Geochronology, Isotope Geochemistry and Petrogenesis of Tertiary Granitoids from Eastern Iran

Os granitóides sub-vulcânicos da zona de Chah-Shaljami fazem parte da faixa vulcânico-plutónica cenozóica do Bloco de Lut (Irão central-oriental). Tratam-se de quartzo-monzonitos, granodioritos e monzodioritos que, de acordo com a geoquímica de elementos maiores e vestigiais, são co-genéticos e têm características de rochas calco-alcalinas ricas de potássio a shoshoníticas, de ambiente de arco vulcânico. Numa amostra de quartzo-monzonito foi obtida uma idade Rb-Sr (rocha total - minerais) de 33.6±1 Ma; visto que esta amostra está praticamente livre de efeitos de alteração e que o arrefecimento foi provavelmente rápido, a idade de ~34 Ma deve corresponder à instalação magmática. Excepto em duas amostras, os valores iniciais de 87Sr/86Sr e εNd nos granitóides estudados estão concentrados nos intervalos de 0.7047 a 0.7051 e de +1.9 a +2.7, respectivamente, o que é consistente com uma fonte em cunha mantélica supra-subducção e indica que não houve contribuição crustal significativa na diversificação magmática; contudo, uma amostra tem (87Sr/86Sr)i superior e εNdt inferior, revelando que, ocasionalmente, a assimilação de rochas crustais também contribuiu para a variação geoquímica; uma outra amostra, fortemente afectada por alteração hidrotermal, afasta-se do grupo principal somente pelo relativamente elevado valor de (87Sr/86Sr)i, sugerindo que o processo hidrotermal envolveu fluidos crustais.Chah-Shaljami sub-volcanic granitoids belong to the Cenozoic volcanic-plutonic belt within the Lut Block (central eastern Iran). These intrusive rocks are mostly quartz monzonites, granodiorites and monzodiorites. Major and trace element geochemical evidence reveals that they are co-genetic and that they have features typical of high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonitic rocks from a volcanic arc setting. A Rb-Sr whole rock-mineral age of 33.6±1 Ma was obtained in a quartz monzonite sample; taking into account that this sample was almost unaffected by alteration and that cooling was probably fast, the ~34 Ma date is interpreted as the intrusion age. With the exception of two samples, initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios and εNd values of the studied granitoids are clustered in the restricted ranges from 0.7047 to 0.7051 and from +1.9 to +2.7, respectively, which fits into a supra-subduction mantle wedge source for the parental melts and indicates that, in general, crustal contribution for magma diversification was not relevant; however, one sample shows higher (87Sr/86Sr)i and lower εNdt, revealing that, occasionally, crustal rock assimilation also contributed to the geochemical variation; one other sample, strongly affected by hydrothermal alteration, departs from the main group only by higher (87Sr/86Sr)i, suggesting that its alteration involved crustal fluids

Pimpinella anisum in the treatment of functional dyspepsia: A double-blind, randomized clinical trial

Background: We aimed to evaluate the effects of Pimpinella anisum (anise) from Apiaceae family on relieving the symptoms of postprandial distress syndrome (PDS) in this double-blind randomized clinical trial. Materials and Methods: Totally, 107 patients attending the gastroenterology clinic, aged 18-65 years, diagnosed with PDS according to ROME III criteria and signed a written consent form were enrolled. They were randomized to receive either anise or placebo, blindly, for 4 weeks. Anise group included 47 patients and received anise powders, 3 g after each meal (3 times/day). Control group involved 60 patients and received placebo powders (corn starch), 3 gafter each meal (3 times/day). The severity of Functional dyspepsia (FD) symptoms was assessed by FD severity scale. Assessments were done at baseline and by the end of weeks 2, 4 and 12. Mean scores of severity of FD symptoms and the frequency distribution of patients across the study period were compared. Results: The age, sex, body mass index, smoking history, and coffee drinking pattern of the intervention and control groups were not significantly different. Mean (standard deviation) total scores of FD severity scale before intervention in the anise and control groups were 10.6 (4.1) and 10.96 (4.1), respectively (P = 0.6). They were 7.04 (4.1) and 12.30 (4.3) by week 2, respectively (P = 0.0001), 2.44 (4.2) and 13.05 (5.2) by week 4, respectively (P = 0.0001), and 1.08 (3.8) and 13.30 (6.2) by week 12, respectively (P = 0.0001). Conclusion: This study showed the effectiveness of anise in relieving the symptoms of postpartum depression. The findings were consistent across the study period at weeks 2, 4 and 12. © 2015, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved

Proportion and mortality of Iranian diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, hypertension and cardiovascular disease patients with COVID-19: a meta-analysis

Background: Currently, the number of patients with SARS-COV-2 infection has increased rapidly in Iran, but the risk and mortality of SARS-COV-2 infection in Iranian patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), chronic kidney disease (CKD), hypertension and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) still not clear. The aim of this meta-analysis was to estimate the proportion and mortality of SARS-COV-2 in these patients. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was carried out in PubMed, Web of Sciences, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CNKI, SciELO, and other databases to identify all relevant studies published up to 10 January, 2020. The proportion and mortality in the patients were assessed by odd ratio (OR) and the corresponding 95 confidence interval (95 CI). Results: A total of ten case-series including 11,755 cases with SARS-COV-2 infection and 942 deaths were selected. Among them, there were total of 791 DM patients with 186 deaths, 225 CKD patients with 45 deaths, 790 hypertension cases with 86 deaths, and 471 CVDs cases with 60 deaths. Pooled data revealed that the proportion of SARS-COV-2 infection in the patients with hypertension, DM, CVDs and CKD were 21.1 , 16.3 , 14.0 and 5.0 , respectively. Moreover, the SARS-COV-2 infection were associated with an increased risk of mortality in DM (OR = 0.549, CI 95 0.448�0.671, p � 0.001) and CKD (OR = 0.552, 95 CI 0.367�0.829, p = 0.004) patients, but not hypertension and CVDs. There was no publication bias. Conclusions: Our pooled data showed that the proportion of SARS-COV-2 infection was the highest in the Iranian patients with hypertension (21.1 ) followed by DM (16.3 ), CVDs (14.0 ) and CKD (5.0 ). Moreover, DM and CKD in patients with SARS-COV-2 infection were associated with a 0.549 and 0.552-fold increase in mortality, respectively. Clinicians in Iran should be aware of these findings, to identifying patients at higher risk and inform interventions to reduce the risk of death. Moreover, well-designed, large-scale and multicenter studies are needed to improve and validate our findings. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Effect of graphene and CNFs addition on the mechanical and electrical properties of dense alumina-toughened zirconia composites

Fully dense carbon/alumina-toughened zirconia composites were prepared by using a combination of aqueous colloidal powder processing and spark plasma sintering technique (SPS). Various carbon elements were introduced in alumina-toughened zirconia matrix (ZA) as filler; carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and graphene oxide (GO). The influence of the addition of different carbon forms on the microstructure and on the mechanical and electrical properties was investigated. In the case of the ZAGO composites, the SPS technique allowed, in one-step, the in situ reduction of the graphene oxide during the sintering process. The fracture toughness increases for ZAGO composites in comparison to the ZA material while the hardness decreases slightly with carbon elements addition. The electrical conductivity of the ZA composite drastically increased with the addition of graphene oxide, and it reached 10 Omega cm at 2 vol%. CrownA. Borrell acknowledges the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for her Juan de la Cierva contract (JCI-2011-10498) and the Generalitat Valenciana by the financial support for the GV/2014/009 project. M.D. Salvador thanks to CAPES - Programa Ciencias sem Fronteiras (Brazil) for the concession of a PVE project No. A086/2013. A.S.A. Chinelatto thanks to CAPES for the concession of a post-doctoral fellowship in ICV-CSIC.Rincón, A.; Moreno, R.; Chinelatto, ASA.; Gutierrez, CF.; Salvador Moya, MD.; Borrell Tomás, MA. (2016). Effect of graphene and CNFs addition on the mechanical and electrical properties of dense alumina-toughened zirconia composites. Ceramics International. 42(1):1105-1113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2015.09.037S1105111342

Neurologic Phenotypes Associated With Mutations in RTN4IP1 (OPA10) in Children and Young Adults

Importance: Neurologic disorders with isolated symptoms or complex syndromes are relatively frequent among mitochondrial inherited diseases. Recessive RTN4IP1 gene mutations have been shown to cause isolated and syndromic optic neuropathies. Objective: To define the spectrum of clinical phenotypes associated with mutations in RTN4IP1 encoding a mitochondrial quinone oxidoreductase. Design, Setting, and Participants: This study involved 12 individuals from 11 families with severe central nervous system diseases and optic atrophy. Targeted and whole-exome sequencing were performed-at Hospital Angers (France), Institute of Neurology Milan (Italy), Imagine Institute Paris (France), Helmoltz Zentrum of Munich (Germany), and Beijing Genomics Institute (China)-to clarify the molecular diagnosis of patients. Each patient\u27s neurologic, ophthalmologic, magnetic resonance imaging, and biochemical features were investigated. This study was conducted from May 1, 2014, to June 30, 2016. Main Outcomes and Measures: Recessive mutations in RTN4IP1 were identified. Clinical presentations ranged from isolated optic atrophy to severe encephalopathies. Results: Of the 12 individuals in the study, 6 (50%) were male and 6 (50%) were female. They ranged in age from 5 months to 32 years. Of the 11 families, 6 (5 of whom were consanguineous) had a member or members who presented isolated optic atrophy with the already reported p.Arg103His or the novel p.Ile362Phe, p.Met43Ile, and p.Tyr51Cys amino acid changes. The 5 other families had a member or members who presented severe neurologic syndromes with a common core of symptoms, including optic atrophy, seizure, intellectual disability, growth retardation, and elevated lactate levels. Additional clinical features of those affected were deafness, abnormalities on magnetic resonance images of the brain, stridor, and abnormal electroencephalographic patterns, all of which eventually led to death before age 3 years. In these patients, novel and very rare homozygous and compound heterozygous mutations were identified that led to the absence of the protein and complex I disassembly as well as mild mitochondrial network fragmentation. Conclusions and Relevance: A broad clinical spectrum of neurologic features, ranging from isolated optic atrophy to severe early-onset encephalopathies, is associated with RTN4IP1 biallelic mutations and should prompt RTN4IP1 screening in both syndromic neurologic presentations and nonsyndromic recessive optic neuropathies

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. Methods: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model—a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates—with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality—which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. Findings: The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2–100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1–290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1–211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4–48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3–37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7–9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. Interpretation: Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Investigation of alteration zones, geochemistry and petrogenesis of the Chahshaljami prospect, Easthern Iran

Texto principal em Persa, com resumo em Inglês. O trabalho é datado de 2010, mas o número da revista só foi efectivamente publicado em 2012.Chahshalghami mineral index is located 190 km to the south of Birjand in the Lut Block volcanic-plutonic belt. Intrusive rocks of Chahshalghami include quartz monzonite, monzonite, granodiorite and diorite and classified as volcanic arc granites, high-K calc alkaline to shoshonite rocks. Processing Aster Satellite image has detected alteration minerals such as alunite, jarusite, chlorite, dickite, sericite, montmorillonite, quartz and iron oxide. Silicic, sulfide and stockwork zones show anomalies of Au, Cu, As, Bi, Mo, Sb, Pb and Zn. Microcrystalline and disseminated pyrite is associated with silicic alteration and many veins include molibdenite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena and enargite. Intrusive rocks have similar trend on Harker diagrams for several major oxides, suggesting a common source and evolution of their magmas. Primitive mantle normalized trace element spider diagram display strong enrichment in LILE such as Rb, Sr, Ba, Zr, Cs and depletion in some high field strength elements (HFSE) e.g. Nb, P and Y. On chondrite normalized plots, display significant LREE enrichments and high degrees of La/Yb > 21.4-33.7 for intrusive rocks and the lack of Eu anomaly is evident. Sr/Y and La/Yb are respectively 31.6-72.2, 21.5-33.5 and cover characteristics of adakites and Sr-Nd isotope studies show that the source is related to the mantle melts contaminated by the lower crust

Sr-Nd isotope geochemistry and petrogenesis of the Chah-Shaljami granitoids (Lut Block, Eastern Iran)

Chah-Shaljami porphyritic granitoids belong to the Lut Block volcanic–plutonic belt of central eastern Iran. These intrusive rocks are mostly quartz monzonites, granodiorites and diorites. Geochemical evidence reveals that they are co-genetic and that they have features typical of high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonitic rocks from volcanic arc setting. Primitive mantle-normalized trace element spider diagrams display strong enrichment in LILE, such as Rb, Ba, and Cs, and depletion in some HFSE, e.g. Nb, Ti, Y and HREE. Chondrite-normalized plots show a very marked REE fractionation, with significant LREE enrichment (23 ⩾ LaN/YbN ⩾ 14) and the lack of Eu anomaly. Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios of Chah-shaljami intrusives are respectively 20–67 and 21–34, which reveals that, despite their K-rich composition, these rocks also, have some adakitic affinity. Plots on the Sr/Y–Y and La/Yb–Yb diagrams show that the Chah-Shaljami intrusives may be subdivided into two distinct classes. A Rb–Sr age of 33.5 ± 1 Ma, mainly dependent on the Sr isotopic composition of biotite, was obtained in a quartz monzonite sample. Taking into account that this sample was almost unaffected by hydrothermal and meteoric alteration and that cooling was probably fast, the 33–34 Ma date is interpreted as the intrusion age. With the exception of two samples, initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios and Nd values are clustered in the restricted ranges of 0.70470–0.70506 and +1.9–+2.7, which fits into a supra-subduction mantle wedge source for the parental melts and indicates that, in general, crustal contribution for magma diversification was not relevant; however, one sample shows higher 87Sr/86Sr and lower Nd, revealing that, occasionally, crustal rock assimilation also contributed to geochemical variation; one other sample, strongly affected by hydrothermal alteration, departs from the main group only by higher 87Sr/86Sr, suggesting that its alteration involved crustal fluids. Sr and Nd isotope compositions together with major and trace element geochemistry points to the origin of the parental magmas by melting of a metasomatized mantle source, with garnet behaving as a residual phase, whilst phlogopite was an important contributor to the generated melts