Prevalence of Cannabis Lifetime Use in Iranian High School and College Students: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analyses,and Meta-Regression

Cannabis is the most widely used substance in the world. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of cannabis lifetime use (CLU) in high school and college students of Iran and also to determine factors related to changes in prevalence. A systematic review of literature on cannabis use in Iran was conducted according to MOOSE guideline. Domestic scientific databases, PubMed/Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Google Scholar, relevant reference lists, and relevant journals were searched up to April, 2014. Prevalences were calculated using the variance stabilizing double arcsine transformation and confidence intervals (CIs) estimated using the Wilson method. Heterogeneity was assessed by Cochran's Q statistic and I-2 index and causes of heterogeneity were evaluated using meta-regression model. In electronic database search, 4,000 citations were retrieved, producing a total of 33 studies. CLU was reported with a random effects pooled prevalence of 4.0 (95 CI = 3.0 to 5.0). In subgroups of high school and college students, prevalences were 5.0 (95 CI = 3.0 to -7.0) and 2.0 (95 CI = 2.0 to -3.0), respectively. Meta-regression model indicated that prevalence is higher in college students (beta = 0.089, p < .001), male gender (beta = 0.017, p < .001), and is lower in studies with sampling versus census studies (beta = -0.096, p < .001). This study reported that prevalence of CLU in Iranian students are lower than industrialized countries. In addition, gender, level of education, and methods of sampling are highly associated with changes in the prevalence of CLU across provinces

Tunnelling rates for the nonlinear Wannier-Stark problem

We present a method to numerically compute accurate tunnelling rates for a Bose-Einstein condensate which is described by the nonlinear Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Our method is based on a sophisticated real-time integration of the complex-scaled Gross-Pitaevskii equation, and it is capable of finding the stationary eigenvalues for the Wannier-Stark problem. We show that even weak nonlinearities have significant effects in the vicinity of very sensitive resonant tunnelling peaks, which occur in the rates as a function of the Stark field amplitude. The mean-field interaction induces a broadening and a shift of the peaks, and the latter is explained by analytic perturbation theory

Biomedical and therapeutic applications of biosurfactants

During the last years, several applications of biosurfactants with medical purposes have been reported. Biosurfactants are considered relevant molecules for applications in combating many diseases and as therapeutic agents due to their antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activities. Furthermore, their role as anti-adhesive agents against several pathogens illustrate their utility as suitable anti-adhesive coating agents for medical insertional materials leading to a reduction of a large number of hospital infections without the use of synthetic drugs and chemicals. Biomedical and therapeutic perspectives of biosurfactants applications are presented and discussed in this chapter

Elevated white blood cell counts and risk of metabolic syndrome: A dose-response meta-analysis

Background and Aim: Elevated white blood cell count has been a known risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Cardiometabolic diseases have some risk factors in common. Therefore, we assessed the association between elevated white blood cell counts and risk of metabolic syndrome using dose-response meta-analysis method. Materials & Methods: We searched for observational studies including white blood cell counts as exposure and metabolic syndrome as outcome through international databases (PubMed, Embase, and Scopus) up to October 2017. Multi-adjusted odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95 confidence intervals (CIs) were extracted from eligible articles. Random-effects model was used to estimate the relationship between elevated white blood cell counts and risk of metabolic syndrome. Result: After independent screening, 17 studies were selected and included in this meta-analysis. Compared with lowest quartile of white blood cell, OR for highest quartile was 2.35 (CI 1.81 to 3.05). Ten studies were included in dose-response meta-analysis and the result showed OR 1.21 (CI 1.10 to 1.34) per unit increase (1000/ml) in white blood cell counts. We did not find any evidence of publication bias using Egger’s regression (P=0.11). Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggested that there might be a dose response association between higher white blood cell count as an inflammatory factor and increased risk of metabolic syndrome. Also risk of metabolic syndrome is higher in the women and individuals of older age. In order to draw causal inference propective studies using genetic factors will be necessary. © 2019, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved