Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Iranian Women Towards Breast Cancer Screening Methods

Female breast cancer is the second leading cause of death due to cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women after lung cancer. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practice of women about breast cancer\u27s screening methods in order to offer more appropriate training programs if necessary. A cross-sectional study was carried out with a population comprised of women who had referred to public health centers in Sanandaj in 2008. The results of this study do provide some understanding on the topic and suggest that although the majority of Iranian women seem to be quite knowledgeable about breast cancer and screening methods. They need more education on breast cancer, SBE and other methods of early detection. We recommend the establishment of an institutional framework and policy guidelines that will enhance adequate and urgent information dissemination about breast cancer and screening methods to all women in Iran. Since women\u27s beliefs and behaviors may impact young women, designing training courses for this group seems to be essential

Central Obesity and BMI Associated with Different Phenotypes of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Adolescent

Adipose tissue distribution is effective in metabolic complications resulting from obesity. Fat accumulation in the body, particularly increase in visceral fat, is a major risk factor of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of obesity and android obesity based on various phenotypes of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) in 14-18 year old high-school girl students in Shiraz in 2009. This descriptive study was conducted on 14-18 year old high-school girl students in Shiraz in 2009. Considering the confidence coefficient of 95% and loss rate of 20%, a 3190subject sample size was determined for the study. The participants were selected through purposive sampling. After obtaining written informed consents, demographic information questionnaire was completed and the participants were examined regarding hirsutism, acne, alopecia, and menstrual disorders. Besides, the criteria proposed by Adams et al. were employed to diagnose PCOS in sonography. Android obesity and Body Mass Index (BMI) were evaluated, as well. The results of independent t-test showed no significant difference among various phenotypes of PCOS regarding mean android obesity and BMI (P>0.05). The results of the present study revealed no significant relationship between girl adolescents\u27 obesity and various phenotypes of PCOS. However, adolescents should be informed about the long-term hyperandrogenic outcomes which are accompanied by insulin secretion and endanger their health after the age of 40 years

Role of mindfulness, psychological flexibility and integrative self-knowledge on psychological well-being among the university students

Background: Studies has shown the effect on environmental conditions on psychological well-being. In this regard, psychological characteristics have an important role. This study aimed to investigate the role of mindfulness, psychological flexibility and integrative self -knowledge amonge the university students. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on the students of Kashan university of medical sciences (n=300) and based on quota sampling, a number of students (n=241) were selected based on the faculty and the major of the study. The administered tools were Ryff scale of psychological well-being (RSPWB-18), mindfulness (MAAS), acceptance and actions (AAQ-II) questionnaires and integrative self-knowledge scale (ISKS). Finally the data were analyzed using correlation and stepwise regression. Results: Pearson correlation disclosed a positive and considerable relation between mindfulness, integrative self-knowledge, psychological flexibility and psychological well-being. In addition, the findings showed significant role of mindfulness, integrative self-knowledge and psychological flexibility to predict the psychological well-being of the students; so these variables can predict 21 of psychological wellbeing changes. Conclusion: This study disclosed that the mindfulness, psychological flexibility and integrative self -knowledge can in part specify the variance of psychological well-being

Heat Exchanger Fouling in Phosphoric Acid Evaporators - Evaluation of Field Data -

Multistage evaporators are frequently used in phosphoric acid plants to increase the concentration of dilute phosphoric acid to 52-55 wt% P2O5. The concentrated phosphoric acid solution is supersaturated with respect to calcium sulfate. As a result, part of the calcium sulfate in the liquor deposits on the heat exchanger tube walls. Since the thermal conductivity of these scales is very low, thin deposits can create a significant resistance to heat transfer. Therefore, regular cleaning of heat exchangers is required, frequently at less than biweekly intervals. As the major costs in modern phosphoric acid plants are the cost of energy, a thorough understanding of the fouling kinetics and of the effects of various operational parameters on the behavior of calcium sulfate is required to improve operation and design of the shell and tube heat exchangers, which are extensively used. In this investigation, a large number of heat exchanger data were collected from shell and tube heat exchangers of the phosphoric acid plant of the Razi Petrochemical Complex (Iran) and the fouling deposits were analyzed with respect to appearance and composition. The overall heat transfer coefficients and fouling resistances were evaluated at different times and a kinetic model for the crystallization fouling was developed. It is shown that the crystallization rate constant obeys an Arrhenius relationship with activation energy of 57 kJ/mol. The predictions of the suggested model are in good agreement with the plant data

Alternative derivation of Mie theory with electromagnetic potentials for diffuse particles

Mie's theory of light scattering on spherical particles is being increasingly used in nanophotonics, and these demanding applications have laid bare some shortcomings of Mie theory in its standard formulation. One problem that deserves special attention is the electron spill-out in small metallic nanoparticles, which invalidates the assumption of an abrupt interface. Here we present an alternative derivation of Mie theory without this assumption. To avoid the usual electromagnetic boundary conditions suitable for a hard-wall interface, we set up equations for the electromagnetic potentials instead of the electric and magnetic field. We show that in the limit of a hard-wall interface, the results of the standard Mie theory are recovered. Additionally, a numerical solution scheme is proposed for the equations for the vector potential and the scalar potential. Analysis of the optical cross sections of soft-interface nanospheres shows that the absorption increases and occurs at lower frequencies as compared to hard-walled nanospheres. This effect is rather dramatic in large spheres with large spill-out, due to the disappearance of high-frequency resonance peaks

Gingival neoplasm presenting as an ossifying epulis in a parrot cichlid fish (Hoplarchus psittacus)

This report describes the histopathological features of an ossifying epulis, measuring 1.5 × 1 × 1 cm in length, width and height, respectively, on the lingual surface of the lower jaw of a 2.5 year-old parrot cichlid (Hoplarchus psittacus) from a commercial aquarium. The tumor had appeared in the oral cavity three months prior to its introduction to the laboratory for diagnosis. Grossly, the neoplastic mass was pale-tan with a shiny, smooth surface and coalescing areas of hemorrhage. Microscopically, the overlying epithelium was hyperplastic and extended deeply into the underlying stroma. The stroma consisted of well vascularized collagenous tissue and neoplastic fibroblasts associated with irregular cords and islands of mineral deposition as dentin-like materials confirmed by Masson's trichrome and Goldner's trichrome staining

Steel fiber reinforced concrete : a review

Concrete is one of the world most widely used construction material. However, since the early 1800’s, it has been known that concrete is weak in tension. Weak tensile strength combined with brittle behavior result in sudden tensile failure without warning. This is obviously not desirable for any construction material. Thus, concrete requires some form of tensile reinforcement to compensate its brittle behavior and improve its tensile strength and strain capacity to be used in structural applications. Historically, steel has been used as the material of choice for tensile reinforcement in concrete. Unlike conventional reinforcing bars, which are specifically designed and placed in the tensile zone of the concrete member, fibers are thin, short and distributed randomly throughout the concrete member. Fibers are commercially available and manufactured from steel, plastic, glass and other natural materials. Steel fibers can be defined as discrete, short length of steel having ratio of its length to diameter (i.e. aspect ratio) in the range of 20 to 100 with any of the several cross-section, and that are sufficiently small to be easily and randomly dispersed in fresh concrete mix using conventional mixing procedure. The random distribution results in a loss of efficiency as compared to conventional rebars, but the closely spaced fibers improve toughness and tensile properties of concrete and help to control cracking. In many situations it is prudent to combine fiber reinforcement with conventional steel reinforcement to improve performance. Fibre Reinforced Concrete (FRC) is defined as a composite material essentially consisting of conventional concrete or mortar reinforced by the random dispersal of short, discontinious, and discrete fine fibres of specific geometry. Since Biblical times, approximately 3500 years ago, brittle building materials, e.g. clay sun baked bricks, were reinforced with horse-hair, straw and other vegetable fibres. Although reinforcing brittle materials with fibers is an old concept, modern day use of fibers in concrete is only started in the early 1960s. Realizing the improved properties of the fiber reinforced concrete products, further research and development on fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) has been initiated since the last three decades. This paper presents an overview of the mechanical properties of Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SFRC), its advantages, and its applications

Hydrodynamic and Geometric Stiffening Effects on the Out-of-Plane Waves of Submerged Cables

This study focuses on the relative importance of two sources of nonlinearities affecting submerged cable response. The first of these is the added fluid damping offered by the surrounding medium while the second is the geometric stiffening offered by the cable through finite extensions of its centerline. The contribution of each nonlinear effect, taken separately and in tandem, is evaluated herein through the study of structural waves that form in the (out-of-plane) direction normal to the cable equilibrium plane.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43320/1/11071_2004_Article_135260.pd