Introducing bio-indicator fish of the Persian Gulf based on health risk assessment of 27 commercial species.

BACKGROUND: The increasing consumption of seafood may bring health risks. It will be especially important for the people living along the coasts who are highly dependent on seafood for food and income. METHODS: In this research, a comprehensive health risk assessment was performed on 27 species of high-consumption commercial fish sampled from stations located in Hormozgan province within the Northeast Persian Gulf. Concentrations of trace metals and their health risk were investigated. RESULTS: Spatial distribution of trace metals in commercial fish showed central stations including Kong and Greater Tonb have higher concentrations of all trace metals except Pb. Some metals showed a significant correlation between concentrations. Our finding indicated the average concentration of all trace metals except Ni in all species was below the concentrations proposed by WHO/FAO/USEPA. EDI for all metals in all species in both adult and child age groups was lower than its RfD (oral reference dose of trace metal) showing the daily consumption of these fish does not pose any health risk and implicates seafood consumption guidelines or policies. Values of THQ for each metal and HI for all metals were lower than 1 in all commercial fish indicating the lack of non-cancerous health risk through the long-term consumption of these fish. The research found potential health risks associated with the consumption of these fish, specifically related to the metals Cr, Ni, and Cd. CONCLUSION: In total, health risk indices proposed eight fish as bio-indicator species of the Persian Gulf. The findings emphasize the risk management of commercial fish consumption, especially bio-indicator species, in Hormozgan province, the Northeast Persian Gulf.

The Effect of the Persian Gulf Jellyfish (Cassiopea andromeda) Venom on the Expression of P15, P21, P53, DNMT1, and Bcl-2 in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Jurkat Cells.

Background: One of the acute hematologic malignancies is acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which is formed in B or T lymphocyte stem cells. Regarding the increasing tendency to herbal and marine studies and unclear characteristics of Cassiopea andromeda Venom, this study was performed to determine its effects on Jurkat cells as a model for T-ALL. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, the cells were treated with a variety of concentrations of Cassiopea andromeda venom at different periods and times. Growth inhibition and toxic effects of Cassiopea andromeda Venom were evaluated by methyl thiazole tetrazolium salt reduction (MTT test). The flow cytometry analysis was carried out using 7-aminoactinomycin D (7AAD) and Annexin V stains to evaluate the venom's effect on apoptotic pathways. Besides, Real-Time PCR was performed to evaluate the relative gene expression. Results: Cassiopea andromeda venom inhibited the growth of Jurkat cells in a concentration and time manner. Jurkat cell growth was inhibited by 48.9% after 72 hours of treatment with 250µg/mL Cassiopea andromeda venom. The venom increased the apoptotic process through the upregulation of p15INK4b and P53 proteins and downregulation of Bcl-2, p21 WAF1/CIP1, and DNMT1 in the Jurkat cell line. Conclusion: Considering the growth inhibitory property of Cassiopea andromeda Venom, we recommend it as a part of combinational medication for treating ALL in animal trials and for other leukemias in vitro studies.

Experimental investigation of the effect of landfill leachate on the mechanical and cracking behavior of polypropylene fiber-reinforced compacted clay liner.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of leachate on the geotechnical parameters and the cracking behavior of compacted clay liners (CCLs) containing different percentages of polypropylene fibers. Accordingly, 200 compacted clay samples were reinforced with different percentages of fiber contents (FC) (i.e., 0, 0.5, 0.75, and 1%) and prepared with water or leachate to conduct different laboratory tests. First, the physical properties of the clay were determined. Then, the shear strength parameters (i.e., cohesion and friction angle), unconfined compressive strength, and the hydraulic permeability were determined subjected to water or leachate. Notably, the cracking behavior was modeled using visual images of the samples. The leachate increased desiccation cracks in the natural soil from 0.425 to nearly 1.111%. However, the addition of 0.5% (in the case of water) and 1% (in the case of leachate) fiber to the soil reduced the surface desiccation cracks in clay liners to about 0.185 and 0.352%, respectively. In both water- or leachate-prepared samples, the addition of fibers significantly increased the cohesion and friction angle. The shear strengths of the unreinforced leachate-prepared samples were lower than those of the water-prepared samples. The shear strength and unconfined compressive strength of all specimens increased with increasing fiber percentage. The presence of fibers in all samples caused more ductile behavior. The required amount of energy to achieve the maximum strength in the samples increased with increasing FC. By increasing the percentage of fibers, the permeability of the natural soil and the leachate-prepared samples increased. However, the highest permeability was observed in the leachate-prepared samples containing 1% fibers of 8.3 × 10-10 m/s, which is less than 10-9 m/s (maximum allowable permeability for clay liners). Finally, the obtained results were satisfactorily confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis.

A Narrative Review Study on the Effects of Obesity and Bariatric Surgery on Multiple Sclerosis.

Obesity is a major public health concern and should be considered in autoimmune inflammatory disorders, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). In these patients, obesity leads to increasing comorbidities as well as reduced quality of life. Obesity causes an inflammatory state in the body, especially in adolescents; obesity has a role in the pathogenesis of MS. Hence, it is identified as a lifestyle modifiable risk factor for MS disease. Among various treatments for obesity, bariatric surgery has been widely used. Although few studies have been performed on bariatric surgery in MS patients, in this review, we present the existing data regarding the effects of obesity on the MS course and evaluate the outcomes of bariatric surgery among this population.

Validity and Reliability of the Persian Versions of National Institute of Health Stroke Scale and Modified National Institute of Health Stroke Scale in Hospitalized Patients.

BACKGROUND: National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and Modified National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (mNIHSS) are two valid and reliable questionnaires that assess stroke severity. This study aimed to examine and compare the validity and reliability of Persian versions of NIHSS and mNIHSS in hospitalized patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The English versions of NIHSS and mNIHSS were translated to Persian (forward and backward), and three neurologists examined the face and content validity of both questionnaires. The Persian versions of NIHSS and mNIHSS were used in 75 hospitalized stroke patients (hemorrhagic and obstructive) admitted to Namazi teaching hospital, Shiraz, Iran. The reliability and validity of the Persian versions were examined by Cronbach's alpha coefficient and convergent validity. RESULTS: The values of Cronbach's alpha for Persian versions of NIHSS and mNIHSS were 0.81 and 0.86, respectively. The scaling success of convergent validity in NIHSS and mNIHSS were 80% and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The Persian versions of NIHSS and mNIHSS were reliable and valid. However, mNIHSS was more valid and reliable than NIHSS. Persian version of mNIHSS can be suggested to be used for assessing stroke severity in hospitalized stroke patients by neurologists and researchers.

Laparoscopic One-Anastomosis Gastric Bypass in a Patient with Morbid Obesity and Situs Inversus Totalis: a Case Report.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic one-anastomosis gastric bypass is a new bariatric surgery technique for weight loss in morbid obesity. This technique has come to be associated with suitable weight loss results, low technical complications, short surgery time, low cost, short post-operational period, and low chances of injury comparisons with other bariatric surgical approaches to weight loss in morbid obesity such as sleeve and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no report of such surgery in the case of situs inversus totalis concurrent with morbid obesity. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient was a 36-year-old male suffering from morbid obesity (BMI, 56.8) along with situs inversus totalis. In spite of operational complexities due to the reversed location of abdominal and thoracic organs, the operation was performed similarly to routine subjects considering the diverse site of organs. CONCLUSION: Given the considerable superiorities of one anastomosis gastric bypass over other bariatric surgical techniques, particularly concerning the simpler procedure, low surgical complication and short surgery time, this approach may guarantee positive outcomes in subjects with concurrent situs inversus totalis and morbid obesity.

Very low birth weight is associated with brain structure abnormalities and cognitive function impairments: A systematic review.

Very low birth weight (VLBW) children are at risk of structural brain abnormalities and neurocognitive deficits. Since survival rate of the very low birth weight infants has increased over the past decade, a better understanding of the long-term neurocognitive outcomes is needed. The present systematic review investigated the association between VLBW and cognitive function as well as brain structure. PubMed/Medline, Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched up from January 2000 to January 2015. The study was restricted to the articles that were about VLBW and its association with cognitive function and brain structure. The initial search yielded 721 articles. There were 44 studies eligible for inclusion after applying the exclusion criteria: 24 follow-up, 14 cohort, and 6 longitudinal studies. Based on this systematic review, we suggest that VLBW is positively related to several cognitive problems and brain structure abnormalities. These findings provide evidence about the importance of early assessment of cognitive development and brain structure to identify at-risk children and provide their specific requirements as early as possible.

Bioinformatic Identification of Rare Codon Clusters (RCCs) in HBV Genome and Evaluation of RCCs in Proteins Structure of Hepatitis B Virus.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) as an infectious disease that has nine genotypes (A - I) and a 'putative' genotype J. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to identify the rare codon clusters (RCC) in the HBV genome and to evaluate these RCCs in the HBV proteins structure. METHODS: For detection of protein family accession numbers (Pfam) in HBV proteins, the UniProt database and Pfam search tool were used. Protein family accession numbers is a comprehensive and accurate collection of protein domains and families. It contains annotation of each family in the form of textual descriptions, links to other resources and literature references. Genome projects have used Pfam extensively for large-scale functional annotation of genomic data; Pfam database is a large collection of protein families, each represented by multiple sequence alignments and hidden Markov models (HMMs). The Pfam search tools are databases that identify Pfam of proteins. These Pfam IDs were analyzed in Sherlocc program and the location of RCCs in HBV genome and proteins were detected and reported as translated EMBL nucleotide sequence data library (TrEMBL) entries. The TrEMBL is a computer-annotated supplement of SWISS-PROT that contains all the translations of European molecular biology laboratory (EMBL) nucleotide sequence entries not yet integrated in SWISS-PROT. Furthermore, the structures of TrEMBL entries proteins were studied in the PDB database and 3D structures of the HBV proteins and locations of RCCs were visualized and studied using Swiss PDB Viewer software®. RESULTS: The Pfam search tool found nine protein families in three frames. Results of Pfams studies in the Sherlocc program showed that this program has not identified RCCs in the external core antigen (PF08290) and truncated HBeAg gene (PF08290) of HBV. By contrast, the RCCs were identified in gene of hepatitis core antigen (PF00906 and the residues 224 - 234 and 251 - 255), large envelope protein S (PF00695 and the residues 53-56 and 70 - 84), X protein (PF00739 and the residues 10 - 24, 29 - 83, 95 - 99. 122 - 129, 139 - 143), DNA polymerase (viral) N-terminal domain (PF00242 and the residues 59 - 62, 214 - 217, 407 - 413) and protein P (Pf00336 and the residues 225 - 228). In HBV genome, seven RCCs were identified in the gene area of hepatitis core antigen, large envelope protein S and DNA polymerase, while protein structures of TrEMBL entries sequences found in Sherlocc program outputs were not complete. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the location of detected RCCs in the structure of HBV proteins, it was found that these RCCs may have a critical role in correct folding of HBV proteins and can be considered as drug targets. The results of this study provide new and deep perspectives about structure of HBV proteins for further researches and designing new drugs for treatment of HBV.

Traumatic injuries in pregnant women: a case of motor vehicle accident for "Ground Round" discussion.

UNLABELLED: The main objective for introducing this case study is to create a platform from which the importance of road traffic related injuries and traumas can be emphasized and discussed within and across various fields of investigation. The long term goal is to entice public campaign around unmet needs for higher road safety measures to reduce primary, secondary, and tertiary risks of injuries and traumas. CASE: a 28-year-old pregnant woman with a 16-week gestational age fetus was involved in a road car crash resulting in multiple traumas. Evaluation and treatment was initiated in the local Urgent Care Unit and continued in the emergency department and operation room. Patient underwent the following procedures: laparotomy, diverting colostomy, terminating pregnancy, right calcaneal traction and long leg splint, as well as multiple irrigation-debridements. Finally, the wound was left open and the patient was admitted to Intensive Care Unit. We hope that the introduction of this case for a "Ground Round" discussion will stir up a comprehensive discussion regarding the injury and trauma related preventive measures as well as treatment approaches in cases involving pregnant women in car accidents, and will bring about a holistic overview of this issue by the experts in various fields.