Unraveling urban form and collision risk: The spatial distribution of traffic accidents in Zanjan, Iran

Official statistics demonstrate the role of traffic accidents in the increasing number of fa-talities, especially in emerging countries. In recent decades, the rate of deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents in Iran, a rapidly growing economy in the Middle East, has risen significantly with respect to that of neighboring countries. The present study illustrates an exploratory spatial analysis’ framework aimed at identifying and ranking hazardous locations for traffic accidents in Zanjan, one of the most populous and dense cities in Iran. This framework quantifies the spatiotem-poral association among collisions, by comparing the results of different approaches (including Kernel Density Estimation (KDE), Natural Breaks Classification (NBC), and Knox test). Based on descriptive statistics, five distance classes (2–26, 27–57, 58–105, 106–192, and 193–364 meters) were tested when predicting location of the nearest collision within the same temporal unit. The empirical results of our work demonstrate that the largest roads and intersections in Zanjan had a significantly higher frequency of traffic accidents than the other locations. A comparative analysis of distance bandwidths indicates that the first (2–26 m) class concentrated the most intense level of spatiotem-poral association among traffic accidents. Prevention (or reduction) of traffic accidents may benefit from automatic identification and classification of the most risky locations in urban areas. Thanks to the larger availability of open-access datasets reporting the location and characteristics of car accidents in both advanced countries and emerging economies, our study demonstrates the potential of an integrated analysis of the level of spatiotemporal association in traffic collisions over metropolitan regions

Factors underlying life quality in urban contexts: Evidence from an industrial city (arak, iran)

Cities play a vital role in local development providing a high education level, specialized jobs and advanced services. When assessing living conditions and wellbeing in cities, economic indicators alone are generally unable to evaluate the inherent complexity of the 'quality of life' issue in urban environments. With rapid urbanization, shortage of infrastructures and services emerged in metropolitan regions of developing countries, leading to disadvantaged settlements, urban poverty, lower citizens' satisfaction, and an overall decline in life quality. Based on these premises, the present study illustrates a subjective investigation of life quality in an emerging economy such as Iran, focusing on Arak, the fourth largest industrial pole of the country. Based on a literature review on quality of life in industrial cities of emerging economies, subjective indicators of citizens' satisfaction on living quality in Arak were identified and quantified using empirical results from a field survey. Results of our study show that the overall satisfaction for living quality in Arak is rather low, reaching the lowest rank in the issues of environmental sanitation and public transportation. Lack of investments in urban infrastructure justifies the low citizens' perception of life quality in Arak city. The paper concludes outlining the urgent need of homogeneous and comparable macro-and micro-data on multiple aspects of quality of life at both city-level and metropolitan-level in emerging economies

Medicinal plants and atherosclerosis: A review on molecular aspects

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory vascular disease that is characterized by progressive accumulation of cholesterol in the arterial walls and it is a major cause of cardiovascular disease. Issues related to the side effects of synthetic drugs have in recent times, led to the misuse of drugs, a lack of patient consultations, and consequently, a disruption in meticulous disease control. Therefore, a new insight into medicinal plants has recently emerged and much research has been conducted on these herbs in an attempt to prepare novel naturally based drugs. The aim of this review article was to scrutinize the molecular mechanisms of medicinal plants possessing effectiveness against atherosclerosis. To conduct the review, electronic searches were performed to retrieve potentially relevant publications, indexed within internet databases and reference textbooks concerning the effects and underlying molecular mechanisms of plants or their constituents used to treat atherosclerosis. Overall, medicinal plants facilitate atherosclerosis treatment through a variety of mechanisms which include the regulation of expression of inflammatory factors, stimulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase), promotion of ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) as well as ATP-binding cassette transporter G (ABCG), facilitation of adiponectin activity, reduction of sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) and antioxidant activity. An increased perception of these herbal mechanistic links is an important prelude to the design of novel plant based drugs

Spatial planning, urban governance and the economic context: The case of 'Mehr' housing plan, Iran

With the increasing concentration of population and economic activities in metropolitan regions, dwelling shortages and housing quality have become critical issues in urban management. Town plans considering social, economic, political, and cultural features of local communities have been developed with the aim of supporting housing, especially in emerging economies. In Iran, the 'Mehr Housing' Plan has been considered as one of the most relevant strategies for social housing since the 2000s. However, the acceptance of 'Mehr Housing' plans at the community scale has been rather low, reflecting the fact that it is a top-down, non-participatory policy. The present study investigates the most important factors affecting social acceptance of 'Mehr Housing' plans by interviewing 45 experts through a structured questionnaire that evaluated multiple analyses' dimensions of housing and urban planning in Iran. Results showed that six dimensions (physical, institutional-managerial, economic, socio-cultural, legal, and locational) had contributed to social dissatisfaction with 'Mehr Housing' local initiatives. In particular, socio-cultural and legal dimensions were demonstrated to have a large impact on local communities' dissatisfaction

COVID-19 under spotlight: A close look at the origin, transmission, diagnosis, and treatment of the 2019-nCoV disease

Months after the outbreak of a new flu-like disease in China, the entire world is now in a state of caution. The subsequent less-anticipated propagation of the novel coronavirus disease, formally known as COVID-19, not only made it to headlines by an overwhelmingly high transmission rate and fatality reports, but also raised an alarm for the medical community all around the globe. Since the causative agent, SARS-CoV-2, is a recently discovered species, there is no specific medicine for downright treatment of the infection. This has led to an unprecedented societal fear of the newly born disease, adding a psychological aspect to the physical manifestation of the virus. Herein, the COVID-19 structure, epidemiology, pathogenesis, etiology, diagnosis, and therapy have been reviewed. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Application of Nanobiotechnology for Early Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract: A most discussed topic of the new decade, COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the recently discovered SARS-CoV-2. With an exceedingly high transmission rate, COVID-19 has affected almost all the countries in the world. Absent any vaccine or specific treatment, the humanity is left with nothing but the legacy method of quarantine. However, quarantine can only be effective when combined with early diagnosis of suspected cases. With their high sensitivity and unmatched specificity, biosensors have become an area of interest for development of novel diagnostic methods. Compared to the more traditional diagnostics, nanobiotechnology introduces biosensors as different diagnostics with greater versatility in application. Today, a growing number of analytes are being accurately identified by these nanoscopic sensing machines. Several reports of validated application with real samples further strengthen this idea. As of recent, there has been a rise in the number of studies on portable biosensors. Despite the slow progression, certain devices with embedded biosensors have managed to be of diagnostic value in several countries. The perceptible increase in development of mobile platforms has revolutionized the healthcare delivery system in the new millennium. The present article reviews the most recent advancements in development of diagnostic nanobiosensors and their application in the clinical fields. Key points: � There is no specific treatment for highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2. � Early diagnosis is critical for control of pandemic. � Highly sensitive/specific nanobiosensors are emerging assets against COVID-19. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature

Association between perineal trauma and pain in primiparous women

Objective To identify the association between perineal trauma and pain in 473 primiparous women. Method Cross-sectional study in which pain was measured by the numerical pain scale (0 to 10 - 0 being no pain and 10 maximal pain). Results The prevalence and mean intensity of pain were 33.0% and 4.7 points (standard deviation = 2.0) in the numeric scale, respectively. Episiotomy represented the most frequent trauma (46.7%). The occurrence and intensity of the pain were associated with perineal trauma and postpartum time. Having perineal trauma tripled the chance of pain. Each hour elapsed following the birth reduced the chance of pain by 4.8%. Conclusion Primiparous women are subject to a high frequency of perineal trauma, with episiotomy being the most prominent. Perineal pain affects approximately one-third of primiparous women and is associated with the postpartum time and perineal traumas

Intelligent mining of large-scale bio-data: bioinformatics applications

Today, there is a collection of a tremendous amount of bio-data because of the computerized applications worldwide. Therefore, scholars have been encouraged to develop effective methods to extract the hidden knowledge in these data. Consequently, a challenging and valuable area for research in artificial intelligence has been created. Bioinformatics creates heuristic approaches and complex algorithms using artificial intelligence and information technology in order to solve biological problems. Intelligent implication of the data can accelerate biological knowledge discovery. Data mining, as biology intelligence, attempts to find reliable, new, useful and meaningful patterns in huge amounts of data. Hence, there is a high potential to raise the interaction between artificial intelligence and bio-data mining. The present paper argues how artificial intelligence can assist bio-data analysis and gives an up-to-date review of different applications of bio-data mining. It also highlights some future perspectives of data mining in bioinformatics that can inspire further developments of data mining instruments. Important and new techniques are critically discussed for intelligent knowledge discovery of different types of row datasets with applicable examples in human, plant and animal sciences. Finally, a broad perception of this hot topic in data science is given

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

BACKGROUND: Disorders 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. METHODS: We 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. FINDINGS: Globally, 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. INTERPRETATION: As 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

Global burden and strength of evidence for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Understanding the health consequences associated with exposure to risk factors is necessary to inform public health policy and practice. To systematically quantify the contributions of risk factor exposures to specific health outcomes, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 aims to provide comprehensive estimates of exposure levels, relative health risks, and attributable burden of disease for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, from 1990 to 2021. Methods: The GBD 2021 risk factor analysis used data from 54 561 total distinct sources to produce epidemiological estimates for 88 risk factors and their associated health outcomes for a total of 631 risk–outcome pairs. Pairs were included on the basis of data-driven determination of a risk–outcome association. Age-sex-location-year-specific estimates were generated at global, regional, and national levels. Our approach followed the comparative risk assessment framework predicated on a causal web of hierarchically organised, potentially combinative, modifiable risks. Relative risks (RRs) of a given outcome occurring as a function of risk factor exposure were estimated separately for each risk–outcome pair, and summary exposure values (SEVs), representing risk-weighted exposure prevalence, and theoretical minimum risk exposure levels (TMRELs) were estimated for each risk factor. These estimates were used to calculate the population attributable fraction (PAF; ie, the proportional change in health risk that would occur if exposure to a risk factor were reduced to the TMREL). The product of PAFs and disease burden associated with a given outcome, measured in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), yielded measures of attributable burden (ie, the proportion of total disease burden attributable to a particular risk factor or combination of risk factors). Adjustments for mediation were applied to account for relationships involving risk factors that act indirectly on outcomes via intermediate risks. Attributable burden estimates were stratified by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintile and presented as counts, age-standardised rates, and rankings. To complement estimates of RR and attributable burden, newly developed burden of proof risk function (BPRF) methods were applied to yield supplementary, conservative interpretations of risk–outcome associations based on the consistency of underlying evidence, accounting for unexplained heterogeneity between input data from different studies. Estimates reported represent the mean value across 500 draws from the estimate's distribution, with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) calculated as the 2·5th and 97·5th percentile values across the draws. Findings: Among the specific risk factors analysed for this study, particulate matter air pollution was the leading contributor to the global disease burden in 2021, contributing 8·0% (95% UI 6·7–9·4) of total DALYs, followed by high systolic blood pressure (SBP; 7·8% [6·4–9·2]), smoking (5·7% [4·7–6·8]), low birthweight and short gestation (5·6% [4·8–6·3]), and high fasting plasma glucose (FPG; 5·4% [4·8–6·0]). For younger demographics (ie, those aged 0–4 years and 5–14 years), risks such as low birthweight and short gestation and unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing (WaSH) were among the leading risk factors, while for older age groups, metabolic risks such as high SBP, high body-mass index (BMI), high FPG, and high LDL cholesterol had a greater impact. From 2000 to 2021, there was an observable shift in global health challenges, marked by a decline in the number of all-age DALYs broadly attributable to behavioural risks (decrease of 20·7% [13·9–27·7]) and environmental and occupational risks (decrease of 22·0% [15·5–28·8]), coupled with a 49·4% (42·3–56·9) increase in DALYs attributable to metabolic risks, all reflecting ageing populations and changing lifestyles on a global scale. Age-standardised global DALY rates attributable to high BMI and high FPG rose considerably (15·7% [9·9–21·7] for high BMI and 7·9% [3·3–12·9] for high FPG) over this period, with exposure to these risks increasing annually at rates of 1·8% (1·6–1·9) for high BMI and 1·3% (1·1–1·5) for high FPG. By contrast, the global risk-attributable burden and exposure to many other risk factors declined, notably for risks such as child growth failure and unsafe water source, with age-standardised attributable DALYs decreasing by 71·5% (64·4–78·8) for child growth failure and 66·3% (60·2–72·0) for unsafe water source. We separated risk factors into three groups according to trajectory over time: those with a decreasing attributable burden, due largely to declining risk exposure (eg, diet high in trans-fat and household air pollution) but also to proportionally smaller child and youth populations (eg, child and maternal malnutrition); those for which the burden increased moderately in spite of declining risk exposure, due largely to population ageing (eg, smoking); and those for which the burden increased considerably due to both increasing risk exposure and population ageing (eg, ambient particulate matter air pollution, high BMI, high FPG, and high SBP). Interpretation: Substantial progress has been made in reducing the global disease burden attributable to a range of risk factors, particularly those related to maternal and child health, WaSH, and household air pollution. Maintaining efforts to minimise the impact of these risk factors, especially in low SDI locations, is necessary to sustain progress. Successes in moderating the smoking-related burden by reducing risk exposure highlight the need to advance policies that reduce exposure to other leading risk factors such as ambient particulate matter air pollution and high SBP. Troubling increases in high FPG, high BMI, and other risk factors related to obesity and metabolic syndrome indicate an urgent need to identify and implement interventions