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Growing evidence indicates a potential link between polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and selenium (Se) levels. This study aims to assess Se concentrations in Saudi women with and without PCOS and to explore the relationships between Se levels, insulin resistance (IR), adiponectin, and lipid markers. We randomly recruited 197 women aged 18 to 40, both with and without PCOS, for this age-matched case-control study. The PCOS participants were categorized into three groups based on their Se levels. All participants underwent interviews, and their anthropometric measurements and blood samples were collected for further analysis of biochemical variables. There was a notable difference between the two groups studied across all biochemical variables. Specifically, fasting blood glucose, insulin, the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) index, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides were significantly higher in the PCOS group compared to the control group (p < 0.01). Conversely, Se, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and adiponectin levels were significantly lower in women with PCOS than in their age-matched controls (p < 0.01). HOMA-IR was identified as the sole independent predictor of serum Se levels, explaining 17.2% of the variability in its circulating levels (β =  - 0.57; 95% CI: - 0.96 to - 0.18, p = 0.004). The findings reveal that women with PCOS have lower serum Se levels compared to the controls. Furthermore, the results confirm a correlation between Se levels and insulin resistance., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: The head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis, is an obligate ectoparasite and its infestation remains a major public health issue worldwide. Determining the genetic characteristics of the existing clades is essential to identify the population structure and to develop head lice-control programs. Hence, we aimed to investigate the genetic diversity of head lice among infested individuals in northern Iran., Methods: Adult head lice were collected from 100 infested individuals referring to the health centers throughout five geographical regions in Mazandaran Province, Iran. Partial fragments of the mitochondrial cytb gene were amplified by PCR, then consequently sequenced., Results: The results of the phylogenetic tree of collected head lice confirmed the existence of two clades, A and B, in the studied areas. Thirteen haplotypes were detected in the studied populations, of which 11 were novel haplotypes. Clade A was the dominant form and accounted for 75% of samples, while clade B included the rest. Haplotype and nucleotide diversity were 0.999 and 0.0411, respectively., Conclusions: Clade A and B of Pediculus humanus capitis exist among the human populations of northern Iran. We observed high genotypic diversity of this head lice., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.)

Objective: This study has been aimed to investigate factors associated with elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) across different percentiles in individuals employed in the petroleum industry and residents of Kirkuk City . In addition, to provide evidence-based approaches to mitigate exposure risks and safeguard vulnerable populations., Methods: The study involved 357 participants and utilized quantile regression to examine BLL in petroleum industry workers and Kirkuk residents., Results: Median BLLs were higher among workers (17.5 μg/dL) compared to residents in the city (9.9 μg/dL) and suburbs (7.4 μg/dL). Factors such as smoking, outdoor work, and lower education were associated with elevated BLLs, as confirmed by quantile regression., Conclusions: This study found higher BLLs in petroleum workers compared to Kirkuk residents, associated with smoking, outdoor work, and lower education. The results emphasize the need for targeted interventions and policies to mitigate lead exposure risks in this industrial region., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: None declared., (Copyright © 2024 American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.)

Background: Implementation of food taxes may promote sustainable diets in a society. This study estimates the potential short-term impacts of taxes on sugar and sweets (SAS), sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) and hydrogenated oil and animal fats (HOAF) in Iran through a social cost-effectiveness analysis., Methods: In this study, three tax scenarios were evaluated, including a 25% tax on SASs, a 30% tax on SSBs, and a 30% tax on HOAFs. The data from Iran's 2019-2020 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) were utilized, and a simulated population of 1 million individuals aged over 25 years was analyzed. Population impact fraction (PIF) was calculated to estimate the averted number of cases and Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) under each policy scenario. Additionally, the study assessed water and carbon footprints, as well as all associated costs. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated through incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) and comparison with WHO-recommended thresholds., Results: Implementation of taxes on SASs and HOAFs resulted in reductions of 1.09 and 1.08% in water footprint, as well as 0.47 and 1.05% in carbon footprint, respectively. In terms of population health, the interventions resulted in averting 343.92 DALYs (95% UI = 318.62-369.36) for the SSB tax and 1219.01 DALYs (95% UI = 1123.05-1315.77) for the tax on HOAFs. Additionally, the tax on SASs averted 1028.09 DALYs (95% UI = 947.16-1,109). All scenarios were deemed cost-effective based on the WHO threshold for ICER, with values of 0.26 billion Rials/DALY, 0.54 billion Rials/DALY, and 0.17 billion Rials/DALY, respectively., Conclusion: The studied tax scenarios could generate substantial health gains and be cost-effective in Iran. It is recommended that policymakers consider implementing such price policies to promote healthy and sustainable diets., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Mokari-Yamchi, Omidvar, Karami, Tahamipour Zarandi and Eini-Zinab.)

Aluminum chloride (Al) is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and reproductive disorders. But the relationship between gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and c-Fos levels, the end product of MAP-kinase signaling, in AD is unknown, so we aimed to investigate this relationship. We exposed rats to Al dissolved in drinking water (10 and 50 mg/kg) for two and four weeks. The control group received only drinking water. At the end, the blood sample was collected under deep anesthesia and the brain was dissected on ice, and the testicular tissue was fixed in formalin. Amyloid beta (βA) plaques in brain regions and the number of CA1 neurons were evaluated by Congo red staining and cresyl violet staining. Activation of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) was studied using NADPH-diaphorase. The levels of c-Fos and testosterone receptors in the target area were examined immunohistochemically. Brain GnRH levels were determined by blotting, and serum levels of gonadotropins and steroids were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) at α = 0.05 level. The accumulation of βA plaque was observed along with a decrease in the number of CA1 pyramidal neurons and a significant decrease in the levels of c-Fos and GnRH in the brains of rats receiving Al, which was aligned with a significant decrease in serum levels of testosterone and LH. This study, for the first time, showed a link between dementia and a concomitant decrease in brain GnRH and c-Fos levels., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Background: Despite successful efforts to eliminate measles in Iran, imported measles cases continue to be reported. Because measles is endemic in neighboring countries. This research aims to evaluate the risk of measles transmission in different regions of Iran., Methods: Measles case-based surveillance data of the Expanded Program of Immunization containing 31 provinces and 463 districts from 2019 to 2021 were assessed. The WHO Measles Programmatic Risk Assessment tool was used to evaluate the risk of disease transmission in four domains: population immunity, surveillance quality, program delivery performance, and threat assessment. scores were categorized as low, medium, high, or very high risk., Results: During 2019-2021, the average incidence of measles was 1.9 per 1 million. Chabahar and Mashhad with 76 and ./6per million reported the highest and lowest incidence respectively. All 463 districts were categorized as low risk in risk assessment. Andimeshk, Chabahar, and Bojnurd obtained the highest risk scores with 27, 24, and 25 respectively. All districts were classified as low risk for population immunity. The average coverage of (MMR1) and (MMR2) was 95% or higher. All districts received the minimum points for surveillance quality., Conclusion: All regions are placed at a low level of disease transmission risk. However, the tool is not able to assess the risk at the rural or peripheral sectors level. The indicators used in this tool are the same for all countries with different epidemiological features (elimination, endemic). Sensitivity analysis can optimize the use of this tool for countries with different disease conditions., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Although Interferon-beta (IFNβ) has long been approved as a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for Multiple sclerosis (MS), flu-like syndrome (FLS) persists as a common adverse effect of interferon therapy. Given the importance of circadian rhythm in regulating physiological processes, we aimed to assess the relationship between patient's chronotype and time of interferon injection with FLS score in MS patients receiving IFNβ., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 118 MS patients who were referred to the clinic of neurology of Zanjan Vali-e-Asr Hospital for interferon injection. The included were invited to complete a morningness-eveningness questionnaire (MEQ) assessing patients' chronotype. The following data were extracted from patients' record: age, gender, duration of interferon treatment, type of interferon taken, time of interferon injection (morning/evening), FLS score, MS subtype, and usage of pain killers. All data found were imported and statistically analyzed in SPSS ver.26., Results: According to the patients' record, 114 (96.6%) patients had experienced post-interferon injection FLS with different severities. Statistical analysis revealed no significant relationship between the patient's chronotype and FLS score. Nevertheless, the FLS score was significantly higher in those who had evening injections., Conclusions: Time of interferon injection was significantly associated with FLS score, with higher FLS score following evening injection. However, no significant relationship was found between the FLS score and the patient's chronotype. It is recommended that further studies assessing circadian rhythm using laboratory tests such as melatonin measurement need to be undertaken to investigate the association of circadian rhythm with post-interferon injection FLS., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Suicide is a global public health concern, with increasing rates observed in various regions, including Iran. This study focuses on the province of Hamadan, Iran, where suicide rates have been on the rise. The research aims to predict factors influencing suicide outcomes by leveraging machine learning techniques on the Hamadan Suicide Registry Program data collected from 2016 to 2017. The study employs Naïve Bayes and Random Forest algorithms, comparing their performance to logistic regression. Results highlight the superiority of the Random Forest model. Based on the variable importance and multiple logistic regression analyses, the most important determinants of suicide outcomes were identified as suicide method, age, and timing of attempts, income, and motivation. The findings emphasize the cultural context's impact on suicide methods and underscore the importance of tailoring prevention programs to address specific risk factors, especially for older individuals. This study contributes valuable insights for suicide prevention efforts in the region, advocating for context-specific interventions and further research to refine predictive models and develop targeted prevention strategies., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: COVID-19 is a viral disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 , leading to several variants. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of booster doses against the Delta and Omicron variants over different follow-up times. Study Design: This was a longitudinal meta-analysis., Methods: Searches were performed in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, and eighty studies were selected for investigation. The analyses were separately performed on the unvaccinated control group (UNVCG) and the complete two doses of the vaccine control group (C2DCG) against Delta and Omicron variants. Three outcomes were examined, including symptomatic infection, hospitalization, and death., Results: Vaccine effectiveness (VE) in UNVCG studies for symptomatic infection revealed a non-linear trend against Omicron with a peak of 67.3%, declining to 27.1% after 25 weeks after a booster dose. The mean of VE for hospitalization over time started to decrease after four weeks against Omicron and after eight weeks against Delta. The VE reached a peak at week eight (96.0%) and started to decline with a VE of 93.3% after 20 weeks after the booster dose against Delta. It was 90.8% at week four and decreased to 73.4% after 25 weeks after the booster dose against Omicron. VE in the C2DCG studies demonstrated more decreases in outcomes over time., Conclusion: Our findings showed a tendency to decrease effectiveness over time based on outcomes and variants. The early protection levels were lower in Omicron. Moreover, the VE decrease over time was stronger in Omicron compared to the Delta variant., (© 2024 The Author(s); Published by Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.)

Monkeypox (Mpox), an uncommon zoonotic Orthopoxvirus, is commonly manifested by blisters on the skin and has a mortality rate of approximately 0-10%. Approximately two decades after the cessation of global smallpox vaccination, the number of confirmed cases of Mpox has been growing, making it the most common Orthopoxvirus infection. Therefore, in this narrative review, we aimed to shed light on recent advancements in the pathophysiology, transmission routes, epidemiology, manifestations, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of Mpox, as well as the application of artificial intelligence (AI) methods for predicting this disease. The clinical manifestations of Mpox, including the onset of symptoms and dermatologic characteristics, are similar to those of the infamous smallpox, but Mpox is clinically milder. Notably, a key difference between smallpox and Mpox is the high prevalence of lymphadenopathy. Human-to-human, animal-to-human, and animal-to-animal transmission are the three main pathways of Mpox spread that must be considered for effective prevention, particularly during outbreaks. PCR testing, as the preferred method for diagnosing Mpox infection, can enhance early detection of new cases and thereby improve infection control measures. JYNNEOS and ACAM2000 are among the vaccines most commonly recommended for the prevention of Mpox. Brincidofovir, Cidofovir, and Tecovirimat are the primary treatments for Mpox cases. Similar to other viral infections, the best approach to managing Mpox is prevention. This can, in part, be achieved through measures such as reducing contact with individuals displaying symptoms, maintaining personal safety, and adhering to practices commonly used to prevent sexually transmitted infections., Competing Interests: None.

Background: Cardiovascular progenitor cells (CPCs) derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are considered valuable cell sources for investigating cardiovascular physiology in vitro. Meeting the diverse needs of this application requires the large-scale production of CPCs in an in vitro environment. This study aimed to use an effective culture system utilizing signaling factors for the large-scale expansion of hESC-derived CPCs with the potential to differentiate into functional cardiac lineage cells., Methods and Results: Initially, CPCs were generated from hESCs using a 4-day differentiation protocol with a combination of four small molecules (CHIR99021, IWP2, SB-431542, and purmorphamine). These CPCs were then expanded and maintained in a medium containing three factors (bFGF, CHIR, and A83-01), resulting in a > 6,000-fold increase after 8 passages. These CPCs were successfully cryopreserved for an extended period in late passages. The expanded CPCs maintained their gene and protein expression signatures as well as their differentiation capacity through eight passages. Additionally, these CPCs could differentiate into four types of cardiac lineage cells: cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and fibroblasts, demonstrating appropriate functionality. Furthermore, the coculture of these CPC-derived cardiovascular lineage cells in rat tail collagen resulted in cardiac microtissue formation, highlighting the potential of this 3D platform for studying cardiovascular physiology in vitro., Conclusion: In conclusion, expandable hESC-derived CPCs demonstrated the ability to self-renewal and differentiation into functional cardiovascular lineage cells consistently across passages, which may apply as potential cell sources for in vitro cardiovascular studies., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

High tumor's lactate level directly associates with high tumor growth, metastasis, and patients' poor prognosis. Therefore, many studies have focused on the decrease of tumor's lactate as a novel cancer treatment. In the present study for the first time, a strictly anaerobic lactate-fermenting bacterium, Veillonella parvula, was employed for the decrease of tumor's lactate level. At first, 4T1 breast tumor-bearing BALB/c mice were administered with 10 6 V. parvula bacteria intravenously, orally, intraperitoneally, and intratumorally. Then, the bacteria biodistribution was evaluated. The best administration route according to tumor colonization was selected and its safety was assessed. Then, the therapeutic effect of V. parvula administration through the best route was investigated according to 4T1 murine breast tumor's growth and metastasis in vivo. In addition, histopathological and immunohistochemistry evaluations were done to estimate microscopic changes at the inner of the tumor and tumor's lactate level was measured after V. parvula administration. V. parvula exhibited considerable tumor-targeting and colonization efficacy, 24 h after intravenous administration. Normal organs were free of the bacteria after 72 h and no side effect was observed. Tumor colonization by V. parvula significantly decreased the tumors' lactate level for about 46% in comparison with control tumors which caused 44.3% and 51.6% decline (P < 0.05) in the mean tumors' volume and liver metastasis of the treatment group in comparison with the control group, respectively. The treatment group exhibited 35% inhibition in the cancer cell proliferation in comparison with the control according to the Ki-67 immunohistochemistry staining. Therefore, intravenous administration of V. parvula is a tumor-specific and safe treatment which can significantly inhibit tumors' growth and metastasis by decreasing the tumor lactate level., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: In infectious diseases, there are essential indices used to describe the disease state. In this study, we estimated the basic reproduction number, R0, peak level, doubling time, and daily growth rate of COVID-19., Methods: This ecological study was conducted in 5 provinces of Iran. The daily numbers of new COVID-19 cases from January 17 to February 8, 2020 were used to determine the basic reproduction number (R0), peak date, doubling time, and daily growth rates in all five provinces. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to estimate epidemiological parameters., Result: The highest and lowest number of deaths were observed in Hamedan (657 deaths) and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari (54 deaths) provinces, respectively. The doubling time of confirmed cases in Kermanshah and Hamedan ranged widely from 18.59 days (95% confidence interval (CI): 17.38, 20) to 76.66 days (95% CI: 56.36, 119.78). In addition, the highest daily growth rates of confirmed cases were observed in Kermanshah (0.037, 95% CI: 0.034, 0.039) and Sistan and Baluchestan (0.032, 95% CI: 0.030, 0.034) provinces., Conclusion: In light of our findings, it is imperative to tailor containment strategies to the unique epidemiological profiles of each region in order to effectively mitigate the spread and impact of COVID-19. The wide variation in doubling times underscores the importance of flexibility in public health responses. By adapting measures to local conditions, we can better address the evolving dynamics of the pandemic and safeguard the well-being of communities., Competing Interests: None.

This study presents the synthesis and characterization of a novel phosphotungstic acid-functionalized hercynite@SiO 2 magnetic core-shell through a three-step procedure. The characterization involved various analyses including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, P-XRD, TGA-DSC, EDAX, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, elemental mapping, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and value stream mapping. The catalytic performance of the hercynite@SiO 2 -PTA nanomagnetic composite was examined in the esterification of chloroacetic acid. Results indicate that the developed procedure enables the production of chloroacetic acid esters using a wide range of primary, secondary, and tertiary aliphatic and aromatic alcohols with good to excellent yields and high selectivity. The significance of this work lies in its straightforward synthesis method, minimal time requirement, reduced utilization of hazardous chemicals, and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, the catalyst exhibited magnetic recyclability for up to five cycles with negligible loss in activity. Notably, the synthesized catalyst demonstrated nontoxicity and environmental friendliness.

Head lice infestation continues to be a major health problem worldwide. In order to solve this problem, frequent use of pediculocides has caused growing resistance among head lice population. This study aims to investigate the presence of the knockdown resistance ( kdr ) mutation in the head lice population in northern Iran. Adult head lice were collected from 115 infested individuals referring to the health centers in different parts of Mazandaran province, northern Iran. 38 samples were randomly selected, and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify a 332-bp and ⁓ 900-bp fragment of the α-subunit of the voltage-sensitive sodium channel ( VSSC ) gene. According to the analysis of a 332-bp fragment of the VSSC gene, the frequency of kdr T917I mutation including homozygous susceptible (SS), heterozygous resistant (RS), and homozygous resistant (RR) were 45.83%, 12.5%, and 41.66%, respectively. The total frequency of the resistance allele was 54.16%. The results of the 900-bp fragment of the VSSC gene showed two new mutations in the IIS1-2 extracellular loop (H813P) and IIS2 (S825R) and old well-known kdr mutations (M815I-T917I-L920F). The results of Hardy-Weinberg's exact equilibrium test showed that the frequency of genotypes in the studied areas is different from expectations. Moreover, a positive inbreeding coefficient value (F is >0) was found in studied areas which indicated an excess of homozygotes. Overall, the results showed a high frequency of resistant alleles in the northern region of the country. Therefore, it is necessary to develop appropriate control programs for the treatment of pediculosis., Competing Interests: Competing interestsNone of the authors have declared a conflict of interest., (© Indian Society for Parasitology 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Objective: Digital technologies have improved the performance of surveillance systems through early detection of outbreaks and epidemic control. The aim of this study is to introduce an outbreak detection web application called OBDETECTOR (Outbreak Detector), which as a professional web application has the ability to process weekly or daily reported data from disease surveillance systems and facilitates the early detection of disease outbreaks., Results: OBDETECTOR generates a histogram that exhibits the trend of infection within a time range selected by the user. The output comprises red triangles and plus signs, where the former denotes outbreak days determined by the algorithm applied to the data, and the latter represents days identified as outbreaks by the researcher. The graph also displays threshold values and its symbols enable researchers to compute evaluation criteria for outbreak detection algorithms, including sensitivity and specificity. OBDETECTOR allows users to modify algorithm parameters based on their research objectives immediately after loading data. The implementation of automatic web applications results in immediate reporting, precise analysis, and prompt alert notification. Moreover, Public Health authorities and other stakeholders of surveillance can benefit from the widespread accessibility and user-friendliness of these tools, enhancing their knowledge and skills for better engagement in surveillance programs., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Rotavirus is the most common cause of gastroenteritis among children. Currently, four oral live-attenuated vaccines are available to prevent rotavirus infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended including rotavirus vaccination in national immunization programs; however, it has not been introduced to the Iranian national immunization program. The study aimed to assess the frequency of rotavirus gastroenteritis in the west of Iran and investigate the necessity of rotavirus vaccination. Study Design: A case series study., Methods: In this case series study, 284 cases under six years of age who presented with acute gastroenteritis from March 2021 to 2022 to a referral hospital in the west of Iran were evaluated. Data on baseline characteristics, clinical manifestations, results of stool test, ELISA for rotavirus detection, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for genotyping of rotavirus-positive samples were recorded., Results: Results showed that the prevalence of rotavirus infection was 36.6%. The highest frequency was observed among children aged 6-12 months and during the autumn. According to the PCR results, G1P[8], G9P[8], G9P[4], and G1P [4] were the dominant genotypes, and 33.75% of samples were infected with multiple rotavirus genotypes., Conclusion: The study highlights the considerable prevalence of rotavirus infection among cases of acute gastroenteritis in children under six years of age who were referred to a referral hospital in the west of Iran and the high diversity of rotavirus genotypes in the targeted community. Consequently, physicians and health policymakers should prioritize strategies for the prevention and control of this infection, particularly by considering the rotavirus vaccine as a priority for the Iranian national immunization program., (© 2024 The Author(s); Published by Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.)

Purpose: The present study aimed to estimate the global prevalence of ocular toxoplasmosis in the general population and patients with uveitis., Methods: Four electronic databases were searched and 130 studies for evaluating the prevalence of OT among the general population and uveitis patients were included., Results: The pooled prevalence of OT among the general population was estimated at 2% (95% CI, 2-3%; 762/486 051). The highest prevalence rate was observed in America 6% (95% CI, 1-11%). In uveitis patients, a prevalence rate of 9% (95% CI, 8-10%; 5668/88 006) was reported. The countries with a lower middle income had higher prevalence rates. The prevalence of OT in posterior uveitis 33% (95%CI, 24-42%) was substantially higher than in panuveitis 7% (95% CI, 5-8%)., Conclusion: Our results provide a new perspective on the prevalence of OT. Knowledge of international and regional patterns of disease is essential for the establishment of precise diagnostic protocols and control programs.

The concentration of various potentially toxic metals (Pb, Cd, As, Ni, Zn, and Cr) in street dust samples collected from Mehran city, Iran, was analyzed. The samples were obtained during normal traffic conditions, NTT, prior to the Arbaeen ceremony, as well as after the pilgrims' return, which corresponds to high traffic time, HTT. Street dust samples were analyzed for HM content using ICP-OES, following acid digestion. The subsequent evaluation of the data involved the application of the geo-accumulation index, enrichment factor, and potential ecological risk index (PER) and health risk assessment. The findings demonstrate a notable increase in the levels of HMs during HTT compared to the NTT. The highest enrichment values for Pb and Cd were observed in Mehran Street dust during the HTT. The mean of PER for all sampling points increased to 138.24, indicating a moderate-potential ecological risk at this time. Based on the health risk assessment, it was found that the hazard index for all samples was below one. The incremental lifetime cancer risk was below 10 -6 . This indicates that the exposed population is not exposed to substantial health risks. Despite the heavy traffic caused by the Arbaeen ceremony in this area and the high enrichment of HMs, along with potential ecological risks, no significant health risks were observed for individuals exposed to street dust. However, it is important to note that the continuation of this trend, in the absence of proper traffic management, could lead to significant environmental and health problems in the future., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Cancers of the genitourinary system, particularly prostate, bladder, and kidney cancer, exhibit a high prevalence. Consequently, predicting the morbidity and mortality of genitourinary cancers holds great significance for future planning and implementation. This study aimed to examine the crude and age-standardized rates of mortality and the trend of genitourinary cancers over nine years in northern Iran., Methods: This cross-sectional study used data on the number of deaths attributed to genitourinary cancers recorded in Babol City between 2013 and 2021 through the cause of death registration and classification system. Population estimates were derived from the latest census reports. Subsequently, crude and age-standardized rates, as well as trends for genitourinary cancers, were calculated., Results: A total of 307 deaths occurred, with an average age of 75.6 ± 14.3 years due to genitourinary cancers. The crude and age-standardized rates of genitourinary cancers increased from 2.7 and 1.9 per hundred thousand people in 2013 to 7.7 and 5.9 per hundred thousand people in 2021, respectively. Over the study period, death rates significantly rose for men (P < 0.001) and remained constant for women (P = 0.444). Examination of genitourinary cancers revealed an upward trend for bladder (P = 0.012) and prostate (P = 0.012) cancers, while a stable trend was observed for kidney (P = 0.070) and testicular (P = 0.139) cancers., Conclusions: The age-standardized rate and trend of genitourinary cancers are rising. Consequently, this study emphasizes the importance of prevention through screening programs, raising awareness, and utilizing appropriate diagnostic methods., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: We aimed to investigate the patterns of incidence and prevalence of bone sarcoma (BS) and soft tissue sarcoma (STS), morphology as well as geographical distribution in the elderly in Iran., Methods: By the primary site of the tumor and the morphological types, whole cases of cancer were classified. Then, the WHO classification (2018) and the third revision of the standard International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O-3) were used to assign a code to them. The estimated incidence rates were obtained as the frequency of the newly-diagnosed cases within one year divided by the calculated population of the mid-year Iranian residents as estimated by the Iranian Bureau of Statistics. The age-standardized incidence rates were also estimated for both bone and soft tissue sarcoma., Results: The annual crude incidence rates of sarcomas in males (0.80 per 100,000) were more than in females (0.55 per 100,000) in all years. The total combined crude incidence in 2014 years was obtained at 0.67 per 100,000 people. In terms of disease grade majority of the patients were of grade 3 (11.5 %). In terms of tumor location, the Lower extremity was 16.8%, the Visceral (including gastrointestinal & uterus) 15.8%, the Thoracic 12.8%, and the Pelvic & abdominal wall 9.7%., Conclusion: Even though such sarcoma is more prevalent in elderly men, its incidence was also observed in lower-aged female groups. In addition, the incidence rate of BS was lower in comparison with that of STS, and the patients often exhibited an unknown degree of sarcoma., (Copyright© 2024 Akbari et al. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.)

Free water surface constructed wetlands (FWSCWs) for the treatment of various wastewater types have evolved significantly over the last few decades. With an increasing need and interest in FWSCWs applications worldwide due to their cost-effectiveness and other benefits, this paper reviews recent literature on FWSCWs' ability to remove different types of pollutants such as nutrients (i.e., TN, TP, NH 4 -N), heavy metals (i.e., Fe, Zn, and Ni), antibiotics (i.e., oxytetracycline, ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, sulfamethazine, and ofloxacin), and pesticides (i.e., Atrazine, S-Metolachlor, imidacloprid, lambda-cyhalothrin, diuron 3,4-dichloroanilin, Simazine, and Atrazine) that may co-exist in wetland inflow, and discusses approaches for simulating hydraulic and pollutant removal processes. A bibliometric analysis of recent literature reveals that China has the highest number of publications, followed by the USA. The collected data show that FWSCWs can remove an average of 61.6%, 67.8%, 54.7%, and 72.85% of inflowing nutrients, heavy metals, antibiotics, and pesticides, respectively. Optimizing each pollutant removal process requires specific design parameters. Removing heavy metal requires the lowest hydraulic retention time (HRT) (average of 4.78 days), removing pesticides requires the lowest water depth (average of 0.34 m), and nutrient removal requires the largest system size. Vegetation, especially Typha spp. and Phragmites spp., play an important role in FWSCWs' system performance, making significant contributions to the removal process. Various modeling approaches (i.e., black-box and process-based) were comprehensively reviewed, revealing the need for including the internal process mechanisms related to the biological processes along with plants spp., that supported by a further research with field study validations. This work presents a state-of-the-art, systematic, and comparative discussion on the efficiency of FWSCWs in removing different pollutants, main design factors, the vegetation, and well-described models for performance prediction., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Occupational lead exposure poses a significant risk to workers in industrial settings, especially in petroleum refineries. The study aimed to examine the prevalence and determinants of high blood lead concentrations among refinery workers in Kirkuk, Iraq. It has also been aimed to provide evidence-based approaches to identify associated risk factors., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 187 workers from three departments (transportation, storage, and production) in a petroleum refinery from August 2023 to April 2024. Blood lead levels (BLLs) were measured using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GFAAS) (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA). The elevated BLLs were defined as lead levels in blood samples greater than 10 µg/dL. Data on demographic characteristics, such as occupations, smoking habits, and drinking milk, were collected using a researcher-developed information sheet. Statistical analyses included the Kruskal-Wallis test and Pearson Chi-Square test, and logistic regression was used to address the determinants of elevated BLLs. The corresponding associations were reported using odds ratios (OR) and adjusted OR (AOR) along with 95% confidence intervals (CIs)., Results: Eighty-five percent of the workers had high BLLs, with a median BLL of 17.11 µg/dL. The findings revealed that workers employed in outdoor settings had 4.25 times higher AOR (95% CI: 1.24-14.48) of experiencing high BLLs compared to those working indoors, after adjusting for other factors. This was especially true for workers who spent nine to 16 hours outdoors. Additionally, age and smoking were also found to be associated with an increased risk of high BLLs. On the other hand, the analysis indicated that drinking milk had a protective effect against high BLLs., Conclusion: The high prevalence of elevated BLLs among refinery workers in Kirkuk underscores the urgency for immediate interventions. Regular monitoring of BLLs, improved training, dietary adjustments (e.g., consuming calcium and phosphate-rich milk, which can help lower BLLs), and smoking cessation programs are recommended to reduce lead exposure and safeguard workers' health. Furthermore, the results suggest that drinking milk could potentially reduce BLLs among petroleum refinery workers. Additional research is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions and to continue monitoring exposure levels., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. School of Public Health and Safety (PHS), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU) issued approval IR.SBMU.PHNS.REC.1402.043. The ethics committee of the School of Public Health and Safety (PHS), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU) / IR.SBMU.PHNS.REC.1402.043, has been approved the study's protocol. Additionally, approval issued by approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil in accordance with Letter No. 18047 dated 03-08-2023. . Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Mohammed et al.)

Background: This study examined the difficulties and obstacles faced by healthcare professionals in implementing Iraq's national plan for hepatitis B virus (HBV) control. This research aims to offer valuable insights into the intricacies of HBV control efforts and identify key areas for improvement., Methods: In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 10 physicians, representing diverse medical specialties and healthcare settings, including experts in the fields of medical sciences. Data analysis was conducted using MAXQDA software, version 24 (VERBI Software GmbH, Berlin, Germany) to identify recurring themes and gain insights into the challenges encountered during the implementation of the national plan., Results: Ten physicians participated in the study, providing insights into challenges and barriers hindering the effective implementation of Iraq's national plan for HBV control. Consensus among participants highlighted challenges such as resource constraints, inadequate infrastructure, population ignorance, and vaccine refusal. Documentation challenges, including inaccuracies in reporting HBV-associated mortality, were also noted. Barriers to successful implementation included poor public awareness, inadequate education for healthcare providers, and funding shortages. Unmet needs highlighted the necessity for unified protocols, surveillance systems, and international training programs. The improvement strategies proposed by participants emphasized raising awareness, supporting primary healthcare centers, and enhancing funding allocation., Conclusion: This study underscores significant challenges in implementing Iraq's national plan for HBV control, with barriers ranging from resource constraints to communication barriers. Healthcare professionals advocate for targeted interventions, collaborative efforts, and policy measures to address these challenges effectively. The findings contribute to the evidence base for enhancing HBV control efforts in Iraq and emphasize the importance of tailored approaches to public health interventions., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Postgraduate Education Council of the Faculty of Public Health and Safety (PHS) at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU) issued approval (IR.SBMU.PHNS.REC.1404.044). We have obtained approvals from the relevant institutions, as described earlier, to collect data that had been previously collected. Our evaluation focused on the program's process, without involving any application (not applicable) to humans or human tissues. Additionally, a formal letter of approval has been obtained from the Research Committee at the National Center for Training and Human Development, Iraq Ministry of Health (MOH) with the approval ID: IRAQ.MOH.FORM NUMBER 04/2012. DECISION NUMBER:24. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Jalal et al.)

Designing and synthesizing one-dimensional porous Pt nanocrystals with unique optical, electrocatalytic, and theranostic properties are gaining lots of attention, especially to overcome the challenges of tumor recurrence and resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy. Herein, we represented an interesting report of a one-step and facile strategy for synthesizing multifunctional one-dimensional (1D) porous Pt nanoribbons (PtNRBs) with highly efficient therapeutic effects on cancer cells based on inherent electrocatalytic activity. The critical point in the formation of luminescent porous PtNRBs was the use of human hemoglobin (Hb) as a shape-regulating, stabilizing, and reducing agent with facet-specific domains on which fluorescent platinum nanoclusters at first are aggregated by aggregation-induced emission phenomena (AIE) and then crystallized into contact and penetration twins, as intermediate products, followed by shaping of the final luminescent porous ribbon nanomaterials, owing to oriented attachment association via the Ostwald ripening mechanism. From a medical point of view, the key strategy for effective cancer therapy occured via using low-dosage ethanol in the presence of electroactive porous PtNRBs based on intracellular ethanol oxidation-mediated reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. The role of heme groups of Hb, as electrocatalytically active centers, was successfully demonstrated in both kinetically controlled anisotropic growth of NRBs for slowing down the reduction of Pt(II) followed by oligomerization of Pt(II)-Hb complexes via platinophilic interactions as well as electrocatalytic ethanol oxidation for therapy. Interestingly, hyaluronic acid-targeted (HA) Hb-PtNRB in the presence of low-dose ethanol caused extraordinary arrest of tumor growth and metastasis with no recurrence even after the treatment course stopped, which caused elongation of tumor-bearing mice survival. HA/Hb-PtNRB was completely biocompatible and exhibited high tumor-targeting efficacy for fluorescent imaging of breast tumors. Therefore, the synergistic electrocatalytic activity of PtNRBs is presented as an efficient and safe cancer theranostic method for the first time.

In this research, the efficiency of brushing (Br), dipping (Di), spraying (S), and enrobing (En) methods was compared in three concentrations of 10%, 15%, and 20% of corn zein (Z) edible coating containing 0.5% of Heracleum persicum essential oil (HEO) in the shelf-life improvement of whey-less cheese during 56 days of cold storage. The results of the photography and colorimetric (L*, a*, and b* parameters) of the samples showed that the En method in 20% of Z created a uniform, brilliant, and attractive surface on the cheese pieces compared to the other groups during the storage period, and the S, Br, and Di methods were in the next categories, respectively. The findings of the texture analysis of the samples showed that all of the treatments significantly ( p  ≤ .05) preserved the hardness of the cheese samples compared to the control group, and the En method containing Z 20% and HEO was the most effective treatment in preventing the hardness loss of the samples during the 56-day storage period. In all treatments, the growth of aerobic mesophilic bacteria, psychrotrophic bacteria, enterobacteriaceae , molds, and yeasts was significantly ( p  ≤ .05) reduced in comparison with the control sample, and the En method containing HEO and Z 20% was the most efficient in preventing the microbial growth. The rate of moisture loss, fat oxidation, and pH values of the studied samples significantly ( p  ≤ .05) decreased in the coated treatments containing a higher concentration of Z and HEO compared with other treatments during the storage period. According to the findings of this study, it can be concluded that the En technique containing Z20% and HEO0.5% was the most effective treatment in the shelf-life improvement of whey-less cheese during 56 days of the refrigerated storage period, and the S, Br, and Di methods were in the next ranks, respectively., Competing Interests: The authors declare no potential conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Author(s). Food Science & Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: Community health assessment (CHA) is a well-known method for identifying and analyzing community health needs. This CHA survey aimed to identify and analyze community health needs and assets to prioritize these needs and to plan and act upon significant unmet community health needs., Methods: The CHA was planned based on the suggested standard of the North Carolina Guide including eight phases from July to December 2023. The CHA survey was performed among Al-Marashda region residents in the Al-Manathera district. The sample size of our study was 184 interviews of 12536 population. The primary data, which included demographic information, quality of life statements, and community improvement, were collected from the community using a questionnaire through opinion surveys and focus groups, while the secondary data which included the social, health, and economic status of Al-Marashda region residents were obtained from district and governorate sources. Analysis of whole data sources allowed 10 areas of community concern to be identified., Results: Findings from the CHA survey showed that diabetes and high blood pressure, poverty and unemployment, and air pollution were the most common public health problems as priorities., Conclusions: The high-priority problems of Al-Marashda are in common with the noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) priority in Al Najaf. However, poverty and air pollution are specific to the Al-Marashda region. Public health authorities and the city governorate are advised to consider, support, and develop community diagnosis documents to implement appropriate interventions., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Al Najaf Health Directorate issued approval 374. Verbal consent was obtained from all the participants in this study. All the information collected from the participants was handled confidentially by omitting identifiable participant information. The collected data were used for the purpose of the study only. The protocol of this study was approved by the AL Najaf Health Directorate (Approval ID: 374). Official agreements were obtained from the director and administration office of the district. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Madlool et al.)

Background: Investigating the prevalence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in asymptomatic children who have been in close contact with symptomatic individuals is instrumental for refining public health approaches, protecting vulnerable populations, and mitigating the broader impact of the pandemic. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate the incidence of COVID-19 infection in asymptomatic children who had been in close contact with parents exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. Study Design: A cross-sectional study., Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 175 asymptomatic children who had been in close contact with COVID-19 confirmed cases in Hamadan County from March 2021 to August 2021. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing was performed on all asymptomatic children who had been in close contact with an individual with COVID-19. Furthermore, multiple logistic regressions were conducted to determine the predictors of COVID-19 transmission from family members to children., Results: Out of the 175 children in close contact with index cases, 53 (30.29%) tested positive for COVID-19 through PCR. Regarding factors related to the index case, male cases (Adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=2.29; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-5.09, P =0.041), rural dwellers (AOR=3.22; 95% CI: 1.02-10.16, P =0.046), illiterate cases (AOR=8.45; 95% CI: 1.76-40.65, P =0.008), and cases presenting with nasal congestion symptoms (AOR=9.12; 95% CI: 2.22-37.40, P =0.002) were more prone to transmitting the virus to children who had close contact with them., Conclusion: The findings of the present study suggested that asymptomatic COVID-19 infection in household contacts is significant in children who were in close contact with a COVID-19-positive patient. Therefore, it is crucial to continue to monitor this group closely., (© 2024 The Author(s); Published by Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.)

Introduction: Since the beginning of the 21st century, competency-based education has been proposed as an approach to education in many disciplines including the medical sciences and it has become a dominant approach in many countries. We aimed to explore the lived experiences of general medical students about developing competencies in the academic curriculum., Methods: We conducted a phenomenology method to study lived experiences of general medical students through selecting participants via a purposeful sampling strategy. Snowballing and maximum variation samplings were also applied to recruit additional participants. The study was conducted at a Medical School in Iran. Three successive phases of qualitative data analysis, namely, data reduction by coding, data structuring by categorization, and data interpretation by discussion were applied to analyze the interviews., Results: The results of the research showed that students' lived experiences fall under 4 main themes with 9 subthemes. The main themes show that (1) the compartmentalized curriculum in basic courses is experienced as the missing parts in a puzzle, (2) the physiopathology curriculum is experienced as swimming on land, (3) the externship is experienced as touring a mysterious land, (4) the internship is experienced as unleashed arrows., Discussion: Our findings reveal that despite the changes already made in the curriculum, its compartmentalization is still a main obstacle to achieving competency-based medical education. A strict requirement for leaving the discipline-based curriculum behind is to use an integrated approach, in which basic science courses are connected with clinical cases, and physiopathology courses are connected with externships and internships., (Copyright © 2024 Karami, Hashemi and Van Merrienboer.)

Background: In recent years, there has been a growing interest in phage therapy as an effective therapeutic tool against colibacillosis caused by avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) which resulted from the increasing number of multidrug resistant (MDR) APEC strains., Methods: In the present study, we reported the characterization of a new lytic bacteriophage (Escherichia phage AG- MK-2022. Basu) isolated from poultry slaughterhouse wastewater. In addition, the in vitro bacteriolytic activity of the newly isolated phage (Escherichia phage AG- MK-2022. Basu) and the Escherichia phage VaT-2019a isolate PE17 (GenBank: MK353636.1) were assessed against MDR- APEC strains (n = 100) isolated from broiler chickens with clinical signs of colibacillosis., Results: Escherichia phage AG- MK-2022. Basu belongs to the Myoviridae family and exhibits a broad host range. Furthermore, the phage showed stability under a wide range of temperatures, pH values and different concentrations of NaCl. Genome analysis of the Escherichia phage AG- MK-2022. Basu revealed that the phage possesses no antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and any E. coli virulence associated genes. In vitro bacterial challenge tests demonstrated that two phages, the Escherichia phage VaT-2019a isolate PE17 and the Escherichia phage AG- MK-2022. Basu exhibited high bactericidal activity against APEC strains and lysed 95% of the tested APEC strains., Conclusions: The current study findings indicate that both phages could be suggested as safe biocontrol agents and alternatives to antibiotics for controlling MDR-APEC strains isolated from broilers., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Large gatherings often involve extended and intimate contact among individuals, creating environments conducive to the spread of infectious diseases. Despite this, there is limited research utilizing outbreak detection algorithms to analyze real syndrome data from such events. This study sought to address this gap by examining the implementation and efficacy of outbreak detection algorithms for syndromic surveillance during mass gatherings in Iraq., Methods: For the study, 10 data collectors conducted field data collection over 10 days from August 25, 2023, to September 3, 2023. Data were gathered from 10 healthcare clinics situated along Ya Hussein Road, a major route from Najaf to Karbala in Iraq. Various outbreak detection algorithms, such as moving average, cumulative sum, and exponentially weighted moving average, were applied to analyze the reported syndromes., Results: During the 10 days from August 25, 2023, to September 3, 2023, 12202 pilgrims visited 10 health clinics along a route in Iraq. Most pilgrims were between 20 and 59 years old (77.4%, n=9444), with more than half being foreigners (58.1%, n=7092). Among the pilgrims, 40.5% (n=4938) exhibited syndromes, with influenza-like illness (ILI) being the most common (48.8%, n=2411). Other prevalent syndromes included food poisoning (21.2%, n=1048), heatstroke (17.7%, n=875), febrile rash (9.0%, n=446), and gastroenteritis (3.2%, n=158). The cumulative sum (CUSUM) algorithm was more effective than exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) and moving average (MA) algorithms for detecting small shifts., Conclusion: Effective public health surveillance systems are crucial during mass gatherings to swiftly identify and address emerging health risks. Utilizing advanced algorithms and real-time data analysis can empower authorities to improve their readiness and response capacity, thereby ensuring the protection of public health during these gatherings., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2024, Suraifi et al.)

Lead poisoning is a serious occupational health risk, especially for those who work in fields where lead-containing products are frequently exposed, including petroleum refining. Three cases of lead poisoning among employees of the petroleum refinery in Kirkuk City, Iraq, have been presented in this case series, emphasizing the clinical significance of Burton's line (blue-purplish line or gingival pigmentation) on the gums as an indication of lead toxicity. Patients presented with typical gingival margin darkening along with symptoms like fatigue, headaches, abdominal pain, and neurological impairments. Subsequent laboratory analysis confirmed that all three patients had increased blood lead levels, which ranged from 30 to 43 μg/dL (normal range <10 μg/dL). In the process of refining petroleum, lead can be inhaled, ingested, or come into direct touch with lead-containing items. Burton's line identification is essential for prompt diagnosis and intervention. This case series highlights the importance of taking preventative action to lessen the risks of lead exposure and protect the well-being and safety of employees of petroleum refineries. Healthcare providers should be vigilant, and strict safety protocols, worker education, and regular monitoring are all essential., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2024, Karami et al.)

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a significant global public health challenge, leading to considerable morbidity and mortality. Implementation of effective strategies and novel initiatives is necessary to control and eliminate HBV. To identify the key approaches and actions used worldwide for HBV control and elimination, we conducted a comprehensive scoping review. We searched various sources, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, the official websites of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and relevant articles and reports published in the past decade. Our inclusion criteria focused on studies that reported on strategies for HBV control and elimination, provided evidence of their effectiveness, and assessed their impact on public health outcomes. We included 16 articles in our review, which highlighted a range of strategies, such as universal HBV vaccination, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, mass screening programs, and treatment of chronically infected individuals. These strategies have shown promising results in reducing HBV transmission rate, improving health outcomes, and making progress toward HBV elimination. Moreover, several challenges, including limited access to care, low awareness, stigma, and funding constraints, hinder the effectiveness of elimination programs. The findings underscore the importance of sustained efforts and investment in comprehensive strategies for HBV control and elimination. It is crucial to address barriers to care and enhance public awareness to achieve the goal of eliminating HBV as a public health threat by 2030., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2024, Jalal et al.)

Introduction: This study assessed the incidence and severity of side effects associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination among healthcare workers registered with the Medical Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran., Methodology: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on the healthcare workers focusing on the side-effects of COVID-19 vaccines from March to June 2021. Data were collected using online questionnaires. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between side effects of the vaccines and demographic variables, comorbidities, vaccine type, and history of COVID-19., Results: Out of 42,018 people who were included, 55.85% reported at least one side effect after receiving the first vaccine dose. 4.59% of those with side effects sought diagnostic intervention or were referred to treatment centers. Multivariable logistic regression indicated that being a woman, higher education, having a history of COVID-19 infection, and having comorbidities increased the risk of side effects. The AstraZeneca vaccine significantly increased the risk of side effects compared to the Sputnik vaccine, while the Sinopharm vaccine decreased this risk. The risk of developing a side effect decreased with age. The risk of moderate and severe side effects was significantly associated with gender, younger age, comorbidities, and a history of COVID-19 infection. Moderate and severe side effects were less reported by those who received the Sinopharm vaccine., Conclusions: Clinical complications after COVID-19 vaccination, directly or indirectly caused by the vaccines, are common. However, the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines greatly outweigh the risk of reversible side effects, especially among the high-risk population., Competing Interests: No Conflict of Interest is declared, (Copyright (c) 2024 Hassan Roudgari, Koorosh Etemad, Manoochehr Karami, Farideh Mostafavi, Sahar Sotoodeh Ghorbani, Kosar Farhadi Babadi, Elham Rahimi, Niloufar Taherpour, Seyed Mahmood Fattahi Masoom, Masoud Habibi, Hossein Kermanpour, Reza Laripour, Omid Manoochehri, Mohammad Raeeszadeh, Alireza Salimi, Babak Shekarchi, Ali Tajernia, Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi, Alireza Zali, Afshin Zarghi, Seyed Saeed Hashemi Nazari.)

Background: To reduce the risk of errors, patient safety monitoring in the medical imaging department is crucial. Interventions are required and these can be provided as a framework for documenting, reporting, evaluating, and recognizing events that pose a threat to patient safety. The aim of this study was to develop minimum data set and dashboard for monitoring adverse events in radiology departments., Material and Methods: This developmental research was conducted in multiple phases, including content determination using the Delphi technique; database designing using SQL Server; user interface (UI) building using PHP; and dashboard evaluation in three aspects: the accuracy of calculating; UI requirements; and usability., Results: This study identified 26 patient safety (PS) performance metrics and 110  P S-related significant data components organized into 14 major groupings as the system contents. The UI was built with three tabs: pre-procedure, intra-procedure, and post-procedure. The evaluation results proved the technical feasibility of the dashboard. Finally, the dashboard's usability was highly rated (76.3 out of 100)., Conclusion: The dashboard can be used to supplement datasets to obtain a more accurate picture of the PS condition and to draw attention to characteristics that professionals might otherwise overlook or undervalue., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Motivation: Substrings of length k, commonly referred to as k-mers, play a vital role in sequence analysis. However, k-mers are limited to exact matches between sequences leading to alternative constructs. We recently introduced a class of new constructs, strobemers, that can match across substitutions and smaller insertions and deletions. Randstrobes, the most sensitive strobemer proposed in Sahlin (Effective sequence similarity detection with strobemers. Genome Res 2021a;31:2080-94. https://doi.org/10.1101/gr.275648.121), has been used in several bioinformatics applications such as read classification, short-read mapping, and read overlap detection. Recently, we showed that the more pseudo-random the behavior of the construction (measured in entropy), the more efficient the seeds for sequence similarity analysis. The level of pseudo-randomness depends on the construction operators, but no study has investigated the efficacy., Results: In this study, we introduce novel construction methods, including a Binary Search Tree-based approach that improves time complexity over previous methods. To our knowledge, we are also the first to address biases in construction and design three metrics for measuring bias. Our evaluation shows that our methods have favorable speed and sampling uniformity compared to existing approaches. Lastly, guided by our results, we change the seed construction in strobealign, a short-read mapper, and find that the results change substantially. We suggest combining the two results to improve strobealign's accuracy for the shortest reads in our evaluated datasets. Our evaluation highlights sampling biases that can occur and provides guidance on which operators to use when implementing randstrobes., Availability and Implementation: All methods and evaluation benchmarks are available in a public Github repository at https://github.com/Moein-Karami/RandStrobes. The scripts for running the strobealign analysis are found at https://github.com/NBISweden/strobealign-evaluation., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Background: The spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 outbreak worldwide has caused concern regarding the mortality rate caused by the infection. The determinants of mortality on a global scale cannot be fully understood due to lack of information., Aim: To identify key factors that may explain the variability in case lethality across countries., Methods: We identified 21 Potential risk factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case fatality rate for all the countries with available data. We examined univariate relationships of each variable with case fatality rate (CFR), and all independent variables to identify candidate variables for our final multiple model. Multiple regression analysis technique was used to assess the strength of relationship., Results: The mean of COVID-19 mortality was 1.52 ± 1.72%. There was a statistically significant inverse correlation between health expenditure, and number of computed tomography scanners per 1 million with CFR, and significant direct correlation was found between literacy, and air pollution with CFR. This final model can predict approximately 97% of the changes in CFR., Conclusion: The current study recommends some new predictors explaining affect mortality rate. Thus, it could help decision-makers develop health policies to fight COVID-19., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the sliding double flexible intramedullary nail technique (SDFIN) in managing lower extremity long bone fractures and deformities in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) based on radiographic measurements. This study was conducted involving type III or IV Silence OI patients who underwent treatment with SDFIN for fractures, deformity correction, or previous device failure. The surgical technique involved the insertion of two straight flexible intramedullary nails in each bone segment, with one inserted from the caudal epiphysis and the other from the proximal region. Clinical and radiological outcomes were evaluated with a mean follow-up of 62.8 ± 20.3 months. Among the 33 lower extremity long bone segments treated with SDFIN, revision was required in 12 segments, resulting in an overall complication rate of 51.5%. Complications included nail migrations observed in 10 cases, decreased joint range of motion in seven, refractures and malrotations in five, nail fracture, and nail extrusion in one case were observed. The femur group had a complication rate of 50%, while the tibia group had a rate of 53.3%. The SDFIN technique demonstrated satisfactory outcomes in managing leg fractures and deformities in OI patients. The technique showed comparable results to newly designed Faisser-Duval rods at a lower cost. Further research and refinement of the technique are necessary to reduce complications and improve patient outcomes., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Sausage is susceptible to oxidative changes in lipids and microbial spoilage due to the presence of water, fat, protein, and vitamins. Bee pollen (BP) as a source of potential antioxidants and antibacterial compounds can effectively prevent lipid peroxidation and microbial spoilage in meat products. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of BP and the effects of nano/microparticles of bee pollen extract (n/m BP) at a concentration of 125 and 250 mg/100 g meat on the oxidative stability and microbial growth of high-fat sausage during 30 days of storage at 4°C. The formation of BP particles in the nano/micro range was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. High concentrations of total phenolic compounds (28.26 ± 0.10 mg GAE/g BP) with antioxidant activity (EC 50  = 5.4 ± 0.07 mg/mL) were detected in BP. Based on the microdilution assay, the minimum inhibitory concentration of n/m BP for all test bacteria was 1000 (μg/mL) and the minimum bactericidal concentration of n/m BP was 2000 (μg/mL) for Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus and 4000 (μg/mL) for Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . The n/m BP treatment (250 mg/100 g meat) showed a higher pH value ( p  < .05) and lower TBARS values ( p  < .05) than the ascorbic acid treatment (100 mg/100 g meat) and the control during the storage period. The microbial analysis showed that the addition of n/m BP led to a significant decrease ( p  < .05) in the total bacterial count, coliforms, S. aureus , and fungal population compared to the other samples. The results show that the addition of n/m BP (125 mg/100 g) can improve the texture, taste, and overall acceptability of the sausage compared to the control sample. In conclusion, this study suggests that BP can replace synthetic antioxidants in high-fat sausages at the nano/microparticle level., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Food Science & Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background and Aim: This study aims to examine the mortality rate and trend of gastrointestinal cancers, particularly gastric cancer, as the leading cause of death among cancers in northern Iran over a 9-year period. In light of the changing incidence and mortality rates of cancer in Iran and around the world, the importance of these diseases in people's lives, and the necessity of updating and monitoring the trend of cancer mortality, we have decided to report on the mortality trend of gastrointestinal cancers, based on crude and age-standardized rates., Method: This study is a cross-sectional examination of deaths caused by gastrointestinal cancers in Babol city, Iran, between 2013 and 2021. Data was collected from the cause of death registration and classification system of Babol University of Medical Sciences. Population estimation was obtained from the latest census reports. The crude and age-standardized mortality rates and trends of the cancers were calculated., Results: Overall, there were 1345 deaths from gastrointestinal cancers with an average age of 69.11 ± 14.25 years. The crude and age-standardized rates of these cancers rose from 24.1 to 20.1 per hundred thousand people in 2012 to 29.5 and 25.5 per hundred thousand people, respectively. This trend became more prevalent significantly with the increase of each decade of age for both men (P-value Trend = 0.002) and women (P-value Trend = 0.012). An analysis of gastrointestinal cancers revealed a decreasing trend for cancers of the small intestine, an increasing trend for cancers of the colon, pancreas, and gallbladder, and a stable trend for the remaining cancers over the study period., Conclusion: The age-standardized rate and the number of gastrointestinal cancers is rising, highlighting the importance of preventative measures such as screening, increasing public awareness, and appropriate diagnostic methods., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Due to low amounts of withanolides produced in some plants and high demand for various applications, their biotechnological production is widely researched. The effects of two explant types (i.e., leaf and stem from the in vitro seedlings of three genotypes of Withania somnifera) and four Rhizobium strains (i.e., LBA 9402, A4, ATCC 15834, and C58C1) to improve hairy root formation efficiency was studied. Furthermore, the combined effects of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on withaferin A production after 48 h exposure time was examined. Four hairy roots having the maximum percentage of induced roots and mean number of induced roots to analyze their growth kinetics and identified G3/ATCC/LEAF culture having the maximum specific growth rate (μ = 0.036 day -1 ) and growth index (GI = 9.18), and the shortest doubling time (T d  = 18.82 day) were selected. After 48 h exposure of G3/ATCC/LEAF culture to different elicitation conditions, maximum amounts of withaferin A were produced in samples co-treated with 0.5 mM β-CD + 100 μM MeJA (9.57 mg/g DW) and 5.0 mM β-CD + 100 μM MeJA (17.45 mg/g DW). These outcomes represented a 6.8-fold and 12.5-fold increase, respectively, compared to the control. Similarly, combined β-CD/MeJA elicitation increased gene expression levels of HMGR, SQS, SMT-1, and SDS/CYP710A involved in withanolides biosynthetic pathway, of which just SMT-1 had significant correlation with withaferin A production. These results demonstrated the superiority of G1-leaf explant and ATCC 15834 for hairy root induction, and revealed synergistic effect of MeJA and β-CD on withaferin A production., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to compare dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) effects on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms, quality of life (QOL), anxiety and depression among patients with IBS. Eighty three eligible patients with a Rome- IV diagnosis were randomly allocated in DBT, MBSR, ACT, and control groups (n = 22 per group). All the patients were evaluated for IBS symptoms by IBS Severity Scoring System (IBS-SSS), QOL by irritable bowel syndrome quality of life (IBS-QOL), anxiety by Beck's Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and depression by Beck Depression Inventory- II (BDI-II) on the studied groups at the time of their inclusion in the study and 8 weeks after it. Each of the intervention groups took part in 8 group sessions. Conversely, the control group were evaluated without any intervention. 54 male and 29 female in 4 groups completed the study: DBT (n = 20), MBSR (n = 19), ACT (n = 22), and control groups (n = 22). The results showed significant differences between the groups based on the variables of the IBS-SSS, IBS-QOL, BAI and BDI-II (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the ACT intervention had considerably lower levels of IBS symptoms, anxiety, and depression compared to the other groups; also, the significant impacts of the QOL variable showed the higher scores of the ACT compared to the treatment groups. The therapies could not be applied to other groups of people. Other shortcomings were the absence of a follow-up strategy. This research offers preliminary evidence that ACT is more successful than other therapy groups in reducing IBS symptoms, anxiety and sadness, and improving QOL in IBS patients., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Superelastic alloys used for stents, biomedical implants, and solid-state cooling devices rely on their reversible stress-induced martensitic transformations. These applications require the alloy to sustain high deformability over millions of cycles without failure. Here, we report an alloy capable of enduring 10×10^{7} tensile stress-induced phase transformations while still exhibiting over 2% recoverable elastic strains. After millions of cycles, the alloy is highly reversible with zero stress hysteresis. We show that the major martensite variant is reversible even after multimillions of cycles under tensile loadings with a highly coherent (11[over ¯]0)&#95;{A} interface. This discovery provides new insights into martensitic transformation, and may guide the development of superelastic alloys for multimillion cycling applications.

Background: People with disabilities (PWD) have different health service needs and different factors affect the utilization of these services. Therefore, the aim of this present study was to identify determinants of inpatient healthcare utilization among PWDs in Iran., Methods: This research was a secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional study. The present study used data gathered for 766 PWDs (aged 18 years and older) within the Iranian Society with Disabilities (ISD) between September and December 2020. Multiple logistic regression models calculated adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals in order to identify determinants of inpatient healthcare utilization among PWDs., Results: Data for 766 people with disabilities were analyzed. A large number of participants were over 28 years of age (70.94%), male (64.36%), and single (54.02%). In the present study, more than 71% of participants had no history of hospitalization during the last year. In this study, males [aOR 2.11(1.14-3.91), participants with Civil Servants health insurance coverage [aOR 3.44 (1.16 - 10.17)] and individuals in the 3th quartile of disability severity [aOR 2.13 (1.01 - 4.51)] had greater odds of inpatient healthcare utilization compared to the other groups. The value of the concentration index (C) for inpatient healthcare utilization was - 0.084 (P.value = 0.046). The decomposition analysis indicated that gender was the greatest contributor (21.92%) to the observed inequality in inpatient healthcare utilization among participants., Conclusion: Our findings suggested that the likelihood of hospitalization among the study participants could be significantly influenced by factors such as gender, the health insurance scheme, and the degree of disability severity. These results underscore the imperative for enhanced access to outpatient services, affordable insurance coverage, and reduced healthcare expenditures for this vulnerable population. Addressing these issues has the potential to mitigate the burden of hospitalization and promote better health outcomes for disadvantaged individuals., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Understanding the key role of the tumor microenvironment in specifying molecular markers of breast cancer subtypes is of a high importance in diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, the possibility of interconversion of luminal states and their specific markers alteration under the control of tumor microenvironment (TME), particularly cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) deserves to be further investigated., Methods: To activate normal human fibroblasts, liquid overlay technique or nemosis was used and α-SMA protein expression, CAFs marker, in fibroblastic spheroids was measured by blotting. The luminal A, MCF-7, and luminal B, MDA-MB 361, cell lines were treated with normal and spheroidal/activated fibroblast conditioned medium for 48 hours. The morphological changes of both luminal A and B cells were evaluated by invert light microscopy and analyzed through the shape factor formula. Moreover, chemo-sensitivity, proliferation, and changes in ER-related and proliferative genes expression levels were assessed respectively via MTT assay, Ki67 expression Immunofluorescence assay, real time PCR and Annexin V-FITC techniques., Results: Activated (spheroidal) fibroblasts, expressed αSMA marker two folds more than monolayer cultured fibroblasts. Our study indicated a significant increase in IC 50 of both luminal A and B cell lines after being treated with conditioned medium particularly in treated group with spheroidal conditioned medium. Studying Morphological changes using shape factor formula demonstrated more aggressiveness with gaining mesenchymal features in both luminal A and B subtypes by increasing exposure time. Changes in the expression of Ki67 were observed following treatment with fibroblastic and spheroidal paracrine secretome. Driven Data from Ki67 assay supports the luminal A and B interconversion by elevated Ki67 expression in luminal A and lowered Ki67 expression in luminal B. Gene expression analysis revealed that anti-apoptotic Bcl2 gene expression in both luminal types treated with condition medium has been increased though there has seen no interchange in expression of ER-related and proliferative genes between luminal A (MCF7) and luminal B (MDA-MB361) subtypes, the results of Annexin V-FITC flow cytometry test indicated a decrease in the population of both early and late apoptotic cells in groups treated with both fibroblastic and spheroidal condition medium compared to of control group., Conclusion: Under the paracrine influence of fibroblast cells, both luminal A (MCF7) and luminal B (MDA-MB) subtypes of breast cancer gained invasive, anti-apoptotic, and chemoresistance features which are mostly increased by activated(spheroidal) fibroblasts conditioned medium mimicking CAFs. There was no strong proof for interconversion of luminal A and luminal B which share more similarities among breast cancer molecular subtypes., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

Acrylamide, a food-borne chemical toxicant, has raised global concern in recent decades. It mainly originated from reducing sugar and free amino acid interactions in the carbohydrate-rich foodstuffs heated at high temperatures. Due to the neurotoxicity and carcinogenicity of AA, the mechanism of formation, toxic effects on health, and mitigation strategies, including conventional approaches and innovative technologies, have been of great interest since its discovery in food. Potato products (especially French fries and crisps), coffee, and cereals(bread and biscuit) are renowned contributors to AA's daily intake. The best preventive methods discussed in the literature include time/temperature optimization, blanching, enzymatic treatment, yeast treatment, additives, pulsed electric fields, ultrasound, vacuum roasting, air frying, and irradiation, exhibiting a high efficacy in AA elimination in food products.

Introduction: Morphine induces ovarian cysts that cause obesity and disrupt sex hormone secretion. Baclofen, a gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor agonist, can help regulate sex hormones and reduce harmful blood lipids by protecting against morphine-induced gamma-aminobutyric acid inhibition. We investigated the prophylactic effect of baclofen in rats receiving morphine by comparing with the untreated groups., Materials and Methods: Forty eight female Wistar rats were randomly divided into several groups, including control (saline 1 mL/kg, i.p.), morphine (5 mg/kg, i.p.), baclofen (10, 20, and 30 mg/kg, i.p.), and baclofen (10, 20, and 30 mg/kg) before morphine (5 mg/kg). Twenty four hours after the treatment, blood and serum samples were taken to check the levels of gonadotropins (LH & FSH) and lipid profile. The ovaries and uterus were also studied, and a proinflammatory nitric oxide (NO) diagnostic test was completed. The results were analyzed using analysis of variance (α = 0.05)., Results: In comparison with the control group, the levels of LH and not FSH decreased in the morphine group and the number of ovarian cysts was more in the morphine group. These problems were not observed in the group of baclofen alone and baclofen + morphine. However, the triglyceride level increased slightly in the baclofen 30 mg/kg + morphine group. But the LDL level somewhat decreased. The proinflammatory NO system did not show significant activation in the ovary and uterus, except for the baclofen 10 mg/kg + baclofen group., Conclusion: Morphine can cause ovarian cysts by lowering LH but baclofen prophylaxis can protect reproductive properties by adapting major metabolic changes., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2023 Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism.)

Introduction: Bisphenol A (BPA), a ubiquitous synthetic monomer primarily used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins and as a non-polymer additive to other plastics, can leach into the food and water supply and has been linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study aimed to analyze BPA levels in patients with varying numbers of coronary artery stenosis and evaluate the prognostic value of new biomarkers cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36) and heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP), compared to troponin I and creatine kinase (CK) MB, for detecting myocardial injury., Method: Eighty nine patients undergoing angiography at Urmia Hospital from March 2019 to 2020 were included. Serum levels of BPA, CD36, H-FABP, troponin I, and CK-M were measured., Results: When comparing CD36 and H-FABP with troponin I and CK-MB across coronary occlusion classes, receiver operating characteristic curves indicated CD36 and H-FABP had higher accuracy than troponin I and CK-MB for detecting stenosis stages. In patients with occlusion, significant alterations were detected in age, sex, BMI, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and smoking. BPA serum concentration significantly increased compared to normal subjects., Conclusions: Our study revealed that serum biomarkers were valuable for prognosticating myocardial injury. Among these, CD36 and H-FABP were more accurate. BPA concentration correlated with myocardial necrosis, underlying disease, and occlusion stage, suggesting BPA's harmful effects., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Masoumeh Karami reports financial support was provided by AJA University of Medical Sciences, Iran. there is nothing If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors.)