• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.29 no.8
• /
• pp.922-940
• /
• 2019

Obesity, represented by abnormal fat accumulation due to an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, is a major public health issue worldwide, leading to multiple noncommunicable diseases, including atherosclerosis, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. Diverse solutions have been proposed to combat obesity. Attention has focused on two types of adipose tissues as a promising therapeutic target in obesity: traditional brown and beige or brite. Unlike energy-storing white adipose (endocrine) tissue, traditional brown adipose tissue and beige adipose tissue have energy-dissipating thermogenic properties. Both types of tissue are present in adult humans and inducible through external stimuli, such as cold exposure, ${\beta}3$-adrenergic receptor agonists, and phytochemicals. Among these stimuli, microbiota present in the human intestinal tract participate in multiple metabolic activities. Modulation of gut microbiota may offer a potent and possibly curative strategy against various metabolic diseases. Numerous studies have focused on the effects of established antiobesity treatments on the gut microenvironment or brown-adipose-tissue activation. In this review, we focus mainly on stimuli known to alleviate obesity, weight gain, and metabolic diseases, in addition to known and possible inter-relations between gut microbiota modulation and similar interventions and adipose tissue browning. The findings may pave the way toward new strategies against obesity.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.227-232
• /
• 2015

Background: In comparison with other industries, the construction industry still has a higher rate of fatal injuries, and thus, there is a need to apply new and innovative approaches for preventing accidents and promoting safe conditions at construction sites. Methods: In this study, the effectiveness of a new incentive system-the surprising incentive system-was assessed. One year after the implementation of this new incentive system, behavioral changes of employees with respect to seven types of activities were observed. Results: The results of this study showed that there is a significant relationship between the new incentive system and the safety performance of frontline employees. The new incentive system had a greater positive impact in the first 6 months since its implementation. In the long term, however, safety performance experienced a gradual reduction. Based on previous studies, all activities selected in this study are important indicators of the safety conditions at workplaces. However, there is a need for a comprehensive and simple-to-apply tool for assessing frontline employees' safety performance. Shortening the intervals between incentives is more effective in promoting safety performance. Conclusion: The results of this study proved that the surprising incentive would improve the employees' safety performance just in the short term because the surprising value of the incentives dwindle over time. For this reason and to maintain the surprising value of the incentive system, the amount and types of incentives need to be evaluated and modified annually or biannually.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.9
• /
• pp.3923-3926
• /
• 2015

Background: Lung cancer is a fatal malignancy with high mortality and short survival time. The aim of this study was to estimate survival rates of Iranian patients with lung cancer and its associate predictive factors. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 355 patients admitted to hospitals of West Azerbaijan in the year 2007. The patients were followed up by phone calls until the end of June 2014. The survival rate was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test for comparison. The Cox's proportional hazard model was used to investigate the effect of various variables on patient survival time, including age, sex, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance, smoking status, tumor type, tumor stage, treatment, metastasis, and blood hemoglobin concentration. Results: Of the 355 patients under study, 240 died and 115 were censored. The mean and median survival time of patients was 13 and 4.8 months, respectively. According to the results of Kaplan-Meier method, 1, 2, and 3 years survival rates were 39%, 18%, and 0.07%, respectively. Based on Cox regression analysis, the risk of death was associated with ECOG group V (1.83, 95% CI: 1 Conclusions: The survival time of the patients with lung cancer is very short. While early diagnosis may improve the life expectancy effective treatment is not available.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.18
• /
• pp.7665-7671
• /
• 2014

Objectives: The association between body mass index (BMI) and ovarian cancer risk is unclear and requires further investigation. The present meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effect of overweight and obesity on ovarian cancer risk in the premenopausal and postmenopausal periods. Data sources: Major electronic databases were searched until February 2014 including Medline and Scopus. Reference lists and relevant conference databases were searched and the authors were contacted for additional unpublished references. Review Methods: All cohort and case-control studies addressing the effect of BMI on ovarian cancer were included, irrespective of publication date and language. The effect measure of choice was risk ratio (RR) for cohort studies and odds ratio (OR) for case-control studies. The results were reported using a random effects model with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Of 3,776 retrieved studies, 19 were ultimately analyzed including 10 cohort studies involving 29,237,219 person-years and 9 case-control studies involving 96,965 people. The results of both cohort and case-control studies showed being overweight and obesity increased the risk of ovarian cancer compared to women with normal weight during both premenopausal and postmenopausal periods: RR=1.08 (95%CI: 0.97, 1.19) and OR=1.26 (95%CI: 0.97, 1.63) for overweight and RR=1.27 (95%CI: 1.16, 1.38) and OR=1.26 (95%CI: 1.06, 1.50) for obesity. Conclusions: There is sufficient evidence that an increase in BMI can increase the risk of ovarian cancer regardless of the menopausal status, mimicking a dose-response relationship although the association is not very strong.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.sup3
• /
• pp.23-26
• /
• 2016

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer and the second cause of mortality in women all around the world. It is caused by several factors including genetic determinants, so that both genetic susceptibility factors and environmental factors are involved in the etiology. Significance of genes functioning in steroid hormone synthesis and metabolism are well established in breast cancer susceptibility. In this study, 134 women with BC and 135 normal controls were analyzed for their genotypes for the polymorphisms, rs743572, rs10046 and rs4646903, resided in CYP17, CYP19 and CYP1A1 genes, respectively. Significant differences in distributions of allele and genotype frequencies were found for the rs10046 polymorphism in CYP19 (p-value=0.01, OR (CI 95%) =1.59 (1.1-2.3), p-value=0.04, OR (CI 95%) =1.7 (1.1-2.5) respectively). For rs743,572 and rs 4646903 polymorphisms, no significant associations were observed. A significant association was observed between the rs10046 polymorphism of the CYP19gene and breast cancer in Iranian patients. Due to inconsistent previous results, more studies in different populations with larger sample sizes are indicated.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.7-13
• /
• 2014

Purpose: This study was performed to evaluate the prevalence of all types and subtypes of dental anomalies among 7- to 35-year-old patients by using panoramic radiographs. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1649 people in Hamadan City, in 2012-2013. The prevalence of four types and 12 subtypes of dental anomalies was evaluated by two observers separately by using panoramic radiography. Dental anomalies were divided into four types: (a) shape (including fusion, taurodontism, and dens invagination); (b) number (including hypodontia, oligodontia, and hyperdontia); (c) structure (including amelogenesis imperfecta, dentinogenesis imperfecta, and dentin dysplasia); and (d) position (including displacement, impaction, and dilacerations). Results: The reliability between the two observers was 79.56% according to the Kappa statistics. The prevalence of dental anomalies diagnosed by panoramic radiographs was 29%. Anomalies of position and number were the most common types of abnormalities, and anomalies of shape and structure were the least in both genders. Anomalies of impaction (44.76%), dilacerations (21.11%), hypodontia (15.88%), taurodontism (9.29%), and hyperdontia (6.76%) were the most common subtypes of dental anomalies. The anomalies of shape and number were more common in the age groups of 7-12 years and 13-15 years, respectively, while the anomalies of structure and position were more common among the other age groups. Conclusion: Anomalies of tooth position were the most common type of dental anomalies, and structure anomalies were the least in this Iranian population. The frequency and type of dental anomalies vary within and between populations, confirming the role of racial factors in the prevalence of dental anomalies.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.293-300
• /
• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to develop a dietary fiber composition table (DFCT) and to assess dietary fiber intakes in Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Methods: The DFCT was developed by compiling the food composition tables published by the agencies of Korea, United States, or Japan. When there was no available data from the same species or status (dried, boiled, etc.) of food, the values were imputed by estimating from the same species with different status or substituting familiar species in biosystematic grouping. Using KNHANES VI-2 (2014) microdata and DFCT, intake of dietary fiber of Koreans was estimated. Results: Among the 5,126 food items of DFCT, the proportion of items of which dietary fiber contents were taken from the analytical values of the same foods was 40.9%. The data from the domestic food composition tables was 37.5%, and the data from the foreign tables was 49.6%. The rest was assumed as zero, or estimated with recipe database and nutrition labeling. Mean daily intake of dietary fiber was 23.2 g, and mean intake per 1,000 kcal was 10.7 g in men and 12.6 g in women. The mean percentage of dietary fiber intake compared to adequate intake was higher than 100%. The major food groups contributing to dietary fiber intakes were vegetables and cereals, and the percent contribution were 32.9% and 23.0% of total dietary fiber intakes, respectively. Conclusions: This DFCT could serve as a useful database for assessing dietary fiber intakes and for investigating the association between dietary fiber intakes and noncommunicable diseases.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.10 no.6
• /
• pp.616-622
• /
• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: In Argentina, obesity prevalence rose from 14.6% in 2005 to 20.8% in 2013. Although the number of studies on noncommunicable diseases and dietary patterns as a unique dietary exposure measure has increased, information on this topic remains scarce in developing countries. This is the first population-based study investigating the association between diet and obesity using a dietary pattern approach in Argentina. We aimed (a) to identify current dietary patterns of the population of $C{\acute{o}}rdoba$ city, (b) to investigate its association with obesity prevalence, and (c) to identify and describe dietary patterns from the subgroup of people with obesity. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The $C{\acute{o}}rdoba$ Obesity and Diet Study (CODIES) was conducted in $C{\acute{o}}rdoba$ city by using a random sample of n = 4,327 subjects between 2005 and 2012. Empirically derived dietary patterns were identified through principal component factor analysis. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association of dietary patterns with obesity. RESULTS: Four dietary patterns were identified, called "Starchy-Sugar", "Prudent", "Western", and "Sugary drinks". High scores for the "Western" pattern (with strongest factor loading on meats/eggs, processed meats, and alcohol) showed a positive association with obesity (OR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.06-1.67, for third versus first tertile of factor score). "Meats/Cheeses" and "Snacks/Alcohol" patterns emerged in people with obesity. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that high adherence to the "Western" pattern promoted obesity in this urban population. In addition, people with obesity showed characteristic dietary patterns that differ from those identified in the overall population.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.52 no.4
• /
• pp.224-233
• /
• 2019

Objectives: In women, breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death. Screening tests are the basis for early diagnosis. In Iranian women, the mortality rate of breast cancer is high due to insufficient screening examinations and delayed visits for care. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the factors affecting breast self-examinations among Iranian women employed in medical careers. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 501 women working in the medical professions at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in western Iran in 2018. The subjects were selected by stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-developed, self-report questionnaire that contained demographic information and questions based on protection motivation theory and social support theory. Descriptive data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 23 and model fitting with PLS version 2. Results: The mean age of the participants was $37.1{\pm}8.3years$, and most of the women (80.4%) were married. Most women had a bachelor's degree (67.5%). The findings of this study showed that the coping appraisal construct was a predictor of protection motivation (${\beta}=0.380$, p<0.05), and protection motivation (${\beta}=0.604$, p<0.05) was a predictor of breast self-examination behavior. Additionally, social support theory (${\beta}=0.202$, p<0.05) had a significant positive effect on breast self-examination behavior. Conclusions: The frequency of practicing self-examinations among women employees in the medical sector was low; considering the influence of social support as a factor promoting screening, it is necessary to pay attention to influential people in women's lives when designing educational interventions.

• Natural Product Sciences
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.99-114
• /
• 2021

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its complications are important noncommunicable diseases with high mortality rates. Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) and aldose reductase inhibitors are recently approached and advanced for T2DM and its complications therapy. Matricaria chamomilla L. is acknowledged as a worldwide medicinal herb that has many beneficial health effects as well as antidiabetic effects. Our research was designed to determine the most potential antidiabetic phytochemicals from M. chamomilla employing in silico study. 142 phytochemicals were obtained from the databases. The first screening employed iGEMdock and Swiss ADME, involving 93 phytochemicals. Finally, 30 best phytochemicals were docked. Molecular docking and visualization analysis were performed using Avogadro, AutoDock 4.2., and Biovia Discovery Studio 2016. Molecular docking results demonstrate that ligand-protein interaction's binding affinities were -5.16 to -7.54 kcal/mol and -5.30 to -12.10 kcal/mol for PTP1B and aldose reductase protein targets respectively. In silico results demonstrate that M. chamomilla has potential antidiabetic phytochemical compounds for T2DM and its complications. We recommended anthecotulide, quercetin, chlorogenic acid, luteolin, and catechin as antidiabetic agents due to their binding affinities against both PTP1B and aldose reductase protein. Those phytochemicals' significant efficacy and potential as antidiabetic must be investigated in further advanced research.