The Relationship Between Vitamin D Levels and the Severity of Anxiety and Depression in Patients Under Methadone Maintenance Treatment

Background: Hypovitaminosis D, low bone mineral density, non-specific musculoskeletal pain, increased risk of fracture, and periodontal disease were reported in most subjects recruited from the Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) program. This study aimed to determine the relationship between vitamin D levels and the severity of anxiety and depression in patients under MMT.Methods: In a cross-sectional study, serum vitamin D levels were measured among 500 patients under MMT from Kashan Province, Iran. Correlation tests were used to assess the association of vitamin D levels with the severity of anxiety and depression in the explored patients.Results: We found that serum vitamin D levels were positively correlated with the scores of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (r=0.107, P=0.017) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) (r=0.129, P=0.004). Additionally, there was a negative correlation between serum vitamin D levels, MMT dosage (r=-0.011, P=0.8), and the duration of MMT (r=-0.017, P=0.7).Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that serum vitamin D levels were independently correlated with the BDI and BAI scores. Further studies are required to confirm our findings

The sensitivity of ultrasonography in detecting renal cortical defects in pyelonephritic patients with or without vesicoureteral reflux

How to Cite This Article: Mohkam M, Mahdavi C, Arad B, et al. The sensitivity of ultrasonography in detecting renal cortical defects in pyelonephritic patients with or without vesicoureteral reflux. J Ped. Nephrology 2013 July;1(1):28-31. Introduction: The presence of renal scarring has been documented in 5% to 15% of febrile urinary tract infections. The main aim of this study was to compare the value of renal ultrasonography and cortical scintigraphy with technetium-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) in detecting renal cortical defects in acute pyelonephritis.  Materials and Methods: Between June 2003 and February 2012 a prospective cohort study of patients aged 1 month to 14 years of age was conducted. Pediatric patients with documented urinary tract infections were evaluated with renal ultrasonography, voiding cystoureterography (VCUG) and DMSA scintigraphy. Statistical test was two-tailed and was considered significant when P≤ 0.05. Results: The results of DMSA scans showed 70.2% of cases as being abnormal. Renal ultrasonographies were reported to be normal in 72.45 and showed mild hydronephrosis in 37.7% of cases, moderate to severe hydronephrosis in 40.62%, stone formation in 13.66% and scar formation or decreased cortical thickness in 8.2%. There was a significant difference in ultrasonography reports between patients with normal and abnormal DMSA scans (P< 0.012) but there was no significant difference in detection of scar formation between DMSA scan results and those of ultrasonography in our patients. Among patients with severe abnormalities on DMSA scintigraphy the percent of cases with vesicoureteral reflux was significantly higher than those with normal scans or mild to moderate changes on DMSA scintigraphy. (46.3% vs 26.9%). Conclusions: We concluded that ultrasonography is a sensitive method for detection of renal cortical defects and ultrasonography can also predict the presence of vesicoureteral reflux in pyelonephritic patients. Keywords: Ultrasonography; Pyelonephritis; Pediatrics; Vesico-ureteral Reflux; Technetium Tc 99m dimercaptosuccinic acid; Radionuclide imagin

Preparation and Characterization of Promoted Fe-V/SiO2 Nanocatalysts for Oxidation of Alcohols

A series of SiO2 supported iron-vanadium catalysts were prepared using sol-gel and wetness impregnation methods. This research investigates the effects of V and Cu on the structure and morphology of Fe/SiO2 catalysts. The SiO2 supported catalyst with the highest specific surface area and pore volume was obtained when it is containing 40 wt.% Fe, 15 wt.% V, and 2 wt.% Cu. Characterization of prepared catalysts was carried out by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microcopy (SEM), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry, temperature program reduction (TPR), N2 physisorption, and thermal analysis methods such as thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The Fe-V/SiO2 catalyst promoted with 2 wt.% of Cu exhibited typical ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature with a saturation magnetization value of 11.44 emu/g. This character of catalyst indicated great potential for application in magnetic separation technologies. The prepared catalyst was found to act as an efficient recoverable nanocatalyst for oxidation reaction of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones in aqueous media under mild condition. Moreover, the catalyst was reused five times without significant degradation in catalytic activity and performance

Quality of Life in Cystic Fibrosis Children

Objective: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a chronic, multisystem genetic disease with a wide variability in clinical severity. The measurement of quality of life in CF provides additional information about the impact of this disease. This article tries to assess quality of life (QoL) in children and adolescents with CF and to compare it with control group. Methods: Patients 2-18 years old with admission diagnosis of cystic fibrosis entered the study. QoL was observed in CF patients and compared with control group. Findings: Based on children's reports, significant differences between the CF patients and control group were noted for emotional, physical, social, school performance, and total scores (P<0.05). Based on parents' reports, quality of life score in CF patients from the physical point of view as well as social and total scores were decreased (P<0.05). Conclusion: QoL in CF patients seems to be low, and therapy programs should take into account the suggestive perceived quality of life

Kidney Calculi in Iranian Children: A Multicentric Report: Kidney Calculi in Iranian Children

Background and Aim: Studies on the prevalence of kidney stones in Iranian childrenare limited. Children with nephrolithiasis have a high risk of recurrent stones; therefore, athorough evaluation is warranted. Due to the paucity of data on Iranian children, this studyaims to investigate the prevalence of kidney stones in this population.Methods: This cross-sectional study examined the prevalence of kidney stones amongoutpatients and inpatients at various university centers in Iran from March to December2019. Twenty-six pediatric nephrologists from 13 centers participated and completed aquestionnaire on the total number of inpatients and outpatients and the number of patientswith kidney stones. The diagnosis was based on radiological results.Results: A total of 97 912 patients were included, with 20327 hospitalized and 77585outpatients. Of all patients, 2.86% had kidney stones, the prevalence of which was 1.5%in inpatients and 3.2% in outpatients. This figure is about 1% more than Iran’s past reports.Inpatient stones in Kerman City, Iran (3.65%) and outpatients in Zahedan City, Iran (16.4%) were the most common. The study lacked data on age and gender. The main results are thetotal and setting-specific prevalences, and regional variations suggesting environmental andgenetic factors.Conclusion: This large study examined kidney stone prevalence in Iranian children, the totalprevalence of which is 2.86%. Given the limited data and rising trend, more extensive studieswith the collaboration of additional centers are recommended. Demographic characteristics,such as age, sex, stone composition, family history, and diet should be examined