Spontaneous abortion (SA) is considered one of the most prevalent adverse outcomes of pregnancy. SA may occur due to genetic susceptibility and various maternal factors such as nutritional status. The aim of this study was to assess how dietary carotenoids and the FTO gene are related to SA. This case–control study included 192 women with a history of SA as the case group and 347 healthy women without history of SA as the control group. To evaluate carotenoid intake, a valid 168-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used. The FTO gene was genotyped for the presence of the rs9939609 polymorphism using the tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain (ARMS-PCR). The results indicated a significant negative association between dietary intake of β-cryptoxanthin and SA in carriers of the TT genotype of the FTO rs9939609 polymorphism after adjustment for age, BMI, physical activity, smoking, alcohol drinking, and calorie intake (β = −0.28, P = 0.02). No association was found between SA with dietary intake of beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lutein, and lycopene among carriers of different FTO genotypes. The FTO genotype may have an effect on the association between SA and carotenoid intake. Dietary intake of β-cryptoxanthin may act as a protective factor against SA only in carriers of the TT genotype of the FTO rs9939609 polymorphism.

Underwater archaeological research has been developed less aggressively in Malaysia than in other ASEAN partner countries, such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. In past decades, financial constraints have limited the development of underwater archaeology, and the field has been dominated by commercial salvage experts. Malaysia has not addressed many issues or fundamental problems related to future development. The discovery of the Bidong Shipwreck in 2013 has raised hopes that underwater archaeological research in Malaysia will develop more dynamically. The successful excavation of this shipwreck site proves that local experts can conduct scientific excavations. This article presents and discusses the discovery and process of excavating artifacts from the Bidong Shipwreck. The project outcomes provide a guide for stakeholders and agencies involved in future underwater excavations in Malaysian waters.

It is currently debated whether vitamin D requirements during pregnancy differ from those during non-gravid states. In current analyses, we aimed to determine the best model for the association between PTH and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and the threshold for circulating 25(OH)D at which serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) is suppressed. This multicenter prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 227 Iranian pregnant women aged 15–45 years in their third trimester of pregnancy. The locally weighted smoothing scatter plot (LOWESS) was used to determine the curvilinear shape of the 25(OH)D/PTH relationship. Linear and non-linear methods were employed to determine the best fit and cut-point for serum 25(OH)D concentration. The median serum 25(OH)D and corresponding serum PTH concentration were 17⋅26 (13⋅44–23⋅08) ng/ml and 19⋅46 (15⋅08–25⋅04) pg/ml in our study population, respectively. The LOWESS curve suggested a non-linear and monotonic with a negative slope relation between PTH (pg/ml) and serum 25(OH)D (ng/ml). The optimal model for the association between PTH and serum 25(OH)D was a one-term fractional polynomial (FP1) (AIC = 1640⋅463). The FP1 analysis identified the 25(OH)D threshold of 12⋅48 ng/ml at which serum PTH rapidly rose. The expected degree of PTH stimulation seems to have a linear trend as 25(OH)D falls below 40 ng/ml. 25(OH)D (ng/ml) and PTH (pg/ml) had a non-linear and monotonic relationship with a negative slope. Our data suggest that a 25(OH)D threshold of 12⋅48 ng/ml is sufficient for parathyroid hormone suppression, which could be used to screen for deficient individuals.

Late Miocene volcanic rocks host the Sari Gunay epithermal gold deposit in NW Iran. These rocks are located within the Hamedan–Tabriz volcanic belt and occupy the northwestern part of the Sanandaj–Sirjan zone (SaSZ). The volcanic rocks span in composition from latite to dacite and rhyolite. Plagioclase, hornblende, biotite and quartz are the main phenocrysts in a fine-grained and glassy matrix. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry zircon U–Pb dating yielded crystallization ages of 10.10 ± 0.01 Ma and 11.18 ± 0.14 Ma for rhyolite and dacite, respectively. High ratios of Sr/Y (> 20) and La/Yb (> 20), high contents of Sr (≥ 400 ppm), low contents of MgO (≤ 6 wt%), Y ≤ 18 ppm (c. 16.5 ppm), Yb ≤ 1.9 ppm (c. 1.53 ppm) and weak negative Eu anomalies (Eu*/Eu c. 0.81) are compatible with a high-silica adakitic signature of the rocks. Regarding the location of the study area nearly 100 km from the Zagros suture zone, we argue that delamination of lithospheric mantle beneath the SaSZ has played a key role in the development of the adakitic rocks in a post-collision tectonic regime. The adakitic melts are suggested to have formed by partial melting of delaminated continental lithosphere and/or lower crustal amphibolite following the collision of the Arabian and Iranian plates.

The Ghaleh-Dezh metagranites in the northern Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone (SaSZ) in western Iran are found in a 0.5 km long by 0.3 km wide unit emplaced within the older Precambrian basement. New zircon U–Pb ages confirm that crystallization and emplacement of the protolith of the metagranites occurred at 312 ± 10 Ma and 298 ± 17 Ma in the Upper Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) – Early Permian, which is consistent with the ages of recently discovered Palaeozoic granites in the northern SaSZ. The studied metagranitic body has been metamorphosed at lower greenschist facies and deformed in ductile–brittle regime due to subsequent reheating events during the Mesozoic. The rocks are metaluminous to slightly peraluminous granites with an A2-type affinity. Initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios and εNd(t) contents vary from 0.7037 to 0.7130 and −0.70 to 0.34, respectively. 143Nd/144Nd(i) values for the granitic rocks are fairly uniform at ∼0.5123. The geochemical and isotopic evidence indicates that these rocks were generated from a mantle magma with crustal contamination and fractional crystallization. Rb–Sr isochron and 40Ar/39Ar K-feldspar ages are 274 Ma and 60–70 Ma, respectively. The older event, c. 270 Ma, was likely related to the opening of Neotethys, whereas the younger ages likely relate to collisional events in the region during the closure of Neotethys.

Let $(X,d)$ be a metric space and let $J\subseteq [0,\infty )$ be nonempty. We study the structure of the arbitrary intersections of Lipschitz algebras and define a special Banach subalgebra of ${{\cap }_{\gamma \in J\,}}\text{Li}{{\text{p}}_{\gamma \,}}X$, denoted by $\text{ILi}{{\text{p}}_{J}}X$. Mainly, we investigate the $C$-character amenability of $\text{ILi}{{\text{p}}_{J}}X$, in particular Lipschitz algebras. We address a gap in the proof of a recent result in this field. Then we remove this gap and obtain a necessary and sufficient condition for $C$-character amenability of $\text{ILi}{{\text{p}}_{J}}X$, specially Lipschitz algebras, under an additional assumption.

A new study of right-handed and composite right/left-handed metamaterial transmission lines (TL) using their equivalent circuits and a new approach of the wave concept iterative process method is presented. This approach has the advantage of simulating all the periodic structures by only simulating one basic cell thanks to the surrounding periodic walls. A suitable choice of the cell length is necessary to work with the current as well as voltage and to approach the real behavior of the TL. The simulation results of these circuits, such as the calculation of current, voltage and the parameters S, helped to validate all the theoretical study.

Iodine is an essential dietary element for mammals, required for the synthesis of the thyroid hormones; thyroxin (T4, 3,5,3’,5’-tetraiodothyronine), and its active form T3 (3,5,3’-triiodothyronine) (SCF,2002). Thyroid hormones play a major role in the growth and development of brain and central nervous systems, control of several metabolic processes in body including carbohydrate, fat, protein, vitamin and mineral metabolism (EFSA, 2005). Milk and dairy products are an important source of iodine for human. Iodine concentration of cow milk can be influenced by its concentration in the diet or pasteurization process. A Linear correlation between iodine content of the diet and concentration in cow milk has been reported (Hemken; 1979, Fish & Swenson; 1982, Lysbet et. al, 2003). This study was conducted in order to increase the iodine concentration of cow milk in accordance with human requirements by examining (i) inclusion rate of iodine in the animals diet and (ii) the effect of pasteurization process.