Human exposure to dust and heavy metals in industrial regions and its relationship with the prevalence of multiple sclerosis disease.

In recent decades, multiple sclerosis (MS) diseases have been significantly prevalent in some industrial areas of Iran, such as steel industrial areas in Isfahan province (central Iran). In this study, the environmental impacts of two steel mill factories in Isfahan province and their effects on the spread of MS in the region were investigated. To examine the extent of exposure, seasonal dust samples were collected from 15 sites around the two investigated factories. The annual dust deposition rate (DDR) was then determined and the concentrations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), and manganese (Mn) in the dust samples were measured. Furthermore, the concentration of the mentioned elements was determined in the nail samples taken from 40 MS patients and 40 healthy people (control) living in the study region. The interpolated map extracted from the DDR values showed the highest dust deposition around the two studied steel factories, which decreases with increasing distance from them. The enrichment factor (EF) of heavy metals was the highest at the distance between the two steel factories, decreasing by moving away from them which indicate that these two steel factories are the source of investigated heavy metals in the region. The statistical analysis also revealed significant differences (P < 0.01) between the concentration of heavy metals measured in nail samples taken from MS patients and healthy people. The mean Pb concentration measured in the nail sample taken from MS patients was more than 18 times that of healthy people (93.45 and 5.02 mg/kg, respectively). These results revealed a buildup of heavy metals in the body of MS patients much more than usual, originating from the activities of two investigated steel companies in the region.

Bio-accumulation of some heavy metals in blood serum of residents in Isfahan and Shiraz, Iran.

In this study, some heavy metal (Cd, Pb, Ni, Fe, Co, Cr, Mn, Cu, and Zn) concentrations were measured in the blood serum samples of 25 patients who suffered from the multiple sclerosis (MS) disease living in two industrial regions of Isfahan, Iran, using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) instrument. Also, blood serum levels of heavy metals in 25 healthy people of Isfahan and 25 healthy people of Shiraz were analyzed as controls. In industrial regions, some of the heavy metals were also measured in the soils and food crop samples (wheat, rice, and onion). The results showed that the blood serum levels of Cd, Co, Ni, and Pb of MS patients (0.032, 0.56, 1.60, and 2.90 µg L(-1), respectively) were significantly higher than those of healthy people. These values exceeded the permissible ranges that are 0.08-0.50, 0.14-1.0, and 0.80-2.50 µg L(-1) for the Co, Ni, and Pb, respectively. The mean concentrations of Fe and Zn in the blood serum of MS patients (529 and 547 µg L(-1)) were significantly lower than those in the healthy people and also less than the acceptable ranges (700-1700 and 660-1100 µg L(-1), respectively). The target hazard quotients of Pb (2.23) and Cd (1.25) via wheat and Pb (1.34) via rice consumption were higher than one. Therefore, it is proposed that consumption of local contaminated food crops may have drastically increased the concentrations of heavy metals in the human blood serum of inhabitants of industrial regions.

An in silico study to find potential effective circRNAs in the progression of Huntington's disease.

Objectives: Huntington's disease (HD) is identified as a progressive genetic disorder caused by a mutation in the Huntington gene. Although the pathogenesis of this disease has not been fully understood, investigations have demonstrated the role of various genes and non-coding RNAs in the disease progression. In this study, we aimed to discover the potential promising circRNAs which can bind to miRNAs of HD. Materials and Methods: We used several bioinformatics tools such as ENCORI, Cytoscape, circBase, Knime, and Enrichr to collect possible circRNAs and then evaluate their connections with target miRNAs to reach this goal. We also found the probable relationship between parental genes of these circRNAs and the disease progress. Results: According to the data collected, more than 370 thousand circRNA-miRNA interactions were found for 57 target miRNAs. Several of circRNAs were spliced out of parental genes involved in the etiology of HD. Some of them need to be further investigated to elucidate their role in this neurodegenerative disease. Conclusion: This in silico investigation highlights the potential role of circRNAs in the progression of HD and opens up new horizons for drug discovery as well as diagnostic approaches for the disease.

Assessment of heavy metal pollution in soils and crops of industrial sites, Isfahan, Iran.

This study was planned to investigate the concentrations of heavy metal in soils and crops and estimate the potential health risks of metals to humans via consumption of crops grown at industrial sites (Zarrinshahr and Mobarakeh) and control site (Natanz) in Isfahan province, central Iran. The soils and food crops (wheat and rice grains and onion bulbs) were digested by acid digestion method and then were analyzed for Mn, Cu and Zn by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results showed that the concentration of Zn in the soils of Mobarakeh was higher than the soils of Zarrinshahr and Natanz. The concentrations of Mn in the soils of Natanz and Mobarakeh were higher than the soils of Zarrinshahr. The concentration of Zn in the wheat was significantly higher than that rice and onion crops. The concentrations of Zn and Cu were higher in wheat crop in Mobarakeh compared with other cases. Results of this study revealed that the concentrations of Zn, Cu and Mn in the soils of studied sites were below than the maximum allowable levels. The average concentration of Zn, Cu and Mn metals in rice, wheat and onion crops were below than the maximum allowable levels of WHO guideline. The estimated daily intakes of heavy metals from the crops of three sites were lower than the tolerable daily intake recommended by FAO/WHO. Consequently, these crops cannot be an important source of Zn, Cu and Mn for risk to human health.