Dietary Carbohydrate Intake Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load and the Risk of Prostate Cancer among Iranian Men: A Case-Control Study.

Previous studies have presented a few evidences on the relationship between dietary carbohydrate intake, glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL), with the prostate cancer risk. We performed a case-control study to evaluate these associations in 50 men with histologically confirmed prostate cancer and 100 control men. Odds ratios (ORs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were derived using logistic regression. The fully adjusted ORs for the top vs. the bottom quartile were 15.02 (P trend = 0.004), 1.04 (P trend = 0.003), and 10.35 (P trend = 0.002) for carbohydrate intake, GI and GL, respectively. Significant associations with prostate cancer remained only among men with reduced fiber intake for carbohydrate intake, GI and GL and among those had increased fiber intake for GI. These findings support the hypothesis that diet with high carbohydrate, GI and GL enhance risk of prostate cancer.

Detecting Mercury (II) and Thiocyanate Using "Turn-on" Fluorescence of Graphene Quantum Dots.

In this work, 1.8 nm graphene quantum dots (GQDs), exhibiting bright blue fluorescence, were prepared using a bottom-up synthesis from citric acid. The fluorescence of the GQDs could be almost completely quenched (about 96%) by adding Hg2+. Quenching was far less efficient with other similar heavy metals, Tl+, Pb2+ and Bi3+. Fluorescence could be near quantitatively restored through the introduction of thiocyanate. This "turn-on" fluorescence can thus be used to detect both or either environmental and physiological contaminants mercury and thiocyanate and could prove useful for the development of simple point-of-care diagnostics in the future. Graphical Abstract.

Increased Inflammatory Potential of Diet is Associated with Increased Risk of Prostate Cancer in Iranian Men.

PURPOSE: Various aspects of diet, including specific foods and nutrients, have been implicated to play a role in modulating inflammation and in the etiology of prostate cancer. Studies examining this association have been conducted primarily in Western countries; but none in Middle Eastern Countries. METHOD: We examined the association between the dietary inflammatory index (DII) and prostate cancer in an ageand BMI-matched case-control study among 40-78 year-old Iranian males. A total of 50 incident cases and 100 controls attending the same hospital as the cases during the same time period were recruited. The DII is a literature-derived population-based dietary index developed to determine the inflammatory potential of individuals' diets and was computed based on dietary intake assessed using a previously validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) that was expanded to assess diet and cancer in the Iranian population. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios, with DII score fit as continuous and as a dichotomous variable. RESULTS: Multivariable-adjusted analyses revealed that men with higher DII score (>0.23) to be at higher risk of prostate cancer [odds ratio (OR) = 3.96; 95% CI =1.29-12.16, p-value = 0.02)] compared to men with lower DII scores (≤0.23). CONCLUSION: These data suggest a pro-inflammatory diet, as indicated by increasing DII score, may be a risk factor for prostate cancer in Iranian men..

Influence of gadolinium doping on structural, optical, and electronic properties of polymeric graphitic carbon nitride.

Polymeric graphitic carbon nitride (gCN) materials have received great attention in the fields of photo and electrocatalysis due to their distinct properties in metal-free systems with high physicochemical stability. Nevertheless, the activity of undoped gCN is limited due to its relatively low specific surface area, low conductivity, and poor dispersibility. Doping Gd atoms in a gCN matrix is an efficient strategy to fine-tune its catalytic activity and its electronic structure. Herein, the influence of various wt% of gadolinium (Gd) doped in melon-type carbon nitride was systematically investigated. Gadolinium-doped graphitic carbon nitride (GdgCN) was synthesized by adding gadolinium nitrate to dicyandiamide during polymerization. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results revealed that the crystallinity and the morphological properties are influenced by the % of Gd doping. Furthermore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies revealed that the gadolinium ions bonded with nitrogen atoms. Complementary density functional theory (DFT) calculations illustrate possible bonding configurations of Gd ions both in bulk material and on ultrathin melon layers and provide evidence for the corresponding bandgap modifications induced by gadolinium doping.

Design and photophysical insights on graphene quantum dots for use as nanosensor in differentiating methamphetamine and morphine in solution.

Fluorescent graphene quantum dots (GQDs) were prepared and utilized as nanosensor for differentiation and determination of two most common narcotic drugs i.e. morphine and methamphetamine. The microstructure and optical properties of the GQDs were investigated by various physicochemical methods. XRD analysis indicated low crystalline nature, demonstrating the graphitic nature of the GQDs. According to the Tauc plot derived from UV-Vis spectrum, the optical band gap of the GQDs was determined to ~4.98 eV, assigned to the n-π* transitions. Cyclic voltammetry analysis of the GQDs determined electrochemical band gap of ~4.88 eV with HOMO and LUMO energies equal to -6.83 eV and -1.95 eV, respectively. The GQDs were employed as fluorescent sensing probe for determination of morphine and methamphetamine. The blue fluorescence of the prepared GQDs under the excitation at 362 nm was quenched in the presence of methamphetamine and enhanced in the presence of morphine. The detection limits of 1.48 and 0.5 µg/ml were found for methamphetamine and morphine, respectively. This inexpensive sensing system shows some advantages such as short response time (t < 1 min) and low detection limit as well as nontoxicity.

Cinnamon may have therapeutic benefits on lipid profile, liver enzymes, insulin resistance, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent cause of hepatic injury in the world. One of the most important therapeutic strategies for this disease is modulating insulin resistance and oxidative stress. In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that supplementation with cinnamon exerts an insulin sensitizer effect in patients with NAFLD. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with two parallel groups, fifty patients with NAFLD were randomized to receive daily supplementation with either two capsules of cinnamon (each capsule contain 750 mg cinnamon) or 2 placebo capsules, daily for 12 weeks. During the intervention, all patients were given advice on how to implement a balanced diet and physical activity into their daily lives. In the treatment group (P < .05), significant decreases in HOMA (Homeostatic Model Assessment) index, FBS (fasting blood glucose), total cholesterol, triglyceride, ALT (alanine aminotransferase), AST (aspartate aminotransferase), GGT (gamma glutamine transpeptidase), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were seen, but there was no significant change in serum high-density lipoproteins levels (P = .122). In both groups, low-density lipoproteins decreased significantly (P < .05). In conclusion, the study suggests that taking 1500 mg cinnamon daily may be effective in improving NAFLD characteristics.

Dietary patterns in relation to prostate cancer in Iranian men: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer among males in economically developed countries. Among the several risk factors that have been suggested, only age, ethnicity, diabetes, and family history of prostate cancer are well-established and primary prevention of this disease is limited. Prior studies had shown that dietary intake could be modified to reduce cancer risk. We conducted a hospital-based, case- control study to examine the association between dietary patterns and prostate cancer risk in Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of fifty patients with prostate cancer and a hundred controls underwent face-to-face interviews. Factor analysis was used to determine the dietary patterns. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: We defined two major dietary patterns in this population: 'western diet'(high in sweets and desserts, organ meat, snacks, tea and coffee, French fries, salt, carbonated drinks, red or processed meat) and 'healthy diet' (high in legumes, fish, dairy products, fruits and fruit juice, vegetables, boiled potatoes ,whole cereal and egg). Both Healthy and western pattern scores were divided into two categories (based on medians). Higher scores on Healthy pattern was marginally significantly related to decreased risk of prostate cancer (above median vs below median, OR =0.4, 95%CI=0.2-1.0). An increased risk of prostate cancer was observed with the higher scores on the Western pattern (above median vs below median, OR=4.0, 95%CI=1.5-11.0). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggested that diet might be associated with prostate cancer among Iranian males.

Fruit and vegetable intake in relation to prostate cancer in Iranian men: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Findings of epidemiologic studies on the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and prostate cancer (PCa) risk have been inconclusive. We therefore examined the association between intake of fruits and vegetables and PCa risk in Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this hospital based, case-control study, a total of 50 patients with PCa and 100 controls underwent face-to-face interviews. Regression analysis was used to examine the relation between fruit and vegetable intake and PCa risk. RESULTS: A protective independent effect was observed for the highest tertile of total fruit and vegetable (OR: 0.33, CI: 0.04-0.30, p value<0.001), total fruit (OR: 0.30, CI: 0.06-0.4, p value=0.03) and total vegetable (OR: 0.31, CI: 0.02-0.21, p value<0.001) consumption. Within the group of fruits, a significant inverse association was observed for apple and pomegranate (p trends were 0.01 and 0.016, respectively). In the vegetable group, a significant inverse association was observed for tomatoes (p trend<0.001) and cabbage (p trend=0.021). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study suggested that fruits and vegetable intake might be negatively associated with PCa risk.