• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.75-80
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• 2021

Purpose: Appendicitis is the most frequent urgency in pediatric age; the aim of this study was to investigate the association of quarantine for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic and the incidence of pediatric appendicitis in a specific macro area. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of consecutive patients who underwent surgical exploration for acute appendicitis in the period March-April since 2014. This specific quarantine period was divided into two phases as indicated by National government. Patient data, demographics, characteristics and outcomes were studied and evaluated comparing patients treated during quarantine especially phase 1 vs. phase 2 (March-April 2020). Results: After reviewing medical charts following the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 155 patients were studied; focusing on the final outcome, it is possible to show a decreased amount of appendicitis during phase 1 and a progressive increase during phase 2; respect to previous years, there was a statistical increase in severity of appendicitis during quarantine (gangrenous vs. phlegmonous appendicitis). Conclusion: During this specific quarantine there was a reduction in appendicitis and a progressive increase during phase 2. These results offer new perspective among disease incidences during lockdown.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.290-298
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• 2015

Starting in 2012, severe diebacks usually accompanied by abundant gum exudation have occurred on yuzu trees in Goheung-gun, Jeonnam Province, where severely affected trees were occasionally killed. On-farm surveys were conducted at 30 randomly-selected orchards located at Pungyang-myeon, Goheung-gun, and the resulting disease incidences were 18.5% and 39.6% for dieback and gumming symptoms, respectively. Black spots on branches and leaves also appeared on infected trees showing a typical dieback symptom. Morphological and molecular identifications of the isolated fungal organisms from lesions on the symptomatic leaves and branches revealed that they are identical to Phomopsis citri, known to cause gummosis. In order to find the reason for this sudden epidemic, we investigated the weather conditions that are exclusively distinct from previous years, hypothesizing that certain weather extremes might have caused the severe induction of pre-existing disease for yuzu. There were two extreme temperature drops beyond the yuzu's cold hardiness limit right after an abnormally-warm-temperature-rise during the winter of 2011-12, which could cause severe frost damage resulting in mechanical injuries and physiological weakness to the affected trees. Furthermore, there was an increased frequency of strong wind events, seven times in 2012 compared to only a few times in the previous years, that could also lead to extensive injuries on branches. In conclusion, we estimated that the possible damages by severe frost and frequent strong wind events during 2012 could cause the yuzu trees to be vulnerable to subsequent fungal infection by providing physical entries and increasing plant susceptibility to infections.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.124-132
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• 2006

The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical outcome. Between January 1,2002 to September 30, 2002, we prospectively and retrospectively recruited III hospitalized patients who received Enteral Nutrition (EN group n = 52) and Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPNgroup n = 59) for more than seven days. The factors of clinical outcomes are costs, incidences of infection, lengths of hospital stay, and changes in weight. The characteristics of patients were investigated, which included nutritional status, disease severity CAP ACHE III score) and hypermetabolic severity Chypermetabolic score). Hypermeta-bolic scores were determined by high fever (> $38^{\circ}C$), rapid breathing (> 30 breaths/min) , rapid pulse rate (> 100 beats/min), leukocytosis (WBC > 12000 $mm^{3}$), leukocytopenia (WBC > 3000 $mm^{3}$), status of infection, inflammatory bowel disease, surgery and trauma. There was a positive correlation between hypermetabolic score and length of hospital stay (ICU), medical cost, weight loss, antibiotics adjusted by age while APACHEIII score did not show correlation to clinical outcome. Medical cost was higher by $18.2\%$ in the TPN group than the EN group. In conclusion, there was a strong negative correlation between the clinical outcome (cost, incidence of infection, hospital stay) and hypermetabolic score. Higher metabolic stress caused more malnutrition and complications. For nutritional management of patients with malnutrition, multiple factors, including nutritional assessment, and evaluation of hypermetabolic severity are needed to provide nutritional support for critically ill patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1459-1463
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• 2014

Background: Urological cancers represent a major public problem associated with high mortality and morbidity. The pattern of these cancers varies markedly according to era, region and ethnic groups, but increasing incidence trends overall makes focused epidemiological studies important. The aim of the present study was to assess the incidence of most prevalent urological cancers in Iran from 2003 to 2009. Materials and Methods: The data for this study were obtained from the population-based Cancer Registry Center of the Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education. Differences of mean age and age distributions of each cancer were compared between 2003 and 2009 in men and women. Results: Bladder cancer was the most common urologic cancer in both genders. The rate difference of age standardized ratio (ASR) of bladder and renal cell carcinoma in women were 1.54 and 2.01 percent per 100,000 population from 2003 to the 2009, respectively. In men, the rate difference of age standardized ratio of prostate, testis, kidney and bladder cancer was also 2.23, 1.2, 1.8 and 1.5 percent per 100,000 population from 2003 to 2009, respectively. The mean ages of patients in all cancers in both genders did not differ significantly through time (p value>0.05) but the distribution of ages of patients with bladder and prostate cancer changed significantly from 2003 to 2009 (p value<0.001). Conclusions: The results of present study suggest the general pattern and incidence of urological cancers in Iran are changing, the observed increase pointing to a need for urological cancer screening programs.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8149-8153
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• 2016

An oncopathological state assessment was conducted among adults, children and teenagers in Aktobe region for 2004-2013. Overall the burden of mortality was in the range of 94.8-100.2 per 100,000 population, without any obvious trend over time. Ranking by pathology, the highest incidences among women were registered for breast cancer (5.8-8.4), cervix uteri (2.9-4.6), ovary (2.4-3.6) and corpus uteri, stomach, esophagus, without any marked change over time except for a slight rise in cervical cancer rates. In males, the first place in rank was trachea, bronchus and lung, followed by stomach and esophagus, which are followed by bladder, lymphoid and hematopoietic tissues pathology. Agian no clear trends were apparent over time. In children, main localizations in cancer incidence blood (acute lymphocytic leukemia, lymphosarcoma, acute myeloid leukemia, Hodgkin's disease), brain and central nervous system, bones and articular cartilages, kidneys, and eye and it's appendages, in both sexes. Similarly, in young adults, the major percentage was in blood and lymphatic tissues (acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin's disease) a significant percentage accruing to lymphosarcoma, lymphoma, other myeloid leukemia and hematological malignancies as well as tumors of brain and central nervous system, bones and articular cartilages. This initial survey provides the basis for more detailed investigation of cancer epidemiology in Aktobe, Kazakhstan.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.4031-4035
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• 2016

Background: In the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer, anthracycline and taxane based regimens can be used concomitantly or sequentially. The best order in the sequential regimens has yet to be well established. This study evaluated the feasibility of 4 cycles of adjuvant taxotere ($100mg/m^2$) every 3 weeks followed by 4 cycles of doxorubicin ($60mg/m^2$) and cyclophosphamide ($600mg/m^2$) every 3 weeks. The primary outcome was the safety profile. Secondary outcomes were disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Materials and Methods: This non-randomize prospective phase II stud was performed at Jordan University of Science and Technology and its affiliated King Abdulla Teaching Hospital between July 2009 and August 2010. Data collection was closed on May $31^{th}$, 2015 giving a median follow up period of 62 months. The study was approved by the institutional review board and a written informed consent was obtained for each patient. Results: Fifty patients were enrolled. The median age was 53.1 years (range 34-76). One patient (2%) had stage I disease, 17 (34%) stage II, and 32 (64.0%) stage III. Forty-six patients were evaluable for efficacy analysis. The completion rate was 95.7%. No dose modifications were needed. The incidences of grade 3-4 neutropenia and febrile neutropenia were 14 % and 10%. No grade 3-4 non-hematological adverse events were encountered. At a median follow up time of 62 months the OS and the DFS rates were 76.1% and 56.5%. Those for stages I and II combined were 100% and 75%. Conclusions: Taxotere first followed by doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide appears a feasible regimen as evidenced by an acceptable completion rate, a satisfactory safety profile, and an OS and DFS rates comparable to other studies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4209-4214
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• 2013

Background: Breast cancer is among the five most common cancers and ranks first among cancers diagnosed in Iranian women. Screening and treatment of this disease with molecular methods, especially regarding high incidences at early age and advanced stage, is essential. Several genes with altered expression have been identified by cDNA microarray studies in breast cancer, with the Bcl-2 gene indicated as a likely candidate. In this study, we studied Bcl-2 gene expression levels in parallel tumor and non-tumor breast tissues. Materials and Methods: Forty samples including 21 tumor, 16 non tumor (marginal) and 3 benign breast tissues which were all pathologically diagnosed, were subjected to RNA extraction and polyA RT-PCR with the expression level of Bcl-2 quantified using real-time PCR. Results: There is higher expression levels of the Bcl-2 gene in tumor samples compared with marginal samples, but not attaining significance(p>0.05). Bcl-2 expression in 14 (66.7%) of the cases of tumor samples and 9 (56.3%) cases of the marginal samples were positive. Comparison of the expression of the Bcl-2 gene in histological grade showed that a high expression of Bcl-2 was associated with a high histological grade (p<0.41). Conclusions: Our data suggests that dysregulated Bcl-2 gene expression is potentially involved in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. Using gene expression analysis may significantly improve our ability for screening cancer patients and will prove a powerful tool in the diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of the disease whilst aiding the cooperative group trials in the Bcl-2 based therapy project.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.5123-5125
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• 2013

Background: Breast cancer is one the most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. The aims of this study were to investigate the impact of dietary factors and health status indicators on breast cancer (BC) incidence. Materials and Methods: Risk factor data (RFD) of 89,404 individuals (15-64 years old) were gathered by questionnaire and laboratory examinations through a cross sectional study from the Non-Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (NCDSC) of Iran. BC incidences of all provinces through 2001-2006 segregated by age and gender were obtained from the Cancer Registry Ministry of Health (CRMH). Results: a significant positive relationship was seen between diabetes mellitus, fish comsupmption, percent of academic education and non-consumption of fruit, and breast cancer in women. However, non fish consumption, percent age illiteracy and taking fruit showed a significant negative relationship with the incidence of breast cancer. In addition, multiple linear regression analysis showed associations among percentage with academic education, fruit consumption and diabetes. Conclusions: We conclude that dietary factors such as fish and furit consumption, dairy products, health status indicators, academic education, and some diseases like diabetes mellitus can affect the BC incidence, although the results of ecologic studies like this must naturally be interpreted with caution.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1088-1097
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• 2005

Main objectives of this study were to investigate accuracy, bias and power of linear and threshold model segregation analysis methods for detection of major genes in categorical traits in farm animals. Maximum Likelihood Linear Model (MLLM), Bayesian Linear Model (BALM) and Bayesian Threshold Model (BATM) were applied to simulated data on normal, categorical and binary scales as well as to disease data in pigs. Simulated data on the underlying normally distributed liability (NDL) were used to create categorical and binary data. MLLM method was applied to data on all scales (Normal, categorical and binary) and BATM method was developed and applied only to binary data. The MLLM analyses underestimated parameters for binary as well as categorical traits compared to normal traits; with the bias being very severe for binary traits. The accuracy of major gene and polygene parameter estimates was also very low for binary data compared with those for categorical data; the later gave results similar to normal data. When disease incidence (on binary scale) is close to 50%, segregation analysis has more accuracy and lesser bias, compared to diseases with rare incidences. NDL data were always better than categorical data. Under the MLLM method, the test statistics for categorical and binary data were consistently unusually very high (while the opposite is expected due to loss of information in categorical data), indicating high false discovery rates of major genes if linear models are applied to categorical traits. With Bayesian segregation analysis, 95% highest probability density regions of major gene variances were checked if they included the value of zero (boundary parameter); by nature of this difference between likelihood and Bayesian approaches, the Bayesian methods are likely to be more reliable for categorical data. The BATM segregation analysis of binary data also showed a significant advantage over MLLM in terms of higher accuracy. Based on the results, threshold models are recommended when the trait distributions are discontinuous. Further, segregation analysis could be used in an initial scan of the data for evidence of major genes before embarking on molecular genome mapping.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.93-97
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• 2007

The microorganisms with the antifungal activity against Phytophthora capsici and Colletotrichum acutatum and the plant growth promotion activity were screened from forest soils of Moon-gyeong (Juheul Mountain), Gyeongsangbuk-do. One of the isolates, strain MG 121 showed antifungal activity against P. capsici and C. acutatum and possessed phosphate solubilization activity was selected to development biocontrol agent. The strain MG 121 was identified as Streptomyces sp. by analysis of 16S rDNA. On the test with pepper fruits, the strain inhibited disease incidences of late blight and anthracnose over 80%. In greenhouse test, plant height, the number of leaf, fresh weight and roots length of pepper plants upon treatment of culture suspension of Streptomyces sp. MG 121 were significantly higher than those without the bacterial cells. In addition, strain MG 121 was capable to solublize rock-phosphate after incubation for 144 hours in potato dextrose broth. The concentration of soluble phosphate in PDB amended with 0.5% rock-phosphate was increased up to $765{\mu}g/ml$.