Colorectal Cancer Staging Using Three Clustering Methods Based on Preoperative Clinical Findings

Pourahmad, Saeedeh,Pourhashemi, Soudabeh,Mohammadianpanah, Mohammad Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.2

Determination of the colorectal cancer stage is possible only after surgery based on pathology results. However, sometimes this may prove impossible. The aim of the present study was to determine colorectal cancer stage using three clustering methods based on preoperative clinical findings. All patients referred to the Colorectal Research Center of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences for colorectal cancer surgery during 2006 to 2014 were enrolled in the study. Accordingly, 117 cases participated. Three clustering algorithms were utilized including k-means, hierarchical and fuzzy c-means clustering methods. External validity measures such as sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were used for evaluation of the methods. The results revealed maximum accuracy and sensitivity values for the hierarchical and a maximum specificity value for the fuzzy c-means clustering methods. Furthermore, according to the internal validity measures for the present data set, the optimal number of clusters was two (silhouette coefficient) and the fuzzy c-means algorithm was more appropriate than the k-means clustering approach by increasing the number of clusters.

Use of Fish Oil Nanoencapsulated with Gum Arabic Carrier in Low Fat Probiotic Fermented Milk

Farideh Vahid Moghadam,Rezvan Pourahmad,Ali Mortazavi,Daryoush Davoodi,Reza Azizinezhad 한국축산식품학회 2019 한국축산식품학회지 Vol.39 No.2

Fish oil consists of omega-3 fatty acids which play an important role in human health. Its susceptibility to oxidation causes considerable degradation during the processing and storage of food products. Accordingly, encapsulation of this ingredient through freeze drying was studied with the aim of protecting it against environmental conditions. Gum arabic (GA) was used as the wall material for fish oil nanoencapsulation where tween 80 was applied as the emulsifier. A water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion was prepared by sonication, containing 6% fish oil dispersed in aqueous solutions including 20% and 25% total wall material. The emulsion was sonicated at 24 kHz for 120 s. The emulsion was then freeze-dried and the nanocapsules were incorporated into probiotic fermented milk, with the effects of nanocapsules examined on the milk. The results showed that the nanoparticles encapsulated with 25% gum arabic and 4% emulsifier had the highest encapsulation efficiency (EE) (87.17%) and the lowest surface oil (31.66 mg/100 kg). Using nanoencapsulated fish oil in fermented milk significantly (p<0.05) increased the viability of Lactobacillus plantarum as well as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) contents. The fermented milk sample containing fish oil nanoencapsulated with 25% wall material and 4% emulsifier yielded the greatest probiotic bacterial count (8.41 Log CFU/mL) and the lowest peroxide value (0.57 mEq/kg). Moreover, this sample had the highest EPA and DHA contents. Utilizing this nanoencapsulated fish oil did not adversely affect fermented milk overall acceptance. Therefore, it can be used for fortification of low fat probiotic fermented milk.

Analysis of urban health from a social capital perspective in Iranian religious cities: Qom

Ali Mahdi,Ahmad Pourahmad,Moslem Zarghamfard,Saied Qasemi 대한공간정보학회 2016 Spatial Information Research Vol.24 No.6

With social capital taking the center stage among sociologists during 1990s, social health and medicine turned their attention increasingly to links between health and social factors such as inequality, public trust, and national solidarity. The wave gave way to significant body of research which evolved around social health. In today’s city life, advantages of living in an urban center and threats to individuals’ health emanating from lifestyle have been equally affected health. The present paper is an applied case study which provides a descriptive analysis of social health of Qom metropolitan area drawing upon social capital components. Results indicated that in 8 districts, there is a type of spatial natural divisions in terms of immigrant and native population which gives different weights to their social capital. Their social capital is directly affected by social and cultural status. Districts 4, 3, 1, and 7 with highest native population enjoy better figures in terms of social capital indices compared to districts 5, 6, 2, and 8 with the majority of population being immigrants from around the country and other countries.

Improving the Accuracy of Early Diagnosis of Thyroid Nodule Type Based on the SCAD Method

Shahraki, Hadi Raeisi,Pourahmad, Saeedeh,Paydar, Shahram,Azad, Mohsen Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.4

Although early diagnosis of thyroid nodule type is very important, the diagnostic accuracy of standard tests is a challenging issue. We here aimed to find an optimal combination of factors to improve diagnostic accuracy for distinguishing malignant from benign thyroid nodules before surgery. In a prospective study from 2008 to 2012, 345 patients referred for thyroidectomy were enrolled. The sample size was split into a training set and testing set as a ratio of 7:3. The former was used for estimation and variable selection and obtaining a linear combination of factors. We utilized smoothly clipped absolute deviation (SCAD) logistic regression to achieve the sparse optimal combination of factors. To evaluate the performance of the estimated model in the testing set, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was utilized. The mean age of the examined patients (66 male and 279 female) was $40.9{\pm}13.4years$ (range 15- 90 years). Some 54.8% of the patients (24.3% male and 75.7% female) had benign and 45.2% (14% male and 86% female) malignant thyroid nodules. In addition to maximum diameters of nodules and lobes, their volumes were considered as related factors for malignancy prediction (a total of 16 factors). However, the SCAD method estimated the coefficients of 8 factors to be zero and eliminated them from the model. Hence a sparse model which combined the effects of 8 factors to distinguish malignant from benign thyroid nodules was generated. An optimal cut off point of the ROC curve for our estimated model was obtained (p=0.44) and the area under the curve (AUC) was equal to 77% (95% CI: 68%-85%). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive values for this model were 70%, 72%, 71% and 76%, respectively. An increase of 10 percent and a greater accuracy rate in early diagnosis of thyroid nodule type by statistical methods (SCAD and ANN methods) compared with the results of FNA testing revealed that the statistical modeling methods are helpful in disease diagnosis. In addition, the factor ranking offered by these methods is valuable in the clinical context.

Environmental sustainability in cities by biophilic city approach: a case study of Tehran

Keramatollah Ziari,Ahmad Pourahmad,Bagher Fotouhi Mehrabani,Ali Hosseini 서울시립대학교 도시과학연구원 2018 도시과학국제저널 Vol.22 No.4

Pollution (air, water, soil, etc.), waste management, and biodiversity depletion are the most important environmental problems of Tehran city. This paper considers the biophilic urbanism as a complementary approach alongside the other strategies and plans to promote the environmental sustainability in Tehran city. In this research, we used D’ANP method to determine the influential and importance weight of indicators and dimensions. The result showed that biophilic institutions and governance, and biophilic infrastructure and conditions are the influencing dimensions, whereas the biophilic attitude and knowledge, and biophilic activity are the affected dimensions. Also, results showed that ‘percentage of population engaged in nature restoration and volunteer efforts, priority given to environmental education, Priority given to nature conservation and education by local government, adoption of green building and planning codes and adoption of a local biodiversity action plan or strategy’ are the most important indicators among the indicators respectively. In general, this paper concludes that the biophilic planning and designing increase the environmental attitude and knowledge of citizens, and enhanced environmental attitude and knowledge lead to environmental behaviour modification and green lifestyle of citizens and thus environmental sustainability.

Xylene Induces Oxidative Stress and Mitochondria Damage in Isolated Human Lymphocytes

Ahmad Salimi,Behnaz Shoja Talatappe,Jalal Pourahmad 한국독성학회 2017 Toxicological Research Vol.33 No.3

Xylene is a cyclic hydrocarbon and an environmental pollutant. It is also used in medical technology, paints, dyes, polishes and in many industries as a solvent; therefore, an understanding of the interaction between xylene and human lymphocytes is of significant interest. Biochemical assessment was used to demonstrate that exposure of lymphocytes to xylene induces cytotoxicity (at 6 hr), generates intracellular reactive oxygen species, collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential, lysosomal injury, lipid peroxidation and depletion of glutathione (at 3 hr). The findings show that xylene triggers oxidative stress and organelle damage in lymphocytes. The results of our study suggest that the use of antioxidant, mitochondrial and lysosomal protective agents can be helpful for individuals subject to chronic exposure to xylene.

A comparative assessment of economic and physical inequality between shrinking and growing cities: a case study of Khuzestan province, Iran

Amir Reza Khavarian-Garmsir,Ahmad Pourahmad,Hossein Hataminejad,Rahmatollah Farhoudi 서울시립대학교 도시과학연구원 2018 도시과학국제저널 Vol.22 No.1

Despite the accelerated urbanization that has occurred over recent years, urban shrinkage has emerged silently as a step of urbanization in developing countries. However, without identifying the main causes of this shrinkage, managing it seems impossible. This study aims to make a comparative assessment of economic and environmental inequality between the shrinking cities and growing cities in the province of Khuzestan, Iran, using the statistical Mann-Whitney test. The results of the study showed no significant difference between the shrinking and the growing cities in terms of economic and physical-environmental conditions. In this regard, it is suggested that the current shrinking cities in the province have experienced a process much different from the shrinkage of a vast majority of cities in other countries, particularly in developed countries. This difference can be due to the rentier nature of the Iranian government, the impacts of certain external factors, and the tax-free speculative transactions in the housing sector.

Spatial justice in relation to the urban amenities distribution in Austin, Texas

Fatema Hussaini,Ebrahim Farhadi,Ahmad Pourahmad,Simona Tondelli 대한공간정보학회 2023 Spatial Information Research Vol.31 No.1

In addition to enhancing our theoretical grasp of justice, thinking spatially about it can also reveal important new insights that broaden our practical understanding in order to advance justice and democracy. On the other hand, these opportunities won’t be as obvious if the spatial equities aren’t made apparent and strong. Austin city has experienced a fast-urban growing in the past decades. As urban areas grow, the public facilities should increase. The purpose of this paper investigates Facilities in terms of public facilities. Even though we said that the concept of justice is very complex, it is possible to get an understanding of it by using a quantitative method. This paper explores the condition of urban justice and opportunities for accessibility to public facilities for all residents in Austin by using GIS data and the Fuzzy logic model. The facilities and services maps were made in GIS and after the Euclidean Distance and Reclassify function in Arc Map, the Fuzzy Logic model was used to analyze spatial justice. The result shows the facilities are distributed properly. Spatial justice is in the context of Austin and residents enjoy spatial justice.

Use of Glucose Oxidase Immobilized on Magnetic Chitosan Nanoparticles in Probiotic Drinking Yogurt

Maryam Ein Ali Afjeh,Rezvan Pourahmad,Behrouz Akbari-adergani,Mehrdad Azin 한국축산식품학회 2019 한국축산식품학회지 Vol.39 No.1

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of glucose oxidase (GOX) immobilized on magnetic chitosan nanoparticles (MCNP) on the viability of probiotic bacteria and the physico-chemical properties of drinking yogurt. Different concentrations (0, 250, and 500 mg/kg) of free and immobilized GOX were used in probiotic drinking yogurt samples. The samples were stored at 4℃ for 21 d. During storage, reduction of the number of probiotic bacteria in the samples with enzyme was lower than the control sample (without enzyme). The sample containing 500 mg/kg immobilized enzyme had the highest number of Bifidobacterium lactis and Lactobacillus acidophilus. The samples containing immobilized enzyme had lower acidity than other samples. Moreover, moderate proteolytic activity and enough contents of flavor compounds were observed in these samples. It can be concluded that use of immobilized GOX is economically more feasible because of improving the viability of probiotic bacteria and the physico-chemical characteristics of drinking yogurt.

Xylene Induces Oxidative Stress and Mitochondria Damage in Isolated Human Lymphocytes

Salimi, Ahmad,Talatappe, Behnaz Shoja,Pourahmad, Jalal Korean Society of ToxicologyKorea Environmental Mu 2017 Toxicological Research Vol.33 No.3

Xylene is a cyclic hydrocarbon and an environmental pollutant. It is also used in medical technology, paints, dyes, polishes and in many industries as a solvent; therefore, an understanding of the interaction between xylene and human lymphocytes is of significant interest. Biochemical assessment was used to demonstrate that exposure of lymphocytes to xylene induces cytotoxicity (at 6 hr), generates intracellular reactive oxygen species, collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential, lysosomal injury, lipid peroxidation and depletion of glutathione (at 3 hr). The findings show that xylene triggers oxidative stress and organelle damage in lymphocytes. The results of our study suggest that the use of antioxidant, mitochondrial and lysosomal protective agents can be helpful for individuals subject to chronic exposure to xylene.