Differential mortality in Iran

Background: Among the available data provided by health information systems, data on mortality are commonly used not only as health indicators but also as socioeconomic development indices. Recognizing that in Iran accurate data on causes of death were not available, the Deputy of Health in the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOH&ME) established a new comprehensive system for death registration which started in one province (Bushehr) as a pilot in 1997, and was subsequently expanded to include all other provinces, except Tehran province. These data can be used to investigate the nature and extent of differences in mortality in Iran. The objective of this paper is to estimate provincial differences in the level of mortality using this death registration system. Methods: Data from the death registration system for 2004 for each province were evaluated for data completeness, and life tables were created for provinces after correction for under-enumeration of death registration. For those provinces where it was not possible to adjust the data on adult deaths by using the Brass Growth Balance method, adult mortality was predicted based on adult literacy using information from provinces with reliable data. Results: Child mortality (risk of a newborn dying before age 5, or q) in 2004 varied between 47 per 1000 live births for both sexes in Sistan and Baluchistan province, and 25 per 1000 live births in Tehran and Gilan provinces. For adults, provincial differences in mortality were much greater for males than females. Adult mortality (risk of dying between ages 15 and 60, or 45q15) for females varied between 0.133 in Kerman province and 0.117 in Tehran province; for males the range was from 0.218 in Kerman to 0.149 in Tehran province. Life expectancy for females was highest in Tehran province (73.8 years) and lowest in Sistan and Baluchistan (70.9 years). For males, life expectancy ranged from 65.7 years in Sistan and Baluchistan province to 70.9 years in Tehran. Conclusion: Substantial differences in survival exist among the provinces of Iran. While the completeness of the death registration system operated by the Iranian MOH&ME appears to be acceptable in the majority of provinces, further efforts are needed to improve the quality of data on mortality in Iran, and to expand death registration to Tehran province

Sport and Society

Despite its economic and cultural centrality, sport is a relatively neglected and undertheorized area of sociological research. In this review, we examine sports\u27 articulation with stratification issues, especially race, class, and gender. In addition, we look at how the media and processes of globalization have affected sports.We suggest that sports and cultural sociologists need to attend more closely to how leisure products and practices are produced and distributed and how they intersect with educational, political, and cultural institutions. We propose the work of Bourdieu andthe new institutionalism to undergird future research

Observations on the mortality of olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) and associated factors along Ganjam coast, east coast of India

680-687The Odisha coast along the east coast of India is home to three mass nesting sites (Gahirmatha, Devi and Rushikulya) and several sporadic nesting sites for olive ridley sea turtles. The coastline in the Ganjam district of Odisha has more than nine beaches that report olive ridleys (Lepidochelys olivacea) nesting, including one mass nesting site i.e the Rushikulya estuary. To develop a better understanding of beach habitat conditions along the Ganjam district's 60-km-long coastline, a survey was conducted and data on the extent of olive ridley mortality, associated threats (both direct and indirect), and factors affecting habitat loss, were collected. The survey was carried out entirely on foot between March and April 2020, visiting nine separate sites three times each. Dead turtle carcasses were seen on only seven out of the nine beaches. The major threats observed were fishing activities and predation; while plastic contamination, topographical changes (shifting in Rushikulya river mouth), vehicular movements, and artificial lighting were the factors associated with habitat degradation. The highest incidences of mortality were caused by fishing activity. In addition, maximum turtle mortality was seen at lower elevations (3 – 6 m above MSL) as compared to beaches with higher elevations. The current survey on olive ridley turtle mortality is the first of its kind along the Ganjam coast and the findings underscore the importance of solidifying conservation efforts on the olive ridleys' habitat

Influence of Nutrient Management Practices on Growth, Flowering and Yield Attributes of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)

Field experiments were conducted at AICRP on Vegetable Crops, operating under Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India during summer season of 2017 and 2018 to find out the impact of various nutrient management practices on growth, yield attributes and yield of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Twelve nutrient management practices such as, T1 (Absolute Control), T2 (RDF through Fertilizer (100:60:60 NPK ha-1), T3 (½ RDF + Biofertilizer consortia (BF) i.e., Azospirillum, Azotobacter and PSB @ 4 kg ha-1 in 1:1:1), T4 (Vermicompost @ 4 tha-1), T5 (VC @ 2 tha-1+ BFs), T6 (½ RDF + VC @ 2 tha-1+ BFs), T7 (RDF+ VC @ 2 tha-1+ Biofertilizer consortia), T8 (FYM @ 20 tha-1), T9 (FYM @ 10 tha-1+ BFs), T10 (½ RDF + FYM @ 10 tha-1+ BFs), T11 (RDF+ FYM @ 10 tha-1+ BFs) and T12 (½ RDF + FYM @ 10 tha-1 + VC @ 2 tha-1+ BFs), were evaluated by adopting RBD replicated thrice. The pooled results over two years revealed significant variations among the nutrient management practices for all the characters under study. Invariably, INM practices recorded significantly better vegetative growth, earliness in flowering, fruit yield and yield attributing parameters over inorganic, organic sources, BFs and absolute control. The results revealed integrated application of ½ RDF+FYM @ 10tha-1+VC @ 2tha-1+BFs recorded significantly higher maximum vegetative growth parameters (i.e., vine length of 296.4 m with 4.1 primary branches vine-1), induced earliness in flowering (i.e., days to appearance of male flowers : 30.2, days to appearance of female flowers : 31.7, sex ratio of : 12.8, fruit yield attributing parameters (i.e., fruit girth : 15.0 cm, fruits vine-1 : 8.6, days to 1st fruit harvest : 45.3), days to final harvest : 80.1, yield i.e., marketable yield (12.6 kg plot-1, 156.0 q ha-1, 15.6 tha-1) and total fruit yield (13.9 kg plot-1, 172.2 q ha-1, 17.2 tha-1 ). Thus it may be concluded that integrated application of nutrients from inorganic, organic with soil inoculation of biofertilizer consortia not only increased significantly increased growth, flowering and fruit yield in cucumber

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy assessment of brain injury after moderate hypothermia in neonatal encephalopathy: a prospective multi-centre study

Background In neonatal encephalopathy (NE), the clinical manifestations of injury can only be reliably assessed several years after an intervention, complicating early prognostication and rendering trials of promising neuroprotectants slow and expensive. We aimed to determine the accuracy of thalamic proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) biomarkers as early predictors of the neurodevelopmental abnormalities observed years after NE. Methods We conducted a prospective multi-centre cohort study across eight neonatal intensive care units, recruiting term neonates who received therapeutic hypothermia for NE. We obtained thalamic 1H MRS 4 to 14 days after birth, which were compared to clinical neurodevelopmental tests performed 18 to 24 months later. The primary endpoint was an abnormal outcome, defined as death, or moderate or severe disability. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to examine the strength of the relationship between selected biomarkers and this outcome. Findings We recruited 223 infants who all underwent MR imaging and spectroscopy at a median (IQR) age of 7 (5 to 10) days, with 190 (85%) followed up for neurological examination at a median (IQR) age of 23 (20 to 25) months. Of those followed up, 31 (16%) had moderate or severe disability, including one death. The thalamic concentration of Nacetylasparate, [NAA], had an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0·99 (95% CI 0·94 to 1·00, n=82), and lactate/NAA peak area ratio had an AUC of 0·94 (95% CI 0·89 to 0·97, n=160). From conventional MRI, abnormal signal in the posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC) gave an AUC of 0·82 (95% CI 0·76 to 0·87, n=190). Thalamic [NAA] was independently associated with neurodevelopmental outcome scores on multivariable analysis, and had higher prognostic accuracy than conventional MR imaging (98% versus 87%; p<0·001). Interpretation Thalamic 1H MRS measures acquired soon after birth in NE accurately predict neurodevelopment two years later. These could be applied to increase the power of neuroprotection trials, while reducing their duration

Whole blood gene expression reveals specific transcriptome changes in neonatal encephalopathy

Background Variable responses to hypothermic neuroprotection are related to the clinical heterogeneity of encephalopathic babies, hence better disease stratification may facilitate the development of individualized neuroprotective therapies. Objectives We examined if whole blood gene expression analysis can identify specific transcriptome profiles in neonatal encephalopathy. Material and Methods We performed next generation sequencing on whole blood RNA from twelve babies with neonatal encephalopathy, and six time-matched healthy term babies. The significantly differentially expressed genes between encephalopathic and control babies were identified. This set of genes was then compared to the host RNA response in septic neonates and subjected to pathway analysis. Results We identified 950 statistically significant genes discriminating perfectly between the healthy controls and neonatal encephalopathy. The major pathways in neonatal encephalopathy were axonal guidance signaling (p =0.0009), granulocyte adhesion and diapedesis (p = 0.003), IL-12 Signaling and Production in Macrophages (p= 0.003) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α signaling (p = 0.004). There were only 137 genes in common between neonatal encephalopathy and bacterial sepsis sets. Conclusion Babies with neonatal encephalopathy have striking differences in gene expression profiles compared with healthy control and septic babies. Gene expression profile may be useful for disease stratification based and for developing personalized neuroprotective therapies