Strengthening livelihood resilience in upper catchments of dry areas by integrated natural resources management

The Livelihood Resilience project evolved around the hypothesis that better integrated management can improve the livelihoods of poor farming communities and increase the environmental integrity and water productivity of upstream watersheds in dry areas. This hypothesis was tested by researchers from different Iranian research and executive organizations and farming communities in two benchmark research watersheds in upper Karkheh River Basin in Iran, under the guidance of the ICARDA scientists. Participatory technology development, water, soil, erosion, land degradation and vegetation assessments, livelihood, gender and policy analyses, and integrated workshops delivered a set of principles for watershed management in dry areas

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010–19: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

BACKGROUND: Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. METHODS: The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk–outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. FINDINGS: Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4·45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4·01–4·94) deaths and 105 million (95·0–116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44·4% (41·3–48·4) of all cancer deaths and 42·0% (39·1–45·6) of all DALYs. There were 2·88 million (2·60–3·18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50·6% [47·8–54·1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1·58 million (1·36–1·84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36·3% [32·5–41·3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20·4% (12·6–28·4) and DALYs by 16·8% (8·8–25·0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34·7% [27·9–42·8] and 33·3% [25·8–42·0]). INTERPRETATION: The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden

Clinical and paraclinical criteria for Thyroid disorders in patients over 15 years

History and Objectives: Thyroid disorders are variant in different regions. Considering the significance of thyroid disorders, time-consuming and costly diagnostic methods and the suggestion of a scoring for early diagnosis, this study was carried out to compare the clinical and paraclinical criteria for thyroid disorders in referrals over 15 years in health centers of Kashan from 1997 to 2000. Materials and Methods: This diagnostic strategy of this study was conducted on patients at an age range of 15-60 years and suspicious to have thyroid disorders. In this respect, Flipp Fling scoring was used. A net score greater than 18 was considered hyperthyroidism, between 11 and 18 was considered as suspicious and less than 11 was considered as euthyroidism. In hypothyroid scoring, net score greater than 19 was considered as hypothyroidism. For all patients, measurement of T3, Free T4 and TSH was requested. Patients with TSH level lower than 0.3 microgram and T4 greater than 12 and T3 greater than 180 microgram were considered as hyperthyroid and patients with TSH level greater than 5 microgram and T4 less than 4 and T3 less than 8 microgram were considered as hypothyroid. Results: This study was carried out on 200 patients. Out of 150 suspicious cases, 31 (20.7) were male and 119 (79.3) were female. In addition, 100 out of them were supposed to have hyperthyroidism and 50 were supposed to have hypothyroidism. Most of the hypothyroid patients were female (80). 78 of hypothyroid patients were female. Therefore, thyroid disorder was more common in female ones. Sensitivity of scoring method for hyperthyroid state was 91 and for hypothyroid state was 76. Conclusion and Recommendations: Considering the costly paraclinical tests, Flipp Fling criteria are recommended to be used for diagnosis of thyroid disorders

Designing a predictive model to determine the risk factors of mental disorders following traumatic brain injury

Background: Organic brain damage can predispose individuals to mental disorders. This study aimed to design a predictive model to determine the risk factors of mental disorders following traumatic brain injury (TBI).‎ Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-longitudinal study, 238 patients (43 women and 195 men) with TBI referred to Poursina hospital (Rasht, Iran) were selected by the non-probability and consecutive sampling from March to February 2010. Neurosurgical and psychological examinations were performed on all patients. After 4-month follow-up, 65.1% (155 cases) of the patients referred to a psychiatrist to determine the nature of mental disorder due to TBI using a structured clinical interview based on the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. Data were analyzed using logistic regression. Results: Findings showed that 117 post-injury cases (75.48%) of mental disorders‎ were secondary to TBI. Logistic regression results indicated the severity of TBI (OR‏=‏3.497, ‎95% CI 1.259-9.712‎), presence of subcranial injury (OR‏=‏‎2.834, ‎95% CI 1.022-7.857‎) and falling levels of general compatibility after trauma, as it was measured by the modified version for GHQ-28 (OR‏=‏1.072, ‎95% CI 1.035-1.111), are associated with increased risk of mental disorders. Conclusion: There is a close relationship between the development of post-TBI mental disorders and organic brain pathology (TBI severity and subcranial injury), but the role of the effective psychological factors such as the level of general compatibility post-trauma should not be neglected. Moreover, to predict those who have been considered to be at high risk of the mental disorders after TBI, the model presented in this study can be effective

Semimetal to semiconductor transition in Bi/TiO2 core/shell nanowires

We demonstrate the full thermoelectric and structural characterization of individual bismuth-based (Bi-based) core/shell nanowires. The influence of strain on the temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity, the absolute Seebeck coefficient and the thermal conductivity of bismuth/titanium dioxide (Bi/TiO2) nanowires with different diameters is investigated and compared to bismuth (Bi) and bismuth/tellurium (Bi/Te) nanowires and bismuth bulk. Scattering at surfaces, crystal defects and interfaces between the core and the shell reduces the electrical conductivity to less than 5% and the thermal conductivity to less than 25% to 50% of the bulk value at room temperature. On behalf of a compressive strain, Bi/TiO2 core/shell nanowires show a decreasing electrical conductivity with decreasing temperature opposed to that of Bi and Bi/Te nanowires. We find that the compressive strain induced by the TiO2 shell can lead to a band opening of bismuth increasing the absolute Seebeck coefficient by 10% to 30% compared to bulk at room temperature. In the semiconducting state, the activation energy is determined to |41.3 ± 0.2| meV. We show that if the strain exceeds the elastic limit the semimetallic state is recovered due to the lattice relaxation