Deficiencies of the microelements, folate and vitamin B12 in women of the child bearing ages in Gorgan, Northern Iran

Background: The deficiencies of folic acid, vitamin B12, and microelements during pregnancy may affect the health of newborns. Objectives: To assess the serum levels of folate, vitamin B12, iron, zinc and copper in healthy women of the childbearing ages in Gorgan, northern Iran. Methodology: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out on 100 women of childbearing ages in northern Iran during November 2007-March 2008. The serum levels of folate, vitamin B12, iron, copper and zinc were evaluated by laboratory tests. Results: Iron, copper, folate, vitamin B12 deficiencies and folate with vitamin B12 deficiency were detected in 13%, 32%, 13%, 32% and 11% women of the childbearing ages, respectively. According to the ethnicity, vitamin B12, folate and iron deficiencies in the Sistani group were observed in 38.3%, 12.9% and 12.9% of the women, respectively. In the native Fars group, the above mentioned deficiencies were found in 31.1%, 13.4% and 7.5% of the subjects. Folate and vitamin B12 deficiencies were observed in the urban habitant in 32.7% and 11.5% of the subjects as compared to those in the rural habitant (in 30.4% and 15.2%of the subjects respectively). The folate deficiencies in the under and above 18 years old subjects were 22.2% and 9.9%, respectively. Conclusions: This study showed that the deficiency of the micronutrients was considerable in women of the childbearing ages in Gorgan, northern Iran

Evaluation of chemical quality in 17 brands of Iranian bottled drinking waters

Background: The purpose of study was to evaluate and compare chemical quality of Iranian bottled drinking water reported on manufacturer's labeling and standards. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional descriptive study and done during July to December 2008. The bottled mineral water collected from shops randomly were analyzed for all parameters address on manufacturer's labeling and the results were compared with the manufacturer's labeling data, WHO Guideline Values, USEPA Maximum Contaminant Levels and the maximum contaminant levels of drinking water imposed by the Iranian legislation. Statistical analysis on data was done with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normal distribution, the paired t-test to compare the data with manufacturer's labeling and the one-sample t-test to compare with standard and MCL values at P < 0.05 of confidence level. Results: The results showed a statistically significant difference with manufacturer's labeling values, however there was no significant difference between the values of magnesium and pH and manufacturer's labeling values (P> 0.05). In addition, pH and calcium values were significantly higher than their proposed values indicated by Iranian National Legislation and international MCLs (P< 0.05). Conclusion: Our results are extremely important for the health supervisory agencies such as Ministry of Health and Institute of Standards & Industrial Research of Iran to have more effective controls on bottled water industries, and to improve periodical the proposed standard values

Influential factors on growth parameters in infants using quantile regression analysis

زمینه و هدف: یکی از مسایل مهمی که بر سلامت جامعه تأثیر می گذارد، سلامت رشد کودک می باشد. بر این اساس شناخت عوامل موثر بر رشد جسمی کودکان و نیز شناخت اقدامات لازم برای حفظ و ارتقای سلامت آن ها بسیار مهم است. هدف از مطالعه حاضر تعیین عوامل مؤثر بر شاخص های رشد شیرخواران شامل قد، وزن و دور سر در شیرخواران با استفاده از تحلیل رگرسیون چندک می باشد. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه توصیفی- تحلیلی از اطلاعات مطالعه کوهورت انجام شده، در گروه تحقیقات طب اسلامی دانشگاه علوم پزشکی شهرکرد، از ماه مبارک رمضان سال 1385 تا 1388، استفاده شده است. 92 نوزاد سالم که دارای شرایط ورود به مطالعه بودند، مورد بررسی قرار گرفتند. اثرات عوامل موثر برروی شاخص های رشد، وزن، قد و دور سر، در چندک ‌های مختلف با استفاده از مدل رگرسیون چندک مقایسه شد. یافته ها: بر اساس نتایج، شاخص های رشد با وزن ابتدای تولد رابطه مستقیم دارد. تأثیر مستقیم سن مادر نیز تا 6 ماه برای وزن و دور سر کاملاً مشهود بود. رتبه تولد روی شاخص های رشد اثری معکوس داشت. مصرف آهن در چندک های 20 و 40 قد و مصرف شیر مادر در دهک دوم دور سر معنی دار بود (05/0>P). نتیجه گیری: نتایج به دست آمده از روش رگرسیون چندک به خاطر برازش خطوط رگرسیونی مختلف جامع تر از روش رگرسیون خطی بود و اثرگذاری متغیرهای تحصیلات پدر، رتبه تولد، شاخص توده بدنی مادر، تعداد اعضای خانواده، مصرف آهن، ویتامین و شیر مادر توسط رگرسیون خطی یافت نشد. در ضمن توجه بیشتری نسبت به شاخص های رشد دختران خصوصاً تا بعد از 6 ماه باید صورت گیرد

A hybrid ANN-GA model to prediction of bivariate binary responses: Application to joint prediction of occurrence of heart block and death in patients with myocardial infarction

Background: In medical studies, when the joint prediction about occurrence of two events should be anticipated, a statistical bivariate model is used. Due to the limitations of usual statistical models, other methods such as Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and hybrid models could be used. In this paper, we propose a hybrid Artificial Neural Network-Genetic Algorithm (ANN-GA) model to prediction the occurrence of heart block and death in myocardial infarction (MI) patients simultaneously. Methods: For fitting and comparing the models, 263 new patients with definite diagnosis of MI hospitalized in Cardiology Ward of Hajar Hospital, Shahrekord, Iran, from March, 2014 to March, 2016 were enrolled. Occurrence of heart block and death were employed as bivariate binary outcomes. Bivariate Logistic Regression (BLR), ANN and hybrid ANN-GA models were fitted to data. Prediction accuracy was used to compare the models. The codes were written in Matlab 2013a and Zelig package in R3.2.2. Results: The prediction accuracy of BLR, ANN and hybrid ANN-GA models was obtained 77.7%, 83.69% and 93.85% for the training and 78.48%, 84.81% and 96.2% for the test data, respectively. In both training and test data set, hybrid ANN-GA model had better accuracy. Conclusions: ANN model could be a suitable alternative for modeling and predicting bivariate binary responses when the presuppositions of statistical models are not met in actual data. In addition, using optimization methods, such as hybrid ANN-GA model, could improve precision of ANN model. © 2016, Health Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Comparison of amoxicillin and metronidazole effect on three-drug regimen for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection in children

Helicobacter pylori is an important risk factor for chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer. Three-drug regimen is the first-line treatment for this infection, but the response rate to treatment varies in different geographical regions. This study was conducted to comparatively determine the effect of amoxicillin and metronidazole on three-drug regimen to treat H. pylori infection in 1-15-year-old children. This clinical trial was conducted on 82 patients aged 1-15 years with convenience sampling referring to the Endoscopy Unit of Hajar Hospital, Shahrekord. Group 1 was administered with clarithromycin, amoxicillin, and omeprazole (CAO), and Group 2 with, clarithromycin, metronidazole, and omeprazole (CMO). One month after completion of the treatment, stool antigen test was used to study the eradication of H. pylori. Data were analyzed using SPSS software by Chi-square test. Three of the 82 patients were excluded from the study because of side effects caused by drugs. Nearly 87.2% of the patients in CAO-Treated group and 92.5% in CMO-Treated group had response to treatment. There was no significant difference in eradication rate between the two regimens (P = 0.43). The two regimens displayed no superiority over each other for eradicating H. pylori infection and response rate to treatment in children aged 1-15 years

Effects of hydroalcoholic extract of Berberis Integerrima on the anthropometric indices and metabolic profile in active rheumatoid arthritis patients

Objectives: Since, the main cause of death in Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients is the presence of type 2 diabetes, abnormal increase in blood lipids, blood pressure and obesity, the aim of this study was to assess the effects of Barberry on the anthropometric indices and metabolic profile in patients with RA. Design: present study was a double-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. Setting: 70 active RA patients were randomly allocated into intervention or placebo group Intervention: Participants received 6 capsules of 500 mg barberry extract or placebo for 3 months. Main outcome measures: Serum levels of fasting blood sugar (FBS), triglyceride (TG), LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), systolic and diastolic blood pressure and anthropometric factors were assessed at baseline and at the end of the trial. Results: The results of intervention on 62 patients showed that weight, BMI, and conicity index increased in both groups, but this was significant only in the placebo group (p < 0.001). Waist and hip circumference were decreased in the intervention group and increased significantly in the placebo group (p < 0.001). Body fat percent (p = 0.04), LDL-C (p = 0.05) and SBP (p = 0.02) significantly were decreased in the intervention group. The results showed a significant decrease in body fat percent (p = 0.05), hip circumference (p < 0.001), FBS (p = 0.03) and HDL-C (p = 0.03) in the intervention group compared to the placebo. Conclusions: Overall, the results of this study demonstrated that the extract of Berberis Integerrima had beneficial effects on metabolic profile and anthropometric indices in RA patients. © 2020 Elsevier Lt

Effects of hydroalcoholic extract of Berberis integerrima on the clinical signs, hs-CRP, TNFα, and ESR in active rheumatoid arthritis patients

Aim: To evaluate the effects of Barberry (Berberis integerrima) on clinical signs and inflammatory factors in patients with Rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Method: A total of 70 patients with active RA in a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial (IRCT 201409249472N7) were randomly allocated to intervention and control groups. All the patients consumed 1500 mg of barberry extract and 1500 mg Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) each day respectively for three months. Clinical signs and serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were measured before and after the intervention. Results: The results showed that consumption of the extract of Berberis integerrima resulted in a significant decrease in Visual Analog Scale (VAS), morning stiffness, number of tender joints, Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28), Global Physician Assessment (GPA), serum levels of ESR, TNFα (p < 0.001), and hs-CRP (p < 0.01) in intervention group compared to the control group. Changes in the number of inflamed joints, the necessity for the administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (p = 0.02), and glucocorticoids (p < 0.001) were significant only in the intervention group. Conclusion: Barberry can improve clinical signs and inflammatory factors in RA patients and may be useful in their treatment approaches. © 2021 Elsevier Gmb

Formation of Semi-Solid, Oligomerized Aqueous SOA: Cloud and Aerosol Lab Simulations

Glyoxal, methylglyoxal, glycolaldehyde, and hydroxyacetone form N-containing and oligomeric compounds during simulated cloud processing with small amines. Using a novel hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analysis (HTDMA) system that allows varied humidification times, the hygroscopic growth (HG) of each of the resulting products of simulated cloud processing was measured. Continuous water uptake (gradual deliquescence) was observed beginning at ∼40% RH for all aldehyde-methylamine products. Particles containing ionic reaction products of either glyoxal or glycine were most hygroscopic, with HG between 1.16 and 1.20 at 80% RH. Longer humidification times (up to 20 min) produced an increase in growth factors for glyoxal-methylamine (19% by vol) and methylglyoxal-methylamine (8% by vol) aerosol, indicating that unusually long equilibration times can be required for HTDMA measurements of such particles. Glyoxal- and methylglyoxal-methylamine aerosol particles shattered in Raman microscopy impact-flow experiments, revealing that the particles were semisolid. Similar experiments on glycolaldehyde- and hydroxyacetone-methylamine aerosol found that the aerosol particles were liquid when dried forh, but semisolid when dried for 20 h under ambient conditions. The RH required for flow (liquification) during humidification experiments followed the order methylglyoxal \u3e glyoxal \u3e glycolaldehyde = hydroxyacetone, likely caused by the speed of oligomer formation in each system