Comparison of the Efficacy of Oral Simvastatin and Topical Simvastatin Solution in Decreasing Post-Laparotomy Adhesions in Rats

Background: Intra-abdominal adhesions and their complications occur frequently after laparotomy. The aim of this study was to compare oral versus intraperitoneal administration of simvastatin in decreasing postlaparotomy adhesions in rat.Methods: Thirty male Wistar albino rats were divided into three groups of ten. All the rats underwent laparotomy and induction of adhesions using the method of Meso-Stitch approximation of injured cecum and abdominal wall. One group received oral simvastatin (40 mg/kg) daily during two weeks before the laparotomy. In the two other groups, 2 ml of solution of simvastatin (40 mg/kg) or distilled water (as placebo) was spilled into abdomen before closing abdominal wall, respectively. After 14 days, all the rats were put under laparotomy again to be compared. Rates and grades of adhesions were assessed using Hoffman et al. and Lauder et al. Scale and histopathological reports.Results: In placebo group, the grade II and III adhesion was seen in 2 and 8 rats, respectively. In local simvastatin group, there was no adhesion in 5 rats, and grade I and II adhesion was seen in 3 and 2 rats, respectively. In oral simvastatin group, 6 rats were without adhesion, and 3 cases with grade I and 1 case with grade II adhesion. The frequency and grade of adhesion were statistically different in simvastatin groups compared to the placebo group (P < 0.001), but not with each other.Conclusions: Oral simvastatin for two weeks before the laparotomy can reduce post-laparotomy adhesion bands as well as local administration of simvastatin solution

Health-Promoting Lifestyle and its Predictors in Women Under the Chemotherapy for Reproductive System Cancers

Objectives: Gynecologic cancers are common in women. One of the most important challenging risk factors for many cancers is lifestyle, which can affect health. This study was therefore conducted to determine the status of health-promoting lifestyle and its predictors in women under the chemotherapy for reproductive system cancers. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 on 151 patients. They were undergoing chemotherapy for gynecologic cancers in oncology wards of Alzahra and Shahid Ghazi hospitals in Tabriz, Iran. The participants were selected through convenience sampling method. The sociodemographic questionnaire and healthpromoting lifestyle profle II (HPLP-II) were completed. The data were analyzed using the independent t test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multivariate linear regression. Results: Mean (standard deviation, SD) total score of women’s health-promoting lifestyle was 2.30 (0.38) in the score range 1-4. The highest mean (SD) score pertained to nutrition subscale (2.50±0.49), and the lowest mean (SD) score pertained to physical activity subscale (2.10±0.50). The predictors of lifestyle included age, income level, number of pregnancies, marital problems, number of children, and family history of gynecologic cancers. Conclusions: The data analysis showed that the mean score of the health-promoting lifestyle was average. It appears necessary to use health education and promotion programs emphasizing the health-promoting behaviors and their determinants

Evaluation of iron overload by cardiac and liver T2* in β-thalassemia: Correlation with serum ferritin, heart function and liver enzymes

Introduction: In this study, we aimed to assess the relationship of cardiac and hepatic T2* magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) values as a gold standard for detecting iron overload with serum ferritin level, heart function, and liver enzymes as alternative diagnostic methods. Methods: A total 58 patients with beta-thalassemia major who were all transfusion dependent were evaluated for the study. T2* MRI of heart and liver, echocardiography, serum ferritin level, and liver enzymes measurement were performed. The relationship between T2* MRI findings and other assessments were examined. Cardiac and hepatic T2* findings were categorized as normal, mild, moderate, and severe iron overload. Results: 22% and 11% of the patients were suffering from severe iron overload in heart and liver, respectively. The echocardiographic findings were not significantly different among different iron load categories in heart or liver. ALT level was significantly higher in patient with severe iron overload than those with normal iron load in heart (P=0.005). Also, AST level was significantly lower in normal iron load group than mild, moderate, and severe iron load groups in liver (P<0.05). The serum ferritin level was significantly inversely correlated with cardiac T2* values (r = -0.34, P=0.035) and hepatic T2* values (r = -0.52, P=0.001). Conclusion: Cardiac and hepatic T2* MRI indicated significant correlation with serum ferritin level

Relationship between thyroid hormone levels in euthyroid patients before HSCT and time to achieve neutrophil and platelet engraftment: an analytical cross-sectional study

Introduction. The time to reach neutrophil (NE) and platelet engraftment (PE) in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is one of the most important factors indicating transplantation survival. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between thyroid hormone levels before HSCT and the time to achieve NE and PE. Material and methods. The relationship between thyroid hormone levels before HSCT, age, gender, type of HSCT, type of disease and cluster of differentiation 34+ (CD34+) cell count and the number of days to reach NE and PE was examined in 37 clinically and laboratorially euthyroid patients. Results. An odds ratio (OR) of > 6 was observed in the probability of time to NE > 10 days in patients with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) > 2.89 mU/L in the upper normal range (UNR) and male patients, also in the probability of time to PE > 15 days in patients with TSH > 2.89 mU/L in the UNR. Statistically significant p-value and confidence interval were found in the probability of time to NE > 10 days in male patients (OR = 8.58, p-value = 0.036) and time to PE > 15 days in patients with TSH > 2.89 mU/L in the UNR (OR = 14.32, p-value = 0.041). Conclusions. Treatment with low dose levothyroxine can be cautiously recommended to achieve TSH to ≤2.8 mU/L in the lower normal range before performing HSCT in euthyroid patients, which will reduce the times to NE and PE and help earlier discharge of patients

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. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

Correlation of plasma interleukin-18 concentration and severity of renal involvement and disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by activation of T and polyclonal B lymphocytes. IL-18 was originally identified as a factor which enhances IFN-γ production and is a potent inducer of the inflammatory mediators by T cells, causing severe inflammatory disorders in SLE. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the association of plasma interlukine-18 (IL-18) concentration and severity of lupus nephritis (LN) and disease activity in SLE patients. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 113 patients with SLE and 50 healthy individuals were examined. Serum level of IL-18 was measured. The severity and activity of the disease was determined by Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) score. The severity of kidney involvement was studied by renal biopsy, serum creatinine and 24 hours urine protein level. Results: The mean level of serum IL-18 was significantly higher in the patients than controls (577.67 ± 649.95 versus 60.48 ± 19.53 pg/ml; P < 0.001). In SLE patients with active disease level of serum IL-18 was significantly higher than chronic disease (622.77 ± 716.54 versus 182 ± 184.37 pg/ml; P < 0.001). The serum level of IL-18 was significantly higher in stage IV (P < 0.001) and V (P < 0.001) of patients with LN, than other stages. Conclusions: The current study showed that the serum IL-18 is significantly higher in the patients than controls and it significantly correlated with sever renal involvement and disease activity in SLE patients

Response to selection for feed conversion ratio in Japanese quail

We investigated the effect of selection for 4-wk feed conversion ratio (FCR) on genetic improvement of FCR, BW, weight gain (WG), feed intake (FI), and residual FI (RFI) in Japanese quail. The F line was selected for reduced FCR and the C line was maintained as a randombred control. In each generation, 35 sires and 70 dams were used as parents for the next generation. Three generations of selection were performed. Realized heritability for FCR was calculated as the ratio of cumulative selection response to the cumulative selection differential, and additionally, genetic response was quantified as the difference between the means of selection and control lines. The results showed that realized heritability for FCR after 3 generations of selection was 0.67. The mean FCR in F line and C line in the last generation was 2.13 and 2.61, respectively. This is 18.4% cumulative genetic improvement, or 6.1% improvement per generation. In the last generation, the means of F and C lines were 193 and 166 g for BW at age 28 d (16.4% total increase, or 5.5% per generation), 184 and 158 g for WG (17.2% total higher gain and 5.7% per generation), 393 and 413 g for FI (4.9% total higher consumption and 1.6% per generation), and –24.5 and 10.2 for RFI (–34.7 g of cumulative gain; –11.6 g per generation), respectively. These results show that selection to decrease FCR increases BW and WG and decreases FI and RFI as a correlated response

Response to selection for feed conversion ratio in Japanese quail

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Genetic parameters for feed utilization traits in Japanese quail

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Genetic parameters for feed utilization traits in Japanese quail

Feed costs substantially affect the efficiency of poultry operations, justifying genetic improvement of feed utilization by selection. The current research was conducted to estimate genetic variance for the 4-wk feed conversion ratio (FCR) and its genetic correlations with BW, BW gain (WG), feed intake (FI), and residual feed intake (RFI) in Japanese quail. The data analyzed originated from a line selected for low FCR for 3 generations. In each generation, 35 sires and 70 dams were used as parents for the next generation. Body weight and WG were recorded on a total of 1,226 individuals, whereas FCR, RFI, and FI were recorded on 505 family groups. The results showed that heritability estimates (±SE) of BW at 28 d of age and WG between 7 and 28 d of age were 0.22 ± 0.05 and 0.28 ± 0.06, respectively. For FI, FCR, and RFI, significant genetic variances were estimated. Genetic correlations of FCR between 7 and 28 d of age with WG and FI between 7 and 28 d of age were –0.45 ± 0.09 and 0.24 ± 0.08, respectively. This implies that a low FCR is genetically related to a high WG and low FI. The genetic correlation between FCR from 7 to 28 d of age and RFI from 7 to 28 d of age was 0.26 ± 0.08, indicating that the 2 alternative feed efficiency traits are genetically different traits, and that the correlated genetic response in one of them in response to selection on the other is likely to be only moderate. Genetic correlations of RFI from 7 to 28 d of age with WG and FI between 7 and 28 d of age were 0.08 ± 0.04 and 0.74 ± 0.11, respectively. This reflects the fact that RFI is phenotypically independent of WG, which tends to make the genetic correlation between RFI and WG low as well. In conclusion, all the traits analyzed displayed significant genetic variance, allowing their genetic improvement by selection, yet the alternative feed utilization traits, FCR and RFI, displayed different genetic characteristics