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Abstract Background and Aims Before performing any surgical or endovascular procedure, the anatomical classification of the patient is essential for treatment planning. Computed Tomographic Angiography (CTA) is a standard method to evaluate thoracic aortic anatomy and associated variations. Methods This cross‐sectional, descriptive study was performed among adult participants without any peripheral vascular diseases undergoing thoracic CTA. Demographic data were collected along with factors retrieved from the patients CTA, such as the type of aortic arch, length, and diameter of ascending and descending aorta, the diameter of the main branches and the distance between branches, the angles by which the main arteries rise from their origins, and left anterior oblique angle of the aortic arch. Results 164 patients, with a mean age of 57 ± 19.3 years, entered the study. 53 (33.8%) had a bovine arch, which was mostly observed among males. A decrease in the frequency of type I arch and also an increase in the frequency of type 2 and 3 arches was observed with the increase in age (p

Abstract Background Rubella and measles are two highly contagious viral childhood diseases. However, the high possibility of brutal effects of both microorganisms during pregnancy has kept them emerging as a major public health issue. The current study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of rubella and measles among 15–25‐year‐old females in southwest Iran. Method This descriptive study was performed in Jahrom, southern west Iran during 2012. Serum samples from female individuals with an age of 15–25 years visiting main laboratories in our study location were collected and evaluated by a commercial ELISA kit for anti‐rubella and measles IgG antibodies. Results Among the 179 participants, regarding anti‐rubella antibodies, 171 (95.0%) were positive, 3 (1.7%) were negative, and 6 (3.3%) were borderline. Regarding anti‐measles antibodies, 166 (92.2%) of the subjects were positive, 1 (5.6%) was negative, and 13 (17.2%) were borderline. By assuming a positive value for the borderline cases, the ultimate findings demonstrated that 98.3% and 99.4% of the participants were immune against rubella and measles, respectively. There was no statistically significant association between measles and rubella immunity with age or the use of immunosuppressor medication. Conclusion Implementation of vaccine program has obtained significant immunity level in inhabitants, particularly women of childbearing age who play a more important role in herd immunity. Therefore, maintaining the national immune screening against rubella and measles is needed to take into consideration to maintain the current satisfactory level of immunization.

Abstract Background and Aims Obesity is considered a major growing threat to public health which could negatively affect the quality of life. The current cross‐sectional study was conducted to investigate the population‐based prevalence of metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) and healthy overweight (MHOW) and associated factors in southern Iran. Methods Baseline data from the Pars Cohort Study was analyzed. Metabolically healthy participants were identified based on the definition of the American Heart Association for the metabolic syndrome. The prevalence of MHOW and MHO and their 95% confidence intervals were estimated. Poisson regression was applied for the calculation of prevalence ratios (PRs). Results Gender‐ and age‐standardized prevalences of MHOW and MHO were 6.3% (6.0%–6.6%) and 2.3% (2.1%–2.5%), respectively. The following factors were associated with being MHOW compared with those with normal weight: Being younger, female gender (1.31, 1.20–1.43), higher socioeconomic status, being noncurrent cigarette smoker (1.27, 1.11–1.45), low level of physical activity (1.14, 1.03–1.25), having normal overweight during adolescence, and overweight (1.35, 1.24–1.48) or obesity (1.68, 1.53–1.86) during young adulthood. We also found strong associations between MHO and younger age groups, female gender (2.87, 2.40–3.42), being married (1.57, 1.08–2.27), Fars ethnicity (1.25, 1.10–1.43), higher socioeconomic status, ever use of tobacco (1.14, 1.00–1.30), never use of opium (1.85, 1.19–2.86), lower physical activity (1.45, 1.20–1.72), being normal weight in 15‐year body pictogram and being overweight (1.87, 1.59–2.20) or obese (3.20, 2.74–3.72) in 30‐year body pictogram when considering those with normal weight or MHO. Conclusion Potentially modifiable factors including physical activity should be more emphasized. Furthermore, our study issued that it would be more reasonable that the prevention of unhealthy obesity be initiated before the development of MHO, where there are more protective factors and they could be more effective.

Abstract Objectives The significance of T helper 17 (Th17) cells in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has recently been demonstrated in many studies. Retinoic acid receptor‐related orphan receptor γt (RORγt) is a transcription factor that is specifically involved in the generation of Th17 cells. Besides, the chemokine receptor CCR6, the receptor for CCL20, is characteristically expressed by these cells. Considering the pivotal roles of Th17 cells in RA pathogenesis, in this study, we assessed the gene expression of CCR6 and RORγt in the peripheral blood leukocytes of new case RA patients. Also, we evaluated their association with anticyclic citrullinated peptide (anti‐CCP) antibodies and disease activity. Methods Forty‐five new case RA patients and 45 healthy persons have been recruited in this investigation. The gene expression of CCR6 and RORγt was evaluated by quantitative real‐time PCR (qRT‐PCR), and anti‐CCP antibodies plasma levels were measured using the enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Disease activity was measured according to the disease activity score‐28 (DAS‐28) formula. Results The gene expression of CCR6 and RORγt increased remarkably in new case RA patients compared to healthy controls (p