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Breast milk is a complete food for the development of the newborn, but it can also be an important route for environmental pollutants transmission to the infants. This study was aimed to evaluate the status of heavy metals including lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) in the breast milk of Iranian mothers. The international databases including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science and the Persian electronic databases including Scientific Information Database, IranMedex and Magiran were examined to find relevant articles published until July 2021. A total of 23 studies examined the levels of toxic metals in Iranian breast milk samples. According to the findings, the pooled average concentrations (µg/L) of Pb, Cd, Hg and As were 25.61, 2.40, 1.29 and 1.16, respectively. The concentration of Hg and Pb in colostrum milk was more than twice of mature milk. The Hg mean concentration in the breast milk of mothers with at least one amalgam-filled tooth was approximately three times that of mothers without amalgam-filled teeth. Risk assessment analysis indicated that the intake of Pb and Hg by infants through breastfeeding can be considered a health concern in Iran. It seems necessary to reduce the Pb exposure of pregnant and lactating women in Iran. However, more extensive studies are needed to clarify the toxic metals' exposure status of infants through breast milk in other parts of the country.

Systemic arterial hypertension is an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, and chronic kidney diseases. Spirulina is microalgae with nutritious ingredients and has potential attenuating effects on chronic diseases including hypertension. Spirulina can be added to food products in order to develop functional foods. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of 8-week consumption of a salad dressing containing 2 g of spirulina platensis powder versus a placebo dressing on patients with hypertension. In this triple-blind randomized clinical trial, 48 patients with hypertension were enrolled to receive daily either spirulina-fortified dressing or placebo for 2 months. A total of 41 patients completed this study. We observed that the consumption of spirulina dressing significantly reduced systolic blood pressure (p = .02), diastolic blood pressure (p = .03), serum triglyceride (p = .01), total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, compared to nonsignificant changes in the placebo group. Significant changes in TAC and hs-CRP levels were observed in none of the groups. According to our findings, spirulina-fortified dressing as a functional food can be used a supportive treatment for patients with hypertension along with standard antihypertensive drugs. However, further investigations are required for a more comprehensive conclusion.

This study aimed to investigate the health-related effects of microencapsulated fermented garlic extract (FGE) containing dark chocolate in hypertensive adults. For this purpose, 36 hypertensive adults (15 males vs. 21 females) were randomized to receive the FGE (5 g/day) dark chocolate containing 650 mg of FGE powder or the placebo. Intervention periods lasted for 6 weeks and were separated by a 3-week wash-out period. The response variables included blood pressure, anthropometric indices, lipid profile, and inflammatory and oxidative stress indices. Statistical analyses were performed using the Pkcross procedure, and Cohen's d was estimated for all response variables. There was no significant inter-period difference between the mean changes of body weight, waist circumference, and body mass index (BMI). Furthermore, no significant change was confirmed in participants' blood pressure, triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), serum homocysteine, high-sensitive c-reactive protein (hs-CRP), malondialdehyde (MDA), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). It seems that the dose of FGE used in this study was not sufficient to cause any significant changes in the outcomes. Therefore, further studies with dose-response designs and longer durations are recommended.

Consumption of milks contaminated with aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) may result in serious health problems in humans. In the present study, English and Persian electronic databases were comprehensively searc...

Obesity, as the most common metabolic disorder in the world, is characterized by excess body fat. This study is aimed at determining the effects of melatonin supplementation on body weight, nody mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and body fat mass percentage (BFMP) in people with overweight or obesity. Thirty eight overweight or class-I obese adult individuals were recruited in the study (8 men and 30 women). Participants prescribed a weight-loss diet and then randomly were allocated to melatonin or placebo groups. Participants received either a 3-milligram melatonin or placebo tablet per day for 12 weeks. In order to assess differences at the significance level of 0.05, repeated measure ANOVA and paired t -test were used. According to the results, a significant reduction was found in participants’ body weight, WC, and BMI in both groups ( p = 0.001 ). However, for the last six weeks, significant reductions of these parameters were observed only in the melatonin group ( p = 0.01 ). The BFMP of participants in the melatonin group showed a significant reduction at the end of the study compared to the initial measurements ( p = 0.008 ). Nevertheless, the results of the present study alone are not sufficient to conclude on the effects of melatonin consumption on anthropometric indices, and it seems that further studies are required in this regard.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Survival rates are among the most important factors in quality control and assessment of treatment protocols. This study was aimed to assess the survival rate of colorectal cancer in Eastern Mediterranean Region Countries. In the present study we comprehensively searched 6 international databases including PubMed/Medline, ProQuest, Scopus, Embase, Web of Knowledge and Google Scholar for published articles until November 2018. The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Form for Cohort Studies was applied to evaluate the quality of included studies. The heterogeneity of papers was assessed with the Cochran Test and I-Square statistics. Meta-regression test was performed based on publication year, sample size and Human Development Index (HDI) of each study. Among the total of 1023 titles found in the systematic search, 43 studies were eligible to be included in the present meta-analysis. According to the results, the 1-year, 3-year and 5-year survival rate of patients with Colorectal Cancer was 88.07% (95% CI, 83.22-92.92), 70.67% (95% CI, 66.40-74.93) and, 57.26% (95% CI, 50.43-64.10); respectively. Furthermore, Meta-regressions did not show significant correlations between survival rate and year, sample size or Human Development Index. Survival rates, especially the 5-year survival rate in the EMRO were less than European countries and the USA. Documented and comprehensive evidence-based findings of the present meta-analysis can be used to enhance policies and outcomes of different medical areas including prophylaxis, treatment and health related objectives in colorectal cancer.

One of the obstacle avoidance and path planning techniques is a method using the nonlinear sub-optimal regulator called SDRE. In this paper, a closed-loop nonlinear suboptimal controller is designed via State-Dependent Riccati Equation (SDRE) and is applied to Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) system. SDRE presents a well-organized and efficient design method of a controller for nonlinear systems; furthermore, one general limitation of optimal path planning, i.e., obstacles is considered, and a proper strategy introduced to deal with this constraint. Obstacle avoidance method used in this paper based on the concept of Navigation function and Artificial Potential Field method. Capabilities of SDRE method yield an excellent opportunity for combination with the obstacle avoidance approaches. The results show that the proposed SDRE strategy leads to an efficient control law by which the UGV avoids obstacles and moves from an arbitrary initial point x0 to a target point.