Effect of designed health education program on knowledge, attitude, practice and the rate Pediculosis Capitis in female primary school students in Chabahar city

Background and aim: Pediculosis Capitis is one of the important health problems in students which cause physical, mental and social complications. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of designed health education program on knowledge, attitude, practice and Pediculosis Capitis rate among female elementary students in Chabahar city during 2008 and 2009. Methods: This research was a quasi-experimental (case –control) study. Data gathering tools were questionnaire, check list and head examination. Two schools were randomly selected among female primary schools in Chabhar and 153 students were divided into case and control groups. After collecting the data, an educational program was designed and performed in case group and was evaluated after 2 months. Data were analyzed using Chi-square, Wilcoxon-Mann Whitney, and McNemar tests. Results: Results showed a significant difference in knowledge, attitude and practice of the students in the case group before and after the educational program (P0.05). The infestation rate was 69.3% in the case group before education and 82.1% in the control group which decreased to 26.7% in the case group after the education (P<0.001). However, it was not significant in the control group (P<0.05). Significant relationship was observed between infection and the variables such as father’s level of education, number of bedrooms, number of individuals per room, existence of continuous water at home, type of hair, history of infection in students and infected cases in the family (P<0.05). Conclusion: The health education program had a positive effect on the reduction of Pediculosis Capitis among students. Therefore, performing and evaluating educational programs for students and their parents is suggested

Comparison of the Cognitive-behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Resilience and Diagnostic Factors in Patients with Chronic Pain

Introduction: The need for research was felt that chronic pain is one of the most common pains in patients with psychological problems and the use of psychological therapies. This study aimed to compare the performance of CBT and ACT on resilience and diagnostic factors (CBC-ESR-CRP) in patients with chronic pain in Tehran.Method:This study was applied in terms of purpose and quasi-experimental in terms of research design method and was pre-test and post-test with thecontrol group. The statistical population in this study consisted of all people with chronic pain disorders who referred to private orthopedic clinics in Tehran and sampling was done with a purposive approach. 36 people were selected by purposive samplingmethod. After selection was based on entry and exit criteria, 24 people were selected and randomly assigned to two experimental groups (cognitive therapy group and act therapy group) and control (a group of 12 people). Participants completed Resilience Questionnaire (Conner-Davidson Resilience) before and after the interventions. Results: The findings of this study showed that both ACT and CBT approaches have the necessary effect on resilience, and diagnostic factors (of course, on two of them, ESR-CRP). The findings show that there is no significant difference between the ACT and CBT approachesConclusion: Therefore, CBT and ACT were effect on resilience and diagnostic factors (CBC-ESR-CRP) in patients with chronic pain.Declaration of Interest: Non

Development of a double-pole double-throw radio frequency micro electro-mechanical systems switch using an ‘S’ shaped pivot

This paper investigates the design of a novel pivot for a seesaw, RF MEMS, double-pole double-throw (DPDT) switch, which has been developed to operate within mobile communication systems and devices. The pivot employs a unique ‘S’ structure at the nano scale, in the form of a, which helps to keep von-Mises stresses below 21 MPa. The pivot requires less pulling force than similar designs due to its flexibility which allows the beam and contacts a greater space of separation while the switch is off. This in turn results in improved contact isolation of greater than −77 dB at 5 GHz. The RF MEMS switch is an improvement over the previously published paper (Al-Amin et al. in International symposium on microelectronics, vol 2013, no 1, pp 000831–000835, 2013. doi:10.1109/ECS.2014.6892558), since the pulling force of the electrostatic plates can be generated with a voltage which is greatly reduced from 14 to 8 V using the same electrostatic plate area size. The switch is a progression from SPST and DPDT seesaw switching since it provides improved flexibility over the previously described devices. With the redesign of the pivot the switch attains a greater ‘air-gap’ between the contacts when open-circuited which therefore allows for improved isolation during the off-state

The effect of health education program on knowledge, attitude and performance in male primary school students regarding Tinea Capitis in Chabahar

Background and aim: In many parts of the world Tinea Capitis is a public health problem, especially in primary school children. The control of the disease is dependent on patients education for increasing their knowledge and health. The aim of this study was to evaluate on knowledge, attitude and performance in male primary school students regarding Tinea Capitis in Chabahar in 2007-2008. Methods: In this quasi-experimental (case – control) study, 115 primary school students were randomly selected from two primary school in the city of Chabahar. Students were assigned into two groups. Tools and data collection methods were included: questionnaire, check list and laboratory samples of scalp and hair. At the beginning of the research, a pre-test was performed on the students and according to the data obtained, an educational program were prepared and was performed for experimental group. Post-test was done after two months. Data was analyzed using chi-square, Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon and McNemar tests. Results: The findings showed a significant increase in the knowledge, attitude, performance in experimental group (P<0.001). In addition, experimental group demonstrated a significant decrease in Tinea Capitis (P<0.01). The results of this study showed that there is a significant relationship between Tinea Capitis and weight, type of skin and parents education (P<0.05). Conclusion: The results of this research show that the risk of Tinea Capitis transmission is a public health problem and health education is a suitable response to this problem

Seasonal precipitation forecast skill over Iran

This paper examines the skill of seasonal precipitation forecasts over Iran using one two-tiered model, three National Multi-Model Ensemble (NMME) models, and two coupled ocean–atmosphere or one-tiered models. These models are, respectively, the ECHAM4.5 atmospheric model that is forced with sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies forecasted using constructed analogue SSTs (ECHAM4.5-SSTCA); the IRI-ECHAM4.5-DirectCoupled, the NASA-GMAO-062012 and the NCEP-CFSv2; and the ECHAM4.5 Modular Ocean Model version 3 (ECHAM4.5-MOM3-DC2) and the ECHAM4.5-GML-NCEP Coupled Forecast System (CFSSST). The precipitation and 850 hPa geopotential height fields of the forecast models are statistically downscaling to the 0.5∘ × 0.5∘ spatial resolution of the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC) Version 6 gridded precipitation data, using model output statistics (MOS) developed through the canonical correlation analysis (CCA) option of the Climate Predictability Tool (CPT). Retroactive validations for lead times of up to 3 months are performed using the relative operating characteristic (ROC) and reliability diagrams, which are evaluated for above- and below-normal categories and defined by the upper and lower 75th and 25th percentiles of the data record over the 15-year test period of 1995/1996 to 2009/2010. The forecast models’ skills are also compared with skills obtained by (a) downscaling simulations produced by forcing the ECHAM4.5 with simultaneously observed SST, and (b) the 850 hPa geopotential height NCEP-NCAR (National Centers for Environmental Prediction-National Center for Atmospheric Research) reanalysis data. Downscaling forecasts from most models generally produce the highest skill forecast at lead times of up to 3 months for autumn precipitation – the October-November-December (OND) season. For most seasons, a high skill is obtained from ECHAM4.5-MOM3-DC2 forecasts at a 1-month lead time when the models’ 850 hPa geopotential height fields are used as the predictor fields. For this model and lead time, the Pearson correlation between the area-averaged of the observed and forecasts over the study area for the OND, November-December-January (NDJ), December-January-February (DJF) and January-February-March (JFM) seasons were 0.68, 0.62, 0.42 and 0.43, respectivelyThe Fars Regional Water Organizationhttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1097-00882017-09-30hb2017Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorolog

Changes in monocarboxylate transporter 1 and p53 gene expression by aerobic interval training in the experimental colon carcinoma of mouse

Background: Recent evidence suggests that regular exercise training is effective in treating various aspects of cancer. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of 8 weeks of aerobic interval training on monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1) protein and expression of p53 gene in tumor of colon cancer mice. Methods: The present study was conducted experimentally from May to October 2014 at the Exercise Physiology Research Center of Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Twenty BALB/c mice of age 3 weekly with a mean weight of 17.6±1.4 grams were selected and randomly divided into 4 groups: control (N=5), interval training (N=5), colon tumor (N=5) and interval training+colon tumor (N=5). The cancer was induced by subcutaneous injection of a carcinogenic azoxymethane (10 mg/kg) once a week for three weeks, and aerobic exercise was performed with rodent treadmill for 8 weeks and 5 days a week. Forty-eight hours after the last training session, the mice were cleared and colon removed. Measurement of MCT1 protein was performed by ELISA and commercial kits (ZellBio, Germany). Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to determine the relative expression of p53 gene. Data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U tests. Results: The results showed a significant increase in MCT1 protein (P< 0.01) and significant reductions in p53 gene expression (P< 0.001) in a colon tumor group compared to other groups. Also, there was a significant decrease in the level of MCT1 protein (P< 0.01) and significant increase in p53 gene expression (P< 0.001) in the exercise training group and exercise training+colon tumor group compared to control group and the tumor group was observed. Conclusion: The findings of the study showed that aerobic interval training reduced the protein content of MCT1 and increased the expression of p53 gene (as a tumor inhibitor) in the tumor of colon cancer mice. These factors are portions of the mechanisms involved in cancer cell metabolism by which aerobic interval training shows part of its therapeutic effect in colon cancer

Optimal PID power system stabilizer tuning based on particle swarm optimization

Abstract Power system stabilizers (PSS) are used to generate supplementary damping control signals for the excitation system in order to damp the low frequency oscillations (LFO) of the electric power system. The PSS is usually designed based on classical control approaches but this conventional PSS (CPSS) has some problems. To overcome the drawbacks of CPSS, numerous techniques have been proposed in literatures. In this paper a PID type PSS is considered for damping electric power system oscillations. The parameters of this PID type PSS are tuned based on particle swarm optimization method. The proposed PSS (PSO-PSS) is evaluated against the conventional power system stabilizer (CPSS) at a single machine infinite bus power system considering system parametric uncertainties. The simulation results clearly indicate the effectiveness and validity of the proposed method

Relationship between β-Thalassemia minor and Helicobacter pylori infection

Background: Until now, no study has been reported investigating the association between β-thalassemia minor and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. This study was designed to compare H. pylori infection rate between β-thalassemia minor patients and healthy controls. Methods: A number of 100 β-thalassemia minor patients (50 males, 50 females) and 100 gender-matched healthy controls were prospectively recruited in this study in a period of 3 months. The study population consisted of the people who referred to a health center in Babol, North of Iran, for premarital counseling. H. pylori status was assessed by measuring the anti-H. pylori IgG antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Demographic information and informed consent were collected from all participants. Results: The overall H. pylori infection rate was 43%. The infection was significantly more prevalent in thalassemia patients (53%) than in the controls (33%) in both univariate (OR=2.29, 95% CI: 1.3-4.06) and multivariable analyses (OR=2.05, 95% CI: 1.12-3.76). Age was the only significant factor which was positively correlated with the infection in β-thalassemia minor cases (OR=1.11, 95% CI: 1.02-1.2). Gender, blood groups, residency, and education level were not related to the infection. Conclusions: According to the results, it can be concluded that β-thalassemia minor patients are possibly more susceptible to H. pylori infection than healthy people. Further studies are needed to discover more about the exact mechanisms of increased susceptibility to H. pylori infection in β-thalassemia minor patients

Recent developments in the production of liquid fuels via catalytic conversion of microalgae: experiments and simulations

Due to continuing high demand, depletion of non-renewable resources and increasing concerns about climate change, the use of fossil fuel-derived transportation fuels faces relentless challenges both from a world markets and an environmental perspective. The production of renewable transportation fuel from microalgae continues to attract much attention because of its potential for fast growth rates, high oil content, ability to grow in unconventional scenarios, and inherent carbon neutrality. Moreover, the use of microalgae would minimize ‘‘food versus fuel’’ concerns associated with several biomass strategies, as microalgae do not compete with food crops in the food chain. This paper reviews the progress of recent research on the production of transportation fuels via homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic conversions of microalgae. This review also describes the development of tools that may allow for a more fundamental understanding of catalyst selection and conversion processes using computational modelling. The catalytic conversion reaction pathways that have been investigated are fully discussed based on both experimental and theoretical approaches. Finally, this work makes several projections for the potential of various thermocatalytic pathways to produce alternative transportation fuels from algae, and identifies key areas where the authors feel that computational modelling should be directed to elucidate key information to optimize the process

Probabilistic prediction of SPI categories in Iran using sea surface temperature climate indices

This study examines probabilistic prediction of the standardized precipitation index (SPI) categories (i.e., dry, normal and wet conditions) in Iran regressed onto the combination of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index and several sea surface temperature (SST) indices including Niño4, Niño3.4, Niño3, Niño1 + 2, western Pacific (WP; 0º–15ºN, 130º–160ºE), the eastern Mediterranean Sea (EM; 30º–38ºN, 20º–35ºE) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). The ordinal regression models (ORM) based on the logistic function are applied to determine the best predictor variables. Seasonal precipitation during the two wet seasons of October-December (OND) and January-March (JFM) for 50 synoptic stations across Iran for the period 1967–2017 are used in this research. 3 month SPI at the end of December and March, which provides SPI values over OND and JFM, is constructed based on the Gamma probability distribution. The SPI categories for OND and JFM precipitation averaged over Iran are considered as the predictand variables in the ORM. The linear trend analysis of JFM SPI values indicates that the risk of drought has been enhanced in this season. Among all individual predictors, the SST anomalies over the central Pacific Ocean has the strongest teleconnection with OND SPI categories. Based on the minimum Akaike information criterion (AIC), the combination of Niño3.4 and WP gives the best model for probabilistic prediction of wet and dry events in OND. Unlike the OND, the SST anomalies over different parts of the Pacific Ocean are not strongly related to the SPI values of the JFM season in Iran. Among all indices, only the SST anomaly variations over the eastern Mediterranean Sea are statistically teleconnected to JFM SPI categories and can be used to predict dry and wet events probability in Iran.DATA AVAILABILTY STATEMENT: The precipitation data set were obtained from http://www.irimo.ir/. The ERSSTA, reanalysis specific humidity, zonal and meridional components of wind were downloaded from IRI data library https://iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu/. Apart from that, the datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.https://link.springer.com/journal/7032023-09-27hj2023Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorolog