Volatile composition of the peel and leaf essential oils of Citrus nobilis Lour. var deliciosa Swingle

The fruits and leaves of Citrus nobilis Lour. var deliciosa Swingle were collected from south of Iran and their essential oils were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS). The oil yields of the fresh peel and leaves obtained separately by hydrodistillation were 1.2 and 0.2% (V/W), respectively. 17 components accounting for 99.2% of the peel oil and 34 components accounting for 98.5% of the leaf oil were identified. The main classes of compounds were found to be monoterpenes [monoterpene hydrocarbons (96.0%) and monoterpene alcohols (1.8%)] in the peel oil and monoterpenes [monoterpene hydrocarbons (47.6%), monoterpene alcohols (36.9%)] and sesquiterpenes [sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (2.9%) and sesquiterpene alcohols (3.7%)] in the leaf oil. The major constituent of the peel oil were limonene (87.8%) and γ-terpinene (6.1%), while the major constituents of the leaf oil were linalool (32.8%), sabinene (28.8), (E)-β-ocimene (6.2%) and limonene (5.2%).Key words: Citrus nobilis Lour., chemical composition, essential oils, class composition

Relationship among sera lipoprotein abnormalities in healthy individuals with background of diabetic sibling

As the prevalence of lipoprotein abnormalities in adolescents is increasing dramatically, the identification of relevant risk factors is a major public health challenge. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a family history of diabetes could be a risk factor for lipid abnormalities in healthy individuals. This study is a cross-sectional case control study. 179 men and women were studied in two equal-member groups (with diabetic parents' background and without any diabetic sibling). Both groups matched in body mass index (BMI), age and sex. The serum concentration of oxidized-low density lipoprotein (LDL), Apo B100 and insulin were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbant assay technique and TG, Chol, HDL-C, FBS and GTT by enzymatic methods. The LDL-C level was calculated using the Friedewald formula. The results show that there were no significant variation in the amount of plasma FBS, GTT, Cho, TG, LDL and HDL between the two groups, whereas a significant increase was found in the amount of insulin (P = 0.02), Apo B100 (P = 0.001), OX-LDL (P = 0.001) and HOMA-IR (P = 0.03) in the case group as compared to the control group. We conclude that a family history of diabetic parents can lead to lipid parameters abnormalities and CVD risk factor via aggregation of inherited defected genes.Key words: Diabetes, oxidized-low density lipoprotein (LDL), Apo B100, lipoproteins

The effect of interferon-beta1a on relapses and progression of disability in patients with clinically isolated syndromes (CIS) suggestive of multiple sclerosis

Objectives: In 85 of young adults with multiple sclerosis (MS), onset is a subacute clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) of the optic nerves, brain stem or spinal cord. The advent of disease-modifying treatments for MS has increased attention on early stages of the disease. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of interferon on relapses and progression of disability in patients with a CIS. Patients and methods: This randomized, clinical trial was conducted in 25 patients who presented with a CIS indicative of MS. They were evaluated in two groups: 11 patients who were receiving interferon-beta1a (Rebif, Serono) subcutaneous injections three times a week (group A), and 14 patients who were not receiving disease-modifying treatment (group B). The progression of disability was determined using the Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and the numbers of new relapses were recorded during 21 months of follow-up. Results: The mean numbers of new relapses and changes in EDSS at the end of study period were 0.68 (standard deviation S.D. = 0.80) and -1.09 (S.D. = 0.49), and 1.79 (S.D. = 1.05) and -0.64 (S.D. = 0.49) in groups A and B, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that disease-modifying treatment with interferon-beta1a may reduce relapses (P = 0.007) and prevent progressive disability (P = 0.034). Conclusion: Interferon-beta1a significantly delayed progression to disability and incidence of new relapses. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

A posteriori error analysis and adaptive non-intrusive numerical schemes for systems of random conservation laws

In this article we consider one-dimensional random systems of hyperbolic conservation laws. We first establish existence and uniqueness of random entropy admissible solutions for initial value problems of conservation laws which involve random initial data and random flux functions. Based on these results we present an a posteriori error analysis for a numerical approximation of the random entropy admissible solution. For the stochastic discretization, we consider a non-intrusive approach, the Stochastic Collocation method. The spatio-temporal discretization relies on the Runge--Kutta Discontinuous Galerkin method. We derive the a posteriori estimator using continuous reconstructions of the discrete solution. Combined with the relative entropy stability framework this yields computable error bounds for the entire space-stochastic discretization error. The estimator admits a splitting into a stochastic and a deterministic (space-time) part, allowing for a novel residual-based space-stochastic adaptive mesh refinement algorithm. We conclude with various numerical examples investigating the scaling properties of the residuals and illustrating the efficiency of the proposed adaptive algorithm

Evaluation of the efficacy of two doses of vitamin D supplementation on glycemic, lipidemic and oxidative stress biomarkers during pregnancy: a randomized clinical trial

Background: Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy is common and is likely to be associated with metabolic complications in the mother. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of two doses of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy on maternal and cord blood vitamin D status and metabolic and oxidative stress biomarkers. Methods: The eligible pregnant women (n = 84) invited to participate in the study and randomly allocated to one of the two supplementation groups (1000 IU/d vitamin D and 2000 IU/d). Biochemical assessments of mothers including serum concentrations of 25(OH)D, calcium, phosphate, iPTH, fasting serum sugar (FBS), insulin, triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were done at the beginning and 34 weeks of gestation. Cord blood serum concentrations of 25(OH)D, iPTH, MDA and TAC were assessed at delivery as well. To determine the effects of vitamin D supplementation on metabolic markers 1-factor repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used. Between groups comparisons was done by using Independent-samples Student�s t-test or Mann-Whitney test. P < 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: Supplementation with 1000 IU/d and 2000 IU/d vitamin D resulted in significant changes in vitamin D status over pregnancy (24.01 ± 21.7, P < 0.001 in 1000 IU/d group and 46.7 ± 30.6 nmol/L, P < 0.001 in 2000 IU/d group). Daily intake of 2000 compared with 1000 IU/d tended to increase the serum concentration of HDL-C (10 ± 8.37, P < 0.001 in 1000 IU/d group and 9.52 ± 11.39 mg/dL, P < 0.001 in 2000 IU/d group). A significant decrement in serum concentration of iPTH observed in both groups (� 4.18 ± 7.5, P = 0.002 in 1000 IU/d group and � 8.36 ± 14.17, P = 0.002 in 2000 IU/d group). Conclusions: Supplementation with 2000 IU/d vitamin D as compared with 1000 IU/d, is more effective in promoting vitamin D status and HDL-C serum concentration and in decreasing iPTH over pregnancy. Trial registration: This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03308487). Registered 12 October 2017 �retrospectively registered�. © 2020, The Author(s)

Rivaroxaban for the treatment of cerebral venous thrombosis

Background: New Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs) such as Rivaroxaban are introduced as alternatives to conventional vitamin-K antagonists in the long-term treatment of thrombotic events due to their lower bleeding risk. There is a lack of evidence on the effectiveness and safety of Rivaroxaban in Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). This study aims to assess the effectiveness and bleeding risk of Rivaroxaban in comparison with Warfarin for the treatment of CVT. Materials and methods: 36 patients with diagnosis of CVT were included. Clinical and background information was assessed on admission and patients were followed for at least 12 months. Measured outcomes were modified Rankin Scale (mRS), evidence of recanalization on contrast-enhanced Brain MR venography (MRV) and major or minor bleeding. Patients were divided into two groups according to the type of oral anticoagulant (Rivaroxaban vs Warfarin). Groups were compared in terms of final outcomes and side effects. Result: Overall, 13 (36.11) patients received Warfarin and 23 (63.89) received Rivaroxaban. Optimal mRS score (0�1) was attained in 9 of 10 (90) of patients treated with Rivaroxaban and 19 of 22 (86.36) of patients received Warfarin. MRV showed complete or partial recanalization in 12 of 14 (85.71) patients treated with Rivaroxaban and all patients in the Warfarin group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of major and minor hemorrhage. Conclusion: Rivaroxaban holds promise for the treatment of CVT. © 2021, The Author(s)

Prediction of Breast Cancer Risk in Women over 35 Years Old Living in Villages of Zanjan: A Study Based on Gail Model

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most important malignancies in both developed and developing countries. Objectives: To reduce the burden of this disease, the prediction of individuals at risk and implementation of efficient preventive interventions can be effective. The present study was aimed at investigating five-year and lifetime risks of the breast cancer in a rural community in Zanjan province, Iran. Methods: A total of 435 subjects aged 35 years old were randomly selected using systematic randomization in a rural community in Zanjan. The participation rate was 92.4% (402 women). Data collection instrument was a questionnaire in which all associated variables of Gail model and demographic information were included. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 18, and mean cancer risks were reported. Results: Family history of breast cancer and history of breast biopsy were found to be positive in 3.5% and 0.3% of participants, respectively. Out of all participants, 84.3% were under 60 years old and 13.2% were illiterate. Five-year and lifetime mean risks were fund to be 0.74% and 7.6%, respectively. About 2% of the participants had a higher cancer risk>1.66%. Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that based on the Gail model, the lifetime risk of the participants will be one out of 13 women. Given the lower estimations of Gail model in the prediction of breast cancer, we suggest general population interventions and high-risk strategies be implemented to decrease problems associated with the breast cancer in the future

Finite Difference Methods for Second Order in Space, First Order in Time Hyperbolic Systems and the Linear Shifted Wave Equation as a Model Problem in Numerical Relativity

Motivated by the problem of solving the Einstein equations, we discuss high order finite difference discretizations of first order in time, second order in space hyperbolic systems.Particular attention is paid to the case when first order derivatives that can be identified with advection terms are approximated with non-centered finite difference operators.We first derive general properties of these discrete operators, then we extend a known result on numerical stability for such systems to general order of accuracy.As an application we analyze the shifted wave equation, including the behavior of the numerical phase and group speeds at different orders of approximations. Special attention is paid to when the use of off-centered schemes improves the accuracy over the centered schemes.Comment: 36 pages, 10 figure

Essential oil analysis and antibacterial activity of Ferula assa-foetida L. aerial parts from Neishabour mountains

Abstract Background and objectives: Ferula assa-foetida (asafoetida) is a native Iranian species which grows in different regions and climates in Iran. The plant is well known in Iranian Traditional Medicine as well as folk medicine for treatment of diseases. Several studies have been carried out on the essential oil of this species collected from different areas of Iran. This study is the first report about the essential oil of the plant collected from Neishabour mountains that is a potent area for growing this valuable plant species. Methods: Essential oil of the aerial part of Ferula assa-foetida which was collected from Neishabour, Iran, was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). The minimum inhibitory concentrations of the essential oil was investigated against both Grampositive (Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia) bacteria using microdilution method. Results: Twenty three components representing 97.06% of the total oil were identified. (E)-1-propenyl sec-butyl disulfide (53.77%), (Z)-1-propenyl sec-butyl disulfide (35.6%) and α-pinene (3.4%) were identified as major components. The MIC of the essential oil ranged from 12-24 mg/mL against all tested bacteria. Conclusion: The results indicated that among various compounds identified in the essential oil of F. assa-foetida L. from Neishabour mountains, disulphide compounds were the major constituents of the oil. In comparison to other reports of this plant around the country, disulphide compounds could be the reason of its moderate antibacterial effect

Occupational injury history and universal precautions awareness: a survey in Kabul hospital staff

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Health staff in Afghanistan may be at high risk of needle stick injury and occupational infection with blood borne pathogens, but we have not found any published or unpublished data.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Our aim was to measure the percentage of healthcare staff reporting sharps injuries in the preceding 12 months, and to explore what they knew about universal precautions. In five randomly selected government hospitals in Kabul a total of 950 staff participated in the study. Data were analyzed with Epi Info 3.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seventy three percent of staff (72.6%, 491/676) reported sharps injury in the preceding 12 months, with remarkably similar levels between hospitals and staff cadres in the 676 (71.1%) people responding. Most at risk were gynaecologist/obstetricians (96.1%) followed by surgeons (91.1%), nurses (80.2%), dentists (75.4%), midwives (62.0%), technicians (50.0%), and internist/paediatricians (47.5%). Of the injuries reported, the commonest were from hollow-bore needles (46.3%, n = 361/780), usually during recapping. Almost a quarter (27.9%) of respondents had not been vaccinated against hepatitis B. Basic knowledge about universal precautions were found insufficient across all hospitals and cadres.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Occupational health policies for universal precautions need to be implemented in Afghani hospitals. Staff vaccination against hepatitis B is recommended.</p