Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Wohnstätte des Göttlichen : das Herz in der islamischen Mystik

Das "Herz" (arabisch "Qalb") gehört zu den bedeutungsreichsten und vielfältigsten Begriffen im Islam. Seine Bedeutung geht weit über das Herz als "Körperorgan" hinaus: Es ist das Zentrum aller Emotionen, der Ort der kognitiven Fähigkeiten, der Sitz der Seele und die Quelle der "Erkenntnis". Dementsprechend finden wir in den islamischen Quellen verschiedene Begriffe für das Herz: "qalb", "fuʾād", "rūḥ", "sirr", "ṣadr". ..

The prevalence of zinc deficiency in 6-month to 12-year old children in Bandar Abbas in 2013

Background: Zinc deficiency is an important problem in children, especially in developing countries. Zinc supplements have beneficial effects on multiple factors, including treatment of growth retardation and hypogonadism, and they can be used as therapeutic and prophylactic agents against infection in children. Objective: To determine the prevalence of zinc deficiency in 6-month to 12-year-old children in Bandar Abbas. Methods: This study was done in Bandar Abbas in 2013. In this cross-sectional study, 583 children were evaluated after obtaining a written informed consent from their parents. Zinc levels < 6 μg/dl were defined as zinc deficiency, zinc levels of 80-66 μg/dl were defined as insufficient, and zinc levels of 80-115 μg/dl were defined as sufficient levels. SPSS software, version 20, descriptive statistics, the chi-squared test, and the t-test were used to analyze the data. Results: Five hundred and eighty-three children with a mean age of 42.82±30.68 months participated in this study. Among the participants, 263 (45.1%) were females, and 320 (54.9%) were males. The prevalence of zinc deficiency was 17.5% in this study. Zinc deficiencies were reported in 67 males (20.94%) males and in 35 females (13.30%). Zinc deficiencies were more common in boys, and this difference was statistically significant (p=0.01). Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that the prevalence of zinc deficiencies is high in Bandar Abbas and that it is more prevalent in males than in females. The children in this area should be screened for zinc deficiency. Future studies should focus on then treatment of zinc deficiency and its role in different aspects of children’s healt

Cognitive Ability in the Elderly: The Role of Self-Transcendence, Self-Compassion and Positive Affect

Aging is associated with unavoidable changes in cognitive abilities. Therefore, considering the aging of the population and the importance of cognitive functions at this sensitive age, identifying the factors affecting cognitive ability among elderly to strengthen their cognitive functions deserves attention. The present study aimed to investigate the role of self-transcendence, self-compassion and positive affect in predicting cognitive ability in elderly. It was a descriptive-correlational study. The statistical population of this study included all elderly (60 to 70 year) in Kerman from 2019 to 2020. 208 elderly participants were selected using convenience sampling from Kerman Province Retirement Association. The research instruments were Nejati Cognitive Ability Questionnaire, Neff Compassion Scale, and Levinson Self-Transcendence Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression. The results of Pearson correlation coefficient showed the significant positive relationship between self-transcendence and cognitive ability in the elderly. Besides, a significant positive relationship was reported between self-compassion and cognitive ability in the elderly. Furthermore, these results also suggested a significant positive relationship between positive affect and cognitive ability in elderly. The results of regression analysis also showed that self-transcendence and positive affect can positively predict cognitive ability in elderly. However, self-compassion was not a predictor of cognitive ability in elderly. Therefore, using therapeutic techniques based on self-transcendence theory and providing therapeutic interventions based on increasing positive affect, it is possible to promote cognitive ability and prevent cognitive failures in elderly.  References   Alea, N., Ali, S., & Arneaud, M. J. (2017). 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Investigation on adaptability of open crown poplar clones in Markazi province

The present trial was carried out in Yonesi Experimental Station at Khosbijan local area of Markazi Province of Iran in 1997 in order to select and introduce the most adaptable and productive poplar clones. For this reason, 14 clones of four open crown Populus species, including: P. deltoides, P. alba, P. euramericana and P. nigra which have been selected from a previous selection nursery trial as most promising clones, were planted under the randomized complete blocks statistical design with three replications at 4 x 4 m. spacing for eight year period. Poplar characteristics, including diameter at breast height (dbh), total height, volume per hectare, mean of diameter, height and volume increment, resistance to pests and stem-crown quality were measured annually, end of growth period. Variance analysis results demonstrated that there were significant differences between the poplar clones in respect to their characteristics, except diameter and height increment. Duncan test results indicated that P.e.vernirubensis achieved the highest mean dbh, total height, volume per hectare and volume increment, P.e.vernirubensis and P.a.45.77 achieved the highest resistance to pests, the best stem quality belonged to P.a.45.77 and the greatest crown quality belonged to P.e.triplo. The lowest variables of total height, volume per hectare, volume increment, resistance to pests and stem-crown quality were observed in P.n.72.8. P.e.vernirubensis, P.d.69.55, P.e.214, P.e.455 and P.e.triplo were distinguished as the most promising clones due to their vital wood production )19.45, 18.5, 18.23, 17.13 and 16.46 m3/ha/year, respectively) whereas P.n.72.6, P.n.72.10, P.d.missouriensis, P.d.73.51 and P.n.72.8 were introduced as the lowest adaptable and productive clones

Design of an Epitope Candidate Vaccine Against Iha Protein in Escherichia Coli: an in Silico Approach: An Epitope Candidate Vaccine Against Escherichia Coli

Introduction: Iron-regulated outer membrane virulence protein (IrgA) involved in the initial step of iron uptake by binding ferric- iron chelation siderophore that allows the bacterium to extract iron from the environment. IrgA homologue adhesion (Iha) revealed as a novel adherence conferring molecule. In this study, homology modeling, fold recognition and Ab-initio approaches along with their combination were invoked to determine the tertiary structure of Iha. Material and Methods: Specific bioinformatics methods were used to forecast their immunological, biochemical and functional properties. Results: The results showed that IrgA constitutes beta barrel structures. The immunological, biochemical and functional analyzes led us to pick a region of every antigen with the highest immunogenic properties. Comparison of antigenicity scores for selected regions and the whole proteins showed that the antigenicity of the selected regions is considerably higher than the whole antigen. Conclusion: Our strategy for prediction of the 3D structure and epitopes could be deemed as an amenable approach for efficient vaccine design. These approaches used could provide the basis for future functional studies to design and development of a suitable vaccine. In this regard, a region includes residues 200-340, covering a part of barrel, was chosen as vaccine candidate against Iha protein in Escherichia Coli