Reconstructing the Poynting vector skew angle and wave-front of optical vortex beams via two-channel moir\'e deflectometery

A novel approach based on the two-channel moir\'e deflectometry has been used to measure both wave-front and transverse component of the Poynting vector of an optical vortex beam. Generated vortex beam by the q-plate, an inhomogeneous liquid crystal cell, has been analyzed with such technique. The measured topological charge of generated beams are in an excellent agreement with theoretical prediction.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure

Serologic evidence of pertussis infection in vaccinated Iranian children

Background: It seems that the incidence of pertussis-like illnesses is considerably increasing despite the wide coverage of immunization with the whole cell pertussis vaccine. We aimed to investigate the occurrence of pertussis in vaccinated children by measuring anti-pertussis antibodies. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, blood samples were taken from vaccinated children aged 2, 4, 6, 12, 18, and 72 months. Anti-pertussis IgG and IgA were measured by ELISA. P<0.05 was considered significant. Results: 725 children were enrolled in the study. Geometric mean titers for IgG that showed a slight decease after 2 months of age and increased distinctly in children aged 72 months. The frequency of the individuals whose IgG was above the determined cut-off (derived from mean+2SD) was observed in 1 of the 2, 4, and 6-month-old infants, 6 of the 12 and 18-month-olds and 12 of the 6-year -old children. Positive IgA titers were detected in 5, 9, 6, 23, 11, and 8 of children aged 2, 4, 6, 12, 18, and 72 months, respectively. Conclusion: Since a considerable percentage of children had high levels of anti-pertussis IgG antibodies (≥2 SD), positive anti-pertussis IgA, and most importantly an increased level of anti-pertussis IgG geometric mean titer at 6 years of age, further investigations regarding the protection provided by the presently used pertussis vaccine seems necessary

Responses of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) var. Agria to application of bio, bulk and nano-fertilizers

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), is one of the important crops grown in the world which is important as food and nutritional security option at the global level. The experiment was laid out as randomized complete block design in three replications with six nutrition treatments consisted of control, NPK, Mog bio-fertilizer, Nano-Ca, Nano-Zn+B and Nano-Com. The treatment-by-trait (TT) biplot analysis was applied to data to examine its usefulness in visualizing relationships among trait as well as treatments and showed that the first two principal components accounted 80% of total variation. Tuber yield, mean tuber diameter, mean tuber weight, tuber weight per plant, starch content of initial fresh, number of tubers per plant, number of leaves and dry matter content were in the same sector, with Nano-Com fertilizer treatment as the best treatment. Based on ideal entry biplot, the Nano-Com treatment is closest to the position of an ideal treatment and it is ranked the highest in term of morphological performance. Also, the best fertilizer treatment for obtaining of high tuber yield could be found as Nano-Com treatment following Nano-Zn+B treatment. The studied nanofertilizers showed a good potential compared to the commercial bulk and bio fertilizers

The effect of concomitant use of nano-structured essential metals and sulfur on growth characteristics of safflower

Deficiencies of zinc, manganese and iron are common in calcareous soils of arid and semiarid regions due to their reduced solubility alkaline conditions. However, sustainable crop production is essential for growing population. Sulfur fertilizers can increase micronutrients availability by decreasing soil pH. In order to investigate the influence of nano-chelated essential metals (Zn, Mn, Fe) and sulfur application (zero and 40 kg ha-1) an experiment was carried out in Maragheh, northwest of Iran. Phenological development, morphological and agronomic traits significantly responded to both factors. Results revealed that application of sulfur fertilizer considerably increased morphological traits such as ground cover, stem diameter, plant height and capitulum diameter. Mean comparison between nano-chelated metal showed that the highest value for seed yield and yield components (number of the capitulum per plants, seed number per capitulum and seed weight) was achieved through the application of nano-chelated Zn. The best performance was related to combined application of sulfur and nano-chelated Zn which was followed by nano-chelated Fe. Seed oil content was only affected by nano-metals, so the highest value was obtained by application of nano-chelated Zn. Overall our finding revealed that integrated application of sulfur and essential metals, especially Zn, is required to grow safflower successfully on calcareous soils. The efficiency of nano-chelated fertilizers can be noticeably increased by balanced nutrient management in semi-arid regions

Impact of foliar application of nano micronutrient fertilizers and titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the growth and yield components of barley under supplemental irrigation

Nano-fertilizers are new generation of the synthetic fertilizers which contain readily available nutrients in nano scale range. Nano fertilizers are preferred largely due to their efficiency and environment friendly nature compared to conventional chemical fertilizers. To evaluate the effects of foliar spray of micronutrient nano-fertilizer (iron and zinc) and nano-titanium dioxide (nTiO2) solution on grain yield and its components in barley under supplemental irrigation conditions, a field experiment was carried out in the semi-arid highland region of Maragheh, Iran. Barley plants were separately treated with of chelated nano-scale zinc oxide (ZnO) and ferric oxide (Fe2O3) suspensions during tillering stage, booting and milky stages. Results revealed that days to anthesis and maturity significantly increased after application of both nano-fertilizers. Furthermore, a considerable improvement was observed in grain mass, spike length, number of the grains per spike, chlorophyll content, grain yield and harvest index by application of nano-fertilizer. However the impact of nano zinc fertilizer was more prominent than iron. Foliar application of nTiO2 positively affected some morphophysiological characteristics like as days to anthesis, chlorophyll content and straw yield. The results suggest that the delivery of Zn into barley seedling through spray of nano-fertilizer can be an efficient nutrient management strategy in semi-arid regions. Overall, our result indicated that the integration of nanotechnology in fertilizer products can improve fertilizer use efficiency and significantly increase of barley yield. However, plant response to nanoparticles significantly depend on concentration and time of application as well as size, shape, and surface functionalization of the particles

Correlation between Religious Attitude and General Health among High School Girls

For downloading the full-text of this article please click here.Background and Objective: Religion is a contributory factor in health particularly in developmental stages. Yet, few studies have been conducted in this area for teenagers. This study aimed at assessing the correlation between religious attitude and general health among high school girls.Method: Correlation method was employed in this research.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       The sample included 120 female high school students aged 16.6±.52, selected from 4 different schools. Research materials included Golriz and Baraheni’s questionnaire about religious attitude and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). The collected data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression. In this research, all the Ethical issues were observed and authors declared no conflicts of interest.Results: The results indicate a significant relation between religious attitudes and three subscales including anxiety symptoms and sleep disorder, and social function as well as depression symptoms (p&lt;.01). However, there was no significant relationship between the religious attitude and physical function subscale (p&gt;.05).Conclusion: The results of the study clearly demonstrate the impact of religious attitudes on the students’ general health. In other words, the general health status in individuals can be predicted by religious attitudes.For downloading the full-text of this article please click here.Please cite this article as: RafeeKhah M, Dashti D, Naqizadeh Moqari Z, Esmaili Sadrabadi M. Correlation between Religious Attitude and General Health among High School Girls. J Res Relig Health. 2019; 5(2): 50- 59. doi: https://doi.org/10.22037/jrrh.v5i2.1708

Ocular manifestations of COVID-19: A systematic review of current evidence

Introduction COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2, commonly presents with symptoms such as fever and shortness of breath but can also affect other organs. There is growing evidence pointing to potential eye complications. In this article, we aim to systematically review the ocular manifestations of COVID-19. Methods We conducted a systematic review to explore the ocular manifestations of COVID-19. We searched online databases including PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science up to September 4, 2023. After a two-stage screening process and applying inclusion/exclusion criteria, eligible articles were advanced to the data extraction phase. The PRISMA checklist and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) were used for quality and bias risk assessments. Results We selected and extracted data from 42 articles. Most of the studies were cross-sectional (n = 33), with the highest number conducted in Turkey (n = 10). The most frequent ocular manifestation was conjunctivitis, reported in 24 articles, followed by photophobia, burning, chemosis, itching, and ocular pain. Most studies reported complete recovery from these manifestations; however, one study mentioned visual loss in two patients. Conclusion In general, ocular manifestations of COVID-19 appear to resolve either spontaneously or with supportive treatments. For more severe cases, both medical treatment and surgery have been employed, with the outcomes suggesting that complete recoveries are attainable.publishedVersio

A Comparative Analysis of Clinical Characteristics and Laboratory Findings of COVID-19 between Intensive Care Unit and Non-Intensive Care Unit Pediatric Patients: A Multicenter, Retrospective, Observational Study from Iranian Network for Research in Viral

Introduction: To date, little is known about the clinical features of pediatric COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs).&nbsp;Objective: Herein, we aimed to describe the differences in demographic characteristics, laboratory findings, clinical presentations, and outcomes of Iranian pediatric COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU versus those in non-ICU settings.&nbsp;Methods: This multicenter investigation involved 15 general and pediatrics hospitals and included cases with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection based on positive real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) admitted to these centers between March and May 2020, during the initial peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran.&nbsp;Results: Overall, 166 patients were included, 61 (36.7%) of whom required ICU admission. The highest number of admitted cases to ICU were in the age group of 1–5 years old. Malignancy and heart diseases were the most frequent underlying conditions. Dyspnea was the major symptom for ICU-admitted patients. There were significant decreases in PH, HCO3 and base excess, as well as increases in creatinine, creatine phosphokinase (CPK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and potassium levels between ICU-admitted and non-ICU patients. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), shock, and acute cardiac injury were the most common features among ICU-admitted patients. The mortality rate in the ICU-admitted patients was substantially higher than non-ICU cases (45.9% vs. 1.9%, respectively; p&lt;0.001).&nbsp;Conclusions: Underlying diseases were the major risk factors for the increased ICU admissions and mortality rates in pediatric COVID-19 patients. There were few paraclinical parameters that could differentiate between pediatrics in terms of prognosis and serious outcomes of COVID-19. Healthcare providers should consider children as a high-risk group, especially those with underlying medical conditions

Monkeypox: a systematic review of epidemiology, pathogenesis, manifestations, and outcomes

Introduction. Since May 2022, an unusually large number of new monkeypox infections-a previously rare viral zoonotic disease, mainly reported from central and western Africa has been reported globally, and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency in July 2022. We aimed to systematically review the monkeypox virus epidemiology, pathogenesis, transmission, presentations, and outcomes. Materials and methods. Our aim is to systematically review the epidemiology, pathogenesis, manifestations, and outcomes of Monkeypox disease. We searched the keywords in the online databases of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science and investigated all English articles until December 2022. In order to ascertain the findings, this study adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist. In order to optimize the quality, this review study benefits from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist. To minimize any probable bias risk, we utilized the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) risk assessment tool. Results. The most prevalent symptoms were rash and fever. The infection was accompanied by different complications such as, but not limited to, encephalitis (mainly in children), septicemia, bacterial cellulitis, retropharyngeal and parapharyngeal abscesses, etc. A wide range of hospitalization from 3.7% to 100% has been reported. The mortality rate ranged from 0% to 23%, which mainly occurred in infants and children. High mortality of the monkeypox rate was reported among pregnant women. The mortality rate of monkeypox is lower among women and those who received the smallpox vaccine compared to men and those who did not receive the vaccine. A wide range of the overall second-rate attack was reported, which is more pronounced in unvaccinated patients. Conclusion. In our systematic review of 35 studies on monkeypox, we cast light on the existing evidence on its epidemiology, pathogenesis, manifestation, and outcomes. Further studies are needed to elucidate the natural history of the disease in various patients’ population, as well as detailing the monkeypox attack rate

Global estimates on the number of people blind or visually impaired by cataract: a meta-analysis from 2000 to 2020

Background: To estimate global and regional trends from 2000 to 2020 of the number of persons visually impaired by cataract and their proportion of the total number of vision-impaired individuals. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of published population studies and gray literature from 2000 to 2020 was carried out to estimate global and regional trends. We developed prevalence estimates based on modeled distance visual impairment and blindness due to cataract, producing location-, year-, age-, and sex-specific estimates of moderate to severe vision impairment (MSVI presenting visual acuity &lt;6/18, ≥3/60) and blindness (presenting visual acuity &lt;3/60). Estimates are age-standardized using the GBD standard population. Results: In 2020, among overall (all ages) 43.3 million blind and 295 million with MSVI, 17.0 million (39.6%) people were blind and 83.5 million (28.3%) had MSVI due to cataract blind 60% female, MSVI 59% female. From 1990 to 2020, the count of persons blind (MSVI) due to cataract increased by 29.7%(93.1%) whereas the age-standardized global prevalence of cataract-related blindness improved by −27.5% and MSVI increased by 7.2%. The contribution of cataract to the age-standardized prevalence of blindness exceeded the global figure only in South Asia (62.9%) and Southeast Asia and Oceania (47.9%). Conclusions: The number of people blind and with MSVI due to cataract has risen over the past 30 years, despite a decrease in the age-standardized prevalence of cataract. This indicates that cataract treatment programs have been beneficial, but population growth and aging have outpaced their impact. Growing numbers of cataract blind indicate that more, better-directed, resources are needed to increase global capacity for cataract surgery.</p