Search

Background and Objectives: Suicide is one of the biggest medical and social problems of the world. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the epidemiology of suicide in Asadabad city during 2011-2017. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, demographic and epidemiologic data of suicide attempts and complete suicide were extracted using special forms of suicide archived in the Asadabad Health Network during the years of 2011-2017. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The overall prevalence of suicide was 797/100000 people (804 cases), the prevalence of successful suicide (death) 21/100000 people (21 cases) and unsuccessful 776/100000 people (n783). Women (934/100000 people, n=466), single people (1548/100000 people, n=374), persons with secondary degree (3889/100000 people, n=258), unemployeds (790100000 people, n=577), residents of the city (792/100000 people, n=289) and season fall (240/100000 people, n=243) had the highest prevalence of suicide. The most important reason for committing suicide was, family fights and disputes (53.7%, n=432) and the most common method was pill consumption (72.4%, n=582). Conclusion: Considering that the main cause of suicide is family disputes and the most common form of suicide is the use of pills; Suicide outbreaks can be reduced by implementing appropriate interventions, such as establishing family counseling centers and adequate education for vulnerable families and gro ups, as well as reducing access to suicide devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most semiarid and arid areas, fresh water shortage compels managers to use low quality water sources with high salinity to irrigate turf and landscape. Recent research has noticed that management of nitrogen fertilization can alleviate salinity effects on plants. This greenhouse sand culture experiment was conducted in order to investigate morphological and physiological responses to salinity stress in Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) grown using different nitrogen sources. Three salinity levels (0, 40 and 80 mM NaCl) and three NO3-/NH4+ ratios (6/0.5, 6/1 and 6/2) were applied in nutrient solutions. Under non saline conditions, higher ammonium concentration increased Turf Quality (TQ), leaf NO3-, proline content, Nitrate Reductase Activity (NRA), shoot and root growth. On the other hand, leaf potassium (K+) sodium (Na+) and MalonDiAldehyde (MDA) content were not affected. During the first week, the 40 mM NaCl treatment showed that the positive effects of NH4+ on salinity tolerance were still perceptible. However, the 80 mM NaCl treatment showed that the adverse effects of high salinities were more pronounced when turf received high ammonium rate nutrient solution, as manifested by the decrease of TQ, NO3-, NRA, K+/Na+ ratio, shoot and root growth and by the increase of leaf MDA content. This suggests that effects of NO3-/NH4+ ratio on salt tolerance varies with salinity levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edible amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor L.) is used as a food-medicine or ornamental plant, and despite its importance, there are few reports associated with cadmium (Cd) stress. This study aimed to appraise the crosstalk between sodium nitroprusside (SNP), as a source of nitric oxide (NO), and cadmium toxicity on growth and physiological traits in edible amaranth by using different multivariate statistical methods. The results showed that growth-related traits of A. tricolor were significantly reduced under Cd stress. Contrarily, Cd treatments increased lipid peroxidation and reduced total protein content. Delving on the results of SNP application showed the suitability of its medium level (100 µM) on increasing the growth-related traits and also plant tolerance to Cd stress via lowering the lipid peroxidation and radical molecules production due to the higher activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase. Increasing the amount of Cd in roots and shoots, as the result of Cd treatment, reduced the growth and production of A. tricolor plants by high rates (over 50% in 60 mg kg -1 Cd level), indicating its susceptibility to high Cd toxicity. Contrarily, treating plants with SNP showed no effect on shoot Cd content, while it significantly increased Cd allocation in the root, which might be attributable to the protective effect of NO on Cd toxicity by trapping Cd in the root. Subsequently, the application of a medium level of SNP (around 100 µM) is recommendable for A. tricolor plant to overcome the negative impacts of Cd toxicity. Moreover, according to the results of heatmap and biplot, under no application of Cd, the application of 100 µM SNP showed a great association with growth-related traits indicating the effectiveness of SNP on the productivity of this species even under no stress situations., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Cr-Al-N thin film materials libraries were synthesized by combinatorial reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). Different HiPIMS repetition frequencies and peak power densities were applied altering the ion to growth flux ratio. Moreover, time-resolved ion energy distribution functions were measured with a retarding field energy analyzer (RFEA). The plasma properties were measured during the growth of films with different compositions within the materials library and correlated to the resulting film properties such as phase, grain size, texture, indentation modulus, indentation hardness, and residual stress. The influence of the ion to growth flux ratio on the film properties was most significant for films with high Al-content ( x Al = 50 at. %). X-ray diffraction with a 2D detector revealed hcp-AlN precipitation starting from Al-concentration x Al ≥ 50 at. %. This precipitation might be related to the kinetically enhanced adatom mobility for a high ratio of ions per deposited atoms, leading to strong intermixing of the deposited species. A structure zone transition, induced by composition and flux ratio J I / J G , from zone T to zone Ic structure was observed which hints toward the conclusion that the combination of increasing flux ratio and Al-concentration lead to opposing trends regarding the increase in homologous temperature.

Background and Aims: Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are the most common condition affecting the tem-poromandibular joint and associated structures. The aim of this study was the epidemiologic evaluation of TMDs and re-lated factors in a group of Iranian adolescents., Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional survey included a sample of800 high school students (400 girls and 400 boys) aged 14 to18 years, in Mashhad, Iran, selected using cluster sampling. Examiners completed question-naires and performed the clinical examinations. Data were analyzed with the Chi-square and Fisher exact tests., Results: The prevalence of TMDs in the studied sample was 34.7%. The most common signs of TMDs were clicking, muscle tenderness and TMJ tenderness. The most prevalent predisposing factors of TMDs were clenching, premature con-tact in protrusive movement and bruxism. A clear predominance was seen in girls (40.5%) compared with boys (29%) (P = 0.001)., Conclusion: Signs and symptoms of TMDs were prevalent in Iranian adolescents with a clear female predominance.

Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) is a well-studied environmental carcinogen that when activated can react with DNA to form four major adducts: (+)-trans-, (-)-trans-, (+)-cis-, and (-)-cis-anti-B[a]P-dG. In this study, two oligonucleotides (5'-dCCATT-GB[a]P-CTACC-3' and 5'-dCCATC-GB[a]P-CTACC-3') were prepared, each containing the four isomeric adducts, and these were hybridized to either complementary sequences or to sequences containing an A, G, or T opposite the adducted guanine. Thermal melting curves, CD, and UV spectra of each duplex were measured and compared with the unmodified counterpart. The raw and relative thermodynamic measurements were then compared which indicated that differences occur that are both adduct and sequence dependent. These differences were next compared with the in vitro DNA polymerase incorporation data and were found to be strikingly correlated. Most significantly, for all four B[a]P isomers a mismatch of an A across from the adduct resulted in the least amount of relative destabilization, while the Watson-Crick complement C showed the most; in vitro studies showed that A is the preferred base incorporated across from each isomer, while C was incorporated least often. This observed correlation suggests that one factor contributing to misincorporation at an adduct site is the thermodynamic stability of the incorporated base. Structurally, the effect of sequence context and mismatched complementary strands were also compared, suggesting that all adducts tend to intercalate within the helix when they are complemented with a mismatched complementary strand. In addition, the level of this intercalation seems to be both sequence and stereoisomer dependent.

Synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides containing a high guanine content have a tendency to form intra- or intermolecular complexes in solution make HPLC purification difficult or sometimes impossible. We have developed a simple method that has enabled us to purify a series of highly guanine-rich and self-complementary oligonucleotides by HPLC on a reverse-phase PRP-1 column. Although others have shown that this type of oligonucleotide can be purified on an ion-exchange column by adding formamide to the mobile phase, the resulting resolution is poor and the formamide must subsequently be removed from the purified product. We find that simply having 20% formamide in the loading buffer is sufficient to remove the interfering interactions. This small amount of formamide passes quickly through the reverse-phase column, far removed the peak position of the oligonucleotides. Quantities of up to 35 ODs have been satisfactorily purified with recoveries of 95% or better. This procedure was particularly suitable for purification of oligonucleotides containing base-labile modifications, such as acetylaminofluorene-modified oligonucleotides,since other denaturing HPLC purification methods usually employ strong alkaline conditions or high temperatures that might result in damage to the adduct.