were repeated three times. FINDINGS: Compared with palmitic acid treatment alone, adding linoleic acid to palmitic acid decreased the level of DNA Fragmentation by 4.65% and 6.15% (p0.05). It also increased the level of cellular triacylglycerol by 40% and 44% (p<0.03) and increased cellular survival by 6.25% and 10.52% (p<0.01), respectively 24 and 48 hours after cultivation. CONCLUSION: Results of the study revealed that linoleic acid reduces the palmitic acid-induced toxicity by producing triacylglycero