The comparison of eating attitude and general health among native and non-native girl students of Tehran City universities, Iran

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to compare the attitude toward nutrition and general health in native and non-native students.METHODS: The statistical population of this study included all female students with emphasis on the students who were studying at Islamic Azad University of Tehran, Iran, in the year 2017-2018. According to the Morgan’s table, a sample of 320 people was selected using the convenience sampling method and was divided into two groups of 160 people. Regarding the purposefulness of the emphasis on the indigenous and non-homogeneous nature of the students by matching the groups (in order to control the variables of gender, economic status, marital status, age, and educational level), the non-native group was first identified and then the native group was matched. In this research, Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) (Garner and Garfinkel, 1979) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) (McDowell et al., 1996) were used. To analyze the data obtained from independent t-test, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and multivariate regression, SPSS software was used.RESULTS: There was no significant difference between attitude toward nutrition and general health in native and non-native students.CONCLUSION: Higher attention should be paid to non-native students’ nutrition

Association of ApaI and Taq1 polymorphic site of vitamin D receptor gene with bone mineral density in women aged 45 years and older

زمینه و هدف: پوکی استخوان یک بیماری خاموش است که مسبب کاهش در استحکام و تراکم بافت استخوانی بوده و منجر به افزایش شکستگی استخوان‌ها می‌شود. اهمیت پلی‌مورفیسم‌های ApaI و TaqI ژن گیرنده ویتامین D (VDR) در متابولیسم و تراکم استخوان در نقاط دیگر جهان نشان داده شده است. هدف از این مطالعه بررسی ارتباط بین این پلی مورفیسم ها با میزان تراکم استخوان در زنان 45 سال و بالاتر در استان چهارمحال و بختیاری بود. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه توصیفی- تحلیلی، 200 خانم 45 سال و بالاتر مراجعه کننده به مراکز سنجش تراکم استخوان شهرکرد در سال های 92-1391 شرکت کردند. تراکم استخوان گردن ران و مهره های کمر با استفاده از روش DEXA اندازه گیری و براساس درجه T-Score آن ها به دو گروه بیمار (130) و سالم (70) تقسیم شدند. ژنوتیپ های مختلف (ApaI (AA/Aa/aa وTaq1 (TT/Tt/tt) با روش PCR RFLP تعیین و فراوانی آن ها در گروه بیمار محاسبه شد. یافته ها: بین پلی مورفیسم ApaI و میزان تراکم استخوان ارتباط معنی داری مشاهده نشد. پلی مورفیسم TaqI و میزان تراکم استخوان گردن ران ارتباط معنی داری داشت؛ ولی با تراکم استخوان مهره های کمری ارتباط معنی داری نداشت. بیماران دارای ژنوتیپ هموزیگوت غالب (TT) در مقایسه با ژنوتیپ های دیگر، کمترین میزان تراکم استخوان گردن ران را داشتند و میزان تراکم استخوان مهره‌های کمر در سه ژنوتیپ TaqI یکسان بود. نتیجه گیری: پلی مورفیسم TaqI ممکن است یک نشانگر خوب در تشخیص زنان مستعد پوکی استخوان در استان چهارمحال و بختیاری و حتی در ایران باشد. اگرچه باید جمعیت های دیگر و بزرگتری برای تأیید این نتایج مطالعه شوند

Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Activity of Cuminum Cyminum as an Intracanal Medicament Compared to Chlorhexidine Gel

Introduction: The aims of this study were i) to define the chemical constituents of Cuminum cyminum (cumin) essential oil, ii) to compare the antimicrobial activity of this oil to that of chlorhexidine (CHX) and co-trimoxazole on planktonic and biofilm forms of bacteria isolated from the teeth with persistent endodontic infection and iii) to compare the cytotoxicity of these medicaments on L929 fibroblasts. Methods and Materials: Three groups of microorganisms [aerobic bacterial mixture, anaerobic bacterial mixture and Enterococcus faecalis (E .faecalis)] were isolated from the teeth with persistent apical periodontitis. Zone of inhibition (ZOI), minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration (MBIC) and time-kill tests were performed to assess the antimicrobial efficacy of the medicaments. Further, a cytocompatibility analysis of the medicaments was performed on L929 fibroblasts. The results obtained from disc diffusion test and mean cell viability values of the experimental medicaments were analyzed using two-way and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: Seventeen constituents were recognized in cumin oil (predominantly cumin aldehyde and γ-terpinene). Co-trimoxazole showed the greatest ZOI followed by cumin and CHX. The smallest MIC and MBC belonged to co-trimoxazole followed by cumin and CHX for all groups of bacteria except for E. faecalis for which the MBC of cumin was smaller than co-trimoxazole. The results of time-kill assay revealed that all medicaments totally inhibited the bacterial growth in all groups after 24 h. CHX was the most cytotoxic solution while there were no significant differences between the cytocompatibility of different concentrations of cumin essential oil and co-trimoxazole. Conclusion: Cumin exhibited a strong antimicrobial efficiency against the microbial flora of the teeth with failed endodontic treatments and it was biocompatible for L929 mouse fibroblasts.Keywords: Antibacterial Activity; Chlorhexidine; Co-trimoxazole; Cuminum Cyminum; Cytotoxicity; Intracanal Medicamen

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

BackgroundDisorders 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.MethodsWe 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.FindingsGlobally, 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.InterpretationAs 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 of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Representating Religious Teachings in Textbooks; Analysis of the Content of the Elementary School Textbooks Based on the Components of Religious Teachings

The purpose of this study was to analyze the content of elementary school textbooks based on the degree of attention to religious teachings. The study method was quantitative content analysis and the research population included all the textbooks of the first to third grades of elementary school that were used in primary schools in the academic year 2021-2022. Based on this, 22 book titles with 423 lessons, 2455 pages and 2469 images in total were reviewed and analyzed. The coding process was done deductively. The components of religious teachings (doctrinal teachings, moral-value teachings, ritual-practical teachings, emotional teachings) were extracted from theoretical foundations and in consultation with 7 professors of religious education. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (chi-square) were used to analyze the data and a retest method was used to study the reliability. The amount of agreement calculated as a criterion for coding reliability was 79%. The findings of this study showed that the component of moral values has the highest frequency and emotional teachings have the lowest frequency. The books of heavenly gifts, Persian and Quran have the most teachings and the least amount are found in the books of experimental sciences and in all the books they are thematic in teaching religious teachings

Geographical Distribution, Time Trend, and Epidemiological Characteristics of Animal-Bite Cases in Bardsir, 2010-2014

ABSTRACT Introduction: Animal bites are one of the serious threats to human health, leading numerous consequences such as fatal disease of rabies. Given the importance of animal bite throughout the country, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the geographical distribution, time trend and epidemiological characteristics of animal-bite cases in Bardsir County, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the records of people suffering from animal bite between April 2010 and March 2014 in Bardsir County. Data were analyzed in SPSS v.20 software using descriptive statistics including frequency and percentage, log-linear model and time series model. Arc GIS software was employed to plot the geographical distribution of animal-bite cases. Results: The findings of this study indicated that totally 1,500 cases of animal bite had occurred during the study period. Mashiz district (with 695 cases of bite) had the most animal bites. In terms of time, animal-bite cases had no particular trend. The results showed that the incidence rate of bite in men was 2.12 times more than in women (p<0.001). In the age group of 31- 45 years compared to the reference age group (0-6 years), the rate of bite was 5.98 times greater (p<0.001). In the homemakers compared to the reference group (children) the incidence rate of animal bite was 4.96 times greater (p<0.001). Among the biting animals, dogs were responsible for the most bites (76.9%). In terms of bitten organs, limbs were bitten frequently (52.8%). The majority of victims had received the vaccine in accordance with the three-dose immunization schedule (91%). Conclusion: It seems that the determinants regarding high incidence of animal bite in Bardsir County are the type of activities and occupations. Therefore, special and preventive educational programs might be useful in high-risk groups. Keywords: Animal Bite,Time Trend, Bardsir, Ira