Opinion dynamics with varying susceptibility to persuasion

A long line of work in social psychology has studied variations in people's susceptibility to persuasion -- the extent to which they are willing to modify their opinions on a topic. This body of literature suggests an interesting perspective on theoretical models of opinion formation by interacting parties in a network: in addition to considering interventions that directly modify people's intrinsic opinions, it is also natural to consider interventions that modify people's susceptibility to persuasion. In this work, we adopt a popular model for social opinion dynamics, and we formalize the opinion maximization and minimization problems where interventions happen at the level of susceptibility. We show that modeling interventions at the level of susceptibility lead to an interesting family of new questions in network opinion dynamics. We find that the questions are quite different depending on whether there is an overall budget constraining the number of agents we can target or not. We give a polynomial-time algorithm for finding the optimal target-set to optimize the sum of opinions when there are no budget constraints on the size of the target-set. We show that this problem is NP-hard when there is a budget, and that the objective function is neither submodular nor supermodular. Finally, we propose a heuristic for the budgeted opinion optimization and show its efficacy at finding target-sets that optimize the sum of opinions compared on real world networks, including a Twitter network with real opinion estimates

Real particle geodesics and thermodynamics of a black hole in Regular Schwarzschild-Anti de Sitter space-time

In this work, we illustrate the geodesics of real particles obtained numerically in a Regular Schwarzschild Anti-de Sitter (RSch-AdS) space-time. The behavior of these geodesics are considered depending on variation of effective parameters such as mass distribution, angular momentum and cosmological constant. Also, using the laws of thermodynamics of black holes, we will study and discuss some aspect of black hole (BH) described by this spacetime such as temperature, entropy, heat capacity and Gibbs free energy.Comment: 22 pages, 26 figure

Contextualizing Kurdish gender studies decolonial feminist knowledge production and the genesis of the Kurdish Gender Studies Network

Established in 2020, the Kurdish Gender Studies Network (KGSN) is an online epistemic community that brings together activists and scholars dedicated to advancing knowledge in Kurdish gender and sexuality studies. This paper aims to introduce the network to a larger public while situating the formation of the KGSN in relation to the growth of Kurdish gender studies (KGS), and the increasing influence of women and queer scholars in Kurdish studies (KS) since 2010. It highlights that both KGSN and KS have been greatly influenced by the conditions shaped by the colonial legacy surrounding Kurdistan and the Kurdish issue while discussing the ways in which Kurdish women’s and gender studies were often marginalized in KS. As Kurdish women scholars and members of the network’s steering committee, we position the trajectory of the network and the evolution of KGS within the broader framework of knowledge production in colonial contexts and address the ongoing struggle to decolonize feminist knowledge production, which, historically, has been dominated by Western-centric epistemologies and methodologies

Evaluation of self-medication prevalence, diagnosis and prescription in migraine in Kerman, Iran

Objective: To investigate different diagnosis aspects, prescribed drugs and self-medications of migraine in Iran. Methods: We selected 210 migraineurs from high school and university students in Kerman, Iran over a period of 6 months in 2002 by multistage randomized screening based on the International Headache Society criteria. We classified them into 2 groups on the basis of whether they had consulted a physician or not. We then evaluated the physician prescriptions, and prevalence of self-medications. Results: Only 49 of migraineurs consulted a physician, and only 53 were correctly diagnosed by physicians according to the International Headache Society criteria. Our study shows that 69 of general practitioners diagnoses were wrong. In spite of indications for prophylactic treatment, it was not prescribed in 76 of the patients, and 50 of the general practitioners prescribed it without any indications. Furthermore, 91 of patients used self-medication; Acetaminophen and Codeine were the most common. Conclusion: General practitioners' misdiagnosis and mismanagement of the migraineurs, and easy access to various drugs in Iran, have led to a high rate of self-medication. Self-medication with Codeine, with regard to its side effects, such as increase of secondary headaches and dependency is the major problem. Consequently, medical education systems, physician reevaluating methods, and the concept of self-medication among patients have to be revised

Association of Serum Leptin with Prognostic Factors in Breast Cancer

Background: Nowadays, cytokines such as Leptin and adiponectin are introduced as prognostic factors which, according to some studies, are also associated with body mass index. This study aimed to determine serum leptin level and its relationship with prognostic factors in breast cancer patients.Methods: This case–control study was conducted in the oncology department of Tohid Hospital, Sanandaj, Iran, between 2019 and 2020. Hundred new cases of breast cancer patients with histological evidence were enrolled in this study. Additionally, 100 age-and BMI-matched healthy individuals were recruited as the control group. The serum leptin level was measured using the ELISA method.Results: Serum leptin levels were significantly higher in breast cancer patients compared to the control group (21.68 ± 9.16 vs 11.89 ± 4.45; p < 0.001). There was no significant relationship between plasma leptin levels with ER, PR, and HER2 expressions (p > 0.05). Also, no significant associations were noted between leptin levels and grading and disease staging (p > 0.05).Conclusion: The study found that leptin is higher in breast cancer patients than in healthy individuals, however, it did not prove that leptin is a predictive or prognostic factor.Keywords: leptin, breast cancer, staging, gradin

Cost effectiveness analysis of Avonex and CinnoVex in Relapsing Remitting MS

INTRODUCTION: Multiple sclerosis is a chronic and degenerative neurological disease characterized by loss of myelin sheath of some neurons in brain and spinal cord. It is associated with high economic burden due to premature deaths and high occurrence of disabilities. The aim of the current study was to determine cost effectiveness of two major products of interferon 1a in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Altogether, 140 patients who have consumed Avonex and CinnoVex in Relapsing Remitting MS for at least two years were randomly selected (70 patients in each group). Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was assessed using the adopted MSQoL-54 instrument. Costs were measured and valued from Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) perspective. Two-way sensitivity analysis was used to check robustness of the results. RESULTS: Patients in CinnoVex group reported significantly higher scores in both physical (69.5 vs. 50.9, P<0.001) and mental (63.3 vs. 56.6, P=0.03) aspects of HRQoL than Avonex group. On the other hand, annual cost of CinnoVex and Avonex were 2410 US and 4515US per patient, respectively (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that CinnoVex was dominant option over the study period. It is suggested that results of the current study should be considered in allocating resources to MS treatments in Iran. Of course, our findings should be interpreted with caution duo to short term horizon and lack of HRQoL scores at baseline (before the intervention)

Stem cell-based approach for the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative brain disorder which is around 1.5 times more common in men than in women. Currently, drug medications, surgery, and lifestyle changes are common approaches to PD, while all of them focused on reducing the symptoms. Therefore, regenerative medicine based on stem cell (SC) therapies has raised a promising hope. Various types of SCs have been used in basic and experimental studies relevant to PD, including embryonic pluripotential stem cells, mesenchymal (MSCs) and induced pluripotent SCs (iPSCs). MSCs have several advantages over other counterparts. They are easily accessible which can be obtained from various tissues such as bone marrow, adipose tissue, peripheral blood, etc. with avoiding ethical problems. Therefore, MSCs is attractive clinically because there are no related ethical and immunological concerns . Further studies are needed to answer some crucial questions about the different issues in SC therapy. Accordingly, SC-based therapy for PD also needed more complementary evaluation in both basic and clinical study areas

Role of Diffusion-Weighted MRI (DWI-MRI) in the Diagnosis of Brain Complications caused by Heroin Substance Abuse

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers higher diagnostic accuracy for brain lesions caused by heroin abuse compared to compute tomography (CT) scan. These lesions have a low signal on T1-weighted (T1W) images and a high signal on T2-weighted (T2W) and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images. This study aimed to evaluate the role of diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI-MRI) in heroin addicts.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 20 patients with heroin addiction (vapor inhalation/injection) referring to Imam Reza Hospital of Mashhad, Iran. Patients in whom heroin abuse was only cause of consciousness, loss and neurological symptoms were enrolled in this study. Demographic data of the patients were recorded, including MRI, FLAIR, T1W and T2W images. In addition, DWI of axial and sagittal sections of the brain was performed in the following sequences.Results: In this study, mean age of patients was 40.15±7.673 years, and 95% of patients were male. The most common mode of heroin use was inhalation, and mean duration of addiction was 5.48±3.393 years. Mean daily intake of heroin was 13.4±15.30 grams, and mean duration of heroin abuse was 10.3 and 4.6 years in patients with and without MRI changes, respectively. A significant correlation was observed between MRI changes and duration of heroin use (r=0.721) (p=0.001). In addition, a significant correlation was observed between MRI changes and daily intake of heroin (p=0.006).Conclusion: According to the results of this study, brain lesions caused by heroin abuse have a low signal on T1W images and a high signal on T2W and FLAIR images. Therefore, it could be concluded that heroin intake has significant effects on the brain of users

Growth and reproductive biology of Capoeta damascina (Valenciennes, 1842) from a tributary of Tigris

Growth and reproductive attributes were determined for Capoeta damascina, an endemic fish species from west of Iran. A total of 147 specimens of both sexes were sampled monthly from November 2008 to October 2009. The overall sex ratio was female biased. Males were aged 0-4 years and females 0-5 years. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters were estimated as Linf=34.81 cm, k=0.27 year^-1, t0=-0.65 for males plus unsexed samples, Linf =46.29 cm, k=0.22 year^-1, t0 =-0.59 for females plus unsexed samples and Linf =67.52 cm, k=0.12 year^-1, t0=-0.79 for whole samples. The length-weight relationships were W=0.021L^2.815 for males, W=0.022L^2.824 for females and W=0.020L^2.836 for combined sexes, all of which exhibited a negative allometric growth. Spawning season started in May, ascending to June and ended in July for both sexes. Length at 50% maturity was estimated as 12.35 cm for males and 15.14 cm for females. Fecundity ranged from 1551 (2 years old) to 20523 (5 years old) eggs per fish. Losing of large individuals and decreasing in size at first maturity were observed in the studied population compared to data reported from other C. damascina populations, which could reflect an effect of overexploitation

Design of a novel TiO2/airgap-based polarizing micro beam splitter cube

Polarizing beam splitters are key elements widely used in different optical instruments. This paper introduces the design and simulation of a novel thin-film multilayer polarizing micro beam splitter based on airgap layers (n = 1.002828 at 400 nm). The negligible absorption coefficient of the air over a wide spectral region (κ ≈ 0 from about 200 nm and higher) satisfies the conditions of a perfect low refractive index material (L). Moreover, using titanium dioxide (TiO2) as high refractive index material (H), a very high refractive index contrast is obtained. The micro beam splitter optical structure consists in a 7 optimized multilayer of TiO2 and air, providing a refractive contrast higher than 1.2. The polarizing beam splitter cube is projected in a borosilicate glass substrate (BK7) and the optical multilayer obtained, expressed in multiples of the quarter wavelength optical thickness – QWOT, is 1.6H L 1.1H 1.5L 1.1H L 1.6H. This optical structure ensures the transmission of p- polarization and the reflection of s- polarization, from visible to NIR spectral range, over a bandwidth higher than 170 nm. Additionally, the designed polarizing beam splitter can be fabricated using standard microtechnology fabrication processes.This work is supported by ANI through the Brain-Lighting project by FEDER funds through Portugal 2020, COMPETE 2020 with the reference POCI-01-0247-FEDER-003416