Association Between Gallstone Disease and Risk of Mortality of Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Gallstone disease (GD) is increasing in the world and has various complications. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the relationship between GD and the risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer using a systematic review and meta-analysis approach. METHODS: A comprehensive and systematic search was done in various databases, such as Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, MEDLINE/PubMed, Cochrane, and Embase. The search included studies published from 1980 to December 2023. Heterogeneity was assessed using Chi-square, I2, and forest plots, while publication bias was evaluated through Begg's and Egger's tests. All analyses were performed using Stata 15, with statistical significance set at p <0.05. RESULTS: A pooled analysis of five studies involving 161,671 participants demonstrated that individuals with GD had a significantly higher risk of mortality from CVD (RR 1.29, 95% CI: 1.11-1.50, p <0.001). Importantly, no evidence of publication bias was found based on the results of Begg's test (p =0.806) and Egger's test (p =0.138). Furthermore, the pooled analysis of seven studies, encompassing a total of 562,625 participants, indicated an increased risk of cancer mortality among individuals with GD (RR 1.45, 95% CI: 1.16-1.82, p <0.001). Similarly, no publication bias was detected through Begg's test (p =0.133) and Egger's test (p =0.089). CONCLUSION: In this study, the evidence of a significant association between GD and an elevated risk of mortality from CVD and cancer is provided. These findings suggest that implementing targeted interventions for individuals with gallstone disease could reduce mortality rates among these patients.

Inflammatory biomarkers in cardiac syndrome X: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: In the current systematic review and meta-analysis, we aim to analyze the existing literature to evaluate the role of inflammatory biomarkers, including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) among individuals with cardiac syndrome X (CSX) compared to healthy controls. METHODS: We used PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, and Embase to systematically search relevant publications published before April 2, 2023. We performed the meta-analysis using Stata 11.2 software (Stata Corp, College Station, TX). So, we used standardized mean difference (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) to compare the biomarker level between patients and healthy controls. The I2 and Cochran's Q tests were adopted to determine the heterogeneity of the included studies. RESULTS: Overall, 29 articles with 3480 participants (1855 with CSX and 1625 healthy controls) were included in the analysis. There was a significantly higher level of NLR (SMD = 0.85, 95%CI = 0.55-1.15, I2 = 89.0 %), CRP (SMD = 0.69, 95%CI = 0.38 to 1.02, p < 0.0001), IL-6 (SMD = 5.70, 95%CI = 1.91 to 9.50, p = 0.003), TNF-a (SMD = 3.78, 95%CI = 0.63 to 6.92, p = 0.019), and PLR (SMD = 1.38, 95%CI = 0.50 to 2.28, p = 0.02) in the CSX group in comparison with healthy controls. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that CSX leads to a significant increase in inflammatory biomarkers, including NLR, CRP, IL-6, TNF-a, and PLR.

Crosstalk of NLRP3 inflammasome and noncoding RNAs in cardiomyopathies.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) identified as a serious public health problem. Although there is a lot of evidence that inflammatory processes play a significant role in the progression of CVDs, however, the precise mechanism is not fully understood. Nevertheless, recent studies have focused on inflammation and its related agents. Nucleotide oligomerization domain-, leucine-rich repeat-, and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) is a type of pattern recognition receptor (PRR) that can recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns and trigger innate immune response. NLRP3 is a component of the NOD-like receptor (NLR) family and have a pivotal role in detecting damage to cardiovascular tissue. It is suggested that activation of NLRP3 inflammasome leads to initiating and propagating the inflammatory response in cardiomyopathy. So, late investigations have highlighted the NLRP3 inflammasome activation in various forms of cardiomyopathy. On the other side, it was shown that noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), particularly, microRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs possess a regulatory function in the immune system's inflammatory response, implicating their involvement in various inflammatory disorders. In addition, their role in different cardiomyopathies was indicated in recent studies. This review article provides a summary of recent advancements focusing on the function of the NLRP3 inflammasome in common CVDs, especially cardiomyopathy, while also discussing the therapeutic potential of inhibiting the NLRP3 inflammasome regulated by ncRNAs.

Proteome analysis, bioinformatic prediction and experimental evidence revealed immune response down-regulation function for serum-starved human fibroblasts.

Emerging evidence indicates that fibroblasts play pivotal roles in immunoregulation by producing various proteins under health and disease states. In the present study, for the first time, we compared the proteomes of serum-starved human skin fibroblasts and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using Nano-LC-ESI-tandem mass spectrometry. This analysis contributes to a better understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of chronic inflammation and cancer, which are intrinsically accompanied by growth factor deficiency.The proteomes of starved fibroblasts and PBMCs consisted of 307 and 294 proteins, respectively, which are involved in lymphocyte migration, complement activation, inflammation, acute phase response, and immune regulation. Starved fibroblasts predominantly produced extracellular matrix-related proteins such as collagen/collagenase, while PBMCs produced focal adhesion-related proteins like beta-parvin and vinculin which are involved in lymphocyte migration. PBMCs produced a more diverse set of inflammatory molecules like heat shock proteins, while fibroblasts produced human leukocytes antigen-G and -E that are known as main immunomodulatory molecules. Fifty-four proteins were commonly found in both proteomes, including serum albumin, amyloid-beta, heat shock cognate 71 kDa, and complement C3. GeneMANIA bioinformatic tool predicted 418 functions for PBMCs, including reactive oxygen species metabolic processes and 241 functions for starved fibroblasts such as antigen processing and presentation including non-classical MHC -Ib pathway, and negative regulation of the immune response. Protein-protein interactions network analysis indicated the immunosuppressive function for starved fibroblasts-derived human leucocytes antigen-G and -E. Moreover, in an in vitro model of allogeneic transplantation, the immunosuppressive activity of starved fibroblasts was experimentally documented. Conclusion: Under serum starvation-induced metabolic stress, both PBMCs and fibroblasts produced molecules like heat shock proteins and amyloid-beta, which can have pathogenic roles in auto-inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes mellitus, systemic lupus erythematosus, aging, and cancer. However, starved fibroblasts showed immunosuppressive activity in an in vitro model of allogeneic transplantation, suggesting their potential to modify such adverse reactions by down-regulating the immune system.

Downregulation of Stemness Genes and Induction of Necrosis in Rat LA7 Cancer Stem Cells Induced Tumors Treated with Starved Fibroblasts Culture Supernatant.

BACKGROUND: Stem cell differentiation therapy is a promising strategy in cancer treatment. we show that protein cocktail prepared from serum starved fibroblasts has therapeutic potential based on this strategy. METHODS: The condition medium was prepared from foreskin isolated fibroblasts and analyzed by Liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). LA7 mammary gland cancer stem cells originated tumors were induced in Sprague Dawley rats. The rats treated subcutaneously with DMEM (group A), condition medium (group B), or normal saline (group C) once daily for 7 days. Then the tumors were removed and divided into the two parts, one part was used to quantify gene expression by stem-loop RT-qPCR assay and the other part was used for Hematoxylin & Eosin (H & E), Giemsa, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining. RESULTS: All induced tumors appeared as sarcomatoid carcinoma (SC). Immunohistochemistry staining confirmed this conclusion by recognizing the tumor as Ki67+, cytokeratin+, vimentine+, and estrogen receptor negative SC. RT-qPCR analysis revealed that Oct4-, Sox-2, Nanog- gene expression was much reduced in the condition medium treated tumors versus proper controls (p< 0.05). Tissue necrosis was more prevalent in this group while tumors volume was diminished almost by 40%. The LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis unrevealed the stemness reducing and the cell death inducing proteins such as, pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), insulin like growth factor binding protein-5 (IGFBP-5) and -7 (IGFBP-7) in the condition medium. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the substances released from starved human fibroblasts were able to down-regulate the stemness-related genes and induce necrosis in LA7 derived tumors.

Spatial patterns and temporal variations of traffic-related air pollutants and estimating its health effects in Isfahan city, Iran.

Isfahan as an important industrial city has faced with air pollution recently. Thus, we assessed the spatial and temporal trends of ambient PM2.5, CO, SO2, and O3 and for estimating their health effect on Isfahan citizens between March 2018 and March 2019 through the AirQ+ software. Our results showed that citizens of Isfahan in almost 240, 167, and 134 of the days in the year has exposure to PM2.5, SO2, and O3 higher than the WHO daily guideline, respectively. Daily variations of PM2.5, CO, and SO2 concentration showed the increasing trend of pollutants in the morning to evening. The maximum concentrations of O3 were observed in the noonday. Also, the concentrations of these pollutants on Friday due to the holiday effect were higher than the weekdays. Except for O3, the PM2.5, CO, and SO2 concentrations in the cold months and cold seasons was higher compared with the hot months and hot seasons. The total number of deaths because of lung cancer, natural mortality, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,, stroke associated with ambient PM2.5 with the attributable proportion (AP) 11.43%, 11.63%, 15.96%, 15.15%, and 13.1% (95% CI) were 683, 19, 2, 202, and 55 cases, respectively. Therefore, the present study provides additional data for the provincial managers and politicians useful in planning proper strategies of air pollution control to decrease exposure and attributable mortalities.

Experimental data on the removal of acid orange 10 dye from aqueous solutions using TiO2/Na-Y zeolite and BiVO4/Na-Y zeolite nanostructures: A comparison study.

The increase of textile factories, along with the continuous development of industrialization has led to excessive discharge of high toxicity wastewater along with a diverse range of contaminants in wastewater. In this regard, to reduce their operating costs and treatment time, in this work, two synthesized nanostructures, TiO2/Na-Y zeolite and BiVO4/Na-Y zeolite was compared to remove acid orange 10 (AO10) from the aqueous solutions. The obtained optimum operating conditions including initial dye concentration, initial pH, contact time, catalyst dosage and AO10 removal efficiency were 20 mg/L, 3, 7 min, 0.2 g/100 mL, and 99.77% for TiO2/Na-Y zeolite and 20 mg/L, 3, 200 min, 0.2 g/100 mL and 46.13% for BiVO4/Na-Y zeolite composite, respectively. The structural characteristics of the synthetized materials were also determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).

A novel ternary heterogeneous TiO2/BiVO4/NaY-Zeolite nanocomposite for photocatalytic degradation of microcystin-leucine arginine (MC-LR) under visible light.

Microcystin-leucine arginine (MC-LR) is a carcinogenic toxin, produced by cyanobacteria. The release of this toxin into drinking water sources can threaten public health and environmental safety. Therefore, effective MC-LR removal from water resources is necessary. In the present study, the hydrothermal method was used to synthesize a novel ternary BiVO4/TiO2/NaY-Zeolite (B/T/N-Z) nanocomposite for MC-LR degradation under visible light. FESEM, FTIR, XRD, and DRS were performed for characterizing the nanocomposite structure. Also, the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied to determine the impact of catalyst dosage, pH, and contact time on the MC-LR removal. High-performance liquid chromatography was performed to measure the MC-LR concentration. Based on the results, independent parameters, including contact time, catalyst dosage, and pH, significantly affected the MC-LR removal (P < 0.05). In other words, increasing the contact time, catalyst dosage, and acidic pH had positive effects on MC-LR removal. Among these variables, the catalyst dosage, with the mean square and F-value of 1041.37 and 162.84, respectively, had the greatest effect on the MC-LR removal efficiency. Apart from the interaction between the catalyst dosage and contact time, the interaction effects of other parameters were not significant. Also, the maximum MC-LR removal efficiency was 99.88% under optimal conditions (contact time = 120 min, catalyst dosage = 1 g/L, and pH = 5). According to the results, the B/T/N-Z nanocomposite, as a novel and effective photocatalyst could be used to degrade MC-LR from polluted water.

Effect of photocatalytic pretreatment on the biodegradation of n-hexane vapours in a biofilter.

Hydrophobic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as n-hexane are not completely biodegradable by a single biofilter. So, in the present study, a photoreactor system packed with scoria granules coated with TiO2, as a pretreatment unit, was used for increasing the removal efficiency of n-hexane by a biofilter during an operation period of 191 days. The inlet and outlet concentration of n-hexane was analyzed with a gas chromatography coupled with a flame ionization detector (GC/FID). The results indicated that the removal efficiency of the single biofilter with input concentrations of 0.18 - 1 g/m3 at empty bed residence times (EBRTs) of 30, 60, and 120 s was 10.06%, 21.45%, and 46.8%, respectively. When the photoreactor was used as a pretreatment system, the removal efficiency of the combined system in corresponding EBRTs was improved to 39.79%, 63.08%, and 92.60%, respectively. The results proved that the combined system provided higher removal efficiencies than the single biofilter. Thus, the application of the photoreactor as a pretreatment step was much effective in increasing the removal efficiency of n-hexane from the polluted air by the biofilter.

Concentrations and mortality due to short- and long-term exposure to PM2.5 in a megacity of Iran (2014-2019).

The present study aimed to survey the spatial and temporal trends of ambient concentration of PM2.5 and to estimate mortality attributed to short- and long-term exposure to PM2.5 in Isfahan from March 2014 to March 2019 using the AirQ+ software. The hourly concentrations of PM2.5 were obtained from the Isfahan Department of Environment and Isfahan Air Quality Monitoring Center. Then, the 24-h mean concentration of PM2.5 for each station was calculated using the Excel software. According to the results, the annual mean concentration of PM2.5 in 2014-2019 was 29.9-50.9 µg/m3, approximately 3-5 times higher than the WHO guideline (10 µg/m3). The data showed that people of Isfahan in almost 58% to 96% of the days of a year were exposed to PM2.5 higher than the WHO daily guideline. The concentrations of PM2.5 in cold months such as October, November, December and January were higher than those in the other months. The zoning of the annual concentrations of PM2.5 in urban areas showed that the highest PM2.5 concentrations were related to the northern, northwestern, southern and central areas of the city. On average, from 2014 to 2019, the number of deaths due to natural mortality, lung cancer (LC), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke associated with ambient PM2.5 were 948, 16, 18, 281 and 60, respectively. The present study estimated that on average, 14.29% of the total mortality, 17.2% of lung cancer (LC), 15.54% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 17.12% of ischemic heart disease (IHD) and 14.94% of stroke mortalities were related to long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5. So provincial managers and politicians must adopt appropriate strategies to control air pollution and reduce the attributable health effects and economic losses.

Improved biodegradation of hydrophobic volatile organic compounds from the air stream in a multilayer biofilter.

Biofiltration of n-hexane as a representative of hydrophobic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at presence and absence of rhamnolipid biosurfactant was studied using a multilayer biofilter packed with scoria, compost, poplar tree skin and sugar beet pulp, for 131 days. The concentration of n-hexane was measured by a gas chromatograph coupled with a flame ionization detector (GC/FID). The results showed that the mean removal efficiency (RE) of n-hexane at the presence of the biosurfactant was two times higher than that at absence of the biosurfactant. According to the results, rhamnolipid can enhance the efficiency of biofiltration of VOCs from polluted air streams.

Protocol for identification of airborne asbestos fibres in the urban areas and spatio-temporal trend.

Asbestos is classified as a hazardous pollutants between the airborne particles that cause diseases such as lung fibrosis (asbestosis). This protocol describes an integrated method for determination of asbestos fibres concentration and its temporal-spatial trends in the air of urban areas. To do this, 60 samples were gathered from various areas of Yazd city with low, moderate and high traffic. For analysis of asbestos fibres in the samples scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) were utilized. The spatial and temporal variation of asbestos fibres concentration was carried out by ArcGIS 10 analysis. The Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) method was used to draw asbestos fibres distribution maps. The interpolation of asbestos fibre by IDW method indicated that the distribution of the fibres in summer and winter were followed almost the similar pattern. However, the distribution of asbestos fibre concentrations in the direction of southeast to the northwest of the city was higher than that in the other areas due to high vehicular traffic.

Efficient degradation of microcystin-LR by BiVO4/TiO2 photocatalytic nanocomposite under visible light.

Microcystin-Leucine Arginine (MC-LR) is one of the most studied cyanotoxins due to its toxicity and abundant that cause health hazards for humans through of the drinking water. In this study, BiVO4/TiO2 nanocomposite was synthesized by hydrothermal method and employed for the removal of MC-LR. The characteristics of the catalysts were determined by FESEM, XRD and FTIR spectra. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to assess the effects of operating variables (pH, contact time, and catalyst dose) on the MC-LR removal. The coefficient of determination (R2) was calculated 98.7% for the response. The residual concentration of MC-LR was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results show that the highest removal efficiency of MC-LR was 98% under the optimum conditions (pH = 5, contact time = 90 min, and catalyst dose = 0.5 g/l). MC-LR decomposition efficiency by BiVO4/TiO2 nanocomposite was enhanced by pH reduction and increasing of contact time and catalyst dose. The prepared BiVO4/TiO2 nanocomposite with technological potential can be used directly in environmental preservation, specifically in the decontamination of MC-LR from aqueous solutions.

An innovative approach to attached cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris using different materials.

This article investigates the innovative attached cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris) using different materials as an alternative to high capital techniques of harvesting such as centrifugation, flocculation, and filtration. A simple attached algal cultivation system was proposed that was equipped by 10 submerged supporting materials which can harvest algal cells, efficiently. The effect of operational parameters such as light intensity, the rate of aeration, and auto-harvesting time was investigated. A chip, durable, and abundant cellulosic material (Kaldnes carriers covered by kenafs, KCCKs) was proposed for auto-harvesting C. vulgaris cells. The results revealed that optimum aeration rate, light intensity, and auto-harvesting of microalgal cells were 3.6 vvm, 10,548 W/m2, and 12 days, respectively. Six of these KCCKs had the highest biofilm formation percent up to 33%. In this condition, the rate of cell growth increased to 0.6 mg/cm2. Therefore, this system can be used for appropriate auto-harvesting of microalgae in the attached growth systems. C. vulgaris biomass composition is valuable for biodiesel, bioethanol, and animal protein production.

Mortality and Morbidity Due to Exposure to Ambient NO2, SO2, and O3 in Isfahan in 2013-2014.

BACKGROUND: The presence of air pollutants such as CO, NO2, SO2, O3, and PM in the ambient air mainly emitted from fossil fuels combustion has become a major health concern. The aims of this study were to estimate the attribution of NO2, SO2, and O3 in the premature deaths and prevalence of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in Isfahan in 2013-2014. METHODS: In this study, short-term health effects (total mortality, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and acute myocardial infarction) of exposure NO2, SO2, and O3 on the population of Isfahan were assessed using AirQ 2.2.3 software suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO). RESULTS: The result showed that from nonaccident total mortality in 2013-2014 in Isfahan, the attributable proportion related to NO2, SO2, and O3 were 1.03% (109 cases), 3.46% (365 cases), and 1.29% (136 cases), respectively. The percentage of days that people were exposed to the highest concentration of NO2 (40-49 µg/m3), SO2 (60-69 µg/m3), and O3 (40-49 µg/m3) was 34.46%, 16.85%, and 42.74% of a year, respectively. Total mortality attributed to NO2, SO2, and O3 exposure was 0.36%, 0.79%, and 0.83%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The concentrations of NO2 and SO2 were upper than the WHO guidelines. The Air-Q software in spite of its limitations can provide useful information regarding the health outcome of the air pollutants. The results estimated in this study were considerable. This information can help the health authorities and policy makers to draw suitable strategies and fulfill effective emission control programs.

Antihypoxic activities of Crataegus pentaegyn and Crataegus microphylla fruits-an in vivo assay

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate anti-hypoxia activity of polyphenolic extracts of Crataegus microphylla and Crataegus pentaegyn on mice. Three experimental models of hypoxia were considered, including asphyctic hypoxia, haemic hypoxia, and circulatory hypoxia. Polyphenolic extract of both plants exhibited significant anti-hypoxic activity and prolonged animal survival time. Anti-hypoia activity of C. pentaegyn was found to be superior to that of C. microphylla in circulatory and asphyctic hypoxia. Antihypoxic activity of these extracts may be attributed to their phenolic compounds.

Cardiovascular, respiratory, and total mortality ascribed to PM10 and PM2.5 exposure in Isfahan, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Air pollution is an important environmental issue due to its proven serious impacts on human health. The aim of this study was to estimate the attribution of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameters of ≤ 2.5 and 10 (PM2.5 and PM10) in the prevalence of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and premature deaths in Isfahan in 2013-2014. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive, ecological study was conducted to assess health impacts of PM2.5 and PM10 on the population using Air Q2.2.3 software, suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO). RESULTS: The results showed that the annual mean, winter mean, summer mean, and the 98 percentile of PM10 concentration in Isfahan were 108, 100, 116, and 264 µg/m3, respectively. The number of deaths per year related to PM2.5 was 670 and that for PM10 was 713 cases. The number of annual deaths due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases attributed to PM10 was 316 and 68 cases, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results of this study revealed that about 44.3% of total annual death due to cardiovascular diseases and 9.55% of that due to respiratory diseases were attributed to PM10 exposure. In the other word, residents were exposed to PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations higher than the WHO guidelines which caused a notable increase in the rate of mortality.