A Simple, Inexpensive and Safe Method for DNA Extraction of Frigid and Clotted Blood Samples

Background: Extraction of blood genomicDNAis one of the main approaches for clinical and molecular biology studies. Although several methods have been developed for extraction of blood genomic DNA, most of these methods consume long time and use expensive chemicals such as proteinase K and toxic organic solvent such as phenol and chloroform. The objective of this study was to developed easy and safe method forDNAextraction from clotted and frozen whole blood. This method has many advantages: time reducing, using inexpensive materials, without phenol and chloroform, achieving of high molecular weight and good quality genomicDNA.Materials and Methods: DNA extraction was performed by two methods (new and phenol-chloroform method). Then quantity and quality parameters were evaluated by 1% agarose gel electrophoresis, Nano drop analysis and efficiency of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).Results: Extracted DNA from 500μL of blood samples were 457.7ng/μl and 212ng/μL and their purity (OD260/OD280) were 1.8 and 1.81 for new recommended and phenol–chloroform methods respectively. The PCR results indicated that D16S539 and CSF1PO loci were amplified.Conclusion: These results shown that this method is simple, fast, safe and most economical

Obesity paradox versus frailty syndrome in first-ever ischemic stroke survivors

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Omega-3 fatty acid supplements improve the cardiovascular risk profile of subjects with metabolic syndrome, including markers of inflammation and auto-immunity

OBJECTIVE Fish-oil contains high concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids that have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. We have evaluated the effects of purified omega-3 fatty acid supplements on several anthropometric and biochemical parameters, including heat shock protein (Hsp) 27 antibody titres in subjects with metabolic syndrome. METHODS Subjects (n = 120) with metabolic syndrome (mean age of 52.9 +/- 11.9 years) were randomly allocated to one of two groups: sixty subjects were given 1 gram of fish oil as a single capsule, containing 180 mg eicosapentaenoic acid and 120 mg docosahexaenoic acid daily for 6 months. Control subjects did not receive any supplementation over the same period. RESULTS The study was completed by 47 subjects in the intervention group and 42 subjects in the control group. Treatment with omega 3 supplements was associated with a significant fall in body weight (P < 0.05), systolic blood pressures (P < 0.05), serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol (P < 0.05), and total cholesterol (P < 0.05), triglycerides (P < 0.05), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (P < 0.01), and Hsp27 antibody titres (P < 0.05). No significant changes were observed in the control group. CONCLUSION It appears that omega 3 improves the cardiovascular risk profile of subjects with metabolic syndrome, having effects on weight, systolic blood pressure, lipid profile and markers of inflammation and autoimmunit

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

Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: In an era of shifting global agendas and expanded emphasis on non-communicable diseases and injuries along with communicable diseases, sound evidence on trends by cause at the national level is essential. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic scientific assessment of published, publicly available, and contributed data on incidence, prevalence, and mortality for a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of diseases and injuries. Methods: GBD estimates incidence, prevalence, mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to 369 diseases and injuries, for two sexes, and for 204 countries and territories. Input data were extracted from censuses, household surveys, civil registration and vital statistics, disease registries, health service use, air pollution monitors, satellite imaging, disease notifications, and other sources. Cause-specific death rates and cause fractions were calculated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model and spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression. Cause-specific deaths were adjusted to match the total all-cause deaths calculated as part of the GBD population, fertility, and mortality estimates. Deaths were multiplied by standard life expectancy at each age to calculate YLLs. A Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool, DisMod-MR 2.1, was used to ensure consistency between incidence, prevalence, remission, excess mortality, and cause-specific mortality for most causes. Prevalence estimates were multiplied by disability weights for mutually exclusive sequelae of diseases and injuries to calculate YLDs. We considered results in the context of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and fertility rate in females younger than 25 years. Uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated for every metric using the 25th and 975th ordered 1000 draw values of the posterior distribution. Findings: Global health has steadily improved over the past 30 years as measured by age-standardised DALY rates. After taking into account population growth and ageing, the absolute number of DALYs has remained stable. Since 2010, the pace of decline in global age-standardised DALY rates has accelerated in age groups younger than 50 years compared with the 1990–2010 time period, with the greatest annualised rate of decline occurring in the 0–9-year age group. Six infectious diseases were among the top ten causes of DALYs in children younger than 10 years in 2019: lower respiratory infections (ranked second), diarrhoeal diseases (third), malaria (fifth), meningitis (sixth), whooping cough (ninth), and sexually transmitted infections (which, in this age group, is fully accounted for by congenital syphilis; ranked tenth). In adolescents aged 10–24 years, three injury causes were among the top causes of DALYs: road injuries (ranked first), self-harm (third), and interpersonal violence (fifth). Five of the causes that were in the top ten for ages 10–24 years were also in the top ten in the 25–49-year age group: road injuries (ranked first), HIV/AIDS (second), low back pain (fourth), headache disorders (fifth), and depressive disorders (sixth). In 2019, ischaemic heart disease and stroke were the top-ranked causes of DALYs in both the 50–74-year and 75-years-and-older age groups. Since 1990, there has been a marked shift towards a greater proportion of burden due to YLDs from non-communicable diseases and injuries. In 2019, there were 11 countries where non-communicable disease and injury YLDs constituted more than half of all disease burden. Decreases in age-standardised DALY rates have accelerated over the past decade in countries at the lower end of the SDI range, while improvements have started to stagnate or even reverse in countries with higher SDI. Interpretation: As disability becomes an increasingly large component of disease burden and a larger component of health expenditure, greater research and developm nt investment is needed to identify new, more effective intervention strategies. With a rapidly ageing global population, the demands on health services to deal with disabling outcomes, which increase with age, will require policy makers to anticipate these changes. The mix of universal and more geographically specific influences on health reinforces the need for regular reporting on population health in detail and by underlying cause to help decision makers to identify success stories of disease control to emulate, as well as opportunities to improve. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licens

Stress intensity factors and crack propagation path under mixed mode conditions

Use of crack propagation principles based on SIFs (stress intensity factors) is among the most common methods of fracture mechanic engineering. SIF is an important parameter in fracture analysis. In analyzing elastic fracture, SIF reveals the stress near the crack tip and substantial information about crack propagation. When loading or geometry of a structure is not symmetrical around a crack, rupture occurs with combined loading and the crack does not propagate on a straight line. Therefore, to determine the new direction of facture propagation use of twist angle criteria is necessary. The objective of this research was to propose a numerical model of crack propagation under combined loading conditions. In each crack with increased length the twist angle is assessed as a function of SIFs. This research aimed to determine SIFs for the crack propagation problem and to determine the crack development path through linear elastic fracture analysis. This study was primarily based on examination of the propagation and development of cracks on a plane under tensile loading and combined mode loading conditions. The ANSYS finite element software and FRANC3D crack propagation software were used to simulate crack propagation and to calculate the stress and SIF

Constitutive Model for Estimating Concrete Strength Using Ultrasonic Test Considering Mixing Ratios

Evaluation of concrete strength is one of the important issues in the concrete industry and concrete structures. In most cases, during construction, samples of concrete are picked up and after curing, according to the existing standards, they are subjected to uniaxial compression and based on the applied force, the strength of the concrete is determined. Minimum strength of concrete can be predicted but in many cases, due to reasons such as lack of proper implementation, concrete strength in structure with design strength is different. Core drilling is one of the accepted in-situ tests for measuring the strength of concrete that is a destructive method. Providing a non-destructive method that can estimate the strength of concrete in a structure in many cases is a remedial. In this research, by providing concrete samples with different mix design, in addition to studying the effect of mixing ratios on concrete strength and ultrasound wave velocity, a relationship between concrete strength and ultrasonic wave velocity is presented. Also, a comprehensive relationship is presented to estimate the strength of concrete considering water to cement ratio and the ratio of fine aggregate to course aggregate

Effective Maternal and Neonatal Factors Associated with the Prognosis of Preterm Infants

Introduction: Neonatal mortality is a global health issue. Preterm delivery is considered as a leading cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity. Preterm neonates may develop complications such as Respiratory Distress Symptom (RDS), Intraventricular Hemorrhage (IVH) and neonatal sepsis. This study aimed to evaluate the effective factors in the prognosis of preterm infants. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 283 premature neonates born in Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad, Iran during September 2013-March 2014. Demographic data and perinatal mortality and morbidity rates were recorded for all the neonates. Data analysis was performed in SPSS Version19. Results:In this study, rates of morbidity and mortality were 33.2% and 18.7%, respectively. In total, 50.9% of the neonates were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Among the study samples, 26.5% had RDS, 18.4% had neonatal sepsis, and 2.8% had IVH. Moreover, 18.4% of the neonates required mechanical ventilation. Increased gestational age and birth weight significantly reduced the rates of morbidity and mortality. Although mode of delivery and premature rupture of membranes affected the mortality rate, they had no significant associations with the morbidity rate of the neonates. Also, maternal factors such as age, gravidity, history of diseases or pregnancy complications, and drug use during pregnancy had no significant effects on the rates of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, gestational age and birth weight were the most significant predictive factors for neonatal morbidity and mortality in preterm infants

Prevalence of chest wall deformities in a large sample of Iranian children aged 7-14 years

Objective: Pectus excavate rn (PE) and pectus carinatum (PC) are two common chest deformities. We investigated the prevalence of chest wall deformities including PE and PC in Iranian population. Methods: 25587 children and adolescents aged 7-14 years consisting of 13586 (53.1%) males and 12001 (46.9%) females were studied using cluster-stratified sampling method. Screening was clinical and based on descriptive findings. Suspected subjects with chest wall deformity were referred to the expert surgeon to confirm the diagnosis. Findings: The prevalence of chest deformities in our population was 204 (1.03%). The mean age of subjects was 10.2΁3.0 years. Of these subjects 124 (0.49%) [74 (54%) males and 50 (42%) females)] had PE and 80 (0.31%) [58 (72.5%) males and 22 (17.5%) females)] had PC. Conclusion: The prevalence of PE seems to be very high in Iran. Special attention must be paid to diagnose and treat this problem in our population