A mathematical programming approach for equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution in developing countries.

Developing countries scramble to contain and mitigate the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and world leaders demand equitable distribution of vaccines to trigger economic recovery. Although numerous strategies, including education, quarantine, and immunization, have been used to control COVID-19, the best method to curb this disease is vaccination. Due to the high demand for COVID 19 vaccine, developing countries must carefully identify and prioritize vulnerable populations and rationalize the vaccine allocation process. This study presents a mixed-integer linear programming model for equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution in developing countries. Vaccines are grouped into cold, very cold, and ultra-cold categories where specific refrigeration is required for their storage and distribution. The possibility of storage for future periods, facing a shortage, budgetary considerations, manufacturer selection, order allocation, time-dependent capacities, and grouping of the heterogeneous population are among the practical assumptions in the proposed approach. Real-world data is used to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the mathematical programming approach proposed in this study.

Cerebellar degeneration in primary SjÓ§gren syndrome.

Neurological manifestations are reported as a consequence of primary SjÓ§gren syndrome (PSS). Any part of the brain and peripheral nervous system can be involved in PSS. However, cerebellar degeneration and atrophy associated with PSS have been rarely reported. Our report describes a 22-year-old woman who presented with cerebellar ataxia, arthritis and arthralgia. Evaluation of her symptoms, autoantibodies and salivary gland pathology was in favour of the diagnosis of Sjögren syndrome. Also, her brain MRI revealed cerebellar degeneration. There are only four patients reported to be affected by cerebellar atrophy associated with PSS. Administration of high doses of methylprednisolone and cyclophosphamide leads to substantial improvement in the cerebellar symptoms of this case. In addition, after 2 months of follow-up, the patient's ataxia recovered significantly. It could be concluded that in addition to neurological degenerative disorders, in some cases cerebellar atrophy could also be associated with autoimmune conditions such as PSS.

Overexpression of Metastatic Related MicroRNAs, Mir-335 and Mir-10b, by Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B in the Metastatic Breast Cancer Cell Line.

PURPOSE: One of the advanced cancer therapy strategies is immune-stimulating compound based immunotherapy Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) is one of the potent superantigens, which can efficiently activate antitumor immune response to eradicate tumor growth and inhibit metastasis. Herein, we evaluated the effect of SEB on the expression of two master microRNAs, mir-335 and mir-10b, involved in metastasis. METHODS: A metastatic breast cancer cell line MDA-MB231was treated with four different concentrations of SEB, including 10, 10(2), 10(3) and 10(4) ng/ml, for 24 and 48 hours. To identify the cytotoxic effect of SEB, treated cells were examined by MTT assay. The stem loop RT-PCR (TaqMan) was used to analyze the mir-335 and mir-10b expression. RESULTS: RESULTS showed that SEB significantly increased the expression of mir-335 both after 24 and 48 hours (pv < 0.001 and pv < 0.05, respectively). No significant differences were found in the mir-10b expression. CONCLUSION: Moreover, our findings demonstrated no cytotoxic effect of SEB on the treated cells. Our results suggest that SEB probably induces its anti-metastatic effect via the expression regulation of the main genes which contributes to metastasis.

Effect of saffron on semen parameters of infertile men.

INTRODUCTION: We conducted this study to determine the effects of saffron (Crocus sativus) on the results of semen analysis in men with idiopathic infertility. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this clinical trial, 52 nonsmoker infertile men whose problem could not be solved surgically were enrolled. They were treated by saffron for 3 months. Saffron, 50 mg, was solved in drinking milk and administered 3 times a week during the study course. Semen analysis was done before and after the treatment and the results were compared. RESULTS: The mean percentage of sperm with normal morphology was 26.50 +/- 6.44% before the treatment which increased to 33.90 +/- 10.45%, thereafter (P < .001). The mean percentage of sperm with Class A motility was 5.32 +/- 4.57% before and 11.77 +/- 6.07% after the treatment (P < .001). Class B and C motilities were initially 10.09 +/- 4.20% and 19.79 +/- 9.11% which increased to 17.92 +/- 6.50% (P < .001) and 25.35 +/- 10.22% (P < .001), respectively. No significant increase was detected in sperm count; the mean sperm count was 43.45 +/- 31.29 x 106/mL at baseline and 44.92 +/- 28.36x 106/mL after the treatment period (P = .30). CONCLUSION: Saffron, as an antioxidant, is positively effective on sperm morphology and motility in infertile men, while it does not increase sperm count. We believe further studies on larger sample sizes are needed to elucidate the potential role and mechanism of action of saffron and its ingredient in the treatment of male infertility.