Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a paranasal sinus inflammatory disease and is divided into two subgroups defined as CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP). CRSwNP ...displays a T helper (Th)2 biased phenotype, and based on sensitivity or tolerance to aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), is further subdivided into Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) and non-AERD groups. Considering the challenge of diagnosis and treatment in patients with CRSwNP, particularly the AERD subtype, and the significance of endotyping in these patients, we examined the immune profile and endotyping based on gene expression analysis in the AERD and the non-AERD groups of patients with CRSwNP.
In this study, 21 patients were enrolled and were categorized into AERD (N = 10) and non-AERD (N = 11) groups based on their sensitivity to aspirin. After the special washing period, nasal polyps were biopsied in both groups, and the infiltration of eosinophils, neutrophils, plasma cells, and lymphocytes was compared between the AERD and the non-AERD groups. Also, gene expression levels of transcription factors including Tbet, GATA3, RoRγt, and FoxP3 and inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)1β, IL1RAP (IL1 receptor accessory protein), IL2, IL4, IL5, IL10, IL13, IL17, TNFα, and IFNγ were investigated by quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Statistical analyses were performed using analytical tests including Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann-Whitney, and T-test. A P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
The mean ± SD age of the studied groups was 37 ± 8.7 years old (21-50) for the AERD, and 40.4 ± 7.7 years old (31-52) for the non-AERD. LMS/EPOS/SNOT scores and pulmonary function tests showed no difference between the two groups. Serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels were found to be higher in patients with AERD (p = 0.04), however, the peripheral blood counts of eosinophils were comparable in the two groups. In the histopathologic analysis, the AERD group showed higher percentages of eosinophils (p = 0.04), neutrophils (p = 0.04), and plasma cells (p = 0.04) than the non-AERD group. Additionally, the gene expression levels of GATA3 (p = 0.001), IL4 (p = 0.04), IL5 (p = 0.007), and IL17 (p = 0.03) were significantly higher in the AERD than the non-AERD groups.
Higher gene expression levels of GATA3, IL4, IL5, and IL17 were observed in the AERD group compared with the non-AERD group. These findings point to distinct patterns of inflammation in patients with AERD, with a predominance of Th2 inflammation.
Unhealthy dietary patterns are the most important changeable risk factors for breast cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between dietary patterns and the risk of breast ...cancer among under-50 year women in the west of Iran.
All women under 50 years old with pathologically confirmed breast cancer between 2013 and 2015 who were referred to oncology clinics in the west of Iran, and 408 under-50 women referred to other outpatient clinics who were without breast or other cancers at the time of the study and 2 years later were selected as the control group. The data were collected using the middle-aged periodical care form of the Iranian Ministry of Health and analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression in Stata.
The most powerful risk factor for breast cancer was fried foods; the odds ratio of consuming fried foods more than once a month for breast cancer was 4.5 (95% confidence interval, 2.1 to 9.4). A dose-response model indicated that increasing vegetable and fruit consumption up to 90 servings per month decreased the odds of breast cancer, but consuming more than 90 servings per month increased the risk.
Inadequate consumption of vegetables and consumption of soft drinks, industrially produced juices, fried foods, and sweets were identified as risk factors for breast cancer. In response to these findings, it is necessary to raise awareness and to provide education about healthy diets and the need to change unhealthy dietary patterns.
Background: Measles is a feverish condition labeled among the most infectious viral illnesses in the globe. Despite the presence of a secure, accessible, affordable and efficient vaccine, measles ...continues to be a worldwide concern.
Methods: This epidemiologic study used machine learning and time series methods to assess factors that placed people at a higher risk of measles. The study contained the measles incidence in Markazi Province, the center of Iran, from Apr 1997 to Feb 2020. In addition to machine learning, zero-inflated negative binomial regression for time series was utilized to assess development of measles over time.
Results: The incidence of measles was 14.5% over the recent 24 years and a constant trend of almost zero cases were observed from 2002 to 2020. The order of independent variable importance were recent years, age, vaccination, rhinorrhea, male sex, contact with measles patients, cough, conjunctivitis, ethnic, and fever. Only 7 new cases were forecasted for the next two years. Bagging and random forest were the most accurate classification methods.
Conclusion: Even if the numbers of new cases were almost zero during recent years, age and contact were responsible for non-occurrence of measles. October and May are prone to have new cases for 2021 and 2022.
Background
Nowruz holidays, as one of the most important holidays in Iran, can lead to changes in the trend of hospital deaths. Due to changes in lifestyle and increased accidents, hospitals become ...crowded during the holidays. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Nowruz holidays on hospital deaths at teaching hospitals affiliated with the Kerman University of Medical Sciences in southeast Iran.
Methods
The research population included all hospital deaths during the period from 23 August 2013 to 21 September 2016. Data on hospital deaths, including age, sex, work shift, cause of death and ward type were collected daily from the Hospital Information System. Data were analysed using
t
test and time series regression models, in Stata 13.0.
Results
The holiday deaths primarily occurred in males (57.14%) and people aged 60–79 years (29.20%). More than half of the holiday deaths occurred in the morning shift (59.88%). The leading cause of holiday deaths was injuries, poisoning and other consequences of external causes (25.31%). Most holiday deaths occurred in the ICU (53.88%). Death rate per day during the Nowruz holidays was higher than it was during working days and non-Nowruz holidays (1.36%).
Conclusions
Reduced quality of services during the holidays is a prominent issue and leads to increased hospital death. Hospital managers can improve the quality of services, by identifying the root causes and by taking measures such as increased and balanced distribution of human resources, equipping hospitals and improving supervision during holidays.
The first case of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) was reported in Iran on February 19, 2020. This study aimed to assess the characteristics and reproduction number (R) of COVID-19 in Markazi province ...in Iran.
This is a cross-sectional study. Confirmed cases (N=2430) in the regions covered by Arak University of Medical Sciences from Feb 20 to Aug 26, 2020 were enrolled in the study. The included variables were clinical and demographic characteristics of COVID-19 patients. The case fatality rate (CFR), incidence rates, and R were estimated based on the daily reported data. For estimating R, generation time was assumed on multi scenarios. R was estimated by R0-package. Moreover, Chi square test was applied. All the analyses were performed in STATA, Excel, ArcMap and R. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
As R is slightly high, the risk of epidemic has reduced gradually. However, observing social distance and related guidelines are still recommended.
Introduction: Despite the well-known positive effects of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in the first 6 months of life, several studies have indicated its inadequacy in Iran. This study has ...investigated the socioeconomic factors affecting EBF in the first 6 months of life. Methods: The study population included 6- to 12-month-old children referred to Arak healthcare centers with their mothers for vaccination and healthcare in 2019. Sampling was performed according to Cochran formula. The questionnaires were completed by asking mothers and also reference to the family documents. The relationship between EBF and household socioeconomic variables was examined using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The multivariate logistic regression was used to assess adjusted and unadjusted odds ratios for factors affecting EBF and the relationship between household variables and breastfeeding. Results: Mothers completed a total number of 517 questionnaires (97%). Working mothers (OR = 2.3 1.77, 2.91), mothers with higher education (OR = 1.02 0.68, 1.35) and higher physical activity (OR = 1) breastfed their infants more than others up to 6 months (p < 0.05). There was no significant relationship between sex of the child, household income, maternal BMI, pregnancy complications, previous abortion, and type of delivery with EBF (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The results indicated that mothers who belonged to low socioeconomic groups breastfed their infants less than other groups. This necessitates planning and taking interventional healthcare, educational, and financial support measures in this group.
The stone column is a useful method for increasing the bearing capacity and reducing the settlements of foundations. The confinement provided by the native soft soils has an effective influence on ...the stone column bearing capacity. In this paper, laboratory tests were performed on unreinforced and reinforced geotextile-encased stone columns. Tests were performed on columns with diameters of 60, 80, and 100 mm and a length to diameter ratio of 5. Vertical encased stone columns (VESC) and horizontal reinforced stone columns (HRSC) were used for stone column reinforcement to investigate the effect of reinforcement type on the bearing capacity. The main objective of this research is to study the efficiency of VESC and HRSC under the same conditions for diameters of 60, 80, and 100 mm. Experimental results show that the bearing capacity of stone columns increases using vertical or horizontal reinforcing material. Moreover, the bearing capacity of reinforced stone columns increases by increasing the strength of reinforcement in both VESC and HRSC. Results show that bulging failure mechanism governed in all tests and that lateral bulging decreases using geotextiles and increasing strength of reinforcement. In addition, for both VESC and HRSC, the stress concentration ratio of the columns also increases.
Background: It has been indicated that pregnant women and neonates are susceptible to COVID‐19 infection. Nevertheless, the unresolved question is about the possibility of COVID‐19 infection in ...neonates born to COVID‐19 mothers. The present study aimed to assess the routes through which neonates may be infected with the virus: vertically or nosocomially. Case report:This study reports the case of a neonate with COVID-19 infection who became symptomatic 30 h after birth. His pharyngeal swab specimen was reported as positive by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). It happened while the newborn’s mother was tested for the COVID-19 twice, and she received negative results both times. Conclusion:According to the incubation period of COVID‐19 which is at least 1 day, the possibility of nosocomial transmission is less than other cases reported so far. Moreover, the mother had no COVID-19 symptoms during the last month of delivery. Further clinical research is necessary to determine the routes of maternal transmission of COVID-19 to neonates.
► Primula auriculata, Fumaria vaillantii and Falcaria vulgaris are important medicinal plants. ► All extracts of these plants showed varying degrees of antibacterial potential. ► These plants showed ...a high effective free radical scavenging in the DPPH assay. ► These activities depend on extracts concentration and type of solvent.
Different parts of three plants (Primula auriculata, Fumaria vaillantii and Falcaria vulgaris) were extracted with three different solvents to yield 72 crude extracts. The phytochemical analysis (chemical screening, GC–MS) of three plants was investigated for their antioxidant and antibacterial activity using nine Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The principal antioxidant and antimicrobial components were determined using HPLC with UV detection. All extracts possessed antibacterial activity especially methanolic extracts from flowers of P. auriculata. The DPPH-radical scavenging assay exhibited high antioxidant activities in three plants (more than 80% at 50μg). The F. vulgaris showed high content of carvacrol (29.8%) as main component. The contents of carvacrol and fumaric acid in the methanolic–water extracts were 1119 and 1966mg/l respectively. Our results indicate that these plants would be able to promise sources of natural products with potential antibacterial and antioxidant activity.
Heidegger's most significant critique of metaphysics is that the history of metaphysics is the history of the forgetting of being. However, he also criticizes metaphysics for forgetting the nothing. ...Metaphysics fails to adequately address both being and nothingness, neglecting the nothing and treating it as a conceptual abstraction without objective reference. Metaphysics reduces discussions of the nothing to mere figurative expressions. However, by drawing on the approach of a contemporary Muslim philosopher who examines the the problem of the nothing in particular and the fact-itself and realit' in general, and the division of being into general, real, and specific, we can respond to Heideggers critique within the framework of metaphysics. According to this perspective, the nothing, like being, is an integral part of reality in a general and real sense. The nothing, with its nothingness, manifests itself in the external world without being reduced to the being. Thus, Heidegger's statement that "nothing nihilates (or noths) itself finds metaphysical justification. How to cite: Hassanpoor, A.; Nazari, J. (2023): "An Analysis of Heidegger's Critique of Metaphysics' Approach to the Nothing from a Muslim Philosopher's Perspective", en Revista de FilosofÃa, 48 (2), 299-315.
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