Clinical features, demographics, laboratory and imaging data of patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Iran

INTRODUCTION: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is an increasing major global public health threat. Mortality rate varies across countries, therefore conducting studies on this disease in different countries is necessary, and will improve disease management worldwide. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the COVID-19 disease course characteristics in Iran. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 108 patients with confirmed COVID-19 from Feb 20 to June 20, 2020, at one Hospital in Iran. In summary, we obtained demographic data, clinical, laboratory, and chest CT findings of patients. The statistical analysis evaluated patients in two groups: recovered or died. RESULT: In brief, cough (70/108, 64.8%) and fever (69/108, 63.9%) were the most common symptoms. CT scan findings of patients with COVID-19 showed that bilateral lung involvement was more common in deceased patients than recovered ones (20/26, 76.9% vs. 30/70, 42.8%, p = 0.026). Laboratory findings of routine blood tests including Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), White Blood Cell (WBC), the number of platelets (PLTs) showed a significant difference between the two groups (p <0.05). There were no significant differences in age and gender between the two groups. CONCLUSION: In this study, we described the features of deceased and recovered patients with COVID-19. Our findings suggest that levels of FBS, ESR, WBC, and PLTs, also patterns of lung involvement, existence of underlying disease, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation can be predictors of mortality risk. Further studies are proposed to investigate these characteristics in different populations

General health and its association with sleep quality in two groups of nurses with and without shift working in educational centers of Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS

Background and aim: The health condition of nurses as caregivers influences the quality of care received by patients. To reach the maximum performance, nurses themselves need be health. Nurses, because of the nature of their career confront many types of stresses in their work environment and they are among people that are prone sleep disorder because of working in morning, evening, night and especially, rotation shifts. The aim of this study is comparison of the general health and sleep quality of nurses in two groups of without shift and with shift working in IUMS- 2006. Methods: It was a descriptive - analytical study. The setting was hospitals affiliated to IUMS. Five hundreds and twenty nurses were recruited using stratified random sampling. To survey the general health and sleep quality of nurses General Health Questionnaire - 28 and Pitsberg Sleep Quality Index tools were used. Results: Chi – Square test indicatod that there was a significant difference between general health of without shift and with shift workers, so that general health of without shift workers was better than rotation shift ones. The sleep quality of without shift nurses was also better than rotation shift ones (r=0.692, P<0.001). There was a direct correlation between general health state and sleep quality (P<0.001). Conclusion: Based of the finding of this study, appropriate and efficient managmant and careful planning of working shifts is suggest to reduce sleep disturbances in nurses. Promotion of nurse’s quality of sleep can promote their general health and eventually promotes the quality care of patients

Evaluating the Motifs and Pigments of the Charta Pictographs in Kuhdasht, Lorestan

Rock arts, especially pictographs, feature peculiar characteristics in the history of Iranian art. Most scholars regard them as a form of visual art. Given the long history of representation in rock art spanning the Paleolithic period up to the present, they have been considered from various archeological, anthropological, artistic, symbolic, and historical and decorative arts perspectives to pin down their themes, meanings, and date. The present work examines a series of pictographs from the Kuhdasht region of Lorestan using a combination of field, laboratorial, and library research approaches. Notably, this is the very first study in Iran addressing the pigments of pictographs at a rock art site. A popular local tradition holds that the ancient artists used a mixture of blood, oak syrup, and soot to prepare the paint used at the site. Hence, the motifs, rock types, and pigments of the Charta region were analyzed to characterize their chemical composition and the elements constituting the pigments. To this end, a Dino Light digital loop microscope was used, and point tests and petrography were then carried out using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The elemental analyses revealed the nature of the red pigment. The motifs at Charta include representations of tools, geometric motifs, and human figures, portraying fighting or pre-fighting scenes. The chemical composition of the red pigment consisted of a high iron (Fe) content as well as smaller percentages of Ca, Mg, Al, and Si. The abundance of iron element detected in the elemental analysis of the specimen’s surface and the intensity of the peaks related to the composition of iron oxide in the FT-IR spectra might more strongly indicate the presence of these compounds in the pigment.Therefore, the pigments were mainly made of iron oxides, such as red ocher or hematite, magnetite, and magnesium. Thus, the artists invariably used highly durable and resilient mineral pigments, which based on the micrographs of the paint layer cross-sections were directly applied to the rock and, thus the absence of any sort of primer. No organic element was detected in the pigment composition

Molecular and Biomorphometrical Identification of Ovine Babesiosis in Iran

Background: Ovine babesiosis is the most important haemoparasitic tick-borne disease of small ruminants in Iran caused by Babesia ovis, B. motasi, and B. crassa. The aim of this study was to characterize the species of ovine Babesia species isolated from different geographical region of Iran.Methods: One hundred fifty four blood samples collected from animals, which demonstrated the pale mucous membranes or hyperthermia. The specimens were transferred to the laboratory and the blood smears stained with Geimsa, the morphological and biometrical data of parasite in any infected erythrocyte have been considered. Extracted DNA from each blood samples were used in PCR and semi nested- PCR in order to confirm the presence of the species.Results: The results of the PCR assays showed nine (5.85%), 81 (53%) and 18 (11.7%) were distinguished as Babesia, Theileria and mixed infection, respectively. Semi nested- PCR did not confirm the presence of B. motasi.Conclusion: The causative organism of many cases of haemoprotozoal diseases, which recorded in previous studies, could be B. ovis or Theileria lestoquardi. The result confirmed that B. ovis was only species which causes babesiosis in the study areas. It seems that the biometrical polymor­phisms could exist in B. ovis in Iran. This polymorphism could be a main problem in differen­tiation between B. ovis and B. motasi and it could be dissolved by specific PCR analysis

Prevalence of Coccidiosis in Broiler Chicken Farms in Western Iran

The main goal of current study was to investigate the prevalence of coccidiosis in broiler farms in Hamedan province, western Iran. Chicks and fecal samples were collected in all of the 220 broiler farms in this region. All viscera were examined for gross pathological changes. The mucosa of small intestine and the caeca were examined for the presence and identification of parasitic forms using parasitology methods. The overall rate of coccidiosis was 31.8%; E. acervulina (75.7%), E. tenella (54.3%), E. necatrix (28.6%), and E. maxima (20%) were determined. Mixed infections were observed in all of the positive farms. There was a statistical significant difference ( &lt; 0.05) among infection rate and age groups, dysentery, history of colibacilosis and clostridiosis in farm, and history of coccidiostats consumption, unlike to breed ( &gt; 0.05). This is the first report of coccidiosis rate in broiler farms in this region. Further additional researches and design control strategies for improving management in farms are necessary

Determinants of Weight Change in a Longitudinal Study of Iranian Adults: Isfahan Cohort Study

Background: The extensive rise in the prevalence of obesity is a matter of great concern and poses a global threat to people's health. Obesity and overweight are considered to be the consequence of a collection of conditions including genetic, social, environmental, behavioral, and physical factors. The aim of this study was to Investigate the determinants of weight change over seven years in a prospective study in an Iranian population. Methods: The Isfahan Cohort Study (ICS) is an ongoing longitudinal study started in 2001. A total of 6504 adults aged 35 years participated in this study. Subjects were followed every 2 years by phone calls. The interview and measurements were repeated in 2007 for 3284 subjects with the same protocol as the baseline study. Obesity indices, including body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were measured at both time points. For the purpose of data analysis, multiple multinomial logistic regression, Chi-square, and ANOVA tests were used. Results: In males, weight gain was more frequent from normal to overweight (11.7%), while in females, weight gain was observed more from overweight to obesity (11.4%). Younger individuals gained weight more than older individuals (P < 0.001); it was the same for lower education level (P = 0.007). Weight gain was negatively (OR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97-0.99 in male and OR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.95-0.98 in female) and weight loss was positively (OR: 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01-1.05 in male and OR: 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01-1.04 in female) associated with age in both sexes. Education more than 12 years in women and between 6-12 years in men was negatively associated with weight gain while smoking was positively related to weight loss in females and weight gain in males. Conclusion: Our data showed that multiple factors affect weight change, among which age, smoking, and education are important determinants in Iranian adults

The effect of Amirkabiria odoratissima M extract on gastric acid and pepsin secretion level in rat

چکیده: زمینه و هدف: گیاه کرفس کوهی از دسته گیاهانی است که به طور وسیعی در استانهای جنوب غرب ایران استفاده می شود. شمار زیادی از مردم بر این باورند که این گیاه برای ناراحتی های گوارشی مفید است. این مطالعه با هدف بررسی این گیاه استفاده می شود رو به افزایش است لذا این مطالعه با هدف بررسی اثر عصاره این گیاه بر میزان ترشح اسید و پپسین معده در موش صحرایی انجام شد. روش بررسی: این مطالعه بصورت تجربی بر روی سه گروه 8 تایی موش صحرایی صورت گرفت ]گروه کنترل، کرفس کوهی با دوز mg/kg 2/16 (گروه اول) و mg/kg 100 (گروه دوم). حیوانات پس از بیهوشی توسط تزریق داخل صفاقی mg/kg 50 تیوپنتال سدیم، تراکئوستومی، لاپاراتومی و گاسترودئودنوستومی شدند. عصاره گیاه کرفس کوهی با دوزهای mg/kg 2/16 و mg/kg 100 از طریق مجرای گاسترودئودنوستوم به درون معده حیوانات گروه های کرفس وارد شد. ترشحات معده به روش Wash Out شامل پایه اول و پایه دوم بدست آمد و اسید آن به روش تیتریمتری و پپسین به روش آنسون اندازه گیری شد. داده ها با استفاده از آزمونهای آماری t مستقل، t وابسته وANOVA مورد تجزیه و تحلیل آماری قرار گرفت. یافته ها: عصاره متانولی گیاه کرفس کوهی سبب کاهش معنی داری در میزان ترشح اسید معده در پایه اول و دوم در موشهای هر دو گروه کرفس کوهی نسبت به گروه کنترل گردید (01/0

Identification of SARS-CoV-2 surface therapeutic targets and drugs using molecular modeling methods for inhibition of the virus entry

Although COVID-19 emerged as a major concern to public health around the world, no licensed medication has been found as of yet to efficiently stop the virus spread and treat the infection. The SARS-CoV-2 entry into the host cell is driven by the direct interaction of the S1 domain with the ACE-2 receptor followed by conformational changes in the S2 domain, as a result of which fusion peptide is inserted into the target cell membrane, and the fusion process is mediated by the specific interactions between the heptad repeats 1 and 2 (HR1 and HR2) that form the six-helical bundle. Since blocking this interaction between HRs stops virus fusion and prevents its subsequent replication, the HRs inhibitors can be used as anti-COVID drugs. The initial drug selection is based on existing molecular databases to screen for molecules that may have a therapeutic effect on coronavirus. Based on these premises, we chose two approved drugs to investigate their interactions with the HRs (based on docking methods). To this end, molecular dynamics simulations and molecular docking were carried out to investigate the changes in the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Our results revealed, cefpiramide has the highest affinity to S protein, thereby revealing its potential to become an anti-COVID-19 clinical medicine. Therefore, this study offers new ways to re-use existing drugs to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection

Diabetes mellitus and renal failure: Prevention and management.

Nowadays, diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension are considered as the most common causes of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In this paper, other than presenting the role of DM in ESRD, glucose metabolism and the management of hyperglycemia in these patients are reviewed. Although in several large studies there was no significant relationship found between tight glycemic control and the survival of ESRD patients, it is recommended that glycemic control be considered as the main therapeutic goal in the treatment of these patients to prevent damage to other organs. Glycemic control is perfect when fasting blood sugar is less than 140 mg/dL, 1-h postprandial blood glucose is less than 200 mg/dL, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is 6-7 in patients with type 1 diabetes and 7-8 in patients with type 2 diabetes. Administration of metformin should be avoided in chronic renal failure (CRF) because of lactic acidosis, the potentially fatal complication of metformin, but glipizide and repaglinide seem to be good choices

Global burden of chronic respiratory diseases and risk factors, 1990–2019: an update from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Updated data on chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are vital in their prevention, control, and treatment in the path to achieving the third UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a one-third reduction in premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by 2030. We provided global, regional, and national estimates of the burden of CRDs and their attributable risks from 1990 to 2019. Methods: Using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, we estimated mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), prevalence, and incidence of CRDs, i.e. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, pneumoconiosis, interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis, and other CRDs, from 1990 to 2019 by sex, age, region, and Socio-demographic Index (SDI) in 204 countries and territories. Deaths and DALYs from CRDs attributable to each risk factor were estimated according to relative risks, risk exposure, and the theoretical minimum risk exposure level input. Findings: In 2019, CRDs were the third leading cause of death responsible for 4.0 million deaths (95% uncertainty interval 3.6–4.3) with a prevalence of 454.6 million cases (417.4–499.1) globally. While the total deaths and prevalence of CRDs have increased by 28.5% and 39.8%, the age-standardised rates have dropped by 41.7% and 16.9% from 1990 to 2019, respectively. COPD, with 212.3 million (200.4–225.1) prevalent cases, was the primary cause of deaths from CRDs, accounting for 3.3 million (2.9–3.6) deaths. With 262.4 million (224.1–309.5) prevalent cases, asthma had the highest prevalence among CRDs. The age-standardised rates of all burden measures of COPD, asthma, and pneumoconiosis have reduced globally from 1990 to 2019. Nevertheless, the age-standardised rates of incidence and prevalence of interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis have increased throughout this period. Low- and low-middle SDI countries had the highest age-standardised death and DALYs rates while the high SDI quintile had the highest prevalence rate of CRDs. The highest deaths and DALYs from CRDs were attributed to smoking globally, followed by air pollution and occupational risks. Non-optimal temperature and high body-mass index were additional risk factors for COPD and asthma, respectively. Interpretation: Albeit the age-standardised prevalence, death, and DALYs rates of CRDs have decreased, they still cause a substantial burden and deaths worldwide. The high death and DALYs rates in low and low-middle SDI countries highlights the urgent need for improved preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic measures. Global strategies for tobacco control, enhancing air quality, reducing occupational hazards, and fostering clean cooking fuels are crucial steps in reducing the burden of CRDs, especially in low- and lower-middle income countries